Wei School's Three Good Students

Chapter 43 The Army Sets Up Camp
The camera then shifts to the group of people who have left their hometowns.

At the beginning of the 28th year of the Shutian calendar, beside the shimmering lake, 1,500 elite soldiers of the Wu family's northern route army, led by Wu Hanluan, set off from the camp on the north bank and began their task on the flat land east of Shahu Village: to block the water bandits from expanding northward.

The rebellious aquatic tribes were originally active in the southern part of Donghua River. The Wu family's northern army had just set up camp when they had a chance to meet them.

The bandits, dressed in straw raincoats and wearing reed hats, darted back and forth along the shore in their small boats for a while. After confirming that there were no weaknesses in the garrison on the shore, they picked up a few fish, as if to tell the soldiers on guard the shore that "they are fishermen," and then left. At least this time, they were unwilling to confront the Wu family army.

Meanwhile, the Wu family army withdrew its elite troops to their camps, while the laborers and able-bodied men chopped firewood and started fires, or drove donkey carts to the temporary market to trade with local forces.

The Wu family army marched north and split into several camps, eventually reaching Donghua County with a total of more than 6,000 people. In the months following their arrival, they also gathered various young and strong men who came to eat, totaling more than 20,000 people.

Wu Hanluan built a large camp across the river from Changcheng, which was surrounded by high walls and blue bricks, and it was bustling with activity as if it were another city.

One is a city of dazzling lights and bustling activity, the other a city struggling to survive. It's like the rich and the poor facing each other across the street in the information age.

…The military economy of the feudal era…

We cannot view the feudal era through the lens of modernism. In the modern era, the military was a bargaining chip in the hands of a minority within the political system. Of course, in some failed states, the civil service system failed to control its power, allowing it to become a pawn of external forces.

Even if the policy of using civil administration to control the military fails, the military's role as a "bargaining chip" remains nationwide.

Thanks to advancements in transportation technology, vehicles can carry soldiers to various major cities across the country to plunder, whereas in feudal times there was no such mobility, and soldiers could only rely on local resources for sustenance.

In feudal times, armies were attached to the land; wherever feudal armies went, corresponding "temporary powerful" groups would form.

Previously, the two prefectures of Zhuzhou were pacified too quickly; a few hundred elite cavalrymen could take them out by simply rushing into the center, without the need to set up a large camp and fight a protracted war.

But the situation in Donghua County is different now. The bandits are too large, and the imperial court has been unable to subdue them for a long time. The bandit leaders have become powerful. When the Wu family army arrives in the area, it is impossible to directly send their own precious soldiers into the fray. They must gather a considerable number of manpower (cannon fodder) locally to fight against the bandits.

The Wu Hanluan Army currently has only a little over a thousand main combat soldiers. As for the twenty thousand men surrounding the main camp, what are they doing? Of course, they are begging for a living. They live off the mountains and rivers around the main camp, and some local young men have even started clearing the fields around the main camp.

People also built huts on the mountain to cut firewood and hunt, providing firewood, an energy source, for the army.

This was not entirely intentional on the part of the Wu family army. Even without coordination from the officers within the Wu family army, the locals would spontaneously form scattered organizations to supply the main camp.

Because, in feudal times, mountains, rivers, lakes and marshes that had already been developed were also considered resources.

Although the hunters and fishermen didn't pay taxes, the natural resources they relied on were claimed as property by local powerful clans. After the Wu family army swept away the monsters in the mountains and opened up roads, many local residents shrewdly came to join them.

It is worth mentioning that once this large-scale camp economy was established, even if the Eastern monarch wanted to dismantle it, he would have to proceed gradually. And when the flames of war were raging, moving such a large camp was extremely difficult.

It was impossible for tens of thousands of people to leave with the Wu family army, as breaking camp would have required a huge amount of supplies; disbanding on the spot was also impossible, as that would not be a civil unrest, but a mutiny.

This is why Emperor Chongzhen of the late Ming Dynasty was unable to withdraw his troops to the interior of China; they had already established military power there. —As for the drastic measure of cutting off one's own arm? That would have been tantamount to forcing the heavily invested field army to rebel.

Strictly speaking, the present-day Changcheng is also a remnant of the former camp.

