Wei School's Three Good Students

Chapter 134 The Dragonborn's Dilemma
After Wu Fei led the Yao army to capture Huangyu City in ten days, he sent out a powerful message to all directions: "The Great Yao has returned like lightning."

The emperor, who was engaged in a fierce battle with the rebels in the west, suddenly discovered that a corner of Bo County had been repainted when he opened the "Map of Mountains and Rivers" on September 1.

Huangyu City was a transportation hub with well-developed waterways and convenient official roads, and also an important city for storing grain within Bo County. With the summer harvest complete, gathering grain and fodder centered on Huangyu City was far less costly than other locations. After all, choosing other cities meant transporting grain and fodder to a less convenient location, resulting in significantly greater losses.

Each state capital was not established arbitrarily; each was chosen as the most suitable stronghold for governance, representing the area with the lowest cost of resource aggregation across the entire region.

For Huang Yucheng, the task of centralized grain requisition was readily available, with boats on the river and carriages on the official road.

If we were to set up "gathering points" in other places to pool resources, we would have to spend a huge amount of manpower to supplement the resources.

The functionality of a state capital cannot be replaced by rebuilding a city dozens of miles away.

Historically, many rebellions followed the old path of seizing major cities as a prerequisite for conquering a state.

To use a simple analogy from daily life, living in an apartment building with a takeout shop downstairs and a subway station right outside is a very pleasant lifestyle. However, while a quiet alleyway a kilometer away might be suitable for retirement, it's not just a matter of "just one kilometer difference." Every day, office workers spend an extra half hour walking home through these deep, inaccessible alleyways, where they have to dodge elderly people everywhere. Delivery drivers have to leave for twenty minutes before returning, and a meal takes another half hour. Their already limited free time after work can't withstand this kind of drain.

Therefore, 21st-century corporate slaves should put themselves in others' shoes: within a state, if you bypass the state capital and go to another location to collect resources, how many times more time, labor, and worry will you have along the way?
Note: Unless there is a local administrative organization capability that is ahead of its time, collection points can be established separately at multiple secondary transportation points (surrounding the city from the countryside), and each secondary stronghold still obeys command and maintains its cohesion.

Xuan Chong's note: Talking about agriculture, packaging, and cities now is nonsense. Decentralizing resource collection authority to various points is equivalent to decentralizing a series of personnel powers. After I gained the governor-general authority to gather resources in the southern border region, I even had some ambitions to "reach the pinnacle" of power. In this era, once resources are dispersed, the system simply cannot guarantee centralized power.

…Back to the current battle situation…

Wu Fei's decision to launch a full-scale attack on Huangyu City was somewhat hasty. Intelligence from Wu Fei's "spy" indicated that signs of a "dragon shadow" had appeared near Gu Shou Pass.

Although he didn't know who "Dragon Shadow" was, Wu Fei deduced that Zhao Cheng could arrive at any moment. After realizing he couldn't annihilate Gu Shouguan's forces, he immediately seized Bozhou, preparing for a protracted war with the Hao army to the north!

Wu Fei was very wary of Zhao Cheng, just like a student is afraid of exams, but when it really comes down to it, he will still be very serious.

After securing Huang Yucheng, Wu Fei almost without pause worked to improve the city's defenses and expand the defensive system of Hezhuji in the north.

After several collective discussions among the sergeants, Wu Fei set the strategic tone: having Huang Yucheng in hand means having a lot of resources gathered!

After recapturing Huangyucheng, Wu Fei immediately established a "Transportation Bureau." All the heads of the prefecture's post stations were responsible for coordinating and managing horses and personnel according to the major "transportation tasks" issued weekly by the Transportation Bureau. The post station staff were not permanent; they were drawn from other stations based on the tasks assigned. (If some roads had heavy workloads, staff from other, less busy roads would be drawn from.)

Wu Fei's assessment of the future situation: "The enemy general (Zhao Cheng) has gathered his troops, and the supplies he needs for mobile warfare will be a disadvantage."

Wu Xiaoque's strategy for this battle was: "An enemy general of good quality will try every means to make up for this disadvantage, and we should do our duty before the battle so that the enemy's disadvantage can be amplified."

That's why Wu Fei strengthened the defense line at Zhuheji in Huangyucheng. If Zhao Cheng really wanted to attack, he would suffer heavy casualties and waste time and supplies by attacking the fortress head-on.

If Haojun does not attack Hezhuji and bypasses the fortress to attack Huangyucheng, his supply line will have to take a long detour, which would be very advantageous for Yaojun in implementing the "cut off supplies" strategy.

