Entrepreneurship in the Late Tang Dynasty

Chapter 189 Alarm Bell
On the nineteenth day of the first month of the third year of Qianfu (756 AD), in Caozhou, at Yuanju.

The day after Wang Jin led his cavalry away, news spread that the collection of refugees had ceased, and large numbers of people and disaster victims began to flock to Yuanju.

The remaining scouts were also dispatched by Zhao Huai'an so they could react immediately if anything seemed amiss.

At this time, there were still 1,000 elite infantrymen in Yuanju City, 500 Shouzhou soldiers in three battalions outside the city, 500 Baoyi yamen infantrymen, and then there was a refugee camp of up to 10,000 people.

After halting the proactive collection efforts, all the refugees who had come to join the army in the past two days were relocated to the west of the city. The number of people in the area is still unknown to the Baoyi Army, as refugees continue to arrive carrying all their belongings.

At this moment, Youyi, in the wilderness north of Yuanju, suddenly encountered a group of knights. Since these people were all wearing the uniforms of the Yicheng Army, he went to meet them.

……

The one who will intercept this cavalry team is Shi Chongxin.

He was a native of Gwangju and a descendant of the warriors of the Shi Kingdom who had submitted to the Central Plains a hundred years ago. When Zhao Huai'an recruited some skilled riders from Gwangju, he joined the army and later accumulated merits to become the general of the Ten White Warriors.

Upon seeing seventeen or eighteen riders galloping from the north in the forest, and confirming that they were wearing the uniforms of the Yicheng Army, Shi Chongxin immediately led five riders to intercept them, leaving the other five riders in the forest so that they could immediately report back in case of any unexpected events.

From afar, Shi Chongxin drew his bow and shouted:

"Which unit are you from? Slow down your horses!"

The Yicheng army knights who were galloping over there were startled when they suddenly saw the cavalry rushing out of the forest. They all grabbed their bows and spears, and only breathed a sigh of relief when they saw the words "Protect Righteousness" on the backs of the six knights.

Upon hearing the question, a cavalryman let out a whistle and slowed his horse down. The knight behind him, also a skilled rider, followed suit and brought his horse to a stop.

At this moment, the cavalry general clasped his hands in a fist salute and shouted to Shi Chongxin at the front:

"I am Pang Shigu, the commander of Nanhua County."

Then he introduced one of his valiant cavalry generals:

"This is Zhang Qinghe, a military officer of the Yicheng Army."

The fierce general named Zhang Qinghe clasped his hands in a gesture of greeting.

Then Pang Shigu said:

"We have urgent military intelligence to deliver to your esteemed Governor Zhao. Please lead the way."

Although the two men seemed quite serious, Shi Chongxin, as a scout tasked with capturing animals, would not believe a single word of information that had not been verified.

He placed the bow on his lap, but his hands were already resting on it, and the bow was pointing directly at Pang Shigu, then he laughed:
"Oh? No problem, no problem. But do you have any messenger tokens, imperial edicts, or your army's command arrows?"

Pang Shigu was still smiling, while Zhang Qinghe, standing beside him, had grown impatient. He glared at the bastard and cursed loudly:
"You dog slave, we are soldiers of the Yicheng Army, and we have urgent military intelligence to deliver. Do you think we can waste time with your nonsense? Lead the way now!"

Upon hearing this, Shi Chongxin's face fell.

He had always been arrogant, and after joining the Baoyi Army, he was further influenced by their self-important military style, which made him even more arrogant, thinking that Heaven was number one, Earth was number two, the magistrate was number three, the Ding Army Envoy was number four, the Zhao General was number five, the Gao Captain was number six, and he, Shi Chongxin, was number seven.

At that moment, he tilted his head and said contemptuously:
"You bastard, bark again?"

As soon as he finished speaking, the five foot soldiers behind Shi Chongxin each pulled out a cocked crossbow from their satchels, held it in their left and right hands, and aimed it at the Yicheng soldiers.

Zhang Qinghe was clearly taken aback. He thought that once he revealed his identity as a military officer of the Yicheng Army, the scout would be trembling with fear. He did not expect the man in front of him to be so tough.
He subconsciously glanced at Pang Shigu beside him, as if to say something, fearing that if he said another word, the two sides would immediately start fighting.

