Entrepreneurship in the Late Tang Dynasty

Chapter 154 Skinning
"That bastard Liu Wei deserves to die!"

At this moment, Yang Xingmin and his four companions hurriedly rode their mules towards Guangshan County, their hooves moving in a steady, fast manner.

In the crowd, Tao Ya ate the dust while cursing Liu Wei.

That bastard! He came out on official business to help you, and now he's just run off without a word, leaving his brothers stranded in the village.

Those bandits on the river aren't stupid. If they find out one of you is missing, they'll know what happened. Then we brothers will be the ones suffering.

And if you're going to run, why didn't you call the brothers to come with you? Are you the only one who wanted to tip off Zhao Dalang? The brothers wanted to too!
Tao Ya was genuinely cursing at this moment because he had suffered a huge loss. He had paid a 30% deposit, basically using up all the money he brought with him, and now it was all gone!
Liu Wei, you deserve to die!

As Tao Ya continued to curse, Li Yu, Tai Meng, Tian Jun, and Yang Xingmin, who were beside her, also felt bitter.

Just when things seemed to be turning around, the tea sellers turned out to be crazy, and then they encountered a shameless brother. Now, not only will they not be able to make money, but they're also going to lose their job.

Yang Xingmin suffered the greatest loss, because he had been acquainted with some of the gang of thieves before, and now that it was known that he had betrayed his friends, his reputation in the underworld would be ruined.

What's even more unthinkable is that those people know where Yang Xingmin lives. He used to throw copper coins into his yard in the middle of the night, and many people know that.

So now it's not a matter of getting rich, but that his family is in danger.

Thinking of this, Yang Xingmin also cursed:

"Liu Wei really deserves to die."

The five of them ran around and came to a crossroads. To the left was the road to Guangshan County, and to the right was a ferry crossing where they could take a boat directly to the other side and return to Lujiang.

Yang Xingmin and the others all headed to the right, and as they were running, they suddenly realized that one of them was missing—it was Tao Ya, who had just been the one cursing the loudest.

The group couldn't help but turn around, only to see Tao Ya standing at the intersection, looking at them with a hesitant expression. When he saw Yang Xingmin and the others turn to look at him, he made his decision and shouted to them:
"Go back and take good care of my family. I've lost a lot of money this time, and if I go back now, my family will be ruined. I have to earn it back from Zhao Dalang. You can go now, don't see me off!"

After saying that, Tao Ya waved to Yang Xingmin and the others, then rode his well-trained mule and galloped towards Guangshan County.

At this moment, Yang Xingmin and the others finally understood Tao Ya's plan, and they all sighed, but still no one was willing to leave.

They knew very well that going to Guangshan was unlikely to bring them any good fortune or gain Zhao Dalang's favor. Liu Wei was the first to go, so there was a chance of him being appreciated, but the second or third? Who would care?

So going to Guangshan doesn't offer many benefits, but it carries the risk of losing your life.

The gang of thieves in that village numbered in the hundreds, and who knows how many of their accomplices weren't here. With so many people, taking over a county town would be a piece of cake.
Not to mention that these people have been doing business in Guangshan for so long, how could they not have inside contacts in the city? You should know that they were approached by their people in the city, which shows how well they have connections there.

So none of them envied Tao Ya; they just felt that Tao Ya was too young and impulsive.

At this moment, Li Yu, Tai Meng, and Tian Jun all looked at Yang Xingmin, waiting for him to make a decision. Among them, Yang Xingmin had traveled to the most places and was the most opinionated.

Yang Xingmin thought for a moment, then sighed:
"We can only wish the Liu and Tao brothers good luck. We'll go back to Lujiang first, tell the prefecture about this, and then see what the prefecture plans."

All three nodded, and then followed Yang Xingmin as they continued running along the dirt road on the right.

From then on, they went their separate ways.

……

At this moment, Hu Honglue in Guangshan County was listening blankly to Wu Xuanzhang talking about the bandits in the mountains who wanted to attack the county town, and then looked at the familiar person over there.

