Entrepreneurship in the Late Tang Dynasty

Chapter 244 Surrounded
Not long after the news arrived from Flying Tiger and Flying Leopard, the generals of the various armies wiped the oil from their mouths and returned to their respective camps to coordinate their troops.

Meanwhile, the logistics team of the Baoyi Army was preparing dry rations such as biscuits and dried meat, while the officers and soldiers sat on the ground and began to eat the hot meals that had been prepared in advance.

The officers and soldiers of the Baoyi Army came from the south and the north, and their diets varied greatly. However, it was impossible for the army to prepare special meals for each person, so what they ate at this time was rice soaked in soup, which was easy to make.

Because this was an emergency operation, the food before the battle wasn't very good; it consisted only of dried radishes, pickles, and rice soaked in soup.

But that's how it is when you're in the army. When there's food, you eat well; when there's no food, you just eat whatever you can. You're not picky.

The tension before the big battle quickly enveloped the camp, and everyone ate their rice with gusto, cherishing every grain.

Inside the tent, Zhao Huai'an sat on a stool, closing his eyes to rest.

Why do commanders need to be in good health? Because they can stay up all night.

As the commander-in-chief of the entire army, Zhao Huai'an needed to obtain the battle reports from the front as soon as possible in order to judge the subsequent battle situation.

This is no joke. If he can't hold on and takes a nap, hundreds of lives might be lost in his sleep.

That's the good thing about Zhao Huai'an; he's as energetic as a living animal. Two shifts of staff have already changed, but Zhao Huai'an is still sitting there.

At this moment, Zhao Liu couldn't help but cover his mouth and yawn, then Zhao Huai'an, who had his eyes closed, asked:
"What time is it?"

Zhao Liu quickly suppressed the remaining yawn, glanced at the water clock, and then hurriedly said to Zhao Huai'an:

It's almost the end of midnight.

Zhao Huai'an hummed in response, then continued patting his thigh with his palm, and then fell silent.

After a while, there were footsteps outside, and then the army staff officer Zhao Juntian shouted from outside:
"My lord, Wang Jin, Han Qiong, Gao Qinde, and Guo Congyun are all coming."

Upon hearing this, Zhao Huai'an opened his eyes and said in a deep voice:

"Let them in."

Subsequently, Wang Jin, Han Qiong, Gao Qinde, and Guo Congyun all entered, their armor plates clanging as they walked, heads held high and striding confidently.

The four men stood on either side and bowed to Zhao Huai'an, saying:

"My lord, my troops are assembled and ready to be deployed at any time."

Zhao Huai'an nodded, then picked up the four sticks on the table, poked them, and holding them by the ends, said to the four generals:

"Come on, come over and draw lots. Whoever draws the shortest one will stay and guard the main camp."

The four generals froze, nervously approaching. Then Wang Jin took the first cigarette, not knowing whether his was long or short since there was no comparison.

So he continued to nervously watch others.

Han Qiong pursed her lips and rushed over first, but she stared at Zhao Huai'an's hand and didn't dare to take the skewer.

Zhao Liu, standing next to him, rubbed his eyes and urged:

"Just take whatever you want, isn't it all the same?"

Han Qiong instinctively felt that taking it first or last made a difference, but she didn't know how to say it. With a determined effort, she took the middle one.

As soon as he pulled out the stick, he looked at Wang Jin, who was also staring at the stick in his hand. Then he saw that Wang Jin, who was usually serious, was now grinning, and even the scars on his face seemed to move.

At this moment, Han Qiong was filled with despair. She lowered her head heavily, looking at the slip of paper in her hand.

Hey?
Han Qiong saw that the slip of paper in her hand was the same as Wang Jin's, yelled, jumped up on the spot, held up the slip of paper, and shouted:

"I knew my luck wouldn't be bad!"

At this moment, he completely relaxed, and then walked over with Wang Jin, both of them looking at the remaining Guo Congyun and Gao Qinde and chuckling.

Guo Congyun was getting a little anxious. Looking at the two sticks left, he immediately said to Zhao Huai'an:

"My lord, as you know, we are cavalry. Now is the time to use us in a surprise attack. How can we stay here to guard the camp?"

Zhao Huai'an nodded, then glanced at the slip of paper in his hand and said to Gao Qinde:

"Old Gao, come up here and pick the one on the left."

