Chapter 866: Offense and Slight

Just before they reached He Village, Eunuch Cui's expression darkened again. He was the grand eunuch of Fengyang Garrison, Superintendent of Grain Transport — a position no lower than a Minister or Vice Minister in the imperial court, and in the provinces, even higher than a Grand Coordinator. He had come to Xuzhou to offer amnesty to rebels and rioters, yet this lot hadn't even come out to receive him. It was far too discourteous. Did they really mean to put him in his place?

A household retainer acting as guide came out to greet them and invited Eunuch Cui and his party inside. At this, the eunuch Cui Wensheng was in no hurry. He simply sneered from horseback and said, "Since you're in no rush, why should I be? Seeing how lively your He Village is, I'll take a stroll first. You can just wait!"

In any case, he had already gauged their attitude. Discourteous as it was, they wouldn't actually do anything excessive. He might as well put on some airs.

Besides, Eunuch Cui was quite curious about He Village. The richest area in the South Zhili northern bank region was around Yangzhou Prefecture, followed by Luzhou Prefecture. One profited from the salt monopoly and grain transport; the other from the Yangtze River and its fertile land of fish and rice. Their prosperity was only natural. Fengyang Prefecture and the other places were terribly poor. Yet ever since he'd come here, though only a few months ago, he kept hearing about the wealth of He Village. Coming today was a perfect chance to see it — perhaps this was the secret of the Xuzhou rebels.

Moreover, all along this journey, what he'd seen in Fengyang was exhaustion and poverty. The Xuzhou region was merely a bit more orderly than other places. But after arriving at He Village, he faintly sensed the bustling prosperity of the capital, Yangzhou, and Jiangnan. Never mind the interior — even out on the official road, he could already see a steady stream of carriages and horses.

Didn't these traveling merchants and wayfarers know that Xuzhou was cutting off the grain transport and staging a rebellion? How could every one of them be so bold? As he drew near and gazed from afar, Cui Wensheng felt a moment of dazed confusion. Was this really Xuzhou? Only Yangzhou, Qingjiangpu, and Jiangnan possessed such wealth and bustle — rows upon rows of houses, even multi-story buildings could be seen. And what was even rarer was this orderliness and spaciousness. This style, he had only ever seen in the vicinity of the imperial palace.

Aside from wanting to put on airs out of spite, Eunuch Cui also had a vague feeling deep down. Perhaps the answer he couldn't figure out lay right here inside He Village. Going in for a look might just clear things up.

Before entering, the patrol guards of He Village unceremoniously ordered them to dismount. At first, Eunuch Cui and his men were furious, thinking the Xuzhou rebels meant to humiliate them to their faces. After a brief argument, they were mocked by passing merchants, and only then did they notice that inside the He Village market, only large carts loaded with goods were allowed — no one rode horses. There was a designated area outside for stabling mounts. After all this, they felt rather deflated and could only comply.

"It's nearly year-end, and there's still grain held up at Qingjiangpu. If you want it, old friend, everything's negotiable." Inside the bustling He Village market, this was the sentence Eunuch Cui heard most often. He couldn't avoid it even if he tried. Among the crowds coming and going, many respectable and wealthy figures wore anxious expressions and spoke in very loud voices.

Even when people weren't saying this, their topics still revolved around the grain at Qingjiangpu. Eunuch Cui furrowed his brow. He was beginning to understand. As Superintendent of Grain Transport, Cui Wensheng naturally knew a thing or two about the inner workings of grain transport and tribute grain. He understood perfectly well how much tribute grain was lost to outside channels. Could it be that the provisions of these Xuzhou rebels came from the canal's tribute grain?

Utterly absurd — using the imperial court's own supplies to rebel against the imperial court. What kind of outrageous, shameless affair was this?

As they walked, they were stopped by a middle-aged man in a long gown. The man, all smiles, said, "Sirs, might you be looking to rent a shop? I can help you make the arrangements. The commission is only one tael of silver."

Before they could reply, someone over yonder shouted, "Brother Qi Wu, don't bother hustling them! Those two vacant shops were just rented by some men from Kaifeng Prefecture — paid a full year's rent."

That Qi Wu didn't get angry. He cursed back with a laugh, then bowed and said, "Sirs, would you like someone to guide you around? Just five hundred cash a day. I'm a local native, know everything inside and out."

Cui Wensheng and his party weren't short of such petty cash. They directly gave him one tael and had the beaming Qi Wu lead the way.

Qi Wu was an excellent guide — familiar with the roads, the local lore, and the rules. The attendants behind Eunuch Cui listened with great interest. But Cui Wensheng's expression grew darker and darker. After a little less than half a shichen, he emerged from the salt market and general market of He Village.

This Xuzhou rebel leader was truly cunning beyond measure. The Great Ming valued agriculture and scorned commerce, paying little attention to merchants and even levying no commercial taxes. Yet this Xuzhou loved wealth like life itself — a mercenary lot who'd squeeze oil from a stone. But what he'd seen and heard in He Village was enough to answer his questions. These Xuzhou rebels relied on traveling merchants to amass and hoard wealth, and then used that wealth and the trade along the grain transport route to obtain provisions. That was how they could supply a rebel army without squeezing the peasant households.

Once he returned from this trip, he would strictly investigate the grain transport and thoroughly cut off these rebels' supplies. Then he would impose severe restrictions on merchants, forbidding them from doing business here, so the Xuzhou rebels couldn't collect any silver.

