“…Young master, what are you worried about?”

Zhao Ting’er saw Han Qian standing at the river beach’s edge, his brows furrowed like the rippling waves of turbid river water blown by wind, and walked over to ask.

“There’s a roadblock tiger I can’t move aside. Many things will likely fail at the final step,” Han Qian said with a sigh.

“Are there things even the young master cannot solve?” Zhao Ting’er asked.

“I’m not a deity. How could I have divine powers to prop up the heavens with one hand?” Han Qian laughed, then turned to look at Madam Xi standing at the river beach’s edge. Thinking back to how she had drawn the attention of so many native tribal people when leaving the city earlier, he wondered what her origins could be to cause this. He beckoned Gao Shao over, gave him some secret instructions, and sent him away first.

After arranging for Gao Shao to leave, Han Qian called to everyone: “Let’s take a boat upstream to have a look!”

Matters like the shipyard and weaving workshop, once arrangements were made, couldn’t be accomplished in three to five days. Han Qian only needed to determine who would be responsible and periodically provide financial support. Currently, the key issue was that Xuzhou faced too many hidden dangers and difficulties.

Han Qian immediately urged everyone to spur their horses and follow him to the wharf. They boarded the sailing ship and headed upstream against the current on the Yuan River. His time was limited, so he needed to personally survey Xuzhou’s terrain and topography as much as possible.

The large zigzag-shaped section had gentle terrain and an expansive river surface. Sailing with the wind, they traveled extremely fast. After more than an hour, they reached the northernmost part of the large zigzag section. Here the terrain was even more open, with over ten streams flowing down from Tanlong Mountain to the north, merging into the Yuan River. The river surface here spread a full ten-plus li wide.

The potential for enclosing and reclaiming silted fields here was even several times greater than north of Qianyang City. Currently, on slightly higher terrain, only a dozen or so small-scale village stockades stood. Their architectural style differed from the native wooden buildings—they should all be non-native residents who had migrated from elsewhere, approximately only five to six hundred households.

From the bottom of the large zigzag shape, turning again to trace south up the Yuan River, along the banks there were still large expanses of shallow silted land that could be enclosed and reclaimed. Even with this era’s backward agricultural level, Han Qian estimated that if they could truly fully utilize this shallow silted land, accommodating over ten thousand additional non-native households would be no problem.

Never mind a large county of ten thousand households—along the large zigzag shape’s banks, establishing two additional lower-tier counties of two to three thousand households each should all be feasible.

The question was: how to overcome resistance from local forces and Tanzhou to accomplish this?

Sailing downstream again from upstream, they docked once more at the river embankment wharf. Dusk had already gathered, with the distant evening clouds burning brilliantly.

Seeing Gao Shao standing at the wharf waiting, Han Qian had the others move away and asked Gao Shao privately:

“Did you find out?”

“I found Feng Xuan and asked about Madam Xi and Xi Cheng’s origins. The siblings are actually the children of Gao Long, Chief Clerk of Xuzhou in the previous dynasty. Their original names were Gao Cheng and Gao Ren. Their mother, Gao Xi Shi, was also a legitimate daughter of Xuzhou’s prominent Xi clan. Gao Long was killed by Ma Yuanheng, who was Governor of Xuzhou at the time. It’s said that Ma Yuanheng also coveted Gao Xi Shi’s beauty and only developed murderous intent after demanding her from Gao Long unsuccessfully. After Gao Long’s death, Gao Xi Shi naturally became Ma Yuanheng’s plaything. The Xi clan, whose power had once been not much weaker than Feng Xi, Yang Xiang, quickly declined under Ma Yuanheng’s suppression. Ma Yuanheng exploited the locality with harsh exactions. In Tianyou Year One, he was expelled by the Four Clans and fled to his nephew Ma Yin. Afterward, Gao Xi Shi returned with her children to the Xi clan, gathered the Xi clan’s remnants, and was once established as the female chieftain. Madam Xi and her brother took the surname Xi. In Tianyou Year Five, the Xi clan was destroyed by Feng Changyu. To preserve the Xi clan’s remnants and her pair of children, Gao Xi Shi submitted to Feng Changyu. After Gao Xi Shi died of illness in Tianyou Year Nine, Feng Changyu then took Madam Xi as a concubine…”

Furong Garden had many people with mixed eyes and ears. Unless necessary, Han Qian didn’t let Feng Xuan and Gao Bao contact them directly. But this afternoon, seeing so many people in the city recognize Madam Xi, Han Qian thought her origins must not be as simple as he had previously imagined. He had specially instructed Gao Shao to find Feng Xuan to inquire about Madam Xi’s origins, but he hadn’t expected such twists and turns.

