Chapter 24: Inquiry

It seemed that Yang Yuanqing was going to stay in Xuzhou and he had awarded his subordinates with large houses in good locations in the city. Zhao Xiao was also given a house with three entrances for his contribution in breaking the city.

Before, he was a captain with more than a hundred soldiers under his command. Only about thirty of them were left after death in the battle. Now, he has been promoted twice to the rank of captain of a thousand households, and more than a thousand people have been assigned to him by his superiors.

These soldiers were assigned by the Left General Wei Huai. More than half of them were wounded, and the rest were either old or short in stature. In any case, most of them were ugly.

Zhao Xiao didn't care too much. He had known that Wei Huai had a prejudice against him, and he didn't expect him to be able to transfer good soldiers to him. However, there was one thing that suited his heart: these wounded soldiers did not participate in the "carnival" on the day of the siege. Naturally, they did not do anything worse than beasts.

The military camp was stationed in the northwest corner of Xuzhou City. This was originally the Xuzhou Barracks. Some of the original soldiers died during the siege, and some followed Yang Yuanqi to Dongzhou. The barracks was idle and it was a good thing for them.

Zhao Xiao changed into his Qian Hu uniform and came to the new soldiers' camp. There were many troublemakers among the newly assigned soldiers, and Wei Huai would not let him relax. Zhao Xiao tied his belt tightly, as he might have a tough battle to fight today.

Like other barracks, they first counted the soldiers to recognize them, and then began to give them a lecture.

"I don't know which barracks you were in before, or who you were with, but once you are here, you must obey my orders in everything. If you don't obey, either get out now or be killed as a sacrifice later!"

"Do you understand?"

"I—understand—" a group of people draw out the words, as if they are mocking him intentionally, not taking his words to heart at all.

Zhao Xiao sneered, pointed at a tall and strong soldier in the middle and said, "You, step out!"

"What are you doing, Captain? I didn't do anything." The soldier came out with a smile.

"May I have your name?"

"Ma Zhenwei!"

"Nice name." Zhao Xiao suddenly kicked him in the chest and knocked him to the ground!

Ma Zhenwei never expected Zhao Xiao to suddenly attack him, and he got up from the ground angrily: "What are you doing!"

Zhao Xiao raised his eyebrows: "Are you not convinced? If you are not convinced, then stand up and compete with me."

The soldiers behind him started to make a noise and someone encouraged him, "Come on, Ma Zhenwei. If you kill him, maybe you can become a captain!"

Zhao Xiao glanced at the man, and scared him so much that he immediately shut his mouth and hid behind the person next to him.

Ma Zhenwei took off his coat and threw it on the ground, glaring at Zhao Xiao: "I'd like to learn from Captain Zhao's skills!" Then he rushed towards Zhao Xiao.

This man is nine feet tall and weighs more than two hundred pounds. His fists are like sandbags. If they hit you, you will be half dead at least.

Zhao Xiao rolled up his sleeves calmly, and the moment Zhao Xiao rushed up, he dodged the attack with incredible speed, grabbed Zhao Xiao's neck with his backhand, and threw him heavily to the ground!

"Oh...oh...let go...of me." Ma Zhenwei grabbed Zhao Xiao's arm and tried his best to pry it open, but the arm that was holding his neck seemed to be as hard as steel and could not be pried open at all.

Zhao Xiao looked at him coldly, without any emotion in his eyes. Ma Zhenwei knew that he was going to kill him... He would definitely kill him! He was originally a soldier under Captain He, and was sent here because he disobeyed orders and beat the captain.

Seeing that Zhao Xiao looked young, everyone thought that he was a fool who got in through connections just like Captain He. Unexpectedly, he was treated as a chicken on the first day to serve as a warning to the other monkeys.

Just when he was about to die of suffocation, Zhao Xiao suddenly let go of his hand. Ma Zhenwei opened his mouth and breathed in big gulps, and tears of survival flowed from the corners of his eyes unconsciously.

"Is there anyone who still refuses to accept?" Zhao Xiao stood up and glanced around. Everyone was silent as a cicada, not even daring to fart loudly, for fear of disturbing Captain Zhao and being pulled out as an example.

"Then did you hear what I said?"

This time everyone shouted in unison: "I heard it!"

"Very good, captains of each barracks, take them to the training ground for training."

This tactic of killing the chicken to scare the monkey was quite effective. The originally scattered soldiers instantly became energized. Except for a few who were seriously injured and needed to recuperate, the rest of them were running and practicing archery on the training ground as if they were injected with chicken blood.

*

On the other side, Song Yuzhu also bought new clothes for Yunuer. He had a good eye and although the clothes he bought were made of ordinary fabrics, they fit her very well.

After changing her hairstyle and makeup, Yunuer transformed from a gorgeous geisha into an elegant woman.

Yu Nuer looked herself up and down in the mirror and said, "Sir, is it true that others can't recognize me like this?"

"As long as you don't reveal your true identity, others will naturally not be able to recognize you as the geisha in the palace."

Yu Nuer said: "My name also needs to be changed. I can't read. Please give me a name, sir."

Song Yuzhu thought for a moment and said, "How about changing her name to Xiangyu?" He suddenly remembered that in the TV series he watched in his previous life, there was a female shopkeeper named Xiangyu who had a fierce personality but was righteous. He hoped that Yu Nuer could be like her in the future.

"Xiang Yu? This is a nice name. Thank you for giving it to me, sir!" Yu Nuer was so happy that she wanted to kneel down and kowtow to express her gratitude.

