Entrepreneurship in the Late Tang Dynasty

Chapter 58 Reward (Please Read)

After a friendly conversation between Lao Zhao and Xiao Song, the two sides communicated fully, resolved misunderstandings, and further deepened their cooperation.

But when Zhao Huaian personally sent Song Wentong to the village gate, Zhao Da couldn't help but worry when he saw Song Wentong staggering away.

Was Song Wentong really scared this time?
Thinking of this, Zhao Huaian couldn't help but glare at Zhao Liu again.

Zhao Liu saw it, pursed his lips, and complained in his heart:

"Why is Zhao Da so fond of glaring now? Hey, Zhao Da has become a high-ranking official, but the brotherhood has faded! Back then, if it wasn't our Sixth Brother, Zhao Daneng... Oh, let's not talk about it, the relationship has faded."

If Zhao Huaian knew what Zhao Liu was thinking, he would definitely beat him up again.

However, although he felt a little sorry for Song Wentong, Zhao Huaian did not think that the final episode would affect the transaction.

To put it bluntly, compared to those heads, Song Wentong's personal honor and disgrace does not seem to be that important.

……

And sure enough, when Song Wentong returned, the Shen Ce Army did not cause any trouble and actually did business with Zhao Huaian honestly.

It would be fine for others, but Chen Fahai, an old member of the Shen Ce Army, was shocked to see how well-behaved these Shen Ce Army soldiers were.

If they can rob money, why don't they earn money? As the largest violent group in Chang'an, with the support of the lieutenant husbands above them, they are simply a toad swallowing gold and a tiger sitting on the ground.

The richest areas in Chang'an were no more than two markets, but their Shen Ce Army could collect various miscellaneous taxes in the markets themselves.

Do you think that as a small merchant, you can avoid being exploited if you don't go to Chang'an to sell your goods? But sorry, if you escape the sword of Chang'an, you still have to escape the sword of the various Shen Ce military garrisons within the capital.

At any intersection or bridge, these Shen Ce troops would set up checkpoints. People had to pay to leave, and they had to take a share of the goods passing through. Even if a pig passed through, they would have to leave a leg behind.

This is the background of their Shen Ce Army.

So when Chen Fahai saw that the Shen Ce Army outside were doing business so honestly and were obviously doing so at a loss, he was surprised.

At that moment, Zhao Huaian was as tall as a three-story building in Chen Fahai's heart, and the relationship behind this was extremely important.

But Chen Fahai had no idea that the reason why the Shen Ce Army cooperated so honestly was not only because the military supervisor Zhou Congyu was indeed strict with them, but also because Zhao Huaian's current reputation was greater than Bao Yidu and others imagined.

These people have been fighting in Jinma Village these days, so they are not clear about the current reputation of Shuangliu.

Now when the army mentions Zhao Da and Zhao Huaian, in addition to the phrase "Hu Baoyi", there is more complexity and admiration in their hearts.

The situation was critical at the time. The Nanzhao army was advancing eastward in a mighty force, and all the generals inside and outside Shuangliu City were renowned warriors. Yet, not one dared to leave the city to defend the stronghold.

But Zhao Huaian not only took the initiative to accept such a task, but also fought really well.

When they were in Shuangliu City, the city also organized several waves of vanguard teams to go out of the city to harass the Nanzhao army, but the results were not great.

Then what did these people see the next day?
They saw the enemy troops fleeing in the west and rushing into the camp outside the city. Then they drove these people to the moat outside the city and beheaded them, leaving blood all over the ground.

In the end, with hundreds of bamboo poles carrying the heads, a Nanzhao army hurriedly marched westward.

At this time, the people on the city wall knew that Zhao Da must have won a victory outside.

Even the warriors outside the vassal state who looked down on Zhao Huaian's status as a country bumpkin could not help but sigh:
"Zhao Da is indeed a hero from Huaixi, not just a figure from Shuzhong."

You see, now Zhao Da has become one of us again.

A person's prestige is sometimes very direct, it depends on whether you can get things done and whether you can do what others cannot do.

Once someone is always regarded by others as someone who can be entrusted with a task in times of crisis and turn the tide, it may not be obvious at ordinary times, but when a crisis comes, everyone will subconsciously point to this person for decision-making.

In this way, power will naturally tend to such people. This is true throughout history, both in China and abroad.

And now Zhao Huaian has a bit of this flavor. In the two major battles, Zhao Da did what others could not do and did things that others dared not do. He is indeed a hero.

How could the Shen Ce Army not know about these rumors in the army? They originally accompanied the military supervisors to various vassal states to collect feedback from them so that they could report it back to Chang'an in a timely manner.

This was also a fixed task for the military inspectors and the Shen Ce Army sent out after the middle and late Tang Dynasty. They really thought they were here to make money.

Of course, it is human nature to seek some benefits when on a business trip, and even the Holy Emperor can sympathize with it.

Therefore, it was easy for these Shen Ce Army to judge that it would not take long for Zhao Da to make his way in Chengdu. By then, he would have a background above him and a group of capable troops to support him, and he would be a big shot in Chengdu.

If the Shen Ce Army wants to get rich, they have to build good relationships with these local figures. After all, their base is in the capital.

As for other places, if people give the emperor some face, their Shen Ce Army can still take advantage of the situation to bully others. But if they think that the emperor is nothing, then they are nothing more than nothing.

So, when Zhao Huaian saw Song Wentong, he thought he was a rare treasure and decided to make a small investment. The Shen Ce Army felt the same way. Seeing a powerful figure like Zhao Da, they also decided to make a small investment.

