Wei School's Three Good Students

Chapter 34 The City Resists the Black Tide
On October 23rd of the 27th year of the Xu Tian calendar, for the troubled Da Yao, the most difficult thing in the world right now is in the north. Emperor Xu mobilized the army of the world to fight against the evil dragon in the north and prevent it from acting recklessly.

The battle at Yongji Pass was hardly worth mentioning, and Wu Fei, the person involved, didn't want outsiders to fuss over it. After all, in war, only those standing on the dry shore truly enjoy the spectacle and find things exciting.

The reason why the price of grain at Yongji Pass is still at forty wen per dou is because the local merchants have forgotten about speculation and profiteering. It's because the militia recruited by the security escort agencies have blocked the merchants' warehouses. It's because the households inside the pass don't want to hoard rice. It's because the guards inside the pass are taking turns distributing bamboo tokens to the soldiers and civilians, stipulating a purchase limit for each household.

"This is a small war, and the enemy's ships and forts will be reduced to ashes in the blink of an eye!" This was Wu Fei's standard official declaration to express confidence to the officials, merchants, and people within the pass, and it has never been changed.

…However, beneath Yongji Pass, the Black Tide surged forth…

Ten hours before the siege began, Wu Fei could already see the smoke rising from the distant camps where tribes had gathered. These campfires were scattered haphazardly, like wildflowers in a field. In a normal military setup, the campfires would be arranged neatly, like a garden nursery.

Most of his blocking forces have now retreated back into the pass. However, he still has a 200-man scout force on the outskirts, and he can also send out more scouts to make up Zhang Liao's 800 warriors.

Looking out at the enemy's position, Wu Fei was hesitant. With the enemy in such a state, wouldn't it be a waste not to raid their camp?

Of course, Wu Fei ultimately gave up, realizing there was no need for a surprise attack just for the sake of "surprise." Ma Su failed precisely because he believed that military strategy allowed for "surprise attacks," and unknowingly placed all his emphasis on surprise, which led to his downfall.

The reason Zhang Liao was able to launch a surprise attack was that the opposing commander was Sun Quan, a second-generation leader. Sun Quan lacked the charging ability of his fathers, Sun Jian and Sun Ce. He imitated his father and brother, leading the vanguard in a carefree and reckless manner, essentially placing himself, the least capable of carrying out the task, in the most crucial position. If Liu Bei, Guan Yu, and Zhang Liao had been in the same position, and failed to capture the commander within the first engagement, they would have been overwhelmed by the enemy formation.

Sun Quan should have a realistic understanding of himself. He wasn't qualified to inherit his father's and elder brother's military strategies. In terms of military tactics, he should have learned from Zhuge Liang and Zhou Yu, who trained their armies to be as solid as an ironclad fortress. In fact, one could say Cao Cao understood Sun Quan better than Sun Quan himself. The saying "A son should be like Sun Zhongmou" meant that no one knows a son better than his father. "I understand you as well as I understand my own son."

Therefore, after examining the current situation, Wu Fei argued from three points why he didn't need to raid the camp.

First, Wu Fei was unsure of his own charging ability, and also unsure of the enemy commander's individual combat prowess. If he entrusted most of his elite troops to others for the charge, aside from the risk of failure, how would he reward or punish them afterward? His position in Da Yao was merely that of a border general, not the Chancellor of the Han Dynasty or the King of Wei. And if a great achievement went unrewarded, the army's morale would plummet.

Secondly, if the troops holding Yongji Pass can hold the line, victory is assured. A successful charge will reward the soldiers who raided the enemy camp with the merits of the battle on the city walls, while a failed charge will result in an insufficient proportion of veteran soldiers among the defenders on the city walls, and a decline in the morale of the new recruits.

In previous battles outside the pass, Wu Fei used a small force to engage a small enemy force, with reinforcements always ready to provide support. If the attack failed, Zhao Tu would fly down to cover the rear, and the troops could withdraw along the planned route, keeping the risks and losses under control.

Having carefully accumulated various advantages to this point, according to pre-war assessments, they already had a "slight advantage" and there was no need to play Russian roulette between "utter defeat" and "epic victory".

The third point made Wu Fei completely abandon the idea of ​​sneaking into the enemy's camp: The enemy only has a few days to besiege the city. After they lose, wouldn't it be more reliable to follow up and chase down those low-health enemies and secure kills? Why rush under their tower now and unleash your skills?

…Abandon speculation, be humble and down-to-earth…

At Yongji Pass, Wu Fei inspected the garrison at each section of the city wall and confirmed that their telescopes, whistles, flags, and other signaling systems were in place. Then, Wu Fei made a makeshift bed in a recessed area in the middle of the city wall, covered himself with a blanket, and went to sleep.

…in the black tide…

A group of Agate Crowmen quietly landed in the jungle at the foot of the mountain on the side of Yongji Pass. Inside the tent, Angri held a crystal ball and looked at the city defense map in front of him. After confirming the situation of this formidable pass, he gasped in shock.

