Wei School's Three Good Students

Chapter 91 Evil and Delusion
Before the siege of Laocheng began, Wu Hanluan gazed into the distance. The city walls were teeming with laborers, steaming with activity, clearly indicating a large arsenal of defensive equipment. To rashly charge forward with the entire army would be to risk lives, like facing a barrage of molten metal and heavy weapons head-on.

Looking at his own disciples, Wu Hanluan wanted to test them and see how much they had learned from Wu Fei.

The officers spoke one after another, with Captain Wu Lijun answering quickly as if taking a test: "First, fire a few rounds of arrows and boil it for several hours. Let the fuel for boiling the molten gold burn out, and the laborers lose their courage, before we can attack!"

Wu Hanluan nodded in agreement with his disciple's suggestion, then raised his hand, causing the military command flag beside him to wave. The wind riders in the sky, adorned with runes, boarded the observation kites as they took flight.

Following Wu Hanluan's command, the martial arts disciples and officers began to adjust their deployment based on the city defense map they had drawn. On the sand table, pieces representing the forces of both sides, outside the city walls, on the city walls, and inside the city walls, were quickly arranged, and some fences and earthen fortifications that had been observed by the Wind Riders were also marked.

Inside the camp, Chu Nan and the other members of the provincial faction, all from humble backgrounds, silently accepted their orders. An hour later, Chu Nan looked at the rows of catapults standing tall, his expression far from happy; he even began to speculate: Did Wu Fei have a spy among the commander-in-chief?

These poor students even speculated further: Otherwise, why would this round of siege equipment have been delivered just when the city was about to be attacked? The commander-in-chief and the young commander (Wu Hengyu) had never given him any orders.

A blue light flashed briefly in his eyes, then was replaced by a sickly aura, and a blister appeared at the corner of his mouth.

Chu Nan touched the blister on his lip and suddenly felt ashamed of his narrow-mindedness.

Chu Nan: Whether it's Wu Fei or Wu Hengyu, they are currently fighting together for the victory of the Northern Route Army. However, they are anxious because they haven't gained much merit in this battle, which has led to so many distracting thoughts.

After adjusting his armor, he resolved to perform well and try to win back the commander's attention.

…The loving father said: Unity and friendship…

The catapults launched their first barrage, raining down burning charcoal projectiles bound in iron shells and rock projectiles held together with lime onto the city wall. A large golden cauldron was flung away by the stones, clattering and rolling below the wall. The laborers on the wall were in a state of panic; even with the threat of knives at their backs, they cowered in corners, too afraid to move.

After the fifth round of bombing, the Wu family army's guided explosive warheads also began to fly in arcs. As these Yellow Millet Talisman explosive bombs flew, they spread their wings like solar panels deployed by an artificial satellite.

With the aid of wings, the shells struck the city's high watchtowers with the precision of fingers poking into a map. The people on the watchtowers were all thrown from their observation positions by the shockwaves of the explosions and fell from the sky.

Previously, the catapults fired 35 explosive shells, 133 charcoal shells, and more than 300 earth and stone shells.

The earth and stone projectiles, with their large mass, struck the city walls, causing bricks to fall and exposing the rammed earth beneath, providing footholds for those who first scaled the walls.

The charcoal-burning bombs flew far, over the city walls, and landed on the shacks in the city, causing numerous fires. The smoke made it impossible to discern shapes fifty paces away from the city.

As for the explosive bombs? They caused immense psychological trauma to the soldiers stationed on the city walls awaiting battle. After several rounds of bombing, they heard the whistling sound from high above and scattered in all directions, rushing down the city walls. Some were even pushed off the dilapidated walkways.

The city's garrison commander shouted, "Brothers, hold on! The King (King Lelang) is coming with his troops! As soon as the King's reinforcements arrive, we can attack from the inside and annihilate the false Yao forces!"

The general's roar had a kind of "hypnotic" effect, so some of the elite soldiers with red markings on their bodies ignored their burns and the itching from maggots in their wounds and continued to run to the city wall.

After the first round of artillery fire ceased, Wu Hanluan ordered the armor of King Lelang's "reinforcements" and the head of the captured crocodile-turtle beast to be displayed publicly. The defenders on the city wall unanimously tried to find the commander to assess the situation, but were met with the commander's maniacal laughter.

