Chapter 883: To Rise, You Must Do the Work

Zhao Jin naturally agreed to this and announced that the martial tournament would be held in the prefectural city of Xuzhou. Once He Village had grown quiet and still, the entire family moved into the former grand residence of He Weiyuan. Most of the buildings over there had already been torn down; only He Weiyuan's inner courtyard remained, which was perfectly suited for Zhao Jin's family to live in. Outside, two companies of the personal guard were stationed as protection—one on fixed garrison duty, the other on dispersed sentry duty—while inside the inner courtyard, Niu Jinbao led the most trusted guard squad.

Leaving the military camp for He Village was convenient for daily life and also helped refresh the spirit. Always being in an extremely meticulous and regimented military camp made it hard for a person to recover at times. Moving to a purely residential area allowed for some relaxation. Occasionally, Zhao Jin would also discuss official matters with the women of the household.

"Has everyone lost their minds? What I can see clearly, they ought to see clearly too. Why are they all so stubborn about it?" Back at home, Zhao Jin couldn't help but grumble.

"The uncles are all thinking of your situation, husband. They certainly harbor no ill intentions," Xu Zhenzhen gently counseled.

Zhao Jin held his daughter in one arm and his son in the other. His daughter, Zhao Feng, kept trying to tug at his stubble, while his son, Zhao Long, who spent little time with his father, was still somewhat shy and wary, merely looking around curiously.

"What do you make of this Provincial Graduate Xin?" Zhao Jin asked casually.

"I am but a woman of the inner chambers; how could I presume to meddle in such important confidential affairs?" Xu Zhenzhen said with a smile. Only when Zhao Jin shook his head and looked over did she continue, smiling, "If you find him trustworthy and usable, husband, then recruit him. If not, then ignore him. Why agonize over it so?"

Zhao Jin was momentarily stunned. He then made a funny face at his son Zhao Long beside him, startling the child, and immediately burst into loud laughter. Setting the children down and letting Zhao Feng lead her little brother by the hand, he said, as if suddenly seeing the light, "If you hadn't said that, I wouldn't have figured out this snag. What you said is the real truth. He's simply a scholar who wants to join our cause. Whether to use him and how to use him—we've long had rules for that. Why do they take it so seriously? It's nothing more than having read too many storytellers' romances. They think that for a force like the Zhao Battalion to grow and expand, it absolutely must have a figure like Zhuge Liang or Wu Yong. None of them are that, so this outsider looks the part, and they probably figure a monk from outside chants better sutras."

Zhao Jin's lament, however, left Xu Zhenzhen somewhat baffled. How had the conversation suddenly veered to this? But Zhao Jin added another seemingly random remark: "They've certainly watched and listened to no small number of romances and legendary tales in their daily lives—things you wouldn't have come across."

In the early Ming, 'Romance of the Three Kingdoms' and 'Water Margin' had appeared, and then novels began to flourish. There were professional performers who specialized in telling such stories. After Xuzhou prospered, such people became far more numerous than before. Unlike the grand spectacle of staging operas, storytelling required nothing more than one person and one mouth, making it the most captivating and cheapest form of entertainment of the era. Zhao Jin knew that his companions—indeed, everyone in the Zhao Battalion from top to bottom—thoroughly enjoyed listening to these storytellers' tales and had been unconsciously influenced by the things recounted within them.

In 'Romance of the Three Kingdoms,' 'Water Margin,' and all the various historical romances, anyone who sought to achieve great things invariably had a resourceful and astute scholar by their side. Zhuge Kongming was the prototype for them all. Even when Ming Taizu Zhu Yuanzhang founded the Great Ming, he had to have the aid of Master Qingtian, Liu Ji.

Many people assumed that the mastermind and chief strategist of the Zhao Battalion was Wang Zhaojing, but the closer one was to the inner circle, the less they thought so. Everyone knew what Wang Zhaojing usually did. He was just like the rest of them, responsible for a specific area, not assisting Zhao Jin in managing the overall situation. If one had to say who came closer to that role, Chen Sheng actually fit it better than Wang Zhaojing.

