Entrepreneurship in the Late Tang Dynasty

Chapter 115 Theft
Zhao Huai'an is a mature person; his emotions come and go quickly.

Moreover, it happened so fast that the generals couldn't react in time before he ordered the entire army to launch a night attack on Qionglai Pass.

Another night raid!

The righteous generals inwardly groaned, but amidst Zhao Huai'an's angry curses, they obediently shouldered their packs, rolled up their flags, and the servants carried their armor, heading towards Qionglai Pass, twenty-five miles to the southwest.

During this period of honing their skills, the Baoyi Army developed its own unique style of doing things: as long as they weren't killed, they would fight to the death.

The Baoyidu, a force of about three thousand men, headed towards the mountain pass to the southwest under the moonlight.

Between Rongjing and Hanyuan in Lizhou, there is a mountain range about sixty miles long, and Qionglai Pass is located on Daxiang Ridge, the middle of this mountain range, guarding this famous tea-horse trade route.

Rongjing is a valley nestled in the mountains. It got its name from the fact that the Jing River in the east and the Rong River in the west converge in this valley.

In the mountains, the valleys through which rivers flow are the most natural passages, and the Qionglai Pass that Zhao Huai'an and his men were about to attack was located downstream of the Jing River.

Therefore, at this moment, the Baoyi Army only needs to move south along the Jingshui River to reach Qionglai Pass, which is the source of Zhao Huai'an's confidence in ordering the army to march at night.

But when Bao Yi entered the mountainous area, Zhao Huai'an still gasped in shock, realizing that he had only ever talked about military strategy on paper.

First of all, once they entered the mountainous area, it was nighttime, and the temperature dropped sharply. Even Zhao Huai'an, wrapped in a woolen cloak, found it hard to bear, let alone the Baoyidu officials and soldiers who had already taken off their winter clothes.

After the group entered the mountains, shivering and cold, another problem arose: the surrounding mountains were high and the forests were dense, and the group could no longer use the moonlight to travel.

Left with no other choice, Zhao Huai'an ordered his troops to set up torches and continue their journey, hoping that the dense forest would block the firelight and prevent the enemy troops at Qionglai Pass from discovering them.

But these difficulties ceased to be problems once they actually saw the mountain pass.

In the darkness, ahead lay rolling hills and foothills, flanked by towering mountains, with wisps of mountain mist rising and casting an eerie glow over everything.

After entering through the mountain pass, the road becomes increasingly steep and winding, with the howls of wild animals frequently heard from the forests on both sides.

Following the mountain path, the officers and soldiers of Zhongbaoyidu finally saw the pass of Daxiangling in front of them.

The entire pass is about twenty or thirty steps wide, but once inside, the road becomes funnel-shaped, getting narrower the further in you go, until finally only one person can pass at a time.

The officers and soldiers of Baoyidu helped each other along the river valley road, with the Jing River flowing beside them and pebbles falling from the mountains above, eventually rolling into the Jing River.

The sounds of footsteps, the hoofbeats of warhorses, and the trembling of teeth were especially clear in the night.

Because the road was narrow, Bao Yi left almost all of his heavy equipment behind, carrying only armor, swords, and crossbows, and slowly made his way along the valley road.

Zhao Huai'an also carried his own baggage, while his armor was carried by several adopted sons and righteous men, and theirs was carried by servants.

At this moment, Zhao Huai'an truly regretted his decision.

War is all about being realistic; anyone who is arrogant will be taught a lesson by the enemy. Zhao Huai'an reflected on this and realized that in the future, no matter what military operation was undertaken, the geography had to be thoroughly understood first.

Even if I don't go myself, I have to let the scouts go first.

Now, looking at the towering mountains on both sides, with skeletons and corpses appearing from time to time, Zhao Huai'an could only pray that he would not be ambushed by the enemy, otherwise Zhao Da would lose everything in this game.

The mountain fog grew thicker and thicker, and Zhao Huai'an could barely see the torchlight ahead. Just as he was about to order the vanguard to slow down, he suddenly heard a cheer. Before he could listen closely, cheers came from both the front and back:

"Qionglai Pass has been captured!"

Zhao Huai'an was stunned for a moment. He'd already won?
……

What exactly is the Nanzhao army up to?
At this moment, Zhao Huai'an, who was at Qionglai Pass, was pondering this question.

The Qionglai Pass they had captured was now a ruin. Not only had the water supply from outside the pass been cut off, but even the mountain water they had dug inside the pass had been contaminated with animal carcasses by the Nanzhao people, making it undrinkable.

Drinking this water will immediately cause stomach cramps and diarrhea.