Within a thousand paces of Yongji Pass, the view was excellent, with not a single tree in sight. If the surrounding mountains were verdant, the valley area in front of Yongji Pass was as if it had been subjected to the "shaving punishment".

Within this pass, from the clouds atop the mountain to the rubble on the hillside, everything is filled with malevolent energy. This malevolent energy can be easily unleashed to create lethal spells!
Angri couldn't help but recall the super passes like Aomen Pass and Viper Pass in the Haotian Realm recorded in his own books. Yongji Pass, built against the mountains, perfectly matched the definition of a pass recorded in the books. In the Haotian Realm books, to break through such a pass, one either needed a large enough military force to besiege the city and then use the power of the earth's veins to make tunnels, or one needed to prepare more than five times the number of elite troops to take turns attacking the city walls under the leadership of a general.

But now, does the Southern Xinjiang Alliance Corps have the manpower? Currently, only those "big guys" have arrived at Yongji Pass and can maintain combat effectiveness.

As for those "small ones," they were exhausted from being constantly ambushed by Da Yao's excellent blocking force along the way, while their resources were also plundered by those large monster species.

Siege warfare requires these swarms of creatures, roughly the size of humans, to swarm the city. Ideally, they should be heavily armored and carry warhammers and axes that can be wielded on the city walls, rather than long-handled weapons such as spears or halberds.

Angri couldn't help but look at his own chaotic formation. Did such an army really exist? Then he stared at the bronze coffin.

That night was very unsettling. Near the Black Tide camp, one could hear either the songs of the Horned People or the booming voices of the Claw People.

Wu Fei didn't have the guts to raid the camp, but he did have the guts to send locals to these barbarians to put them in a "besieged" situation. Since the Black Tide in the Southern Frontier was a mixed bag, they were so "friendly" to each other during their northward migration. When they heard the howling of other "friendly tribes," they must have been heartbroken and unwilling to sleep.

…The uncivilized Wu Fei is snoring…

The next day, after waking up refreshed, Wu Fei felt the murderous aura emanating from him, which clearly covered the entire city. He couldn't help but sigh, "Too much killing has offended the harmony of heaven and earth." He muttered to the soldiers beside him, "Once upon a time, I cultivated Taoism in the mountains, living a life of peace and embracing the highest good, like water. But alas, it is the times and fate that have brought me here."

The generals all chimed in, sharing their concerns: "These ignorant barbarians from the southern frontier have disturbed the young general; they deserve to die."

Wu Fei nodded in satisfaction. Even though he himself felt he deserved a beating, everyone seemed unconcerned, which meant that the generals were not dissatisfied with his deployment. If he had been negligent, they would have shown their dissatisfaction just now. This was Wu Fei's last self-examination before the big test.

Therefore, Wu Fei began to order his generals to obey his commands.

Below the city walls, the sleep-deprived and disorderly Southern Frontier Allied Army launched its first wave of attacks. After confirming that the first wave consisted of cannon fodder from the weaker races of Southern Frontier, Wu Fei, atop the city wall, drew a flag. The four flags on the city wall immediately began to move, and sentry orders were issued from multiple city walls. At the same time, straw figures were erected on the city walls.

On the city wall, the Third Aunt was holding a cinnabar brush. With a gentle flick of the brush tip, the cinnabar seeped into the air, but on the three-hundred-meter-long city wall, the runes behind all the straw figures moved. Her magical power spread with the spell, permeating the entire city wall.

Meanwhile, below the city, a horned man looked up at the sudden gleam of armor on the city wall. Although three hundred paces away, he felt an overwhelming sense of terror staring at him. He looked up, then his steps trembled and he couldn't take another step. After stopping, he was shoved from behind, and the horned man chasing after him cursed, "Why did you stop!" But as his companion in front stared blankly ahead, his steps also slowed down.

The soldiers on the city wall laughed, thinking the people below were complete fools; the straw man alone had terrified them so much their legs went weak. They huddled together within the watchtowers' firing range. But the soldiers didn't know that if they were below the wall, running fifty paces away, the straw man they had initially thought harmless would suddenly transform into a dense swarm of armored soldiers on the city wall, staring at them with lifeless eyes.

…Detailed Explanation of Intimidation Spells…

Xuan Chong: Just like a life-sized celebrity billboard from my past life, no matter how far away you are or what angle you are at, you can see him posing for you.

Xuan Chong investigated the Third Aunt's magic as thoroughly as he would a magician. First, he saw that gaze fixed on him from 400 meters away! This wasn't a gaze; from 400 meters away, a person's head would just be a tiny dot. Where did this gaze come from? These were "false eyes" formed by patterns on the straw figure, symmetrical spots on butterfly wings, and symmetrical spots on the tails of certain snakes—all of these were "false eyes."

Furthermore, the Taoist magic of the Third Aunt caused these straw figures to shake, creating this kind of fear of seeing enemies everywhere.

…On the city wall, flags flashed, transmitting signals towards the area behind the wall…

On the flat, rammed earth in front of Yongji Pass, countless dots appeared, like an old man successfully getting a hair transplant. These were not plants, but the southern barbarian tribes attacking the city.

