Wei School's Three Good Students

Chapter 140 Welcoming the Emperor
Zhenzhou, Lelang City. This place is now Wu Hanluan's base camp. All the gladiatorial arenas in the city have been demolished, and cockfighting and dogfighting are no longer allowed. In their place is a deep dungeon.

This place has been ravaged so badly by King Lelang that it hasn't recovered yet. Berserkers frequently appear on the streets.

Every year on the 8th, when an evil moon hangs in the sky and its light is red, people will break out of their homes and go out into the streets with knives, shouting "Fight! Fight!" They will then try to kill people. Wu Hanluan stationed troops here to suppress this "madness".

He buried the Hunyuan Golden Bucket in what used to be a gladiatorial arena, now a dungeon. Whenever a resident of the city fell insane, he would send someone to bring them into the dungeon, tie them to a chair, pry open their mouth, and force-feed them a bowl of excrement to cure their madness.

Believe it or not, this treatment method really works. After the bowl of green soup was poured in, the abnormal redness on the patient's body quickly subsided, and then the patient's eyes became vacant, and the patient would smile foolishly. After a good night's sleep, the patient would return to normal and would not relapse.

The entire city of Lelang returned to its usual cheerful atmosphere, and Wu Hanluan felt relieved that those madmen had been "converted to goodness." Of course, "when poor, one should cultivate one's own virtue; when successful, one should benefit all under heaven." Wu Hanluan cared for Zhenzhou, but he did not forget the world.

Having also held power for over a decade, Wu Hanluan had keenly sensed the purpose of Emperor Xu's hasty military campaign six months prior: to deal with the Prince of Bo and to send a warning to others. Therefore, he arrived in Zhenzhou ahead of time to prevent a rebellion by the local high-ranking officials.

This setback by the royal army also worried Wu Hanluan. Just as Wu Hengyu was gloating, Wu Hanluan immediately adjusted his thinking. Now he also needed to find out where the emperor was and why it was his turn to greet him.
Therefore, after confirming the defeat of the northern army, Wu Hanluan dispatched scouts to search the east, where they happened to encounter the imperial entourage delivering the imperial edict.

…In Lelang City, there is no longer a blood moon but a green moon…

On November 7th, Wu Hanluan left Wu Hengyu behind and rode his winged tiger with a troop of dragon-horse cavalry to the emperor's presence.

After the entire army traversed various shortcuts and paths, Wu Hanluan saw the imperial carriage of the garrison emperor and the weathered emperor himself. He then decisively dismounted and led everyone to kneel down.

Wu Hanluan: "Your subject, General Zhennan, is late in welcoming Your Majesty. Please punish me."

Emperor Xu sat upright in the hall. After pausing for about five breaths, he confirmed that Wu Hanluan's attitude was correct and nodded, saying, "My dear minister, you have rendered meritorious service to the king."

With just six words, the matter was settled, and nothing more was said. Then, the people around Emperor Xu and Wu Hanluan recounted the events, and the emperor was escorted back to Yaodu.

Wu Hanluan knew that the previous kneeling was the Emperor's way of showing him "power," letting him know that his current merits were not enough to challenge the imperial family, much less to be on equal footing with them.

Of course, he also understood that the emperor guarding the tent was not truly indifferent to his loyalty, but was definitely watching his every move.

After suffering a military defeat, Emperor Xu clearly sensed the disloyalty of those around him and naturally needed to constantly observe the situation around him.

Wu Hanluan was very sensible; he dismounted and walked, and instructed the cavalry to hand over more than half of their horses to the people guarding the emperor, thus maintaining proper conduct.

Furthermore, in order to maintain his submissiveness, Wu Hanluan voluntarily lowered his "status" and regarded himself as the emperor's servant.

Three days later, after Wu Hengyu arrived with 1,500 soldiers through the Great Cave Heaven, the royal procession officially began. The carriage was no longer moving as hastily as before.

When the army arrived in Heluo County, the governor in charge of welcoming them saw Wu Hanluan driving the emperor's carriage in the garrison and immediately realized what was going on.

The governor immediately knelt down and noticed that the people around him were kneeling foolishly, so that there was no other movement. He turned around and slapped the ignorant person who had knelt down with him, and told him to lower his head and run to inform the musicians to start the ceremonial music.

…The truly important “chess pieces” are actually the unimportant ones…

While Wu Hanluan was helping the emperor herd the strange beasts to the stables like a servant, a soldier quietly approached from the other side. After looking around to make sure no one was watching, he leaned closer and said, "Master, a letter has arrived from the capital. The court has bestowed upon you the title of Marquis of Yunxiang."

Wu Hanluan was slightly taken aback. He was not surprised that his sect had been granted a title. Wu Yuanchang had won a great victory in the north, and the court would certainly not be able to fool the Zhenzhou battle again this time.

However, this conferment should not come from Yaodu, because we are currently worshipping Emperor Xu here.

Wu Hanluan whipped the messenger again, cursing, "What Marquis of Yunxiang? I'm just a lowly soldier who drives His Majesty's horse." He then winked at the fool, signaling him to be careful of the people around him and not to speak carelessly.