Gao Qinde couldn't accept this and let out a wail:
"My lord, please don't treat me like this! Please don't treat Buba like this! We've already defended the camp several times in a row, let us go this time!"

Han Qiong, standing to the side, chuckled and added:
"That's perfect, you guys have experience guarding the camp."

The phrase "experienced" completely broke Gao Qinde's guard. He was usually very particular about his appearance, but now he jumped up and was about to fight with Han Qiong. Han Qiong laughed and ran behind Wang Jin.

It wasn't until Zhao Huai'an coughed that Gao Qinde said to him with a bitter face:

"My lord, you really can't do this! The brothers are all waiting for me to go back and call for the march. If I tell them to stay in the main camp, how will I lead the troops in the future?"

Zhao Huai'an nodded, then pointed to himself and said:

"Why don't you guys go, and I'll stay?"

At this, Wang Jin and the other three nodded in unison, saying that this was the best approach.

Zhao Huai'an cursed directly:
"What a load of bull! If I don't go, who's going to listen to whom?"

After finishing his tirade, Zhao Huai'an comforted Gao Qinde:
"Old Gao, I trust you to guard the camp. You should talk to the brothers down there. Next time, you infantrymen will be the vanguard! I'll give you a great job!"

Since the magistrate had said so, what could Gao Qinde do? He could only helplessly step forward, pull out the shorter one from the left, and then look at Zhao Huai'an with a "sorrowful" expression, saying sadly:
"My lord, you must remember this next time, and let our Bu Ba be the vanguard!"

Zhao Huai'an nodded, then handed the remaining stick to Guo Congyun, and finally smiled as he addressed the four generals:

“Very good, that’s fair. Go back and prepare. In a quarter of an hour, Bashan will go first, followed by Beiwei, and then Feilong, all of whom will leave the camp with my chariot.”

Finally, he smiled at Gao Qinde and said:

"Old Gao, then I'm entrusting the camp to you. Guard it well! I'm leaving the rear to you!"

Gao Qinde, as Zhao Huai'an's old comrade-in-arms in the Lizhou army, possessed high military discipline. Even though he felt wronged, upon hearing this, he straightened his chest, saluted, and sang:

"Rest assured, my lord, we will remain in the camp as long as we are here!"

Zhao Huai'an nodded, then clapped his hands and shouted:
"Alright, then go and prepare!"

……

A moment later, Zhao Liu, with a suona horn tucked into his waistband and a spear in his hand, shouted to each person in turn:

"Let's go! Let's go!"

At this moment, everyone under the tent shouted these words. Since they couldn't blow horns, they used the most primitive way to inform everyone.

Then they stood guard on both sides and waited for Zhao Huai'an to come out.

Amidst the clanging of armor, Zhao Huai'an emerged from the tent wearing a bulky, bright armor and a black cloak. Because he was wearing three layers of armor, he could only walk with his toes pointing outwards.

Holding the feathered helmet, Zhao Huai'an passed through the human wall formed by the tent under his arms, and then climbed the wooden ladder onto the donkey cart.

The sides of the donkey cart were covered with all sorts of shields, swords, bows and crossbows, and axes, and the carriage was also filled with arrows; it was practically a mobile armory.

At this moment, driver Niu Li, left-hand driver Sun Tai, and right-hand driver Zhao Hu were ready. After Zhao Huai'an got into the carriage, seeing the magistrate nod, he began to shout:
"Let's go! Let's go!"

As they spoke, Zhao Liu and Dou Pangzi jumped onto the carriage, while the rest of the officers mounted their warhorses and led the way.

On both sides were men carrying infantry spears, leading mules and horses, and then the whole camp was shouting:

"Let's go!"

So, squads of armored soldiers marched out of the camp. When it was Zhao Huai'an's turn to drive, he stood on the donkey cart and gave Gao Qinde, who was waiting beside him, another instruction:

"Old Gao, I'm leaving this place to you. Wait for my good news!"

Gao Qinde bowed deeply and shouted:

"This humble general wishes Your Excellency a swift and successful voyage!"

Zhao Huai'an had already started driving. He waved his hand and then looked ahead.

There, outside the camp, it was pitch black.

……

"Huff, huff."

Four strong donkeys, far superior to their peers, pulled a heavy chariot across the wilderness. The excellent driver, Niu Li, didn't need a whip; he could command these strong donkeys simply by shouting.

