EWRN - Chapter 17
Chapter 17: Recruiting Soldiers and Horses (I)
The procession entered the imperial city in a grand display. Huo Jinyu did not return directly to the palace, but instead went to the Emerald Fragrance House. She first arranged for Zhai Yao to be comfortably lodged there and await her orders, then she took Yan Xi and her retinue of guards back to the imperial palace.
After escorting Yan Xi back to Jinxiang Palace, Huo Jinyu did not rush to the Hall of the Slumbering Dragon to rest. Instead, she headed for the study. On the way, she passed Biluo Palace but had no intention of looking inside.
The palace servants, however, knew that His Majesty was passing by and loudly paid their respects to Huo Jinyu. As it happened, Noble Consort Bai, Bai Qing, had not gone out of the palace to meet her lover that day. She was admiring the flowers in her own palace when she heard the sounds of greeting from outside. A thrill of excitement went through her. Aside from their wedding night, she had never had a proper chance to be with His Majesty. Now she was with child, yet the Emperor was so dense that he hadn't summoned her to attend to him even once. This would not do. What if she gave birth to a prince who was not favored?
Noble Consort Bai immediately walked to a small path within Biluo Palace, waiting for His Majesty to enter so she could greet him in a timely manner.
Bai Qing waited on the path for a long while, but she never saw His Majesty come in. After asking a palace maid, she learned that His Majesty had merely been passing by!
Furious, Noble Consort Bai kicked over a small flowerpot beside her and stormed into her bedchamber. Her most favored head palace maid, Bi Luo, hurried after her.
Bai Qing sat in the main seat, drinking tea nonstop in her anger. Bi Luo stood behind her, helping to soothe her temper. The second maid, Qiu Ye, was Bi Luo's sworn enemy and couldn't stand Bi Luo's habit of feigning innocence while reaping benefits. Seeing the consort so upset, she quickly offered a plan. "Your Highness, all men like it when their wives personally cook for them. His Majesty has just returned from outside the palace and must be weary from the journey. Why don't you personally deliver some warming soup? Wouldn't His Majesty be delighted by your thoughtfulness?" Noble Consort Bai thought about it and realized it made sense.
"Your Highness, you absolutely must not! The study is a vital place where His Majesty discusses matters of state. Even high-ranking ministers cannot enter and exit freely. I implore Your Highness to reconsider," Bi Luo objected with a look of "deep concern."
Hearing this, Qiu Ye became even more insistent. "Bi Luo, are you trying to stop Her Highness from prospering? How long has it been since His Majesty visited Biluo Palace? As his wife, it is only right for Her Highness to go and see him!" When Noble Consort Bai heard Qiu Ye's words, she felt they were deeply reasonable. She was the one His Majesty had personally named and married. Why was it that when he left the palace, he only took that little bitch Princess Yan and not her? It was because she saw His Majesty too infrequently! This would not do. It had only been a short time, and His Majesty was already doting on a new favorite. Soon, wouldn't he forget all about an old one like her? In the deep palace, one only ever saw the new love's smile, never heard the old love's cry.
Noble Consort Bai paid no more mind to what the head maid Bi Luo had said. Instead, she turned and ordered someone to prepare soup. Bai Qing didn't know how to make soup; she merely planned to take what the palace servants made and put on an act.
In the study, Eunuch Wang was still miserably reviewing memorials. When he saw Huo Jinyu arrive, it was as if he had seen his savior. He dropped to his knees with a thud. "Greetings, Your Majesty!"
Huo Jinyu told him to rise, then walked to the desk and sat down. She asked Eunuch Wang if anything major had happened in the imperial city during her absence. After receiving a negative reply, Huo Jinyu habitually began to flip through the memorials. After a few, she suddenly came to her senses. Wasn't she determined to be a graceful ruler of a fallen kingdom? Why was she reading memorials? "Eunuch Wang, continue reading for Us," Huo Jinyu commanded, finding a comfortable position at the desk. Eunuch Wang, who had only rested for a moment, had no choice but to resume reading the memorials.
At Biluo Palace, Bai Qing led a large group of palace maids in a grand procession toward the study. Two young eunuchs stood guard not far from the entrance. Seeing such a large group approaching, they sensed trouble and hurried forward to block them. "Noble Consort, please go back. This is the study, a restricted area. His Majesty does not permit unauthorized personnel to enter!"
"Stop them for me! I am His Majesty's wife. What is wrong with showing concern for His Majesty's health? All of you, get out of my way!" Bai Qing took the soup from a palace maid's hands and started to walk in. The two young eunuchs were held back and couldn't break free. They could only shout at the top of their lungs, "Your Majesty! Someone is forcing their way into the study!"
Inside, Huo Jinyu was dozing off when she was startled by a commotion outside. Then she saw that Noble Consort Bai, whom she had long since forgotten, swaying her hips as she entered carrying something.
The Noble Consort sashayed in and said, "Your Majesty, this servant was worried you would be weary from your journey, so I took the liberty of making you some soup." Then she looked up and was stunned. The Emperor's own Eunuch Wang was reading the imperial memorials!
Seeing Bai Qing's dumbfounded expression, Huo Jinyu's mood soured, and her face instantly darkened.
"Who told you that you could come to Our study whenever you please?" Huo Jinyu's tone was icy.