Around two thousand years ago, during the prosperous reign of the Great Yao Dynasty, the Yao army held a grand hunt in Yunmeng Marsh, slaughtering hundreds of slain civilians and demonic beasts, including several Guiche (ghost chariots), which temporarily drove these beasts away from the human world. Subsequently, a city was built to the east of Yunmeng Marsh, and many kings and nobles were enfeoffed there. Many of these nobles' descendants have survived to this day, and their families roam the bustling city of Changcheng.

These princes and nobles have forgotten why their ancestors were granted such titles.

Today they mistakenly believe that they have been favored by the heavens, which is why they are able to take root here. They also believe that they are more favored by the heavens than the outsiders from outside the city, and can continue to be the nobles of the city with a clear conscience.

Actually, there's no such thing as love without a reason. It's just that the emperors of that time couldn't deal with the power their ancestors had already established in the localities, so they dealt with the matter on its own merits.

Today, these unworthy descendants are useless, disrupting the local landscape and human affairs, creating problems that they cannot solve themselves, and can only ask foreign troops to suppress them.

…A new round of change has begun…

Currently, the element that still makes the Wu family army vulnerable to control in the local area is food and supplies.

Previously, provisions were mainly supplied by grain ships transferred from Changcheng. However, by the 28th year of the Tianli era, the Wu family army had begun to gradually address the related issues. Merchants from the south also came along.

Along the banks of the Donghua River, soldiers in the main camp began clearing a path for the victorious warriors to return to their camp. These soldiers dragged their spoils, some of which were large fish carried by two men on long spears, others were large pearls hidden in their robes. These were not luminous pearls, but rather fish eyes resembling pearls. Unscrupulous merchants from the south would petrify them with alkaline water, then polish them with oil to pass them off as pearls from the East China Sea, and then smuggle them further north. Many high-ranking officials and nobles received such lavish gifts, and as more and more people were deceived, the northerners called them "fool's pearls."

These merchants in the Donghua River region, relying on the army, have taken the concept of "no business without guile" to the extreme. Leveraging the army's power, they set up roadblocks on key roads and acted with increasing impunity.

These merchants all possess Wu Yuanchangfa's business philosophy: "So what if the reputation is bad? As long as we maintain the monopoly, it's up to us whether people buy or not!"

Of course, the "cunning" only applied to the local powerful clans. These southern merchants, who had been granted licenses by Wu Fei, were quite dedicated to supplying the army with provisions.

Businessmen know where their "licenses" come from, and they all hope that their competitors' licenses will be revoked due to foolish mistakes.

Therefore, the Southern Merchants, who were extremely ugly in the eyes of the local gentry and common people of Donghua River, were seen as honest and simple in the eyes of the soldiers and generals of the camp! The rice and flour they sent were not stale, and the meat was all from live livestock, with three hundred catties of local pigs being counted as two hundred catties.

……

After the great battle, Wu Hengyu entered the camp and arranged for his mount's food and supplies before removing his armor, changing clothes, and entering his tent.

Inside the tent, Wu Hanluan was reviewing the account books. When he saw Wu Hengyu enter, he raised his head slightly, nodded, and then continued looking at the accounts.

This made Wu Hengyu, who was expecting praise, choke on his words, and then he sat down silently at the table on the right.

Wu Hengyu opened the gourd beside him and poured in a mouthful of brain-awakening soup.

This "brain-awakening soup" is a beverage made by grinding brown beans into powder, adding syrup, and then pressing in soluble gas. It is served chilled.

This was a collection of strange fruits that Wu Fei found in southern Xinjiang after two years of research. He crushed them and added acidic substances as a base.

It must be said that this thing tastes excellent. After Wu Hengyu tasted it, he had Wu Fei refine several large gourds and send them over before summer. Then, when these gourds were being chilled in the well, Wu Hanluan retrieved them. He said: "Drinking alcohol is forbidden in the army, so I want to test this thing."

After taking a sip of the brain-clearing soup, Wu Hanluan burped and said to Wu Hengyu, "A letter has arrived from home. Yuan Chang has held the pass and reported to the court, resulting in the execution of five hundred heads."

When Wu Hengyu heard that it was about his cousin again, he snorted.

Wu Hanluan glanced at the latest official gazette his son tossed him and instructed, "This is the court's conclusion on the Yongji Pass matter. Take a close look!" While Wu Hengyu was frantically searching, Wu Hanluan tapped on it: "Here it is! Here it is!"

Wu Hengyu squinted and found the relevant content. After carefully examining the question, he discovered what seemed to be a question his father had asked him to pay attention to, so he asked, "500 levels of rank reduction? Heh, he's really careful."

