Entrepreneurship in the Late Tang Dynasty

Chapter 200 Return
On the 21st day of the first month of the third year of Qianfu, outside Yuanju City.

The day after the great battle, the sky was heavy and the wasteland in the northeastern suburbs of Yuanju was full of raised graves, the remains of the Caozhou famine victims who died in the chaos in the city the day before.

These people had just been rescued from the clutches of those butchers by the Righteous Army, and before they could be raised for more than a few days, they were killed by those traitors within the army during yesterday's riot in the neighborhood.

These pits were dug with the help of the people they belonged to. Because there were many people who helped, these people left with a little more dignity. They had a white cloth to wrap their bodies, a straw mat, and a separate pit.

Not far away, there were five or six huge earthen mounds, containing the headless corpses of the rebel army that the Baoyi Army had annihilated. Their heads had already been counted and loaded onto truck after truck.

Originally, the disaster victims in the city were unwilling to dig pits for these people. Although they had only been in the capital for a few days, they had developed some mutual understanding. Now that their own people had been massacred by the traitors of the rebel army, why would they still dig pits for these people?
They were all eaten by wild dogs!

However, Zhao Huai'an still ordered these people to dig a pit, just a large pit, and bury all the corpses in it.

One reason for this is to prevent disease outbreaks.

It's still late winter, and the weather is cold, so we can't see any problems yet. But when February comes and spring arrives, these corpses exposed in the wild will become a breeding ground for disease.

Another point is that Zhao Huai'an wants to cultivate the obedience of these newly recruited civilians.

These people had emerged from the great disaster and participated in large-scale city defense and anti-traitor operations, so they already had a certain amount of military experience.

Once these people are trained and supported, they can easily be integrated into the three-tiered military structure of the Baoyi Army.

Therefore, the sooner the orders from the military headquarters are implemented in their activities, the more the authority of the military headquarters can be established.

At this moment, outside the vast northeastern city, the cold wind blew sand and dust, and streams of paper money swirled in the air. These were used by the people of the city to pay respects to the dead in their respective cities.

The paper money flew higher and higher until it was finally thrown back down to earth, drifting to the north.

There, in rows of wooden coffins, lay the bodies, covered with white cloth, their faces pale yet peaceful.

Beside the wooden coffin stood a group of Baoyi Army officers and soldiers, who had come to see their comrades off on their final journey.

In yesterday's battle, the Baoyi Army achieved a brilliant victory, and its own losses were negligible. Apart from the eighteen warriors from the two capitals who died in battle, there were no other casualties in the other units.

This is the power of armor; it greatly enhances the warriors' survivability on the battlefield.

However, the situation was different on the battlefield in Dongcheng. Of the more than 1,000 soldiers from Shouzhou County and hundreds of Baoyi Army soldiers stationed on the city walls, 362 were killed and 220 were wounded.

The Caozhou rebels who were the main force attacking this city were indeed good at fighting, but they were even better at retreating.

When the northern battlefield was shrouded in dust, these peasant troops from the eastern city decisively sounded the retreat and withdrew eastward.

Although the hundreds of veteran soldiers who had finally captured the city were abandoned on the walls, the main force successfully shook off the pursuers and retreated smoothly to Caozhou City in the east.

Even during the process, this unit received several cavalry units from Puzhou, and while withdrawing, it also gathered up the remaining soldiers.

Even so, Wang Jin and Huo Yanwei, who had initially rushed over, still intended to pursue them relentlessly. So what if they caught up with them all the way to Caozhou? In the open wilderness, chasing thousands of remaining soldiers was a piece of cake.
However, Zhao Huai'an stopped the two generals, ordering them only to gather and defeat the rebel army on the northern battlefield, but not to pursue the rebel army from Caozhou that had already withdrawn.

To put it bluntly, Zhao Huai'an was very clear about the limits of his attacks. Keeping bandits around to maintain his own importance was just a conventional tactic. The deepest reason was that he needed a destructive force like the bandit army. Only when they shattered the various vassal states in the Central Plains could he start cultivating the land again.

On the other hand, the Baoyi Army had been engaged in fierce fighting in the field for a long time and it was not suitable to pursue them any further. After all, the situation on the battlefield was ever-changing, and who knew if other rebel armies from nearby areas would arrive?
The real priority is to get the meat in your mouth into your stomach first.

Although the kinship of the soldiers from Shouzhou County remained in Shouzhou, Zhao Huai'an still gave these people a pension. Not only were their clothes and swords collected, but they were also sent back.

They even held a grand funeral for them.