No wonder Xi Ren was easily instigated by Ji Kun to assassinate him!

And that local tyrant Feng Changyu truly lived luxuriously—he had actually successively taken both mother and daughter, Gao Xi Shi and Madam Xi, into his chambers. This made Han Qian think he might as well stay in Xuzhou and become a local tyrant himself.

As Han Qian and Gao Shao talked, he looked toward Madam Xi wearing leg shackles boarding the wharf. Seeing her complexion darken, she seemed to guess that the two of them were discussing her origins.

At this moment, the greatest difficulty lodged in Han Qian’s heart also found a solution. Slapping his forehead, he laughed: “I’m truly an idiot. Why did I only think about moving the roadblock tiger away and never think about inviting the roadblock tiger into the cage! No, more accurately, we should invite the wolf into the house!”

Seeing Han Qian’s eyes suddenly become exceptionally bright, Yang Qin and the others couldn’t help but curiously walk over to ask:

“Young master, what did you think of?”

“Haha, I know how to move this roadblock tiger aside now, but I won’t tell you. You can guess yourselves.” Han Qian came back to his senses, smugly playing riddles with Yang Qin and the others.

Yang Qin and the others had no way to guess what brilliant scheme of inviting the wolf into the house Han Qian had thought of to deal with Tanzhou. But seeing his grave and oppressive expression from the entire afternoon suddenly relax, they guessed this was perhaps related to what he had instructed Gao Shao to investigate that afternoon.

Han Qian stroked his chin, secretly pondering that luring the tiger into the trap or inviting the wolf into the house might not be difficult, but the shipping guild must come first to ensure that shipping between Xuzhou and the outside world prospered first.

Even if Tanzhou didn’t obstruct, for large numbers of outsiders to flood into Xuzhou, the water route would be much more convenient.

And with a shipping guild he could control, even through deception and trickery, he could actively transport population into Xuzhou through the guild.

“Although we’ve negotiated conditions with the Four Clans, from Xuzhou to Jinling, even if Tanzhou and prefectures and counties along the way don’t create difficulties, the route is absolutely not smooth sailing. Forces like Yangtan Water Stockade that are part fishermen, part bandits—who knows how many exist along the way,” Han Qian said to Yang Qin. “To ensure all merchant ships flying Xuzhou’s flag aren’t harassed along the way, we must have Xuzhou’s armed fleet to deter river bandits and water brigands along the banks.”

“…” Yang Qin fell into contemplation at this moment.

From the reconciliation conditions negotiated with the Four Clans, he had realized this would involve him. But the thirty-plus subordinates he brought out had all suffered destroyed homes and dead families. Ji Kun was also dead. Few people harbored any extravagant hope of avenging themselves on Zhong Yanhu, much less settling old scores with young master Han Qian. Many were disheartened. He couldn’t bear to force them to continue following him drifting through the rivers and lakes.

Honestly speaking, Yang Qin was more willing to have Han Daoxun shelter them in Xuzhou. Even though Xuzhou wasn’t peaceful either, it was still considerably better than risking their lives traveling this three-thousand-li waterway, wasn’t it?

Yang Qin wasn’t even willing to become entangled in Jinling’s disputes.

Although he was only a small water bandit leader on Poyang Lake, from how difficult and dangerous it was for Han Daoxun to take office in Xuzhou, he could guess that the Third Prince’s hopes of winning the succession struggle were truly not great.

Han Qian seemed not to see Yang Qin’s hesitation and continued on his own: “Yangtan Water Stockade has already been destroyed on Poyang Lake’s shores. You can select a location along the Yuan River’s banks to rebuild Yangtan Water Stockade. After all, the shipping guild must also have roots in Xuzhou—it can’t be rootless duckweed. That way, I can also trust that you’ll work wholeheartedly for me.”

One couldn’t employ people without rewards. Giving Yang Qin the low-ranking military official identity of Xuzhou’s convoy escort officer, or making him leader of a shipping guild with no visible prospects, obviously wouldn’t move Yang Qin’s heart or make him exert himself desperately for him.

Rebuild Yangtan Water Stockade?

Yang Qin’s mind fell into sluggishness. Most on the sailing ship were Yang Qin’s subordinates. Some also fell into confusion, while others’ eyes revealed an unusual gleam.

Having experienced the tragedy of the stockade’s destruction and families’ deaths, grief was certain. But since one was born human, one always had to move forward.