Perhaps because Niu Li had lived in cattle and horse sheds during his time in Tibet, he had an instinctive affinity for these animals, and the animalistic taste ingrained in his bones made the cattle and horses regard him as one of their own.

Therefore, Niu Li quickly put his talent to good use after learning to drive, driving the car both fast and steadily.

At this moment, Niu Li looked at the four robust donkeys in front of him. Just by looking at their well-developed hindquarters and legs, one could feel a sense of security and reliability.

Suddenly, he saw Zhao Liu peek over and praise:

“Niu Li is driving better and better now.”

Niu Li chuckled, then asked Zhao Huai'an behind him:
"My lord, how fast should we go?"

Zhao Huai'an grabbed the carriage and shouted:
"Drive as fast as you can."

Then he shouted to the chubby boy next to him:

"Fatty, you sit in the back and hold the car down."

Fatty Bean pouted and shuffled his butt to the back.

Then Niu Li, who was in front, suddenly shouted: "Giddy up, giddy up, giddy up..."

Then, the four-donkey-driven chariot accelerated and galloped away, leaving a trail of dust in its wake under the illumination of torches on both sides.

Ahead of him, Wang Jin, as the vanguard, led five hundred Beiwei soldiers, each riding a mule, galloping ahead. Behind him, Han Qiong, one of the Five Tiger Generals, also led five hundred mule soldiers, all of them holding torches and running towards the moon.

If any of the common soldiers could see this scene now, they might truly realize who the prey really is.

Soon, under the moonlight, the Baoyi Army quickly arrived at the battlefield where the Flying Tigers and Flying Leopards had attacked the Grass Army camp.

By this time, the once vast camp had been completely reduced to ashes in the fire.

However, many defeated soldiers still lingered here. They were prisoners whom Liu Xin and his men had released to fend for themselves. Now, they dared not walk in the dark wilderness and could only continue to huddle together here.

When Wang Jin and his men arrived first, they saw the routed soldiers scavenging for remaining supplies in the ruins. They ignored them and continued westward.

When these remaining rebels saw this mule-and-horse cavalry, they trembled and hid in the ruins. What they then witnessed was this scene.

Countless cavalrymen followed one after another like a fire dragon. Soon they saw a strange donkey cart galloping by. Finally, after an unknown amount of time, the fire dragon left the area.

At this moment, these remnants of the peasant army looked at each other and saw the fear in each other's eyes.

The army is finished!

……

"Hahaha, the Baoyi Army is finished!"

This was said by Wang Chongyin when he led his old band of thieves to block the rear of the Baoyi Army's cavalry. He could no longer contain his pride.

By this time, the sky was beginning to brighten, and everyone's field of vision was wide open. In Wang Chongyin's view, with Zhongdu City as the center, his old thieves were pressing forward from the north, west, east, and south.

The enemy cavalry were charging through this space, but every time they tried to break through, they were driven back by a barrage of arrows from the grass army.

Just now, the generals and junior commanders from all four sides sent him military reports one after another. Currently, the Grass Army has gathered more than 20,000 troops on the battlefield, of which the core old thief has 8,000, and the remaining 1,000 cavalry are gathered under Wang Chongyin's command, led by his younger brother Wang Chongba, and their commander's flag is set up in the southeast corner of the battlefield.

Seeing the Baoyi Army knights fleeing in disarray within the encirclement, the entire Cao army was invigorated. Whether it was their young commander or the various leaders, they all told them that the only capable fighters in the Tang army were the Baoyi Army. Once they annihilated this elite force here, good days would follow.

Therefore, for the sake of a better future, family members must endure this last bit of hardship.

And now, the hard times are finally coming to an end.

As the four sides continued to slowly encircle them, Wang Chongba couldn't help but say to Wang Chongyin beside him:

“Brother, why don’t we lower the flag? It’ll be dawn soon, and it will be too dangerous to raise it again.”

Upon hearing such cowardly remarks, Wang Chongyin cursed:

"Foolish! As the commander-in-chief, how can my men fight with all their might if they don't know I'm here? Besides, I've already raised the commander's flag. If I lower it again, wouldn't that scare the brothers? They might think I've run away and then scatter. If that happens, wouldn't all this great effort be wasted?"

Having been scolded by his elder brother so many times, Wang Chongba was already immune to it. He simply said with concern:
"It's getting light now. I'd like to send someone ahead to check how many Baoyi Army soldiers are inside the encirclement. If they're surrounded by a lot, we should be careful. What if they're desperate and do something rash? You know how your men are. As long as we don't attack them, these people won't actively support other units."

