Entrepreneurship in the Late Tang Dynasty

Chapter 203 Hunting
In the second month of spring, when the grass grows and the orioles fly, the fields are covered with white bones, even though it should be a time when spring is just beginning to come.

More than 250 years later, the Central Plains once again witnessed the apocalyptic scene of the late Sui Dynasty, where "white bones were exposed in the wild and no roosters crowed for a thousand miles".

Only the wild grass that grows from beneath the bones continues to grow wildly on the wasteland, covering it with desolation in just ten days.

Unfortunately, it is still said to be deserted.

This was the third year after the great disaster in the Central Plains, and the imperial court's disaster relief had still not arrived. Instead, a large cavalry force came here.

A cavalry force of four or five hundred men galloped across the grassland at breakneck speed, constantly driving small rabbits and foxes toward the center.

These men were the knights of the Zhongwu and Xuanwu armies led by Yang Fuguang. They unleashed their formidable martial prowess on the plains, laughing heartily as they watched their prey dart about.

……

On a scenic grassland, a tent stands, and under a canopy in the middle, Yang Fuguang, dressed in martial robes, sits on a stool, waiting for Zhao Huai'an and his party to arrive.

Yes, he, a dignified military supervisor, actually arrived first and had to wait for Zhao Huai'an.

However, Yang Fuguang didn't care at all. In fact, he was the one who arrived early and even arranged the campsite in advance.

The reason for this is not that Zhao Huai'an is his sworn brother, but that this person is Zhao Huai'an.

The Qianfu era was clearly not a good era name. After this era name was adopted, the world entered a period of great turmoil. First, the Nanzhao Kingdom invaded Xichuan, and then a peasant uprising broke out in the Central Plains.

Originally, Nanzhao had been pacified, and the unrest in the Central Plains was just a minor ailment. However, just after the second year of Qianfu, in the third year of Qianfu, only bad news came.

The Nanzhao Kingdom surrendered and then rebelled again, even directly causing the loss of tens of thousands of elite troops of the Tang Dynasty. What a devastating defeat this was!
The reason for the great defeat was indeed not Gao Pian's fault. At first, escorting Long Shun south to Erhai was very smooth. Along the way, there were Nanzhao nobles who came to seek refuge, and they entered the Nanzhao capital, Yangjumei City, without any obstacles.

After placing Longshun on the throne of Nanzhao, the Tang army was completely unleashed.

With the support of the Tang army stationed in the city, a large number of merchants accompanying the army began to plunder the property of Nanzhao merchants. From tea to copper mines to jade, these Tang merchants would seize anything that could make money.

Meanwhile, the wealthy Chengdu businessmen who had previously funded Longshun's return to China began demanding that he hand over several gold mines to repay their previous investments.

These were the wealthy merchants, but the methods of the many regional military governors were even more direct. They would often see a wealthy family, lead their troops to surround their door, and then seize all their gold, silk, and women.

It can be said that within a month of the Tang army entering Yangjumei City, they had become mortal enemies with the Nanzhao nobles within the city.

Gao Pian seemed to be completely unaware of this situation.

In short, no one knows how the nobles managed to cooperate with Longshun. In early September of the second year of Qianfu, after the Nanzhao vassal troops arrived outside the city one after another, a retaliatory operation against the Tang army began.

At that time, the Tang army was divided into two parts: one inside the city and one outside. Gao Pian did not enter the city and stayed outside. The Tang army that entered the city were mainly from various towns in Guanzhong, and they were the most greedy.

That night, the massacre began.

First, a riot broke out in the city, then the Nanzhao troops entered the city and closed the north and south gates.

The Tang army inside the city was caught completely off guard and had their heads chopped off by the Nanzhao soldiers while they were asleep. The few Tang soldiers who did react were overwhelmed by the sheer number of Nanzhao warriors.

As the capital of the Nanzhao Kingdom, Yangjumei City had no east or west city walls. The west of the city was protected by the Diancang Mountain, and the east of the city was protected by Erhai Lake, which can be considered as a capital without walls.

So after your north and south gates were closed, a large number of Tang troops retreated from Erhai Lake. Since many people from Guanzhong could not swim, they were pushed into the water and drowned.

In just one night, thousands of corpses floated on Erhai Lake, causing the lake to stop flowing.

Outside the city, Gao Pian, who was already asleep, was pulled up by Zhang Lin and other generals. In the end, they only draped two robes over the old man before hastily retreating.

