Wei School's Three Good Students

Chapter 120 The Drums of War Sound

Within the capital, news of His Majesty's upcoming inspection tour and the Zhou King's oversight of the state quickly spread.

The calls of the black birds in the Nine Heavens Palace also became cheerful, like mischievous children who become smug and lively after hearing their parents are about to leave.

For the royal family, even at a family banquet, the emperor's every word was considered a public statement. After returning home, the nobles who attended the banquet would summon their advisors to discuss the matter. During these discussions, there were people serving them, which allowed some of the servants to also obtain information.

Inside the palace, Emperor Xu looked at his itinerary for the western hunt. This time, leaving the capital, most of the court officials who had previously advised against it, citing "Your Majesty's precious body cannot be moved lightly," were now silent. He snorted coldly in displeasure.

While the emperor remained silent in thought, the palace eunuchs knew that the emperor's authority was unpredictable at this moment. They bowed their heads and served him cautiously, no longer pretending to be clever as before, trying to guess the emperor's thoughts. Because at this time, His Majesty was deliberately looking for trouble.

Emperor Xu is now treating his son somewhat unfairly and is looking for someone to blame.

Even ordinary farming fathers would doubt their adult sons' abilities and would always remind them not to be clumsy when tending to the crops. This doubt would be amplified in the Tian family.

Although Emperor Xu designated King Zhou as the crown prince, he was dissatisfied with the people gathered around King Zhou.

At the very least, Emperor Xu was very dissatisfied with how the Zhou king had arranged these people. It was like an old farmer being unhappy with the distance his son planted the crops and the force with which he dug the holes.

Over the years, Emperor Xu had come to know the various types of officials in the court, such as those who were "virtuous and talented," "virtuous but incompetent," "loyal and devoted," and "ambitious but treacherous." (Similar to how Liu Bei could see that Ma Su was not up to the task, while Zhuge Liang was unaware because Zhuge Liang had not previously had the authority to promote or test Ma Su.) Having ruled over these people for so many years, Emperor Xu had also arranged them in a proper manner.

Now these people are starting to center their attention around his son, but his son doesn't understand their background. This allows them to attempt to re-rank the people in his eyes based on their superficial understanding. This instantly triggers the emperor's "obsessive-compulsive disorder."

Xuan Chong offered a historical summary of this situation: During his student days, he was always aware of how messy his books were in his room, but when someone else tidied them up for him, he couldn't find them, which made him very annoyed. Presumably, this kind of conflict regarding "organizing books" existed between the father and son in the Tian family.

The emperor in the palace looked at the news from the secret agents about the "Prince Zhou's Mansion" and his expression was very cold. He ordered the guards left at the Prince Zhou's Mansion to keep a close watch and not to alert the enemy.

One of his purposes was to expose those ambitious individuals. This trip served three purposes: first, to familiarize his heir with the ways of the family; second, to warn his favored relatives and nobles about the taste of "losing their backing" and to urge them to work diligently; and third, to reprimand the dire situation in the west that year.

Emperor Xu did not feel old; he wanted to show his son in every way how to rule the world, whether in politics or military affairs.

Emperor Xu began to muster his troops, consisting of five thousand imperial guards from the capital. As the edict was issued, these soldiers of the capital donned their finest armor, mounted their best steeds, and marched out of the city in formation.

He planned to thoroughly reorganize the people around King Zhou after he returned.

…Perspective switch…

The sandbar, the most fertile river valley area, is where Hao Jun's main force camp is located. In the camp, Zhao Cheng is holding a lamp and looking at the map of Da Yao's north.

Regarding the news of Emperor Xu's inspection tour to the west, the Hao Kingdom had already obtained information through secret agents. —Small countries pay more attention to these details when confronting larger ones. Within the Great Yao Kingdom, although the scholar-officials are unlikely to be bribed with petty gains, their servants could easily be given a drink and a few dozen taels of silver as a bribe, leaving them with leverage to pass the information to the enemy.