Wang Chongyin thought for a moment, nodded, and then continued to lecture him:
"In the future, you should think things through more deeply. Don't always think that it's dangerous for me to raise the flag at dawn. Don't you know that it's precisely because it's about to dawn that I can better coordinate the troops to encircle them? Not to mention, only at dawn can the other armies witness the might of me, Wang Chongyin!"

At this point, Wang Chongyin began to express his feelings:
"We just understood this principle too late. Otherwise, when we started our uprising two years ago, we wouldn't have been ranked after Marshal Liu. We would have been at least equals."

“At that time, we had about seventy or eighty men under our command, far more than Liu Yanzhang. But he was famous. He was a well-known hero in the Tai, Yi, Yan, and Cao areas. Many people went to join him just because they heard his name. Then his army grew every day, and that's how the gap came about.”

"But it's not too late to understand this now. If we can annihilate the Baoyi Army in this battle, we will definitely outshine Liu Yanzhang and his men. We will become a general. When our army is strong and well-equipped, we can even become a deputy commander-in-chief. It's not like we can't sit in the position of commander-in-chief."

Wang Chongba suddenly realized, pondered the meaning for a moment, and it seemed that this was indeed the intended effect.

So how exactly did these grassroots soldiers grow and expand?

The regional military governors (藩镇) grew and expanded by paying their subordinates and recruiting men. While the common army (草军) had money, it was all tied up in cash; they couldn't use it to pay their subordinates' salaries.

So they either recruited from refugees or converted prisoners of war from the Tang army they had previously defeated.

But here's the problem: besides the prisoners and able-bodied men you capture yourself, what's even more impressive is your great reputation. When outsiders know that you're generous, a good fighter, and have a promising future, they'll definitely flock to you.

Therefore, all the popular vote-getters have already entered the stage of pursuing fame.

At this moment, Wang Chongba chuckled and said to his elder brother:
"Once we gain fame, we can attract more heroes. With more heroes helping us, we'll become even more famous. Brother, if things continue like this, I can't even imagine how powerful we'll become!"

Wang Chongyin laughed heartily, pointed to the encirclement ahead, and said boldly:
"So these Righteous Army members are a divine gift that has given our Wang family a chance to rise to power. Our Wang family is also an imperial family. If we truly have the Mandate of Heaven, hehe, our status will be beyond measure?"

As he spoke, Wang Chongyin even painted a rosy picture for his foolish younger brother, encouraging him by saying:

"Work hard, I don't have a son, all of this will be yours in the future!"

These words stirred Wang Chongba's emotions, and then, at that moment, he heard his elder brother suddenly say:
"Beat the drums to cheer them on! Tell the men in front, after we kill the righteous army, we'll eat meat!"

Wang Chongba had a bad feeling at first, but then he thought that the cavalry of the Baoyi Army were surrounded, so he figured nothing would happen.

Thus, amidst the resounding war drums behind them, the surrounding rebel forces began to accelerate their attack.

……

In the northern part of the encirclement, Liu Hanhong, the leader of the peasant army, was leading a group of yellow-clad knights running among the various formations.

As he ran, he verbally gave orders to his officers and soldiers.

This is Liu Hanhong's method of fighting: after personally going to the front line to grasp the latest battle situation, he directly issues targeted orders.

This method is good, but it's exhausting and time-consuming.

In just a short while, Liu Hanhong's small cavalry force had already suffered three attacks from the Baoyi Army. Fortunately, he usually liked to recruit heroes and warriors, otherwise they would have been killed three times over.

Liu Hanhong was a very special person in the bandit group because he was an official, but his official position was also one foot in the underworld.

Through his connections with officials, Liu Hanhong gained the power and endorsement that many local tyrants needed. Through his interactions with these people, Liu Hanhong gradually entered the network of relationships within the Yanzhou salt trade and played a significant role in it.

Furthermore, because Yanzhou is located in the center of the country, heroes and heroes would pass through it. If you encounter any difficulties at this time, you only need to go to Liu Han Hong, and he will do his best to help you.

So don't be fooled by Zhao Huai'an's nickname "Hu Baoyi" in the army; Liu Han Hong is a true "timely rain" in the martial arts world.

