Entrepreneurship in the Late Tang Dynasty

Chapter 111 Rainy Night
Outside, it was pouring rain; no one expected the rain to come so heavily and so suddenly.

After the drinking session, Zhao Huai'an and Xianyu Yue stayed in one tent. Thunder roared outside, while inside, loud snoring filled the air.

Suddenly, Zhao Huai'an opened his eyes and saw that his sworn brother on the opposite bed was sleeping soundly. He then carefully got up and quietly left the tent.

Shortly after he left, Xianyu Yue opened his eyes, glanced at the empty bed, and turned to sleep.

It was raining heavily outside. After Zhao Huai'an came out of the tent, he went straight to a large tent next to it, which was where the Baoyidu generals had rested after the drinking session.

Despite the heavy rain, Zhao Huai'an lifted the tent flap and went inside. Inside, there were forty team leaders, righteous men, and adopted sons, including Wang Jin, Zhou Dexing, and Sun Chuanwei.

They were already wearing raincoats and waiting with their hands on their swords. As soon as they saw Zhao Huai'an enter, they all stood up. Just as they were about to speak, Zhao Huai'an stopped them.

Zhao Huai'an strode to the seat of honor and sat down on the stool at the head of the table, letting his adopted sons put armor on him without saying a word.

The atmosphere suddenly became somber.

After putting on his armor, Zhao Huai'an looked at everyone and said in a deep voice:

"Tonight I am going to do something big, but I haven't told you yet, so you still have a choice. So those who are hesitant or dare not do this big thing, take off your armor and leave my Baoyidu. I will not make things difficult for you."

Wang Jin, Liu Zhijun, Han Qiong, and others were only told to stay in the tent that night after the drinking session to wait for the general. They didn't know what was going on, so they didn't dare to drink too much, for fear of messing things up.

At this moment, upon hearing how serious the matter was being discussed, several quick-witted individuals, such as Lu Zhongyuan, were already muttering to themselves:
"They won't have suffered the same mistreatment as before at Minister Gao's, will they? Are they going to kill Gao Pian tonight?"

He couldn't help but glance at the heavy rain outside, thinking to himself that tonight was a good time to kill someone.

Like other generals, they were thinking similarly. After all, there were probably few things that could make them take things so seriously, except for killing officials and rebelling.

In particular, Wang Jin, Guo Congyun, Liu Zhijun, and Liu Xin in the crowd suddenly remembered their previous attack on the soldiers of the Eastern Sichuan Army, realizing that their own generals were now acting somewhat recklessly.

So even though they dared not think about it, they couldn't help but think, "Our family is going to rebel!"
But why? The decisive battle is imminent, and Minister Gao has treated Baoyi well. We are about to make a name for ourselves, so why are we rebelling?
The atmosphere gradually intensified, with only Zhao Huai'an tapping his knee with his right hand, counting the beats. After counting to one hundred, he finally laughed:
"Alright, since everyone is still staying here, they are all my brothers, Zhao Da. From now on, we will be loyal to each other!"

After saying that, Zhao Huai'an turned to Sun Chuanwei in the crowd and said:
"Old Sun, do you still remember your brother's death?"

Sun Chuanwei stood up abruptly, clasped his hands in a fist salute, and snorted loudly:

"This humble general has never forgotten day and night that we are all going to kill Yan Shihui, and I, Sun Chuanwei, will be the first to do it!"

Zhao Huai'an nodded. He knew that among these people, only he and Sun Chuanwei cared about the whereabouts and fate of Yan Shihui.

That's right, he's going to kill Yan Shihui this time.

He never expected that a few days ago in the wooden building, after Gao Pian defeated Yan Shihui with just a few words, he would not kill him! Wasn't it supposed to be a ruthless and decisive act?

Instead of killing those who have brought such harm to the people and the nation, this high-ranking official has been belatedly executed; perhaps he is simply senile.

Tonight, when Pei Xing from the Mufu came to drink, he sighed and said that Yan Shihui was probably drinking at Baizhang Post Station now.

In the blink of an eye, Zhao Huai'an decided to rush to Baizhangyi that night to assassinate Yan Shihui.

