Wei School's Three Good Students

Chapter 24 All Preparations
On January 9th of the 26th year of the Tianli reign, Gushou Pass was breached. All the defending troops were killed. On the same day, Prefect Han Yong perished in the fire after the city fell, burning down the tower with him. Five days later, Huangyu City fell, and Liu Rang, the governor sent by the imperial court, abandoned the city and fled.

The world was shocked, and the emperor in Yaodu was furious. Perhaps he, who prided himself on his unparalleled martial arts, was angry about losing a city and territory for the first time in decades, or perhaps he was angry because he failed to win the hearts of his ministers.

In Emperor Yao's eyes, Wang Lu had long been labeled a traitor and a rebel. He believed that once Wang Lu abandoned the city and fled, he could be executed for being a defeated general who had misled the country and its people. However, this traitor, whom he had labeled with "negative connotations," died on the battlefield in the most impeccable way. And Liu Rang, the loyal minister on whom he had placed his hopes, was unable to turn the tide after the fall of Gushou Pass and advance north to defeat the enemy.

The righteous deaths of the two "traitors" left the emperor, who prided himself on his ability to judge character, with a sense of frustration, wondering why his own judgment was different when he was clearly right.

The emperor issued an edict at court, ordering the dispatch of an army of 100,000 to the north. This army of 100,000 would be led by four generals.

Xuan Chong, who had been an observer, later learned the full picture and summarized it. The bureaucratic system of "Da Yao" (a specific type of bureaucratic structure) has structural fragility, and the key personnel in its core operation are irreplaceable. Once a bureaucrat who plays an important role in a key position is wrongly disliked and rejected by the top ruler, it is impossible to find any replacement in the short term. The resulting structural dysfunction often leads to the country stumbling and suffering a major setback.

Therefore, a wise ruler should not indulge his emotions at will. As Han Feizi said in "The Way of the Ruler": "A ruler should not show what he desires."

…Da Yao Nanling…

Yongji closed the gate, and Wu Fei looked at the monster trapped in the net.

This is a monster with the body of a lion, the head of a bird of prey, and the wings of a giant eagle. This hybrid of eagle and lion has a hooked beak as big as a bucket, and buffalo horns around its mouth like worms on a chicken's beak.

The soldiers at the border were astonished by this strange creature, teasing the monster in the net by poking chicken with their spears. Wu Fei, however, was speechless: Griffin! How did this thing appear in his world?

However, he quickly got used to it, after all, Wu Fei had seen snake people riding monsters like spiny dragons before.

The official Daoist text, "Records of Foreign Lands," also records the reason: "In this desolate wilderness, unprotected by the Dao, strange stars often fall, and this is the source of these wondrous things."

This means that those places outside the Great Yao are not protected by the human realm, so strange objects from outer space often fall in, which is why all sorts of peculiar creatures appear.

Meanwhile, records from the southern border also state that: In the past, when Chi You's army caused chaos in the southern miasma region, the land was shrouded in stagnation and long hills. The people there did not understand etiquette and were good at raising strange beasts.

For example, in the first year of the reign of Emperor Shutian, the Lingnan army captured a Bashe snake with full wings, an upper body resembling a phoenix chicken, and a lower body with a snake tail.

As for how these exotic beasts like griffins are created, Wu Fei's understanding is that they are first forcibly fused together using the Primordial Stone, then the mutations are controlled using methods such as the Spirit Awakening Pill, and finally the fusion is completed.

Wu Fei didn't know how the world solved problems like "species incompatibility," but he understood that these "mutated species" were bred for the same purpose as humans taming horses: for use in war.

Over the past two years, Wu Fei has been attempting to tame monsters in Lingnan. The most notable example is a group of "stone rhinoceroses," which can be ridden and are immune to fire. Their fear of cold is mitigated by wearing cotton armor. This is a taming activity that the Earthlings of his previous life had never accomplished, demonstrating the level of spiritual arts and techniques used here in "medicine, stone, elixir, and cauldron."

