Chapter 884: The Council Chamber

"As long as my husband understands..."

Because of the child, even if Zhao Jin went to Xu Zhenzhen's quarters first, he would spend the night at Mu Shulan's. When he arrived there that evening, Zhao Jin came straight to the point and asked directly.

But when Zhao Jin asked, Mu Shulan hemmed and hawed, unwilling to answer. Only when pressed at the end did she finally reply. The reason left Zhao Jin not knowing whether to laugh or cry, and also somewhat angry. It turned out Mu Shulan wanted a child but had never conceived, and she was inevitably anxious and flustered. Although Mu Shulan had weathered storms, seen the world, and was a shrewd character, she had become muddled on this matter and started thinking about praying to gods and worshipping Buddhas, which was why she had invited those so-called efficacious spirit-women and nuns into the house.

"You yourself once presided over a whole situation within a sect, using gods and Buddhas to fool others — how could you fall for someone else's trick? Isn't this absurd?" Zhao Jin was very angry.

"I too wish to be like Sister Xu, to have a child, and then I would have someone to rely on."

"Foolish. You're only in your teens, and I'm only twenty. How could you lose your support so quickly? You haven't been by my side that long, and having a child doesn't happen that fast. What are you so anxious about!" Zhao Jin's voice rose.

Mu Shulan just kept her head lowered, glancing up occasionally. There was no sign of tears welling up or red-rimmed eyes. She had been through too much; such things did not affect her greatly.

"Keep those nuns and spirit-women far away from our household. Don't let anyone exploit a gap and invite risk for nothing." Zhao Jin spoke in a stern tone.

Mu Shulan merely nodded glumly. When Zhao Jin exhaled and changed his clothes, Mu Shulan seemed to remember something and said: "Brother Jin, I've spoken with those women. They can come and go among all kinds of households in Xuzhou. Many people are on strict guard outside, but inside the inner quarters there are no restrictions. Through these women, one can find out a great many things, and no one thinks to guard against such old crones..."

Hearing Mu Shulan say this, Zhao Jin fell into thought, then nodded and said: "If such people can be organized, they'd be even more useful over in Qingjiangpu..."

Halfway through his words, Zhao Jin suddenly caught himself and said sternly to Mu Shulan: "That is a separate matter. You must still keep your distance from them. If we truly need to use them for something, don't stir things up here in the inner quarters!"

At this, Mu Shulan simply covered her mouth and laughed, her expression both playful and carrying a hint of cunning.

As the twelfth month approached, more and more people were joining the martial tournament. By this point, the Internal Guard was truly overwhelmed. At Ma Chonghao's suggestion, the Internal Guard, the constables and runners of the Xuzhou prefectural office, the jianghu and marketplace figures of Xuzhou city, along with the locally stationed household troops and militia, began sharing information and holding joint consultations. If a matter arose and the principals of each side reached a majority consensus, they could handle it first and then urgently report to Zhao Jin at Hejiazhuang.

The place where the various leaders held council was at the constabulary of the prefectural office. Figures of face and strength from inside and outside the city were also invited to attend. They could not interfere in decisions, but could offer their own suggestions and answer inquiries at any time.

This system allowed all parties to exchange information, handle problems promptly, and coordinate with one another at any time. It also prevented any one person from seizing overall control and acting arbitrarily, while fully mobilizing and deploying local strength. The Zhao Camp's usual practice, by contrast, was that any matter of any significance occurring in Xuzhou had to be urgently reported to Hejiazhuang for Zhao Jin and a few others to handle. Although fast horses could make the round trip in under a day, some matters could not afford even a single shichen's delay.

Wang Zhaojing, Ruhui, and Liu Yong all had some objections to this method proposed by Ma Chonghao, but Zhao Jin approved of it thoroughly. He ordered it implemented, and also, following Ma Chonghao's suggestion, had special command tokens made. They looked just like ancestral tablets enshrined on an altar, but were in fact modeled after the Great Ming's Royal Command Flag and Tablet. Only with these tokens present did the council members have the authority to make joint decisions.

This body was directly named the Council Chamber. Ma Chonghao, Zhao Shiyilang, You Zhenrong, Zhao Wan, and Zhao Song all had seats in it. One of Ruhui's junior fellow disciples, whose Dharma name was Ruxin, was also in it. This Ruxin was no devout monk, but rather the grand steward who managed the various properties of Yunshan Temple for the Yunshan Trading House. Yunshan Temple was so close to Xuzhou city that it naturally had to be included.

The reason so much strength had to be invested in this was that the people coming to participate were growing more and more mixed. The Huaiyang wealthy merchants who brought their own household guard experts to compete in wagers were no longer worth mentioning. The sects of Shandong, the strongholds of the greenwood, the bands of mounted brigands — anyone with the means had sent their best fighters, hoping to make a name for themselves at this martial tournament, or to elevate their standing in Zhao Jin's estimation and sell themselves for a good price.

Over in Guide Prefecture, several great clans also brought men. Some were household troops and family soldiers; others were outside experts they had hired. Their purpose differed from those coming from Shandong. They too were displaying their strength, but not to raise their own value — rather, to assert their might before the Zhao Camp. The Zhao Camp only controlled Xiayi and Yongcheng, the two counties closest to Xuzhou. Elsewhere, they merely sent militia and household troops on regular patrols without garrisoning. Even so, the local great clan powers of Guide had been squeezed hard and had now all bowed their heads in submission. They feared they would be forced to yield even more in the future, so this time they meant to show their mettle.

