Chapter 902: Night Gathering

In the Great Ming army, apart from the personal retainers and household soldiers, the rest of the troops had no idle days. They had to farm and do manual labor for their commanders, even set up stalls to trade, all to generate profit for their superior officers and to support their own families.

Conditions in the provinces were somewhat better, but the troops of the capital garrisons were often used as servants and slaves by powerful eunuchs and noble houses. Though nominally serving in the military, they were in reality the servants and serfs of the elite. As for when they trained in martial skills and weaponry, no one paid any heed.

Compared to the official troops, the household soldiers of Zhao's Camp were far more single-minded. Every day was drill and training. In their spare time, they readied their own weapons and armor and repaired the encampment. Everything they did was their proper duty. In a sense, compared to the official soldiers who spent their days neglecting their real work, these household soldiers had it rather easy.

But whether they had training or not, the household soldiers were forbidden from leaving the encampment without permission. Going out required requesting leave and reporting in. Leaving without authorization meant being dealt with as a deserter, and the punishment was chilling to the bone.

In the past, requesting leave for Zhao's Camp household soldiers was not difficult. If they met the regulations, the company commanders would not make things hard for them. After all, everyone was local, making it convenient to go home, and besides Zhao's Camp, there was nowhere better to go, so the chance of desertion was small. But after the Fan Jinbang incident, requesting leave became far less easy. The leaders at every level instinctively felt that it was precisely because Fan Jinbang had gone home on leave that so much trouble had arisen.

Although Zhao Jin had given no explicit instructions on the matter, the leaders of every regiment and squad gave orders: no leaving lightly without cause, and vigilance must be maintained daily without cease. The training intensity for the household soldiers also increased. Every day, apart from drilling, they stayed in the barracks recounting the past. This was a task assigned from above. In their idle time, grouped by squad, the household soldiers recounted their lives before becoming household soldiers, made comparisons, and then these were to be publicly recounted at the company level.

At first, everyone was a bit embarrassed. Why bring out one's own private affairs to speak of? But once someone started, the others would follow. Although everyone largely knew what the others were saying, speaking it aloud struck deeper. It turned out they had gained so many benefits from Master Jin. It turned out that only after they and their families joined Zhao's Camp could they hold their heads high; before that, they had lived worse than beasts of burden.

This recounting of the past was only for the household soldiers. The company and squad commanders mostly just supervised and participated. However, there were also those of utmost loyalty who proposed that they, too, should do this recounting of the past. If it was inconvenient before the household soldiers, then those of roughly equal status could do it together, mutually reinforcing their loyalty.

Zhuang Liu used this reason to gather the members of the "Rising Dragon Society." In the past, when requesting leave was easy and training left free time, familiar company and squad commanders would visit each other, and gatherings were simple then. Now, they had to use this reason.

Every time the "Rising Dragon Society" met, Zhuang Liu was uneasy. He knew that the company and squad commanders forming a private society was taboo and had to be kept absolutely secret. Yet on the other hand, Zhuang Liu also wanted Zhao Jin to know of this matter. After all, this was everyone's heartfelt loyalty to Master Jin.

Zhuang Liu came from the Xuzhou Guard, a poor youth from a guard household who had trained himself to a high level of martial skill. He rather looked down on his fellow martial practitioners from guard backgrounds. In Zhuang Liu's view, these guard descendants merely had decent family conditions that allowed them to practice archery, horsemanship, and martial skills from a young age. Had he possessed such conditions, he would certainly have been even more outstanding. Deep down, Zhuang Liu held the same view of Zhao Jin and his companions, even suspecting they were merely figureheads pushed forward by Zhao Zhentang and Dong Jike.

Faced with reality, his doubts quickly vanished like smoke. Zhuang Liu felt that Zhao Jin and his companions were beyond his comprehension. Though roughly the same age or even slightly younger, Master Jin was so peerlessly brave and fierce, so brilliantly talented and strategically minded, that he could actually build such an enterprise. Such an enterprise and situation should not have appeared in Xuzhou.

Zhuang Liu thought more deeply than most. Although he had initially joined Zhao's Camp merely for food, shelter, and experience, as his days within grew long, Zhuang Liu saw greater and farther possibilities, saw a different future for himself. He grew ever more dedicated, wanting to climb higher in Zhao's Camp, to hold a more important position. That was why Zhuang Liu gave up the higher-status position of archery squad commander to become the company commander of the First Company of the personal guard.

As time passed, Zhuang Liu no longer saw Zhao Jin as a peer. He looked up to him more and more, worshipped him more and more, feeling that Zhao Jin was almost like a god.

Yet Zhuang Liu also had his discontent. He felt that everyone in Zhao's Camp was not yet loyal enough to Zhao Jin, and that the various parts of Xuzhou did not respect Zhao Jin enough. If some great event truly occurred, these people and powers could not be relied upon. What was to be done? They must gather like-minded comrades to support and protect Master Jin.

Young men all worship heroes. Within Zhao's Camp, there were many who thought similarly to Zhuang Liu. Among those old household soldiers who had now reached the positions of company and squad commander, many were of this sort. However, few had minds as clear as Zhuang Liu's. Once Zhuang Liu proposed it, everyone hit it off immediately.

This "Rising Dragon Society" was very cautious in recruiting new members, and its standards were very high. First, one had to be of old household soldier origin. What defined an old household soldier? Anyone who had participated in the battle to suppress the roving bandits beneath the walls of Xuzhou City was an old household soldier. Second, one's background had to be clean and reliable, definitely from within the guard or the prefectural city, where everyone knew each other. After meeting these two criteria, one also had to be utterly loyal to Zhao Jin, diligent in work, and brave in battle. These evaluations were easily made simply through everyone's observation.

