Entrepreneurship in the Late Tang Dynasty

Chapter 4 Troubled Times
Zhao Liu led the way with the spoils on his back, followed by Zhao Huaian, who was carrying a Mo Dao and a bag.

The two of them walked along the river for more than an hour without taking a break.

Zhao Liu's forehead was covered with sweat at this time. He had been carrying several knives and three sets of leather armor on his back all the way, and his legs were already weak from walking so far.

But looking at Zhao Huaian behind him, he was wearing armor and carrying a heavy load, but he was still walking this long distance as if nothing had happened.

Even though Zhao Liu had seen many brave men in the army, he couldn't help but be amazed:

"This Zhao Da is a living beast. He has enough strength to make a lot of money farming at home, but he wants to be a warrior? What a fool."

Zhao Huaian followed behind and saw Zhao Liu mumbling in front of him. He cursed:
"What are you mumbling about? Are you sure this road leads to Lizhou?"

Listening to Zhao Huaian's words, Zhao Liu complained in his heart again, but turned around and smiled innocently:
"Da Lang, you have lost your memory and you don't know that this is the only way to get back to Lizhou. There is no mistake."

Zhao Huaian said "hmm".

Seeing that Zhao Liu was in a bad mood after being scolded by him, he quickly gave Zhao Liu a sweet treat:
"Sixth Brother, you are older than me, how can you call me Da Lang? Just call me Zhao Da, or Da is fine too."

Just now, Zhao Liu told himself that he is just a good young man in his twenties.

And Lao Liu is twenty-six years old this year, which means he is six years older than him. It would not be good for him to take advantage of him again.

Moreover, the name "Da Lang" also made Zhao Huaian uncomfortable.

Sure enough, Zhao Huaian had control over Zhao Liu's temper.

Just now, Zhao Liu was scolded and was thinking about quitting and running away, but after being praised like this, he immediately acted as if nothing had happened and became brothers with Zhao Huaian again.

Although Zhao Huaian got a good bargain, he was not at ease.

After thinking for a while, he said to Zhao Liu:
"The Nanzhao troops must have headed north, and they were marching very quickly, otherwise the battlefield wouldn't have been cleared in time. You mentioned earlier that when General Huang led his men south, he brought all the troops from Lizhou with him. Lizhou had no troops to defend it, so it would have been impossible to stop them."

As he was talking, Zhao Huaian squatted on the ground and started drawing.

Previously, Zhao Liu told himself that Chengdu was in the northeast of Lizhou, so this place should be in western Sichuan.

Combined with the direction of the Dadu River, Lizhou should be near Hanyuan County in later generations.

Zhao Huaian was quite familiar with this area. He had driven along the western Sichuan ring road with his friends before and knew that Ya'an was to the north of Hanyuan and Chengdu was beyond Ya'an.

Thinking about it, Zhao Huaian casually drew a map and called Zhao Liu over:

"Sixth Brother, take a look at what these places are called."

……

At first, when Zhao Liu saw Zhao Huaian squatting on the ground writing and drawing, he thought that this coward was sick again, so he picked up the bamboo tube and prepared to drink tea.

That's right, the fermented tea was thrown away by Zhao Huaian, but was picked up by Zhao Liu, who then scolded Zhao Da for wasting such good things.

Zhao Liu sipped the Nanzhao tea happily and squatted on the ground looking at the picture on the ground.

When Zhao Liu saw this, his jaw dropped.

He looked at Zhao Huaian in surprise:
"Zhao Da, you have amnesia, but you can draw this picture? Oh my God, this is incredible. Zhao Da, you will definitely have a great future."

After saying this, Zhao Liu paused and thought for a while.

Just when Zhao Huaian thought Zhao Liu was going to express his opinion on the map, Zhao Liu suddenly spoke:
"When a dog is rich and powerful, it will never forget its companion."

Zhao Huaian was stunned. After a while, he explained weakly:

"If you become rich and powerful, don't forget me."

Unexpectedly, Zhao Liu was still unhappy after hearing this. He felt that he had finally seized the opportunity and started to teach Zhao Huaian a lesson:
"Zhao Da, you are a coward. Only those who fight are called dogs, and those who study are called dogs."

Hearing this, Zhao Huaian couldn't bear it anymore.

He clenched his fist and hit the bastard, cursing as he hit him:

"Ahaha, I asked you to give me a pun, I asked you to give me a pun."

