Entrepreneurship in the Late Tang Dynasty

Chapter 192 Hero
Swords were drawn, and a chilling killing intent filled the tent.

When Pang Shigu and Zhang Qinghe lifted the tent flap at Beiwei, they saw this scene of sharpening knives inside.

At that moment, Pang Shigu's face paled, but Zhang Qinghe ignored it and strode in.

Zhao Huai'an, who sat upright with his hand on his knife, was taken aback by the man's tough demeanor.

Where did this hothead come from? Can't he read the room or the situation? So fearless?

Then Zhang Qinghe entered the main tent, looked around at all the generals, and then clasped his hands in a fist salute to Zhao Huai'an, who was at the head of the tent:
"Zhang Guiba, a junior officer under the command of General Butian Pingjun of Qinghe, greets Prefect Zhao!"

Upon hearing this, Zhao Huai'an was stunned, as were all the generals and even Pang Shigu, who had come in with Zhang Guiba.

No, he's introducing himself already? However, Pang Shigu quickly understood and clasped his hands in greeting to Zhao Huai'an:
"Pang Shigu, a junior officer under the command of the Deputy Commander of the Grass Army, greets Magistrate Zhao."

Zhao Huai'an and Zhao Liu exchanged a glance, realizing that the two had likely changed their minds at the last minute. Zhao Huai'an, in particular, couldn't help but think:
"Could these two be planning to assassinate me?"

Zhao Huai'an's expression was strange. These two were quite clever, acting as envoys in front of him. But why did their names seem so familiar?
Where have I heard that before?
Suppressing his doubts, Zhao Huai'an asked Zhang Guiba, who was pretending to be a hero, in front of him:
"Oh? You're quite clever, but you think I won't kill you?"

Zhang Guiba showed none of his previous arrogance; on the contrary, he was quite polite, bowing deeply to Zhao Huai'an and then clasping his hands in greeting:

"Since ancient times, when two armies are at war, they do not kill the messengers. Not to mention that the general is the famous 'Hu Baoyi' (a righteous and loyal official), how could he do such an unjust thing?"

Upon hearing this, Zhao Huai'an was puzzled and said to the man:

"Oh? You know my name?"

Unexpectedly, Zhang Guiba said matter-of-factly:

"Who in the world does not know the name of the general? Even in Qinghe, I, Zhang Guiba, know the great Tang hero who slew the chieftain Long in battle."

Zhao Huai'an smacked his lips and stroked his beard.

If he hadn't known this person was from Wang Xianzhi's side, he would have thought it was some Zhao Chuihua who came along, praising him so highly right off the bat, surely with some ulterior motive.

Sure enough, after Zhang Guiba finished speaking, he turned around and sighed, saying regretfully:

"But why would a great hero like General serve the dog of a dynasty? Anyone with discernment can see that the dynasty is already in its twilight years, about to collapse, and everyone is fleeing for their lives. Why should General be buried with the Li Tang? Why not raise an army and join forces with our army to remedy the ills of the world and restore peace to the land? Then, our two armies can march west together, overthrow the dynasty, and bring order to the world. This is what a great hero should do."

After saying this, the man bowed deeply to Zhao Huai'an and sang loudly:

"For the sake of all the people, please, Lord Zhao, raise an army and rebel?"

After he finished speaking, Pang Shigu, who was next to him, also followed Zhang Guiba's example and bowed deeply.
"For the sake of all the people, please, Lord Zhao, raise an army and rebel?"

After the two finished speaking, the entire room fell silent. Even some of the righteous generals couldn't help but look at Zhao Da, wondering what was going on.

Zhao Huai'an looked at Zhang Guiba and was surprised that this man, who looked like a hero, had such a good tongue. He was curious about this man. Did he think that they, these bandits, could overthrow the imperial court?

So he wanted to see where these people's confidence lay, and so he asked:

"Your name is Zhang Guiba? What did you do before?"