Suddenly, he remembered something, and they all clasped their hands in unison and asked:

"Is that Liu Wei, the hero of Luzhou?"

Liu Wei quickly stood up, his heart pounding with excitement. He hadn't expected that Zhao Dalang's men would recognize him. He clasped his hands in a gesture of respect.
"I dare not call myself a hero, I am Liu Wei!"

"Hu Honglue".

Gao Qinde, Li Jiyong, Fei Cun, and Lin Renhan also stood up and introduced themselves. Then, after Hu Honglue sat down, he smiled and said to Liu Wei:

“Our governor says you are a hero, so you must be a hero. Brother Liu, don’t be so modest. Tell us about the matter in detail.”

So Liu Wei recounted everything he had seen at the Xu family estate over the past few days, especially the events that took place at the banquet in the hall today.

After hearing this, Hu Honglue and the others had no more doubts, knowing that the information was most likely true. They then asked the nervous Wu Xuanzhang:

"Lord Wu, who is this Xu Ying? He keeps hundreds of men on his estate. Why don't you get rid of this scoundrel sooner?"

At this time, Hu Honglue and his men were actually quite safe. They had brought a hundred officials and soldiers from Guangshan County, along with the county soldiers in the city, so defending the city was a piece of cake.

The bandits number only a few hundred. If it were a sneak attack, that would be one thing, but if it were a direct assault, would they be afraid? What are they, as protectors of justice?
But after Wu Xuanzhang finished speaking, Hu Honglue and the others all changed color, because Old Wu said this:

"Gentlemen, you have no idea how formidable Xu Ying is. It took me several years to figure out his background. He is probably a former subordinate of Pang Xun, and most of his men came here four years ago. No, to be precise, they have taken root here."

“These people used to be notorious bandits on the river. Inspector Jiang Yong is their inside man. Now they control the river with one hand and the mountains with the other. They are engaged in the illegal salt and tea trade. Let alone hundreds of people, he could probably pull out thousands.”

“I went to the prefecture a few days ago to pay my respects to the governor, hoping that he would send troops to eradicate this cancer. The burning of my mountain area was most likely the work of this man. But I was too anxious and confused, and I only knew how to talk about tea, and forgot about borrowing troops.”

"Sigh, now that they've struck first, we're going to suffer the consequences if we strike later!"

At this moment, Hu Honglue and his men were well aware of the power of this band of thieves. Among them, Lin Renhan was from Shouzhou and still remembered that five or six years ago, when Pang Xun's troops passed through Shouzhou, they besieged Wang Yanquan, the then commander of the northern expeditionary force of Xuzhou, in the city of Shouzhou. At that time, the county even wanted to recruit a group of people to go north to Shouzhou to support the government army.

Upon hearing that these people were actually the remnants and remnants of Pang Xun's forces, everyone gasped in shock. The core of the rebel party consisted of elite, battle-hardened remnants of the rebel army, and they could even muster thousands of armed men. How could this city possibly hold out?
At that moment, Hu Honglue had a thought: pretend he hadn't heard anything, and before the rebels besieged the city, take Jiang Yong back to report, since that was what they had come here to do.

Just as Hu Hong hesitated, Lin Renhan, the youngest among them, spoke first, addressing Wu Xuanzhang:
"Lord Wu, rest assured, with us here, even if the bandits are numerous and powerful, they cannot do anything to us."

As he spoke, the man looked at Hu Honglue and said earnestly:
"Old Hu, what do you suggest we do?"

At this moment, Hu Honglue couldn't help but roll his eyes and scold, "Don't you know why you're talking back? But Lin Renhan is from the same hometown as Du Jiang. Why would they assign him to handle this matter? Isn't it because he represents Du Jiang?"

So even though he was cursing inwardly, Hu Honglue still smiled and said to Wu Xuanzhang:

"Lord Wu, rest assured, there is always a way forward for us. Let's report the situation to the magistrate first, and he will surely have a brilliant plan."

