Entrepreneurship in the Late Tang Dynasty

Chapter 114 Regret
On the 20th day of the third month of spring in the second year of Qianfu, in Yazhou, on the banks of the Fenshui River.

Zhao Huai'an was watching a fleet sail south along the riverbank to deliver supplies to Yang Qingfu's army of over ten thousand men.

To be honest, although Zhao Huai'an has fought quite a few battles, he has never experienced a large-scale war. So this is the first time he has seen the shogunate transporting large quantities of grain by waterway.

Watching the barges on the flat ground, skimming the waterline, lined up one after another on the river, it looked as if a floating landmass was slowly moving southward.

They arrived in Yazhou yesterday. Zhao Huai'an had never been to this place before, but even those who had been to Yazhou probably wouldn't recognize this major city in western Sichuan.

After repeated battles between the Nanzhao and Tang armies, Yazhou is now largely uninhabited.

It is said that Gao Pian originally intended to set up his shogunate in the city, but because the ruins were difficult to clear, he set up his shogunate on Peach Blossom Island on the opposite bank of the city.

Taking Yazhou was of great significance to the counter-offensive in Xichuan.

Outside Yazhou, there is a great river called the Qingyi River. This river separates the mountainous areas of western Sichuan from the plains of Chengdu. At the same time, this river connects to Meizhou and Jiaozhou in the southeast, and joins the Min River at Longyou, eventually reaching the Yangtze River.

This can be described as a logistics line in western Sichuan, and also a lifeline.

Therefore, after entering Yazhou, Gao Pian moved the grain depot previously set up at Jidong Pass to Yazhou. Jidong Pass was simply too small and could no longer bear the task of transporting provisions for the army.

Yazhou was different. After its recapture, Meizhou and Jiazhou, which were originally under the control of the Tang army, were finally able to transfer supplies from southeastern Yizhou to the front line.

Thus, supplies transferred from Chengdu still traveled along the Jidongguan route, while grain and fodder from eastern Sichuan and the Mei and Jia prefectures could be transported to Yazhou via the Qingyi River.

But that's not the most important thing. After capturing Yazhou, the Tang army was finally able to use the Fenshui River, a tributary of the Qingyi River, to transport supplies to the front lines.

This is the scene that Zhao Huai'an and his group of loyal generals are seeing now.

However, Zhao Huai'an and his group did not come here to see the sights. They had just been assigned an important task: to build a bridge in the southwest of Yazhou so that the army could cross the river and head south.

Fortunately, Bao Yidu didn't actually have to do the bridge construction work; they were just supervisors.

Even so, everyone was still very dissatisfied. Was there some mistake? We're the elite! Are we supposed to forge our own path through mountains and build bridges over rivers?
Zhao Huai'an didn't think much of it; he regarded these as rare learning opportunities.

Now he's with the army, it seems all he has to do is travel, and once he arrives, he just waits for the next order. It's easy, but he's not learning anything.

Zhao Huai'an will eventually have to lead the army himself. Leading a thousand people is a completely different matter from leading ten thousand or even tens of thousands of people.

If we don't learn now, when will we? If we don't pay tuition with our sweat now, are we going to teach with our blood later?

No growth can be achieved by suffering losses.

So Zhao Huai'an led his team to the riverbank and began watching the workers and craftsmen build the pontoon bridge.

The Taiping Army, which arrived in Yazhou first, had already received Gao Pian's orders to go into the mountains to cut down giant trees after arriving in Yazhou, and then let them flow down the Qingyi River and pile them up on this beach.

Therefore, the craftsmen had readily available large timbers, and these were all top-grade timbers that could be used directly as roof beams.

The workers used these large timbers as a bridge, then wove thousands of thick hemp ropes to connect the timbers, and then installed mortises made of heavy stones to hold the timbers in place on the water. Finally, they laid planks on top of the timbers, thus completing a pontoon bridge.

This was the largest wooden pontoon bridge Zhao Huai'an had ever seen, and it was completed in just a few days.

While the hard work of the craftsmen, working day and night, was certainly a factor, it was also inseparable from Gao Pian's coordination.

All the work for building the bridge was arranged before construction even began. From the preparation of the large timbers to the scheduling of the craftsmen, and the collection of planks and nails, there were dedicated personnel to handle everything.