The attacking forces were intimidated and slowed down, creating a blockage of about ten breaths. Then, the order was relayed again from the city wall. The catapults behind the city wall began to load stones onto the counterweights and pull pulleys to slowly raise the counterweights. These catapults had been test-fired before the battle, and their range corresponded to the outer ring of the city.

As waves of stones rained down from the sky, densely covering the cowering horned people, they finally tried to scatter. But then, burning pottery jars fell, each covering an area of ​​four or five zhang (approximately 10-15 meters). Within that area, three out of ten horned people suffered severe burns and broken bones, while the rest, terrified by the noise and flames, turned and ran without regard for the fire still burning them.

Thus, after a barrage of catapult fire, of the more than a thousand who charged forward, seventy percent fled before even reaching the city wall. Of the remaining thirty percent who made it to within a hundred paces, they faced a hail of arrows piercing their faces. Those without shields were pinned to the ground, while those who used broken pieces of wood as shields had their shields pierced and their arms and chests impaled. Ultimately, they lost the courage to climb the towering city wall.

The ensuing rout unfolded as follows.

These small, foreign tribesmen from southern Xinjiang used their shields as turtle shells to flee.

Of course, what if you don't have a shield? Without a shield, there's no load, so just run faster than someone with a shield. "As long as the person carrying the shield is behind me, their shield is my shield."

The man carrying the shield quickly realized, "Why the hell am I carrying this impenetrable wooden plank? As long as I'm in front, you're my shield."

Then, the art of escaping the battlefield evolved into a third step: "Damn it, why should you be in front while I take the hits for you from behind?" So, I pulled out a knife and inflicted some damage on the enemy, thinking, "As long as you can't outrun me, you'll draw my aggro."

The collapse quickly became ugly; after stabbing each other in the back, it was like a bowl of beans scattered all over the ground.

The generals, watching from the city tower as the Southern Frontier Black Tide turned into a swarm of ants on a hot pan, burst into laughter. Among them was the old uncle of the Wu family, who began to boast to the young men, "These Southern Frontier rats are even more pathetic than they were back then."

Despite the atmosphere of victory, Wu Fei remained vigilant, staring intently at the other side: Does the enemy's military system not even have a leadership-enhancing mechanism like a supervisory team? Then what gives them the audacity to invade my Great Yao territory?

…Yongji Guanzhong held out against only the first wave…

For Wu Fei, the initial defeat severely damaged morale, followed by poor coordination, heavy casualties, and damage to his prestige—a series of problems. However, Wu Fei did not consider these negative factors when assessing the enemy.

This is not Wu Fei's strength. According to military classics, knowing oneself and one's enemy is the way to seize the enemy's weaknesses and then boldly create victories. Wu Fei was certain that his level was not good enough, so he did not embarrass himself and completely underestimated the enemy.

Several hours later, Xiao Qing, who had sneaked in through the tunnel outside the city, arrived in the city area and presented important intelligence.

After reading the intelligence recorded on the snakeskin, Wu Fei touched the snakeskin to feel its texture. Snake people often use their own shed skin as a token to write down their messages.

The snakeskin in front of him belonged to a python-man, who were powerful warriors among the snake-men. The quality of the shed skin of a python-man leader was also different from that of an ordinary individual, and Wu Fei was now certain that this was the shed skin of a leader.

After assessing the credibility, Wu Fei asked Xiao Qing, "The snake people on the other side want to surrender. What do they want?"

Xiaoqing: "They hope the general will show leniency."

Wu Fei nodded: "Reply to them. If their intelligence is correct, I will be lenient. But if they have any bad intentions, I will make sure to spare their entire clan after this battle."

Xiaoqing: "General, don't worry, they wouldn't dare. If they dare to lie to you, I know where their lair is."

Wu Fei glanced at Xiao Qing, nodded, and then advised, "I hope so. You are also of the snake-people lineage, and snake-people should preserve some of their bloodline."

Xiaoqing: "My lord, I am yours."

Wu Fei: "No need to pledge your loyalty, I trust you. I want more than just your loyalty; I want the loyalty of the entire Snake-People race." Xiao Qing immediately understood: "My lord, I will definitely help you subdue the Snake-People race."

Wu Fei nodded: He didn't need to believe in or rely on her loyalty. He was just making empty promises to her; if she acted on those promises, he would profit, and if she didn't act, he wouldn't lose. As a boss, if he couldn't even be willing to make empty promises, he shouldn't be in business.

…The dividing line where crows flap their wings…

Wu Fei called Zhao Tu over to verify the information. After confirming with Zhao Tu that there was a "gloomy" place in the Black Tide where phosphorescent lights flickered at night, Wu Fei was certain that Xiao Qing's information was correct.

Wu Fei opened his binoculars and saw that the fleeing small men from the southern border were surrounded, some of them were being lifted up, seemingly to be dealt with in some way by the master who had instigated the black tide.

(End of this chapter)