Wei School's Three Good Students

Chapter 48 Morality Under Test

The way of Heaven is to take from those who have more than enough and give to those who have less than enough. The great calamity of Heaven and Earth is when the class with the most surplus suffers a backlash.

Wu Fei believed that this social class should consist of increasingly extravagant and wealthy families. If he didn't suppress them in advance when he was growing stronger, he would experience the unpleasantness that the remnants of the previous dynasty were creating for him in every nook and cranny during the most intense moments of the conflict.

Wu Fei arrived at the political prison and began to examine a new batch of imprisoned intellectuals.

These "extracurricular activities" limited their understanding of the hardships of ordinary people to the sight of farmers sweating under the crops during their travels, and their knowledge of frontier warfare was limited to poems about so-called battles and war.

The southern border lacks scholars, but what it lacks are scholars who can endure hardship and settle down. However, some fellows always want to live a life where they are served, which, in Wu Fei's opinion, is simply stubbornness.

On the other side of the railing stood Li Chongxin, a stubborn and unyielding man. Born in Zhuzhou, as the eldest son of the main branch of his family, he had never lacked money since childhood, and his greatest joy was writing poetry with like-minded friends. However, his carefree life was shattered by the "Rebellion of the Union." Speaking of this "Union," he had only offered a few words of reasoning in a restaurant, as his elders had often said that if a union were to truly take place, his capable cousins ​​would find a way to advance their careers.

However, in the end, his family suffered a misfortune and suddenly fell into ruin. The books he had collected became evidence of his crimes, and he was exiled to Lingnan, where he was abused by soldiers.

In the prison at Yongji Pass, he was led to a room where chicken leg rice was laid out before him. He also smelled the aroma of wine. Looking up, he wanted to ask the jailer what it was, but the jailer said, "This is punishment for the pretentious poems you wrote."

…On the other side of the perspective…

Inside his office, Wu Fei reviewed these satirical poems by literati. Some criticized Lingnan for being "incoherent and chaotic," implying that the Wu family, as military strategists, should only focus on fighting, and governance should be left to scholars. Others criticized the Wu family army for swaggering and acting like wolves and tigers in the wild south.

These words, how should I put it, are filled with a kind of mystical flavor of "I am the only one who is sober in a world of drunks".

Wu Fei carefully reviewed each line of poetry and prose, and only after confirming that these prisoners were unwilling to undertake any practical work during their labor in southern Xinjiang did he approve each one. He also paid special attention to reviewing the comments left in the suggestion box by other people in the original work positions of these scholars.

If someone were willing to vouch for them and provide proof of employment, they could be exempted from the "drunkenness" punishment. However, after going through this process, no one was willing to do so.

Wu Fei: Then you can't blame me. I'm a pragmatist, and most people are pragmatists too. Since you have no practical value and your writing makes most pragmatists uncomfortable, you can only play a role in the direction I've set for you.

Wu Fei waved his hand and ordered extra food to be served to the prisoners.

After the prisoners ate the good meal with tears in their eyes, they were taken to the large communal sleeping area. A gourd was placed in front of them, and as the lid of the gourd was opened, an intoxicating aroma wafted out, as if all their troubles had disappeared.

The first scholar cried and refused to drink, but after being forced to drink, he collapsed after only three steps.

This was more effective than any sleeping potion, but the scholar who thought he was going to die didn't know that after he collapsed, he would have a great dream! This great dream would last from a month to several years.

As Li Chongxin watched the others drink, he initially thought he was about to die a heroic death. However, after seeing the jailers carrying the drunken men to straw beds, he paused and said, "Are we all destined to die without a burial place?"

The jailer said, "What are you thinking about? Drink up! This is a drunken chore, perfect for useless scholars like you who are full of complaints! Reflect on your actions in your sleep!"

Li Chongxin didn't understand what "drunken service" meant, but he still raised his glass to toast the other literary friends in the cell. After drinking it, he sighed and said, "So be it, it's all just a dream."

