Entrepreneurship in the Late Tang Dynasty

Chapter 136 Flying Army
The boats were linked together and slowly moved along the narrowing waterway. Finally, after rounding a bend in the river, they saw an earthen city standing on the flat embankment ahead.

That was Rongzhou City, where Zhao Huai'an would stop for his journey.
Rongzhou Earth City was built on the north bank of the Minjiang River. The city area was not large, but there was a large flat dock. At this moment, dozens of boats were already docked at the dock, and the shouts of the dockworkers could be heard from time to time.

Zhao Huai'an looked at the left bank, then at the wider riverbank on the right, and asked Dong Gongsu beside him, puzzled:

"Old Dong, I don't understand why Rongzhou City is built on the north bank of the river. We did the same thing in Jiaozhou, and now we're doing the same thing in Rongzhou. The land on the south bank is clearly wider and can accommodate more people."

Dong Gongsu knew that Zhao Huai'an was unfamiliar with the situation in southern Sichuan and was only viewing it from an outsider's perspective, so he explained:

“Brother, you may not know that the reason why government offices were established in these places in southern Sichuan was to suppress the local barbarians. Those people live in the valleys and dense forests on the other side of the river, and their loyalty is uncertain. If the city is located on the south bank, they will have nowhere to run if chaos breaks out.”

Then, Dong Gongsu pointed to a pontoon bridge spanning the river ahead and said:

“That is the pontoon bridge connecting the two banks. It is only built during the day and the pontoons are released at night. We boats that float down the river must wait here for clearance before we can cross the pontoon bridge.”

Zhao Huai'an suddenly realized that he had been enjoying himself immensely traveling south along the river these past few days. The cities and towns along the river were bustling with activity, making him almost think that these cities were the same as the counties and towns in the core area of ​​the Central Plains.

Unexpectedly, these areas were already the frontiers that the Tang Dynasty could control. Further south, the Ten Thousand Mountains were merely tributary territory of the Tang Dynasty. Not to mention effective control over them, the Tang Dynasty did not even dare to venture deep into them.

Standing on the deck, Zhao Huai'an could see the thick smoke rising above the mountains to the south, the miasma that the Han people feared most in this era.

Thinking of this, Zhao Huai'an asked Dong Gongsu:
"I saw a group of Bo people attacking and killing a group of Liao people on the deck earlier. Are there many Yi people in Rongzhou? How strong are they?"

Dong Gongsu knew what Zhao Huai'an meant. After all, he was traveling south along the Yangtze River, recruiting strong and brave men everywhere, so he must have his eyes on the Bo and Liao people. Therefore, he shook his head and advised Zhao Huai'an:
"My lord, it's useless to talk about the Bo people not being related to their clan. These Liao people alone have a bad relationship with our Tang Dynasty and have often attacked prefectures and counties. They are not only arrogant but also cannot understand our language. What good will it do to recruit them? It would be better to have a soldier to help you, my lord."

As expected, Dong Gongsu, a wealthy man from neighboring Luzhou, was very familiar with the situation in Rong and Luzhou.

Zhao Huai'an hurriedly asked Dong Gongsu to tell him more, as he wanted firsthand information from this local bigwig:
"Although the Liao people are barbaric, they are not strong. This is because they live in caves and are not registered households. They are also ignorant and almost like beasts. They are the most troublesome among the barbarians. Their numbers are unknown, but there are at least more than 100,000 households. The governors of the prefectures and counties of all dynasties have been unable to control them. They have long been a problem for the people of southern Sichuan."

"Since they cannot be controlled, and their power is arrogant and stingy, they will rebel and plunder the waterways. Therefore, although Rongzhou is also a place where the three rivers converge, and it should be a prosperous place for merchants to travel north to Xishu and south to Eyue, its territory is shrinking day by day. This is all the fault of these Liao people."

Clearly, Dong Gongsu, a wealthy merchant, deeply resented these southwestern barbarians who disrupted trade routes.