Okay, okay, you're passing it on one by one, right? In the end, it still reached Zhao Da's head.

After discussing it, the group decided that Fei Cun should lead a team out of the city now to seek help from the prefecture.

……

The bandits arrived faster than expected. They were originally scheduled to set off the next day, but they soon discovered that the six people from Lujiang who had come to buy tea were gone.

This incident escalated significantly. After a thorough search, the bandits discovered that these people were heading north to Guangshan County, and immediately realized that there was a traitor in their ranks.

Xu Ying was also enraged, especially since he had made such a fool of himself in front of several outsiders. He immediately buried alive all the thieves who had introduced Yang Xingmin and the others.

Knowing that his tracks had been exposed, Xu Ying immediately issued thirty large flags, ordering his scouts to carry them into the mountains to summon the mountain bandits. He then left some men to guard the village before leading over four hundred river bandits straight to Guangshan County, twenty miles away.

As the bandits marched into the afternoon, about four or five miles from Guangshan County, three men suddenly appeared in front of them.

At this moment, Xu Yingzheng and his confidants were discussing how to breach the city. Guangshan County must be on guard now, and they had not prepared any siege equipment. So after some discussion, they decided to let the people inside the city be responsible for opening the city gates.

The only problem now is how to communicate the action plan and timeline to the people in the city.

Just as these people were pondering this, someone came back to report that they had encountered three men in round robes at the crossroads. They said they were from the city and wanted to see Xu Ying.

Xu Ying's eyes darted around, and he smiled at everyone present:

"If you're not sleepy, someone will be there to help you. Come on, let's go meet them!"

Upon hearing this, dozens of fierce bandits, who had previously served as soldiers in Xuzhou, grabbed various military weapons and rushed over noisily.

Looking from afar, Xu Ying recognized the three men: one was a county official, and the other two appeared to be county patrol officers.

At this moment, the three were surrounded by a group of ruthless bandits dressed in colorful clothes. They huddled together in fear. Upon seeing Xu Ying approach, the escorting officer quickly reached out and shouted:

"Xu Sanlang, over here, it's He Liu!"

In the past, Officer He had always been very polite to Xu Ying, but he had never been so humble as he was today.

Xu Ying strode over, and the ruthless bandits on both sides quickly made way for him. His first words to He Ying were:
"Oh, isn't this Officer He? What are you doing waiting for me here? I'm on my way to the county office, would you like to come along?" The officer, not daring to accept, quickly smiled and said:
"The county heard some people from Lujiang slandering Xu Sanlang, saying that you are going to rebel and attack the county seat. Our county magistrate is a very shrewd man. He knows that it must be some business enemy of yours who wants to harm you. So he sent us here to ask you what you plan to do. In short, as long as you say the word, we will hand that person over to you."

Xu Ying laughed heartily, tilting his head back and saying to his companions:
"Hey, tell me, is this guy stupid? Or is he just used to lying through his teeth? Didn't he see the gleaming knife in our brother's hand?"

Then Xu Yingcai said contemptuously to the escorting official:
"You all eat your fill and get fat all day long. You must have extorted thousands of coins from me. Today, your retribution has come. We brothers are here to collect your money on behalf of Heaven! We were planning to arrest you, but you've delivered yourself right to our doorstep, hahaha!"

As he spoke, Xu Ying tapped the officer's forehead, and with each tap, the man's head would droop three-tenths of an inch.

The man cried out, trembling:

"Xu Sanlang, don't be foolish. You dare to rebel against the imperial court with only a few hundred men? Aren't you afraid of the soldiers and generals in the prefecture? The new prefect has returned from the national war. Wouldn't it be a piece of cake for him to wipe you out? I know you are ignorant and don't understand the danger. You should retreat quickly, and the county will naturally act as if nothing happened."