So even though Zhou Dexing and his team easily captured the unguarded pass, they still gave up their plan to set up camp inside the pass because getting water was too difficult.

The three thousand people could only rest in the narrow river valley.

Because of the overnight march and the high-pressure environment, the officers and soldiers were already exhausted. Once they discovered that there were no enemy troops here, they immediately relaxed.

So he wrapped himself in a blanket and slept by the river valley.

Zhao Huai'an then summoned all the generals to discuss what the Nanzhao people were planning.

Is this an attempt to escape, or to lure them deeper into Hanyuan?
Chen Fahai, standing in the crowd, was the first to voice his opinion: he believed the Nanzhao people were going to flee.

The logic is simple: the Nanzhao people have already looted most of their goods. They fought desperately in Qiongzhou and Yazhou to cover the retreat of their follow-up troops. Now that they're not defending, it's clear that they've already fled.

However, many of the generals who defended the country subconsciously opposed this idea, since it would mean that their spoils and military achievements would also be lost.

Zhao Huai'an, however, had no reason for doing so. He shook his head and said to everyone:

“If we hadn’t lost Longshun, Nanzhao could have indeed looted and run away, which was their original purpose in sending troops. But now Longshun is in our hands, and the Nanzhao ruler, Chief Long, is old. It is said that the new crown prince he has appointed is only a teenager, so they will not retreat like that.”

Seeing that some people understood and others did not, Zhao Huai'an further explained:
“Longshun has been the crown prince for twenty years and has considerable prestige in the region. If the king, Chief Long, cannot win a battle this time, once he dies, the young crown prince will inevitably be unable to control the powerful ministers in the country. At that time, our Tang can use Longshun’s connections to calmly win over and divide the Nanzhao nobles. Before this year is over, Nanzhao will surely perish.”

"So if I were the ruler of the country, I would definitely fight this battle to subdue the various powerful clans, build up the prestige of the new crown prince, and most importantly, completely destroy the Tang dynasty's forces in western Sichuan."

After Zhao Huai'an explained it this way, everyone understood.

So Zhang Dai asked:
"Do they all think the enemy is luring us deeper into their territory?"

Zhao Huai'an nodded, then spread a sheepskin map on the ground. He had drawn it when he was fleeing, and it basically covered the mountains and rivers within Lizhou.

He addressed the crowd:
“If the Nanzhao people intend to lure our army deep into their territory, then the only place that could be a decisive battleground is the plateau east of the Liusha River. I suspect the enemy is letting our army advance deep into Hanyuan, rather than engaging us in a decisive battle in Yazhou or Rongjing, because of the mountainous terrain we are currently in.” Chen Fahai nodded and added:

“They all have a point. We’ve been to Yazhou and Rongjing. They’re suitable for our operations. Supplies from Chengdu can flow in continuously. But the Nanzhao army has to cross these mountains to get supplies to the front. With this back and forth, the Nanzhao army simply can’t hold on.”

Then the generals finally realized that if the enemy set up the decisive battle at Hanyuan, the situation would be reversed. The Nanzhao people could use the Dadu River to continuously supply the front line with supplies, while our army's water and land transport would be cut off after reaching Qionglai Pass, and we could only rely on porters to carry supplies across the mountain.

Even more maliciously, the Nanzhao people destroyed the water sources in the area, making it impossible for the porters who set off from Qionglai Pass to obtain fresh water supplies.

Now everyone understood and looked at Zhao Huai'an to see what his plan was.

But our Zhao Da just gave a fierce analysis, and now he just shrugged, indicating that he didn't know what to do. Anyway, there are still tall guys above him to hold things up. He will report the situation here and wait for Gao Pian to make a decision.

However, the Nanzhao army on the other side can no longer be underestimated.

……

One characteristic of the mountains is that it rains lightly from time to time.

At this moment, Yang Hefeng, the military governor of Jianchuan of the Nanzhao Kingdom, had stationed his 5,000 troops on a mountain west of the Liusha River in Hanyuan.

As one of the eight leaders of the six military governors and two governors of Nanzhao, Jianchuan Military Governor's Office had always been the private territory of the Yang family, and the current military governor was Yang Hefeng, the chieftain of the Yang family.

The Yang family's ancestors were the Erhe barbarians who lived around Erhai Lake. It is said that the reason why this branch of them was given the surname Yang was because Zhuge Liang bestowed it upon them when he pacified the south, so it has been used ever since.

Later, with the rise of Nanzhao and the subsequent pacification of the Six Zhao, the Erhe barbarians were driven away from Erhai Lake and settled in the Jianchuan area. It was from that time that the Yang family became the local tyrants of Jianchuan.