After receiving letters from their homes, the soldiers of the Wu family army learned that this barbarian uprising involved tens of thousands of people, and that killing only five hundred would not be enough to stop the barbarian tide.

According to Wu Hengyu's discussion with the merchants from his hometown, there were as many as two thousand slaves being sold in the slave market alone!

Seeing that his father's expression was not right, Wu Hengyu tentatively asked, "Is it wrong that Xiao Que'er concealed the results of the battle?"

Wu Hanluan nodded: "Yes, but the imperial court is deliberately pretending not to know!"

Wu Hanluan sighed inwardly. Although Wu Fei was adept at handling matters locally, he was still a bit too clever for his own good when it came to the imperial court.

Wu Hanluan: "With the situation in the Southern Frontier, how could the imperial court not know? The Nine Palaces of the Divine Capital perform divination for the entire realm; when the rebellion in the Southern Frontier surges, strange energy will appear swirling on the mountain and river map within the Nine Palaces. The officials in Lingnan concealed the truth to share the burden, but he followed suit, and the imperial oversight body has already taken notice of him." Wu Hengyu paused, remaining silent. He wanted to offer advice but didn't know the right words, only asking, "Little Sparrow, why did you do that?"

Wu Hanluan then explained the reason: "Nothing more than this, this kid doesn't want the imperial court to conscript men in Lingnan."

Wu Hengyu realized that if the imperial court knew that Lingnan still had the strength for a major battle, it might very well mobilize even more troops and urge the Wu family army to fight the evil dragon in Yunmengze.

After Wu Hengyu finished expressing his opinion.

Wu Hanluan smiled noncommittally: "Your view is correct, but it misses the point. Yuan Chang is not considering this; he treats the problem of feeding our army here as a problem for the entire Lingnan region."

He then slowly said, "He was afraid we would go hungry."

Wu Hengyu said nonchalantly, "We're not starving either."

Wu Hanluan: "Oh, what if there are no Southern Merchants?"

When Wu Hanluan mentioned "Southern Merchants," he emphasized it heavily. Wu Hengyu realized that Southern Merchants were so worldly-wise, always quick to help others and fulfill their needs. Could it be because of his cousin?
Currently, 30% of the grain and fodder are being procured by merchants from the south. There are no "righteous merchants aiding in the suppression"; it's just that our own people are helping each other with the planning.

Wu Hanluan said slowly, "He is too kind-hearted. I once told him that he has the talent of a prime minister, but he did not understand what I meant."

Wu Hengyu remained silent, because he didn't understand either.

Wu Hanluan's elders commented: "This world is none of his business! (The supplies are too good, so there's no excuse for plundering)."

If other generals are running out of food, they still have a way to survive: they can forage for food on the spot and plunder from the local people!
Wu Fei was too compassionate in this regard, resolutely restraining his army from harming the local people and doing his utmost to ensure the supply of military provisions. Unfortunately, such kindness would not be praised in this world.

Wu Hengyu nodded in agreement, but he didn't notice that Wu Hanluan was looking across the river at Changcheng in the distance, a ruthless smile on his lips.

…Wu Hanluan: Wu Yuanchang may seem fierce, but he's just a woman's soft-heartedness…

If the army needs food, and it doesn't plunder from the common people, then it must take it from the local powerful clans! But taking from powerful clans brings a worse reputation than taking from the common people!

The Southern Merchants' current behavior in Donghua County is seen as utterly despicable by the powerful clans.

After blocking transportation in various places, they bought low and sold high. Even if powerful clans controlled the land and means of production, they still needed external exchanges to share resources.

In the past, when the major clans needed manpower to harvest grain on their small plots of land, there was a lot of idle labor in Yunmengze. Each village would send officials to "help" young and strong men to work for the clans and make a living.

But now, the southern merchants who set up checkpoints blocked these laborers, which attracted the conscription of the army. The soldiers beat the village officials and directly conscripted the laborers, who were all resettled next to the camp to cultivate the land and make a living.

As for the grain needed for cultivating the land, it was all borrowed from local powerful families.

Because some powerful clans relied on their deep roots in the local area, the Southern Merchants invited heroes and chivalrous figures to come out of seclusion and rob the rich to help the poor.

