Entrepreneurship in the Late Tang Dynasty

Chapter 206 Future
Yang Fuguang originally released only a few hundred rabbits, but in just over half a month, the rabbit population here has become an infestation.

Rabbits, with their vigorous reproductive capacity, have no natural predators here, and the land is full of barren grass. This place is a nightmare for humans, but a paradise for rabbits.

Meanwhile, Zhao Huai'an transformed into a rabbit killer, hunting until nightfall and having already caught sixty-three rabbits, filling four sacks.

As darkness fell, Zhao Huai'an led everyone back to the camp, a small outpost that Zhao Huai'an had set up before the hunt.

When Zhao Huai'an returned, he found that someone was already waiting for him.

It was Zhang Chengye, the military supervisor, who, on Yang Fuguang's orders, specially delivered a pot of wine, which was even served in a long-necked glass bottle with a diamond pattern.

This item came from the Western Regions and then further west. It was a fine piece of imperial craftsmanship. The late emperor specially bestowed it upon Yang Fuguang to commend his loyalty and bravery in the local area.

Now, Yang Fuguang has actually given this treasure to Zhao Huai'an.

Zhang Chengye was also holding a tall gold cup with a mouth as wide as two tiger's mouths open; he couldn't even lift it with one hand, which showed how heavy the gold was.

Upon seeing Zhao Huai'an arrive, Zhang Chengye immediately spotted the large flatbed cart in the middle of the procession. On it lay a piece of flesh that had been skinned and was surrounded by flies and insects. Even though it was just a piece of flesh, it still exuded a strong sense of oppression.

Zhang Chengye rushed over, looked left and right, and then was shocked:

"This is a giant tiger? My goodness, I don't even know if there are tigers this big in Shanglin Garden. Did you hunt this?"

Upon hearing this, Zhao Liu and his companions grinned. They had just been thinking how a pity it was that no one had come to see such a large prey.

Unexpectedly, someone showed up to support them. If it had been anyone else, they would have circled the camp entrance several times.

Zhao Huai'an shook his head and smiled at Zhang Chengye, saying:
"Zhang Xiaojian, once the tiger skin is tanned, send it to my elder brother to make a cloak. Wearing a tiger skin cloak is the most dignified thing."

Zhang Chengye nodded and shook his head intermittently before finally looking away from Zhao Huai'an in astonishment:

“Lord Zhao, my husband has come to bring you wine, a fine wine from Gaochang in the Western Regions, perfect for tonight’s feast.”

Zhao Huai'an asked in confusion:
"Isn't my eldest brother coming? Is something wrong?"

Zhang Chengye smiled apologetically:
"My husband went back to write the victory report. This matter has been delayed for half a month, and it really can't be delayed any longer. Cao Shixiong's head is almost rotten. If we don't report it quickly, what strange things will those officials in the court say!"

Zhao Huai'an nodded, then asked casually:
"By the way, why did my elder brother suddenly decide to go hunting? In this year of great famine, there's hardly any prey. Today, besides this tiger, all I've hunted are rabbits."

As he said this, Zhao Huai'an stared at Zhang Chengye's face, trying to discern any subtle expressions, but Zhang Chengye replied quite naturally:

"Oh, that's what happened. My husband asked the generals Xuanwu and Zhongwu what activities we military men liked the most, and eight out of ten of them said hunting. So my husband decided to organize one."

Zhao Huai'an nodded, dismounted, and patted Zhang Chengye on the shoulder:
"Come on, my older brother isn't here, let's have a drink! Haha! Come to think of it, I have a pretty good impression of you!"

Zhang Chengye tilted his head, not understanding Zhao Huai'an's meaning.

But Zhao Huai'an burst into laughter, and seeing Zhang Chengye who only reached his chest, he laughed:
"Back at the Profit Building, you, Little Zhang, dared to glare at us in front of so many of my loyal followers. I've been here for so long, and you're the first one to do so!"

At this moment, Zhang Chengye also remembered, and his face flushed with embarrassment as he said:

"Oh, I didn't think about any of that at the time. I was just angry that you people didn't trust me."

As he said this, Zhang Chengye was also filled with apprehension.

By now, Zhao Da was no longer the same person he used to be. He was no longer that poor, out-of-town governor begging for food in Bianzhou, but a meritorious general whom everyone sought after. Even his own military supervisor had his heart set on Zhao Da.

Zhao Da was unaware that during their afternoon hunt, the supervising officer had no interest in hunting at all; he kept asking those around him questions.
"I wonder how Zhao Da's hunt went? Is he satisfied?"

