Entrepreneurship in the Late Tang Dynasty

Chapter 228 Reinforcements
Yao Xingzhong, clad in armor, entered the city and saw a group of men carrying spears rushing towards him from behind the fence. He shouted:
"Hey, you bastards, what are you waiting for?"

The band of soldiers with spears paused for a moment, then, seeing the man in armor and wearing their yellow headscarf, they rushed over and bent down.

Then Yao Xingzhong swung his sword down, head fell to the ground, and then crashed into the remaining crowd.

Yao Xingzhong didn't even try to dodge these unarmored targets, taking them down one by one with his slash. Moreover, to conserve his energy, he aimed for the belly and neck of these soldiers with each strike, finishing them off with a gentle pull.

After stabbing an old, rough soldier to death, Yao Xingzhong covered the man's eyes and then pushed him out of the wound.

He then caught up with a fleeing soldier in a few steps, and with a final slash, he struck the man diagonally on the back of the neck. Blood gushed from the cut, and the body slowly fell to the ground.

Yao Xingzhong brandished his knife and then told Zhang Xiang and the others to come in and change into these people's clothes.

The blood on their clothes wasn't particularly noticeable, because the clothes worn by these soldiers were already stained with blood; it was unclear whether they had been taken from corpses or stolen from others.

Zhang Xiang and the other nineteen warriors dragged the body to the alley, quickly changed their clothes, picked up the spears of the bandits and their own swords, and finally felt much more at ease. After all, not everyone can accept walking around naked.

After slightly arming himself, Zhang Xiang asked Yao Xingzhong:

"Old Yao, what's our next move?"

At this moment, he was truly impressed by Yao Xingzhong. No wonder he had served under the magistrate; he could kill people like cutting grass, and most importantly, he was quite intelligent. Following this man made him feel at ease.

This time, I might actually survive.

Just as Yao Xingzhong was about to speak, another soldier in armor, Xiao Qu, approached from the opposite side. He had a fierce look on his face and was about to run towards the city wall when he suddenly saw a group of people standing dumbfounded on this side of the wooden fence. He stopped and started cursing:

"What are you standing there for, you bunch of silly geese? Clear out the wooden fence over here first."

After saying that, the man left, but after taking only two steps, he collapsed weakly.

All that could be seen was a wood-splitting axe deeply embedded in the back of his head.

After casually killing the talkative fellow, Yao Xingzhong briefly explained his plan:
"I will go up to the city with an urgent military situation in a moment. First, kill the city gate general. You guys take advantage of the chaos to break the winch. Finally, you jump into the river and run away. I will fight my way out from the original route."

Upon hearing this, Zhang Xiang shook his head vigorously and said:
"You're slapping us brothers in the face! Our lord is a true man of Shouzhou! Ask any of us, are there any cowards among us Shouzhou people? Today we'll fight together, and we'll fight together back down. It's either we die together, or we live together!"

Before Yao Xingzhong could finish speaking, these loyal and courageous warriors rallied and began to charge forward.

Looking at the group of people, Yao Xingzhong smiled and then strode to the front.

……

On the dirt road west of Caozhou City, dust billowed as a procession of over a thousand horses, mules, and donkeys rumbled forward.

On the chariot pulled by one of only four strong donkeys in the entire army, Zhao Huai'an was jolted and swayed all the way.

At this moment, a white-clad rider galloped from the front, reaching the donkey cart and shouting:
"My lord, the Red Hearts have already been mobilized and are attacking the stone bridge outside the North Gate."

Zhao Huai'an nodded and asked loudly:

"How did the peasant army respond?"

The marching noise was so loud that Ta Bai had to tilt his head towards Zhao Huai'an to hear clearly before he could hear him, and then he shouted:
"The majority of the Cao Army is engaged in a fierce battle with the Xuanwu Army, while about a thousand troops are attacking Chixindu from the rear. In addition, Commander Guo has led his troops to the west side of the Xuanwu Army's camp, but has not yet launched an attack."

This Ta Bai is trained; his entire statement is factual, without a single personal speculation or opinion.