Regarding this, the intelligence about Wu Fei's imminent arrival to provide reinforcements was actually all on Zhao Cheng's desk; however, due to the public's biased view of the Eastern Market Army as "spoiled brats" in the capital city, Zhao Cheng overlooked it amidst the massive amount of intelligence being transmitted.

Inside the tent, illuminated by oil lamps, Zhao Cheng's advisors were also negotiating whether to wage war in the east or the west this year. Since they had torn a hole in the west last year and forced some tribes on the grassland to follow them by force, according to the principle of "harvesting leeks evenly," they should plunder the east this year.

The staff members split into two factions and began to discuss their views on the silk map. As the staff members poured their energy into it (data was entered into the computer system), various scenes of spring and summer appeared on the silk map.

However, Zhao Cheng waved his hand, confirming, "We shouldn't change our strategy."

The reason is simple: after the emperor's departure, the eastern vassal states have no incentive to advance and can be set aside; a strong attack on the east would only provoke these vassal states to unite. Conversely, going west would allow the seemingly large and elite troops to protect the emperor, creating immense pressure.

But Zhao Cheng said: "After the emperor personally leads the expedition, the generals at the front lines will lose their autonomy in making combat decisions, and they will have to consult the emperor first. However, I feel that the emperor does not have the ability to lead 100,000 troops."

Note: When the emperor personally leads an expedition, the regional military governors are forced to deviate from the planned course of action. Failure to seek permission risks being used as a deterrent, while victory means higher-ups will claim the lion's share of the credit for their strategic brilliance, leaving their own efforts forgotten. Moreover, the imperial army has suffered more defeats than victories on the frontier in recent years. The emperor's presence in command intensifies the pressure of potential defeat, forcing them to prioritize self-preservation. Staying close to the emperor offers the safest and most comfortable position; even without personal glory, they at least receive recognition for their hard work.

If Emperor Xu had been a military emperor like Li Shimin, his advisors would have had strategies for managing the advance and retreat, rewards and punishments of his 100,000-strong army. Unfortunately, he was not one.

Zhao Cheng, through the intelligence transmitted from the spies, immediately discerned the true strength of the emperor. He was immediately reminded of his past life, where his own ruler, who could not command troops "the more the better" but could only "control generals," ended up suffering a major setback at Baideng Mountain.

In the capital, Wu Fei only came to the conclusion four or five years ago regarding the emperor's so-called "can fight, but cannot fight" situation; Zhao Cheng, a veteran general, had an even stronger sense of this "battle mentality".

Over the years, he had fought against various armies under the Great Yao, and he could predict the outcome of most battles before they even began. Zhao Cheng, fully armed, drew a line on the western side of the map, preparing to press westward with his troops.

…A group of carrier pigeons, of which only three were released by Zhao Cheng…

Within the Hao Kingdom, King Hao was discussing the Grand General's memorial. On the dark brick steps, besides those who had joined the Great Yao Kingdom, there were also Dragon Descendants, people from the Hao Tian Realm, and even two golden-haired knights from another world.

After seeing Zhao Cheng's advice to send troops, Pu'e nodded. Meanwhile, King Hao clenched his fists and kept an eye on Pu'e's expression.

King Hao was not worried about Zhao Cheng losing troops, but rather about the various factions within the kingdom being concerned about the power of this great general.

For two consecutive years, the westward expansion of the Yao people and powerful clans who joined the Hao Kingdom has added new strength to it. The tens of thousands of newly recruited soldiers were all provided by these powerful clans, but they also brought the infighting between the noble families and clans of Yao Kingdom here, meaning that after contributing their men and strength, they want to compete for recognition from the Hao King.

A portion of them, who considered themselves a loyal faction, began to help King Hao be wary of the power of Grand Tutor Pu'e's faction.

Furthermore, the powerful clans of Haotian did not want Zhao Cheng to stand with Pu'e forever.

Being caught in the vortex of power, Pu'e was not entirely able to avoid these influences.

