Wei School's Three Good Students

Chapter 66 The Path of the Heretic

In Nanzhao Prefecture, all the good fields in the Wu family's fiefdom were planted with millet. Golden waves of millet were rising and falling. As the last Gu Wuyou group within this sphere of influence, they were the role models in planting millet and eating wild vegetables. This was also the standard by which Wu Fei, upon returning to his family, proposed the "backdoor" permit to his clan members.

Military families might want to pull strings to get promoted, but in this time of war, everyone must stay home, farm diligently, and eat simple meals. Celebrations are only allowed when victories are won or when military rewards and benefits arrive.

In today's fully militarized world, as the core beneficiaries of the ruling class, one needs to demonstrate frugality when the ruling machine mobilizes large-scale resources for strategic purposes. This is to ensure that the team adheres to strict regulations governing resource usage.

As a boy, Xuan Chong scoffed at the performance art of the Japanese emperor eating only one meal a day before the First Sino-Japanese War, thinking it could save a lot of money. However, he later realized that this performance art was meant to draw a line for the entire upper echelons of the group regarding possible "extravagant" behavior.

Wu Fei now understands very well that he started his rebellion by leveraging the power of the feudal group, and he also understands that his connection with the Wu family is unbreakable. If he cannot control these roots within him, they will become a hindrance at crucial moments.

As later generations have often said, corrupt officials are often brought down by their own family members.

That was after the clan was dismantled; now the Wu family has many members. As their businesses grow larger, family members face more and more external attempts to drag them down.

While Wu Fei was expanding his business empire, the entire Southern Business Group was trying to emulate the Wu family's methods. They couldn't deliver precious jade and beautiful women directly to Wu Fei. So they went through a roundabout way.

It was also thanks to some of the elders in the clan who stood by them and restrained the younger generation from their thoughts of living off their wealth without working.

However, the elders in the clan don't discipline their fellow clansmen for nothing; no one would be a moral guardian who gets no benefit from it.

If Wu Fei cannot find a stable job for the young people in the clan, then he cannot blame the clan's relatives for using the clan's name to find their own way out. After all, Wu Fei also started out by using the clan's name. What is borrowed must be repaid. He cannot only borrow from himself, but not from his own clan.

Wu Fei: If leveraging power is used for the right thing, then it's fine. But if it's used to break the law and cause a big incident, and the clan's private rules can't satisfy the other factions in the group, then Wu Fei will have to use public law to open a major case to deal with it.

Xuan Chong concludes: In feudal times, to accomplish great things, one had to control one's own family. To outsiders, nepotism was merely an exchange of interests with one's own family. Li the paperhanger was limited by historical constraints; that's how he was limited.

Li Da, the paper-mending craftsman, was not sharp enough to control the foreign merchants, and inevitably allowed his feudal structure to be infiltrated by them, turning him into a comprador group.

However, the "golden brook businessmen" under Wu Xiaoque's command are not so powerful and are not able to get involved in the core decision-making power within the Wu family's military group.

Modern history textbooks, when comparing the Self-Strengthening Movement and the Meiji Restoration, have stated that the transition from a feudal system to industrial capitalism also required sufficient independence.

Wu Fei wanted his Wu family members to currently be a group of nobles who benefited from military merit, and not to get mixed up with business oligarchs at the moment.

The core competitiveness of the Wu family now lies in its military system. If it cannot align its food and supplies with its core base, then it is doomed to collapse.

In Tianchi City, what Wu Hanluan meant when he told Wu Hengyu that "Wu Fei is busy with important matters" was this very matter.

As Wu Fei was about to leave, he received another secret box from Wu Hanluan. Wu Fei opened it and found a list of names. After reading the list, Wu Fei sighed and said slowly, "I still have to go to the north."

The roster Wu Hanluan sent was a list of Wu family members within the Wu Family Army's Northern Route Army Group. Wu Fei understood his intention.

It is clear that the Wu family has not yet achieved any merit in the Northern Route Army. After all, Wu Hengyu has recruited too many outstanding individuals from humble clans, which makes Wu Hengyu's own family members seem very useless in the army.

Therefore, Wu Hanluan wanted to take the true "outstanding figures" of his clan to the north for a stroll.
Clearly, once Wu Fei is summoned, Wu Hanluan will assign the Wu family members on these lists to himself, allowing these groups to follow Wu Fei and gain some credit, thus making the power dynamics within the Northern Route Army more balanced.

Wu Fei accepted the list, indicating that he was still prepared to go, despite how much he didn't want to get involved.

…System: I only want to complete half of the test paper and don't want to flip it over?…

The perspective shifts to the north. At this point, the bandits have not completely disappeared. After the first wave of attacks by Da Yao's army, the remaining bandits began to grow stronger again.

Banners made of some unknown fabric, adorned the mountain peaks, proclaiming themselves kings beyond the county boundaries. They even began referring to the protection fees collected from the foothills as "tribute."
The essence of this upheaval was actually the expansion of local powerful families within the grand ritual system.

