Wei School's Three Good Students

Chapter 84 Moving Like the Wind

Wu Fei was preparing for the long march. During the month-long preparations at the main camp, orders were repeatedly relayed and confirmed in each battalion, with messengers carrying messages between the flag bearers. On the desks of the sergeant-generals, paper messengers, serving as carriers of orders, automatically dipped into ink on the inkstone and flew onto bamboo slips. These paper messengers, like inkjet printers in the 21st century, left ink marks. After reviewing these "printed documents" (bamboo slips), the sergeants stored them in boxes, completing the archiving of all military information records.

As for whether bamboo slips can record so much information? The characters left by the paper messenger, a Taoist artifact, after being soaked in ink on bamboo slips, are smaller than the head of a needle.

The first brigade was commanded by Wu Ling, with Sun Ao in charge; the second brigade was commanded by Wu Sihao, with Bai Ya in charge; and the third brigade was commanded by Wu Damu, with Wang Feihao in charge.

……

In Wu Fei's current military system, the "Flag Bearer" is the personal guard responsible for supervising combat, while the "Commander" is responsible for commanding the troops and implementing disciplinary procedures. This is a dual-command system, one based on the old military system and the other on the new military system.

The old army is about to transition into a modern army.

Wu Fei requested a month to conduct relevant scheduling and adjustments, allowing the "Commander" to instill some dogmatic principles regarding the military discipline of the main camp into each squad leader.

Within twenty days, Wu Fei issued more than a hundred orders to each battalion every day, while the central command carefully checked every piece of feedback; any actions that were not fully executed or understood were reviewed. Wu Fei's new system is undergoing a process of refinement.

A rudimentary infantry manual, driven by Wu Fei's will and technically overseen by a group of non-commissioned officers, was rapidly deployed to the ranks along the Wu family clan's execution team.

During this period of troop integration, Wu Fei shuttled between several battalions, frequently dealing with problems. At this time, the distance between each battalion was very short. In wartime, however, each battalion would be ten miles apart, making it impossible to handle issues remotely.

Wu Fei would give any martial arts family member who disobeyed orders a heads-up: a warning for the first offense, and the removal from their captaincy and reassignment as his personal guards for the second. If there were still any instances of disobedience or carelessness regarding the rules and regulations, the third offense would result in them being sent back to their hometown.

…In order to manage his own descendants, Wu Fei also brought out the ancestral command flags that each branch of the Wu family had authorized to him.

Wu Fei held a meeting with his own people to discuss the matter. He placed the command flag behind him and earnestly told them, "You will receive all the credit, but don't talk to me about outsiders or insiders. Aren't we united as family? What is unity? Unity means listening to me. If you think you're clever, don't blame outsiders for laughing at you."

When Wu Fei displayed his authority as a direct descendant, the Wu family disciples sitting on either side of him nodded and said, "Yes."

Just kidding! They can be somewhat negligent with military orders because Wu Hanluan holds those orders and can be biased; most of the time, a death sentence can be avoided, and they'll only receive a living punishment. But Wu Fei's ancestral command flag can kick someone out of the Wu family ancestral hall.

Wu Fei continued with the elder brother's instructions to his younger brothers: "The instructors I've assigned to you, and the rules they follow, are all my rules."

The Wu family disciples continued to nod: "Big brother, you are the rule, and we are the boundaries you set!"

Wu Fei continued to advise: "The people I brought are all from Lingnan, so don't talk to me about this or that surname now. Their ancestors for three generations may have been sworn brothers with our family. Now I'm making a pledge: whoever delays me, I won't care about our relationship."

By saying this, Wu Fei directly pointed out that he knew about the conflict between them and the non-family generals under Wu Hengyu.

Of course, Wu Fei did not intervene in this conflict, but instead advised them: Since you already dislike the poor family faction, don't offend the people from your hometown who have the same accent as you.

This point refers to the political tactic of "seeking common ground while reserving differences" when there are conflicts with major adversaries in the 20th century.

…A bystander's perspective…

In the slightly quieter part of the military camp, Wu Hanluan led Wu Hengyu out, watching the bustling activity that Wu Fei was managing. Since Wu Fei had become engrossed in his professional studies, the hundreds of orders he issued daily had each battalion executing mechanically, like repetitive martial arts movements. His dedication astonished even the veteran generals of the Wu family army.

