Chapter 960: Great Wealth and Honor Lies Ahead

With the grain transport cut off and the prefectural city where the Prince of Lu resided threatened by the rebel army, whether from the angle of responsibility or political infighting, people in both the inner court and outer court were burning with anxiety. Unable to resolve it immediately yet needing to give everyone an explanation, they urged Yang Zhaoji, the Commander-in-Chief of Caozhou, to dispatch his troops at once. If he won, then naturally everyone would rejoice. If he lost, then the blame could be shifted onto him, which at the very least would buy some time while they sought another solution. As for whether Yang Zhaoji lived or died, no one cared.

While Wang Zhaojing was speaking, Zhao Jin had been deep in thought. He suddenly spoke up and asked, "News from Ziyang City hasn't arrived for four days."

Liu Yong nodded and replied, "Perhaps there are already rebels active outside Ziyang City, making it inconvenient to deliver messages by horseback. To ensure absolute safety, they'd have to take a detour. Those mounted brigands who've thrown in with them are also a nuisance — intercepting and killing messengers is something the roving bandits can't manage, but those riders can."

After the Incense Sect's rebel army swelled in scale, quite a few forces from Shandong's martial underworld and the greenwood had thrown in their lot with them. These men at the very least had horses, and with them, the Incense Sect rebels' mobility greatly increased, and their access to news from various places became much faster.

"We'll wait right here for word from Ziyang City. Xiaoyong, step up the scouting for news from Jining and Zou County. Daxiang, once the cavalry company has had a brief rest, send them all out. We can't let anyone spy on us here. We'll wait for news here, and then wait for Stone's Second Regiment to arrive." Zhao Jin gave his orders, and everyone acknowledged them.

After saying this, Zhao Jin hesitated for a moment, then spoke again: "Zhaojing, write a letter to Bingfeng. The Third Regiment is to begin moving north now and garrison at the Guting Town camp, awaiting our orders."

Transferring the Third Regiment from Qingjiangpu was a major matter. Although prior notice had been given, after Wang Zhaojing wrote the letter, it still required Zhao Jin's seal and his personal token. The messenger dispatched to deliver it was a personal guard and household retainer of some standing.

By the time everything was settled, it was already dark. Although the mounted household troops had scouted and found no trace of enemy forces in the vicinity, the household troops of the Zhao Camp still dug trenches and raised earthen walls by the book, setting up fieldworks and sentry posts without relaxing in the slightest.

With the grain transports on the canal handling the supply, provisions were quite abundant. Those involved in the grain transport, eager to curry favor with Zhao Jin, had even specially prepared cooks, wine, and food for them. It was said that one boat even had singing girls aboard, but these were all stopped by the Internal Guard household troops on the very first day of departure.

Zhao Jin and his companions only began their meal after inspecting the encampment. Everyone's expression was somber. Having been through battle after battle, though still young, they could already face it calmly. Ji Xiang would even get excited and stirred up. This kind of somber expression was a first.

"Big Brother, the fact that outsiders have learned our method of drilling troops — this is trouble!" These were words that only Wang Zhaojing could conveniently speak aloud, and they were also what was on everyone's mind. As soon as he brought it up, everyone looked at Zhao Jin.

Zhao Jin broke the flatbread in his hand into pieces and put them in his soup, slurped it down noisily, and then spoke: "It's trouble, but not major trouble. Wanting to learn our hollow-square long-spear formation isn't that difficult. After all these years of drilling, I'm afraid even the idlers in Xuzhou know how it works."

Except for Chen Sheng, everyone else let out a dry laugh. When Zhao Jin first established the household troop unit, their training took place on the open ground at the freight yard and the distillery, and many Xuzhou locals had watched. If anyone had been intent on it, learning that method wouldn't have been hard.

"There's nothing much to worry about. Even if the roving bandits learned our methods, how long have they been drilling compared to how long we've drilled? After leading household troops for so long, do you really think this is a trade that works miracles the moment you train?" Chen Sheng said in a muffled voice, his words brimming with confidence.

Zhao Jin smiled and said, "The roving bandits in that village today also formed a hollow square. From a distance, it looked the part, but in reality, they were worthless straw men who couldn't withstand a single blow. What makes us stronger than the roving bandits isn't just that we've trained longer and fought more. Look at the weapons our household troops carry, the armor they wear. Look at what they eat and use daily, look at these horses, look at the supplies transported on the canal boats. And think of the treatment Xuzhou gives its household troops. These are all our strengths. What do they have to compare with us?"

Everyone looked around. Although it was already dark and, despite the campfires everywhere, they couldn't see much, as they gazed out, their grave expressions slowly faded and turned to confidence.

"Big Brother, will the government troops learn our methods?" Wang Zhaojing asked again.

Zhao Jin was taken aback, then laughed and said, "If the government troops could learn our methods, how would Liaodong and the southwest have rotted to such a state?"

Everyone fell silent. Though none could fully reason through this point, they all instinctively felt that the government troops truly could not learn this method. For some reason, this conclusion brought them no sense of relief.

After the household troops had cleared away everyone's utensils, Zhao Jin said in a low voice: "The most important objective this time is to sweep away the Incense Sect and seize enough land in the southern part of Shandong. Xuzhou's territory is limited, and the wasteland north of Huai'an Prefecture isn't large enough either. If we can seize this southern Shandong territory, we'll have room to expand again. After this time, the Incense Sect will never be our trouble again."

