Entrepreneurship in the Late Tang Dynasty

Chapter 165 Very good
Having learned of the situation in the mountains, the Baoyi Army launched a joint attack, first targeting the three passes of Baisha, Muling, and Yinshan.

Among them, Zhang Dai led troops to attack Baisha, Chen Fahai led troops to attack Muling, Gao Renhou led troops to attack Yinshan, and Zhao Huai'an led the remaining troops to continue to be stationed at the Hewandi camp to coordinate trade and supplies.

Within ten days, good news kept pouring in.

First, Zhang Dai led his troops to Guifushanpeng, crossed mountains and ridges, traveled twenty miles west, and secretly arrived at the foot of Baisha Pass.

Zhang selected more than ten elite men, led by Lieutenant General Lu Tang, to climb the mountain using ropes and attack the pass at night.

Lu Tang was a descendant of the Turks of Guangshan. When Emperor Xuanzong defeated the Turks, hundreds of chieftains surrendered and were given Han surnames. His ancestors were given the surname "Lu" and later moved to Yincheng in Guang Prefecture.

Lu Tang was brave and strong, but he did not engage in production and wandered around the countryside. Later, when the Baoyi Army recruited, he enlisted and was promoted to the rank of 10th rank due to his bravery and fierceness. He was assigned to Zhang Dai's army.

At that time, Lu Tang and his men bypassed the official order and went to the city. The mountain strongholds in Guanzhong were caught off guard and had to launch a hasty counterattack.

Lu Tang fought to the death with more than ten elite warriors. Because he could not wear armor, he suffered more than ten wounds, but still fought bravely against the enemy. He opened the gate and let Zhang Dai into the city, and captured Baisha Pass.

After the war, Zhang Dai personally commended Lu Tang for his merits, ranking him first.

……

Meanwhile, Chen Fahai successfully descended Muling Pass.

Muling Pass is perched atop a mountain with treacherous terrain. When Chen Fahai's troops arrived, the bandits on the pass had already spotted them.

Therefore, Chen Fahai's troops built more than ten large billboards to shield themselves from arrows and stones, and then attacked the mountain in parallel.

At first, the road was slightly wider, allowing three people to walk side by side. However, the further down the road you go, the narrower it becomes, until finally only one person can pass at a time to attack the mountain.

The bandits at Muling Pass numbered only a dozen or so. They could fall rocks from their high position, while below, there were only five or six officers and soldiers of the Baoyi Army attacking from above. Therefore, the Baoyi Army was urged to attack three times in a row.

Chen Fahai, who was in charge of the rear, launched a continuous offensive. If one card was destroyed, the next card would follow. If the next card was destroyed, then three cards would be used to attack again.

They fought from early morning until noon, using up all the rocks they had to stop, and their bowstrings were too tired to be drawn.

At this moment, Chen Fahai ordered the archers to advance and fire a barrage of arrows at the enemy troops at the pass.

Among them, archer Lian Chongyu, a man from Guangzhou, saw a man on the pass shouting and drew his longbow to shoot a plum-needle arrow, which hit the man in the face. The thief screamed and fell to the ground.

The bandits were in disarray, but Lian Chongyu stood below the pass and shot four more men. The bandits dared not approach the pass again, and then the righteous army below the pass took advantage of the situation to break through.

In this battle, archer Lian Chongyu was the most meritorious, having killed three people and wounded one.

The warriors' achievements and reports of victory were all delivered to the main camp in the river bend by their respective commanders. Zhao Huai'an was overjoyed and immediately rewarded the meritorious officers and soldiers and comforted the wounded soldiers.

Those who excelled in both battles were all highly rewarded.

Lu Tang, who suffered ten wounds, was granted the title of "Baoyi Lang" and promoted two ranks to deputy captain.

The title "Baoyilang" is only awarded to those who are brave and outstanding in battle; it cannot be held by anyone who is not capable of defeating ten men.

Lian Chongyu, who had shot four people in a row, was specially commended by Chen Fahai, who promoted him beyond his rank by four levels and made him a meritorious general.