As for the griffin before him, Wu Fei approached it, reaching out to stroke its head feathers in an attempt to soothe it. The griffin immediately turned and pecked at him. Its massive beak could crush even a bull's horn. Wu Fei quickly withdrew his hand, narrowly escaping injury.

Since patting its head didn't work, he tried patting its rear. Wu Fei always soothed his cat by rubbing its bottom. However, a moment later, the griffin began to struggle violently, its tail lashing out like a whip.

Wu Fei: Damn it, nothing I do works. So he grabbed a hammer from the side and shoved it back at the griffin's head. After the griffin opened its mouth, he shoved the hammer directly into its throat.

Faced with the griffin that wanted to spit out its warhammer, Wu Fei revealed his ferocious nature: "Try biting again?"

A few minutes later, the griffin slumped its head listlessly. Wu Fei said to the soldier beside him, "Feed it meat later. If it doesn't eat, feed it a hammer. If it doesn't eat for three days, take the cage to the slaughterhouse." Then, glancing at the griffin's hindquarters, Wu Fei gave the order: "Keep the whip for me."

The griffin immediately opened its beak wide, looking just like a bewildered bald eagle that had fallen into the water and become a drowned rat.

Seeing this, Wu Fei hesitated. Could something so stupid be used as a mount?
Just as it was hesitating, Zhao Tu walked over, and the griffin immediately cowered, crouching down as if it could be ridden.

Zhao Tu looked over, and Wu Fei also looked over.

After a moment's hesitation, Xuan Chong, like Prime Minister Cao Cao letting Zhen Ji go, waved his hand at Zhao Tu and said, "Alright, alright, she's yours."

Wu Fei strode away, while behind him Zhao Tu excitedly rubbed the griffin's fur before mounting his riding gear.

……

The appearance of the griffin made Wu Fei vaguely sense that something had changed in the Southern Frontier. This change was a shift in the "environmental energy field."

At this time, the attention of the court and the public was focused on the invasion of the northern force called Guotai, but was that really the case in this great calamity?
Wu Fei opened the inventory of goods he had passed through and discovered some strange items, such as a feathered garment. The soft, lustrous feathers had never been seen on any bird before. This feathered garment also possessed excellent "Dao Power" conductivity.

"Dao power" is not a specific force, but rather the duality of matter, namely the two states of "yin and yang". In the major hexagrams, all objects that are used for hexagram calculations due to their "dual nature" belong to the category of "Dao power" objects, and the best of them are presented to the imperial court as tribute.

These materials were used either to build palaces in the capital or to forge massive war machines.

For example, the giant tortoises produced in Heluo County have eight opposing dualities on their shells; the Xiuyan jade from Qiling is also made into precious jade discs because of its excellent "Taoist power", or it is made into pendants to be worn by nobles; and then there are the century-old giant trees in Nanling, whose annual rings also have yin and yang.

Among these materials, the artificially created "Daoist power" materials are white ridge soil and black evil stone, which are "Daoist porcelain" and "spiritual bricks" produced by alchemists through "refining" and alternating between gentle and vigorous fire.

Xuan Chong remembered that in his previous life, all computer cores used the "potential" of semiconductors to perform calculations, but in this world, "yin and yang" are not just potential differences, and the computing materials are not just semiconductors.

In the warehouse, Wu Fei picked up a feather and gently infused it with his blood energy. The feather began to flash alternately like optical fibers.

After careful comparison, Wu Fei determined that these were feathers from a common heron in the south, but they had been mutated by something like a "spiritual calamity tide," which caused them to look like this.

Wu Fei clenched his fists, and as his murderous aura ran rampant, the shimmering spiritual light on the feather robe quickly turned into a white, watery substance that dissipated from the garment. Just like when he encountered the "snake bite" spell back then, as the soldiers' murderous aura pressed in, the colorful patterns on those venomous snakes turned into colorful smoke and were forced out, turning back into ordinary, non-venomous grass snakes.

Currently, the barbarian tribes of the Southern Frontier should not be capable of weaving such feathered garments; there must be external intervention. And if they can weave feathered garments using Daoist power, they can embed feathers into the back of arrow shafts, imbuing them with wind-elemental magic, greatly extending the arrow's range.

