Entrepreneurship in the Late Tang Dynasty

Chapter 48 Wang Jin (Thanks to the Alliance Leader Wuming for supporting him)
Not to mention Xian Yu Yue’s thoughts, Zhao Huaian took Gao Renhou and returned to the camp.

On the way, Zhao Huaian asked the names of three more people, namely Hu Honglue, Kang Yanjun and Dang Shousu. Like Gao Renhou, these three people were from the Sichuan West Army.

In fact, Zhao Huaian was skeptical when he heard that the four people Lao Wang found were all local warriors from western Sichuan.

He had heard from Xianyu Yue before that the most outstanding and brave men in Shu were the generals in Chengdu, and among the other foreign garrisons, their Lizhou Army was the most powerful.

So when Zhao Huaian learned that the four of them were from western Sichuan, he subconsciously felt that they were unreliable. But after observing and chatting with them for a while, Zhao Huaian found that these four people had some temperament.

There is a detail in it. It was freezing cold, but these four warriors of the Western Sichuan Domain Army were only wearing thin linen clothes.

This was not because Zhao Huaian noticed that the four people were in good health and had strong energies, but because he saw that the four people had pure character.

Look at the chaotic soldiers in the city, who didn't rob with a knife? And these four people did not join in the corruption, which is rare.

In fact, Zhao Huaian didn't know that these four people were the ones who were ostracized in the Sichuan-West Army just because they were unwilling to go along with the crowd.

Wang Duo specifically looked for such a person in the military register. He knew that his new lord was ambitious to do something big and needed a good military man to assist him.

And in the military register, he saw a man named Gao Renhou. This man really lived up to his name and was a truly kind and benevolent person.

A small incident about this man was recorded in the military register. That was when the superior officer was "clearing" the local bandits' mountain tents, this man was beaten with twenty military sticks because he was disobedient and did not kill women and children.

People like Hu Honglue, Kang Yanjun and Dang Shousu are similar, and they also have various "stains" on their books that reflect their moral character.

Wang Duo was not sure about the martial ethics of these four people, but at least their character was absolutely pure.

Later, he kept asking people and finally found these four people in a shack in the south of the city. At that time, he became more certain of their character.

These four men had knives and guns, but they still lived in a simple shack. Wang Duo estimated that if he hadn't found them, they probably wouldn't have been able to hold on for long.

Zhao Huaian liked the four of them, especially Gao Renhou, who was very insightful in his conversation, just like he said just now that the man in the bamboo hat had the style of a pre-Han Dynasty scholar, which was something not everyone could understand.

At this moment, as everyone was walking back to the camp, there were obviously more corpses lying in the ditches on the roadside.

Zhao Huaian sighed, turned to Gao Renhou and asked:
"Old Gao, you said before that there aren't many people like those from the Former Han Dynasty anymore. What did you mean?"

Gao Renhou was very grateful for Zhao Huaian's recruitment. After all, the four of them were squeezed out of the army, and it was not as simple as losing their military rosters and being unable to return to the camp.

It would be better to just re-establish the military register after it is lost. The truth is that the four of them have long been disliked by their colleagues, who think they are not sociable.

This is a life-threatening thing in the military.

Everyone goes to the battlefield with their lives on the line. If the comrades around him are not sociable, it means that this person has no intention of getting along with everyone. Can this person be trusted?

No one wants to have to be on guard against an outsider when they are doing dirty things.

So the four of them were kicked out directly, with nowhere to go, and ended up living in a shack in the south of the city.

To put it bluntly, if Wang Duo hadn't come, the four of them would not have survived the twelfth lunar month.