It was precisely because of this reputation that Liu Han Hong easily gathered a group of heroes from both the north and south, including wanted murderers, notorious bandits, and disillusioned warriors. In addition, his two younger brothers were also skilled warriors in archery and horsemanship.

With Liu Hanhong at the core, his two younger brothers Liu Hanyou and Liu Hanrong as his right and left hands, and Cao Gongwen, Xin Yue, Zhong Jiwen, Lu Yue, Zhu Bao, Jiang Gui, Du Xiong and others as his henchmen, a dynamic organization was formed in Yanzhou.

The reason for this is that Liu Han Hong is an ambitious man. His Liu family has a prophecy of "the golden knife of the rabbit" since ancient times, which means that once the world is in chaos, the Liu family will surely rise up.

The Liu family is destined to become the rulers of the world.

It's a pity that the chaos first broke out in Puzhou, which gave Wang Xianzhi, a powerful figure in Puzhou, an opportunity. By the time the chaos reached Yanzhou, Wang Xianzhi already had a force of 100,000, and even the Huang family from Caozhou had joined him.

Under these circumstances, Liu Hanhong had already lost the opportunity to become the leader. Later, the state ordered him to suppress the bandit army, hoping to achieve a lose-lose situation and eliminate his power.

Under such circumstances, he decided to go all out and directly led his core cronies and followers to join the rebel army, and within two months he rose to become a commander-in-chief leading an army.

But it was precisely after gradually coming into contact with these core bandits of the Grass Army that Liu Hanhong became increasingly pessimistic about the Grass Army gang. These people were practically a bunch of vagrants, with very few who could even read or write.

Can someone like that conquer the world? Obviously not.

But this is also an opportunity for Liu Hanhong, because now the Grass Army has developed to a point where it is quite powerful, and many heroes and warriors have emerged, which is exactly the opportunity for him to grow stronger.

Therefore, Liu Hanhong made a plan to develop his business by lying low within the grassroots army, using the resources of the grassroots army to create his own business.

It is precisely because of his entrepreneurial mindset that Liu Hanhong is truly different from other grassroots leaders. He trains diligently and wholeheartedly recruits heroes from the grassroots army.

At this moment, while the other three routes were just going through the motions, Liu Hanhong led his personal cavalry deep into each formation, directing operations on the spot.

This approach is certainly dangerous, but the results are excellent.

At this point, their side had completed the formation first, which meant that there was now some daylight; otherwise, it would have been impossible to do so.

Liu Hanhong's side has six battalions, totaling 6,000 men, of which 2,000 are core veteran thieves, making them the second most powerful force after Wang Chongyin.

Moreover, his remaining troops were not cannon fodder. Although they were not elite, they had proper helmets and swords, had seen blood, and could hear orders on the battlefield.

So after he led the northern army into formation, the righteous army knights were no longer able to penetrate to the rear. They could only keep throwing arrows around the perimeter of the formation, which had no effect.

After the battle was completed, Liu Hanhong led the remaining followers back to the banner.

Like Wang Chongyin in the southeast, he had a similar idea: to establish his military merit and prestige by annihilating the elite Baoyi Army of the Tang army.

In that case, we must raise our own banner, otherwise who will know who is destroying the Baoyi Army?
Under the banner, a force of two hundred elite cavalrymen stood there, leading their horses.

Most of them were Liu Han Hong's men, who had spent years honing their martial arts skills, so their equipment and morale were better than those of other outlaws.

At this moment, Liu Hanhong returned to the banner and looked greedily at the militia knights in the encirclement.

These men are truly elite. Just now, he saw a dozen or so knights sitting on the ground far away, resting. Then, they suddenly leaped onto their warhorses, charged over, and only began shooting arrows when they were about thirty or forty paces away from their lines.

In this siege, he could give up everything else, but he wanted to take every single one of the righteous army's knights!

These are the people who will be the foundation for conquering the world in the future!

As he looked around, Liu Hanhong frowned, because he seemed to realize that the enemy's commander, the Tang general named Zhao Huai'an, was not in the encirclement.

Did this person not come?

Before he could think any further, a deafening sound of drums and horns suddenly came from the southeast. Liu Hanhong instinctively looked over, cursed, and then shouted to the flag bearer behind him:

"Wave the flag, kill! Remember, in this battle, capture them all alive!"

So, as a huge crimson banner began to wave, the six battalions of peasant soldiers, arranged in a horizontal line, began to press forward.

(End of this chapter)