Chapter 827: Using a Butcher's Cleaver to Kill a Chicken

Though it took a month, the court's response could already be considered extremely swift. How they deliberated and decided to handle the matter could not be kept secret either. It was said that after the reports were submitted, the Grand Secretariat's first reaction was to dispatch troops for a joint encirclement. The forces to be used would naturally be the local troops of South Zhili. Compared to the surrounding provinces, South Zhili had a large garrison stationed locally, so they could resolve it on the spot.

The Grand Coordinator of Fengyang, Guo Shangyou, would serve as overall commander, leading the troops under the Wolf Mountain Vice Regional Commander and the troops under the Xuzhou Assistant Regional Commander in a pincer attack from north and south. At the same time, the Fengyang garrison would send troops to strike the flanks, striving for the complete annihilation of the bandit elements.

This was a standard, by-the-book arrangement. However, when it reached the Directorate of Ceremonial for approval and the affixing of the seal, it was delayed for two days. When the edict came down and the Ministry of War issued the official dispatch, everyone discovered that the troop arrangements differed somewhat from before. Besides ordering the South Zhili troops to move out, it also ordered the Baoding Regional Commander, Lu Qin, to lead four thousand troops south, and ordered the Dengzhou-Laizhou Regional Commander, Yang Guodong, to dispatch a Battalion Commander with three hundred men to serve as the vanguard for the Baoding forces, with provisions and pay supplied by Shandong.

Beyond this, it also strictly ordered the Kaifeng Defense Command to maintain strict vigilance. Apart from their own troops, they were to mobilize civilian militias, striving to ensure Kaifeng's safety. It also ordered the Grand Coordinator of Yingtian, together with the Zhejiang-Zhili Regional Commander, to tighten security and give the rebels no chance to cross the river.

After seeing this arrangement, the various grandees of the Grand Secretariat and the court all felt it was making a mountain out of a molehill. Although the three Censors of South Zhili—the Regional Inspector, the Grain Transport Inspector, and the Salt Inspector—all spoke of local despots plotting rebellion, what the Grand Coordinator reported was merely disorderly folk gathering in a mob, and the Minister of War of Nanjing also memorialized about a mob gathering.

Based on the grandees' many years of experience, the three Censors—the Regional Inspector, the Grain Transport Inspector, and the Salt Inspector—were young and had only recently come from the Censorate. They were prone to exaggeration. In all likelihood, it was just a mob gathering. Mere disorderly folk could be easily pacified by the local main army of South Zhili. Not to mention the nearly thirty thousand troops north of the Yangtze on paper, even after discounting and calculating the usable ones, there would still be seven or eight thousand. With such government troops mobilized, the disorderly folk would be nothing but clay chickens and pottery dogs. Why was there a need to use the northern troops? The Baoding Regional Commander served as the echelon behind Xuanfu and Shanxi, and the Dengzhou-Laizhou side was there to guard against the Liaodong Jurchens and the Japanese pirates—they were considered strong troops. Why draw upon them as well?

And to strictly order the Kaifeng Defense Command to be on alert was even more baffling. Henan was a peaceful interior region with only three Defense Commands in total, possessing hardly any troops. Could this joint encirclement possibly involve Henan?

Furthermore, how could a mere band of rebels cross the natural moat of the Yangtze? Yet they still ordered Nanjing to be on guard. Since it was just a mob disturbance, did they need to set the entire realm in motion?

Matters between the inner court and outer court could not be kept secret. After the edict came down, everyone knew who had made the changes: Wei Zhongxian, the Supervisor-in-Chief of the Directorate of Ceremonial, had insisted on this with all his might.

Since it was Eunuch Wei who insisted, everyone was too lazy to argue about it. He hadn't forbidden sending troops; he had merely added some more forces, perhaps seeking to leave nothing to chance. After all, His Excellency Eunuch Wei had just taken charge of affairs at the Directorate of Ceremonial and always had to show he wasn't holding a post without doing the work. That being the case, they would just follow it. Using a butcher's cleaver to kill a chicken—the iron being wasted wasn't their own, so why ponder it so meticulously? Just do as ordered.

