Chapter 955: Jiangbei Commands Universal Allegiance

After a brief pause, Zhao Jin spoke again: "However, we are stationed here in Yutai County. Who knows how many scouts of the Smelling Incense Sect are lurking outside? We can't sweep them all clean. The moment we move, they will inevitably know. It takes time to pass messages, time to muster troops and come at us. That window is enough for us to reach the intended battlefield. We must be fast. The court will certainly send a grand army to encircle them. I don't want too many government troops lingering in Yanzhou Prefecture—the risk there is simply too great!"

Wang Zhaojing did not continue the argument and merely nodded. Chen Sheng started walking again and, before heading out, spoke: "We have boats following us; they don't. We are certainly faster than the Smelling Incense Sect. I'm only afraid that Stone will arrive and they still won't be there. No need to worry."

At this, Wang Zhaojing was taken aback once more, then nodded solemnly.

After Jining City was breached, the Smelling Incense Sect did not loot or destroy it. Instead, they placed the city under tight control, conscripting able-bodied men, searching and seizing supplies, and at the same time selecting women from wealthy and noble households—choosing consorts for Xu Hongru's harem and gathering beauties for those newly appointed Grand Marshals and Great Generals.

According to the conventions of the Great Ming, officials who showed no outstanding performance defending a city could often still die for their principles and prove their loyalty when the city fell. But rich merchants and local tyrants had no use for such moral integrity. All they could do was maneuver, pivot, and grovel with all their might, fighting to stay alive. Yet in such a situation, there wasn't much maneuvering room, and everyone suffered catastrophic losses.

As for those Smelling Incense Sect followers on the canal, although they were a branch of the sect and had played a key role in breaching the city, they were not treated as their own people. Their treatment was only slightly better than that of ordinary folk. A few who had not participated in opening the gates were even made examples of—killing the chicken to scare the monkey—their families destroyed and lives ruined.

By now, even a fool could deduce who was behind the secret reports to the authorities accusing the canal people of colluding with enemies within and without, forcing the Smelling Incense Sect followers among the canal workers inside the city to open the gates.

It had to be said that Xu Hongru's faction had executed this brilliantly—every link interlocking, manipulating hearts and minds, first lulling the authorities into complacency and then into despair, using schemes to force the canal faction in the city to rebel, making the impregnable stronghold of Jining fall without a fight.

Zhao Jin and his men learned of this through various channels of information. As bystanders, they could not help but admire the scheme. But those caught in the middle of it, having endured the destruction of their families and catastrophic losses, could admire nothing.

News travels fast along the canal. The events in Jining City were quickly relayed by escapees to the Southern Metropolitan Region, and the canal workers and transport soldiers were instantly enraged.

The men connected to the canal formed a world of their own, always tightly united. Seeing their comrades treated this way in Jining City, every man burned with indignation.

Xu Hongru had led the Smelling Incense Sect in rebellion, throwing southern Shandong into chaos and cutting off the canal. This alone had already inflicted heavy losses on everyone tied to the canal. The river had been blocked last year, and now it was happening again this year. Were they not to be allowed to live? Who wasn't seething with resentment?

Resentment was one thing, but everyone knew the arm could not twist the thigh. They might be figures of some consequence on the canal, unafraid to deal with those on shore, but they were nothing compared to these madmen stirring up hundreds of thousands in a life-or-death struggle. It would probably take the court enormous effort to suppress them; they could only count themselves unlucky.

Moreover, although they were not of the same faction, they were all incense-burners who worshipped Maitreya, sharing some bond of fellow disciples. Naturally, they dared not help outright, but standing by and watching, or even tipping off information when possible, was something they could do.

But Xu Hongru's treatment of the canal followers in Jining chilled every heart. It turned out this scoundrel had not spared a shred of sentiment for his "fellow disciples," striking with such ruthless cruelty.

The last pretense of civility was torn away. No one wanted to stand by and wait for the outcome anymore. Suppressing the bandit rebellion quickly and reopening the canal as soon as possible was the proper course. Everyone also knew that if they wanted speed, they could not count on the government troops. And once a grand army arrived, the canal would again have to supply boats, grain, and men—the losses would not be small.

Without needing to consider too much, everyone thought directly of Zhao Jin of Xuzhou. From Yutou Town at Luoma Lake to Qingjiangpu, Zhao Jin's prestige was thunderous. Everyone had a fair estimate of the Zhao Character Camp's true strength. Moreover, just last year they had defeated two columns of government troops, and even earlier, with only a few hundred men, they had pacified tens of thousands of roving bandits. Now this Zhao Character Camp had several regiments, several large companies, plus militia and the like—altogether ten thousand or more. Pacifying the roving bandits of Shandong would be as easy as turning over a hand, wouldn't it?

Thinking was one thing; someone still had to go and rally support. There were two Company Commanders in the canal service. One of them had been buying grain for the Smelling Incense Sect. The other controlled the private goods trade on the canal boats along the stretch from Yutou Town to Jining Prefecture. These two had originally maintained a wait-and-see attitude, but now they were the most active in rallying and lobbying.

The latter man was easy to explain—the Smelling Incense Sect's rebellion was now hindering his profits. But the former had clearly been profiting from this rebellion, making a fortune reselling bulk grain. Since he had reaped the benefits, why would he also rally support? The reason was simple: this Company Commander's own younger brother's family had died at the hands of the Smelling Incense Sect. Although his brother's family were also figures on the canal and also incense-burners, after the city fell, they had somehow offended the sect's people. All the men of the family were slaughtered, the women were sent to Zou County, and the family property was completely confiscated.