Wu Hanluan raised his hand and pointed to the standardized daily formation in the military camp: "Take a good look." (How he united his own family members and those from other families.)

Wu Hengyu: "Is it alright?" — Although he didn't admit it, he had obviously remembered it.

As for Wu Hanluan's arrival, it was just along the way. About the time it takes to drink a cup of tea later, a guard with a small door handle on the side of Wu Fei's tent pulled open the wooden gate, and the winged tiger slipped out like a cat. In Wu Fei's strictly disciplined military camp, there were people specifically assigned to open the back door.
Just as the winged tiger was about to leave, it bumped into Wu Hanluan around the corner, and its once-fierce ears became like airplane ears. Wu Hanluan gave a "hehe" smile and didn't pursue the matter.

…The dividing line for last-minute cramming…

After twenty days of repeated drills, Sun Aoling and other commanders came to Wu Fei's camp to receive Wu Fei's final inspection.

After reviewing everyone's contributions in the tent, Wu Fei...

Wu Fei: "Sun Aoling."

Sun Aoling: "Present!" His voice was hoarse, clearly from the stress of repeatedly emphasizing orders to the idiots in the team these past few days.

Wu Fei nodded to him, then called out another person's name.

Then a row of people stood in line. Just as these simple and honest officers were about to accept Wu Fei's approval, Wu Fei clapped his hands, and immediately all twenty-seven beautiful maids came out. These were the women that Wu Fei had confiscated from the Prince of Langya.

Wu Fei: "Each of you will be in charge. You will have one day to work, then one day to rest before setting off. As for them, they will be settled in a undisturbed town afterward, and you can take them home when you return."

After saying that, Wu Fei left. As for the Wu family disciples holding flags next to the Commander, who were waiting expectantly, Wu Fei glared at them and said, "All the irrelevant people have left."

Afterwards, Wu Fei left with his men, leaving behind a group of embarrassed, blushing non-commissioned officers.

This approach has historical precedent…

Xuan Chong consulted history: Prince Dan invited Jing Ke, treating him with fine clothes, beautiful maids, and delicacies. The fact that this was done in front of the military families indicated that this was their special treatment, and that he himself did not share this privilege with the other soldiers simply because they were his relatives.

The dry mouth and parched throats that Sun Aoling and the others had felt these past few days, along with the slight resentment they felt towards the Wu family's clumsy and stupid disciples who were inferior to them yet had been assigned as their partners, instantly vanished.

Even when they looked at those "avoiding partners," they suddenly felt more magnanimous.

They had changed their minds and were now making excuses for those martial arts family members they had previously labeled as stupid: it's normal to be a little slow when learning for the first time.

The professional sergeants under Wu Fei's command began to "sharpen their weapons at the last minute," the details of which are omitted.

…Continuing with the various miscellaneous matters…

Just as Wu Fei was preparing to send his troops to migrate, a fight broke out in Wu Hengyu's camp. This fight was not between humans, but between the ghost chariot he had brought and the birds and beasts in the camp.

The two groups of ghost vehicles split into two camps, their crimson flames and pale green poisonous breaths clashing, dozens of bird heads refusing to give way. The tamers nearby were caught in the crossfire and had to retreat to the side.

Wu Fei had no choice but to run over. Upon seeing the ghost carriages that Wu Hanluan had tamed, Wu Fei found a clean spot on the ground and stood there, looking at the ghost carriages, he couldn't help but cover his nose.

Although Wu Fei had long sensed an unpleasant odor in the camp, he had tolerated it. But now, inside the Ghost Cart, the foul smell still gave him the feeling of facing the Ganges River, which was quite intoxicating.

Upon closer inspection, the Northern Route Army's Ghost Chariots looked like vultures, while their own Ghost Chariots had shiny plumage, making them almost two different species due to the breeding process.

