Entrepreneurship in the Late Tang Dynasty

Chapter 2 Armor
The mountains and forests were filled with cold and damp fog, and the sky was dark and gloomy.

Zhao Huaian crushed the rotten leaves on the mountain path with his leather boots, kicked up some red mud, and walked to a towering tree.

A single tree makes a forest.

Zhao Huaian looked up at the tree from below. The huge crown was like a car hood, covering the surroundings in darkness.

It's such a big tree, I don't know how many years it will take to grow.

But at this time, Zhao Huaian did not show any curiosity at all, but his face was full of frustration.

Because this was the third time Zhao Huaian came here and saw this "familiar" towering tree.

Yes, Zhao Huaian is lost.

He had come here before, but after walking around in the woods, he found himself back to where he started.

Zhao Huaian didn't believe it, so he changed direction and continued walking, and then he arrived here again.

Zhao Huaian didn't give up until he had walked in three directions and still couldn't get out of the dense forest.

It’s really evil.

After walking such a long distance wearing armor and carrying a backpack, even though Zhao Huaian has a strong physique, he is now out of breath.

He walked to the giant tree, chose a root that protruded from the ground and sat down, and began to think about what to do next.

Following the direction of the sun?

But Zhao Huaian raised his head and felt discouraged. The dense forest blocked out the sunlight, so how could he see the sun?
In the direction the woods grow?
Zhao Huaian had learned some knowledge about wilderness survival before. He heard that excellent wilderness survivors could determine the direction by the growth of trees.

For example, whichever side has more lush trees might be the south.

But at this moment, Zhao Huaian just wanted to ask, which good person can tell which side of the original old forest has more lush trees?

He just took a gamble and chose a place that looked lush and green, but didn't he end up back here?
Now, Zhao Huaian can only find another way.

However, apart from the "little trouble" of getting lost, Zhao Huaian made a bigger discovery.

That is, his body is a physical devil.

He was wearing a full set of armor, which weighed at least 60 kilograms in total. If he carried equipment and a bag, it would have weighed at least 80 or 90 kilograms.

And what about Zhao Huaian? He carried such a heavy burden, yet he was able to walk in the forest for so long and only felt tired now.

What is this? This is natural material for being a beast of burden.

With this kind of physical fitness combined with some weapon fighting skills that Zhao Huaian has learned, he feels safe.

……

Sitting on the thick tree roots, Zhao Huaian took out the yellow gourd from his waist.

This is the standard equipment for Tang army warriors, specially used to hold water.

Zhao Huaian shook the gourd slightly, but heard no sound, and his heart sank immediately.

He was still not giving up, so he opened the cork again, held up the gourd and opened his mouth to drink water.

But even though the boss opened his mouth so wide, only a few drops dripped from the gourd.

Zhao Huaian wanted to slap himself in the face. How could he have drunk all the water without realizing it?

In fact, there are puddles in the forest. Just as he was walking along the way, he saw several small puddles.

But Zhao Huaian didn't dare drink any of this water.

If you get diarrhea or dysentery in this dense forest, you could be dead.

Zhao Huaian sighed and felt cold in his heart.

Now he had only one last option, which was to risk going to the nearby river to get water.

Another advantage is that there are always valleys next to rivers, and these winding valleys are natural channels.

As long as you walk up along the river valley, you will definitely come across a settlement.

But there is one thing: it is too dangerous. It is too easy to encounter the enemy when walking through the river valley.

Originally, he walked through the forest to avoid the enemy troops, but in the current situation, it seems that he can only take the risk and take the valley road.

After sipping the last two drops of water in the gourd, Zhao Huaian picked up his Mo Dao, carried his bag and turned right.

……

The sound of water became louder and louder, and Zhao Huaian quickened his pace.

The sword swept across the old vines at the edge of the forest, sweeping away a gust of dead leaves. When Zhao Huaian walked out of the forest, he saw the scene before him:
On the steep cliff, a white stream was hanging down in the air, and the surging waterfall splashed countless water vapors directly onto Zhao Huaian's face.

Zhao Huaian was already sweating profusely from walking, and the moisture made him shiver.

Looking at the waterfall, Zhao Huaian thought to himself:
"No wonder I could hear the sound of water from so far away. I didn't expect there was a big waterfall here. This one is much bigger than the one I saw in Lushan before."

With a little resentment towards his previous life, Zhao Huaian wiped his face, and his fingers were wet with something, not sure if it was water vapor or sweat.

Looking at such a large river, Zhao Huaian felt even more thirsty, but he did not go down to drink water directly. Instead, he tiptoed to a higher place.

There was a huge rock there, which just blocked Zhao Huaian's figure. He lay on the rock, looked around, and only retreated after making sure that there was no one nearby.

The more this happens, the tighter the strings in your head should be.

Zhao Huaian went down to the river after many twists and turns, took out the gourd, turned his back to the river, and pressed the gourd into the water.

He continued to look around, and only after making sure that there was no danger did he take off his helmet, casually put his Mo Dao, horn bow, and bag on his left hand, and then turned around.

Zhao Huaian scooped up the cool river water and rubbed his face. After crawling out of the pile of corpses, the blood on Zhao Huaian's face was crusted, and only now did he wash his face properly.