But when the other force was mentioned, Dong Gongsu's spirits rose, and he said:

“But not far from here is a dam called Wudou Dam, inhabited by a tribe called Qingqiang. I know that you once told a story called Romance of the Three Kingdoms, and the Qingqiang have a deep connection with Shu Han.”

Zhao Huai'an really didn't know this, and hurriedly asked about its origin.

Then Dong Gongsu said that during the Former Han Dynasty, the Qing Qiang were known for their bravery and skill in battle, and were on par with the Banshun Man. Later, during the Shu Han period, when Zhuge Liang pacified the Nanman region, he moved more than 10,000 families of elite Qing Qiang soldiers from the Nanman region to Shu, forming five divisions. They were invincible and were known as the "Flying Army." After the fall of Shu Han, successive Shu rulers still favored the Qing Qiang volunteers and incorporated them into their elite forces.

Zhao Huai'an became excited as soon as Dong Gongsu mentioned the Flying Army.

This was because he knew this elite force of Shu Han all too well. They were the same mountain troops that Wang Ping had led. It was said that these men, clad in iron armor, could still traverse forests and dangers as if they were on flat ground. They were also skilled with bows and crossbows, wielding platoons and advancing with a roar.

Thinking of this, Zhao Huai'an clapped his hands excitedly:

"Alright, alright, let's recruit a flying army like that, maybe a hundred or so."

It wasn't that Zhao Huai'an was stingy or unwilling to spend money, but he had no idea how many full-time warriors Guang Prefecture could support.

Don't be fooled by his current considerable wealth of nearly 400,000 strings of cash. Even the tea tax that actually reaches the imperial court might not be as much as Zhao Da's. However, this money is dead money; no matter how much you spend, it won't amount to much.

Not to mention that Zhao Da planned to use this as capital to start a money exchange, so there was never too much of this.

Therefore, Zhao Huai'an set a quota of 3,000 soldiers for himself, which could be covered by the finances of Guang Prefecture. Furthermore, no one knows whether the Qing Qiang are still as powerful as they used to be. If he recruits too many, it will be troublesome to reduce their numbers later. It would be better to recruit a hundred or so now to test the waters.

If the Qingqiang people are still as powerful as ever, then we can send people to Rongzhou to recruit more! As long as we have a hundred or so people as a starting point, Baoyi will have social connections in the Qingqiang area. What difficulty will it be to recruit more people then?

This was also Zhao Huai'an's calculation: Where does the future of Gwangju lie? Zhao Huai'an had figured it out during this period of time.

To the north of Guangzhou lies the Huai River and the Central Plains, a place where Wang Xianzhi, Huang Chao, and the imperial court would inevitably engage in repeated tug-of-wars. Therefore, the north was not Zhao Huai'an's direction for development. He only needed to guard the Huai River and use it to maintain the flow of goods with the various prefectures in Huainan.

The real areas worthy of major development are the southern part of Guangzhou, such as Huangzhou and Shuzhou, which are located along the Yangtze River and can directly utilize the Yangtze River waterway to draw resources from the south.

Zhao Huai'an now has many allies in the Sichuan region, including wealthy merchants like Luo Yuanbao, local powerful figures like Shan Xingzhang and Zhang Zao, and his sworn brother Xianyu Yue in the Chengdu government. These people can protect the commercial trade of Sichuan.

Then, Zhao Huai'an began to make arrangements in various places along the river, absorbing locals into Baoyidu, and then arranging for people from Guangzhou to establish trading posts in various towns along the river. At that time, supplies from Sichuan, Nanzhao, and Tubo could flow down the Yangtze River in an endless stream, strengthening the power of Guangzhou.

To achieve this, recruiting people in every region is a crucial step.

Zhao Huai'an understood very well that people are the sum of their social relationships, and whether you can penetrate the local community and gain local support is the key to whether you can conduct trade.

Once he has connections and influence in various places along the river, he can quickly establish a foothold in a region by having one person lead two, two people lead four, and so on.

