Entrepreneurship in the Late Tang Dynasty

Chapter 250 First up
Amidst the sea of ​​people, 24-year-old Zhang Juyan stood at the forefront, holding a shield in his left hand and a short halberd in his right, clad in chainmail and wearing an iron helmet around his neck, attracting the attention of everyone.

Zhang Juyan was a skilled boxer, a warrior renowned in Puzhou for his boxing prowess. He was able to serve in the prefecture as a farmer precisely because of his iron fists.

He was known for his ability to shatter bones with his fists and split rocks with his palms, which was not a self-deprecating claim of being a country bumpkin. The Puyang, Caozhou, Yanzhou, and Songzhou regions where he lived were located between several major power blocs and had a long-standing tradition of martial arts.

In addition, these narrow areas have always been plagued by constant warfare, so many defeated soldiers wandered into the countryside and naturally passed down their martial arts skills.

Therefore, within the military governorships, people mostly practiced martial arts such as fist fighting, archery, and swordsmanship, while in the countryside, people practiced fist fighting and stick fighting to show off their strength, courage, and commit crimes.

Those who practice martial arts are mostly unproductive. Since they have no income, if they want to live a carefree life in the countryside, they usually gather a group with knives, using martial arts as a pretext to run rampant in the village and bully the good.

Moreover, in order to have money to spend, they would set up long tents, hold gambling parties, and collude with clerks and officials to act as their eyes and ears, exploiting the villagers to the bone.

In reality, the upper echelons of the grassroots army are all roughly the same group of people.

They included ruthless salt smugglers like Wang Xianzhi, and bullies like the Boxing Society who harassed the countryside, but the two had completely different reputations.

Salt smugglers, seeking profit from external sources, often treated the locals well, maintaining a close relationship with them. However, these dissolute ruffians from the boxing clubs, focused on internal gain, were extremely cruel to the countryside, earning them a terrible reputation.

Previously, Liu Yanzhang said that the reason why Zhang Juyan was not promoted was because he had joined the prefecture, but the real reason was not that, but because Zhang Juyan was a martial arts practitioner!

Most of the boxing techniques used by these evil gangs originated from temples, from the earliest Shaolin Temple to other major temples across the country, all of which were famous for their boxing techniques.

These temples are also major centers for usury, but the difficulty in usury has always been how to recover the money.

Debt collection is always a blatant affair, and since monks greet people with smiles all day, it's inconvenient for them to act like thugs and pressure people. So they recruit local bullies, teach them martial arts, and then make them do dirty work.

But it's unclear whether the bully learned the martial arts and then went to collect debts, or whether he learned the martial arts, went to collect debts, and then became a bully.

However, the boxers didn't just work for temples. After all, taking on one dirty job is one thing, but taking on two or three is the same.
After all, our Tang Dynasty has its own national conditions. Even government offices engage in usury, not to mention other things.

Therefore, local gang leaders who could collect debts became highly sought after. Not only did temples seek them out, but also local tycoons and powerful officials in the county and prefecture were their clients. They were willing to act as these people's henchmen in order to gain the protection of their power.

Interestingly, regardless of how many lines there are at the top, at the very bottom, it's always the same group of people handling the work.

It is clear that those people in the county have been detached from their hometowns for far too long.

Once the boxing champions establish such relationships, they will then develop their own business, which is gambling.

They set up shady stalls in the market, where they gambled and also lent money at exorbitant interest rates.

Yes, since they can collect debts from their superiors, they naturally want to lend money when they have it, given the huge profits involved.

What "nine out and thirteen back" and what "cutting off the beginning and end" and all those other names, they all stripped the skin and marrow.

How dirty are these people's methods?
Generally speaking, rural farmers don't have much money; they only have a little money after selling their grain in the autumn.

At this time of year, a market would be set up between several villages, and peddlers from the county would gather here to sell non-essential items such as thread and mirrors.

Farmers who have been struggling financially for most of the year will only muster the courage to buy these things for their wives and daughters at this time of year.