"Apart from this, extra men have been assigned to the place where Old Master Wang is being held. Now, only someone bearing Wei Zhongxian's own token can see him." The intelligence was reported very thoroughly.

"Arrange for him to rest well," Zhao Jin instructed, then walked directly to the square table. The several people in the room all moved closer. A map was spread out on the tabletop.

"We're fortunate the court simply believes this is disorderly folk rebelling and couldn't possibly be gathering intelligence. Court edicts and the like don't concern themselves with secrecy, so we can find out without spending much effort." Looking at the map, Zhao Jin first remarked with emotion.

The Great Ming system placed great emphasis on collective deliberation. For administrative decrees and military orders, people from all sides had to voice their opinions. Most of the pure critics merely debated for the sake of debating, which was utterly useless. Yet while the debates were useless, the information spread everywhere. With so many people and so much loose talk, there was no secrecy whatsoever. Under such circumstances, everything was transparent.

However, for the court grandees, they never imagined that the disorderly folk blocking the canal could know or even conceive of this. To them, disorderly folk who were brainless enough to block the canal certainly wouldn't know to gather intelligence.

Zhao Jin gestured a few times on the map. The map was very crude, its general outline drawn from Zhao Jin's memory, with details then enriched by questioning traveling merchants from various places. The locations could only be said to be roughly correct; nothing else could be vouched for. It merely served as a marker and illustration.

"It's almost the season for the autumn harvest and autumn taxes. The capital and the north also need to store grain for the winter. All of this must pass through the grain transport system. So no matter how much the court usually procrastinates, this time they will act with thunderous speed. The troops will come very quickly." As Zhao Jin narrated, he pointed his finger at the canal.

"Four thousand troops from Baoding Garrison are marching south, and since they're coming to our South Zhili, they can only travel through Shandong, moving south along the canal. The men sent by the Dengzhou-Laizhou Regional Commander will also rendezvous with them around Linqing. All eyes of the Inner Guard and the Cloud Mountain Trading Company must be put to use. I want the earliest possible word on the government troops' movements," Zhao Jin said sternly. Behind him, Wang Zhaojing and Liu Yong both immediately acknowledged the order.

Zhao Jin traced his hand along the canal a few times, then spoke again: "We must also keep a close watch on the Smelling Incense Sect. Don't let them seize this chance to stir up trouble. At the same time, send our most reliable men to Baoding Prefecture. In case the Baoding Regional Commander does not follow military doctrine and dares to march south overland, I need to know immediately."

Chen Sheng and Ji Xiang were both staring intently at the map. Chen Sheng's expression was calm, while Ji Xiang was exceptionally excited. Wang Zhaojing's face was still haggard, but his expression was fairly composed. It was Ruhui, standing at the outermost edge, who spoke up: "Master, many of the merchant houses at the salt market and the regular market have already closed. Those still open will only remain so for another three or four days. The situation at the Qingjiang Grand Market is much the same. Even Wang Ziyang took a batch of wine and said he's going beyond the passes this year and can't spend the New Year in South Zhili. After the grain transport route was cut off, the exchange of tribute grain for wine also stopped. If this continues, I fear from the Mid-Autumn Festival until next year, none of our various businesses will have any income at all."

"No matter how bold Wang Ziyang is, he couldn't hold out this time. With a large family and great estate, he doesn't dare gamble now!" Zhao Jin joked, but no one in the room joined in.

Zhao Jin paid no mind to everyone's reaction and spoke again: "Right now, our foundation is people and grain. The various manors have no shortage of grain and able-bodied young men. The Xu family is constantly forging weapons. These water routes and land routes—others use them, and so do we. What is there to worry about? Rest assured, once the fighting is over, business will be even more prosperous, and the income will be even more abundant."

"Master, our arrangement with the Yu family is to settle accounts every half year. These days, the Yu family's fleet is earning a fortune daily. Should we ask them to settle early?"

