Chapter 654: The Fire in the Great Market

As everyone chimed in, Yu Zhiyuan listened with a face full of smiles. Even though the business hadn't started yet, once this framework was set up, there was great potential for profit.

"A thousand-li dike is destroyed by an ant hole. The canal transport is that great dike. If you start digging at it with great fanfare from the beginning, of course people will strike back. Take it slowly, let people gradually see the benefits of switching from canal to sea transport. Through subtle influence over time, it may not be so difficult in the future." As everyone spoke with delight, Zhao Jin smiled and pointed out the intent behind Yu Zhiyuan setting up the shipping company.

Just as they were talking, Niu Jinbao, who was standing to the side, shifted toward the doorway. The next moment, footsteps sounded as someone ran up quickly. The person was young, dark and lean. Seeing Niu Jinbao blocking the doorway, he gestured with a hand signal, then pulled out a waist token. Only then did Niu Jinbao let him in.

At the evening banquet, Wang Zhaojing and Zhou Xuezhi had both drunk a little wine, but Liu Yong was very clear-headed. Watching this scene at the door, he nodded to himself.

The skinny lad entered the room and instinctively walked toward Liu Yong, but Liu Yong pointed a finger toward Zhao Jin. In a setting like this, any report should be made directly to Zhao Jin.

"Wei Mugen, who's in charge of Qingjiangpu," Liu Yong introduced in a low voice.

Although they had only met a few times, Zhao Jin knew this young man who had come alone to report when the refugee camp was besieged. This Wei Mugen was already the squad captain in charge of the eyes and inner guards of Qingjiangpu.

Wei Mugen was a bit nervous. After taking a few breaths, he whispered into Zhao Jin's ear: "Master Jin, someone set a fire in the Great Market, but it didn't catch. Right now, the brothers are searching the entire Great Market to see if any were missed. The shop assistants are all busy over there too. It's a bit chaotic at the moment, and the hundred or so men stationed there can't keep the situation under control. I've come to ask Master Jin to send men over."

As he whispered, the banquet table fell silent. Everyone looked at Zhao Jin. Zhao Jin, his face grim, nodded and said to Wei Mugen: "You go back first. Men will be there immediately."

Wei Mugen saluted everyone and left again with hurried steps.

"Shitou, dispatch three companies to the Great Market. Xiaoyong, send out all the men from the Zhao Family Martial Hall. Have men stationed to watch every one of our businesses," Zhao Jin spoke.

His expression was stern, and the relaxed atmosphere of the banquet was swept away entirely. Shi Manqiang and Liu Yong both stood to receive their orders, then turned and left in haste. Seeing this crisp, efficient, and imposing action, Yu Zhiyuan, who was slightly tipsy, looked on with full admiration.

With only their own people in the room, after giving the orders and seeing everyone's curiosity, Zhao Jin said with a cold laugh: "Someone set fires in the Great Market. It seems peace just won't hold."

Upon hearing this, Zhou Xuezhi couldn't help but stand. He managed the affairs of Qingjiangpu day in and day out and knew the Great Market best. The shops and warehouses there were dense and interconnected. Because Qingjiangpu was to the south and the climate relatively warm, there were many bamboo and wood structures. Beyond the building materials, there were also all kinds of goods in the shops and warehouses. A place like this feared fire the most. Once a fire started in one spot, the slightest carelessness could lead to a chain blaze, bringing great disaster to the entire Great Market and even Qingjiangpu. And this year the weather was dry, with hardly any rain yet...

He and Wang Zhaojing had been drinking with Yu Zhiyuan and were already somewhat drunk, but now, as sweat broke out, he became completely sober.

"Master, is the Great Market all right?"

"The fire didn't catch. Let's stop the drinking here. Everyone, come take a look together!" Zhao Jin said calmly.

Neither Wang Zhaojing nor Zhou Xuezhi had any mind to continue. Wang Zhaojing, however, remembered to say to Yu Zhiyuan: "Brother Yu, go back and rest first. We've been remiss this time..."

Before he could finish, Zhao Jin cut him off and said directly: "Brother Yu, come along and take a look with us!"

Yu Zhiyuan didn't find Zhao Jin's commanding tone rude. On the contrary, he stood up with a face full of smiles. When they went out, the steward tried to stop him, and it took quite a bit of talking.

Once outside, a blast of cold wind sobered Wang Zhaojing considerably. Inwardly, he felt ashamed. That Yu Zhiyuan was now cozying up to the Zhao Character Camp, and the Zhao Character Camp also wanted to win him over. Letting Yu Zhiyuan come along not only posed no risk of leaking secrets, but would also make the other party feel like one of their own.

Outside, over twenty mounted household guards were waiting. Niu Jinbao had already led Zhao Jin's mount over and stood waiting quietly, glancing around from time to time.

Zhao Jin nodded slightly. This personal guard hadn't been with him long, but his performance was very satisfactory. It wasn't about martial valor; this caution and thoroughness were truly rare. The household guards of the Zhao Character Camp were all loyal and devoted, but they were young and full of spirit, making it hard for them to be steady. And other men of the jianghu were not nearly so reliable.

The best restaurant in Qingjiangpu was also along the canal. It wasn't far from the Qingjiang Great Market. As the group rode along the road, new reports kept coming in.

