Entrepreneurship in the Late Tang Dynasty

Chapter 205 Tiger General
The rest of the discussion went very smoothly.

Zhao Huai'an and Yang Fuguang had no conflict of interest; their problem was simply a crisis of trust caused by the prevailing social atmosphere.

One wanted credit, the other wanted profit; it was a mutually beneficial arrangement. So, after Zhao Huai'an readily shared the credit, their relationship reached a new level.

In a good mood, Yang Fuguang was naturally happy to hunt for a while longer. Their area was far from the city and had a lot of forests, so there were still some birds and animals.

Hunting is not supposed to take place in spring, but in order to make such a deal, the birds and beasts have no choice but to suffer.

Zhao Huai'an and Yang Fuguang ate a little something behind the main tent and then began their hunt for the day.

The two men first led their generals in worshipping the local deity, praying for a bountiful harvest in Caozhou the following year, and promising to offer the best prey to the deity after the hunt.

Afterwards, Yang Fuguang read out the reward for the hunt and several hunting prohibitions, such as not hunting pregnant female animals and that wild beasts were more valuable than ordinary birds and animals.

Then both sides began searching for prey in their respective designated hunting areas.

In reality, no one had high expectations for this spring hunt.

What was the situation in Caozhou at this time?
Since last year's locust plague, everything north of the Huai River has been devoured by locusts, all vegetation has been destroyed, and even winter vegetables are gone. After the locust plague, there was indeed some ecological recovery in the following months, but it was only the most resilient weeds and the like that survived.

This systemic ecological destruction, with large areas of vegetation withering, will first cause herbivores to starve to death due to lack of food, and then carnivorous animals such as wolves and foxes will also see their numbers plummet due to the reduction in prey.

But that wasn't the most devastating part; the real catastrophic damage to Caozhou came from the hundreds of thousands of disaster victims.

In order to survive, they would desperately hunt any wild animals they could find. Even tigers and leopards could not escape the refugees' pursuit. After these prey were all eaten, they even began to dig up insect eggs and grass roots to fill their stomachs.

Last year, Huang Chao's bandit army also conducted several sweeping searches to gather meat, basically wiping out all the prey in the area.

It can be said that in the third year after the disaster, Caozhou truly experienced a total social and ecological collapse. The cities and villages were deserted for miles, and the suburbs and forests were rarely visited by wild animals.

Although Zhao Huai'an had also heard that Yang Fuguang had specially bought several hundred rabbits from Bianzhou and released them into the wild grassland in advance in order to hold this hunt.

But this is like fishing in someone else's contracted fishpond. Is it fun? Yes, but not much.

Therefore, Zhao Huai'an brought over the entire cavalry force this time because he wanted to take this opportunity to conduct large-scale cavalry training.

After the battle with the rebel army, Zhao Huai'an realized that the tactics of the Baoyi Army needed to be adjusted.

That is, as a bandit army, the overall strength of the Caojun was definitely inferior to that of the various vassal armies in the Central Plains. In addition, their large number of troops meant they had a huge demand for food and fodder, which meant that these Caojun could only survive by becoming a roving band of outlaws.

Furthermore, the core of this bandit army was a group of salt smugglers. These people already had ample experience in dealing with government troops, which directly led to the fact that these bandits consciously cultivated the mobility of their troops in the early stages of the rebellion.

Wherever they went, they would conquer a village, flood a city, and first collect mules and horses before discussing gold, silver, and grain. As a result, the mobility of the rebel army became faster and faster.

On the other hand, the government troops had a large number of infantrymen to defend because they had many areas to defend. Even if these men were well-armored and had sharp weapons, what use were they if the local guerrillas wouldn't fight them?
In this battle outside Yuanju, if the Cao army hadn't been overconfident, thinking that they could easily take Yuanju after annihilating the Yicheng army in the north, they wouldn't have taken the initiative to challenge the Baoyi army.

Even so, in this great battle, Zhao Huai'an only eliminated the burden of the grass army, while their core leader, the old thief, still escaped on a mule.
This time you exploited an information gap, but will their bandit army attack your heavily armored infantry formation again next time? Absolutely not!
Therefore, it was necessary for Zhao Huai'an to make tactical adjustments.

That means strengthening the group training of cavalry, since only cavalry can ever catch up with cavalry.