After all, Zhao Cheng had the stain of "declaring himself King of Qi" in history. This was precisely why the commander who led the "Siege of Baideng" preferred to lead the attack himself rather than let Zhao Cheng quell the rebellion. After all, at that time, if Zhao Cheng had rebelled, who could have suppressed him?
When Pu'e first recruited Zhao Cheng, she disliked his behavior of "lacking the majesty of a king but wanting to climb to the heavens."

Now, which general in Haoguo can withstand Zhao Cheng?
Looking at the people in the court, Pu'e knew that they were probably thinking of pushing this hard work onto Zhao Cheng.

At the court meeting, King Hao did not reject Zhao Cheng's plan to launch a western expedition, but he imposed restrictions on the number of troops Zhao Cheng requested to lead, reducing the number of elite troops to 15,000 instead of 50,000.

However, Pu'e frowned: The central government's strategy of reducing the number of troops commanded by frontline generals to ensure safety is not a wise one. For renowned generals, building new troops from experienced soldiers is basic practice; if there are fewer troops, they can simply recruit locally at the front. Pu'e thought: In a certain historical timeline template within the Heavenly Verification Area, the Hongwu Emperor recruited soldiers using only eighteen of his brothers.

For them, the fewer old soldiers they brought out, the more opportunities there were for famous generals to promote their own confidants, since those positions were originally controlled by generals appointed by the imperial court.

The real way to control a skilled general is not to fight for power within the army, but to control the appointment and removal of civilian officials in his logistics.

…Haotian himself was unaware of his own pettiness…

On the other side, Wu Fei also led his army out of the city. The two thousand soldiers were divided into three battalions to march.

In the central command tent, Wu Fei took out a map and pointed to several points, including the ferry crossing and the post station. He said to those who had previously received the best contracts, "These are our army's rear lines. You are each to take fifty men and control these areas. You are allowed to train able-bodied men to join the army. This is our army's rear line, and no one can take it from us. Even if someone from the court comes, you must be prepared to 'disobey the emperor's orders when in the field.' If anyone tries to pressure you, just push the blame onto me."

Even back in the capital, while those boatmen and soldiers were indulging in prostitution, Wu Fei was already planning how to increase his manpower.

Before the expedition, Wu Fei repeatedly allowed the boatmen recruits to go back and spread the word about their lives, so in those labor gathering points, the benefits of being a soldier were widely known.

After the army left the city, Wu Fei began to procure food along one route and dispatched eighteen small teams, each with twenty men, to various docks, inns, and trade route meeting points along the way to find people.

…The docks and shops were plagued by ground sparrows…

In the bustling market town of Qunyoudu, where fewer than a thousand people gather, a big job was announced today. So, the idlers all gathered early, ready to start work. The neatly dressed soldiers arrived, and a group of dockworkers were unloading cargo. After unloading was complete, bowls of braised pork and rice were served, and the dockworkers were invited to eat.

The atmosphere at the dock was cheerful. The day laborers praised their employer's generosity, and idlers would occasionally sneak into the area to freeload. Suddenly, the dock workers were tied up by soldiers, and then everyone eating at the dock was detained. They were then gathered together, dressed in different clothes, and tied together with a rope in groups of five.

An officer told these men that they had been recruited by the imperial army.

An uproar erupted. Some of the stevedores shouted that they had families to support, but after being whipped back, they could only weep and bury their faces in their hands. These unfortunate men were dragged away like that, and they subsequently passed through several stations, where they saw the laborers who had been captured with them.

These laborers were branded with signs and then subjected to collective punishment. A few days later, five hundred of them gathered at the station and were guarded by soldiers.

Fortunately, the soldiers did not mistreat them in terms of food.

…“Conscription” is a characteristic of imperialism, and one cannot miss out on it…

Three days after setting out, all the docks and stations along the way were as if they had been battered by a storm. All the idle men who had been invited to work were now, in a daze, tied to twenty different stations. Wu Fei had purchased food and conducted training at these stations in advance.

