Tang Dynasty Bandits

Chapter 259: Old and cunning
When Zhu Wen disagreed with Li Tiao's views, he didn't consider that his master, Huang Chao, was also a merchant.

Huang Chao came from a wealthy family that ran various businesses, but the most important industry was the smuggling of salt.

The Tang Dynasty relied on the profits from salt taxes for its finances and strictly controlled the use of salt. Ordinary salt smugglers who hid in the streets could not make a living by smuggling salt for generations.

During the reign of Emperor Suzong of the Baoying era, the renowned minister Liu Yan reformed the salt law, changing the system from "people making, officials collecting, officials transporting, and officials selling" to "people making, officials collecting, merchants transporting, and merchants selling," thus incorporating salt merchants into the salt monopoly system.

From then on, many shrewd salt smugglers donated their family fortunes and managed to infiltrate the official system, becoming salt monopolists for the imperial court.

Monopoly merchants played a key role in realizing the government's salt profits, enjoyed many commercial privileges, and could also openly and legitimately connect with legal salt producers.

Obtaining the status of a salt monopoly merchant was primarily to provide cover for the sale of smuggled salt. The imperial court relied on these merchants to implement the salt law, but the official salt was only the tip of the iceberg of the salt they smuggled.

The Huang family were monopolistic merchants who used public office to cover up private gains, and they maintained good relationships with many imperial officials. This intricate network of connections meant they had no need to worry about crackdowns or investigations by the imperial court.

Huang Chao's family background, with connections in both the legitimate and criminal worlds, gave him the confidence to participate in the imperial examinations in Chang'an. If he were an ordinary salt smuggler, wouldn't he have been arrested by the Imperial Guards and imprisoned in Dali Temple the moment he stepped through the city gates?
However, Huang Chao underestimated the appetite of the aristocratic families, who left no room for the commoners. Despite Huang Chao's literary talent, he failed the imperial examination in despair, and filled with resentment and anger, he stepped out of the east gate of Chang'an.

After Huang Chao raised his army, the family's original network of relationships quickly transformed into a comprehensive intelligence network.

When managing his rebel army, Huang Chao also placed great emphasis on commerce, using its revenue to fund his troops. His earlier establishment of markets for spirits and rosewater provided strong financial support for his southward campaign.

Without funds, soldiers will not come; without rewards, soldiers will not go. The businesses run by Huang's relatives and associates in various places continuously injected blood into the rebel army, allowing Huang Chao to ensure the soldiers' treatment, maintain military discipline, reduce forced taxation of local areas, and win the hearts of the people.

These are all advantages that Huang Chao had because he came from a merchant background.

However, due to his background, although Huang Chao often came into contact with the lower classes and knew about their hardships, he had never gone hungry since childhood and had no farming experience whatsoever.

According to Huang Chao's usual understanding, as long as one has connections and money, one can buy the military rations needed by the army.

In Huang Chao's mind, agriculture was not as important as Zhu Wen's.

However, when marching and waging war, one may sometimes encounter the perilous situation of having money but not being able to buy food.

For example, the allied forces of Lingnan West Circuit and Nanzhao rushed to the aid of Guangzhou, cutting off the rebel army's supplies. If Zhu Wen had not successfully captured Guangzhou and taken Li Tiao alive, the rebel army, unable to break through the enemy's blockade, would have collapsed due to hunger and been slaughtered by the enemy.

Huang Chao's merchant nature also made him more prone to taking risky and gambler's gambles.

What is a blessing in disguise may also be a curse, and what is a curse may also be a blessing in disguise. The advantages that once made Huang Chao invincible may turn into fatal weaknesses in some situations.

……

For a time, the land battles outside Guangzhou seemed quite disadvantageous to the rebel army.

As the morale of the rebel army waned, Xin Dang, the military governor of Lingnan West Circuit, and Duan Baolong, the general of the Nanzhao army, finally switched from defense to offense, using their superior forces to attack the rebel army from both the left and right.

During the retreat, the grass army's lines broke down at one point, allowing the Nanzhao elephant troops to break through.

