Wei School's Three Good Students

Chapter 82 Inspecting the Troops

The imperial court ordered Wu Fei to lead an army to Longyou Prefecture. The allotted time was three months. An army consisted of two thousand men. If he were to depart directly from Lingnan with two thousand men, the time allotted by the court was not ample.

But Wu Fei had his own solution. On the Lingnan side, the 322-strong sergeant unit went into battle lightly equipped and then split into two groups. One group went directly to the camp of the Grand Uncle of Longyou County, while Wu Fei's group went to Donghua County.

When Wu Fei returned to the Wu family, he had already reviewed the state of prepared armed forces in Donghua County, Zhuzhou, and other places, and had compiled a list of people to gather there and await his orders.

There was originally a large military camp in Donghua County, which served as a military garrison area. With the bandits wiped out, these former farm laborers of the camp began to find new livelihoods. Wu Fei remembered that they were reserve fighting force.

After arriving under cover of night with fifty sergeants, Wu Fei showed his token and had the local Wu family army officers who were stationed there report to him. Then he began selecting soldiers.

…three poles in the sun…

At this time, the Wu family army's main camp, which originally faced Changcheng across the river, had transformed into a market cluster that spanned the river and encompassed the entire city of Changcheng.

The army reclaimed vast stretches of farmland along the riverbank and built blacksmith workshops and carpentry cooperatives. Of course, amidst the prosperity, there were also some filthy flies—just as there are always flies in front of meat stalls, and in the market, there are always well-dressed, leisurely brokers strolling around with teapots in hand.

These "labor intermediaries" stood in the market, pointing and gesturing with fans at the laborers who were wearing straw markers. Some of these laborers were impoverished locals, while others were refugees who had fled from disasters in the north.

Wu Fei bypassed the bustling area and headed straight for the mountains on the north bank.

Upon arriving at the mine, he tossed out a command arrow as a token and immediately summoned all the miners to assemble.

After the first five hundred people appeared in the mine, their dark faces made them stand out.

Facing the dark crowds in each mine, Wu Fei lashed out with a whip at the mine owner who was trying to "tell him what kind of relationship he had," and then ordered his men to give the order: the people in each mine should line up in a row!
After the order was given, the miners quickly began to line up. Then, Wu Fei selected suitable queues and inquired about the situation of the wives, children, and elderly people in these queues.

Wu Fei visited fifteen mines to select the best candidates! 1,500 people were chosen.

What is considered excellent? It means that a mining team that is relatively united is considered excellent.

After registering everyone, paying them, and recording the names, they were treated to a meal, and then announced that they were now their own soldiers. Without further ado, they were dressed, given water bottles, mess tins, bedding, and other personal items, and then training in formation began.

The drill training did not require overly "complex" exercises such as stepping with the left leg followed by the right. Instead, each mining team leader was appointed as a flag officer. The flag officer would shout "Forward, forward, forward!" and everyone in the team would follow the rhythm. When the flag officer shouted "Stop!", everyone in the team would stop collectively.

As for the fatal questions for college recruits like "turn left, turn right," they were not posed to test these new recruits in the mine. As the commander shouted "Watch the flag," the flag officers of each team had to keep an eye on the flag. When his flag turned left, the whole team turned left; when it turned right, the whole team turned right.

In short, each mining team leader has a code word that his team members can understand, so they can quickly understand the turning and walking command after internal discussion.

As for the sergeants brought by Wu Fei, they lived and ate with these mining teams. Once they had trained the mine foremen of each team, they could pass on the basic orders.

After spending twenty days training this unit, which had been pulled from the mining industry, Wu Fei ordered them to march towards Longyou. He stayed behind to handle some follow-up work.

This newly recruited unit, although it does not yet possess the military spirit, already exhibits the basic characteristics of a military force.

Wu Fei was confident he could bring most of them back. And as long as the casualties remained below 30%, the returning force could attract local poor men to join, expanding the unit. Because these days, even the poor men couldn't guarantee they'd survive for ten years.

In the camp, it was not uncommon for orphans and widows to remarry once, and some even three times. As a result, some of them had a reputation for being "husband-killers."

In fact, if it weren't for the fact that the world was constantly conscripting laborers every few days, and the men in each village were constantly assigned hard and tiring work, which led to them getting sick from overwork and having no cure, how could there be so many strange stories about women bringing bad luck to their husbands?

Recruiting isn't difficult; the real challenge is cleaning up the mess...

