Wei School's Three Good Students

Chapter 23 Breakthrough
In November of the 25th year of the Tianli calendar, the day was Da Yao, in Bo County, at Gu Shou Pass.

The snowflakes fell to the ground and quickly turned into ice crystals.

Wang Lu, the imperial general appointed to guard the north, stood clad in armor, gazing at the distant, somber mountains. They had already been occupied by the Haotian Dragon Clan.

In the vast world, if a province is at peace, all the energy can be mobilized by laws and decrees. For example, a prefect can suppress a military general with a single word, and the chief executioner of the Demon Suppression Division can shatter immortal magic with a single order.

But Bo County is not at peace now. The army of the Haotian Dragon Clan has occupied many small cities in Bo County and has begun large-scale construction in this mountain range, digging up earth, erecting monuments, building tombs and mounds. — This is because the descendants of the dragons migrated here, moving the ancestral divine positions of the Haotian Realm to this realm.

"Shengyinlu" and "Shangyinci" were built in all the auspicious places on the mountain.

Sacred Shade Lodge: Only those who have experienced war may reside in the Sacred Shade Lodge. However, this place has long been blessed by the benevolent grace of the Moon Goddess Guiyin, and men and women who have lost their families in war may also reside here.

Shangyin Temple: There are countless temples in the Heavenly Dynasty of Haotian Realm, which are necessary to satisfy people's spiritual life. Many of these temples are dedicated to the Moon Goddess of the Heavenly Dynasty, and Shangyin Temple is a representative of them.

These dragon descendants who returned from beyond the heavens have slightly different customs and culture from Da Yao; specifically, they are more yin in nature.

For example, on the battlefield, you can often see huge terracotta warriors charging around with halberds. This kind of thing is usually only used in imperial tombs in Da Yao, relying on the accumulation of yin energy in the earth's veins to deter tomb raiders who dare to enter the dead zone.

The dragonborn's dark magic is even more formidable; they can summon a group of ghost soldiers on the battlefield, who suddenly appear wielding armor and halberds!
Good heavens! It's true that money can make even ghosts work, and some border troops in Da Yao don't shy away from unorthodox methods, but at most they use the "Five Ghosts Moving Technique" to make grain carts move at night, and the grain transport officers are only willing to sacrifice some of their energy to have ghosts push the carts a little. This is good heavens! It's getting ghosts to come out and fight directly!
…Exorcising ghosts comes at a price!…

Taking the Five Ghosts Transporting Technique as an example, when the Wu family army's grain transport officer activates this technique to ensure the grain carts move forward and begin transporting grain, his yang energy will be somewhat depleted. If the depletion is too great, he will fall seriously ill. Having ghosts directly push the carts? It seems more convenient, but what is the cost? The cost is that the grain transporter must sacrifice several months of his lifespan.

As for directly summoning ghost soldiers to fight on the battlefield, how many living people's lifespans would that require? These generals from the Haotian Realm seem to be used to it.

In the Haotian Realm, under the rule of the Heavenly Dynasty established by the Dragon Descendants, the "Yin Residences" built by the Heavenly Dynasty in various places are all adjacent to the "Yang Residences" where the living reside, so they are half Yin and half Yang.

This arrangement is abnormal in the eyes of any major power in the Daoist sect. How can the living be together with the dead? With such an arrangement, the lifespan of the living will be shortened, while the deceased will be restless in the grave, being driven around in turn, and their malevolent energy will increase dramatically.

However, a glance at the rulers of the Haotian Realm reveals the truth. Their rulers are powerful dragons, and these dragons are indifferent to vengeful spirits. Dragons are born with a malevolent aura that can intimidate ghosts.

In the mountains and forests of Da Yao, ferocious beasts like tigers do not care about evil spirits, and may even capture them as their accomplices.

Therefore, in the nations established by the Dragonborn, both humans and ghosts are merely "dust" available under the ruling system.

Such a blurring of the lines between humans and ghosts is a reflection of the state of affairs at the end of the Cheng Dynasty.

What was the Haotian Realm like when the Dragonborn migrated thousands of years ago? How did this world, where humans and ghosts coexist, maintain its peace and harmony for thousands of years?
None of that matters anymore, because the Haotian Realm has been destroyed, and many of the Dragon Descendants' Heavenly Dynasty citizens have died or been injured, scattering to all the heavens and realms.

As for the dragon descendants who returned to the Xiren Realm, after establishing their kingdom in the North, they placed the construction of their mausoleum as their top priority. They have already shown the people of the world just how well they have governed.