War, especially low-intensity wars like this, always produce countless strong soldiers and brave generals. Zhao Huai'an had also established a comprehensive military merit system in the army early on, rewarding those who made merits and punishing those who made mistakes. The clear distinction between rewards and punishments made the officers and soldiers sincerely convinced.

However, after Zhang Dai and Chen Fahai sent news of their victories, Gao Renhou, who had always been valued by Zhao Huai'an, still had no news to send.

……

Yinshan Pass is conveniently located near the Huangshui River, and it is less than ten miles from this pass to Macheng in Huangzhou.

Therefore, in the past, the ruler of the Southern Liang Kingdom sent General Wu Ziyang to lead troops to attack the three passes. The ruler of Wei sent Prefect Mei Xingzhi of Guangcheng with 4,000 infantry and cavalry to advance to Yinshan Pass, where they counterattacked Ziyang and defeated him.

The mountain bandits, though ignorant of history, knew the importance of this pass. So, although they did not believe that the Guangzhou army was coming to attack, several hundred mountain bandits from various settlements still guarded the pass.

Under these circumstances, Gao Renhou led his 300 elite soldiers south by boat, and then disembarked and set up camp seven miles northeast of Yinshan Pass.

On the very day they set up camp, the hunters who went out to capture animals caught a herb gatherer outside the mountains. Although the man was well-disguised, he was still captured by the hunters.

It wasn't that the hunters were particularly insightful; it was simply that there was no one around for miles, and after searching for a long time, they came across this one. They decided to take him back and question him, or at least find out about the surrounding area.

The spy from the mountain hut was unaware that he had been used to make up the numbers. He thought he had been exposed. As soon as he was brought to the main camp, he saw that there were strong men training their strength everywhere in the camp, so he just abandoned him.

Gao Renhou personally interrogated the man, without using torture. With just a few words, the spy burst into tears, crying out:

"We are honest mountain people, living in the mountains for generations. Later, those Huaixi barbarians came to the mountains and captured us, forcing us to train and beat us every day. We men were kept in the stronghold, while our wives, children, and elderly were trapped in the mountains picking tea. We have all heard that Governor Zhao is benevolent and does not kill us mountain people cruelly, so we good people in the mountains have long been hoping that Governor Zhao would come to save us. Waaah, now we have finally waited for him."

Gao Renhou's lips curled slightly as he smiled:

"Alright, I'll let you go back. Once you're back, tell your commander that my army numbers several thousand and covers the entire mountainside. Tell him not to launch any reckless attacks and to guard the gates carefully."

Seeing the spy nodding incessantly, Gao Renhou's smile widened, and he said to him:
"After you enter the pass, tell the various mountain huts that in this battle our army only punished the ringleaders, and the rest of the gang will be pardoned. Those who wish to surrender should simply write the word 'obey' on their backs and then surrender naked. Our lord is benevolent and will surely bring you good fortune."

The spy cried out:

"Finally, Governor Ren has arrived, truly saving our mountain people from suffering."

Gao Renhou patted the man on the shoulder, untied him, let him stay in the camp for a meal of wine and meat, and then let him go back.

Regimental Commander Sun Chuanwei, who had remained silent until now, shook his head upon seeing this and said:
"Are they all trying to turn the bandits inside the pass against us? But in my opinion, that won't work. If we don't beat them hard, how can they be willing to surrender? As for that man's talk about good people in the mountains, that's just laughable."

Sun Chuanwei naturally has the right to speak, as they were originally assigned to guard the passes in the mountains.

They all started out as respectable people, but what happened later? In just a few years, they became almost like people from shady villages.

Therefore, Sun Chuanwei knew what the people in the mountain huts across the street were thinking.

But Gao Renhou burst into laughter upon hearing this, stroking his beard and saying:

"What's the rush, Old Sun? Let's see what happens next."

After saying this, Gao Renhou ordered that another trench be dug outside the village.

……

After returning to the pass, the spy greeted the people there and headed straight for the drill ground behind the pass.

