The world is like a prison, my body is holy

Chapter 184 Mission System
As Xu Wu listened to Wang Wen's explanation, he kept referring to the task system planning document in his hand, trying his best to understand Wang Wen's words.

After a long while, he closed the document in his hand and replied, "Brother, your intentions are certainly good, but this step is too big. Not to mention the brothers below, even I can't understand your intentions for a while... Don't you often say, 'You have to drink wine one sip at a time and walk one step at a time. If you take too big a step, ouch, you'll tear your balls'?"

Wang Wen thought about it and realized that what he said made a lot of sense.

For a group of thousands of people, stability is more important than anything else.

Even if his idea is brilliant, if the demon-suppressing guards below don't understand his intentions, trouble is bound to ensue.

If something goes wrong, people will surely die.

This is undoubtedly contrary to his original intention.

It is said that once you reach a hundred people, you'll find all sorts of different kinds.

It's simply incomprehensible to normal people how many of those people—the dimwits, the stubborn fools, the complete idiots—are out of several thousand people...

Just like the simplest march, a normal person can't possibly anticipate how many unexpected situations might occur. Some people slip and fall down a hillside and die, some fall into the water and are swept away by the river, some are bitten by poisonous snakes but don't realize they've been bitten and die from the venom. As for things like heatstroke, catching a cold, or getting dysentery, those are almost daily occurrences.

They can handle all sorts of bizarre and unexpected situations; there's nothing they can't do.

During the previous training exercise around Huainan Road, Wang Wen often questioned the meaning of life, unable to understand how those fools could roll down the cliff on such a wide and flat official road, and how they could fall into the water on the bridge with guardrails...

Sometimes he felt like he wasn't leading a few thousand soldiers on a training exercise, but rather taking a few thousand kindergarten children on a field trip.

I'm so worried!
After a moment's thought, Wang Wen quickly nodded and said, "Then let's think of another way to transition and give the brothers below some buffer time."

Xu Wu pondered for a moment and said, "How about we hold a grand competition at the South Camp? We can assign tasks based on the rankings first, and then implement it throughout the army once they've adapted to the system... Perfect timing, we can also use this time to establish the intelligence department you mentioned, brother."

Wang Wen's brows relaxed, and he clapped his hands with delight, saying, "This is a good idea. In this all-army competition, we will list the battalion and army rankings. We will select the top 100 in the all-army competition, post them on a red list, and give each of them a red card once. We will also give them the right to form a ten-person team. Meanwhile, the bottom 50 Demon Suppression Guards in each battalion will each receive a yellow card once."

"Three red cards, one promotion."

"Three yellow cards, eliminated from the General's Mansion."

“Perfect timing. I’m about to take on the role of the Yangzhou Militia Commander, and the retired Demon Suppression Guards will have their military status transferred to the Militia.”

"From now on, a full-scale military skills competition can be held every quarter."

"Including the troupe training, a major competition can be held every quarter."

"The Demon Suppression Guards who are eliminated from the General's Mansion will have their military status transferred to the militia; the best performers from the militia will fill the vacancies in the General's Mansion."

In the Great Zhou Dynasty, the militia commanders were merely honorary military officials, and in most cases, they had no fixed number of personnel, no specific duties, and were not stationed in their home prefecture.

For example, when a border general has made meritorious contributions but it is not appropriate to bestow real power upon him, he can be given a position such as a military commissioner or even a pacification commissioner in Jiangnan. These positions all come with a salary and allow him to enjoy some of the benefits associated with his rank.

However, given his position at the border and his heavy responsibility of defending the frontier, it was clearly impossible for him to actually go to Jiangnan to train the militia. Therefore, it could only be a nominal title that would increase his salary...

But as I said before, each problem needs to be analyzed specifically.

Yang Ying, on behalf of Crown Prince Chai Heng, promised Wang Wen the position of Military Commissioner of Yangzhou.

Everyone knows that the office of the Demon-Slaying General is located in Yangzhou.

If a military officer in Yangzhou is given a military post in Yangzhou, can that be considered a mere honorary title?

Of course, it is possible. For example, according to custom, officials in Yangzhou Prefecture do not allow him to recruit soldiers locally.

For example, according to custom, the Transport Commissioner of Huainan did not allocate him any grain or salary...

No matter how unwilling he was to be just a mascot, he had no choice but to accept his fate.

So the question is, in Yangzhou and even the entire Huainan Circuit, would any official dare to obstruct Wang Wentian?

Do you want to test how smooth it is to cut off a head with the Demon Slayer Sword?
Therefore, whether the position of Yangzhou militia commander was a nominal one or a real one depended entirely on Wang Wen's decision.