Xu Ying patted the man's cheek, feigning pity for him:
"Officer He, Officer He, have you offended your magistrate? How can you advise us to rebel when you know nothing about it? Is it that scary? Haven't you brothers rebelled before? Weren't we still the same?"

At this moment, the group of ruthless bandits burst into laughter, and someone had already forced their way over and dragged the man out.

At this moment, Officer He was completely paralyzed. He struggled to grasp Xu Ying's hand and pleaded:

"Sanlang, I really don't know anything! Please let me go! I have money, I have lots of money! Please don't kill me! Don't kill me!"

Does Ke Xu need this person? He doesn't need him at all. Even if this person says he'll go back to inform him, given this person's identity, someone will definitely notice him when he goes back. He doesn't want his own people to be exposed before the message is even delivered.

The only use this person might have for me is to scare the people in the city!

So Xu Ying chopped off the man's hand that was holding him with a single stroke, and then said to the men below:

"Drag this man away, skin him, stuff him with straw, lift him up, and hang him at the very front of the line! Let the people of Guangshan County see what happens to those who are stubborn and unrepentant!"

And so, the officer, screaming like a pig being slaughtered, was dragged away and subjected to torture.

The remaining patrolmen had already prostrated themselves on the ground, kowtowing repeatedly to Xu Ying.

Xu Ying looked at the two of them and said calmly:

"Go back and help me out. If you don't, that's fine too, but I'll kill your whole family when the city falls. If you do help, not only will your whole family be spared, but I'll also give you a huge reward!"

The screams of agony from the skinning victim constantly eroded the courage of these men, who kowtowed repeatedly, pledging their willingness to serve.

Looking at the terrified people of the county, Xu Ying laughed heartily, looking around with self-satisfaction.

……

How far is Guangshan County from Ding County, the prefectural capital? Twenty li (approximately 10 kilometers).

In other words, when Xu Ying and his group were about to arrive in Guangshan, Fei Cun and his group had already returned to the prefecture with the news.

At this moment, Zhao Huai'an was watching the military instructors teach the volunteers how to use drums and flags. Since they were all men who had risked their lives along the river, they were already quite capable in combat. Now, they only needed to be taught how to use drums and flags to form a fighting force.

This method of recruiting soldiers can indeed quickly form combat power. Like most military systems in previous dynasties, it was actually a combination of soldiers and farmers. Although the country could avoid the cost of maintaining the army, it was actually very detrimental to both agricultural production and army building.

Recruiting professional soldiers and managing and training them independently within the military for extended periods not only rapidly builds combat effectiveness but also fosters mutual trust among soldiers and officers, which is crucial for battlefield survival.

Zhao Huai'an recruited nearly two thousand volunteers along the river. They were mostly recruited as professional soldiers and would live in the barracks for a long time. In fact, most of them would fight for Zhao Huai'an for half their lives.

But nothing is all good and no bad.

Zhao Huai'an soon discovered that his method of recruiting volunteers had its first drawback: a surge in military spending.

It wasn't that the military pay for these volunteers was within Zhao Huai'an's expectations, but rather that he discovered an extra expense: the military dependents and families of the soldiers.

As Zhao Huai'an settled down in Guangzhou, many soldiers brought their families to Guangshan.

Zhao Huai'an was initially quite pleased with this, since he had previously considered arranging marriages for the sons of soldiers so that they could settle down in Guangzhou, which would help stabilize morale within the army.

Moreover, this was very suitable for Gwangju's expansion in the early stages.

As the army began to stabilize and subsequently expanded, it became difficult for Zhao Huai'an to personally attend every battle, so he had to arrange for other generals to take his place in leading the troops.

Although Zhao Huai'an has always been bound to his core brothers by a bond of gratitude, people's hearts are always unpredictable, so some necessary precautions are necessary.

If the commander's soldiers' families are all in Ding County, then even if he intends to rebel, his subordinates will not support him.

Therefore, the families of the generals were housed together, which not only relieved the soldiers from their worries but also made Zhao Da feel more at ease.

But then a problem arose.

