Entrepreneurship in the Late Tang Dynasty

Chapter 179 Recovery
As soon as Zhao Huai'an rushed out, he saw Zhao Liu, Dou Pangzi, and Lu Zhongyuan being attacked from both sides by a group of drunken men in robes on Qianmen Street.

Lu Zhongyuan was already curled up on the ground, protecting his head, while Zhao Liu was being held up by two burly men in blue robes. A man in brocade robes was slapping Zhao Liu across the face and cursing.

"You bastard, huh? You dare to talk back to Grandpa like that?"

Zhao Liu was already dazed from the beating. The strong and powerful Dou Pangzi was taking punches and kicks, and he frantically waved his hands to deflect them. With a roar, he rushed over to rescue Zhao Liu.

Then, Fatty Bean was kicked back to his original spot by the man in the brocade robe, and then pinned to the ground and punched by the other men in round robes who caught up.

Zhao Huai'an's face immediately darkened, and he roared:
"Beat them to death!"

Then Zhou Dexing, carrying a small table, rushed up and slammed it down on a blue-robed man who was supporting Zhao Liu.

With a "crack".

The man in the blue robe cried out and fell to the ground.

Just as Zhou Dexing was about to continue his attack, the man in the brocade robe kicked him to the ground.

The man lowered his robes, watched as the militiamen continuously rushed out from the opposite building, his expression changed slightly, and he shouted:

"Alright, so that's why you're so tough, you've got connections! You want to outnumber them, huh? Ha! Come on, everyone come out and beat them to death!"

After the man in the brocade robe spoke, a hundred or so men rushed out from the profit tower behind them, each wielding a stick, and began shouting as they clashed with the approaching militiamen.

Whether it was the generals protecting the country or the opposing side, upon seeing the other side's posture, they knew they were soldiers, so none of them drew their swords; instead, they consciously used tables, stools, and sticks to fight.

The Baoyi Army had fifty or sixty men, which was fewer than the number of soldiers, but each of them was a skilled warrior. The opposing side was also extremely skilled, but they had probably been on the battlefield less often, so their combat awareness and teamwork were inferior to those of the Baoyi Army.

At this moment, Wang Jin, Han Qiong, Gao Qinde, Huo Yanchao, and Li Jiyong formed a small formation, like five arrows piercing into the enemy's ranks. Even using only whistling sticks, they were unstoppable.

Yang Yanqing, along with his generals, wielded long clubs and struck eight times in a flash, demonstrating their loyalty to their lord!
Then there were Zhao Huai'an's disciples, such as Sun Tai, Zhao Hu, Yang Mao, Wang Li, He Wenqin, and Niu Li, who had also made some progress in both boxing and judo, and were the main force in group fights, often taking down one person with just a few punches.

Zhao Huai'an watched like this until Zhao Liu was pulled back by the young man in brocade robes, at which point he suddenly lunged forward.

……

At this moment, Pei Di, carrying a small stool, rushed down from upstairs and arrived at the door, panting. Just as he was about to join them, his expression changed drastically upon seeing the man in the brocade robe. He shouted to Zhao Huai'an, who had already run upstairs:
"Zhao Da, stop! Those aren't the Yicheng Army!"

Zhao Huai'an heard it, of course, but to him, he didn't care who you were; he'd beat you up first.

He kicked away a man in a round robe who was blocking the road, and was about to capture the man in brocade robe in a few steps. But as soon as Zhao Huai'an put his hand on the man's shoulder, the man's shoulder twitched, and his foot under his robe struck Zhao Huai'an's face like a spring.

Fortunately, Zhao Huai'an blocked it with his left arm, otherwise he would have been knocked to the ground, which would have been incredibly embarrassing.

At this moment, the man in the brocade robe knew that the person in front of him was in charge, and he sneered:
"If you dare to lay a hand on me, then I'll respect you as a man, hehehe, but don't cry!"

After saying that, the man threw Zhao Liu aside and kicked Zhao Huai'an from the side with both feet like a pair of mandarin ducks.

Zhao Huai'an kept retreating and dodging, and finally saw a gap when the person opposite raised his leg. He ducked down and squeezed in, grabbed the man in the brocade robe under his armpits, and flipped backward in mid-air, throwing the man in the brocade robe to the ground.

It was freezing cold, and the road surface was completely frozen solid. So when this person was tackled like that, he was stunned and lay on the ground for a long time without being able to catch his breath.

In fact, if Zhao Huai'an hadn't instinctively used his hand to cushion the back of his head when he threw him to the ground, it would have killed him.

