Great Tang Idyll - Volume 4 Chapter 216

Just as more and more people in Yizhou learned that wild fruit could be exchanged for money and began joining in, Zhang Xiaobao and Wang Juan’s group had already reached Pengzhou.

Nine days. From appearing in Yizhou to arriving in Pengzhou, the entire trip took nine days.

The troops ahead of them took eight and a half. Considering the harsh terrain and the rainfall along the way, it was nothing short of a miracle.

For this miracle, all the supply stations and support from Yizhou to Pengzhou cost Zhang Xiaobao more than thirty thousand strings of coins, averaging two strings of coins spent on each soldier.

After arriving in Pengzhou and resting briefly, Guo Tu led his soldiers toward Jinchuan City. He did not forget to write a memorial to the court, recounting everything along the way exactly as it happened—how much grain they currently had, the condition of the soldiers, and so on.

He praised the Zhang family heavily. The meaning was clear: if the Zhang family were to organize logistics, then no one else in the world could compare.

Of course, he had no idea how much money Zhang Xiaobao spent for those eight and a half days, nor did he know how many commoners carried loads on their shoulders or pushed wheelbarrows over dangerous mountain paths to flatten the road for them. The number of mules that fell into ravines while transporting grain had exceeded a hundred.

Zhang Xiaobao still had to resolve the aftermath. Levying grain and collecting mules required expenses, and he had to make sure others gained benefits as well. That required even more effort.

Without the logistics that had been piled up by human hands, forget eight and a half days—sixteen and a half days wouldn’t have been enough to reach Pengzhou. Zhang Xiaobao had pushed his planning to the extreme to bring the entire arrangement to perfection, with nothing overlooked.

Guo Tu left, taking with him the grain and fodder that Zhang Xiaobao had prepared.

Zhang Xiaobao and Wang Juan stayed in Pengzhou. They only carried Zhang Zhong’s name token. Since they were not responsible for Pengzhou’s defense and had no authority over local matters, the officials of Pengzhou didn’t bother with the two youngsters and treated them as if they had come for a leisurely stroll.

“We weren’t even given a courier station to stay in. They just let us find our own place. We’re working for the country too,” people from the inner household complained before Zhang Xiaobao or Wang Juan could even say anything.

Zhang Xiaobao immediately scolded them. “Say another word and go back. We came to help procure grain for the army, not to take over someone else’s defense. The reason we’re still waiting here is because the court might send another decree telling us to gather more grain. I think it’s unlikely now. Even if they want more, it won’t be our responsibility. With the Jian’nan Military Commissioner here, he can deal with it.”

Wang Juan added, “Hurry and find a place. This area is good—lots of mountains. Perfect. Training. Bring along the groups assigned by Grandpa Bi and Grandpa Yao as well. And remember, if you see a giant panda with dark circles around its eyes, catch a few. If you find one that’s pregnant, even better. We’ll take them back for Xiaobei and the others to play with.”

As she spoke, an image rose in her mind: four- or five-year-old Xiaobei and the others dressed in pretty clothes walking down the street, with a row of chubby giant pandas trailing behind them, stopping here and there to look around. It would be delightful.

They had to start training them when they were young—otherwise the pandas might treat Xiaobei and the others like snacks. But if raised together from young, giant pandas were very cute.

Wang Juan acted as she spoke. She left the inner household to handle matters according to Zhang Xiaobao’s plan, while she and Zhang Xiaobao took fifty-six members of Team Zero, two hundred of Li Xun’s personal guards, and one hundred men from Grandpa Bi and Grandpa Yao—three hundred fifty-eight people in total—and headed to the nearby mountains to explore.

“This place is great. Plenty of resources and various mineral deposits. The shame is that we can’t develop them due to current conditions. We’ll have to wait until later when it’s possible. I heard there’s a lot of limestone here—perfect for making cement—and plenty of medicinal herbs. While no one is harvesting much yet, we should gather more and bring them back for the research institute,” Wang Juan said cheerfully as she walked.

Zhang Xiaobao was still thinking about other plans. He wasn’t going to come all this way for nothing—he had to secure enough benefits to scare Li Longji into behaving so he wouldn’t send them to the frontier at every whim. Ordinary people truly couldn’t endure this climate.

Just think of Gao Shi’s borderland poems—past Pengzhou meant heading toward hardship.

(Translator’s Notes: Gao Shi (高适) —A renowned Tang dynasty poet (ca. 704–765), known for his bold, masculine style and for poems reflecting frontier life, military hardship, and loyalty. Often grouped with Cen Shen and Wang Changling as masters of frontier poetry (边塞诗).)

