Entrepreneurship in the Late Tang Dynasty

Chapter 83 Joining the gang
As dawn breaks in the east, the golden rooster crows at daybreak.

A beautiful morning begins with being shaken awake.

Zhao Da opened his eyes groggily, his mind completely blank. Thanks to the rest he had taken in Qiongzhou these past few days, he was in excellent condition.

After getting up, Mao Niang helped Zhao Da get dressed, and then handed over the breakfast that Lao Mo and the others had prepared.

The food is simple, just a bowl of noodle soup, but the soup base is made with care, using mutton bone broth and sprinkled with chopped green onions.

So it does taste delicious and refreshing.

Zhao Da looked up and saw that Mao Niang had already dressed up at some point.

She had drawn her eyebrows, applied floral decorations, dotted her cheeks with rouge, painted her lips, and put on a pretty new red silk dress.

She wore a light gauze robe that partially revealed her chest, and her hair was styled in a Tang-style crooked, elegant updo, making her stand there gracefully.

But what attracted Zhao Da the most were those jade-like feet.

Whether intentionally or unintentionally, Mao Niang may have discovered Zhao Da's little quirk. At this moment, she was barefoot on the wool carpet, her steps light and agile, as if she could start dancing at any moment.

It's strange, really. Mao Niang is quite diligent. Every time Zhao Da falls asleep, Mao Niang is still awake. When Zhao Da wakes up, Mao Niang is already awake.

In all the days they've spent together, Zhao Da hasn't even seen Mao Niang without her face once; she's really going all out.

But what man wouldn't like to be treated like that by a woman?
At this moment, Zhao Da was eating soup dumplings while talking to Mao Niang:

“Mao Niang, I’m used to being easygoing, there’s no need to be so formal, please make yourself at home.”

Mao Niang smiled. She liked Zhao Da's gentleness and could feel that the person in front of her genuinely respected her.

She smiled and replied in exceptionally fluent Tang language:

“My lord, you are destined for great things. I am too weak to even kill a chicken and cannot help you on the battlefield. I can only do what I can in these ways. If you won’t even let me do these things, I don’t know what to do.”

Zhao Da nodded, then suddenly mentioned what had happened that day. He felt that Mao Niang, as a former high-ranking dancer, should be very knowledgeable about officialdom, so he asked:

"Mao Niang, today Envoy Gao is returning to Qiongzhou. I will be going with the generals to welcome his carriage in a little while. What do you think I should give him?"

Mao Niang thought for a moment, then said softly:
"Elder brother, you are from a famous family, and people say that the Prime Minister loves to practice swordsmanship. But I think that a man like him must love elegance. If you can get your hands on a book by a master calligrapher and present it to him, you will be different from the other generals."

Mao Niang's words made Zhao Da's eyes light up. He immediately thought of a letter he had seized from the Nanzhao people. At the time, Wang Duo was quite excited, saying that the letter belonged to Qiao Zhou of the Shu Han Dynasty and was very precious.

Zhao Da didn't know who Qiao Zhou was, but he thought that Wang Xizhi was only from the Eastern Jin Dynasty, while Qiao Zhou was even earlier, from the Three Kingdoms period. Even if he wasn't as good as Wang Xizhi, he was definitely still valuable.

Zhao Da originally intended to give the letter to Old Wang, but now it seems that Old Wang will have to make do with this gift.

Having put his mind at ease, Zhao Da couldn't help but rub Mao Niang's hand and chuckle.

Mao Niang's pretty face flushed red, but her tone remained firm:
"Young Master, welcoming the envoy is an extremely important matter and cannot be delayed. You are a man destined for great things; how can you indulge in women?"

Zhao Da was stunned for a moment, then burst into laughter, patted Mao Niang's bottom, and left the tent.

At this moment, the twenty-two captains, already fully armed and ready, stood guard outside the tent. Seeing the generals emerge from the tent, they sang in unison:

"This humble general has met with the general."

With utmost respect and sincerity, no one can disobey him.

When Zhao Da came out, Zhao Wenzhong's several adopted sons were already holding armor to his side. They immediately put the armor on their adoptive father, and finally Zhao Liu handed over the feathered helmet, while Lao Mo presented him with a crimson cloak.

In the blink of an eye, a heroic and dashing Tang Dynasty general appeared before the crowd.

Zhao Huai'an chuckled and looked around:

"Come, come with me to see Minister Gao."

The generals all bowed in unison and followed Zhao Da out in single file.

Only Zhang Guinian, standing in the crowd, seemed to have noticed something in Zhao Da's words and appeared to be deep in thought.

……

Zhao Da led his troops out of the western city of Qiongzhou, galloping for twenty li until they reached Furen Garrison, which was close to Yazhou.

Yang Qingfu had already arrived here with his generals and soldiers to welcome Gao Pian's returning carriage.

Commanders like Zhao Huai'an arrived today to settle their troops.

Along the way, Zhao Liu, who had been unwilling to speak, suddenly increased his horse's speed, galloped to Zhao Huai'an's side, and hummed:
"Zhao Da, was our old commander really killed by Gao Pian?"

Zhao Huai'an knew that this matter couldn't be kept secret for long, especially since someone like Zhao Liu, who liked to move around between different armies, would find out sooner or later.

He didn't dwell on the topic, but instead gripped his riding crop and said, "I, Zhao Da, am a man who repays kindness and avenges wrongs. I never forget those who have been good to me, even when I'm sleeping at night. Six, we'll remember this matter firmly in our hearts, and one day, we'll get justice for the old marshal."

