Wei School's Three Good Students

Chapter 52 Plunder is not enough to give to those who have more.

On the eve of the 28th year of the Tianli calendar, Wu Fei, riding a dragon horse named Daisy, looked across the surging river at the strangely shadowy jungle on the other side through binoculars. He suppressed the anger of his soldiers who were eager to rush over and make a name for themselves, and said, "This year is not the time to cross the river. We are to the north."

Just as Wu Fei was observing, a giant python in Jiangnan stared at Wu Fei's group, then entered the river, and then cut a dark current in the waves, heading towards Wu Fei's direction.

The soldiers beside Wu Fei prepared themselves, but Wu Fei raised the command flag beside him. A murderous aura bloomed in the sky like fireworks. In the time it takes to drink a cup of tea, a dark shadow appeared in the sky. It was the Wu family army's Ghost Chariot. It swooped down on the river and scooped up the writhing python in the water with its claws. The python was caught and carried into the air like a serpent.

The giant python, due to its excessive length and insufficient spinal rigidity, was bound by gravity, swinging in the sky like a rubber tube until it reached a height of fifty zhang. The snake seemed to want to use its captured body to zigzag back and constrict Guiche's legs. However, Guiche anticipated its intention and immediately swung it towards the riverbank. The snake's head had just touched Guiche's claws when it was slammed down with a bang, falling directly to the ground in a zigzag pattern. All the soldiers could see with their naked eyes that the zigzag turning point broke directly under the impact.

Then the ghost chariot swooped down, and the three larger heads among the nine heads fought over it, tearing the pitiful ten-zhang-long python into three pieces. The snake's organs were thrown twenty paces away.

Then the giant bird, carrying a huge gall bladder, flew to Wu Fei to present it as a treasure. Wu Fei stroked the giant bird's head and then placed a white silver medal around its neck. Several such symbols already adorned the head of the young ghost chariot, each symbol representing a kill completed under orders. This young ghost chariot, possessing intelligence, understood that these were merits earned in the army and could be exchanged for cattle and sheep to devour.

Wu Fei removed the snake gall, which was the size of a human head, and handed it to Zhao Tu, who was standing nearby. This was to help him clear his mind and improve his eyesight, as Wu Fei had recently noticed that Zhao Tu's blood energy was somewhat excessive again.

Zhao Tu: "Thank you for the reward, General." He was not happy, because every time Wu Fei gave him a reward without any merit, it meant the end was coming. The reward was a reward for his "hard work" on this trip.

Wu Fei stared at him: "Clear the way for me!" His tone left no room for argument.

Zhao Tu's murderous aura dissipated by ninety percent after that rebuke: "Yes, General."

Wu Fei turned to the accompanying generals and said, "We've been out for half a year. We've made money, we know the roads well, and our families are all worried about us."

The other generals who followed silently began to spur their horses. This expedition was a time when everyone had gathered all their strength, hoping to find the enemy and engage in a fierce battle. However, for several months, apart from dealing with a dozen or so bandits, no one had dared to provoke the army. Now, the enemy was right across the river, but Wu Fei reined in his horse and stopped. Although he felt very uncomfortable, he knew that he was a warrior. He was good at fighting on the battlefield, but when it came to winning battles, he still had to listen to this young military commander.

Compared to last year, the level of malevolent aura emanating from Wu Fei has increased from a small stream to a mighty river.

…a dividing line for being meticulous…

Wu Fei: When a large army goes on an expedition, the brutes only need to find the enemy to fight, but as the person in charge of team building personally leading the team, I need to consider many things.

This is an unfamiliar territory, a place Wu Hanluan has never even reached before. This means most of the guides were hastily recruited. As for the records in the General's Mansion, while they aren't entirely blank regarding the geography of the Southern Frontier, they're at least a century old. A century is enough time for a river to change course and a spring to dry up.

In addition, the non-combat casualties caused by miasma and poisonous insects also need to be considered.

