Chapter 886: Hearts Differ

A lash of the whip would split skin and flesh but leave a man alive; those fifty heavy blows beat the knife-wielder to death on the spot. Two years of hard labor was the lighter sentence — at least it spared his life.

Only later did people hear that Zhao Shiyi and the manager of Cloud Mountain Trading's Xuzhou branch had gone to seek instructions on the matter, saying that if they tried to arrest the culprits now they likely wouldn't catch them, so it would be better for Cloud Mountain Trading to pay compensation out of its own silver first and simply keep a close watch from then on.

"Whoever harms a soldier's family makes an enemy of Zhao's Camp." Zhao Jin's reply was very simple, but the severity behind it made everyone understand what to do.

After a few similar incidents, no soldier's family in Xuzhou city ever suffered a loss again. It wasn't that swindlers and troublemakers from out of town had vanished, but rather that every party in Xuzhou city kept a sharp watch, terrified of stirring up any trouble.

The human heart is never content. Once no one dared provoke the soldiers' families, the families themselves began to grow arrogant, believing they could throw their weight around and act with impunity. A small number grew markedly more brazen, but Zhao's Camp would not tolerate this either. Though the yamen runners did not intervene, the company of Zhao's Camp stationed inside the city began enforcing the law, and their punishments were even harsher than the authorities'. This countercurrent quickly quieted down, and everyone understood where the rules and boundaries lay.

For the vast majority of the household troopers' families, they had no wish to act like tyrants. Simply having enough food and clothing was already a blessing, and if they could live free from bullying and hold their heads up as decent people, that was true good fortune.

In the Great Ming, soldiering was a lowly profession. Outside the frontier garrisons, having a man in the army brought a family no honor to speak of. But here in Xuzhou, if a son of your house served as a household trooper, you could straighten your back and walk with your head high — it was a matter of pride, and others would regard you with awe and respect.

Many humble families who had produced a household trooper had lived cautiously for generations, never knowing such a time to hold their heads high. For this reason alone, many would urge their sons to serve well as troopers. One man a household trooper, the whole family blessed.

The great majority of the troopers' families felt proud, yet there were some who did not see it that way. The Fan family, who lived in the south of Xuzhou city, did not see it that way.

Though the Fan family were not native to Xuzhou, they had already lived there for three generations. Living in the southern part of the city meant their circumstances were hardly good, and they scraped by in great hardship.

Everyone wants a better life and to rise in the world. Study leading to official rank was regarded as the proper path. Once you passed the exam to become a licentiate, you would receive grain and silver stipends from the authorities, and both officials and commoners would show you a measure of respect. It was indeed a road upward, but within Xuzhou city, if you wanted to become a licentiate, you had to come from a wealthy and well-connected family. Otherwise, why would such a good thing ever fall to you?

The man of the Fan household, Fan Zixia, was always saying his family was a house of letters, that an ancestor had once held high office, and that the family must retake this path of scholarly honor. Saying it once or twice was fine, but saying it too often invited ridicule. Everyone else was toiling bitterly just to survive — all poor households alike — and here you were, day in and day out, claiming your family was noble. Was that meant to look down on everyone else? And so Fan Zixia earned a nickname on the street: "Prime Minister Fan."

Longtime residents all knew that Fan Zixia had studied in his youth, but after failing the exams several times in a row, he had abandoned that ambition. The elders of his family had also set their hopes high, always dreaming the boy would rise to prominence, yet he could not even pass the licentiate exam. Rage and frustration brought on a grave illness, and after struggling a few years, they passed away.

That grave illness left the already straitened Fan household even more destitute. Fan Zixia did not continue his studies, but instead learned the craft of making Suzhou-style shoes and relied on that to support his family.

He married in his twenties. His wife had been a maidservant in a prominent city household, said to have been driven out after becoming pregnant by her master. But in their circumstances, neither was in a position to disdain the other — they simply made do together.

After having three daughters and one son, their already pinched life grew even harder, though they barely managed to scrape by. Fan Zixia did wish for his son, Fan Jinbang, to study and pursue official rank, but the family could scarcely afford a full meal, let alone the fees for a private tutor. Fan Zixia could only teach the boy himself.

But Fan Jinbang, spoiled rotten from childhood by his mother and elder sisters, had no mind to study anything. He spent his days running wild outside, and what he truly learned was brawling and bullying.

Days passed one by one. The Fan daughters were all married off; their husbands, being kind-hearted, could send a little money back to help. As for Fan Jinbang, he wheedled and pestered his parents into finding him a guarantor so he could become a household trooper under Zhao Jin. With one less mouth to feed and extra money coming in, life grew much easier.

Moreover, Fan Jinbang had joined relatively early. Though he had not risen to company commander or squad commander, he had entered the personal guard unit of Zhao's Camp. To outsiders, this was a place with real prospects — these personal guards were surely like the trusted retinue of an army officer, men who would later be sent out to take charge.

With this layer of status, few people called him "Prime Minister Fan" anymore. When they saw Fan Zixia, they addressed him as "Mr. Fan," a measure more polite than before.

To outsiders it looked splendid, and the family's circumstances grew comfortable — even Fan Zixia had the leisure to pick up his books again and engage in literary pursuits. Yet Fan Zixia felt not a shred of gratitude toward Zhao's Camp. Every time his son came home, he would tell him: You possess real ability, yet you are employed by bandits. When that Zhao Jin is arrested by the authorities, you will share his misfortune, and our Fan family will be implicated too. If we are branded rebels and traitors, even our ancestors beneath the earth will be shamed. In Fan Zixia's mind, the fact that his son could enter the personal guard unit surely meant the boy had real talent — otherwise, why would he have been chosen?

