Entrepreneurship in the Late Tang Dynasty

Chapter 19: Runqiong
Tongshan Pass changed hands, and Zhao Huaian and others stayed here for five days.

Days of fleeing and fighting had greatly drained everyone's energy and spirit, and they needed to rest here.

During these five days, Zhao Huaian indulged in wine and killed a sheep every day to reward everyone. Stimulated by the wine and meat, all the barbarians were completely devoted to Zhao Huaian.

Of course, during these three days, Zhao Huaian also began to teach military combat and Brazilian martial arts to several of his disciples. Although it could not immediately improve their combat effectiveness, it also laid the foundation for the rules of the Yishe.

With meat, training, and two rounds of bloodshed, the originally wretched barbarians have become somewhat more valiant, especially Sun Tai and Zhao Hu, who had been armored slaves before, and now have a bit of a warrior air.

During the days that Zhao Huaian and others stayed, the mountain market in front of the pass was opened. On this day, a group of mountain people came to the outside of the fort, and the leader was the old man whom Zhao Huaian had saved before.

……

Five days ago, Zhao Huaian called the old man he rescued and said that he was willing to hire them in the mountain shed at the price of two stone of grain per person, and he would give them an extra sheep for every ten people.

But Zhao Huaian’s only requirement is that the candidate must be strong and able to endure hardships.

They will only stay here for five days and leave after that time, so if the old man and his friends want to earn this salary, they must arrive within these few days.

That’s right, this is the solution Zhao Huaian came up with.

He had talked with Xian Yuyue before and knew that the road from Tongshan Pass to Qiongzhou was still a mountain road, so there was no need to think about carts or wheelbarrows.

Then Zhao Huaian thought of using the same trick again and hired a shed in the mountains through the old man who had escaped from the house.

Zhao Huaian planned it this way. If the food was only transported by manpower, it would undoubtedly be the least cost-effective. So he decided to use food to pay wages and then transport high-value goods such as armor and weapons.

In addition, Zhao Huaian also told the old man in advance that he would give the two stone of grain to the old man in advance, and if they arrived in Qiongzhou smoothly, he would also give everyone a sum of copper coins as travel expenses for the return trip.

Such conditions were so good that it was unbelievable, but the old man decided to trust this Tang army warrior because he had saved him before.

So the old man agreed to go back and find a nearby mountain shed to take over the business.

……

Returning to the Tongshanguan market again, Uncle He saw that there seemed to be no changes here, except that there were a few more armored warriors maintaining order in the market.

After seeing the people on the sentry post shouting to the camp below, he said to a sturdy young man beside him:

"Silly boy, this is it."

The young man named Hanwa had a defiant look in his eyes as he carefully surveyed the camp ahead. Seeing two Tang soldiers emerge from the camp with smiles on their faces, he curled his lips and asked the old man:

"Third uncle, is that the Mr. Zhao you mentioned?"

Uncle He was unhappy when he heard this and scolded the fool:

"This is a benefactor. Without Mr. Zhao's help, I, your uncle, would have died long ago. Don't bring the strength from the mountains out. The food is very important to the village."

The silly kid was silent.

Yes, the food promised by Zhao Huaian was indeed very important to their village.

Two dan of grain would be enough to feed the elderly and children for a year, and enough for an adult to eat for four months. Don't think this seems too little, but in fact, even after years of hard work, they couldn't even accumulate two dan.

They fled from the jurisdiction of the government to the mountains, but life here was not idyllic, but rather more difficult.

Take land reclamation as an example. Because they do not have enough food surplus, they cannot support several months of land reclamation, so there is never enough food, and they end up in a vicious circle.

Now with these extra two stone of grain, the village can use it to cultivate more mountain fields and feed more people, and the whole village will prosper.

Uncle He did the math. It was winter now, and everyone was resting. Now he could go out and earn two stone of grain, which was pure profit.

Moreover, the journey to Qiongzhou is not too far. If you are agile, you can come back from Qiongzhou in about half a month. After a short rest, you can start next year's spring plowing.

Therefore, he took it very seriously and brought out his nephew and other good guys in the village.

Thinking of this, Uncle He tugged at his nephew's sleeve and greeted him with a smile, because his benefactor had arrived.

……

Zhao Huaian was very happy to see the crowds of people at the market entrance. Although these people were all thin, except for a young man next to the old man who was slightly taller, the others were only about five feet tall.

But as long as you can carry the goods, that's enough.

He laughed heartily and said to Uncle He who came to greet him:
"Uncle He, you're a little late. The other groups have already arrived and are waiting for you."

He Bo's heart tightened. He didn't expect Zhao Huaian to find someone else to take over. He forced a smile and said carefully:

"My benefactor, do you have so many things to carry? Aren't the good boys in my village enough?"

How could Zhao Huaian not understand what Uncle He meant? He took Uncle He's arm and said with a smile:

"Uncle He, there are quite a lot of things. It's definitely not enough for all of you. Besides, with more people, we can share the burden. The originally agreed price remains unchanged."

Hearing this, Uncle He smiled. Indeed, with so many people, the young people in the village would have to carry less. But the next second, what Zhao Huaian said froze his smile.

