Entrepreneurship in the Late Tang Dynasty

Chapter 53: Cutting the Camp (Thanks to the Alliance Leader, Princess Xiaodao)

The moon star is thin, and the black dragonfly flies south.

Wang Jin wrapped himself in armor and held a gag in his mouth, then lowered himself down the fortress in a basket. Dozens of warriors around him, including Gao Renhou, did the same and soon gathered at the foot of the wall.

On the city wall, Zhao Huaian looked at them, nodded to them, and then watched Wang Jin and others leave.

Then he took the helmet from Zhao Liu, wrapped in a black cloak, and walked into the camp wall.

In the darkness, eight hundred officers and soldiers of Baoyi City had already put on their armor and lined up outside the camp gate.

Zhao Huaian had nothing to say, he just walked straight to the front of the crowd, put on his helmet, pulled out his Mo Dao from the ground, and stood there silently.

Behind him, countless breathing became heavier, and everyone was waiting, waiting for the signal to attack.

I don't know how long I endured this agony. Suddenly, there was a dense roar of shouting and killing outside. Zhao Liu on the camp wall hurriedly shouted to Zhao Huaian below:
"Zhao Da, Wang Jin and the others are charging in."

Zhao Huaian had been dozing off. Upon hearing this, he shouted:
"Drop the bridge and open the wall."

Zhao Liu and others above immediately cut off the hanging bridge, and the strong men behind the door also opened the door.

Through the open gate of the fort, Zhao Huaian could see flames rising from the enemy camp in the distance, like a wild beast choosing its prey.

Zhao Huaian put down the visor of his helmet and ran out of the village with his Mo Dao in hand.

The eight hundred officers and soldiers behind him were all wrapped in black cloaks, biting wooden pegs, and running wildly behind Zhao Huaian.

Yes, Zhao Huaian once again led by example.

Even though he was already the leader of a small army of a thousand men, he still had to lead the charge.

This is what entrepreneurship is all about. If you don’t personally face the dangers and obstacles, how can you win the hearts of heroes? How can you convince your brothers?
Alas, I, Zhao Da, have been walking on thin ice since I came to the Tang Dynasty.

While running, Zhao Huaian heard the roar from the camp in front and smelled the smell of burning fireworks. For some reason, a surge of hot blood rushed to Zhao Huaian's forehead.

He suddenly roared:
"Kill! Revenge for the brothers who died in the Baoyi Army!"

This roar directly made Sun Chuanwei, who was leading the charge at the back, red-eyed. He roared angrily:
"Shisanlang, kill with us!"

The five Baoyi Army warriors who had been with Sun Chuanwei before were related to each other. When they heard this, they all ran forward like crazy.

Even Zhao Huaian couldn't catch up.

Zhao Huaian cursed loudly and hurriedly chased after them, finally rushing into the enemy camp before them.

At this moment, the enemy camp was already in chaos, with sounds of killing everywhere. Most of the Nanzhao troops did not have time to put on armor and could only pick up swords and spears to fight against the Tang troops who had broken into the camp.

But the Wang Jin who rushed in was leading the Beiwei troops under Zhao Huaian. They were all wearing a full set of willow leaf armor lined with chain mail, and they killed these unarmored targets of Nanzhao indiscriminately.

In the chaotic camp, Zhao Huaian suddenly saw the Beiwei people still fighting, but he did not rush over. Instead, he led his team straight to the enemy camp.

As the 800-man righteous army rushed into the camp, the Nanzhao army was completely unable to resist. In the darkness, fear was infinitely magnified and everyone fled to the rear.

Suddenly, Zhao Huaian heard some Nanzhao warriors shouting something, as if they were trying to drive the defeated soldiers to regroup. Without the slightest hesitation, Zhao Huaian shouted:
"Shoot him."

Dang Shousu beside him drew his bow and shot, and the enemy general fell. The distance from here was at least two hundred steps, the light was dim, and there were crowds of people. However, Dang Shousu succeeded with one arrow.