The distance from Yangjumei City to Hanyuan is 1,400 li. Of the 18,000 people who retreated from the camp outside the city, only 10,000 arrived in Hanyuan. A large number of people died on the way back.

And this was only because Long Shun did not pursue the matter too much.

He needed to give himself some leeway. After his father's strategy of attacking the Tang Dynasty to survive was thwarted, Longshun understood that no matter how well they won this time, if the country wanted to truly survive, it could only rely on the Tang Dynasty and become its dog.

The era in which Long Shun lived was different from that of his grandfathers.

At that time, there was still the powerful Tubo, and Nanzhao could naturally switch sides repeatedly. But now Tubo has been destroyed, while the Tang Dynasty is still the same Tang Dynasty.

In particular, the fighting spirit displayed by the Tang army during the decisive battle at Hanyuan made them realize that the Tang Dynasty was full of heroes, and those who were always enemies of the Tang Dynasty could only perish in the end.

Therefore, after annihilating the Tang army within his territory, Longshun immediately asked the Tang military commissioner to help convey his intention to submit to the court and to ask for the hand of a Tang princess to become a Tang prince consort and forever guard the southern border.

He even voluntarily removed his title of emperor to show his sincerity, and now the court seems to be discussing this matter.

At this moment, Yang Fuguang was naturally not concerned about the princess's marriage; he was only worried about the chain reaction this event would have.

The reason why Lu Xie, a pro-war figure in the court, was so resolute was because Gao Pian was his darling.

But now that Gao Pian has suffered a defeat, and given his advanced age, it is highly likely that he will be sidelined after this battle.

In this situation, the pro-war faction had no one to rely on, so the peace faction naturally gained the upper hand. Yang Fuguang also saw this trend, which is why he gave Wang Duo a push at the crucial moment.

But is making peace so easy?
The truth is, the officials in the imperial court are all armchair strategists. After two years of development, the bandit army is no longer the thieves it once was, but a military group with a program, a backbone, and military technology.

Listen to the slogans those people are shouting: "Heaven will mend and bring peace to the world!" They mean that the heavens are leaking and they want to mend them, to bring peace to the world.

Although Yang Fuguang considered these words to be boastful, they were very tempting to the common people, especially the disaster victims who could not survive.

With a program in place, these people also had core members, and the remnants of Pang Xun's faction, as well as bandits and heroes from various places, successively joined the rebel army.

This is because of the unique system of the grassroots army.

They were almost all led by a "voting general," while Wang Xianzhi simply served as the commander-in-chief of all the heroes under heaven. In essence, Wang Xianzhi was merely the leader of the anti-Tang heroes, and had no strict hierarchical relationship with the voting generals below him.

Such loose groups naturally have their drawbacks, but they are surprisingly attractive in drawing heroes to join them.

In just one year, wherever Wang Xianzhi went, heroes rose up to follow him. He was a great scourge!
Moreover, Wang Xianzhi's uprising even included a proclamation! You should know that Pang Xun's rebellion back then didn't have a proclamation either.

Although his proclamation was short, containing only the sentence "Officials are greedy and inefficient, taxes are heavy, and rewards and punishments are unfair," it already showed that there were scholars in Wang Xianzhi's ranks. Moreover, although this person's understanding of the ills of the world was not deep, he was already aware of them.

However, once a peasant uprising has the addition of educated people, things change.

As it stands now, the Cao army is truly on the rise, having not only conquered the two prefectures of Cao and Pu, but also defeated the armies of Tianping and Yicheng. From the Tianping army all the way to Yizhou, they have conquered everything in their path.

In this situation, you want to offer them amnesty? Do you think they'll listen to you? Even if they do, the conditions they propose will be unacceptable to the imperial court.

In contrast, what about the other government troops? Their commanders-in-chief had impressive titles, but in Yizhou, they failed to defeat the enemy forces and accomplished nothing.
Looking at the other routes, some either mutinied or were defeated.

Yet, amidst this bleak situation, Zhao Huai'an, with his Huainan army, defeated the main force of the Cao army left behind. He not only nearly annihilated the Puzhou Cao army but also severely damaged the Caozhou Cao army, forcing them to retreat to the Caozhou city area.

Such remarkable achievements are truly dazzling in the context of such a major failure.