Wu Fei was well aware of his shortcomings in on-the-spot capabilities. He knew that if he had to wait until the major test to make hasty arrangements, he would definitely fail. Therefore, since the possibility of a large-scale war occurring north of Lingjiang was extremely small and he had plenty of leeway, he decided to use this campaign as practice before leading his troops on a large-scale expedition.

Prime ministers must rise from local government positions, and valiant generals must emerge from the ranks of soldiers.
Wu Fei now deeply agrees, as he still needs to accumulate experience in commanding military operations of several armies (two thousand men per army).

For example, in the past two months, all six camps that Wu Fei's army moved were scouted in advance, and then vanguard teams were dispatched to make preliminary preparations. Before settling into each camp, multiple clean water sources were dug and enough firewood was stored.

"Untreated water" was the primary cause of disease during the expansion into southern Xinjiang. Seemingly clear water sources could harbor dead animals rotting along their banks, allowing viruses to seep into the water. Most people in ancient times lacked awareness of the risks associated with clean water sources.

Of course, if the reality were that a simple "don't drink untreated water" could solve the problem, then there would be no need for drills; the army could simply arrive and carry out the orders.

In fact! When the army arrived, there wasn't enough firewood, and the logging trip violated the warning regulations. At the moment, with the Wu family army marching, no one dared to harass the army, which is why they were able to cut down trees on a large scale. However, if it were a situation similar to the granary defense battle when Wu Fei first led the army, with snake people appearing around at any time, then logging would be impossible.

Moreover, logging wouldn't be enough to boil all the water!

For modern people, boiling water is simply a matter of "a little electricity" or "a few minutes of gas".

But for people in ancient settlements, the firewood they consumed cost only a few dozen coins a month. As for the wilderness where large armies temporarily camped, let alone the ancients, even in modern times, the US military used helicopters to transport water, and the Russians, due to the difficulty in securing water, turned their mechanized troops into clumsy bears in the "graveyard of empires," and could only hold their heads in distress as they were harassed by guerrillas.

Wu Fei encountered this problem during his expedition and spent twenty days perfecting the practical application of a complete set of countermeasures from military strategy.

From the very beginning of marching and setting up camp, it was essential to arrange the barracks according to the military principles of "feng shui." Military texts use this terminology, which Wu Fei carefully studied and confirmed; it represents a well-established system of dividing living areas, with water supply areas and areas for human and animal waste separated at a distance. Furthermore, the water supply area was ensured to be situated on higher ground.

As for what happens if you accidentally make the sewage area higher up, Wu Fei remembers some players making some rather smelly mistakes in a certain "Cities: Skylines" game he played in his previous life.

After the initial construction was completed, the second phase of operations began. Wu Fei ordered his men to dig a clean pool, line it with washed stones, introduce water, and use quicklime to increase its alkalinity for disinfection. The pool was then left to stand and be exposed to the sun. To prevent rainwater from entering the pool, a sufficiently high barrier was built around it.

This water can be used for drinking by horses and livestock, and can also be used for washing in the various camps in the morning. However, it still needs to be boiled before it can be used for drinking by humans.

As long as drinking water is guaranteed, the amount of firewood consumed is very small.

The lime packets, on the other hand, were incorporated into military supplies and mixed in with grain sacks, used purely as desiccants.

As a modern person, Wu Fei knows that a complete disinfection plan for water treatment plants should involve preparing chlorine oxides or potassium permanganate. Adding lime, from a modern health perspective, increases the probability of kidney stones. However, compared to the inexplicable plague in southern Xinjiang, it's better to choose the lesser of two evils.

Now, under Wu Fei's strict supervision, the importance of each army preparing its own water sources after setting up camp has been elevated to the same level of importance as ensuring the army's food supplies.

In addition to the aforementioned "campsite construction," we also focused on establishing long-term friendships with some local guides.

Under Wu Fei's instructions, the army treated the hunters in the villages quite politely. After ascertaining that these hunters were isolated from the larger tribal groups (atomized and orphaned individuals), they were given iron hunting tools and "iron tokens"—a form of iron currency—which they were instructed to use to purchase cloth, salt, and other supplies from the army's merchants. Of course, even if they didn't go to the northern market, they would still accept these iron tokens when caravans knocked on their doors the following year.