Zhao Huaian laughed:
"Well done, Lao Dang, great shooting, great credit to you."

As he spoke, Zhao Huaian began to command the teams that rushed in from behind, especially Sun Chuanwei who was already in the lead, and told them to form a formation and attack with volleys of gunfire.

At this moment, the enemy army has been completely defeated, and it is a perfect time to form a formation and crush them with guns.

But Zhao Huaian overestimated the discipline of his troops. Under the dim light, most of the Baoyi Army was in chaos. Only the eight core groups of Zhao Huaian, led by their respective captains, began to form a long formation.

With such support, the other talents found the teams one after another, and then stabbed wildly with spears amid the roars of the team leaders.

The blood flowed like a river, and it was really to the point where you could barely stand still.

In the chaotic battlefield, Zhao Huaian remained calm as he looked for the enemy's main general.

But suddenly, he heard the other side shouting, and then the enemy army collapsed at a speed visible to the naked eye, and some who did not have time to escape died tragically under the swords and spears of the Baoyi army.

Then, Zhao Huaian saw several cavalrymen rushing out of the camp in the darkness and galloping towards the east.

When Zhao Huaian saw this, his heart skipped a beat, because that was the direction of the main force of the Nanzhao army.

Without caring about exposing his position, Zhao Huaian shouted directly:
"Quick, destroy the enemy quickly."

But as he was speaking, a group of knights rushed out from behind Zhao Huaian. They were the eight cavalrymen from Guo Congyun's army. They rushed out from outside the camp and charged towards the enemy knights who were rushing out over there.

Zhao Huaian was worried as his heart was in his throat. At this moment, the troops were already engaged in a fierce battle. If these defeated cavalrymen rushed out to call for reinforcements, the Baoyi Army would be doomed.

At this moment, all the teams realized this problem and fought hard.

Zhang Dai, who was at the front, was completely reckless. Wrapped in iron armor and holding knives in both hands, he rushed directly into the enemy group, with his two knives flying and blood and flesh flying everywhere.

When armored warriors confront unarmored warriors, it's a massacre.

As the generals began to rush in one after another, the remaining Nanzhao troops were squeezed into the middle of the camp.

At this time, Zhao Huaian shouted directly:
"Don't kill if you abandon your weapons."

Warriors in the crowd who understood Tang language threw their swords and knives to the ground. Some seemed determined to die rather than surrender, but were stabbed to death by their own men. Soon, the remaining Nanzhao troops in the camp knelt and surrendered, but Sun Chuanwei, at the front, was already bloodthirsty, slashing with his sword, showing no sign of stopping.

Zhao Huaian counted to three silently in his mind, and when he saw the situation gradually quieted down, he shouted to stop it.

In this way, in an attack on the camp, Zhao Huaian once again won the bet with a small investment and a big gain.

Yes, Zhao Huaian did observe repeatedly during the day and determined that this Nanzhao army was a proud army. They did not build a camp after setting up the army, and even the soldiers were undisciplined and would leave their positions at will to fetch water.

All of the above were Zhao Huaian’s considerations in deciding to attack the camp.

But are these necessarily correct? If the enemy is using this method to confuse Zhao Huaian, then Zhao Huaian's full-scale night attack is just a suicide mission.

So it’s not that Zhao Huaian is so good at predicting things. When he didn’t know the enemy’s character and behavior patterns, he was just taking a gamble, and luck was on his side, so he won the gamble.

Similarly, the main general of the Nanzhao army was indeed arrogant, but the main reason for his failure was that he did not know who the battalion commander Zhao Huaian was.

What about the generals from western Sichuan and foreign vassal states that the commander-in-chief had encountered in the past?

The generals in western Sichuan did not dare to fight, while the generals in the outer vassal states were unwilling to fight, which led to this illusion among the Nanzhao army.

