Entrepreneurship in the Late Tang Dynasty

Chapter 78 Battle Damage
When He Wenqin and his companions returned to the neighborhood with six horses, they saw Wang Duo and several other gentlemen reporting to the general. Not daring to disturb them, they waited to the side, listening intently with their ears perked up.

Zhao Dazheng sat on a stool, listening to Wang Duo report on the spoils he had gathered over the past two days.

Wang Duo had been working hard these past two days, taking inventory of supplies, and the night wind had made his voice hoarse as he recited strings of numbers:

"My lord, the craftsmen in the workshops and the prisoners from various teams in the capital have all been selected. There are 164 craftsmen of various kinds, 320 servants, 79 livestock handlers, and 262 merchants and commoners of various kinds, totaling 825 people."

As he spoke, Wang Duo handed a list of names to Zhao Huai'an. The list of craftsmen was the clearest, recording what each person was good at.

These people were all protected by Zhao Huai'an in the past two days, and the price was that they were put on the roster and would be subordinate to the Baoyidu Army for life.

They lost their freedom, but gained their lives.

As Zhao Huai'an listened, the smile on his face never stopped after he sat down. This time, Baoyi had really made a fortune. In addition to these people, there were countless supplies of all kinds. Now was the time for him to reap the rewards.

Then Wang Duo handed him the booklet, which he took and began to look through.

Among them, Zhao Da was most concerned about the artisans, which were human resources that could directly improve Baoyidu's hard power. However, as he flipped through the pages, Zhao Huai'an's smile disappeared.

Why?

Just because of the craftsman skills listed above—pig raising, cattle herding, lacquer scraping, mirror polishing, copper forging—and after flipping through two pages, he finally saw someone who could forge iron, and then Zhao Da couldn't hold back any longer:

"Old Wang, is that all? After all this work, you're telling me that all the craftsmen we captured can do? What use are they to me? I need carpenters, blacksmiths, knife makers, armorers—the more the better."

Wang Duo wiped the sweat from his forehead and quickly explained:
"My lord, all those in Qiongzhou City who knew these skills were taken away by the Nanzhao people before. Of these seventy-odd craftsmen, only twenty or thirty can actually make a living."

Zhao Da, his face showing displeasure, spread out the booklet and asked Wang Duo to find those who knew how to forge armor and weapons. After Wang Duo pointed them out one by one, he finally said with a stern face:

"Old Wang, from now on, let's put the information we care about first. Otherwise, it's too much trouble to look for them one by one."

Wang Duo quickly made a mental note of this, and from then on, he would put the information that his lord cared about first.

Zhao Huai'an looked through the information of these craftsmen one by one, and suddenly saw a name, Pu Song, followed by the comment "skilled in knife making". He immediately asked:
"What do you think of this Pu Song?"

Wang Duo had a good memory and quickly described the man's situation:

“This man is one of the few remaining knife makers in the West Ward. I asked others, and they said he used to be a famous knife maker in Qiongzhou. He even had a shop before, but after the Nanzhao people entered the city, they all gathered in this ward.”

Zhao Huai'an nodded, and was about to ask Wang Duo to bring the man over for a look, but after thinking about it, he decided to listen to the report first.

So he flipped through the remaining list again, noted down a few who could forge swords and make armor, and then put the booklet aside.

Then he asked Wang Duo:

"Besides these people, what about the prisoners from Nanzhao? Have they been properly identified?"

Wang Duo replied:

"Those who remained in Qiongzhou City were mostly from various tribes of Nanzhao, including those from western Sichuan, central Guizhou, and even some from the Annam Protectorate. There were quite a few of them, but because our lord had said that those who could not speak Chinese and those who could not fight were not to be accepted, only thirty-eight people were selected in the end, which was not many."

Zhao Huai'an nodded. He had risen in status now, unlike when he first arrived. He wasn't going to hire just anyone.

These prisoners were considered elite, and Zhao Huai'an had no intention of selling them to merchants; instead, he decided to keep them for himself.

In the past few days, Zhao Huai'an had vaguely sensed a change: the morale of the army seemed to have shifted from one extreme to another.

When they were in Shuangliu, the generals had no will to fight when they saw tens of thousands of Nanzhao troops approaching, and only wanted to avoid battle. But now the situation has reversed, and they can't wait to chase and kill those Nanzhao troops.

Zhao Huai'an heard that yesterday many generals went to Commander Yang's side to request to fight and pursue the Nanzhao army in the Yazhou area.

Don't tell me it was Gao Pian who brought reinforcements, so everyone gained confidence.

It should be noted that Gao Pian did not send a single soldier to their front line; the soldiers were the same ones from the previous battle at Baishushui, and even fewer in number.

But what about now? Everyone is full of fighting spirit, why is that?

Zhao Huai'an pondered that it was probably because everyone discovered that the Nanzhao army was now incredibly wealthy. Although they hadn't reached Chengdu, they had plundered almost half of western Sichuan.

How could such a vast amount of supplies and wealth be transported back to Nanzhao in a short time? This can be seen from the spoils seized by the Nanzhao army that remained to defend Qiongzhou, and these were only the outer tribes of the Nanzhao army.

Therefore, everyone is now in high spirits. Not to mention chasing the Nanzhao people, many people would even volunteer to invade Nanzhao.

Zhao Huai'an sometimes secretly wondered if these soldiers were deliberately retreating so that the Nanzhao army could come in and plunder, and then they could legitimately take it back.