Now that Wu Fei, who had just entered the ranks of large-scale troop mobility, was familiar with Zhao Cheng's high-level ability to control the momentum of his troops, he immediately restricted them.

After explaining this strategic idea to the sergeants, Wu Fei made relevant strategic deployments for the Huangyucheng defense line, namely, defining the responsibilities of all parties in the relevant plans for road patrols and how to report enemy activity.

Following this extremely detailed deployment plan, the non-commissioned officers signed a pledge.

With orders issued and responsibilities defined for each area, in September, Wu Fei essentially put Huang Yucheng under "automated management," meaning he was once again on the front lines.

Wu Xiaoque focused more of her energy on strategic offensives in other areas, such as Hucheng, but Hucheng had also reached its limit.

After the beautiful maids and fine clothes of Huang Yucheng were all distributed, Wu Fei, who had never handled any front-line duties, waited for his soldiers at the city gate. The officers, after being assigned their duties, obediently came over, just like they had done in Yaodu years ago, lining up and returning to report to Wu Fei.

…The Dragonborn are in a predicament…

In September, on the side of He Yufei, the prefect of Hucheng, after confirming that Wu Fei had captured Huangyucheng, he immediately led a large army to press forward, which made He Yufei's scalp tingle.

He Yufei instructed the maidservant beside him to refill the cup with wine: "The situation has deteriorated so badly, yet the court is turning a blind eye to other matters?"
He complained that Hao Kingdom had entrusted its troops to Zhao Cheng's expedition, which meant that the court was now forced to support the western expedition's supplies and could not devote its full efforts to quelling the rebellion in the south.

He Yufei didn't reflect on why they failed to defend the Bohai Lands that Zhao Cheng had conquered. After all, they were descendants of the Dragon and couldn't admit their mistakes. Of course, the positive aspect was that he resolutely refused to surrender.

Now, including Hucheng, Haojun's strongholds in the south have very little food left; all the grain is with Huang Yucheng.

He Yufei had previously sent Sun Yong away, and now that Huang Yucheng had fallen, the people of Hucheng, which he was in charge of, were in turmoil.

Because the dragon descendants of Bohe had heard that Wu Fei's tactics in raiding cities had all involved deceiving the city gates, they were increasingly wary of the Yao clan families within Hucheng. This wariness, in turn, accelerated unrest among the people. The "Dragon Slaying Order," which left no way out, was already taking effect; the dragon descendants of Hao Kingdom were already abnormally tense even before the battle began.

The wealthy families in the city secretly communicated through secret letters and held meetings in their ancestral tunnels.

After all, it was a small tribe that bullied a large country. When its military strength was strong, it could naturally suppress everything, but once the war went badly, all sorts of conflicts would emerge.

Now, He Yufei has clearly sensed that the officials under his jurisdiction have begun to dawdle in their work. These opportunists are watching the situation and may turn on him at any time.

Inside the city, He Yufei gathered his men for a discussion. He first revealed the order from Gu Shouguan that he should maintain the defense, then looked at everyone's expressions. When he saw that they were numb, he shouted, "We haven't lost yet!"

Under He Yufei's harsh shouts, everyone jolted as if they had been struck by acupuncture points, recovering from their chaotic emotions.

A moment later, He Yufei made a startling statement: "I intend to leave the city and engage the enemy in a decisive battle."

Everyone's expression changed again, but before they could express their opinions, He Yufei pulled out a knife and chopped off a corner of the table. All the subordinates looked at each other and then agreed to join in.

…The birds outside the window were startled by the hopping of an insect…

Wu Fei, who was preparing for war, was stunned when he learned that Hucheng had begun to muster troops. His expression was like that of someone eating rice and finding an extra piece of meat at the bottom of the bowl.

My first thought was that it was a trap. They had already lost a lot of people in front of Hucheng, so where would they get the courage to fight me now?

Wu Fei: "When Huang Yucheng was besieged, you didn't come to fight. Now that I have plenty of troops and supplies, instead of holding your ground and waiting for reinforcements, you come to fight me. Did I activate some kind of brain-dead aura?"

However, half a day after the news came from inside, Wu Fei encountered a dramatic scene.

At 3 p.m., a representative of the Southeast Maintenance Committee urgently requested a meeting: the secret agents in Huludao were preparing to launch an uprising, and they were just waiting for the general's order.

At four o'clock in the afternoon, the brothers from the Hucheng Sand Sea Gang came to see General Yao Jun. They raised their hands and presented a Dragon Descendant's warrant, indicating that as long as the general gave the order, they would obey and open the East Gate.

At 5:30 p.m., a scholar disguised as a beggar burst into the city seeking an audience. He brought a token from the largest family in Hucheng, indicating that their household possessed a secret passage leading outside the city, which they were willing to offer to the general.