"The preparations were too hasty; we only have rabbits. We should have gotten some more deer or something similar."

Later, when he was in a hurry to return to the city to write a report of victory, the military supervisor took out his treasured diamond-patterned long-necked glass bottle and asked him to deliver it to him personally.

Ah, our military supervisor really loves this Zhao Da.

So when Zhang Chengye saw Zhao Da suddenly bring this up, he thought Zhao Da held a grudge and hurriedly tried to explain, but Zhao Huaian put his arm around his neck and pulled him into the tent.

Zhang Chengye froze, a strong sense of shame welling up inside him. Just when he thought the smell of urine on his body would make Zhao Da frown in disgust, he saw this person pull him into the tent and arrange for him to sit on his left.

He felt a warmth in his heart, realizing that it was not unreasonable for the military supervisor to value this person.

But he didn't realize that he was just overthinking things.

When Zhao Dacai came to this era, he really couldn't stand the smell here. It wasn't just the eunuchs who had this smell; almost everyone had a strange odor.

The rough men around him basically only take a bath once every ten days or so, and their clothes are constantly dirty. How can they not smell bad?
Later, as his and the people around him improved their circumstances, they were able to change their clothes every few days, but by then Zhao Da had long since stopped being able to smell the stench on others.

Oh, Mao Niang is different, she smells sweet.

The group took their seats, with about ten people sitting cross-legged in a circle. The expensive bottle of wine was opened and served, and the people left behind at the camp brought out dishes, all of which were spicy and some roasted lamb.

Nobody wanted to eat the tigers and rabbits that were hunted. They just ran around here all afternoon and there were white bones everywhere. I really don't know how many people died in this disaster.

Zhao will drink.

He placed the gold cup that Zhang Chengye had given him in front of him, poured half a glass of wine into it, then grabbed a few bottles of fine wine and poured them in, added a couple of pieces of fruit, and laughed heartily.
"Come on, try my cocktail and see how it goes."

After saying that, Zhao Da raised the golden cup and took a big gulp. His head started buzzing. Oh no, he was getting drunk.

He had been drinking in this Tang Dynasty for so long and was usually able to drink a thousand cups without getting drunk because the alcohol content of these wines was not high. But he didn't expect this bottle of wine to be a little different. The alcohol content was obviously high. He was not prepared and drank it too fast.

Without making a sound, he passed the golden cup down, then casually picked up a cucumber and started chewing on it.

These days, cucumbers aren't called cucumbers anymore, they're called "Hu Gua" (胡瓜). Back in the Tang Dynasty, things weren't that open-minded. We used terms like "Hu Gua," "Hu Jiao" (椒), and "Hu Bing" (胡饼).

Chewing on the crisp cucumber, Zhao Huai'an's mind clearly cleared up.

If Zhao Huai'an was so excited, the others were even more enthusiastic, each holding their golden cup and shouting "Awesome!"

After one round, the wine in the golden cup was almost finished, and then the atmosphere began to heat up.

Zhao Liu, blushing, pulled Dou Pangzi into a game of rock-paper-scissors, and then Zhao Huai'an turned to Zhang Chengye, trying to get information out of him:
"Zhang Xiaojian, is there something the court is considering? Our five armies have been besieging the enemy, and although two of them have been lost, we never really relied on those two armies anyway. It doesn't make much difference whether they are here or not. We and the Zhongwu Army can wipe out the bandits. Why bother with appeasement?"

Zhang Chengye had just taken a big gulp of wine, and his head was clearly spinning. When Zhao Huai'an asked, he blurted out:

"Isn't it because of Gao Shixiang's crushing defeat in Nanzhao? I heard that more than 30,000 men went down, and only about 10,000 came back, leaving a trail of corpses along the way. Sigh, Nanzhao is really strange. So many times we've attacked, but it always ends up like this. Sigh, I think it will be very difficult for us to take Nanzhao again in the future."

While Zhang Chengye was sighing, he was unaware that Zhao Huai'an, standing beside him, was already experiencing a turbulent internal struggle.

Gao Pian and his men actually lost? How could that be? How could they have lost such a winning battle? Does that mean Gao Pian is useless...? Well, you can't say that. Maybe they really encountered some unexpected change.

Zhao Huai'an was greatly surprised and astonished:

"That shouldn't be the case. When I left, the situation in Nanzhao was already under control. All we had to do was send Longshun back to his country to ascend the throne. Besides, I know Longshun. He just wants to be our Tang Dynasty's dog. Without our support, would he dare to cause trouble?"

