Entrepreneurship in the Late Tang Dynasty

Chapter 175 Misunderstanding
It was clear that Qin Zongyan's time to act was ripe.

Then, amidst the gasps of the Caizhou soldiers behind Qin Zongyan, a long iron arrow suddenly appeared and struck Zhao Huai'an's iron mace.

Sparks flew as Zhao Huai'an nearly lost his grip on the iron mace. The blow went wide, and the arrow was deflected, hitting Qin Zongyan's ear and causing him to howl.

As the arrow came, a squad of armored soldiers immediately rushed out from Zhao Huai'an's side, each holding a shield and shield, and surrounded Zhao Huai'an from behind.

Sun Tai and Zhao Hu, both clad in iron armor, stood side by side, serving as cushions for Zhao Huai'an's head.

Meanwhile, Wang Yanzhang, who was in charge of the capital, quickly identified the person who had just shot the arrow as a galloping knight. Just by looking at his helmet and armor, he knew that the knight was a general of the Zhongwu Army.

Without a second thought, Wang Yanzhang shot an arrow, along with seven or eight other men, all of whom were Zhao Huai'an's adopted sons and disciples.

Just as the loyal and valiant general was about to speak, he suddenly noticed an arrow piercing the air, grabbed the horse's belly, and swerved to the other side.

Seeing that this man was a skilled horseman, Wang Yanzhang and his companions were about to give him another lesson when they heard a sound:
"Alright, they've come to mediate."

As soon as he finished speaking, Zhao Huai'an pushed aside the shield formation and stepped out, then clasped his hands in a fist salute and said:

"I wonder who the hero on the other side is. I am Zhao Huai'an, the governor of Guang Prefecture."

The knight on the other side was also covered in sweat. He hadn't expected the Gwangju soldiers to be so fierce, daring to shoot him in public.

At that moment, he was filled with regret.

He dared not linger any longer and spurred his horse to the back, where a cavalry unit bearing the banner of "Chenzhou Army" was located.

After entering the formation, the man felt a little more at ease. Then he saw Zhao Huai'an walk up to him and ask his name.

After hesitating for a moment, the man replied loudly:
"Zhao Chou, Commander of the Cavalry and Infantry of Chenzhou, greets Prefect Zhao. I have no ill intentions; I simply wish to clear up this misunderstanding."

Over there, the Baoyi Army's men had already tied up Qin Zongyan and those Caizhou soldiers, and Li Jian, Xu Yao, and several Xuzhou generals had also taken Li Shitai down from the flagpole.

Old Li was in deep trouble this time. Looking at the little bird that had almost shrunk into itself from the cold, he burst into tears:

"I'm so damn old!"

I wonder if Old Li will still be able to keep going in the future.

Zhao Huai'an wrapped his fur cloak around Li Shitai, and seeing that he was about to speak, he shook his head, then punched Li Shitai hard in the chest and started cursing:

"How the hell didn't you freeze to death? What the hell are you doing drinking in the camp? You want to die?!"

But Li Shitai, with tears in his eyes, said aggrievedly:
"I can't stand seeing my brothers freezing. Those damn guys didn't even prepare enough winter clothes. If I don't distribute some liquor, how can my brothers stand guard?"

Zhao Huai'an was stunned. He looked at Li Shitai and nodded.

"This is the old Li I know. Don't worry, you don't need to worry about anything. I, Zhao Da, said that as long as you do righteous things, I'll support you for life!"

He looked at Li Shitai, who was crying, and laughed while scolding him:

"Stop crying! We agreed to be brothers, and that'll stay true to our hearts!"

Then he stood up and said to Zhao Liu behind him:
"Sixth Brother, tell me, the Zhongwu Army thinks they have more people and looks down on us brothers! How can we tolerate this?!"

Zhao Liu, not understanding the meaning, took out a suona from his satchel and blew it with all his might!
The sharp, piercing sound of the suona pierced the air, followed by the responses of horns and small drums from various formations.

A moment later, the army that had been arrayed on the riverbank rolled up its banners and marched over in a mighty force.

At this moment, Zhao Huai'an mounted his horse, grabbed Qin Zongyan whose ear was bleeding profusely, and led a hundred riders out of the formation slowly.

