Chapter 815: Never Afraid

Hearing this, the coachman immediately halted the carriage. The several men from the Lu Prince Estate escorting the carts hadn't yet reacted when one of them shouted angrily, "Why have we stopped? We're supposed to spend the night in Yutai County town tonight — can you bear the consequences if we're delayed?"

Just as he was throwing his weight around, a flash of blade-light flickered before his eyes, and faint screams seemed to ring in his ears — that was his last sensation.

Several dozen household retainers and militia made their move. Killing these utterly unprepared men from the prince estate was as easy as slaughtering chickens — done cleanly and efficiently. A pit had already been dug a few dozen paces from the official road. Everyone pitched in, directly hauling the bodies over and burying them, then covering them up. It wasn't long before the job was finished, and even the bloodstains on the official road were roughly covered with sand and dirt.

Then they redistributed the goods and wealth from several carts among the other wagons. With the loads lightened, the carts could travel faster. The rider on horseback nodded and said, "Brothers, get back to camp early. There'll be more hard work in the days ahead."

With that, he rode off into the distance. The household retainers and militia below shouted their assent, and one even said with great relish, "If we can do it this satisfyingly, then hard work is worth it. I only wish I could've hacked those thieving curs a few more times!"

The killing wasn't limited to this one spot. Every distillery in Xuzhou was making their move. The killers were often those who had come to pledge allegiance earliest. After the killing was done, the bodies were wrapped directly in straw mats and carted away. Firewood and pits had long been prepared nearby, so every loose end could be tidied up cleanly.

"Have these people from the prince estate never seen silver before? How can every single one of them be so greedy? Coming around every day saying they'll be in charge from now on, and if we don't give them enough, we can forget about doing business in this salt market. I spat right in his face! They don't even bother to find out who our proprietor is before spouting such big talk. And besides, even if we had silver, we wouldn't give it to them. Even if the Lu Prince Estate really did take over this salt market, would they let a few nobodies like them run such a critical place? What a joke!" The manager of the Tonghe Salt Shop in the salt market was fuming, cursing as he spoke.

The bookkeeper, who had been silently working his abacus and keeping accounts, spoke up: "If it really comes to that day, I doubt this salt market can keep going. Apart from Zhao Tianwang's outfit, who else could manage this place properly? These Lu Prince Estate people are far too greedy. They'll surely kill the goose that lays the golden eggs — they won't run it for the long term..."

"Manager! Steward Lu is here!" A shop assistant's shout rang out from outside. The manager spat and muttered under his breath, "Comes pestering every single day, and every day you can't send him off without giving him some silver and coin. Claims he's from a prince estate — looks to me like he's from a beggar's den."

"Bear with it a little longer. People from prince estates have no regard for the law. If the situation really turns bad and we want to pack up and leave, we still can't afford to offend them." The bookkeeper sighed in counsel.

The manager nodded glumly, then immediately plastered a smile onto his face and hurried out to greet the visitor. With his experience, he naturally knew that this Lu fellow was likely a person of no consequence in the Lu Prince Estate, but for now it was still best not to offend him.

"Manager Zhou, you are far too slow on the uptake. I'm telling you to hand over just thirty percent, and then you won't have to pay the annual tribute ever again. With a deal this good, how can you think I'm trying to harm you? This is our prince's own intention. Our prince, by seniority, is of the grandfather's generation to His Majesty the reigning Emperor. Why all this hemming and hawing? Watch out, or the officials will come arrest you!" This Lu fellow was fierce in voice and manner, utterly overbearing.

Manager Zhou kept smiling apologetically even as he cursed inwardly. A wretch like you — it's doubtful you've even laid eyes on the Prince of Lu, so who are you trying to scare? Yet thinking of the future, it was better not to offend such a petty man if it could be avoided. He could only hold his nose and deal with him, figuring that after a bit more fussing, he'd hand over some loose silver and copper coins to ask for his leniency, and that would be the end of it.

After a few more words, Steward Lu realized he was making no headway and grew visibly agitated. He jabbed a finger at Manager Zhou and roared, "Zhou! Don't take my good intentions for ill will! Today, you'll hand it over whether you want to or not. Refuse, and I'll seal up your shop and have you thrown out of Xuzhou!"

"Steward Lu, this..."

He hadn't expected the talk to reach such a point. Manager Zhou, forcibly suppressing his fury, pulled from his bosom the silver packet he had prepared long ago. Just as he was about to hand it over, Steward Lu reached out to snatch it — but to his surprise, Manager Zhou's hand stopped halfway and withdrew. His words also came to an abrupt halt as he stared blankly behind Steward Lu.

Steward Lu flared up again and was about to speak when he heard hurried footsteps behind him. He turned his head and saw two patrolmen from Zhao's Camp. When had people like these ever been worthy of his notice? Wretches destined to be kicked out sooner or later — and now they had the blindness to come meddling at a time like this. What a nuisance. Steward Lu was thoroughly irritated. Soon, more people from Shandong would be arriving, and what's more, someone from within the estate who was above him. Once that person came, where would his own benefits be? He had to squeeze out all the silver he could before their arrival, or else he'd be left with nothing but envy for others.

And now, at this critical moment, someone still dared to disturb him — it was infuriating beyond measure. Steward Lu turned around, ready to slap them across the face. Mere lowly drudges toiling at menial tasks, useless wretches who'd soon have to depend on the Lu Prince Estate for their bread — how dare they disturb him.

Steward Lu raised his hand without a second thought. But the moment he moved, the two patrolmen threw a punch straight at him. These were stout fellows trained in fist and foot — a single blow doubled Steward Lu over.