At six o'clock in the afternoon, at eight o'clock in the evening, ... even at night, female warriors would try to break in to deliver a message.

Wu Fei roughly understood why He Yufei wanted to leave the city to fight him. The whole city was full of traitors who were watching his building collapse and then came to collect the bricks.

As a descendant of the dragon, He Yufei sensed an overwhelming sense of defeatism among his men, who were terrified that they would lose their heads in a single day. So rather than waiting to die, they decided to fight back. Perhaps a desperate fight would lead to victory.

…Wu Fei complained: What if I mess things up? …

On September 2, Wu Fei recalled Jupiter and began to figure out the current situation in Hucheng.

Wu Fei: Tell me, which elite troops have you been keeping an eye on?
Jupiter reported that there was still an aerial ark force and three hundred armored knights in Hucheng.

Wu Fei pondered for a moment and asked him, "If your combat strength is seventy, what is the combat strength of his Jade Warrior cavalry?"

Jupiter was taken aback. He was quite concerned about Wu Fei's score of only 70 for his cavalry, thinking to himself, "If I get 70, who gets 80?" (Wu Fei thought Wu Hengyu was the perfect score.)

Of course, Jupiter still answered honestly, "The cavalry of Hucheng should have a combat strength of sixty."

Wu Fei nodded: "Okay, that's 80 points. I'll send you more men." He then assigned him a batch of crossbowmen on the sand table.

Jupiter's lips twitched, but he kept quiet. Wu Fei assigned him a task: keep an eye on them.

…The strategic map perspective shifts to the western side of the mountains and rivers…

On the sandbar, two opposing forces were clashing. The garrison army, like a slow, grinding stone, was slowly rolling over, while the Hao army, poised for battle, was like a smaller, finely crafted steel wheel, trying to find a way to circle around the stone mill. Zhao Cheng, in the northwest, was watching the garrison emperor's army advance south, while his own Hao army was cautiously shifting its formation and returning north.

Zhao Cheng's southern and northern armies have converged, and the elite cavalry of the allied forces report back to each other at least twice a day. The maps in the camps of both armies are updated synchronously every six hours.

At this point, without telegraphs, this represents the highest level of informatization achievable solely through organizational capacity in this era. This fundamental skill of commanding "tens of thousands of troops mobilizing over hundreds of miles" is currently unique in the world.

In the ten days of continuous fighting in the Shazhou area, the elite troops of Da Yao took turns to fight, after all, Zhao Cheng came from the south and was strategically poised to block the gate.

If it weren't for the instability in the rear, Zhao Cheng wouldn't have needed to march north at all; he could have simply found an area in the Hetao region, built an earthen city, and stationed himself there, guaranteeing he could have trapped the garrison emperor in the northwest. Zhao Cheng now wanted to bring his troops back as soon as possible and didn't want to prolong the battle.

Meanwhile, the Yao army initially fought fiercely and relentlessly in late August, given that the emperor was personally leading the campaign. Although the Yao army units were cumbersome and large, their fighting spirit was quite high.

Inside Hao Jun's camp, Zhao Cheng rearranged all the military flags. After the arrangement was complete, Zhao Cheng issued a series of military orders. It must be said that the characters on the jade tablets in Zhao Cheng's military orders were much more elegant than those in Xuan Chong's.

Within a few kilometers, Hao Jun began to gather, converging like torches and fireflies in the darkness. Until dawn, behind a thin mist, a massive camp, bustling with people and moving about in an orderly fashion, appeared—the designated battleground, "Silu Plain."

The 50,000-strong Hao army was like a large pond where countless streams converged; in the "stream section" of the army responsible for collecting supplies such as "rations" and "firewood," only the sounds of footsteps and hooves could be heard amidst the silence. However, in the main camps where the various "streams" converged, different sounds and activities arose. The camp on the east side, near the riverbank, had just returned from logging and were building fortifications with axes and dowels; a few hundred meters away, another camp, with whom they shared a close bond, was cooking over a fire.

Meanwhile, in the waiting area where the new troops were joining the main army, the Hao soldiers who had only taken up arms two months earlier sat on the ground, reciting the "Eight Don'ts and Eight Dos" rhyme.

For example, the first rhyme emphasizes checking each other's armor and maintaining formation by using the "backbone" of the team as a reference point at all times during battle.

Rhyme #2: Emphasize checking the bowstring and calibrating the sights before firing the crossbow; only fire in unison upon hearing the command.