Zhang Guiba replied:
"Governor Zhao probably thinks I'm just a brute talking nonsense, wondering what kind of person I am to dare to speak of world affairs? To be honest, I come from an official family in Qinghe. Although I can't hold any high-ranking position, I do know a little about world affairs. I wouldn't dare say I can predict the future of the world, but as for the Li Tang dynasty? Hmph!"

"Isn't it common knowledge that the Tang dynasty is doomed?"

As he spoke, Zhang Guiba began to proclaim in a loud voice:

"After the Tianbao era, the laws and regulations of the country deteriorated, and the problems of land annexation were even worse than during the reigns of Emperor Cheng and Emperor Ai of the Han Dynasty. Especially after the implementation of the two-tax system, the number of people in the country was so high that there was no one who could survive even if there were ten. All kinds of official duties and taxes fell on the shoulders of the common people. As for the wealthy families, even if their sons held a minor official position, they would evade taxes and avoid paying them. As a result, the taxes on the common people became even heavier."

"Not to mention, the court is unjust, using the Two-Tax System to further extort money from the people. When the Two-Tax System was first established, one bolt of silk cost four thousand coins, and one dou of rice cost two hundred coins. For a taxpayer who paid ten thousand coins, two and a half bolts of silk were enough. But now? The tax is the same, but grain and silk are cheaper, while coins are heavier. Nowadays, one bolt of silk costs only eight hundred coins, and one dou of rice costs only fifty coins. For a taxpayer who pays ten thousand coins, twelve bolts of silk are needed. Thus, the tax burden has actually increased threefold."

Zhao Huai'an was also hearing this for the first time. Although Zhang Guiba claimed to be from an official family, he was probably just a small-time tycoon by his generation. So he had the knowledge of a scholar-official family but not their economic and social status.

Therefore, they need to delve into the grassroots, but this also makes them more knowledgeable about the situation at the grassroots level than the average scion of a wealthy family.

As for what Zhang Guiba said, Zhao Huai'an does understand this bit of economics.

It's actually determined by the relationship between supply and demand.

When the Two-Tax System was first implemented, the supply and demand of money and goods should have been normal, since the policy had not yet distorted the supply and demand relationship much.

But things changed after the two taxes were implemented for a period of time.

A core feature of the Two-Tax System was that taxes were paid in cash. For example, when Zhao Huai'an was in charge of the summer tax work in Guangzhou, he collected tons and tons of copper coins.

Zhao Huai'an had also asked and knew that under normal circumstances, as long as it was not a remote area, the imperial court would usually accept copper coins. However, even in remote areas, if goods were accepted, they would be converted into money according to the market price.

But here's the question: where did this money come from? You see, farmers produce rice and cloth but not money. If they want copper coins, they have to sell their rice and cloth first, and then hand over the copper coins to the imperial court.

Thus, price distortions began.

Because a large amount of rice and cloth are exchanged for money in the market, especially concentrated in June and September each year, rice and cloth are inevitably cheaper, while money is more expensive.

Moreover, as the Two-Tax System was implemented for a longer period of time, more and more people would take advantage of it to profit, manipulating the price of copper coins at the time in order to obtain huge profits.

That's why Zhang Guiba said that even though the court received the same amount of money, the common people had to pay three times more rice and silk than before. Under such circumstances, how could they survive?
But clearly, Zhang Guiba's resentment towards the Tang Dynasty went beyond that. In front of a group of people who were still nominally Tang generals, he once again cried out in grief and indignation:

"Not to mention the court's greed; the salt and tea that the common people need every day are all heavily taxed. My army started by selling salt, and the court is always threatening to kill us. People who don't know better would think we've done something that angers both heaven and man. We sell what the common people need. If we sell cheaper private salt, how can the people of the Central Plains afford those expensive and inferior official salts?"

"Is this our fault or the fault of the imperial court?"

These words left the assembled generals speechless. Beside Zhao Huai'an, Fatty Dou looked at Zhang Guiba, who remained calm and composed, and could still speak eloquently. He felt admiration for him and asked:

"You just said you come from an official family. So what does it matter to you if ordinary people are struggling to make ends meet?"

