Entrepreneurship in the Late Tang Dynasty

Chapter 24 Episode
Seeing Sun Chuanxiu approaching, Zhao Huaian supported himself and jumped off the cart, taking the initiative to greet him.

He waved to Sun Chuanxiu and said kindly:
"Old Sun, how did you find time to come to my place? Come on, Envoy Song just brought some tea, let's try it together."

As he spoke, Zhao Huaian grabbed Sun Chuanxiu's hand and scolded Zhao Liu, who was in a daze on the baggage cart:

"Sixth Brother, what are you doing? Quick!"

Sun Chuanxiu, who was standing beside him, had a hint of embarrassment on his face when he heard what Envoy Song said. Now, after hearing Zhao Huaian scolding him, he waved his hands respectfully and said:

"Mr. Zhao, there's really no need. I'm here to ask for a favor."

Seeing that Sun Chuanxiu really had something to discuss with him, Zhao Huaian took Sun Chuanxiu to the edge of a dirt slope, and then asked Zhao Liu and the others to continue following the team.

Sun Chuanxiu stood by, watching Zhao Huaian's team push four carts of captured goods past him. He finally spoke:
"Mr. Zhao, do you have any extra armor to sell?"

Looking at Zhao Huaian's surprised expression, he knew that what he said was a bit too much, and hurriedly explained:
"Mr. Zhao, our righteous army was hastily formed, and we are short on armor, staffs, and weapons. Yesterday, I saw that you had quite a bit of military supplies, so I wanted to make a deal with you."

Zhao Huaian didn't say anything, wondering in his heart whether Sun Chuanxiu in front of him had received instructions from someone and was attracted by his family background. But thinking about how the envoy Song Jiansong had taken good care of him, he shouldn't be so blind now, right?

Thinking of this, Zhao Huaian organized his tone and said to Sun Chuanxiu frankly:
"Armor is something that every family considers essential. Who would sell it? I'm afraid I can't help you with this, Old Sun."

Unexpectedly, Sun Chuanxiu pointed at the twenty or so men opposite him and said to Zhao Huaian:

"Mr. Zhao, I came to you because I knew you were there. I saw that your army was short of men, so I brought a group of brave men from the village to you. I just wanted to exchange them for some armor and swords."

Speaking of this, the big man stammered and pleaded:
"Please, Zhao Jun."

Zhao Huaian didn't expect that Sun Chuanxiu would directly use people for exchange. This time he was a little tempted and looked at the more than 20 people.

Unlike the five-inch tall men in his team, the people brought by Sun Chuanxiu were much taller. Although they were not as tall as his eight-foot tall man, they could be called "good men".

Thinking of this, Zhao Huaian nodded and said to Sun Chuanxiu:
"Old Sun, let me give you three pieces of armor and forty swords. They are all genuine Tibetan swords. Is that okay with you?"

Sun Chuanxiu was overjoyed. He never expected Zhao Huaian to be so generous. He rubbed his fingers excitedly for a while.

But Zhao Huaian made a request, that is, if these people have wives and children, they should be sent over as well, so that he would dare to recruit them as his followers.

Sun Chuanxiu also understood what Zhao Da meant and nodded quickly:

"Mr. Zhao, these are the people who have fled to our military camp in recent years to avoid the chaos. They have nothing to do with our camp. Their families, old and young, will be sent to Mr. Zhao after I return to the camp and ask the commander for instructions."

Sun Chuanxiu clasped his fists and said:

"Mr. Zhao, we will never forget your kindness in helping our righteous army. In the future, if you have any orders, we will do our utmost to fulfill them."

Having said that, Sun Chuanxiu happily called the twenty-three soldiers over.

Sun Chuanxiu couldn't help but be unhappy. The Baoyi Army was really in such a miserable state. After so many years, the Baoyi Army had almost degenerated into a group of mountain huts. If Chengdu hadn't remembered this heroic group of young men, they would not have been able to form an army.

With the organization, the Baoyi Army will not be short of people.

Four years ago, Nanzhao invaded western Sichuan, and many nearby residents fled. Many of them joined the Baoyi Army. In addition to the other powerful border guards who had not been able to make it in recent years, the Baoyi Army could directly mobilize thousands of people if something happened.

But the Baoyi Army just had no military supplies. Chengdu didn't even provide them with any, and just gave them an empty organization.

The Baoyi Army was no different from a mountain hut before, so how could they have important equipment such as armor? These things could not be bought even if they wanted to, so the entire army had only a dozen or so pieces of armor, and they were all antiques.

Just like Sun Chuanxiu, he was considered a general in the Baoyi Army, but the armor he wore was still the one passed down from his grandfather, and it was so shabby.

Why do the Zhongwu Army look down on the Baoyi Army? This is the reason. In the army, if you don't have armor, you have no fighting power and your status is low.

At first, Sun Chuanxiu planned to think of a solution from Song Jian. After all, in the previous ambush on the Nanzhao people, they had seized more than a hundred pieces of iron armor, but they were all divided up by the Tujiang and Zhongwu Army.

Sun Chuanxiu felt that he had contributed to the rescue of Song Jian, but who knew that he didn't even see the other person's family. He was really discriminated against.

Finally, it was Sun Chuanxiu who heard from the general named Ren Tong that Zhao Huaian had armor, and if he could exchange it for good men, maybe it would work.

That's why Sun Chuanxiu came to Zhao Huaian to give it a try, and he didn't expect it to work at the first try. He was so happy.

……

Seeing the twenty-three soldiers coming over, Sun Chuanxiu was actually a little reluctant to leave, because they were indeed all good men, and three of them were brave. It was just that they were not from the village and had never been treated as direct subordinates.