The squad leaders would recite a line, and the soldiers sitting in rows would shout it in unison. After the recitation was finished, they would recite it in unison. When everyone recited it together, it was very fluent, even if some people were just filling in the blanks in certain parts. But the collective memory of the entire squad was accurate.

Clearly, these different rhymes were preparations for the various combat missions to be undertaken below. Some camps were to withstand the onslaught of enemy troops, while others were to prepare for auxiliary firing.

Zhao Cheng's orders were very complex; and the total amount of "command information" that the laborers he recruited could handle was limited, so he had to "incorporate" it into the operational regulations in advance according to the needs of the combat mission.

Zhao Cheng is enhancing the combat effectiveness of the "low-ranking soldiers" he has recruited in a way that most people in this era do not understand.

If a general were to lead a civilian labor force of this size, it would crumble at the first touch when faced with an elite armored charge.

A specific example is in history, where Ge Rong's 200,000 rebels were scattered over dozens of miles. When faced with Er Zhu Rong's 7,000 cavalry, they were routed by the armored cavalry and suffered a chain reaction of defeats.

A significant portion of the army led by Zhao Cheng was also composed of peasant soldiers, but their fighting strength was not like that of Ge Rong, who was a disorganized mob. All the peasants in Zhao's army had brave warriors who formed a well-organized formation around themselves, and they could quickly assemble under the banner.

Finally, on September 2nd, the clash began. As the various Yao armies appeared on the horizon like a torrent, Zhao Cheng's main force of 9 men on the eastern side met the elite Yao army head-on. This elite force was forged by the generals under the command of the various camps of the Imperial Guard. Upon hearing that the Hao army's peasant soldiers were like mantises trying to stop a chariot, these generals all requested to fight.

Thus, within the Emperor's camp, these three thousand elite cavalrymen, their hooves kicking up dust, charged forward like hungry tigers pouncing on their prey. After careful selection, they chose to attack the Hao army from their flank, where it was weakest.

Zhao Cheng quickly arrived at the main camp where the battle was to begin. He raised his own banner to stabilize the morale of his troops. Upon seeing the enemy's elite cavalry charging menacingly towards them, he divided his forces into nine square formations, stacked in a "品" (pin) shape. Three "品" were stacked together to form one large "品". If one "口" (square formation) was attacked by a strong force, it would immediately contract inward to become a hedgehog. Then, the entire formation would change, with the other "口" moving up. The entire "品" would be reversed, changing from one "口" facing the enemy to "two 口" facing the enemy. This would delay the enemy's attack and allow them to gain a numerical advantage at the point of engagement.

The above situation shows that the military books that Wu Fei and Zhao Cheng read were essentially the same in terms of this "basic military strategy textbook".

However, Zhao Cheng had his own experience in fighting cavalry with infantry, and he reserved reinforcements in each square formation. Each square formation contained three groups of iron troops, each group consisting of twenty men.

These iron-clad soldiers wore heavy armor of infantry rank and carried sabers. When they stood in the ranks of the peasant troops, and the Yao army cavalry charged forward like harvesters, these iron-clad soldiers of the Hao army were like steel bars planted in a field.

…Practical testing dividing line…

On September 2nd, the Da Yao armored cavalry, responsible for the charge, failed to discover that these elite iron-clad warriors were mixed among the Hao army's peasant ranks. They initially broke through a quarter of the formation, and the Da Yao generals who were holding the rear breathed a sigh of relief.

However, the Yu Yong formation area, which had been broken by the iron cavalry, was re-formed by pseudo-Hao soldiers wearing bamboo armor, using these armored men as a basis. The Yao Army leaders who were supervising the battle from the sky on strange beasts were dumbfounded.

Slow down the camera carefully to observe the details of the charge. The Yao army cavalry initially broke through the square formation, as if washing away a layer of sand to reveal a reef—the heavily armored army. The heavily armored soldiers stood densely packed, coordinating effectively, and cavalrymen were easily cut down by their swords. Then, at the sound of whistles, the peasant soldiers reformed their formation, using the heavily armored soldiers as a base.

In this grand battle, the casualties of the Yao army and the Hao army were very close, but the Hao army's losses were mostly from recruited soldiers who had only been in service for a month, while the Yao army's losses were from elite troops.

Undeterred, Yao Jun decided to attack other parts of Hao Jun's position. However, after launching attacks for three consecutive days, Yao Jun suffered over 3,000 casualties in wave after wave of armored charges, causing great distress to the generals of Yao Jun.

Therefore, after September 6th, the entire army tended to bypass this stubborn obstacle in front of them.

Thus, on the sandbar, the two legions began to slowly shift positions after their head-on clash. This was a long process; as the two sides passed each other, Zhao Cheng, once his army formation was stable, would proactively send about four to six thousand troops with artillery to advance.

