Entrepreneurship in the Late Tang Dynasty

Chapter 37 Dress Up
Originally, Ren Conghai didn't want to bring up this topic anymore, because when Zhao Huaian said the word "benevolent government", he was completely defeated.

Because Zhao Huaian is a real nobody, he didn't even know about the Jingyuan Rebellion during the reign of Emperor Dezong.

If it weren't for those soldiers from Jingyuan who mutinied and rebelled because they felt that the food they received was too little and the cloth they were given was too coarse when they left the country, the country wouldn't have come to this point.

Although there were vassal states all over the country, each vassal state was different from another. For example, those in Hebei and other places were purely local emperors. Those in the Central Plains and the East were also arrogant in the past, but they were defeated by the imperial court, so they also listened to the imperial court, even if not much.

But the situation was different in western Sichuan and the southern vassal states. Although they were vassal states, they were actually directly governed by the imperial court, and the imperial court's authority was always there.

Therefore, low-ranking military men in the western Sichuan vassal state like Ren Conghai still had their hearts on the side of the imperial court. Although there were not many of them, some of them still had some loyalty to the emperor and patriotism.

In his opinion, it was this out-of-bounds grain that spoiled the foreign soldiers to the point that they could not fight at all and their treatment could not be bad at all.

Even with this rotten system, Zhao Huaian still called it a benevolent policy, which really broke Ren Conghai's defense.

But Ren Conghai didn't want to pay attention to Zhao Huaian, but Zhao Huaian was thirsty for knowledge. He didn't know how to ask:
"Old Ren, what exactly is this out-of-bounds food?"

Ren Conghai was stunned for a moment and glanced at Zhao Huaian. It seemed that this Zhao Da didn't understand.

Are all the generals of the Lizhou army so bad? They are truly the worst group of warriors he has ever encountered.

He smacked his lips and snorted:

"I've said too much. I'm thirsty and need something to moisten my throat."

Zhao Huaian knew that all the people from the camp wanted to drink, so he hurriedly called out to the old Mexican who was helping over there:

"Old Mo, go get some wine from my tent."

Lao Mo was helping Lao Liu with his accounts. Upon hearing this, he hurried back and soon returned with a jar of wine and two cups.

Zhao Huaian took a look and shouted:
"Go and fetch the golden cup."

Lao Liu was stunned for a moment, glanced at Ren Conghai over there, then went back in. When he came out again, he had a golden cup in his hand. It was seized by Zhao Huaian from the Tibetan nobles in Tongshan Pass.

Zhao Huaian took the wine, then stuffed the golden cup into Ren Conghai's arms and filled it for him:
"Old Ren, this golden cup goes really well with the wine. I'm just listening to your profound remarks."

Ren Conghai fiddled with the golden cup in his hands, feeling the carvings on it. He really couldn't let it go. He coughed pretentiously and said:

"But although this golden cup is wonderful, I'm afraid it will be gone after I drink from it."

Zhao Huaian was angry and put his arm around Ren Conghai's shoulders, saying sincerely:
"Old Ren, what are you talking about? This cup is yours. You can drink from it anytime you want."

This boy, Ren Conghai laughed heartily, took the golden cup filled with wine, and drank it all in one gulp:

"Zhao Da, I have high hopes for you. You can accomplish great things."

Zhao Huaian curled his lips. From the first moment he saw Ren Conghai, he knew that this old guy was a greedy person. Now he realized that he was right about him.

He has never used this gold cup since he seized it. With the current gold melting technology, who knows how much lead and mercury heavy metals are mixed in it. Wouldn't it mean he will die faster if he uses this to drink water?
Since this old man loves it, then give it to him. Anyway, this old guy will surely have great fortune in the future.

Ren Conghai got a great bargain here and felt cheerful. He no longer looked down on Zhao Huaian for being a pushover and answered all his questions without hesitation.

He told Zhao Huaian that the grain sent out from the border was, after all, the imperial court providing money and grain to allow the various vassal states to send troops to fight.