When Wu Fei was training troops in Jiangbei, he didn't just simply recruit 1,500 men; he also took care of many others. Everyone has social connections, and recruiting soldiers meant helping them solve these social problems. For example, some mines in Jiangbei somehow ended up in the hands of high-ranking officials in Changcheng on the south bank, and the conscription of soldiers affected the production of these mines.

As a result, all sorts of things came to cause trouble. The most serious incident was that the broker, along with a gang of hooligans, robbed a soldier of the resettlement allowance he had just given to his wife and children.

So much so that a group of women went to the military camp to plead with them to stay, claiming that their homes couldn't be without men and they didn't want to be taken away. The women sobbed, saying, "Even if it's a little hard and tiring, I'll accept it."

Although Wu Fei had a premonition about this situation, he was still shocked that the old forces in Changcheng dared to be so arrogant in the old camp.

Wu Hanluan had only been gone a short time, and the local returning militia had already come knocking on their door to bully them. And today, Wu Fei announced that "Scraping Sparrow" was back.

After calming the women down and reimbursing them, Wu Fei ordered the Security Bureau to raid the area, burning down all the casinos and human trafficking dens on the north bank.

In the crackdown on organized crime led by Wu Fei, over 800 people were arrested within three days. Each person had their face tattooed, then chained and shoved into vehicles for transport south. —Wu Fei had a whole system of slavery in place to deal with organized crime.

What sets Wu Fei apart from Wu Hanluan and Wu Hengyu is that he doesn't care about "public opinion"!
No matter how much the powerful families of Changcheng in the south cursed, Wu Fei always maintained an attitude of "objective historical development" towards these "obstacles".

So, back in Changcheng, a powerful servant came over and said, "How dare you soldiers cause trouble?" Wu Fei immediately cut off his ear and sent him back to tell his master: It's best not to leave the city gates, and all properties outside the city should be carefully monitored.

And that very night, they planned a “bandit attack” on his estate.

…Wu Fei: I am a barbarian…

On August 8, Wu Fei's trained soldiers left Donghua County under the leadership of their officers, while Wu Fei himself remained at the North Camp in Donghua County to retaliate against the local powerful families who dared to provoke him.

The phrase "allowing troops to plunder" has become a common refrain used by the Changcheng aristocratic families in their recent appeals.

However, in recent days, the phrase "plundering with the army" has become a taboo, just like the word "death" is taboo for the elderly, because Wu Xiaoque really dares to take action if anyone uses this phrase.

So, while sending people to various villages to purchase goods, Wu Fei liked to conduct interviews. The first question was, "Are you happy?" The second question was, "Have you heard of 'soldiers plundering'?" Whenever the people in the second question swore that they had heard someone say that soldiers were plundering on the north bank, Wu Fei would directly send people to impersonate the bandits who hadn't been wiped out last year, find wealthy families' estates, throw bombs to blow up the walls, and then extort their wealth.

Wu Fei's logic: You said I let my troops plunder, wouldn't I be at a loss if I didn't plunder?
Simultaneously after the "water bandits" emerged, Wu Fei submitted a memorial to the emperor, apologizing for his failure to quell the resurgence of bandits in Donghua County. He expressed deep remorse for his inability to pacify the region and requested to remain in the area to atone for his sins by suppressing the bandits. (In other words, he was saying, "Do whatever you want." Of course, while throwing a tantrum, he emphasized that he wasn't rebelling against the emperor, but rather that it was a conflict between aristocratic families and military leaders; the emperor was in a superior position and shouldn't get involved.)

The imperial court did not take sides as it had done last time. They didn't even mention the presence of bandits in the area.

What? They admit Wu Xiaoque is a bandit? What happens after they reprimand her? Should they leave her behind to suppress the bandits, or just kill her? The Emperor's original intention was to transfer Wu Xiaoque westward. If things really escalate, will the troop deployment still proceed?

On the Emperor's desk in the capital, various documents were already laid out. He slammed his hand on the table and said, "This is all nonsense!"

Indeed, in this monarch's eyes, "everything is nonsense." The Changcheng aristocratic families' impeachment of the Wu family army for allowing their troops to plunder was nonsense, and Wu Fei's claim that the water bandits had risen again was also nonsense.

None of the emperors would recognize him.

The guards followed Wu Xiaoque closely and were completely certain of the whole story of the conflict: Wu Fei had drawn his troops and then encountered trouble from the enemy family.

The guards followed Wu Fei closely, meticulously recording the number of men he brought from the Wu family and their locations.

Wu Fei's operations were multi-linear. For example, he first sent officers to the front line, then raised banners in Donghua County to recruit soldiers, and the secret guards also split into two groups to record the events.

