Entrepreneurship in the Late Tang Dynasty

Chapter 247 Chasing Death
The war ended the moment the main force of the Baoyi Army arrived, but the fighting continued.

On the open fields south of the Wen River, the rebel army that had been fighting on all sides almost completely collapsed the moment they saw the banner fall.

The biggest difference between humans and animals is that humans have brains, so when they saw this horrifying scene, they knew that the man was in grave danger.

The fighting was already arduous, and now the enemy has sent even more reinforcements from the southwest. They've even lost their commander. How can they possibly continue fighting?
If you don't run, you're providing cover for your allies; if you don't run, you're giving them a chance to escape! So, are you going to run or not?
Their already limited courage vanished in an instant. Countless soldiers discarded their swords and spears, which were the spoils they had seized from the treasuries of Cao, Pu, Yan, and Yun provinces, and were also fine armor and weapons.

But all of these will be discarded like worn-out shoes, just to lighten all the burdens on their bodies.

Zhao Huai'an's four-donkey chariot rolled over a pile of mangled flesh and continued toward the center of the battlefield. The killing continued, and he made no attempt to stop it.

At this moment, in his field of vision, countless yellowish-brown crowds scattered in panic as if they had been blown apart, while the red blocks representing the Baoyi Army also dispersed into thin lines, closely trailing behind those blocks.

Beside Zhao Huai'an, Zhao Liu, wielding a long spear, roared:
"Kill! Kill!"

The atmosphere of the battlefield ignited the killing intent in everyone. The Baoyi Army heavy infantry, who had just formed a battle formation, jumped onto their mules again and chased after the grass army in groups of three or five.

At this moment, Zhao Huai'an kicked Zhao Liu, who was howling beside him, and shouted:

"Play the suona, raise the red triangular flag, and let all the generals on the battlefield come to my side!"

This combination of flag signals and suona horns is meant to summon the generals of the army to come quickly!
Upon hearing the order, Zhao Liu quickly took the suona from the side of the carriage and began to play a complete piece.

As the sharp, piercing sound of the suona ripped through the sky, and as the red triangular flag hanging high above the battlefield fluttered in the wind, the sun rose completely into the sky, proclaiming its supreme existence to the world.

……

From afar, Zhao Huai'an saw Wang Jin carrying a severed head as he rushed over, followed closely by a dozen or so riders, covered in blood, carrying spears and swords.

Just now, after hearing the suona and the red triangular flag, Wang Jin led his entourage on horseback. On the way, they encountered a band of rebel soldiers who tried to seize Wang Chongyin's head from him, but were then scattered by them.

Even so, these followers still protected Wang Jin in the middle, as the risk was higher the more chaotic the battlefield was.

Many great generals and famous generals died while traversing the battlefield.

When Wang Jin saw Zhao Huai'an in the carriage ahead, his heart skipped a beat. He realized he had done something wrong, so when he was still fifty paces away from the carriage, he dismounted and walked over.

Zhao Huai'an saw it from the car, but he just watched.

Until Wang Jin knelt before the carriage, holding the severed head, and shouted:
"My lord, I have fulfilled my mission and beheaded the local commander!"

Zhao Huai'an nodded and sneered:
"Great, great, you played really well!"

Upon hearing this sound, Wang Jin's forehead was dripping with sweat, and his heart was pounding. Just now, even when he was fighting desperately, he hadn't felt this way.

He struggled to lift his head and said to Zhao Huai'an:

"My lord! I..."

Before Wang Jin could speak, Zhao Huai'an reached out and took the long spear from Dou Pangzi's hand, then struck Wang Jin's head with the spear.

With this slap, Wang Chongyin's head flew more than ten steps away. His face, which had been filled with disbelief, was now half-brushed.

Upon seeing this, Wang Jin trembled and even stopped breathing.

Then Zhao Huai'an pointed at Wang Jin's nose and cursed:
"I don't want your head, and I don't blame you for launching an attack without authorization. I just don't want you to die because of this one day! I've said it before: a general must be cautious, especially a great general, who must be extremely cautious!"

"What is that thieving general that you're worth risking your life for? You, Wang Jin, are my pillar of strength, my confidence. If you get hurt because of something like that, even if that bastard dies a hundred times, it won't be enough!"

