Entrepreneurship in the Late Tang Dynasty

Chapter 133 Leading the Crowd
That evening, in the same area, Zhao Huai'an called over other acquaintances to eat mutton together.

After having Zhao Liu, Dou Pangzi, and a group of righteous men accompany him, he and Zhang Guinian hid in a tent and whispered to each other.

Zhao Da's first words were:

"Old Zhang, what should we do? Do you really think there's any future in going to Gwangju?"

Zhang Guinian had also been thinking things through during this time, and had even consulted Pei Xing, obtaining a considerable amount of inside information. As Zhao Huai'an's current advisor, he reassured Zhao Huai'an without hesitation:

"My lord, this blessed land is better than Guangzhou."

Zhao Huai'an immediately perked up and gestured for Zhang Guinian to explain in detail.

Zhang Guinian suppressed his voice and said in a deep voice:

"Guangzhou is strategically located along the Huai River and controls the Ying and Cai regions. It has been a vital defensive location since ancient times. If the Central Plains army wants to take Shouzhou, it must first take Guangzhou. If it wants to take E and Yue, it must first take Guangzhou. Guangzhou is not only a bulwark for Huaixi, but also the throat of the entire Chu region. Therefore, since ancient times, military strategists have always fought for this place."

"Now there is no need to fight, for it is a gift from heaven to our lord! Not to mention that the soldiers of Guang Prefecture are as brave and skilled as those of Chen and Cai, and their camellia resources are no less than those of Huai and Yang. With such elite troops, we can lay the foundation for our new enterprise."

Zhao Huai'an asked another question:
"But when we get to Guang Prefecture, the military governor of Huainan will want to get rid of us..."

Zhao Huai'an couldn't continue speaking, because Old Zhang had a half-smile on his face, implying that he was worried about the lord's character.

Zhao Huai'an was very angry. Was he the kind of arrogant person?

After thinking for a moment, Zhao Huai'an slapped his fist and cursed:
"Alright, then let's make a good impression when we get to Gwangju! We have to make it a success, otherwise Gao Pian will probably laugh at us."

After saying this, Zhao Huai'an felt much more at ease. He then pulled Zhang Guinian out of the tent and began drinking with the group of soldiers.

Ultimately, it all comes down to fists. Zhao Huai'an's fists are big and hard, so the one who should be afraid isn't Zhao Da, but the military governor of Huainan!

Heh! Heh! Heh!

……

In the following days, Bao Yi was extremely busy.

Wang Duo had to both purchase horses from various armies and coordinate military supplies, classifying and packing them.

Zhang Guinian kept running towards the shogunate, trying to get supplies for the expedition, since it was the rule to give out this money!
Then Dong Gongsu's side was to contact the major ship owners on various sections of the Yangtze River and have them come to the mouth of the Dadu River to take over the business of transporting Bao Yidu south to Guangzhou.

As promised, Luo Yuanbao and Du Zonghan each sent a sum of money as part of the expedition to Baoyidu. Du Zonghan used his connections to buy more than a hundred Dangxiang slaves from Qin and Long.

These people were captured in the recent tribal war and later sold to the Han people. Du Zonghan managed to buy them through his long-standing connections and then sent them to Zhao Huai'an's army.

Zhao Huai'an, a Tangut, knew that the Western Xia Iron Falcons would become elite cavalry in the future, so he was very satisfied when he saw this group of people and even gave Du Zonghan a sum of money for brokers.

This group of Tanguts all came from the Yeli and Feiting clans. Zhao Huai'an divided them into two teams according to their tribes and set up two military commands, one called "Po Xi" and the other called "Bu Ba".

It's a pity that most of these people couldn't ride or shoot, so they were only used as infantry.

……

Everyone was busy, but Zhao Huai'an was the most relaxed, except for meeting with the Crown Prince of Nanzhao yesterday to finalize the subsequent business.

Accompanying Zhao Huai'an were three wealthy merchants: Dong Gongsu, Luo Yuanbao, and Du Zonghan. They would also be Zhao Huai'an's partners in this business.

Dong Gongsu had coarse salt, Luo Yuanbao had tea, and Du Zonghan had men under his command, so it was a good opportunity to establish a triangular trade route between Nanzhao and Tubo.

Originally, Dong Gongsu was going to return to Huaixi with Zhao Huai'an, but Zhao Huai'an still felt that it would be better for Lao Dong to stay in his hometown of Luzhou, where he could better support the entire business network.

Later, Zhao Huai'an arranged for people to open shops in Yangjumei City, the capital of Nanzhao, and then Luo Yuanbao and Dong Gongsu each ran a trade route.

Lao Luo went to Tibet and traded tea for horses, then Du Zonghan used his connections to transport the horses along the Yangtze River to Guangzhou.

Then Dong Gongsu would travel the route to Nanzhao, specifically exchanging coarse salt for Nanzhao's precious goods, which would then be transported from the Yangtze River to Guang Prefecture.

Zhao Da planned to use the goods from the south of Nanzhao to open a border market and specialize in this type of business.

Making money is definitely the most important thing, but building relationships is also a factor. Although Zhao Huai'an lives in Guangzhou, his eyes are on the whole world!