Listen to that, only a rich kid like our chubby Dou could say something so naturally.

Zhang Guiba, who had just been referring to ordinary people, paused for a moment when asked this question, pursed his lips, and refused to speak.

Then Zhang Guinian added from the side:
“Fatty, you don’t understand. It’s precisely because this Young Master Zhang is neither a tycoon nor a commoner that he’s in the worst situation! If I’m not mistaken, this Young Master Zhang must have gone bankrupt under pressure from the imperial court.”

Zhang Guiba did not refute, but instead asked a question in return:
"Logically speaking, a son of a eunuch like me should be a supporter of the court, and should even join the government army like you to suppress the rebels. But let me ask you, if even a decent person like me is being forced to rebel, is there any hope for this country?"

These words left Fatty Bean speechless.

Zhang Guiba pointed to himself, this time truly moved and filled with grief and indignation:

"Yes, we are, to put it nicely, children of eunuchs, but are we officials or eunuchs? Aren't we still unable to advance our careers? We can't even get the position of a good official in a prefecture or county. On the contrary, those tax collectors don't collect taxes from the big families, but they squeeze the common people clean. Whenever there's a problem, they come to our door to press us for payment."

“I realized then that this court belonged to those in power, not to us.”

After speaking, Zhang Guiba revealed his disdain for the first time, glancing at Fatty Dou and mockingly saying:
"This general is clearly from a noble family, but today I'd like to offer you a word of advice: you love the court, but does the court love you?"

I don't know if it was the first sentence or the last sentence that broke Dou Pangzi's temper. He got so angry that he was about to roll up his sleeves and beat Zhang Guiba up.

This made Pang Shigu, who had been silent all along, break out in a cold sweat. He wasn't actually very familiar with Zhang Guiba.

He was a member of Huang Chao's Caozhou faction, while Zhang Guiba, although from Qinghe, had become sworn brothers with Ge Congzhou, a powerful figure in Puzhou, in his early years. This time, he even brought three brothers to join Wang Xianzhi's rebel army, so he did not know this person before.

Their original plan was to take the opportunity to sneak into the city and see if they could behead Zhao Huai'an. If not, they would contact the Caozhou rebels who were already hiding in the city and then seize the city gate.

But as soon as they arrived, they realized something was wrong.

Even in the dim light, the heads hanging in the outer military camp were still recognizable as those of spies they had sent in.

At that point, how could they not know that they would inevitably be exposed?

After all, if they're not stupid, they'll definitely torture the inside agent, and if they are tortured, eight out of ten will not be able to withstand it and will confess.

Once they know the current situation and that the Yicheng Army has been destroyed, wouldn't those who call themselves the Yicheng Army be admitting their guilt without being asked?

Sure enough, as soon as they entered, they saw a group of armored warriors wielding swords, their fierce eyes practically capable of skinning them alive. But unexpectedly, Zhang Guiba was so quick-witted, transforming himself into a messenger and even trying to persuade Zhao Huai'an to surrender in front of so many fierce warriors.

Even more bizarrely, Zhao Huai'an actually let him speak, and he even saw Zhao Huai'an nod when Zhang Guiba mentioned a few places.

What's going on here? Could it be that this hero of the Tang Dynasty, who emerged from the national war, is also going to rebel against the Tang?
This left Pang Shigu somewhat bewildered. He was originally just an ordinary henchman in Nanhua, but he had offended his superior and had no choice but to join Huang Chao. However, deep down, he didn't believe that these people could succeed.

But now, listening to Zhang Guiba's words and seeing Zhao Huai'an's attitude, is the Tang Dynasty really going to perish? Can this bandit army formed by salt smugglers really become a force to be reckoned with?
At this moment, Pang Shigu's heart was burning with passion.

