Wei School's Three Good Students

Chapter 90 Seesaw
In the main camp, Wu Hanluan had one arm in a sling and was applying a cold compress. After reading the battle report with his other arm, he showed a happy expression.

He then opened the geomantic map of the prefecture and, seeing that the rebellious spirit in the mountains and rivers was beginning to fade, said "Good, good, good" three times in a row.

He had two battle reports: one stating that Wu Hengyu had pursued and killed the remnants of King Lelang's army, and that King Lelang had fled in panic to his own base camp; and the other stating that, after confirming King Lelang's crushing defeat, the two northern prefectures of the five counties along the Zhen River immediately surrendered to the Wu family army.

Another battle report stated that after Wu Fei captured Chang County, he turned his troops to Lu City. As soon as the army arrived, the Lu City garrison surrendered to Da Yao, restored order, and revolted.

On the left side of the command tent, the deputy general Chu Nan, who came from the Shui family faction, said upon seeing this, "Congratulations, Commander! This battle has been a complete victory. However, now that the situation is so favorable, could you please allow General Wu Yuanchang to take a step back and first eliminate the rebels in Zhendi?"

At this moment, Wu Hanluan glanced at Chu Nan and said, "I know your worries. You are concerned that the war in Yongzhou will escalate. Our army is currently running out of food supplies in the south and is relying on enemy granaries for food. If the war drags on, there may be unforeseen circumstances. Don't worry, Yuan Chang is not worried."

Chu Nan retreated. Actually, he had another plan, which was to deal with the Wu family's northern army. In this battle, he felt that Wu Fei's army had gained merit too quickly and easily, capturing the city without fighting any tough battles.

Like all those from humble backgrounds, Chu Nan felt a certain awkwardness towards Wu Xiaoque, who was talented but lacked virtue.

Where there are people, there are factions; where there are factions, there is a scramble for "merit." In the past few years, during the growth of the Northern Route Army, the battles were fought primarily by these "Shui, Zhuzhou" youths centered around Wu Hengyu. In the past, they secretly sneered at the Wu family disciples' meager contributions, but now! Wu Xiaoque has arrived.

These ground-scraping sparrows can find food everywhere and also reap rewards in the "easiest" places. This has caused a sudden tension among the humble forces of the Wu family army.

"Wu Xiaoque's achievements were obtained from easy places!" This is a newly emerging viewpoint among these children from poor families.

Compared to Wu Hengyu's direct assault and decisive battle with King Lelang's main force, Wu Fei's tactics indeed seemed to be about avoiding difficulties, taking shortcuts, and sneaking through the city while it was under attack. With the main camp of the Zhen region still under threat from King Lelang, he entrusted his rear strategy to Wu Hanluan and Wu Hengyu, preparing to head north and attack their rear!
Therefore, Chu Nan and other generals from humble backgrounds under Wu Hengyu felt that Wu Fei should be transferred back directly. Under fair circumstances, with Wu Hengyu's control, he wouldn't steal so much credit.

Wu Hanluan was quite pleased with this. He had mobilized Wu Fei to suppress the arrogance of these young men from the two prefectures. After all, the Northern Route Army was still under the Wu family's control.

Wu Fei is the merit balancer. When it comes to stealing merit, which family does Wu Fei belong to? Which family has the most subordinate team leaders? It takes ability for family members to steal merit through means with the tacit approval of the rules! Wu Hanluan and Wu Hengyu both know that Wu Fei has no interest in the final command of the Northern Route Army. He is only thinking about going back to mess with the Southern Frontier. After gaining merit, he takes care of the Wu family members who stay in the Northern Route Army.

Moreover, there's a reason why the battle at Zhenshui is progressing so slowly: Wu Hanluan is nurturing bandits to enhance his own power.

…the defeated army here…

Five days after the Battle of Zhenshui, in Kan County, nine out of ten houses were empty in the wilderness. A large number of people had fled. This was because several rounds of warfare had taken place.

In feudal times, without transportation and a national food mobilization system, even the most prosperous places could not withstand several rounds of military campaigns.

During the first round of military intervention, the local generals were able to purchase enough food supplies from the local area. However, during the second round, the residents of the region ran out of food, and the soldiers had to rob for rations. By the third round, they were simply plundering whatever they could find.

Therefore, Sun Tzu's Art of War states: "It is best to conscript troops only once."