Now that Wu Fei has completed his recruitment, he has ordered the officers accompanying him to send two thousand soldiers to Longyou, while he himself stays behind to fight the powerful clans. The secret guards are beginning to worry that Wu Fei might be assassinated by the local clans. If something happens to Wu Fei, and the troops heading to Longyou suddenly rebel after losing control en route, it could be a major disaster.

Wu Fei was simultaneously carrying out his duties and making accusations. He could stop working at any time, and he could escalate his arguments at any moment, thus highlighting his value in the political arena. The Emperor paced back and forth in the palace, reconsidering his actions. Compared to the past, when other generals clashed with powerful families, they would have exercised restraint for the sake of the greater good. Wu Fei was truly insensible. At the same time, the Emperor finally felt disgusted with those people in Changcheng!
…Mediation is necessary…

On the city wall of Changcheng, a young nobleman looked out over the main camp on the north bank. This was the Prince of Langya, sent by the imperial court. While consolidating the power of the local magnates in several prefectures, he boasted of the preferential treatment he had shown to the Wu family army. This was because, during his mediation, he had tacitly allowed the Wu family army to retain their main camp on the north bank!
Note: The Beidaying camp is now entirely inhabited by locals. The imperial court doesn't have the funds to allocate oxen and land for disbanding the camp. Unable to afford it, they can only maintain the status quo. Wu Fei: So it's not him appeasing the locals, but rather the Wu family army helping to quell local conflicts.

This prince has become so immersed in the persona of a wise king who protects the peace of the region that, as long as he coordinates things and prevents the northern troops from plundering the people, it is all his achievement.

But now, things have suddenly turned out like this? What should we do?

Although the southern merchants have been offering rare items such as nanmu wood and jade as tribute over the years, the scholars in Changcheng offer the Langya King even more valuable emotional support.

This easily swayed "wise prince" could talk endlessly with scholars, but he couldn't stand the crudeness of discussing matters with the warriors of the army. However, now the court had suddenly sent an imperial edict, requiring him to meet with Wu Fei.

Therefore, the Prince of Langya reluctantly extended an invitation to Wu Fei.

…It's impossible to take sides…

On the dragon boat in the river, Wu Fei rode his dragon horse onto the deck. However, upon entering the boat, he saw Yingying whispering and sighed.

The depravity of Da Yao far exceeded his imagination. Among the line of maids were fox spirits, aquatic women exuding a watery aura, and fairies with long, slender necks and hair like crane feathers.

Those who have never experienced a life of luxury cannot even begin to imagine what it truly means. People in the 21st century use the metaphor of "the emperor's golden hoe" to mock farmers for their limited understanding, but in reality, most netizens are the ones who are truly ignorant of aristocratic life.

In Cao Xueqin's writing, Grandmother Jia describes herself as coming from a middle-class family, which surprises most people. How can this be considered middle-class? However, a powerful prince of the Qing Dynasty, upon seeing this, remarked that such a life was still too simple.

Wu Fei knew that this world had something called "Qi Ling Dan" (启灵丹), and that the old site of Yunqie Valley was currently producing similar artifacts using the ashes he left behind. Even though Wu Fei's side had a sufficient supply, the method of using it followed the old Wu Hanluan's method, which was to give those who had submitted to the Southern Frontier alien races a path of conversion.

Wu Hanluan used the Qiling Pill in order to "use spies".

Now Wu Fei also knows the method of refining the native Spirit Awakening Pill when there is no ashes on his body.

It requires using needles to obtain the essence and blood of eighteen pregnant women and their unborn children, which is then nourished with a medicinal herb. This essence and blood will develop into a crystal-clear state, resembling that of an infant—like a ginseng fruit.

Then, the fruit is mixed with the Primordial Stone and refined in a fire. The fire must be kept stable, waiting for the infant's liquid to transform from an nascent soul to a elixir within the Primordial Stone. If the fire is too weak, the infant will develop deformities during the transformation process, which would be disastrous. If the fire in the furnace is too strong, the infant will be reduced to ashes.

During the formation of the elixir, microscopic instruments can be used to observe that it appears to be a high-tech process of gene remodeling. Of course, the cost is very high, involving harming others for personal gain.

Now, this incredibly valuable elixir is being used by the Prince of Langya to cultivate maids with unique flavors. Just like in his previous life, some people liked catgirls and foxgirls, but the "conservative" Xuan Chong couldn't understand it at all.

Wu Fei was certain in his heart: since their values ​​were different, there was no need for debate.

Having lived a gentlemanly life online, Wu Fei decided to start with the gentleman's keyboard "starting stance".