Eunuch Cui walked on, grinding his teeth as he thought. But after a few steps, he let out a long sigh. The Great Ming claimed to value agriculture and scorn commerce, but what power or influence did mere peasant households have? Yet which of those merchants didn't have earth-shattering backing? Those powerful merchants connected to the grain transport — even Eunuch Wei himself probably had to be wary of them, let alone himself. Most likely, if these proposals reached the capital, before the rebels suffered any impact, he himself would be set upon by the civil officials en masse.

"Take me to see your leader. Let's quickly discuss the matter of amnesty and pacification!" At this moment, Cui Wensheng suddenly felt somewhat disheartened.

The terms of amnesty and pacification, and how to negotiate them, were matters of the utmost secrecy for the authorities. Thus, only Eunuch Cui alone was qualified to enter. What Cui Wensheng hadn't expected, however, was that in the modest room, the other side had sent several people — and all were young men around twenty years old.

At this sight, Cui Wensheng flew into a rage. Without even sitting down, he stood there and said sternly, "Imperial amnesty is a matter of great importance! If you gentlemen intend to be negligent, then we had best not discuss it at all. Our Great Ming has millions of soldiers and countless millions of subjects. This defeat was merely a minor setback born of carelessness. If you persist in your delusions and force the court to get serious, then a million armored elite troops will besiege you from all directions, and the only path left for you will be utter destruction!"

Eunuch Cui was a man seasoned by the ways of the world. Although he had come on his own initiative to offer amnesty, he knew that in any negotiation or dispute, one must never let the other side lead one by the nose. With his own status so exalted, he had condescended to come here and offer terms, yet these Xuzhou rebels had not only failed to come out and welcome him, but had slighted him the entire time. It was truly absurd and insolent.

Did they think that after he'd taken a cursory glance around outside, he would be so shaken and astounded? Did they think that sending a few young men would show contempt for the court's authority and allow them to gain a huge advantage in these amnesty talks?

The several young men seated in the room exchanged glances, all wearing somewhat baffled expressions. One fierce-looking young man frowned and asked, "How were we negligent?"

His tone was quite impatient. This attitude enraged Eunuch Cui Wensheng even more. How could amnesty be negotiated like this? If the other side made outrageous demands, how could the court possibly agree? Eunuch Wei would be even more furious. Then he himself, having barely crawled back from a dead end, would once again fall into a state of utter ruin. To prevent the other side from acting without restraint, he had to make his own stance clear right now. He couldn't let them misunderstand the court's attitude and his own, allowing them to press their advantage step by step.

"A matter of such magnitude, and you send a few juniors to handle it? Bring out the one who makes the decisions to talk! I am Cui Wensheng, Eunuch of the Fengyang Garrison and Superintendent of Grain Transport, bearing the title of Brush-holding Eunuch of the Directorate of Ceremonial. How can you slight me so!" Cui Wensheng's voice and expression were both severe.

He had thought such a stance would rattle them, but to his surprise, the several young men sitting there exchanged glances and then all burst out laughing. Eunuch Cui was absolutely furious. Inner court officials could have no descendants, so they placed great importance on gold, silver, and wealth. Beyond that, they demanded face and were even more particular about propriety than ordinary people. From the moment he'd entered Xuzhou, he had been slighted at every turn by the other side. It was truly beyond endurance.

Although the court had suffered defeat, and although the grain transport had been cut off by the rebels, and a détente was now needed, the other side was also using a mere Xuzhou region to resist the entire realm. Since they hadn't raised a banner of open rebellion and had acted with restraint in everything, it showed they didn't want things to blow up too much either. If things really did blow up, and the court mobilized the troops of the entire realm to encircle and suppress Xuzhou alone, how could they possibly hold out?

Yet this tacit, unspoken understanding between the two sides was about to be ruined by these few young men who didn't know when to advance or retreat. Most likely, all the treatment he'd suffered since entering Xuzhou had also been arranged by these young men.

"Bring out someone who can make decisions to talk! Otherwise, there's no need to even mention this matter of amnesty and pacification."

The laughter in the room grew even louder. Just as Eunuch Cui was about to explode, he saw one of the young men opposite him stand up. This young man was tall and sturdy, looking quite mature and composed, though not as large as the fat one beside him. Moreover, Eunuch Cui noticed that this young man was probably the leader among the group. Whenever they retorted or laughed, their eyes would all glance at this one's reaction.

"I am Zhao Jin. I make the decisions here," the young man said calmly.

Eunuch Cui Wensheng froze for a moment, then was stunned. Before coming, he had naturally done some research on Xuzhou. Even before the chaos of cutting off the canal erupted, because Fengyang bordered Xuzhou, he had heard all sorts of rumors. After all, the previous Eunuch Yu had suffered a great loss there. Eunuch Cui had, of course, also heard various things about Zhao Jin — knew that this man was not very old, a rare young hero.

But after the major incident of cutting off the canal, the Xuzhou forces had marched south to launch a surprise attack on the army assembled by the Grand Coordinator of Fengyang, and marched north to defeat the troops led by Baoding Regional Commander Lu Qin. Every time was a complete victory, yet every time they stopped short of total annihilation. They made the court realize Xuzhou's strength and feel wary, while also leaving the court a way to back down gracefully, preserving some room for negotiation between the two sides.

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