"You... you... you dare strike me!" His shriek was barely out when one of the patrolmen grabbed him by the topknot and, without the slightest regard, began dragging him straight out.

Steward Lu howled in pain, still trying to struggle and cry for help on the ground, when a heavy kick slammed into his chest and belly. A loud cry escaped him, and he immediately stopped struggling, dragged out like a dead dog.

From the moment the men entered to the moment they struck, everything had happened far too fast. Not only had Steward Lu failed to react — even everyone in the salt shop was stunned. Only when the man was dragged to the doorway did they come to their senses, inwardly cheering with satisfaction as they hurried out to watch.

By now, they could already hear the shouts and curses rising from other parts of the salt market, along with a rising and falling chorus of pained cries and miserable howls. Standing at the doorway, one could clearly see the situation on the street. The Lu Prince Estate men, who had grown more and more brazen with each passing day, were being dragged along the street one by one. Having no real martial skill to speak of, after a few struggles they were beaten until they could no longer move.

Watching these scenes, everyone felt a surge of satisfaction. They had endured quite a lot of undeserved aggravation these days. Having long grown accustomed to dealing with Zhao's Camp, they truly couldn't get used to these Lu Prince Estate people who took everything for granted. Even an outfit as powerful as Zhao's Camp did things by the rules — what gave you the right to run wild?

Yet satisfaction aside, everyone's hearts were also uneasy. After all, they had already paid three years' rent in advance. Now that the Lu Prince Estate seemed to be falling, who knew whether Zhao's Camp would still honor the arrangement or not.

Some thought even deeper. If Zhao's Camp was tearing up relations with the Lu Prince Estate so thoroughly, could it be they were about to raise the banner of rebellion? If that happened, they could forget about doing business here, and those three years of rent would be money thrown into the river.

"Our Master Jin says this: those three years of rent were collected under the name of Yunshan Trading House. A promise made is a promise kept, so for the next three years, no more rent needs to be paid!" Someone walked past, beating a gong and shouting the announcement. Hearing this, many people finally breathed a sigh of relief and even cheered, thinking they had gotten an enormous bargain. But those who had thought more deeply felt no joy at all.

For those who had lived near the He Family Estate for a long time, the scene before them came as no surprise. Many had even anticipated this day. Yet many merchants and travelers newly arrived here found it astonishing. Even government runners arresting criminals were never this efficient. In many places, the strikes had been launched simultaneously, like a gale sweeping away scattered clouds.

In truth, the arrests were easy enough. Most of the people sent by the Lu Prince Estate spent their days circling the salt market and the trading fair, scheming day in and day out over how to carve up the profits and extort money from the merchants. When Zhao's Camp made their move, it was as simple as catching a turtle in a jar.

As for Qiao the Company Commander and the few ringleaders, they naturally didn't need to do anything themselves. They spent every day in their inn, eating, drinking, and amusing themselves, waiting for their underlings to bring them tribute.

Given Zhao's Camp's capabilities, there was no chance of any of these men slipping through the net when they were arrested. That was why the inn where Qiao the Company Commander and his men were staying had received no word at all. By the time Qiao Shan, a Guard Retainer of the Lu Prince Estate, noticed that the innkeeper and all the waiters and assistants had vanished, a full company of militia had already surrounded the inn completely.

Seeing Ma Chonghao walk in wearing a saber at his waist, Company Commander Qiao Shan's face turned deathly pale. He slumped wordlessly into a chair. But the eunuch leader who had come with him flew into a rage, pointing at Ma Chonghao and cursing, "You wretched cur! Have you no eyes? How dare you—"

He got halfway through before a kick straight to the pit of his stomach sent him reeling backward. The man was knocked flat onto the ground, threads of blood seeping from the corner of his mouth. Ma Chonghao grinned savagely and said, "When I was in the capital, even those ball-less bastards didn't dare speak to me like that. What the hell do you think you are!"

With this display of ferocity, the rest of the Lu Prince Estate men immediately dared not move, allowing the fiendishly grim militia to rush in and seize and bind them. By this point, Qiao the Company Commander had finally gathered his wits. He gave a bleak laugh and said, "You really dare to rebel? For mere money and wealth, you'd really dare to risk everything?"

"If we don't rebel, this vast enterprise will be devoured clean by you lot, bones and all. When that time comes, dying without a whole corpse is a real possibility. Did you think others couldn't see through your schemes?" Ma Chonghao said disdainfully.

Qiao Shan nodded woodenly and said in the same wooden tone, "But rebellion — do you know how grave a matter that is? To oppose the Great Ming with so little territory? The Great Ming has a million troops under arms. How many does your Xuzhou have? When the time comes, when the time comes... aren't you afraid of being crushed to pieces, of having your families exterminated?"

After a few sentences, Qiao Shan's tone suddenly grew vehement, yet he made not the slightest movement, allowing the militia to bind him tightly.

"They've never been afraid. They were just looking for the most opportune moment." Ma Chonghao couldn't be bothered to deal with Qiao Shan any further. He spoke the words offhandedly, then stopped abruptly.

Zhao's Camp's methods were swift and decisive. All the silver that the Lu Prince Estate men had embezzled and extorted was confiscated. What belonged to Zhao's Camp and Yunshan Trading House naturally had its own accounts and was simply entered into the books. As for what had been extorted from the merchants, the merchants were called to come and claim it back.

After the accounts were settled, the men were all taken to the banks of the Yellow River. A clean, swift slash of the blade, then tied to stones and tossed directly into the river. Only one was kept — Qiao the Company Commander. He was thrown into the great prison of the prefectural yamen to be held together with the men from the Lu Prince Estate.

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