Looking at the face reflected in the water, Zhao Huaian grinned.

Not bad, what a handsome young man.

Just when Zhao Huaian was enjoying himself, a burst of scolding suddenly came from upstream.

"You're a coward, you're shameless. I look honest and easy to bully. Three of you are chasing me."

Amidst the curses, a man wearing a turban and a coarse linen green robe ran down the river valley road in front.

Zhao Huaian fell to the ground the moment he heard the noise. He did not grab the Mo Dao next to him, but pulled out half of the horizontal sword tied to his right waist.

Zhao Huaian calmly observed the front, listened to the familiar Guanzhong dialect, and made up his mind.

But as I watched, I couldn't help feeling a little strange.

That’s right, the man from Guanzhong was indeed being chased. Not long after he rushed out, three warriors in leather armor caught up with him.

These people spoke in a language that Zhao Huaian couldn't understand, but just by looking at their expressions he could tell they were cursing.

Everything is correct up to here.

But when the man from Guanzhong kept running towards Zhao Huaian, Zhao Huaian saw clearly what was in the man's hand.

What is that? A suona?
But before Zhao Huaian could continue observing, he saw the Guanzhong man who was escaping with the suona shouting at him:
"Fellow villagers, please help me. There are Nanzhao barbarians behind us. They are very vicious and will not let us go."

Zhao Huaian was caught off guard by this sentence. Before he could figure out where he was exposed, he saw the three leather-armored warriors who were chasing the Guanzhong man stopped.

One of them pointed at Zhao Huaian and chattered with his friends next to him.

On one side is the familiar Guanzhong dialect, and on the other side is the completely incomprehensible bird language. Isn't it obvious who is the enemy and who is the friend?
So, Zhao Huaian no longer hid, grabbed the horn bow placed aside, and shot an arrow towards the opposite side.

From standing up to drawing the bow, Zhao Huaian's entire set of movements were smooth and fluid. As the standard hard bow of the Tang army, the horn bow was extremely powerful and could shoot two hundred steps when fully drawn.

The three Nanzhao warriors were only a few dozen steps away and were living targets.

Indeed, the three Nanzhao warriors were stunned when they saw Zhao Huaian stand up and draw his bow.

But the next moment, the arrow did not hit anyone, but instead fell steadily into the river next to it and disappeared.

After staying for a while, the three of them laughed and then went straight to Zhao Huaian.

Kill this guy.

……

Zhao Huaian was also embarrassed by his own arrow. He clearly shot the person, so why did it miss so far?
Seeing the Nanzhao warriors rushing towards him with short swords, Yu blades and Duo sheaths in their hands, Zhao Huaian was not afraid, but drew out his horizontal sword.

At this time, he calmly shouted to the person beside him:
"Brother, there is a sword on the shore. Hold it and support me."

But no one responded to Zhao Huaian.

The man from Guanzhong ran back without looking back, with no intention of fighting alongside Zhao Huaian.

Zhao Huaian was stunned. This is the simple and honest Qin people? This is our Tang Dynasty ancestor?
Zhao Huaian felt aggrieved when he thought that he had only been there for one day and had already experienced the warmth and coldness of human nature.

But he had no time to curse now, as the three Nanzhao warriors had already rushed over.

The three men were obviously elite soldiers of the Nanzhao Army. Like Zhao Huaian, they were fully armed, except for their lack of armor.

The three warriors moved swiftly, one of them charged forward with a spear and sword, while the other two held blades and short knives from both wings. Their tactics were very clear.

Zhao Huaian took a deep breath, kicked his back foot, and moved his sword, then slashed at the Nanzhao warrior in front.

This person is holding a long weapon and poses the greatest threat.

The man didn't expect Zhao Huaian to be so fast even with his armor on. He subconsciously used his spear and sword to block.

But the next moment, the wooden spear handle broke, and then the sharp sword cut his neck, spurting out hot blood.

After cutting off an enemy's neck, Zhao Huaian did not stop, but ran forward.

The Nanzhao warriors on both sides did not expect Zhao Huaian to run away, so they turned around and chased after him.

But the next moment, Zhao Huaian in front suddenly stopped, then turned around, and the horizontal sword that was originally dragged to the right chopped back.

The blow was too fast. The Nanzhao warrior on Zhao Huaian's right was completely unprepared and was hit on the skull by the knife.

The fighting had not lasted four breaths when two of the three Nanzhao warriors were dead.

All of this was seen by the man from Guanzhong who was standing behind him, and he made a decision immediately.

……

While killing people, Zhao Huaian heard these words:

"Don't panic, fellow countryman, I'm coming."

Then, he saw the man from Guanzhong running back again, and this time he was really angry and laughed.

After beheading the last Nanzhao warrior, Zhao Huaian did not hesitate and slashed at the "simple" Guanzhong man with a knife.

But the next moment, the man slid to his knees, hugged Zhao Huaian's thighs and cried:

"My fellow countryman, I've had such a hard time finding you!"

Zhao Huaian was stunned. Looking at the man from Guanzhong who was showing his true feelings, Dou Yi said:

"Does this person know himself?"

(End of this chapter)