The garrison commander was filled with a fierce aura and jumped off the city wall to stand in front of the city gate, but he was quickly pinned to the city gate by the approaching ballistae.

The garrison soldiers watched as their leader suddenly became detached from worldly affairs, selflessly pursuing "life's greatest pleasures," and instead unloaded their burdens onto them to support.

However, these loyal commanders could not bear such defensive pressure! As a result, the chaos in the command chain began to collapse in a relay, like dominoes falling.

The reason they haven't surrendered yet is that the brutality of King Lelang still lingers.

Seeing that the city was not aware of the situation and did not surrender, Wu Hanluan ordered the attack to continue!

…The gong sounds, and the drums begin again…

The crossbowmen pushed their ballistae to the front lines, and after stepping on the spring mechanism, which resembled bicycle pedals, these dozens of crossbows, each with two charging arms, began firing at the targets waving flags on the city walls.

The formal siege began, and a group of "humanoid" troops, almost two people tall, appeared below the city.

They were great white apes. These white apes were encountered by Wu Hengyu when he subdued some mountain strongholds in Donghua County.

The white apes were greedy and despicable, often blocking mountain roads to plunder goods and frequently abducting and raping women. Wu Hengyu captured them and injected them with "slave talismans".

Putting aside those dark histories, the "human-like" apes under Wu Hengyu's command were extremely loyal and only obeyed Wu Hengyu's orders. When Wu Fei tried to command them, the white apes all ignored him.

At this moment, the ape was clad in armor, with spiked wrist guards on its wrists, and a wolf-tooth iron club strapped to its back.

As the drums sounded, catapults began to cover the white apes, and projectiles rained down on the city walls, causing the few able-bodied men on the walls to flee completely.

The rebel army of King Lelang had no reverse slope tactics. After the shelling stopped, they poured out from the back of the city wall and ran up to fight. After these able-bodied men ran down in a chaotic manner, because the waves of each team going up the city wall were not arranged well, several teams of soldiers squeezed up and down the same road. Coffee and milk powder were mixed together and shaken, and soon they were mixed together.

Furthermore, the Wu family army's ballistae were aimed at the "flag bearer," making it impossible for the defending soldiers to find their leader. At this point, even the most authoritative officer wanted to give the order and selected a squad leader to lead the team, but he couldn't find his own men.

The captain, his eyes bloodshot, rode his dragon horse high above the city walls. Seeing the white ape charging towards them, he spurred his horse down and roared at the chaotic soldiers, "Go up! Go up! The enemy is attacking the city!"

But he was met with bewilderment. He drew his knife and killed several people, but this did not deter them. Instead, it led to an even greater rout.

When the white ape was a hundred paces away from the city wall, the archers behind it also closed in. Swish, swish, heavy arrows pierced the already dilapidated city wall, the arrowheads embedding themselves in the marked bricks and tiles, forming more secure climbing footholds (handholds).

Like a waterfall flowing upstream, the white ape reached the city wall in ten breaths and began to cut down the guards of other sections of the city along the wall.

The red paint on the rebel king's guards had faded by now, and upon seeing this inhuman monster, they quickly dropped their weapons.

The city wall was a scene of utter devastation. Unthrown stones, spilled molten gold, and countless corpses lay strewn about. The scene could only be described as a complete mess.

…Amidst the smoke and dust, more soldiers climbed the city walls…

Half an hour later, the city fell. The city lord, who was as drunk as a dead pig, was dragged out, and his official seal was also confiscated intact. His family wept bitterly.

Wu Hanluan glanced at the cripple and snorted coldly as he said to his son, "Do three things for me, and I will protect your family."

Terrified by the winged tiger under Wu Hanluan's command, the son of the traitorous general, who had previously been taught by his father to maintain his "integrity" and rebuke the enemy general, could not utter a single word.

Faced with a tiger gesturing on its forehead as if to bite, the boy dared not disobey, for it seemed that his brain would be crushed by its sharp teeth at any moment.