Today's hunt is a good opportunity, because since ancient times, cavalry combat training has been conducted through hunting.

In fact, most cavalry tactics originated from hunting.

At this moment, after separating from Yang Fuguang's group, Zhao Huai'an launched a hunting party.

On the outermost perimeter, Geng Xiaojie led over a hundred Flying Leopard Riders, each holding a gong and forming a fan shape to search for prey, using the sound of the gongs to drive the wild animals to the center.

Then Guo Congyun and Liu Zhijun, each leading over a hundred riders including Flying Dragon and Flying Tiger, went hunting from the east and west, further narrowing the escape routes for their prey.

Finally, Zhao Huai'an led his men straight to the central hunting grounds and wiped out the most precious prey in one fell swoop.

This is the complete hunting tactic; it can hunt tigers, leopards, and bears, and thus, all hunters.

The remaining cavalry, sent up by the infantry of various government offices, continued to operate according to the original formation, with twenty-two riders patrolling between the outer perimeter and the center to hunt any wild animals that had been missed.

Zhao Huai'an called this set of cavalry combat techniques "Heavenly Net and Earthly Net," because no one could escape such a layered encirclement.

……

At this moment, Zhao Huai'an led more than forty men under his command, along with the newly appointed military advisor Zhao Juntian.

Yes, after just one conversation, Zhao Juntai went from being a lowly scribe to a high-ranking staff member and military advisor in the shogunate.

At this moment, Zhao Huai'an was chatting with Zhao Juntian when he suddenly asked:
"Military Advisor Zhao, are you skilled in archery?"

Zhao Juntian, riding a mule and dressed in a tight-fitting robe, humbly said:
"My lord, archery is not my forte, but please allow me to try it out. I may succeed, or at least I may entertain you."

Zhao Huai'an laughed heartily, but still said one thing:
"These horsemanship and archery skills aren't just for entertainment; they're real skills for survival, self-preservation, and achieving great deeds. The world is in chaos now, and anyone could meet with misfortune. Let alone you, even I, Zhao Da, have countless people who are envious and want to harm me. If you don't master horsemanship and archery, how will you escape in such a situation? And how will you shoot your enemies to death?"

Zhao Juntian nodded, indicating he had learned something.

The cavalry had been riding for a while when suddenly a rabbit leaped out of the grass. Everyone in the tent was about to shoot, but Zhao Huai'an raised his bow and held it back, shouting:
"Let Military Advisor Zhao take a shot!"

Upon hearing this, Zhao Juntian did not hesitate, drew his bow and shot an arrow that struck the panicked rabbit.

Zhao Huai'an was visibly taken aback for a moment before bursting into laughter and addressing the crowd:

“This is a true scholar, one who can read books and draw a bow. If all the scholars were like Zhao Jun, instead of spending their days applying perfume and powder like women, the world might not be like this.”

Seeing that Zhao Juntian still seemed receptive to instruction, Zhao Huai'an was even more satisfied and said to him:

"You shot well, I'm delighted. Old Zhang didn't recommend the wrong person, you and he both deserve a reward!"

By this time, Zhao Juntian had figured out the governor's preferences. This governor, who came from a military background, did not have many illusions about scholars. He looked down on those scholars who could only recite poems and scriptures, but he liked scholars who could ride horses and draw bows very much, calling them true scholars.

After understanding the magistrate's preference, Zhao Juntian decided that when he returned, he would prepare a military robe and dress up as a valiant warrior.

Faced with Zhao Huai'an's praise, Zhao Juntian quickly shook his head:

"Your Excellency can draw a three-stone bow and never miss an arrow. Even the eagle-shooting envoy praised your archery skills, saying that you shot down the bandit chieftain with a single arrow in the Battle of Hanyuan. How dare I, a lowly official, presume to say 'not bad' in front of Your Excellency with my meager skills?"

Upon hearing this, Zhao Huai'an laughed heartily, a fleeting look of embarrassment crossing his face, and then dropped the topic.

After riding for a while, Zhao Huai'an suddenly felt a low pressure. At that moment, the hunting dog that had been leading the way suddenly started barking wildly at the bushes not far away.

These hunting dogs were all brought out of the Dabie Mountains by Zhao Huai'an and raised by him personally; they were all sons of dog kings.

