Entrepreneurship in the Late Tang Dynasty

Chapter 235 Wang Huang
On the tenth day of the third month of the third year of Qianfu, in Xintai, Yanzhou.

Amidst the rolling mountains, a massive army is marching through the valleys. The army, whose beginning and end are obscured, is filled with wagons and horses, and elderly people and children can be seen everywhere.

On a hilltop in the valley, a band of soldiers dressed in yellow had erected a curtain to conceal themselves on the hilltop, while two burly middle-aged men stood with their hands behind their backs, watching the troops below in the valley.

One of the middle-aged men was wearing a yellow cloak and a crown. He was seven feet three inches tall, and his most striking feature was his enormous nose, which took up almost half of his face.

This person is Wang Xianzhi, the Grand General of Heavenly Restoration and Commander-in-Chief of All Heroes in the Land.

Standing next to him was a middle-aged man with an ordinary appearance, but just by standing there, he could attract everyone's attention.

This man was another leader of the rebel army, and also the deputy commander-in-chief, Huang Chao.

Huang Chao was watching the old camp below as they arrived. Not long ago, they entered the Taishan mountain range. Except for Xintai City in the middle and Laiwu City in the northwest, which they had not yet captured, the entire vast valley had been taken by the rebel army.

Then Huang Chao ordered the entire army to set up their old camp in the valley, intending to use it as their base for the current stage.

Most of the members of the Grass Army were refugees, and apart from the particularly cruel ones, they all had families with them.

So the rebel army absorbed refugees along the way, with the strong becoming soldiers and the weak, old and young being taken into the rear camp. Although this slowed down the rebel army to some extent, it also increased the cohesion of this refugee army.

Those refugees struggling to survive truly felt at home in the Grass Army brigade, and Wang and Huang were their parents.

The wind was strong on the hill, making the large banner that read "Heaven Brings Balance" flutter loudly.

Huang Chao turned his gaze away and saw Wang Xianzhi beside him surveying the mountain range and valley. He asked curiously:
"Old Wang, what are you looking at? Is there something special about this mountain?"

Upon hearing this, Wang Xianzhi turned around and smiled:

“Old Huang, don’t you think this is a treasure trove? It’s surrounded by mountains, the valley is flat and fertile, there are many streams, and the Wen River flows through it. Once we take down the last two cities in the valley, we can reorganize here properly.”

“I heard from the storytellers in the camp that hundreds of thousands of Red Eyebrows bandits from the end of the Han Dynasty used to live here, so hiding a hundred thousand of us shouldn’t be a big problem.”

Huang Chao nodded, but sighed inwardly.

He and Wang Xianzhi were friends for many years. In their youth, they were prominent heroes in Cao and Pu prefectures. Over the years, they knew each other very well.

Unlike his own painstaking preparations, Wang Xianzhi was truly placed in this position, so his rebellious intentions were not so firm, and he often revealed his desire for peace.

Seeing that the Taishan Valley was easy to defend and difficult to attack, he thought he could become a local warlord here.

But we have conquered Cao and Yun and swept all the way here, making us a thorn in the side of the court. How easy is it for us to settle down?
Thinking it over, Huang Chao said to Wang Xianzhi:

“Old Wang, your idea is very good. It’s the same principle as people needing to rest after running for a long time. But the problem is, we can’t just rest whenever we want now, because the dog court is mobilizing troops from all directions to surround us. Once we stop here, the troops from all the vassal states will press on, and then we won’t be able to escape even if we want to.”

Wang Xianzhi remained noncommittal, smacked her lips, and then said:

"That's another matter, but we still have to go to the South. After all, none of us brothers have ever been to the South before. We've only ever heard the salt deliverymen talk about how great the South is. We have to go and see for ourselves."

At this point, Wang Xianzhi narrowed his eyes, pointed to a city in the southwest, and said:

"However, if we want to head south, we still need to capture Xintai City. Otherwise, if we get stuck here, the families of the old camp won't be able to leave."

