Wei School's Three Good Students

Chapter 61 Who Attends the Table, Who Gets Off?

After leaving behind a large number of barbarian corpses north of Lingjiang, the Wu family army left in a leisurely manner. They even collected the arrowheads from the corpses across the river in front of other tribes in the southern border region. They also collected some valuable items from the battlefield, such as the horns on the heads of the horned people. They selected some clawed people prisoners, cut off all their claws, and then led them away with ropes.

In the southern part of Lingjiang, the barbarians lurking in the jungle watched longingly.

The Wu family army's brutal act of looting corpses after a victory would be condemned by all sides in Da Yao for its immorality. However, in the Southern Frontier, where people fear power and do not appreciate virtue, this is considered a virtue of the ruler.

Like a tiger elegantly licking its paws after finishing its hunt, the Wu family army's chariots and soldiers calmly returned to their ranks and left, leaving behind a mound of corpses.

Meanwhile, the tribes on the south side of the river, despite sensing that the terrifying aura was indeed moving north, still dared not cross the river to investigate the situation on the other side for ten hours.

The next day, four streaks of fire flew across the Lingjiang River and arrived at the battlefield, which was already teeming with flies and mosquitoes, buzzing around.

These four streams of fire belonged to disciples of the Li Huo Sect. As cultivators, their spiritual energy was extremely vulnerable to clashes with malevolent energy. On the other hand, their presence at this battlefield ruin indicated that the Wu family army had truly departed. Subsequently, the tribes of Lingjiang South cautiously made their way over on rafts, collecting and piling up the corpses. The Li Huo Sect disciples then took out spiritual herbs from their gourds and placed them on top, while a wisp of fire talisman flickered on their bodies.

Three hundred miles to the south, the fire in the cave in Yunqie Valley blazed brightly, and the lights of the entire mountain range flickered as well. The Old Ancestor of Li Huo was truly angry.

However, at Yongji Pass in the north, the Third Aunt sensed something, a smile appearing on her lips. She murmured, seemingly bewildered, "The wick has already caught fire and is reduced to ashes." — Beside her, the candle went out, smoke rising from the wick, while a single spark flickered on it.

Normally, when the lamp is lit, the flame around the candle wick only burns and evaporates the candle wax. Although the wick is charred, it is very stable. But now, the flame on the wick is flickering, and the wick has begun to turn to ash in a flickering manner.

…Post-war events…

This rearguard action looked very easy, but Wu Fei was rehearsing it as if he were facing a strong enemy.

For example, during the retreat, the supplies were evacuated in two waves. This took into account that not all the supplies could be returned; preparations had to be made to leave some behind for the rearguard to burn. The troops carried the first wave of supplies lightly, experiencing various losses along the way. It was necessary to determine whether the existing supplies were sufficient, and another wave had to be abandoned along the way.

Of course, when dealing with the enemy in the southern border region, there is no need to actually burn the supplies. Instead, the supplies that are judged to have been burned during the exercise are simply thrown into a fixed location, and then the troops stationed in the command headquarters collect the supplies.

As for the auxiliary troops that Wu Fei had arranged to act as attackers along the way, they cooperated with Wu Fei's exercise with trepidation. If these auxiliary troops were to start making a ruckus and try to turn the exercise into reality, the ghost chariot would come overhead, flap its wings, and stir up a strong wind to calm their minds.

The army split into two routes. The first route returned directly to the pass, while the second route, mainly composed of wooden oxen and flowing horses, carried a large amount of spirit wood and arrived at the newly built Fenxing City.

Wu Fei learned from the market in Yongji Pass that the big merchants there seemed to have anticipated this last wave of purchases, so they had lowered the prices of the timber and precious stones in advance.

Wu Xiaoque: Oh ho, trying to profit from my price difference?
Therefore, Wu Fei did not plan to transport the last batch of spoils back. Instead, he built a warehouse in Fenxing City in advance.

If the plan goes smoothly, Wu Fei plans to move some carpentry and blacksmith workshops to Fenxing City in a few years.

