Chapter 835: On the Yellow River

Jixiang was so terrified because of a remark he had made a few days earlier. At the time, Zhao Jin and the fellows had been discussing matters over lunch. During the idle chat after the meal, Ruhui mentioned that Chen Sheng's wedding date was approaching — a happy event. Everyone was glad for Chen Sheng, and Jixiang laughed and tossed out, "Once we win this big victory and come back, Second Brother can hold his wedding."

It was just a casual remark, and Chen Sheng was a bit embarrassed by it. No one expected Zhao Jin to lose his temper, sternly telling Jixiang not to say such things.

In front of the fellows, Zhao Jin rarely lost his temper. Even when stern, he would always explain the reasoning. This kind of punishment without warning was a first.

Everyone assumed Zhao Jin was a bit irritable with the great battle approaching. Chen Sheng even said there was no rush to hold the wedding. Zhao Jin's reply was very strange: "If the wedding is to be held, then hold it. Whatever day was set, keep to that day. But don't say things like 'come back from victory and then marry' — it's terribly unlucky!"

This left everyone baffled, but seeing how serious Zhao Jin was, they instinctively felt it was no small matter and all complied.

The column had not gone far when several riders came rushing over quickly from the east. The cavalry patrolling the outer edge of the main force rode over to intercept them, then immediately let them through. From a distance, Zhao Jin already knew who was coming.

Those riders arrived before them and all dismounted. The one in the lead was none other than Wang Zhaojing. He had gone to Cloud Mountain Temple the day before yesterday to inspect the supplies and fortification works there, and by all accounts should not have been able to return today.

"Eldest Brother, Fifth Brother, I wish you swift success and victory at the first raising of your banners!" Wang Zhaojing bowed deeply from the waist at the roadside.

Zhao Jin and Jixiang both dismounted. Jixiang returned the courtesy with a grin. Zhao Jin said in a deep voice, "The planning has reached this stage; our confidence is growing greater and greater. You just wait quietly for good news."

"Eldest Brother, if it succeeds, that is naturally best. If it does not, Eldest Brother must keep the greater picture in mind." Wang Zhaojing spoke with solemnity.

In the months since the news of Wang Youshan's arrest and imprisonment had come back, Wang Zhaojing had been in constant torment, with no thought for grooming his appearance. At this moment, he looked like a man in his thirties.

At these words, Zhao Jin punched Wang Zhaojing in the chest and said, "Think toward the good. You watch over the home front well — I'll be back once I've won!"

With that, Zhao Jin mounted his horse. Wang Zhaojing bowed deeply once more, saluting the advancing column.

Although the Zhao Character Camp had its own fleet of boats, crossing cavalry over the river was always troublesome. Jixiang first arranged a squad to escort Zhao Jin across the river. This boat was personally handled by members of the Cai family.

"Master Jin is certain to win a great victory this time," Cai De, who was steering the boat, offered in flattery. Zhao Jin stayed beside him, watching how he handled the vessel.

Zhao Jin had heard far too many wishes for victory these past days. He merely smiled and nodded. Cai De shouted orders to the busy boatmen, then continued, "Master Jin has accumulated great virtue. The Dragon King and the gods and buddhas in heaven are all watching — you will surely win a great victory!"

The Yellow River's waterways were treacherous, and the boatmen were deeply superstitious about the Yellow River Dragon King and the gods and buddhas of heaven. It was not strange for Cai De to say this, but Zhao Jin was a bit puzzled — why bring up accumulating virtue out of nowhere?

"Master Jin, we humble folk travel the Yellow River often and know how treacherous this river of ours is."

Treacherous? Zhao Jin looked at the river's surface. The current was very gentle; he could not see the slightest sign of treachery. Cai De continued, "Back when they tamed the waters, several large boulders in the Yellow River were all removed. The river slowed, and the silt carried in the current all settled, making the riverbed rise higher and higher. These years, with so little rain, it's been manageable. But if this keeps up, once heavy rain falls in Henan and the torrents come rushing down, there will be great floods. The south bank is low-lying — once it floods, who knows how many places will be inundated. Even Pi Prefecture will suffer along with it."

Zhao Jin understood the principle Cai De was explaining. The silt carried by the Yellow River was constantly depositing, making the channel narrower and shallower. If the water volume upstream suddenly swelled and rose, it would likely cause a flood disaster.

"In those years, all of us river families feared this. Whenever it rained, our hearts were in our throats, terrified it would bring disaster."

Perhaps because he brooded on it constantly, once this topic came up, Cai De could not stop talking. Zhao Jin, too, was drawn in by the subject and looked out at the river, yet for the life of him he could not perceive the danger the man described. Judging by the look of the banks, the river even seemed somewhat narrower than before.

"Master Jin has brought blessings and accumulated virtue! Digging the river and building embankments in winter, and then digging all those channels and ditches to draw off water — if this keeps up, even if a great flood comes, it won't be as treacherous as before. The ditches will divert some of it, the embankments will hold, and the silt in the river channel has been dredged. Now we river families can sleep soundly. Before, when we earned silver we didn't dare buy land, but now no one wants to toil on the river anymore. Everyone's thinking of buying a farmstead and living out the rest of their days in comfort." Cai De said this with a beaming smile.

When Zhao Jin first initiated the water conservancy works and regulated the Yellow River, his aim had been to give Xuzhou more irrigated land, to make his own manors more productive and their yields more stable. He had never thought this far. Hearing Cai De speak, he now realized just how great the unintended benefits were. Yellow River floods had always been a great calamity for the people of the river basin. This thing he had done could truly be said to have brought blessings to Xuzhou.

"Ever since the Jia Canal was opened, the Grand Canal no longer passes through our Xuzhou, and our Xuzhou fell into decline. No one knew when it would ever end. We never imagined Master Jin would make our Xuzhou prosper again," Cai De rambled on.