Later, when Nanzhao expanded, the Yang family joined the Nanzhao Kingdom and maintained a strong influence in the Jianchuan region. The Yang family also had considerable influence in the court and temples, with many members serving as officials or monks.

It is not an exaggeration to describe the Yang family as a prominent clan of the Nanzhao Kingdom.

So normally, there aren't many things that can bother Yang Hefeng, but now there really is one thing that makes him unable to make up his mind.

It wasn't that he was indecisive, but rather that the matter concerned the rise and fall of his family over the past century, and he dared not be careless.

That is, should we side with the King of the Nation, or with the Crown Prince, Long Shun?

Logically speaking, as their king, Chief Long should naturally stand on the side of the king, but Long Shun represents the future.

These upper-class nobles of Nanzhao knew very well that Nanzhao was no match for the southwestern vassal states of the Tang Dynasty, let alone Chang'an.

Therefore, whenever Nanzhao raided, they would return after sending reinforcements from Chang'an. But this time, their raid on western Sichuan was truly a case of losing more than they gained.

Because they lost their successor, Longshun.

It wasn't that Longshun was particularly virtuous, but rather that he was the only one of Qiulong's many sons to reach adulthood. Once Longshun was no longer the crown prince and Qiulong grew old, the country would immediately fall into disintegration, just as had happened in the neighboring Tibetan Empire on the high plateau.

Moreover, a more practical point is that with Longshun as a guide, the Tang army could directly invade Nanzhao. In the past, the Tang army had invaded the Erhai region, the heart of Nanzhao, several times, but each time, the Tang army was completely annihilated.

But in the past few times, the crown prince of Nanzhao did not come to help, so how can the current Nanzhao military generals and nobles have confidence?

They weren't trying to lure the enemy deep into their territory at all; they were simply collapsing one defeat after another. If it weren't for the fact that the king, Chieftain, had transferred 30,000 troops from the country to block the Dadu River, these nobles would have abandoned Hanyuan long ago and retreated back to their country.

Even so, five or six nobles were still dissatisfied. They had already made arrangements to persuade the chieftain again today when he summoned the generals of the army. Moreover, if persuasion through words failed this time, they would resort to force.

They also called on Yang Hefeng to help persuade them, but Yang Hefeng himself was still hesitant and couldn't make a decision.

Just then, the guards came in and said it was time to set off for the Bodhisattva Ridge where the king was, or they would be late.

Left with no other choice, Yang Hefeng got up and put the two memorials in his sleeve pocket. One was about negotiating peace and withdrawing troops, and the other was about fighting to the death. He could only decide which one to submit based on the specific circumstances.

Yang Hefeng's mountain stronghold was not too far from Pusa Ridge. He and his cavalry arrived in less than a quarter of an hour.

Most of the generals had arrived, and the king, Chief Dragon, set up a tent at the foot of the ridge and invited the generals inside.

Yang Hefeng sensed something was wrong, so when no one was around, he tore up the memorial seeking peace and ate it.

Then he led a few guards to the curtain, but before they could go in, the guards were stopped by Luo Juzi's men. In the end, only Yang Hefeng handed over the Lang Sword and was allowed to go in.

Upon entering, Yang Hefeng heard an argument taking place inside. Several nobles who had previously colluded with Yang Hefeng had stood up to advise the chieftain. Throughout the entire process, the king remained silent.

But just after Yang Hefeng and his men entered, another group of soldiers came in, and then the curtain was lowered.

Only then did the chieftain finally stand up, and suddenly let out a few cold laughs at the nobles below:
"I intend to fight the Tang army to the death here. Who agrees? Who disagrees?"

At this moment, the generals and nobles who had come to attend the meeting had already sensed that something was wrong and were looking out of the curtain in alarm.

On the curtain, one could see the shadows of armored warriors, but the nobles who were facing away and advising the chieftain could not be seen.

One of them was about to speak when suddenly Chief Dragon roared:
"You dare to defy me?"

With this roar, the outer tent was torn apart, and dozens of armored warriors rushed in, slaughtering all the nobles who were still standing.

At this moment, seeing all the opponents lying in pools of blood, Chief Dragon shouted for the third time:

"I intend to fight the Tang army to the death here. No one is allowed to cross the river beyond this point, unless I die or we take the spoils of the Tang army with us!"

At this, all the soldiers knelt on the ground and shouted:
"We will obey Your Majesty's command!"

Thus, the Nanzhao army abandoned its final retreat and decided to fight the Tang army to the death in Hanyuan!

(End of this chapter)