The southern merchants, through the local peddlers, understood the relationship between the bandits and the powerful clans. (In the Water Margin, Shi Xiu infiltrated the Zhu Family Village disguised as a peddler.) The southern merchants then played the role of bandits, raiding these fortified villages in turn. (Similar to Liangshan's borrowing of grain from the Zhu Family Village.)
The heroes gathered by the southern merchants not only wiped out the mountain bandits, but also directly impersonated mountain bandits to surround the fortified village and dispatched a large number of laborers to harvest wheat from various places!

The official gazette reports that bandits are rampant in Donghua County. It is unclear whether Wu Hengyu is leading his troops to properly suppress the local river bandits. But does Wu Hanluan not know how many of his own men have infiltrated the heroes invited by the southern merchants heading north?
After paying their respects to Wu Hanluan, they obtained some soldiers and crossbows from the main camp and went out every day to plunder with notorious bandits. They infiltrated local estates and split the spoils 50/50. When trouble arose, they would seek refuge in the military camp.

…in the other party's narrative system…

In the vermilion tower of Changcheng, powerful families and the local governor held a banquet at Xiahe Tower, accompanied by the melodious strains of zither and the clear, crisp tones of chime bells.

Of course, the real purpose of this banquet was not the food itself. Soon, some people showed signs of "losing their appetite," leaving the table full of delicacies untouched.

Those attending the banquet were all so-called famous scholars of Donghua, and upon seeing this, they quickly inquired with concern. The man replied sorrowfully, "Within Donghua, there are three scourges that cause the people to suffer and the common people to endure hardship. I cannot eat and cannot sleep at night."

The crowd asked, "What are the three evils?"

"The first scourge is the rebel army of the aquatic tribes in Yunmeng Marsh! The second scourge is the bandits blocking the trade routes in the mountain passes! As for the third scourge?"

The speaker, acting like a madman, pointed to the camp on the opposite bank of the river and said something outrageous: "Isn't being stationed on the North Ridge a harm to the people?"

The many distinguished guests at the banquet were immediately alarmed and warned themselves to "be careful what they say." Someone then claimed to be drunk, and a beautiful maid helped him away.

In modern terms, netizens were both gloating and saying, "Is this a topic that should be discussed?"

Although it was a topic that "could not be discussed," the concept of the "three evils" still spread throughout Changcheng after the banquet—because it was widely accepted by the local literati.

……

After the banquet, the prefect went to a secret room to contact someone, who was none other than Xian Daoren.

The prefect looked at the Taoist priest and said with a hint of helplessness, "Taoist priest, what news have you brought this time?"

Xian Daoren said, "My general said that we would still have to trouble the prefect with these." After saying that, he opened a box containing a pair of rhinoceros horn cups that had been transported from Lingnan.

The prefect snorted coldly: "I hope the general can better restrain his men. We will do our best to handle the matter of provisions."

The Wu family army's provisions were originally supplied by Changcheng, which in turn came from the official granaries and the support of powerful clans. This was originally a bargaining chip in the hands of the prefect and the aristocratic families to control the Wu family army, which is why they treated Wu Hanluan like a beggar whenever he visited.

Now, with the support of the Southern Merchants, the Wu Family Army has become even more stable. If Changcheng doesn't provide supplies, well-equipped bandits will emerge and steal grain from the fortified villages outside Changcheng! These wealthy households report that their fortified villages were breached by weapons only large armies could possess, but there's no evidence linking them to the Wu Family Army. This is because the crossbows smuggled by the Southern Merchants and the oxcarts and artillery currently in the Wu Family Army's camp are two different systems.

But the Taoist priest came not just to deliver the rhinoceros horn cup, but to make a new request.

The governor said, "What? You still want to transport the goods to Jizhou? Impossible, you won't get a travel permit from me."

Xian Daoren: "Sir, aren't you going to ask about the price?"

The governor said, "You'd better get out of here before I call for help."

Xian Daoren stared intently at the prefect.

The governor's pupils turned blue as he asked, "How much are you willing to pay?"

Xian Daoren smiled and said, "No rush. Tell me why this is so difficult. Perhaps I can solve it."

Blue flames rose from the governor's eyes and entered the mouth of the Taoist priest.

A moment later, the Taoist priest, counting on his fingers, replied to the prefect, "The situation in Jizhou is indeed a bit difficult."

After saying that, he flicked his finger, and blue light entered the governor's brow. The governor moved like a puppet and asked, "Master, you must have a great plan?"

Xian Daoren nodded, his blue eyes meeting those of the prefect.

(End of this chapter)