Entrepreneurship in the Late Tang Dynasty

Chapter 195 Attack
Watching Liu Zhijun charge into the camp alone outside the city, turning around and firing a barrage of arrows with unparalleled bravery, Zhao Huai'an couldn't help but punch Zhao Liu and laugh loudly:

"Good, I only found out today that we have a Taishi Ziyi in our army! Haha!"

Zhao Liu was so shocked by the punch that he choked. He knew who Taishi Ziyi was. He was the fierce general who was on par with the Little Conqueror in the storybooks and legends told by Zhao Dachang!
He understood Zhao Da's excitement; after all, he too was thrilled to witness such a scene, but...

However, he didn't understand why Zhao Da was so agitated, but instead he was hitting his forehead.
Unable to resist rubbing his chest, Zhao Liu heard Zhao Da suddenly shout an order:

"Raise the crimson southern flag! Let Liu Zhijun enter the city through the south gate!"

……

Half a moment later, Liu Zhijun, dressed in a white robe, stood tall and proudly ascended the steps to the north city tower.

But as soon as he went up, he heard the magistrate burst into laughter:
"My Grand Historian Ziyi has arrived!"

Then, Liu Zhijun's foot, which had just stepped out, froze in mid-air.

Oh no, sir.

I'm dressed in white robes and armor, riding a white horse. Shouldn't I be Zhao Zilong? How come I'm Taishi Ziyi?
Taishi Ziyi is indeed fierce, and he does seem to have done something like charging into the city, but he is the general of that little scoundrel Sun!

This is wrong!

No, no! Your Excellency is Liu Bei, the Emperor of our time, a man of unparalleled benevolence and righteousness. I, Liu Zhijun, will be Zhao Zilong, the Zhao Zilong of Your Excellency!
But just as these thoughts crossed his mind, the magistrate pulled him up.

The magistrate patted his back, checked himself over, and seeing no injuries, laughed heartily at Sixth Master and his trusted men:
"Whenever I think about the stories of the Three Kingdoms, I often feel a lot of lingering regrets. One of them is about the Grand Historian Ziyi of Donglai."

"He should have met his wise lord long ago and worked well with Lord Liu, creating a legendary tale. But fate played a cruel trick on him, causing him to drift through half his life without ever meeting a wise lord. Finally, he met the Little Conqueror of Jiangdong, who could be considered a hero, but he died young, which led to Taishi Ziyi becoming a subordinate of the little thief with green eyes."

As he spoke, the magistrate punched Sixth Master, saying with resentment:
"How could such filthy people employ a hero like Taishi Ci? It was because of his resentful fate that Taishi Ci died young with regrets."

As he spoke, the magistrate asked himself a question:
"Zhijun, do you know what Taishi Ci's last words were before he died?"

I don't know, I can only shake my head.

But the magistrate, holding his own hand without the slightest disgust at the blood and sweat on it, sang loudly to his comrades present:
He said, "A man should be born with a seven-foot sword to ascend the emperor's throne. Now that my ambition has not been fulfilled, how can I die?" Therefore, Zhijun, this is Taishi Ci. He was talented but unappreciated, and his lofty ambitions were thwarted!

"Yes, he clearly had excellent martial arts skills and was full of lofty ambitions, but despite his efforts, he still died with regrets. All those years of honing his skills and all those near-death experiences in battle turned into a sigh at the moment of his death."

"Therefore, for us martial artists, the greatest tragedy is being born in the wrong era and serving the wrong ruler."

"Tai Shici was fortunate to be born in the right era, but he chose the wrong person, which makes it even more tragic!"

After the magistrate finished speaking, Sixth Master suddenly asked a question:
"Big Brother, if we voted for you, we made the right choice. But were we born in the right era?"

I saw the magistrate glance at Sixth Master with a smile, and then say to us:
“Indeed, we have come at the right time. Now, in this era of great strife, the signs have already appeared. The arrival of chaos is a heavy end for the common people, but for us martial artists, whether we accept it or not, it means that the era of martial artists is about to begin.”

"From now on, you and I can finally use the swords and spears in our hands to quell this chaotic world and restore this land! We will decide what is right and what is wrong. As for being remembered for eternity and having our names recorded in history, these are merely the traces we have left behind."