Then, he jokingly cursed at Huang Chao:

“That old scoundrel Song Wei is old but still cunning, and he has blocked the Nimon Pass completely. We have difficulty going south from Yizhou now, so we can only take the northern route, going through Xintai and Yishui.”

Huang Chao nodded, then unfolded the map and said to Wang Xianzhi:
"Although the northern route can also lead to the south, it involves traversing numerous valleys. If even one of these mountain paths is blocked by the enemy, the army will be unable to proceed."

"Moreover, even if we cross the Yimeng Mountains and enter the Yishui River Valley, and then head south along the Yishui River, we will still be blocked by Yizhou to the south. So we must take Yizhou City no matter what."

Upon hearing this, Wang Xianzhi couldn't help but curse:

"That damned Song Wei, it seems that this old thief is not to be underestimated! This old bastard came out of Zibo and went straight to Yizhou. I was wondering why he didn't go to Yanzhou to block us. So he was waiting for us here."

Huang Chao was also quite worried and said:

“Song Wei is a veteran of the court. He has made great contributions in the Northwest and Xichuan. Unlike Xue Chong, who was a scion of a powerful family, he is quite capable. Therefore, we need to be more cautious with Song Wei.”

Upon hearing the name Xichuan, Wang Xianzhi suddenly asked:
"Was Zhao Huai'an of the Baoyi Army also from the Western Sichuan battlefield?"

Huang Chao nodded, and then Wang Xianzhi sighed:

"Those who can fight their way out of the border wars are all heroes, but alas, they are loyal to the dog court. Otherwise, they could have had a drink with Zhao Huai'an."

Huang Chao was also quite concerned about Zhao Huai'an, after all, his hometown of Caozhou had been recaptured, not to mention that the Baoyi Army was currently stationed in their rear and could march south at any time. Therefore, Huang Chao said to Wang Xianzhi:
"Old Wang, I personally suggest sending a detachment to attack Laiwu. After capturing Laiwu, we can enter the mountains directly from the pass near Changshao and launch a feint attack on Zizhou behind the mountains. As long as we can draw the Pinglu army away from Yizhou, Yizhou will be much easier to capture."

"Moreover, if we can determine the route the Pinglu army took back, we can ambush them halfway and completely eliminate this elite force."

After hearing this, Wang Xianzhi hesitated for a moment and said:
"Old Huang, this idea is good, but let's take Xintai first. Spreading out too quickly is not a good thing."

Huang Chao did not insist any further, nodded, and said nothing more.

Meanwhile, Wang Xianzhi glanced at the mountain range and sighed once again:

"This is a great place."

Then he said to Huang Chao:

"We need to lead our brothers to survive, so we have to go south. Otherwise, it's just the two of us; we can just settle down here and live a peaceful life. There are so many mountains and rivers around here. Even if a thousand troops come to hunt us down, how can they catch us?"

Huang Chao didn't say much about it. In short, now was the time to work together, and saying more would only hurt feelings.

So he changed the subject and talked about his elder brother Huang Cun's situation:
"Old Wang, another unit can't stay in Cao and Pu anymore, so they've started attacking Zibo and Qingzhou. If they can really break through, things will be easier for us."

But Wang Xianzhi shook her head:
“I know about Qizhou. Licheng is a formidable city, and it would take tens of thousands of men to besiege it for half a year to take it down. So I don’t think it’s going to succeed there. Have someone pass on a message to them, and then switch the message to Yanzhou, instructing them to attack Laiwu in the northwest. The result will be the same.”

Huang Chao nodded.

Just then, there was some commotion in the valley below. It seemed that a group of cars had started arguing about something, and then the car began to writhe and throb in the valley below, and there seemed to be blood.

But the core members of the bandit army on the hill didn't seem surprised when they saw it, and none of them even went down the mountain to stop them.

Huang Chao glanced around and saw that a group of bandit cavalry had already rushed over from the other side of the valley. They then hacked and slashed at both sides involved in the commotion before turning back to Wang Xianzhi and saying:
"Old Wang, there's one more thing. One of the eunuchs from the imperial court came to contact us, and I asked him to kill them."

