Entrepreneurship in the Late Tang Dynasty

Chapter 249 Complete Righteousness
The 21st day of the third month of the third year of Qianfu was also the day that the bandit leader Wang Chongyin died.

In Xiaqiu, the capital of Yanzhou, more than ten corpses were hanging from the city tower, their eyes bulging, their tongues stretched out, and their stiff bodies swaying slightly in the wind.

General Liu Yanzhang, riding on horseback, looked at the dozen or so corpses from afar, with a dozen or so people of different appearances beside him, including monks and Taoists.

Liu Yanzhang pointed to the city wall ahead and asked a Taoist priest:
"Old Taoist, I gave you a hundred gold coins, and all you got in return were these useless trash?"

This Taoist priest was a local from Yanzhou. He had no name and was called "Taoist Liu" by everyone. However, he was not a formally ordained Taoist priest but a local shaman who was known for invoking spirits.

In fact, Yanzhou was the land of the ancient Lu State, and has always been the orthodox source of Confucianism and Mencius's teachings. However, on the other hand, this place is also known for heresy, ghosts and gods, and witchcraft.

Since the Zhou Dynasty, the area north of Shandong has been known for producing shamans, among whom an important shamanistic activity is spirit possession.

The Red Eyebrows Army operated in this area back then. Then a shaman who worshipped Liu Zhang, the King of Chengyang, appeared in the presence of a deity, falsely claiming that the King was angry and that he should become the emperor, not a thief.

Therefore, the Red Eyebrows Army decided to find Liu Penzi, a descendant of King Jing of Chengyang, to be their emperor. This is the influence of the sorcerers in Yanzhou and Lu.

Later, during the Eastern Han Dynasty, the Qi-Lu region was also an important area of ​​activity for the Taiping Dao (Way of Great Peace). They merged with the local shamans and sorcerers, and used a large number of divine incantations and talismans to cure diseases and gather people, eventually leading to their uprising that swept across the country.

Although the imperial court later launched a severe crackdown on these sorcerers and shamans, they continued to use the names of Buddhism and Taoism, but their true nature remained a secret religion that continued to operate covertly in the countryside and had a profound influence.

The Taoist priest Liu standing next to Liu Yanzhang at this moment was such a rogue. Relying on invoking gods, he led hundreds of villagers to join Wang Xianzhi's army after Wang's bandit army entered Yanzhou.

Wang Xianzhi was quite curious about this Taoist priest Liu, but Huang Chao wasn't very interested in such superstitious practices and once said to Wang Xianzhi:
"It's always been easy to invite a god, but difficult to send him away. Who knows what kind of god these shamans have invited? If we don't treat them well and anger them, it's not worth it. We might as well pretend we never saw them."

Wang Xianzhi then dropped the matter and sent the man to Yanzhou to help Liu Yanzhang attack Xiaqiu City.

When this Taoist priest Liu arrived at the Xiaqiu camp, he acted like Wang Xianzhi's special envoy, saying he had a plan to break through the city. At that time, Liu Yanzhang was also overwhelmed with the attack on the city. The governor named Li Xi in the city was really resourceful and stubbornly held on to him.

When Liu Yanzhang saw that this Taoist priest Liu spoke with such certainty, and since he was a local from Yanzhou, he felt that he must have some tricks up his sleeve.

But at this moment...

Liu Yanzhang watched the Taining army shouting from the city wall and felt a burning pain on his face. How could he have been so stupid as to believe this bastard and waste his precious time?

So how did this Taoist priest Liu manage to breach the city?

They gathered 777 soldiers, all of whom matched the birth dates and times of the "Six Jia Divine Soldiers." The Taoist priest Liu assembled these people into a "Heavenly Army," and then began to spread flags widely outside the city. They wore only civilian clothes and no armor, and finally began to perform a shamanistic dance under a huge statue of the Heavenly King.

Yes, Liu the Taoist told Liu Yanzhang that this was a way of inviting the gods. When the Heavenly King's power descended, all 777 people would be invulnerable to swords and spears and possess immense strength.

