Entrepreneurship in the Late Tang Dynasty

Chapter 64: Gaining People
The battlefield where the fighting ended was desolate and dilapidated.

But the people of Baoyi who stayed here to clean up the battlefield were all busy and full of energy.

This battle saw the largest amount of spoils captured since the establishment of Baoyi City, including nearly a hundred carts of supplies, armor, military supplies, gold ingots, and a large number of winter clothes.

It was the first month of the lunar year, and although the weather had begun to warm up, it was still freezing cold at night, and the officers and soldiers could not survive without winter clothes.

Baoyi is indeed short of quite a few people, mainly because the team has expanded too much in recent times.

The fact that the central army was able to replenish the armor and weapons of Baoyi City showed that Yang Qingfu valued Zhao Huaian very much.

Winter clothes are very expensive, and the foreign vassal troops did not bring winter clothes when they entered Shu, so they also need to replenish them.

And was a newly established camp like Baoyidu really qualified to compete with these established strong camps for food? Therefore, the winter clothing for Baoyidu was not distributed for a long time.

Now, the large amount of winter clothes seized from the Nanzhao army has solved Baoyi City’s urgent needs.

In addition to winter clothes, Zhao Liu and Wang Duo also roughly counted the spoils from the hundred vehicles, the bulk of which were various armors.

It was obvious that the commander of the Nanzhao army, like Zhao Huaian, regarded the accumulation of armor and military equipment as the top priority of development.

This Nanzhao general was both brave and resourceful. If he hadn't encountered the variable Zhao Huaian, he might have achieved great success in Nanzhao.

There are more than 500 sets of iron armor. I don’t know how long the Nanzhao army has been accumulating them. Now they are all given to Zhao Huaian.

Now the total number of iron armors in Baoyi City, including this batch, has exceeded a thousand, which is a terrifying number.

Historically, after Lao Nu unified the Jianzhou Jurchens, he attacked and destroyed the Ula tribe, one of the four major tribes of the Haixi Jurchens, defeated 30,000 enemies, beheaded 10,000 of them, and captured 7,000 armored soldiers.

How many years did it take the Ula tribe to accumulate these 7,000 armored soldiers?
Nine generations!
Now Zhao Huaian took advantage of the Nanzhao War and accumulated thousands of iron armors in a short period of time. His speed of rise was terrifying.

In addition to the armor that Zhao Huaian valued most, there were also a large amount of wealth and cloth.

The western Sichuan plain has been prosperous since ancient times. After the Nanzhao people entered the plain, they were like mice entering a rice jar, grabbing everything.

The specific total amount has not been counted yet, but according to Wang Duo's experience, the total amount of gold, silver, bronze Buddhas, and cloth is no less than 20,000 strings of cash.

My goodness, how many county treasuries did these Nanzhao people rob? How come they are so rich?

Wang Duo looked at some of the flower characters on the gold and silver ingots and roughly understood what was going on. He then told Zhao Huaian that these gold and silver were indeed from Shuzhou, Tang'an and other counties, but they were not from the government treasury, but the public office capital of the two counties.

Then Wang Duo told Zhao Huaian a little-known fact that he had never heard before.

That is the so-called public office capital, which is the capital issued by the court to various government offices to lend money at high interest rates, and the interest earned from the lending is then used to pay the salaries of the office officials.

This little-known fact left Zhao Huaian dumbfounded for a long time. The Tang Dynasty was still halfway through its history, yet it was already trying to govern the country through finance?
But since even the government lends money at high interest rates, no wonder the big temples do the same.

Thinking of this, Zhao Huaian became more confident in setting up a money shop in the charity society.

But this is both lending money and forming an association. Isn't this just the Tang Dynasty version of the Knights Templar?

Zhao Huaian was certainly happy with the armor, weapons, gold and silver, but what really concerned Zhao Huaian were the more than 300 elite soldiers of the Wusha tribe captured in this battle.

The Wusha tribe originally had a thousand people, but most of them either died in battle or were unwilling to surrender due to blood feuds, and were stabbed into bloody gourds by Baoyi's lance soldiers.