The army of a vassal state was normally supported by the local government, but once it left the state, all expenses were borne by the imperial court.

Also, because the remuneration for sending troops by the vassal states was three times the usual amount, all the vassal states were very enthusiastic in sending troops.

Just like the current Qiongzhou camp, the foreign vassal troops include the Yanhai Army, the Shenshen Army, the Boye Army, the Chuandong Army, the Zhongwu Army, and the Fengxiang Army, all of which are directly supplied by the court.

Then the rest was directly supplied by the Sichuan West Shogunate, including the 100-man team on Zhao Huaian's side.

Because of this golden cup, Ren Conghai gave Zhao Huaian a tip:
"If you want to supplement your military supplies in the future, you might as well recruit a few soldiers from the outer vassal states and attach them to the camp. That way, they can receive money and food from the imperial court, and then you can split the cost with the outer vassal states 20:80."

Zhao Huaian was stunned for a moment and asked a stupid question:
"I'm eight and he's two?"

Ren Conghai looked at Zhao Da like a fool and snorted:
"Is it still your eight? As for your two, it's because of the Song envoy above you that you can use the Zhongwu Army's connections. Otherwise, even if you only wanted one, it wouldn't be your turn."

Zhao Huaian understood the darkness in the Tang Dynasty army. Just now, Ren Conghai acted like he was serving his country and the king, but now he turned around and started to undermine the court.

But in Zhao Huaian's opinion, this is indeed a good idea.

……

On this side, just as Zhao Huaian was thinking about how to have another drink with Li Shitai and talk about this matter, Zhao Liu and Wang Duo had already come over.

After counting the supplies, Zhao Liu couldn't hold back his smile. He handed the book to Zhao Huaian, then pointed at Wang Duo and praised him, "Mr. Zhao, this Mr. Wang is a sincere man. The supplies he brought are all excellent. We should have a good meal with him."

Zhao Huaian laughed heartily. He loved to organize drinking parties. He always believed that if the wine and people were in place, the thing would be in place.

As soon as Zhao Liu was told to prepare a meal, Zhao Huaian picked up the book and took a look at it. After reading only the first few lines, his hands shook.

Just because it says:
"Thirty sets of iron armor, forty sets of leather armor, forty sets of battle robes, one hundred spears, twenty long cowhide shields, forty cavalry badges, twenty crossbows, forty crossbow strings, two thousand crossbow arrows, one hundred ox-horn bows, three hundred bowstrings, three thousand bows with arrows, four hundred armor-piercing arrows, one hundred bow bags, eighty horizontal swords, twenty Mo Daos, twenty iron-bound wooden clubs, forty cavalry axes and iron-bone spears, and twenty lassoes."

Just these, Zhao Huaian was shocked. This is the equipment of a hundred people? Were the ancestors of the Tang Dynasty always so well-equipped when fighting wars?
He had worked so hard to save up so little, but now that he had been recruited, this amount alone was equivalent to all his belongings.

Okay, okay, Lao Song really loves me, and Lao Yue didn’t lie to me. This is really a great gift.

The contents of the book were not complete yet. There were also some flags and drums, which were what Zhao Huaian needed. Without these things before, he couldn't even train the team.

In addition to these military equipment, there are also some clothing tents, such as cloth jackets, yellow shirts, forehead caps, hemp shoes, straw shoes, cloth boots, cotton trousers, long shirts, and headdresses, all of which are supplied according to the proportion of 100 people.

Then there were tents, pots, horse bowls, bran bags, knives, files, pliers, drills, and whetstones. Each person had four or five of these supplies.

In addition to these supplies, the camp also sent some large livestock, but there were no war horses, but some pack horses, donkeys and mules, a total of twenty heads, responsible for pulling the twenty baggage carts.

Zhao Huaian was still very dissatisfied with this. He knew that there was no shortage of horses in western Sichuan. The number of horses exchanged for tea and horse trade with Tubo over the years was probably only tens of thousands.