…The battle ended silently, and Wu Fei achieved a “slight advantage” simply by maintaining a stalemate without fighting…

During the armed demonstration in southern Xinjiang, Wu Fei's headquarters fired only a mere three hundred arrows. These arrows were not used to kill the enemy, but rather given as a reward to the tigers, leopards, and wolves in the mountains. After several months, the swords and spears had rusted, but the shovels and spades had been used until they gleamed.

As the smoke from the camp's cooking fires completely disappeared from the north bank of the Lingjiang River, a curse rang out from the fiery cave south of the river, directed at the fleeing Wu family army: "You're cowards!" This heretical cultivator, who had been the Crown Prince of Da Yao four hundred years ago, used to hear about the victories at the southern border in court. He had never heard of Wu Fei's "traditional kung fu, stopping short of defeat" tactics before!

Wu Fei's perspective: After I've completed all the campaign objectives, why should I act recklessly?
On the economic front: all the goods in Yongji Pass have been cleared out and replaced with local products from southern Xinjiang. In the next few months, these local products will be transported to the north.

On a military level: the rivers in the mountains that were drinkable, as well as various herbs, insects and snakes, were all recorded by the army's cartographers and compiled into the book "Southern Xinjiang Water and Soil Records".

Of the main force of the Wu family army that was unexpectedly left behind in the southern border region during this large-scale expedition, only twenty-eight men remained. The entire caravan's escort team, in scattered numbers, numbered no more than one hundred. This represents the smallest loss among all previous expeditions to the southern border region.

…Autumn goes and spring returns…

In January of the 29th year of the Tianli reign, Yongji Pass resembled a bustling train station during the Spring Festival travel rush. Half a year earlier, laborers recruited from various villages in Lingnan had been flowing in from all directions, converging at Yongji Pass and forming square formations. They then left the pass and carried out a series of tasks such as digging and building camps outside the pass. Half a year later, while everyone was still wondering where the enemy was, they received orders: they could go home. So they packed their bags and returned to Yongji Pass together.

After returning to the pass, the laborers were led to various towns within the pass to disperse. Then, the elders of each team's hometown association took the lead, leading their old comrades to indulge in a period of revelry in the markets of these towns in Guanzhong, getting thoroughly drunk before returning home.

These farmers from Lingnan handed their full loads of silver leaves to their elderly parents at home. Then they stuffed the iron coupons, such as "cloth coupons," "sugar coupons," and "rice coupons," distributed by the army into the hands of the women in their families, asking them to keep track of the time and go to the market with them to collect the goods.

Before all the farmers returned home, they were instructed that the "Shunfeng Trading Company" would regularly pass through the markets near their hometowns for two months. (Similar to a bus schedule.)
Wu Fei's "Shunfeng Trading Company" would transport goods such as rice, flour, and cooking oil, which the farmers could purchase with their coupons at no price difference. However, if they missed the deadline and didn't buy the goods, they would have to wait until the next expedition to hand them over to the army's logistics department and exchange them for new iron coupons.

The tickets were forged from steel in a single furnace, not paper. This was partly because the villagers preferred something "hard and solid" to something "light and flimsy," and partly because current anti-counterfeiting technology was inadequate. Paper tickets could be counterfeited by a few people gathering in a secret house, while iron tickets required fire and hammering.

Furthermore, since the materials used in a single batch of steel are largely similar—meaning that even if a small workshop blacksmith uses different types of iron, subtle differences will be noticeable—if a merchant were to attempt to acquire Wu Fei's large-scale iron smelting equipment at Yongji Pass and thoroughly research hydraulic forging, that would be utterly presumptuous.

In Lingnan, only the Wu family can overstep their bounds. Wu Fei: Who dares to overstep their bounds in private? Do you not respect the laws of the Great Yao Kingdom?
In the various villages, returning soldiers recounted their experiences beyond the Great Wall, while children squatted nearby, listening to the stories of battles between giant mountain spirits such as "snakes" and "tigers" in their territory.