"Such an opportunity is something that many generations of martial artists have never had. Were our predecessors not brave? Were they incapable of fighting? Yet who in the world remembers them? They have never been remembered in history. This is not their fault; it is simply that the heavens were not on their side, and it was not their time."

"But in this era, I foresee that a destiny belonging to us martial artists is slowly unfolding, and I, Zhao Huai'an, will surely leave the deepest mark on this era! I will sit atop those mountains and hang above those stars!"

What you said excited me so much that I felt like my blood was about to rush out of my nose.

It was at this moment that the magistrate turned to me and said:
"Today, you are braver than Taishi Ziyi, and my ambition is far beyond that of Liu Bei. More importantly, by a twist of fate, we met in Qiongzhou and have been friends for two years. You know my ambition, and I know yours. With such shared desires and brotherly loyalty, is this not destiny?"

I was stunned. So that's what the magistrate meant. So that's what the Grand Historian Ziyi regretted.

So he too lamented the lack of a wise ruler! I understand his pain, because I felt the same way before I met my lord.

I felt that no one in the world could entrust me with this hundred-odd pounds of good meat!
But how fortunate I, Liu Zhijun, am, for I met the Governor, and I met the Governor at the best age of my life.

Alright, from now on I won't compete with the Commander for Zhao Zilong anymore. I, Liu Zhijun, will become Taishi Ci, the Taishi Ci who leaves no regrets!
So I asked the magistrate:

"My lord, what is Taishi Ci dressed like?"

Then the magistrate was stunned, then burst into laughter and punched Sixth Master again.

Why does the magistrate beat up Sixth Master regardless of whether he's happy or not?

……

What was Taishi Ci wearing? How would he know?

Seeing Liu Zhijun's clear eyes, Zhao Huai'an still stammered out a description: a beautiful beard, holding an eighteen-foot-long spear, carrying a pair of iron whips, and wearing a Shu embroidered cloak.

Seeing Liu Zhijun diligently memorizing, Zhao Huai'an felt a little guilty and changed the subject:

"Zhijun, you entered the city alone. Did Old Wang have any intelligence for me?"

Liu Zhijun memorized the outfit and then reported the information to Zhao Huai'an.

It turned out that Wang Jin had already led the three elite cavalry units, Dragon, Tiger, and Leopard, to ten miles northwest of the city. Because he was worried about being discovered by the scouts of the bandit army, he did not go any further.

They had rested there for two hours, changed to new horses, and were ready to go into battle at any time.

So Wang Jin had Liu Zhijun deliver intelligence into the city, saying that as long as six smoke signals were lit on the city walls, he would lead the Three Capital Cavalry to attack the rear of the rebel army.

Zhao Huai'an never expected that the information Liu Zhijun brought in would be this.

Great joy!

Old Wang is indeed my humerus, no, from now on he will be my thigh.

Zhao Huai'an thought that Lao Wang was still in Nanhua, but he didn't expect that he would lead his troops back to reinforce. Just this insight into the battlefield and his judgment and decisiveness in the situation are enough to make him a great asset!

……

After Liu Zhijun finished his report, Zhao Huai'an paced back and forth on the city wall, thinking about how to make use of Lao Wang's surprise force.

Suddenly, a powerful horn sounded outside the city.

He turned his head to look outside the city and saw that the commotion caused by Liu Zhijun's attack on the camp had subsided. Countless people began to line up on the open plain, and on both sides, in the long smoke and dust, the magnificent grass army cavalry appeared and disappeared.

At that moment, an indescribable emotion welled up in my chest.

Zhao Huai'an called over his fellow villager Guo Liang and said to him:

"Take my command token and immediately go from the south passage to the three stockades outside the city. Tell them not to look at anything else but the smoke signals on my city walls. Once six smoke signals rise, the entire army will immediately launch an attack!"

Guo Liang was the most prudent among the Huo Shan faction. After hearing the order, he repeated it in front of Zhao Huai'an. Only after the magistrate nodded did he take the command arrow and hurriedly head to the south city.

