Chapter 993: Planning the Farmsteads

Amid this chaos, the Zhao Character Camp withdrew along the canal back to Xuzhou. The captured Shandong refugees now numbered over a hundred thousand — all able-bodied young men and women — and the count was still soaring rapidly. A movement of this scale could not possibly resemble the mobs of the Smelling Incense Sect, where crowds simply swept one another along, drifting toward some destination with no regard for life or death.

From the moment the Zhao Character Camp marched north from Xuzhou into Shandong, Cloud Mountain Trading had thrown itself into frantic activity. Along the Shandong canal line, in every area not yet overrun by refugees, Cloud Mountain Trading had swallowed up most of the farmland. Some farmsteads had even been seized outright by force. Then the grain the Zhao Character Camp had stockpiled across Xuzhou and Pizhou began converging by cart, horse, and manpower at the Yellow River and the canal, to be shipped by water into these various farmsteads.

The hundred thousand-plus refugees did not arrive in Xuzhou all at once. They were graded by physical condition and personal quality, layer by layer. The best were sent south with the boat convoys; the worst were settled in farmsteads near Jining, to rest and recover before moving south later.

Now, on the Xuzhou stretch of the Yellow River, boats large and small streamed endlessly back and forth, ferrying supplies and personnel north and south. Just before setting out to battle, the Zhao Character Camp had newly trained three thousand militia in Xuzhou. Combined with the existing Xuzhou forces, the total now approached ten thousand. And across Xuzhou, Guide Prefecture, the Kong Family Estate, Suzhou, Pizhou, and the refugee villages, a large pool of seasoned stewards and runners had already been cultivated. Under the direction of Wang Zhaojing, Ruhui, and Zhou Xuezhi, these men were now being drawn off and dispatched.

Low-ranking stewards and head clerks from the main Cloud Mountain Trading shop or its branches, retired household troopers of the Zhao Character Camp invalided out by wounds, and apprentice clerks who had studied administrative affairs under the Zhao Character Camp — these men were appointed as farmstead heads. Each was assigned twenty stewards and runners drawn from the Zhao Character Camp's estates, plus two companies of militia. One farmstead head was then to manage three to four thousand captured rebel refugees — these would be his farmstead laborers from then on.

Because the Zhao Character Camp had been cultivating such talent ever since it reached any real scale — backbone cadres capable of managing practical affairs, men versed in farming, industry, commerce, and trade, plus continuously trained militia — these people were already in place. At the Cloud Mountain Trading head office, they had long been registered in the rosters. Once the call-up and assignments went out, it was simply a matter of issuing orders by the roster, telling them to report somewhere, briefing them on their orders, and sending them off.

The farmsteads set up in Shandong were usually arranged in clusters of three or four, close enough to support one another but not contiguous. If trouble broke out, they could muster nearly a thousand militia between them. Even if that wasn't enough to crush or annihilate the threat, it could easily guarantee their defense. However, in the Shandong farmsteads, the number of laborers per farmstead would not exceed three thousand, while within Xuzhou's sphere of control, a single farmstead could hold as many as five thousand.

The men the Zhao Character Camp had trained went out in wave after wave. Across southern Shandong, especially the southwestern region west of the canal, farmsteads belonging to the Zhao Character Camp rose one after another. Setting up farmsteads here was actually easy. Years of famine and crushing taxes, on top of the great chaos in which the Smelling Incense Sect had destroyed everything, had left vast tracts of ownerless land. Even land that still had an owner could not be sold for any worthwhile price — let alone to a behemoth like the Xuzhou Zhao Character Camp coming to buy it. Not to mention, those few utterly crushing victories beneath the walls of Jining were more than enough to compel submission.

As for the remnants of the Shandong local strongmen who had either guided the way or fought alongside them this time, they all hoped to restore their family estates. But after a chaos of this magnitude, they could not find enough tenant farmers. The Zhao Character Camp laid out its terms: the Zhao Character Camp would put up the money to buy sixty percent of their landholdings, then use that land to settle the refugees. From the annual yield, they could keep ten percent. If there were profits from commerce and trade, those could be negotiated further based on actual circumstances. And if they were willing to fight and work for the Zhao Character Camp like the Xuzhou Volunteers, there would be other rewards and benefits. But as for the land's produce, ten percent was the absolute limit.

Some were satisfied with this arrangement from the Zhao Character Camp, and some were not. Yet everyone's outward attitude was the same: not a single word of haggling. All accepted at once. After witnessing the true strength of the Zhao Character Camp, this arrangement could already be considered considerate of every angle, even fair. Had they run into one of those great magnates who devour men without spitting out the bones, their family properties would have been swallowed whole — what talk of restoration would there be then?

"I remember Big Brother once said: as long as you work diligently and carefully, never slackening, in a favorable tide there will always be an opportunity for you. If you meet a setback and just grumble and complain, unable to settle your mind and work, then you'll simply waste away like that. This time, when farmstead heads and stewards were being selected, across Xuzhou and Pizhou, who knows how many people sighed in regret, who knows how many were full of remorse." Wang Zhaojing spoke to Zhao Jin with deep feeling.

After Zhao Jin returned to Xuzhou, he did not cross the river south to the He Family Estate. Instead, he encamped near Pei County to wait. Since he did so, the entire operational hub of the Zhao Character Camp and Cloud Mountain Trading moved here as well. Order after order was issued from this place. Xu Zhenzhen and Mu Shulan also crossed the river and came, bringing the children with them.

