Chapter 838: The Dragon Qi of Xuzhou

As they walked forward, the voices ahead already carried the accent of Pei County. These were Pei County wanderers who had only joined today, men who had long dealt with both the Zhao Camp and the Xu family—a force they could trust.

"... Our Xuzhou truly is a land that produces emperors. Our Pei County gave us Liu Bang, who founded the Great Han Dynasty. The Hegemon-King Xiang Yu was born in Suqian, which in ancient times was also part of our Xuzhou. Counting further down, Liu Yu, the emperor of the Liu-Song during the Southern Dynasties, was also from our Xuzhou—and this Song is not the one of Marshal Yue. And then there's Zhu Wen of the Later Liang during the Five Dynasties, also a Xuzhou man. And speaking further, Fengyang, the birthplace of the Great Ancestor, isn't far from us either..."

The speaker had some learning; otherwise, he wouldn't have known about the Liu-Song Emperor Liu Yu. Everyone loved hearing old tales told, especially when they were about the glorious matters of Xuzhou. From the Han Gaozu and the Chu Hegemon-King all the way down to the Great Ming Ancestor Zhu Yuanzhang—if they weren't from Xuzhou, they were from the surrounding area. Didn't this prove that the land of Xuzhou was blessed with outstanding people and favorable terrain?

Not only were those men listening with rapt attention, even Zhao Jin and his group had stopped in their tracks. The man continued his tale: "I wonder if you've all noticed—every few hundred years, our Xuzhou produces an emperor. The way I see it, perhaps Master Jin here is the true dragon."

Speaking such words anywhere else would be a capital crime punishable by the extermination of one's entire clan. But here within the encampment of the Zhao Camp, who still cared about the laws of the Great Ming? Everyone who had come to risk their lives had already made their stance clear. Far from anyone finding these words treasonous, they instead stirred excitement among the crowd.

"If Master Jin becomes emperor, then wouldn't we all be followers of the dragon, able to share in wealth and glory..."

Someone immediately spoke up in excitement. The storyteller was just about to explain when he raised his head slightly and caught sight of Zhao Jin and the others beyond the fire. Their eyes met, and Zhao Jin recognized the man's background. He was likely an acquaintance of Qi Erkui, the salt smuggler, and had met Zhao Jin once during the bloody clash at Qi Family Village.

The man's face was filled with terror, but his reaction drew the attention of everyone around the fire. They all looked in the same direction and spotted Zhao Jin and his few companions.

"Master Jin!" "Greetings, Master Jin!" Voices rose one after another. The commotion here stirred people elsewhere, and they all hurried over to pay their respects.

The faces of those who had just been talking about becoming emperor and following the dragon were all filled with fear. Even if such a thing were true, one dared not speak of it recklessly. What if they had inadvertently exposed Master Jin's secret and he decided to silence them permanently?

That older, experienced man who had been eloquently discoursing on Xuzhou as the homeland of emperors also came to his senses, his face already pale with fright. After standing, he then knelt. Zhao Jin walked forward with a smile, directly helped the man to his feet, and said gently, "Once this battle is over, remember to come find me in Xuzhou."

At these words, the man's body could not help but tremble. Zhao Jin smiled and patted him on the shoulder. "It's a good thing!"

No matter how fearful and worried he was, he could tell from Zhao Jin's words and expression that this was not a bad thing. The man's face immediately went from pale to red. Those standing close enough had more or less overheard, and they all looked at him with faces full of envy.

Looking at the crowd gathering around, Zhao Jin pressed his hand downward and said with a smile, "Everyone, this is a critical moment. The household troops and militia have already bedded down. Let's keep our voices low so as not to disturb them. It wouldn't do to hinder tomorrow's operation."

Zhao Jin spoke politely and with a gentle manner. Everyone was sensible enough and nodded repeatedly in agreement. The voices that had just begun to grow noisy lowered once more.

"All of you are risking your lives for me, Zhao. I bear this firmly in mind and will not treat any of you poorly. Saying it too often sounds false, so I'll say it once more here: the days ahead are long, let us watch the future unfold!" Zhao Jin said, raising his voice slightly.

Had anyone else spoken these words, they would have been met with scorn or silent curses. But coming from Zhao Jin, everyone was thoroughly convinced.

Zhao Jin exchanged a few more words with several men of standing, then took his leave from the camp. These accompanying Xuzhou martial men were all tactful enough; after Zhao Jin departed, they each dispersed.

The companions walked a few steps in silence, none of them speaking. Ji Xiang also kept his head lowered. Just as they were about to reach Zhao Jin's command tent, Zhao Jin turned and said, "If we openly raise the banner of rebellion right now, all of Xuzhou, including Pizhou and Suzhou, would likely follow. Then we'd sweep through Shandong, Henan, and the Southern Metropolitan Region like a hot knife through butter. But what then? Right now, the vast territory of Henan has only three garrison commanders, and the whole of Shandong has fewer than ten thousand troops stationed. Once we stir things up, the court will levy a great army to come at us from all directions. By then, it'll be mountains of corpses and rivers of blood, with enemies everywhere. Who knows how troublesome it will be."

"If even the court's drilled troops are like this, those undrilled ones are even less worth mentioning. None of them are a match for our Zhao Camp," Ji Xiang said in a muffled voice.

"I didn't say they were a match. I only said it would be troublesome. But when troubles pile up, changes are very likely to occur, and that's when disaster truly strikes. No matter how confident we are, even if we boast to the heavens, we only firmly control two places—Xuzhou and Pizhou. We have a few thousand men. Compared to the whole realm, we are far too small," Zhao Jin explained.

Ji Xiang nodded silently. Zhao Jin had explained a great deal this time, but compared to before, there was nothing particularly new.