When Wu Fei was planning the long march, he considered that each place had a limited capacity to accommodate the passing troops. Therefore, each battalion advanced along its own designated route, strictly prohibiting them from crossing other troops' routes. After a troop had passed through, they would try to avoid using that route again.

It could be said that among the five prefectures along the Zhen River, Wu Fei's army was the least harmful. However, the subsequent forces of King Lelang and Wu Hengyu's army caused damage to the local area in order to stockpile provisions. And the damage increased with each attack. For example, now, there is no smoke from cooking fires for a hundred miles. Just half a year ago, there were still chickens crowing and dogs barking here.

When the defeated army of King Lelang crossed the river again, the villages along the way watched these defeated soldiers without any sense of danger. Some ignorant people even dared to offend them.

In Lingcun, King Lelang and his entourage fled to this place, parched and disheveled like stray dogs. A defeated soldier rushed to the tree and instructed the soldiers who had come to rest earlier, "Thirsty," "The prince wants water."

Just then, a spray of water floated down from above. The routed soldiers were surprised to feel liquid dripping onto their faces. They licked it and confirmed it was water. Just as they were wondering what was going on, a mischievous laugh came from the treetops. A little child was sitting in a tree, pulling up his trousers.

Several hours later, in the cleansed Ling Village, King Lelang leaned against a mound of earth, breathing slowly. The red markings on his body once again covered his skin like tattoos. Behind him, a group of soldiers were also panting. The weather was extremely hot, and countless mosquitoes were swarming around them. Although King Lelang's soldiers unleashed their killing intent, causing the mosquitoes to explode and die one by one, a large number of flies then swarmed up to bite them.

This isn't an ordinary fly; it's a green-headed one.

After resting, King Lelang stood on the earthen slope and looked at his troops. He nodded, not counting the number of soldiers, but just having a general sense of how many there were.

When he first retreated, he had fewer than three hundred men with him. Now, after slaughtering villages along the way and taking the survivors with him, his force had grown to over a thousand. He sensed the rage within his army, an rage born from the war's deprivation of their happiness. These soldiers hated everything, including Wu Fei's seemingly harmless passage. They believed that if Wu Fei's army hadn't made large-scale purchases of grain along the way, they wouldn't have been left without food when requisitioned.

Of course, that red "fighting power" is not for the Blessers to calculate and accurately retaliate, but rather for disorderly release (spreading anger to everything), that is, those who are deprived and angry need to deprive others to fill their anger.

King Lelang could kill the families of these newly recruited individuals and restrain them from retaliating, but he had to satisfy their anger. Only by continuously satisfying their anger would they be stained with layers of blood, thereby gaining boundless fighting power!

Since the age of fourteen, King Lelang has discovered this power of his own, rising from the third stage of Dou Power to the current Dou King realm. In countless blood battles, large and small, blood demons coil around his body like giant pythons.

Until half a year ago, he saw signs that the evil python on his body was transforming into a dragon, so he decided to take a gamble, break free from the Great Yao, and fight against Tianpo. However, this time, he was no match for the Wu family army sent by the Great Yao.

King Lelang targeted several fortified locations with fertile fields and realized that the powerful families of Zhenshui had stood idly by during the battle. Enraged, he lost hundreds more heads to his army overnight.

One hundred kilometers away, the local aristocratic families encountered retaliation from the mad army. After these angry men smashed down the high gates of the aristocratic families, all but a few members of the families who escaped were killed. After the first round of killing, another group of mad soldiers joined King Lelang's army.

Seven days have passed.

Wu Fei rushed from Yongzhou to Zhenzhou. There was no other reason than that the battle in the south seemed to be dragging on for too long, and the grain and fodder plundered from the south of Yongzhou were becoming increasingly insufficient. Wu Fei had no choice but to make a trip back to sound out the situation.

Of course, being a polite person, Wu Fei didn't come empty-handed. He also transported the last batch of siege equipment to the south, as he currently had no plans to attack any more cities and fortresses, and leaving it in Yongzhou was pointless.

They happened to run into Wu Hengyu on the way. Wu Fei was riding Jiufeng, while Wu Hengyu was riding Wuzhui, which had transformed into a spirit beast.

Wu Hengyu stared at Wu Fei: What's the point of sending so many siege weapons?
Wu Fei paused, then said rather bluntly, "You're advancing so rapidly that some heavy equipment and supplies will be left behind. Therefore, I've prepared these in advance to make things easier for you."