Zhang Chengye was now fully intoxicated and slurred:

"Oh, it seems that they looted too much on the other side and angered them. Then, in the middle of the night, they raided the camp and wiped out the entire city. Only then did the Prime Minister Gao escape from outside the city."

"But these Nanzhao people are strange. They killed our people and then sent someone to Chang'an to ask for a princess in marriage, saying they would guard the southwest for us forever. Because of this, the officials in the court... are all arguing like crazy. Sigh, it seems like those people argue about everything, they never stop. If you ask me, is it enough that they killed our people? We should send troops to wipe them out!"

As he spoke, Zhang Chengye pressed his palm down fiercely and said this to Zhao Huai'an.

At this moment, upon hearing that the southern expeditionary army had ruined the promising situation simply because of local burning, killing, and looting, he couldn't help but curse:

"These bastards, the Tang Dynasty was ruined by these people."

Zhang Chengye, standing nearby, clapped his hands and shouted the same thing:

"Yes, they're just a bunch of insects! Back in the day, my Tian Tang was as magnificent as a mountain of brocade, and who dared to challenge me from thousands of miles away?"

Upon hearing this, Zhao Liu and the others echoed the sentiment, reminiscing about the glory of the Tang Dynasty.

That's how people are; once they've been wealthy in the past, they can't help but reminisce about it, and this forms the spirit of an individual, a nation, and a dynasty.

At this moment, Zhao Huai'an was thinking about something much more.

He was worried about the situation of his sworn brother Xianyu Yue, since their Chengdu general was also in the southern expedition; then he was also worried that without the Tang army stationed there, his business in Nanzhao would not be guaranteed, and would Longshun still be able to keep his promises?

He was also worried about the impact of this incident on the future situation.

The Cao army's tactics are now very clear: they are trying to open up a passage from Yizhou to Xuzhou and the Jianghuai region. Given the Cao army's destructive power, once they enter the Jianghuai region, the damage they cause will be enough to turn Huaidong into a wasteland.

This is in great conflict with Zhao Huai'an's interests.

In his plan, combining the best military equipment of Huaixi with the wealth of Huaidong, and then collecting grain taxes from Liangzhe, would be the two wings of his foundation, allowing him to soar to new heights.

But if Wang Xianzhi and Huang Chao were to break through from Yizhou and turn Huaidong into a wasteland, wouldn't Zhao Da be crippled? How could he possibly fly then?

He didn't know if the herdsmen had ever broken through Yizhou in history, but one thing he was certain of was that history had become chaotic ever since he shot and killed the chieftain of Nanzhao with an arrow in Hanyuan.

Because in history, it is impossible for a Zhao Huai'an to have worked so hard and been so lucky to accomplish such a feat!
Therefore, he had no confidence in the situation ahead. The imperial court had lost more than 20,000 elite troops in Nanzhao, and in addition, most of the brave troops in Xichuan were destroyed in the previous battle of Hanyuan. Under these circumstances, the imperial court would inevitably have to draw elite troops from various vassal states to rebuild the military preparedness of Xichuan.

Despite Nanzhao's current desire for peace, the imperial court dares not allow Xichuan to be left undefended. Not only is Xichuan the imperial court's purse, but it also serves as the outer defense line of Chang'an, and its loss is not to be tolerated.

Where can the imperial court draw troops now? The imperial court used to have three loyal dogs: the Tianping Army, the Zhongwu Army, and the Hedong Army.

Zhao Huai'an heard this from his thirteenth uncle. His thirteenth uncle said that among the Tang Dynasty's forces, apart from the Shence Army, these three vassal states were the most obedient and courageous. Whenever troops were used, they would always be drawn from these three vassal states.

At the time, Zhao Huai'an even asked why there was no Xuanwu Army. Wasn't it said there were 100,000?
Then our Thirteenth Uncle said something that left a particularly deep impression on Zhao Huai'an:

"The Xuanwu Army? These people are good at guarding the river. Fighting? They have 100,000 men, but they can't even defeat a single prefecture of the Zhongwu Army! In the end, when people have money, they are less willing to fight to the death!"

But what is the current situation of the Three Feudatories? The Taiping Army is devastated, more than half of the Zhongwu Army has been transferred to Caozhou, leaving only the Hedong Army. How many men can they transfer?

Therefore, if things go as expected, the imperial court will inevitably have to draw troops from the Zhongwu Army in the Central Plains, at which point the situation in the Central Plains will become even more dire.

Zhao Huai'an knew from so many historical stories that when fighting against peasant uprisings, it was necessary to act swiftly and decisively. If things dragged on, what was originally a partial festering wound would eventually lead to complete paralysis.

Thinking of this, Zhao Huai'an felt a sense of urgency.