Pang Cong and several of Xuzhou's generals found themselves in a state of both embarrassment and excitement. Opposite them were the Caizhou army, and to their left were the Chenzhou army. Meanwhile, an army bearing the banner of "Xuzhou" emerged from their camp and rushed over after the bugle sounded outside.

Seated on his horse, Zhao Huai'an looked at the clearly divided and disorganized Zhongwu Army of Xu, Chen, and Cai prefectures, smiled contemptuously, and then roared:
"A misunderstanding? I, Zhao Da, have been ordered by General Song Wei, the commander of the Five Garrisons, to sail here in a long boat, leading my troops, braving the river waves. I am here to report to the nation and to serve the people. And what about you, the Loyal Martial Army? First, this Qin Zongyan dared to steal my weapons and try to harm me, and now you, Zhao Chou, have shot an arrow at me! Is this a misunderstanding?"

At this moment, dust rose behind Zhao Huai'an, and the 1,500 soldiers of the Baoyi Army's Eighth Division stood at the forefront, their golden spears and iron horses gleaming in the sunlight.

Behind them, the 3,000-strong Baoyi Army auxiliary troops, dressed in military uniforms and holding swords and spears, stood behind their respective armored soldiers, glaring angrily.

The five hundred yamen soldiers and more than a thousand county soldiers of Shouzhou Army were surrounded in the middle. Although they were surprised and suspicious, they still stood behind Zhao Huai'an.

We absolutely have to help our fellow villagers!
And so, when the Xuzhou army rushed out of the camp, they saw a large army of nearly six thousand men standing behind the great banner in front of the camp.

The general leading this Xuzhou army was none other than Zhou Ji, the foremost general of Xuzhou. Upon seeing the formidable strength of the Huainan army, he gasped to Lu Yanhong beside him:
"Old Lu, is this Zhao Da? Old Li has such a formidable brother?"

At this moment, Lu Yanhong's face was also gloomy. He looked at the Caizhou army over there and cursed:

"One day these Cai dogs will pay!"

Then he sighed:
"This time it won't end well."

As Lu Yanhong had predicted, the Caizhou soldiers, after the Baoyi Army had deployed its forces, also began to beat their war drums and then confront the enemy, displaying their might in battle formation.

However, both Chenzhou and Xuzhou remained calm, each sticking to their own positions and not daring to get involved.

……

Under the banner, after observing the battle, Wang Jin said to Zhao Huai'an:

"My lord, the Chen and Xu prefectures are both sitting on the sidelines watching from the sidelines. Only the Cai prefecture's troops have sounded their drums and horns. I have observed them and they are indeed a mighty army. But as long as you give the order, I guarantee that the righteous army will surely win!"

Zhao Huai'an laughed heartily, then turned to Li Shitai, who was now dressed in his padded jacket and drinking hot tea, and said:
"Old Li, how are things? Is my Baoyi Army in high spirits?"

At this moment, Li Shitai was so moved he felt like he was melting.

When you are utterly despondent, humiliated by your enemies in the army, and surrounded by scoundrels who verbally abuse you and wish you would commit suicide so they could watch the spectacle, your brothers arrive with a massive army.

For your sake, he did not oppose the Zhongwu Army, nor did he oppose the military governor from the imperial court; all for the sake of brotherhood.

Especially when he held the bowl of hot soup in his hands, his heart, which had been moved and melted before, was instantly sublimated into gas.

Zhao Da must have ordered this bowl of hot tea to be made the moment he saw him hanging. How could Li Shitai not understand this sentiment?
That beating I got back then was totally worth it!

Zhao Huai'an, unaware that Li Shitai's heart had already twisted three times, continued to tease him:

"Old Li, it seems you won't be able to return to the Zhongwu Army this time. You've been saying for a long time that you'd come and work with me. Let's be brothers, make it bigger and stronger, and create a glorious future together!"

What could Li Shitai say at this moment? He cried out through tears:
"Okay, I'll fight you, Zhao Da! I'm not putting up with the Zhongwu Army anymore! Don't you dare go after the Xuzhou Army later, I have a lot of my brothers there, I'll bring them over later!"