However, these gangsters and local bullies also took advantage of this time. They would lure people into gambling in the market, set traps to rip them off, and after exploiting them to the bone, they would sell their wives and daughters and then act as their accomplices to lure others into gambling.

So you can imagine how bad the reputation of these boxing club bullies must be.

But the boxing champions have one advantage: they are rooted in the countryside. Even if they become big boxing champions and make a lot of money, they will not move to the county to live. They will still live in the countryside.

These people knew that when the elites of the Tang Dynasty flocked to Chang'an and the prefectures, the power vacuum in the countryside was where they could put their talents to use and where their value lay.

Because they are rooted in the countryside, these people have the most sensitive sense of smell, even more so than salt smugglers like Wang Xianzhi.

After all, how could these creditors not know whether the people in the countryside were truly struggling to survive?
So at the beginning of the first year of the Qianfu era, these powerful figures saw the signs that the people of Puzhou were going to die.

And why are these people chameleons? Because they know how useless the local tyrants are, these former henchmen have transformed into righteous fighters advocating for the disaster victims.

They were the ones who led the attack on the mansions of the local tyrants, and they were also the ones who first raped and plundered the families of the tyrants. Later, when Wang Xianzhi led the villagers to raise their flags and rebel, these people saw that the people of the prefecture were flocking to them, and they knew that the world in Puzhou was about to change.

So these people switched allegiance to Wang Xianzhi without any burden, becoming his vanguard in smashing down walls and temples, as if they were not accomplices at all.

The core salt smugglers of the bandit army naturally looked down on these people. As soon as they heard that they came from the countryside and practiced martial arts, they sneered. If it weren't for Wang Xianzhi and the strategist trying to unite these people, the other commanders would have cleaned up these sycophantic villains long ago.

Salt smugglers aren't exactly good people, but there aren't many as rotten as the gangsters.

Among the many martial arts societies in the countryside of Puyang, Zhang Juyan was different because he had a very good reputation in his hometown of Linpu.

Other boxing champions suck the marrow from the bones, but Zhang Juyan both paved roads and built bridges for his hometown.

Even when villagers came to him in need, he would not hesitate to give them money and effort. Later, when disaster struck before the Qianfu era, he also organized people to distribute porridge. So even though he became a county official, he was praised by both the legitimate and criminal worlds for his loyalty and righteousness.

Of course, if you ask where Zhang Juyan got the money, then the answer is obvious.

Therefore, some local gangsters in Puzhou cursed Zhang Juyan, saying that although he seemed like a great philanthropist, he was actually more ruthless than them in exploiting the people and currying favor with the powerful.

And then what? They made money and gained fame; they're so much smarter than those poor folks!

Therefore, the underworld also gave Zhang Juyan a good name:

"Two-faced Buddha!"

Later, when Wang Xianzhi's power grew, Zhang Juyan led his men to join him, saying that their county magistrate had insulted him and tried to sleep with his wife, so he killed the magistrate and came to join him.

At first, Wang Xianzhi thought Zhang Juyan was a hero and a fellow villager, so he was inclined to give him a preferential treatment. However, the strategist Shang Junchang, who had a better understanding of people's hearts, saw through the man's true nature at a glance and suggested that they observe him first.

Wang Xianzhi always listened to Shang Jun, so he let Zhang Juyan bring his own troops to stay under his command and then forgot about this person.

Yes, that's just Wang Xianzhi's personality.

He greatly admired heroes and chivalrous individuals, so when heroes came to him for refuge, he would be as overjoyed as a child, displaying a sincere and devoted heart. However, it wouldn't be long before Wang Xianzhi forgot about them again; this was simply his true nature.

Therefore, in the end, those who could actually be of use were the old men around him. He had heroes but could not use them. This was the common opinion of the insightful people around Wang Xianzhi.

And so, after enduring the cold wind for so long, Zhang Juyan finally got his chance.

So what if they're the first to arrive? Let's get them!
But soon, reality gave Zhang Juyan a cold shower.