Zhao Huai'an nodded, then took a piece of dried meat from the bag in the car and handed it to the man named Ta Bai:
"Xiao Ding, do a good job! Take this to eat on the way, then explore further!"

Ta Bai, his face flushed, excitedly accepted the dried meat offered by the magistrate, stammering incoherently.

Watching the magistrate's carriage continue forward, the young man surnamed Ding turned around, carefully stuffed the dried meat into his satchel, then spurred his horse and whipped it, leaving a trail of afterimages.

Over there, after confirming the situation at the front, Zhao Huai'an summoned several of his subordinates:
"Send orders to all commanders to gather their troops. Once they reach the East Gate, Beiwei will first attack the bandit army outside the city, while Bashan will assist Chixin in attacking the city together!"

Several officers received orders and spurred their horses to gallop in two directions, one to the left and one to the right.

At this moment, Zhang Guinian, who was marching with the carriage, gripped the carriage roof with both hands and shouted as the carriage bounced along:

"My lord, from what you just said, are we not going to enter the camp to rescue the Xuanwu army?"

Zhao Huai'an shook his head and said to Zhang Guinian:
“Old Zhang, have you ever seen someone drowning? When someone who can’t swim is drowning, they’ll grab onto anything they can. If you try to save them at that point, not only will you fail, but you’ll also get yourself killed. But I once saw an old sailor who, when someone was drowning, just stood on the shore watching until the person stopped struggling and started to sink before he went to rescue them. That’s the right way to save someone.”

"I told Lao Guo to arrive with reinforcements and then remain stationary. This would both instill fear in the bandits in the village and give the Xuanwu army the courage to continue fighting. But if I send Lao Guo and Beiwei into the village to rescue them, the Xuanwu army will end up like the drowning man, harming themselves and others in the end."

After saying that, Zhao Huai'an said meaningfully:

"This is called asking others to ask for help first. They, the Xuanwu Army, aren't willing to risk their lives themselves, and they expect me to save them? My Baoyi Army is not their long-term laborer!"

Zhang Guinian suddenly realized, and sighed inwardly that his lord had a life, but he worried:

"But won't this incur the wrath of the Xuanwu Army? Won't they think we're abandoning them in their time of need?"

Zhao Huai'an laughed heartily, then said something cruel:
"Whether I save it or not, what does it have to do with the Xuanwu Army? Whether it is grateful or resentful, what does it have to do with me? After this battle, the Xuanwu Army is practically useless. It's one thing in normal times, but now that it can't fight, it's practically worthless. Whether it is grateful to me or resentful of me, it doesn't matter."

Zhang Guinian was now a little confused. If the Xuanwu Army was of no value, why should he go and rescue them?

This wasn't because Zhang Guinian was heartless; rather, this was true not only in the military but also in his personal life.

Nobody gets up early for nothing. Why do something so strenuous and thankless if there's no reward?
Zhao Huai'an laughed heartily at Zhang Guinian's puzzled look, but instead of explaining, he patted Zhang Guinian on the shoulder.

It's really inconvenient to talk about this. Did he tell Zhang Guinian that he wanted to infiltrate the Xuanwu Army?
Since Zhao Huai'an has decided on the established strategy of relying on Huaixi for development, the Xuanwu Army is too far away to reach it. However, although the military strength of this place is not good, it is too important because it is too rich.

Although he wasn't very good at history, he still knew that Zhu Wen had become the military governor of Xuanwu and eventually conquered the Liang Dynasty.

He didn't know how Zhu Wen managed to defeat so many powerful warlords in the Central Plains with the incompetent Xuanwu Army, but with such economic strength, he could have recruited a formidable army even if he had to recruit from other places.

Now that he is suppressing the rebellion in the Central Plains, if he doesn't infiltrate the various vassal states now, when will he?

His choice to rescue Xuanwu Army in this way is a form of selection.

Fools and bad seeds certainly won't see their own intentions, but the clever or shrewd will see who is actually saving them.

These people are precisely the potential spies that Zhao Huai'an needs.