As Haojun's artillery bombarded Yaojun, Yaojun's main force, advancing southward, could no longer remain stationary. If the shells continued to bombard them, the morale of the majority of the Yaojun's laborers, mostly farmers, would remain agitated; it was possible that as night fell, someone's shout would trigger a collective memory of the daytime shelling, leading to a mutiny within the camp. (A soldier's perspective on the mutiny: Think of the feeling of dreaming about not being able to control the accelerator after learning to drive.)
So the Yao army generals took turns drawing lots to lead their troops in a counterattack. One by one, the Yao soldiers, braving a barrage of cannon fire, surged forward like waves crashing against a large ship, forcing Zhao Cheng's army back. In this process, hundreds were killed by arrows and cannonballs, while the Hao army suffered only a few dozen casualties; the exchange ratio was Zhao Cheng's advantage.

Two large groups of people, each carrying different flags, crisscrossed and gave way in this "river bend terrain," much like two people brushing past each other against a doorframe. Although there were some minor frictions, overall things remained relatively peaceful.
After September 16, the strategic shifts and changes in formation between the two sides were finally completed, and the period of "peaceful coexistence" immediately ended, with both sides once again becoming enemies.

At this point, both armies had a way out. Zhao Cheng occupied the northern route and could send a small number of light cavalry to quell any disturbances in the sandbar at any time. Meanwhile, the garrison commander sent envoys to the prefectural city that had previously "closed its gates" to demand provisions.

At this point, both sides are afraid that if they show the slightest sign of retreat, the other side will attack their vital points.

After a long day of work, Zhao Cheng checked the situation in Bo County one last time. He paused slightly when he saw the news that "He Yufei took the initiative to fight from Hucheng".

Zhao Cheng wasn't angry about this unexpected turn of events, because he knew He Yufei's capabilities; losing his composure and ruining things at this moment was typical of him. It only showed that the person from Bozhou (Wu Xiaoque) was extremely skilled in both martial arts and intimidation. He still needed to pay close attention.

After thinking for a moment, Zhao Cheng realized something and quickly wrote an urgent letter to Pu E.

The letter was very simple, telling Pu'e not to get involved. Of course, it couldn't be too long, since Pu'e was, after all, his superior.
Zhao Cheng couldn't very well just say, "If you go, you're supposed to deliver it."

However, Zhao Cheng's submission of this letter still revealed a lack of emotional intelligence.

…human relationships and social interactions…

Here at Gushou Pass, autumn leaves drift down from the mountains with the wind, with a few landing at the city gate.

Pu'e had already donned her armor, preparing to lead her troops south to provide support. After receiving the letter, she paused, while Zhao Qi, the new garrison commander of Gushou Pass, watched Pu'e. Yuwen Li, originally the commander, had been driven further north to the Yan region.

After a long time, Pu'e said, "You shouldn't go anymore."

Zhao Qi immediately became anxious: "Grand Tutor, if we don't go, He Yufei will be gone."

Pu'e: "Once you go there, are you absolutely certain of victory?"

Zhao Qi: "But we can't just stand by and watch him die, can we?" He then glanced at the letter Pu E was holding. He knew the letter was from Zhao Cheng, and quickly said, "Sir, you wouldn't..."

Pu'e: "You all stay inside the pass, I'll go over there."

Zhao Qi continued to plead with her, but Pu E refused.

Zhao Qi returned to Gushou Pass, angrily slammed his palm on the battlement, leaving a handprint, and said to those around him, "That's the one who kicked me when I was down!"

…a dividing line of resentment…

In the Hao Kingdom, most of the dragon descendants were not convinced by Zhao Cheng. No matter how talented Zhao Cheng was, they were unwilling to admit defeat, after all, he was just a commoner who caught rats to fill his stomach under the city wall.

In this respect, the Dragonborn are far inferior to the "championship dogs," who at least acknowledge those who can lead them to victory.

In addition, the descendants of Haotian Dragon are very united. Since they all came from the Great Migration, they consider themselves brothers and sisters, and their internal intimacy is slightly stronger than that of outsiders.

For the Dragonborn, their current unity is precisely their greatest weakness. Alternatively, if they were on a more primitive planet, unity would be an advantage. Without competing forces, the more united they are, the greater their advantage.

However, now that the Xiren Realm's civilization is more advanced than that of the Haotian Realm, such a united front can only incite local forces to be xenophobic.

As a result of Wu Fei's instigation, the various factions in Bohai have now formed a high degree of unity on the matter of "slaying the dragon".

(End of this chapter)