He can feign innocence if he wants, and he won't feign innocence if he doesn't want to!

After listening to Wang Wen's idea, Xu Wu was both shocked that he could expand his thinking to this extent through a large-scale martial arts competition, and also shocked by the Yangzhou militia commander he mentioned.

"Brother, you got promoted again?"

Xu Wu began to doubt his own existence, wondering to himself if there was something wrong with his understanding of the world.
Otherwise, how could the older brother's official rank rise higher and higher the more trouble he caused?

Of course, this is a good thing...

But he couldn't keep up with his older brother's pace at all!

Wang Wen pinched his index finger with his thumb and casually said, "It's just a minor promotion, not worth mentioning... What do you think of the method I just suggested?"

Xu Wu suppressed his shock and worry, and carefully considered Wang Wen's idea. After thinking for a while, he said, "Brother, what you just said about giving the top 100 in the competition the power to form ten-person teams, is that a one-off deal or just temporary? If it's a one-off deal, our General's Mansion's troop quota can only withstand two rounds of the competition."

"What about those selected for the ten-person team? Will they still participate in the subsequent grand competition? If a soldier selected for the ten-person team collects three yellow cards in the later grand competition, will they be eliminated or not?"

His thinking is far less imaginative than Wang Wen's.

But his thinking is more down-to-earth and pragmatic than Wang Wen's.

This is precisely why Wang Wen summoned him to discuss the mission system structure.

Wang Wen pondered his question, and after a moment of contemplation, replied, "In this way, the right to form a ten-person team in each round can only be retained for two rounds, which is six months. Didn't the document I sent you categorize the mission teams? If the team can upgrade from a Black Iron team to a Silver team within these six months, its team status will be permanently retained."

"Furthermore, the government will provide funds and manpower to build squad camps for them within the main camp. The Silver Squad will be built to the specifications of a two-courtyard house, the Gold Squad to the specifications of a three-courtyard house, the Jade Squad to the specifications of a four-courtyard house, and the Emerald Squad can be expanded into a battle group of 100 people to guard a prefecture."

"As for the soldiers selected into the squads, each squad will be given a vice-captain position in addition to the captain. Apart from these two individuals who can choose whether to participate in the upcoming competition, everyone else must participate in the upcoming competition. Even if they collect three yellow cards, they will still be eliminated from the General's Mansion..."

He spoke slowly.

Xu Wu was also trying to understand his words, but he became more and more confused the more he listened.

He pondered for a long time before finally clarifying his thoughts, and then immediately discovered another blind spot.

But he didn't voice this blind spot directly. Instead, he got up and closed the study door, then pulled up a chair and sat down opposite the desk, saying in a low voice, "Brother, if we really follow your idea, the ranks and positions in the army... will be completely useless!"

"You don't need to worry about whether it's taboo or not; I know what I'm doing." Wang Wen shook his head slightly, interrupting his concerns, and then continued, "As for military ranks and positions, battalion commander-level ranks are still useful in the early stages. They are still the direct superiors of the soldiers in each battalion and will directly control the daily behavior of their subordinates... As for later, they are useless, but the government will only give them more, not less, their due salaries. This includes those squad leaders who are promoted through meritorious service and collecting red tokens. Regardless of whether they have an official title issued by the court, the government will still pay them their due salaries as usual."

Xu Wu: "Then a new problem arises...where will the money come from?"

"Let's put aside the monetary rewards for completing the mission for now; the shortfall in food and supplies alone is no small amount."

"Always seeking alms from the local bigwigs is ultimately like a tree without roots."

"If something goes wrong, it will be a big problem!"

He had figured out the logic behind his older brother's task system and grasped its essence.

This task system can be summarized in eight words: "Where there is a great reward, there will be brave men!"
Since it's a generous reward, we must be generous.

Its expenses are at least three or four times the normal cost of maintaining the Demon-Slaying General's Mansion!
"How much money do these big spenders even have?"

Wang Wen scoffed, "Can they really support three or four thousand soldiers?"

Xu Wu scratched his head in confusion: "Where did the money come from?"

Wang Wen's smile turned cold, and he slightly raised his chin: "Didn't the Canal Gang sever all ties with us? If I'm not mistaken, they've also withdrawn their support for the local supervisory offices, haven't they?"

Xu Wu hesitated for a moment, then nodded and said, "Yes, there is such a thing."

During his time stationed at the General's Mansion, he has received several urgent letters from various local supervisory offices.

"If we can't talk about friendship, then let's talk business from now on!"