Due to geographical limitations, Yongji Pass cannot be self-sufficient in grain on a large scale. As a military fortress, it lacks large-scale consumption capacity. Therefore, if the Wu family supplies too much raw material, it will be manipulated by merchants. If they had a consumption point closer to the raw material market, they could control market prices.

The above are economic considerations, but the main considerations are military and political.

On the north bank of the Lingjiang River, the barbarians' courage had been completely crushed. Looking across the river at the southern border tribes, Wu Fei astutely realized that he had disrupted a significant portion of their cohesion, creating a considerable power vacuum. If he didn't seize this power vacuum, the leaders emerging from the infighting among the southern border tribes in a few years would naturally fill the vacancy. However, if he simply remained in power south of Yongji Pass, the vast area of ​​tribes could enjoy a long-lasting period of "royal rule."

On February 2nd, the day of the Dragon Raising its Head, the banner of the Great Yao (a mythical creature) flutters in the wind.

Wu Fei initiated political activities within Fenxing City.

The first phase involved rewards based on the merits of the auxiliary troops during the expedition. First and foremost was the unit responsible for luring the enemy across the river in the Battle of Lingjiang, which primarily consisted of non-Han tribes. Wu Fei personally verified the names of the seven hunters from the southern border who had died in the battle. —Troops were directly dispatched to deliver compensation to the homes of these tribes, and then those with the closest blood ties were selected for training.

He also bestowed upon all the hunter tribes a favor, namely, iron certificates worth five to twenty taels of silver. They were informed that, in addition to the reward, their tribes could use these certificates to freely rent vehicles and exchange them for goods throughout the region this year—one certificate per vehicle.

These hunters, having heard of the Great Yao people's caravan model while following the human army, were all very envious of these vehicles.

Wu Fei calculated that during the army's future advance, they would need to requisition local vehicles and drivers, and would have to rely on the locals.

Wu Fei even planned to build a carriage factory in Fenxing City; after all, he's already transporting large quantities of timber and precious stones, intending to manufacture carriages locally to consume them.

In the second phase, Wu Fei warmly met with the local "Da Yao overseas Chinese," who were the Da Yao northern farmers who had been sold to—no, introduced to (emphasis) by Yu Bai and his merchants.

Wu Fei was quite concerned about how well they were doing as they taught farming to the southern tribes! In the process of "caring", he was watching these tribes, on which Wu Fei had placed high hopes, and who could be "chieftains".

The Wu family's war chariots have crushed a mass of flesh in the north of Lingjiang. For at least several years, the south probably won't dare to come and provoke them. A knife will rust if it's not used, so who will be the next to defy the king's rule?
Wu Fei extended his warm greetings to these overseas Chinese and instructed them to adapt to life south of Yongji Pass and to make efforts to adapt to the local environment.

Even so, many immigrants have already developed illnesses. Their daily habits of drinking unboiled water and eating leftovers in the afternoon (when the weather is hot and the food is spoiled) can cause them to die inexplicably.

On February 5th, although the smell of the corpses wrapped in straw mats was unpleasant, Wu Fei, despite feeling disgusted, still checked each laborer for external injuries.

After confirming that the number of deaths was not negligible, Wu Fei decided to distribute a compiled "life manual," which included habits such as diet and labor. He required the farmers to memorize and train in Fenxing City before being assigned to various chieftains. After the training, these farmers were no longer just ordinary farmers; some even carried knives and there were connections between multiple tribes.

On the city wall, Wu Fei looked at the southern tribal chiefs who were trembling with fear and wished they could kneel down and kiss their own toes. His kindness and power had been spread silently.

…Thunder and rain, however, are not evenly distributed…

Many merchants in Yongji Pass had been waiting for Wu Fei's return like statues of a woman waiting for her husband, but when they heard that Wu Fei had convened a new chamber of commerce in the city he was building outside the pass, it was like a bolt from the blue. They all wrote letters to their families in the north.

