Entrepreneurship in the Late Tang Dynasty

Chapter 52 General Talent (Thanks to the Alliance Leader Perfect Sweet Girl)

When Zhao Huaian heard this, he flew into a rage. What good man doesn't hate a fat translator?

Hearing this, he looked around and asked:

"Gentlemen, who can shoot this beast for me?"

When Zhao Huaian said this, Wang Li, who was of Liao ethnicity, was still there, but he had no reaction. After all, this is how our Tang Dynasty discriminated against Liao people.

Before he finished speaking, the generals looked at each other. Although they wanted to kill the traitor in front of the general, the traitor was also cunning. He stopped just out of the range of the bows and arrows, and he was wearing armor, making it even more impossible to kill him.

When Zhao Huaian saw this situation, he knew that these people were hesitating, and he felt unhappy.

Oh, I only regret that there weren't two of those traitors here, otherwise he would have been able to shoot one to death. But now there's only one, so he can't shoot.

But just when Zhao Huaian was about to save his face, a person suddenly stood up from behind him. It was Wang Jin who had recovered from his injury some time ago.

At this moment, he, like all the other generals, was wearing willow-leaf armor and a red forehead band on his head. He was seven feet eight inches tall, strong and majestic. If it weren't for the long scar on his face, he would have been a great man and a true hero.

Wang Jin came out and saluted with his hands crossed:
"I'm willing to give it a try."

Zhao Huaian did not doubt Wang Jin at all, but directly said to Zhao Wenzhong over there:

"Bring me my hard bow."

The bow Zhao Huaian used had a draw weight of three stones. What level was that? Anyone who could pull this bow would be considered a fierce general in any era.

Xian Yuyue had told Zhao Huaian before that Gao Pian, the Prime Minister, was a powerful man who could pull three stones. When he was training in the border army, he shot down two eagles with one arrow. He was definitely an expert in shooting eagles.

How amazing is this? For example, Yue Fei, a man of supernatural power in later generations, could draw a bow weighing 300 jin before he even reached adulthood. This is nine shi in Song Dynasty stone and three shi in Tang Dynasty stone.

So let’s not ask whether the character of that high-ranking envoy is as sunny as Yue Wumu, but at least in terms of military strategy and martial arts, he is not inferior to Wumu at all.

This made Zhao Huaian immediately understand the level of the soon-to-be-appointed high-ranking envoy, so he did not dare to underestimate him at all.

From Xianyu Yue, we learned that Prime Minister Gao particularly loved sharpshooters, and Zhao Da even specially found such a three-stone hard bow from the armory.

However, although he could pull the bow, his archery accuracy was really poor, so the bow gradually became a tool for training strength. It has not killed anyone so far, and can be called a "kind" bow.

But no matter how shameful it is, Yue Fei pulled a three-stone bow, and Zhao Da also pulled a three-stone bow. Rounding it off, Zhao Huaian is also half Yue Fei.

Zhao Huaian taught Wang Jin this hard bow not to humiliate him at all, because since Wang Jin recovered, it was he who taught him how to shoot the bow, so Zhao knew very well that Wang Jin could pull it.

Sure enough, after Wang Jin took the bow, he stood holding the bow, stringed but not drawn, looking calm and composed.

Everyone was too afraid to breathe and just stared at the traitor Tang outside the village. When that person saw that no one responded from inside the village, he started to persuade them to surrender.

This man held the whip, swung it forward, and shouted:

"You guys, do you want to die instead of surrender?"

But just as he finished speaking, an arrow shot directly from the camp wall and hit the armpit of his right hand that was holding the whip.

The overwhelming force caused the arrow to penetrate directly into the chest of the traitor. He died in great pain and confusion, completely unable to understand why he died.

And at the moment he fell, there was thunderous cheering on the opposite camp wall.

……

Zhao Huaian clapped his hands excitedly when he saw Wang Jin shoot an arrow into the traitor Tang's armpit:

"Okay, okay, Old Wang, Li Guang was just like that in the past, just like that."