At this moment, Zhao Huai'an seemed to have learned from Gao Pian how to be an excellent commander.

Looking at the craftsmen working busily on the river, Gao Renhou, one of the military generals, was somewhat puzzled:
"My lord, our army can simply sail south to Rongjing. Didn't Commander Yang and his men also pursue the Nanzhao army by boat before? Building a pontoon bridge is a bit redundant."

Zhao Huai'an, however, somewhat guessed Gao Pian's thoughts. After pondering for a moment, he explained:
“It is certainly convenient to travel south by boat, but it does not conflict with building a pontoon bridge.”

As he spoke, Zhao Huai'an pointed to the pontoon bridge and said:
"The Prime Minister is building a pontoon bridge here, presumably with the intention of advancing by both land and water. If we only sail south, and if the war goes wrong, we won't have time to board the ships. Our army will have to retreat to Yazhou by land. But if there is no pontoon bridge on the Qingyi River, our army will be blocked on the other side of the river, and that will be terrible."

After saying that, Zhao Huai'an sighed:
"I have become arrogant in my opinion, but it seems that the Prime Minister is still quite prudent, considering defeat before victory."

After hearing Zhao Huai'an's explanation, the generals understood and praised him for his insightful opinion.

Yes, they were still praising Zhao Huai'an.

At this moment, only Zhao Liu muttered something:
"Stop being so formal. Just don't make us travel by land again."

Upon hearing this, all the generals fell silent.

Judging from their experience at Jidongguan a few days ago, they will probably have to continue traveling by land and end up in dust.

Alas, why doesn't the Prime Minister love the Han?

……

As it turns out, Zhao Liu was still judging others by his own petty standards.

Soon, the shogunate's order to mobilize the various armies arrived, and as expected, the army marched south by both land and water.

Among them, Bao Yidu was arranged to travel by both land and water, and enough warships were provided to carry Bao Yidu's hundreds of warhorses southward.

This greatly boosted the morale of Baoyi and his men, who shouted "Call Baoyi!" Their connections were strong, and they were the only ones who could enjoy such a good thing.

Thus, hundreds of barges, carrying tens of thousands of bushels of rice, along with thousands of soldiers, servants, and supplies from Baoyidu, headed south to Rongjing.

It is truly a case of "a thousand sails pass by the sunken ship, and light sails have already passed ten thousand mountains."

Rongjing, Zhao Da is here!

……

Zhao Da's joy lasted less than two days. When he arrived in Rongjing with Bao Yi, the military order from the shogunate followed, ordering Zhao Huai'an to attack Qionglai Pass.

This infuriated Zhao Huai'an.

He remembered all too well how he and Lao Liu had talked about getting through this ordeal when they were fleeing. Lao Liu's words at the time were, "Unless you can fly, you can forget about taking it down!"
Sure enough, the sixth brother over there was also furious, jumping up and down and pointing at the fleet behind him, cursing loudly:
"I was wondering why Gao Pian was so good to us, allowing us to travel south by boat. So that's what he was waiting for us."

Zhao Huai'an was also annoyed, but he couldn't show it in front of the generals, and he had a pretty good idea of ​​the reason for Gao Pian's change.

It seems that Gao Pian also suspects that Zhao Huai'an killed Yan Shihui. For people at their level, suspicion is enough; they don't need any evidence.

Perhaps in Gao Pian's eyes, he was too audacious to dare to intercept and kill a general appointed by the imperial court, so he wanted to teach him a lesson.

However, Zhao Huai'an wasn't worried about anything. He had seen through the rules of this world. It was an era of power and injustice, and the laws of the court were just a fig leaf for the power struggles among the nobles of Chang'an.

Those people always become more ruthless the harder you are to stand up to them, and the more ruthless you are, the more ruthless they become.

Zhao Huai'an has a strong army, money and food. Let alone killing Yan Shihui who has lost power, what is it to lead a protest for supplies or kill a few governors?
To put it bluntly, once Yan Shihui was stripped of his military power, no matter how high his official rank was, he was no longer on the same level as Zhao Huai'an.

Big fish eat small fish, small fish eat shrimp. Once they've eaten, they've eaten. Do we need to explain why or what the reason is? No.

Therefore, Zhao Huai'an could openly admit to Li Shitai that he killed Yan Shihui, not because he was teasing Li, but because he genuinely didn't care.