Just as Fatty Bean had gone halfway, he turned around and looked back, only to find that no one was there to help him. He chuckled and went back to the queue, then awkwardly complained to Zhao Liu next to him:
Why didn't you stop me?

Zhao Liu was stunned for a while before replying in a low voice:
"No, do you look like you need to be stopped? But why did you back down? Go for it! You're all acting all high and mighty, the brothers all support you, beat them up!"

Fatty Dou said awkwardly:

"I'm just going through the motions. You can tell this guy's a fighter just by looking at him. Why would I go up there?"

Zhao Liu then rolled his eyes at Fatty Dou, and then Zhao Huai'an coughed once before falling silent.

Zhao Huai'an coughed and asked Zhang Guiba:
"I've already witnessed the power of your words. You can't get anything done with just words. You bandits don't think that saying all this will make me rebel, do you?"

Zhang Guiba bowed to Zhao Huai'an and then said:
"Now that the Central Plains are in turmoil and heroes are rising up everywhere, who can hunt this deer? Of course, it is not something that can be done by mere words. Therefore, I dare to demonstrate my martial arts in front of Governor Zhao, and let him see the power of my humble army!"

Zhao Hua'an laughed heartily, stroking his beard as he spoke domineeringly to Zhang Gui:
What are you going to act in?

At this moment, a man stepped forward; it was none other than Liu Kangyi, the most sycophantic junior officer from Shouzhou. He clasped his hands in a fist salute and stepped forward.
"My lord, this bandit is arrogant. I am willing to fight him and show him our strength!"

Zhao Huai'an was spirited, but still shook his head, then said domineeringly to Zhang Gui:

"Of all martial arts, none surpasses archery. Since you dare to demonstrate your skills before me, why not show off your archery abilities?"

No sooner had Zhao Huai'an finished speaking than Zhao Liu and others stepped forward to offer their advice:
"My lord, how can we allow this man to carry a bow?"

Zhao Huai'an grinned, looked at Zhang Guiba, and laughed:
"You, Zhang Guiba, keep calling me Zhao Da a great hero. You won't shoot me with an arrow, will you?"

Zhang Guiba was stunned by Zhao Huai'an's imposing aura. He never expected that this man, who had already become a prefect, would still disregard life and death like a warrior.

There are plenty of desperados in this world, but they are all barefoot. Yet Zhao Huai'an, who is standing before us, not only has a robe on, but he still acts as if he doesn't care about his own life.

This was certainly not the manner of a ruler, but his spirit impressed even himself, a fellow warrior.

Human beings fear their own gains and losses.

In the past, I had little, so I was naturally fearless and even dared to pull the emperor off his horse, since I had nothing to lose anyway.

But once a person has something, he will be reluctant to part with it, constantly worrying that he will lose what he has, and after experiencing the benefits of having something, he will want more.

From then on, this person put shackles on himself. He would start to be obsequious and kneel before people with more power, simply because he cared.

Finally, these people began to wear loose robes, like scholars, and started reciting poems, playing games like pitch-pot, desperately trying to squeeze into the circle of important people.

But these people don't realize that at this moment, the more he seems to gain, the more he loses his wildness, and the less valuable he becomes in the eyes of those in power.

Warriors in robes are not a threat.

But what about now? This Zhao Huai'an in front of us, who clearly already possesses power and is now a person on the shore, still acts recklessly like a bandit.

If he can disregard his own life, he won't care about the lives of others. No matter what power or influence this person possesses, he simply doesn't care!
No, this person doesn't disregard his own life; rather, he has unwavering confidence.

He either felt he wouldn't dare shoot at him at all, or he had an overwhelming confidence that even if he did, he wouldn't be able to hurt him.

Having realized this, Zhang Guiba was extremely excited.

He was determined to overthrow that corrupt court, but he knew in his heart that someone like Wang Xianzhi could not do it.

Zhang Guiba had warned his sworn brother, Ge Congzhou, more than once that Wang Xianzhi was that kind of martial artist, and that he was only now barefoot because Puzhou wanted to slaughter him, so he preemptively rebelled.