These inflated families actually numbered far more than the official titles granted by the Great Dao Ritual System. Numerous hidden branches of these clans had gathered in local territories. Rather than a bandit uprising, it was more accurate to say that as the deterrent effect of the Great Dao Ritual System waned, these local powerful families unearthed their hidden strength and began a massive power struggle!

The first wave was a purge of the truly small, self-sufficient farming forces. These were small families that had no clan or had been ostracized by their clans, and had only been multiplying for one or two generations. They were eliminated in the chaos.

After their land was seized, these people were either taken in as slaves by wealthy families or fled famine. For example, the Wu family army recruited a large number of people for land reclamation in the south.

Now comes the second wave. After the individual business owners are eliminated, it will be the "outlaws" supported by some large-scale powerful families.

These gathered heroes had two choices: Option 1: tear off their masks, become enemies, and fight each other; Option 2: form an alliance and go all out, not only getting themselves involved in the chaos but also putting their own family members, who always arranged things for them, on the gambling table.

In the northern part of Da Yao, within Jiu Yang County, such an event had already occurred. On Jiu Yang Mountain, a banner proclaiming justice on behalf of Heaven was raised, and then in the Hall of Righteous Gathering, the various leaders each sat on a chair and drank blood wine together.

This "alliance" was, in essence, a formal "diplomatic alliance" between ancient feudal lords, requiring a series of agreements to be made under the joint witness of "heaven, earth, man, gods, and ghosts." One of these agreements involved sharing blood and drinking wine, hence the name "blood oath."

This practice, when it spread to the countryside, evolved into a very common beggar's version: a group of country men chopped off chicken heads, dripped chicken blood into wine, and swore brotherhood.

At this moment, each bandit leader had several hundred men under their command, with the largest force numbering around a thousand. (It wasn't that they didn't want to continue gathering, but rather that without a military tradition, managing a thousand men was already their limit.)
These notorious bandits now swore a blood oath, but not with chicken heads. On their altar, the heads of eight Confucian scholars lay displayed. Blood dripped from the scholars' unseeing heads, falling into the wine, which the bandits then drank together.

The most prominent Confucian scholar among them was quite famous. He came to the mountains to persuade the bandits to lay down their weapons, emulating a sage from a thousand years ago who had persuaded a bandit leader who could gather tens of thousands of men. That bandit leader was of noble birth and knowledgeable in military strategy. Because of his unethical behavior, his "princely airs" were thoroughly criticized by the Confucian school. This earned him a much-talked-about reputation.

However, the bandits of a thousand years ago were born into noble families, but these bandits of today are not.

Blessed by various "opportunities" brought about by the extraordinary forces of heaven and earth, the bandit leaders became burly and strong, with eyes like tigers or oxen, and skin that was either red or indigo—each one a demon in appearance, and indeed, they were demons.

The Confucian scholars' preaching of the noble principles of righteousness was clearly misdirected, and as a result, it was placed on the table as a pledge of allegiance.

After finishing their drinks, the burly man codenamed "Greedy Moon" wiped the wine stains from his mouth with his sleeve and said in a boisterous manner, "Gentlemen, before this, we were all like strands of silk, but now we're all tied together."

Then the leaders burst into laughter, echoing in agreement: "Jiuyang County now belongs to us, the heroes of the greenwood! Even the emperor would have to dismount!"

This "Dai Tanyue" was originally a tomb raider. A few months ago, he and his accomplice "Chang Wangri" joined a small band of thieves. At that time, he and "Chang Wangri" joined the group that broke into the mansion. The original leader was not very knowledgeable and thought that he had been blessed with the power of the dragon, so he planned to continue to expand and break into another manor where the Liu family's ancestral home was located. However, they encountered the tide of the imperial army returning to the local area. When they were robbing and looting, they were quickly wiped out by the regular army's soldiers.

He and Chang Wangri, among the bandits on the verge of disbanding, used feng shui to calculate that facing east would be auspicious. They then led everyone to Jiuyang County and settled in Jiuyang Mountain, where they quickly grew stronger. He called himself the "King of the Wasteland".

As for Changwangri?
As a "monk," he was unsuitable to be a bandit leader; it was beneath him. He had to handle his compass and whisk, acting as the "high priest" of the mountain stronghold, while the bandit leader had to wield a broadsword to oversee the battle. But this didn't mean the "Taoist's" influence was weak. The empty chair to the left of the mountain king belonged to "Chang Wangri," and the table in front of it was always laden with wine and meat. Of course, after the banquet, all that wine and meat would mysteriously be eaten and drunk.

No one dared to steal the wine and meat from the table in front of "Chang Wang Ri". Once, a lackey, ungrateful for the situation, stole a piece and the next day lost half of his teeth. He was forced to kneel in front of the Taoist priest's door, begging, "Grandpa, spare my life. I will never dare to do it again."

However, the highly respected Taoist "Chang Wangri" in the mountain stronghold is now kneeling before another Taoist like a novice. This is Taoist "Xian," who has just escaped from Wu Hanluan's camp.

Master Xian, now leisurely, flicked his whisk onto the back of this disciple. Beneath the robes of the "Chang Wang Ri" Daoist, it seemed as if mouths were breathing heavily. With each flick of the whisk, these terrifying things were calmed down.