Zhao Huai'an nodded to Guo Liang's retreating figure, and then gave orders to his four adopted sons;
"The four of you are guarding six cesspools. The moment you see me raise the 'Protect Justice' banner, immediately light a signal fire. Do you understand?"

The four Zhao brothers, their faces flushed, roared in broken voices:

"I will finally understand!"

After saying this, the four of them sat down imposingly between six huge piles of wolf dung, their eyes wide with anger.

These wolves who grew up around Zhao Huai'an have finally shown their fangs today.

After making these arrangements, Zhao Huai'an looked at the rebel army outside the city once more, then roared and gave the order:

"Beat the drums! Gather the troops!" As soon as the words were spoken, dozens of drummers at the foot of the North Gate Tower swung heavy hammers and pounded the cowhide drums, the powerful and solemn drumbeats echoing throughout the city.

Amidst the thunderous war drums, Bashan and Jindao, who had been sitting on the North Gate Street, both stood up.

With the help of 1,200 attendants, a total of 600 armored soldiers from both capitals donned their armor and prepared for battle, assembling on the main road behind the North Gate.

The armor, gleaming in the sun, resembled dragon scales, arranged in neat rows, layer upon layer, covering the entire street.

The two commanders, Han Qiong, the commander of the Mountain-Pulling Army, and Li Jiyong, the commander of the Golden Knife Army, wore helmets with drooping shoulders and three layers of armor. They raised their iron whips and maces high and shouted loudly, each leading their troops in cheers for the name "Hu Baoyi".

Thus, drums and horns sounded from the city walls, urging people onward, while the mountains behind the city gates roared like a tsunami.

Amidst the clamor, a man dressed in gleaming armor, wearing a feathered helmet, standing eight feet tall, with a "Protect Righteousness" banner draped over his back and an eight-sided golden mace casually resting on his shoulder, walked from the city wall to the assembled soldiers.

Behind him, forty armored warriors followed, each clad in heavy armor, carrying heavy weapons.

As soon as these people came out, the soldiers of the Bashan and Jindao tribes on the street cheered wildly. They rolled up their helmets so that they could shout even louder.

They chanted "Honor the Righteous One!" in unison, placing their boundless adoration on the armored warrior at the front.

Yes, the one who went out in full armor and carrying a weapon was none other than Zhao Huai'an, the righteous protector!
Because they were covered in armor, Zhao Huai'an and the warriors under his command could only walk with heavy shoulders, but the more they did so, the more imposing and domineering they appeared.

Zhao Huai'an stood in front of the two teams.

The officers and soldiers of Bashan and Jindao made way for Zhao Huai'an and his men to pass through.

Surrounded by armored soldiers, Zhao Huai'an swaggered along, his armor plates clanging as he patted one of the Tiger Warriors and then punched the other.

Every armored soldier he addressed let out a deep, guttural roar, slamming their right hands on their breastplates, their eyes following Zhao Huai'an's every move.

Thus, Zhao Huai'an took a full quarter of an hour to cover the distance of a hundred paces, but none of the soldiers on the street felt impatient. On the contrary, their fighting spirit was even higher and their will to fight was full.

Behind him stood forty armored warriors, each carrying a military flag and wielding an iron mace or short axe. Their steps were unrestrained and their eyes were filled with determination. They followed Zhao Huai'an step by step to the back of the column.

After Zhao Huai'an finished walking down the street lined with armored soldiers, he looked towards the end of the procession.

Here, over a hundred soldiers, leading forty tall warhorses covered in iron armor, wait.

There are not many warhorses that can be covered in iron armor, but even rarer than tall horses are these fine horse armors.

Each piece of horse armor is a crucial piece of military equipment, and only the Armor Workshop under the Shaofujian in Chang'an can manufacture them.

The complete set includes a face shield to protect the horse's head, a chicken neck to protect the neck, a breastplate to protect the chest, body armor to protect the torso, a rear guard to protect the rump, and a parasitic armor to protect the back.

The complete set requires two thousand pieces of armor plates alone, and one set is equivalent to ten sets of infantry armor, costing one hundred and fifty strings of cash.