Zhao Liu was beaten so hard that he screamed and begged for mercy, and only then did Zhao Huaian let him go.

After being beaten, Zhao Liu finally became obedient. With bruised eyes, he replied to Zhao Huaian:
"Zhao Da, this is the Dadu River, this is Hanyuan, this is Lizhou, and then the painting here should be Rongjing, followed by Yazhou, and then Qiongzhou and Chengdu."

In fact, Zhao Huaian also met someone. Zhao Liu was a member of the military music troupe of the military government. He usually went to nearby places to take on work, so he was quite familiar with several nearby places.

An ordinary soldier would not be able to answer Zhao Huaian's question.

Here, after beating Zhao Liu, Zhao Huaian also reflected:
"It seems that I must have been influenced by my original body, otherwise how could I be so violent?"

Seeing Zhao Liu feeling wronged, Zhao Huaian also felt guilty and had to lower his head and continue looking at the picture.

……

Now, Zhao Liu has confirmed that Zhao Huaian has figured out the geography of western Sichuan in this world.

The Hanyuan mentioned by Zhao Liu should not have changed, and Rongjing should be Xingjing, Yazhou should be Ya'an, Qiongzhou should be Qionglai, and the location of Chengdu has not changed.

At this point, Zhao Huaian finally felt a little safe, after all, he had driven on the highways in these places.

But the problem is, there are no highways or mountain tunnels now. If you just follow the route you remember, you won’t be able to get over those mountains even if you break your legs.

So he asked Zhao Liu again:

"We can't go to Lizhou now, where else do you think we can go?"

Zhao Liu pouted and said nothing, but when he saw Zhao Huaian clench his fist again, he quickly spoke:
"If we can't go to Lizhou, let's go to Qionglai Pass."

Qionglai Pass? Zhao Huaian had never heard of this place. Then he listened to Zhao Liu's explanation.

The Qionglai Pass is located between Lizhou and Rongjing, on the Qionglai Slope, which is surrounded by steep rocks and winds for over a hundred miles. It can be said that one man can guard the pass against ten thousand men.

Not to mention, there were 800 soldiers led by Qionglai guarding the pass, making it as strong as a rock.

Zhao Huaian was curious, so he asked Zhao Liu to tell him more about Qionglai Pass.

But now Zhao Liu was in a dilemma. He said awkwardly:

"Zhao Da, you're putting me in a difficult position. I'm from Qishan and haven't been in this godforsaken place for long. What can I possibly know?"

Seeing Zhao Huaian's expression becoming increasingly ugly, Zhao Liu quickly added:
"But I heard that the thieves at Qionglai Pass have made a lot of money in recent years. All the caravans going to Nanzhao and Tubo have to pass through Qionglai Pass, and those thieves can live like gods even if they smoke a little."

Speaking of this, Zhao Liu was full of indignation.

It was because although their Lizhou soldiers also made a lot of profit on the ancient Tea-Horse Road, compared with the Qionglai soldiers who sat at home and collected money, their money was really hard-earned.

But Zhao Huaian heard something wrong in Zhao Liu's complaints, and he asked back:
"Sixth Brother, from what you said, we have been doing business with Nanzhao for these years?"

Zhao Liu nodded and said:
"Over forty years ago, when Prime Minister Li was the governor of Shuzhong, he made peace with the Nanzhao people. We haven't fought since then. I heard that the Nanzhao people clashed with us again four years ago, but a ceasefire was quickly reached, and business resumed. I also heard that everyone who came here became wealthy, which is why I followed the Marshal south."

After hearing what Zhao Liu said, Zhao Huaian finally made up his mind. He turned to Zhao Liu and said:

"We can't go to Qionglai Pass anymore. The Nanzhao people have probably already taken Qionglai Pass. We'd be dead if we went there. Lao Liu, where else can we go?"

But Zhao Liu didn't believe it. He shook his head and said:
"Zhao Da, you've lost your memory and don't know how dangerous Qionglai Pass is. Well, unless those Nanzhao people can fly, they can't take Qionglai Pass. You know, Li Xianggong built this Qionglai Pass specifically for them, using large bluestones from the mountains. Those barbarians could only use hammers to attack it."

