Wei School's Three Good Students

Chapter 87 Taking the Key Ground Easily
The perspective shifts to a third party who sees themselves as watching the show from the dry shore.

In October of the 32nd year of the Tianli calendar, the King of Lelang, in a moment of madness, openly defied Da Yao, resulting in Da Yao launching a campaign to annihilate him. The false traitors in the north and the local aristocratic families were initially delighted, believing they could remain neutral, gathering in pavilions, enjoying wine and food, and composing poetry. However, ten days later, they discovered that despite sitting very far away, they had been kicked twice by someone who had traveled over a hundred miles.

Wu Fei didn't limit his vision to "Zhenzhou"; he looked much further ahead. It's similar to a scenario in the game "Three Kingdoms Kill": if I win a fierce battle against an enemy, what if a third party, like a mantis stalking a cicada unaware of the oriole behind, tries to take advantage of me?
Wu Fei: I need to take down the third party first. His sword, on the makeshift map of sand, plowed northwards.

Having received a military order as a guarantee from the southern camp, Wu Fei was certain that Wu Hengyu could hold off any reinforcements coming from Lelang City. He carefully calculated the time and determined that his uncle could come in time to take over the camp he had established in northern Zhenzhou. Thus, he boldly advanced northward and carved out two pieces of territory in the territory of the puppet regime.

Wu Fei's strategic assessment was that after the Northern Route Army captured the five counties of Zhenshui, it needed a sufficient buffer zone in the north.

If this isn't done, after capturing Zhenzhou, the court's next step will definitely be to urge the Wu family army to attack the puppet regime. At that time, after the main army enters Yongzhou through the main passage, the court will certainly appoint prefects in the five counties along the Zhen River.

If the Wu family's northern army lingers in the Weiguan battlefield for too long, the longer the fighting continues, the more personnel control points the imperial court can install. The court will appoint locals as prefects and magistrates, preemptively cutting off the Wu family army's lifeline in Zhenzhou. The so-called establishment of local governments to govern is a joke.

It should be understood that powerful families are opportunists. When the Wu family army is strong, they will restructure local interests with the Wu family army at its core; if the Wu family army is weak, they will use the support of the imperial court to form their own local interest groups.

When the Wu family army moved to Yongzhou, they had nowhere to settle after a long battle. And when their foothold was dug up, that was the fate of Gongsun Zan.

Wu Fei: But if the Wu family had a stronghold in southern Yongzhou in advance, they would be able to maneuver freely and move easily when attacking the pseudo-Guan.

…Wo Niu Guan dividing line…

Wu Fei personally led five hundred soldiers through the mountains, clearly feeling the difference in climate zones as they crossed. A gust of cold air from the north swept over them.

Looking at the ravine carved out by a knife and axe, Wu Fei touched the second phoenix leaf on his arm, and nine long cries echoed from above the valley. Nine phoenixes appeared in the sky, quickly descended, and flicked their tail feathers into the ravine, landing right in front of Wu Fei. Wu Fei jumped slightly, grabbed one of its tail feathers, and ascended into the air as if grabbing a helicopter cable.

After taking off, the Nine Phoenixes flicked their tail feathers slightly. As Wu Fei flew up, the Nine Phoenixes twisted and coiled downwards like a swimming dragon, catching Wu Fei on their backs before he fell. Wu Fei, thanks to the immobilization technique, was extremely skilled at this set of movements and moved with great ease and grace.

Wu Fei raised his perspective and saw the entire northward road: between the mountains, the coniferous forests and broad-leaved forests changed abruptly like a dividing line.

After passing through the pass, accompanied by merchants from Woniu Pass, the entire army marched towards Yucheng.

Wu Fei dismounted from the Nine Phoenix, rode a dragon horse, personally led the team to change their flags and armor, and then led the team to the city of Deception.

