Chapter 788: The First Wave

A deferential smile hung on Louis's face. He had seen others make arquebuses and cast cannons, but he could not produce them himself. Yet here was an opportunity right before his eyes — he had to seize it firmly. As for what came after, that was a matter for later.

At that moment, Zhao Jin suddenly spoke. "Do you speak English?" The question silenced the entire room. Everyone turned to look at Zhao Jin, because his words were also in a foreign tongue, yet they sounded somewhat different from the Frankish language.

Though Zhao Jin's expression was stern, inwardly he felt rather awkward. His English came out with a strange, twisted accent, having not spoken it for many years. Fortunately, no one here could understand it.

The smile on Louis's face stiffened slightly. He suddenly realized that this young noble before him might not be so easy to fool.

"Master, the foreigner is asking whether you were speaking English. He does not know that language." When the interpreter spoke the word "English," he directly used a phonetic transliteration from the Frankish tongue — though, of course, that was only Zhao Jin's guess.

"Ask him how his own country is pronounced in this language. Does he know that?" Vague matched with vague; only this clumsiest of methods could confirm a few things.

Although the seminary provided a relatively comprehensive education, English in this era was not a universal language. In all the places Louis had traveled, Spanish and Portuguese were mostly spoken. English he had truly never encountered. Louis shook his head.

Zhao Jin pondered for a moment, then spoke to Yu Zhiyuan. "Thank you for finding these two for me. I will need to use this interpreter for a while as well. Have him move his household to Xuzhou. I will arrange his settlement and housing, and double his wages."

"Why should Big Brother go to such expense? Let your junior brother handle it," Yu Zhiyuan said with a smile. It seemed the two men he had found truly suited Zhao Jin's taste. The interpreter nearby naturally understood Zhao Jin's words. Moving to Xuzhou meant little to him, but the doubled wages were a joyous matter — he could no longer suppress the smile on his face.

"Ask these two foreigners what they want. Tell them I am a direct man and do not care for going back and forth," Zhao Jin said straight to the interpreter.

"Master, the foreigner says they want to spread their... some god... no... he's changed his words. He says he wants gold and silver, the more the better." The interpreter could not help laughing as well.

The room erupted in laughter. The old Spanish soldier-servant looked somewhat ashamed, but Louis stood there unperturbed. He noticed that Zhao Jin's face showed little contempt; it seemed speaking the honest truth indeed had its benefits.

"Find Mister Zhou. Transfer a thousand taels of gold and two thousand taels of silver here. The faster, the better," Zhao Jin said with a smile, taking a token from his bosom and handing it to Meng Zhiqi. Meng Zhiqi accepted it and strode swiftly out the door.

The questioning that followed was quite casual. Louis said his country lay north of Spain and south of the Netherlands. The word "Netherlands" puzzled Zhao Jin for a long while — not because he did not know what the Netherlands was, but because he did not recognize the Spanish pronunciation. Louis knew several languages, but he and the interpreter could only communicate in Spanish.

Zhao Jin still retained some impression of the map of Europe. He roughly deduced that Louis might be from France or Germany, though in this era, Germany did not yet exist.

Louis said he was a friar of the Dominican Order. He spoke of his experiences in Europe, of having been to the Ottoman Empire, and also to the Americas, the Philippines, and Japan. In recounting these things, Louis did not exaggerate; he simply described them as they were, for his experiences were already rich and colorful enough. Yet however vividly he spoke, the interpreter's vocabulary was extremely limited, and everyone listened in fits and starts. Zhao Jin, on the other hand, relying on memories from his past, could barely keep up.

Meng Zhiqi completed his errand swiftly. Escorted by over ten household guards, several chests were carried into the room. At Zhao Jin's signal, the chests were opened. Under the sunlight streaming in from outside, the gold ingots and silver bars glittered with an alluring radiance. Zhao Jin and his companions remained relatively composed, but Louis and his old servant could not help their pupils dilating, their breath catching in their throats.

They were allowed only a few glances before the chests were shut tight again and carried away. Louis and the old servant both turned to watch them go, their gazes practically tethered to the chests. Seeing them like this, Ji Xiang and Yu Zhiyuan could not help but reveal expressions of disdain.

Zhao Jin, however, found it entirely normal. It was precisely this greed for wealth that drove the white men of this era to cross vast oceans and exhaust their nations in military pursuits. Desire was not necessarily a bad thing.

"If they can accomplish what I require, this gold and silver will be theirs. They may even obtain more. However, they must first learn the official tongue of our Great Ming. If you can teach them, a share of this gold and silver will be yours as well." The first half of this was for the interpreter to relay to Louis and his companion; the latter half was directed at the interpreter himself.

Great rewards inspire bold men. The interpreter's eyes instantly lit up. He dropped straight to his knees, kowtowed, and declared, "This humble one will certainly accomplish it!"

Having seen the glittering precious metals and heard the interpreter's words, Louis's gaze likewise blazed with fervor. His face full of resolve, he said, "Please rest assured, my lord. I will certainly learn it as quickly as possible."

Zhao Jin did not assign them any immediate tasks. He merely arranged for the two foreigners to be escorted to Xuzhou first, with orders that they be well looked after. Under the surveillance of their guards, the master and servant Louis and the interpreter would be permitted to visit various sites of the Zhao Camp, including sensitive places like the workshops and the farm estates.