But you, Gao Pian, will not kill me, while I, Zhao Huai'an, will. It's not for grand words about the people and the nation, but because I can't suppress my anger!
Perhaps the world will tolerate you, the court officials will tolerate you, and even those innocent people you killed who were afraid of your relatives will tolerate you.

But I'm sorry, you won't be tolerated here in Zhao Da's place!

Then he looked at the righteous generals present. Before he spoke, they were all too afraid to even breathe, but when they heard Sun Chuanwei, who had stood up, say that he was going to kill Yan Shihui, they all secretly breathed a sigh of relief.

Without further hesitation, he addressed the crowd:
“Yan Shihui is our mortal enemy. If he lives, Zhao Da will never be at peace. Moreover, once he returns to Chang'an and reaches the central government, none of you will have a future. Therefore, I have decided to rush to Baizhang Post Station tonight and kill this scoundrel to eliminate any future trouble.”

Hearing that they would all be talking about the killing of Master Yan, the generals did not hesitate and sang in unison:
"How dare you disobey your orders!"

In fact, if Zhao Huai'an had directly said he wanted to kill Yan Shihui, some of them would have had doubts.

After all, Yan Shihui was a general in the army. Although he had been stripped of his military power, he still held official rank. It would take some courage for him to directly kill a general appointed by the imperial court.

But Zhao Huai'an's previous actions made it seem as if he was going to kill Gao Pian, or even rebel! Compared to that, killing Yan Shihui seems acceptable. This is expectation management!

Moreover, the reasons given were all too convincing. For example, if Yan Shihui were to go to the central government, these people from Baoyi would not only be exempt from promotion, but might also be sent to dangerous places in the future.

So what else is there to say? Just kill Yan Shihui!
So Zhao Huai'an made a quick decision, put on a raincoat, and was the first to leave the tent. Forty officers and soldiers followed him out of the tent in the rain.

Braving the heavy rain, the group followed Zhao Huai'an across the river in a small boat, then walked into a dense forest, where they met Zhao Liu, Dou Pangzi, and others who had been waiting for them.

They dispersed during the party to bring their warhorses here.

Seeing Zhao Huai'an bring his generals over, Zhao Liu visibly breathed a sigh of relief and then grinned.

From then on, these guys were completely in the same boat as us! Hehe!
Meanwhile, Zhao Huai'an remained silent, mounted his horse, and headed straight for Baizhangyi, twenty miles to the north.

……

Baizhangyi is a very simple post station, but it has a certain charm because it is located next to a large lake.

At this moment, a torrential downpour began, with raindrops the size of pigeon eggs pounding on the lake, causing the surface to boil.

Inside the post station, the postmaster and his men were carefully handing food to the warriors in front of them, letting them eat first, before passing it on to the general in the waterside pavilion.

These people dared not look too closely. The officials and clerks of this post station had been captured by the Nanzhao people. These people were newly appointed from Qiongzhou. In fact, just over ten days ago, they were just farmers.

They were worried that the food they had prepared would not suit the general's taste, so even though they left with their heads down, they dared not go too far, for fear that the general would be angry and they would lose their lives if they knelt for even a moment too late.

But these people are just making trouble for themselves. When the soldiers brought the food to the waterside pavilion, Yan Shihui, the son of the former governor of western Sichuan and who should have been the ruler of eastern Sichuan, was in low spirits and drinking by himself.

Where was the heroic spirit of this great man now? His eyes were bloodshot, and even the hair on his beard was disheveled.

One of the guards, seeing Yan Shihui's spirits waning, couldn't help but shout:

“My lord, why are you acting like a woman? It’s just going back to Chang’an, so what? With the head of the family in Chang’an and the wealth we’ve accumulated over the years, we can be back in a few years.”

"And let me be blunt, Old Ding, Gao Pian is almost sixty years old. How many more years can he live? And his younger generation, I think they're all useless. Once Gao Pian dies, we'll just kill his children and grandchildren and avenge that day!"

Yan Shihui had been silent, drowning his sorrows in alcohol, but upon hearing this, he flew into a rage, smashed his wine glass, and roared:

"You bastard, do you mean my Yan Shi Society can only bully good-for-nothings? We have to wait until that old man Gao Pian dies before we can?"

