Chapter 34

Liang Xing, feeling the heat of the scolding, his face twitched. Just as he was about to stop and confront Wang Changfu, he caught sight of the large characters brushed on the west wall, and all his anger instantly dissipated.

During training, if one disrespects the superior officer, insults, or beats the superior, the monthly pay will be deducted for one month. If the offense is repeated, the person will be dismissed.

This is the third rule. The first rule is to obey all military orders. Those who do not listen during regular times will have their monthly pay deducted. If they do not listen outside, they will be immediately dismissed.

Liang Xing's current monthly pay is five taels. As one of the team leaders, this amount of silver is roughly what he used to earn in a year. Now, with a monthly salary, he can live comfortably with enough for wine and meat. Some of his neighbors have even mentioned setting up a match for him, something Liang Xing never dared to dream of before. In the past, although he had enough to eat and wear, his life was uncertain, and he often suffered injuries from beatings. The gang leader was not easy to deal with, and he had to hand over most of the money he earned. His parents, before they died, hoped he would marry and have children to continue the Liang family lineage and honor the ancestors. However, this thought would quickly disappear from his mind. Which woman would be willing to marry a man who could not guarantee the next meal?

Now, things are completely different. Liang Xing has saved some money and renovated his small courtyard. The walls were rebuilt, the roof tiles replaced, and the interior refurbished. It did not cost much, but after that, the matchmakers started to show interest. If Liang Xing continues to work steadily for a few more months, a matchmaker will likely come to his door.

At this moment, whether it is the deduction of his monthly pay or dismissal, both are results that Liang Xing cannot bear.

During the training break, a fifteen-minute rest is allowed. Wang Changfu sat at a table, drinking tea, looking very relaxed. The instructor only needed to give orders and did not have to participate in the training. However, Wang Changfu had won the respect of everyone with his skills. During the group fight, Liang Xing and others were no match for him. He was very strong in practical combat and demonstrated well during training, showing proficiency with long spears, shields, and long knives. He was a veteran of the border army, and Zhang Han even suspected he had been a bodyguard, as ordinary soldiers did not have such skills.

The light rain continued to drizzle, but the rainfall was limited. Everywhere, it seemed that the drought would only worsen. The price of paddy fields along the Yang River and its tributaries was soaring, while the price of dry fields not near the river was falling.

The ruffians did not care about this, only finding the rain annoying. Their clothes were soaked every day during training, making them very uncomfortable. Each of them was issued several sets of clothes, all made in the tailor shop in the fort, blue cotton coats modified by Zhang Han to fit better, similar to the arrow-sleeved coats worn by cavalry, with tight cuffs and a leather belt around the waist for carrying daggers and water bottles. They originally wore various types of shoes, but now all wore leather boots. Standing together, they already had a certain presence, and when such a group of bodyguards passed by, they attracted a lot of attention in places where He Yusheng had branches.

Yang Qiu plopped down on the stone steps, a young grass root in his mouth, muttering, "Tired, Wang Changfu is too harsh."

Yang Sijun said, "My whole body feels like it's falling apart."

The Jiang brothers only smiled without speaking. They and Wen Zhongfa were always close to Liang Xing, who was very focused on the training and did not complain much, unlike Yang Qiu, who complained a lot and felt uncomfortable inside.

Liu Dequan said gloomily, "Every day is like this. If I were willing to endure such hardship, why would I be a ruffian?"

At this, everyone fell silent. Most ruffians were lazy and gluttonous, and four hours of daily training was indeed too much for them. If not for the generous monthly pay, most of the people here would have already left.

At this moment, Zhang Chun ran over with an umbrella, waving from a distance, calling, "The owner of the East Store has come to discuss selling the store. The young master has called you all over."

This was a good task, at least they would not have to listen to Wang Changfu's shouting for a while. The ruffians perked up and quickly stood up.

Such tasks were usually done by ruffians, and the porters looked at them with envy.

Over the past few months, the road to Datong had been thoroughly opened. On the first day of the New Year, Zhang Han went to the Lai family in the fort to pay New Year's greetings. Lai Tongxin was not at home, having gone to Yanghe to pay respects to the vice-general. Zhang Han left 200 taels of silver and a New Year's card at the Lai family's door. This gift was quite generous, and the owners of the porter companies could not even enter the gate of the general's residence. The incident where He Yusheng's bodyguards beat people was naturally forgotten.

There might be people in the fort's Qing army hall who wanted to deal with the Zhang family, but now Zhang Han had connections in Puzhou and regularly supplied Lai Tongxin. More importantly, he had connections with the Datong general and the Yanghe vice-general. Unless someone had connections with the Xuan-Da governor, no one could deal with Zhang Han and He Yusheng.

After leaving the Lai family, Zhang Han went to Yanghe. He could not yet reach the vice-general, so he brought 1,000 taels of silver to the home of Zheng, the vice-general. Zheng did not leave the city, nor did he meet Zhang Han, but he accepted the silver and also took a 30% share.

