gnovel Chapter 5 Zhao Kuangyin
Chapter 5 Zhao Kuangyin
Today was the day to receive his salary. The dark-skinned and plump Zhao Kuangyin, beaming with pride, took the money and ostentatiously wrapped all the copper coins around his neck. He didn't seem to mind the weight of the hundred-odd pounds and walked into the market with a big smile.
"Uncle Zhang, I've come to pay back the money. Last month, I owed you 670 coins for wine."
"It's Grand Commandant Zhao! Come in and have a drink. You said it was such a small matter, you could have just had your personal guards bring it whenever you remembered. Why did you have to come all this way yourself?"
"No, no, of course I have to pay back the money I owe. Count it yourself." With that, Zhao Kuangyin took off the copper coins from his neck and put a stack on the table.
"Have a sip of warm wine before you go."
"No, no, I still need to go to Uncle Wang's butcher shop to pay back the money." With that, Zhao Kuangyin laughed and waved goodbye. The shopkeeper of the wine shop hurriedly stepped forward to collect the money without checking it. In fact, he had never kept track of how much money Zhao Kuangyin owed him.
In his youth, Zhao Kuangyin roamed the land, which fostered some of his chivalrous nature. One of his traits was his enjoyment of personally shopping in markets and chatting with vendors as he did so.
Secondly, they spend money recklessly. The government rewards them all to the soldiers, who live entirely on their monthly salaries. They also want to entertain guests and drink every day. Their monthly salary is often almost gone by the middle of the month, and they have to rely on credit to cover their expenses at the end of the month.
With dozens of kilograms of copper coins hanging around his neck, he walked from the east end of the market to the west end, and by then he only had a dozen kilograms left. Passing by a brothel, he saw two strong men wrestling, and on a whim, he couldn't help but squat down and watch.
When his trusted advisors finally found him in the marketplace, it was already half an hour later. There they found Zhao Kuangyin shirtless, revealing a thick, bushy chest hair, having a great time playing with two street wrestlers in the brothel.
It's unclear whether these two recognized him or not and didn't dare to throw him, but he managed to throw them both around until they were completely disoriented and grinning from ear to ear.
"Grand Commandant! Grand Commandant! What are you doing here? I've been looking for you for ages!" Li Chuyun called out as he stepped forward.
Some of the people in the brothel may have known Zhao Kuangyin before, but they knew his temperament and did not make a fuss. Li Chuyun's address of "Grand Commandant" revealed his identity, and the originally enthusiastic shouts instantly subsided by more than half.
Seeing this, Zhao Kuangyin's face darkened, and he said with some displeasure, "What? It's payday today, and I'm on holiday. Can't I even have some fun? What do you have to do to bother me at this time?"
As he said this, he had already put his clothes back on, hung the remaining copper coins back around his neck, and followed Li Chuyun away from the crowd.
"What is it?"
"A father and son have arrived at the Imperial Guard today. They are both extraordinary individuals. I wonder where Han Tong found them. You would be best to take a look."
"An extraordinary person? What extraordinary person?"
"It is said that one of them was once a true cultivator of Tao."
"Taoist priest? I finally got a day off and you want me to go see a Taoist priest?" Zhao Kuangyin rolled his eyes, turned around and left. He didn't believe in those things at all.
Li Chuyun quickly stepped forward and grabbed him: "He's not a Taoist priest, he's not just a Taoist priest! Oh, Grand Commandant, please come with me! You must see him! He's truly an extraordinary person! Come on, you'll see for yourself!"
Such extraordinary individuals cannot be exclusively employed by the Imperial Guards; our Palace Guard cannot be without them, otherwise no one will want to join the Palace Guard in the future.
"What?"
Zhao Kuangyin was taken aback, then his face paled in shock. He knew that Li Chuyun would not speak carelessly about such matters, so he didn't bother to ask any further questions and quickly followed him.
"Where?" Zhao Kuangyin was a little worried that he might not be welcomed if he went to the Imperial Guard Command, and wanted to find out if the person in charge was one of his own.
"Currently in the left flank of the Longjie Army."
"Eighth Brother's army?" Zhao Kuangyin was taken aback again, frowning. "Why would Han Tong's men be in Longjie's army if something good has happened to them?"
Li Chuyun was also taken aback when he heard this, and then he realized that something seemed wrong.
Although the Longjie Army belonged to the Imperial Guard Command, it was the army that Zhao Kuangyin was most familiar with within the Imperial Guard Command, because his father, Zhao Hongyin, had previously served as the Left and Right Commanders of the Longjie Army.
The current commanders of the left and right armies, Liu Guangyi and Cui Yanjin, were both once Zhao Hongyin's confidants. Liu Guangyi, in particular, was Zhao Kuangyin's sworn brother and the eighth of the ten sworn brothers of the Righteous Society.