"Don't you all be in a hurry to go ashore and enjoy the good life. I still need to build more boats for you — you'll have great use in the future," Zhao Jin replied, picking up on his earlier remark.

Cai De shouted a couple of orders to the sailors, who hurried over to trim the sails and man the tiller. After making the arrangements, Cai De said to Zhao Jin, "Please rest assured, Master Jin. We humble folk can't help Master Jin in any great way, but on the water, we will fight with our lives — we will never waver."

Zhao Jin smiled and nodded, then turned to look around. Everything in the boat convoy was normal. Although the Yellow River Cai family line were also subordinates of Zhao Jin, they had few opportunities to deal with him directly. Cai De was very stiff and nervous in front of Zhao Jin. Exchanging a few words did not relax him; instead, he felt even more ill at ease. When they had no dealings, he would subconsciously assume that a young man just past twenty, no matter how formidable, could only be so formidable. But in close contact, he found that even the man's ordinary speech exerted pressure.

Stiff as he was, Cai De could not help adding one more sentence: "Master Jin, you must win this time. All the good days in our Xuzhou depend on you, Master Jin."

Earlier it had been auspicious blessings and well-wishes, but now he could not help speaking the honest truth. After all, the opponent was the imperial court's official army, a powerful northern garrison that guarded the capital region, while the Zhao Character Camp was, in the end, only a local militia and trained band. It was perfectly normal for someone like Cai De, on the periphery of the Zhao Character Camp, to feel anxious and uncertain.

"We will certainly win," Zhao Jin replied, very simply.

When the boat reached the north bank, the mounts for Zhao Jin and his personal guards had long since been prepared, while the others still had to wait. Xu Bende had already brought the younger generation of the Xu family over to receive them.

By now, the younger members of the Xu family who held authority and managed affairs were all people utterly loyal to Xu Zhenzhen. Those who harbored disloyal thoughts had long since been purged clean through one shake-up after another.

"Second Uncle, how are the camp preparations?" Zhao Jin had no time for pleasantries and came straight to the point.

The Zhao Character Camp force led by Zhao Jin advanced within Xuzhou's borders by relying on manors and towns, obtaining supplies locally. But the encampment was set within the borders of Yutai County in Shandong, about ten li from Xuzhou.

At Zhao Jin's question, Xu Bende's expression turned somewhat embarrassed, but he answered immediately nonetheless: "It's rained several times these past ten-odd days. The heavy carts have had a very hard time on the roads. The camp over there has been set up, but the fodder and provisions are not yet fully in place."

Even though the Zhao Character Camp had repaired the roads within Xuzhou, widening and improving them as much as possible, good dirt roads were still dirt roads. Once it rained, the roads turned to mud, and the heavy-laden wooden carts easily sank into the ruts, severely hampering progress.

"Then use more manpower. What are all those able-bodied young men of the Xu family being kept for? Apart from those forging and repairing weapons, mobilize all the rest and put them to use. At a juncture like this, you can't treat it like doing business." Zhao Jin gave his elder no face whatsoever; his voice was icy cold.

Cold sweat immediately broke out on Xu Bende's forehead. He hastily agreed repeatedly. He had meant to say that Jingshan had already prepared wine and dishes and to invite Zhao Jin over for a banquet, but seeing the cold, sharp look in Zhao Jin's eyes, the words reached his throat and never came out. Instead, he hurriedly ordered the younger family members beside him to follow Zhao Jin's instructions.

Among the dozen or so young Xu family members beside Xu Bende, most lowered their heads in deference, but a few wore expressions of indignation. These reactions were visible to each other, and Zhao Jin took them all in as well.

Niu Jinbao, who was beside Zhao Jin, already had a wary look on his face. Zhao Jin's expression remained natural. He knew that those few with indignant expressions were actually household troops of the Internal Guard — very likely the batch of people within the Xu family most loyal to himself.

Zhao Jin's group took a short rest at the riverbank, then mounted up and moved forward. They had not traveled long when messenger household troops on fast horses began arriving from the north.

Chen Sheng's First Regiment and Shi Manqiang's Second Regiment had already reached Pei County. After crossing Jingoukou, they had set up camp at a manor north of Pei County. Lu Da's First Great Brigade was already waiting near Guting Town.

And Meng Zhiqi's arquebusier company was waiting two li from the Yellow River's north bank. Those currently practicing arquebus shooting and meeting the requirements numbered two hundred and fourteen men in total — mainly student recruits, along with several dozen able-bodied young men of the Xu family and another twenty-odd trained militiamen. These men were divided into two companies, both under Meng Zhiqi's overall command.

Although Meng Zhiqi was now only a firearms company commander, this position drew envious eyes from many. Commanding two companies at once — by the Zhao Character Camp's precedents, the worst he could end up later was a great brigade commander. Quite a few people were already making sour remarks, saying that with Master Jin's personal attendant and his sister in the inner household, promotion came fast.

No one paid the idle talk any mind, but a young household troop promoted to command two companies would inevitably be lacking in experience and ability. For this reason, these two firearms companies were also under Zhao Jin's direct command. At the same time, the First Company commander was Meng Zhiqi, while the Second Company commander was temporarily that foreigner Louis and his old servant Hildor. The interpreter also had to stay by their side. The interpreter had originally been unwilling to come — fighting the government army again, life-and-death peril again — his courage had long since been frightened out of him. But knowing that leaving was impossible, and that going this time would earn him two hundred taels of silver, he gritted his teeth and accepted his fate.

Thanks to Qidian friend "Rolling Wang Dabao" for the reward, and thanks to Chuangshi and Qidian friends who subscribe to Great Ming Wufu — thank you for your support.

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