Wei School's Three Good Students

Chapter 110 Entering Beijing
Wu Fei traveled the last hundred miles north with the imperial envoy by water aboard a giant ship.

The eighty-meter-long wooden sailboat first sailed downstream along the river towards the capital, and then, with the help of the boatmen, after a section of sailing upstream, the large boat finally slid steadily into the canal leading to the capital.

We've arrived at our destination.

As they approached the outskirts of the capital, Wu Fei witnessed the lives of princes and nobles enjoying a leisurely boat ride.

On the ship, a group of beautiful dancers were performing for the princes, their dazzling headdresses and fiery earrings shining even from a hundred paces away.

Xuan Chong stood in front of his boat railing watching, after all, the streamers from before he transmigrated didn't dance this well.

However, this haughty and judgmental manner drew a cold snort from the important figures on the ship. But upon seeing the imperial envoy's flag among Wu Fei's unassuming group, they did not react and turned back to their ship.

Just as Xuan Chong was getting excited, he overheard someone on the ship commenting: "No wonder they're barbarians from the Southern Frontier, they have no manners at all."

Xuan Chong was stunned for a moment: "How am I being impolite?" He used a provocation to ask the deputy envoy Qian Zheng and learned that his staring at other people's concubines was indeed presumptuous.

Xuan Chong was taken aback: "She's allowed to jump on the canal, but I'm not allowed to sit back and watch?"

But after observing others, I found that everyone seemed to be quite reserved, except for myself.

Xuan Chong suddenly recalled a joke from his past life: the most obvious reason foreigners can distinguish Chinese people is that they dare to stare at the soldiers at the entrance of the US military base with the same look they have when looking at monkeys. And they even stop to look, noting that the soldiers are either standing with their hands behind their backs, or with one leg propped up and the other leaning to one side; from behind, this posture looks like that of a "commoner." This actually reflects a lack of understanding of hierarchy.

Xuan Chong felt very sorry about this. He was used to the era of "standing up" in his previous life. In this life, he would ruthlessly kill all kinds of self-important people in the southern border. He would show no respect to those who did not have a knife or whose knife was not as secure as his own.

Xuan Chong silently retorted in his heart: "I understand the hierarchy, I know it, but it's really hard to respect."

Having learned the situation, Xuan Chong showed no mercy, simply saying, "I'll watch, I'll watch." So he brought over a table and stool, sat down, and propped his legs up on the table to watch. At the same time, his gaze swept intently over the gentlemen of the capital.

On the other boat, as the princes returned, the dancers began to wash up. A woman with bright eyes and white teeth, wearing fiery earrings, smiled and threw a basin of dirty water off the boat, which landed on the boatmen below. As the boatmen stared at her, she covered her mouth and smiled sweetly, as if she were giving them a reward.

Xuan Chong stared at all of this, his expression shifting from watching the streamer dance to a serious one, and asked with considerable puzzlement, "What is it that makes you lowly maids who serve you consider yourselves to be great women?"

Adorned with gold and silver, he attracted the favor of nobles and also helped them share their debts.

…The canal water flows gently, and the passing boats carry away the murky water…

As the final stop approached, Xuan Chong looked up at the palaces and buildings that appeared on the clouds above Da Yao, revealing the expression of a country bumpkin visiting the capital region for the first time. This expression pleased the others in the imperial envoy's team, who thought to themselves with satisfaction, "These country bumpkins from the south are quite intimidated, aren't they?"

Xuan Chong was indeed shocked, amazed by the fact that such a large city could be maintained under such ancient management standards. Apart from lacking the layered pigeonhole-like buildings, the capital city was densely packed with various three-dimensional buildings, with no trees and an extremely high population density.

Xuan Chong took notes: There must have been mechanisms to control population movement in various areas of the capital. Because without evacuation systems like subways and bus stations in the 21st century, and without shopping malls with dozens of floors to accommodate the flow of people, given the production capacity of ancient times, if people concentrated in one market in the city, a stampede would inevitably occur.

Something like a 21st-century pop star holding a concert is impossible here.

In my past life, my concerts would cause severe traffic jams, requiring security to maintain order.

