Chapter 731: The Xu Family and the Xu Family

Zheng Quan, the Xuzhou chapter head of the Fragrance Sect, was also utterly furious. Throughout this storm, the various incense masters and followers under him had been probing for information everywhere, giving Zhao's Camp a perfect grasp of every move Ma Chonghao's group made, and they were even keeping an extremely tight watch on news from all across Xuzhou. Intelligence flowed ceaselessly to the He Estate, and any destabilizing risk was kept firmly under control.

Zheng Quan's diligence and efficiency this time earned him considerable praise from Zhao Jin and his comrades. Yet no sooner had he been praised than quite a few of his own people were arrested, and the several incense halls that were raided also belonged to the Xuzhou branch of the Fragrance Sect. Zhao's Camp could not possibly control every corner of Xuzhou; in the most remote areas, the Xuzhou Fragrance Sect often performed those duties on their behalf. Zheng Quan could now be considered something of a local official himself.

However, the results of the interrogation left everyone thoroughly convinced. Those arrested were indeed spies from the Fragrance Sect's Yuncheng headquarters, and they had been sent over and infiltrated very early on — long before this storm. Whether dispatched or subverted, they had always served Zhao's Camp with utter dedication, never harboring any disloyalty, never doing anything harmful to Zhao's Camp. But these people had been placed there by the Fragrance Sect for the most critical moment; only an order from someone at the sect leader level could activate them, and once activated, it would mean something monumental.

As the storm in Xuzhou continued to ferment and Shandong launched a massive infiltration, these people were still not activated. But if the situation deteriorated further, they might well have been.

"The easiest place for Fragrance Sect spies to hide is within religious sects themselves, and the Fragrance Sect is most fond of employing these sleeper-agent tactics — activated at the critical moment, leaving one utterly defenseless." Ma Chonghao did not hold back his expertise, explaining his theories to everyone.

No matter how capable those captured were, no matter how outstanding their usual performance, only a dead end awaited them. Moreover, their families would toil for the rest of their lives in the estate at the Barren Grass Flats or in the Xu family mines, forever without freedom — because there was no way to trust them anymore.

Once this matter came to light, aside from Liu Yong coming to beg forgiveness, Zhao Shiyi and Zheng Quan were also deeply ashamed. Beyond that, the guard force around Xu Zhenzhen was further increased. For this purpose, Liu Yong specially dispatched men to Northern Zhili and Jiangnan to hire female bodyguards — people specifically prepared for the womenfolk of great households.

"Even the most meticulous plans can have a single oversight. You've all been diligent and dedicated, but your experience can't match Ma Chonghao's — that's unavoidable. Learn more, practice more, and just make sure such oversights don't happen again." Zhao Jin's attitude toward his subordinates' pleas for punishment was very lenient.

"This isn't a bad thing either. The people the Fragrance Sect could place in such positions must all be their finest elite. Now they've all been wiped out — it's like carving off a chunk of flesh. Carve off chunk after chunk, and let's see how long he can hold out," Zhao Jin said with a smile.

While he was relaxed and reassuring, Liu Yong dared not be the slightest bit negligent. He specially arranged for men to relay messages between the two sides every day. Though he could not personally go to Mount Jing north of the Yellow River, he had to know the situation there at all times, and he had to be informed of every deployment Li Dajin made each day, terrified of slackening for even a moment. Having dealt the Fragrance Sect another heavy blow, he feared they would seek revenge. Getting close to Zhao Jin was no easy task, but Xu Zhenzhen's side was relatively simpler.

Autumn passed and winter came. Before the tenth month had even arrived, Xuzhou was already turning cold. In stark contrast to the weather, however, Xuzhou was bustling with extraordinary activity. Merchants of every stripe came and went — some to do business, others for the sake of doing business. The various regiments of Zhao's Camp household troops were once again mobilizing. This time, Dong Bingfeng's Third Regiment was heading to Qingjiangpu, while Shi Manqiang's Second Regiment was bound for the estate on the eastern shore of Lake Luoma. Cloud Mountain Trading Houses had been opened in many places, recruiting managers, stewards, and clerks. The recruits were mainly minor officials, runners, and related personnel of clean background. In county seats, prefectural cities, and bustling local market towns, there was now one or several Cloud Mountain Trading Houses.

Beyond these actions, there was a great deal for people to ponder. But before anyone could even begin to think it through, news came that left them utterly dumbfounded — the Taichang Emperor had passed away.

On the first day of the ninth month of the first year of Taichang, the Taichang Son of Heaven died in the Palace of Heavenly Purity, at the age of thirty-nine, having reigned for one month.

To die after being emperor for just one month… The Jiajing reign lasted over forty years, Longqing seven years, and Wanli over forty years again. The people of the realm had grown accustomed to the Son of Heaven occupying the throne for a very long time, regardless of whether that Son of Heaven actually did anything or not. But to pass away after a single month — it was still utterly inconceivable. Had the earlier messenger been a little slower and the later one a little faster, the news of the Wanli Emperor's death and the Taichang Emperor's death might well have arrived at the same time.

A new emperor brings a new set of ministers. With a new sovereign ascending the throne, trusted confidants would inevitably have to be placed in the key positions of both the inner court and the outer court. Moreover, the Wanli Emperor had practically ignored the outer court for his last dozen or so years, leaving who knew how many posts vacant. After Taichang ascended the throne, the Grand Secretariat alone had been supplemented with four or five Grand Secretaries, to say nothing of all the other offices. And now, like a bolt from the blue, it was likely all going to change again.

Everyone could read a certain wry, bittersweet tone in Wang Youshan's letters. Amid the infighting between factions, he had already been on the verge of being forced into retirement and sent home for the second time. Who could have expected this sudden turn of events? Everything had to start over from scratch — and somehow, he could actually keep his official post and continue serving.