At this moment, Zhao Huaian was ecstatic, he really picked it up.

This man could be called a warrior because he could shoot accurately with a three-stone bow, but Zhao Huaian valued the scheming shown by Wang Jin more.

The thief was wearing armor, and there was almost no weak point on his body except for his armpits. But under normal circumstances, he could not be shot because as long as he did not raise his hands, the shoulder pads could block the incoming arrows.

Wang Jin had been holding back until the traitor Tang showed a flaw, then he did not hesitate and launched a thundering attack. His cunning and courage were beyond the reach of a warrior, and he clearly had the talent of a general.

Zhao Huaian looked at Wang Jin, who remained calm and composed amidst the cheers of the generals, and liked him even more.

This Old Wang is the one who is looking for opportunities in the Tang Dynasty!
The Nanzhao army outside the village was also frightened by this arrow. After a long time, a group of people came out, holding shields and dragged the fallen Tang traitor back.

This cautious look greatly boosted the morale of the people in the village.

Seeing this, Zhao Huaian took the lead and shouted:

"The one who killed the thief is Wang Jin!"

All the troops shouted:

"The one who killed the thief is Wang Jin!"

For a moment, cheers were thunderous in Jinma Village.

At this moment, Wang Jin was moved and bowed deeply to Zhao Huaian.

……

It was not known whether Wang Jin's arrow had frightened the enemy, but the Nanzhao army did not launch an attack that day, but instead set up camp on the spot.

Zhao Huaian stood on the watchtower and watched the enemy servants go to the nearby Jinma River to fetch water. He was lost in thought. He called Zhao Wenzhong over:
"Go, call all the team leaders to my tent for a meeting."

Zhao Wenzhong, four five-inch strong men, held long swords taller than themselves, wore iron armor, and had two small flags on their backs. They followed Zhao Huaian all the time. When they heard the order from their adoptive father, they hurried to the four camp walls to call out to the captains.

Afterwards, Zhao Huaian asked Xu Kaidao on the camp wall to continue observing, and then took Zhang Dai and Lu Zhongyuan on this side down the wall.

As soon as they returned to the tent, the captains from the other three sides also came over and hid in the tent in a mess.

Zhao Huaian didn't sit down either, and started asking everyone:

"Gentlemen, what do you think?"

Fatty Bean was the first to laugh in the crowd. He was genuinely happy.
"Haha, those foreign generals in the city must be dumbfounded right now. If they knew that the Nanzhao army ignored us and headed straight into the city, wouldn't they regret it to death?"

Fatty Dou's words really made everyone happy. They were ready for a life-and-death battle with the Nanzhao army, but who would have thought that they would just let go here and head straight for Shuangliu.

How cool is that?
Then Lawrence Lu beside him was also laughing, but he asked a question:
"The enemy army has let our camp go like this, aren't they afraid that we will come out and cut off their food supply?"

Zhao Huaian nodded. He was also thinking about this question. When he saw Chen Fahai laughing over there, he asked hurriedly:
"Old Chen, tell me, why is the enemy doing this?"

Chen Fahai had a beautiful beard. His life was difficult before, but now that he was following Zhao Da, his life had improved. He immediately bought himself a beard bag to wrap his beard.

At this moment, Chen Fahai had a cloth bag hanging on his chin and was shaking his head:
"The Nanzhao army has been so arrogant since their journey that they don't think we have the courage to leave the stronghold. Besides, the enemy has left behind over a thousand soldiers and horses, and they think they can stop us from leaving."

Zhao Huaian listened quietly, pinching his short beard, silent, but he saw the reactions of all the generals present.

Those Nanzhao people did have a deep understanding of the Sichuan-West Army, and their guess was very accurate. After hearing what Chen Fahai said, not many of these generals looked angry.

Obviously, these people were only focused on guarding the village and had no intention of going out to help Shuangliu.