Wu Fei didn't come from the south; instead, he led his troops in a large detour. After arriving in the northern part of Yucheng, he pretended to be a northern support force. Along the way, Wu Fei specifically instructed his Wu family disciples to be nonchalant, to wave their flags loosely, and to tell the officers he had promoted not to interfere. Wu Fei advised the officers: "Being too reserved makes it seem like you're a guest in someone else's house; you should act like you're at home."

This group of soldiers arrived at the city gate, claiming to be sent by the Guan Dynasty to the south to prepare for war and to collect provisions. After the army stood in formation outside the city, a hundred men entered and immediately seized the city gate.

This important town, which the puppet regime had stockpiled supplies in southern Yongzhou, was thus tricked and seized.

The captured Yucheng garrison commander was brought before Wu Fei after being bound hand and foot. Upon seeing Wu Fei, he asked, "Didn't you rebel? Why aren't you fighting Bao Yao? Why are you attacking us?" Wu Fei replied, "We are the Yao army."

The garrison commander muttered incredulously, "How could you possibly be the Yao Army?"

After he was imprisoned, he kept repeating the phrase, "How could you possibly be Yao Jun?" He didn't sleep for three days and three nights.

…After the eagle was leashed, Wu Xiaoque bounced around very happily…

The governor's office of Yongzhou has not yet received any news of the fall of any southern cities.

Ji Fei, the governor of Yongzhou, even participated in a poetry gathering hosted by a hermit. Because this was an elegant place where learned scholars conversed and no commoners were allowed to discuss mundane matters.

As a confidant of the King of Bo, Ji Fei, after receiving his appointment, urgently needed the approval of local powerful families to stabilize the local situation. With Yongzhou in chaos, these families, who held sway over "classical principles," no longer sought to "pacify the world," but instead chose to "cultivate their own virtues." Therefore, they described current military and political affairs as miscellaneous tasks.

As a state governor, he was originally an "ordinary person," but now he shamelessly squeezed into this circle.

So when the clerk in the governor's mansion rushed to report to Ji Fei, he was stopped by the servant at the entrance of the poetry gathering with a broom, who said that he would pollute the pure atmosphere of the poetry gathering.

At this time, the hermit's poetry garden is full of blooming flowers and glistening fruits, which is indeed the effect of "pure air". It can start from "spirit" and regulate "essence" and "qi", thus prolonging life. If some "medicine" is taken, one can maintain this cleansing charm.

This is the current Confucian practice of "cultivating oneself in solitude".

Although Governor Jifei held great worldly power, he did not want to relinquish this transcendent spiritual experience, and thus indulged these renowned scholars. After all, how could "common people" possibly understand such an elegant poetry gathering?
After the clerk failed to see his governor for a long time after reporting the visit, he immediately started shouting outside. This shouting dampened the previously vibrant atmosphere of poetry in the courtyard.

All the scholars looked at the governor with dissatisfaction, while the hermit issued an order to expel the guests.

Feeling embarrassed, the governor bowed and apologized. Of course, he was unwilling to leave just like that: if he left now, busying himself with "mundane things" to prove that he was just a mundane person, he would never receive an invitation to the poetry gathering again.

So he walked out with a stern face.

Upon hearing the clerk's report, he immediately flew into a rage: "Nonsense! What do you mean, that a large army has appeared in the south? In the Zhenshui region of the south, King Lelang and the large army are locked in a fierce battle, how could they possibly be heading north?!"

Then he realized that this clerk was someone that Zhao Cheng of Guotai had placed on his side. According to well-informed sources, Zhao Cheng had lost power.

Therefore, Jifei immediately ordered: "How could a few bandits, making a show of force, possibly seize my city? You must be a spy sent from the south to spread rumors and sow discord among our troops! Men, drag him away and lock him up, and I will deal with him later."

After dealing with these "worldly matters," Ji Fei returned to the poetry gathering. In order to dispel the dissatisfaction of the scholars, he immediately composed a poem, which restored the poetic splendor of the gathering.

Because Ji Fei was composing poetry, the prefect's staff did not dare to make a decision on their own. Faced with the generals of the southern cities who were eagerly awaiting news, they had to take a "prudent" approach, which was to send a fast message to the southern part of the prefecture to guard against "bandits" and not to act rashly.