They had also heard Wang Duo introduce Zhao Huaian on the road before, and had heard about his generous character. Now, hearing Zhao Huaian call him "Lao Gao" only made him feel more intimate. He hurriedly clasped his fists and replied:
"I dare not say anything in front of General Zhao, I just have a few thoughts. I used to hear people tell stories about the Three Kingdoms period, when Emperor Zhaolie of Shu was so righteous and upright, and his army of brave generals supported the country. I was so envious. But look at us now? The rituals and music have collapsed, there is no righteousness in the world, and there are evil and ambitious people everywhere. Even the emperor is just a puppet of the husbands. Isn't that enough?"

Zhao Huaian nodded.

During his time in the military, he also discovered the tone of this era. To put it bluntly, there are not many good people.

When he first came here, he met kind-hearted old Qin people like Zhao Liu, and also handsome nobles like Xianyu Yue who were concerned about the country, so he inevitably had high expectations of the morality of this era.

But since he entered the Qiongzhou camp, few of the people he met could be called good people. Instead, there were many heroes among the grassroots, such as Sun Chuanxiu of the Baoyi Army. However, even such good men died in vain at the hands of their own people.

It was this series of events that made Zhao Huaian understand what a despicable era this damn middle and late Tang Dynasty was.

He was filled with righteous indignation after hearing what Gao Renhou said. He patted his shoulder and said nothing more. Instead, he asked Wang Duo who was following him:
"Old Wang, are you going to the county temple looking for me?"

Wang Duo shook his head and told Zhao Huaian:
"My lord, I'm looking for another person named Wang Jin. He was previously a general in the Sichuan-West Army and was once awarded first-class merit in battle. He is said to be very good at training soldiers."

Zhao Huaian asked Gao Renhou and others:

"Do you all know this Wang Jin?"

Gao Renhou and the others nodded, obviously having already been impressed by Wang Jin. But at this moment, Dang Shousu, who was outside the circle of people, said:
"The figure of the general in the bamboo hat just now is quite similar to Captain Wang's. Even their heroic temperament is exactly the same."

But after saying this, Dang Shousu realized that he had spoken out of turn and stopped talking.

Gao Renhou was afraid that Zhao Huaian would overthink things, so he quickly explained:
"It does look a bit like him, but it's not necessarily the same person."

At this moment, bursts of dog barking suddenly came from the alley next to them, and then Zhao Huaian and others smelled a strong smell of blood.

Everyone was a warrior, and they immediately drew their swords, especially Gao Renhou and the others. Although they had not yet decided who was stronger, they had already consciously protected Zhao Huaian in the middle.

Zhao Huaian, who was being protected, looked towards the alley on the right and saw seven or eight people lying in the alley, which was no more than two steps wide, six of them were bald.

The barking just now was made by a group of wild dogs. They were frantically biting the corpses. After seeing Zhao Huaian coming, they were still groaning to protect their food.

As soon as Zhao Huaian saw the corpses on the ground, he recognized them as the monk soldiers who had just chased the man in the bamboo hat.

Then, he saw the man in the bamboo hat lying on the ground, his life or death unknown. At this moment, Zhao Liu, who was standing next to him, suddenly pointed at the man in the bamboo hat and shouted:
"That person is moving."

Zhao Huaian took a look and found that it was true.

Gao Renhou and the others around him all looked at him subconsciously, and then he shouted without thinking:

"Hurry, save people first."

After he finished speaking, Gao Renhou rushed over first, and then looked at the man in the bamboo hat nearby.

Although the man's face was cut by a knife and his skin was peeled off, Gao Renhou recognized him at a glance. This person was Wang Jin.

Afterwards, Gao Renhou carried Wang Jin on his back, strode to Zhao Huaian, and was about to speak.

Zhao Huaian took off his jacket and covered Wang Jin with it, then hummed softly:
"Let's go back to camp quickly."

Everyone knew there was trouble and hurried towards the camp.

The monks of Yongzuo Temple saw that no monks had returned for a long time, so they sent out another team, and then found the monks who were frozen stiff in this alley.

With a low curse, the monk soldiers searched the area frantically, vowing to kill the Buddha's enemy.