Six days later, in a manor near Yongji Pass, the heads of several major merchants from the south gathered to discuss next year's cooperation. These merchants, dressed in silk and adorned with jade, clearly exceeding the proper social status, began discussing topics that they felt "fitted their style." Initially, they discussed the new slave laborers who had arrived from the south this year and their business with the plantations. Later, they enthusiastically talked about how the reservoirs upstream of Lingnan could ensure that the artificial canals would be full from April to June, saving on the cost of transporting goods north.

Inside the grand mansion, the lights were bright, and the atmosphere was optimistic. However, someone brought up a topic: a group of "trading merchants" had emerged this year and become honored guests of the general. This topic was interrupted by the host as soon as it was mentioned, but after the meeting adjourned, the host kept a few people behind and closed the door to discuss the "donkey leg merchants."

The "donkey-leg merchants" were the peddlers arrested last year during an inspection of the mountain trails blocking the border. Later, after Wu Fei cleared up the misunderstanding, he compensated these merchants for the donkeys they used to transport goods and gave them money to hire people to reopen the trade routes. Everyone praised him, believing it showed the young general's benevolence and compassion for merchants traveling far from home.

Shang Jia feigned magnanimity: "Actually, I'm not against the General supporting those small merchants. They're all begging for a living, so they need to help each other."

Shang Yi: "But this year, these donkey legs have been given special attention by the general, who has provided them with a lot of funds to purchase goods from the ironworks and sell them directly to those tribes."

The aroma of the tea during the merchants' meeting seemed to suddenly fade, and one merchant scolded, "The tea has gone cold, why didn't you servants refill it in time?" A servant hurriedly came over with a teapot.

The discussion then continued in the chamber of commerce, with Shang Bing complaining like a wronged woman: "The General is fickle and easily bored!"

Shang Ding: "Yes, it seems the general is determined to exclude us from the salt and iron trade."

Shang Jia: "Can't we try to persuade the general?"

Shang Ding: "Stop talking. The general is in the south now, obviously avoiding us."

At this point, the merchants began to sigh, but as they sighed, they looked at each other to make sure that they were all in agreement.

These merchants, who boasted of their "great contributions" to the army's expedition beyond the Great Wall, were very confident that Wu Fei would surely share the profits now that the salt and iron industry was open to trade. However, Wu Fei, who was usually easy to talk to, did not budge at this moment.

…The perspective shifts to Fenxing City…

Wu Fei held a meeting with Yu Bai and other merchants, and at the same time summoned some officers from the local auxiliary army.

Wu Fei tapped the table and said, "All ironware sales will have designated sales areas, managed by specialized personnel. The quotas have already been allocated, and no second store is allowed in a single area. Each of you is responsible for your own area. The division of distribution areas can only be determined by the two direct sales adjudication departments in Fenxing City and Yongji Pass."

This system is modeled after the modern tobacco monopoly system. Tobacco is a tax, and the monopoly system is based on regional divisions to collect this "tax."

If there were no regional divisions, given the production conditions at the time, the tobacco quality in Yunnan and Yunnan was the best, and it would have been expanded to all provinces. However, since all the profits were concentrated in one group, it would be difficult to investigate! Take another category at the time, "alcohol," for example. Those famous liquor companies, such as Maotai and Wuliangye, had accumulated huge amounts of capital through their listings, which external auditors simply could not penetrate.

Wu Fei not only divided up distribution areas for the merchants, but also assigned profit-sharing to the mercenaries who attended the meeting, so as to combat smuggling between different areas.

The manager of a designated sales area can report any ironware from other sales areas that is found in their area. This means that regional specialists will monitor the circulation of ironware within their respective areas.

Wu Fei's reason for not allowing the major northern merchant guilds to interfere in this business was this: if those merchants controlled all the ironware monopolies, everything would be operated based on short-term profits. The merchant guilds could arbitrarily allocate the amount of ironware acquired by certain tribes, and naturally, for the sake of profit, the highest bidder would win. —But would those tribes that bought large quantities of pioneering ironware at high prices really suffer a loss? Their way of recouping their investment was to convert this ironware into weapons for plunder.