But after thinking about the three pieces of iron armor, Sun Chuanxiu still felt it was worth it. He said to a bearded soldier who was leading the group:
"Han Da, you will follow this Mr. Zhao from now on. Your family will be sent to you later. These are all recommended by Mr. Zhao. He is a good husband. You must serve him well."

When the bearded soldier arrived, he knew he was going to be sold out. He clasped his fists and said loudly to Sun Chuanxiu:
"Sun Tou, the village has been very kind to us over the past four years. We have nothing to offer in return. Giving up my life in exchange for military supplies and weapons is our way of repaying you."

After saying that, he and two other burly soldiers took the lead and bowed to Sun Chuanxiu.

Sun Chuanxiu sighed, knowing what Han Da meant. It was that from now on, all ties between them and the village would be gone, and they would no longer owe the village the favor of shelter from four years ago.

For a moment, Sun Chuanxiu was quite depressed and could only force a smile to Zhao Huaian beside him:
"Mr. Zhao, they are all good men. I will hand them over to you today." Although he knew that his words were a bit over the top, he still couldn't help but ask:

"Mr. Zhao, treat them well. They are really good."

Zhao Huaian nodded. He also realized that these people did have certain military qualities, especially the three in front. They had strong bodies, thick bones, and steady and powerful lower bodies. Especially their eyes, they were very straight.

This deal made a lot of money.

So, he smiled and said to Han Da and others:

"Okay, from now on you will follow me, we will eat meat together, wear clothes together, and share happiness together..."

Having said that, Zhao Huaian looked at these people seriously:
"So, we share the same hardships! From now on, you will be my brothers, Zhao Da!"

Han Da and the others looked at each other. Of course, they didn't dare to really think about being brothers with Zhao Langjun, but they felt comfortable hearing it in their hearts. They could see that Zhao Langjun was indeed a man who loved Han people.

Then everyone sang:
"I greet you, my Lord."

Zhao Huaian laughed out loud when he heard this, and his team became stronger again.

He was satisfied with these people, so he delivered the goods promptly. He brought Sun Chuanxiu to a baggage cart and said to Aqi Mo who was guarding it:
"Old Mo, please light forty Tibetan swords from the car and give them to this Mr. Sun."

Although Aqi Mo is a bit older, his cultural quality is the best among this group of Yi people. He is one of the few and is definitely a highly educated talent.

He glanced at Sun Chuanxiu with some suspicion, and when he saw Zhao Huaian nod, he lifted the felt, revealing rows of swords, knives, and iron maces neatly stacked inside.

Aqi Mo had been in the Tubo army for more than ten years. Although his physical strength was exhausted, he was very experienced. He kept these sticks and weapons very well, and the blades were sealed with grease.

Sun Chuanxiu, who was standing nearby, also saw the truckload of military supplies and felt a little envious, but still said to Aqi Mo respectfully:

"Can I pick it myself?"

Oh, how embarrassing! I'm really used to being poor.

Zhao Huaian didn't care about it. After all, these knives had already been selected by him and they were all good knives.

Indeed, Sun Chuanxiu nodded as he picked, they were all good knives, with silver wavy patterns on the blades like flowing water, shining with light.

He was very satisfied with this deal. The Tibetans had captured Chang'an several times and had captured countless swordsmiths from the Military Equipment Bureau, so the craftsmanship of Tibetan swords was no worse than that of Tang swords.

Moreover, because Tubo blocked the Silk Road, it could obtain the best iron west of the Western Regions. Some Tubo swords were even better than Tang swords.

It is obvious that these Tibetan swords in front of us are made of wrought iron.

At this time, Sun Chuanxiu had already realized that he had gotten a great bargain. Just these Tibetan swords in front of him could be exchanged for a hundred slaves, not to mention the three sets of heavy armor.

Thinking of this, Sun Chuanxiu hesitated for a moment, but still spoke frankly to Zhao Huaian beside him:
"Mr. Zhao, these are all good swords. They are much more valuable than Han Da and the others. I can't exchange them."

Zhao Huaian waved his hand and said to Sun Chuanxiu:
"Old Sun, you are an honest man and you won't bully our Zhao Da. But I, Zhao Da, am also a man. My word is worth a thousand gold. I will do whatever I say. And you think it's not worth it, but I do. Han Da and the others are all good men. Besides, I value you, Old Sun, so I want to make you my friend."

Han Da and others behind him also heard what Zhao Huaian said, and they felt warm in their hearts.

Sun Chuanxiu looked into Zhao Huaian's sincere eyes, nodded heavily, and said seriously:
"Zhao Da, I, Sun Chuanxiu, have made friends with you."

Zhao Huaian hit him and laughed.

Next, Zhao Huaian took Sun Chuanxiu to choose iron armor, which was also three pieces of Tibetan willow leaf armor, with everything from a helmet to an iron mask.

At this time, Sun Chuanxiu didn't know what to say. He grabbed Zhao Huaian's hand and nodded continuously.

Afterwards, he had the weapons loaded onto shoulders and prepared to personally deliver them back to the army, as he was really afraid that the Zhongwu Army would come and rob them.

Those guards of the Zhongwu Army relied on their status and treated the Baoyi Army as slaves.

Just as he was thinking about this, he saw Li Shitai of the Zhongwu Army coming with more than 30 people, and his heart skipped a beat:

"What is he here for?"

Meanwhile, Li Shitai came over with a swagger, without even looking at Sun Chuanxiu, and shouted at Zhao Huaian:
"Zhao Da, by order of the Song envoy, I reward you with thirty men. Come and claim them."

Zhao Huaian laughed out loud, not caring at all about Li Shitai's rudeness. He clapped his hands and ran over.

Old Song is really particular about what he does. He sends troops as he says, without hesitation, without any ambiguity.

I can!

(End of this chapter)