Zhao Huaian discovered that Zhao Liu seemed to admire the so-called Li Xianggong very much, but he didn't care much, so he explained for Zhao Liu:
"Six, let me put it this way. If I were the Nanzhao army, I would disguise myself as a tea and horse merchant and pass through the border. Do you think Qionglai Pass would be well-prepared?"

Zhao Liu was stunned for a moment.

He knew too well what kind of people the defenders of Qionglai Pass were like. Even though the Lizhou soldiers were fighting on the front line of Dadu River, their business in the rear never stopped.

Now that their Lizhou troops were defeated so quickly and those Nanzhao soldiers were chasing them so urgently, they might really rush into Qionglai Pass.

Now, Zhao Liu was no longer sure, so he quickly asked Zhao Huaian for help:
"Zhao Da, I see you have your own ideas. Whatever you say, I'll follow your lead."

Zhao Huaian touched the short beard under his chin and thought about it, but after thinking for a long time, he still had no clue.

In fact, Zhao Huaian also knew that although western Sichuan was full of mountains and steep cliffs, there were many small paths there.

The Qionglai Pass at most guarded the main road, because only the main road could be used for marching.

But neither he nor Zhao Liu is a local, so how do they know where these trails are?

Zhao Huaian’s thinking ability is not bad, but in the final analysis, a good cook cannot cook without rice, so he is at a loss at this moment.

Thinking of this, Zhao Huaian looked at the gradually darkening sky, sighed, and said to Zhao Liu:
"Six, we can't think of a solution. Let's find a place to stay first. It's getting dark and we can't walk at night."

Zhao Liu nodded, then picked up his bag and continued to follow.

……

The two continued on their journey, but this time Zhao Liu was obviously less talkative.

Zhao Huaian was a sensitive person. He could see that Zhao Liu was a little desperate. This was not acceptable. He had to make him stand up.

So, Zhao Huaian started a conversation:
"Six, who is Mr. Li? You seem to be praising him highly."

Sure enough, Zhao Huaian knew how to communicate. As soon as this topic came up, Zhao Liu immediately became excited.

Zhao Liu originally wanted to sarcastically say that Zhao Da was a country bumpkin who didn't even recognize Mr. Li, but when he thought about Zhao Da being beaten to the point of losing his memory by the southern barbarians, his heart softened.

So, he and Zhao Huaian explained:

"Our Mr. Li is Lord Li Wei, Li..."

Now Zhao Huaian already knew who it was. The one called Li Weigong was Li Jing, the master of military strategy in the early Tang Dynasty. He had read "Weigong's Art of War" when he was in school.

But why didn't he remember Li Jing's journey through Shuzhong and his attack on Nanzhao?
Just when Zhao Huaian was puzzled, Zhao Liu finished his words:
"...Li Deyu. Their old house is in the southeast corner of Anyifang, Wannian. I've been to Wannian with my fellow villagers to perform funeral ceremonies before, and I've even seen the Li family's house from afar."

Zhao Huaian, who was walking, was stunned when he heard this. He grabbed Zhao Liu's shoulders and asked tremblingly:
"Tell me again, who is Mr. Li calling?"

Zhao Liu was startled, looking at Zhao Huaian with his eyes wide open, and stammered:
"Li Deyu, what's wrong with you?"

At this moment, Zhao Huaian no longer had any hope in his heart, and the hand that was holding Zhao Liu's shoulder slid down weakly.

Zhao Huaian was confused.

He knew very well who Li Deyu was. Even though he was not particularly familiar with the history of the middle and late Tang Dynasty, he still knew this important figure in the Niu-Li factional struggle.

Wait, Li Deyu built the Qionglai Pass forty years ago, doesn’t that mean it is the late Tang Dynasty now?

What was the period of the late Tang Dynasty? From the Huang Chao Uprising to the unification of the empire by the Zhao family, there was a full hundred years of chaos.

At this moment, Zhao Huaian felt dizzy and his heart was bitter, and his life was even more miserable.

On the other side, Zhao Liu was about to continue asking questions when he suddenly heard a wailing sound coming from the dense forest in front of him, and then his whole body froze.

But it was this wailing that woke Zhao Huaian from his self-pity.

Looking at the dazed Zhao Liu, Zhao Huaian pulled him into the jungle, and then carefully crawled towards the dense forest ahead.

This chapter made a topographic map of the time, see the Easter eggs

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(End of this chapter)