It can be said that Zhao Huai'an's solution was far more advanced than those ambitious local tyrants' ideas, and only some of the financial experts in the imperial court had this kind of logistical awareness.

Unable to expand his sphere of influence step by step by filling in color blocks, using waterways as trade routes, establishing trading posts in various towns along the river to cultivate local relationships, and drawing resources from the south for his own use is currently the fastest way for Zhao Huai'an to expand his power.

Farming? That's something people in the north do. In the south, relying on the Yangtze River, trade is the most suitable option.

Of course, the prerequisite for conducting trade is that you have face and strength, otherwise you are just a fat sheep.

As Zhao Huai'an was pondering this, a commotion interrupted his thoughts.

He looked towards the opposite bank following the sound, and saw a bustling market on the south bank of the Minjiang River, just around the bend in the river.

Before I could even ask, Dong Gongsu's voice came from the side:
"Brother, right across from us is the largest Liao market in this area. It stretches for hundreds of miles along the river and extends another hundred miles further south. In such a vast place, various cave tribes trade here, and wealthy merchants from Ezhou come here to buy Liao people's mountain goods, ivory, and rhinoceros horns."

As he spoke, Dong Gongsu lowered his voice:

"The local tribute from Rongzhou consists of lychees, ivory, and rhinoceros horns, but what's ever sent to the imperial court is always of medium quality. The best items are sold in the Liao market across the street, exclusively to the wealthy merchants of Yangzhou. In terms of luxury, even the emperor of Chang'an is nothing more than a country bumpkin."

At this point, Dong Gongsu couldn't help but let out two snickers, the meaning of which was unclear.

Zhao Huai'an understood, gave Dong Gongsu beside him a deep look, and cursed inwardly:

"I always said that soldiers have the hardest life. They can't compete with those big shots in terms of fun, and they can't enjoy life as much as wealthy merchants like Lao Dong. All they know is how to live on the edge and endure hardship. It's no wonder you got killed by the warriors later."

Zhao Huai'an inwardly grumbled, but that didn't stop him from carefully observing the market below.

Because of his elevated position on the deck, Zhao Huai'an could see the entire city on the south bank very clearly.

Most of the people participating in the trade were Liao people, who generally wore white headscarves, clothes with the left side overlapping the right, knives at their waists, and bare feet on the ground.

These people were also watching the huge fleet coming down the river, but there was no fear in their eyes.

Moreover, whether it was Zhao Huai'an's imagination or not, he saw a greedy look in the eyes of the first few of the men.

Zhao Huai'an sneered inwardly, thinking, "They really are barbarians."

As the fleet continued its journey, Zhao Huai'an glanced at Liao City from the deck, planning to have Lao Mo take Niu Li and Wang Li to the south bank to buy some things later.

For example, rhinoceros horns were prohibited from being bought and sold in his previous life, so how could he let go of the opportunity to buy good stuff? The fleet docked, and He Weidao led his men down to communicate with the local officials of Rongzhou.

During this period, He Weidao was the one who disembarked and dealt with the ports along the river, demonstrating remarkable social skills, which made Zhao Huai'an increasingly fond of using him.

After all, not everyone can utter the phrase "to be a slave for nine lifetimes."

Then, just like before, when the men in military uniform heard that the fleet belonged to Zhao Huai'an of Baoyidu, they indeed rode back into the city, obviously to seek instructions from the governor of the government office.

Zhao Huai'an stood on the deck watching, feeling delighted.

The Nanzhao War was truly the place where I, Zhao Da, made a name for myself!

It's not fair to say that he became known throughout the world after one battle, since information was generally scarce in those days. However, in Sichuan, especially along the Yangtze River, information traveled very quickly, and there were few people who didn't know Zhao Huai'an.

As Zhao Huai'an had expected, upon learning of Zhao Huai'an's arrival, Pei Ke, the governor of Rongzhou, personally led a group of advisors, as well as officials and generals from the prefectural and military academies to greet him.

