Chapter 885: Camp Dependents

Now, the Prince of Lu's estate and the Prince of Lu's estate were relentlessly submitting memorials, tearfully recounting their grievances and bitterly denouncing Xuzhou's tyranny. Sooner or later, word would reach the Tianqi Emperor, and a decision would be made. When that happened, the hard-won stability before them would vanish, and they would have to start all over again with blades drawn.

"We shouldn't have withdrawn then. If we'd just struck the Prince of Lu's estate directly, there'd be none of this endless loose ends. Yanzhou Prefecture is already out of troops."

"At that time, there truly were no government soldiers left. We could have marched all the way without meeting any resistance. But once we reached the walls of Ziyang, and they shut the gates, how would you besiege the city? Like the roving bandits, rounding up commoners to fill the moat and sap the walls? Or spend the lives of our own household troops to fill it in? And what about provisions? Besides, at that point, we'd have torn our face off completely with the imperial court. Shandong has no soldiers, but the court can send grand armies from every direction to strike us!"

"Then… we just let those two bastard princely estates blow this up even bigger, and then we scramble to answer when war comes?"

"That moment wasn't the right time to solve the trouble, and we couldn't act rashly. We have to see if a good opportunity arises."

When the news arrived, the brothers inevitably discussed it. Chen Sheng wanted to chime in too, but Zhao Jin stopped him with a smile: "You're about to be a bridegroom. Focus on your wedding. Don't trouble your mind with anything else."

Given Chen Sheng's status in the Zhao Character Camp, countless people naturally wanted to fawn over him and join the festivities for his marriage. Although Chen Sheng kept a very low profile, those with close ties to the Chen family had already spread the word. The gentry and wealthy merchants within Xuzhou's bounds all flocked over, each terrified of not receiving an invitation.

What no one expected was that the Chen family actually changed the wedding date, saying it was moved to next year. This left everyone baffled. But the young men of the Zhao Character Camp had been doing things outside the rules for more than a day or two. Everyone grumbled a bit and then let it drop, merely confirming with the Chen family that if the wedding banquet was held next year, they absolutely must be invited. The buzz that had just stirred up over this marriage quickly died down.

Yet what no one expected was more than just that. Chen Sheng's wedding date was actually still the first day of the twelfth lunar month—it hadn't changed at all. The reason they put out that news was precisely to avoid a grand affair. Those who received invitations were all Chen family kin and relevant people within the Zhao Character Camp—all insiders. Not a single outsider was called.

"Why go to such trouble? With your current standing, it ought to be done with great splendor," Zhao Jin said to Chen Sheng in private.

When Chen Sheng replied, his expression was as indifferent as ever: "Among us brothers, having one who courts the limelight is enough. The rest of us don't need to be so showy."

That answer only made Zhao Jin smile wryly, his tone rather helpless: "We've been brothers for so many years. You don't need to be this cautious. The more glory Dasheng has, the happier the rest of us will be. We brothers aren't that old. If we're overly prudent and cautious, then won't all the years ahead be dull?"

"My glory doesn't matter. I also know you wouldn't be suspicious. But among us brothers, if our glory overshadows yours, it does no harm among ourselves, but it will make outsiders let their imaginations run wild and confuse those farther down the ranks. My marriage is my own family's affair—what does it have to do with outsiders? This way is just fine," Chen Sheng answered naturally.

Hearing Chen Sheng's words, Zhao Jin fell silent. Chen Sheng hesitated a moment, then spoke again: "If we don't establish proper decorum and rules now, it won't be easy to set them later."

The area around Xuzhou's prefectural city was now extraordinarily bustling. Tents pitched in the wilds were already visible. All sorts of people were gathering—familiar faces reuniting as old friends, or enemies meeting face to face.

Openly, brawls in the jianghu were forbidden, but covert skirmishes defied all bans. Deaths and injuries were no longer rare. The forces the Zhao Character Camp had stationed in Xuzhou's prefectural city couldn't cover everything either. Moreover, since the parties openly abided by the Zhao Character Camp's rules and refrained from mass brawls, these covert fights could only be glossed over. All the Zhao Character Camp could do was collect the bodies and then punish those who couldn't restrain themselves.

Busy to such an extent, and with the Chen family also holding a wedding inside the city, it was truly pouring oil on a fire. Fortunately, Chen Sheng didn't want a grand affair. The wedding banquet was kept to a very small scope, with tables only set up near the old family residence. That area was already forbidden ground to outsiders, so it didn't cause the imagined trouble. In fact, not many even knew that Zhao Jin had come to Xuzhou city.

In truth, everyone knew the cause of this troublesome, vexing mess: it was the martial arts tournament that had grown larger and larger because of baseless rumors. Now the rumors were getting more and more absurd—something about deciding the Ten Great Heroes Under Heaven. For one thing, the people sent by Shaolin Temple were now all strapping, prime-fighting-fit men.

With the Zhao Character Camp's control over Xuzhou, if they resolved to clear the field, none of these gathered crowds would dare disobey. But then some busybodies elsewhere might just start a new one. In this kind of thriving bustle, who knew how many people saw business opportunities and benefits. The Zhao Character Camp's own system also profited considerably from it. However, compared to the cost of maintaining public order, the silver earned made it a money-losing venture. But if you added the gambling stakes from those betting on wins and losses, then it was a different story.