"Tell your father that we can now truly act on our own terms, with no worries about self-preservation. Tell him to come back if he should. The safer we are, the greater the danger in the capital grows. Caution first." Zhao Jin gave these instructions to Wang Zhaojing. But the two of them also knew that what Wang Youshan wanted to do was not something the younger generation could decide.

With the emperor's passing, entertainments and banquets were strictly forbidden, but for ordinary people, it had little impact. Xu Zhenzhen had still not returned from her family home at Mount Jing. By now, over a hundred members of the Xu clan and stewards and managers from its various branches had already died, and the purge was still ongoing. The entire Xu family was in a state of extreme alarm — those with guilty consciences were like ants on a hot pan, terrified that any day, with one misstep, they might "die of illness" or accidentally tumble into a furnace.

Some people muttered caustic remarks in secret, saying that sure enough, a couple was always two of a kind — both husband and wife had such heavy bloodstains on their hands, with no thought of accumulating any hidden virtue for their children. Even more cutting words were spoken, calling her "Her Highness Xu" — a phrase meant to insinuate sedition. If anyone from Zhao's Camp heard it, they would be arrested.

During this period, all the skilled master craftsmen and apprentices from the Xuzhou ironworks were gathered together, and the most diligent managers and stewards also came over. Shi Manqiang's father arrived with his trusted men as well. The production of iron helmets and bird guns was about to begin — this was the most critical matter. Moreover, a few particularly well-informed individuals knew that in a remote spot at Mount Jing, a separate furnace and workshop had been built, and over twenty blacksmith masters had been transferred there. Half their families went with them, while the other half were relocated to Xuzhou — an arrangement even more bizarre and inexplicable.

In the current situation, the one with the biggest headache was actually Liu Yong. He knew quite a bit about the Fragrance Sect's methods. The passing of the Son of Heaven was the perfect opportunity for incitement, all the more so since he had died after only a month on the throne. Add to that the iron-fisted crackdown Sister-in-law Xu Zhenzhen was carrying out at Mount Jing, and who knew how many people harbored bitter hatred — would they collude with the Fragrance Sect to seek revenge? The ironworks was also critical and needed men assigned to watch it from the shadows. And to make matters worse, Qingjiangpu was crucial as well; Lei Cai and a few key men were already run ragged there. Liu Yong truly wished he could split himself in two.

As for the deployment of Ma Chonghao, Zhao's Camp had indeed given him full trust and free rein. After Ma Chonghao's family arrived in Xuzhou and settled into a residence in the He Estate, Ma Chonghao led over thirty household troops directly to the northern bank of the Yellow River in Xuzhou. Day after day, he patrolled and conducted covert investigations along the borders between Xuzhou, Shandong, and Henan, guarding against further infiltration by the Fragrance Sect.

Yet the Fragrance Sect's actions once again demonstrated their inscrutability. Under such favorable circumstances, the border regions where Shandong, Southern Zhili, and Henan met were actually very quiet, with no disturbances stirred up by the Fragrance Sect whatsoever. According to intelligence sent back from Shandong, the entire province was now peaceful and calm. One had to remember that the Liao tax was already in its second year, and the Shandong countryside felt as though it had been scraped raw by a steel blade — popular resentment was seething, and the slightest incitement would set off an uprising. With conditions so perfect for the Fragrance Sect, they were actually staying still?

The magistrate of Yuncheng County in Yanzhou Prefecture, Shandong, had been reporting illness for two months now. According to rumors within the yamen, this magistrate was already preparing to resign from office and had even readied poison — if trouble broke out, his entire family would commit suicide, for he dared not bear the crime of joining the rebels. This was the misfortune of a son from a cadet branch of an aristocratic lineage: his life and death were not his own. Having finally entered officialdom through great effort, he had been sent to serve in a perilous place like Yuncheng. Even if he wanted to cling to life and join the rebels, he still had to consider the fate of his parents and kin within the clan. If he truly fell into rebel hands, no matter the rebels' attitude, his family would have only one path — death.

Nor could one blame this magistrate for his groundless fears. Where the Fragrance Sect's activities in Yuncheng County had once maintained some pretense of concealment, they had now become utterly brazen. Inside and outside the city, there were at least several hundred able-bodied men coming and going bearing weapons. The official troops, local militia, and yamen runners were all utterly useless — no one knew how many among them were diehard followers of the Fragrance Sect.

With such a gathering of forces, not only did the magistrate believe it, but even the ordinary believers of the Fragrance Sect in Yuncheng County thought their sect was about to undertake something monumental. Word had it that the Great Ming's fortunes were running short — the old emperor couldn't even live past a month. This was Maitreya Buddha choosing the sect leader to become emperor. There were also rumors that a certain devout incense master within the sect had suffered a great calamity in Xuzhou, and the sect leader was mustering men to exact revenge and settle scores there. Some of the men, however, looked peculiar — their accents seemed to be from the Liaodong region.

"Sect Leader, under no circumstances can we allow the daughter of the Mu family to marry Wang Haoxian! The Wang family still holds the nominal legitimacy — that legitimacy, combined with the assets the Mu family controls, would be extremely detrimental to the Sect Leader's great enterprise!" Inside the Fragrance Sect's headquarters, a middle-aged scholar spoke up in counsel. The man wore a fine cotton robe of close-woven thread, but his complexion was rather poor, as though he had been ill.

As the middle-aged scholar spoke, Xu Hongju beside him was already roaring like thunder. Though there were only a few people in the room, he was bellowing at the top of his lungs: "Elder Brother, the Mu family doesn't know what's good for them! We don't need to talk about any ties of the same sect or clan — let me take some men over and wipe out the Mu family directly, and bring that little wench back to warm Elder Brother's feet!"

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