Those who met the first two criteria were basically all from poor families, or were low-level martial practitioners of the Xuzhou Guard. These two types either had no means of survival or no path forward. Only by joining Zhao Jin could they survive or fully display their talents. And because they had joined early enough, they and their families had already gained status and property, had been granted farmland, and that farmland was increasing year by year.

In other words, these people and Zhao Jin were bound as one in life and death, sharing glory and disgrace. With this layer of connection, loyalty and righteous courage came naturally.

Why the name "Rising Dragon Society"? It meant that Master Jin was a true dragon, and they were supporting the true dragon to ascend to heaven — hence "Rising Dragon." The name also stirred one's spirit. To become dragon-following ministers was naturally something extraordinary.

"Without Master Jin, we are worse than pigs and dogs. With Master Jin leading us, we hold our heads high with dignity. With Master Jin here, everyone prospers, Xuzhou prospers, the world prospers."

"We are willing to be shattered to pieces for Master Jin, willing to die for Master Jin!"

Every time a Rising Dragon Society gathering began, they would always recite a few lines in unison. At first, some found it embarrassing, but later everyone became utterly solemn, reciting together in unison, though they had to keep their voices low.

"Brothers of the society, you must strictly investigate the household soldiers under your command, especially those from families that have fallen into ruin, or those who were once from scholarly households. They do not feel gratitude as we do. If any harm should come to Master Jin because of this, then we could not atone for it even with ten thousand deaths!" Zhuang Liu exhorted them, and everyone solemnly agreed.

Then another, more seasoned man spoke up: "Everyone, don't go at this too rashly. If you push too hard and too strictly, causing the brothers below to become estranged, then you'll have done harm instead."

The others had just agreed when they heard a knocking at the door outside. They instantly fell silent. Only after recognizing the rhythm and number of knocks did they relax. The door opened and a sturdy, vigorous man walked in. As soon as he entered, he apologized: "Sorry, sorry. The joint company commander was inspecting the camp, so I was delayed."

This was a habit Zhao Jin had instilled in them: inspecting the encampment together, checking for oversights, and reminding and supplementing each other. The results were excellent, and the company and squad commanders often did the same.

"Peng Xiaoqi, if something like this happens next time, no one will blame you for not coming. Our matter here must not be known to outsiders. You arriving too late makes it easy for others to notice something amiss," Zhuang Liu sternly admonished.

Although everyone had sworn dire oaths before joining the society, reminders still had to be given. Zhuang Liu also knew that among the company and squad commanders, few were meticulous thinkers; most were rough men.

Peng Xiaoqi's eyes flickered slightly as he glanced around. Zhuang Liu noticed but paid it little mind. This Peng Xiaoqi had some depth to him, but he was also utterly loyal to Zhao Jin. It was said he had been a childhood friend of Master Yong. Such a person was certainly trustworthy.

In the clash of great armies, in night raids and assassinations, the Director-in-Chief Eunuch of the Directorate of Ceremonial, Eunuch Wei Zhongxian, His Excellency Wei, and the Xuzhou local magnate Zhao Jin had reached a bloody, tacit understanding.

Zhao Jin and the Xuzhou side had always kept a very low profile. Even when they gained the upper hand each time, they never blew matters out of proportion, maintaining an excellent sense of measure. Such caution allowed Wei Zhongxian to breathe somewhat easier. He began to treat actions related to Xuzhou with an attitude of disregard. What was comforting was that even under this disregard, Xuzhou still acted as discreetly as possible, never overdoing things, and keeping things as hidden from others as possible.

This was fine too. It was simply a matter of holding one's nose and covering one's eyes, pretending nothing had happened, pretending one knew nothing at all.

Under such circumstances, Ma Liu and his group gathered intelligence in the capital, inquiring into the stirrings of the wind and grass everywhere, then compiled it and sent it by fast horse to Xuzhou.

Specializing in gathering intelligence, and with prior experience to boot, plus knowing exactly where to spend silver, Ma Liu and his group performed their task far, far better than Wang Youshan had, allowing Zhao Jin and his circle to understand the capital and the realm far more thoroughly.

As for any truly secret, critical intelligence that crossed the line into taboo, there was none of that either. The other side might be playing dumb, but the Depot and Guard still kept a very tight and strict watch. The intelligence Ma Liu and his men gathered was no more than what local officials across the realm gathered, which fell within acceptable bounds.

The discord between the Military Commissioner and the Grand Coordinator in Liaodong continued unabated, escalating to the point where even the Tianqi Emperor had to intervene. For the Tianqi Emperor to set aside his woodworking and attend to state affairs showed that the matter had truly blown up.

The Tianqi Emperor did not express an overly clear stance on this matter. He merely stated that the discord between Liaodong Military Commissioner Xiong Tingbi and Grand Coordinator Wang Huazhen was harming the greater situation in Liaodong, and requested the court officials to deliberate on the retention or dismissal of the two. The Minister of War, Zhang Heming, admired Grand Coordinator Wang Huazhen. Seizing this opportunity, he immediately submitted a memorial requesting the removal of Xiong Tingbi and the retention of Wang Huazhen.

But this suggestion was not what the emperor wanted. Tianqi directly rejected it, ordering further deliberation. With matters thus, anyone could see the Son of Heaven's inclination. However, the civil officials of the Great Ming never took the Son of Heaven's inclinations very seriously to begin with, let alone those of a young emperor who had just ascended the throne a year ago and busied himself with woodworking all day. The Minister of War, Zhang Heming, persisted in his own opinion.

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