Wei School's Three Good Students

Chapter 51: A fruitful exit from seclusion

On the city wall of Yongji Pass, Wen Si lifted the lid of his large pot. As soon as the steam rose and the aroma wafted out, his twenty men swarmed over like pigs. Upon seeing that it was taro again, they all began to complain.

Soldier A: "Taro again! We eat it every day, every month! It's so bland, we can't even run laps."

Wen Si: "Go, go, go, everyone line up. It's good enough that we have taro to eat. If you want to eat meat, wait until we get out of the customs!" After saying this, he took out the salted fish from the steamer one by one.

Soldier B: "Brother Siting, when are we going to leave the pass?"

Due to his military achievements, Wen Si was promoted directly from squad leader to platoon leader. Reaching the platoon leader position requires a proper record on the roster, so perfunctory names like "Gou Sheng" or "Ding Yi" couldn't be used. Therefore, based on Wen Si's hometown of Siting, he was named Wen Siting.

Wen Siting looked at his soldier and said, "You want to leave the pass? You're too tired to even do morning exercises. If you leave, those barbarians will catch up with you and chew you up."

Amidst the laughter of the crowd, they all urged Soldier B to first assume a proper horse stance and hold his spear firmly before proceeding.

However, someone still chimed in, "This border has been closed for too long; everyone's practically growing mold."

Wen Siting: "It will be soon. Our army in the north is already able to eat locally. Now the supplies are no longer being transported north, but towards us."

Everyone: "Then, we'll be out of seclusion soon."

Wen Siting wanted to brag some more, but seeing people walking around outside, he quickly tapped the pot and said, "Stop asking questions, let's eat."

……

Wu Fei looked at the aroma of taro filling the city. Although the fields outside were still lush and green, and last year had also yielded a bumper harvest, people were now eating taro.

Oh, I'm also eating taro, but mine is dipped in honey, which is different from everyone else's.

The soldiers under his command didn't exactly complain, but they all felt that they needed a change of pace and couldn't keep doing the same thing.

Zhao Tu said to Wu Fei, "The reason we're changing our tastes isn't because we think taro and sweet potatoes are bad. It's just that, sir, we've been quiet for too long, and the flesh on our thighs is starting to grow back."

The reason Wu Fei made sure every household ate taro was because, before modern industrial technology for packaging and preservation, millet was the only grain that could withstand long-term storage and was easy to collect, making it necessary to transport it to the front lines. Taro has a very high water content, and the weight added by the water during transportation greatly reduced transport capacity.

As a time traveler, Wu Fei naturally knew about tin cans, pasteurization, and glass jars. However, in various calculations, the amount of coal and iron consumed was beyond what Yongji Pass could currently handle.

Wu Fei could only coordinate within the existing, well-established grain transport system. Technically, the method still involved loading sacks of millet onto transport vehicles. However, Wu Fei's planned water and land transport system was more efficient. For example, he planned to build docks where necessary and establish fodder stations along the routes, providing dedicated rest stops for mules and horses to fatten them up and reduce losses from consuming the transported grain en route.

In terms of grain collection, a substitution method was adopted, collecting millet from the people that was easy to transport.

Several months ago, the Wu family army used a large number of areas prone to flooding during the rainy season to set up military settlements and plant these staple grains.

Wu Fei tried his best to ensure that his soldiers ate locally. The Wu family army calculated the local food consumption by analyzing the sales of salt by merchants and set a quota for each household to exchange millet for additional grain.

This involved exchanging the surplus grain produced by the military farms for millet at a ratio of four to one. This was exactly the amount that the common people felt they could get a good deal. The meticulous Wu Fei had precisely found the right balance in the amount of grain that the people in his jurisdiction were willing to exchange.

It is worth mentioning that residents of Lingnan were even willing to exchange rice with fuller grains for the same amount of other grains!

Wealthy families believe that rice tastes better and should be more expensive, but ordinary families think that millet makes more porridge, since one pound of millet yields three pounds of cooked rice, while one pound of rice only yields two pounds of cooked rice.

Therefore, there was room for corrupt officials to manipulate things here. Wu Fei strictly limited the exchange of grain for millet. Rice was exchanged for cloth and salt.

In the first half of the year, Wu Fei used the "grain exchange" business to extract as much military rations as possible to supply the Wu family army on the northern route, allowing Wu Hanluan and Wu Hengyu to get through the crisis. Meanwhile, the main force did not suffer from famine due to the grain requisition.