…“It’s interference from foreign forces,” Wu Fei shook his head…

In March of the 26th year of the Tianli reign, rows of arrow bamboo materials were being processed and stored in a workshop behind Yongji Pass. At the same time, the engraving of the "Wind-Riding Pattern" was completed.

The method of engraving the Wind-Riding Pattern is entirely based on the experience system of the world's great craftsmen, and Xuan Chong has no way to use Earth's so-called "advanced" technology to interfere.

One step in this enchanting process is to wrap spirit silk around the arrow shaft to create spirit patterns, then apply lacquer, and then heat it with fire to allow the spirit silk to seep into the arrow shaft. Once the oil soaking is complete, the spirit patterns are finished.

As a military strategist, Wu Fei was completely out of his depth and couldn't offer any technical advice on the underlying principles of these "craftsmanship techniques." However, he could ensure the supply of raw materials. After two years of management at Yongji Pass, Wu Fei standardized the entire process of military materials production and transportation. For example, all the bamboo used for arrow shafts was planted on neatly terraced fields and harvested according to a set schedule, ensuring that all arrow shafts produced were of the same quality.

Zhushan has become a heavily patrolled area, to the point that the "iron-eating beasts" that used to come here to forage have all been driven away and can't get a single bamboo shoot.

In the workshop, the arrow shafts were all bound and inspected daily. No unauthorized personnel were allowed to approach.

Auntie seemed to want to get closer to these craftsmen's workshops, but Wu Fei thought it was better not to trouble her.

……

With a sufficient supply of arrows, the intensity of combat training has also increased.

Outside Zhushan, the crossbowmen of the army began their three-day drills, practicing shooting in formation and shield fighting. The arrow shafts piled up on the targets like firewood. Of course, the worn-out arrow shafts were split into strips and then further processed and woven into rattan armor and shields.

Oil-soaked bamboo is a "basic" version of carbon fiber. It is used to make the frame of a shield, and then covered with alligator skin to make a good lightweight shield.

On the firing range, crossbowmen were drawing their bows; while on the battlefield, soldiers with sandbags strapped to their legs were practicing parrying, rolling, and dodging with rattan shields and swords.

……

Within a 300-mile radius of Yongji Pass, multiple towns and villages were mobilized, and more and more laborers were pulled up for training. They donned armor, carried swords, and lined up to "patrol the border."

According to the Great Law, it is a serious crime for a general to move more than one hundred soldiers between prefectures.

However, after returning from Tianchi City, Wu Fei no longer had any concerns about overstepping the bounds. Compared to his uncle's schemes, his own were nothing. Moreover, he wasn't moving troops to the prefecture, but rather to the border regions to guard against foreign tribes.

Here in the borderlands, how could Da Yao possibly control how many troops I gather? Even if he really wanted to, the troops are all in the borderlands, so he can't find them! If he really had the ability to investigate, why not investigate the troops of the Northern Celestial Empire in Bozhou?
Since Da Yao's series of failed deployments in Bo County led to a breach in the mountains and rivers, Wu Fei began to look down on Da Yao.

……

When Wen Si arrived at Yongji Pass, amidst the buzzing mosquitoes in the fields, he stared at the oxcarts on the official road and grinned foolishly. The distressed slaves beside him frowned and asked, "What are you laughing at?"

Wen Si said, "I think that one day when I become successful, I will definitely drive an oxcart here and make my way around."

The slaves immediately sneered: "You think you can get rich?"

Amidst the laughter, Wen Si also burst into laughter.

Suddenly the foreman came over and cursed, "What are you laughing at? Get to work!"

Under the overseer's tyrannical power, everyone immediately lowered their heads.

The foreman walked around and came to Wen Si, kicking him with his foot: "You were the one who caused trouble just now, weren't you?"

Wen Si nodded and smiled apologetically: "It's me, it's me. I was just telling a joke, a joke for everyone."

