Wei School's Three Good Students

Chapter 111 Wu Fei, all alone, and Zhao Cheng, reopening the battlefield.

Inside the Temple of Worthies, as a palace attendant announced in a hoarse voice, Wu Fei came out to receive the imperial edict. As usual, the Emperor offered words of comfort in the edict, while also indicating that he would be summoned in five days.

Then, Wu Fei was given a full thousand taels of gold and two hundred bolts of silk. Rows of boxes were placed at the entrance of the guild hall.

As a high-ranking official in the capital, Wu Fei was extremely poor; he carried only a hundred taels of silver for his travel expenses, which was not enough to bribe local officials after arriving in the capital, let alone hire attendants. He only hired a young pickpocket, and even freeloaded the food at the Temple of Worshippers. When he went out for leisure, he would only go to the cheapest teahouses in the city.

Why didn't Wu Fei consider bringing a large amount of money? It's because he was away from home and didn't want to flaunt his wealth and invite trouble.

As a stranger in a foreign land, if you carry too much money, you will only attract demands for bribes and favors; on the contrary, if you are all alone, you can justify your poverty, and officials in the capital cannot reach out to commoners.

…In the palace, even the emperor shook his head speechlessly…

If it weren't for Gong Qian's personal confirmation, Emperor Xu would have initially thought that Wu Fei, who was wandering the streets for the first time yesterday, was a substitute sent by Wu Hanluan.

Of course, once it was confirmed that Wu Fei perfectly matched the marquis's seal and ribbon he carried, the "substitute theory" was shattered. The "seal and ribbon" and "official position" of the major hexagram are determined by the person.

Furthermore, yesterday, under the tacit understanding between them, Wu Fei, under the accumulated prestige of the emperor who had reigned for twenty years, was able to pretend not to know him and explain the reason for his "baseless accusations." This is the kind of magnanimity that only powerful lords with real authority over their territories possess.

…in the Temple of Worthies…

After expressing his gratitude, Wu Fei watched as the boxes were carried into his residence. When asked where they would be placed, Wu Fei pointed to an empty room in the Temple of Worthies and instructed the strongmen to stack them up.

Wu Fei doesn't plan to tear off the seals yet. Because as long as these seals remain, no one can ask him for money. For example, he doesn't want to deal with the eunuch currently delivering the imperial decree.

Of course, Wu Fei clearly did not understand Emperor Xu's intention this time. Emperor Xu had previously forgotten his promise to marry a noblewoman of the royal family, but now, reminded by those around him, he remembered. Therefore, these rewards were given so that Wu Fei would not be embarrassed in his etiquette when meeting his future in-laws.

But neither Emperor Xu nor Wu Fei had anticipated this matter.

Wu Fei, having confirmed his ability to "make anyone pregnant with his glare" before he arrived, was clearly quite carefree.

Wu Fei: We need to leverage military and operational thinking. That is, to achieve objectives quickly. Don't worry about making the military operation feel "epic."

Just like in fantasy movies from the past, where several races would engage in a "Battle of Five Armies," forcing themselves to meet, bargaining, and finally cooperating—this whole process wouldn't happen in Wu Fei's hands. Why would he choose to be a conspicuous figure at a specific time and place when he could take advantage of the situation, wait for the enemy to tire themselves out, strike directly at their heart, and capture their flag in the enemy's midst?
Wu Fei: So, if you can hit the target with one shot, why bother with blind dates?
Meanwhile, the father-in-law seemed to notice Wu Fei's dazed state and then mentioned something else.

The eunuch said, "General Wu, these days, if there are any matters, please have the servants handle them; you've just arrived here and are not familiar with anything, so it's best to stay home as much as possible."

Wu Fei subconsciously wondered if he had offended the old emperor by listening to the conversations of the coachmen over the past few days.
But after some self-reflection, I realized that I had underestimated the old emperor's magnanimity; what if he was a gentleman?

After switching places with the emperor, Wu Fei speculated that "there are many hidden dangers in the capital."

Wu Fei nodded in agreement, his mind racing as he considered the power struggles between factions of "noble families" and "commoners" within the Wu Family Army's northern route.

The interests in the capital are more complex, and factional strife is more intense. Many princes, as well as the newly appointed Grand Marshal and the seasoned Grand Minister of Works, have significant conflicts.

Over the past ten days or so, because Wu Fei's performance was so pathetic, no one was even sure if he was a stand-in, so they had no interest in taking action. Fearing that a hasty encounter would be too conspicuous, Wu Fei was able to frolic like a shrimp in the shallows.

But now, with the Emperor bestowing gifts upon him (Wu Fei), the various factions in the city have begun to plot.

In fact, even so, just as Wu Fei had predicted, Wu Fei, as the next military leader of the Wu family, was a general with military power on the frontier. Although his "demeanor" during his time in the capital did not match expectations, once his identity was confirmed, he was worth the lavish schemes of certain factions within the court. —A honey trap, framing, even witchcraft—anything was possible.

After Huang Men left, Wu Fei called out to Wu Juwang.

