Great Tang Idyll - Volume 4 Chapter 217

After resting for a short while, the fifty-six men—who were holding back a stomach full of frustration—and the one hundred men—who were equally unsettled—ran out again for another round of combat.

The one hundred men were extremely cautious this time. They finally understood what those fifty-six people represented. Those fifty-six carried the full honor of both the Zhang and Wang families. They had defeated the two hundred men who had taken the one hundred down earlier. Even without resting, the one hundred still might not gain any advantage.

As for the claim that if three hundred enemies came, those fifty-six would be unable to guarantee the safety of the Young Master and Young Lady—they did not believe it. They had one hundred men. Earlier they were toyed with until they spun in circles. If they lost again this time, catching the Young Master and Young Lady under the protection of those fifty-six people would require at least five hundred elite guards of Li Commandery Prince’s caliber.

No wonder Zhang Zhong dared to let the Young Master and Young Lady roam freely. It turned out that among this group, the one hundred who chased behind were the weakest. With a lead of one hundred paces, they could not even catch two children. Within the empire’s borders, who could possibly threaten the Young Master and Young Lady?

The outcome of the battle between the one hundred—already intimidated before fighting—and the fifty-six—who were waiting to release their bottled-up anger—needed no explanation. The fifty-six suffered four “deaths” and six who received movement-affecting “injuries,” and wiped out all one hundred.

And this was still under the condition of using matching weapons. If they used the weapons specially prepared for the Young Master and Young Lady, they were confident they could take down three hundred with no issue—in forest terrain.

To help improve Grandpa Bi and Grandpa Yao’s guards, Zhang Xiaobao and Wang Juan specially opened a training class to teach tactics, terrain usage, camouflage, and even psychology.

The fifty-six and Li Xun’s two hundred had already learned these things before, yet they still listened attentively, because every lesson included new material. Even if the main content seemed the same, the details were always different, and each class came with new examples the two children somehow found.

For Grandpa Bi and Grandpa Yao’s one hundred men, it was the first time hearing such lessons. The more they heard, the more shaken they became. Only now did they realize their defeat was not unjust. While they were still groping blindly, the other side already had a complete system of theory.

Especially that psychology portion—it dissected human nature so precisely that it made them shiver. Thinking back on themselves, they really had reacted in exactly those ways. When even their thoughts were predictable, how could they not lose?

“Today’s class ends here. In a moment, massage each other to ease fatigue. After you eat, go rest properly. Also spend time reviewing what you learned today. Tomorrow night, the next lesson I will teach is how to adjust your rhythm during fatigue-state combat. Juanjuan will explain the cause of control failures in the body. Class dismissed.” Zhang Xiaobao tossed aside the stick he used as a teaching pointer and addressed the group.

With a loud rustle, Li Xun’s two hundred guards and the fifty-six members of Team Zero all stood up and bowed respectfully to Zhang Xiaobao and Wang Juan.

The uniform, synchronized movement shocked the one hundred men yet again. They had never seen this when interacting normally. 

Today was an eye-opener. Truly extraordinary. These people had secretly learned so much. They needed to report this to their masters. Such valuable knowledge, and they had never taken it out for use.

Just as the one hundred started having such thoughts, Zhang Xiaobao spoke again: “Go back and tell Grandpa Bi and Grandpa Yao that Xiaobao said this—if they want to train officers, send intelligent people here. Juanjuan and I will only teach each subject once. Learn as much as you can. After class, we will not answer any questions; we do not have the time. And most importantly—you must be literate. If you don’t understand because you can’t read, don’t blame anyone else. Each session only teaches one hundred people. The spots are limited—cherish them. Yes—you all—report everything truthfully. If anyone dares mix in personal emotions…I won’t be polite.”

The one hundred were terrified. They had just thought those things, yet he already knew, and even listed the details precisely.

After finishing the lesson, Zhang Xiaobao and Wang Juan went to rest. 

During these days, they intended to train everyone—especially the guards of Grandpa Bi and Grandpa Yao—so they could be used later.

While they trained people, the various villages of Yizhou were all busy collecting fruits. No matter how far the villages were, all had received the news.

Countless fruits were delivered to the Yizhou prefectural city. The craftsmen brought from outside fired many large jars for fermenting the fruit. Part of the charcoal Zhang Xiaobao previously ordered to be purchased was used to turn brown sugar into white sugar, then processed further into rock sugar, to be added into the fruit wine.