He claimed that the Yellow Turban warriors of the Way of Peace used the same methods, and that they were all invulnerable to swords and spears, which is why the Han court was routed.

You know what, the 777 people trained by Liu the Taoist priest did have a rather mysterious and wild air about them when they jumped outside the city.

For a moment, everyone inside and outside the city was stunned by these people. But then the city gates were opened, and a Taining cavalry unit carrying a "Kang" banner rushed straight towards the "heavenly soldiers" outside the city.

With just one charge, this charlatan army was routed. The cavalrymen shouted the name of "Kang Huaizhen" and dragged a dozen prisoners back to the city.

In an instant, the morale of the rebel army outside the city plummeted.

Having witnessed this farce, Liu Yanzhang's anger was understandable. After all, gathering these so-called "heavenly soldiers" had not only consumed a huge amount of resources, but these people also wanted to eat meat at every turn. However, none of this was the most important thing. The most important thing was that it had delayed the opportunity to attack the city.

When Liu the Taoist was brought over, Liu Yanzhang looked down at him and sneered:
"Didn't you say you were invulnerable to swords and spears? How come those people were hacked to pieces?"

The Taoist priest, Liu, was now drenched in sweat. He looked at Liu Yanzhang and quickly explained:

"This is because the formation is incomplete. I learned the formation, which requires 7,777 people to be truly effective. However, our army doesn't have enough people; we barely managed to muster 777, so the effect was much worse. This is not my fault!"

Liu Yanzhang nodded in agreement:
"Yes, you're right, it's all my fault."

Then, in a fit of rage, he slashed the scabbard at Liu the Taoist's face, cursing:
"You bastard, you still dare to talk back? You've wasted so much of my time. I'll skin you alive."

Upon hearing this, Taoist Liu was terrified, almost bursting to his wits' end, and cried out:

"Commander, you can't kill me! I came here on the orders of Commander Wang! You can't kill me!"

At this point, Liu Yanzhang no longer cared whether this man was a special envoy or not. Disgusted, he ordered his men to drag him away. Watching the man howl and wail, he cursed at his men:
"I'll slice him three hundred times, not a single cut less. Didn't he claim to be invulnerable to swords and spears? Let me see for myself. If he can survive three hundred cuts, I, Liu Yanzhang, will kowtow to him and apologize!"

Soon, Liu the Taoist was bound and dragged to the front of the battle line. In front of the city wall, two experienced chefs who were skilled at butchering sheep began to carve the shaman's bones, one on each side.

Seeing the heart-wrenching screams coming from the other side, Liu Yanzhang asked his subordinates in great confusion:

"Do you know why this person lied to me? Doesn't he know that in the end, if he's useless, he'll die?"

The generals chimed in with their opinions, mostly praising the Taoist priest Liu for his stupidity, but none of them pleased Liu Yanzhang. Then, a young voice rang out:

"Perhaps this Taoist priest Liu was just greedy for those few days of wine and meat."

Liu Yanzhang was stunned, then burst into laughter, tears streaming down his face as he laughed. He cursed:

"That bastard is willing to have a hundred or so men of my army die for a few loads of wine and meat! Three hundred cuts is too lenient on him. Men, go to the front and tell them to add another hundred cuts!"

But before Liu Yanzhang's order could be delivered, someone rushed over and said:

"Commander, that Taoist priest Liu has been executed by slow slicing."

Suddenly, all the generals fell silent, only daring to steal glances at Liu Yanzhang, fearing that his anger would be directed at them.

But Liu Yanzhang did not fly into a rage; instead, he asked:
"Oh? How many cuts did those two shearers make in total?"

The knight quickly replied:
"He was cut 198 times."

After hearing this, Liu Yanzhang chuckled cruelly and said:

"Alright, alright, then the remaining one hundred cuts will be split between those two, fifty cuts each. I said three hundred cuts, and that's three hundred cuts. If one cut is missing, it will be on those two!"

The knight couldn't help but shudder, then clasped his hands and sang:

"Here!"

Then, not daring to linger, he hurriedly ran back.

A moment later, another scream came from ahead. This time it was two people, screaming a total of fifty times, no more and no less.