……

Gao Renhou carried Wang Jin on his back and could feel his faint breathing. He whispered:
"Wang Jun, wake up, don't fall asleep."

Zhao Huaian looked at the situation and turned to Zhao Liu and said:

"Sixth Brother, go to the camp and find Doctor Pei. Invite him to my camp and ask him to come drink."

Zhao Liu understood and quickly ran to the other direction of the camp.

This doctor Pei was from Mei County in Guanzhong. His hometown was very close to Zhao Liu’s hometown Qishan, so they were considered fellow villagers.

Previously, several large animals in Baoyi City had diarrhea and no one could help them, so Zhao Huaian asked Zhao Liu to go to the camp to find a specialized doctor.

Then after a few interactions, I got to know Doctor Pei, and we drank quite a bit of wine together.

Wang Duo did not know the doctor Pei, but he knew that a doctor's assistant was someone who did odd jobs for the doctor. He was worried that he could not cure the injury, so he asked in confusion:
"My Lord, can Doctor Pei treat this sword wound?"

Zhao Huaian nodded:
"Old Pei is a skilled doctor, but his doctor never gave him a degree, so he's been a servant ever since. Most of the sword and knife wounds in their camp are treated by Old Pei."

"This Old Pei has some connections with Old Six, and he's a down-to-earth person. This matter is sensitive, so we need to be more careful."

Zhao Huaian's words made Gao Renhou, who was walking in front, think more. He hurriedly shared his worries:

"General Zhao, why don't you send the king to me? That way, the soldiers won't find out."

Zhao Huaian sneered and said:

"Old Gao, you're slapping me in the face. Let me put it this way. Although I'm a general, who in the Tutuan Army wouldn't give our Zhao Da some respect? Now that Wang has entered my camp, no one can take him away."

Zhao Huaian had reason to be so confident. Since the battle of Baishushui, his reputation had spread. Now, not only the local militia, but even the foreign troops knew that there was a fierce general named "Hu Baoyi".

When Gao Renhou and the others heard Zhao Huaian say this, they stopped talking.

In this way, the crowd covered Gao Renhou and entered the Tuantuan army camp in the northwest corner.

Sure enough, as soon as they entered the camp, people kept greeting Zhao Huaian and there were even cheers. Only then did Gao Renhou and the others believe that the General Zhao in front of them was indeed prestigious.

Soon after Zhao Huaian came back, the captains gathered around him. Although they were surprised when they heard Zhao Huaian say that he had not seen Xian Yu Yue, they did not show much emotion.

After all, no matter how little firewood there is in the camp, it can last for five or six days.

Over there, Zhao Huaian had someone clean a tent and asked Niu Li to set up a brazier, using the charcoal they had used to suffocate people in Qiongzhou.

Soon, the temperature in the tent rose, and Wang Jin's complexion obviously improved a little.

It was at this time that Zhao Liu came in with Doctor Pei. Coincidentally, Lao Liu met him on the road and then pulled Lao Pei over.

Doctor Pei's assistant was called Pei Min, and he was definitely skilled in medicine. When he saw Wang Jin lying on the couch, he knew that he was in danger.

He carefully examined the knife wound on Wang Jin's face and cleaned it very professionally. Then he gritted his teeth and took out a porcelain bottle from his pocket, poured some powder on the wound, and then bandaged it.

After doing all this, he said to Zhao Huaian:

"General Zhao, whether this person can survive depends on his luck."

Zhao Huaian was naturally very grateful. He looked at the porcelain vase held by Old Pei and asked casually:
"Old Pei, is this your ancestral sword medicine?"

Pei Min blushed and whispered:
"We got this from the Nanzhao people. I found it to be very effective in stopping bleeding, so I always carry it with me."

Zhao Huaian was stunned for a moment, looking at the small porcelain bottle in surprise, wondering if this was Yunnan Baiyao?
(End of this chapter)