Chapter 984: Thunder Shakes the Heart

The Prefect of Jining and the other officials mostly died by their own hands with their entire families — some took poison together, others cut down their wives, children, and old friends before ending themselves. Looking back afterward, they had done the right thing. Those wealthy gentry and officials of Jining who clung to hope and took chances were invariably ruined and bereaved — their family fortunes plundered clean, their menfolk slaughtered, their womenfolk ravished. Better a quick death than such misery. Beyond these great households, the common folk suffered even more. Protecting family property, wives, and daughters was out of the question. The men were all dragged out by the Smelling Incense Sect — some conscripted into the city garrison, others driven off toward Zou County.

Fortunately, Xu Hongru's "decree" arrived swiftly. This "decree" praised the merits of Xu Hongju, Xia Zhongjin, and the Divine Army of the Faith-Guarding Heavenly Soldiers, while sternly ordering them not to act with reckless abandon. They were to maintain good order in Jining City and ensure the decisive battle against the Xuzhou troops — for this would be the future core foundation of the Great Achievement Flourishing Divine Kingdom.

Only then did Jining City settle into some measure of stability. A basic order returned to the markets; one no longer had to fear for life and limb just walking down the street. Lei Cai and his men slipped out of that ruined temple. It was no longer safe there — too many people had taken shelter inside. It wasn't that the Smelling Incense Sect rebels couldn't find it, but that they couldn't be bothered with it. Yet the moment they did take notice, there would be serious trouble.

Lei Cai and his men had no thought of leaving the city. Instead, using old connections, they sought out figures of the marketplace underworld. Such men were local snakes, dwelling in the lower strata and masters at trimming their sails to the wind. In ordinary times they had dealings with the Smelling Incense Sect's congregants. After the city fell, they suffered the least fallout and even profited from buying up captives and loot. The Smelling Incense Sect tended not to watch such men too closely, so their dwellings counted as safe havens.

The earlier intelligence from the Internal Guard household retainers also proved useful. Lei Cai and his men found a small-time fence — one who disposed of stolen goods for the river pirates on the Grand Canal. They did not claim to be from the Xuzhou Zhao Character Camp, but said they were grain transport men from Linqing Prefecture who had been trapped here by misfortune. They were willing to pay for shelter until they could leave the city.

Lei Cai dropped a few names that carried serious weight and produced gleaming silver. The fence immediately thumped his chest and agreed. But things did not go smoothly. That very night, the fence gathered a dozen or so underlings, planning murder for profit. In the chaos of war, a few dead men would vanish without a trace — no one would notice. But Lei Cai and his men were prepared. Those who followed Lei Cai were all skilled in martial arts.

A fight ensued. In the end, the fence and all his underlings were cut down. Lei Cai lost one of his own men as well. Two were left alive, trembling in terror. As for the other corpses, they put in considerable effort and dumped them at the door of the corpse-collection crew. The city was overflowing with dead, and the weather was turning hot. No matter how the Smelling Incense Sect rampaged, they still had to collect and burn the bodies — otherwise, pestilence would sweep the city and kill everyone without a fight.

The fence's house lacked neither silver nor grain, and had little contact with others in the city or elsewhere. The neighbors all kept their distance from this underworld villain, remaining very aloof. They could hide there for a long time. Yet Lei Cai was deeply pessimistic, regretting that he had not heeded Zhao Jin's words. Such rashness had yielded no intelligence and would only cost them their lives here for nothing. Now that things had come to this, self-preservation came first, with gathering what news they could as a secondary concern.

Keeping his ears open, Lei Cai did manage to pick up some news. This news was useless to those outside the city, but for Lei Cai and his men, it was an opportunity. Those canal transport congregants who had collaborated from within to help breach the city — though they had not been swept up in the aftermath after entering the city, they had received no special treatment either. People often came to their doors to cadge money. And the higher-ranking leaders swaggered straight into their inner quarters. A concubine of Chen Rongqi, the Canal Transport Brigade Commander in Jining City, had been spotted by a trusted subordinate of Xu Hongju. The man simply demanded her and took her by force, and even made Chen Rongqi provide a dowry to send her off.

His woman seized, and he had to pay money to send her away. Chen Rongqi was a man of standing in Jining City and held the title of Congregation Master within the Smelling Incense Sect — yet he suffered such a staggering humiliation and became the laughingstock of Jining. Chen Rongqi kept a calm face in public, but everyone knew how furious he must be.

Seizing this opportunity, Lei Cai went to his door. As it happened, the Zhao Character Camp's Cloud Mountain Trading House had dealt with this Chen Rongqi before. At the time, Chen Rongqi had been exceedingly courteous, because both sides were making money together — no one would offend the God of Wealth. But Lei Cai remained very cautious this time, never mentioning Xuzhou or the Zhao Character Camp. He requested an audience using a visiting card from Inspector Li of Linqing.

Inspector Li of Linqing was also a renowned figure in Shandong's canal transport circles and shared a deep friendship with Chen Rongqi. When Lei Cai had come here, he had specifically asked Inspector Li to write a visiting card and letters, intending to ask this Brigade Commander Chen Rongqi for help when the time came. He never expected to use them now. Lei Cai simply said he was a merchant doing business in Linqing and asked Brigade Commander Chen, for the sake of Inspector Li's standing, to take them in.

Though the Smelling Incense Sect could bully their way right to his door, this Brigade Commander Chen Rongqi was still far better off than anyone else in Jining City. At the very least, the Smelling Incense Sect rebels — unless they were high-ranking leaders — had no standing to harass him. And the major leaders weren't singling out his household either. Still, Chen Rongqi was in no mood to entertain guests at the moment. He merely had his men arrange Lei Cai and his group in the guest quarters, promising to send them out of the city as soon as an opportunity arose.