Zhao Huai'an got up from him, pulled Zhao Liu up from the ground, and looked at Zhao Liu's bruised and swollen cheeks. He was both angry and amused, and cursed:
"Sixth Brother, why is it always you who gets beaten up so badly? You need to find a master to do your research."

At this moment, Zhao Liu's eyes were constantly brimming with tears. Hearing Zhao Da say this, he didn't say anything aloud, but inwardly he was cursing:
"Before I met you, I never suffered like this! Back then, I was at the peak of my life, but after meeting you, things went downhill day by day, and I got beaten up every few days! Is this my fault?"

Fatty Dou had already been rescued, and Lu Zhongyuan, who was lying on the ground, was also dragged back by Wang Jin.

At this moment, Zhao Huai'an, stepping on the brocade-robed man on the ground, pointed at the increasing number of men in round robes, pointed to the opposite side, and shouted:
"Don't you dare move! If anyone moves, I'll punch your head."

Some people didn't listen and took a step, but Zhao Huai'an kicked the man in the brocade robe in the side of his ribs, and the man screamed in pain.

So, no one dared to make a move.

Zhao Huai'an saw that some people in the opposite group had already run upstairs, obviously to call for reinforcements, but he remained calm and shouted at the opposite side:

"Damn it, can anyone tell me if you've got some nerve to mess with my brothers? Do you even know who I am?"

Upon hearing this, the man in the brocade robe at his feet laughed in anger and shouted:

"You bastard, do you know who I am? I'm here because I saw you eat a leopard..."

The man swallowed the rest of his words, because Zhao Huai'an was standing with one foot on him, looking down at him with cold eyes.

He dared to kill me! What kind of killer is this?!

The man secretly protested his innocence. They were usually unruly and hadn't even come to cause trouble today, yet they were being bullied instead. Was this fair?

After glancing at the man and seeing that he didn't dare to bark anymore, Zhao Huai'an asked the chubby boy beside him:
"Fatty, you tell me what happened!"

Fatty Bean had also been beaten quite badly, but he was fat and strong, which had helped him recover a lot, so he was the only one who could still speak coherently.

He was panting when he kicked a man in a round robe who was lying on the ground groaning. This man had just hit him on the back with a stick, almost knocking him out of breath.

After venting his anger, Fatty Dou said to Zhao Da with a wronged expression:

"Brother, you have no idea how outrageous these people are! Just now, the three of us were relieving ourselves in the alley, and those bastards from the building across the street came over and started cursing at us. We were yelled at, so we turned around to talk back, and that's when we peed on them. But I didn't pee on them; I peed on their feet. Zhao Liu peed farther and ended up peeing on their genitals."

Upon hearing this, and seeing Dou Pangzi's "aggrieved" look, Zhao Huai'an knew perfectly well that these three had been holding back a whole host of bad intentions, and immediately retorted:

"How shameful! Who relieves themselves in front of someone's shop? You've really disgraced Zhao Da. Can't we at least have some manners when we come to Bianzhou City?"

Then he lowered his head and cursed at the man in the brocade robe:
"Can't you guys understand? The three of them are relieving themselves, and your men suddenly yell at them to turn around. Do you think they won't pee on you?"

The man in the brocade robe felt a lump in his throat, closed his eyes, and turned his head away from Zhao Huai'an.

At this moment, Fatty Bean remembered something and added:
"Oh, then the people behind started making a fuss, and Zhao Liu shouted, 'Don't you guys have any ideas? You can't even scold me for peeing? I'm not peeing in your mouth!' Then the people on the other side went crazy."

Zhao Huai'an was puzzled. The words weren't that vulgar, so why did it feel like he'd stabbed someone in the back? And why did everyone's defenses crumble?

Just as he was wondering, Pei Di, whose legs were cramping, didn't dare look at the man in brocade robes lying on the ground. Instead, he turned to the other side and whispered to Zhao Huai'an:
“Zhao Da, the one under your feet is Yang Shouli, the adopted son of Military Supervisor Yang.”

Zhao Huai'an stood there stunned for a long while, until he saw that Yang Shouli at his feet had a beard, before he managed a weak smile:
"Uncle Thirteen, you really know how to joke with Zhao Da. This guy clearly has a beard, how can he be a husband?"

At this moment, the man in the brocade robe, Yang Shouli, opened his eyes when he heard that someone had finally recognized him. He then saw Pei Shisan of the Ministry of Revenue, who was chuckling but remained silent.

