Chapter 894: Patrolmen in the Broader Sense

A brief silence fell over the room. Liu Yong stood up and spoke: "Big Brother, I'll say a few more words. Though the prefectural city is far larger than He Family Village, this kind of thing would have a hard time blowing up there, because in the prefectural city we have government runners under our control, gangs from the rivers and lakes and the marketplaces, household guards and militia, and all sorts of local powers. The territory is bigger, but our eyes and ears are even more numerous — the slightest stir reaches us. But here in He Family Village, we only have the household guards and militia. The Internal Guard's agents can't operate openly, so there's much they can't reach. And the household guards and militia are meant for battle — they're nowhere near enough for keeping the peace."

As they spoke one after another, Wang Zhaojing over there said Zhao Jin shouldn't be living here, and Liu Yong over here said the setup at He Family Village had flaws. The others nodded thoughtfully, but Ma Chonghao, standing at the lower end, looked rather uneasy. Though his head was lowered, his eyes kept darting around, afraid his chief's words had offended someone. Wasn't this just like a court official pointing at the Grand Secretary or the head of the Directorate of Ceremonial and cursing them to their face? It certainly wouldn't end well.

But to Ma Chonghao's surprise, Zhao Jin's face showed not a trace of anger. Ma Chonghao didn't dare harbor any illusions — he thought to himself that a talent like Master Jin kept his schemes in his belly, and hiding joy and anger was the bare minimum. Ma Chonghao had already made up his mind: he would privately urge Master Yong later. Loyal service was right and proper, but one still had to mind the approach and method — you couldn't tear down the master's stage to his face.

What Third Master Wang did was the so-called "civil official speaking bluntly" — it was all about that style and integrity. But for people like us in the Depot and Guard, our foremost duty is obedience and loyalty. Whatever the higher-ups assign, we carry out. We must never speak too much or think too much.

"You're right. The household guards and militia can't cover that many fine details — training every day, patrolling every day, they can't reach the corners at all. Since you're saying this, do you have a solution?" Zhao Jin not only showed no anger, but was quite appreciative and approving. This was something Ma Chonghao hadn't expected.

"Big Brother, our He Family Village has patrolmen. These patrolmen are really a combination of city runners and rivers-and-lakes marketplace figures — whatever those two sides can do, the patrolmen are doing. But these patrolmen only look after the salt market and the trading market. I've been thinking, why not expand the patrolmen's scale to cover the entire He Family Village area — patrolling and watching at all times, dealing with all sides. The defense would surely be much tighter. And whatever the household guards and militia can't conveniently do, the patrolmen can do, and they can do plenty more besides." Liu Yong spoke with ease and confidence.

Zhao Jin and Chen Sheng both nodded repeatedly. Wang Zhaojing looked surprised. Ji Xiang was mulling it over. Ma Chonghao, however, felt somewhat disconcerted — he recalled some of the things Liu Yong had discussed with him. So this was what it was for.

"Xiaoyong has done well, very well indeed. Right now, in He Family Village and Qingjiangpu, what we lack is precisely something like these patrolmen. Government runners, to us, are after all not quite legitimate in name. The rivers-and-lakes marketplace people and the locals aren't of one heart with us. But for those minor matters — street brawls, neighbor quarrels — we can't send out the household guards every time. They're killing tools for the battlefield. Using a butcher's knife to kill a chicken every time will scare the chickens to death. Having these patrolmen is good — they can keep order in the locality, let the locality know we're the ones in charge, give the older household guards and militia a place to go, and let us legitimately take in all sorts of people!" Liu Yong had started the topic, but Zhao Jin expanded on it.

After saying all this, Zhao Jin looked at Wang Zhaojing and said: "Zhaojing, Xiaoyong hasn't read many books, and Xiaoyong doesn't know any grand principles. But Xiaoyong knows to think for the Zhao Camp. What he thinks and does is all to the benefit of our present and future. You should learn from him in this."

Wang Zhaojing gave a bitter laugh and said: "If not for last night's slaughter, Big Brother probably wouldn't have said this to me. I understand what Big Brother means. Please rest assured, Big Brother. But I must ask Xiaoyong — if these patrolmen are set up according to Xiaoyong's design, they'd be a military force second only to the household guards and militia. Under whose authority would they be placed?"

Sincerely accepting criticism and advice was one thing; the distribution of power was another. At present, the patrolmen in the trading market and salt market were under the jurisdiction of Cloud Mountain Trading — that is, under the names of Wang Zhaojing, Ruhui, and Zhou Xuezhi. Who would have jurisdiction over this newly established patrol force? Moreover, every Cloud Mountain branch now had a certain amount of strength. Once the expanded patrolmen were established, these forces would also fall under the patrolmen's jurisdiction.

Though they were brothers, as the Zhao Camp's scope grew larger, their respective spheres of influence were becoming more and more clearly delineated, each representing something different.

If Zhao Jin had spoken these words, then the allocation would be Zhao Jin's decision, and others could only advise, not interfere. But now it was different — Zhao Jin hadn't spoken. Wang Zhaojing naturally didn't want a piece of the power in his hands carved away, so he had to ask clearly.

"I think they should be managed by Cloud Mountain Trading and the Cloud Mountain branches. But in every squad of patrolmen in every location, the deputy should be someone from the Internal Guard, and there should be Internal Guard strength within." Liu Yong had thought it through very clearly.

Hearing these words, Wang Zhaojing fell silent for a moment. An expression of admiration and shame surfaced on his face. He let out a long sigh and said: "Xiaoyong is remarkable. I am ashamed!"