When that batch of charcoal arrived, the three old men were puzzled—when had charcoal been purchased? 

After asking around, they learned that while the ship fleet was still sailing on the river, charcoal had already been purchased here.

Upon hearing this, the three old men were stunned again.

“This is impossible. Absolutely impossible. Unless their family has immortals. We had only just delivered the message from the river—how did they already start preparing? Did they foresee from that moment what the outcome would be?” Old Man Zhang refused to accept this reality.

Old Man Bi already knew the Zhang family was extraordinary, yet he was still shocked again. They had barely informed the Zhang family of their mission when they boarded the ships. They had only then told Xiaobao and Juanjuan that the court couldn’t find any experts.

In that short time, the grain supply was prepared, transport problems resolved—already astonishing. But now it turned out they had also accounted for what was happening right now. How could a human brain calculate to this degree?

Hearing Old Man Zhang, Old Man Bi agreed. “Indeed. The latest messages have just arrived. If all of this began only after we informed them…then I really don’t know what they are incapable of doing.”

“Exactly. I think the same. The latest message was sent by General Guo Tu from Pengzhou. Along the entire route, it was opening paths through mountains, building bridges over water, setting up shelters in rain, cooking meals, and then preparing boat fleets to send the troops to the border. Initially, they thought they could reach in ten days with good weather. But even in bad weather they arrived in eight and a half. Look at General Guo Tu’s final words—this is logistics. True logistics. Yizhou logistics—unmatched under heaven. Zhang family’s logistics at work. If they had been told earlier, I do not doubt they would have sent the logistics camp all the way to Jinchuan to supply our troops.”

Thinking of everything he had witnessed in Yizhou, Old Man Yao’s first feeling was powerlessness. They had watched and watched, yet in the end, could not keep up. They couldn’t match their rhythm. 

Yes—rhythm. That word was perfect.

It was like a game of Go—while they were still thinking about how to live-connect a group, the opponent was already counting territory. The gap was enormous.

Thinking this, Old Man Yao muttered, “Say…if we secretly disrupted their plans a little, what would happen? They’d never expect it, right?”

“They’d never expect it—especially Juanjuan and Xiaobao. How could they imagine their three grandfathers stabbing them in the back while eating food specially prepared by their household, enjoying their medical care, and having them keep us company when bored?”

Old ManZhang was displeased. They accepted the Zhang family’s hospitality, respect, and efforts—and wanted to sabotage them? If they really did that, his grandchildren Xiaobao and Juanjuan would be finished. And what would Zhang family’s retaliation look like?

Given the Zhang family’s methods—gentle or forceful depending on the situation—betrayal would trigger a tidal-wave response. Once they decided on a goal, nothing was off-limits.

Old ManBi was equally displeased. His expression to Yao Chong clearly said: Yuan-zhi, have you forgotten that when you were nearly dying, who brought teams to save you? Who provided doctors and fast boats? Without the Zhang family, you would be dead.

“I was just asking. I had no intention. The Zhang family is too powerful. I just had a brief impulse to compete. If this continues, I’ll suffocate.” Yao Chong hurried to explain. 

He truly had no intention of harming them. Back then, he had genuinely believed he was going to die. When Old Man Bi came and stabilized him, then brought him to Shuzhou, the Zhang and Wang families took special care of him.

The Zhang family’s top medical team—essentially the Tang Empire’s top—checked his pulse constantly, prescribed treatments, and coordinated with the restaurant staff. From then on, every day’s diet and schedule were regulated in excruciating detail—what to eat, what not to eat, how to eat, how much. So precise it was unimaginable.

That was how his condition gradually recovered, letting him occasionally drink a little wine now. The cost of medicine and food alone was worth thousands of strings. 

If he stabbed them in the back, he would not need the Zhang family’s hidden experts—every official in the Tang who heard of it, including the Emperor, would destroy him. Enemies weren’t hateful—ingratitude was the one unforgivable crime.

Zhang Zhong had no idea his son’s actions were shocking others so deeply. Recently, he had been in good spirits. The locals were no longer rejecting outside officials. He no longer needed to collect the native tributes—they delivered them on their own, without asking for anything in return.

The rents were gone. Every village said this year’s harvest was bad; they would make up the rent later.

But that was not what mattered most. What mattered was that the fruit collected was plentiful. Even though it would not turn into money for two years, storing it was still building reserves. Their household did not lack that little money.

Yes—time to proceed to the next step.