Given the current state of morale within the army, Zhao Huai'an had to plan ahead. Although his chief secretary, Zhang Guinian, had previously analyzed with him that the court was unlikely to allow Gao Pian to launch a counterattack into Nanzhao.

But again, what if?
Zhao Huai'an never thought he was superior or that something should be done a certain way.

He likes to prepare contingency plans for every possible situation, so that he has a ready hand to play when the corresponding situation occurs.

And now, the surrender of these Nanzhao warriors who speak Chinese is precisely in preparation for this.

If they actually manage to launch a counterattack and invade Nanzhao later, these people will be of great use.

After asking about the returns, Zhao Huai'an pursed his lips and asked the next question:
"Have we compiled a breakdown of our losses in this siege?"

Wang Duo learned his lesson this time and didn't speak about this part himself, but instead let Xue Hang explain it.

Young Xue Hang, thinking it was his chance to shine, blushed and began to report:
"In this battle, we broke 36 shields, damaged 40 swords, lost or broke 30 long weapons of various types, and also lost about 40 longbows, bowstrings, and flails. In addition, we lost one horse."

Upon hearing that one of their warhorses had died, Zhao Huai'an was heartbroken and immediately asked:

"How come a warhorse was lost during the siege?"

Upon hearing Zhao Huai'an ask this question, Xue Hang finally realized what was going on. He quickly glanced at Wang Duo beside him, only to find Wang Duo's eyes glazed over. At that moment, he felt bitter.

Gritting his teeth, Xue Hang honestly replied:

"General, the loss of this warhorse was reported by the detachment commander. He said that the horse was hit by an arrow while he was commanding the siege."

Zhao Huai'an nodded, didn't ask that question again, and instead continued to ask about the rest:
How many of our brothers were injured this time?

Xue Hang quickly replied:

"The losses of the various teams were not many. The reports indicate that a total of thirteen were killed and six were wounded. However, each team said that they needed a group of armor repairmen, as their armor was damaged in the battle."

Zhao Huai'an sighed. In war, the battle is certainly exciting and passionate, but only after the battle is over can we determine whether the battle was a gain or a loss.

Despite having built up a modest business now, he still can't keep up with Bao Yidu's daily expenses.

The daily expenses for money and food were like filling a bottomless pit; nothing was ever seen after throwing it in, but these expenses still had to be met.

These soldiers may seem to listen to Zhao Da now, and he may seem like a big shot, but believe it or not, if he can't pay wages, these men will come with knives to demand their pay.

If it were just the prescribed money and provisions, that would be one thing, but Zhao Huai'an also had to bear the daily losses of supplies. Every time there was a loss of military equipment during an operation or battle, it was reported to Zhao Huai'an, and he was responsible for reissuing it.

But even with all this effort, if you lose just once, all those investments will be wiped out.

Building an army is the most difficult business venture, bar none.

For example, right now, the loss of military equipment and the replenishment of warhorses both require money, especially for the thirteen brothers who were killed or wounded, for whom he also needs to provide compensation.

The battlefield is a life-or-death situation, unlike his regular job where he collects a salary. If Zhao Da dares to deceive his men and dishearten them, they will dare to deceive him on the battlefield.

So, Zhao Huai'an rubbed his hands together and did some calculations, then asked:

"Has the compensation been calculated properly?"

What's the point of calculating the compensation for thirteen people? Wang Duo rattled off a story:
“Since the implementation of the Two Taxes, our Tang army has been paying pensions based on twenty-four months’ salary. These thirteen men are all Red-Headed Soldiers, each receiving ten strings of cash a year, so the total pension for the thirteen men is two hundred and sixty strings of cash.”

Zhao Huai'an frowned, shook his head, and then said to Zhao Wenzhong, who was accompanying him:

“Take Beiwei and call all the brothers from each team over. Zhao Da wants to talk to them.”

Zhao Wenzhong had been eating well lately and had grown a bit taller. He chuckled and then, supporting his sword, went to relay the order.

……

Watching Zhao Wenzhong run away, Zhao Huai'an looked around again but didn't see Zhao Liu. Puzzled, he asked:

"Where did Lao Liu go? He disappears whenever something happens."

He Wenqin, who had been waiting backstage, heard this and quickly replied:

"All of them, Sixth Brother is still in Caoshi, saying there's some excitement he wants to see."

Zhao Huai'an muttered something, then ignored him and waited for all the brothers to arrive.

Now, Baoyi has nearly two thousand people, including all kinds of prisoners. Naturally, they are not stationed in one place, but are scattered around Zhao Huai'an's tent, stationed in the nearby neighborhoods in groups.

A dozen or so men ran off to various places, and soon returned with their respective teams.

Zhao Huai'an watched as more and more people surged forward, and he felt satisfied:

"As expected of someone who has fought tough battles, the brothers' response speed is quite good."

Before long, when all the team leaders came out and stood around the curtain on both sides, Zhao Huai'an had the Yishe men remove the curtain and then stand on the boxes behind it.

Seeing the soldiers of Baoyi Army surrounding him, Zhao Huai'an cleared his throat and his first words were:
"Brothers, there's something that's been bothering me, Zhao Da, like a fishbone stuck in my throat. I can't sleep at night whenever I think about it."

Just as Zhao Huai'an was about to launch into a passionate speech, he saw the blank stares of the crowd below, with no one offering any support, and sighed inwardly.
"Sixth brother, I miss you."

(End of this chapter)