Five hours later, after Ji Fei finished composing his poem, he returned to the governor's mansion and was greatly alarmed to see a "missing" mark on the county's geomantic map. At this moment, he once again urged his horse to issue a second order to deal with the "southern invasion".

This order conflicted with the previous "stationing" defense.

After receiving two orders from the governor's office, the generals guarding the various regions south of Yongshui summoned their subordinates to their respective camps to discuss the matter.

Their subordinates unanimously agreed: "The enemy's situation is unclear right now; we should wait and see."

At this moment, the garrison of Lucheng, the closest city to Yucheng, retorted: "Are you kidding? With Yucheng fallen, nobody knows how many troops actually attacked."

The cunning generals and prefects stationed along the Yong River chose to obey only the first order and not cross the Yong River.

…leisurely moments versus seizing every second…

On the city walls of Yucheng, the banner bearing the character "Wu" had been raised. The Wu family's military force within Yucheng was no longer just the five hundred men who had captured the city; all six thousand had now entered Yongzhou. Wu Fei dispatched one thousand men to garrison Yucheng, while simultaneously requesting that Zhenzhou send some local farmers to assist in its defense.

The remaining 5,000 troops camped outside Yucheng, and a large amount of grain, fodder, and equipment stored in the city were transported to the army.

As the giant sundial on Yucheng rotated, the power of divination was injected into the geomancy. At this moment, the terrain of the main road slowly rotated. Originally, vehicles and horses needed to be pushed by manpower and dragged by animals, but now the wind direction on the main road was blowing north, and all vehicles could move on their own with their sails up.

Wu Fei now faces two choices. One is to stop here, leave one or two thousand men to guard Yucheng, and immediately return to the five regions of Zhenshui to lead these elite troops to join the pursuit of King Lelang. The other is to capture a few more cities and return later, since he can quickly return to the main camp in the northern part of Zhenshui on his own, riding the Nine Phoenix.

Let me explain Wu Fei's original plan: six thousand troops would march north and seize a city belonging to the puppet state! He would leave the troops behind and ride the Nine Phoenix back home!

Wu Fei had no intention of sending his troops to fight a war of attrition against the Lelang King's mad army in the south, not even the soldiers recruited from the mine slaves.

Wu Fei had a clear understanding of the situation: the soldiers who were fighting far from home were the ones he had to protect, because losing them would be a huge loss. Even if they died, he would still have to support their families back in their hometowns.

The insidious Wu Xiaoque: In a certain region, if a war of attrition can be waged, local forces should be used to form a military force. This is similar to the conscripted peasant army recruited in Zhenzhou; they volunteered voluntarily, and Wu Fei didn't contact their families when recruiting them. They serve in their own backyard, and can be discharged after the war. Similarly, if they die in battle, their families don't need to be supported—a headache for the local prefects. Using local able-bodied men to form an army is tantamount to a human resource waste.

As for the Mad Army? They should incite rebellions in various places in response to King Lelang's tyranny. Then, after raising their own banners to unite the local heroes, they should maintain basic military organization, constantly squeeze the areas controlled by King Lelang, use sneak attacks and piecemeal warfare to exchange for battle losses, and finally drown these lunatics in the ocean.

Returning to the newly opened battlefield in southern Yongzhou, Wu Fei's strategy was to seize the initiative by surprise, so a swift attack was necessary, namely, to capture as many strategic points as possible. Moreover, Yucheng's "lack of preparedness" was truly too "unprepared."

Looking at the overflowing warehouses of Yucheng, Wu Fei patted his chest to calm his excitement: the city was overflowing with supplies, not only food but also siege equipment! Wu Fei's intelligence had only indicated that Yucheng had a large amount of grain, but his officers excitedly reported: this is a military base! With these supplies in the city as a foundation, it's practically a gift from heaven; to not take it would be to suffer the consequences!