He originally planned to bide his time and hide in the background, but if the court collapses so quickly, how can he hide?

As for Yang Fuguang's long-cherished idea of ​​pacifying the bandit army? Zhao Huai'an thought it was a complete pipe dream.

Now that the war has dragged on, Yang Fuguang is talking about pacification. What about Song Wei in Yizhou and the various regional armies there?
Therefore, once Yang Fuguang takes the route of appeasement, he will inevitably clash with Song Wei's approach.

Oh, this is really difficult!

At this moment, Zhao Huai'an felt like he was a micro-management master as well.

He couldn't let the imperial court truly eliminate the bandits, nor could he let the bandits overthrow the court so quickly. Then he had to walk a tightrope between Yang Fuguang and Song Wei.

It seems I'll have to have a small meeting with Zhang Guinian and the others later to discuss this together.

Now, this small interest group has developed a sense of collective responsibility, and they can discuss many issues together.

As Zhao Huai'an was pondering this, Zhang Chengye, emboldened by the alcohol, suddenly asked:

"Prefect Zhao, what do you intend to do?"

Zhao Huai'an was stunned for a moment, and the Baoyi generals who were shouting over there also fell silent, not knowing what the supervising envoy meant by these words.
Does the imperial court suspect our Righteous Army?

Zhang Chengye, noticing the change in atmosphere, immediately realized the ambiguity of his words and quickly added:
"What I mean is, Zhao Dalang, you've done such a great service this time, so our military supervisor will definitely be promoted. If the military supervisor is promoted, then our Xiren will also be promoted! So, I'd like to ask, what position does Dalang want?"

After saying this, Zhang Chengye distanced himself from Yang Fuguang, saying:

"This is a question we asked ourselves, not one that the military supervisor wanted to ask."

Upon hearing this, Zhao Huai'an knew that Yang Fuguang had sent him to sound out his intentions.

It seems this brother is quite particular; he promised to promote us, but we shouldn't get too excited. Since he sent Zhang Chengye to sound him out, it means he can't guarantee a very high position, for fear of hurting our relationship.

Then Zhao Huai'an laughed and said:

"Old Zhao is just an ordinary man. He not only loves his family, but also cherishes the old times!"

Then he said to Zhao Liu and the others:

"I am from Shouzhou and I am currently serving as the prefect of Guang Prefecture. If I become successful in the future and become the military governor of Huaixi, then my life will be complete."

As he spoke, Zhao Huai'an began to lament his situation:
"Alas, I know I'm just a military man, and not even from Chang'an. I'll never become a military governor of one of those powerful provinces in this lifetime, and it'll be difficult for me to even enter Chang'an and become a high-ranking official in purple robes. So, this is all I can hope for."

Hearing this, Zhang Chengye, who was standing next to him, sobered up completely. He never expected that Zhao Huai'an would have such a big appetite!

To appoint him as the military governor of Huaixi? The previous ones who did so are now all listed in the biographies of traitors, and even the three prefectures under their jurisdiction have been cut off. How could anyone else be appointed as the military governor of this region?

Before the Huaixi warlords were still around, when did our Emperor in Chang'an ever get a good night's sleep?

Thinking of this, Zhang Chengye asked with difficulty:
"Zhao Dalang, does it have to be here? How about we go somewhere else?"

Zhao Huai'an kept shaking his head, pointing at Zhao Liu and the others, and said:

“Zhang Xiaojian, you don’t know the situation of my brothers. These good-for-nothings, after following me to Guang Prefecture, all they know is to build houses, buy land, and take concubines. They’ve spent all their military rewards on this. Do you ask them if they’re willing to leave Guang Prefecture?”

Without anyone reminding them, Zhao Liu and the others all shook their heads and echoed:

"No way, I disagree, I absolutely cannot agree."

"Yes, yes, the imperial court should be considerate of us. We've fought wars our whole lives, let us enjoy ourselves a bit!"

This put Zhang Chengye in an even more difficult position.

He absolutely dared not loosen this tab, as it was far beyond the capabilities of the military supervisor.

Thinking of this, Zhang Chengye decided to speak the truth:

“My dear son, you may not know how complicated Huaixi is. The imperial court would never agree to rebuild Huaixi Town. So, my dear son, think again about which other places you would like to go.”

"And to be honest, we are all under the command of the military supervisor. If the military supervisor is doing well, we are all doing well. If the military supervisor is in trouble, there are plenty of people in the court who are eyeing our positions. So we can't put the military supervisor in a difficult position! Now is the crucial time for our military supervisor to return to the capital. We need to understand each other."