So even though the hounds were trembling uncontrollably, they were still barking wildly in that direction.

Suddenly, one of the hunting dogs charged into the bushes, followed closely by the others. Before long, several whimpers could be heard.

This made Wang Yanzhang feel extremely distressed, because he and Zhao Wenzhong, the younger generation, had basically raised these hunting dogs and had developed a strong attachment to them.

Without a second thought, Wang Yanzhang mounted his horse, raised his bow, and charged forward.

But the next moment, he realized something was wrong and, without hesitation, fell off his horse and rolled forward. Just moments before, his warhorse had been so terrified that it had soiled itself and collapsed to the ground. As Wang Yanzhang rolled to his feet, he suddenly heard a heart-shaking roar. He froze, staring ahead at a magnificent tiger, nearly half a man's height and almost ten feet long, leaping out of the bushes and charging towards him.

Wang Yanzhang's mind went blank, but the next moment, he instinctively drew his sword and prepared to fight for his life.

Suddenly, a rider galloped past from the side, his general holding a three-stone bow, and in a flash, he fired three arrows at the tiger.

But apart from the first arrow hitting its mark, the tiger managed to dodge the other two.

He Wenqin, who was behind, saw this and frowned, saying worriedly to Zhao Huai'an beside him:

"My lord, this tiger must have become a demon from eating too many people! There used to be a tiger like this in the mountains, which would often attack various villages and eat people. Later, more than a hundred men from our dozen or so villages came out to kill that tiger. And this one is even bigger than the one in our mountains!"

Zhao Liu, standing nearby, also felt his mouth go dry and couldn't help but tremble as he said:

"Brother, who knows how many disaster victims have died in this godforsaken place? These beasts must have eaten them so much they've become intelligent. Let's get out of here!"

Zhao Huai'an spat, drew his longbow, and addressed the cavalry generals:
"The warhorses that can't handle it, go first. Those that can withstand the tiger's might, heed my command! Today, I will offer this beast as a sacrifice to the God of the Land, to bless our Tang Dynasty with favorable weather and abundant harvests!"

The generals roared in unison. Except for about ten men whose mounts were too weak to move and had to retreat to the side, the rest of them gripped their longbows and awaited Zhao Huai'an's orders.

At this moment, the cavalry general who had shot the tiger had already grabbed Wang Yanzhang from the ground and galloped back with one arm, while some of his cavalry generals began to shoot arrows to cover them.

Upon returning, the man put Wang Yanzhang down and then said to him:
"Pick up your bow and find a horse. You must kill this beast today, or your skills will be difficult to improve in the future."

Wang Yanzhang felt ashamed, while Zhao Huai'an rode over and praised the cavalry general:
"Gui Ba, well shot!"

It turned out that this person was Zhang Guiba. After the rebel army was defeated, the camp fell into the hands of the Righteous Army, and Zhang Guiba, who was recuperating in the camp, was captured.

Upon learning that Zhang Guiba was injured, Zhao Huai'an personally took Pei Min to apply Nanzhao Baiyao to his wounds, and then simply instructed them to take good care of him before leaving.

Zhao Huai'an did not mention the matter of persuading him to surrender, because he had heard Zhang Guiba say before that he had two younger brothers on the side of the rebel army. If he surrendered, his two younger brothers would be in big trouble.

So Zhao Huai'an didn't make things difficult for Zhang Guiba. After applying the medicine, he left before Zhang Guiba woke up.

That very night, Zhang Guiba came to surrender, saying that if he missed the chance to serve the lord that day, he would regret it for the rest of his life.

Thus, Zhao Huai'an gained another formidable general.

Wang Yanzhang had already changed horses, raised his longbow, and said loudly to Zhao Huai'an:

“My lord, let’s destroy this man-eating beast today! I’ve heard from the monks that those who are eaten by tigers cannot be reincarnated.”

Zhao Huai'an patted Wang Yanzhang on the head and looked outwards.

The tiger over there clearly sensed the danger and was pacing back, ready to retreat at any moment.

But how could Zhao Huai'an let it go? He drew a signal arrow and loudly gave the order:
"Listen to my command! When I sound the whistle, shoot your arrows where they will fall!"

Everyone responded in unison, and then they began to ride their warhorses, circling the tiger continuously.