Long Shun did not object to this. First of all, he admired Zhao Huai'an. Although he himself had been captured and his father had been killed by Zhao, there was no problem with doing business with him. After all, it didn't matter who he did business with.

But Zhao Huai'an quickly bargained down, because he felt that he was taking a big risk. After all, even if Long Shun didn't have money now, he could still borrow from wealthy merchants in Chengdu. How could he ask for more than three thousand prisoners of his own money without any real intention?

Therefore, Zhao Huai'an said that he would keep 800 people as a deposit and give 3,000 people to Long Shun.

What could Long Shun do? He could only reluctantly agree.

The brutal struggles of these days have matured the prince quickly, and he now realizes that his crisis has only just begun.

If Gao Pian takes him back to restore the kingdom, then restoring the kingdom is definitely not a problem. But the Tang army can't stay in Nanzhao forever, can they? When the Tang army leaves, Long Shun will have no one under his command. How will he keep order under his command?
Another matter that Long Shun was worried about was that the main body of their Wu and Bai ethnic groups suffered heavy losses in this battle, and the strength of the Meng clan was greatly weakened. Many of the prisoners in Zhao Huai'an's hands were from the Wu and Bai ethnic groups, and they were being used to rebuild the strength of their ethnic groups.

So even if Zhao Huai'an wanted to detain 800 people, he agreed.

After Long Shun left, Zhao Huai'an had Zhao Jinzhong and He Weidao select eight hundred men.

This time, Zhao Huai'an wanted one of them: the archers from the Nanzhao people who attacked Yinban Mountain, and the real soldiers from the Governor's Office.

In Zhao Huai'an's view, these two were the essence of these Nanzhao prisoners.

……

After finishing his business yesterday, Zhao Huai'an was lying on a couch in the sun today. He was squinting when he suddenly felt the sunlight being blocked.

Just as he was about to curse, he opened his eyes and found that it was Guo Qi who had come in, so he quickly sat up.

Looking at Guo Qi now, he was clearly much older. Zhao Da hadn't seen him for a while, and couldn't even find him to have a drink. He guessed that Guo Qi hadn't recovered from that great battle.

So, Zhao Huai'an pulled Guo Qi to sit on the couch and asked with concern:

"Old Guo, how have you been lately? Don't try to tough it out on your own. Even though Yang Shuai and Lao Ren are gone, you still have your brothers here."

Guo Qi felt a warmth in her heart and nodded somewhat awkwardly.

Seeing this, Zhao Huai'an sighed, said nothing more, and only asked:

"Old Guo, what brings you here? Just tell me, and Zhao Da will definitely help you to the end."

Guo Qi hesitated for a moment, then asked:
"Old Zhao, what do you think about me leading the Yellow-Headed Army brothers to accompany you down to Guang Prefecture?" Upon hearing this, Zhao Huai'an excitedly slapped his thigh:

"What's wrong with that? This is great! You bring the Yellow-Headed Army here. When we get to Guangzhou, we'll allocate land directly to your brothers. They can settle down in Guangzhou, get married, build houses, and start over!"

The words "start over" left Guo Qi in a daze. He suppressed his emotions and nodded emphatically.
"Then things will be all going to be troublesome from now on!"

Zhao Huai'an chuckled and shook Guo Qi's shoulder, saying:
“We’re all brothers, why are we talking like this? It’s settled then. Let’s call all the brothers from the Yellow Head Army to come back to Guangzhou with Zhao Da and live a good life!”

Then Zhao Huai'an escorted Guo Qi all the way to the outside of the camp. After seeing him off, he also asked Xue Hang to bring a batch of supplies to Guo Qi, as he had just noticed that Guo Qi looked obviously hungry.

Ugh, those clerks in the Nishikawa Shogunate are inhuman. They're so opportunistic and bullying. Even the Yellow-Headed Army, who fought so hard for Nishikawa, are starving.

With a sigh, Zhao Huai'an went back to lie on the couch and began to think about his plans to return to Guangzhou.

Although he was from Shouzhou, which is right next to Guangzhou, theoretically he shouldn't have been rejected if he returned to Guangzhou.

Not rejecting him doesn't mean these people are willing to listen to him, and even if they do, Zhao Huai'an will still be sidelined.

The logic is simple: Zhao Huai'an and his patrons are floating in the air, while those powerful figures in Guangzhou have their feet firmly planted on the ground.

Seeing that Zhao Huai'an possessed power, yet any mobilization of manpower and resources in Guang Prefecture had to be done through these influential figures, it meant that these people had the power to bargain with him.

Although he could integrate into Gwangju through marriage with a prominent family, this still wouldn't solve the fundamental problem: Zhao Huai'an lacked the connections to truly establish himself in the vast rural areas and communities of Guangzhou.

These are the places with people, goods, and food. Whoever controls these things truly controls the power of Gwangju.

So what was Zhao Huai'an's solution to break the deadlock? It was to try to get as many people from other states as possible to come back to Gwangju with him.

For example, the eight hundred Nanzhao soldiers he left behind. After arriving in Guang Prefecture, these men couldn't speak the language and didn't know the locals. Apart from relying on Zhao Huai'an, they had no one to depend on.