Wu Hanluan: "These three things are: first, 'stabilize the city's residents and post notices to reassure them'; second, send proclamations to all government offices in the prefecture confirming the pacification of this area; and third, denounce the numerous crimes of the false king of Lelang." Ten hours later, the proclamations were sent out from Laocheng. One after another, bright yellow silk proclamations flew out of the city walls and landed in the cities of the entire Zhen region, including Lelang City.

In Lelang City, the King of Lelang, who was retreating and gathering his remaining troops, saw the bright yellow proclamation. A quick glance revealed it was written by one of his men in Laocheng, and he flew into a rage once more. He immediately twisted the head off a cowering soldier beside him, took a large bite, and, as if chewing an apple, crushed the hardest part of the skull.

Then, with a loud roar, the debris erupted like a volcanic eruption. Ignoring all attempts to stop him, he decided to lead his troops out of the city to continue the battle.

For Wu Hengyu, this was another opportunity. He rode his black steed and began his third encounter with that fool.

…The perspective shifts to the north…

In the Grand General's residence in Guotai, Zhao Cheng quickly and carefully reviewed the battle reports from the west. After reading the last scroll of bamboo slips, he asked the messenger, "What about today's? Has it arrived yet?"

After confirming that the day hadn't arrived yet, Zhao Cheng ordered someone to be sent to urge them on. He was also looking at the map; the situation in Yongzhou and Zhenzhou was unexpected. The resources he had deployed there had been preemptively seized by others. However, he wasn't angry; instead, he rationally analyzed each situation point by point.

Pu'e arrived at the General's Mansion. Upon arrival, she brought an imperial decree to forcibly retrieve the military tally from the young Emperor Guotai and deliver it to Zhao Cheng.

Zhao Cheng did not immediately accept the military tally, but instead explained the situation.

Zhao Cheng pointed to the Yongshui line on the map: "The losses in Yongzhou seem to be huge. A large amount of supplies stockpiled here have been lost. But relatively speaking, it has allowed our army to learn about this enemy in advance, so it's all worth it."

Pu'e looked at the enemy forces on the map and was taken aback by Zhao Cheng's high praise, but then she felt it was only natural.

When she traveled to the mountains near Yongzhou and Zhenzhou, she avoided the evil aura of Yongzhou and looked south towards the evil aura of Zhenzhou. She then realized that the divine general card she lost was in the Zhenzhou area.

Pu E naturally believed that Zhao Cheng's ability to recognize Heng Yu's extraordinary talent at a glance was a sign of mutual respect between two great generals.

Seeing that Pu'e agreed, Zhao Cheng didn't continue speaking.

He watched as the Wu family army forcefully moved north to outflank the enemy during the Battle of Zhenzhou, a display of heroism.

He had already received intelligence that the Wu family army's young generals were in charge of this battle. However, this battle was still quite inexperienced; there was a slight lack of confidence in mobilizing troops to sweep through Yongzhou. If it were Zhao Cheng, Yongzhou would have been completely captured by now.

Zhao Cheng's strategy: Yongzhou was completely unprepared. Once the core city was captured, one or two decisive battles outside the city would suffice. The current situation of Wu Fei facing off across the river is not a possibility.

"That young general from the Wu family, after launching a long-range assault and penetrating deep into enemy territory, failed to realize that this was an opportunity to destroy the nation," Zhao Cheng commented to Wu Fei, a thousand miles away. This was clearly a lack of experience. The army in Yongzhou shouldn't have sent food and supplies back to Zhenzhou. The Zhenzhou troops could have been bolder, retreating north towards Woniu Pass, allowing the false king of Lelang to sweep through the area before extending their march to exhaustion. After all, the Wu family army still had a large camp to the south, enough to keep the King of Lelang on two fronts until he was worn down.

Zhao Cheng said to Pu E, "This disciple of the military strategist is very intelligent. If possible, we must kill him on the battlefield first. If we can capture him alive, then we should capture him."

Pu'e nodded in agreement. She also wanted to retrieve all the lost divine generals, so she inquired with the system.

System: "It's difficult. Due to their conflicting personalities, the two generals don't cooperate. Forcing this will lower their loyalty."