Wang Xianzhi was clearly hearing this for the first time; her smile had just vanished.

He turned around and asked seriously:
"Old Huang, we came out together to raise the flag, shouldn't we discuss things together? If I don't know someone came, and I don't know if someone is killed, then am I really that useless as the commander?"

Huang Chao knew Wang Xianzhi would be unhappy to hear this, but he still spoke, meeting Wang Xianzhi's eyes and saying just as seriously:

“Old Wang, once we’ve done something, we shouldn’t think about turning back. Have you ever seen an arrow that’s been released but can be turned back? Since we’ve raised the flag of rebellion, we must be determined to go all the way. It’s either death or overthrowing the court. There’s no other way.”

“I know you’ve always had the idea of ​​being granted amnesty, but as your friend and brother of many years, and as the deputy commander of the bandit army, I still advise you to think carefully. With the nature of that damned imperial court, do you really think you can give us a way back? Right now, there’s a great disaster in the Central Plains, and there are refugees everywhere. That’s why the court wants to keep us at bay. Once the disaster is over and the refugees have all returned home, if the court wants to kill us, it’ll only take a cup of poison.”

Wang Xianzhi frowned:
“Old Huang, you’re more educated than me, but that doesn’t mean I’m brainless. Why are we raising this flag? Isn’t it just to give our brothers and fellow villagers a way to survive? If we can survive, why would we rebel? You don’t really think we can overthrow the imperial court with just a few of us, do you? Wake up.”

"It is precisely because the Central Plains are suffering from disaster that we have this opportunity, so we must seize it. As for being harmed after being granted amnesty, I don't think so. In the past, when did local warlords not grant amnesty to local bandits? Even during the Pang Xun Rebellion six years ago, when both sides fought so fiercely, those who surrendered still got to be officials, didn't they?"

"Let's not talk about anything else. You know Li Hanzhi, who recently joined my ranks, right? Wasn't he the same person who used to serve under Zhuge Shuang? Now he's already the Defense Commissioner of Ruzhou. Isn't he living a happy life?"

Huang Chao pursed his lips, sighed, and suddenly pointed to the large banner that read "Mending the Sky and Ensuring Equality" fluttering above their heads, and said:

“Commander-in-Chief, if you hadn’t raised this banner, you could have been granted amnesty. If you hadn’t gathered hundreds of thousands of bandits, you could have been granted amnesty. If you hadn’t broken through the prefectures, you could have been granted amnesty. But you did all three. Just think about it. In all these years of the Tang Dynasty, it’s always the regional military governors who have been in chaos. How many powerful bandits like you have wreaked havoc in the Central Plains?”

"So, Commander, remember this: you are different! I am different too! There is no turning back for either of us!"

After hearing this, Wang Xianzhi remained silent, then suddenly smiled:

"If they won't surrender, then so be it. What's the point of surrendering? Let's march into the south and live that carefree life."

"If we succeed, we can lord it over the south; if not, we can retreat back to Mount Tai and live a peaceful life there."

Wang Xianzhi didn't want to escalate the conflict with Huang Chao and become a laughingstock in front of his subordinates, so he pointed to the valley and asked the surrounding bandit generals:
"Oh, by the way, what's this place called?"

The dozen or so heroes had just been listening to the two commanders, Wang and Huang, arguing, but they didn't care. Whether or not they were granted amnesty, as long as it didn't interfere with their lives as superior people, that was all that mattered.

Hearing Wang Xianzhi suddenly ask this question, no one was sure what was going on until a local bandit leader from a mountain stronghold stepped forward and said:
"Reporting to the Commander, this area is called Wolf and Tiger Valley."

Wang Xianzhi nodded and chuckled:
“What a great place.”

Then he shouted to the generals on the hill:
"Hey, lads, charge down there and take Xintai City! Then we'll go and stab that old scoundrel Song in the ass!"

The core heroes of the bandit army, brandishing their weapons, laughed heartily, then, with banners waving, charged straight towards the valley ahead.

Destination: Xintai!

(End of this chapter)