Zhao Huai'an wanted to show those refugees that as long as they followed him, Zhao Da, regardless of whether they were officially part of the Baoyi Army, they were his people and he would treat them with respect!

Now, Zhao Huai'an is performing one of the five most grand rites of the Tang Dynasty: the funeral rite.

Etiquette is closely related to a person's life, from birth to marriage and children, and then to the end of life. Among these, funerals were of particular importance to the Tang people.

Treat the dead as if they were alive. A funeral is not only about giving the deceased a dignified experience, but also about giving the living a final moment to remember them.

For Zhao Huai'an, giving his brothers who died for him a solemn funeral was not only a promise and an explanation, but also an important way to instill the spirit of the Righteous Army into everyone's mind.

So when Zhao Huai'an was preparing a solemn funeral for his fallen brothers yesterday, the entire army began preparations.

The event was presided over by the old Taoist priest Pu Sanzi, who was in charge of all the ceremonies and supplies.

No one else can get involved in this kind of thing, because the whole process of etiquette is very complicated and requires professionals to handle it. Otherwise, it will turn out to be a mess. What you think is innovation, others will see as a frivolous and amateurish group.

Park Sanja, who has presided over more than ten large-scale memorial services in Gwangju, Shouju and Luju, and more than one hundred funeral services for well-known figures, can undoubtedly be called a "funeral master".

In addition, the Baoyi Army is not without talent. Zhao Liu and Ding Hui are both experienced. Although they do not have the old Taoist's overall control ability, they can help him organize the funeral.

Furthermore, with Zhao Huai'an's personal involvement and Dou Pangzi's efforts in running around, a funeral organization centered around the five of them was thus established.

There are several categories of deceased individuals that require special attention, namely those with children, especially those whose wives have passed away.

According to current tradition, the military government needs to send a letter of death to the deceased's family so that the family can move the grave back to be buried with the couple.

The custom of burying one's parents with their deceased parents is prevalent in this world, and it is especially regarded as part of filial piety.

So even if the mountains are high and the roads are long, and the family is poor and the body is weak, they still have to complete this final life ritual for their parents.

They would even borrow money or go bankrupt for this.

But how could Zhao Huai'an allow these people to borrow money to move the coffin? Although the young men from Shouzhou were not under his jurisdiction, they were his fellow villagers.

Each of them has a network of dozens of people behind them, and those dozens will then spread to hundreds of people. Therefore, everything Zhao Huai'an does to these people will be reported back to his hometown through this incident.

Although the military in this world buries fallen soldiers in the places where they died in battle, it is the children's own choice to move the graves if they wish to fulfill their filial duties, and they must bear the costs themselves.

But Zhao Da was not the kind of person who was mean and ungrateful. Although it was his duty not to help move the coffin, he knew that these people had died for him, Zhao Huai'an.

Now you want to move the ancestral graves back so that your children can have a place to worship and remember your ancestors throughout the year, and then you, Zhao Da, even have the children of fallen soldiers borrow money at exorbitant interest rates to do it? If word gets out, isn't that a slap in the face for Zhao Da?
Therefore, Zhao Huai'an ordered the army scribes to review the military registers of the fallen officers and soldiers. Those who still had family members were specially selected, and then the Baoyi Army government arranged for ships to transport them back to Shouzhou.

The core purpose of relocating the remains of soldiers who died in battle to their hometowns is not preservation, but rather to preserve their bones so that they can return home intact and fulfill the longing of their children.

Even so, Zhao Huai'an still had people bring lime to cover the body and tung oil to seal the coffin. In addition, since it was winter, this would also slow down the decomposition of the body.

In addition, Zhao Huai'an had already sent a fast horse and boat back to Shouzhou to report the list of officers and soldiers who died in this battle to the Shouzhou military headquarters, so that their children could gather in Shouzhou city to receive their fathers' coffins.

Zhao Huai'an had done all he could. As for whether their children would ever see their father's face again, that was truly up to fate.

Everyone could see through Zhao Huai'an's thoughts.

To be honest, people are emotional beings. These soldiers who have survived life and death may become increasingly indifferent to emotions, but they are more sensitive to the matter of death.

They genuinely felt that the magistrate was a trustworthy person, and that he truly treated his brothers as brothers.

At this moment, the officers and soldiers of the Baoyi Army did not feel at all that the fallen soldiers of Shouzhou County were outsiders, and they were all preparing for the funeral under the old Taoist priest's arrangement.

The surviving soldiers from Shouzhou County said nothing, but looked at Zhao Huai'an with deep respect.

Zhao Huai'an's prestige was built up gradually in these small, everyday ways.