The foreman swung the whip at Wen Sikong twice. Oh, the whip wasn't fully extended; it was just held in his hand and formed into a circle. The so-called "beating" was just a light tap, merely symbolic.

The foreman said, "I'm sick of this place, and you're still telling jokes. Are you trying to portray yourself as a slave?"

It looked like a punishment, but the overseer was actually just bored. It's human nature to seek out people to talk to and to enjoy the company of others. When the slaves laughed, he wanted to chime in, but the local mosquitoes wouldn't stop biting him just because he was the overseer. He couldn't lower himself to join in the slaves' fun, so he could only speak softly to Wen Si.

While being pounded, Wen Si comically covered his head, plastered on his face with a fawning smile, and played along with the overseer. His quick wit and adaptable manner meant he received fewer beatings than anyone else; after all, a bad beating would truly ruin the atmosphere.

After expending some energy, the foreman shouted at those around him, "Everyone, get to work! Wen Si, come with me!"

Wen Si bowed and smiled obsequiously. After the foreman turned away, he quickly turned back to his brothers, clasped his hands in a fist salute, and then gave them a thumbs-up to indicate, "I'll be right back, don't worry."

Inside the thatched hut, the overseer sat down casually. Wen Si swept the floor for the entire time it takes for an incense stick to burn before finally sitting down himself, making sure the overseer's expression was normal.

The overseer asked, "Wen Si, do you want to be freed from slavery?"

Wen Si paused for a moment, clearly thinking for a second, then responded very enthusiastically: "Of course I want to."

The overseer took out a bamboo slip, which was a document issued from above.

…The bamboo slips were filled with Wu Fei's meticulous calculations…

During the northward advance, Xuan Chong searched through historical materials in his own system to improve his family's merit reward system, which is the "blood reward" formula corresponding to the "second part" of Wu Hengyu's "first part".

Ultimately, after calculation, Xuan Chong determined that under the current agricultural productivity of the dynasty, the blood reward formula should be "one life for ten slaves"—meaning that for every soldier lost in battle, ten more must be found as slaves.

Because supporting one off-duty soldier requires ten people to supply the workforce (the industrial era used a different standard, where one person could support two, so the international humanitarian consensus in later generations was that massacres were unacceptable, and the defeated should be turned into colonies).
Therefore, Xuan Chong wrote down his insights on his own system. The civility of military affairs lies in: maintaining blood money payments by more rationally squeezing out the value of the defeated, and reducing the "persecution" of the defeated.

Wu Fei: All strategies must be laid out according to this basic formula. If one's own military does not have an advantage and cannot maintain the blood price standard of one life for ten slaves, one must either shrink back and reduce confrontation, or stop confrontation altogether, or think early on that the wise man is the one who knows when to yield, and take advantage of the fact that one still has armed forces as a bargaining chip to negotiate and join the order it has set.

In the main camp, Wu Fei added a stroke with his brush: A set of effective blood reward rules, for military groups, requires consideration of how much labor force needs to be mobilized to fill the gap when "military human resources are occupied". The resources filled by labor force mobilized from other areas must be "military occupied", and this "labor supply" cannot be gradually exploited by "non-military vested interest groups".

Therefore, the term "slave" should be limited to one generation. That is, ten slaves should pay for one life, but the descendants of slaves should not continue to bear the debt. Similarly, it is unreasonable for the descendants of meritorious officials to continue to enjoy the support of "second-generation slaves" without paying the "blood price".

The Eight Banners' loyal retainers, who enjoyed the blood money of their ancestors generation after generation, serve as a classic negative example. What should have been settled within one or two generations became an endless overdraft.

The merit of blood donation should be passed down through generations through a process of "reporting on one's duties," with titles awarded based on each generation's contributions. This system of awarding titles based on blood donation is what constitutes the "noble rank under Qin law."

Xunzi's "On Military Affairs" already established that the "Wei Wu Zu," generously bestowed by the state, was unsustainable. At its peak, the Wei Wu Zu numbered 50,000, while the Qin elite troops numbered 600,000.

(End of this chapter)