He didn't need to bribe them directly, but rather maintain contact with these people. As long as there was contact, these people would sprout and bear fruit like seeds without you noticing.

In addition, he has already incurred the wrath of the Zhongwu Army, or at least the Caizhou soldiers. From a geopolitical perspective, the best way for him to maintain regional balance is for the Xuanwu Army to maintain a certain level of combat power, so that it can contain the Zhongwu Army from the north.

Based on these two considerations, Zhao Huai'an decided to save the Xuanwu Army.

While Zhao Huai'an and Zhang Guinian were talking, Ma Bu, the son of the Third Prince, had already arrived at the edge of the battlefield in the north of the city.

At this moment, Chi Xindu, who was supposed to be in a fierce battle, was shouting loudly and advancing step by step on the stone bridge, while the Cao army, which should have attacked from both sides, was caught in a fierce battle.

How is this going?

……

Half an hour ago, at the northeast corner of the Chungmu Army camp.

"Report!"

With a hurried report, a scout rushed into the tent and knelt on one knee before Yang Fuguang at the head of the table to report:
"Report: The Fourth Battalion of Xuanwu Army has been captured."

This was the fourth scout to come in and report, and the atmosphere in the military tent was extremely tense.

Yang Fuguang opened his mouth, about to speak, but his thirteenth uncle, Pei Di, pulled him from below, so he shut up and remained silent.

The Zhongwu Army generals who carried out the attack felt a weight on their hearts; they regretted their actions.

When the Xuanwu army first came to ask for help, they were naturally unwilling to go to their aid. Why?
Because they didn't believe the Xuanwu Army was no match for them, the enemy's call for reinforcements was just an attempt to get their Zhongwu Army to fight for them.

As neighbors for centuries, the Zhongwu Army had many stereotypes about the Xuanwu Army of Bian and Song prefectures.

In fact, it wasn't just their generation; a thousand years ago, people from various states also had many stereotypes about the State of Song, where Bian and Song prefectures were located.

For example, the proverb "waiting for a rabbit to bump into a tree stump" shows that the people of Song were lazy people who fantasized about getting something for nothing; the proverb "pulling up seedlings to help them grow" shows that the people of Song were the most impatient and foolish people.

The Song Dynasty eventually fell, but these two proverbs have survived, especially since Bianzhou became a key point on the Grand Canal during the current dynasty, which has deepened this stereotype.

Seeing their poor neighbor suddenly become rich, who could feel happy? In addition, the people of Bian and Song who made their fortunes were indeed quite arrogant. Merchants and transporters who came to Bianzhou to sell and transport goods were discriminated against by the locals.

When these people return to their hometowns, will they speak well of the people of Bianzhou? Therefore, the Xuanwu Army has a very bad reputation among the various vassal states in the Central Plains. This reputation is not entirely due to the reverse discrimination of outsiders, but because the Xuanwu Army has actually done outrageous things.

During the reign of Emperor Xianzong, when the court was attacking Ziqing, the Xuanwu army was still doing business with Ziqing while the fighting was underway.

At that time, a saying circulated in Xuanwu Army:

"What's the point of fighting? Don't let it interfere with our business dealings. Who will pay the taxes for the imperial court then?"

In short, later on, as soon as people heard that you were from Xuanwu Army, they would label you as stupid and lazy.

It was precisely because of this stereotype that these Zhongwu generals subconsciously felt that the Xuanwu army was truly treacherous and was trying to trick them into going to the rescue.

The reason for the "again" is that they were scammed once five years ago.

When the rebellion of Pang Xun was quelled, Pang Xun's rebel army attacked Xuanwu Army. Xuanwu Army, as the headquarters of the various regional commanders, immediately dispatched nearby vassal states to come to its aid.

The Zhongwu Army, which was always running around like crazy, was naturally among those being mobilized. But when the Zhongwu Army arrived, they found out that the Xuzhou Army had just reached the gates of Songzhou and was calling them over to guard Bianzhou.

Can't people be stupid every time? Why get fooled once and then fooled a second time?
Another factor that led to this misjudgment was the Chungmuk Army's misjudgment of the Grass Army's strength.