As for the soldiers of Shouzhou, not only did none of them die in this battle, but they also gained military merit and rewards. Normally, they looked down on the county soldiers and treated them as servants.

But after Zhao Huai'an treated the fallen soldiers this way, these people lost their previous discrimination and instead felt a genuine sense of belonging to the people of Shouzhou.

This is the principle that what the superiors like, the inferiors will surely follow.

In this era, an excellent leader can truly change customs and habits through their own conduct.

……

At this moment, the old Taoist priest, accompanied by his young apprentice Chongxu, dressed in mourning clothes, with a military band standing behind them behind a reed canopy. In this instant, they seamlessly switched to playing funeral musicians.

The old Taoist priest in front chanted the "Scripture of Salvation," while the young Taoist priest Chongxu chanted along behind. After each recitation, the old Taoist priest would begin to perform the ritual steps and pray to the heavens, continuing until the recitation was completed seven times.

The old Taoist priest, parched, drank the water his disciple handed him and went to an altar. On the altar were enshrined the Taiyi Jiuku Tianzun (the Heavenly Venerable Who Saves from Suffering), the Three Officials, and a nine-foot-long banner symbolizing the "Scripture of Salvation" from the Nine Heavens.

The scriptures that the old Taoist priest just chanted are densely written on this banner, and now, as the cold wind blows, they will spread their meaning far and wide.

Then a stone tablet was erected in front of the altar, with an inscription by Zhang Guinian: "In the first month of the third year of Qianfu, a stele commemorating the 312 young men of Shouzhou who died for the country in battle."

Behind the tombstone is an even longer stone tablet. Apart from those who were to be sent back to their hometowns and had children, the names of the remaining 312 people are all densely engraved on it, with the characters engraved in small regular script, solemn and dignified.

In other words, only a few dozen out of so many people have children, which shows how difficult it is for people to get married in rural areas.

These people were still county clerks, which was no longer the lowest level. This gives a glimpse into how severe the imbalance of Yin and Yang was at the lower levels.

Two water urns were placed on each side of the stone tablet, with lotus lanterns floating on them, symbolizing the lighting of the way for these fallen soldiers to the underworld. Around the altar, incense burners, candlesticks, and grains such as rice, millet, sorghum, wheat, and beans were arranged.

After arriving at the shrine, the old Taoist priest first bowed three times to the altar and then began the purification ritual.

Holding the "Purifying Heaven and Earth Divine Mantra," he drew talismans in the air with a peach wood sword, sprayed the altar with cinnabar water, and then burned "Five Fragrance Seals" made of sandalwood, agarwood, and other incense, interspersed with various incantations and hand gestures, creating a sacred and solemn atmosphere.

Zhao Huai'an, also dressed in hemp clothing, stood behind with a group of Baoyi generals, watching the old Taoist priest's ritual with curiosity.

To be honest, Zhao Huai'an had never seen such a thing before. In fact, at that time, death rituals and memorial services were already very indifferent to people. Being able to go back to pay respects to one's ancestors every year during the Qingming Festival was already considered to be filial.

He had never even seen a proper ritual performed by an old Taoist priest.

As for the righteous generals behind them, they had only seen a little bit of it; they had never seen a complete set of rituals like the old Taoist priest's.

What they didn't know was that the old Taoist priest was actually of a very high standard. Because their Baiyun Temple belonged to the Lingbao School of Taoism, all the large-scale rituals, prayers for blessings and disaster relief, and deliverance of the deceased in the three prefectures of Guang, Shou, and Lu were handled by their branch.

Therefore, the old Taoist priest was not some shabby country bumpkin, but a high-ranking official appointed by the Tang Dynasty government. In order to make an impression on Zhao Huai'an, the old Taoist priest put in his utmost effort to ensure that this grand ritual was carried out perfectly.

He was wearing a Five Sacred Mountains crown, holding a peach wood sword, walking the Nine Netherworld Breaking Prison Stance, and reciting the "Salvation from Suffering Sutra," intending to open the Gates of Hell.

Suddenly, the old Taoist priest stamped his foot, drew his sword, faced north, and roared like thunder:
"Break through the darkness, shatter the iron walls, and let the souls of the dead escape the cycle of reincarnation!"

Behind him, his apprentice Chongxu began to kneel and kowtow three times, and Zhao Huai'an also knelt on the ground, as a relative of these fallen soldiers who had no fathers, mothers, children and no relatives, to pay homage.

Behind him, all the officers and soldiers were dressed in the same way, except that they did not wear hemp clothing, but instead had a piece of hemp cloth tied around their arms. They followed Zhao Huai'an and bowed to their fallen brothers.