The vast majority of them were fishing households from Yangtan Water Stockade, but they also had relatives and friends who had married out or moved away from Yangtan Stockade. Because of their connections, their days in Jiangzhou currently wouldn’t be easy. If they established a shipping guild and rebuilt Yangtan Water Stockade in Xuzhou, along the Yuan River’s banks, they could relocate them all. Perhaps within two or three generations, Yangtan Water Stockade could flourish again along the Yuan River’s banks.

Deep in contemporary people’s thoughts was still the idea of continuing the ancestral line and perpetuating the family incense.

Since they couldn’t return their fallen leaves to the roots, they could only plant their roots elsewhere.

“From now on, we’ll entirely depend on the young master’s care.” Yang Qin thought to himself that he actually had no choice. Secretly exhaling lightly, he bowed in respect to Han Qian.

Han Qian nodded, then discussed with Ji Xiyao matters of the shipyard and weaving workshop.

Han Qian wasn’t willing to establish the shipyard and weaving workshop in the name of the prefecture government.

Even if Xuzhou hereafter always belonged to the Third Prince’s sphere of influence, his father might not always serve in Xuzhou. Establishing the shipyard and weaving workshop in the prefecture government’s name would save trouble now, but his control over the shipyard and weaving workshop could be severed at any time.

On the Third Prince’s side, even if the Marquis of Xinchang’s household and Wanhong Tower had no wariness toward him, they would inevitably be unable to resist reaching out to pluck the peaches when the time came.

Moreover, he had to guard against his father failing to separate public from private.

When others failed to separate public from private, they scooped public money and grain into their private storehouses. When his father failed to separate public from private, he would subsidize the public coffers with private storehouse money and grain—this was too unfortunate.

Han Qian would rather allocate all money and grain from the Left Bureau workshop, having Ji Xiyao oversee this matter for him in Xuzhou. What Ji Xiyao urgently needed to accomplish these days was modifying their existing three ships toward armed warship sailing vessels.

Although the prefecture government’s money and grain had been emptied by the Four Clans, bulky items like iron and timber materials were still stored in considerable quantities. The prefecture government’s affiliated craftsman households were readily available for borrowing to work. They could even temporarily rent a shipyard.

The three ships temporarily wouldn’t undergo fundamental structural modifications. The main work was adding crenellated walls and arrow platforms, strengthening internal structures, wrapping decks and gunwales with tanned cowhide, and so on. Though they couldn’t compare to proper warships, they would still be a cut above the covered boats and oar-sail boats in river bandits’ and water brigands’ hands.

The general direction was already determined, but specific personnel arrangements were still quite complex.

Among Yang Qin’s subordinates, there would inevitably be those with depressed spirits. Moreover, a portion needed to remain in Xuzhou to rebuild Yangtan Water Stockade. Yang Qin could truly bring out to escort fleets departing from Xuzhou only extremely limited personnel—they couldn’t even hope to deter river bandits and water brigands along the way.

Before Yang Qin recruited more subordinates, Han Qian decided to have Lin Zongjing and Guo Nu’er lead a unit of elite scouts to coordinate with Yang Qin’s operations.

Actually, of the fifty scouts Han Qian transferred out from Jinling this time, he only planned to bring back Tian Cheng, Gao Shao, Zhao Wuji, and about ten others to Jinling. The others would continue gaining experience outside, even temporarily being incorporated into the shipping guild.

And for the Left Bureau to establish arrangements outside Jinling in the early stage, they could only rely on the shipping guild to gather intelligence from various places.

Seeing that Han Qian could transfer over thirty elite troops for his use in the early stage, Yang Qin also breathed a slight sigh of relief. After pondering for a moment, he said again:

“The young master probably also knows that among river bandits and water brigands in various places, truly vicious and evil ones aren’t many. Many are like Yangtan Water Stockade—still forced by livelihood…”

Han Qian raised an eyebrow and glanced at Yang Qin. Yang Qin felt so guilty he didn’t know how to continue. They had even dared to ambush the new Governor—saying they were forced by livelihood was truly rather strained.

“I know what you mean,” Han Qian said. “Simply using military force to deter water stockade forces along the route might not have the best effect. After all, the shipping guild’s personnel are limited, and fleets sailing from Xuzhou to Jinling won’t forever be just one or two—and the shipping guild being in long-term confrontational posture with water stockade forces along the way is also extremely unfavorable to the guild’s development. If possible, the shipping guild can exchange goods with these water stockade forces. I’d even more welcome it if they’re willing to trade products with the Left Bureau’s trading posts. However, things must be done discreetly. In the early stage, we can’t stir up too much trouble. Handle things as you see fit…”

“This humble subordinate understands.” Seeing that Han Qian was reasonable and not unable to accept others’ opinions, Yang Qin directly identified himself as a subordinate.