Wei School's Three Good Students

Chapter 59 Mining and Probing Attacks
"To change the ecology of a region, you have to get involved yourself." Wu Fei looked at the end of the winding river in front of him. What used to be a stream surrounded by bushes had become a man-made dam. The dam had turned the surrounding area into taro fields, and next to the golden toad statue beside the dam, the imprints of farmers' straw sandals were densely packed.

In Wu Fei's plan, he wanted to lead the barbarian tribes south of Yongji Pass into the "Tusi" era, where they had a certain level of agricultural capabilities.

In order to achieve this goal, in addition to providing them with a certain amount of iron tools such as plows, feudal values ​​were also instilled in them.

In the value system of the lords, fishermen and hunters, who faced greater difficulties in collecting taxes, were considered lowly. Farmers tied to the land and artisans tied to workshops were the people worthy of protection.

Such hierarchical differences are a very clear characteristic of the distinction between feudalism and barbarism.

Wu Fei: "If the status of farmers remains inferior to that of hunters in primitive tribes, then iron plows will eventually be forged back into maces and iron swords."

Of course, one cannot learn something simply by being taught, but one must learn it through experience.

Only by creating a model of agriculture and warfare in the region, dominated by the Da Yao ethnic group, and constantly bullying and creating conflicts and friction with the local barbarian culture through water resources and trade, can the Wu family army transform the local barbarian culture and system.

Here, Wu Fei had considered the situation of a certain group of people: the landless farmers recommended by merchants like Yu Bai to these tribes. Wu Fei's intended goal was for these farmers to teach the barbarians how to cultivate the land, but this was merely his own subjective wish.

Just like the overseas cultural promotion department in the East in the past, they subjectively wanted Confucius Institutes to represent culture abroad. But objectively, others didn't accept it! What could you do about it?
There's a saying, "If you don't accept a toast, you'll have to drink a penalty shot." Therefore, when trying to sell culture to barbarians, you can't just keep offering toasts; you have to be prepared to drink a penalty shot when necessary.

Like the "princess sent to marry foreign rulers," the farmers who ventured beyond the Great Wall bore the mission of cultural exchange. This mission could sometimes be frustrating and even fatal.

Wu Fei needed to secure a retreat route for them outside the pass. A place where they could quickly escape to take refuge and retreat, a place where they could take revenge and launch a counterattack after the defense was over.

Therefore, Wu Fei lit a "lighthouse" for this purpose.

Fenxing City was built two hundred li south of Yongji Pass. It relied on the eastern foothills of Chilian Mountain, and there was only one river flowing down into the Lingjiang River.

Wu Fei chose this place not only after personally conducting detailed strategic considerations, but also after consulting with geomancers who, through repeated measurements, determined that this was the location of "royal aura."

Although there is a vast and endless primeval forest to the east of this place, there are no more hills and slopes. And five hundred miles away is the coastline. Theoretically, if there is enough development in the future, this forest will be cleared and the land will become alluvial plains suitable for farming.

A point that can radiate and control a virgin land suitable for agricultural development is considered to possess "royal aura." Because this land is separated from the inner soil of the Great Yao by mountains, the "royal aura" is fragmented, existing only in a small piece. However, it is still sufficient to support the "royal way" radiating to the surrounding area.

Therefore, Wu Fei's biggest strategic move in this expedition was to establish a city here!
After all, it's impossible to send troops from inside the pass to confront the north of Lingjiang every time we go out of the pass. The first time was a necessary investment to open up the route, and the construction of various water sources and supply stations along the way required military protection. But the second and third times, it would be a waste to have too many military forces stationed in the area.

Now, with "Fenxing City" serving as a strategic foothold outside the pass, Wu Fei can permanently station a thousand economically viable military forces there. From this base, he can maintain a force of approximately five thousand auxiliary troops through deterrence. This adjustment will significantly reduce the cost of the next military operation.

Only by continuously reducing the cost of military mobilization within the control line can we truly cross the Lingjiang River and sweep southwards against the reactionary secret society "Li Huo Zong"... cough cough cough, like breaking mountains and destroying temples.

