Entrepreneurship in the Late Tang Dynasty

Chapter 9 Nanzhao
Everyone present had already recovered from the excitement that had just occurred and was cheering together.

But these people were just there to watch the fun, only Xian Yu Yue among them saw the trick.

"The techniques used by Zhao Jun bear some resemblance to wrestling, but they are more mature and flexible, and must be from a renowned master. This martial art is most suitable for the military, and I must learn it. However, I will have to reconsider joining the Righteous Society."

Xian Yuyue had no choice but to be cautious. He was not alone, but had a whole family behind him, and he was naturally suspicious of this kind of association.

On the other side, Zhao Huaian had just sat down when two of the barbarians, who had been completely convinced, stood up and wanted to worship Zhao Huaian as their master.

One of them was called Po Tou and the other Tie Nu. They were not local barbarians, but mixed Hu people from the Western Regions.

Although the two claimed to be descendants of the Tang Dynasty in the Western Regions, Zhao Huaian didn't quite believe it after looking at their skin and faces. The two looked a bit like people from Iran.

However, there was one thing that made Zhao Huaian very happy, that is, these two people could speak Chinese.

The two men introduced their situation to Zhao Huaian. They were not in the same group as the local barbarians like Aqimo, but were brought down from the plateau by the Tibetans.

Over the years, with the rise of Gaochang Uighurs in the Western Regions, the Tibetans have been shrinking, and slaves like Po Tou and Tie Nu were brought back to their homeland in this way.

From then on, the two of them served as armored slaves of the Tibetan warriors, fighting with the team in many places, sometimes fighting for the nobles on the plateau, and sometimes for the Nanzhao people.

So Po Tou and Tie Nu have traveled to many places and are quite smart.

At the beginning, they chose to hide the fact that they could speak Chinese because they did not trust Zhao Huaian and other Tang people. After all, they had just fought with the Tang army.

But last night, Zhao Huaian slept among them, looking as if he completely trusted them, which made Po Tou and Tie Nu a little moved. They felt that this Tang warrior was really different.

However, this was just a little bit of goodwill. What really made them unable to hold back was that the Tang warrior was willing to accept a Qiang slave as his disciple and teach him martial arts, which were so powerful.

The two knew that this was their only chance in life. In this world, martial arts, like knowledge, were confined to manors and families.

People like Po Tou and Tie Nu can never learn these things no matter how great their achievements are.

And the more armored slaves they are, the more they desire force.

Because everything is very direct in Tubo, and warriors can enjoy everything.

Armored slaves like them not only always rushed to the front, but also had nothing to do with the spoils. They shed blood and risked their lives only in return for some barley cakes.

They didn't care about the ten strings of money that Zhao Huaian had promised them before. They just wanted to follow Zhao Huaian and learn real skills.

In fact, the barbarians, including Po Tou and Tie Nu, were not stupid. They certainly knew that since this Tang warrior did not want money, he must want them.

It’s just that the Yi people have different ideas.

People like Broken Head and Iron Slave were all from the Western Regions, free and unattached, so they just wanted to learn real skills. Black Sheep was also homeless, and his acquaintance Aqi Mo seemed to want to be with Zhao Huaian, so he was willing.

But like others, although they were envious, because they had a home in the mountains and were tired of the battlefield, they just wanted to send Zhao Huaian and others to Chengdu as soon as possible, get the money and reunite with their families.

When it comes to one's own destiny, no one is stupid, it's just because the conditions are different and the choices are different.

It was the choice made at this moment that determined the different destinies of these barbarians.

……

Zhao Huaian didn't know what the Yi people were thinking, but he also understood that even though he had created such a great atmosphere, it was only to get three Yi people to follow him. He estimated that if he tried harder, the result would be about the same.

So Zhao Huaian focused his attention on Po Tou and Tie Nu. After asking them to perform the ceremony of becoming his apprentice, he gave them names.

One is called Sun Tai and the other is called Zhao Hu.

In this way, Zhao Huaian's team was opened.

First came Zhao Liu, with whom he had a life-saving friendship. Then came Yang Mao, Sun Tai, and Zhao Hu, three of Yi Ding's disciples. Finally, there was Lao Mo. He was old, and probably wouldn't return to the mountain. He would most likely join me later.

In this way, my team now has six people.

Our lives are finally getting better.

Afterwards, Zhao Huaian and Xian Yuyue discussed it and decided to continue on their journey. Lao Mo and the others said that it would take at least ten days to reach Qiongzhou.

So everyone packed up their bags and continued their journey deeper into the forest.

……

In the next few days, Zhao Huaian, led by Yi Ding, went deep into the wilderness and walked along the outskirts of Qionglai Mountain.

During this journey, whenever Zhao Huaian had a break, he would teach Yang Mao, Sun Tai and Zhao Hu Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, and he never avoided other people at all.

During this period, Xianyu Yue, Ren Tong and Song Yuan also came to ask for advice and learn. Even though the three of them did not mention joining the Yishe, Zhao Huaian still did not hide his knowledge and taught them everything he knew.

Even the foreigners were watching from the side, and Zhao Huaian showed off openly.

In this way, Zhao Huaian's openness and heroism made Yi Han admire him. He had never seen such a selfless warrior.

Xian Yuyue, Ren Tong and Song Yuan admired Zhao Huaian even more. If they were close to Zhao Huaian before because he saved their lives, now they admired his character.

Xian Yuyue was embarrassed to take advantage of Zhao Huaian, so he took the initiative to pass on his archery skills. During the battle on the meadow a few days ago, he had already seen that Zhao Huaian's archery skills were terrible, so he wanted to exchange his archery skills for Zhao Huaian's Brazilian Rouge.