These soldiers tossed out some "strange tree fruit kernels" and a fang that was said to have been pulled from a tiger's mouth, which became the wonders that the children eagerly watched.

…They gathered into a blazing fire, then scattered into countless stars…

Two months later, as soldiers from various places left, Yongji Pass suddenly became much quieter...

Inside the checkpoint, Wu Fei was tallying up this year's business earnings.

The entire army's expedition cost 500,000 silver leaves. Of these, 80,000 silver leaves were distributed as travel expenses to the soldiers for their hard work. The elite troops under their direct command received the most rewards, approximately eight to fifteen silver leaves per month. As for the farmers who followed along and sponged off the troops, they received one to three silver leaves per month. This was still more money than they could earn by raiding rats' nests during their off-season at home. As for the battles, the main engagements were skirmishes by scouts, awarding only 425 merit points, each worth 3 silver leaves! Overall, it was negligible.

Of course, Wu Fei wasn't calculating the money, but rather the growth of the entire group's war potential. If 20,000 men returned satisfied with his departure, then he could bring out another 20,000 men next time.

In addition, the five thousand strong slaves acquired in this trade are enough to offset the loss of two hundred of our forces due to illness or injury during this expedition.

…From numbers to metaphysics…

After finishing his calculations, Wu Fei went to the geomancy pavilion next door and met his third aunt. His third aunt was conducting geomancy calculations. There was a sand table map under her feet, but the sand table was slowly rising and falling like breathing. The pulse in the north of Yongji Pass looked very vibrant, while the south side seemed lifeless after this round of military (colonial trade).

Knowing Wu Fei's purpose in coming, Third Aunt immediately reported the results of the divination to Wu Fei.

In this world, the human way and the heavenly way are interconnected. If a place is poorly governed or plundered, these mystical cultivators will predict that the land and its inhabitants will experience turmoil. Conversely, if the human way in a certain place is strengthened, the land and its inhabitants, which are worshipped by the people of that place, will also be full of vitality.

The way of Heaven is to take from those who have more than enough and give to those who have less than enough; the way of man is to take from those who have less than enough and give to those who have more than enough.

Wu Fei knew that what he had done was considered a form of sexual cultivation by these cultivators! Therefore, he asked his third aunt, who was also practicing unorthodox methods, to help him see just how far his actions had gone.

Wu Fei used the system to translate the tadpole-like script given to him by his third aunt and confirmed that the peace and tranquility within the pass was increasing.

Wu Fei wondered if it was just his imagination, but the reports his aunt was writing for him now were much clearer, with fewer of the vague hints.

Wu Fei asked his third aunt, "The south was plundered, and the discordant atmosphere has increased by 30%? I didn't carry out a large-scale killing spree."

Third Aunt: "My lord, plunder doesn't necessarily have to involve killing. It can also start with change. What you've done is actually more in line with the way of change." She held up bamboo tallies and pointed them at a series of tribes in the southern and northern border regions.
…The bustling activity has moved beyond the Great Wall…

After the army left, the cloth and salt that had been sold would continue to circulate to the south through trade between tribes.

Among the tribes that the accompanying merchants from the south visited to do business, some of the young people from the younger tribes became quite shrewd during the transactions!

Kam was one of them. He said, "The northerners can sell things to us and make money off us. Can't we resell our things to the southern tribes and make some money too?"

His idea was opposed by the elders in the clan, who believed that they should not take advantage of their brothers in the south.

Therefore, in the first year, the village treated the merchants from the south very fairly in terms of business dealings.

However, this kind of "fairness" did not earn the gratitude of the brothers in the south.

In Kam's village, the tribesmen, draped in animal skins, cursed the Kam tribe for doing business with the northerners and handing over the treasures of the mountains to them, while taking it for granted that they could exchange their own furs for ironware.

When sincerity is met with disdain instead of gratitude, a rift is created.

(End of this chapter)