But deep down, this man still harbored the same idea of ​​killing and arson and then being granted amnesty. Once the court gave him an official position, he would abandon his brothers and go and wear those loose robes.

But his sworn brother insisted on brotherly loyalty, and then laughed it off.

But at this moment, he saw something different in Zhao Huai'an; this man was a true hero who dared to draw his sword against the sun and moon.

With his personality and way of doing things, he will either die unexpectedly or he will definitely be able to gain a place in this competitive world.

With his lips pursed, Zhang Guiba solemnly said:
"Please, Lord Zhao, give me a bow!"

Zhao Huai'an nodded, then handed him his three-stone bow, and said with a smile:
"This is the bow I use. Is it usable?"

Zhang Guiba took it, and without any apparent effort, he drew the three-stone bow to its full draw, leaving the group of righteous generals speechless.

Is this guy really that strong? He can pull the Three Stone Bow so easily?
After testing the bow, Zhang Guiba suddenly said to Pang Shigu beside him:
"Would you be willing to carry the target for me?"

Pang Shigu nodded without hesitation, then took the wooden plaque and retreated outside the tent, a full fifty paces away.

But Zhang Guiba, still holding his bow, was shouting:

"Back off again!"

Pang Shigu didn't say anything, gritted his teeth and took another fifty steps back. Only then did Zhang Guiba call for a stop.

At this moment, Pang Shigu's back was completely wet. This distance would not even be able to hit the target in daylight, let alone at night. With only a few lights nearby, could he really see clearly?

Before Pang Shigu could even think of anything else, an arrow whizzed past and struck the target in his hand, leaving him stunned.

What a divine archer!

……

At this moment, Zhao Huai'an also stood up. He looked at Zhang Guiba, who was waiting with his bow, walked over, took the bow again, and handed it to Zhang Guiba.

Then he praised Zhang Guiba:

"What courage! What a brilliant archery! This bow is yours."

Zhang Guiba held the three-stone bow, not refusing, but instead asking this question:

"Lord Zhao, you give me this bow, aren't you afraid that you'll die by its very tip someday?"

Zhao Huai'an laughed heartily, patting Zhang Guiba as if he didn't care at all:

"There are those who want to kill me, Zhao Da, but it will never be you!"

After saying this, Zhao Huai'an also praised Pang Shigu, who had come over:
"You're a good man too. I don't have much to give you, but I'll give you one of my belts."

After saying this, Zhao Huai'an untied the belt from his robe and gave it to Pang Shigu, sighing:

"What can we warriors rely on on the battlefield? It's not bows, horses, swords, or spears, but only our courage. If you dare to stand outside the tent in the dark with a target in hand, that courage alone is enough to make you promising."

Then he said to Pang Shigu and Zhang Guiba:
"But a person's future depends not only on themselves, but also on their choices and opportunities. I can't say whether your decision to support Wang Xianzhi and Huang Chao was truly the right one, but one thing is certain: if you ever think my choice was good, then come and join me. I, Zhao Da, will welcome you with open arms!"

Pang Shigu may appear smooth, but he is actually the most guileless. He has already been completely captivated by Zhao Huai'an's charm.

Zhang Guiba was the most clear-headed of them all. He clasped his hands in a fist salute to Zhao Huai'an and said:

“Lord Zhao, I know these words won’t sway you today, and I know you will spare our lives. However, we have brothers in the army, and the outcome is still uncertain, so it’s better to let us betray our brothers and come to join you. But for the sake of today’s kindness, we brothers will repay this favor when we go to the battlefield!”

Pang Shigu also realized what was happening and nodded repeatedly:
"Me too!"

Looking at the two men, Zhao Huai'an nodded, walked back to his stool, lifted his robe, turned around, and sat at the head of the table, surrounded by his fierce generals on either side. He laughed and said:
"Alright, let's see what you two can do! We'll meet on the battlefield!"

(End of this chapter)