But now he met Zhao Huaian, who was obsessed with starting a business, and he was still so careless and unprepared, which was a way to end his life.

Therefore, the success of a strategy never lies in its ingenuity, but in being just one step ahead of your opponent.

You need to understand your opponent, confuse him, and then have a little bit of luck to succeed.

……

As the troops began to confiscate the weapons of the remaining Nanzhao army, Zhao Huaian was absent-minded, his heart completely on Guo Congyun who had just chased out.

Based on his understanding of Guo Congyun, he should be able to live up to expectations, but the stakes are too high and Zhao Huaian is still unsure.

He saw that the teams seemed to be cleaning up the spoils in the camp and shouted:
"All units are not allowed to separate. Take the prisoners into the camp first."

Baoyi was established by Zhao Huaian himself, and his words had prestige. After hearing this, he did not count the baggage, but began to tie up the captives with hemp ropes, then tied ten of them together with a rope, and then stuffed them into the tent.

Zhao Huaian saw Fatty Dou arranging the team to detain prisoners, and hurriedly called him over.

Fatty Dou ran over in response, the armor plates on his body crackling with noises, and a pair of iron bones hung around his waist, stained with blood.

Fatty Dou may be playful or noisy, but when he gets angry, he is a real tough guy.

When he came over, Zhao Huaian ordered:

"Fatty Dou, go guard the eastern wall. If you see Lao Guo and the others coming back, tell me immediately."

Fatty Dou knew the importance of this matter, so he said "Hey" and led his team to the east wall of the camp.

But before they could go up, the sound of horse hooves came from the darkness in the east, and then they saw Guo Congyun riding a horse and galloping towards them, carrying a corpse.

Behind him were the remaining seven riders, their robes stained with blood, and one of them was carried on the backs of the others, as if he had died.

Zhao Huaian looked over hastily and saw Guo Congyi throw the enemy general he was holding to the ground, jump off his horse, and clasp his fists:

"I will fulfill my mission!"

Zhao Huaian didn't even look at the enemy general on the ground, but held Guo Congyun's hand and laughed.

How many heroes are there in the world? In one battle, two fierce generals emerged.

This is why brave generals rise from the ranks. In every county and township, as long as there is an opportunity, heroes and warriors will emerge.

……

Guo Congyun captured the enemy general and put Zhao Huaian's worries to rest, but the camp had already caught fire, which must have attracted the attention of the main enemy force in the east.

So Zhao Huaian only ordered each team to clean up the armor and military supplies as much as possible, and burn the rest.

The results of this battle were brilliant. Although the exact number was unclear, the mountains of armor still set Zhao Huaian on fire.

But these were not all his. After his troops were fully staffed, the Sichuan-Western Shogunate officially registered Bao Yidu and included him in the list, so they had to follow the principles of the Tang army's seizure.

One third of it had to be handed over to the shogunate, and the remaining one third was divided equally among the officers and soldiers in the camp, and only one third was kept in the capital as a reserve.

Armor is a national treasure and Zhao Huaian's future capital, so he will use the corresponding cloth to exchange armor from the officials and soldiers.

But these were not what really made Zhao Huaian happy. In this battle, they almost completely took over the cavalry unit of the Nanzhao Army, and more than 40 war horses were taken into Zhao Huaian's pocket.

In addition, there were only two or three hundred Nanzhao captives left, and their number almost accounted for one-third of the Baoyi Army's combat troops. Zhao Huaian did not dare to take over at this time.

So he made these people cut off their right thumbs and exiled them into the wilderness.

Some players don't understand, but those who do know how vicious it is.

Therefore, they had a different understanding of Zhao Huaian, who seemed to be always sunny and cheerful.

In this way, the Baoyi Army, which had obtained rich spoils, was in high spirits. They pushed the supply carts of the Nanzhao army camp and returned home happily with a full load.

Behind them, the Nanzhao army camp was completely engulfed in flames and turned into ashes in the endless darkness.

(End of this chapter)