Wang Wen said indifferently, “Such a large government office as my General’s Mansion, shouldn’t the Canal Gang come to pay tribute to us? Without the brothers of my General’s Mansion risking their lives to travel around, could their canal gang’s ships have smoothly transported grain from the south to the north? It’s not unreasonable for us to charge a little tea money, is it?”

Xu Wu immediately shook his head without hesitation: "Absolutely not excessive!"

Others may not understand, but surely he understands the efforts that the Demon-Slaying General's Mansion has made to maintain peace and tranquility in Huainan.

Bai Ziming, the Grand Commander of Hongze Lake Water Palace, is currently still working at the General's Mansion!

"Don't say that I, Wang Laohu, have forgotten my roots. In the past, the Cao Gang paid tribute to the Huainan Transport Commissioner. My Demon-Slaying General's Mansion only takes 80% of that. I don't want a single cent more, and I'll turn against them if I lose a single cent!"

Wang Wen said calmly, "The rest of us, whether they are officials, merchants, sea merchants, Shanxi merchants, Anhui merchants, or even the Giant Whale Gang or the Ming Cult, as long as they are major merchant groups or powerful forces traveling along the Grand Canal, they must come to my Demon-Slaying General's Mansion to sign in. Whatever amount they previously paid to the Huainan Transport Office, my Demon-Slaying General's Mansion will take. If they are short even one cent, I, Wang Tiger, guarantee that their ships will not be able to leave the dock."

Xu Wu grinned, his eyes filled with both excitement and malice: "Leave this to me. I guarantee that within a month, the message will reach every major merchant group and powerful force traveling along the Grand Canal... What about the smaller merchant ships?"

Wang Wen: "Don't try to steal money from poor people; if you're going to make money, make money from rich people."

Xu Wu: "Then what defines a rich person?"

Wang Wen: "Whoever has money is a rich person."

Xu Wu sorted things out and asked, "So there are two important things right now, right? One is the all-army martial arts competition, and the other is to convene a meeting of major merchant groups and powerful forces that travel along the Beijing-Hangzhou Grand Canal."

Wang Wen: "There are three things. The other one is the logistics department. This matter needs to be ahead of the reform tasks and systems, but I will personally take charge of this matter."

"You focus on preparing for the all-army competition, and while you're at it, spread the word in advance about the reform of the mission system so that all the brothers will take this competition seriously. The date is set for one month from now."

"As for those large merchant groups and powerful forces, just send someone to deliver a message to their people. If they don't come, I will send someone to settle accounts with them myself."

Xu Wu, suppressing a laugh, winked at him: "Was it really a person they sent?"

Wang Wen waved his hand dismissively: "Get lost!"

Xu Wu nodded and stood up.

Wang Wen suddenly added, "By the way, about home... You should go there yourself as soon as possible and explain the whole story to the brothers there. Those who want to stay can stay, and those who don't want to stay should be sent away as soon as possible."

"If you really want to argue, come at me, Wang Laohu. I did it. As long as you don't curse me, I'll take it all."

"But if anyone dares to bully Old Huang because he's old and weak, and tries to stab him in the heart, then don't blame me, Tiger Wang, for turning my back on them!"

Xu Wu said solemnly, clasping his hands, "You can rest assured that I'll handle things!"

Wang Wen waved his hand, picked up his pen to continue refining the Tripartite Plan, and said, "Have the old Taoist Jingzhen come over."

Xu Wu responded and pushed open the door to go out.

Wang Wen picked up his brush, dipped it in thick ink, and wrote "I. Complete the clone" on the white paper.

The God of Huangshan and the City God of the Capital represent two completely different development paths.

The development path of the Huangshan God focused on bestowing titles upon the mountain god and the land god, thus completing the system of local deities.

The development path of the capital city god focused on bestowing titles upon prefectural city gods and county city gods, thus completing the human underworld system.

However, the two paths lead to the same goal.

The end of the Mountain God Route is the God of Mount Tai.

The key figure in the underworld's ghost and spirit route is the Lord of Mount Tai.

As for the Demon-Slaying General himself, his development path is to guard the human world and cleanse all demons and monsters.

Therefore, the ultimate goal of the Trinity Plan should be to restore the underworld, take control of the netherworld, and bring peace to the human world.

At present, the Huangshan Shen Route has begun to consolidate its initial advantage and is gradually starting to snowball.

The route for the City God should be relatively recent, just beginning...

As for the main body, it has entered a bottleneck period. It will only be able to steadily advance its cultivation level after the first two paths work together.

Therefore, the most important task of the three-in-one plan at present should be to build the Huainan Road City God system.

(End of this chapter)