I don’t know what Old Song is so stingy about. He has already given so many things, but is he still short of a dozen war horses?
snort!
……

After Zhao Huaian finished reading the entire book, he found that these things were not only weapons and equipment, but also covered all aspects of food, clothing, housing and transportation.

It seems that the Tang Dynasty’s army is really a family, and everyone lives together.

Zhao Huaian couldn't help it, and ran directly to the baggage cart, lifted the hay covering it, picked up a pair of walking boots, gestured with them, and then threw them to Zhao Wenzhong:
"Come on, put on your shoes and clothes. We're going to make a fortune this time. Haha."

When the baggage cart arrived, Han Tong and Niu Li and the other people from Tongshan were already looking at it eagerly, because they were the most poorly dressed and didn't even have a pair of straw sandals.

Now, upon hearing Zhao Huaian's order, everyone scrambled for it.

Zhao Liu was so anxious that he jumped onto the donkey cart and shouted:
"Niu Li, Han Tong, Qian Tiefo, and Wei Jingang, the four of you stand in front. The other captains also stand in front, and their subordinates stand behind them. Come and lead them one by one."

There is no clear organization in Zhao Huaian’s current team, but each team has been divided into different leaders.

There is no establishment of a staffing structure at present, and people are still led according to their close relationships.

For example, Aqi Mo led Niu Li and the remaining 25 people from Tongshan. They were considered logistics personnel, responsible for cooking, chopping firewood, and looking after livestock and supplies.

Next is Zhao Liu, who is considered the chief steward of the army and is in charge of all miscellaneous matters. He has six craftsmen directly under him, including leather workers, bamboo weavers, and cloth workers. Currently, none of them can read and write to help him.

Then people like Yang Mao, Sun Tai, Zhao Hu, Wang Li, and He Wenqin were all Zhao Huaian's disciples and members of the Righteous Society. They followed Zhao Huaian directly and slept near his tent.

In addition, Zhao Huaian also brought Zhao Wenzhong's four adopted sons and the twelve Tongshanlang he had bought from the market before.

Because of their young age, they are all considered non-combatants.

Then what remains is the main combat force of Zhao Huaian's team, which can be roughly divided into three categories, namely the mountain sheds, the former Baoyi Army and the previously captured Tang army.

The mountain shed was led by Zhang Dai, who brought with him six other members of the mountain shed. Then came the former Baoyi Army's brave border guards: Han Tong, Qian Tiefo, and Wei Jingang, three of whom were in charge, each with six or seven men.

Then the remaining four are Lu Zhongyuan, Zhou Dexing, Chen Fahai and Guo Congyun. These four are the coaches of the whole team. Lu Zhongyuan teaches the horizontal sword, Zhou Dexing teaches the Mo sword, Chen Fahai teaches the battle formation, and Guo Congyun teaches riding, shooting and horse lance.

Then these people each brought seven or eight people, also as leaders.

Among them, Guo Congyun's side is the most special. Four of the eight war horses in the team are with him. The team members are also good riders who were captured from the Tang army before. They are Zhao Huaian's favorites.

Now that the camp has given Zhao Huaian the organization of "Baoyi Du", it will definitely be reorganized according to the organization of the Tang army in the future.

He had eight captains under him, each leading a group, and then the disciples around him were directly led by him and also counted as one group. This made a total of nine groups of combat soldiers and almost three groups of logistics.

All of these combined can barely build a structure that can accommodate a hundred people.

It seems that Old Song knows his own strength very well. He gave equipment to a hundred people, neither more nor less.

At this time, Zhao Huaian watched the eight guys and disciples receive their equipment one by one, watched them change into crimson military robes, and the captains also put on red cloaks and tied red headbands on their heads. He couldn't help feeling a sense of heroism in his heart.

Our Lao Zhao’s team is quite strong!

(End of this chapter)