Pang Shigu was also startled, and cursed inwardly that Old Zhang had a bad mouth and that he would get into trouble because of it sooner or later.

Then he clasped his hands in a gesture of respect and said with a forced smile:

"How should I address this comrade?" Zhang Ya, the general of the Yicheng Army, was also anxious. He had been traveling with his troops for a day and a night without sleep, so his temper was naturally a bit short. Please bear with him.

As he spoke, Pang Shigu took out a talisman and a military dispatch from his satchel and handed them to Shi Chongxin, then said apologetically:

“Our proclamation contains important intelligence. Our Commander Chen has ordered us to deliver it to Governor Zhao personally. So please bear with us, my comrade.”

Shi Chongxin took the talisman and military dispatch, glanced at Zhang Qinghe, and saw that his eyes were indeed bloodshot, a result of staying up all night.

So he began to examine the talisman and military dispatches, comparing the information on them, and found that they were indeed correct.

Even at this point, Shi Chongxin still didn't fully believe it and asked another question:
"Aren't you the commander of Nanhua? How come you're getting involved with these Yicheng soldiers? Don't you know that Nanhua has already been besieged by the rebel army?"

Upon hearing this, Pang Shigu's face turned pale with shock, and he hurriedly asked:

"Ha, I was ordered by the county magistrate to go north to find the Yicheng army in Puzhou, but I didn't expect my county to be besieged? What's the situation now?"

Shi Chongxin observed the man's reaction and found it indeed natural, so he relaxed and shook his head, saying:

"I don't know, but our army has already sent reinforcements, so there shouldn't be any problems. After all, we are the Righteous Army!"

Hearing this, Pang Shigu and Zhang Qinghe exchanged a glance, and Pang Shigu then took the opportunity to ask:
"We are so grateful! I wonder how many troops your army has dispatched? Our army is so large, we are afraid that sending too few would be insufficient!"

It would have been better if he hadn't said that, because as soon as he did, Shi Chongxin looked at him suspiciously from the side:

"Didn't you say you didn't know you were surrounded? How do you know the rebel army is so numerous?"

Pang Shigu paused for a moment, then hurriedly explained:

"The peasant army, they treat human life like grass, and they've always been numerous. If they're going to besiege Nanhua, they'll definitely have a lot of people."

Shi Chongxin returned the talisman and military dispatch to Pang Shigu, and then said to them:

"I'll take you back in a bit, but you'll have to hand over your weapons to us for safekeeping."

Upon hearing this, both Pang Shigu and Zhang Qinghe's expressions turned ugly, especially Zhang Qinghe, who immediately blurted out:

"What nonsense are you spouting? You think you can disarm us? You're a martial artist yourself, don't you know we're always armed?"

Shi Chongxin replied stiffly, his face expressionless:

"Oh? Well, there's nothing we can do about it. That's the rule of our Baoyi Army. Not to mention you're going to see the magistrate, so you definitely can't bring weapons. Don't worry, we brothers will protect you from behind, and we won't hurt you."

Only then did Pang Shigu realize how troublesome the Baoyi Army scouts were, and he finally managed to say:

"How about this, we'll keep our weapons for now and hand them over once we enter the city. After all, there are more than ten of us here, and all our weapons together could fill a small cart. I'm afraid you don't have enough people."

Shi Chongxin thought for a moment, nodded, and then said to the group behind him:

"Let Sentry B continue scouting; we'll take these people back first."

Only then did Pang Shigu realize that there were actually people lurking in the shadows.

Pang Shigu then gave Zhang Qinghe a look, and then led his cavalry to follow Shi Chongxin and the others southward toward Yuanju.

……

At this time, outside Yuanju City, there was a large camp of disaster victims.

Chief Secretary Zhang Guinian, along with a group of secretaries and clerks, looked down from the corner tower.

After watching for a while, Zhang Guinian instructed Sun Chuantao, the old commander of the main camp:
“Old Sun, you’re a veteran in the army. You joined our Baoyi Army even earlier than us, and you’re one of our founding pillars.”

Sun Chuantao was a member of the Xiongbian tribe back then. After Sun Chuanwei was killed in battle, he joined Zhao Huai'an's eight-man gang.