Not to mention, since the dynasty lost the horse-producing areas of Hebei and Longyou, the armored cavalry has become extinct.

This time, if Song Wei, the commander of the Four Directions Campaign, hadn't known that the Grass Army was equipped with a large number of warhorses and had specifically requested 500 armored cavalry from Chang'an, the armored cavalry might not have reappeared.

The forty sets of horse armor that Zhao Huai'an has now were given to him by Song Wei.

However, this time he did not send the knights sent by Song Wei into battle, but instead sent his own knights, clad in iron armor, to fight alongside him.

The reason for this is that Zhao Huai'an trusts them more and shares a closer bond with them.

……

At this moment, with the help of two strong soldiers, Zhao Huai'an stepped into the stirrups, and then two more soldiers supported his buttocks to help him mount the horse.

The same was true for the other forty armored cavalrymen; just mounting their warhorses required the help of four strong men.

When Zhao Huai'an mounted his armored horse, there was a thick cotton felt underneath the armor. This was used to fill the gap between the armor and the warhorse, to prevent the warhorse from being scratched by the armor, and to cushion the impact.

The horse armor was covered by a tunic with various dragon, tiger and leopard patterns, which was used to protect the knight from being scratched by the armor plates.

Zhao Huai'an's armor was a layered suit, consisting of a thick long robe underneath, Shu embroidery on top, chainmail on the outside, then leather-ringed iron armor, and finally full armor, covering him completely inside and out.

However, his groin and lower thighs were not protected by any armor. Although the saddle prevented his buttocks and thighs from directly contacting the horse armor, his calves would be injured from repeated friction.

If any of these armor plates rust, it can directly cause tetanus, ultimately costing the knight his life.

Therefore, heavily armored knights often wore a horse coat over their armor to prevent the knight from coming into direct contact with the horse armor.

And so, fully armed and with his defenses at the pinnacle of the world, Zhao Huai'an sat on his iron horse, gazing at the forest of elite armor lining both sides of the street.

These are the core elements upon which Zhao Huai'an built his business, and today, he will once again lead them to victory!
Zhao Huai'an took a deep breath, slowly raised his right arm, then gave a violent jerk and roared:

"kill!"

In an instant, six hundred heavy footmen on both sides slammed their iron armor and roared:
"Kill! Kill! Kill!"

Then, Zhao Huai'an pulled a small flag from behind his waist and swung it down forcefully.

Standing atop the north gate, Fatty Bean, clad in heavy armor, roared down below:

"Open the door!"

So, under the doorway, six officers worked together to lift the huge crossbeam, while six more officers on either side held the door lock and slowly pulled the ironwood-clad gate to the back.

Thus, the north gate of Yuanju was opened wide, and the endless army of the rebels outside the city was exposed to the yamen infantry of the Baoyi Army.

Without any hesitation, Zhao Huai'an, who was trailing behind with forty armored cavalry, waved his small flag once more and roared:

"Attack! Shatter their world!"

The forty armored cavalrymen behind him roared in unison with Zhao Huai'an:
"Attack! Shatter their world!"

Then, on the north gate's city wall, the guards, including Beiwei, his entourage, and his attendants, roared in unison:

"Attack! Shatter their world!"

Then, on the other three city walls, the soldiers and laborers from the upper levels of Caozhou, who had been ordered to be removed from their posts, roared in unison:

"Attack! Shatter their world!"

Finally, at the three strongholds in the southwest corner of the city, 1,100 elite armored soldiers roared in unison:
"Attack! Shatter their world!"

The waves of heat, like endless thunderclaps, blasted across the entire battlefield, causing the heavens and earth to tremble.

The drums on the city wall beat more urgently. In front of the military band, Zhao Liu mustered all his strength and blew his suona loudly.

With a voice as loud as a phoenix's cry in the heavens, six hundred armored warriors, carrying a forest of banners, slowly marched out of the city and pressed forward against the enemy army.

Zhao Huai'an led forty armored cavalrymen at a slow pace to the gate, where darkness completely enveloped them.

In the distance, on the vast wilderness, the boundless grasslands stirred.

　I'm writing until 4 AM, please vote for me!

　　
　
(End of this chapter)