When Zhang Han returned from Yanghe, the entire Xinping Fort knew that He Yusheng was different from before.

After the fifth day of the New Year, He Yusheng received several large orders to Datong, each worth over 10,000 taels of silver. They also received many smaller, short-distance orders. Dozens of carts set out for Yanghe after the New Year, and these mule carts brought back a lot of the silver Zhang Han had given as New Year's gifts.

These were all orders that had not been transported before the New Year. He Yusheng was already well-known, and customers naturally came to them.

Not only did He Yusheng have bodyguards, but through deliberate publicity, merchants also knew about He Yusheng's connections with the Yanghe vice-general and the Ma family. This was the most important part.

In the first month of the New Year, Zhang Han went out several times. He had opened the route to Datong, buying a branch every 30 to 60 li, with six branches all the way to Datong. They not only took orders from Xinping Fort but also from other forts along the way, which also had horse markets, and many orders to Datong. More branches meant stronger transportation and response capabilities. The next step for Zhang Han was to open the eastern route to Zhangjiakou. This was a major official road, one of the eleven major official roads in the north of the Ming Dynasty, running from the capital to Xuanfu and then to Piantou Pass. From Xinping Fort to Zhangjiakou, it was also 30 to 60 li per branch, with five branches in total.

Next was the route to Taiyuan, possibly further south or west, but mainly east, and then south from the east. This was the golden route.

Zhang Han had great ambitions, but he still had to take things step by step.

Today, the East Store was the first stop on the way to Zhangjiakou. The owner of this store was known to keep dozens of idle men, so Zhang Han called all the ruffians to stand by, determined to make a strong first impression.

Zhang Han naturally bought a store in a good location with a solid foundation, so it did not require much additional effort. If he bought a small, remote store, it would take a lot of effort to make it useful. Since he had connections and a group of ruffians, was it not a bit foolish to do business honestly?

Zhang Han did not feel bad about dealing with the owners of these stores. In this era, there were no good people running such stores, and he paid them well.

Over the past few months, the family's silver was almost used up. Buying grain and stores cost over 30,000 taels, and bribing Ma Cheng'en and Zheng Guochang cost several thousand more. The family's savings were now depleted. The next few stores would have to be bought with the money earned, so he did not have time to operate slowly.

...

"Young master, the deal is done."

Zhang Han called Li Yujing over, and the two were about to speak when Liang Hong came in with a smile, saying, "That Zhou was initially stubborn and wanted to back out of the sale. Liang Xing and Yang Qiu brought in a dozen men, stood in the corner, and the man immediately softened. He then said he wanted to sell. I didn't need to be polite and cut an additional 300 taels, so we settled for 1,700 taels. He handed over the deed and wrote a receipt, and I gave him the silver."

Zhang Han smiled, "That man had a sinister look, but I didn't expect him to be so easy to deal with."

Liang Hong thought for a moment and said, "Now that you mention it, there was something off about that Zhou, but the store is bought. Once this store is in our hands, the rest of the stores on the way to Zhangjiakou will be easier to acquire."

Zhang Han said, "That's easy to handle. Send Yang Qiu with a group to patrol the route. We can't just keep them idle."

Liang Hong said, "We already have about thirty ruffians, and no need to recruit more. We also have about twenty porters who have become bodyguards. It seems enough for now."

"Far from enough," Zhang Han shook his head and smiled, "We have three major forts and six smaller ones in Datong, with nine horse markets. The business at the account office will far exceed the ordinary mule and cart business. Without enough bodyguards, how can we gain the trust of others? By the end of the year, we need to recruit three to four hundred people to cover these routes."

"That's true," Liang Hong said excitedly, "For orders over 10,000 taels, whether it's escorting goods or money, we need enough people to ensure safety." Last year, He Yusheng was on the brink of bankruptcy, but this year, it looked like a thriving business. Although the main store only dealt with grain, and the Zhang family had spent all their savings, no one doubted that He Yusheng would not make money.

The key was that Zhang Han had connections with officials and could control the ruffians. Even Liang Xing, Liang Hong's nephew, could not be managed by Liang Hong, but Liang Xing and others followed Zhang Han's orders. Liang Hong knew that the ruffians were often dissatisfied with the daily training, but every time it seemed they were about to rebel, Zhang Han would notice and make the necessary arrangements.

"That's settled. I'll go out now."

"Tomorrow, have the horses ready, and have Liang Xing and the Jiang brothers follow, along with Wang Changfu. We'll go out to meet people."

There is about 18 li of the Great Wall in Xinping Fort, some built on flat ground and some on the mountains, winding like a long snake. Going out through the fixed passage is called "going out of the pass." Generally, Han people do not go out of the pass unless they have important business, and the watchtowers and fortresses do not let people out casually.

Of course, the official rules are useless. Every year, many Han people flee to the grasslands for various reasons, but it happens every year. The Ban Sheng city of the Tumet, known as Hohhot in later times, is a gathering place for Han people. Besides those who flee, there are also many smugglers.

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Today's chapter has some banned words that I find a bit ridiculous.

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