Zhao Liu kept his lips pursed, then suddenly glanced at Sun Chuanwei in the cavalry, and nodded emphatically.

As he watched the distant green mountains flash by, Zhao Da's thoughts wandered. He inexplicably recalled the words Yang Qingfu had spoken when he sent the Nanzhao crown prince to Yang Qingfu:
“Eldest son, do you know that ‘the tallest tree in the forest will be felled by the wind, and the most outstanding person will be criticized by the masses’? In this battle, you have already made the greatest contribution. Originally, I could have directly offered you the position of military commander, and the position of left wing military commander under my command is still vacant. But now that you have captured the crown prince of Nanzhao, this matter has become more complicated.”

Yang Qingfu wasn't trying to play tricks on Zhao Da, nor was he trying to steal his credit. It was because Zhao Huaian's repeated performances had convinced Yang Qingfu to win over this powerful figure in the military.

He explained in detail to Zhao Da the changes in the upper echelons of the Sichuan-Western military governorship after Gao Pian's arrival.

Firstly, with the departure of former military governor Niu Cong, the various factions in western Sichuan are now leaderless. Many local warlords are quite resistant to Gao Pian's arrival, and they hope that Yang Qingfu can step forward and lead everyone to stand up to Gao Pian.

But Yang Qingfu was not so naive. This was because Gao Pian, the high-ranking official, not only had the righteousness of the court, but more importantly, when he took office, he brought with him five battalions of troops from Tianping, Zhaoyi, Changwu, Fufang, and Hedong, as well as two thousand soldiers from Shannan West Road who came by imperial decree, bringing the total number of troops under his command to more than 17,000.

Although the entire town of Chuanxi had 50,000 soldiers, its strength had been greatly weakened due to repeated conflicts with Nanzhao. In addition, all the military leaders below were agile and nimble. How could Yang Qingfu be the one to take the lead?

Therefore, he naturally pledged his loyalty to Gao Pian and disgraced himself to put Gao Pian at ease.

Moreover, Zhou Congyu, the military supervisor who had previously represented the emperor among the regional military governors, also began to endorse Gao Pian.

The day before Yang Qingfu attacked Qiongzhou, his junior supervisor Zhang Chengye came to the army and told Yang Qingfu to follow the arrangements of the new military governor.

In fact, after Gao Pian personally led 5,000 infantry and cavalry to attack Yazhou and defeated the Nanzhao army there, the overall situation became clear. At worst, the Tang army could drive the Nanzhao army back south of the Dadu River.

In this way, Gao Pian will surely be able to secure his position as the military governor of western Sichuan, so what's the point of Zhou Congyu and Yang Qingfu making a fuss?
But this also means that western Sichuan has entered an era of Gao Pian's autocratic rule.

However, this situation is not a good thing for Zhao Da.

Why? Not because of his background with Niu Cong, but because of his connection to Huang Jingfu, who was executed by Gao Pian.

If Zhao Da had been just an ordinary person, Gao Pian might not have cared, given the guarantors of several important figures.

But now, as Zhao's achievements grow, his previous background becomes increasingly conspicuous.

Would Gao Pian feel that Zhao Da might be a hindrance to him? This is a gamble no one wants to take.

So, barring any unforeseen circumstances, the generals in the army will increasingly ostracize Zhao Huai'an, until he is sent to be a scapegoat in battle.

The darkness within the army was something that Zhao Da, a mere junior officer, could never comprehend.

But now, Yang Qingfu told him that he was willing to support Zhao Da, that he was willing to smooth things over with Gao Pian for Zhao Da, and even to vouch for Zhao Da's loyalty.

However, Zhao Da's credit for capturing the crown prince should be shared with his son in half.

In other words, the military reports sent to Chang'an needed to include the statement that Zhao Da and his son Yang Shifan had captured the Nanzhao crown prince.

Zhao Da had initially thought Yang Shuai's assessment of the situation was serious, but it turned out to be nothing more than this?

Before he captured Prince Longshun of Nanzhao, he had already discussed it with several advisors in the army. They knew that he could not and should not enjoy the credit alone, so he sent the prince directly to Yang Qingfu's camp.

If he wanted to eat alone, he couldn't just send Long Shun to Gao Pian's place.

So naturally he was willing.

But then Zhao Da suddenly realized something else: Yang Qingfu probably didn't care about the military merits; he just wanted to recruit Zhao Da into his group.

Yang Qingfu is backing him up, probably to make Gao Pian think that we are Yang Qingfu's people.

As for military achievements or his son's future, those are probably not things he cares about.

At that moment, Zhao Da suddenly realized a dialectical relationship regarding power.

When a leader suddenly tells you about the power struggle at the top, it means they consider you a confidant, but it also means you've already stepped halfway into that power vortex and can no longer stay out of it.

At that moment, Zhao Da understood that if he agreed to Yang Qingfu's conditions, his relationship with Yang Qingfu might far surpass that of Song Jian before, and truly have the flavor of advancing and retreating together.

Zhao Da hesitated for only a moment before bowing to Yang Qingfu, thus joining the group.

Zhao Da was quite accepting of Lao Yang as the leader.

Zhao Da guessed correctly. Yang Qingfu laughed heartily and not only called in his son Yang Shifan, but also another important confidant, Zhao Da's sworn brother Xianyu Yue.

It turns out we were all one family.

……

As Zhao Da's cavalry drew closer to Furen Garrison, a makeshift camp appeared on the plain ahead, where Yang Qingfu was to meet Gao Pian's carriage.

With a roar, Zhao Da led his troops on horseback straight ahead.

(End of this chapter)