The night passed just like that. By rights, the next day should have been for resting and reorganizing the troops, but both Ji Xiang and Chen Sheng conducted impromptu drills with their companies, granting them no relaxation whatsoever. Meanwhile, Liu Yong dispatched scouting riders and informants in all directions and pressed every source, striving to gather more intelligence.

The Shi family members, however, gave everyone a bit of a surprise. They actually conducted themselves with considerable method. From among the refugees, they selected ordinary commoners who had been deluded or coerced, and also picked out the sons and brothers of gentry and powerful families who bore blood feuds. They even managed to assemble over a thousand men. With these people, escorting the refugees to Guting Town became much more convenient, and there was no longer any worry about them scattering halfway or causing other trouble.

Besides the Shi family members, several clansmen whom Li Ziyou had entrusted here also volunteered for duty. These Li family men all came from a military background. When they had set out from Qingjiangpu, they had kept a clear distance from the Zhao Camp at every turn, but after arriving in Xuzhou, they became exceedingly enthusiastic, adopting an attitude of wanting to serve the Zhao Camp with their lives.

On this campaign, these several men were also to follow along. Unlike the others, these Li family men were, after all, scions of a military household, adept at archery and horsemanship. They were placed directly among the Xuzhou Volunteers, allowing them to contribute their share of effort.

However, on this day, they again took the initiative to request an audience with Zhao Jin. The eldest, Li Song, led the group. Although Wang Zhaojing helped arrange the introduction, he was somewhat displeased with their action — what time was this, to be so oblivious to priorities?

"Master Jin, with the situation between the enemy and us still unclear, we minor fellows are willing to go to the vicinity of Jining to gather intelligence for the main army." Although this request for an audience was a bit rash, the request itself was no empty gesture. Who didn't know that the area around Jining was now a field of death, perilous and unpredictable? Going there as scouts and mounted spies was truly dangerous.

Even the Zhao Camp's own scouting riders and mounted spies were currently only operating around the main force. Intelligence from that area relied entirely on informants and hidden agents planted there beforehand.

Although these Li brothers did not know that the Zhao Camp had informants and hidden agents there, as sons of a military household who had received training in this area, by asking around among the cavalry company and the volunteer riders, they could deduce that the current range of the Zhao Camp's scouting riders and mounted spies did not include Jining City. And anyone with a modicum of common sense could judge that the objective this time, the intended battlefield, was near Jining.

Zhao Jin had initially been somewhat impatient, but the other party's request piqued his interest. He asked with a smile, "That place is a deadly trap. You few barely escaped from Liaodong with your lives, and now you want to enter such a place again. Are you not afraid of death?"

"Master Jin, the roving bandits are nothing but pigs and sheep. We brothers have trained hard in archery, horsemanship, and martial skills since childhood. They can't do anything to us. Even if there are casualties, on the battlefield, such things are unavoidable."

"Why do this?"

"Master Jin intends to pursue great endeavors. If we minor fellows earn merit early, that means we attach ourselves to the dragon early. If we miss this chance, it will be too late."

"You men come from a Great Ming military household. One could say your family has enjoyed the state's grace for generations. Now, to turn your backs — can you face that?"

"Master Jin, several generations of our Li family have already died in great numbers for this Great Ming. By now, it is not the Li family that has wronged the Great Ming, but the Great Ming that has wronged the Li family."

In the end, Zhao Jin did not permit the Li brothers to go scouting in Jining. He gave a reason: sending scouts deep into enemy lines, while indeed gathering intelligence on the other side, would also reveal one's own movements to the enemy. He did not forget to offer the Li brothers a few words of encouragement.

Only after sending them off did Zhao Jin sigh with emotion to his companions: "If the sons of Great Ming military households are like this, then this Great Ming truly cannot be sustained."

"Big Brother, don't trust them lightly. People like the Li family enjoyed wealth and honor in the past and didn't see it as grace, but instead felt it was all earned through their own family's bloody struggles. Once they lose it, resentment grows in their hearts. People like them are accustomed to trading their bow, horse, and lives for wealth and honor. Loyalty is not something you can count on from them. They can't even compare to the Xuzhou Volunteers. I reckon that among the Great Ming's government troops, not everyone thinks this way. Many have never enjoyed wealth and honor like they did, and perhaps some still have loyalty." Wang Zhaojing's assessment was very harsh.

The day passed just like this. Zhao Jin's state seemed like one of rest, yet he personally questioned every wave of returning scouts, needing to know every change in intelligence around the main force. His companions busied themselves with their own tasks, constantly reporting back and exchanging information. They all noticed one thing: Zhao Jin's expression was growing more and more relaxed.

By nightfall, news from Jining had finally come through again.

"The Incense Sect's main force has begun its march north, heading for the prefectural city of Ziyang. The five units of the Faith-Protecting Heavenly Soldiers are also advancing..."

When he heard this news, a smile appeared on Zhao Jin's face. His companions, who knew him well, understood that this meant Zhao Jin had completely relaxed.

Although the term "Faith-Protecting Heavenly Soldiers" was heard for the first time, everyone could immediately guess what it was — it must be the five units of troops trained using the Zhao Camp's methods.

"... The Incense Sect rebels are currently selecting able-bodied young men and training soldiers by imitating the Xuzhou methods..."

The Incense Sect now had sufficient population, sufficient provisions and supplies, and the inspiring example of a great victory over the government troops. Naturally, they wanted to train in large numbers. They also knew that a large government army would come for them sooner or later, so they had to build up strength to resist.

Although Zhao Jin had reassured everyone the night before, hearing this still made them all look solemn.

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