The bond between brothers was elevated at this moment.

If you have no parents, our parents are your parents; if you have no children, our children are your children. Brothers, don't worry about no one to worship you after you die. As long as we are here and our sons are here, the incense will burn forever.

During these three kneelings and nine kowtows, some of the officials and soldiers, who were also alone and destitute, suddenly burst into tears.

The Righteous Army is their home, and everyone here is one of their brothers! And the great hero at the very front is their eldest brother!
With the entire army kneeling in worship, the atmosphere became even more solemn and dignified.

Even Zhao Huai'an felt a sense of emotion, as if light was shining down from the sky, dispelling the cold, warming their hearts, and illuminating the path of their fallen brothers.

The old Taoist priest then performed the Heavenly Gang Steps again, and finally received a soul-guiding banner with the words "Baoyi" written on it from his youngest apprentice. From then on, these soldiers from Shouzhou County were also members of their Baoyi Army.

The officers and soldiers of the Baoyi Army who were guarding the coffin also placed a memorial banner on the right front of the coffin, inscribed with the rank and title of these officers and soldiers who died in battle.

Then the old Taoist priest nodded to Zhao Huai'an behind him, signaling him to come up to the altar.

Zhao Huai'an took a deep breath, solemnly followed, and then, led by the old Taoist priest, circled the altar three times while chanting the "Song of Sending Off the Soul":
"O soul, oh soul, rise with the banner, soar freely in the heavens, and be forever freed from the netherworld."

As he sang, the old Taoist priest held up the soul-guiding banner, with a paper crane tied to the top, symbolizing that the deceased souls would ride the cranes to ascend to heaven and be free from the suffering of the underworld.

Meanwhile, comrades who knew these victims began scattering paper horses they had cut out themselves, calling out the names of their fallen comrades as they threw them.

This is called summoning the spirit.

This funeral ritual, passed down since the Zhou Dynasty, is a very important part of the funeral procession. It is not only a way for people to ward off misfortune, but also a way for relatives to bid their final farewell.

They shouted the name of the deceased three times towards the north, hoping that the spirits could restore the soul of the dead from the dark place and bring him back to life.

This was, of course, just a beautiful hope, but when the banners for summoning the souls fluttered high and the soldiers' mournful cries rose and fell, everyone's mind was filled with memories of the deceased's life.

Perhaps this is the meaning of funerals: to allow the deceased to live on in the memories of the living in this way.

It was in this atmosphere that the comrades in the army felt even more pained, and could no longer hide their tears of grief.

Only those who have experienced life and death together on the battlefield can understand this pure camaraderie.

But after the soul-summoning ceremony, the old Taoist priest Pu Sanzi nodded to Zhao Huai'an and said:

"The auspicious time has arrived; the burial can proceed."

Zhao Huai'an's eyes were also red. He nodded and walked back to the coffin. At this moment, Zhao Liu handed him a plate of rice.

He gazed at the young, withered face in the coffin, his grief overwhelming him, and picked up a handful of rice, placing it near the corpse's mouth.

Traditionally, rice should be placed in the mouth of the deceased immediately after death. However, due to the circumstances of the battlefield, the bodies of these fallen soldiers were collected on the second day.

By this time, the bodies had already stiffened, so Zhao Huai'an could only put the rice near their mouths.

This is the "rice bowl" used in funerals.

The initial simple wish behind this ritual might have been to allow the deceased to have one last meal before going to the underworld, but it became more complicated later on. The upper classes no longer used rice, but instead used pearls and jade.

They believed that replacing food with jewels could benefit the deceased's body; therefore, the emperor ate food with jade, feudal lords with pearls, high officials with rice, and scholars with shells.

But here, Zhao Huai'an still insists on the most traditional rice-eating ceremony. Of course, these ordinary officials can only eat rice according to etiquette.

Starting with the first coffin, Zhao Huai'an fed each of the 312 corpses one by one, offering 312 handfuls of rice in total.

Along the way, Zhao Liu held a bowl of rice and followed Zhao Huai'an closely, with people behind them constantly adding more rice to their bowls.

And so, all the soldiers watched in silence, for they saw in their lord a profound respect for life.

It turns out that the lord really cares about his brothers, about our feelings, dignity, and face.

A sense of unease settled over everyone.

They didn't know what the Holy King the great men were talking about looked like, but at this moment, in their hearts, the lord was that heaven, their king!

Who can inherit the throne? Who else but you, my lord?

Who will shelter the brothers? Who but the Lord?