"Let's wait until we are stronger and greater, then we can speak of other things!"

The next day, they left Pei County, struck camp, and set out. By noon, when they halted to rest, fast-horse messengers arrived at the camp from both the north and the south.

The two thousand troops from Shandong had already fully joined the main army of Lu Qin, the Baoding Regional Commander. Based on the time the fast-horse messenger had set out, by the time the letter reached Zhao Jin's hands, this army should already have reached Jining Prefecture.

The news from that direction came from Qingjiangpu. At present, aside from a large quantity of goods being diverted to sea transport, everything else in Qingjiangpu was in decline, and all was quiet. The troops stationed at Fengyang, Taizhou, and Langshan were all holding their positions. Nothing unusual could be seen from Nanjing, nor any signs of troops being mobilized.

"You mustn't think the realm consists only of the Southern Metropolitan Region north of the Yangtze and Shandong. This realm has the two Metropolitan Regions and over a dozen provinces. If we had truly raised the banner of rebellion this time, do you think the court would only send a mere six thousand troops south? The more than one hundred thousand troops in the Northern Metropolitan Region, the frontier armies of Shanxi and Shaanxi, the militia and trained braves of Henan, the garrisoned forces of the Southern Metropolitan Region and Zhejiang—all of them would swarm upon us. When that time came, do you think it would be this easy?"

When the news was delivered, Zhao Jin was on horseback. He directly called his companions together. Some matters, if not spoken through and made clear, would always leave a knot in the heart.

"Looking at it now, nearly everything we planned in advance has been achieved. By not openly declaring rebellion, we've given the court room to maneuver. But the dignified central authority, holding the troops of the entire realm, how could it be threatened by mere rural strongmen? A battle will inevitably have to be fought. When they find they cannot win, when they realize that any hope of victory would require mobilizing a great army and even disrupting the defenses of the Nine Frontiers and Liaodong, then they will have to carefully weigh their options and start thinking about offering amnesty and recruitment. Uncle Wang will also be released then. But if we openly rebel and act recklessly, then there will be no room for turning back. From the very start, Uncle Wang would be executed, and then, win or lose, we'd have to fight to the bitter end." Zhao Jin explained in great detail.

Ji Xiang nodded there. Chen Sheng, however, said simply, "Let's not forget that all this upheaval is to save Uncle Wang, not for anything else."

Zhao Jin was struck speechless, then broke into a laugh. Ji Xiang froze for a moment, then couldn't help but scratch his head and laugh as well. This operation to cut the Grand Canal, from its inception until now, had grown larger and larger. Now that the Zhao Camp was marching north to meet the enemy, an atmosphere of decisive battle had even begun to brew. Under the influence of such a grave atmosphere, many had even forgotten the objective, thinking only of victory and expanding that victory.

During that day's march, the Zhao Camp caught up with the wagon convoy transporting supplies toward the encampment. The household troops were mobilized to help with the labor.

At noon the next day, Zhao Jin arrived at the encampment pre-established within the borders of Yutai County. Just like the camp set up near Pei County, this camp was also a farmstead that had long since been purchased by the Xuzhou side. Lu Da's First Regiment had already completed all preparations and were just waiting for the main force to enter the camp. Liu Yong was also waiting here.

"Because the objective this time was to disperse disorderly civilians, when Baoding Regional Commander Lu Qin led his force out of Baoding Garrison, he did not bring cannons with him. Moreover, the court's urging has been extremely urgent all along. For the sake of marching speed, he also didn't requisition any in Shandong. There should be no cannons available to supplement him here in Jining."

Everyone in the room noticed that upon hearing Liu Yong's words, Zhao Jin breathed a sigh of relief. But immediately, his expression turned serious as he said, "Whether the government troops are carrying cannons—this must be watched closely. Having them or not will determine how we go and fight them!"

"Please rest assured, elder brother. Your younger brother understands the importance."

"Has the Smelling Incense Sect made any unusual moves?" No one had much concept of cannons, but they were all exceptionally concerned about the movements of the Smelling Incense Sect. The day the cavalry swept north and leveled the Zeng Family Village, everyone had come to thoroughly despise the Smelling Incense Sect's fighting ability. Yet at this critical juncture, if the Smelling Incense Sect stirred and caused some chaos, it would be a huge problem no matter which side you looked at.

At Zhao Jin's question, a trace of shame appeared on Liu Yong's face. He lowered his head and said, "Ever since elder brother visited that one time, the defenses around Yuncheng have been extremely tight. Going in through open channels, everything looks normal, but trying to gather any information is exceedingly difficult. We've already lost several brothers there. In other parts of Shandong, we have too few men placed to discern the Smelling Incense Sect's movements. All we can say is that it's very quiet at present."

Zhao Jin's face grew solemn. Being unable to gather news from Yuncheng was not a sign that the men of the Internal Guard were incompetent. Rather, it was because the Smelling Incense Sect also operated in the shadows. Shadow against shadow, there was no talk of concealment or secrecy—the Zhao Camp's scouts had great difficulty evading the other side's spies, eyes, and ears.

"How about we assign a thousand militia to keep an eye on Yuncheng? If they dare make a move, this thousand men would be enough to pin them down!" Chen Sheng said sternly.

Zhao Jin shook his head in frustration. "We can't use the militia. Most of those able-bodied tenant farmers in our manors are originally from Shandong, with even more from Yanzhou in southern Shandong. If these men return to their native soil, who knows how many would desert. And if the Smelling Incense Sect then incites and infiltrates them, the force we've painstakingly trained would become theirs."

Thanks to old friends "Yuan Heng Li Zhen" and "Wu Liulang" for their tips. Thank you all for your subscriptions and monthly tickets.