Song Yuzhu quickly pulled her back and said, "From now on, you will be a commoner. Don't kneel down and kowtow at every turn."

"Hey!" Xiangyu ran downstairs with a smile on her face, her face full of joy.

Song Yuzhu planned to open the restaurant on September 19th, and there were still a few days to prepare. The restaurant was fully stocked, even the wine vats in the backyard were full, which showed that the five hundred taels were well spent.

The first floor is used for business, and the second floor has a study and a bedroom. The remaining two rooms are connected, and Song Yuzhu plans to use them as meeting rooms.

The two soldiers sent by Zhao Xiao were quite useful. The soldier named Lin Dayong was honest and simple, but very strong. He could move the stone mill weighing hundreds of kilograms in the backyard by himself. If anyone dared to cause trouble in the restaurant in the future, they would be safe with him.

Another soldier named Tian Xiaobo, who was thin and young, looked about the same age as Zhao Xiao, but was actually in his early twenties. He was smart and loyal to Zhao Xiao, so he was particularly confident in using him.

Song Yuzhu asked the two people if they knew what they were doing here?

Both of them shook their heads and said, "Master Qianhu ordered us to obey your orders. As long as it is not a crime, we will do anything!"

Song Yuzhu secretly asked Tian Xiaobo to find out if there were any similar organizations that were rebelling against the imperial court. Tian Xiaobo agreed without hesitation and disguised himself as a beggar that day and sneaked into the slums in the back alleys of West Street.

After everything was arranged, Song Yuzhu took the time to write a letter home to report that he was safe. He did not tell his parents that he had left the army, otherwise Song Bai and Jiang Rong would definitely come to find him and take him home.

Instead, he lied to them and told them that he had won the favor of Prince Qing and was employed as a doctor in the palace. He asked his parents not to worry and that he would go back to visit them when he had free time in the future.

His path was destined to be uneasy, and he didn't want to involve his parents. If he couldn't hide it anymore in the future... he would talk about it later.

*

The continuous rain over the past few days has made the alleys in the slums even wetter and muddier. Once you step in, your feet get stuck in the soft mud and you can't even pull your shoes out.

The dirty feces mixed with food residues gave off a strong stench that was nauseating.

A thin man was walking towards a group of beggars not far away. The beggars were old and young, wearing dirty clothes, and most of them had no fixed place to live. Today, the sun finally came out, and the group of people sat on a stone to bask in the sun, catch lice, and chat.

Although this group of beggars may not be noticeable, they go from street to street begging and are well-informed, which is why Tian Xiaobo found them here.

"I heard that Prince Qing will stay in Xuzhou and won't leave."

An old, skinny beggar picked up a louse and put it to his mouth to bite: "It doesn't matter whether we leave or not. Anyway, we have no money and no land. We have to beg for food from anyone who comes."

"That's true, but Prince Qing is too evil. How many people have been raped and killed in the city in the past few days? They were all beautiful young girls. What a sin."

Tian Xiaobo continued, "I wonder how much the families of these girls hate him!"

The old beggar snorted and laughed, "What's the point of hating? We still have to endure it. To those high officials, the common people are like lice on their bodies. They have to die whenever they want us to. There's nothing they can do about it."

Another younger beggar turned around and looked at Tian Xiaobo: "Are you new here? Why haven't I seen you before?"

Tian Xiaobo lowered his head and sighed, "My family... my family was killed by King Qing, and my house was occupied. I was left homeless and became a beggar."

The old beggar sighed and said, "I am a pitiful person. Now that I am a beggar, I should not think about those things. I should just live one day at a time."

Tian Xiaobo shook his head: "I want to avenge my parents, but I can't do it alone, and I don't know who to turn to."

A beggar sitting in the corner said, "Hey, it would be great if you were a girl. You could go to Aunt Zhang. I heard that she built the Baihong Pavilion specifically to oppose the imperial court. Unfortunately, she only accepts girls and not men."

"Who is this aunt?"

The beggar said, "You don't even know Aunt Zhang? She is the madam of Baihualou. Although she is engaged in the brothel business, she is very righteous and can be regarded as a heroine!"

Tian Xiaobo rolled his eyes and continued to ask, "Then isn't there a place that accepts both men and women?"

"Is Prince Qing easy to mess with? I heard that he has two extremely ferocious black bears that only eat living people. Who would be so bold as to go against him?"

As the sun set, the beggars left one after another. Tian Xiaobo quietly returned to the restaurant. He even took a detour through several alleys for fear that someone would follow him.

After returning to Louwailou, he told Song Yuzhu the information he had obtained.

Song Yuzhu was thinking while counting beads. Since there was no such organization in the city, it would be better to build one by herself. Aunt Zhang built Baihong Pavilion, and she built Xuanyi Tower to recruit chivalrous men and righteous men in the city to work for her.

Now that Prince Qing has just settled in Xuzhou, his foundation is not stable yet, so he has no time to deal with them. After Prince Qing is settled, it will be difficult to build up again. If an undercover agent sneaks in by accident, they will be wiped out at once, so this matter should be done sooner rather than later.

"Xiaobo, go there again tomorrow and spread the news that you have joined Xuanyi Tower."

Tian Xiaobo was puzzled: "Sir, what is Xuanyi Tower?"

"Like the Baihong Pavilion, they are organizations that deal with the imperial court and Prince Qing. Xuanyi Tower recruits both men and women, but they must be useful talents."

"I obey your command!"

(End of this chapter)