Upon seeing Wu Fei, these gleaming ghost carriages rushed over like roosters recognizing their master, each of their nine heads displaying a proud expression. As for the vulture-like ghost carriages, they wanted to give chase, but upon seeing Wu Fei, they all showed nine signs of dejection. Wu Hengyu also arrived at this time, carrying a sachet to shield himself from the surrounding odors, clearly also somewhat puzzled by the putrid smell of the ghost carriages in the army.

Wu Hengyu looked a little embarrassed, but still took the initiative to accuse the villain: "The ghost car you gave me seems to be disobedient."

Wu Fei paced back and forth, sniffing the air: "Wait, it seems like your ghost cars have caught a disease." — It wasn't just his sense of smell; Wu Fei's body measurement device, with its standardized perception, could hear the difficulty these ghost cars had in swallowing air, and he could also see that their wings, instead of fluttering gracefully, were stiff and trembling.

Wu Hengyu looked at the magnificent plumage of the Nine-Phoenix that Wu Fei was riding and nodded: "Is it sick? But it can eat anything. And its recovery ability is very strong."

After taking a look, Wu Fei diagnosed them: "They have worms in their stomachs."

Wu Hengyu immediately retorted, "Can you cure it?" Wu Fei nodded, took out the gourd of pills, and walked to the vulture-like ghost carriage. The ghost carriage looked at Wu Fei's enormous head and actually showed an expression of "ashamed of itself".

But soon it quietly pecked at the gourd in Wu Fei's hand with its beak and swallowed it. However, it was very careful not to touch Wu Fei's hand, because the nine phoenixes behind Wu Fei were staring at it silently like their feathers were standing on end.

A few minutes later, the bald-headed ghost car that had taken the medicine began to vomit green, foul-smelling smoke from several bird heads, which contained many charred mosquitoes. The black beak emitted a red glow and began to turn a pale yellow, but it was quickly covered by the sickly fumes again.

Wu Fei paused slightly, recalling that the ghost chariot his uncle had given him had also spat out ash-like insects when it first arrived. Wu Fei sensed that the flame he had lit was in the belly of this vulture-like ghost chariot, but there seemed to be an endless source of pollution inside, extremely filthy, which he seemed unable to ignite.

Wu Fei held his breath and asked Wu Hengyu, "How many ghost carts does the Northern Route Army have in total?"

Wu Hengyu gestured, there were eight in total.

After thinking for a moment, Wu Fei said to Wu Hengyu, "You don't mind that these ghost carriages are under my control, do you?"

Wu Hengyu looked at Wu Fei and said, "I don't like what you're saying. You are the next Chief of the Army, and these giant beasts should be under your control."

Wu Fei nodded. Then he took out a golden paulownia leaf and said to him, "After I heal them, you can use this to command them."

So, after asking Wu Hengyu to leave, Wu Fei, under the protection of Jiu Feng, adjusted his body to its most intense state, spat out a mouthful of saliva, put it into the fire jade, and then crushed it into powder on a stone mill. The eight ghost chariots rushed over eagerly, all their heads wanting a bite, like chickens pecking at food.

…However, it was like a firecracker exploding in a biogas digester…

Suddenly, all the manure buckets in the camp began to gush forth.

Wu Fei looked up and paused slightly, sensing something. He was slightly taken aback and looked towards the main tent of the camp. A minute later, he slowly lowered his head.

At this time, after the Wu family army's ghost cars took the "Wu Fei version of Ji Gong's Old Mud Pills," the source of the foul-smelling disease had been ignited. Due to the excessive energy, the connection was eventually severed.

All the vulture ghost cars began to burst into flames, and new fur sprouted from their pores.

On the other side, within the spirit array of the Wu family army's main camp, Wu Hengyu's immortal disciples looked up at the pure fire energy in the Ghost Cart camp!
Zhu Ranming: "Is this the Southern Ming Fire?" Then his eyes lit up with fervor.

He wanted to fly on his sword to take a look, but his senior brother stopped him, saying, "It's not that I'm hindering your opportunity, but look at the murderous intent in this wisp of fire. This already belongs to someone."

Zhu paused, then said dejectedly, "How did such a precious natural treasure become a weapon for warfare?"

…on the other side…

Wu Fei looked very bad and was in low spirits. He said in a low voice, "When military strategists use force, they are already suppressing their conscience. Uncle, you are doing something that goes against the natural order and is damaging your own fortune."