Sun Chuantao dared not flaunt his seniority in front of Zhang Guinian, and quickly replied:
“Secretary, we’ve only been here a few months longer, we’re not a pillar of the state. Everyone knows that the Secretary is the magistrate’s right arm! Without the Secretary, our Baoyi Army will be crippled.”

That's a very unpleasant thing to say, but Zhang Guinian had dealt with many military men and knew that there were very few who could speak as eloquently as the magistrate. The rest were basically like Sun Chuantao, able to say flattering things in a way that offended people.

Zhang Guinian wasn't magnanimous; rather, this was the kind of person everyone in the army was like. If he were angry about this, he would have died of anger long ago.

So he nodded and said to Sun Chuantao:

"Since you are an old man, you know the magistrate's temper. He is the least tolerant of slackness and incompetence. If anyone crosses the magistrate's bottom line, then even the oldest brother will be of no use."

Sun Chuantao was already sweating profusely and hurriedly asked, "Secretary Zhang, is there something we didn't do well? You must teach me!"

Zhang Guinian patted Sun Chuantao on the shoulder, then pointed to the camp gate and asked:

"Although your camp is for resettling disaster victims, it is still built like a military camp. And who gave you permission to gather here and watch the spectacle in this important area?"

Sun Chuantao was stunned for a moment, then looked down at the gate tower and found that there was indeed a group of people gathered behind the camp gate to watch the commotion.

But where's the excitement?

There turned out to be a convoy outside the camp gate, blocking the entrance and shouting something.

What's going on? Sun Chuantao himself was puzzled, then shouted down:
"Xiao Jia, go see what's going on up ahead. When did I allow anyone to gather in front of the camp gate?"

Sun Chuantao was indeed wronged. How could he have known that he would encounter such a thing when the chief secretary was inspecting the camp?

Soon, his bodyguard Xiao Jia rushed over and shouted from below:

"Commander, the refugees outside insist on bringing the vehicles into the camp, saying that these are all their belongings and they would rather die than lose them."

Sun Chuantao slapped his forehead and cursed:
"We didn't let them throw it away. We just put it in a centralized place outside the camp, and we'll return it to them later."

Just as he was about to go down and resolve the matter himself, Zhang Guinian, who was standing beside him, suddenly asked with a serious expression:
Are there many people who brought cars?

Sun Chuantao thought for a moment and said:
"Not many, just two companies today. However, the first company that came earlier has already left their vehicle outside the camp, and this is a different vehicle."

Zhang Guinian pointed to the crowd watching the commotion below and asked:

Are those same people from before down there?

Sun Chuantao glanced around, nodded, and then replied:
"Believe it or not, these people are actually inside."

At this moment, Zhang Guinian's expression changed. He took a deep breath and said to Sun Chuantao:

"Go downstairs immediately and gather all our men in the camp. Distribute weapons to all the attached soldiers, and then guard all the tents in the camp. After that, gather all the men of your regiment here at the corner tower."

Sun Chuantao was a seasoned veteran, and upon hearing the order, he immediately realized what was going on.

So he rushed downstairs to get things done.

A moment later, Sun Chuantao arrived, panting, and then heard Zhang Guinian give the order from above:
"Arrest everyone at the door immediately, but kill anyone who resists!"

Sun Chuantao clasped his hands in a fist salute, and then led his hundred men straight to the camp gate.

Meanwhile, the arguing outside the camp grew louder and louder until one side completely lost patience.

It was at this moment that Zhang Guinian, who had been observing the situation outside the camp, suddenly rang the bronze bell next to the corner tower.

The loud, muffled tolling of the bells echoed throughout the camp, reaching the three military camps to the south, and also into Yuanju City.

……

Inside the city of Yuanju, in the government office, Zhao Huai'an stared at the envelope in his hand with a grim expression.

The letter was written by his good elder brother Yang Fuguang. Its core message was that the imperial court, knowing that the Xuanwu Army was mobilizing grain for disaster relief, directly sent a new military supervisor from the Eastern Capital, named Ximen Sigong.

After arriving in Bianzhou, this man immediately cut off the supply of military provisions to Caozhou, including not only disaster relief provisions but also provisions for the Baoyi Army.

It was said that the number of soldiers in the Baoyi Army needed to be verified, and then food would be distributed according to the number of soldiers to prevent people from receiving salaries without actually working.