These words brought tears to Wang Jin's eyes, and he looked at Zhao Huai'an with trembling eyes.

Then Zhao Huai'an pointed at the chariot in front of him and roared without any mercy:

"Kneel down here. I'm going to give you three whacks today to teach you a lesson. If you ever take such a risk again, just think about how these three whacks hurt!"

Wang Jin practically crawled on his knees to Zhao Huai'an, bent over, and lay prostrate on the ground to accept his punishment.

But the three sticks didn't fall for a long time.

Just as Zhao Huai'an took a whistle stick from the car stop and was about to strike hard, he suddenly froze.

Wang Jin's armor was already shattered, and the remaining pieces were covered in knife marks. Seeing Wang Jin like this, Zhao Huai'an's hand, which was raised in the air, froze in mid-air and did not fall.

At this moment, Zhao Liu suddenly jumped off the carriage and picked up Wang Chongyin's head, which had just been knocked away. Looking at the head, which was so badly unrecognizable, he said regretfully:
"It's a pity, his face is so illegible now, I wonder if it will still count when military merits are calculated!"

Upon hearing this, Zhao Huai'an immediately cursed:

"Let's see who dares! This is what Wang Jin earned with his life. Anyone who dares to deny it will have their head ripped off! Even if it's not really cool, let's see who dares to say it isn't!"

Distracted by this, Zhao Huai'an raised the stick and swung it down, then tapped Wang Jin on the shoulder.

There was absolutely no force involved, but with each strike, Wang Jin would retaliate with a lash. After three such strikes, Wang Jin's back was already soaked with sweat.

At this moment, Zhao Huai'an spoke to Wang Jin.

"Old Wang, I have an heir. My career will not only end with me. When I die, my son will carry on my ideals. But how long can I live? Ten years, twenty years, thirty years? Who knows? So many heroes with extraordinary talent have died young. So I need someone to protect me and my son, and the person I have chosen is you!"

"You must live well, and outlive me. My Zhao family is counting on you!"

Wang Jin, who had been prostrate on the ground, could no longer hold back and burst into tears. He kowtowed heavily, repeating over and over again:

"May Your Majesty live ten thousand years!"

"May Your Majesty live ten thousand years!"

……

Zhao Huai'an stepped off the chariot, helped Wang Jin up, and laughed:
"Old Wang, no one can be sure whether tomorrow or death will come first! And everyone dies! Death itself isn't scary, but what is scary is that after I die, no one will care about my career or my ideals, and the legacy we brothers built will be squandered by children raised by women and kids."

He held Wang Jin's shoulders, looked at him, and said seriously:

"Old Wang, look at me. We've never been superiors and subordinates, but brothers, brothers who started this business together! You know I love Liu Bei, and how fortunate Liu Bei was to have someone like Zhuge Liang to protect his ideals!"

"And now, Lao Wang, I'm asking you, are you willing to be my Zhuge Liang?"

At this moment, Wang Jin felt the weight of the magistrate's hands on his shoulders, as if they weighed a thousand pounds. He was beyond words to describe the feeling in his heart.

Looking into Zhao Huai'an's eyes, Wang Jin nodded heavily, then, ignoring Zhao Huai'an's attempts to stop him, knelt down and kowtowed deeply to him.
"My lord, we are deeply grateful for your kindness. We, the descendants of the Wang family, will protect the descendants of the Zhao family with our lives, generation after generation, until the seas dry up and the rocks crumble!"

Zhao Huai'an was moved, grabbed Wang Jin, and said earnestly:

"Don't kneel anymore! You, Wang Jin, don't kneel before me anymore! You, Wang Jin, are different!"

Then, looking at Wang Jin, he burst into laughter, then put his arm around Wang Jin and pulled him aside, shouting to Zhao Liu:
"Bring me that head so I can see it. I want to see how much guts this guy has to dare ambush us!"

At this moment, Zhao Liu looked at Zhao Da and Lao Wang, who were acting all sincere and earnest, chuckled, and then handed the severed head to Zhao Huai'an.

Zhao Huai'an didn't seem to mind. Seeing that the withered head was indeed half rotten, he pursed his lips and said guiltily:

"It's okay, I can recognize the other half too!"

Having said that, Zhao Huai'an stopped dwelling on the topic, raised the severed head, and roared:

"My lads! Chase after them relentlessly! Don't let your wealth slip through your fingers!"