Zhao Huai'an concentrated, then suddenly drew the bowstring and fired an arrow at the constantly shifting tiger.

The arrow struck the tiger squarely in the body, penetrating deep into its flesh, causing the tiger to howl in agony, its cry echoing across the wilderness.

This time, even Zhao Huai'an's warhorse collapsed to the ground, excreting and urinating everywhere, not to mention the other knights' warhorses.

So, although all the arrows were shot out, they were wobbly and only a few hit their targets.

This only enraged the tiger, which roared and charged at the fallen cavalrymen of the Baoyi Army.

Zhao Huai'an pulled a two-handed axe directly from his warhorse's saddlebag and was about to throw it when suddenly a figure flashed in the corner of his eye, and he forcefully grabbed the two-handed axe.

Upon closer inspection, it was discovered that the one rushing forward was none other than Wang Yanzhang. This young Wang is only fourteen years old; he's still just a child!
In his haste, Zhao Huai'an actually decided to grab his hand axe and engage in hand-to-hand combat with the tiger opposite him.

But the next moment, Zhao Huai'an was stunned by the scene before him.

As soon as Wang Yanzhang rushed forward, he swung his iron mace at the tiger, but the tiger dodged all of them. Suddenly, the tiger stood upright and pounced on Wang Yanzhang.

Wang Yanzhang immediately released the iron mace in his hand, and the moment the tiger stood upright, he actually grabbed the tiger's neck and began to wrestle with it.

Wang Yanzhang's actions left everyone stunned.

Zhao Huai'an was the first to react. He rushed forward and chopped the tiger on the head with his hand axe, knocking the tiger to the ground.

Then the remaining men rushed forward, about to hack the tiger to death with their blades, when suddenly they heard Zhao Liu shout from behind:

"Get out of my way!"

Then Zhao Liu charged over with a spear, thrusting it into the tiger's rear entrance. A mournful howl followed, and the tiger collapsed to the ground, completely limp.

Zhao Liu, still not satisfied, gripped the spear and stirred it a few more times. Seeing that the tiger was completely still, he triumphantly cursed at the crowd:

"A bunch of ignorant fools! Only a whole tiger pelt is valuable. Can't we save it to make a coat for Dalang? If you keep cutting it like this, it'll only be enough to make a hat!"

Zhao Liu was smug and self-satisfied, unaware that the eyes of everyone looking at him were filled with terror.

Does Liu Ye really like attacking the lower three routes?

Ignoring Zhao Liu and the others' antics, Zhao Huai'an pulled Wang Yanzhang, who was slumped on the ground, to his feet.
"Little Wang, Little Wang, this time you're truly fearless like a newborn calf! Haha!"

Then Zhao Huai'an stopped the weakened Wang Yanzhang and addressed the crowd:
"This is my valiant general!"

The crowd cheered, but they didn't see Zhao Juntian, the military advisor, walking over with a serious expression.

While the generals were hunting the tiger together, Zhao Juntian went alone, following the tiger's tracks. In his opinion, the tiger's arrival was too suspicious.

In a normal hunting event, the organizers will definitely clear the prey in advance. For highly dangerous beasts like tigers, they must be driven away first.

Ultimately, hunting is just an activity, not actually hunting with raw meat and blood.

If we don't get rid of these ferocious beasts like tigers, what if they injure the military supervisor Yang Fuguang? No one can bear that responsibility.

But now, right here, deep in the hunting grounds, we've spotted such a huge tiger. What a coincidence!
Zhao Juntian didn't believe it, so he went to look for clues himself, and in the end, he actually found them.

So, as everyone cheered, Zhao Juntian walked up to Zhao Huai'an and whispered something in his ear:

"My lord, this tiger appears to be man-made!"

One sentence was enough to change Zhao Huai'an's expression.

But the next moment, Zhao Huai'an smiled and patted Zhao Juntian on the shoulder, indicating that everything was understood without words.

Then over there, Zhao Liu and his men had already peeled off the tiger skin, especially the tiger's forehead stripe, which was almost completely untouched by the axe.

And so, Zhao Liu and his men held up the tiger skin and cheered loudly!
The character "王" (king) on ​​the tiger's head was dripping with blood in the sunlight!
(End of this chapter)