The generals present lowered their heads silently, not daring to even breathe.

Just then, a voice rang out, the same young voice from before:
"Commander, you missed two strikes just now. Let me make up for it."

Liu Yanzhang slowly turned around, looked over, and saw that it was Zhang Juyan who was speaking. He smiled.

"So it's you, kid. I heard from Old Wang and the others that you're a farmer who can do math?"

The man named Zhang Juyan chuckled, then clasped his hands in a fist and said:
"Commander, please don't look down on me. Although I was a farmer, I later became a clerk in the prefecture. After working in the government office for a long time, I can do some accounting. After all, if I couldn't even do numbers, the salary I was paid would really be embezzled by those unscrupulous people."

Liu Yanzhang smiled, showing none of the murderous intent he had displayed earlier towards this person, and instead treating him with the warmth of an elder.

The reason for this is simply because Zhang Juyan is from Linpu in Puzhou, a fellow townsman and younger brother of Wang Xianzhi, and a core brother in the bandit army.

These are truly our own people.

So when Zhang Juyan publicly admitted that he had miscalculated, Liu Yanzhang just smiled and didn't take it seriously. But if you let others say it, they would be subjected to being skinned alive.

He shook his head at Zhang Juyan:

"Keep the other two cuts. I'd be happy if you could use them to cut Kang Huaizhen and Yan Bao's heads."

Kang Huaizhen and Yan Bao, whom Liu Yanzhang mentioned, were both fierce generals of the Taining Army.

Right here at the foot of Xiaqiu City, the Cao army and the Taining army clashed more than ten times, and they knew very well which fierce generals the enemy had.

Why is it said that Taining Army is an old-established military governor in the Central Plains? Just in Xiaqiu City alone, there are many fierce generals, such as Kang Huaizhen who just went out of the city to attack, as well as Zhang Yue, Li Hujiao, Sun Hanjun, Xin Wan, Yan Bao and others.

It can be said that even someone as proud as Liu Yanzhang knew in his heart that attacking Xiaqiu this time was not a very wise choice.

Now that they had finally managed to capture the outer perimeter and had even stormed the city walls several times, retreating now would not only mean that all their lives had been wasted, but would also severely damage Liu Yanzhang's prestige.

Therefore, even though Liu Yanzhang was in a difficult situation, he had no choice but to grit his teeth and continue.

At this moment, he looked at the other two leaders beside him, namely Tatianjiang and Huanshilang. They were local leaders of the Nishan and Lushan bandits, who had joined forces with the bandit army after it arrived in Yanzhou.

Both of these teams are quite independent, so Liu Yanzhang smiled and said:

"Brothers, what do you think? Should we continue fighting for this city?" Tatian, a curly-haired barbarian with blue eyes, spoke fluent local Mandarin, grinning as he spoke:
"Brother Liu, we can't just let this city go. We've fought this far, and every single one of us has lost tens of thousands of brothers. If we just lose it like this, won't we be overthrown by our men when we get back?"

Tatian was clearly an honest man; he revealed his true intentions in the first sentence.

Clearly, compared to Liu Yanzhang, the consequences for his Tatian General would be far more severe if he failed to capture Xiaqiu City.

At most, Liu Yanzhang's prestige will be damaged, but his "Heavenly General" might actually cause deaths.

The reason for this difference is that although Liu Yanzhang's bandit army was chaotic, it still had internal and external divisions, as well as upper and lower levels. It was led by the old brothers from Puzhou and the old brothers from Caozhou, who were guiding the poor men from Yanzhou.

Therefore, Liu Yanzhang's word was law in his own army, and no one could challenge him.

But the situation was quite different for General Tatian. In fact, before the Cao army entered Yanzhou, he was just a small force in Nishan, leading a hundred or so lackeys. He was not a big shot at all.

In reality, there was no unified bandit organization in Nishan at that time. They were basically all on their own, with their own backgrounds and external channels.

The reason they later joined forces was to get a good price from the rebels.

After all, the treatment you receive when you, a minor leader from a small mountain stronghold, join a powerful leader from the Nishan lineage is worlds apart.