As soon as he entered, he saw a man with a crimson turban on his head, riding a horse and holding a bow. As he galloped, he shot at the target from both sides, and the arrows hit the target and pierced through the wood three inches deep.

The man saw the spies enter but ignored them. Instead, he rode to the halberd rack, took out a horse lance, eighteen feet long, its shaft covered with marks from sword cuts and slashes, bearing the marks of time.

But only the longsword on the lance still gleamed coldly, exuding a chilling killing intent.

After taking off his lance, the knight swiftly turned his horse around, then charged back with his lance held high, galloping down like a tiger descending a mountain, shoveling away all the straw figures that filled the front row.

Only after the knight had completely finished his training did the spy clap his hands and shout:
"Brother, your martial virtue has become even more abundant. How many people in the Dabie Mountains, spanning eight hundred miles, possess martial arts skills comparable to yours?"

The knight smiled upon hearing the spy's words, then dismounted, first wiping the sweat from his warhorse before wiping it from his own.

Then he walked over, laughing and scolding:

"You still know how to come back? The Gwangju army is already at our doorstep, and you still can't give me a break. This morning I heard from the underlings that you went out to see those Gwangju soldiers. I almost thought I was going to lose my brother."

The spy smiled on the outside, but inwardly he was cursing:
"Yes, you are worried, but that won't stop you from honing your martial arts skills."

But he said gratefully, "Brother, you really love me. But brother, we have the lives of hundreds of brothers on our shoulders. What's wrong with me taking some risks? However, my scouting trip out of the pass this time has allowed me to discover some of the truth."

If Gao Renhou and the other righteous generals were to see this now, they would never have imagined that this casually captured spy was actually the younger brother of the young commander of Yinshan Pass.

In fact, the knight was Yang Yanqing, the commander of this pass, and the spy was his younger brother, Yang Yanbao.

The two men had a distinguished background; they were not from Guangshan, but rather fourth-generation descendants of Yang Ji, the general of Huaixi who was killed by Wu Shaocheng of Huaixi eighty-eight years ago.

Back then, Yang Ji, along with Judge Zheng Chang and others, obeyed the imperial court's orders and planned to expel Wu Shaocheng while he was away. However, their plan was somehow reported, and the two were killed by Wu Shaocheng.

Afterwards, Yang Ji's clansmen protected Yang Ji's pregnant wife and fled to Guang Prefecture. They survived only after entering Guangshan.

At first, the tribesmen thought of revenge, but they soon found out that the people who betrayed them were actually from the imperial court. Disheartened, they stayed in the mountains and built a mountain hut.

Now, nearly ninety years have passed, the peach blossoms in the mountains have bloomed eighty-eight times, the Yang family has lived for four generations, and they have taken over more than ten settlements, making them the largest mountain settlement force in the vicinity of Guangshan to Huoshan.

The brothers Yang Yanqing and Yang Yanbao are in charge of the Yang family in this generation.

……

Upon hearing that his younger brother had indeed caught something, Yang Yanqing hurriedly called his brother to a nearby shed. Tea was brewing on a stove. He poured a bowl for his brother first, and then poured one for himself.

The tea is a local specialty of Guangshan, brewed with mutton fat and some herbs, giving it a fragrant aroma.

Yang Yanbao touched it; it was burning hot. He smiled wryly.

"Why does my brother love drinking hot water so much? Even in the hottest days of summer, he drinks it hot. I, on the other hand, don't like it. I let it cool down before I drink it."

Yang Yanqing shook his head:

"You don't understand. After a horse race, after all that exertion, a bowl of oil tea makes you feel great. But enough of that, tell me what exactly you've been watching for?"

Then Yang Yanbao frowned and said:
“Brother, this Guangzhou army is no ordinary force. Do you know what I saw after entering the camp? Everywhere I looked, there were elite soldiers and fierce generals. Even in their spare time, these people train their strength on their own. How courageous they are in battle! Moreover, there are quite a few enemy cavalrymen. I saw two stables with about ten warhorses, all of them top-notch horses!”

But his elder brother, Yang Yanqing, upon hearing this, asked in confusion:
How did you end up in the camp?