Compared to when he had entered, the attitude of Friar Louis upon leaving had become respectful to the utmost degree. No one paid much attention to this, however. As soon as the foreigner left, Yu Zhiyuan spoke with great gravity. "Big Brother, what is there that our Celestial Empire does not possess? The strengths of these outer barbarians may be borrowed for reference, but to regard them with such importance is unnecessary."

"What they possess is not merely strengths. They also have approaches and ideas different from our own. That is what I want," Zhao Jin replied.

For a moment, no one quite knew how to respond. As they were speaking, Li Dajin strode quickly in from outside. He paused first at the doorway, and only after Zhao Jin signaled him did he approach, whisper a few words into his ear, then nod and depart.

The protocols of the Internal Guard were somewhat different from those of other divisions, but for him to rush in while guests were present surely meant urgent business. Though no one wished to pry, they all instinctively looked toward Zhao Jin. Zhao Jin smiled and said, "The first wave from the Prince of Lu's estate in Shandong has arrived."

Qiao Shan, the Ceremonial Guard Retainer and Company Commander Qiao of the Prince of Lu's estate, upon receiving the order from the Chief Administrator, immediately summoned a few capable subordinates. All of them dressed in plain clothes, disguised as traveling merchants and their guards, and together they headed south to gather information.

The four counties of Shandong bordering South Zhili had by now also been pacified. The Prince of Lu's estates there had no way to mobilize government troops, whereas the large forces from Xuzhou and Pizhou were readily available. Previously, they had held back out of deference to the Prince of Lu's status, but once they received Zhao Jin's order, they immediately struck with full force. In Yutai County, two men were beaten to death on the spot, and not a single person dared report it to the authorities. Elsewhere, several more people vanished without a trace. As for those who, relying on the Prince of Lu's backing, had thought to resist with force, they all suffered grievous casualties; a broken head and bloody face was the least of it.

With the Zhao Camp displaying such thunderous ruthlessness, the local authorities, unable to afford offending either side, could only swallow their grievances and play dead. The estate managers and stewards of the Prince of Lu, thoroughly terrified, bowed their heads and obeyed orders on one hand, while frantically sending urgent appeals for help back to the Prince of Lu's residence in Ziyang City on the other.

The few men led by Company Commander Qiao could naturally not save so many places. They had never intended to save them in the first place. They simply observed as they traveled south, asking questions along the way. The Prince of Lu's estate had always regarded the so-called outlaws of the greenwood, the mounted bandits and brigands, as little more than dogs — to be used when needed and discarded when not. They had never maintained deep contact, and thus knew very little about the Zhao Camp of Xuzhou. Yet the further they traveled, the more they learned, and the more their hearts pounded with mounting dread.

Those who did not understand military matters could not grasp the fearsomeness of the Zhao Camp, nor comprehend what kind of colossal entity it truly was. To an outsider's thinking, though several thousand local braves and militia were not a small number, local strongmen elsewhere could also mobilize such forces. Stationed in a poor, harsh place like Xuzhou, they were surely nothing but clay chickens and pottery dogs. The government troops north of South Zhili numbered over twenty thousand; if they chose to act, they could easily crush this Zhao Jin.

But Company Commander Qiao and his men knew better. Those twenty-thousand-odd government troops in South Zhili could likely not even mobilize a thousand cavalry, whereas Zhao Jin's core force, plus his auxiliaries, could field a thousand riders with ease. Not to mention the ferocious, domineering might they had displayed in their northward march to Yuncheng and their subsequent southward fighting retreat.

What had originally been planned as a cursory, superficial glance became, the more they inquired, the more alarming. Company Commander Qiao decided to investigate in detail. If the Prince of Lu's estate were to clash with such a powerful magnate, though victory was certain, should there be any losses, he must not let the Chief Administrator blame him — blame him for insufficient reconnaissance leading to a disadvantage.

With his official rank and the backing of the princely estate's power, Company Commander Qiao was naturally arrogant in the outlaw world; everyone had to give him some face. Over the years, he had accumulated many favors. He had acquaintances even in the territory of Pizhou. According to Company Commander Qiao's thinking, Xuzhou was far too dangerous to linger in. It would be better to stay in Pizhou and have his old friend there find ways to gather information.

So he paid a visit. The man received him with great warmth. After he stated his purpose and added that silver was no object and the man would not work for nothing, the reception grew even warmer. Then, at dinnertime, they were suddenly surrounded by over a dozen blades.

"Do not blame your brother for informing on you. The safety of my entire household, dozens of lives, matters more. My apologies!" Company Commander Qiao's old friend said, his face full of guilt.

Company Commander Qiao and his men, facing these ferocious, murderous-looking opponents, naturally dared not resist. But out of habit, he called out the name of his princely estate. "Everyone, spare some face. I am from the Prince of Lu's estate—"

He got halfway through before the flat of a blade smashed heavily onto his shoulder. The blow nearly shattered the bone. "The princely estate counts for shit."

Hearing this, Company Commander Qiao and his men fell silent. Along the way, they listened to their escorts laughing and joking, and thus came to understand clearly the reason for their capture. "Daring to snoop into Master Jin's private affairs on Master Jin's own turf — are you tired of living?" His old friend, upon hearing his purpose, had been terrified out of his wits and had rushed to report to Cheng Daqi, fearing that if he delayed even a moment, some schemer might inform first to claim merit and reward.

Thanks to the two friends "Yuan Heng Li Zhen" and "Qi Sanwen" for their tips. Thank you all for your subscriptions and monthly tickets.