There were also all sorts of rumors that could not be confirmed — for instance, that martial-inclined sons from several ennobled households in Nanjing, confident in their own high martial skill, wanted to come compete and win renown. There were even more wealthy and noble figures who wanted to come watch the excitement. Merchants from Qingjiangpu had already proposed to Zhao Jin that the tournament be postponed for a few more days. This was not their own idea, but one they conveyed on behalf of people elsewhere.

"Ridiculous. One or two bold warriors might have some skill in single combat, but what use are they on the battlefield? They'd just be fodder for the slaughter. Have they rotted their brains listening to operas and storytelling?" Zhao Jin dismissed this with contempt. These words were not only his assessment of the various participants whose fervor bordered on madness, but were also meant for his own companions, who were brimming with enthusiasm.

After the Council Chamber was established, Ma Chonghao's standing within the Internal Guard rose considerably once again. Whether the veteran Nie Hei or the steady and capable Li Dajin, neither could compare to Ma Chonghao's wealth of experience. In single combat, Ma Chonghao did not rank in the top three of the Internal Guard, but when it came to organization and systems, Ma Chonghao was indisputably first. He even had the confidence that, were it not for Liu Yong and Lei Cai's seniority being too great, he would be the one in charge of the Internal Guard.

No matter how cautious and self-reflective a person is, there are times when they get carried away. After the Council Chamber was set up, even Zhao Jin praised Ma Chonghao and told him to report any future ideas directly. Even Liu Yong became considerably more polite toward him. Ma Chonghao could hardly help letting it go to his head a little.

However, when he became truly overwhelmed with work in Xuzhou city and wanted to transfer Ma Liu and a few old subordinates back to help, his request was immediately rejected. After this happened twice, Ma Chonghao started in alarm and somewhat understood that he had grown smug and forgotten himself.

After Wang Youshan was released from the capital and returned, Ma Liu, who had been busy in the capital all along, also came back with him. But not long after, he was dispatched to the capital once more.

After the Wang Youshan affair, all parties in the capital had taken note of Xuzhou. By the same token, Xuzhou now had to pay attention to reactions from the capital. Although from beginning to end everyone had acted with great restraint, and Wei Zhongxian had kept the news suppressed very quietly, those who ought to know now knew of Xuzhou. During the period when Wang Youshan was detained, Ma Liu had reestablished and restored old connections in the capital. Without Wang Youshan's letters, he now had even more and deeper intelligence about the central court — all thanks to these connections.

With this man in place, the capital was no longer so obscure to Xuzhou. Moreover, in Linqing, Lei Cai had already built a very complete framework and could coordinate with the capital at any time, making the flow of information even smoother.

The Prince of Lu's estate in Shandong and the Prince of Lu's estate in Henan had each lost over a hundred men in Xuzhou. Quite a few figures of status and standing had died just like that in the Xuzhou prison. Yet these two households no longer dared show the slightest offense toward Xuzhou. They did not even dare come here to do business, keeping their distance entirely.

Though they had vanished from sight in Xuzhou, the two households' activities in the capital showed no sign of abating. So many people dead, so much silver lost — this was a blood feud of heaven-shaking proportions. On the Great Ming's territory, when had any scion of the Zhu clan ever suffered such grievance? This justice had to be reclaimed.

Apart from this private vengeance, there was also greed. Both the Prince of Lu's estate and the Prince of Lu's estate knew what a torrent of wealth Xuzhou now was, how many industries there were that earned gold by the day. Moreover, Xuzhou was not too far from Ziyang City, where the Prince of Lu's estate was located, nor from Weihui Prefecture, where the Prince of Lu's estate was located. Princes could not be enfeoffed in the directly governed capital region, but at such close distance, it would be very convenient to send trusted men to keep an eye on things.

If the Zhao Camp had continued fighting on a grand scale after defeating the government troops, these two princely households naturally would not have dared make a sound. But the Zhao Camp had maintained an unspoken understanding and restraint this time, neither wrecking the situation nor launching any major attacks. This emboldened the two households. No matter how invincible and fierce you are, you only run rampant in Xuzhou and its surroundings. Can you really fight your way to Ziyang City? Can you cross the Yellow River to Weihui Prefecture?

And such low-key restraint, such absence of rampant large-scale attacks, surely meant they feared the imperial court. The mood in which Eunuch Wei had held his nose while offering amnesty was naturally not something they would be told about.

This time, though Xuzhou had gained the upper hand, the court was simply deploying troops on all fronts and could not spare the hand. If they truly got serious, how could there be any reason for continued arrogance?

Judging thus, Xuzhou was bound to fall sooner or later. In that case, it was best to keep a close eye on this mountain of gold. When the time truly came to act, the earlier one spoke up, the more advantage one could seize.

"Wei Zhongxian controls the central court; all matters are decided by him. The petitions and grievances of the two princely estates are of no consequence to the overall situation for now. But princes of the blood are, after all, kinsmen of the Son of Heaven. The current Prince of Lu is closely related to the Son of Heaven. If they speak often enough, even Eunuch Wei won't be able to block it. When that time comes, no matter what, we will likely have to take up arms again."

A grand eunuch of the inner court could decide many matters and block many matters as well. But the channels of communication between princes of the blood and the Son of Heaven were different from those of the inner court and outer court — eunuchs could not easily interfere. Moreover, eunuch power was exercised only with the Son of Heaven's assent. If the Son of Heaven made a decision, they could only carry it out.

Thanks to "Yuan Heng Li Zhen" and "User: You Speak, I Instantly Understand" for the tips, and thanks everyone for your subscriptions and monthly tickets. The year-end is approaching, and I'm not sure whether I should take a break.