…Your tranquility does not belong to my divination of balance…

As for the cities of Da Yao in the northern border regions such as Bo Jun, the Yao Qi of these cities was "imbalanced in Yin and Yang" due to the founding of the country by the Dragon Descendants. When viewed from the sky, the mountain ranges looked like blood vessels stained with ink. On the slopes with excessive Yin Qi, the trees were all baring their fangs and claws, and the leaves had fallen off in large numbers. The leaves in the forest were dark green, and after they withered, they turned gray instead of yellow.

Since the passes of Bo County were also located in the mountains, they were also severely affected.

When Wang Lu inspected the military camp, he found the soldiers leaning against their tents, completely listless, and even when holding their weapons, they were sloppy and lacked any fighting spirit. So much so that on cloudy days, rats would burrow into the cracks between the bricks of the camp they were stationed at, and spiders were brazenly spinning webs in the corners of the walls!
Gu Shou Pass, a crucial defensive stronghold of the border army, is currently under attack by the Dragonborn army.

…the war drums are beating…

Pu E led the Guotai faction's dragon-descended army, dressed in jade armor, lined up outside the checkpoint, while standing at the very front of the camp were ten-zhang-tall terracotta warriors! Da Yao also had these, but they were the Soul-Suppressing Generals in the Emperor's Tomb.

As the terracotta warriors strode heavily, ignoring the rain of arrows embedded in their bodies, and reached the city walls, hacking through the wooden fences and breaching the fortress's defenses, the soldiers operating giant crossbows on the city walls cursed these wicked dragons who had brought out "tomb guardian beasts" to fight—they were utterly lacking in virtue.

The governor of Bo County arrived at the city gate in his carriage and found the garrison commander, Wang Lu.

Prefect: "General, can you give me a definite answer as to whether this pass can still be defended?"

Wang Lu looked at Prefect Han and asked, "May I ask, Lord Han, what should be done if we can hold the position, and what should be done if we cannot hold it?"

With a loud bang, a cannonball struck the city wall, causing the entire fortress to tremble slightly.

The governor's expression remained unchanged: "If the general can defend Gushou Pass, I, on behalf of the 500,000 elders and folks of Bo County, will thank the general."

Wang Lu quickly helped Prefect Han up, but the prefect insisted on bowing down, wanting Wang Lu to give him a plan.

However, Wang Lu seemed not to understand: "Military affairs are dangerous, I cannot make a decision."

Prefect Han pulled Wang Lu aside and laid everything out for him: if they could hold the position, they could conscript tens of thousands more able-bodied men. But if the general couldn't hold it, the large ships on the Tong River would have to carry the people south.

Wang Lu stared at the prefect: "An official appointed by the imperial court to govern the people has abandoned the city and fled. He should be executed, and his family members should be returned to slavery."

The governor said, "I, Han, will not abandon the city. I have come to the pass because I am willing to live and die with you, General."

The two looked at each other, and saw helplessness in each other's eyes.

The governor learned from the general's eyes that "the city cannot be defended," while the general understood from the governor that "the imperial reinforcements will not come."

Are there no extra troops in the world? Of course there are. An army of 100,000 has already gathered in Yaodu, but it is impossible to hand over troops from a certain place to local generals.

Each garrison general can only lead one or two armies (one army consists of two thousand men). Unless the central control of the dynasty weakens, it will not entrust troops from other regions to the garrison generals. Otherwise, the result would be that the local warlords become too powerful to control.

Of course, the imperial court was not incapable of appointing a general to command tens of thousands of troops.

The problem was that in the 24th year of the Tianli era, a strange case of "river drying up" occurred in the court, which involved the Grand Marshal and the Prince of Bo plotting a rebellion.

Therefore, the current emperor is suspicious of the border regions, and in particular, he dares not allow his army to assemble in the north.

Since ancient times, when the Central Plains of Da Yao gathers a large army in the north, it must be to select a trustworthy and important minister. However, the Da Yao court cannot find such a minister for the time being.

Therefore, from the emperor's perspective: between the fall of Bozhou and the instability of the dynasty's foundation, the lesser of two evils should be chosen.

Of course, there was one more thing the two didn't mention: Wang Lu was recommended by the Prince of Bo, and was exceptionally capable. — In the eyes of the powerful figures in the court, his border army was already a discarded pawn, and they absolutely could not give him any opportunity to establish merit or achieve anything.

…outside the city…

In the camp of the Long Army marching south, Pu'e stood gracefully on the high ramparts, which were ten feet high, and watched as Gu Shou Pass ahead was riddled with craters from her own firepower.