So there were only less than 300 people left who had no blood feud and were willing to surrender and save their lives.

The Wusha soldiers left a deep impression on Zhao Da.

These people are brave and courageous in battle, and their bows and crossbows are sharp. If Wu Jia had not met Zhao Huaian and his men, this battle would probably have continued.

Therefore, Zhao Huaian did not plan to sell this batch of Nanzhao captives, but to digest them himself.

The task was simple. All he had to do was promote those who could speak Chinese, get rid of the troublemakers who refused to obey his orders, and then gather all the military officers among the 300 Nanzhao captives under Zhao Huaian's command, and put them together with the Nanzhao warriors.

Zhao Huaian specially named the team "Guide".

The remaining Nanzhao troops were then divided into three groups, A, B, and C. The bravest would be assigned to the battle team, the strong would be assigned to Zhao Liu's baggage train, and the rest would be assigned to armor-bearing slaves.

In this way, after a few hard battles, these 300 Nanzhao troops would be almost wiped out.

Zhao Huaian was just about to ask Duan Zhongjian and Han Qiong to come over and select some warriors first. Since Han Qiong had killed an enemy general in battle before, he promised to give him a position as a team leader.

Then Duan Zhongjian, who was knowledgeable about practical matters and familiar with the situation of the Han and the barbarians, was just the right person to be Han Qiong's deputy team leader. Then five people were selected from the Beiwei and Bashan teams respectively to serve as team leaders and squad leaders, and the team was established.

He was given the name "Iron Beast".

……

At this moment, Wang Duo, who was counting the prisoners, suddenly came over with a tall scholar.

Wang Duo came up and whispered to Zhao Huaian:

"My lord, this man is Zhang Guinian, a native of Shuzhou. He was previously captured by the Nanzhao army. I've had a conversation with him and he seems quite talented. My lord, you might as well take a look."

After hearing this, Zhao Huaian took a closer look at Zhang Guinian. He saw that the way he was dressed didn't look like he had been abused by the Nanzhao people, so he started to make up his mind.

He sat carelessly on a stool, with his sword resting on the ground, his hands on the hilt, and glanced at Zhang Guinian, mocking him directly:
"You Coward, you look like a real person, but how can you be a dog for the Nanzhao people?" Zhao Huaian's words were almost a curse to Zhang Guinian's lungs. Wang Duo, who was standing next to him, was shocked when he heard it. He hurried to explain, but was stopped by Zhao Huaian with a wave of his hand.

This old Wang is good in every way except that he is easily deceived and short-sighted. This Zhang Guinian must have defected to the Nanzhao Army, otherwise how could he stay in the Nanzhao Army wearing his brocade clothes intact?
Zhao Da is eight feet tall and already looks very majestic. He started from scratch and has survived many near-death battles. His temperament is that of a bandit and a fierce man. His scolding at this moment is so intense that it almost makes people urinate.

Seeing that Wang Duo was so scared that he dared not speak, he knew how fierce Zhao Da was at the moment.

But facing Zhao Huaian's insults, Zhang Guinian was willing to swallow his pride and didn't panic at all. He even saluted Zhao Huaian:
"The general of Zhao, I wonder if you can hear the behavior of grass, the tools of bamboo, and the virtue of trees."

Zhao Huaian glanced at Zhang Guinian and was quite surprised that this man could still speak at this time. At least his psychological quality was excellent.

He saw that this person had something to say, and snorted:

"Oh, tell me, what is the behavior of grass, what is the instrument of bamboo, and what is the virtue of tree?"

Zhang Guinian smiled gently and said:
"As for the grass, it bends wherever the wind blows, neither good nor evil, right or wrong, it depends solely on the direction of the wind. As for the bamboo, it bends wherever the wind and snow bear down, yet its roots firmly grasp the ground. As for the tree, it stands firm, unmoved by the wind and the snow, casting its shade over the meadow."

Zhao Huaian was startled by these words. He certainly understood what the man in front of him meant.

