Entrepreneurship in the Late Tang Dynasty

Chapter 79 Yibao
Zhao Huai'an smacked his lips and licked them with saliva. Even without anyone to back him up, he could only force himself to put on a show.

But just as he was about to speak, the chubby guy below suddenly chimed in:
"What troubles you, sir? With so many brothers like us by your side, what can't we accomplish?"

Fatty Dou's words immediately enlightened several team leaders, who all echoed his sentiments:
"Yeah yeah"

Zhao Huai'an secretly gave Dou Pangzi an approving look, then began his performance, letting out a sigh:

"Brothers, this time we've captured Qiongzhou City, aren't you thrilled? Aren't you satisfied?"

Upon hearing that this was the question, the soldiers of Baoyidu laughed and shouted:

"Great, fantastic! I haven't made this much money in years!"

"I just said that everyone who follows me will get to eat meat. I won't say anything else. The lord is my lord."

……

Hearing the commotion below, Zhao Huai'an sighed and said:

"But do you brothers know that it was this battle that cost us thirteen brothers?"

Before anyone could comfort Zhao Huai'an, the others started shouting:
"What's the big deal? Soldiers will die any day anyway. Enjoy every day as it comes. Even generals are just being pretentious."

"But we can't say that, as if our lives are as insignificant as grass."

"Is not it?"

The other end went silent.

Zhao Huai'an heard all of this, but remained silent until the noise below gradually subsided. Then he stretched out his hand, pointed to himself, and said:
“Brothers, people say that we warriors have a carefree life, eating big chunks of meat and drinking big gulps of wine, but who knows our suffering? For more than half the year, we sleep on the ground and live a life of hardship. When we go to the battlefield, we risk our lives. We might get a reward today, but we could lose our lives tomorrow and have no one to support our families.”

"Just now, Old Wang was about to give out pensions to the thirteen brothers who died in battle, only twenty strings of cash per person. Then I asked these brothers how much they had saved up, and whether their families could still make a living without them. But Old Wang told me that he had spent all the reward money that Zhao Dafa had given them before, and it was all spent on women's bellies."

“When Zhao Da distributes money, that money naturally belongs to you all, so how to spend it is none of Zhao Da’s business. But seeing the situation of these thirteen brothers, I, Zhao Da, can’t sleep.”

“Which of us doesn’t make a living with knives? But life is unpredictable, and who can say they’ll be unscathed? If you get injured or disabled, your family will lose its livelihood, and you can’t rely on anyone else. Wouldn’t that be worse than death?”

"So, Zhao Da has an idea, brothers, let's all give it a try and see what you think."

Zhao Huai'an's words struck a nerve with these soldiers. They weren't really living for the moment, but sometimes they had no choice. Who could they rely on? If they were seriously injured or crippled, they might as well just die.

But now that we all have ideas, everyone is interested and wants Zhao Da to tell us.

Zhao Huai'an glanced at the officers below and gave them a hint. It turned out that Zhao Huai'an had already spoken with these officers yesterday, and today he was taking advantage of the pretext of compensation to bring up the matter in public.

He said directly:
"Therefore, I plan to change the pension system in Baoyidu. For those who die in battle, the military will issue pensions for the corresponding number of months based on their years of service. For example, if you have served for one year, you will receive two years' worth of pensions; if you have served for two years, you will receive three years' worth; and so on. If you have served for ten years, we will issue you eleven years' worth of pensions."

"But this money is dead money in the end. Once the person is gone, the family will eventually run out of money, which is what they rely on. But you are my brothers, how can I abandon you?"

"Therefore, in addition to a one-time compensation, those who are killed or wounded will also receive a certain amount of support money for their families every year. How much of this support money is depends on your military merits and years of service."

The soldiers cheered loudly. They didn't really understand much of what they heard, but that didn't stop them from knowing one thing: they were about to receive money again.

Zhao Huai'an pressed his hands down, looked at the cheering soldiers of Baoyidu, and laughed:

"This is for compensation for those who died or were wounded in battle, but some people might say, 'Such a good policy, why can't other people in Baoyi enjoy it?'"

Zhao Huai'an clapped his hands and stomped his feet:

“I, Zhao Da, understand that everyone wants this, so I plan to do it this way. From now on, a portion of the rewards and salaries you receive will be deposited with me. This money will still be yours. Then, once you retire from the army, the capital will provide you with monthly allowances and rations.”

"To give you another example, if you served as a soldier in Baoyi for ten years and saved up four hundred strings of cash during those ten years, how much would you receive each month after you retired? Two strings! And you can receive those two strings as long as you live."

“We are Baoyidu, and in the army we are called ‘Hu Baoyi’. So I, Zhao Da, will truly provide my brothers with a guarantee for the rest of their lives, and uphold our brotherhood.”

With Zhao Huai'an's series of policies, everyone in Baoyi was completely bewildered and couldn't keep up. So someone in the crowd asked:

“Dudu, what if we can’t get this money back after giving it to the capital?”

This is the crux of the matter: can you, Zhao Da, guarantee something more than ten years from now? Don't take the money from the brothers and then run off to enjoy yourself.

Undeterred by questions, Zhao Da pointed to the one who had just spoken and shouted:

"Old Yang, why are you hiding? I know you. I was the one who took you in when we were fleeing after the Battle of Baishu." When Old Yang realized he had been recognized, he quickly chuckled and dared not speak.