"Hmph, let me tell you the truth, I have my own methods. Just wait until I return to Chang'an, and that old man Gao Pian will be taught a lesson. As for that Zhao Huai'an, that dog-like bastard, he's from Shouzhou, isn't he? Tonight, you take a team of men to Shouzhou and slaughter his entire family!"

As he spoke, he pointed to Old Ding and told him to set off for Shouzhou that very night.

Old Ding was covered in wine and dared not speak. These men had been supported by the Yan family for many years, and their families were all in the hands of the Yan family. Although they were soldiers, they were no different from household slaves.

At this moment, when his husband said something about going to Shouzhou to kill Zhao Huai'an's entire family, Old Ding could only listen and dared not ask a single question about where Zhao Huai'an's family lived.

Just as Lao Ding was preparing to step down.

Suddenly, the outer gate of the post station was kicked open, and three squads of armored soldiers rushed in, some carrying short crossbows and others carrying shields. They were all fully armored and wearing raincoats.

Upon entering, the three teams clearly divided their tasks. One of the soldiers, a burly armored man as strong as a bear, led the way through the front of the post station, while the other two teams circled around from the sides. Some of the Yan family guards stationed around the perimeter of the post station were pinned to wooden pillars by crossbow bolts before they could even draw their swords. Then, the innermost door of the post station was smashed open.

The burly armored warrior, clad in three layers of armor and wielding a long mace, smashed the head of a stunned Yan clan general after successfully breaching the gate.

At that moment, the entire inn erupted in excitement.

Old Ding and his men either stood guard by the waterside pavilion or donned their armor, preparing to engage the enemy in hand-to-hand combat.

Suddenly, a tall, armored soldier walked in from the front, followed by a dozen or so other armored soldiers, each carrying heavy weapons, who rushed in to help their comrade who had entered first deal with the enemy in front of him.

It was utterly devastating; those Yan family generals, dressed only in military uniforms and armed with swords, were like a bunch of chickens, mercilessly slaughtered.

Their swords, when slashing at the armored soldiers, accomplished nothing more than cutting off their own weapons.

At this point, Lao Ding's trusted lieutenants had given up hope and were preparing to break through the encirclement with Yan Shihui and the others.

Suddenly, Yan Shihui caught sight of the enemy soldier standing motionless, who ripped off his visor. Instantly, his eyes turned bloodshot, and he roared:

"Zhao Huai'an!"

Yes, it was Zhao Huai'an and his men who stormed into the post station, having come from twenty miles away.

At that moment, Zhao Huai'an also stared at Yan Shihui, and then cruelly slit his throat.

At this moment, Master Yan stopped being angry. He suddenly realized his situation and hurriedly tried to pull Lao Ding and the others away.

But it was too late. The righteous generals who had come from both sides earlier stepped on their comrades' knees and flipped into the waterside pavilion, then blocked the way from both the front and back.

Thus, Yan Shihui was completely surrounded, with the righteous generals eyeing him menacingly on three sides, and a bottomless lake behind him.

Meanwhile, while the Yan family generals below were buying time with their lives, the Sichuan soldiers on the waterside pavilion had already donned their armor.

Without any hesitation, the seven or eight armored soldiers, led by Lao Ding, charged towards Zhao Huai'an.

Without Zhao Huai'an having to lift a finger, Iron Beast Han Qiong, who was the first to rush in, charged forward with only the iron mace in his hand.

Old Ding was also a fierce warrior, the only one among the generals and soldiers who never took off his armor, but he had no heavy weapons, and he charged over with only the iron mace he carried with him.

Iron mace against iron mace, an inch longer means an inch stronger, not to mention the difference in length is three or four times. So, while Old Ding was still running, Han Qiong's iron mace had already struck his breastplate.

In just one moment, Old Ding's eyes turned bloodshot, and then he spat out a mouthful of blood and slowly collapsed to the ground.

As soon as he fell, Qian Tiefo, who was behind Han Qiong, smashed Old Ding's head with a golden hammer.

The remaining soldiers from eastern Sichuan were also shot down by the righteous generals on both sides with short crossbows at almost the same time.

Those experienced generals shot arrows into the seams of their armor, their knees, their armpits, and the eye holes of their visors.