At the critical moment, Duan Hongyan abandoned her bow and picked up her sword, leading her elite troops to break through and desperately charge into the Nanzhao army's central camp. She once rushed to the front of the banner and killed several people before being repelled.

This seemingly frail young girl possessed such fierce courage that she momentarily threw the Nanzhao army into a panic, slowing their offensive and giving the grass army a chance to regain their footing.

After being pulled back, Duan Hongyan immediately turned pale, spat out blood, and fainted.

Awakening Duan Qingyu's personality would greatly enhance her combat power, but it would also damage her physical essence. She would never resort to such a desperate fighting style unless absolutely necessary.

She risked her life this time, and her vital energy was greatly depleted. She probably won't wake up for two or three days.

In the rear, Meng Kai, who is usually known for his unwavering determination, played with remarkable composure.

Meng Kai successfully created the illusion that adding fuel to the fire would cripple the rear of the rebel army, thus luring Li Tiao to send reinforcements. When Li Tiao dispatched his most formidable troops from the city gates, Meng Kai's formation suddenly shifted dramatically, attracting the Guangzhou army that was leaving the city like a magnet.

When the Guangzhou soldiers saw the fire in the city, they knew something was wrong, but Meng Kai held them back and they were unable to rush back to help, as if they were stuck in a quagmire.

When news of Li Tiao's order for the entire army to surrender spread from inside the city, the Guangzhou soldiers who were still fighting to the death dropped their armor and weapons and surrendered without resistance.

When the Hu soldiers saw the two barbarian quarters on fire, they knew that their families had probably perished, but many of them fought desperately like cornered beasts.

Before long, Zhu Wen led his troops, escorting Li Tiao, out of the city gate. The Hu soldiers were terrified at the sight of him, lost all will to fight, and their formation collapsed. They were attacked from both sides by Meng Kai and Zhu Wen and were cut down like wheat.

Only General Liu Qian refused to surrender. Taking advantage of the righteous army's suppression of the Hu tribes, he led a troop of elite cavalry out of the encirclement and fled to Fengzhou.

Meng Kai's deputy general, Peng Baiwu, came to report that more than a thousand elite rebel troops had failed to stop this man's hundred cavalry, and that Liu Qian had even killed more than sixty of them. Upon hearing Peng Baiwu's words, Meng Kai was not angry at all. Instead, he sighed and said, "There are such heroes in Lingnan. It's a pity that I cannot recruit them to my command."

“This fellow was originally a subordinate of Wei Xiu, the Fujian Inspector, and even married Wei Xiu’s niece,” Zhu Wen said. “When we besieged Fuzhou, we actually fought with him. He protected Wei Xiu, disguised himself, broke through the encirclement, and escaped to Lingnan.”

"Later, Wei Xiu returned to Chang'an to confess his crimes, and it was at that time that Li Tiao kept this boy in his service."

Meng Kai nodded and said, "I see."

Zhu Wen knew that Liu Qian was brave and resourceful, a capable man. Unfortunately, he lacked seniority under Li Tiao, so Li Tiao couldn't entrust him with the command of the several thousand men who had left the city; otherwise, the battle would have been much more dangerous.

However, Meng Kai's casual remarks and high praise for Liu Qian's bravery made the other generals somewhat embarrassed.

Zhu Wen smiled and smoothed things over, saying, "I've heard that this fellow is only skilled in illusion magic. Back when he broke out of Fuzhou, he also used illusion magic to confuse our army. This time, he's probably using the same trick again, causing the brothers to suffer a small loss. Such methods are only suitable for small-scale operations and are not suitable for leading a large army."

Having been defeated by Liu Qian, Peng Baiwu, now having a way out, shouted, "Exactly! Exactly! When that fellow charged in, I suddenly saw the sun turn green and a demonic wind arose, blinding me and catching me off guard from his sneak attack. What is such a demon worth?"

Ban Fanlang patted his chest and said, "General Meng may wish to keep this man, but if he dares to provoke us again, I will capture him within five moves and make him surrender. Such petty tricks are no match for my heavy iron sword."

Seeing the two deputy generals speaking so eloquently, Meng Kai couldn't help but smile.