Hearing Wang Juan speak, he answered absent-mindedly, “Yes, lots of things. We have to use them all—like the bamboo and coal here. If we don’t put them to good use, we’d feel sorry for making such a long trip.”

“I said medicinal herbs, not coal and bamboo. I remember this place is ideal for growing herbs, especially with its temperature and humidity. We should establish a medicinal herb plantation here someday, for when we open welfare hospitals everywhere.”

Wang Juan plucked some grass from the mountain path, looking at it as if everything here could be medicinal—herbs everywhere.

“Then pick one to cultivate. Even if it fails, people will learn that such a method exists. Right now everyone goes straight to harvesting in the wild. As tools improve, good herbs keep disappearing.

“I keep feeling that Guo Tu may not necessarily win. Isn’t fifteen thousand soldiers a bit too few? If I remember correctly, in past years when Tubo sent out troops, it was always tens of thousands. Jinchuan is such an important place—who wouldn’t deploy heavy troops there?” Zhang Xiaobao said.

He had a strong premonition: Guo Tu was the type to charge forward and flee back in defeat. If he could even flee back. If fifteen thousand went out and only a few hundred returned, not only would the people of Wangjiang still be unavenged, but they would also lose countless more lives. That was unbearable.

Because she had been dealing with the local people here, Wang Juan also knew Jinchuan was hard to attack. But if it were her leading, she believed there was still hope. The art of war was about using one’s strengths to strike the enemy’s weaknesses. As long as the soldiers were well-trained and logistics sufficient, she was confident she could draw the enemy out and find an opening for victory.

If she were given ten thousand guards like Li Xun’s, all properly mounted, and she commanded while Zhang Xiaobao handled logistics, she dared march straight to Tubo’s capital. And if the troops were all Zero Team quality, she could sweep every surrounding country—she could even march all the way to Arabia.

Of course, that required Zhang Xiaobao to run logistics. Anyone else, she wouldn’t trust.

As they talked, the formation spread. The fifty-six members of the Seedling Protection Team remained at Zhang Xiaobao and Wang Juan’s side, while the others began tactical drills as before.

Li Xun’s men were already used to it, but Grandpa Bi’s and Grandpa Yao’s men were far less capable. They weren’t familiar with the terrain. 

At first, going uphill didn’t feel too bad—they thought they were about the same as Li Xun’s people.

But once the actual exercises began, they realized how wrong they were. In the beginning, because they had energy, they ran on the mountains without saving strength. But after running and chasing back and forth for a while, as time passed, they realized they no longer had the stamina.

Meanwhile, Li Xun’s guards had no problem at all. They executed every tactical maneuver. 

After half a day of engagement, the hundred men were all “wiped out” by the opposing two hundred, with the opponents suffering zero losses.

One of Grandpa Bi’s men, frustrated, came to Zhang Xiaobao and Wang Juan to complain. “Young Master, Young Lady, this isn’t fair! They had more men—we had fewer. Two hundred against one hundred, of course one hundred would lose.”

“Oh? That’s what you think?” Zhang Xiaobao said. “Very well. It’s good that you dared speak your mind. You all rest first and guard me and Juanjuan. Let the others continue training. After two hours, when the Seedling Protection Team finishes training, they won’t rest—they’ll immediately fight your one hundred men. If you still lose, then what?”

He hadn’t expected someone to bring him such an excuse. During war, who cares how many the enemy has? Even with disparity, countless historical battles were won with fewer troops. If victory were decided by numbers alone, war would be simple.

The hundred were exhausted and wanted rest. Guarding Zhang Xiaobao and Wang Juan seemed easier. So the complainer spoke on behalf of everyone. “If we lose again, we’ll accept fifty military strokes.”

“No need. Military strokes hurt. Instead, if you lose, when we return you’ll do whatever chores you’re told—no complaints. Even if you’re told to jump into a manure pit to catch maggots, you’ll catch them. Otherwise, I’ll speak to Grandpa Bi.”

Normally he couldn’t order these people around, but now the chance had arrived—he wasn’t going to waste it.

The man agreed immediately. After all, they had never fought the Seedling Protection Team. They’d only heard how strong they were. No matter how strong, they still had one nose and two eyes—surely a hundred could handle fifty-odd?

Guard duty shifted. Seedling Protection Team members went to confront Li Xun’s two hundred, while the hundred rested near Zhang Xiaobao and Wang Juan.