When Liu Yanzhang's cousin, Liu Yuanqing, arrived with five hundred elite armored soldiers, before Zhang Juyan could even be pleased, Liu pulled him aside and whispered, but in a way that brooked no argument:
“Old Zhang, you know, these five hundred armored soldiers under my command are the lifeblood of our Liu family, and also the backbone of Commander Liu in the army, so we cannot afford to lose them.”

"Whether what Commander Liu said is true or false, these five hundred old brothers in armor will not follow you like ants. You can go and complain to Commander Liu, but you probably don't want to see the result."

"So you go first. If you can make it up, I'll help you! But if you can't, then forget it."

After hearing these words, Zhang Juyan was completely dumbfounded.

He opened his mouth several times, and finally said:
"This Xiaqiu City is not for me, Zhang Juyan, but for Commander Liu!"

Upon hearing this, Liu Yuanqing chuckled, shook his head, and said:
"Two-faced Buddha, two-faced Buddha, have you been stuck in the mud for so long that you can only see a small patch of land? Can't you see that no matter what, what does it matter if we can't take Xiaqiu? As long as we have soldiers and food, wherever Commander Liu goes, he will always be Commander Liu!"

"The army belongs to everyone, not just the Liu family. So how could it be just the Liu family who has contributed so much effort and blood? Now that the battle has gone on, who doesn't know that the Liu family has put in the blood and blood? But we just can't take it. After all, this is Xiaqiu City, the number one city among the twenty-one cities in the four prefectures of Yan, Hai, Yi, and Mi under the control of the Taining Army."

"As for me, I have no personal grudge against you, Zhang Juyan. On the contrary, I admire you quite a bit. I know you are a smart person, and it is precisely because you are a smart person that I am speaking frankly to you."

"To put it bluntly, is it really something we should have taken Xiaqiu City? You should know that even Commanders Wang and Huang, with over 100,000 troops, couldn't take Yizhou City. Yet our Commander Liu, with only 50,000 or 60,000 men, took Xiaqiu, a city even more formidable than Yizhou. Is that really the case?"

"Not only should it not be done, it's also inappropriate!"

At this moment, Zhang Juyan was completely speechless. His enthusiasm had instantly cooled, and he stammered:

"Is this your idea, or Marshal Liu's?"

Liu Yuanqing shook his head and smiled at Zhang Juyan:

"Is Old Zhang twenty-four this year?"

Zhang Juyan nodded, and then Liu Yuanqing said:

"You're not young anymore, do you have children?"

Zhang Juyan shook his head, not knowing why he was asked that, but still said:
"It's too chaotic now. There's no shortage of women, and some have even given birth to several, but they all died or were lost on the road."

Liu Yuanqing showed no intention of comforting Zhang Juyan, but instead said, "So you see, this isn't what you wanted, but it is what it is. So whose idea is this? Does it matter? No, because this is the situation!"

"Of course, I'm not saying that you don't need to work so hard, after all, it's your future."

"But you need to weigh the options carefully: do you want to keep charging forward with your people, or do you want to respect the reality before you and accept it?"

Zhang Juyan remained silent.

Liu Yuanqing patted Zhang Juyan on the shoulder, then returned to the armored formation behind him. This elite infantry force, composed of salt smugglers, bandits, and Liu's personal followers from several prefectures, stood there in formation, their military spirit soaring like clouds.

At that moment, a violent drumbeat suddenly rang out from behind, so intense that it seemed to shatter the dark clouds in the sky!

Startled awake, Zhang Juyan looked up at the dark clouds overhead, suddenly raised his short spear, and roared at the hundred or so fellow villagers in front of him:
"Kill! Kill our way into the city, loot money, loot armor, loot women!"

Having said that, Zhang Juyan put everything aside, raised his shield and spear, and took the lead to clear the way for the other armies.