Upon hearing this, Guo Congyun and Han Qiong, who were also standing cautiously outside, breathed a sigh of relief and then raised their arms in a shout.

Then, the officers and soldiers of the Baoyi Army who were still on the battlefield heard it and cheered loudly.

They mounted their mules once more and began their pursuit in the direction the fleeing army had retreated. At this moment, the officers and soldiers, fresh from the battle, showed no signs of fatigue whatsoever.

No matter how tough or tiring it gets, they must stand tall now, because the richest rewards of this war are waiting for them to reap!

The sound of horses' hooves was like a storm, and hundreds of cavalrymen were galloping along the south bank of the Wen River, looking back as they fled, every sound making their nerves even more tense.

They were Wang Chongba and his men who had just broken through the encirclement.

Yes, the clever older brother was beheaded, while the foolish younger brother ran away.

At this point, only two or three hundred of the thousand cavalrymen who had broken through the encirclement remained; the rest had fled for their lives halfway through the journey.

In fact, Wang Chongba was largely to blame for the quick death of the general Wang Chongyin.

As the battle raged on, a troop of mule soldiers suddenly appeared from behind them, a dense, uncountable mass. These soldiers then formed ranks directly behind them.

With nearly fifty men as the spearhead, they directly struck the grass army in the lower back.

Completely bewildered, the rebel army collapsed, while the old thieves abandoned their troops and fled towards Wang Chongyin's location ahead.

Wang Chongyin was also confused at the time, but he remained calm despite his initial shock because he still had a thousand-strong cavalry force under his command.

That's his core.

But to his utter surprise, Wang Chongba, who was leading his cavalry to observe the battle from the front, suddenly saw that the western front had collapsed, with countless rebel soldiers being chased and killed by the Baoyi Army's Flying Dragon Cavalry.

Then Wang Chongba glanced back and saw countless Tang soldiers surging out from behind his own side, still shouting:
"You are surrounded. Disarm and you will not be killed!"

Wang Chongba's mind went blank for a moment, and he instinctively spurred his warhorse to gallop. However, he did not realize that his warhorse was not facing south, but northeast.

And then that's when things got really bad.

As he instinctively spurred his horse and galloped, his attendant, who was holding a flag behind him, also ran northeast.

Meanwhile, the remaining cavalry, who had always followed the direction of the flag, naturally fled northeast.

Thus, a scene unfolded on the battlefield: although the battle was taking place in the south, the elite forces of these peasant armies were running northeast.

After running only ten or so steps, Wang Chongba knew things were bad. But the cavalry was already galloping and couldn't turn around in place, so he planned to lead the cavalry northeast for a while, then circle around and come back.

But when he turned around again, Wang Chongba saw a shocking scene.

The banner bearing the inscription "Mending the Heavens and Ensuring Balance," representing the status of the vote-getter, fell before his eyes.

At that moment, Wang Chongba knew that the situation was hopeless, because the entire battlefield could see this scene, and the troops had no morale to fight.

Sure enough, his guess soon came true.

The troops under Liu Hanhong, who were directly in front of him, collapsed on the spot, and their men scattered and fled. Meanwhile, the cavalry that had charged in to his west also began to rush to the left.

Seeing the menacing cavalry of the Baoyi Army rushing towards him like ferocious tigers, Wang Chongba smoothly turned the reins and fled eastward at top speed.

As soon as he ran, the flag ran with him, and eventually everyone ran after him.

Thus, the cavalry, which should have played a pivotal role, was torn apart. A considerable number of them remained with Wang Chongba, while some went directly to Liu Han Hong in the north.

At that time, although the outer camps of Liu Hanhong's troops had collapsed, at least two thousand old bandits withdrew and retreated eastward with a relatively intact formation.

Therefore, some of the elite cavalrymen who were attracted by Liu Hanhong's disciplined troops defected to Liu Hanhong's side, along with their horses and equipment.

This turned out to be a blessing in disguise for Liu Han Hong. He gave up his ordinary infantry and gained a group of more elite cavalry, so it seemed like he made a profit.

However, after this battle, the heroes' subordinates who were already dissatisfied with Liu Han Hong's words also secretly fled with their men after seeing the grass army suffer such a heavy defeat.

These outlaws, who live by the sword, may live for the moment, but they still have a sense of justice.