……

This is a fortified city, 150 zhang long and 100 zhang wide. The materials used to build the walls were timber that had been felled and dried in the shade since last year, and stone quarried from a small hill in the foothills of the Red Chain Mountains. The walls are only 2 zhang high, not part of the typical Eastern defensive system. Eastern city walls rely on thick walls that allow passage for people and vehicles. However, the highest point of this city's walls is only wide enough for two people to pass at a time; its defensive strength lies in the tall buildings connecting to the walls. These tall buildings are constructed with very solid materials, allowing cannons to have a good angle of fire to sweep across the opposite side.

This is more like a Western-style fortress, its advantage being that it is cheaper than an Eastern city. Eastern city walls require a large amount of stone and very labor-intensive rammed earth layers.

The drawback of such a Western-style fortress is that it can only defend against enemies with a relatively low level of civilization. Once the enemy has cannons and catapults and sets them up at close range, the fortress will be in great danger.

Of course, it wasn't just a solitary castle; there were several auxiliary fortresses surrounded by relatively low walls to prevent artillery from reaching directly to the castle walls.

Around each of the auxiliary fortresses was a ditch that was extremely annoying from an offensive standpoint.

The overall layout of the waterways involved numerous ditches converging into the moat surrounding the main fortress. The ditches resembled the Chinese character for "half," and the three drawbridges over the moat were like the three branches of that "half," each corresponding to one of the three sections where the ditches converged at the city gate. From these drawbridges, one could easily access any section of the waterways outside the city.

When the attacking side besieges any auxiliary fortress, the main castle can send troops to support it based on the number of enemy troops in that moat area.

Specifically, the city gate had three drawbridges, each corresponding to one of the three sections marked by the moat. During an attack, one of the drawbridges would be lowered, allowing the main force of the defenders to rush out and kill the small number of enemies separated by the moat. Then, they would use crossbows to shoot at the people in the auxiliary fortresses across the moat.

Unless the enemy has enough troops to deploy sufficiently on both sides of each moat, they will face a situation where the main castle is in a "you are on the left bank, I am on the right bank" or "you are on the right bank, I run to the left bank" situation.

Wu Fei used his knife to poke the rocky ramparts of the city wall, the granite stones causing sparks to fly from the iron sword.

The soldiers building the city accompanied them carefully throughout the process: if the inspection failed, they would be on the list of those stationed there in the first year.

Wu Fei nodded and then entered the city. There were three wells in the city, with a few small fish swimming in them, indicating that the water was alive.

Wu Fei stood atop the high point of the left wing of the city wall, gazing at the great river twenty miles away. Wu Fei: This city was built outside the territory of Da Yao, and it already has the de facto status of a feudal city guarding its borders.

Meanwhile, inside the fortified city, the soldiers' camp had already begun processing beef. These were cattle that had died en route, while more livestock were being housed in the city's special stables. The land reclamation operation was scheduled to begin next month.

Wu Fei: We've finished all the tasks we were supposed to do. Before the New Year, let's test the waters.

…a tentative dividing line…

In November of the 29th year of the Xu Tian calendar, south of the Lingjiang River, a region considered enemy territory by Da Yao, a force of over two hundred armored soldiers belonging to the Wu family army advanced through dense grasslands. They began their counter-offensive to raid for supplies.

This force was a very strange mix. The northern group consisted of forty-five humans, while the rest were hunters from various tribes recruited from the southern border regions.

Last year, the main force confronted the Li Huo Sect across the river. At that time, the Li Huo Sect was very proactive in mobilizing its forces, but this year, they seem to have become somewhat lax. Wu Fei felt that this would not work, so he decided to use a small force to penetrate south of the Ling River.

For Wu Fei, even if this attack fails, he can afford the costs of the war. The biggest loss is morale, but since his side is almost finished crossing the pass and will soon be returning, a slight drop in morale is not a problem.

Wu Fei, who planned this special operation, generously rewarded the participants, awarding three times the merit points for each enemy head taken as in the "Defense of the Pass" battle. The merit points earned by the accompanying Southern Frontier auxiliary troops could be exchanged for cattle and sheep, or for noble titles. After all, the Wu family army's formation of a southern auxiliary army was inevitable, and there were many officer positions available. The auxiliary troops, once they earned merit points, could definitely exchange them for positions that satisfied them.