To hell with all that nonsense, Zhang Juyan is determined to rise to power, and he's willing to risk his life for it!
He is a two-faced Buddha, a bodhisattva in public and a demon in private!
But the group of confidants and fellow villagers who only saw Zhang Juyan's bodhisattva-like appearance, spurred on by Zhang Juyan, raised an army and roared:
"Rob money, rob armor, rob women!"

For those at the bottom of society, women are always the best source of motivation! They are so desperately yearning!
As their hundred or so men charged forward, the various bandit groups behind them also began to charge, but they did not rush, as if they wanted to assess the situation further.

Meanwhile, Liu Yuanqing and his five hundred elite soldiers remained motionless, like rocks in the ground.

These scenes were naturally observed by Liu Yanzhang, who was watching from the rear. He frowned slightly but didn't say a word.

So, does it still matter whose intention it is at this moment?
Meanwhile, in the other two sections of the northern front, the bandits of Nishan and Lushan went berserk this time, fighting with all their might.

At the rear, Ruta Tianjiang and Huan Shilang stood on the chariot, shouting desperately to send groups of thieves and refugees up.

People are dead, but once we capture Xiaqiu City, we can have as many people as we want!

So they are not consuming the lives of their subordinates, but rather investing those lives to earn more lives!

You won't lose money on this.

……

As tens of thousands of rebel soldiers surged toward the northern city of Xiaqiu like a tidal wave, the generals of the Taining Army on the city walls atop Yanshou Gate in the north city also paled.

People's high expectations are often the opposite of reality.

The earliest name given to the north gate of Xiaqiu was "Yanshou" because Xiaqiu is located in southern Shandong, near the Si River, and has a flat terrain. Its only defensive weakness is the north, so most military conflicts come from the north.

Therefore, the more it was called "prolonging life," the more the reality was that all the officials, gentry, and common people in the city perished along with the city because the north gate was breached.

At this moment, Governor Li Xi, draped in a red robe, stood beneath the city wall, his expression stern as he looked at the fleeing soldiers running wildly below, and roared:

"Gentlemen, fight to the death! For the Great Tang!"

Shouts erupted from the city walls, and everyone took their positions, ready to throw rocks, pour boiling oil, and unleash arrows in a desperate fight.

Seeing this, Li nodded in satisfaction, and then asked Kang Huaizhen, who was standing below;
"Kang Yaya, how is your cavalry's rest? Are they ready for battle again?"

Hearing this, Kang Huaizhen cursed inwardly. He couldn't just overuse them because they were effective. In the past few days of defending the city, he had to lead his cavalry in three charges a day on average.

By now, food in the city is extremely scarce, and there's even less food left for the horses.

How can one live long if one eats little and works a lot?

Therefore, during this period, the warhorses in Kang Huaizhen's camp kept collapsing from exhaustion. Those that had barely survived were severely depleted of weight, and his cavalrymen couldn't bear to ride them.

At this point, the old man was still urging me to leave the city.

However, during this period of defending the city, Li Xi's talent had earned the respect of these generals, so they kept their insults to themselves and didn't dare to confront him to his face like before.

At this moment, Kang Huaizhen stepped forward with a bitter face and truthfully poured out his grievances:
"My lord, it's not that I, Kang, am unwilling to send troops, but of my eight hundred elite cavalry, only three hundred have horses available for riding. Even then, they can't ride for long; each raid requires a long rest. And just now, my men broke through one of the enemy's wizard phalanxes; we are powerless to fight again!"

After Kang Huaizhen finished speaking, Yan Bao also began to complain:

"My lord, we don't have many Yanhai troops in the city to begin with. They've been stuck on the city walls for so long. If this continues, they'll either be killed by the bandits or die from exhaustion. So why don't we talk to the bandits outside? If we can buy peace with money, we'll spend some."

This kind of thing is actually very common; it's a treaty made under duress. If it means the people inside the city can survive, then signing humiliating terms is understandable!

Today, Yan Bao has shown some noble character by taking the initiative to speak up about this matter, demonstrating his willingness to bear the blame for the people of the city.