This surprised Zhao Huai'an a bit. After all, he was theoretically on the same level as Pei Ke, so why would someone come out of the house to greet him from several miles away?
At this moment, as Zhao Huai'an watched the round-faced middle-aged man in a scarlet robe run towards him with a smile, a thought suddenly occurred to him:
"When someone gives a gift, they must want something in return! This round-faced guy doesn't seem like a good person!"

Pei Ke, the governor of Rongzhou, was very hospitable. He was even happier when he learned that Zhao Huai'an would be resting here for a while, and specially designated a piece of land on the dock for Bao Yidu to set up camp.

This man thoughtfully had food and water delivered to the boat before inviting Zhao Huai'an and the other righteous generals to a banquet in the city.

Only half of the guards attended the banquet. Zhao Huai'an had previously set up a rotation system: each time they arrived at a new place, only one group could go ashore, while the remaining group had to stay on the ship to keep watch. Then, they would take turns going back to the next place.

This time, the officer on duty who was left behind watched as the other officers went to the banquet in high spirits, and he felt extremely sad.

The reason was simply because the place they had visited last time, Jianwei, was just a small place, unlike Rongzhou before them. Just by looking at the number of ships anchored there, they knew that this feast was not bad.

Damn it!
We can only hope that they will remember their brothers and bring back some wine and meat. Don't forget that there's still a group of brothers starving on the boat.

……

Zhao Huai'an led a group of Baoyi generals, with Sun Tai and Zhao Hu each leading a team of Beiwei soldiers, carrying umbrellas and official banners to clear the way.

Behind them was the imposing Gao Qinde, carrying a large banner of a prefect, flanked by armored warriors wielding golden axes and halberds.

Behind them were a group of Baoyi generals, each wearing armor and robes and riding horses. There were more than twenty of them attending the banquet. Each of them was followed by a soldier who carried a name flag. Some of them had military titles, such as Han Qiong, who had two flags: one with his official title and the other with his military title, "Iron Beast".

Following these mounted cavalry was a band of musicians carrying various gongs, suonas, and seven-stick gongs. The gong players would strike the gong once every seven steps, while the wind instrument players were already playing "General's Command." The spectacle was incredibly grand.

Finally, there were Zhao Huai'an and Pei Ke, the governor of Rongzhou, both riding on horseback, wearing the dark scarlet official robes of the fourth rank, with silver fish pouches tied at their waists and Jinxian crowns on their heads.

Both men were handsome and dignified. Pei Ke was from an outer branch of the Pei clan of Hedong. He was naturally talented and intelligent, and his ability to pass the Ministry of Personnel's selection process meant that his appearance, speech, and writing skills were undoubtedly excellent.

But Zhao Huai'an stood out even more. This eight-foot-tall warrior, dressed in an official robe, was still as masculine and imposing as ever. The chainmail underneath made the robe bulge, making him appear even more majestic.

Surrounding the two governors were Zhao Huai'an's staff, as well as judges, yamen runners, chief officers, clerks, and other officials from the prefectural and military academies, all dressed in their ceremonial robes.

Zhao Huai'an originally didn't want to make such a show, after all, he wasn't the kind of person who liked to show off.

However, in the previous place, Jianwei, he was dressed in ordinary clothes and had no ceremonial regalia, which made him a laughingstock among the local officials. Later, he was beaten by Fatty Dou, but this made Zhao Huai'an realize the problem.

He is no longer an ordinary person. Every word and action must conform to the expectations of this era. As the saying goes, people only look at appearances and blindly worship those in high positions.

The respect shown by those below differs depending on whether there is a procession or not.

Therefore, in order to prevent the Rongzhou officialdom from being exploited by the people of Baoyidu again, Zhao Huai'an decided to go through the formalities of a fourth-rank prefect.

But as they walked, Zhao Huai'an noticed that Pei Ke's face looked so stiff.
He looked at the armored soldiers with swords and spears like a forest in front and behind him, and then at the unrestrained and fierce captains, especially Liu Zhijun, who was so arrogant that he didn't even hold the reins, but put his hands in front of his chest and looked down at people.