This time, much was owed to the mandatory rules established when the Qingjiang Great Market was built. For example, every shop had to keep a large vat of water and several buckets of sand. The able-bodied men of the Great Market would inspect regularly. Any shop that failed to comply would be shut down for three days. Think of how much business the Great Market did every day — how much silver would be lost by shutting down for three days? The large water vat and the buckets of sand were a hassle and took up space, but no one dared to skip it.

It happened to be a shop dealing in wooden wares, a family craft of bamboo and wood passed down through generations. The shopfront wasn't large, but its luck was good. It had a storefront in the most central section of the Qingjiang Great Market, and through personal connections and such, it had managed to hold onto this storefront without being taken by wealthy merchants or nobles. That's how it had kept going until now.

The craftsmanship was good, and it was in a prime location in the Great Market, so business was excellent. With this family craft and storefront, the assistant was also an apprentice, and he was more devoted to the shop than others, sweeping and cleaning morning and night, and taking a look around whenever he had free time.

So it was that after dark, while the assistant was walking around the warehouse, he smelled smoke. In a bamboo and wood shop like this, with bamboo and timber everywhere, plus tung oil and varnish, a fire would be a major disaster. The assistant hurriedly began searching. Fortunately, he found it early. When he spotted a small flame, he directly smothered it with a bucket of sand.

If it had been a wealthy merchant's shop, the matter might have been suppressed while they first investigated whether it was a personal grudge. But a small shop was afraid of trouble, so they hurriedly informed the able-bodied men on patrol and watch — that is, the guards the Zhao Character Camp had stationed here.

The daily patrols were made up of reliable martial men from Xuzhou and Pizhou, a few seasoned jianghu veterans who knew the ropes, plus able-bodied men from the garrison. The household guards were on standby by the Great Market in company units. Hearing this, they immediately came to investigate.

An ordinary person wouldn't think arson was a big deal and would assume someone in the shop had been careless. But those with rich jianghu experience, who had seen plenty of deceit and trickery, naturally wouldn't think it was carelessness. Besides, the Qingjiang Great Market was patrolled every day with regular reminders. And since the shop itself was the livelihood of the owner and his staff, no one would ever be careless.

Scraping away the sand that covered the flame, they found an oilpaper packet that hadn't fully burned. Inside were oil-soaked cotton threads and a broken incense stick. Inside the packet was a powder mixed from incense ash and wood shavings. One look and any old jianghu hand understood — this was a small arson device used in the jianghu.

A paper packet like this would be tossed at the place to be set on fire. The incense stick would burn slowly, and when it burned into the oilpaper packet, it would produce an open flame. If mixed with firecracker powder, it would even pop, scattering sparks everywhere. The ignition time could be adjusted. In any case, the arsonist would set it up and leave, hidden and hard to detect. By the time the fire started, the arsonist would be long gone.

It was the work of someone who knew what they were doing. Once this was discovered, the men patrolling and guarding the Great Market immediately grew tense. They arranged for all shop personnel to conduct self-inspections while sending someone to report to Zhao Jin.

Every shop had someone on night watch. This was also a rule of the Great Market. Originally, many merchants were unwilling to leave someone on duty, thinking the practice unnecessary. In a place guarded by the Zhao Character Camp, what petty thief would dare come here and stretch out a hand?

But now the benefit of this rule became apparent. Every shop had someone on watch. For the few that had slacked off and had no one present, the guards simply climbed over the walls. Once they heard someone was setting fires, no one dared be negligent. Every shop inspected carefully. After this search, they found two more hidden fires that hadn't yet ignited. They roughly estimated that the fires had been set just one or two quarter-hours ago. The arsonist had picked several spots where fire could easily spread and set up the devices.

With the hidden fire devices found, no one dared relax. Every merchant was on full alert, watching intently, with water buckets and sand buckets at hand. If anything went wrong, they would rush over and extinguish it immediately.

By the time Zhao Jin and his group arrived, the men from the Zhao Family Martial Hall had also arrived. The Zhao Family Martial Hall was located within the city itself. The hall was a mix of jianghu martial men from the Xuzhou-Pizhou area and Xuzhou militia, specifically tasked with keeping an eye on the dealings of all sorts of shady characters in Qingjiangpu.

"Who could have done this?"

"Hard to guess. There are too many who want us dead. Though the Embroidered Uniform Guard wouldn't do this. A place this valuable — how could they bear to part with it?"

Since the fire hadn't caught, no one was particularly tense. After dismounting, they chatted idly for a few moments, then walked into the Great Market. Every street in the Great Market area was brightly lit. The various forces of the Zhao Character Camp and the merchants' people were all running in and out. An atmosphere of tense anxiety permeated the air.

Many shop assistants had already finished inspecting their own shops and were just breathing a sigh of relief. Hearing the commotion of Zhao Jin and his group arriving, they all came out to see the excitement. Everyone knew Master Jin was young, but few had ever seen him in person.

In this world, the reason age was respected was that the wealthy and powerful were usually quite old. Seeing Zhao Jin and his companions, a group of young men, walking over, everyone was astonished.

"Several of those arson devices have already been found. Four that ignited, and three more that went out on their own. The mind of the arsonist is truly vicious. The places they were placed were all warehouses prone to catching fire. Once lit, they could burn a huge area." When Liu Yong reported, his expression was grim.

These arson devices were all handmade, so naturally, not every one worked perfectly. But in such a dense area, if a fire had started, it would inevitably have meant a huge loss of life, wealth, and goods. When Liu Yong spoke of this, he was of course still shaken.

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