Wu Hengyu: You were the one who charged ahead like a pig this time! I'll clean up your rear. (This refers to Wu Fei dashing off to Yongzhou.)

Wu Fei paused for a moment without offering any explanation, but instead said sincerely, "Thank you."

Wu Hengyu paused slightly, then nodded: "Good to know."

Following the order from Liang Daying, they received these siege supplies.

(Regarding the matter of Wu Fei leading part of the Northern Route Army out of control, although he did not believe it, he was still influenced by repeated indoctrination.)
Wu Fei chuckled: "Well, I was actually afraid you'd refuse. So I showed off my divine might and directly scaled the city wall with my bare body!" (He took back half of what he said, trying to show off.)

Wu Hengyu glanced at Wu Fei: "Say one more word and I'll carry you back to Yongzhou. Believe it or not, we don't need you and me to wipe out Zhuozhou by ourselves."

Wu Fei: "I believe it."

Wu Hengyu was pleased with his cousin's straightforward concession and nodded: "I know what you're worried about. Don't worry, everything is under control. In ten days, we'll be able to open up the road to Laocheng (establishing a channel for supplying grain from the south to the north)."

Wu Fei: "Hmm, in that case, the supplies should last. But why drag it out?" Wu Hengyu looked at Wu Fei: "Didn't Father tell you?"

Wu Fei shook his head. However, he could roughly guess that Wu Hanluan used military force to suppress the power of the aristocratic families in Zhenzhou on a large scale, so that the Wu family army, which was still an outsider, could gain a foothold in Zhenzhou. Wu Fei did not believe it in the past, but since he learned that Wu Hanluan had released the plague, he gradually figured it out.

Wu Hengyu nodded and smiled. "He didn't tell me either."

Wu Fei was taken aback. He could tell from Wu Hengyu's expression that he knew, but Wu Fei didn't ask any more questions.

Wu Fei: "The Wei Guan side has already started to make moves. I came here to tell you that this is the last batch of supplies. From now on, I can only take care of my own place."

Wu Hengyu looked up: "Are you under a lot of pressure?"

Wu Fei: "Don't worry, if they want to fight, I can hold them off for six months. You guys should be able to take down Zhen Shui within six months, right?"

Wu Hengyu nodded, while his black steed bared its teeth at Wu Fei.

Taking the opportunity, Wu Fei said to Wu Hengyu, "Your mount is bragging that you'll win it over in three months." Wu Hengyu was slightly taken aback, patted Wu Zhui, and asked, "Did you say that?" Wu Zhui paused and nodded.

Wu Hengyu asked Wu Fei curiously, "How can you understand the sound of my horse?"

Wu Fei smiled and said, "What kind of master will have what kind of mount."

In reality, Wu Fei didn't understand; he was merely imagining Wu Zhui boasting, thus mimicking Wu Zhui's personality to add dialogue, thereby using this "spiritual communication" to fool Wu Hengyu. Of course, it also subtly alluded to the situation of his subordinates.

He left leisurely under Wu Hengyu's skeptical gaze.

Wu Fei: Ha, I'm still the smartest one!

After Wu Hengyu returned to the camp in Zhenzhou, Wu Hanluan asked, "Did he go back?"

Wu Hengyu recounted the conversation in detail, and then asked, "Father, he is under too much pressure fighting against the pseudo-Guan Yi Kingdom with a small force in Yongnan. Since we are staying here and not moving our troops, why don't you let me lead a cavalry team north to help him?"

Wu Hanluan asked meaningfully, "Won't you clash with him if you go to his place?"

Wu Hengyu said, "We're brothers, of course there won't be any conflict. Besides, he provides the wisdom, and I provide the courage, so how can there be any conflict?"

Wu Hanluan nodded: "That's good, but you can't go and help him."

Wu Hanluan took out a box containing an imperial edict.

After looking at it, Wu Hengyu looked up and said, "The imperial court wants to summon him to an audience?"

Wu Hanluan: "Yes, I declined on the grounds that I was too busy with military affairs. The court confirmed that he was stationed in the north, so they temporarily suspended the decree."

Wu Hengyu frowned: "Why?"

Wu Hanluan said, “Because my family has now effectively pacified the southern border and has the real power to control the territory. However, these past few years have been turbulent, and a series of great achievements in the southern border have not been reported. Now, our army is ordered to suppress the rebellion in Zhenzhou, and the court is thinking of using this battle to weaken us. But! Yuan Chang’s brilliant move was well played! My Wu family now possesses the land of Yongzhou, and you have defeated the false king of Lelang in one battle. The Wu family is powerful, and the court is naturally on guard against this.”