In other words, in everyone's eyes, the Xuzhou Zhao Battalion lacked such a figure as a mastermind strategist. And when Xin Qitao—a man of profound insight, calm and restrained, accomplished in both civil and martial arts—appeared, everyone felt that this was the very counselor and strategist Heaven had sent to Zhao Jin, the Crouching Dragon destined for Zhao Jin of Xuzhou. Even to take a step back, even if he didn't possess such great ability, recruiting him would be like spending a thousand pieces of gold to buy a horse's bones, attracting more valuable successors in the future.

After figuring out this snag, Zhao Jin didn't know whether to laugh or cry, but since everyone was acting out of sincere goodwill, he couldn't very well pour cold water on their enthusiasm.

At that moment, Xu Zhenzhen, seeing that Zhao Jin was in a good mood, thought for a moment and then spoke: "Husband, you've been recruiting those foreigners to work in the workshops lately, wanting to cast cannons and make firelocks. But I've heard from the managers and craftsmen below that aside from a few new methods and new ideas, these foreigners' actual skills are quite ordinary. They can't help you much, can they?"

Most of the weapons craftsmen of the Zhao Battalion came from the Xu family, and they were now under Xu Zhenzhen's management, so any news naturally reached her.

"Not just ordinary—they're terrible. They can't even compare to some newly started apprentices, let alone those old blacksmiths," Zhao Jin said frankly, which caught Xu Zhenzhen off guard.

"But the new things and new ideas these foreigners have are exactly what we need. And there are certain trades and crafts they've seen or used before that we know nothing about and must rely on them to figure out," Zhao Jin explained in a low voice. Since his wife had brought it up, it likely meant the Xu family craftsmen were quite dissatisfied with the importance he placed on the foreigners, and some explanation and reassurance were necessary.

This situation was within Zhao Jin's expectations. The Zhao Battalion was growing ever more prosperous. Although warriors were held in the highest regard, other professions were not discriminated against. As long as you devoted yourself to your work, a rise in status and an increase in income were inevitable. Under such circumstances, the craftsmen naturally sought to secure their own standing and interests. Originally, the craftsmen had no worries; they were direct subordinates of the mistress, and the Zhao Battalion's arms and armor relied entirely on the supply from the Xu family workshops. Though the work was hard, they had no concerns about food, clothing, or even wealth and rank.

Unexpectedly, a few unreliable foreigners had suddenly been placed above everyone, drawing far more silver than the rest while their actual skills were dubious. No one could accept that, and complaints were bound to surface.

After hearing Zhao Jin's explanation, Xu Zhenzhen smiled and continued gently, "I've also heard, husband, that you've sent people to Guangdong and the Southern Seas to recruit Frankish craftsmen. How could those men who sail the seas understand the business of industrial crafts? I'm afraid the people they find will also be unsuitable."

Zhao Jin hadn't expected Xu Zhenzhen to say this, but it was also his own worry. Shaking his head with a wry smile, he said, "There's no helping it. Fortunately, it's not yet urgent. We'll just keep searching slowly like this; we're bound to find someone eventually."

Xu Zhenzhen moved a little closer to Zhao Jin and said with a smile, "What I wanted to say is, let Housheng go south to recruit. He understands the business of iron furnaces and blacksmiths far better than ordinary people. Sending him to recruit and search would be much more reliable than those men on the ships. And Housheng is one of our own family, so we can be at ease."

This time, Zhao Jin was stunned. He looked at Xu Zhenzhen with some astonishment and said, "Let Housheng go out there—are you truly willing to part with him?"

