Chapter 859: Everything Is Getting Better

Never mind the gentry of Jining Prefecture — even the Shandong Grand Coordinator's office was seething with complaints. In past years, whenever something like this happened, the Prince of Lu's estate would stiffen its neck and raise a ruckus: "Our house carries the imperial bloodline, we are the Son of Heaven's elders — everything under Heaven belongs to our Zhu family. We merely took things a bit hastily. Are you lot plotting rebellion by making such a fuss?"

This time, however, it was eerily quiet. The Prince of Lu's many properties and numerous stewards in Jining Prefecture withdrew without a sound. What's more, the estate even arranged for wealthy merchants under its command to produce nearly ten thousand taels of silver to reward the troops. Pouring that much capital into a defeated army — everyone thought the Prince of Lu's estate had lost its mind.

The officials and common folk of Jining Prefecture had plenty of dealings with the Prince of Lu's estate. Even with the estate pulling back on all fronts, people still had to go there on official business. They said the Prince of Lu's estate nowadays was nothing like before. The Chief Clerk's hair had gone completely white, the man looking as if he had aged decades, and the eunuch steward Xiong Zao had vanished without a trace.

The main body of the Zhao Camp paid no heed to the tremors in Jining Prefecture or the assorted goings-on in Yanzhou Prefecture. It simply followed its fixed plan and returned to Xuzhou.

When they reached Yutai County, the local gentry and commoners came to reward the troops. This time it was no trick of the Smelling Incense Sect, but genuine local figures of renown. They had learned the news earlier than other places and brought grain, provisions, and over a dozen head of large livestock. For tiny Yutai, this counted as giving everything they had. The gentry who came to honor the troops even swore solemn oaths that if the great army required it, the county could conscript civilian labor and materiel at any time.

Even more unexpected — yet actually entirely expected — the magistrate of Yutai dispatched a trusted family retainer to ask whether the great army intended to attack the county seat. If so, he said, he would hang up his seal and leave, absolutely offering no hindrance to the army, and would even help make matters like the city gates and defenses more convenient.

Zhao Jin's reply to this was very simple: he had no intention of rebelling, nor would he attack any cities or towns. But the rules would certainly change going forward. They should wait for someone from Xuzhou to come.

Hearing this reply, the Yutai magistrate finally breathed a sigh of relief. Yutai County bordered Xuzhou, so he naturally knew Xuzhou's rules. The several court-appointed officials there were all holding their noses and keeping quiet. As for the other things that were going to change — in the current situation, being able to stay on, to keep his life and leave office safely, was enough. How could he dare hope for anything more?

The gentry and commoners of Yutai County, on the other hand, were rather elated. If the Zhao Camp established itself firmly, then Yutai County's Liaodong surtax would no longer need to be paid. That was a tremendous boon.

Regardless of how the authorities and the common folk reacted, both sides did one thing in unspoken accord: they purged the Smelling Incense Sect, driving that cult out completely. From the gentry and local strongmen down to the humblest households, everyone severed ties with the sect. Anyone who harbored them in secret became the public enemy of the entire county. Everyone was well aware of Zhao Jin's attitude toward the Smelling Incense Sect.

When they were setting out from Yutai County, Ma Chonghao, who was waiting at the Xuzhou encampment, sent someone to report. He said that at the camp on the border between Xuzhou and Shandong, there were now people sent from various quarters in South Zhili and Henan. Their purpose in coming was very simple: to see whether the Zhao Camp had won or lost this time, to see if it was true or false.

If it compromised secrecy, then Ma Chonghao would send men to disperse them. If they merely wanted to gauge the situation, then Ma Chonghao would leave them be.

Zhao Jin's reply was to guard strictly against those with ulterior motives; the rest could stay there and watch as they pleased.

When the main body of the Zhao Camp entered Xuzhou territory, gongs and drums sounded to the heavens, and firecrackers crackled in unison. For the gentry, local strongmen, and various powers of Xuzhou, since the Zhao Camp said it had won a great victory, then it had certainly won. With this great victory, no matter what happened in the future, at the very least Zhao Jin would remain firmly in control of Xuzhou for a long time to come. Naturally, they had to come early to curry favor.

Besides the Xuzhou commoners bearing food and drink to welcome the army, there were also quite a few riders with grave expressions, their entire bearing exuding a tough, capable air. One look at many of them told you they had served in the military before, or that their martial skills were excellent. None of these men, however, carried weapons; they merely rode their horses off to the side, watching.

These men watched with extreme care. From the moment the Zhao Camp's column appeared, their eyes never wavered, their gazes fixed intently. When they saw that the Zhao Camp's household troops were full of spirit, with no visible signs of haggardness or injury, every man's expression grew more solemn, and at the same time, a hint of doubt crept in.

"They see our ranks so orderly and must be wondering inside — a great victory with forces so evenly matched, there's no reason we should have no casualties. But the few casualties we do have, they can't spot them. I reckon some of them suspect we're faking it." Zhao Jin was among the ranks with his companions. Seeing those men's expressions, he smiled as he guessed at their thoughts.

Once the household troops of each regiment and company had marched past, and the onlookers turned their gaze to the carts loaded with spoils of war, the doubt on those men's faces vanished, replaced by nothing but shock and awe.

Too much war spoil could be faked. With a coal and iron magnate like the Xu family of Jingshan around, never mind this amount of gear — even the full kit and armor of those six thousand government troops could be assembled here. But transporting such a huge volume of materiel could never be hidden from anyone. And the bloodstains and dust on those helmets and felt hats — to artificially age them to this degree was truly difficult. Let alone those banner after banner. Those command banners were among the most critical items on a battlefield. By this point, no one was thinking about fakery anymore. Next, they saw the weapons piled on the carts.