Because, setting aside the troops from the outer regions, in terms of strength alone, Zhao Huai'an was already the number three figure in western Sichuan, second only to Gao Pian and Yang Qingfu.

Yan Shihui, a dead man! Who would offend us on his behalf? Who would dare offend us? His retired father? How many divisions did he have?

Therefore, Zhao Huai'an, having fully grasped the essence of power in this world, already possessed enough self-awareness to be a military leader.

With soldiers and horses at your disposal, you can be arrogant and disregard the court's orders without the court caring. But if you have no one under your command, no matter how loyal you are to the country, if you are truly needed to die, they will sell you out without hesitation.

Didn't you see that Gao Pian was merely manipulating himself during military missions? Did he even show any anger?
However, even if you asked Zhao Huai'an to go to Gao Pian's place for a meeting alone now, he wouldn't dare.

So when the military order came, Zhao Huai'an was only slightly annoyed, then shrugged and said to the generals:

"Let's go, forget about all that, let's go report to Commander Jie first!"

……

At the Rongjing military camp, Zhao Huai'an saw Yang Qingfu, whom he hadn't seen for many days, and immediately shouted:

"Commander, Zhao Da, along with all the officers and soldiers of Baoyi, have come to pledge our allegiance and await your command!"

Looking at the spirited Zhao Huai'an and the group of loyal followers behind him, Yang Qingfu laughed heartily and said to his son, Yang Shifan:

"Look at Zhao Da, his mouth is as sweet as honey, he just has a way of speaking."

Yang Shifan, no longer displaying his previous arrogance, quickly went along with his father's words, smiling as he said:
"Zhao Da is getting more and more imposing. Father, you didn't see it, did you? When Bao Yi entered the camp earlier, we were watching from the sidelines and almost thought it was the Prime Minister's personal guards. They really have a strong and powerful army!"

It's not that Yang Shifan changed so quickly, but rather that Zhao Huai'an has become so different that he almost doesn't recognize him anymore.

It's only been a short time since we separated, and Zhao Huai'an is already raising cavalry and heavy infantry. When he looked around outside the gate, he was truly frightened by Zhao Huai'an's military strength.

With nearly two thousand elite heavy infantry and over two hundred elite cavalry, this force could easily secure a position as a military governor in the south. Therefore, our young Yang spoke as sweetly as if coated with honey, his words incredibly pleasant and agreeable.

Zhao Huai'an laughed heartily and said to Yang Shifan:
"General Yang also jokes with us, Old Zhao. My soldiers are just for show. When we went to search the mountains before, we were almost ambushed by the Nanzhao army and lost a lot of men. Later, the envoy sent us reinforcements, but they were soldiers from eastern Sichuan. Tell me, can we trust them?"

After hearing this, Yang Qingfu and Yang Shifan exchanged a glance subconsciously, and then Yang Shifan spoke first:
"We've heard about it up ahead, the Yan family father and son are finished? And you, Zhao Da, even contributed to that?"

In front of his superiors, Zhao Huai'an didn't dare to boast too much. He recounted the events of that day in the wooden building in detail, and added at the end:

"General, General Yang, Zhao Da is nothing but a nobody. He didn't do anything. Yan Shihui was captured by the Prime Minister. But I heard that Yan Shihui was sent away, but was later killed by bandits. It was retribution."

Yang Shifan immediately wanted to ask, "Didn't you, Zhao Da, kill him?" Yang Qingfu nodded.

"Yes, that day at Jidong Pass, I told you to wait, and that's what it was about. Have you ever thought about why the court suddenly removed Yan Qingfu from his position as the military governor of eastern Sichuan?"

Zhao Huai'an shook his head. He was indeed unaware of the matter, but he did know that it was the chain reaction of this incident that caused the generals of eastern Sichuan to abandon Yan Shihui, leaving Yan Shihui powerless to fight back.

At this time, only Yang Qingfu, Zhao Da, and his son were in the audience, so Yang Qingfu gave a brief account of the situation in the court during this period.

Yang Qingfu told Zhao Huai'an that Xichuan was a special case. Although it was a regional military governor, it was actually a shadow of the imperial court. Any changes in the power structure of Chang'an would be directly reflected in Xichuan.

Although it is now the second year since the new emperor ascended the throne, the emperor is young and playful, so most of the power is concentrated in the hands of Lieutenant Tian Lingzi.

