Entrepreneurship in the Late Tang Dynasty

Chapter 157 Suppression
In this battle, Wang Jin's troops raided Xu's village, capturing 300 bandits and 50 family members and wives. They also seized 10 warehouses of money, 6 warehouses of silk, and 2 warehouses of tea. After counting, the total amount was 300,000 strings of cash, which was almost equivalent to 30% of the Tang Dynasty's tea tax.

On the day the village was destroyed, Xu Ying's wife and children set themselves on fire and died. All the core members of the gang, knowing that they could not escape, committed suicide. From then on, the "Water Immortals," who had been gathering on the Huai River for several years, vanished without a trace.

Within two days, news of the complete annihilation of Xu Ying's followers spread throughout the five counties of Guang Prefecture. The powerful clans were terrified, and the common people praised the victory. The strongest reaction came from Gushi, the county with the most intense reaction.

……

Outside the Shihe River, a tributary of the Huai River, lies Gushi County and Lianghe Town.

A young man arrived at Lianghe Town with a troop of soldiers and carts. This man was Yuan Xi, a military advisor in the Guang Prefecture Governor's Office.

He came here on Zhao Huai'an's orders to arrive in Gushi and inspect the counties and townships. Now that he has inspected all the townships, only this military town in front of him has not yet been inspected, no, it should be called a visit.

Yuan Xi left it until last, naturally because it was the most crucial and the place where mistakes were least possible. That's why he left it until the end, so that the military officers in the garrison could be fully prepared.

Lianghe Town got its name from its location at the confluence of the Shi River and the Hui River. As a military town directly under the Huainan Jiedushi's headquarters, it had no subordinate relationship with Guang Prefecture and was an independent system.

The Lianghe Military Garrison was established because Gushi was a strategically important military location, guarding the hilly plain passage leading to Huaidong. Whether traveling from west to east or east to west, one had to pass through this place.

But theory is one thing, as a representative of the local governor stationed in the town, the people of Lianghe Town certainly had to give him face when he came to offer his condolences.

So when they discovered that Yuan Xi's convoy was only five li away, they went out of town to greet it.

Strangely, not only were there officials from the military town present, but also the local county magistrate, Xie Yuanshang, along with his registrar and other county officials, waiting outside the town.

Xie Yuanshang did not get to see Zhao Huai'an that day, but he stood under the corridor without leaving. Even when his servants called him to have some food, Xie Yuanshang refused.

He was afraid that as soon as he left, someone inside would call him in, and then he would have waited in vain.
After hearing Hong Yanshi's report, Zhao Huai'an realized what had happened and quickly invited him in.

Are you kidding me? If a county magistrate were to faint from hunger outside his prefectural office, how would the officials of Huainan view Zhao Da? A man who mistreats his subordinates?
So when Xie Yuanshang came in, Zhao Huai'an asked the kitchen to prepare a meal, and then he and Xie Yuanshang ate and chatted.

In fact, Zhao Huai'an himself had almost forgotten about it. After all, he had been too busy lately to make things difficult for Xie Yuanshang.

Forgetting doesn't mean you won't remember, so Xie Yuanshang handled this matter very promptly. Since it was your attitude that was the problem, what the leader wants is your attitude.

As expected, Zhao Huai'an didn't mention welcoming the emperor much, but mainly asked Xie Yuanshang about the situation in Gushi.

He knew of Gushi's fame before he came. Of the five counties in Guang Prefecture, Gushi had the largest population and the most prosperous economy. It not only had the only military town in the prefecture, but also had powerful local gentry.

He had heard in the prefecture that the Li family of Gushi County was supposedly related to Li Deyu. When Li Deyu was the military governor of Huainan, this family had exchanged genealogies with Li Deyu, and it was said that they could indeed be connected.

Later, when Li Deyu toured various prefectures, he stayed at this Li family residence in Guangzhou, which shows that the relationship was genuine.

Originally, the Li family hadn't intended to make such a show of force, since Li Deyu was soon overthrown by the Niu faction and died outside, let alone these distant relatives.