Just one point will make it clear.

You, a mere 100-man commander, still want the independence you have now? You would have been swallowed up and distributed among various factions long ago.

The reason why this general was promoted to the position of Grand Commander was because he had a good appearance, making him look like someone who was doing business without any investment.

However, this General Tatian was a very honest man, and with one sentence he revealed his true intentions, which directly angered Huan Shilang who was standing next to him.

This Huan Shilang was dressed in white robes, white boots, and a golden crown; anyone who didn't know him would mistake him for a handsome young man from some noble family.

Unlike Tatian, who was merely a figurehead, Huanshilang's Lushan bandits were considered relatively powerful thieves, so he scoffed disdainfully:

"What kind of cats and dogs are standing with us? What does it matter to you whether Xiaqiu City is attacked or not? Do you even have the right to speak?"

What a temper this General Tatian has! He had his head chopped off and stewed for just a little cry when he snatched the young wife from the tent. How could he possibly bear Huan Shilang's public humiliation?

So he immediately rolled up his sleeves, ready to beat up Huan Shilang. But as soon as he took a step, a warrior with an bow next to Huan Shilang raised his horn bow and aimed it at him, as if he would shoot him in the face if he moved again.

Ta Tianjiang dared not move, feeling both ashamed and angry. Fortunately, Liu Yanzhang intervened at this moment, pulling Ta Tianjiang away and then smiling at Huan Shilang:
"Brothers, give me some face. I'm just saying, but don't actually fight. If we cause a scene here and the Taining army on the city walls sees it, won't they laugh themselves to death? We, the Liu family, would rather have many more die than suffer this kind of humiliation! Brothers, don't you agree?"

After the tatami mat was pulled aside, he feigned a cold snort, turned his head away, and continued to be sarcastic:

"You dressed in mourning clothes, what are you so arrogant about? If you're so tough, go fight Xiaqiu! All you know how to do is bully your own kind!"

Upon hearing the phrase "wearing mourning clothes," Huan Shilang was stunned for a moment, then looked at his own attire, and flew into a rage:
"You bastard, if you dare bark again, I'll shoot your mouth off!"

Tatian snorted and said nothing more. After all, he was no match for Tatian in strength, so he could only have gotten the upper hand verbally.

At this moment, Liu Yanzhang walked over to Huan Shilang, glanced at the long-armed warrior holding a bow beside him, and exclaimed in surprise:

"What a fine man! I never expected you, Shilang, to have so many people in your inner circle! May I ask how to address this fine man?"

Huan Shilang's expression was a little unnatural, but he still introduced:
"This is my cousin Deng Jijun, a country bumpkin, not worthy of any respectable name!"

Then they changed the subject and said:
"Commander Liu, let's be straightforward. This city is definitely going to be attacked, otherwise you wouldn't have stayed until now. And we're certainly happy to fight it together, so just tell us what the plan is, and we'll discuss it together."

Liu Yanzhang looked at Deng Jiyun with lingering affection, then smiled and said:

"It's simple. We'll go all in. While that scoundrel is playing tricks, I'll build a batch of siege equipment. Then we'll launch a fierce attack. Brothers, let's all work together to the death. When it's time to eat the spoils, you two can go first. If I destroy Xiaqiu City, everything in the city is yours."

One sentence made Huan Shilang and Tatian's eyes widen. At this moment, who cared about the verbal disputes? Everyone was overjoyed.

Simply because the potential profits are too great.

Although Yanzhou was 70-80% destroyed by the bandit army, most of the wealthy locals had fled to Xiaqiu City. Moreover, Xiaqiu was the capital of Yanzhou and the gathering place for the elite of the Taining Army.

To be honest, even their own army never managed to capture a city like this.

Just like with the Taiping Army, although they caused a great upheaval in Pu and Cao prefectures, they still failed to capture Yunzhou, the capital of the Taiping Army.
So if Liu Yanzhang really keeps his promise, then Huan Shilang and Ta Tianjiang will really take off this time.