Few people realize that Tian Lingzi's original surname was Chen, and he was from Chengdu. He also has an older brother in Chengdu who used to sell flatbread.

Now that Tian Lingzi wields immense power, the Chen family has naturally become a rising star in Chengdu, attracting many to curry favor. Even in this deal to fund Longshun's business, the Chen family took the lion's share.

Yang Qingfu told Zhao Huai'an that Gao Pian had come to Chengdu to put out a fire, and that he would not stay there for long. Once the Nanzhao Kingdom was pacified, the court would send a new military governor.

Furthermore, Yang Qingfu told Zhao Huai'an that the new military governor would be none other than Tian Lingzi's brother who sold pancakes.

Hey, Zhao Da, you're talking nonsense again. What do you mean the imperial court has no laws?

Who is the imperial court? The imperial court can't speak, so it's still Tian Lingzi who's in charge.

At this point, Yang Qingfu even offered a rare self-explanation:

"Those Sichuanese soldiers all say behind my back that I, Yang Qingfu, am a coward and dare not confront Gao Pian head-on. He has the imperial court behind him and the Shence Army Lieutenant behind him. What are you going to do? Those people only want me to stand in front, they don't care if I live or die."

At this point, Zhao Huai'an also understood Yang Qingfu.

He had heard about the contempt shown towards Yang Qingfu in the army, but he simply didn't speak up for the soldiers, especially when Gao Pian killed the two generals An and Li who were late. He didn't dare to say a word against them.

In retrospect, it seems that Yang Qingfu had more information and knew how deep the waters were, so he chose to protect himself.

Clearly, Yang Qingfu still cared about Zhao Huai'an's opinion, so he made a rare attempt to explain himself before returning to the topic of Tian Lingzi.

While in Chang'an, Tian Lingzi hoped that his brother would become the military governor of western Sichuan, and then be appointed prime minister and enter the government.

Only when he is inside and his brother is outside will the power of the Chen family be secure.

So, don't be fooled by the fact that Gao Pian is the current military governor of western Sichuan. In reality, Gao Pian is just a rough hand who solves problems for Tian Lingzi. Only after he has removed all the troublemakers in western Sichuan can he hand the reins over to his elder brother.

Thus, the Yan father and son became people who had to be eliminated. They were troublemakers and coveted the Chen family's exclusive territory in western Sichuan. How could they be spared?
Then, Yan Qingfu, the military governor of eastern Sichuan, was dealt with.

Don't be fooled by Yan Qingfu's spending money to win over the hearts of the people in the Eastern Sichuan Army. In the two Sichuan regions, your money is useless and can't compare to the power of the imperial court.

Therefore, Yang Qingfu told Zhao Huai'an that if he wanted to develop his career in Xichuan, he should pay a proper visit to Tian Lingzi's brother, Chen Jingxuan, after returning to Chengdu.

Seeing that Zhao Huai'an remained silent, Yang Qingfu assumed that he looked down on the relatives of eunuchs and did not want to make connections, so he tried to comfort him with his own experience:
"These are all about social interactions; how can you get things done if you don't win people over?"

Unexpectedly, Zhao Huai'an paused for a moment, then said to Yang Qingfu:

"General, I wish to return to Huaixi."

Yang Qingfu was visibly taken aback. He opened his mouth several times but no sound came out, and finally sighed:

"Well, it's good to go out. Western Sichuan is really not a place for heroes to use their talents."

Seeing that Zhao Huai'an was about to explain, Yang Qingfu shook his head and smiled with satisfaction:

“Zhao Da, I regard you as my nephew, so naturally I hope you will be better. It is right for you to go out. Shu cannot retain heroes, it is too detrimental to their spirit. If you stay here for too long, you will become like those generals from western Sichuan. It will be even more painful for me to see you become like that.”

At this moment, Zhao Huai'an felt a surge of warmth in his heart. He used to be the one warming his leader's heart, but this was the first time he had ever been warmed by his leader.

He didn't say anything more, but bowed deeply to Yang Qingfu and said in a deep voice:
"Commander, I, Zhao Da, will always be your soldier! No matter where I am, as long as you give the order, I, Zhao Da, will go through fire and water for you."

These words made Old Yang laugh heartily, and Young Yang also smiled.

Everyone likes a grateful person!