Xu Zhenzhen had put herself in the public eye to manage the Xu family, including marrying Zhao Jin, all for the sake of this younger brother of hers. The journey to Guangdong was long and fraught with no small danger. Moreover, it involved dealing with those foreigners, which brought even more unpredictable troubles. To actually send Xu Housheng, who had hardly ever left home, to do these things was completely unlike the doting affection Xu Zhenzhen had always shown him...

Seeing Zhao Jin's expression, Xu Zhenzhen smiled and explained, "There's nothing I can't bear to part with. The Xu family will send a few people, and you, husband, will send a few. With them accompanying and watching over him all the way, nothing will go wrong. Your situation, husband, is growing greater by the day. Housheng manages such a large operation without having rendered any real merit; it's inevitable that some people won't accept that. He still needs to do some solid, tangible work."

Within the Zhao Battalion's system, all the core members were close to Zhao Jin, but each of them had earned their current position through substantial, tangible merit, having contributed great effort to the Zhao Battalion's cause. The Xu family's side, however, was quite different. When Xu Zhenzhen managed the Xu family, no one said anything, but Xu Housheng had risen through connections, and it was inevitable that some were unconvinced. Not just within the Zhao Battalion—there were plenty within the Xu family itself who had their own ambitions.

"With a sister like you, Housheng is truly fortunate," Zhao Jin remarked with a smile of admiration, then added thoughtfully, "If Housheng takes this path, he might just be taking the right one..."

Originally, the path the Xu family had laid out for Xu Housheng was to seek official rank through the imperial examinations, or to simply enjoy wealth and comfort at home. But Xu Housheng had a keen interest in coal, iron, and industrial crafts, and had been studying and researching them all along. Now he was voluntarily taking on the task of seeking out foreign craftsmen. With no one truly qualified to compete with him at present, as the Zhao Battalion grew stronger, his path would naturally broaden along with it.

"Since he's going, then let him set out during the twelfth or first month. Even the bandits go home for the New Year then, so it's somewhat quieter. Find a few steady, experienced men from various places to accompany him. See whether to go by ship or by land. Before he leaves, have him come to me; there are some things I need to tell him in person," Zhao Jin agreed readily.

Seeing Zhao Jin agree, Xu Zhenzhen nodded with a beaming smile. Zhao Jin was in very good spirits at that moment, watching Zhao Feng and Zhao Long play with cloth dolls inside the room. These dolls were Zhao Jin's own invention. Unlike the cloth tigers and such of this era, Zhao Jin had drawn the image of an adorably clumsy bear and then had tailors sew it using good fabric. It was exceedingly cute, and the children loved it at first sight. Zhao Jin had several more made, and his children were so fond of them they wouldn't let them go.

The tailor was shrewd enough; after seeking permission from Xu Zhenzhen, he began selling these cloth dolls in He Village on his own. The price was set very high, yet every merchant with children who passed through would buy one or two. By now, they were considered one of Xuzhou's famous local products. However, word had also come from Yunshan Trading that someone in Qingjiangpu had already begun making imitations.

Looking at Zhao Jin's beaming face, Xu Zhenzhen hesitated for a moment before speaking again: "Husband, there is a matter I'm not sure I should mention. It concerns Sister Mu."

Hearing this, the smile faded from Zhao Jin's face. He turned his head to look at Xu Zhenzhen, whose expression remained as composed as ever. She merely lowered her voice and said, "Sister Mu has recently been inviting Buddhist nuns and spirit mediums into the inner residence quite often. I don't know if it's related to her official duties, but these women are troublesome, and our household is a sensitive place. If these people can be met outside, it would be better to meet them outside."

Zhao Jin's brow immediately furrowed. After a moment, he sighed and said, "It is indeed inconvenient for you to say these things to her, and even more inconvenient for those outside to report them to me. To think there was darkness right under the lamp."

Thanks to Qidian book friends "tedabright" and "Quietly Flowing Water" for their tips. Thanks to everyone for your subscriptions, monthly tickets, and tips. Thank you all.