…Switch to the perspective of the Lord of the Great Mountains and Rivers…

In the central court, Emperor Shenzong gazed at the southwest region depicted on the map of mountains and rivers.

In the southwest region of the "Map of Mountains and Rivers," the imperial aura still lingers, but a different color has appeared on the map, as if an additional path has been added.
In times of peace and prosperity, the colors on the map of mountains and rivers are all the same. This uniformity of color represents that the "master" revered by all people in the world belongs to one family, one surname, and one person. However, when the color of a certain area changes slightly, it means that the people in that area have changed their concept of the "master."

When various colors gradually seep into the map of mountains and rivers, this signifies the rise of numerous regional warlords.

Just as a doctor diagnoses a patient, the emperor judged the source of color changes in the landscape.

Sometimes, this source of color comes from princes enfeoffed by the royal family of Da Yao, such as the Prince of Lelang in Zhenzhou. He is like a drop of blood that has seeped into the western part of Da Yao. The Emperor deliberately sent an imperial envoy there to puncture this blood bubble and let it spread completely.

Meanwhile, in the north, although the royal aura has not changed significantly in various places, those camps that have grown to tens of thousands of troops are already "sources of color" that are different from the rest of the world. These "sources of color" have begun to spread in the prefectures and counties.

The diffusion of light colors does not represent a complete rebellion; it means that people here still recognize the Great Emperor, but in the army, the general is respected first, and then loyalty to the emperor is shown.

In the chaos of war, the number of soldiers, advisors, and powerful families under the command of various generals increased and gradually spread.

The imperial court failed to appease them in time, and the army became a huge "gathering place of sexual energy".

Based on the color changes of the "people's spirit" in the landscape map, the court of Da Yao clearly knows who first harbors disloyal intentions! Back then, the Duke of Qi was summoned to the capital and boiled alive for even the slightest dissent.

The true state of affairs within the Wu family army is something that even the most eloquent and persuasive person like Wu Hanluan cannot refute.

However, Emperor Xu did not linger his gaze on the southern border for long, but instead set his sights on the "spots" in the north. Although the southern border was rife with heteromorphic traits, the Wu family army of the southern route, as the "source of heteromorphism," was not deeply entrenched, indicating that the army was still loyal to the Great Yao, and thus a benign tumor.

However, the areas that Wu's army passed through on its northern route—Zhou, Zhuzhou, Donghua, and Zhenzhou—though the color patches did not expand, were like malignant tumors.

Comparing the two, the emperor quickly made a judgment: Lingnan was a remote frontier, a place where the mountains were high and the emperor was far away. It was common for soldiers to know their generals but not the court, but the generals were still loyal to the death.

Emperor Xu also observed on the Mountain and River Map that as the Wu family army's colored blocks expanded, the Da Yao's color also spread extensively south of Yongji Pass. This indicated that the southern Wu family army had been expanding its territory in the name of Da Yao for the past two years. If they rashly acted here, it would only cause Da Yao to lose the support of the people in this area.

The current situation in Zhuozhou is what has offended the emperor.

Although the tug-of-war in Wu Hanluan was carried out very secretly, after the Wu family's northern army had defeated King Lelang, the color blocks that differed from those in the Dayao Mountains did not fade. Instead, they remained the same dark color as Wu Hanluan, so dark that Emperor Xu could not clearly see the population and resources of the area.

Even so, Emperor Xu is not currently prepared to tear down the facade of harmony between the emperor and his subjects with the Wu family.

…The sunlight outside the main hall gradually shifted, and a mechanical crane carrying a lit lamp wick entered and stood there…

Emperor Xu asked the Minister of Rites beside him, "I have heard that the Wu family's valiant steed is now seeking a suitable match?" He was now strolling to the Yongzhou area on the map of mountains and rivers.

The Minister said, "Yes, Wu Hanluan is corresponding with the Li family in the Central Plains because his nephew has reached marriageable age."

Emperor Xu: "Yes, it's the Li Lu family, right?" He stomped his feet.

The Minister heard the displeasure in the Emperor's tone: "Indeed."

Emperor Xu's tone remained steady and harmonious: "Hehe, the Golden Cup is broken, even these goldfish are thinking of replacing their earthenware pots."

(End of this chapter)