In the past, the yamen of Xuzhou's one prefecture and four counties, as well as several neighboring prefectures and counties, had teemed with unregistered clerks and runners. These were the hangers-on under the regular functionaries and yamen runners, making a living by serving the officials, exploiting their borrowed authority to skim off the top and squeeze out profits. But after the Zhao Character Camp rose to power, it reorganized the territory and monopolized tax collection. The Cloud Mountain Trading branches had, in practice, replaced the role of the government. Only the registered functionaries and yamen runners, along with those clerks and runners with some standing and connections, still received a regular stipend. The vast majority lost this official livelihood and had to find their own way.

The Zhao Character Camp dealt with these people by sorting them into categories. The young and ambitious were often absorbed into the Zhao Character Camp and Cloud Mountain Trading systems. The old and deeply indolent were sent home to retire. As for those in their prime, if they were willing to work, the Zhao Character Camp would give them a job — in any case, the Zhao Character Camp had far too many places needing men; it wouldn't let you starve. If they weren't willing to work, they were free to go as they pleased.

The young men who had learned the skills of functionaries and runners were naturally better at handling practical affairs than ordinary household troopers or militia. They found it easy to rise within the Zhao Character Camp. The Zhao Character Camp was short precisely of such men who could manage affairs, handle business, and keep accounts. The older ones had long since lost their drive. They could go home and retire in peace, their accumulated gains still intact; even if they were dissatisfied, they could swallow it. The real trouble came from those in their thirties and forties — men in their prime. They had once lived high, eating well and throwing their weight around, and then suddenly it was all stripped away. They hadn't yet saved up enough of a nest egg, and they were habituated to the old system of officials and local powers. They could not adapt to the Zhao Character Camp's ways. Many were too accustomed to lording it over others, and they could not stomach being ruled by the Zhao Character Camp, which had no proper official title or legitimacy. As a result, these men caused the most trouble.

At the start, some went around forming connections and stirring up trouble. Others secretly fanned the flames behind the scenes. Whenever the gentry and strongmen of Xuzhou and its surroundings rose in unrest and rebellion, or when men of the rivers and lakes ran amok, the shadows of these men could always be traced behind it. The Zhao Character Camp, of course, showed no mercy. After lopping off a batch of heads, the trouble was finally suppressed. After that, some of the steadier, more grounded ones, seeing that the larger tide could not be turned, swallowed their pride and went to work for the Zhao Character Camp. They already had a foundation in managing affairs and keeping accounts, so they learned very quickly. The rest were full of grievances, spouting snide remarks all day long. Whenever some government army threatened, they would pop up to gloat over the misfortune.

Within the territory the Zhao Character Camp controlled, the loudest grumblers were these unregistered clerks and runners, followed by the licentiates. Those who had passed the provincial exam and held the rank of juren were usually already in the gentry-magnate class. The licentiates were stuck in between — not high enough to succeed, not low enough to accept their lot. Those from well-off families could manage, but the slightly poorer ones shared the same mentality as those clerks and runners. In the Zhao Character Camp's system, there was no glory or profit for them. And among these scholars, even fewer were willing to bow their heads and work. They always fancied themselves men of loyalty and integrity, certain that when the imperial court's great army struck, they would be counted as meritorious subjects.

Though their grumbling grew quieter with every victory the Zhao Character Camp won, it never truly stopped. And they were forever mocking those of their own age and generation who worked for the Zhao Character Camp, saying: if you were serving the imperial court, that would be one thing, but running errands for a local strongman and village head — what future or profit could that possibly bring? Could a mere magnate ever promote you to office and wealth?

Then, right after this great victory, the Zhao Character Camp drew off large numbers of backbone personnel to manage farmsteads in various places. Those clerks and runners who had settled down and worked were either transferred to manage farmsteads or promoted in their original posts. Though the title was something like farmstead head or steward, in every respect it looked like an official post. Was there any real difference from the government managing prefectures, subprefectures, and counties? This was a tangible future. Seeing this, those who had been grumbling all along split again. Some kept up their stubborn talk, saying: you call this a benefit? Toiling and laboring, dealing with those stinking rebel refugees — who's to say you won't get eaten one day? But many more shut their mouths, swallowed their pride, and began entering the Zhao Character Camp's system to work. From this, they could deduce that the Zhao Character Camp's future prospects were even greater. They had already missed this round — so they would hurry to catch the next.

"There were even registered functionaries and yamen runners who came to inquire, asking whether they could be put in charge of such farmsteads." Though Wang Zhaojing was normally composed, he spoke of this with a certain vindicated pride. The Zhao Character Camp's victory this time had shown many people the Camp's future. Such power, such steady development — ruin and defeat seemed almost unimaginable.

"Managing an estate of several thousand people — though it lacks the prestige of an official post, it still means taking charge of one's own domain. And they're thinking even further ahead." Ruhui added a couple of lines with a smile. To come forward now and ask to manage an estate was, in no small part, an attempt to perform before Zhao Jin, to demonstrate their own ability.

Matters like this always lifted one's spirits. Zhao Jin said with a laugh, "The point of this round of assignments is to let those who have toiled hard for us see hope, and to promote the usable talents among them. We still don't have enough to go around among our household troopers, militia, apprentice clerks, and the sons of close associates from every quarter. An outsider has no right to just stroll in and pluck the peaches. If he wants in, let him work hard, put in a few years of work first, and then we'll talk!"

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