Zhao Huai'an inwardly scoffed, but still smiled and said:
"Alright, then going to Huainan to be a military governor isn't too much to ask, is it?"

Zhang Chengye gasped, "It's not just not excessive, it's extremely excessive!"

The Huainan military governorship is the most important regional governorship in the land. How could we entrust it to you, Zhao Da? What military achievements have you made? If you had quelled seventy-two rebel kings and thirty-six major rebellions, then perhaps we would entrust this important southeastern region to you.

Zhao Dalang, you've only just quelled a band of outlaws and you dare to ask for the title of Military Governor of Huainan? If you were to quell the bandits later, wouldn't you be asking for the title of King of Huainan?

No matter how much he grumbled in his heart, Zhang Chengye could only force a smile and explain:
"Eldest son, you're going to put the military supervisor in a very difficult position. The imperial court has stipulated that the military governor of Huainan is the prime minister's post, and only the prime minister can hold the post."

Zhao Huai'an nodded and said:

"I see. So you have to pay respects to a prime minister first? That's quite troublesome."

At this point, Zhang Chengye no longer even had the thought of complaining in his heart; he could only nod mechanically.

Unexpectedly, after Zhao Huai'an nodded, his face fell.
“Little Zhang, you’re making things difficult for yourself. Why don’t you just give up? I think our current governor of Guang Prefecture is fine. We’ll be recruiting those bandits anyway, so we won’t be needed anymore. Here’s what I’ll do: I’ll send a military report to the headquarters and then I’ll go back to Guang Prefecture.”

Upon hearing this, Zhang Chengye's soul nearly jumped out of his body. He thought Zhao Huai'an was really going to quit. If the military supervisor found out that he had talked to the military leader he relied on the most, he would be driven away. It wouldn't just be a matter of having no future!

At this moment, Zhang Chengye was almost in tears. He said, feeling wronged:
"My dear brother, how about we take the position of deputy military governor of Huainan first? When we've accumulated enough military merits, the supervising officer can think of a way to transfer you to a regional military governorship. Actually, the Tianping Army is quite good. The current military governor of Tianping, Xue Chong, is unable to quell the rebels outside the region or pacify the troops inside the region. The court is already quite dissatisfied with him."

"Don't worry, the military supervisor promised that the day he returns to Chang'an will be the day you, Zhao Da, are granted the imperial insignia."

Zhao Huai'an curled his lip. What do you mean the court is dissatisfied with Xue Chong? I'm not satisfied with the Taiping Army!
The Taiping Army only had some resources in the past, but what does it have left now? It only has the three prefectures of Yun, Cao, and Pu, two of which are ruined, and the remaining one is not much better.
With so much money and manpower at his disposal in Guangzhou and the Dabie Mountains, why would a fool become the military governor of the Tianping Army?

However, this deputy military governor of Huainan, hehe, is not bad.

Zhao Huai'an, still looking displeased, asked:

"Deputy Military Governor? What does a Deputy Military Governor do?"

Zhang Chengye hurriedly explained:

"The deputy military governor of Huainan is responsible for assisting the military governor in commanding the troops of his own region. He has the duty of suppressing rebellions and also has the power to supervise the officials of his region. He is truly a person of high position and great power."

Zhao Huai'an's face lit up with joy, and he couldn't hold back any longer, chuckling to himself:
"This is good, this is good."

Seeing that Zhao Huai'an was now satisfied, Zhang Chengye carefully added:
"However, we'll have to wait until we've made more contributions. After all, with Cao Shixiong's head, it's still beyond our reach to be promoted to Deputy Military Governor of Huainan."

Zhao Huai'an nodded, but then asked with a troubled expression:
"If we're going to offer amnesty now, will there still be opportunities to earn military merit later?"

Unexpectedly, Zhang Chengye said quite naturally:

"Ha, our pacification efforts are ultimately for the purpose of suppressing bandits. How can we uphold national prestige if we don't kill these outlaws who plunder counties and prefectures?"

Zhao Huai'an could only sigh and say, "If even a lowly eunuch supervising the army can see this, surely you, Wang Xianzhi and Huang Chao, can't be blind to it?"

Don't be foolish and wait for them to be granted amnesty; wouldn't that be falling into a trap?

But Zhao Huai'an didn't say any of that. He raised his glass and toasted Zhang Chengye:
"Come on, let's drink! May we all have bright futures and rise to higher positions! Of course, the most important thing is for my eldest brother to get promoted!"

Zhang Chengye wholeheartedly believed this, and upon raising his glass, he drank it to the brim.

"Honoring the future!"

(End of this chapter)