This man used bamboo to defend himself, saying that although he could not withstand the pressure from the Nanzhao people, he had no choice. However, he was determined in his heart and was loyal to the Tang Dynasty.

but?
Humph! Are you trying to show off your skills to me, Zhao Da?
At this moment, a Nanzhao captive broke free and stood up, rushing towards Zhao Da with red eyes.

But Zhao Da didn't dodge and was hit by a hook punch, which sent him flying backwards.

Looking at the Nanzhao warrior who fell to the ground and vomited blood and died, Zhao Huaian turned around and hummed:

"What bamboo or tree? Can it withstand my ten-year training? They are nothing but birds under my fist!"

Looking at the dumbfounded Zhang Guinian, Zhao Dashuang felt so happy!

Besides, you are such a fool, how dare you show off your little knowledge in front of me?
Don't be fooled by his martial-like appearance, this is just a protective color for him to blend into this era. In terms of real talent and knowledge, Zhao Da can be frank, and everyone present is just an elementary school student.

Of course, when it comes to wisdom, Zhao Huaian certainly wouldn't dare to be so boastful, but when it comes to the amount of knowledge, these ancestors who couldn't even read 10 million words in their entire lives, how could they compare with him.

Then Zhao Da opened his palm and pinched his five fingers:
"I'll give you two choices. One is to be beheaded like Nanzhao over there. The other is to be a scholar in Zhaoda and get paid! You choose."

Is this a choice? If Zhang Guinian hesitated for a moment, it would be disrespectful to his own life.

Without any hesitation, he knelt on the ground and begged Zhao Da to take him in.

The main focus is on being able to bend and stretch.

And this kind of thing is not without future.

If this warrior in front of him could make merit on the battlefield and earn the position of Jiedushi, then Zhang Guinian might be able to take this opportunity to enter the court and become an official or prime minister.

This practice of first serving in the local shogunate and then becoming an official in the central government has become the first choice for scholars today. Over the past hundred years, dozens of people have been appointed as prime ministers in this way.

That’s right, in this era, as long as one is a cultured person, he will go to Chang’an, and the military governor of a vassal state is just a stepping stone on the journey.

So, Zhang Guinian lay on the ground, sobbing and yelling:

"General, I admire your martial virtues. I admire you and would like to serve you."

Zhao Huaian laughed heartily, helped Zhang Guinian up, and suddenly said this:

"Of course, if you are truly that strong grass and loyal minister, I, Zhao Da, can be your big tree, shielding you from the wind and rain. Please encourage me, please encourage me."

Zhang Guinian was stunned. Is this warrior in front of him really a warrior?

Over there, Zhao Huaian was about to give Cuo Da some value and paint a picture of the future, when he suddenly saw Zhang Guinian, who was just confused, rubbing his hands and asking the next sentence:
"I wonder how much I can give you with my salary? My family is poor, so please give me more."

Zhao Huaian's smile froze.

He put his hand down in embarrassment, secretly cursing how this man could be so materialistic, money, money, money.

Soldiers need money, and so do you, a coward. How did the ancestors of the Tang Dynasty only care about money? They have no sense of the overall situation.

With a sigh, Zhao Huaian discussed with Wang Duo and found out the current market price. Finally, he recruited him as his chief secretary with an annual salary of 50 strings of cash.

The secretary at this time is considered a senior advisor to the general. Zhao Huaian is not sure whether this person has any knowledge of military affairs, but no matter how little he knows, it should be no problem for him to help him with official documents and reports.

On the other side, Zhang Guinian was also very happy. Although Zhao Da had a bad temper, he was also generous. This salary was almost the salary of a mid-level official.

Yes, an official only earned a few dozen strings of cash a year, while a soldier in a vassal state could earn at least twenty strings of cash a year, and the top Wei Bo soldiers could even earn up to two hundred strings of cash a year.

This is the treatment of civil and military officials in this era, and it is also the underlying tone of this era.

Therefore, Zhao Huaian was generous and not stingy when giving money to his soldiers, but he was very stingy when giving money to Zhang Guinian, wishing not to give him a penny.

This is also the awareness of a military leader.

He, Zhao Da, has taken another step towards becoming a mature military leader.

(End of this chapter)