Of course, these able-bodied men couldn't just go into battle like that. After all, some of them had elderly people and children to support, and if they were just dragged to the battlefield, they would run away.

In response, Wu Fei rushed to these stations and announced the policy to the timid and trembling laborers who were squatting like chickens. He proposed that the captured men be divided into groups of thirty, and three men be selected to go back and report. As a result, the number of men was limited, and some men who were only concerned with their own livelihood would not be able to explain themselves to their accomplices.

Then, with a clatter, the money box was opened, and Wu Fei said: "Everyone who goes back to report can come and take thirty silver leaves. This money is to be sent to their families who haven't returned. I will distribute it every month at the station where you were captured."

Facing the pitiful gazes, Wu Fei warned: "The army will only be fighting for six months. After six months, the rest of you can go home. (Those who go back to report should not expect to embezzle any money.)"

The conscripts looked up and whispered among themselves. If they had been conscripted to go to the battlefield before, they would never have come. But now that they had been brought here, and some of them were allowed to go back and report, they suddenly felt that "this general is actually quite nice."

So they started discussing it, and the election was completed half an hour later.

Wu Fei ordered the sergeants to record the names of each person who received the money, and then loudly announced it to their respective groups. The rest of the able-bodied men then watched.

Wu Fei also reassured them: "Don't worry, I will send people to protect the messenger back to the dock. There are money exchanges at every dock, so no bandits will rob you along the way. The money will definitely be given to your family."

After the able-bodied men who had brought the news were escorted back to the original dock by the guards, Wu Fei looked at the men below and immediately began distributing clothes. He also poured rice and lard into a large pot and began to give the men at this station a hearty meal.

As for what comes next, it's time to train them!
The massive iron lion deliberately passed through the camp of conscripts, like tanks parading in a square, while the officers in charge of training took the opportunity to teach them songs: First, we must aspire to repay the emperor's kindness; second, our studies must be taught by our officers; third, we must not disturb the people during our march, for our pay comes from the people's hard-earned money…

Overstepping one's bounds is only severely punished when those in power want to cause trouble for no reason.

Now the arrow is on the bowstring, and the emperor has sent him to the north in order to secure a victory.

Now, all charges can be piled up without limit. If you lose a case, they'll all come up against you, but if you win, they can all be dropped.

…The perspective shifts to the forward…

Wu Fei's vanguard of a thousand men was rapidly approaching the northern front. Among the vanguard, Wu Hong sat in a chariot, observing the ranks ahead. Beside him was Hong Qiang, a young man from the capital.

Hong Qiang: You southern barbarians, when you were slaughtering those barbarians in the south, did you also capture people while advancing?
Wu Hong, who was called a "southern barbarian," was not annoyed. He had also called these Beijing playboys "shrimp crawlers" many times. They had fought over this nickname long ago. When they were exchanging punches, they reached a consensus that they could call each other that in private, but not in formal occasions.

Wu Hong: Arrest people? Only you need to arrest people. When the general leaves the pass, all the villages automatically follow.

Hong Qiang: What are your general's battle results in the south?
Wu Hong: I'm not bragging, but my family's general is "this" when it comes to fighting.

Before the words were even finished, a colorful light appeared in the sky above the army. All the officers looked up at the approaching aerial beast—the Great Peacock.

Of course, its name is "Mingzun". As the peacock swooped down, Wu Fei displayed excellent "riding skills" as he flew over his own troops. He dismounted from the peacock's back and hooked one hand on the peacock's claw (as if he had come out of the helicopter cockpit and was hanging on the helicopter landing gear), allowing him to better communicate with the many soldiers in mid-air.

This was the first time Wu Fei had displayed his colossal mount since the army's formation. These officers, accustomed to fine horses and luxury cars in the capital, looked up at the sky with their heads held high.

Wu Hong then answered everyone's questions: This is a sacred beast from the Southern Frontier.

The officers in Kyoto confirmed that it was not a reward from the emperor, but Wu Fei's own, and Wu Fei had not shown off at all before.

(End of this chapter)