Yes, the huge sum of money worth several thousand pieces of cloth was just a small investment in the eyes of the Shen Ce Army.

It is no exaggeration to say that among these Shen Ce troops who are currently blowing the wind outside Jinma Village, which one of them is not doing big business of tens of thousands of silk cloths every minute?
They were truly investing in Zhao Huaian. This guy was very assertive.

So their Shen Ce Army invested in this business!
Of course, there was also a piece of not-so-serious news circulating in the army, saying that Zhao Dazhuang had grown up and that the Song envoy had always loved him, so he held a small banquet every three days and a large banquet every five days, and he asked about his well-being, gave him clothes and gold, and doted on him with great care.

Although they, the Shen Ce Army, didn't think that a man as tall and strong as Zhao Da would do such a shameless thing, but what if?
Anyway, no matter what, Zhao Huaian is a rare commodity!
……

Unfortunately, Zhao Huaian was unaware of his complicated reputation in the military, nor did he know that he had just let go of a group of angel investors.

At this moment, he watched these fools of the Shen Ce Army leave generously, holding the four money deeds in his hand, feeling very happy.

Zhao Huaian has been in the Tang Dynasty for almost three months. With his own efforts, he has finally become a rich man.

The four money deeds in his hand were each signed by the Chengdu Daci Temple for 500 strings of cash.

Zhao Huaian heard from Xian Yuyue that Daci Temple was the largest temple in Chengdu, occupying almost half of the area of ​​Chengdu's East City. On weekdays, there were more than 10,000 monks, making it a first-class temple in the world.

Zhao Huaian knew that the temple at this time was not just for chanting sutras, but also engaged in business such as buying and selling land, notarization, lending money, pawning, and any other business that could make money.

This is quite similar to the Shen Ce Army. They do everything except doing good deeds.

The four money deeds in Zhao Huaian's hand are worth two thousand strings of cash. How much money are these four pieces of hemp paper worth?
I can buy ten mansions in Chengdu alone to support a hundred retainers and warriors a year.

It can be said that Zhao Huaian has never earned so much money in his two lifetimes.

At this moment, Zhao Huaian could no longer suppress his excitement and turned to Zhao Liu and others and said:

"Call all the brothers to the camp. I, Zhao Da, want to give you a reward!"

Yes, as soon as Zhao Da earned money, he shared it with his brothers. He is so generous!
Zhao Liu and the others shouted with joy and surrounded Zhao Huaian as he went up to the reviewing platform.

The leaders of each team also called over their officers and soldiers. More than 700 people were crowded in the camp, each of them stretching their necks out, with excitement on their faces.

We will give rewards to everyone!
They like this general so much. If they follow Zhao Da, not only will they be treated to wine and meat, but he will also come for team-building activities from time to time and even give them bonuses from time to time.

Can you stand such a leader?

……

Zhao Huaian was full of vigor and looked at the team he had assembled and shouted heroically:

"Brothers, let's not talk too much, let's give out the money!"

As he spoke, Zhao Huaian asked Beiwei and the others to carry out all the bamboo baskets at the back. There were more than a thousand strings of copper coins in dozens of baskets. In addition to the wages paid by the superiors during this period, there were also eight hundred strings of money "picked up" on the road of retreat.

The sight of piles of golden copper coins filled the air, and the warriors and officers breathed heavily, their moods wavering.

Compared to abstract numbers, these things have the most visual conflict.

Zhao Huaian began to announce the reward conditions:
"If you capture and kill the bandit leader, you will be rewarded with 100 pieces of silk and 100 strings of cash. If you capture and kill the bandit general, you will be rewarded with 50 pieces of silk and 50 strings of cash. If you capture and kill the bandit soldiers or the chief general, you will be rewarded with 10 pieces of silk and 10 strings of cash. Those who are not included in this list will also receive rewards for going into battle, and each person will receive 2 pieces of silk and 1 string of cash."

As soon as these words were spoken, the officials and soldiers cheered loudly, simply because the reward was so generous.

Currently, silk and cloth can only be exchanged after arriving in Chengdu, so Zhao Huaian decided to reward those who have made contributions first.

So this is what happened.

The soldiers ran back to the tents and took out heads from packages and bamboo baskets. These were the heads they had beheaded in previous battles, and they would now serve as a standard for reporting their merits.

These people stood in the camp according to the order of their teams, and Wang Duo took a few scribes to start examining the heads.

Don’t think that just because they were fighting against the Nanzhao army, these heads are fine.

If they don't check carefully, these killers will be able to take the heads of their comrades who died in the battle and use them as military merits. Do you believe it?

Wang Duo has been in the army for many years. Doesn’t he know the character of the warriors?
Sure enough, just as the inspection was halfway through, a scribe next to Wang Duo discovered something wrong. He held a brush and shook his head at a dark-skinned man:

"You said you beheaded thirteen people? But you only have two heads, and one of them was chopped off so badly that it's hard to tell. How can you believe that?"

As he said this, the scribe was about to commend the soldier with a poem, but this angered the other party.

This dark and burly man was also a strong man. He punched the man in the heart and cursed:

"You're not the one who eats shit. I killed dozens of people on the battlefield, and now I want to be humiliated by your sword and pen?"

As he said this, the man was about to hit the writer's hand again.

Soon the chaos here attracted the attention of Zhao Da on the reviewing platform. He frowned and called Hu Honglue over.

I beg you all to read until Monday, especially because Monday is so important to me, as I'm going to hit Sanjiang that day. As long as Xiao Chen can get to Sanjiang, I'll post ten copies the day he's online, and then I'll keep working hard. I hope you'll support me until Monday, Monday only. Please.

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(End of this chapter)