In a sense, Wu Fei's deployment over the past six months was no less significant than winning a battle in the north!

From the perspective of the local poor families, the young men who won battles in the north and earned merit in the region where the military families were located had very little to do with it. It was similar to the situation of second-generation people who settled in the city in the 21st century severing ties with their brothers in the same village back home.

Since there was no direct benefit involved, Wu Fei's provision of grain was purely a way for the Wu family, a noble clan, to gain political influence in the upper echelons of Da Yao!

But Wu Fei has managed to get by in the past six months, which is quite remarkable. This shows that the next generation of the Wu family's military leader is very good at managing the family!

Everyone knows that war requires the planning of food supplies, and every extra bite the army eats means a sparser supply in the countryside; repeated requisitions can lead to starvation deaths in villages. But now, Wu Fei hasn't let anyone go hungry during his mobilization efforts. That's what leadership is all about! And everyone knows that once the northern support is exhausted, it will be time to move south.

A capable military commander ensures peace of mind from the rear during campaigns. Therefore, everyone was eager to get to work, feeling that Yongji Pass should finally get to do its job this year.

"My lord, it's cold, please go back inside," a guard advised Wu Fei.

Wu Fei returned to his room. He pondered whether it was truly safe to send troops now. He then wrote a letter to Wu Hanluan to confirm whether the situation was stable.
Wu Fei silently recited the classical Chinese text from his previous life: King Zhuang of Chu wanted to attack Yue, and Zhuangzi advised him, "Why does Your Majesty want to attack Yue?" He replied, "Because the government is chaotic and the army is weak." Zhuangzi said, "I am worried that wisdom is like the eye; it can see a hundred paces away but cannot see its own eyelashes."

The more control Wu Fei gained, the more cautious he became in his military operations. The end of the battle at Yunmengze, and the subsequent political events in Jizhou, left Wu Fei with lingering concerns about the north.

A few days later, Wu Hanluan sent back a letter: Do not worry, you can do as you please.

Wu Fei breathed a sigh of relief, then confirmed his judgment: the current emperor was not incompetent and would not provoke conflict between the generals and powerful clans at this time. However, he also would not allow the Wu family's (Northern Route) army to have another chance to gain "merit."

Because there are still fifteen armies in the north, and as the court increasingly relies on them, it will not provide them with a model to emulate after achieving merit.

In conclusion, there are currently no major battles hindering the Wu family army in the north, so Wu Fei is certain to be able to leave the pass!

Two ghost chariots took off from the Wu family's beast-taming area and flew to Yongji Pass to await orders. The transfer of this high-level combat force from the north to the south enhanced Yongji Pass's offensive capabilities.

This enormous aerial behemoth is equivalent to a 21st-century tactical nuclear weapon configuration.

Legions equipped with aerial behemoths are extremely difficult to surround. Even if blocked by a large army, as long as the behemoths ravage the enemy camp, they can always buy enough time to break out and preserve their army. They may be defeated, but they will not be annihilated.

Wu Fei pondered the cards in his hand: The Giant Bull, a colossal ground combat weapon, is currently extremely difficult to replicate, and it's a documented important artifact of the Great Yao Dynasty, forbidden from appearing in the army. As for the other soldiers, bring more.

Then came all sorts of other things.

For example, a certain amount of gunpowder guns should be prepared, as the auxiliary troops will be coming soon, and crossbow bolts and bowstrings need to be stored in moisture-proof cotton and oil paper wrappings.

…From the perspective of those outside the pass…

In May, it was still raining heavily, and the tribes outside the pass were already used to the Wu family army coming out during the dry season. But this time, the gates were opened early.

Thousands of troops marched out of the pass, and some southern border people who were hunting outside the pass immediately retreated back to their tribes, not daring to approach the pass for a rabbit or a deer.

The Wu family army's domineering behavior over the past few years has silenced all the tribes within a 200-mile radius, who have chosen to cower and defend themselves.

However, the gates were opened far too early, and the roads to the south were still very muddy, making them unsuitable for an attack.

The Wu family army did not march south on a large scale, but went straight to some designated water areas outside the pass. They reclaimed land within a 50-kilometer radius of the controlled area, planted some taro, potatoes and other miscellaneous grains, and spread silt dredged from the nearby river as fertilizer in the fields.