Zhao Huai'an was indeed sincerely grateful to Yang Qingfu, who gave him the opportunity to recruit soldiers in Shuangliu, enabling him to achieve the first leap in his life.

Having lived in the Tang Dynasty for a long time, Zhao Huai'an had come to understand the ways of the world.

Everyone says being a military leader is good, but don't the military leaders above know that?

Therefore, any military leader is wary of their subordinates. Back then, with Zhao Huai'an's background, having a hundred or so men was the absolute limit; his superiors would never give him any opportunity to grow.

Once your strength expands, you'll immediately be sent to dangerous places to deplete it. So for most martial artists, leading a hundred or so people is the ceiling for their lifetime.

Want to lead a thousand soldiers and become a minor military commander? Sorry, that's something you're born with, or you can't force it!
It was Yang Qingfu who helped Zhao Huai'an break through this ceiling; otherwise, no matter how ambitious Zhao Huai'an was, he would have been just a military man who served others in the Tang army and would never have had the opportunity to establish his own camp.

Although, this opportunity was also earned by Zhao Huai'an through sheer hard work and risk.

Not to mention, Yang Qingfu taught him by example how to be a general!
Zhao Huai'an will remember that sentence for the rest of his life: "If you're unlucky, you can't become a general."

Zhao Da was a grateful person in both his lives. He would repay others tenfold or a hundredfold for their kindness to him, not to mention that he respected Yang Qingfu from the bottom of his heart.

He had the limitations of a martial artist of this era, but he was a good man.

Originally, Zhao Huai'an didn't want to talk about this so soon. But for some reason, he felt that now was the best time to say it. He had a feeling that this decisive battle might not go as smoothly as expected.

He knew that Yang Qingfu had expectations of him, hoping that he could stay in western Sichuan with Baoyidu to defend the land and even protect the people of western Sichuan.

This seems ridiculous, after all, Yang Qingfu did not seem to care about protecting the people at all when he was in Qiongzhou, Yazhou, and Rongjing.

But Zhao Huai'an understood that among so many military generals in western Sichuan, perhaps only Yang Qingfu still cared about the common people.

Zhao Huai'an had already noticed this back in Shuangliu.

At that time, many refugees flocked to Shuangliu. Yang Qingfu could have easily driven these people away from the city, but he did not. Instead, he allowed the refugees to remain in the city for refuge.

After the fall of Qiongzhou, Yang Qingfu allowed his troops to enter the city and loot, but after the battle, he used all his salary to buy more than two hundred slaves and then released them back to the rear.

On that day, when Zhao Huai'an saw Yang Qingfu off at Jidong Pass, he said, "What a pity."

What is he regretting?
Unfortunately, Yang Qingfu was a kind-hearted man. He knew right from wrong, but he also knew what reality was. He compromised with reality, but he couldn't find peace in his heart. He could only do things to make up for his inner turmoil, but these things did nothing to help the people.

But this was not Yang Qingfu's fault; rather, it was the fault of this era and this court, whose generals in western Sichuan were not worthy of a commander like Yang Qingfu.

But now he has disappointed Yang Qingfu. He did not stay in western Sichuan as Yang Qingfu had hoped and become the next Yang Qingfu.

Even so, Yang Qingfu still understands himself and is happy that he can have a better future.

He is a good leader, a good commander, and a good person.

After these words, the atmosphere in the audience became heavy. Zhao Huai'an couldn't stand the atmosphere any longer. He looked at Yang Qingfu and bowed again.

"General, you must take good care of yourself."

After saying this, Zhao Huai'an slowly withdrew, and this time, Yang Qingfu did not try to stop him.

……

After leaving the tent, Zhao Huai'an couldn't help but look up at the bright sun. Feeling overwhelmed by the sunlight, he shook his head and strode back to camp.

As soon as they entered, Zhao Liu and the others went up to greet them, and everyone asked when they would set off to attack Qionglai Pass.

But Zhao Huai'an opened the military tent flap, turned around, and cursed:

"Attack Qionglai Pass? What a load of rubbish!"

"What's the rush? The lock is right there, it can't run away. Go to sleep first, we'll talk about it after you've had some rest."

After saying that, Zhao Huai'an threw down the tent flap and went inside, leaving Zhao Liu, Dou Pangzi, and the others outside looking at each other in bewilderment.

What's going on here?
(End of this chapter)