Wu Fei checked and found that these abundant supplies were prepared starting last year under the instructions of the General of Guotai.

Zhao Cheng was planning to use the opportunity to capture Woniu Pass and then transport the supplies south, but Wu Fei launched a surprise attack!
Wu Fei: Am I just incredibly lucky, or is it that (Wu Fei's gaze shifts to the east towards Guotai) great minds think alike?

…Radical or conservative…

On the city gate tower, Wu Fei was making a decision.

The banners fluttered in the wind, and a group of battalions began to form below the steps. Among Wu Fei's men, whether they were the Wu family disciples forced upon him by Wu Hanluan or the officers Wu Fei brought from Lingnan who wanted to make a name for themselves, they couldn't contain themselves after tasting the sweetness of victory and wanted to claim more credit for the battle.

If Wu Fei were to ride the Nine Phoenix back now, these people would definitely become restless and try to go their own way.

Sure enough, Wu Fei could already hear various whispers outside.

…“Tiger Head, you and the General are from the same clan, you go ahead.” “Hey, you good-for-nothing, didn’t we agree to go together?”…

Just as these battalions were electing representatives, Wu Fei's personal guard stepped forward and struck a gong at the group huddled in the corner. The loud clang startled the soldiers, making them jump like mice before a cat. The guard then announced, "The general has given the order: those battalions that are off duty today, please return to your tents."

After the gong was struck, the cavalrymen below the city wall would go to their respective camps to relay the order, and each camp that was resting had to arrive at its tent within 15 minutes.

However, today, by sheer coincidence, all the people who needed to be notified were at the entrance, squatting in the shade of the camp fence, "talking amongst themselves."

The guards pretended not to see the group and were about to return, but the eager-to-achieve squad leaders couldn't wait.

Wu Fei's personal guard was immediately grabbed by the sleeve by a captain from the Wu family, who asked, "Hey, you three brothers, does the general know we're out there?"

The guard looked at him as if he were a fool: "The secrets of the camp must not be revealed."

…Among the Wu family army, besides Wu Hengyu, who dares to actually fight Wu Xiaoque?…

After a short while, the soldiers stood in neat armor in the camp. Their original air of preparing to "force the emperor's abdication" turned into that of children waiting to be checked after encountering Wu Fei.

Wu Fei looked at the sand table, which showed the five counties of Zhenshui and the nineteen cities of the three southern counties of Yongzhou.

After looking at the sand table, Wu Fei looked up at the group and asked, "Let's discuss the strategy now. What are your thoughts?"

Immediately, a non-commissioned officer said, "General, our army is now strong and well-equipped. We should launch an attack on Lucheng and Changjun. These two places are important cities south of Yongshui. Once we occupy them, we can defend them and block the invasion of the Weiguan in the north of Yongshui."

Wu Fei looked at the others: "Is this what you all think too?"

The generals looked at each other, and the second one took the lead and said, "Young Marshal, please give the order. This humble general is willing to be the vanguard."

After a long silence, Wu Fei breathed a sigh of relief and said, "What if I said we wouldn't attack?"

The generals looked at each other in bewilderment. One of them said indignantly, "General's moves were so brilliant before that I thought you were a hero. I don't know why you are now acting like a woman with bound feet."

The moment these words were uttered, the generals' expressions changed drastically, for this was a direct insult. If the commander-in-chief of the main camp were to take offense, he would be beaten to death without complaint. The person who uttered these words was also horrified, for they were originally his true feelings; how could they have just slipped out like that? (A barely perceptible red light flashed)
The surrounding generals quickly smoothed things over and knelt down to beg for his forgiveness.

Wu Fei casually gestured for everyone to sit down, then uttered, "Just go and collect ten lashes later. Don't waste meeting time." — as if he hadn't just been scolded himself.

Then, Wu Fei looked at the sand table map while waiting. After a while, an eagle landed, and Wu Fei untied a letter from its leg. He glanced at it and nodded. The letter's contents were simple: "Take it easy and don't rush. The false king of Lelang has no talent for controlling troops."