They had never fought against the bandits before, so they always thought of them as a group of starving people who had swarmed up. It was a bit troublesome to keep them in the city, but now they had taken the initiative to fight in the field. What a mess!

To deal with starving people like that, you could just pick any armored warrior from the Chungmuk Army, stand there and kill them, and they could kill until their hands were sore and they wouldn't stop.

Later, the Baoyi Army launched another landing operation, which further solidified their judgment.

From the perspective of the Chungmuk Army, the strength of the Po Yi Army was evenly matched with theirs. The reason why the Cai Zhou Army was so easily defeated in the previous battle was not because the Po Yi Army had crushed the Chungmuk Army, but because they had received the most support.

The Xuzhou army openly supports the war effort, while the Chenzhou army is openly neutral but secretly supportive. So what can the Caizhou army do in the end?

So if the Baoyi Army could cut grass on the riverbank like it was cutting vegetables, then the Zhongwu Army should be in the same situation. And although the Xuanwu Army is not as good as them, their equipment and manpower are enough to make them half as strong as the Zhongwu Army.

In this situation, if you ask for reinforcements, aren't you treating the Chungmu Army generals like fools?
Not to mention, Yang Fuguang was in a hurry to send troops at that time, which made them even more indignant. How could he be so biased?

But as more and more reports came in detail about the Xuanwu Army's battle situation, the hearts of the Xuanwu soldiers present sank.

Just as the atmosphere inside the tent had become quite tense, another rider rushed in, bringing more bad news:

"The Fifth Battalion of Xuanwu Army has been captured."

Now, the generals could no longer remain silent and began to shout, their cries essentially saying:

"Impossible! How could the Grass Army be so strong? They swept through everything in their path!"

"Those twelve fortifications of the Xuanwu Army, were they all made of paper? What are they doing?!"

……

More and more people began to vent their frustration with profanity, while Yang Fuguang's lips curled into a smirk as he calmly tapped his knees to the beat.

Why were these Zhongwu Army generals in such a hurry? Because most of the army's supplies were with the Xuanwu Army.

Moreover, the Chungmuk Army is in a very awkward position. They are in the most remote northeast corner. If the Hsuanwu Army, which serves as the connecting link, is annihilated first, then the Chungmuk Army will also be divided and surrounded by the Grass Army.

Who would rescue them then? The Righteous Army? They were in the western part of the city, and the rescue routes were blocked by the rebel army. How could they possibly come to their aid?

Therefore, all the generals of the Zhongwu Army with even a little military capability had considered this possibility, but at this moment they were caught between two choices.

Should we swallow our losses and go to the rescue of the Xuanwu Army, or retreat to Yuanju before the Cao Army can react?
Individuals in the military have different thoughts, but the two viewpoints that are being voiced by these people are the two main ones.

Hearing these loyal soldiers dare to talk about deserting in front of him, Yang Fuguang, who had been calm and collected, turned pale. If Pei Di hadn't been holding him back, he would have exploded.

Do you really think Yang Fuguang's knife wouldn't dare to kill someone?

But at this moment, a sentence whispered by Pei Di calmed Yang Fuguang down. Pei Di said to Yang Fuguang:

"Let the military supervisor temporarily quell his thunderous rage and see how the Righteous Army will act."

Yang Fuguang only managed to hold back when he heard the words "Baoyi Army". The reason was that he still had high expectations for Zhao Huai'an and wanted to see what choice he would make at this critical juncture.

A person's true nature is always revealed in difficult choices.

Power or beauty, escape or the people, brothers or gold—every choice reflects a person's values.

If Zhao Huai'an is concerned about the court and has a sense of the big picture, then he will go to save Xuanwu Army. But if Zhao Huai'an is only interested in climbing the ranks and has a strong desire for power and personal gain, then he will disregard everything and go directly to attack Caozhou City.

Neither is right, but Yang Fuguang will have his own inner inclination.

After Zhao Huai'an captured the Qin Zongquan brothers with such ruthless methods, there were occasional rumors in the army about Zhao Da, saying that he was so domineering and no different from An Lushan back then.