The reason it hadn't been stopped was that every branch of the Zhao Character Camp was recruiting manpower from these visitors coming from all directions. The Internal Guard was selecting usable external agents. Cloud Mountain Firm was hiring guards for various locations. Those seasoned jianghu men were highly favored. Many of the operations at Qingjiangpu needed such people to watch over and manage them. And then there were the sea-going fleets, which were always short-handed. The Yu family in Songjiang also needed reliable guards.

Those with outstanding martial skills had even more opportunities. Although the drill techniques of the Zhao Character Camp's household troops were simple, they still needed to understand more variety. After being hired, these people were placed in various martial arts halls with a fixed monthly wage.

Aside from those who wanted to rise to the heavens in a single bound, many who came to Xuzhou were simply seeking a livelihood or watching the excitement. With decent prospects laid out before them, many were happy to follow along.

Precisely because every part of the Zhao Character Camp was benefiting from this, no one suggested halting the event. Some even proposed holding it every two years, or even annually, to attract visitors from all corners. The rake from the gambling alone was ample income—why let others take it?

Those maintaining order were overwhelmed, but everyone else was quite at ease. On the day Zhao Jin attended Chen Sheng's wedding, he specially gave the local household troops who had accompanied him a short one-day leave, letting them go home to reunite with their families before returning to muster. This was because the situation in the prefectural city was tight on the outside but relaxed within—there was no need for so many men. Too large a presence would only draw unwanted attention.

Although the atmosphere had eased now, the household troops still had no leave, needing to guard against any sudden moves by government forces. Inside Xuzhou city, the Zhao Character Camp's strength was already at saturation. The local household troops guarding Zhao Jin and the others were considered fortunate to get a day home with their families. There was another consideration behind giving the local household troops leave: it was very hard for household troops inside Xuzhou's prefectural city to desert. There was no worry about them slipping away.

Setting aside harsh taxes and levies, farming households still had land to anchor their lives and could live off its yield. But the commoners living inside the city weren't so lucky. When Xuzhou was a bustling canal transport hub with every trade thriving, city dwellers had no worries about making a living—hard work could earn them a decent life. When the canal shifted course and Xuzhou withered into hardship, even if you wanted to commit crimes, you had to see if you were ruthless enough and capable enough. Otherwise, with no honest work to do and no crooked paths to walk, everyone was left in dire straits.

The situation for Xuzhou's commoners now hadn't improved much from before. Enterprises like the distilleries couldn't absorb much labor. To earn more and live better, you had to move to He Village or elsewhere to make a living. But many were too attached to their native land to bear leaving, so they could only drag on like this.

Under such circumstances, any family with a child serving as a household trooper could rely on that child's wages and grain allowance to scrape by with food and warmth without much trouble. If the child earned battle merits and was allotted land, the family would directly become comfortably well-off, or even wealthy.

Such people were called "Camp Dependents"—a term used to avoid the phrase "military dependents." Having a household trooper from the Zhao Character Camp in the family brought benefits far beyond just a living subsidy. It allowed them to hold their heads high and conduct themselves with confidence, just like a scholarly family with examination honors. If a family's son served as a household trooper, even the constables and runners would look upon them with special regard and take care of them everywhere. The street bullies and jianghu characters who threw their weight around absolutely dared not act savagely toward the family of a household trooper.

Xuzhou locals had long known how formidable this was and naturally didn't dare provoke these Camp Dependents. But outsiders passing through didn't know. Those Camp Dependents looked like ordinary, middling households—why couldn't they be swindled?

A group came over from Shandong, setting up a con to fleece people. After they'd swindled the money, the victim discovered it, and in the ensuing scuffle, knives were drawn. Someone was cut and bloodied. This gang of jianghu swindlers from Shandong didn't dare linger and hurriedly fled the city, heading far away.

Since they were running a con, they were reluctant to use force lightly and also feared getting entangled in a blood-debt lawsuit. After all, they weren't locals and knew neither the government runners nor the jianghu circuits. So that knife thrust wasn't aimed at a vital spot, nor was it very deep—precisely because they feared stirring up trouble they couldn't shake off.

Based on their past experience, a swindled victim like this, even if slightly wounded, was helpless. If they were still in the city, the runners and such might make arrests. But if they chased out of the city, no one would serve them. After all, a humble household—how could they order government runners around? They could only swallow the bitter grievance themselves. Not to mention, in these times, what commoner was willing to go anywhere near the yamen? Dealing with yamen runners, even as the victim, you'd be skinned alive. Suffering loss and injury, you could only grit your teeth and swallow the broken teeth yourself.

This gang of jianghu swindlers had traveled for years and knew all the ins and outs of such affairs like the back of their hand. What they didn't expect was that things were different on Xuzhou's turf. They had already passed all the way through Dangshan County and entered the territory of Guide Prefecture in Henan. In truth, they had already relaxed while still within Dangshan County's borders. The Xuzhou prefectural yamen and the Dangshan county yamen were two separate entities and would never pursue a case across jurisdictions. Now that they were in Henan, crossing provinces was even more impossible. Even if that humble household tried to chase them, they couldn't catch up now.

But what no one expected was that a Xuzhou mounted squad pursued them all the way into Henan, just like that, and dragged them back to Xuzhou's prefectural city. All the swindled silver had to be returned to the victim. Then, the one who used the knife was sentenced to fifty heavy strokes of the board, the others to forty lashes each, followed by two years of hard labor.

Thank you all for your subscriptions, monthly tickets, and tips. Just one update today—not because of the Spring Festival, but to adjust my state.