Unfortunately, this battle was fought by Zhao Da, so why was he two days late? If he had been two days earlier, he could have rightfully earned a commendation for his role in the command.

But Yang Fuguang desperately needed this military merit, because since the court would focus on appeasement in the future, it was natural that someone would be in charge of appeasement.
If Yang Fuguang had such a record, wouldn't the pacification commissioner naturally fall to him? Could Ximen Sigong possibly seize it? Even if he was the adoptive father of that pro-war prime minister.

Therefore, during this hunt, he planned to have a good talk with Zhao Huai'an about how to divide the battle merits.

Although Zhao Huai'an had promised him before that he would exchange military merits for cooperation between the two sides.

But he hadn't helped Zhao Da yet, so Yang Fuguang wasn't sure what Zhao Huai'an was thinking.

With his lips pursed, Yang Fuguang glanced around at the loyal soldiers of the Zhongwu Army who were waiting there, hoping that his sworn brother wouldn't get too cocky, or he would be in trouble.

Yang Fuguang cracked his knuckles, looked south, and then his expression changed.

On the southern plains, a force of over five hundred cavalrymen galloped across the grasslands, constantly shifting their formations, sometimes like a wall, sometimes like a cone, spreading across the open plains as they charged forward.

Zhao Huai'an rode slowly, wearing a cloak, with a dark-skinned, thin middle-aged man riding a donkey behind him.

This man is Zhao Juntian, a native of Yunzhou. He was recommended by the chief secretary Zhang Guinian and was one of the more than twenty scribes who were previously assigned to the commander's office.

However, this person was not a scribe, but rather a former military officer of the Taiping Army. Zhang Guinian came into contact with him and found him to be very resourceful, so he recommended him to Zhao Huai'an.

Therefore, as a judge of the Taiping Army, he must have some knowledge of the three prefectures of Pu, Cao, and Yun, which is exactly what Zhao Huai'an needs.

However, Zhao Huai'an didn't have time to meet him because he was going to participate in Yang Fuguang's hunting trip, so he took him with him.

To test a warrior's worth, one must be on the battlefield; but to test a scholar's worth, one only needs to have a conversation.

If it works, use it; if not, use it as a book editor.

But as they talked, Zhao Huai'an discovered that this person was indeed a talented individual, and undoubtedly had a penchant for intrigue.

This man immediately told him that now that Zhao Huai'an's merits were increasing, he should keep a low profile and cultivate enemies to enhance his own prestige.

This person said those words right away, either because he was bold or because he had sharp eyes and could see through Zhao Huai'an's thoughts from his behavior.

Zhao Huai'an avoided this question and instead asked what the military supervisor Yang intended to do on this hunting trip.
Zhao Juntian, however, remained concise and to the point, highlighting the key issue:

"When you offer a gift, you are always asking something in return."

"Now that the military supervisor has summoned you to go hunting, I've come to make preparations beforehand, all for the sake of your military merit. If you grant me this, fine, but if you don't, I'm afraid you'll have a hard time leaving today."

Zhao Huai'an was somewhat skeptical. He considered himself a good judge of character, and Yang Fuguang was indeed an extraordinary man, completely devoid of the cunning and shrewdness often associated with eunuchs. Calling him a hero would not be an exaggeration.

He didn't quite believe that such a person would harm him for a little military merit. Besides, he had said before that their cooperation was that he would help Zhao Da gain military merit, and Zhao Da would provide him with high-level support.

So, Zhao Huai'an shook his head and smiled:

“You don’t know Yang Fuguang, you don’t understand him. He wouldn’t do such a thing. Besides, isn’t he my sworn brother? Would he harm me?”

Unexpectedly, Zhao Juntian also shook his head and said seriously:
"My lord, times have changed. Although I have never met the military supervisor, I have heard stories about this Supervisor Yang. He is indeed a bold and extraordinary man, yet equally ruthless. Over the years, all those who have stood in his way have been eliminated by him. The fierceness of court struggles is no less than that of the outer court. How could Supervisor Yang, who has stood out from the crowd, be as simple as he appears on the surface?"

Zhao Huai'an paused for a moment, then suddenly remembered that New Year's Eve when Yang Fuguang buried that trusted confidant of the drug inspector.

The man mocked himself, which naturally displeased Zhao Huai'an, but he wasn't about to kill someone over a single word or laugh.

So when he was advising people, he said that "it's bad to see blood on New Year's Eve" literally meant that they shouldn't kill anyone.