After inquiring, Xuan Chong learned that there was a curfew in the city at night, and that during the day, except for the carriages of nobles, ordinary people were not allowed to cross the boundaries of their neighborhoods. Of course, even so, when a large city fell, there would definitely be a large number of people crossing the boundaries to other neighborhoods to indulge in "plundering".

This explains why, after the Eastern invasion of the city, they suppressed the "local thugs" looting on the streets; there weren't that many "local thugs" at all; they were all seasoned veterans of the city.

Xuan Chong began to think further: how to maintain rule after occupying major cities?
The giant ship arrived at the dock, where dockworkers were soon waiting. Wu Fei observed that nearby, some burly men were maintaining order and joking with each other.

Wu Fei raised his ears to carefully listen to the conversation of these people and learned that they belonged to the Golden Bridge branch of the Broken Wind Gang.

In a flash, Wu Fei realized that the laborers in this area were controlled by gangs; to be precise, the population of each area was controlled by gangs and officials in concert.

The official government of the capital city appears to pay salaries to its yamen runners and constables. However, in reality, ninety percent of the money these constables receive is illicit.

Xuan Chong's note: In modern society, constables are considered civil servants; however, in the Eastern legal and dynastic system, the government merely gave them a title. These constables relied on their own abilities to get along well among all sorts of people, and they were responsible for knowing which households were leaving the neighborhood and which businesses were doing business.

The dockworkers, like those on the pier, were mostly outsiders who came from outside the capital to make a living; the officials and local gangs together controlled these able-bodied men.

Wu Fei noticed the constables chatting and laughing with others in the restaurant next door and confirmed that these men were themselves江湖人士 (jianghu figures, figures from the martial arts world). —In short, if the army were to capture the city and want it to continue functioning, they could stabilize the city by controlling the local government.

Of course, if the officials were unable to stabilize the chaos in the city and instability occurred, the solution was often to have the soldiers "hardcorely reduce the population."

Wu Fei nodded and noted in the system's pre-reserved memo: When conquering major cities, the relevant slave camps must be properly settled.

…entering the city…

With halberdiers leading the way, Wu Fei's group avoided all sorts of people and had no contact with any of the common folk along the way.

After settling into the Temple of Worthies, Wu Fei bid farewell to Gong Qian. Gong Qian said, "Brother Yuan Chang, please wait a few more days; His Majesty will summon you soon."

Wu Fei nodded, looking at the streets and alleys outside the Temple of Worthies with great interest. He was just about to ask Gong Qian if he was free that evening so they could find a restaurant to have a meal together when Gong Qian had already left. Losing a conversation partner, Wu Fei couldn't help but feel a little lonely.

That afternoon, Wu Fei wandered the streets, watching the street performers. — As an outsider, Wu Fei encountered two or three pickpockets in the short time it took to watch the street performers.

Wu Fei grabbed a small hand holding a knife and said helplessly, "It's like mosquitoes in summer—you can't guard against them."

After apprehending the thief, he didn't back down. On the contrary, the thief, with a fierce expression, accused Wu Fei of brandishing a blade in the street and started shouting loudly.

No one around intervened. Looking at the onlookers' expressions, Wu Fei suddenly understood – this was the treatment of "outsiders." As for why the pickpocket didn't consider himself a "big shot"? Because even a high-ranking official in plain clothes has personal servants in the marketplace. But Wu Fei's gait was erratic, suddenly accelerating and decelerating, wandering aimlessly – hardly resembling someone with servants.

When the police officers came over and heard Wu Fei's accent, they initially stood in front of the pickpocket and falsely accused Wu Fei of robbing someone with a knife in the street.

That sharp blade was the knife the petty thief used to cut clothes; it was a blatant disregard for right and wrong. Come to think of it, the local pickpockets can survive here because their bosses are all bribes to the officials.

After Wu Fei mentioned that he was a new guest at the Temple of Worthies, the man toned it down slightly, but the messenger still maintained his tough tone, saying, "Come with me first, and we'll take you away when your master arrives." — He was treating Wu Fei as a servant brought by an official from out of town.

The pickpocket cursed gleefully, "Take a good look! Do you think you, an outsider, can cause trouble right under the emperor's nose? Arrest my ass! If you can catch me, I'll change my surname to yours."

Wu Fei couldn't help but glance at himself. Did he look like a servant?
Later, Wu Fei realized that he was too young. At that age, he could not possibly be a high-ranking official in the imperial court. Moreover, all the young masters in the capital knew him.