I only heard Zhao Huaian whisper:
"But I'm worried about those people. They all look like bandits. Luckily you guys are here."

Uncle He glanced guiltily at his nephew beside him, then nodded awkwardly.

Why embarrassing?

Because their village is similar to that of mountain bandits. In fact, the so-called mountain sheds are all like this. They farm when they are busy, and play the role of mountain bandits in their free time. Robbing houses is a common occurrence.

The last time he came to Tongshan Pass, he was actually just here to scout the area. He wanted to see the strength of the Tibetans and see if there was any opportunity to make a fortune.

But unexpectedly, a military camp with about a hundred people was wiped out by the Tang army warrior in front of him in one day.

There was one thing that Zhao Huaian didn't know. When He Bo returned to the village and told his brother the news that Zhao Huaian wanted to hire them, the first thought of the people in the village was not to take the business, but to go down the mountain and rob them.

If Uncle He hadn't told me that Zhao Huaian was his savior and that he had captured the Tibetan military camp, this time when he went down the mountain, things might not be like this.

After coughing, Uncle He was about to introduce them. He kicked his nephew He Wenqin and cursed:

"How did you teach me? Call me benefactor."

He Wenqin had done several no-cost businesses in the mountains before, and his heart had long been wild. While He Bo was chatting with the Tang army warrior, his eyes were constantly looking at Zhao Huaian.

Now that he was kicked by his uncle, he restrained himself a little, but still did not salute. He just clasped his fists and said:

"Mountain folk He Wenqin greets the benefactor."

Zhao Huaian smiled and said "not bad", then took He Bo and others back to the village.

As soon as these mountain people entered the camp, they found that there were quite a few people in the camp. In addition to Zhao Huaian's people, there were three other groups of people sitting in a group and eating barley rice.

Uncle He saw a few familiar faces from the nearby sheds, and was sure Zhao Huaian hadn't just been coaxing him. But for some reason, a few of the strong men had bruises all over their faces, with wounds at the corners of their mouths.

After Zhao Huaian brought Uncle He and the others in, he pointed to a tent and said to Uncle He:
"Uncle He, the people you brought will stay in those two tents first. You came at the right time. The barley rice is already cooked in the pot. Let's sit down and eat together. I just need to talk to everyone."

Uncle He obeyed the order and walked over there with the young people in the village. They sat cross-legged with everyone. Soon, two young men came here carrying a big pot with cooked barley rice in it.

Without Uncle He's instructions, He Wenqin and the others began to eat with their hands, stuffing their heads in. He himself glanced around cautiously, surprised.

Wow! There must be hundreds of people in this camp.

He Bo's next thought was not where these people came from, but whether Zhao Huaian had so much food to distribute?

If each person gets two stones of grain, that would be more than two hundred stones of grain. My goodness, this benefactor must have made a fortune by capturing the Tibetan camp.

Zhao Huaian was unaware of He Bo's envy. He stood in the center of the camp, looked around at the huts, and clapped his hands:

"I put the word out in the market before, hiring brave men to carry the goods to Qiongzhou, but I didn't expect so many people to be so enthusiastic and come. But don't worry, I, Zhao Da, am a man of my word. If I say two dan per person, it means two dan per person. No matter how many come, I can afford it."

After saying that, Zhao Huaian called out to Sun Tai and Zhao Hu, and then the two opened a tent, which was filled with sacks of food.

All the people in the mountain huts were so excited that they shouted in unison, and their breathing became a little heavy.

Zhao Huaian was very satisfied with their performance. He had figured it out these days. It turned out that these people were not good citizens. They were either extremely cunning or unruly.

Before Uncle He and his men came, several people in the mountain sheds wanted to provoke him by relying on their tricks. In the end, they were beaten up by him and finally behaved themselves.

But it is true that poor mountains and bad waters produce unruly people. He seemed a little honest just now, but he immediately became rebellious when he saw these mountains of grain.

Since that’s the case, Zhao Huaian simply distributed the food now and put an end to these people’s thoughts.

Soon, everyone started lining up to receive food, including He Bo's group. There were a total of 63 people from four villages, and each person received two stone of barley.

Two stone of barley weighs about 200 kilograms, which is too much for one person to carry away. But Zhao Huaian didn't have to worry about it. With the roar of the mountain sheds, a group of old and young women and children soon came running from outside the mountain, everyone carrying a bamboo basket and smiling happily.

These people came with the mountain sheds. They had been hiding nearby until they were sure that the food was really being distributed, and then they rushed out.

Zhao Huaian ignored those people and called He Bo and the other three leading mountain sheds over and ordered:

"When I, Zhao Da, started out, I always put the word 'righteousness' first, and then the word 'trust'. Now that I have distributed the food, my fellow heroes, let's set off."

Uncle He was smiling happily, but the other three were not much better. They had never seen anyone give out food before they had done any work.

Then, the four of them also clasped their fists together generously:
"I dare not disobey my lord's orders."

Just like that, after the people in the mountain huts finished talking to their relatives, Zhao Huaian set off again with everyone who had already packed up.

Target Qiongzhou front!

(End of this chapter)