Thanks to daily reports, Wu Hanluan was fully aware of Wu Fei's situation. A swift victory would benefit Da Yao, but would result in significant losses. Conversely, Wu Fei's "neglect of his duties" was now quite advantageous to the Wu family army.

Upon learning that there was no worry about the rear, Wu Fei breathed a sigh of relief.

Wu Fei pointed to the west with a wooden stick at the officers still present and said, "Very well, it would be unfair to you if things were lukewarm. Order each battalion to arrange their duty shifts, the rest of the troops to finish their rest, all soldiers to have three full meals and go to bed early tonight."

The officers' eyes lit up when they heard the clear "prepare for battle." However, as Wu Fei called out their names one by one, most of them were assigned to the outer perimeter to await reinforcements.

…Wu Fei is looking forward to a slightly tougher battle…

Thirty hours later, in the main city of Chang County. The city walls here are five zhang high, and the soldiers guarding the walls are trembling with fear, looking at the troops under the banner of "Martial" outside the city, all hoping that their reinforcements will arrive soon.

Wu Fei mustered 5,000 troops (3,000 warriors and 2,000 local militia) and surrounded the city three times. The six counterweight catapults transported from Yucheng were assembled and configured in one morning.

The massive timbers used to construct these catapults were of excellent quality. They could be used not only as roof beams but also as bridge beams. A carpenter in Wu's army examined the wood grain—good heavens, it was even imported from the southern frontier. Merchants had painstakingly transported it to the north for certain large buyers, stockpiling it in Yucheng, only to have it robbed by Wu Fei.

The three-meter square wooden frame at the front of the seven-zhang-tall wooden lever was filled with twenty-five 200-kilogram stone locks, completing the loading of five tons of counterweight; at the front of the lever, one hundred kilograms of "cannonballs" were tightly held by ropes. The cannonballs contained fifteen kilograms of gunpowder, which would trigger an explosion after falling into the city wall.

One after another, the projectiles ascended into the air, tracing arcs.

Thanks to the Wind-Controlling Pattern, firearms in the Great Yao world have always coexisted with the old projectile methods.

Without the wind-controlling pattern, the catapult's projectiles had a range of only 300 paces; with the pattern, they could be launched to over 600 paces. Furthermore, Wu Fei employed guided missiles in this battle.

The puppet soldiers standing on the city wall were astonished to find that the cannonballs tumbled and turned as they fell. When they tried to escape, they suddenly felt dizzy, as if they were completely drunk. These defenders on the city wall had "fallen asleep on the battlefield in a drunken stupor" just before the cannonballs landed. (This was the effect of the "Yellow Millet Intoxication" talisman.)

The projectile struck the city wall, piercing the parapet without a doubt. Bricks and tiles flew several meters away before a deafening explosion occurred. The shockwave spread across the wall, causing all the bricks and tiles to tremble as if they were armor plates. When the shockwave subsided, the bricks and tiles within the area affected by the shockwave were uneven, which to some extent facilitated the Wu family army's climb.

The projectiles, launched from 600 paces away, were completely out of reach of the arrows on the city walls. Furthermore, the city lacked retaliatory catapults.

Of course, even if there were catapults to launch a long-range counterattack, it would be useless. In the sky, the Southern Frontier Crow People's observers, designated by Wu Fei, rode large kites and soared into the sky, watching the movements in the city at all times.

Sure enough, after the first round of six shells, the secret passages where the defenders on the city wall were hiding were seen.

The eastern city wall was mostly very thick; according to the wall-building method, the height-to-thickness ratio should be 1:3. However, like a battleship, it was thick on the sides, but not so thick on the top. If a catapult hit accurately, the top could implode the defenders hiding inside the wall.

Soon, the second volley of catapults began. High in the air, the kite flyer reported the projectile's impact point, its "offset to the front, back, left, and right." The six catapult operators adjusted the aim by turning the standard dial, and finally, on the third launch, the parameters were correct, and the projectile struck the passageway leading down from the middle of the city wall. The projectile shattered the top of the brickwork, causing a collapse, and the terrified defenders, covered in rubble, could be clearly seen.