But things have been different these past two years, because Liu Ye, who was practically raised by Li Deyu, came to Huainan, and he took extra care of his former adoptive father's relatives.

Among the processions from various prefectures that came to welcome him as governor, only the Li family from Gushi were elders from a single county or township.

Therefore, given this political atmosphere, the power of the Li family in Gushi was considerable.

As expected, when Xie Yuanshang heard that the governor was asking about the situation in Gushi, especially about Li's information, he wanted to say more, but he couldn't figure out Zhao Huai'an's thoughts, so he initially spoke in a positive light.

Zhao Huai'an, of course, noticed Xie Yuanshang's concerns and told him directly:
"Old Xie, let me put it this way: I came to Guangzhou to do practical things for the people of Guangzhou. So, let alone a distant relative of a fallen prime minister, even if the real prime minister came and blocked my way, I would still take him without hesitation. So you can speak freely and boldly."

At the time, Xie Yuanshang thought Zhao Huai'an was just expressing an attitude, but little did he know that the Zhao Da opposite him was really thinking that way.

Xie Yuanshang then gave Zhao Huai'an a general account of his situation, highlighting two particularly crucial points.

He said he was often hampered in the county, mainly because of the Li family. In recent years, the Li family has developed rapidly, constantly attracting heroes and chivalrous people as guests, and their children have a grand entourage when they go out, as if they have inexhaustible money.

So when Xie Yuanshang, a county magistrate who had passed the imperial examination, found out that it was the Li family who had framed him, he also wanted to deal with them.

He told one of his trusted confidants about it that very day, and that very night the confidant drowned while crossing the river, and his own dog in the back of the house was also poisoned.

Then Xie Yuanshang was gone for good; he simply became a puppet.

But in private, Xie Yuanshang never stopped investigating Li. He discovered that Li had close ties with Zhang Xuan, the military commander of Shuanghe Town, and that some people who looked like bandits often visited Li's villa in the village.

Therefore, Xie Yuanshang directly suspected that the Li family had cooperated with the military commander of Shuanghe Town, as well as the bandits from the mountains and rivers, and that they were likely helping the latter to dispose of stolen goods.

Of course, Xie Yuanshang had no evidence, but since the governor was asking about the situation, he gave Li some information.

To his regret, Zhao Huai'an only pondered for a moment before asking about other things, seemingly no longer concerned about Li Shi.

But now it seems that the situation is not like that at all.

……

Outside Shuanghe Town, Yuan Xi's carriage arrived. He got out of the car with a smile, but his eyes swept over everyone present.

The military officers of Shuanghe Town should all be present. As a purely military unit, the town has its own internal system.

From the top-ranking garrison commander to the military officers, ten generals, deputy generals, clerks, yamen runners, guards, general guards, clerks, warehouse officials, seal officials, envoys, acting clerks, patrol officers, timber tax officials, grain officials, liaison officers, captains, officers, city guards, outer patrol officers, and bridge gatekeepers, there were twenty or thirty military officers in total. These military officers were basically divided into three categories: one was the military system, one was the garrison administration system, and one was the tax system, because garrisons like Shuanghe Town generally also handled customs duties and inspections.

Yuan Xi, as the magistrate dispatched by the shogunate to Shuanghe Town, came not only to comfort the town's soldiers, but more importantly, to obtain the town's tax records from recent years.

Yuan Xi glanced around and saw that apart from County Magistrate Xie Yuanshang and his entourage standing alone, the Shuanghe Town personnel, who should have been divided into three rows according to their duties, were all standing behind Zhang Xuan, the town's military commander.

Yuan Xi understood immediately. Without saying anything, he smiled and clasped his hands in greeting to Zhang Xuan, the military commander of Shuanghe Town at the forefront.
"I have met Zhang Zhen'e."

Indeed, as the envoy, Yuan Xi had to greet Zhang Xuan with his hands clasped first, since Zhang Xuan was an official sent by the military governor's office.
Zhang Xuan returned the greeting with his hands clasped in a generous manner, showing no disrespect for the fact that the person in front of him was merely a military advisor from a prefectural government.