"No need. Don't begrudge gold and silver. Our money and coin shouldn't be left to molder in the treasury. If we need to spend it, just take it out and spend it," Zhao Jin said with a smile.

Wang Zhaojing shook his head and said in a hoarse voice: "Big Brother, all my brothers, it is I who have dragged everyone down..."

"Since we are sworn brothers, don't speak such useless words. Did we have any other way but this? We would only have been carved up by them slice by slice, until only our skeleton remained, and even that would be ground into bone meal to fertilize the fields. Even if this incident hadn't happened because of your family, it would have erupted over something else. What you need to do now is handle affairs properly. We must see this matter through to a complete and perfect conclusion," Zhao Jin said with a smile.

Wang Zhaojing wanted to say more, but Chen Sheng stepped forward and patted his shoulder, saying in a muffled voice: "Saying too much spoils it. We are brothers."

Just as he was about to nod, someone outside announced a visitor. Nie Hei walked in and reported a few sentences. It turned out that the Prince of Lu's estate had finally learned of the fate that befell its subordinate officials and the officials of Weihui Prefecture in Xuzhou. The Prince of Lu had already memorialized the court, requesting the punishment of the tyrannical local despots.

"With so many lice, you stop feeling the itch. Just keep watching them," Zhao Jin said, utterly unconcerned about this matter.

"Big Brother, all these damned princes in Shandong and Henan are targeting us. Year after year, who knows how many people have their eyes on Big Brother's family property, on all the wealth and goods in our Xuzhou. Why not take advantage of this time when things are blowing up..." Ji Xiang suddenly interjected.

At this moment, Ji Xiang's expression showed no excitement; instead, he was gritting his teeth with a savage look. However, as usual, he was cut off by Zhao Jin mid-sentence. But this time, Zhao Jin did not rebuke him, only questioning in a deep voice: "With the great defeat beyond the passes, the Tatar slaves have taken Liaoyang and Shenyang. If we stir up trouble here as well, how will the people of the realm view us? Even the common folk of Xuzhou will become alienated from us. When that time comes, we won't just be fighting the court; we'll have to make enemies of everyone under Heaven. Those who originally stood by with folded arms will all become mortal foes. Not to speak of so far ahead—after everything was laid bare this time, look at the reactions everywhere: the markets, the salt market, and even Wang Ziyang, who was so close to us. Now think about what it would be like if we truly turned the world upside down!"

These words silenced Ji Xiang. However, this time Ji Xiang did not hang his head in dejection; instead, he listened with a thoughtful expression, because Zhao Jin's answer this time had laid many things bare.

Zhao Jin did not continue. He merely tapped his fingers on the tabletop, and everyone gathered closer.

The Fengyang Grand Coordinator's standard camp totaled one thousand two hundred men: nine hundred infantry and three hundred cavalry. The Wolf Mountain Vice Regional Commander's force dispatched three thousand six hundred men: three thousand three hundred infantry and three hundred cavalry. The Fengyang Defense Command's Grain Transport Supervisor-in-Chief, Eunuch Cui Wensheng, sent two hundred cavalry. The remaining troops were used to firmly defend the Central Capital, for Fengyang was the critical location of the imperial tombs and could not be allowed to suffer any mishap.

In the estimation of the court grandees, after all the standard deductions and skimming, Wolf Mountain should still have five thousand usable troops. But they knew their own affairs best. The Wolf Mountain side truly had only about three thousand combat-effective battalions. Li He's incident had already cost nearly a thousand. Among the infantry and cavalry dispatched to the Grand Coordinator's command this time, only about five hundred could actually be fielded for a fight; the rest were just making up the numbers.

However, the Fengyang Grand Coordinator, Guo Shangyou, was not angered by this. He was well aware of these tricks. Moreover, the Wolf Mountain Vice Regional Commander, Lu Quanyou, had not been perfunctory this time. He had sent his own personal guards and household retainers—this was his solid, genuine core strength.

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