Zhao Huai'an glanced at Li Shitai, whose face was red from the cold, and found it hard to believe:
"Forget it, just showing up is enough. You've been bragging to me all day long. If you're such a good brother, why didn't anyone come and get you down after you've been hanging there for so long?"

These words made Li Shitai both angry and ashamed, and Pang Cong, Han Jian, Wang Jian and others behind him were also extremely embarrassed.

Damn, we've been loyal enough, who else would be like you, Zhao Da, who'd fight anyone who disagrees with you!

To be honest, at this moment, Pang Cong and the others stood behind Zhao Huai'an, with two thousand elite armored warriors and four thousand infantrymen behind them. They felt really at ease! The group looked at the trembling Li Shitai and secretly envied him. This old Li was really lucky.

Over there, after teasing Li Shitai, Zhao Huai'an said seriously:
"Relax, you can't beat them. Just play along!"

Li Shitai was stunned for a moment. What was going on? How could this possibly end? He had already mentally prepared a scenario where they would fight it out and then retreat to Gwangju.

Then at that moment, he saw a large, red-wheeled carriage drawn by two horses slowly approaching, followed by a group of dazzling, iron-armored soldiers wearing yellow brocade hats, with eagle tails hanging from their waists, and carrying spears and halberds.

The red carriage stopped directly between the two sides, with two people inside. One of them stood on the carriage and shouted:

"Zhao Da, what are you making a scene for? If you have any grievances, come forward and tell me. I'm here!"

Upon hearing this, Zhao Huai'an exclaimed "Hey!" and then dismounted, trotting along at a low, bent-over pace.

Behind them, the men followed closely, not daring to relax their guard in the slightest.

The magistrate said that no matter where he went or which acquaintance or brother he met, they had to follow him in armor.

Zhao Huai'an walked to the carriage, becoming four feet taller than the wheels. He then leaned his entire upper body into the carriage and said with a wronged expression:
"Lord Song, you must stand up for Zhao Da! The people of Caizhou are bullying us too much! How can they treat a hero who has risked his life for the country like this?"

At this moment, the person on the right in the car is none other than Song Jian, Zhao Huai'an's former boss.
Song Jian looked at the honest and aggrieved Zhao Da, nodded, and then smiled at a handsome elder with a long beard and a purple-gold fish-shaped pouch beside him:

"Lord Cui, we need to take control of the Caizhou soldiers."

The other person sitting in the carriage was Cui Anqian, the Minister of War and Military Governor of Zhongwu Army.

Zhao Huai'an couldn't help but turn his head to look at this person.

What kind of person is this?
With a face like jade and eyes like bright stars, he was sitting down, yet he was not much shorter than Zhao Huai'an. Just sitting there, he exuded an aura of independence like a lone pine tree and radiance like the stars and moon.

What a noble and upright nobleman! Truly a member of the Cui family.

When Zhao Huai'an saw this man, he couldn't help but compare him to Gao Pian in his mind. This man was younger and had better skin. Old Gao was also good-looking, but he had been on the battlefield a lot and was indeed rough.

Suddenly, Zhao Huai'an couldn't help but think of Old Pei from Rongzhou again, but the next moment, he banished the man from his mind.

Bah! How can old Pei's big face compare to this Cui Jiedushi?

It was because of this association that a random thought inexplicably popped into Zhao Huai'an's mind:
"This daughter of Commander Cui must be quite remarkable!"

Then he heard Cui Anqian staring straight at him and say calmly:

"Withdraw the troops and go to the tent for a talk."

Seeing that Zhao Huai'an remained silent, and looking at the dozens of armored soldiers behind him holding their swords, Cui Anqian sneered even more:
"Oh? Weren't you quite bold just now? Why don't you dare come back to camp with me now?"

But who is Zhao Huai'an? Would he be tricked into going with this goading tactic? It's not that he doesn't trust Lao Song; his old leader wouldn't harm him. But there are treacherous people in the camp!

When Zhao Da enters the camp, a few lunatics from the Caizhou army will attack him, and he will be killed, as will those lunatics. At that point, Old Song will only be angry for a moment.

These days, if Zhao Da is going to be an arrogant governor, then he should be even more careful about his head.