With the arrival of the first batch of military dependents, Zhao Huai'an realized that he had miscalculated one thing: he thought that since he had been paid 20 guan of military pay a year and received occasional rewards, shouldn't these people's families be supported by themselves?

But when these military families arrived, he discovered that things were not like that. Not only did he have to support the soldiers, but he also had to find a special place to build houses for their families to live in.

Zhao Huai'an paid them on an annual basis, so no matter how high these soldiers' salaries were, they actually didn't have the money to settle their relatives.

Moreover, as Zhao Huai'an led thousands of people into Dingxian County, the prices of all kinds of goods in Dingxian County skyrocketed. You have to understand that Dingxian County originally had less than 10,000 people, and Zhao Huai'an brought in almost half of them. How could things not become expensive?

Therefore, the soldiers' money was effectively discounted, let alone enough to buy houses and settle their families.

You can say Zhao Da was wronged, but the people below don't care. They only know that they have to support their families. If they can't support them or can't afford to, then it's all Zhao Da's fault.

As the famous saying goes, a person's minimum wage is the income needed to support himself and his family.

Therefore, Zhao Huai'an did not want to spend any more money on military expenses, so he had to build houses first and settle his relatives in.

Moreover, there is a simple reason for this: when Zhao Huai'an entered Ding County, he built houses and arranged marriages for his relatives. We soldiers can't compare with the relatives of the governor, but we can't live in big houses on top and have no roof over our heads.

If that's the case, then what's the point of talking about gratitude and loyalty?

Therefore, Zhao Huai'an must build it, and it must be built together in one place, so as not to fail the promise of "sharing a golden cup with you".

But this money just keeps slipping through our fingers.

At this moment, Zhao Huai'an finally understood how the problem of redundant soldiers and expenses arose in all dynasties.

He still has elite troops at his disposal, and the efficiency of raising them is still very high. However, as these people get old and disabled, according to the system of voluntary protection he established, he will have to bear huge military expenses in the later stages. Despite spending so much money, the army's combat effectiveness has not improved at all.

For an era that relied on agricultural production to accumulate wealth, this was a doomed situation!

At this point, Zhao Huai'an could already see the results thirty or forty years from now.

Even so, he never considered abandoning the system. He understood that whether the Righteous Army could fulfill its mission of the times was not something that could be achieved by a few heroes. He had to create a power structure that was different from that of the military leaders of this world.

And Yi Bao can accomplish such a mission!

Therefore, he must continuously expand his sources of income before the financial crisis erupts. Right now, Baoyi is still very small, so the triangular trade between Tibet and Nanzhao can cover it. But what about the future? If he truly has a destiny, then he will need to develop real sources of incremental wealth.

Unable to resist, Zhao Huai'an turned his gaze southward, where endless wealth could transcend the limitations of this era.

It was in this direction that he heard Fei Cun running towards him.

A moment later, Zhao Huai'an, sitting on the high platform, replied to Fei Cun with disdain:

"That's it? Pang Xun's remnants? Several thousand strong? Want to attack Guangshan County? They're nothing but a bunch of chickens and dogs! What's there to cause trouble for!"

As he spoke, he stood up and called out to Niu Li beside him:
"Beat the drums, gather the troops!"

The dull drumbeats soon echoed across the training ground. The soldiers and officers who were training lined up under the command of their respective squad leaders, and then, under the banner of their squad leaders, they rushed toward the assembly platform.

A moment later, Zhao Huai'an shouted:
"send troops!"

He then led the more than four hundred knights who had come to join him out of the camp first, followed by more than two thousand infantrymen marching in columns, carrying countless flags and wielding swords like a forest, filing out in single file. Behind them came an equal number of auxiliary troops and laborers, carrying armor, boots, and sacks of provisions, shouting as they chased after them.

From the sounding of the drums to the formation and departure, the entire process took no more than a quarter of an hour.

Bao Yidu, with over 2,500 horsemen, had already rushed towards Guangshan!
(End of this chapter)