Xian: "Sixth Brother, give me the gold-dividing plate."

The Taoist priest Chang Wangri, who was called "Sixth Brother," immediately got up and said, "Grandmaster, that magic artifact is getting better and better lately..."

He opened his mouth, then suddenly forgot how to describe it. While he was lost in thought, the compass fell from his arms.

With a slight gesture, the Daoist Master summoned the compass into his hand. The original divination symbols on the compass transformed into a dense array of eyes, some mocking, some malevolent, ever-changing. Any ordinary person who glanced at it would surely descend into madness and insanity.

The Daoist Master smiled slightly, and a third eye appeared between his brows. Under the gaze of this eye, the various small eyes on the compass, displaying different expressions, froze in fear, then collectively closed their eyes tremblingly. The compass returned to stability.

Xian Daoren fiddled with the compass, and as the metal turned, it made a crisp sound, as if everything was back to normal.

Xian Daoren then flicked "Sixth Brother" with his whisk and softly called out, "Foolish child, wake up."

Chang Wangri, whose mind had been taken over by ghosts and gods, only then realized how silly he was drooling.

After intimidating and rewarding his subordinates, Xian Daoren said, "Sixth Brother, you did a very good job spreading the word last year."

Chang Wangri: "It is my duty, Master. For the sake of spreading our faith, I have been working day and night to expand our followers!"

However, Master Xiandao shook his head: "You have a large number of followers, but most of them are country bumpkins. You need to recruit more scions of prominent families into my sect. The 'Great Calamity of Xuanhuang' is imminent, so you must not slack off."

Although the last sentence was gentle, "Old Six" kneeling on the ground instinctively curled up.

He then mumbled, “Confucianism now advocates self-cultivation, and the sons of wealthy and powerful families are all studying the classics behind closed doors.”

However, before he could finish speaking, Xian Daoren kicked him away: "They read the classics? Can't you prevent them from reading them? I bestowed upon you magical artifacts, allowing you to command heroes and be awe-inspiring in all directions, but when I ask you to do something, you make so many excuses. Do you think you're living too comfortably with your own hands and feet?"

Chang Wangri immediately kowtowed and begged for mercy, realizing that his "evil master" had a bad temper. He dared not provoke him, after all, he had personally witnessed his chubby junior brother, who had been with him, turn into a pig with its hooves stubbed out after being afflicted with a talisman. And he also had a corresponding transformation talisman.

When he looked up again, the Daoist had already left, but left behind a Daoist crown. At this moment, the crown sent a message saying, "This crown can summon wind and thunder to aid in battle. Wear it, and you can break down the gates of this powerful clan."

Chang Wangri's eyes lit up, and he repeatedly thanked the newly arrived magical artifact. However, after putting on the crown, he suddenly realized that he could no longer take it off. He immediately panicked.

At this moment, Xian Daoren's voice came again, this time full of mockery: "If you disappoint your master again, this crown can summon thunder from the heavens to strike you."

Chang Wangri: "Ah?!"—Then he hurriedly kowtowed and begged for mercy.

……

Having suffered a backlash from Wu Hanluan, Xian Daoren barely managed to get through this period and find an opportunity to escape Wu Hanluan within a timeframe he could foresee.

Now that he had escaped, he looked back at the Wu family of Southern Xinjiang that he had targeted. The calculations clearly showed that they had unlimited potential, but he had failed to capture any of the three members of the Wu family.

Ever since Wu Hanluan revealed his Hunyuan Golden Cauldron, Xian Daoren knew that this guy was like a rock in a latrine—stinky and hard—and that someone else had already snatched it up.

As for Wu Hengyu, he was surrounded by an aura of "killing star," making him difficult to approach.

As for Wu Fei in the south, he was initially thought to be the weakest, but unexpectedly, he has grown stronger over the years. However! Despite being favored by the Great Dao time and time again, he remains "stubborn and unyielding," which is truly strange.

He opened his brow and began to inquire about the situation at the "Eye of the Past," as he hadn't received any information from Qian Zuan for quite some time.

……

In the room, the third aunt, who was combing her hair, paused, dismissed those around her, and opened her eyes in front of the mirror.

Wanbian: "Did you manage to get it over there?"

Third Aunt: "What do you mean by 'take it down' or 'take it down'?"

Wanbian: "If you can't handle it, I'll add some variations for you."

Auntie smiled and asked, "What do you want to do?"

Wanbian said, "You marry him as a concubine, and I will become his principal wife. Is that alright?"

Auntie's smile widened even more: "Sure."

After an incense stick had burned, the conversation ended, and Wanbian left.

Auntie San's expression froze, her pupils widened, and she stared at the golden light at the edge of her vision. The golden light covered her as usual, quickly erasing her memories. Before she could feel dizzy, Auntie San tattled to the system: "We can't let the Eye of the Future interfere, otherwise that mission won't be completed."

Golden Task Publisher: "You need to complete the task quickly."

Third Aunt: "But him?"

However, before she could speak, the dizziness caused by the memory correction made her faint.

(End of this chapter)