But this remark was immediately met with a barrage of insults from someone downstairs. And not only did that person insult Yan Bao, but he also tried to come over and beat him up.

The exceptionally brave and fierce cavalry general Yan Bao dared not fight back upon seeing this man, and instead ran around Li Xi. Even so, the man opposite him still came over with his fists clenched and started hitting Yan Bao.

During the process, several strands of Li Xi's long beard were shaved off, causing him to grimace in pain, but he could only force a smile and stop the man, saying helplessly:

"Brother Kong, Brother Kong, my dear elder brother, please calm down!"

Yes, the person who came out to angrily scold and beat Yan Bao was none other than Kong Miao, the 41st generation descendant of Confucius.

Beside him stood a valiant general, holding an eighteen-foot spear, standing behind Kong Miao, glaring angrily at Yan Bao.

At this moment, Kong Miao, after being pulled back by Li Xi, angrily said:

"That Liu Yanzhang outside the city deserves to die! He went to Qufu to kill my Kong family members. Killing people is one thing, but he even dared to burn down the cypress forest. Doesn't he deserve to die?"

After saying that, he pointed at Yan Bao and angrily cursed:

"What's the point of talking to someone as heartless as that? Do you, Yan Bao, also want to be an enemy of the Kong family?"

Upon hearing this, Yan Bao shrank back as if his head were nothing, not daring to utter a word in reply.

It's not that he reveres Confucius and Confucianism, but rather that the Kong family itself is the largest family in Yanzhou, and it's no exaggeration to call it a thousand-year-old family.

Unlike other aristocratic families that moved to Chang'an, the Kong family remained in Qufu. In this city, and even in the surrounding hundreds of miles, who did not live under the influence of the Kong family?
Although Yan Bao was originally from Yunzhou, he had moved to Yanzhou long ago and knew that the Kong family was someone he couldn't afford to offend.

So even though he didn't get punched three times, he didn't dare say a word.

After Kong Miao finished venting, he said to Li Xi:
"Liangcheng, I have something to say that I can't hold back."

What could the Li faction do? They could only bow and say:

"Please speak, Lord Kong."

Kong Miao clasped his hands in a fist salute towards Chang'an in the northwest, then addressed Li Xi:

“We are all subjects of the Great Tang Dynasty, eating the emperor’s food and serving the emperor. Since His Majesty has entrusted the people of a city to us, we must defend it to the last moment. Even if things don’t go well, our lord is in the northwest, and we will die facing him, leaving behind a pure and righteous reputation in the world. Wouldn’t that be wonderful?”

What could Li Xi say? That he didn't want to die? He could only solemnly clasp his hands in a fist and palm salute to Kong Miao:

"Lord Kong, I share the same thought!"

Kong Miao's expression softened slightly, and then he pointed to the young martial artist behind him, who stood like a pine tree, wielding a spear, and said:

“This is my son, Kong Qing. He is quite brave and strong, and he can lead cavalry to charge down to the city. Since that magistrate Kang is unwilling to leave the city, let my son Kong Qing go. He will certainly live up to your expectations, sir.”

Li Xi hesitated slightly, clearly quite uneasy about entrusting the cavalry force to this young man.

Just as he was about to speak, Kang Huaizhen, who was standing nearby, became anxious and quickly clasped his hands in a gesture of respect, requesting permission:
"When did this humble general ever say he wouldn't leave the city? If the lord gives the order, this humble general will charge out immediately!"

Upon hearing this, Li Xi stroked his beard and laughed heartily.
"Good, there are no jokes in the military!"

After saying that, he winked at Yan Bao behind Li Xi without making a sound, and then went down the city with his helmet in his hand.

Yan Bao naturally followed behind, and no one was surprised.

Thus, all the nobles and dignitaries of Yanzhou gathered below the city walls, watching the furious fighting between those on and below, awaiting the thunderous strike of the Yanzhou navy's elite cavalry.

Just like the previous dozen or so times.

(End of this chapter)