Had someone not hidden in a secret compartment within a hollow wall to escape and deliver this news out of the city, the Company Commander might still be in the dark. His family had been bloodily purged, his womenfolk seized—this was an irreconcilable vendetta. Whatever goodwill he had accumulated from his earlier profiteering was no longer worth mentioning.

The entire canal hierarchy, the whole of Qingjiangpu, already harbored deep-seated hatred for roving rebel uprisings. Now, with people rallying them, they all contributed money, grain, and labor. Their stance toward Zhao Jin also shifted from merely holding the northern gateway of the Southern Metropolitan Region to pacifying the roving rebel uprising in Shandong and reopening the canal.

The elected representatives arrived in Xuzhou, but Zhao Jin had already left for the border between Xuzhou and Shandong. His attitude toward the requests of these wealthy merchants and nobles was quite ambiguous.

No matter what was said, there remained a tacit understanding between Zhao Jin and the court. Operating within his sphere of control was one thing, but if he swaggered beyond that boundary, it would be a violation of taboo. Going to Shandong to fight government troops back then had been a special case where all pretense was torn away.

Of course, the Zhao Character Camp would not be bound by this tacit understanding. The reason for the ambiguous attitude was simply to keep these people from knowing too much. But it couldn't be hidden from everyone. The joint petition by Wang Youshan and the gentry of Xuzhou and Pizhou stated very clearly that Xuzhou's local braves and militia should be used to assist the court in pacifying the rebellion.

However, Zhao Jin still underestimated the influence of the Qingjiangpu magnates. With Shandong in chaos and the local troops routed, the court's normal response should have been to mobilize the Capital Garrison of Northern Metropolitan Region and the border troops of Shanxi to quell the rebellion, while the Southern Metropolitan Region focused on defense, as it was the vital center of the realm's wealth and could not afford the slightest mishap.

Yet this time, before the court even dispatched a grand army to encircle the rebels, an imperial decree actually arrived: the defense zone of the Xuzhou Assistant Regional Commander also included parts of Shandong, and Xuzhou Assistant Regional Commander Zhou Baolu was specially ordered to lead his own troops, act as circumstances dictated, and coordinate with government forces to pacify the roving rebel chaos.

When an Assistant Regional Commander of the first rank leads troops on campaign, he has the authority to conscript local civilian laborers and able-bodied men as auxiliaries. If the government troops were ordered to campaign in Shandong, then civilian laborers and auxiliaries accompanying the army would naturally be a matter of course.

Everyone understood. Once such a pretext was unveiled, there was no need for overly explicit explanation; everyone knew how to proceed. In fact, no explanation was even needed.

Xuzhou Assistant Regional Commander Zhou Baolu was right there in Zhao Jin's army, leading one hundred of his own troops and conscripting over five thousand civilian laborers...

Since there were no obstacles or excuses left, Zhao Jin's side no longer hesitated and directly made their stance clear. No matter how brazen and taboo-violating their actions were, it didn't matter if the local authorities everywhere knew. Trying to cover it up was impossible anyway. Everyone had seen enough to know how to tacitly gloss over such things. The key was simply not to attract the attention of those above.

Now, the southern Shandong region was already a wasteland of ruin. The provisions and supplies needed for a large army on the march could not be obtained locally. Originally, the Zhao Character Camp's Cloud Mountain Trading system had been prepared to supply them. But now that people were volunteering and coming to them, that was naturally even better.

Because of the Smelling Incense Sect rebellion, the canal transport was severed, and canal boats had long since vanished from the waterway. At this moment, the canal was completely unobstructed. The grain, fodder, and supplies gathered at Qingjiangpu and Yutou Town filled one canal boat after another, and they sailed north along the river.

For convenient access to water and nearby resupply, the main force of the Zhao Character Camp marched north along the canal. The fleet loaded with supplies advanced together with the main force.

Every regiment and company of the Zhao Character Camp was long-trained and full of stamina, advancing quickly on foot. The Zhao Character Camp transported its provisions and baggage using ox- and horse-drawn carts and canal boats, which did not slow the main force's march in the slightest. Correspondingly, with the troops moving light, their marching speed was also enhanced. The roving rebels, on the other hand, had no such conditions. Not to mention that most of them were starving and weak, they lacked so many oxen, horses, and livestock. Even if they captured canal boats, they didn't know how to operate them. Let alone the chaotic march of a disorderly horde—no order, no discipline, and no speed to speak of.

Since the relative marching speeds of both sides could be predicted, there was naturally no need to worry about Shi Manqiang arriving a day or two late.

The reason Liu Yong and Wang Zhaojing were instructed to keep this fleet under tight control was precisely the fear that if any problem arose with the fleet, the impact on the Zhao Character Camp could be fatal.

On every boat, household troops of the Internal Guard Corps and several militiamen kept constant watch. The fleet of the Cai family of the Yellow River had also been fully mobilized. Some of their boats were loaded with supplies to serve as backup at any moment, while others followed behind the canal transport fleet. If there was any suspicious movement, they would block the river and prevent escape.

On the fifteenth day of the fifth month, the Zhao Character Camp set out from Yutai County in Shandong, marching north along the river.

The main force of the Zhao Character Camp marched north along the river without encountering any interception by roving rebels. The scouts and mounted patrols spread across a thirty-li radius also detected no movement of any large enemy force.

According to the constant stream of reports coming back, the Smelling Incense Sect's main forces were still assembling in Zou County and Jining. A small portion had been detached southward to join the siege of Teng County, but the greater part was preparing to move north. By this point, anyone could see the Smelling Incense Sect's next objective. That objective was exactly as Zhao Jin had judged: Ziyang, the prefectural seat of Yanzhou Prefecture.

Thanks to the two old friends "Yuan Heng Li Zhen" and "Wu Liulang" for their tips. On this last day of March, please support with subscriptions, monthly tickets, and tips!