Wu Fei: "Starting today, I will teach you to read."

Wu Juwang: "Huh?"—He didn't like reading, but he knew it was a good thing. Now he knew even more clearly that the person who had pulled him out of the den of thieves was a general.

Wu Fei looked at the thief who was respectfully serving tea, smiled and said, "Don't bother with all this formality." Then he took out a piece of red cloth and tied it around the thief's neck.

Wu Fei: "Wear this, and you'll be my disciple. Remember, this red cloth is stained with blood from the battlefield; never forget that everything you learn is a dragon-slaying technique."

…Shifting perspective from the bustling capital to the dusty north…

In August of the 34th year of the Tianli era, Zhao Cheng was leading his army to the Shamen Pass. Before sweeping through Shamen Pass, he launched a surprise attack and wiped out the five tribes in the north of Yao Kingdom that were most loyal to the Great Yao, seizing all their people and livestock, while distributing the pastures to other tribes and taming wolves into their fold.

The tents on the grassland are now topped with strips of dark black cloth. For these poor nomads, hanging flags is too extravagant; large pieces of cloth simply cannot be sustained.

However, Zhao Cheng knew very well that although wolves could succumb to fear and temporarily turn into dogs, they would revert to their old ways once the rope was pulled back. He had to quickly conquer Shamen Pass, establish a base, and continuously draw people and resources from the grasslands in order to build a permanent deterrent.

Zhao Cheng spurred his black Qilin, with legions of soldiers raising large banners behind him, advancing towards the northern pass of Dayao.

…On the city gate, the bugle call of the invading enemy sounded…

The general guarding Shamen Pass is named Wang Zijing. Due to the poverty of the Western Regions, his troops have not yet reached ten thousand. There are only one thousand armored soldiers guarding the pass.

However, he commands a special monster force, a monstrous army composed of burrowing otters. Their defining characteristic is their ability to launch underground raids, and they can reach twice the size of a warhorse.

At the gates of Shamen, General Wang, as always, held firm to the impregnable sand city. He had faith in the walls' formidable strength, and in his soldiers. Of course, he had even greater confidence in the tactical effectiveness of his monster army.

Over the past century, Shamen Pass has not been without surprise attacks from the rising armies of northern barbarians. However, when those barbarians set up camp in front of Shamen Pass, they would be thrown into chaos by the giant rats tearing at night.

Twenty years ago, the barbarian lord of the northern grasslands was constantly attacked by burrowing otters at the pass. Every night, tents sank into sand pits, and cattle and sheep were dragged underground, resulting in widespread panic and forcing him to launch a forced siege. Finally, this grassland warlord was hit by cannon fire from the city walls on the third day of the attack and was killed.

General Wang, through this battle, became the strongest gatekeeper in the northern region of Da Yao, earning the Emperor's deep trust.

The problem is: this was a battle fought twenty years ago. Wang Zijing is now facing a headache for many military families in Da Yao: his own descendants have no successors. Within his Wang family, there are no shortage of generals capable of leading thousands of cavalry, but none who are qualified to be commanders. Wang Zijing is also old now. For a feudal commander, the problem of aging is that his reaction time on the battlefield is not as sharp as it used to be. Even tigers have their moments of weakness, let alone an aging tiger.

Note: Wu Fei allocated a large portion of the profits to establish a non-commissioned officer (NCO) evaluation system to ensure a continuous influx of new, promising officers within the military. This ensured that if he made a mistake, these energetic NCOs would report it. This is where modern armies surpass feudal armies.

Turning to this point, Wang Zijing is an old tiger, but Zhao Cheng is like the rising sun.

…The moonlight shone on the area beyond the pass, like frost flowers falling…

Zhao Cheng had clearly anticipated the nighttime underground attack by the rats during this war.

Zhao Cheng had clearly done his homework on how to deal with these burrowing giant otters. After finding wild specimens in the sandbar and conducting some experiments, he ordered the deployment of bamboo tubes in the camp on the first night of camping. He led some short, stocky, bearded alien soldiers to patrol the camp and, identifying the location of the underground tunnels, inserted bamboo tubes.

The stove was brought over, stuffed with damp firewood. As smoke billowed in from the blower, the ground trembled. One by one, these giant groundhogs burst from the ground, their heads, as large as tigers', revealing even larger, more obese bodies. However, as soon as their heads emerged, they were immediately secured with wire. Then, the groundhogs, their throats bound, were dragged out by the force of five horses.

This scene is like catching a mouse in the countryside: leave a slipknot in the tube, put the mouse's head on it, tighten the slipknot, and pull it out.

However, these groundhogs were very large, and after they came out, they kept waving their huge claws, but they were quickly trapped by the large net.

Prince Jing, atop Shamen Pass, felt a pang of heartache upon realizing that his monster army's raid on the city had been outmaneuvered. He had only eighty-seven giant burrowing otters in total, and now more than half of them had been lost in the surprise attack.

At this moment, General Wang only felt heartache. Facing an army three times his size at the city gates, he was still confident he could hold the pass. However, he encountered a general who "did not play by the rules."