In his dream, he found himself transformed into a sword immortal, floating gracefully amidst the clouds.

…outside the prison cell…

Looking at all the scholars who had been put into the drunken service, Wu Fei said to the jailer, "Take good care of them. There can be no mistakes."

Before these scholars, an incense burner was placed, from which wisps of smoke drifted, expected to burn out in three hours. On the incense burner, small paper figures were now dancing and gesturing.

The prisoners, having drunk the Yellow Millet Wine, had a talisman unfold on their foreheads. Fine lines were being drawn on the talisman.

The power depicted on these talismans is "dream power." This is activated by the effects of the Yellow Millet Intoxication.

The jailers nodded quickly and said, "Don't worry, General, everyone will be taken good care of."

The incense burned slowly, while the snoring rose and fell, from gentle to rapid, and then to surging, as if everyone in this small room was fighting against fate; in contrast, the little figures in the incense burners on everyone's bedside became more and more lively.

The fine wine that Li Zhongxin and others drank while on "drunken service" was called "Huangliangzui," which, as the name suggests, would give them a great dream after drinking it.

Wu Feizhu's writings record: "Anything can happen in a dream." An ordinary person's drinking capacity is no more than two ounces at a time. Drinking too much might lead to a cycle of life and death in a dream.

Therefore, there are often legends in the Great Dao section about immortals brewing a cup of wine and letting frustrated scholars enter their dreams to seek answers to their life's questions. In reality, this is using Yin magic to collect soul power.

If a victim is invited to drink and happens to pass out drunk at the table, and then notices smoke coming from everyday food nearby, such as a pot of steaming millet rice, it's highly likely someone is stealing their dream power. Upon waking, the victim should grab the person and prevent them from leaving.

Because dream thieves can use these everyday smoke and mist to conceal the existence of the "divine incense"; and those who indulge in the "Yellow Millet Intoxication" can experience the ups and downs of life in their dreams. And this plot can be guided by the "divine incense."

For those who are lost in a dream, this experience of life comes at a price: a wisp of their soul power will be released along with the smoke, and at that moment, this soul power will be absorbed by the paper figures.

These paper figures, imbued with soul power, are what Wu Fei wants to collect.

This paper doll imbued with spiritual power is a marvelous method for crafting talismans. This method was given to me by my third aunt, after all, she was a Yin-Yang sorcerer and very familiar with ghost-related paper books.

……

Wu Fei, on the other hand, intended to use these soul papers on the cannons.

As a military strategist, Wu Fei noticed a problem while reading the battle reports from Wu Hengyu's side in Yunmengze: the Wu family army's artillery was inadequate! It lacked accuracy! The projectiles were frequently dodged. Wu Fei then asked his mages if it was possible to make the projectiles like flying swords, capable of taking heads from a thousand miles away.

Angri and Jamud hesitated to speak, not because they had no ideas, but because their methods were too costly.

Jamud described it as: "Directly turning the shells into one-time magical artifacts." After making the blueprints for Wu Fei, Wu Fei glanced at them and thought, "Not bad, but don't even think about it." This is a missile, covered with dense lines and mechanical control wings.

Ang Ri shrugged. He had something similar to what Wu Fei wanted—a kind of spirit seed that could actively seek out its target, but it needed the target's scent to fly to it. Moreover, this spirit seed required nurturing soil, so its yield was unlikely to be high.

The method my third aunt gave me is the best. But! It also requires sufficient resources.

First of all! Having excess soul power is very rare. There is usually only one in ten people with excess soul power, and most of those with excess soul power are usually accomplished individuals. Only a very small number of people suffer because of excess soul power, and these are often those frustrated scholars.

The talisman paper produced by this scholar's dream of wealth and power can satisfy the needs of twenty or thirty rounds of firecrackers. A person can drink it six times in their lifetime.