This was a preparation in advance for the peak period of troops leaving the pass several months later, to provide sustenance for their overseas deployments. Cultivating fields outside the pass would significantly reduce transportation costs and fill the food gap for the army. …The mobilization of manpower within the pass was also underway simultaneously…

As June arrived, Wu Fei's conscription order spread to several villages in Lingnan, as well as to the escort agencies in the north.

The conscripted farmers were ordered to settle their affairs at home and prepare for their departure two months later. While the farmers were still preparing their armor, Wu Fei led a force of 1,500 men, guiding the first caravan out of the pass. The vanguard marched along the route, using rocks to build dams on tributary rivers to ensure that the waterways would be filled for a period of time to support bamboo rafts during critical transport times.

Upon hearing that Wu Fei had emerged from seclusion, the merchants who had not been selected in the first wave of exits became somewhat anxious. They openly and secretly inquired with the General's Mansion about when the second wave of merchant selections would take place. They had too much stock on hand and were just waiting to gamble, fearing that Wu Fei would not include them.

…the military camp…

Meanwhile, Wu Fei, upon hearing from outside the Great Wall that his general's mansion was bustling with activity, couldn't help but marvel at the profit-driven nature of merchants.

What kind of "business" has been the most profitable and safest in history? Of course, it's doing business with weapons.

In Xuan Chong's previous life, his family's history showed that both the Han and Tang dynasties maintained strong military forces in the Western Regions during their periods of power. Could it be that these strong forces were sustained by farming in the Western Regions with their meager rainfall? History proves that extracting agricultural output from the Western Regions only leads to desertification.

The local cloth (similar to willow and cotton fibers) from within the pass, along with forged iron farm tools, salt, and wine, could be sold in the south for a profit of three times the initial investment. Meanwhile, water buffalo, medicinal herbs, and jade purchased outside the pass were priced at only 20% of those inside, and transported back to the pass, yielding several times the profit again. Even after deducting customs duties and shipping costs, merchants could still earn four to five times the profit. As long as the associated risks were controlled, this was a sure-fire way to make money.

The key to controlling "risk" is that caravans follow the main army.

Faced with a large influx of merchants seeking stability, Wu Fei held a press conference, demanding that they prepare sufficient carriages and horses before they could leave the pass.

In late August, when all the families gathered at Yongji Pass, everyone was shocked. A total of 20,000 people had gathered at the small Yongji Pass!
The corps that Wu Fei mobilized this time was unprecedented in size.

When Wu Hanluan was the military leader, the maximum number of troops he could mobilize outside the pass was only five or six thousand. But this time, the scale was unprecedented. Even the garrison troops at Yongji Pass who had experienced the Black Tide War were amazed that so many people would come to their side one day.

……

In late August, ten days after the heavy rains south of Yongji Pass subsided, the ground dried. The pass opened, and a large procession marched out.

First came the giant ghost-like birds soaring overhead, followed by ballistae and fire-ox heavy cavalry—a force that no tribe dared to oppose. The army moved like tigers patrolling the mountains; for a time, the only sounds on the mountain roads were the turning of wheel axles and the clatter of hooves. Then, some foolish wild boars and tigers appeared, followed by the piercing sound of bowstrings cutting through the air.

Some tribes, who were previously grumbling about whether they could scavenge some food from the Wu family army's emergency reclamation area outside the pass, have now tightly shut their village gates and are hiding in caves and ditches with their tails between their legs. They are waiting for Da Yao's passing army to cross the Ling River and retaliate against the southern tribal alliance for its actions last year.

However, this legion, which had attracted the attention of various tribes in southern Xinjiang, suddenly slowed down two hundred miles after leaving the pass.

While the tribal leaders waited patiently, this large army deployed its sub-battalions at key points along the waterways, much like a missile scattering its submunitions.

Subsequently, the gates of Yongji Pass were fully opened, and caravans, which had been cooped up for more than half a year, were released like mad dogs. Following the directions on the "Didi Map" sold by Wu Fei, these caravans found the military outposts already stationed along the various waterways, stored their goods there, and then took a few samples to the gates of various tribes to confirm whether to trade. After confirmation, both parties would place their respective goods at the designated locations at the foot of the mountain to exchange them.

Each caravan's armed force consisted of only fifty to a hundred men, but that was enough to frighten away the unruly savages in the mountains.