Boom, boom, boom.

Smoke billowed through the camp, and the giant cannons pulled by two monstrous bulls—unlike the Great Yao—radiated orange-red light as projectiles arced and crashed onto the city gate. Meanwhile, in the sky, female soldiers on wooden boats suspended by sky lanterns relayed the bombardment information to the ground using white jade crows.

As the shelling ended, the swordsmen began to advance towards the area where the trenches had been filled in.

In this era of Taoist magic and mythical beasts, sieges are three-dimensional. As the swordsmen and axemen approach the city walls, dragon-horses will fly towards the top of the city from the sky behind them.

…Defender's perspective…

Looking up at the gate, the gaps between the bricks and tiles widened with each impact. The defenders, hastily heating oil and carrying spiked logs, prepared to defend against the dragon army's axe-wielding siege. Suddenly, they felt a gust of wind and dark clouds sweep across the sky, and some soldiers even felt something soft hit their armor. The ensuing stench revealed it to be horse manure. This horse manure from the sky was, of course, a gift from some of the dragon army's ill-fated beasts as their steeds swept over the defenders' heads.

Longma charged down the city wall, searching for a spot where the soldiers' ranks weren't so orderly, and quickly seized a piece of land on the wall. However, this seized land was piled high with corpses, so much so that blood trickled down from the cracks in the wall.

The city finally fell. The gate, which had been held up by giant logs, crumbled under the chaotic hammering of two terracotta warriors wielding heavy hammers, and wood fibers burst out from the cracks in the iron plating.

When the sheet metal was torn open, a stone lion's head popped out, its forehead bearing the marks of paint left from its impact with the city gate. This was another type of tomb-style war beast commonly seen in Guotai, roughly the same size as a normal stone lion.

After leaping out of the collapsed city gate, the monster slammed heavily onto the chariot of the defending general. After being smashed by the stone lion weighing a hundred stones, the chariot was immediately reduced to fragments.

Standing on the city wall, Wang Lu looked at the jade lions and black lions that were frantically tearing at the fleeing soldiers after the city had fallen, and sighed to the sky, "The court has betrayed my soldiers and officers."

After saying that, he picked up his sword and lightly wiped it with his hand, leaving the white blade covered in blood.

……

Pu'e stepped onto the city wall, looking at Wang Lu, who had died for his country, and the prefect who had immolated himself atop the wall, and sighed deeply. Her soul-binding technique was useless against them, because after their deaths, a strange force from the Great Yao Mountains and Rivers had summoned their souls back. This summoning process was unaffected by any corrupting forces, and Pu'e's power was far inferior to the "Power of Annihilation," so naturally she could not touch these heroic spirits.

Pu'e walked up the steps strewn with corpses to the city wall and gazed at the sunset.

Pu'e: "System, where are the generals I drew?"

The system seemed to be busy for a while before replying, "It should already be present, but cannot be selected. We are investigating the reason."

Pu'e: "This is because of you."

Her system offered no rebuttal.

…Where did the bug come from?…

"If you ever need more soldiers, you can recruit from the able-bodied men selected by the镖局 (bodyguard agency), and the old and weak can also be sent to the镖局."

In a military camp, Wu Fei gave Wu Hengyu his final instructions.

Wu Hengyu paused, watching Wu Fei meticulously leave behind one "brilliant plan" after another, hesitated for a moment, and then spoke.

Wu Hengyu: "Yuan Chang?"

Wu Fei turned his head and looked at him suspiciously, wondering if he had missed something.
Wu Hengyu: "Why don't you stay and work with us?" — He doesn't usually invite people, so this was his most sincere offer.

Wu Fei paused slightly, then shook his head: "No, I have things to do back home."

Then, just as Wu Hengyu frowned, Wu Fei said, "I'll come find you after I'm done with my work and things have settled down."

Wu Hengyu raised his left arm and placed his hand in front of Wu Fei, at eye level with the two men.

Wu Fei understood the gesture, so he raised his hands and clenched them together as if arm wrestling, but this was not a contest of strength, but rather palm to palm, a gesture of unity.

Just as Wu Fei and his cousin were expressing their true feelings, a scroll bar appeared on the system's side.

Xuan Chong was curious why his system had popped up at this inopportune moment. Xuan Chong (like a curious child): "What are you doing?"

System: "I'm backing up, it's none of your business."

Xuan Chong wanted to ask something else, but the system asked, "Have you finished your homework?" Then came the task marked "Special Military Operation in Southern Xinjiang".

Xuan Chong immediately muttered, "Wasn't I preparing?" and logged off.