Zhao Jin reached out and patted Wang Zhaojing on the shoulder. No one in the room made a sound. Everyone could see that Wang Zhaojing was somewhat uncomposed, but they also thought it was normal. Last night, Wang Zhaojing had killed Xin Qitao with his own hands. Thinking of these months of association and planning, it was hard to avoid emotional turmoil — how could he possibly be calm?

"Establishing the patrolmen is a major matter. We must hurry, but we also need to plan in detail. I'll need to talk it over with Xiaoyong a few more times before settling it." Zhao Jin waved his hand and said.

After saying this, Zhao Jin sank into thought. As usual, Wang Zhaojing rose to ask if there was anything else — if not, everyone would disperse. Before he could stand, Zhao Jin spoke in a deep voice: "Old Ma, there's a matter I want to assign to you to oversee. You can draw personnel and funds through Xiaoyong. Within two months, two people close to Wei Zhongxian must die. Choose trusted confidants who hold low positions but wield real power. Preferably, kill them openly in the street. Can you do it?"

Ma Chonghao hesitated a moment, then smiled and said: "Please rest assured, Master Jin. Your subordinate is eighty percent confident it can be done."

"Don't send our own people to their deaths. If it requires mutual destruction, then spend money to hire death-sworn men from elsewhere." Zhao Jin added.

The smile on Ma Chonghao's face grew even broader. He simply said: "I'm afraid no one will see this coming. No one thinks anyone would dare kill someone openly in the street — and kill Eunuch Wei's trusted confidants at that. If your subordinate hasn't misjudged, we can get away after the deed!"

"Go make your preparations. There's still much use for you here in Xuzhou. You don't need to go personally." Zhao Jin added one more line. Ma Chonghao hastily acknowledged the order.

Once Ma Chonghao had left, the few people in the room all looked at Zhao Jin. Wang Zhaojing, with a cautious expression, remonstrated: "Big Brother, we must prioritize the greater picture. Wei Zhongxian didn't succeed this time and will surely rein himself in. Why go to the trouble of creating more enmity? If it leads to another clash of arms, it will ultimately be a burden and a trouble for us."

"It's precisely for future peace and quiet that we must do this. He can send assassins to us — I can send assassins to him too. On the battlefield we do not fear, and in these underhanded dealings we likewise do not fear. If we don't make those people in the capital feel wary, even more assassins will be sent in the future." Zhao Jin said grimly.

Fan Jinbang's family didn't have such well-informed sources. By the time the Zhao Camp cavalry arrived at their doorstep, everything was already too late. Fan Zixia had indeed kept a short blade on his person, but the blade wasn't for self-defense — it was for suicide. Yet facing the wolf-like, tiger-fierce household guards of the Zhao Camp, no matter how Fan Zixia gnashed his teeth, he lacked the courage to plunge the blade into himself.

After the disdainful guards knocked the short blade from his hands, Fan Zixia finally realized how terribly wrong he had been. For the sake of delusions and resentment, he had dragged his entire family onto a path to death. By the time they were hauling him out of the house, he had already gone mad.

The arrest of a camp dependent was a major incident. Many people came to look, not knowing what had happened. The Zhao Camp household guards did not hide it and directly told others about the previous night's events.

Master Jin had actually been the target of an assassination back in He Family Village — and it was an inside-outside collusion by those ungrateful Fans. This news immediately shocked many people. Not every camp dependent harbored grand ambitions like the Fan family. The vast majority knew gratitude and sought to repay kindness. If Zhao Jin were gone, the warmth, full bellies, and dignity they now enjoyed would also be gone. The Fan family was the chief culprit. How could such a thing be tolerated? Fan Zixia was tied to a large cart, and people threw stones at him and spat on him.

The punishment of the Fan family had only just begun. The Fans' close relatives were also arrested. After being publicly displayed at the city gate for three days, they would be sent to do hard labor at the Cloud Mountain Temple estate.

The outsiders coming and going all said the Zhao Camp was merciful — the misfortune did not extend to the family. For such a grave matter, they didn't resort to execution but merely punished them with hard labor. But those in Xuzhou who understood the meaning of this hard labor felt a chill in their hearts. This was truly a living punishment hard to endure — toil like that of slaves, not a moment's leisure, and any mistake met with severe punishment. And such days had no end in sight. Of those who had done hard labor in the past, few could last a year, and during that year of survival, death would truly have been a relief.

Before being sentenced to hard labor, beatings with the plank and the lash were unavoidable. Because one runner failed to control his force properly, two people were beaten to death. Not only did no one harbor hatred, some even said that runner had been soft-hearted.

To have warmth and full bellies, to have dignity, to walk with chest out and head high — what was wrong with that? To insist on colluding with those outsiders, to throw away a good life — had they lost their minds?

Word had already been passed down from the Zhao Camp and Cloud Mountain Trading people in the city: from now on, everyone was to keep an eye on each other. If anyone saw anything strange or suspicious — people or matters — they were to report it as quickly as possible. If the report proved correct, there would certainly be a heavy reward, and even their children would earn merit. If someone knew but failed to report, they would not escape collective punishment when the time came.

Too many people came in and out of Xuzhou city, so the baojia mutual responsibility system had never been fully implemented. But the old system still existed. This time, according to the original registers, the other nine households originally linked under mutual responsibility were convicted and punished. It threw everything into chaos, and everyone was terrified.

Thanks to the Qidian "Genesis" friends Yuan Heng Li Zhen and Gu Wuzhao, and the Qidian friends Lan Luhu 2015, Yijian Zhan Qingsi v, and Wulong Tieguanyin for their tips. Thank you all for your subscriptions and monthly tickets. It's the end of the month — cast your monthly tickets for Great Ming Warrior. Two updates will resume tomorrow.