Of course, this moment was quite brief. A split second later, flames began to erupt, engulfing the group who thought they were waiting in the safe zone. —It seemed that these were some high-ranking officers.

After that, there were no more guards on the city wall.

Wu Fei stopped launching expensive explosive shells and instead used brittle stone projectiles to suppress the soldiers on the city wall. He then began tunneling operations.

The zigzag tunnel slowly approached the area below the city wall, but in the last fifty meters, the tunnel turned into a horizontal line, and the crossbowmen in this horizontal trench began to provide covering fire.

In fact, these were completely unnecessary. There were practically no defenders showing their faces anymore; anyone who did was immediately hurled back by catapults.

Finally, they dug close to the corner of the city and buried the coffin at the bend in the tunnel at the corner.

With a deafening roar, the east city wall collapsed!

The morale of the army outside the city soared, but Wu Fei frowned.

Wu Fei looked around: Wasn't anyone coming to their rescue? —This was from the perspective of Yongzhou. If it were really so easy to take it, his men would become even more arrogant.

The battalion commanders squeezed in!
"Young Marshal, if you give me three hundred men now, I can capture the flag."

Another person contradicted him: "The city has collapsed, and you need three hundred men? Commander, my own troops can break in and capture the city's commander alive."

Wu Fei slammed his hand on the table: "Alright!"—After everyone quieted down,

Wu Fei looked at the city with a missing corner on the sand table: "Heaven has the virtue of cherishing life, so it sent an arrow to deliver the message, giving them six hours to surrender the city."

The scene was quiet, the soldiers were subdued, and their great achievement of scaling the city walls was lost.

Wu Fei saw through their thoughts and coldly scoffed: "The greatest credit for breaching the city this time goes to the Civil Engineering Team and the Wind Riders (Kite), followed by the crossbowmen who exchanged fire with the walls in the trenches, and the soldiers who will seize the walls tomorrow if the enemy does not surrender. Do any of you have any objections?"

Once the reward was determined, the generals fell silent and stopped making noise.

Regarding the removal of the first-class bounty from the vanguard reward, the generals had no objections. Leaving aside the use of mortars and gunpowder, this directly breached the city walls, allowing them to run up the small hill to the southeast of the city. Without this explosion, countless brothers would have perished.

Even though the generals were vying for credit, they still understood the principles involved.

Secondly, the Wind Riders—these stone cannons were so accurate, supposedly all thanks to them. They didn't understand anything, but after several failed attempts at using the wind, the Wind Riders fell from dozens of feet in the air and were seriously injured. They all knew that this job was no less bloody and arduous than the vanguard's.

Wu Fei turned around and instructed, "Now start arranging the three sides to be surrounded but one side left open, leaving the northeast side undefended."

Wu Fei: "Women will not be released, nor will those suspected to be servants of the city. Only escaped soldiers will be allowed to leave. In addition, those dressed in fine clothes can be released after the brothers have extorted enough money. Of course, once you have the money, don't take anyone's life. Give them a pass and let them get lost."

Wu Fei's inner thought was: only the latter two types of people could help Wu Fei convey messages to the local faction in Yongzhou.

A battalion commander asked, "Sir, what percentage of the money should be turned over?"

Wu Fei glanced at the guy: "If I make you hand over your weapons, you'd probably be hiding a few taels of gold in your latrines. Keep them for yourselves, but if anyone returns with their armor or weapons missing, they shall be executed!"

The officers were amused by the first sentence, but the second sentence revealed Wu Fei's murderous intent. Several officers muttered to themselves that they should still hand over some money to Wu Fei.

Little did they know, Wu Fei's disregard for the money his soldiers looted in the city was a preemptive measure to prepare for their eventual entry into Changjun City. Soldiers who ignored Wu Fei's warnings would be in grave danger.

(End of this chapter)