Did Yang Fuguang understand what he meant? He was so close to him; from his tone and body language, he must have known his true meaning.

But Yang Fuguang still chose to kill, only in a different way.

At the time, Zhao Da thought Yang Fuguang was an authoritative person who valued his relationship with him.

But now it seems I was too naive.

Indeed, this person valued this relationship, so he directly killed his trusted confidant for it.

And now? If his goal is this military merit, and I don't give it to him, wouldn't that be blocking his path?
Without a doubt, yes.

At this moment, Zhao Huai'an understood why Yang Fuguang had suddenly talked about the struggle between the two lines of suppression and appeasement in the imperial court a few days ago.

So this was Yang Fuguang reminding himself of how important this military achievement was to him.

But hadn't he already promised them? That was the foundation of their cooperation! What was he worried about? What kind of person did he take Zhao Da for?
But suddenly, Zhao Huai'an paused, because when he put himself in Yang Fuguang's shoes, he found that things were not like that.

Initially, their cooperation involved Zhao Huai'an making meritorious contributions, while Yang Fuguang acted as his protector.

So what gave Yang Fuguang his confidence? It was that he was the only powerful eunuch Zhao Huai'an could contact who was willing to give Zhao Huai'an a chance.

And what about Zhao Huai'an? He was probably just a military leader with some power, but now that he needed Zhao Huai'an's services, he was more important to him.

But now the situation is different. Amidst the bleakness, his military achievement is unique, especially given the context of the appeasement policy.

In that case, Zhao Huai'an would become scarce, while Yang Fuguang would become available, because in Bianzhou, right behind them, there was another supervisor of the Grand Canal, Ximen Sigong, who was in charge of transporting grain.

His power was in no way inferior to that of Yang Fuguang, not to mention that his adopted son Zheng Tian was the one who formulated the policy of pacification.

Therefore, Ximen Sigong actually had an advantage over Yang Fuguang.

Once Simon Sigong learns of this military achievement, what will he do? He will definitely come to cooperate with him, and the promises he makes will probably be even greater than those made by Yang Fuguang.

Therefore, as the situation changed, that military supervisor Yang became somewhat insecure.

Will he kill himself?
Zhao Huai'an considered the situation and realized that if he didn't agree, this person might really kill him.

The reasoning is not complicated.

Previously, Yang Fuguang needed military merits, but suppressing bandits is merit, but pacifying bandits is not military merit?
So when the pacification was successful, Yang Fuguang didn't even need himself anymore.

Would he really care about a superficial brotherhood with someone who has no value to him?

Thinking of this, Zhao Huai'an let out a sigh of relief.

Seriously, I really need to change my mindset.

The people he would encounter later were all wicked schemers who played court intrigues, and they were adept at all sorts of conspiracies and tricks. If he continued to judge those politicians with the same old mindset, he would eventually be tricked and killed by them.

Subconsciously, Zhao Huai'an looked at the cavalrymen he had brought out.

He originally thought that Yang Fuguang had invited him to hunt because he had found a good place, so he brought his cavalry over to practice mounted combat and shoot some wild shots to enjoy with his wine.

But now it seems like they're forcing themselves to give in.

I knew it! There's no game for Yang Fuguang to hunt in this place.

So in the end, it turns out that the prey was none other than our Zhao Da!
Zhao Huai'an cursed inwardly, "plant."

With a sigh, he decided to play along.

One must not overreact and push this ally toward the enemy.

Moreover, he never intended to monopolize the military merits, which would not align with his strategy of keeping a low profile.

The Wang and Huang uprising lasted at least eight or nine years.

Now that he's famous, won't he be constantly being chased and attacked by the imperial court? Won't he squander all his savings by then?

As the saying goes, if you fight well, there will be endless battles to fight!
The best situation is as it is now, where I can make small contributions along the way, but also enjoy a great deal of spoils.

Yang Fuguang gets all the face, but keeps the real money for himself.

However, I can't let Yang Fuguang get away with this so easily. This time, I have to squeeze him out of a lot of money.

Zhao Da's military achievements were not something he could have gotten for nothing.
At this moment, seeing Yang Fuguang and his group of Zhongwu and Xuanwu cavalry generals who had come to greet him, Zhao Huai'an quickly greeted them with a smile.

Sigh, it's all for survival, not to be ashamed!

(End of this chapter)