With so much war spoil, to still suspect fakery would be sheer madness. Besides, Jining Prefecture was so close to South Zhili — no matter how one tried to hide it, the news would arrive very quickly. This corroboration was already enough.

Many of those who had come to observe, upon seeing this scene, wheeled their horses around and left one after another. They had to rush this news back to their various masters so that each side could make a timely response.

"My lord, Grand Coordinator of Fengyang Guo Shangyou had stationed two teams of couriers here in our Xuzhou. One team carried a memorial asking the court to dispatch additional grand armies, to join forces with South Zhili and troops from every route to encircle and suppress Xuzhou. The other team carried a memorial saying that the unruly commoners had grievances, that with the Sage Son of Heaven on the throne there was no need for a great mobilization of arms, that one should embrace compassion and focus on amnesty and pacification. If your subordinate has guessed correctly, it is the team carrying the pacification memorial that has now been sent on its way," Ma Chonghao reported with a smile.

The First Great Battalion, led by Lu Da, halted on the northern bank of the Yellow River in Xuzhou, encamping as before near the Xu family of Jingshan. Also stationed there were fifteen hundred militia. Zhao Jin and the remaining troops did not delay, hurrying back to Xuzhou city on the southern bank of the Yellow River.

This time they did not head directly to Hejiazhuang to encamp. Instead, the main force approached Xuzhou city. Wang Zhaojing met the main body at the ferry crossing, and they proceeded together toward Xuzhou city.

Elsewhere, people still had to ask whether Zhao Jin intended to rebel, and if he made a move, the city gates would be opened from within — absolutely no hindrance. Here in Xuzhou city, there was no need for such thoughts. Hearing that Zhao Jin was returning, the city gates were thrown wide open. Every quarter within the city organized itself, greeting the army with considerable ceremony and provisions. Those taking the lead in this were all men of real authority within the yamen, from the private secretaries to the clerks of every office, all contributing money and manpower.

The various spoils of war were laid out on display outside the city gates. The Zhao Camp's personal guard company accompanied Zhao Jin into the city. The First Regiment and Second Regiment rested and refitted outside the city. One-third of each regiment's household troops were granted leave to visit their families — this accounted for nearly all the household troops from within Xuzhou city.

After seeing the spoils of war, what little doubt remained within Xuzhou city likewise vanished like smoke. Everyone, as a matter of course, had to host banquets and pour wine, inviting Zhao Jin to honor them with his presence, to celebrate the Zhao Camp's victory.

Zhao Jin, however, declined all of these. His reply was very simple: he would rest here for only two nights, and then he would return to Hejiazhuang.

The reason for stopping over in Xuzhou was also to tell everyone that the Zhao Camp's campaign to Shandong had ended in a great victory, and that it coexisted peacefully with the Xuzhou Department magistrate's yamen. At the same time, it was a posture displayed to the outside world — the Zhao Camp did not wish to rebel.

But Xuzhou Department Magistrate Tong Huaizu had long since grown accustomed to such strangeness. Zhao Shiyi had even worried that Tong Huaizu might take his own life out of loyalty to the Great Ming or something of the sort, and had specially arranged for spies in the inner quarters to keep watch. In the end, Tong Huaizu was quite at ease, drinking alone and then reading and practicing calligraphy — everything as usual.

That night, Zhao Jin rested at his original old residence. The few others each returned to their own homes. The personal guard company maintained full alert, wary that someone might use this opportunity to launch a sneak attack or stir up trouble.

"For the sake of my humble family, all of you brothers led the main force through deadly peril. I am grateful beyond measure. Brothers, accept my bow." At a private banquet for the few brothers, Wang Zhaojing solemnly rose with wine cup in hand and made to perform a deep ceremonial bow.

Zhao Jin hurriedly rose to stop him. The others also stood, refusing to accept the gesture. Zhao Jin said bluntly, "I know that if you don't do this, you feel you can't express your gratitude. But among our own brothers, there's no need for such formality and distance."

The others chimed in one after another. Wang Zhaojing shook his head, drained his wine cup in one gulp, and sighed. "When I learned that the government troops numbered not four thousand but six thousand, my heart was truly seized with terror. Had any mishap befallen any of you brothers, I would truly..."

"Don't say such distant words. The truly perilous thing this time wasn't the enemy's reinforcements, but that we only discovered they had cannons right before the battle began. That was the greatest danger," Zhao Jin said with feeling.

As he spoke with such emotion, the others did not seem to share the feeling. Zhao Jin smiled and continued, "Being able to learn about the cannons in advance — we owe it all to that relative of the Cai family, the one related to Provincial Graduate Cai. For this meritorious service, I promised the Cai family that they could return. There are quite a few scholars in the Cai family. You keep an eye on them — don't let them go chasing official examination degrees. Have them work for our Zhao Camp instead!"

Wang Zhaojing acknowledged this, but his mind was clearly elsewhere. With some urgency, he asked, "Elder Brother, since everything has gone according to plan, how is my father?"

Since returning this time, Wang Zhaojing's demeanor had seemed much better than before, as if he had returned to normal. Yet with his own flesh-and-blood kin in trouble, how could he not be worried and anxious?

At this topic, Zhao Jin patted Wang Zhaojing on the shoulder and sighed. "I can only say that everything is beginning to get better. But as for the true outcome — having done all we can to this extent, we can only look to Heaven and trust in fate."

Wang Zhaojing was silent for a moment, then nodded. He let out a long, bitter sigh, raised his wine cup, and drained it in one gulp.

"What day is it today?" Wang Youshan asked from within the Imperial Prison.

A jailer not far away answered listlessly, "Today is the thirteenth of the ninth month. I say, Sir Wang, you ask this every day — what use is it? Doesn't counting the days just vex your heart?"

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