Xuan Chong, from modern times, understood merchants very well: if there was a 100% profit, they wouldn't hesitate to wage war. Because turning the same piece of iron into a "plow" wasn't profitable enough.

Therefore, the sale of ironware could definitely not be allowed to large merchants before the complete reform of the land reclamation system was finished. —This involved the strategy of promoting land reclamation and turning swords into plowshares; Wu Fei didn't trust those who hadn't offered sufficient pledges of loyalty.

These small business owners, known as "donkey leg merchants," became tools highly valued by Wu Fei. He granted them exclusive operating licenses, with a five-year performance review. Furthermore, the distributorship in this area wasn't guaranteed to be hereditary. Their sons and sons-in-law had to attend a special academy run by Wu's army and pass an exam before they were eligible to inherit the business.

In this iron trade, Wu Fei's core strategy was to encourage various tribes to transform into chieftains, changing from the most primitive social gathering and plunder economy to a serf-based planting economy, so as to ensure the rule and influence of the "Fenxing City" region.

…Time turned once more,…

On March 3, Wu Fei returned to Yongji Pass, but did not convene a chamber of commerce meeting as the merchants had expected.

This is like a man who cheats on his wife outside returning home and pretending nothing happened. Because he can't get the huge profits from "Iron Trade," it has caused the big businessmen who were once Wu Fei's "sweethearts" to feel worried.

It was still in Yongji Pass, but in the underground market, where fewer than ten merchant leaders began their conspiracy. Under the lamplight, ten shadows flickered on the wall as they whispered amongst themselves.

A merchant with purple pupils spoke in a fearful voice: "Today they're selling ironware, but next year will they be selling cloth and salt? The year after, will they completely eliminate us?"

As a businessman who has now achieved great wealth, he is extremely afraid of being abandoned. He imagines a scene from a palace mansion where a powerful concubine rises to power and destroys the principal wife. The delicacies on the plate and the fine wine in the cup lose their flavor.

In reality, he was overthinking things. Unlike high-value-added commodities like ironware, for bulk commodities such as cloth, salt, and timber, higher integration in transportation costs is better. Large merchants can hire more truckloads for one-time transport, resulting in lower costs, making them impossible for individual merchants to defeat. Wu Fei, who is well-versed in the principles of business cost, wouldn't do something so thoughtless.

However, Wu Fei was too powerful, his actions too unpredictable, and the profits from salt and iron were too great. Therefore, these merchant leaders began to speculate and act irrationally. Their souls were being manipulated by a voice of "incitement."

So, in the dark room, this group of "big merchants" decided to fight against the "donkey leg merchant groups" selected by Wu Fei. As for the mode of the fight...
Under the lamplight, the head of the chamber of commerce who had once received Wu Fei's "gold brick" suddenly blurted out, "Now that the southern border is stable, the annual large-scale military expeditions south have suffered no losses. Could it be that the young general no longer needs to—" (He dared not finish his sentence).

When these words were spoken, everyone else's expression changed. Even the person who said them regretted it immediately afterward, inwardly scolding themselves for having such a wild thought.

He quickly clarified, "I meant that the young general has made great contributions and deserves further advancement in the court. We should help him get promoted!"

Another businessman who received the gold brick immediately retorted, "Nonsense!" He then lowered his voice and said, "The young general has given us wealth and honor in the southern frontier. Although he is young, he is steady and reliable. If we serve him diligently, we will be well-off for decades to come. You want to exchange him for something else, something else entirely? Foolish!"

The merchant in front began to try to cover up his words, but it sounded more like a sophistry: "I, I, I was talking about a promotion, how could I be trying to harm the young general?"

Then, someone stepped in to smooth things over, saying, "Let's not talk about this anymore." The meeting ended unhappily.

Although the "corruption" failed to materialize, a tiny seed of conspiracy was planted in the hearts of those involved. And it will, at some point in the future, sprout as a temptation.

(End of this chapter)