Of course, most of these hunters from the southern Xinjiang tribes haven't thought of these things yet. They're still calculating what they need at their own level.

Two horned man's heads are worth a fifty-pound black boar. A mandrill's head can be worth a cow. As long as the hunter can kill them, these animals can be sent to their tribe immediately.

In these tribes, a pig or sheep is often enough to secure a decent wife.

In any case, this probing unit, with the collective mindset of making a name for themselves, began its infiltration operation.

On November 23, this 11-strong armored force skillfully blocked a major road south of Lingjiang, blocking two war elephants.

The guide played an excellent role here, judging the number of war elephants and whether they were followed by other forces by the distance and depth of the elephants' footprints in the mud—no wonder he was a hunter.

Minutes later, forced by the barrage of spears, both war elephants charged into the deadly caltrops. Despite the fierce fighting of the elephant drivers and lancers, they ultimately perished as the elephants fell. Judging from the amount of silver ornaments they wore, these elephant drivers were roughly equivalent to cavalry captains in the north (similar to Western knights).

After the battle, the lightly armored soldiers quickly left. All that remained on the battlefield were corpses simply covered with banana leaves, war elephants without their tusks, and the silver ornaments that had been salvaged. These items would be packed up and sent to the other side of the Lingjiang River that night.

This "loot" was split in half. Wu Fei's reasoning for this distribution was: "Even when you rob someone, the lookout has to get a share, right? If it weren't for the bamboo raft delivery service that's always available for you on the riverbank, you wouldn't be able to bring back what you've seized across the river, and you wouldn't be able to replenish your arrows."

The deaths of the two war elephants and their riders were discovered by the tribe two days later. The attack on these tributes meant for the Li Huo Sect caused widespread panic among the tribes.

More unexpected events followed, occurring on average every two to three days, and some of the tribes discovered this army that had infiltrated from the riverbank. Upon realizing their presence had been discovered, the army proceeded to massacre entire villages along their route.

For the "simple and honest" tribes in the south, this was the first time they had felt the "cold wind" that Da Yao was sending from the north bank.

27 days later, the Flying Yaksha Clan of the Li Huo Sect blocked the group of Jiangbei people, but—they were no match for them.

Five hundred warriors of the Flying Yaksha tribe, in fifteen ranks, charged down to fight them one after another, but the Jiangbei people were well-armored and their arrows were sharp, and more than half of the Flying Yaksha warriors were killed or wounded.

The Flying Yaksha tribe is the fifteenth category in the list of tribes in Southern Xinjiang. Their faces are no different from humans, their hair is mainly red, black, and brownish-yellow, their noses are high (hooked), their eyes are deep-set, and of course, their most distinctive feature is a pair of bat wings.

Wu Fei: If we hadn't confirmed that their diet consisted mainly of fruit and tree sap, we would have almost thought we'd encountered vampires.

Wu Fei had previously paid close attention to this type of tribe that could fly, based on information about the various tribes in the southern border region. The ability to fly alone allowed for the development of many tactics, which were very useful for the Crow People.

Unfortunately, this tribe was known as "cowardly" in the southern border region, and other tribes only regarded them as "nonsense," failing to enable this tribe to play its due "guerrilla" role.

For example, their relentless interception of the two hundred armored soldiers from Jiangbei was nothing short of valiant! Faced with the ironclad sword formation and powerful crossbows, these unarmored flying tribesmen were like fish being skewered repeatedly before being roasted.

After that battle, the Flying Race was rarely seen patrolling the skies anymore, as they were filled with fear.

…the killings provoked outrage…

Within the Li Huo Sect, in the Cloud Cutting Valley, the lights were still brightly lit.

However, inside the cave where the holy site was located, the lights became dim and blood red.

The tribal leaders, forced into the cave, screamed in agony, whether from the onset of the Gu worms or from the burning pain caused by the lamplight poured into their internal organs.

These tribal leaders were punished because they were now considered incompetent and worthless by the sect leader of the Li Huo Sect.

The Wu family army can afford to engage in a standoff across the river, but this is not the case for the Li Huo Sect. After all, they can't manage the logistics of tens of thousands of people.