Zhao Huaian originally wanted to learn archery well, and now that Xian Yu Yue was willing to teach him, he was naturally happy.

And after learning this, he discovered Xian Yu Yue's extraordinaryness.

That is, Xianyu Yue’s archery skills are naturally great, but what is even more amazing than his archery skills is that he is quite good at teaching.

This is not easy.

A person can learn archery well by studying on his own and practicing diligently, but to be able to teach archery well, one must have a good teacher, so that he can explain it incisively.

Now, Zhao Huaian became even more curious about Xian Yu Yue's identity.

Finally, today, when they decided to go to a nearby Qiang settlement to exchange some supplies, Zhao Huaian, who had fallen behind, finally asked Xian Yuyue:
"Old Yue, you must be from a great family."

Xian Yuyue shook his head, seemingly unwilling to mention this matter, but after opening his mouth, he finally said:

"Mr. Zhao, we hit it off right away, and I won't hide anything from you."

"My family is indeed of high status, but that was a hundred years ago. My ancestor was the Jiedushi of Jiannan during the Tianbao period, and was indeed prominent for a time. But later, in the war against Nanzhao in the tenth year of Tianbao, my ancestor's army was wiped out, and he barely escaped with his life. Since then, our family has declined, and I have been forced to hone my skills in the army."

Xian Yuyue said it calmly, but just by looking at his expression you could tell how unwilling he was inside.

Zhao Huaian could also understand. Some of his second-generation friends in his previous life were like this when their families fell into poverty. They were obviously living better than the middle class, but when they mentioned the past, they still felt unwilling.

For people, once their ancestors were wealthy, it will be difficult to live an ordinary life.

However, Zhao Huaian heard something interesting and asked:

"So, Old Yue, you should be quite familiar with Nanzhao now. I've always wondered how Nanzhao, a small nation, could possibly stand up to the Tang Dynasty and even take the initiative to invade its borders?"

In fact, Zhao Huaian’s question was very stupid. After all, the Lizhou Army where Zhao Huaian was was the front line against Nanzhao. Didn’t they understand their enemy?

But Xian Yuyue did not delve into it. In fact, he had noticed something strange about Zhao Huaian along the way.

Even though he's quite knowledgeable, he seems to have little understanding of human nature and social conventions. For example, when he went to the toilet yesterday, Zhao Huaian refused to use leaves and instead lamented that having paper would be enough.

Xian Yu Yue did use paper to wipe the toilet at home, but that was only done to entertain distinguished guests. Normally, when he was at home, he would use toilet paper.

After all, their Xianyu family is indeed not as good as before.

As for Zhao Huaian's background, Xianyu Yue also learned about it from the musician Zhao Shun along the way. He knew that he was from Shouzhou, a member of the Lizhou army who had taken refuge in Shu and later joined the army.

So according to Zhao Huaian's life background, he should have no idea that he could use paper to wipe his butt.

Sometimes, Zhao Huaian's behavior is even more upper-class than his.

Xian Yuyue is a gentleman and never wants to speculate about others privately, not to mention that Zhao Huaian is his savior.

So when Zhao Huaian asked such a stupid question, he still explained:
"Mr. Zhao, this question is not difficult to answer. It is just the southwest of Jiannan Road. The forest is deep and dense, and the miasma is shrouded. It is difficult for our heavenly army to display their power, so we have suffered repeated setbacks."

"But if I reply like this, I will be fooling Mr. Zhao and it will also make me, Xian Yuyue, look like a mediocre person."

"Mr. Zhao, do you know who is the richest family in Chengdu?"

How would Zhao Huaian know?

Xian Yuyue said:
"Yan family."

Seeing that Zhao Huaian had no reaction, Xian Yuyue knew that his benefactor had never heard of the Yan family. So he explained:

"The Yan family was originally a prominent family in Zizhou. During the reign of Emperor Dezong, a man named Yan Zhen emerged. He was known for his contributions to the country and the Yan family rose to prominence. Yan Zhen had a cousin named Yan Li, who participated in suppressing Liu Pi's rebellion and later led his troops to plunder Chengdu. This made the Yan family very wealthy."

"But after Yan Li's fall, the Yan family seized the tea-horse trade, trading with Nanzhao and Tubo. Every year, there were five or six caravans traveling back and forth, making them truly wealthy enough to rival a nation."

Zhao Huaian understood a little bit, and he suspected:
"So Nanzhao is difficult to control because of internal traitors like the Yan family?"

But Xian Yuyue still shook his head:
"It's not that the Yan family is the traitor. It's that everyone in Chengdu is involved in this. There are even people from Nanzhao. Those Nanzhao people are no different from us Tang people. They all want gold and silver."

Zhao Huaian tasted the flavor, it seems that there is a lot of water here. He saw that Xian Yuyue was very insightful and continued to ask:

"Old Yue, what do you think of this Nanzhao invasion? Where will they attack next?"

Speaking of this, Xian Yuyue's expression became serious, and he only told Zhao Huaian this current situation.

That is, among the fourteen states and seventy-one counties in Jiannan West Road, the most capable army is not from another department, but the Lizhou Army where Zhao Huaian was previously.

Xianyu Yue told him that now that the Lizhou troops were defeated, Qionglai Pass, Rongjing and Yazhou would definitely not be able to be defended, because the garrison troops in these places had long been extremely corrupt and were completely unusable.

Only Qiongzhou has soldiers and its defense is sufficient. If Qiongzhou is lost again, Nanzhao will be able to attack Chengdu.

These words made Zhao Huaian hesitate. They were going to Qiongzhou and thought it was the rear area, but now according to Xian Yuyue, that place has become the front line?
Then do you still want to go to Qiongzhou?
(End of this chapter)