During the scene of clenching fists, Wu Fei said to Wu Hengyu one last time: "Don't massacre the city in the north. I'm short of people in the south, so just sell them to me."

Wu Hengyu: "Understood."

…New characters have been loaded…

In the 26th year of the Tianli era, within the Wu family army, the organization that could be called a "company" according to the ledgers controlled by Wu Yuanchang had reached 1,800 armed personnel, of whom 300 veterans formed the core.

The difference in treatment between veterans and newcomers is significant. Even if a veteran is only disabled, the company provides them with extremely high benefits, including daily pay and even ten acres of irrigated land.

Such benefits were not due to Wu Fei's kindness; everyone knows that "a generous reward will bring forth brave men," but the biggest question is, "Where will the reward come from?"

Wu Fei's primary purpose in coming here was to make money. Having confirmed that Wu Hengyu was in charge of securing the reputation, and that the locals called him a "sparrow killer," Wu Fei completely abandoned any pretenses when it came to making money. Merchants between Yongji Pass and Zhu'er Prefecture had previously only had minor connections, but now this trade route had been significantly improved!

In Da Yao, only military force can facilitate businesses that span several counties.

The timber and jade from outside Yongji Pass were sold to Zhuzhou and then transported by water to other counties in Dayao, increasing profits tenfold. Similarly, the cloth and salt from Zhuzhou gave Wu Fei sufficient "economic leverage," which provided him with extra confidence when preparing for the "Special Military Operation in Southern Xinjiang."

Two years ago, the most important lesson Wu Fei learned from Wu Hanluan's victory in the southern border campaign was the use of spies. It can be said that without spies, Wu Hanluan would not have won.

However, Wu Hanluan often used "survivor spies" and "dead spies," which were typically one-time spies, similar to the recruitment of people by the Lighthouse in his previous life—bought, used, and then discarded. Wu Fei planned to use: internal spies and living spies, those spies who could return alive and remain infiltrated indefinitely. This was because internal spies and living spies were involved in many interests of the opposing camp while alive. Even if they cursed him within the opposing camp (skillfully presenting a letter of collapse), it was because the opposing camp needed a winning strategy to offset the sense of powerlessness caused by the deep economic ties between the two sides and the inability to completely decouple.

……

Wu Fei rode away from Zhuzhou, passing through one mountain stronghold after another, which are now the trading posts left behind by the Wu family army.

Five zhang above this pass, on a flat area, was the old training ground for the mountain stronghold's soldiers. The veteran sent by the escort agency was teaching the young men of the stronghold marksmanship and battle tactics. Although his legs were not good, he still had the skills to fight in battle.

Their weapons were broadswords, bamboo spears, and light crossbows with a draw weight of only one and a half stones, used for hunting wild boars. It was the harvest season, and the fields at the bottom of the valley behind the mountain stronghold were constantly being disturbed by wild boars; hunting them was essential.

After Wu Fei led the large group past the lower pass, Old He stopped what he was doing and hurriedly rushed down the slope above.

After an incense stick had burned, Old He, with the simple honesty of a mountain dweller, asked Wu Fei at the front of the marching column, "General, what's going on?"

Wu Fei: "Let's take a break for now."

Then, pointing to the soldiers in the army and the shackled slaves, Wu Fei said, "Feed these people well. You don't need to prepare our meals; just buy your firewood." Wu Fei tossed him a string of coins. (As a soldier, one is required to prepare one's own food when traveling.)
As Wu Fei instructed, the simple-minded Lao He had his men from the mountain bring firewood and a large pot from the inn to the soldiers. At the same time, he whipped the slaves, making them line up and hold their bowls, waiting to be fed.

One of the slaves brushed aside his dirty, disheveled hair and said to Old He, "Old He, it's you! I'm Wen Si." As he spoke, the slave, still in shackles, stood up excitedly.

Old He was stunned for a moment, then lashed out with his whip: "What are you yelling about!" He then kicked the man to the ground.

This man was a friend he met when he was working in the state. However, after the first wave of government troops was scattered, he eventually joined Wu Hengyu's forces, while Wen Si became an outlaw. As one can imagine, after Wu's army quelled the rebellion, they came to capture fugitives everywhere, and Wen Si was captured.

Old He didn't want to acknowledge Wen Si, but when distributing the food, he still asked Wen Si to have an extra piece of rice bran cake, and secretly slipped a piece of dry food into Wen Si's arms.

As for whether Wen Si could survive and be freed from slavery in the south, that was up to fate.

(End of this chapter)