But Zhang Xiaobao wasn’t going to let them relax. If he didn’t teach them a hard lesson, they would ignore his orders again. In the military, only strength mattered.

He said, “This won’t do. Too boring. Juanjuan and I will run out a hundred paces and hide. You find us. Think of it as hide-and-seek.”

Wang Juan immediately perked up. Back home, there were only limited places to train, and she could never play properly. At home she had to act dignified around others. Today she could pair up with Xiaobao and play hide-and-seek against a hundred people—exciting.

Happily she said, “Let’s do it. We’ll leave you two telescopes—you can use them. Time limit: one hour. If you catch us, ten strings of cash per person as a reward. If you can’t catch us, each of you will owe us ten strings. Any objections?”

Looking at Zhang Xiaobao and Wang Juan’s height and age, the hundred didn’t take them seriously. They all agreed, eager to earn ten strings.

They waited impatiently for Xiaobao and Juanjuan to run.

After choosing a direction, Zhang Xiaobao and Wang Juan ran off hand-in-hand. After a hundred paces, Xiaobao shouted, “All right! You can start! Catch us and you’ll get ten strings each!”

The hundred grew excited. They didn’t even need the telescopes; they could still see the clear silhouettes ahead. There were only trees—nothing special. They spread out to surround the area so the two wouldn’t slip away from the sides.

Thus began their hide-and-seek chase. Zhang Xiaobao and Wang Juan’s figures flashed now and then. But whenever the group reached the spot, the pair were still just as far away. No one understood how two kids could run so fast.

As they ran, the group suddenly noticed that only one person was left ahead—Wang Juan had vanished. Only Zhang Xiaobao remained. They were stunned. Busy chasing, they hadn’t noticed when she hid. The complainer immediately sent fifty people back along the route to search.

He assumed she had hidden while no one was paying attention. The other fifty continued chasing Xiaobao. 

The deeper they went, the denser the woods became. Without Xiaobao’s silhouette appearing now and then, they would have lost him completely.

The chase continued for half an hour. The hundred men, who had not rested at all earlier, were now exhausted. But they didn’t want to lose ten strings each, so they gritted their teeth and kept going.

After another quarter of an hour, the complainer made a hand signal ordering the fifty to stop. He pointed ahead. There was a large tree; beside it, the edge of a garment was sticking out. If one didn’t look carefully, it would be invisible.

“Be careful. Surround it. Box it in. At least we caught one. Who knows whether the others have caught Wang Juan? Catching one is better than catching none. If the outcome is uncertain, we don’t have to pay ten strings.”

He whispered the order. The group spread out, quietly closing in. When the encirclement was complete, the fifty rushed forward happily.

But when they reached the spot, all of them froze. It was just Zhang Xiaobao’s garment, hung on a stick to show a corner at the right angle.

A note was attached:

Remember to bring my clothes back. Otherwise the cost won’t be just ten strings.

“What do we do now?” someone asked.

“Chase! Keep chasing! Watch your footing! Look for signs!” the complainer yelled, sweat pouring down. They had clearly seen Zhang Xiaobao run this way—how had he vanished the moment they approached?

The fifty men searched the ground again for tracks. If they hadn’t charged around after completing the encirclement so chaotically, they might have stood a chance. But now, no matter which direction they looked, it all seemed like the direction Zhang Xiaobao had taken.

The fifty men spread out once more, and the result was predictable. When Zhang Xiaobao escaped back then, he was up against police dogs and still wasn’t caught. How could fifty of them possibly hope to find him?

These fifty couldn’t find him, and the fifty searching for Wang Juan also had nothing. There was no trace of her anywhere. The fifty discussed among themselves and concluded that Wang Juan must still be with Zhang Xiaobao. They decided to regroup with the other fifty before deciding their next move.

By the time the hundred men regrouped, Zhang Xiaobao and Wang Juan were eating in the same place they had started from.

“We’re rich—ten strings per person. With a hundred people, that’s one thousand strings. Enough to do a lot of things. Xiaobao, do you think they can actually pay ten strings each?” Wang Juan leaned her head on Zhang Xiaobao’s shoulder while eating a handful of hazelnuts and asked.

Zhang Xiaobao held a fruit he had just picked. Even though it was so sour it almost made his teeth ache, he still bit into it little by little. “They can probably pay. They usually have nothing to spend money on anyway. The food they ate was ours. All right, one thousand strings can count as their food expenses. If we get the chance later, we’ll organize a few more of these. Can’t let them benefit for nothing.”

“Then tell me—once Grandpa Bi and Grandpa Yao learn about this, how will they deal with them?” Wang Juan handed him a hazelnut.