The name An Lushan was deeply imprinted in Yang Fuguang's mind.

He had never thought about this question before. In his opinion, Zhao Huai'an was just a somewhat foolish local strongman. How did he end up siding with An Lushan?

But once the thought came to mind, it was impossible to shake it off.

Yes, Yang Fuguang needed Zhao Huai'an and his military achievements, but what lay behind this? It was that the court was still in power and the table for meals was still in place.

But if another An Lushan were to emerge now, how could the current imperial court withstand such turmoil?
If the imperial court falls, what are they, who came from the palace, worth? All their ancestors were incredibly powerful, able to change emperors at will.

Have you ever seen a powerful eunuch change his surname? It's because they know that although they also have an army, the essence of their power still comes from the political structure of the imperial court.

Once the world is no longer ruled by the Li family, won't these people be swept aside and become lonely ghosts?
Therefore, our ancestors understood this very well.

Even if emperors are killed or replaced, the empire still belongs to the Li family.

So once he sees the potential of An Lushan in Zhao Huai'an, then sorry, he doesn't necessarily need Zhao Huai'an.

Not only that, he would also try every means to nip Zhao Huai'an in the bud.

This is the self-awareness of a powerful eunuch.

But Zhao Huai'an's choice once again surprised him.

Soon, another group of cavalry rushed into the tent, bringing a detailed military report:

"The loyal troops of the Baoyi Army arrived at the north city and formed ranks, while the Feilong and Buba troops formed ranks on the west side of the Xuanwu Army camp. Governor Zhao led the three main forces and rushed north of the city."

Yang Fuguang's heart skipped a beat, because he hadn't expected that Zhao Huai'an hadn't made a choice at all, but wanted them all.

He wanted to save the Xuanwu Army, but also wanted Caozhou; he wanted both his brothers and gold; he wanted both substance and face.

This is certainly difficult, but once you do it, you are no ordinary person!

Why? Because it means that this person can practice two conflicting sets of behaviors and values, and do so without contradiction, which is a first-rate talent.

So, this Zhao Huai'an isn't some An Lushan at all; he's the living Cao Cao!
A treacherous minister in times of chaos, a capable minister in times of peace! Whether one is a ruler in times of peace or chaos depends entirely on how those in power guide the people. In this light, Yang Fuguang bears a heavy responsibility!

At this moment, Yang Fuguang felt a heavy weight on his shoulders and a heavy responsibility. He wanted to raise a pillar of the country, a capable minister who could surpass Gao Pian in ten years.

With this in mind, Yang Fuguang was full of energy!

At this moment, upon hearing that the Baoyi Army had actually mobilized, both groups could no longer sit still.

Some worried that the Baoyi Army would steal the credit for entering Caozhou City, while others were ashamed of the Baoyi Army's righteousness. In short, both groups stood up, and finally, even Zhang Guan, the general of the Zhongwu Army, stepped forward and clasped his hands in a righteous and solemn gesture towards Yang Fuguang:
"Supervisor, our Loyal Warrior Army is never inferior to anyone. Give the order!"

These loyal and brave generals, who were silent half an hour ago, are now eagerly requesting orders. All this change is because the Righteous Army has been mobilized.

At this moment, Yang Fuguang once again gained a profound understanding of the influence of the Baoyi Army within the military.

Without any hesitation, he loudly ordered his generals:
"Follow my entire army out of camp, our target is north of Caozhou City!"

Upon hearing Yang Fuguang's tactful manner, all the loyal and martial generals clasped their hands in salute:

"Here!"

Then, the five thousand Zhongwu soldiers, who had been lined up in formation, came out in full force, led by Zhang Guan, and escorted Yang Fuguang and his more than a thousand guards, heading straight for the north side of the battlefield.

　There's another chapter coming up at noon. I've been trying to catch up on it these past few days, and I'll continue to post it all at 12 PM every day. But first and foremost, I need to make sure I go to bed by midnight, otherwise I'll really become chubby.

　　
　
(End of this chapter)