Upon learning of the fall of Guangzhou, Xin Dang, the military governor of Lingnan West Circuit, and Duan Baolong, the commander-in-chief of the Nanzhao army, knew that they could no longer continue fighting. They sounded the retreat, returned to their camp, and prepared to withdraw their troops.

Huang Chao ordered Shang Rang to lead troops in pursuit, but Xin Dang's elite troops from Jiaozhou were elite soldiers trained by the famous general Cai Xi in the past. Duan Baolong's Luo Juzi were also elite troops from the Nanzhao Kingdom, and their retreat was watertight and left no gaps.

Shang Rang failed to find an opportunity for a surprise attack. Although he led his troops to kill hundreds of Lingnan barbarians who had come along to spread rumors, he was ultimately unable to inflict heavy damage on either army.

However, there were also some notable victories. Xin Dang's army had two thousand Tai Ning soldiers from the north fighting alongside them. When Shang Rang was pursuing them, he shot and wounded Deng Jiyun, one of the "Six Stars of the Southern Dipper" under Qi Kerang's command, causing him to fall from his horse. The Zhenyi Alliance's capture troops then rushed up and captured Deng Jiyun.

The Nanzhao people have always been shady characters; they had already committed mass killings and looting on their way here, and they would likely plunder again on their way back.

Outside the city, abandoned tents and tattered flags lay scattered, corpses piled up, and dried blood mingled with the soil in the ditches, turning a ghastly purplish-red.

The flames within the city were gradually extinguished, and magnificent halls were reduced to smoldering ruins. The rebel army entered the city to restore order and hunt down and kill any ruffians who had taken advantage of the chaos.

The remaining Hu people were detained and prepared to be slaughtered indiscriminately on the beach three days later, regardless of age, gender, or age.

This battle in Guangzhou has now come to an end.

Li Tiao, who was captured by the rebel army, did not seem too frustrated. He often chatted and laughed with the rebel generals, sharing his life experiences.

Li Tiao spoke freely, seemingly completely indifferent to life and death. Moreover, his speech was fluent and witty, full of clever remarks, which gradually made the generals who initially disliked him admire him, and they felt that although Li Jiedu was an enemy, he was no less a hero with great spirit.

Li Tiao suddenly said, "A month ago, I inexplicably executed Zhang Wei, the military advisor of Guangzhou. Does anyone know why?"

The generals had all heard of this incident. Zhang Wei was originally a confidant of Li Tiao, but during a meeting, Li Tiao drew his sword and personally killed him.

The fact that military governors acted arbitrarily and killed without restraint was not a major issue in itself. It would simply be recorded in history books in the future, saying that so-and-so lost the hearts of the people by unjustly killing loyal officials, which led to his downfall. It was nothing more than a case of putting the cart before the horse.

The band of heroes in the army all claimed to be unaware of this.

Li Tiao sighed, "Now that things have come to this, there's no harm in saying it."

“Zhang Wei was originally a confidant of Li. That day, he and Li were discussing matters in the inner hall of the military governor’s mansion. In front of them hung a portrait of Li’s ancestor, the Crown Prince Li Jiancheng.”

"Zhang Wei suddenly said that the famous general Zhu Wen of the rebel army bears a striking resemblance to a certain ancestor. Could it be that the Crown Prince died tragically at Xuanwu Gate in the past, his grievances unresolved, and he was reincarnated to join the rebel army to seek revenge on the descendants of Emperor Taizong?"

“I am a descendant of the Crown Prince Yin. Upon hearing this, I was overcome with anger and feared that he would spread the word and disrupt the morale of the army. So I stabbed Zhang Wei to death with my sword, saying that he had made a mistake in his planning and delayed the military operation, which is why he was executed.”

"The concept of reincarnation is elusive and difficult to discern as real or unreal. But for someone to live such a turbulent life and fall to General Zhu's hands can be considered fate."

Zhu Wen, who was standing nearby, felt a chill run down his spine upon hearing this.

It turns out that Li Tiao's previous cheerful demeanor and genuine emotions were all a prelude to this moment when his true intentions were revealed.

He had ruined Li Tiao's twenty years of hard work; how could Li Tiao not hate him?
This old bastard, even as his days draw near, remains so cunning and treacherous!

(End of this chapter)