Last year, in order to create a standoff, the Li Huo Sect stimulated the fighting power of various tribes and set traps along the river, consuming a large amount of jade marrow, spirit fish, spirit herbs, and precious ores. The resources they used to refine, such as "enchanting powder," "healing medicine," and "burst pills," were constantly being consumed.

Lacking business acumen, the various tribes controlled by the Li Huo Sect, while obedient, could not provide economic returns. Their only way to monetize their influence was through raiding and plundering northwards. However, in recent years, they had been unable to plunder, especially unable to launch the Black Tide attack on the north.

While Wu Xiaoque fiercely brandished her claws, she also extended her claws when Wu Xiaoque was off guard. The sect leader of Li Huo Sect was certain that his important bloodline had been compromised and was temporarily unable to teach Wu Xiaoque a lesson, so he vented his anger on his subordinates who had been negligent in guarding the river.

Inside the cave, a tribal chief had his soul extracted and refined, while the other tribal chiefs who had also participated in guarding the river below watched their ancestor with trepidation.

At this moment, the remnant soul that had been targeted was still trying to explain, and the smoke from its burning corpse outlined the following scene:
A nine-headed bird circled around the Lingjiang River, and there were often several kites nearby, with black bamboo incendiary bombs suspended by a string beneath them.

Three days ago, this river-guarding tribe obeyed orders and attempted to pursue the two hundred armored soldiers. They chased them all the way to the riverbank, but were intercepted by the Wu family army's reinforcements from the south.

The scene in the smoke was as follows: when a large number of barbarian tribes from the southern frontier rushed into the Lingjiang River to pursue the Wu family's armored soldiers who were crossing the river, the nine-headed bird intimidated the southern frontier tribes from the sky. Its claws repeatedly grabbed tigers and leopards that were trying to swim across the river, lifted them directly into the sky, tore them apart, and threw them down.

When the commander of the Southern Frontier tribe, who is now the Lord of the Burning Soul, ordered the construction of rafts and the erection of bamboo spears to counter the Nine-Headed Bird's attack.

The nine-headed bird would wait until the bamboo raft had crossed halfway across the river, then use the wind to pull the kite, and then use its wings to cut the black firecracker hanging from the kite. It would then gracefully swoop down to grab it, and finally fly towards the bamboo raft used by the tribe to cross the river, dropping the "black firecracker" into the water.

These firecrackers are precisely thrown into the air above the raft, exploding and releasing countless streams of black oil. The oil doesn't extinguish itself when it hits the water, igniting the raft. The flames, like flowing lanterns, drift downstream on the river.

The remnant soul was unaware that it was already dead. The pain made it believe that it was still being tortured, and it tried to explain the horror of the scene of being in dire straits.

But this excuse soon ended; the remnant soul was thrown into the burning lamplight, transforming into a lamplight shaped like a human face. The face leaping within the lamplight is forever shifting amidst fear and pain.

After a long silence in the cave, a terrifying, cackling laugh echoed: "The Wu family, Genji! Knowing the name makes it easy, not difficult at all..."

Countless lights echoed repeatedly within the cave, creating an eerie and sinister sound.

…The Wu family army went back like that, and they'll be back in the first half of next year…

Behind Yongji Pass, Angri saw rows of blue pills, which could replace Jinliu Pills.

Angri looked at the person who gave him the gift, but instead of expressing gratitude, he asked, "So the Bifang Fire was with you."

Third Aunt did not deny it.

Angri: "What do you want me to do?"

Third Aunt: "We should form an alliance here."

Angri: "What are you planning to do behind the general's back? I'm sorry, but I don't want the place my tribe finally found to seek refuge to disappear again."

A glint of gold flashed in the third aunt's pupils, then she said, "I'm not asking you to betray me."

Then, Auntie San slowly said, "I need an ally. His (Wu Fei's) intelligence in the Southern Frontier is all through the Panlong Society (Xiao Qing). You know, I don't like that snake woman. I think what the Panlong Society can do, your clan can also do, but your contributions under the general are far from enough."

Angri: "Our clan wants to recuperate and end the hidden ailment in our bodies."

Third Aunt: "In this era of great strife, there is no such thing as recuperation. I need a powerful ally, or a sacrifice."

Angri took a deep breath and thought.

Third Aunt: "If you ally with me, I have a way to help you resolve the hidden dangers facing your clan."

(End of this chapter)