But after that, such opportunities were few. To achieve surprise, the Smelling Incense Sect rebels inside Jining City imposed a strict lockdown. The city gates were shut every day. The only people allowed out were the laborers hauling corpses for burning and clearing the battlefield. Even troop drills were held inside the city. Naturally, there was no king's law to speak of at such a time. The slightest irregularity meant death and pursuit. Lei Cai dared not make any reckless moves and could only wait.

Men were conscripted into the great army and sent up to garrison the walls. No one in Jining City could escape this. Chen Rongqi at least retained some standing. The men and servants of his household did not have to leave the city — they were assigned to guard duty on the wall. Even Lei Cai's men were not spared; two of them were conscripted to go up onto the wall.

Then, Lei Cai and his men learned the news of the Xuzhou troops' great victory. The Smelling Incense Sect rebels had suffered a crushing defeat. After retreating into the city, they knew popular sentiment was unstable, so they intensified their patrols and killings even more than before. Then they reorganized their ranks to mount a desperate defense on the walls. After all, Jining City had ample provisions and ample manpower. As long as the outside could not fight their way in, and they used sufficiently ruthless measures to keep control, they could hold out.

At this point, Lei Cai went to see Chen Rongqi and revealed his true identity. This move was extremely risky. Chen Rongqi had been one of the chief conspirators who opened the gates to the rebels, and he was a Smelling Incense congregant in the canal transport circles. If he could not be persuaded, he might well turn hostile on the spot and deliver Lei Cai straight to the Smelling Incense Sect to face death.

But such wealthy and powerful men are masters at trimming their sails. Having witnessed the might of the Zhao Character Camp and heard of the overwhelming victory outside the city, how could he possibly turn hostile? Instead, he fawned over Lei Cai in every possible way, inviting him directly to stay in the guest rooms of his inner residence. Under these circumstances, he even laid out several banquet tables and, unbelievably, had his own daughter come out to offer wine. At the banquet, he broke down in tears, claiming that opening the gates to the rebels had been entirely under duress, that he had no choice, and that his heart had always been with the imperial court's official army. But when he saw Lei Cai's indifferent expression, he quickly changed his tune, declaring that his heart had always been with Master Jin of Xuzhou.

With the situation as it was and such an attitude on display, many things could be discussed openly. Lei Cai spoke plainly: could they open the city gates and let the Zhao Character Camp in? If so, he could guarantee Chen Rongqi a great merit. But Brigade Commander Chen explained just as plainly: winning in the field was one thing; taking a city by storm was another. The city's defenses were tight, and it looked as though the Smelling Incense Sect could still hold out. If their attempt at internal collaboration failed, everyone would die inside the city. Better to watch how the situation developed.

Lei Cai knew he could not force the issue, so he sought the next best thing. He asked Chen Rongqi to contact various factions within the city and gather more strength, so they would not be caught unprepared when the time came. Chen Rongqi agreed to this request. He too needed more people to support him. Given the current situation, surely more people would be willing to offer that support.

The Smelling Incense Sect rebels' conduct within the city had already lost them too much popular support and offended too many people. The wealthy gentry went without saying; even the common folk below were suffering unbearably. This was true even of those canal transport congregants in Jining City who had believed in the sect. In ordinary times, they had obeyed out of fear of the Smelling Incense Sect's brutal slaughter. But now that the Xuzhou troops had won such a great victory outside the city and had the city blockaded, that fear could no longer hold. When Chen Rongqi sent men to make contact, everyone hit it off immediately and swiftly formed a conspiracy.

Of the city's gentry, powerful families, wealthy figures, and the garrison units conscripted from Jining's own men, more than half were persuaded or bought off. Yet the Smelling Incense Sect remained utterly unaware. This matched Zhao Jin's assessment: in times of peace, they could detect the slightest stir in the wind, employing a dazzling array of tricks that made them impossible to guard against — because they relied on the system maintained by the imperial court, the officials, and the gentry. But once chaos erupted, everything from before was different. They could no longer maintain their original organization and could only grasp what was within reach. Spying on the winds and planting informants became impossible.

Despite having drawn so many people into the conspiracy, no one yet dared to make a move. This was because the Smelling Incense Sect rebels had actually managed to reorganize another force within the city — one that looked imposing, marched in neat formation, and displayed considerable discipline. Though Lei Cai said it was purely for show, trapped as they were within these stout city walls, no one dared act rashly. If the attempt failed, it would mean death and the extermination of their entire clan.

Everyone watched and waited. Lei Cai was anxious at heart, but he did not press them, for he knew the Zhao Character Camp always acted according to a plan. If they had not attacked the city after their great victory, there was naturally a reason for it. Lei Cai's own status rose with the tide. Had he not firmly refused, the flatterers and favor-seekers would have worn down his doorstep.

When the cannons on the newly built earthen platforms outside the city began to roar and the southeastern corner of Jining's city wall was blasted into rubble, everything fell into place. This time, Lei Cai did not need to urge anyone. That Canal Transport Brigade Commander Chen Rongqi was already prepared to open the south gate and welcome the Xuzhou troops in. In their words, Master Jin outside the city had already sent word urging them to act — to keep the gates shut any longer would be to not know what was good for them.

Lei Cai understood perfectly, of course. The reason they were so eager to act now was that the stout city walls could no longer serve as a barrier. The Smelling Incense Sect rebels had lost their last shred of reliance. The city's gentry and powerful families could naturally act with a free hand.

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