Therefore, they were more like servants of officials, who could extort money from officials as long as they were shackled and accompanied them to the officials' residences.

Just as the shackles were about to be put on Wu Fei, Wu Fei secretly prepared to counterattack.

A loud shout silenced the constables, and one of them, carrying a knife, stepped forward. He reprimanded these ignorant fools. —This man was sent by the Temple of Worthies to keep an eye on Wu Fei; he had been following him from about two hundred meters away and rushed over after hearing the commotion.

Seeing that someone else had taken over the conflict, Wu Fei ignored them and walked away. But after thinking for a while, he took the young pickpocket away. Seeing how dejected the young man looked in front of the police, he knew that if he didn't intervene, the man would get a beating when he got back.

Wu Fei grabbed the child's hand and said to him, "From now on, you will take my surname, and your name will be Wu Juwang."

The child tried to break free, but was held even tighter.

…The secret guards reported… In the Golden Palace, the Emperor, having toiled all day, looked at the information reported by the secret service at his feet.

Emperor Xu found the news from the Temple of Worthies quite interesting.

After a long while, he remembered that he hadn't seen his confidante outside the palace for exactly six months, so he decided to make a secret visit. However, after thinking about it, he decided to wait a while.

After all, Wu Fei had ignored the emperor for two years; an emperor can't afford to lose face.

The eunuch stood silently by, but the servant, who had served the emperor for decades, understood from his master's expression that the area around the Temple of Worthies needed to be cleared to prevent the city's playboys from accidentally offending the emperor.

…playing with dragons and phoenixes…

Wu Fei has been in the capital for fifteen days, and has traveled from the West Market to the East Market, learning about the various martial arts worlds in the city under the guidance of Wu Juwang.

Through the conflicts in the martial arts world, Wu Fei deduced the trading situation of "horses", "ironware" and "granaries". After all, behind the conflicts in the martial arts world is fame and fortune, and the martial arts world will only fight where there is more "profit".

In some movies from the past, the gangsters, each a chivalrous leader, would gather their own people for talks, seemingly vying for some financial lifeline, but in reality, they were just fighting for the right to sell boxed lunches on the street.

Through his investigation, Wu Fei roughly estimated that the population of the entire capital city was around 900,000.

Wu Fei thus openly and honestly recorded the distribution of the city, gunpowder workshops, horse markets, armories, and officials at all levels within the city. He then drew a simple military sketch.

Throughout this process, Wu Fei could always sense someone following him. And in the past few days, the number of people following him had been increasing.

Wu Fei, using the alias "Xuan Yuanchang," frequented teahouses, gathering intelligence on the current political situation. Wu Juwang, meanwhile, followed behind, freeloading off Wu Fei, an outsider, and helping him avoid trouble.

Today, Wu Fei was still sitting in the teahouse, releasing his self-developed "Magnetic Cicada" spell, which was essentially a flying eavesdropping device, to gather information about the interactions between people from all walks of life.

For example, sixty paces away, a group of coachmen squatting under the shade of the courtyard wall were "discussing politics" with the troops north of the imperial court.

Wu Fei listened with great interest, occasionally tapping the table; suddenly, he sensed something was amiss—there were more people watching him, though this time he wasn't the focus of the surveillance. If he were the center of attention, Wu Fei would instinctively dodge to avoid being in the "focus."

Wu Fei quickly pinpointed the "focus"—it wasn't on him, but it was coming for him. At the entrance of the teahouse, an elderly man with an air of wealth and status sat down with the help of a servant. The old man's face should have been covered in wrinkles like orange peel, but this "middle-aged man" was clearly pampered and seemed kind, yet his eyes seemed to harbor hidden thunder.

Wu Juwang was very sensitive to the situation. He was originally busy eating peanuts, but he immediately stood up to make way for Wu Fei and stood behind him like a servant.

Wu Fei carefully examined the servant beside the old man. He had no beard and moved in a effeminate manner, clearly indicating that he was a castrated person.

…acted by people of all ages…

The old man asked, "Young man, is it alright for me to sit here?"

Wu Fei paused for a moment, then said, "My name is Xuan Yuanchang. It's alright for you to sit here, but I only have about ten copper coins. If you would like me to treat you to a cup, please forgive me for being penniless." He then gave Wu Ju twenty coins and told him to go play somewhere else.