Before the eight soldiers from eastern Sichuan could even reach Zhao Huai'an, each of them was pierced by three or four arrows and fell onto the wooden plank.

The cramped inn was filled with corpses, and blood mixed with bits of flesh covered the floor. The innkeeper and his men on one side had long since collapsed to the ground, unable to hold their bladders.

Looking at Zhao Huai'an and his righteous generals, Yan Shihui, who was now all alone, suddenly burst into wild laughter, then plunged into the large lake behind him without looking back.

Zhao Huai'an frowned, just about to order everyone to mount their crossbows and shoot at the bottom of the lake.

Suddenly, Sun Chuanwei rushed out from behind and plunged a short knife into the lake.

At this moment, Zhao Huai'an was greatly alarmed and cursed:
"Don't want to die?"

But by then Sun Chuanwei had already jumped down.

As soon as Sun Chuanwei jumped, Wang Jin and the others quickly removed their armor to try and rescue him. Suddenly, Zhao Jinzhong, who had been relatively quiet, threw down a bundle of hemp rope with a stone tied to one end. The rope sank to the bottom very quickly.

Everyone's hearts were in their throats. Suddenly, a deep crimson color appeared on the lake's surface. Then, the rope in Zhao Jinzhong's hand tightened, and he could barely hold on. He was about to shout.

Huo Yanchao, who came up from behind, grabbed the rope, sank into a horse stance, and firmly secured himself. With a burst of strength from his arms, he pulled the person from the water up.

Zhao Huai'an couldn't help but take another look.

Old Huo is quite perceptive; he clearly didn't use his full strength when he snatched the spear that day!
When everyone looked worriedly at the person who had surfaced, they saw that it was Sun Chuanwei who had emerged from the water, spitting out a mouthful of lake water, and they couldn't help but cheer.

At this moment, Zhao Huai'an rushed forward, pulled Sun Chuanwei onto the waterside pavilion, and seeing the man clutching Yan Shihui's head tightly in his hand, he cursed:
"Everyone says Pu was just out of his mind back then, but I think you, Sun Chuanwei, were the real daredevil! Old Sun, take care of yourself! Now that we've avenged our great enemy, you need to live well for everyone!"

Sun Chuanwei chuckled, then fainted.

Zhao Huai'an checked him over and, seeing that he was just exhausted, asked Zhao Jinzhong and a few others to take care of him.

At this moment, Lu Zhongyuan had already brought the postmaster over and asked:
"All of them, these men already know our names, kill them."

Zhao Huai'an turned his head and saw the men lying limp on the ground, their faces filled with terror. He asked:

"If someone asks you who killed Yan Shihui, what would you say?"

These people were too terrified to speak, and they all looked helplessly at Zhao Huai'an.

Zhao Huai'an shook his head and told them:

"If anyone asks you who killed Yan Shihui, just say it was a Nanzhao person! Understand?"

So these people kowtowed and pounded their fists, but they were still trembling uncontrollably.

Having no other option, Zhao Huai'an said to Zhao Liu:

"Sixth Brother, take these people with you for now, and bring them back later. They can serve Old Mo here."

Old Six nodded, then kicked the sword on the ground to the innkeepers and snorted:
"You're in luck. Go check if there are any survivors. Each of you should make one cut, then come with us."

That's why Zhao Liu is considered Zhao Liu's most trusted confidant. His ability to identify and fill gaps, and to offer opportunities for advancement, is something others should learn from.

Several couriers shakily picked up their knives, supporting each other as they took turns stabbing the Yan family guards on the ground. After a series of screams, silence finally fell.

At this moment, Zhao Huai'an looked around at his loyal followers. After this night, they had truly become brothers who shared a deep bond.

With such a team, no matter how chaotic the world is, where can't they go?
At this moment, Zhao Huai'an was filled with pride:

"Innkeeper, bring all the wine from the inn. We'll leave after we finish our wine!"

And so, the group, who had braved the heavy rain and traveled twenty miles through the night, killed the people and then had a hot meal. Feeling warm all over, they returned to camp by the same route in the middle of the night when the rain subsided a little.

At this moment, as dawn broke in the east, Zhao Huai'an led his generals, riding swiftly towards the rising sun.

A new era has begun.

(End of this chapter)