So Zhao Huai'an chuckled and replied:

"Governor Cui, please wait a moment. I will go back to reorganize the camp and settle things down below. Then I will come to the main camp to apologize to you, Lord Cui."

After speaking, Zhao Huai'an bowed to Cui Anqian, then smiled and bowed to Song Jian, before finally striding back.

Before long, the Guang and Shou armies ceased their operations and, under the command of their respective generals, began to return to the long dike.

Thus, the Guang and Shou armies did not choose to camp at the location selected by the Zhongwu army, but instead began to set up camp on this ten-mile-long dike.

Inside the Zhu-wheeled carriage, Cui Anqian, observing the disciplined and obedient Baoyi Army, couldn't help but nod in approval:
"Zhao Huai'an is indeed a good leader, and his men listen to advice. He's quite good."

But Song Jian, who was standing nearby, burst into laughter upon hearing this:

"Master Cui, you've fallen for that kid's trick. Do you think he'll ever come back?"

Cui Anqian paused for a moment, then asked in confusion:
"Won't you reply?"

……

In the evening, when Cui Anqian heard Zhao Huai'an say again that there were still three battalions left to patrol, and that they would be able to come after they were patrolled, even someone as composed and reserved as him slammed his fist on the table and cursed:
"What a cunning little rascal."

At this moment, Song Jian was peeling and eating an orange. These were Huainan oranges that Zhao Huai'an had sent to him as soon as he returned to camp.

As he ate, Song Jian nodded in approval; these Huainan oranges were indeed excellent.

At this moment, Cui Anqian regained his cold and stern expression. He looked at Song Jian and frowned, saying:

"Lord Song, Zhao Da is still nowhere to be seen. How are we supposed to organize the army? Are we just going to send them off to Kaifeng as a disorganized mess?"

Song Jian was about to eat another orange when he saw Cui Anqian swallowing. He smiled, walked over with a whole branch of oranges, handed it to Cui Anqian, and shook his head, saying:

"Lord Cui, you're still too hasty. But organizing troops is not something we can do. Back then, when Prime Minister Li was so highly accomplished and powerful, when he was attacking Liu Zhen of Zhaoyi, all the garrisons looked to each other and refused to serve. It was only then that Prime Minister Li was able to organize the various armies."

"But what about now? The Guangzhou army has never hesitated or slacked off in battle, yet you want to reorganize the army. How can that possibly work? Not to mention Zhao Da, he's a stubborn fool. Even Minister Gao tries to appease him. Why are you going against him?"

Cui Anqian didn't refute, but then he suddenly thought of a question and asked:

"Judging from Zhao Da's troops today, there are at least five or six thousand men. Can Guang Prefecture and Shou Prefecture really send such a large force out of their territory?"

Song Jian smiled, peeled an orange for Cui Anqian himself, and shook his head:
"Lord Cui, what you see as a row of armored soldiers is nothing but Zhao Da's trick. Of those five or six thousand men, only about a thousand are truly capable of fighting. The rest are just civilian laborers accompanying the army!"

Cui Anqian was skeptical; after all, could laborers really form an array? But now that everyone had dispersed, he was powerless to refute it.

He simply kept Zhao Huai'an in mind, intending to think about him carefully.

Suddenly, a soldier rushed in and knelt on one knee to report to Cui Anqian:
"Commander, the governor of Guang Prefecture just sent someone into the camp to ask for a famous doctor of typhoid fever. He said that Li Ya fell ill as soon as he entered the camp and he is taking care of him right now, so he really can't leave."

At this point, Cui Anqian was too lazy to curse anymore, and sneered:
"We need to borrow a famous doctor again? Forget it, let him send Qin Zongyan back, I'll arrange for a doctor to go."

Then he heard the guard in front of him say in astonishment:
"Commander, in the afternoon, General Qin was sent back. Just after Zhao's envoy went to the Guang Prefecture army camp to apologize, General Qin was sent back, and they said it was all a misunderstanding."

Cui Anqian opened his mouth, but finally managed to utter a sentence:
"What a misunderstanding!"

Only Song Jian swallowed the orange and laughed:

"Then it seems it really was a misunderstanding."

(End of this chapter)