Yang Fuguang's power primarily came from Chang'an. Although he also had a force of Xuanwu soldiers that he had recruited himself, he certainly couldn't bring himself to harm the source of his power.

Fortunately, the various departments of the Southern Office in Chang'an did not want Tian Lingzi to become too powerful, so they retained Yang Fuguang's position.

Among them, Wang Duo, the military governor of Xuanwu, strongly supported Yang Fuguang in this incident, which made Tian Lingzi see strong resistance, and this was also a very important reason.

Although Yang Fuguang retained his position, his power was mainly concentrated in the military field, and the original management of the grain transport and Bianzhou granary was transferred to Ximen Sigong.

Upon arriving, Ximen Sigong immediately began working on the spring grain transport project.

On New Year's Eve last year, the young emperor distributed 200,000 shi of rice for rewards and banquet expenses, making the Spring Festival travel rush in the third year of Qianfu even more important.

Moreover, another reason why Ximen Sigong was so concerned was that it was a special order from the young emperor himself.

As for whether the emperor knew that Bianzhou was currently engaged in a war to quell a rebellion, he did know, but only vaguely.

His father mentioned it briefly while he was playing polo, and that was the end of it.

Thus, at this time, Bianzhou had just completed half of the first month of the third year of Qianfu when the focus of its work underwent a complete 180-degree turn, shifting directly from the original policy of prioritizing the military to a policy of prioritizing the capital.

Therefore, while expressing this helplessness, Yang Fuguang instructed Zhao Huai'an to return to his troops immediately and launch another attack once the situation improved.

After reading the entire letter, Zhao Huai'an slammed his fist on the table in anger, and in front of his thirteenth uncle, he cursed:

"These bastards, they'll ruin the nation's affairs sooner or later. I've already set things up, and they've cut off my supplies. Damn it, will the people of Chang'an die if they go without a meal of rice?!"

Pei Di was embarrassed because although his ancestral home was in Hedong, his family had moved to the area around Chang'an for several generations and were now considered new Chang'an residents.

So he knew Zhao Huai'an wasn't insulting him, but he still looked embarrassed.

However, Pei Di also advised:
“Zhao Da, the situation at the top is unclear right now. Let’s retreat first. The Ximen family has always been Tian Lingzi’s lackeys in dealing with the Yang family. This time, he’s come to Bianzhou to control the canal transport. Knowing him as I do, cutting off our supplies isn’t even the worst thing he can do.”

"The worst-case scenario is that he restores our military rations, and then we go to seek battle, and then cuts off our supplies again at a critical moment. At that time, we will be completely finished."

"So, Zhao Da, I suggest you go back to Bianzhou now and don't have any illusions about Ximen Sigong."

Hearing this, Zhao Huai'an became even angrier and retorted:
"What about these people of Caozhou? They came here because they trusted me, Zhao Da, hoping to find a way to survive. And now? Are you abandoning them? Don't you have any face left, Zhao Da?"

"The imperial court may be shameless, but I, Zhao Da, am!"

Pei Di ignored Zhao Huai'an's outrageous words and sighed:

"Zhao Da, being ambitious is useless. Without food, no matter how much you talk, there's no food. As for the people of Caozhou? We can only say that this is their fate."

Zhao Huai'an burst into a tirade:
"I'll fuck your mother's leg..."

Before he could finish speaking, an alarm bell rang outside. Zhao Huai'an immediately stood up and shouted outside:

"Where is the bell tolling?"

Sun Tai rushed in from outside and said urgently:

"It's a large camp for refugees in the west of the city."

Zhao Huai'an's expression changed, and he roared:

"Immediately muster the troops! The chief secretary is still in the camp; go and rescue him at once!"

As he spoke, Zhao Huai'an said to his thirteenth uncle:

"Uncle Thirteen, you stay here for now, we'll talk again when you come back."

After saying that, Zhao Huai'an ran out, and his adopted sons outside draped armor and a cloak over him, and then brought him a warhorse.

After mounting his horse, Zhao Huai'an shouted directly to the guards and soldiers stationed at the yamen:

"Our troops will advance from the refugee camp west of the city. Anyone who dares to disrupt the army will be killed without exception!"

　As everyone suggested, we will resume the previous stable updates.

　　
　
(End of this chapter)