…“Bloated, bloated. Bloated!”…

In Haojun's camp, rats were caught in the first half of the night, but the lights remained on even in the second half. On the slaughtering platform, one by one, giant burrowing otters were brought up, and all of them were injected with a sufficient amount of datura drug to anesthetize them.

Then, under Zhao Cheng's guidance, all the giant otters' tails were hoisted up, exposing their anuses. After bamboo tubes were inserted, granules were poured in one by one. After about a dou (a unit of dry measure) was poured in, sandbags were stuffed in. These sandbags were also filled with granules, but "soybeans".

When Zhao Cheng was living in the suburbs, he knew of a way to kill rats: stuff a soybean into the rat's anus and then sew it up with thread. This would drive the rats crazy because they couldn't defecate.

Now, all the rats have been filled and placed in the underground entrance.

Just before the ropes binding the burrowing otters were loosened, Zhao Cheng had some pepper powder smeared on their anuses, similar to chili oil. While chili oil stimulates saliva production in the mouth, applying this to their anuses was to allow the soybeans to absorb more moisture and swell at the burrowing otters' rear ends.

One by one, the giant burrowing otters escaped back to Shamen Pass through their burrows.

After releasing the first batch of burrowing giant otters, Zhao Cheng looked towards the direction of Shamen Pass. Soon, chaos broke out on the city wall, with shouts of battle and the roars of giant ground sloths echoing throughout the pass.

Zhao Cheng waved his hand, attaching explosives controlled by "jade talismans" to the remaining burrowing giant otters.

Ten minutes later, the dwarves heard through listening devices the giant rat trying to escape back to Shamen Pass through the underground passage. Zhao Cheng threw out a command flag, and the explosives on the giant rat were detonated, causing a huge collapse.

Amidst the chaos within the city and the collapse of the city walls, Zhao Cheng's prepared siege force began its advance. Within a quarter of an hour, they had stormed the city walls. Thousands of armored soldiers surged towards the city gate like a tidal wave, but the city gate was now completely undefended, and the volley of arrows that should have been raining down from above was now sparse and scattered.

The defenders standing on the city gate, seeing rows of black-armored soldiers swarming towards the city walls like a dark mass of fish, were already filled with despair. A few soldiers who remained conscious tried to overturn the ladders hanging on the wall, but those who peeked out from behind the battlements were shot dead by crossbow bolts.

At Chenshi (7-9 AM), when the first rays of sunlight shone, the banner with the character "Hao" was hung at Shamen Pass, and Zhao Cheng successfully broke through the pass in the northern part of Dayao.

As for the old general? Because his dragon horse was brutally torn apart by the claws of a mad digging otter, he was unable to escape. Unable to bear being captured, the old general, who had fought all his life, committed suicide.

After capturing Shamen Pass, Zhao Cheng did not pause.

In mid-August of the 34th year, Zhao Cheng swept through the entire Shazhou. For the past century, Shazhou had relied heavily on its city gates for defense, its commercial ports were thriving, but its defenses were lax. When Shamen Pass was suddenly breached, the rest of the city was captured by surprise attacks.

A mixed force of dragon-horse riders and crow-men descended from the sky and took control of local government offices.

…The perspective shifts to Da Yao…

Wu Fei was teaching Wu Juwang to read and write. Meanwhile, twenty more boys, all former close friends of Wu Juwang, had joined him at his residence.

A few days ago, Wu Fei keenly sensed that Wu Juwang was missing his companions. So he brought all the boys over. The youngest was seven years old, and the oldest was Wu Juwang, who was fourteen. Those who could survive on the streets and become pickpockets were no fools, and the foolish ones had all been dealt with.

Wu Fei had enough money to make connections with high-ranking officials and nobles, but it was more than enough to support his adopted sons.

As for the matter of recruiting pickpockets as servants in the Temple of Worthies, it was quite a source of amusement for the officials of the Temple of Worthies; but Wu Fei paid no attention to it.

It can only be said that Xuan Chong's sense of shame, which he inherited from his previous life, has never been affected by this world.

Accepting disciples is not about their humble origins, nor will it tarnish one's own status. The concept of "standing up" is something only the strong can impart.

On a map made of sand, two groups of boys are playing a simple game of military flags, arranging stones into formations, while Wu Fei directs them from the side.

Just then, Da Yao's official gazette arrived. Wu Fei glanced at it and suddenly stood up. His adopted sons noticed that Wu Fei's expression was off, so they stopped playing the game.

Wu Fei waved his hand: "It's alright, you guys continue practicing. Wu Juwang, you'll maintain discipline."

Wu Fei walked into the study and unfolded the Great Yao Map. The map was simple, but as Wu Fei placed his hand on it, information began to load. As for why his adopted sons weren't allowed in, it was because this illusion would cause people to become mentally corrupted.

As light scattered from Wu Fei's hand, the current situation in the north of Da Yao appeared on it. Wu Fei frowned as he looked at the north: "Da Yao has opened another front line of battle!"

(End of this chapter)