…as soon as an incense stick burned…

In the prison cell, Wu Fei watched as these "disillusioned" members of his system became increasingly dissolute in their dreams. Everyone else was drunk, but he alone was sober! He continued to peruse these secrets.

The wine called Huangliangzui costs twenty taels of silver per ounce! Its recipe has a mysterious origin; it's said to be a replica of "Tianzizui" (Emperor's Intoxication) smuggled from imperial tombs by tomb robbers. And since most of these emperors' posthumous titles contained the characters "Yang" or "Ling," one can imagine the role this concoction played in the decline of dynasties.

People often lament that monarchs are addicted to wine and women. Everyone understands the concept of "women," but the "wine"—the rice wine that farmers drink—is unimaginable to be consumed by monarchs. "The Emperor's Intoxication" was a recipe for wine presented to the emperor only when he felt the world was at peace. The side effect of such a recipe was that it caused the "three souls and seven spirits" to overflow from the seven orifices.

Before the great hexagram, a seductive fox spirit bewitches the king. What does she want? Unable to bear royal offspring, and unable to live a carefree life like in the mountains, is she seeking pleasure? Isn't it simply to absorb that wisp of imperial aura? Thus, she holds a wine cup and serves it to the king.

A sip of Emperor's Wine allows the drinker to experience the sense of accomplishment of overthrowing heroes in times of chaos during a peaceful and prosperous era.

…Wu Fei was not a king, but he had reservations about his aunt's offer of a prescription.

Two days later, Wu Fei came to the shooting range again. Since the catapult was going to hit him, the projectiles turned into wooden projectiles.

The counterweight catapult on the city wall of Yongji Pass began to be assembled. Then, as the seven-zhang lever was swung, the wooden projectile flew out and slowly drifted in the sky, like a paper airplane, gradually reaching the edge of sight.

As the counterweight catapult launched its projectile from 500 paces away, Wu Fei watched the black dot falling towards him and was immediately enveloped by the aroma of alcohol. A wave of dizziness washed over him, and he thought of the science fiction film "The Matrix" from his past life. Although the style of this world was different, both created a beautiful illusion to lure people in. If he didn't dodge, he was guaranteed to be hit.

Just before the bullet hit him, Wu Fei forced himself to chew a bitter pill he had left in his mouth. The bitterness exploded in his mouth like dynamite. He then took a step to the left to dodge the bullet.

The best antidote for Huangliangzui (a type of Chinese liquor) is a bitter gall bladder.

Wu Fei quickly dodged the first bullet, and although he felt like vomiting, he kept his mouth tightly shut.

After the event, Wu Fei handed over the decision-making power for "Huangliangzui" to the artillery group, specifying how much Huangliangzui the artillery group needed to produce. Wu Fei also set a special rule: having dreams after drinking Huangliangzui would be counted under the "blood reward" system.

For these prisoners, a cup of "Yellow Millet Dream" was worth three years of hard labor. For the elderly and frail slaves who could no longer do heavy work, drinking five cups of "Yellow Millet Dream" could help one escape slavery.

It wasn't that Wu Fei was kind-hearted, but rather that he was warning future generations: drinking alcohol is different from doing manual labor; getting paid so easily is tantamount to a woman selling herself.

…after the first batch of Huangliang wine was harvested…

Wu Fei made a point of going around his third aunt's room to make sure she hadn't hidden any spirit paper.

The third aunt said, "Young master, has someone complained about me to you?"

Wu Fei: "Well, yes, indeed."

Wu Fei responded awkwardly, "I've heard of something called 'Paper Puppet Technique.' Powerful paper puppets can be carried around like scattering beans to create soldiers, and when needed, they can be shaken out to assassinate the monarch."

Hearing Wu Fei's words, Third Aunt smiled faintly: "If you don't allow it, I won't do it."

Wu Fei felt a little embarrassed being stared at by those golden-blue eyes.