On the Jianghuai boat, on the lacquered couch, the Prince of Langya was about to use diplomacy before resorting to force, when he was suddenly startled by a burst of murderous aura and staggered. The martial arts masters beside him rushed to protect him, but faced with the murderous aura of the military strategist, they could not help but draw their swords to defend him.

The four martial arts experts guarding the Prince of Langya were shocked and inwardly horrified. Just how many people had this military strategist, nicknamed Wu Xiaoque, killed in the south to accumulate such a powerful aura?

The vibrant colors of the lanterns on the entire ship were instantly tinged with a ghastly white, like phosphorescent lights after a mountain of corpses and a sea of ​​blood.

Facing the terrified Prince of Langya, Wu Fei coldly said, "I know His Majesty sent you. I accept the order and will leave Donghua County tomorrow. But tell those hypocrites in Donghua County a message: don't think you're all set. Bloodshed is still a possibility."

Wu Fei then looked at the beautiful maid on the boat: "You're such a frivolous person, I'll take her away for you."

He then waved his hand, and a ghostly chariot descended from the sky. A group of knights wearing iron masks then landed and began to seize the person.

The ghost chariot landed on the ship, and a gust of evil wind paralyzed everyone. The four experts dared not fight the beast head-on, so they could only let the dragon horse cavalry board the ship and take all the maids away.

Wu Fei would give these maids "elixirs" to remove their demonic aura, and then—take them to Longyou to reward his officers before they went to war.

…Wu Fei even wanted to pack up the entire fruit platter and take it with him, so as not to waste a single grain of food…

After Wu Fei left, the ship was littered with cups and plates. The Prince of Langya, dressed in white, had his hair disheveled, as if he had been raped.

It took him a while to get up, and he shouted, "Back to the city! Back to the city!" He was clearly terrified, and if possible, he never wanted to deal with such a crude and uncouth man again.

Half an hour later, after returning to his residence, he declined to be received by the local gentry.

In the side hall, the old servant of the Prince's mansion was scolding the representatives of these noble families, telling them to stop making trouble, because the young master had suffered because of them.

As for the aristocratic families, they immediately declared that they would seek justice for the prince and joined forces to submit a memorial to the emperor, but they were directly kicked out.

Meanwhile, at the Prince's residence, the Prince of Langya recovered his spirits after being fed honey mouth-to-mouth by a flower fairy maid.

He didn't get emotional when it came to how to report the matter! He simply vented his grievances.

Indeed, he is somewhat extravagant and dissolute, but he is not a fool! The Prince of Langya analyzed: Although Wu Fei is very rough, he promised to leave tomorrow, which means that he has already done the things that the Emperor of Shu asked him to do.

Compared to being threatened by Wu Fei, he was more concerned with securing credit for the "after things were done."

So, this "wise king" wrote down how he met Wu Fei on the river, explained the advantages and disadvantages, and persuaded the general of the Northern Camp to put aside his grudges and leave.

As for the powerful families of Changcheng, he needed to give them a good warning. Because...
The Prince of Langya shuddered as he recalled his meeting with Wu Fei. The ghostly chariot was incredibly ferocious, its nine heads staring at him with terrifying malice. It felt as if he would be devoured at any moment. Yet, this nine-headed ghostly chariot dared not take another step behind Wu Fei.

…Riding the wind northward, mountains and rivers passed beneath my feet…

Wu Fei rode the ghost chariot toward Longyou County, and behind him were three more ghost chariots.

These four ghost cars were newly recruited by Wu Fei after he arrived on the North Shore.

Ever since his trip to the sacred land of the Vermilion Bird Fire, Wu Fei felt that he seemed to have a strong affinity with ferocious birds.

Upon entering Donghua Prefecture, Wu Fei sensed the four birds roaming the mountains. After a brief sensing, he detected their active presence. Over the next twenty days, Wu Fei learned about the Guiche birds' appetite and habits, carefully calculated that he could afford to supply them, and then brought some cattle and sheep to treat them, taking them away (recruiting them).

At this moment, Wu Fei sat down on this ghostly carriage. Due to the dust that fell from Wu Fei's body, his indigo fur began to transform, and his chest area turned into a fiery red.

The nine heads, which had previously been spewing poisonous smoke, have now disappeared, replaced by flames. It's as if the smoke was due to incomplete combustion before, while now the firepower is stronger, spewing pure flames.

Wu Fei patted the ghost chariot beneath him: Oh, let me give you a name, I'll call you Jiu Feng.

The nine heads roared in unison, approving of the name.

(End of this chapter)