Only the large tribes of the southern border could raid a military force of more than fifty men to deal with Da Yao. However, none of the tribes currently had any intention of making that kind of quick money.

Wu Fei is currently stationed here with his troops. While it might be difficult to wipe out all the tribes in the southern border region, it would be easy to capture a offending tribe and hunt it down and slaughter it.

Under Wu Fei's "pacifism," the tribes and ethnic groups in the northern part of Lingjiang have all chosen to open their village gates and make money peacefully with these northern merchants.

In September, Wu Fei began to move the outposts one by one, deploying them towards Lingjiang like a game of Go.

As the army arrived at the banks of the continuous river, it was blocked by this most important hydrological dividing line in southern Xinjiang.

Wu Fei's camp was arranged like chess pieces along the riverbank. Wisps of smoke from the camp rose from the chimneys all over the north bank of the river. As the Yao people felled trees to build the village, the bribed spies from various ethnic groups were sent across the Ling River to gather intelligence.

Of course, Wu Fei also used the crow-people troops who had joined him, sending them to conduct high-altitude reconnaissance every day.

From various intelligence reports, Wu Fei quickly learned that the tribes south of Lingjiang were all on edge because of his military operation, especially those tribes that had sided with the Li Huo Sect last year. They had prepared countless traps for him south of Lingjiang and were raising a large number of poisonous insects to wait for him to break in.

Inside the tent, Wu Fei asked Jia Mude, "How long can these poisonous insects last?"

Looking at the flickering, malevolent aura across the river, Jamud said, "With ample food, poisonous insects can survive for three months."

After doing the math in his head, Wu Fei thought, "Oh, it's still very cheap."

Jamud shook his head: "But to control the poison, it needs to be nourished with fresh blood every day."

Wu Fei nodded, then turned to look at the opposite bank of the Lingjiang River: "So what will happen if we don't go?"

Jamud answered the question directly: "They will suffer a great loss."

Looking at his overly honest brother-in-law, Wu Fei couldn't help but feel that Wu Qing was exploiting him too much. He then told him to go back and get some rest.

Wu Fei returned to the main camp and devised a plan: If this military operation to cross the border remained north of the Lingjiang River, ensuring the smooth flow of trade, it would be a net gain. However, once they crossed the Lingjiang River, the costs would become unpredictable.

Although the Wu family army did not cross the river, they could not relax their vigilance south of Lingjiang.

In the dark jungles of southern Xinjiang, the Fire Demons, carrying lanterns, would travel to various tribes and remotely burn the bodies of the southern barbarians with incense. This "whipping" forced the southern barbarians to throw their tribesmen into pits of scorpions and then hand over jars of poisonous insects.

…Lingjiang Standoff Line…

Meanwhile, to the south, a strange man wearing a cloak from the Li Huo Sect was watching the army north of the river. His expression was particularly furious when he saw the flying crow-men on the riverbank.

The ruler of the Southern Frontier had already realized that Wu Fei's visit to the Lingjiang River was merely a waste of time.

However, he and the tribal leaders dared not withdraw the ambush group gathered in the jungle, which was shrouded in a dark green light. What if the Wu family army really crossed the river after they withdrew?

This is why, after the Battle of Yongji Pass, no one in the southern border region dared to underestimate Wu Fei's military prowess.

Three months later, there was still no fighting along the Lingjiang line…

Wu Fei's corps performed its mission of protecting merchants and overseas Chinese perfectly from August until the end of the year.

Besides Wu Fei's main force of 1,400 men, other militia units escorted caravans in and out more than 100,000 times. During this period, north of Lingjiang, the Dayao armed forces were the only presence on the road.

This trade activity resulted in the export of 600,000 bolts of cloth, the purchase of 10,000 head of livestock of various sizes, and 480 pieces of spirit wood that could be used for "palaces" and mechanical puppets, among other goods.

After Yongji Pass categorized trade, it called exported goods "Suibu" and imported goods "Tugong". In the calculations of the southern merchants, whether they sold "Suibu" at a high price or bought "Tugong" at a low price, they would make a profit.

During this period, the northern barbarians of Lingjiang outside the pass, known for their honesty and simplicity, sent out guides to lead merchants to their homes, making the merchants who were leaving the pass marvel at the unprecedented good times they had ever experienced.

(End of this chapter)