It was at this moment that Yuan Xi got a clear look at Zhang Xuan's face. He had a strong and handsome appearance, and was very imposing.

When Yuan Xi looked at him, the other person did not avoid his gaze at all, but met Yuan Xi's gaze and looked him up and down.

Yuan Xi then realized that Zhang Xuan was an extremely confident person, and this matter was not going to be easy.

Yuan Xi looked away first, glancing at Xie Yuanshang over there, then nodded and smiled. The latter smiled back, and then continued to maintain his inconspicuous state.

The band then started playing, and the atmosphere became lively.

Yuan Xi straightened his robes and began to formally represent the Guang Prefecture government to extend his greetings to the people of Shuanghe Town.

At this moment, the garrison commander Zhang Xuan, along with the military officers from the three systems, bowed down to formally welcome the arrival of the Guangzhou delegation.

Then came a series of ceremonies, and on the surface everyone was in high spirits.

After the formalities were over, everyone relaxed a bit. Yuan Xi was the first to speak, exchanging pleasantries and asking Zhang Xuan with a smile:

"Zhang Zhen'e, where is your hometown?"

Zhang Xuan smiled and said:
"I am from Qishan."

Yuan Xi quickly chimed in, smiling:
"Our governor has a sworn brother, someone he crawled out of a pile of corpses with at the Dadu River. He's also from Qishan, but his accent is very strong, not as proper as yours, the garrison commander. We used to tease him, saying he should learn to speak properly, but he argued that their accent was the most correct. Haha!"

Zhang Xuan smiled and nodded, saying:
"That fellow villager isn't entirely wrong. People from our area do indeed consider their own accent to be the standard pronunciation. If you ask them to change it, they'll get impatient. Haha!"

This was the first time Zhang Xuan had revealed his true feelings. Yuan Xi keenly noticed this and was about to ask another question when suddenly someone stood up from behind Zhang Xuan and interrupted with a smile:

"I hope you didn't encounter any bandits along the way, Military Advisor Yuan. We've heard that things are very chaotic in the mountains now, with bandits springing up everywhere and looting all the time. It's said that several officials have already been killed. We've only been here for half a day, and we were worried that something might have happened to you."

After saying this, the man burst into laughter, and then almost half of the officers behind him joined in the laughter.

The person who came here is not kind!

Yuan Xi remained calm and asked with his hands clasped:
"Who are you?"

The man cupped his hands in greeting and replied very rudely:

"I am Li Chengxian, a tax official, and I greet you, Military Advisor."

Oh? Surname Li? No wonder.

Then Yuan Xi asked directly:
"Oh? May I ask what connection you have with the esteemed Li family of this county?"

Li Chengxian hadn't expected Yuan Xi to ask so directly, and his expression became quite unnatural. He replied stiffly:
"It is indeed from our family."

Then Yuan Xi burst into laughter, saying repeatedly, "No wonder, no wonder! He is indeed a handsome man!"

Then, his expression turned solemn, and he bowed to Zhang Xuan, whose face remained calm:

“Zhang Zhen’e, I have come here for this very reason! The mountain bandits are in rebellion, and the prefecture is short of manpower. The magistrate is asking you to send troops to help Guang Prefecture quell the rebellion.”

Zhang Xuan did not refuse, and with a smile extended his hand to invite Yuan Xi into the camp, where there was a feast, and they ate and talked.

Looking at the solemn and austere military camp, Yuan Xi pursed his lips and led the way into the camp.

This is a den of dragons and tigers; let Yuan Xi test him.

Behind him, Lee Sung-hyun exchanged glances with the others, a smile playing on his lips, before following them inside.

Finally, our county magistrate Xie Yuanshang smiled and said to the officials:
"Hey, nobody invited us, let's invite ourselves."

Some of the quick-witted ones simply bent down and shouted:

"Your Highness, please!"

Xie Yuanshang laughed heartily, and then led his group of subordinates into the camp.

(End of this chapter)