These emotions were kept in the hearts of the officials and soldiers. They secretly vowed that if anyone dared to disobey or betray the magistrate, they would search the heavens and the underworld to take their lives!
As they watched the magistrate walk back to the front of the crowd, the winter sun shone on his shoulders, and all they could see was his hazy outline, his whole body enveloped in sunlight.

One day, they will surely lift their lord to the highest place! To be the sun for all!
At this moment, Zhao Huai'an was unaware of what his soldiers were thinking; he was still immersed in the grief of the funeral.

He sometimes wonders, what is the meaning of life?

Whether to choose to live a mediocre life or to dedicate oneself to a noble cause is just a matter of choice. After all, everyone has to die, so why live such a tiring life?

But at this moment, Zhao Huai'an had a realization.

Perhaps he lived not just for himself, but also for the lives of so many others.

If he lived in a different era, under a different identity, he might have lived a simpler life. But now, facing this fate and a crucial juncture in history, Zhao Huai'an understands that he came for that noble cause.

Perhaps this is his mission, the meaning of his rebirth.

Burying their emotions deep inside, Zhao Huai'an, Dou Pangzi, Zhang Ao, and Wang Jin each took one side of the coffin and carried it towards the pit in front of them.

As they lifted the coffin, Ding Hui, acting as the master of ceremonies by the thatched hut, began to shout:

"The coffin is being lifted!"

So, 1,248 officers and soldiers of the Baoyi Army, including Zhao Huai'an and the other three, began to carry the coffin to the burial pit and then slowly lowered it down.

Then, Ding Hui personally sang a mournful elegy, and forty mourners he had temporarily trained joined him in singing the chapter of "Xie Lu":
"The dew on the leek, how easily it fades. The dew dries and falls again tomorrow morning, but when a person dies, when will they return?"

He had asked his eldest son yesterday whether the funeral song should be "Xie Lu" or "Hao Li". His eldest son asked himself what the difference was between the two elegiac songs.

He himself said that "Xielu" was sung for nobles, while "Haoli" was sung for commoners.

After thinking for a moment, Dalang decided to sing both!

At this moment, after singing the chapter "Xie Lu", Ding will sing "Hao Li" with everyone:
"Whose land is this, where souls gather without regard to wisdom or folly? The ghost lord urges us on relentlessly, for human life cannot be delayed even slightly."

Ding Hui was indeed the best singer of funeral songs in the surrounding villages of Shou County. His voice was clear and melodious, resounding throughout the wilderness. Before the song was even finished, those who heard it were already weeping and wiping away tears.

Seeing the thousand or so fierce and unruly warriors now weeping like children, Ding Hui seemed to understand why his eldest son wanted to sing both songs.

Are the common people of today not destined to become nobles in the future?

So he sang even louder.

After Zhao Huai'an sprinkled the five grains, the final symbol of the sacrificial offering, into the coffin, the coffin was lowered to cover the deceased. The memorial banner in front of the coffin was also laid on top of the coffin, and then layers of soil were added.

Zhao Huai'an watched quietly as the paper horses, paper money, and the high-hanging soul-summoning banners fluttered and scattered, all dressed in white cloth robes and white cloth caps, and the mourners sang mournful dirges.

As the layers of earth were piled higher and higher, the lives of these people finally came to an end, and their era officially came to a close.

Those who survive will carry their memories with them, and continue to live and strive in this mortal world!

Suddenly, Zhao Huai'an began to dance. At this grand funeral, he danced with all his might, pouring all the sorrow and grief in his heart into the dance.

He didn't know what kind of dance it was; he simply let his emotions drive his body, offering a dance of his life force before these fallen soldiers!
After the dance, Zhao Huai'an burst into song:
"Oh, my soul, my brother is gone and will never return! Gone, gone, the road is covered with frost and snow, and his bones have not returned!"

"The wind howls fiercely over the northern hills, and the weeds grow wild; you lie buried beneath the springs, and I alone sigh."

"I remember riding side by side across the Central Plains, but now I hear a lament urging me to return."

"O soul, return! Do not forget the way home."

"A father leans against the door and weeps, while his young son tugs at his clothes and asks where his father is."

"O soul, return! Do not cross the Yellow Springs."

"In the underworld, there is no wine to share with you, no song or dance, and no affection."

……

Brothers, may you rest in peace! See you in the next life!

The song was loud and clear, spreading across the plains and hills, reaching the Baigou River outside Yuanju City, and also the huge fleet of ships slowly sailing on the river.

The fleet flew high the flags of "Xuanwu" and "Zhongwu", which together guarded the banner of "Xuanwu Military Supervisor".

The day after the battle, Yang Fuguang arrived with reinforcements.

(End of this chapter)