At this moment, Pei Di, standing nearby, felt uneasy from Yang Shouli's smirking, but still whispered an explanation to her nephew-in-law:

“Zhao Da, you don’t know that this generation of the Yang family not only likes to adopt eunuchs from the palace as their godsons, but also likes to adopt sons from the army. The sons of eunuchs are mostly named with the character ‘Ke’ (可), while the sons of generals are named with the character ‘Shou’ (守).

Zhao Huai'an was also a little guilty at this moment. He looked up at the sky, estimated the time, and wondered if it was still possible to run away at this time.

Sigh, Zhao Liu is something else. He curses in front of the eunuch's son about whether he has a bird or not. Isn't that the same as cursing a bald thief in front of a bald man?
No wonder the man in the brocade robe was slapping Zhao Liu across the face when I arrived; he certainly deserved it!

Uncle Thirteen, who was standing beside him, was still very loyal. He whispered to himself, "Zhao Da, why don't you run away today? There's no curfew yet, so you can still get out of the city. Don't worry, Uncle Thirteen will take care of things after you leave. After all, I, Pei Shisan, have a lot of face to offer. Even Military Supervisor Yang has to give me some respect."

Although Pei Di spoke softly, Yang Shouli still heard him and couldn't help but laugh out loud, cursing:
"Well done, Pei Shisan! I always thought you had a round face, but today I realized you have a big face! You should try it and see if the Yang family will give you any face."

These words made Pei Di's ears turn red. He wanted to say something tougher and bring up his background, but he gave up.

Zhao Huai'an saw all of this.

To be honest, at first he just thought that this thirteenth uncle was a member of the Pei family and that they might actually become relatives in the future, which is why he started associating with him.

Later, seeing him come to this ward as if he were in his element, I realized that he was just another scoundrel in the Tang Dynasty's officialdom, skilled in all sorts of pleasures, but none of them could truly do anything for the country or the people.

But now it seems that no matter how well this person performs as an official, he is unquestionable as a brother.

He's truly ready to step up when needed, and he's genuinely willing to take the blame for his brothers when trouble comes!
But Uncle Thirteen is righteous, so how could Zhao Da be without responsibility?
He patted Pei Di on the shoulder, then kicked Yang Shouli again, cursing:

"Show some respect to my Uncle Thirteen! Don't you know how to respect people? If not, let me teach you."

Yang Shouli fell silent, because by now he knew pretty much who this person was.

Among the hundreds of soldiers in the army called Zhao Da, there was one who was arrogant and domineering, and there was only one such person: Zhao Huai'an from Xichuan.

Who in the Yang family knows this person? Zhou Congyu, the military supervisor of Xichuan, was a disciple of Yang Xuanjia, the previous generation of the Yang family.

When Yang Xuanjia was serving as the military supervisor of Xuanwu Army, Zhou Congyu was his junior military supervisor. Later, when his adoptive grandfather Yang Xuanjia was promoted to lieutenant of the Left Shence Army, he promoted Zhou Congyu to military supervisor.

Yang Shouli's adoptive father, Yang Fuguang, was Yang Xuanjia's heir, so he had a very close relationship with Zhou Congyu.

Last year, Zhou Congyu mentioned Zhao Huai'an in a letter, praising him highly and believing it was very necessary to bring him onto the Yang family's side.

But later, Zhao Huai'an and Gao Pian became close, and Gao Pian was on the same side as Tian Lingzi and his group, so Zhou Congyu gave up.

At this moment, Yang Shouli looked at the tall and burly Zhao Da in front of him. No matter how unwilling he was, he knew that he could not beat this man.

Yang Shouli was also known for his bravery in the Shence Army, thanks to his pair of iron legs. Otherwise, he wouldn't have been adopted as a son by the Yang family.

A true expert can tell the difference just by looking at Zhao Da's throw. Whether it's technique or body control, even if he were to fight a few more times, he would still be badly hurt.

He also knew that Zhao Huai'an had cushioned the back of his head at the last moment, because when he fell to the ground, the back of his head swung backward and hit a large, heavy hand.

At this moment, Yang Shouli's eyes were filled with complex emotions. He knew that his adoptive father was watching from upstairs. Given his adoptive father's fondness for heroes and warriors, he was afraid that he would have another brother.

Ugh, this is so frustrating.

……

At this moment, Zhao Huai'an looked at Yang Shouli at his feet and wondered why the man's eyes had become strange after he had kicked him.

Wait a minute? He knew that some eunuchs liked to play strange games. Could it be that Yang Shouli had been trained in this way?

Just thinking about it sent a chill down Zhao Huai'an's spine, and he immediately moved his feet off the man's chest.