Looking at it now, regardless of what the future holds for the grassroots army, at least figures like Wang Chongyin and Liu Hanhong, who are popular but unpopular leaders, are not worth following.

Whether they started their own group or joined other commanders, a considerable number of people left Liu Hanhong's forces during the retreat.

Liu Hanhong was unaware of this; he only saw that he had accepted a cavalry unit from Wang Chongyin's side, and assumed that his strength was increasing.

This caused Liu Hanhong's ambition to swell rapidly. When he saw Wang Chongba's cavalry passing by, he almost couldn't resist going up to annex them.

But Wang Chongba was running too fast, forcing Liu Hanhong to suppress his thoughts and shout at the core member who was still by his side:
"Follow me north, I've built a pontoon bridge over the Wen River!"

Upon hearing this, some of the heroes from Yanzhou who were still with Liu Hanhong immediately changed their minds.

Although Liu Hanhong is not a very capable person, he is really smart; he even managed to plan his own escape route.

No wonder he was able to run away!
They all rebelled, and while good character was certainly something they hoped for, what they valued most was that Cao Shuai had brains and could lead his brothers to survive.

With just this one sentence, the previously wavering morale of the army quickly stabilized, and then, accompanied by the horses of Liu Hanhong and his two brothers, they sped northwards, making their way through the enemy lines.

Before long, a large number of Baoyi Army cavalrymen caught up with them and arrived at the scene. Seeing the two hoofprints, one pointing east and the other north, the group was at a loss.

Where should we chase after them?

At this moment, a soldier who had been lying in the grass was dragged out and brought before Geng Xiaojie.

Looking at this cowardly soldier, Geng Xiaojie's face was terribly pale. He leaned forward and asked:
"Who is running east, and who is running north?"

This soldier was originally a cavalryman, but because his thigh was slashed during the battle, he was unable to brace himself during the retreat and was thrown off.

When he fell to the ground, he called for help from his comrades in front of him, but none of them returned.

So when he heard Geng Xiaojie's question, this man didn't hesitate to betray the information, replying:

"The one heading east was Wang Chongba, a bandit leader of the Grass Army, and the one heading north was Liu Hanhong, another bandit leader of the Grass Army. They retreated north with countless people."

In fact, the reason why this bandit cavalryman said this was to imply that the bandit cavalrymen to the east were easier to catch and fewer in number.

Because the old troops who abandoned him were the core cavalry of Wang Chongyin and his brother.

But when Geng Xiaojie heard this, his eyes widened like copper bells. He immediately grasped the key information and knew that the one running north was surnamed Liu, which perfectly matched the large flag he had seen on the battlefield.

Furthermore, this person was heading north, and the original Flying Leopard Cavalry was in the northern formation, so the direction makes sense.

Therefore, Geng Xiaojie released the enemy to the east without hesitation and roared as he rode his horse:

"Head north, kill them all, avenge our brothers!"

So, the more than two hundred Flying Leopard Cavalry, armed with swords and spears obtained from battlefield supplies, galloped northward.

……

At this moment, Wang Chongba, who was fleeing on the road, once again shook off a small group of Baoyi Army cavalry and gradually ran to the back, where he could no longer see anyone chasing him.

It was at this moment that Wang Chongba finally breathed a sigh of relief. Looking at the two hundred or so cavalrymen still following him, he showed no embarrassment at being chased by a dozen or so Baoyi Army cavalrymen. Instead, he addressed the group:

“Let’s not go east. The Nimon Pass to the east is under the jurisdiction of Commander Huang, who is known for his strictness. If we go there, we will most likely die by his hand. To our north is the Laiwu Valley, where Commander Wang is kind and benevolent. That should be our first priority, but unfortunately, the Wen River blocks our way to the north.”

"So we head south to Xiaqiu to find Commander Liu. Only Commander Liu can turn this situation around."

"Now, I'm telling you all, I'm definitely going to Xiaqiu. Whether you go or not is up to you."

After saying this, Wang Chongba took the lead and headed south. The bandit cavalry behind him were also persuaded by what he had just said. After thinking for a moment, they chased after Wang Chongba.

And so, in a short time, the two remaining large-scale cavalry units of this battle parted ways, heading north and south respectively, and went their separate ways.

(End of this chapter)