At first, Fan Jinbang listened with great impatience and would often argue with his father. But spoiled lawless from childhood, he could not endure the tedium of Zhao's Camp, and he also felt that with all his ability he was being passed over for promotion. Resentment grew in his heart, and his father's words began to take root.

Yet for all his talk, Fan Jinbang did not dare quit being a household trooper. Zhao's Camp punished deserters with extreme severity, and he dared not risk going elsewhere either. "All his ability" aside, if he ended up with nothing to fall back on, wouldn't he lose on both ends?

The Fan family did indeed have relatives elsewhere. In the autumn of the previous year, a kinsman from Nanjing suddenly came to visit — a man in his early thirties. After talking a while, they confirmed he was indeed a family relative, and he had brought very generous gifts, so they hurriedly welcomed him into the house to entertain him.

The man was very steady and composed. His dress and bearing carried a certain respectability, yet his manner was warm and courteous, which greatly pleased the Fan household. He had originally planned to stay two nights and then go visit the He Family Village area, but upon hearing that the Fan family had a son serving as a household trooper there, the man decided to stay a few more days.

Strangely enough, among the common households of Xuzhou city, having a son serve as a household trooper under Zhao Jin was considered an honor, something they wished to speak of every day. The Fan family, however, regarded it as a disgrace. They might keep up appearances outside, but at home they never mentioned it, and before this relative who clearly had some standing, they were even more ashamed to speak of it, terrified of being laughed at for following bandits. Yet somehow, after a few exchanges, the truth was drawn out of them.

What insight or ability did the Fan household possess? They held a certain awe for this respectable relative from elsewhere, and the man from Nanjing was highly skilled in speech. Soon, nothing of their thoughts could be concealed.

That they considered following Zhao Jin to be joining rebels and traitors, bringing shame upon the clan and their ancestors — everything that should be said, and everything that should not, all came spilling out. The man was full of praise, saying the Fan family understood the great moral duty, and that when the court and the authorities learned of this, they would surely reward them handsomely. This sent Fan Zixia into a giddy, self-satisfied daze.

After staying a few days, the man left behind a dozen or so taels of silver, calling it recompense for the Fan family. This was a large sum. The Fans declined, but the man insisted. After several rounds of polite refusal and insistence, they happily accepted.

About two days after he left, this Nanjing relative returned. This time, he revealed his true identity. This kinsman was a member of the Nanjing Embroidered Uniform Guard, serving as an informant and spy for a high-ranking figure.

The mere name "Embroidered Uniform Guard" was enough to terrify Fan Zixia out of his wits, and when he saw the waist token and the letter of appointment, he was utterly petrified. The Embroidered Uniform Guard relative, however, remained all smiles and pleasantness, explaining that the court was about to move against Xuzhou and would sweep up all these rebels in one net. When that happened, those who had followed them would be guilty of crimes punishable by the confiscation of their property and the extermination of their entire clan.

Hearing of this crime, Fan Zixia, who had always harbored this very fear, felt his heart and gall bladder split with terror. He immediately fell to his knees and kowtowed to the relative, begging for mercy. The relative's manner grew even more amiable, saying that if they could render meritorious service, not only would they be absolved of guilt, they might even gain office and wealth. A young hero like Fan Jinbang would surely be given a position as a battalion commander at the very least — a proper military officer of the imperial court.

For years, Fan Zixia's dearest wish had been to become an official of the Great Ming and bring glory to his ancestors. Hearing this, how could his heart not be stirred? Yet he was not so utterly befuddled as to lose all sense. He knew that rendering service would surely require acting as an inside agent or something of the sort. Fan Zixia had always looked down on Zhao Jin and those young men, believing they had merely stumbled into good fortune, but he had also heard plenty about Zhao's Camp's thunderous methods and knew how ruthless and merciless these young men could be. He hesitated, not daring to take the bait.

It was only then that the ever-smiling relative truly showed his other face. He simply stated that they had already taken the court's silver and had already divulged all of Xuzhou's secrets. It was too late for regrets now. If Zhao Jin and those bandit chieftains learned of this, the entire family would certainly have no path to survival. If they refused to act as inside agents, then death was their only road.

With matters pressed to such an extreme, they had no choice but to agree. What Fan Zixia had not expected was that his own son, Fan Jinbang, would also be in favor of acting as an inside agent.

Household troopers had little leave, but if family members came to visit near the encampment, the commanding officer would often grant this personal consideration and allow the family a day or two together. It was by seizing such an opportunity that father and son Fan managed to meet. They could no longer afford to delay — the Embroidered Uniform Guard had made his threat very clear: if this was exposed, Fan Jinbang would surely die.

Fan Jinbang, serving in the personal guard, had seen and learned a bit more. He knew the court was massing a large force, said to include several thousand cavalry on the way. When they arrived, how could Zhao's Camp possibly hold out? Better to seize this chance to render service as an inside agent.

This answer let Fan Zixia breathe a sigh of relief. He had been worried his son would not listen; now he no longer needed to fear.

Roughly how many troops Zhao's Camp had, roughly where they were stationed, where Zhao Jin was located — Fan Jinbang told all of this to Fan Zixia. In truth, anyone who had visited He Family Village and was reasonably observant could have learned these things; they could hardly be called secrets. But telling the authorities this much was at least a show of good faith.

Thanks to the three old friends "Yuan Heng Li Zhen" and "Kun Kun Yang" from Chuangshi, and "Zui Hou Wen Kai Hong" from Qidian, for their tips. Thank you all for your subscriptions and monthly tickets. Everyone, check around five in the evening to see if there's a second update.