Looking back to three days ago, when Wu Fei decided to send troops, he diligently reported to Wu Hanluan.

Compared to publicly making pledges, this was a private discussion of ideas, informing him of his grasp of each step. Wu Fei vaguely remembered the scene.

Wu Hanluan stood behind the desk, listening silently. Wu Fei held up an oil lamp, studying the map, and drew two lines with his finger on the eastern and southwestern sides of the Zhenshui River. These were the two routes that could supply the army. The eastern route followed the river, transporting the elite troops by water; the western route, on the other hand, was a main road carved into the back of a mountain ridge, wide enough for seven or eight carriages to travel abreast. These two roads were the routes taken by King Lelang a year ago when he marched north to attack the false Guan.

Wu Fei stated unequivocally that his military strategy was to sever these two supply lines. The biggest problem in this campaign wasn't the fierce resistance encountered after capturing the five prefectures of Zhenshui. According to current intelligence, the King of Lelang was unpopular. The powerful families within the five prefectures were not defying the court. Therefore, once the fighting started, the King of Lelang's army would be without supplies and would have to fight a decisive battle outside the city. The crucial issue was that halfway through the battle, the puppet regime in the north would begin to intervene and seize the spoils. Blocking these two routes would allow them to secure the victory sooner.

Wu Fei was very attentive when discussing his plans, but Wu Hanluan only offered a suggestion: be sure to carry plenty of herbs when you go out.

This had already aroused Wu Fei's doubts, but he still did as instructed, keeping his suspicions to himself.

However, a day earlier, Wu Fei received reports from his scouts that an epidemic had broken out in the five prefectures of Zhenshui. The able-bodied men of various powerful families and wealthy merchants were suffering from intestinal perforation due to roundworm infestations, and their intestines were rotting before any medicine could take effect. According to the scouts' descriptions, regardless of social status, the excrement of people in this region contained live worms wriggling in their latrines.

So much so that the day before yesterday, Wu Fei issued a strict order that no soldier should eat raw food during the march.

But where did this epidemic come from?

Now that the nine-headed ghost carriages have recovered from their illness, the stench in the camp has turned into the smell of boiled excrement. Wu Fei decided to shut up completely and never mention the matter again. Meanwhile, Wu Hengyu was teasing the ghost carriages that had grown new hair.

Wu Fei curled his lip: This idiot doesn't need to know.

…Before the imperial decree urging another troop deployment arrived, the war chariots began to turn…

In September of the 32nd year of the Heavenly Calendar, just as King Lelang was carefree in the later stages of his murder game in his territory and wanted to continue looking for people to fight, Wu Fei's army began to move out.

His 12,000 troops, divided into eight battalions, began to advance rapidly, the entire march like a gust of wind! Compared to Wu Hanluan's large camp, their advance was extremely fast.

The difficulty of high-speed marches lies in whether a stable supply of food can be obtained on the way to the next location.

First, the basic principle that a small village cannot accommodate a thousand heavy cavalry must be followed when marching.

If the army only looks for food within a 10-kilometer radius along the way, there will only be some villages along the route, which cannot supply the large army. Therefore, a force of several thousand people must search for food along a 100-kilometer route during the march. This means that the army has to search for food hundreds of kilometers away from each place, which is quite time-consuming for the large army.

However, if the army is divided into ten equal parts, with each part consisting of only a few hundred people and each route ten kilometers apart, then each route will not need to scout too far to obtain enough food for the army's march.

During the last large-scale war in southern Xinjiang, Wu Fei trained this battalion-level capability, where each battalion advanced in a straight line, keeping pace with the others and exchanging information according to the manual.

Most importantly, Wu Fei's "spies" surveyed all the locations of surplus grain along the route, and the surplus grain on each route was just enough to distribute to the army to purchase sufficient quantities! This way, there was no need to waste time on food. —Furthermore, the plague to some extent aided the army's march; the Wu family army could even exchange medicine for supplies during the march.

And so, Wu Fei's army moved like a gust of wind, swiftly crossing the four cities in central Zhenzhou and heading straight for its strategic northern stronghold.

(End of this chapter)