They could seize any one of the city's arsenal, provisions, wealth, beauties, or population, and then they could plant their flags and recruit soldiers in Yanzhou, and eventually become a force to be reckoned with.

Then, Huan Shilang and Ta Tianjiang exchanged a glance and, without hesitation, clasped their hands in a fist salute:
"I will obey Commander Liu's orders!"

Liu Yanzhang laughed heartily, then clapped his hands and gave the order:

"This time the order is simple: as soon as the drums and horns sound here, we will attack from three sides. No matter how many people die, we will grit our teeth and charge forward! I don't believe that no matter how high the city is, we can pile up corpses to get to the top!"

"And when the time comes, as long as we capture Xiaqiu, I will compensate you for every man you lose!"

Liu Yanzhang spoke with great pride, and Shilang and Tatian, having spent these days with him, knew that although he was fickle, he was still a man of his word.

They had heard a rumor that a merchant they often worked with had asked Liu Yanzhang to do something, and Liu Yanzhang had done it without hesitation.

And then who did they kill? They actually killed those people who went to Qufu. That was incredibly audacious.

You should know that although Huan Shilang and Ta Tianjiang are not all from Yanzhou, they are people who have been around in this area. How could you not know who those people are? They are gods to scholars!

And Liu Yanzhang went and killed them without hesitation.

He's such a loyal friend.

Therefore, when the two heard Liu Yanzhang's promise, they had no doubts. They clasped their hands in a gesture of respect, their hearts pounding with excitement, and then led their men back to their respective camps.

After hooking up with Huan Shilang and Ta Tianjiang, Liu Yanzhang called Zhang Juyan over.

He asked Zhang Juyan:

"I heard you used to practice martial arts in the countryside? How skilled were you?"

Zhang Juyan puffed out his chest and said:

"Commander Liu, we all learned rough skills back in the countryside, but there's one thing we really honed: courage! Commander Liu, just give the order!"

Liu Yanzhang chuckled, then said to Zhang Juyan:

“You are from the same hometown as the Commander-in-Chief, but because you used to be a county official, your old comrades have always been critical of you, thinking that you are not sincere. Otherwise, with your qualifications and abilities, you should have been a regional commander long ago.”

"And what about me, Liu Yanzhang? I don't believe in sincerity. It's not about words, but about actions! No matter what, as long as you fight hard on the battlefield, you're my brother. Let me tell you straight today, this time I'll let you be the first to charge. If you can lead men to plant the flag, I'll give you a thousand men. If you can hold out for a moment, I'll give you two thousand. If you hold out for two moments, I'll give you three thousand."

"If Xiaqiu is captured because of you, I will directly recommend you to the Commander-in-Chief as the commander-in-chief. At that time, whether you are young or inexperienced will not be a problem!"

"Because I recommended you, no one dares to object! Do you understand?"

At this moment, Zhang Juyan's heart pounded wildly. Faced with this crucial life decision, he knelt on the ground without hesitation and roared:

"The general will obey your orders!"

Liu Yanzhang laughed heartily, then handed his five hundred armored soldiers over to Zhang Juyan, saying to him:

"You lead your troops, and my guards will follow behind! You need to understand, whether you become a dragon or a worm depends on this! Great fortune is a rare opportunity in life, but when it comes, you have to seize it!"

Zhang Juyan kowtowed, then loudly said to Liu Yanzhang:

"I will never forget General Liu's great kindness! I will definitely take down the city wall for General Liu!"

Looking at the clever young man, Liu Yanzhang nodded and waved for him to go and prepare.

A moment later, as a huge dark cloud drifted in, Liu Yanzhang roared:

"Bang the drum!"

Then, all 108 large drums behind them began to beat in unison, the thunderous sound echoing across both banks of the Si River. Then, the troops roared in unison and surged towards Xiaqiu like a tidal wave.

And running at the very front was none other than Zhang Juyan, the young general of the peasant army.

At this moment, drums were beating loudly on the walls of Xiaqiu City. The Taining soldiers inside the city rushed nervously to the city tower, licking their lips as they looked at the endless yellow tide outside the city.

Not a single drop of saliva.

(End of this chapter)