Wu Hengyu clenched his fists, as if crushing the air: "Does the imperial court intend to persecute loyal officials?"

Wu Hanluan: "That's not the case. It's just that the imperial court might want the Wu family to split up."

Wu Hengyu didn't speak, but his expression clearly said, "The imperial court is really wicked."

Wu Hanluan: "That's why I let the false king of Lelang return to his base camp, so that this tyrannical false king could kill all the powerful families in Zhenzhou. That way, the court will be unable to control the Wu family's foothold here. As for Yongzhou, the longer the stalemate goes on, the more stable the powerful families that rely on the Wu family will become. Moving them to Zhenzhou can also help the Wu family."

Wu Hengyu: "This is really troublesome."

Wu Hanluan: "What in this world isn't troublesome? Alright, let's reorganize the army. We've been idle for so long, it's time to continue our meeting with King Lelang."

He then stood up and instructed his personal guards to beat the drum at sunrise the next morning. Now it was time to rest.

…After winning one match, they gained the upper hand in the subsequent rounds…

In November, the northern and southern camps of the Wu family army's northern route moved simultaneously and arrived at Laocheng, where Wu Hanluan personally led his troops to surround it tightly.

Eighty miles away, King Lelang was furious upon learning that Laocheng was besieged. Oh, after being blessed by the power of the Red Battle Force, all he felt was rage. And he no longer had any strategists by his side.

Laocheng is located where the two tributaries of the Zhenshui River converge into the main channel, making it a crucial passage on the Zhenshui River and a transit point for controlling the freight transport between the north and south. Similarly, another crucial passage on the Zhenshui River is the city where King Lelang resides.

King Lelang's current perverse policies have caused many craftsmen to flee, leaving insufficient manpower to build ships. Therefore, once Laocheng is captured, King Lelang's city will be an isolated city.

Therefore, on November 11th, while the Wu family army was besieging Laocheng, King Lelang had no choice but to lead his troops out to relieve the siege of Laocheng.

King Lelang was ambushed while passing through a mountain peak. Wu Hengyu led more than a thousand men to block the main road and welcome King Lelang's troops.

Facing the orderly array, King Lelang had no suspicion of a trap and led his three thousand newly recruited mad soldiers to charge forward. However, five hundred Wu family soldiers each, who had been lying in ambush on both sides of the road, appeared. The two thousand-plus Wu family soldiers formed an opening, opening a "匚" (fang) formation to the east, and the mad soldiers just entered this "匚" battlefield with an opening of eight hundred paces.

The Wu family army rained down arrows on the ambushed Lelang King's legion, who were howling with their eight-ringed cleavers. Since the Lelang army was newly recruited, many of whom had been villagers and servants just months before, their red marks were limited to a single line drawn on their foreheads, unlike Lelang King's red hair and beard. These new soldiers still harbored other emotions, thus cursing the Wu family army for setting up ballistae on both sides of the hilltop, calling them "utterly heartless."

As the slash-wielding troops of the Mad Army approached the crossbow formation, the crossbowmen in the Wu Family Army's ranks retreated, and a column of cavalry appeared on the slope. The cavalry charged down the slope, brandishing their sabers, their iron hooves pounding the ground and sending pebbles tumbling down the slope. The Mad Army soldiers' faces drained of color, turning deathly pale with terror. But as they turned, they were trampled beneath the horses' hooves.

As for King Lelang himself, he rode a blood bull into battle and ran into Wu Hengyu. After exchanging three blows with his golden mace and Xinghan spear, King Lelang's hands were ripped open. As he tried to dodge, his murderous aura weakened, and he was hit in the chest by an arrow as thick as a calf, breaking two ribs. He then fled in panic.

Wu Hengyu did not pursue him, but let him escape again. This was because the crossbow bolt that struck King Lelang was specially made, soaked in gold molten metal.

Local spies in Zhenzhou reported that King Lelang could recover from his serious injuries by killing people, so they decided to let this tyrannical guy go back and take his anger out on his subordinates.

After Wu Hengyu stabbed King Lelang once with the Xinghan Spear, he no longer took him seriously and would stab him a second time if he could do it once. The corpses lying in the ambush valley during this battle stretched for over twenty miles.

(End of this chapter)