"Is this how your family taught you? To see Us without being announced, to hold back Our men and force your way in? What kind of decorum is this!" Huo Jinyu slammed her hand on the desk, the impact causing several tall stacks of memorials to topple to the floor.
Bai Qing was so frightened she stood frozen, at a loss for what to do. "Our study is a place for matters of state. Is it a place a mere consort from the rear palace like you can enter at will? Get out, now. And be careful not to spill that thing in Our Hall of Imperial Governance." Huo Jinyu waved her hand dismissively, frowning as she told Bai Qing to take her miscellaneous things and leave quickly.
Bai Qing was both furious and terrified. With reddened eyes, she carried the soup, swayed her hips, and retreated. She handed the soup to a palace maid and returned the way she came. The two young eunuchs at the door crawled into the study in terror, kowtowing relentlessly. Annoyed, Huo Jinyu told them to get up, go back outside, and guard the door properly, docking only a month of their salary. The two young eunuchs crawled back up, full of gratitude, and went outside.
Huo Jinyu summoned Eunuch Li, who had been standing to the side. "Eunuch Li, starting today, notify the madams of all major Emerald Fragrance Houses. Post recruitment notices for able-bodied men to serve as household retainers. Announce publicly that you are only hiring a hundred, but do not take the notices down. If the authorities inquire, tell them the applicants were not ideal, and most were sent away. If the authorities are persistent, show them the Emerald Fragrance House's jade-inlaid gold medallion. You must shut their mouths. Not a whisper of this can be allowed to leak out!" Huo Jinyu gave her instructions one by one, afraid of any slip-ups. This was something that could save her life in the future!
Eunuch Li accepted his orders and left the palace, heading straight for the Emerald Fragrance House. Huo Jinyu's secret recruitment of soldiers and buying of horses had begun.
Biluo Palace.
Qiu Ye knelt on the floor, trembling. A basin of hot soup was poured over her head. "It was all your stupid idea, you wretched girl! You made me lose all my dignity!" Bai Qing said viciously. She then ordered two palace maids to slap Qiu Ye a dozen times, not wanting to dirty her own hands.
Afterward, Bai Qing composed herself and left the palace. She had to tell her father what she had seen in the study. This was exactly the kind of leverage against the Emperor that her father, Prime Minister Bai, loved!
Not long after, a young eunuch came to the study to report. "Reporting to Your Majesty, Noble Consort Bai has left the palace without permission and is heading to the Bai Residence." "Record it," Huo Jinyu nodded. "Add it to her previous offenses."
Bai Qing? Let's see how much longer your Bai family can keep hopping around.
Over the next two days, the major cities became even more lively. The reason was that the Emerald Fragrance Houses in each city had begun recruiting household retainers!
"Recruiting retainers? What's so special about that? Don't places like the Spring Vista House and the Yi Hong Courtyard have dozens of retainers?" a man in front of a notice board said dismissively. Retainers did all the hard, miscellaneous work, had to be the first to charge into a fight, and their wages were low. If the master was unhappy, they would be beaten and scolded. Who would want to do that?
"You just don't get it. Look closely at what's written on this notice! One hundred taels of silver a year! Your family would be lucky to make ten taels a year, right? And those farmers, three taels a year is the absolute most they can make! Let me tell you, if you're late, the spots will be gone. Where else can you find such a good job?" another burly man explained from the side, looking quite pleased with himself. He had just gone for an interview and was selected immediately. He even received a large sum of silver, at least fifty taels! He just had to sign an indenture contract and something called a non-disclosure agreement. It basically said he was not allowed to tell anyone that he had sold himself to become a retainer for the Emerald Fragrance House. The benefits were great, but if word got out, the power of the Emerald Fragrance House could easily erase a person or an entire family. It was the classic carrot-and-stick approach.
"There's such a good deal! No, no, I have to go try too!" Hearing the big man's words, the man was immediately tempted and hurried off to the Emerald Fragrance House to join the recruitment.
Scenes like this were playing out in major cities all over the country.
The Emerald Fragrance Houses stopped recruiting once they reached five hundred men and took down the notices. Unexpectedly, it only took three or four days for most of them to fill their quotas. The longest it took was seven days. All the Emerald Fragrance Houses had filled their ranks. It was truly a great harvest!
Fifty major cities, fifty Emerald Fragrance Houses, had bought the contracts of approximately twenty-five thousand retainers.
Huo Jinyu: As expected of the Emerald Fragrance House. Sweet success!
After the Emerald Fragrance Houses reported their results one by one, Huo Jinyu expressed her great satisfaction. An army's value is in its quality, not its quantity. She still had plenty of time to slowly recruit private soldiers; it was still early. To avoid unnecessary trouble and attention, Huo Jinyu ordered the team leaders to bring the retainers from all over the country in batches to Baili Mountain, located behind two other mountains more than thirty li outside the imperial city. They were to set up camp and disguise it as a large bandit fortress. Huo Jinyu ordered the guards who had previously run errands for her to give them military-style training and to spread her name, Huo Jinyu. She even gave this private army a fine-sounding name: the Brocade Guard Army.
The transportation of the Brocade Guard Army to Baili Mountain continued for about a month. In the last few days, almost everyone had arrived. Baili Mountain was a scene of bustling activity.
Every day, after lazily attending morning court, Huo Jinyu would ride out to train her private soldiers, training alongside them. Gradually, the soldiers came to know only the great name of Huo Jinyu, and were ignorant of the current emperor, generals, or anyone else.
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