Then Yang Yanbao told his brother about what had happened that day, and finally he wondered:

"Is the enemy general seeking battle or not? He's ordering me to spread rumors while he digs trenches and defends his camp. What's he doing?"

Yang Yanbao himself was not very good at military affairs, but he was a smart man and had always been his elder brother's right-hand man.

At this moment, Yang Yanqing was drinking oil tea, deep in thought.

After a moment, Yang Yanqing thought for a moment and asked about something else:

"After you enter the camp, you will find out how many enemy troops there are."

Yang Yanbao thought for a while and roughly estimated the number:
"There should be three or four hundred, but I don't know how many of them are husbands. That's how many tents there are."

Upon hearing this, Yang Yanqing burst into laughter, realizing what trick the other side was up to.

He placed the tea on the table, still steaming, and said to his brother:

"Wait here for me a moment."

Then Yang Yanbao saw his elder brother suddenly get up, run to his warhorse, grab his ancestral lance, and gallop away.

Two mounted attendants followed closely behind him, each carrying a lance, bow and crossbow, and shield.

Yang Yanbao only realized what had happened after his elder brother and his horse had all left, and he was dumbfounded:
"What's going on here?"

……

A group of soldiers from the Baoyi Army were protecting their husbands as they dug trenches outside the camp.

Because these men were assigned to specific battalions, they were very familiar with the officers and soldiers of the Baoyi Army. They were digging trenches while chatting with the warriors above.

"Sun Lang, why are we digging trenches? Are we going to fight here for a long time?"

A young warrior wearing chainmail, with a few fuzzy hairs still around his mouth, held a strung longbow in his hand, and a spear rested at his feet.

Hearing his husband calling out to him from the trench below, the warrior surnamed Sun chuckled and called out:
"What could be wrong? That's just how he is. He used to be a squad leader, and he loved building trenches. Otherwise, the army would have called him 'Trendy General'."

This remark, which wasn't particularly funny, made the men below, who were just talking, burst into laughter.

That's power.

Just then, the gate of the fortress ahead suddenly opened, and a knight, not wearing armor but wrapped in a hempen coat, came galloping over, carrying a lance. Two knights in leather armor followed closely behind.

After only a moment of stunned silence, the warrior surnamed Sun shouted:
"Bandit attack! Raise the palisades! Spread the arrows!"

As he spoke, the men hurriedly climbed out of the trench, pulled up the wooden palisades lying on both sides, and then hid behind the warriors.

At this moment, with this shout, the dozen or so Baoyidu warriors split into two teams. One team stood in front of the fence, setting up their spears, while the other team of eight men stood with their bows fully drawn.

Meanwhile, the three bandit riders on the other side were getting closer and closer.

In the blink of an eye, the knight at the front, upon seeing the situation of the trench, was greatly alarmed, turned his horse around, and turned back.

The two riders behind him didn't react in time and ran for a while before they saw their master running back and quickly retreated.

Then, the three riders came and went in a hurry, leaving the officers and soldiers of the Baoyi Army stunned.

What's with this beating?
……

Still at the small training ground, Yang Yanbao was sitting and waiting for his tea to cool down when he suddenly heard a horse neigh and saw that his elder brother had returned.

Yang Yanbao quickly stood up and asked:

"Brother, what were you doing just now?"

With his back to his younger brother, Yang Yanqing looked quite embarrassed. He jumped off his horse with extreme awkwardness, then turned around, his expression unfathomable.
"I'm going to observe the enemy's formation!"

After saying this, she avoided her brother's further questions and sat back down under the shed, where the tea on the table was still steaming.

Yang Yanqing's face turned even redder.

However, his younger brother Yang Yanbao, thinking his brother was riding a horse and feeling a surge of anger, came over and asked:

"Brother, how is the bandit camp? Do you have a plan to defeat them?"

Yang Yanqing downed the still-warm oil tea in one gulp, and managed to utter:
"Very good!"

Then he wiped his mouth and ran to the backyard.

The younger brother was left dumbfounded once again.

Is that all?

(End of this chapter)