But Zhao Huai'an earnestly explained to everyone:
“What Lao Yang said is definitely a concern that all of you share. I, Zhao Da, am not only not angry, but also happy that you think this way, because you truly consider Baoyidu your home and care about its future. Now I will tell you all what I think.”

“The amount of money you all receive each month is actually less than what you can send home. Most of it is spent on the merchants accompanying the army. Those people can extract all the money you earned by risking your lives from your pockets with just a few rural women. Don’t you feel like you’re losing out?”

"And now? You all receive one string of cash each month, so you pay one hundred coins as 'guarantee' money. It's a small amount for everyone, but it's a guarantee for our later years. Some people are worried that if our guarantee is gone, will this money be wasted?"

"Then let me put it bluntly, aren't you from Baoyidu? If our Baoyidu is gone, how can you still be alive? When everyone is dead, even if there's money left, it's just going to be deposited for someone else. So since we're all from Baoyidu, let's work together. This is our home. As long as our home is here, we're here. If our home is gone, we're just ghosts."

"And I, Zhao Da, would like to share some of my thoughts with you all. I am determined to make Baoyidu bigger and stronger. When the time comes, you who have invested in 'Yibao' within our du will definitely earn it back tenfold or a hundredfold."

Do you believe in me, Zhao Da?

Zhao Da spoke frankly and without any pretense, and whether the soldiers understood or not didn't matter; they all felt this sense of loyalty and righteousness.

In addition, their teammates were all cheering from the front, so they also shouted:

"You're both righteous and benevolent, no doubt about it, we all support you!"

Of course, the main reason why people are willing to save this money is that it's really not much; losing a hundred dollars a month doesn't bother them much.

Besides, which of these people lives on a fixed salary?
Thus, a conversation that was half planned and half spontaneous led to the decision on the most core system of Baoyidu, namely the "Yibao" system in the military.

Zhao Huai'an borrowed the social security system from later generations and moved it to Baoyidu. He did not do this to embezzle money from his subordinates, but to use this method to truly win over these soldiers.

If Bao Yi can provide you with lifelong pension and retirement benefits, wouldn't you risk your life for Bao Yi?

Don't be fooled by their apparent indifference to the 100 coins a month in righteous service. As they rise through the ranks, their salaries increase, and they contribute more and more. The longer they contribute, the more concerned they will become about the future of Baoyidu.

This is what a community with a shared future is all about.

Zhao Da understands people's hearts very well. Although he talks a big game whether he's standing or sitting, he doesn't play any empty tricks.

Not only are they generous with money, they also take care of your well-being for the rest of your life.

After this, which of these soldiers would dare to cause trouble at the drop of a hat?
Zhao Huai'an believed that as long as he implemented the "Yibao" system, he would be able to completely control Baoyidu.

This can even become a systemic advantage for Baoyidu. When the troops of other vassal states are suspicious, Baoyidu, connected by the Yibao system, is united and can defeat any enemy.
At this moment, Zhao Huai'an was overjoyed.

He could sense that the curse of this era of underdogs overthrowing their superiors was loosening at this moment.

Just as Zhao Huai'an was feeling smug, five or six warriors suddenly rushed in from outside the camp. One of them, a short, stocky man, leaned over the spear barricade and shouted:
"Who is 'Hu Baoyi'? This is trouble, this is trouble! Zhao Liu has been tied up outside the market by that Yan Liulang and is being hung up and beaten!"

Zhao Huai'an was looking around smugly inside and didn't hear it for a moment, but the officers and soldiers of Baoyidu on the outside all heard it.

Upon hearing that Sixth Brother had been hung up and whipped, everyone was shocked and shouted to Zhao at the front:

"Everyone, something has happened to Sixth Brother."

At this moment, Zhao Huai'an heard it, paused for a moment, and then quickly told Guo Congyun to bring over the messengers.

The short, stocky man, accompanied by several men, rushed over and bowed to Zhao Da with his hands clasped.
"Brother, I am Liu Xin from the Yanhai Army. Zhao Liu from your army bought his horse from me. I was just about to leave from the market when I saw Zhao Liu being hung up and beaten by Yan Liulang from the Chuandong Army, so I came here to report."

"Hurry up and go. Yan Liulang is really getting into it. If we stay any longer, Zhao Liu will be beaten to death."

Upon hearing this, Zhao Huai'an's face fell. Just as he was about to speak, Zhang Guinian, the secretary beside him, suddenly asked:
"The Eastern Sichuan Army has come to Qiongzhou to join forces?"

Liu Xin shook his head and said:

"It shouldn't be. I think I only saw two or three hundred people, like they just arrived in Qiongzhou City."

Before he could finish speaking, Zhao Da suddenly shouted:
"Brothers, that scoundrel from eastern Sichuan is going too far! Was that the one who slapped Lao Liu? He slapped our Bao Yidu, he slapped the faces of Zhao Da and his brothers!"

After saying that, Zhao Huai'an grabbed the whistle stick from the side of the wooden frame and shouted:
"Brothers, sticks in hand, follow me! We're going to rescue Lao Liu and show those Sichuan soldiers how powerful the Baoyi Duye are!"

And so, the Bao Yi people, each armed with sticks, knives at their waists, and crossbows, marched in a mighty procession straight to the eastern market of the city.

You think you can just smoke Lao Liu?

(End of this chapter)