Then Zhao Liu stepped on it, taking advantage of the situation.

……

At this time, the chaos of the fight reached the Xuanwu Army patrolling the neighborhood, so a patrol team wearing iron armor and carrying spears rushed over.

However, most people recognized the men in round robes as Shence Army soldiers from Chang'an when they saw them from afar, and then they all stood still and refused to move.

Indeed, the soldiers of Xuanwu Army were all quite capable, but they only became significant when they were all together. On ordinary days, none of them would dare to offend the military supervisor on their own.

So everyone hesitated and didn't move forward. Finally, when things got really out of hand, they sent Kou Yi, a kind-hearted man in the army, with a group of people to take a look.

While Zhao Huai'an was confronting the men in round robes opposite him, Kou Yi arrived with a group of people. At first, they were too far away to see clearly.

But as he got closer, he immediately saw that the military supervisor's adopted son, the incredibly fierce Yang Shouli, was being trampled underfoot by someone.

The man was about seven feet tall. Although he wasn't short, neither his physique nor his muscular build resembled that of a martial artist. Yet, he was able to trample Yang Shouli underfoot.

The man standing next to him was eight feet tall, imposing and awe-inspiring. Just by standing there, he exuded the aura of someone who could rival a thousand soldiers.

If a seven-foot-tall man can trample on Yang Shouli, then wouldn't this eight-foot-tall hero be even more invincible? Moreover, this man is accompanied by Pei Shisanlang, the Director of the Ministry of Revenue of the Tokugawa shogunate. How could he be without a background?
This is a battle of gods!
At this moment, Kou Yi secretly lamented his misfortune; his brothers had really caused him great suffering!

But he's already here. If the supervising officers find out that he watched his sixth son being trampled underfoot and didn't react at all, then his job as a military officer is over.

It's pitiful. His son is only fourteen, still a child. Without him to support the family, how will the whole family survive?
So, for the sake of his family, Kou Yi swallowed hard, touched the knife, and went forward.

Before he could make a choice, a young eunuch rushed out from the Profit Building and headed straight for the eight-foot-tall hero.

……

While Zhao Huai'an was still wondering if Lao Song could handle this "small matter," a man rushed out of the building. Upon seeing him, he burst into laughter:
"Old Zhang, what are you doing here!"

The young eunuch who rushed over was none other than Zhang Chengye, the former envoy of Zhou Congyu, the military supervisor of Xichuan.

Zhao Dahe and this man had some connection, because during the later counterattack, Zhou Congyu stayed in Chengdu to avoid Gao Pian, but sent Zhang Chengye to Yang Shuai's camp to act as a military supervisor.

When Zhao Huai'an went to the camp for meetings, he would often run into this young eunuch. The man was polite and did not have the arrogance of a typical eunuch, which made Zhao Huai'an feel a bit favorably toward him.

We only had a superficial relationship; it was really just a nodding acquaintance.

But to others, Zhao Huai'an's enthusiasm seemed like a deep, life-or-death friendship.

Even Zhang Chengye was a little unsure of himself. He hesitated for a moment, then recalled when he had become so close to Zhao Da, the local strongman in the army.
Then, upon reflection, he realized that Zhao Da had indeed always been very warm towards him, and it seemed that Zhao Da truly regarded him, Zhang Chengye, as a friend.

Alas, our family has failed to live up to Zhao Da's kindness.

Thinking of this, Zhang Chengye smiled, and then, amidst the confusion of the Shence Army soldiers, walked up to the villain and said kindly:
"Zhao Da, come on, our Supervisor Yang wants to see you. Don't worry, it's good news!"

Upon hearing that it was "good news," Zhao Huai'an immediately straightened his back, his spirits lifted, and he pushed aside the Shence Army soldiers in front of him, shouting to his brothers behind him:
"Let's go, Inspector Yang has told us brothers that something good is going to happen!"

However, with his back to the Shence Army soldiers, Zhao Huai'an cleaved downwards with his hand as if it were a knife.

Wang Jin and the other five generals immediately realized what was happening and secretly ran back to the building behind, where they found their discarded armor and weapons.

And so, Zhao Huai'an led Zhao Liu and the others through layers of people and followed Zhang Chengye into the Profit Building.

Meanwhile, Yang Shouli was also helped up by the Shence Army soldiers and followed them into the building, looking disheveled.

Before long, the street, which had been crowded with warriors, was deserted, with only Kou Yi and his Xuanwu army guarding downstairs.

After all, someone will have to collect the body eventually.

(End of this chapter)