Huangmen, who was standing to the side, wanted to say something, but was stopped.

Everyone just sat there, but Wu Fei wasn't in a hurry. He took out a ring with a wind-listening ability and slowly rotated it on his finger. This ring could pick up conversations from within a hundred paces. Wu Fei adjusted the channel as if turning a knob on an old-fashioned radio.

Twenty paces away, the coachman said, "Over at Shamen Pass, our border troops suffered a crushing defeat. Tsk tsk tsk, heads are rolling everywhere!"

Driver 2: "Really?"

Coachman 3: "My brother works at the horse stables. The horses sent by the border troops to deliver messages all returned with arrow wounds."

The drivers offered their information in a flurry of chatter.

In the teahouse, Wu Fei ordered a plate of beans. He tuned the radio to a spot twenty paces away.

The old man stared at the group of rickshaw pullers, his brows revealing a menacing aura.

Huangmen wanted to say something but couldn't get a word in edgewise, and could only watch anxiously.

After a cup of tea, the coachman had work to do, and the conversation turned to Lord Li hiring an opera troupe.

Wu Fei wasn't interested in the topic. He started tidying up the beans and pouring them into his food box, preparing to change the subject—the divination coins in his hand would guide him to the next interesting place to gossip.

However, this time, the old man asked, "Young man, are you very interested in Da Yao's military affairs?"

Wu Fei: "Yeah, just making things up."

The eunuch quickly interjected, "Since you know it's just hearsay, why do you seem so interested in listening to it?"

Wu Fei smiled without saying a word, watching the eunuch. Seemingly dissected by Wu Fei's gaze, the eunuch could no longer utter a sound. The Emperor, standing nearby, also knew that Wu Fei actually knew, but for the moment everyone could pretend not to, so he smoothed things over: "My servant is lacking in discipline; please forgive him, young friend."

Wu Fei: "Nothing more than your servant's loyalty to the country." He then added, "The reason I'm making baseless accusations is because, inside an airtight enclosure, if a caged parrot were allowed to simply mimic questions and answers, it would be difficult to hear anything from the outside world."

"Da Yao is the most virtuous place, peaceful and stable. It is a completely different scene from other places in the world. Therefore, although nine out of ten rumors spread by peddlers and laborers are false, I, as a person who cannot move from my home, must also listen to the rumors."

Emperor Xu stroked his beard: "So, young friend, do you believe that the world, as these common people say, is in the midst of turbulent waves?"

Wu Fei: "With the Emperor of this dynasty above us, although there may be some storms, there will be no major chaos. The common people are mostly exaggerating. I'm just listening for amusement."

Emperor Xu nodded with a broad smile: "And what about after this emperor has passed away?"

Upon hearing this conversation, the surrounding tea drinkers quickly paid and left. The teahouse owner also tried to evict Wu Fei's table, but was blocked by the guards in the corner. After the guards showed their badges, the owner slumped to the side and waited.

Wu Fei looked at the sky and slowly said, "As for matters in the heavens, ask the people in the heavens; I, on the ground, can only see the sky today."

After saying this, Wu Fei waited a while and then said to Emperor Xu, "Elder, can you let me go now?"

Emperor Xu glanced at Wu Fei and replied with a smile, "Young friend, please enjoy your time in the city for a few more days. I think we will be able to meet again in the future."

After Wu Fei's little scheme was exposed, he gave an awkward laugh.

If Emperor Xu had given his approval to let him go, Wu Fei would have been considered to have received the decree and could have escaped the next day; even if he were caught, he could have claimed that he had received the decree.

…Young people are still too inexperienced…

As Emperor Xu watched Wu Fei's departing figure, he said with a hint of admiration, "For so many years, someone has dared to speak so frankly to me."

He then rose and ordered, "Return to the palace. Send someone to give the things to Wanxiu and tell her that I cannot come recently."

Wanxiu was the local courtesan, a "female internet celebrity" whom the emperor had been accustomed to tipping when he traveled incognito in recent years. This time, she thought it was convenient to meet Wu Fei, who was wandering around the streets aimlessly, but Wu Fei spoiled her mood, so she didn't want to go anymore.

(End of this chapter)