Zhao Huai'an wondered to himself, "Could it be that Pei Ke was frightened?"

No, it wasn't Pei Ke who was frightened, but rather he and all the officials and generals from the state and military courts behind him were so terrified that they froze.

The murderous aura of Bao Yidu is unimaginable to anyone who hasn't actually been inside.

Rongzhou is also a military stronghold in southern Sichuan, and it is also guarded against the rebellion of the Liao people. But today, walking with these Baoyi soldiers, it feels as if I am on the battlefield.

There was an elderly soldier who was so terrified that he bumped into a flag bearer next to him. The flag bearer didn't budge, but the soldier fell to the ground.

This caused the entire group of Beiwei soldiers and generals to burst into laughter, and Pei Ke, standing next to Zhao Huai'an, finally couldn't hold back any longer and gave a wry smile:
"Governor Zhao, I never imagined your army would be so formidable! You are truly a powerful and valiant force that has emerged from the crucible of national warfare!"

Zhao Huai'an grinned. "Do you know why the governors along the river are so hospitable? Isn't it because I, Zhao Huai'an, hold the truth in my hands?"
With the troops we have, we can sweep through the prefecture from the river. Just like before, when Fatty Dou vented his anger for Zhao Da by beating up that Jianwei advisor who offended Zhao Da, did the Jianwei county magistrate utter a sound?

Not to mention the county magistrate and the town governor who remained silent, even those who were whipped remained silent after each whipping.

Zhao Huai'an was not arrogant, but in this era where military power equals might, he was arrogant by nature. Every move he made, even if it wasn't arrogant, was perceived by others as arrogant.

There's no way around it; this is an era where the strong are never criticized.

But seeing that Pei Ke was genuinely frightened, Zhao Huai'an quickly waved his hand, saying that this was nothing. Your military governor, Gao Shixiang, was the one with truly strong troops and brave generals. Didn't you see how the Nanzhao army collapsed the moment Gao Pian's troops arrived during the decisive battle? This is the supreme military strategy: to subdue the enemy without fighting!
Pei Ke, unaware that Zhao Huai'an was subtly criticizing Gao Pian, and utterly astonished that anyone would dare to so brazenly slander Gao Pian, hastily bowed towards Chang'an and exclaimed in praise:

"Fortunately, our Tang Dynasty had an envoy! The pacification of the Dangxiang, the subjugation of the Tubo, the conquest of Annam, and the stabilization of Nanzhao were all achievements surpassing those of three dynasties!"

Indeed, in terms of military achievements across these three dynasties, no one could surpass Gao Pian.

Zhao Huai'an coughed and hummed:
"You've gone the wrong way! The High Envoy has already led his troops deep into Nanzhao!"

Pei Ke blushed and quickly turned around to bow in the southwest direction.

Then he stretched out his hand, guiding Zhao Huai'an to continue forward.

The dirt roads on both sides had been cleared, and ahead, a servant was pushing a small waterwheel, sprinkling water along the way.

We have to water it; when there are many people walking on this dirt road, it's all dust.

Pei Ke is going to take Zhao Huai'an to the banquet. If they get a mouthful of mud before they even eat, wouldn't that make the Rongzhou officialdom lose face?
Therefore, Pei Ke had already arranged for people to spray water and clear the streets in advance.

So Zhao Huai'an saw a city in military uniform. Although it was not large, it looked very new, and there was not much garbage in the city, and even excrement was scarce.

It seems that news of my southward journey along the Yangtze River had already been sent to the rear by those governors ahead, so they made preparations well in advance. They really put their heart into it!

Hehe, so you're saying I, Zhao Da, am someone important now?

But as soon as Zhao Huai'an entered the government office, sat down, and took a sip of the chilled lychee wine in his hand, Pei Ke stood up, bowed to him, and said something.

After hearing this, Zhao Da got up and left without even drinking any more wine.

(End of this chapter)