Therefore, they will inevitably become a tool for Zhao Huai'an to deal with the local area, and they will be ruthless in doing anything.

In addition, there were other Xichuan people who returned to Guangzhou with him. They all followed the same principle: the power struggle of controlling each other, and controlling each other in different places. Zhao Huai'an understood it!

He has now roughly drawn up the future power structure of Gwangju.

Upon arriving in Guangzhou, he first recruited his fellow villagers and relatives in Shouzhou, considering them his natural allies. Then, he began to vigorously promote the "righteous society" within the army, excluding non-military backbone members and those with promising futures from joining. Finally, he began to draw circles around his network.

The innermost circle consists of their own righteous generals, followed by their fellow villagers and relatives, then the outermost circle of the three righteous battalions, then the Nanzhao soldiers, and finally the local soldiers of Guang Prefecture.

Once we can draw this concentric circle, then the small Gwangju will be no problem at all.

However, bringing so many outsiders back to Gwangju was bound to provoke conflict between the locals and the Hakka, since there's no such thing as a vacuum when it comes to ecological niches.

To properly accommodate Bao Yidu and Tongxin, it's necessary to get the local powerful families in Gwangju to give up their positions. If they refuse, then we'll have to reason with them.

As I said before, Zhao Huai'an is going back to become an ancestor!
And so, as he pondered these thoughts, Zhao Huai'an drifted off to sleep.

……

The next morning, Zhao Huai'an was awakened by the noise outside.

When he came out, he saw Fei Yanggu, who had become much darker, squatting in the camp with a few hundred men.

Needless to say, Old Fei finally managed to bring his Sichuan-Kang cavalry to the scene.

Fei Yanggu was talking to Zhang Dai when he heard that Zhang Dai had led more than fifty elite warriors and had saved up five or six hundred strings of cash in just a few months. Fei Yanggu was filled with regret.

Little did he know that Zhao Huai'an would become rich so quickly. If he had known, he would have gone back to the mountains. What freedom could he have compared to a few months' worth of five or six hundred guan?

However, thinking about what he had earned on this trip, he felt much better. Putting aside everything else, Zhao Da was indeed a fool with a lot of money.

He used to talk about this a lot in the mountains, but somehow it got out and caused a lot of people to go to Zhao Huai'an's place to freeload, making Fei Yanggu afraid to admit it.

This time, he brought back more than two hundred poor men recruited from Sichuan and Kang. Seeing the vigorous spirit of the army and hearing that Bao Yidu had won another great victory and everyone had received a reward, Fei Yanggu became even more determined to follow Zhao Huai'an.

Zhao Huai'an came over, also pondering this.

That old Fei is really cunning. I've just finished a tough battle, and you come with your men, and then what? You expect me, Zhao Dabai, to support you?
Those who can get a salary from my pocket, Zhao Huai'an, are not even born yet! Hmph, I'll drag you all to Huaixi in a bit, none of you will escape.

Thinking of this, Zhao Huai'an laughed even harder, then pulled Fei Chuangu aside and sighed:

"Hey, Lao Fei's gotten tanned and thinner too."

Fei Chuangu felt inexplicably uneasy, silently withdrew his hand, then pointed to the group of impoverished mountain dwellers from Sichuan and Kangding squatting on the ground behind him, and laughed:
“All of them, come and see, they are all incredibly skilled.”

After saying that, he pointed to a man with bowlegs and shouted:

“Kang Baoyi, step forward and show the general what you’ve got.”

The man named Kang Baoyi smiled憨厚ly at Zhao Huai'an, revealing a set of yellow teeth, and then spoke in broken Tang language:
"Please bring a horse."

Zhao Huai'an looked them over and then asked Liu Zhijun to bring one over.

After Kang Baoyi came up, he actually slapped the horse's leg, and amidst the gasps of the crowd, the warhorse galloped away.

Before anyone could reprimand Kang Baoyi, he had already run to the warhorse and mounted it.

This left everyone stunned, because the warhorse didn't even have a saddle, and the rider's skill was incredibly high.

Even Zhao Huai'an was stunned, but he was genuinely pleased. He confidently addressed the Sichuan-Kang cavalrymen present:

"It's a pity you came too late. We've already crushed Nanzhao, and there's nothing left to fight over. Without spoils to share, how much of the money you saved in a year can you send back? So I'm taking you to a good place! There you can make money, drink tea, and if you do well, saving a hundred or two hundred strings of cash a year won't be a problem."

Seeing that all the cavalrymen from Chuankang were looking at him, Zhao Huai'an continued:

“But there are limited seats on the ship right now. I definitely can’t take all three hundred of you with me. So I’m giving you one hundred and fifty spots. I won’t choose, since it all depends on fate. So if you’re brave enough, just sign up. First come, first served.”

After saying that, Zhao Huai'an left, leaving a group of poor men from Kangding looking at each other in bewilderment. Then they frantically searched for someone to ask where they could register.

Fei Chuangu was utterly dumbfounded by the scene before him:

"You can actually scam people like that?"

(End of this chapter)