Although this was within the Imperial Guard Command, it was clearly Zhao Kuangyin's territory.
"Heh, interesting."
Zhao Kuangyin smiled, his eyes darting around. He wasn't in a hurry anymore, but instead pulled Li Chuyun back, not going directly, but going home first to put away the copper coins around his neck.
After wiping away the sweat from his body, he changed into a presentable Shu brocade robe, tied a jade belt around his waist, took a jade hand axe (walking stick), and combed his hair properly before heading towards Longjie Army.
From afar, one could see that the military camp was completely surrounded, making it impossible to squeeze in, and it was almost entirely filled with women. It was unclear what had happened.
"Second Brother!"
Not far away, Liu Guangyi, who had been looking around, finally saw the person who had arrived. He quickly stepped forward and said, "You've finally arrived! Han Tong has come, and he brought two extraordinary people with him. It took me a lot of effort to keep them in the army."
As he spoke, he shouted, "Make way, everyone make way, let Grand Commandant Zhao pass!"
As he spoke, he whispered to Zhao Kuangyin, "This father and son are truly amazing. They took out a bottle of something, soaked it in the hemp for a short while, and the hemp that originally needed to be soaked for twenty days was soaked in no time. They could then directly draw out the silk with a spinning wheel."
"Can linen be woven into threads?" Zhao Kuangyin was startled and immediately put on a serious expression. He had wandered the world and grown up in the military camp, so he knew what it meant for linen to be woven into threads.
During the Five Dynasties period, military camps were filled with families, with soldiers' dependents joining the army. The men were responsible for serving as soldiers and receiving pay, while the women in the camps also had ways to make a living, the most common being weaving.
Military uniforms, bedding, flags, wristbands, and other textiles could be directly exchanged for rations with the army. Any surplus materials would be woven into cloth and sold outside the army through military merchants who would purchase and sell them in a unified manner.
The armies of the Five Dynasties all had their own production systems. Because they did not pay taxes, the armies could often obtain better raw materials and their businesses were quite successful. This was also an important part of the military's efforts to supplement their family income.
How can we live off that meager military pay?
What does it mean when the linen is spun? It means that the linen they weave will be faster and better than that woven by other troops, allowing them to earn more money.
If this technology is only available to the Imperial Guards and not the Palace Guards, or if such a valuable resource is simply in Han Tong's hands, those who join him can obtain it, while those who don't can only watch as other people's wives make money by spinning silk...
"This hemp fiber is coarser than silk. This spindle can be modified slightly. You see, after this modification, it can be woven directly like this."
I'm not very good at weaving, but if you weave like this, like this, like this, you see, if you weave like this, you should be able to weave most of a bolt of cloth in an hour. You can touch it, it's quite soft."
As the crowd parted, Zhao Kuangyin saw two people, one older and one younger. The older one looked to be around thirty years old, while the younger one seemed to be only ten or so. They were weaving cloth with a strangely shaped spindle, while Han Tong had a smile on his face, but it also carried a strange and worried look.
Upon his arrival, interrupting the father and son's introductions, the two men immediately displayed an inappropriate enthusiasm, hastily stepping forward and bowing deeply: "Is this Grand Commandant Zhao in person? This humble one is Wang Jun, and this is my son Wang Lu, paying respects to Grand Commandant Zhao."
Zhao Kuangyin was about to reply with a smile when Han Tong suddenly stepped forward and blocked their path. He glanced at the father and son, then stared at Zhao Kuangyin with an unfriendly expression: "This is my personal guard unit. What are you doing here?"
He then looked at Liu Guangyi and asked, "Is your Longjie Army still part of my Imperial Guard?!"
Han Tong, nicknamed "Han the Stare-Out," was quite intimidating when he got angry. Liu Guangyi quickly lowered his head and backed away when he saw this, but Zhao Kuangyin acted as if he hadn't seen anything. He laughed and stepped around Han Tong, helping Wang Jun and his son up. He then reached out to touch the piece of cloth that had already been woven.
"Wow! So soft! How can this fabric be so soft?"
Just as the father and son were about to answer, Han Tong suddenly stepped forward and snatched the cloth from their hands, saying stiffly, "This cloth belongs to my Imperial Guard and has nothing to do with you."
Having said that, he didn't want to stay there for even a moment longer, and grabbed the father and son and left.
Seeing this, Zhao Kuangyin did not chase after them, but stared at their retreating figures thoughtfully.
"Eighth Brother, they stayed at Longjie Army's place to work today. Do you think it was Han Tong's idea, or... the idea of those two extraordinary individuals themselves?"