…Wu Fei: I was such a petty person…

After leaving his aunt's laboratory, Xuan Chong opened the system and asked, "System, was what I did right or wrong?"

System: "When you're doing your homework, don't ask random questions. Do you think I'll have to give you the answers during your exams?"

Xuan Chong: "I'm just a little flustered."

System: "If you feel anxious, find the reason for your anxiety."

Xuan Chong: "I think the people I'm dealing with now are not wrong. They don't engage in productive labor and have been polluting the information environment with their 'win-win' theories. They deserve to be hit hard. But will my method of dealing with those who disagree with me suppress certain forces of historical development and progress in the future?"

Xuan Chong understood perfectly well that when he was walking in the shadows, even if his posture was perfect, he would still worry about accidentally falling into a ditch. But now, in order to reach his goal quickly, he hadn't gone into the light.

After a long pause, the system countered with the question: "Do you think you are better than the most progressive people in history in a fair exam?"

Xuan Chong: "That's impossible. There are countless people stronger than me."

System: "Then what makes you think you can suppress progressive forces? Is it just because of your current position that you have such confidence?" (It's practically accusing Xuan Chong of arrogance.)
Xuan Chong opened his mouth, but couldn't speak for a long time. Then, he muttered softly, "I don't have the ability, but you might not be able to help me."

The system (presumably smirking): "You don't do your homework, you don't take exams, see if I'll take care of you!"

Xuan Chong understood. Oh, progress itself has a powerful vitality, and his little tricks and distractions couldn't suppress true progressives.

…A foul odor can travel a thousand miles to find a kindred spirit…

Xuan Chong's tolerance of Yin-type magic quickly attracted the attention of Qianjin Shigu. A month later, a puppeteer named Gongshu Wang, who claimed to be a disciple of the Mo family, came to visit and presented Wu Fei with a wooden phoenix.

At first glance, this person seemed to be a talent for building airplanes, but for some reason, Wu Fei felt a chill when he saw the wooden phoenix that the man had presented.

Two days later, after Gongshu Wang successfully circled the wooden phoenix once above the training ground, Xuan Chong immediately saw through the deception. While everyone else was still intimidated, Wu Fei ordered the Mo family disciple to circle the object more than twenty times. Gongshu Wang was clearly somewhat uncomfortable, but under Wu Fei's menacing gaze, he still complied!
Sure enough, even though he secretly replaced his flapping wings with a new material in an attempt to prolong his life, they still broke after flapping three hundred times.

This guy survived by gliding with a parachute.

Wu Fei shook his head at this, "That's right, with such intense movements as flight, the lifespan of its key materials can't withstand it."

His own "body measurement device" trained his five senses, making him extremely sensitive to mechanical movements. When the wooden phoenix flapped its wings, Wu Fei could tell that the wings were worn out.

However, this Mo family disciple was not ashamed. After descending, he said that the wooden phoenix could be strengthened and gave Wu Fei a jade slip.

After Wu Fei channeled his malevolent energy into the jade slip and learned the "refining" method, he remained silent.

Gongshu Wang casually mentioned, "Refining such materials is very simple for you; there are plenty in the slave market."

Wu Fei said to Gongshu Wang, "Sir, don't you think this is too contrary to the natural order?"

Gongshu Wang said, "General, judging from your demeanor, you shouldn't be so troubled."

Wu Fei laughed and accepted the jade slip, while also keeping this traitorous disciple of the Mo Sect with him.

Of course, he must be kept under strict surveillance, otherwise his reputation will be ruined. As for letting him go? What if he runs to another camp? He might step on a big mess he made one day, and then he'll regret it.

Two days later, Wu Fei learned about this guy's background from the Central Plains. He was definitely a heretic. In order to repair the forbidden book of "Missing One Path", he went around robbing tombs, just to use coffins as materials to make strange objects.

(End of this chapter)