“That won’t be our problem. Or we can help them keep it secret. Bring all of Grandpa Bi’s and Grandpa Yao’s guards over and let them play hide-and-seek with us too. Still ten strings per person. Every time we win, we give their hundred men one-tenth of the winnings to split. If they win ten times in a row, they’ll earn back the money they lost. I think this will work. I’ll mention it later. Grandpa Bi and Grandpa Yao have quite a lot of guards.”

Zhang Xiaobao seemed to think life was too peaceful—he insisted on bullying Grandpa Bi’s and Grandpa Yao’s guards a bit. Even if the two elders knew their guards lost, the only ones they could vent at were the guards themselves. Those guards were slow—what could they say?

The agreed one hour passed quickly. The hundred men knew they had lost and returned, hoping to find Zhang Xiaobao and Wang Juan. If they didn’t see them, that would be even worse.

Sure enough, when they returned, they saw Zhang Xiaobao and Wang Juan had set up a small tent and were asleep inside it.

“If I’d known, I would’ve left a few men here to guard the spot. When they came back, we could’ve caught them immediately. Ten strings each—do you all even have enough money?” The complainer grumbled again and asked the others. None of them carried money; no one could haul dozens of pounds of coins while traveling. They’d have to pay after returning.

The others nodded. They had the money, but it was hard-saved. They had no military salary, only monthly allowances, and once in a while they earned some coin by helping the Zhang and Wang families transport goods. They had managed to save a little, and paying ten strings each would make them all poor again.

One man couldn’t understand and sat on the ground. “How did we lose track? We were watching them the entire time. They were right in front of us, and after a little running one of them disappeared.”

The moment he finished speaking, Zhang Xiaobao’s voice came from inside the tent. “Rest quickly. Less than an hour left before the others finish. Then it’s your turn to fight again. And let me tell you—Juanjuan and I climbed up the trees. Next time, remember to look for traces. Tracking is a skill. I’m sleeping.”

The tent fell silent again. The hundred men looked at each other. They had looked into the trees, but there were too many, all thick with leaves. How could anyone know which one they climbed?

Thinking about the next match, they all lay down on the ground, not caring whether the earth beneath them was damp, and immediately fell asleep. They needed strength to face the fifty-six who had not rested at all.

When they were sleeping soundly, the other two groups returned. From their expressions alone it was impossible to tell who lost. Li Xun’s two hundred men looked dejected, and the fifty-six looked grim.

The tent flap lifted, and Zhang Xiaobao and Wang Juan came out. They glanced at both sides.

“Who lost?”

“We did,” both sides answered at the same time.

As the hundred men jolted awake in confusion, the leader of the fifty-six, Huzi, spoke with deep frustration. “Our fifty-six fought their two hundred. Forty-one of ours were killed. The remaining fifteen—nine were judged as injured. If this were a real mission and we were protecting the Young Master and Young Lady, if three hundred guards like Young Master Li’s came at us, we wouldn’t be able to keep them safe. We did give them a loss afterward, but our losses were still too great. If we fight again, I guarantee I can bring the deaths down to—”

“A new match is a new match. It doesn’t change this one,” Zhang Xiaobao said. “A person only has one life. That means only six of you remained unharmed. Not bad. Looks like we can increase the intensity of training. Five years—you’ve trained for five years. Special forces should have been formed by now. Drink water. In half a quarter-hour, you’ll fight those hundred men again. No rest.”

Zhang Xiaobao was extremely dissatisfied. The fifty-six had been trained with methods he modeled after special forces. After five years, this was all they could produce? Special forces were meant to take a general’s head a thousand miles away. Once deployed, there was only one acceptable outcome.

“All right, all right. Our training methods aren’t exactly scientific. We’ll adjust gradually. For now, let them gain experience. When the next batch comes, we’ll pick the best. Real special forces selection is one in ten thousand,” Wang Juan said, smoothing things over.

Then she turned to look at Li Xun’s two hundred men. They said nothing now. They had trained in Luzhou. They had been selected and selected again before becoming the Wang Manor’s guards.

Yet after one exercise, they were wiped out. Two hundred against fifty-six. Before they could even feel embarrassed, the fifty-six were already depressed. At this point, nothing they said could save face. When they returned, who knew what punishment Young Master Li would give them?

Seeing their expressions, Wang Juan nodded. “You all need to train more as well. With Young Master Li gradually stepping into public view, things will only grow more complicated. Assassination, poisoning—anything could happen. You must ensure his safety. Rest here.”