Only Gao Renhou asked:
"That's true, but we still need to leave the village to harass the enemy and relieve the pressure on Shuangliu."

However, not many people agreed with Gao Renhou's words. Everyone had the same idea. They didn't care about the life and death of those foreign soldiers. If they were not afraid of the enemy like a tiger, would they be sent to such a death?
Now they are getting what they deserve!
Zhao Huaian took all these words to heart and did not refute them directly. Instead, he suddenly sighed.

Lao Liu, who was standing by, saw the opportunity and asked:
"Zhao Da, what are you doing? What's there to sigh about? Tell us what's going on, and we brothers will figure out a solution together."

All the generals nodded, all wanting to help Zhao Huaian solve his problems.

Zhao Huaian said to Wang Jin:

"What a pity! Today, because of a traitor named Tang, Lao Wang's sharpshooting skills were exposed. Otherwise, he might have been able to kill the enemy officers."

Everyone was wondering what it was. It turned out to be this. Zhang Dai was the most gangster-like and immediately clasped his fists:
"General, how difficult is this? I, Zhang Dai, am willing to capture and kill the bandit general for you."

Zhang Dai was in high spirits here, and the others were no less powerful, all shouting.

Zhao Huaian kept smiling and suddenly asked:
"How can we capture and kill the bandit chieftain if we are only in the village?"

With just one word, all the generals fell silent. They understood what Zhao Huaian was thinking.

But some people still expressed different opinions. Lawrence Lu licked his lips, clasped his fists and asked:

"General, those foreign generals are too arrogant. Even among the generals of the Sichuan-West Army, how many of them would look down on us? It's not worth it for us to work for them. It's better to let them fight."

Zhao Huaian didn't say anything, but even if he didn't say anything, there were people willing to speak up for the boss.

Zhao Huaian's chief lackey, Sun Tai, stepped forward and shook his head:

"Captain Lu is mistaken. If we just sit back and watch Shuangliu City fall, our army will be safe. We are not fighting for them, but for ourselves. The truth is, if the lips are gone, the teeth will be cold."

Zhao Huaian was surprised at this. He didn't expect that Sun Tai was a quiet and talented person.

Although these words were not very profound, they perfectly refuted Lu Zhongyuan's words.

Sure enough, Lawrence Lu also knew that he would not gain any advantage by saying this, so he changed his mouth and said:
"But the enemy outnumbers us several times. Going out would mean death. Besides, even if we defeat the bandits outside, what good will it do? The main enemy force is only five or six miles away and will arrive in half a day. If we fight well, the main enemy force will turn around and attack us. Will we be dead then?"

These words left Sun Tai, who had just had the upper hand, speechless.

Zhao Huaian, who was between the two of them, looked at Lao Lu with even more sidelong glances. Lao Lu was indeed a veteran soldier, and he was far ahead in terms of self-preservation.

Does what he said make sense? Not only does it make sense, it's also a retelling of history.

During the An-Shi Rebellion, Zhang Xun was quite capable of defending the city, wasn't he? But what happened in the end? The better he defended, the more enemies came, and in the end, he was skinned alive.

In short, Zhang Xun absolutely cannot do this. After all, he, Zhao Da, is here to be the ancestor, not to be their dog.

But Old Lu's retreat was not in Zhao Huaian's interest in gaining reputation. But it was not his fault. Who told him not to know that the high-ranking envoy was already rushing to the rescue with a large army?
So he not only had to take the initiative to attack, but also had to give the Nanzhao army a big blow.

Then Zhao Da coughed and said:

"The general of an army can be taken away, but the spirit of a common man cannot be taken away. I am outnumbered by a thousand men, and I am still afraid of them like a tiger. How will the brave men in the army look upon me, Zhao Da? I have also made a plan. Today, I will crush Nanzhao."

After saying this, Zhao Huaian sat on the stool and shouted:
"Generals, listen!"

The lazy captains immediately clasped their fists and shouted:

"The general is here!"

(End of this chapter)