After a breath, Wu Hanluan cursed, "Get out of here!" The personal guard who had come to deliver the good news slunk away.

After all these years, Zhou Wang's faction finally remembered their connection with Wu Hanluan.

Originally, Wu Hanluan was just a local sycophant to the King of Zhou, begging the royal family for connections.

Emperor Shu had just lain down when he received a report from his secret guards. Emperor Shu was alarmed and dispatched his secret guards to monitor the situation of the Wu Hanluan Army.

After a moment of contemplation, Emperor Xu, now wide awake in his tent, summoned Wu Hanluan to a court audience.

Three incense sticks later, outside the garrison tent, Wu Hanluan, who had just changed his clothes, was hastily summoned for an audience. When the eunuch lifted the curtain and said, "Marquis of Qiansu Pavilion, please come in," Wu Hanluan understood why he had been summoned.

Huangmen stared intently at Wu Hanluan. If Wu Hanluan showed even the slightest change in expression, Huangmen would immediately wave his hand, ordering the axemen to seize Wu Hanluan.

…A subject must serve the king closely to avoid suspicion, but one must also be close to and win over the king when he is in trouble…

In the capital city, in his study, King Zhou was discussing with his civil officials and advisors how to control the capital. The royal sorcerer, Su Kang (Su Wang's younger brother), lit a brazier in the palace, the smoke creating a veil to prevent the secret guards from spying on them.

The first priority was to appease the border troops. This round of enfeoffment granted Zhu Liqiang and others extremely high marquis titles, including Wu Hanluan in the southern border region. However, as for the most important Eastern Market Army—the most important civil and military advisor to the Prince of Zhou—the enfeoffment that the Prince of Zhou originally intended to grant to Wu Fei was withheld. The reason given was that Wu Fei was fierce and brave, and after the late emperor's passing, it would be difficult to control him. Only Wu Hanluan was to be enfeoffed, while Wu Fei's future performance would be observed.

Those who could stand before King Zhou were all direct descendants of their respective families! Back then, compared to how each family sent their illegitimate sons to serve as officers under Wu Fei, they were like servants tending to the crown prince.

However, the sudden rise in popularity of the commoner sons in the Eastern City Army has made them, who originally considered themselves the most favored in their clans, feel somewhat unbalanced. Therefore, subconsciously, they feel that even if Wu Fei's achievements are high, he should still wait his turn according to "qualification and seniority".

Just as Emperor Xu would give Wu Hanluan a show of force before rewarding him, King Zhou followed the same approach with his foreign ministers.

Now that the advisors around King Zhou have taken power, they decide that as "seniors," they need to reinforce the concept of hierarchy and seniority among the "stepchildren" of the Eastern Market Army. They also want to control the new elites of the Eastern Market Army, but they can't let go of their airs.

As for the Imperial Guards who will protect the capital in the future, they know that they will most likely be from the Eastern Market Army. However, their habitual arrogance makes these "hot stove" guys feel that they don't need to coax the "newly lit stove" playboys of the Eastern Market.

Of course, these advisors were even more arrogant about the current commander of the Dongshi Army. They believed, based on "insider information," that Wu Fei would be kicked out in the future, so they were not willing to "waste" any favors on him.

Note: The news that Wu Fei would be demoted and forced to leave the capital was revealed by Emperor Xu inadvertently during a casual conversation with some veteran officials.

King Zhou was initially hesitant, but after being persuaded by his civil officials with "reasonable arguments," he sent a eunuch to the north to deliver a gold medal, requesting that Wu Fei first express his gratitude to him, and then he (King Zhou) would reward the Eastern Market Army as appropriate.

…Management always feels that frontline staff are paid too much…

On Huang Yucheng's side, as King Zhou began to reward those who had contributed to the war in the north, Wu Fei's group of young men went from eagerly hoping to be ennobled to now confidently demanding it after defeating tens of thousands of troops from the pseudo-Hao regime.

Even though the Zhou king's faction told these generals fighting on the frontier that the Zhou king was very kind to their families and that they shouldn't worry, in their eyes, this was not kindness, but rather a way of using their families to blackmail them.

Wu Fei was very clear: "(The playboys) were all servants at home. Now that they want to rise in the family, why doesn't King Zhou just reward them directly in the name of the court? Instead, you're going around in circles, first appreciating their families, and then having the old guards within the families who protect the direct line pat them on the head and praise these prodigal sons for doing a good job?"

Wu Fei may not be very knowledgeable about family matters, but the Zhou King's faction definitely doesn't understand "blood for blood"!
As for the court wanting to replace the general? That's a joke. Even the most arrogant young men from Yaodu, after being tempered by the battles in Bohai, are completely convinced of Wu Fei's professional competence.

The external enemy has not yet been eliminated, and only Yuan Chang can shoulder this responsibility right now.

On November 10th, following the message from the imperial envoy in Yaodu, the upper echelons of the Eastern Market Army reached two consensuses after a collective discussion: First, the King of Zhou was not yet the emperor; second, they were sent to Wu Fei by the Emperor of Shu, and the Emperor of Shu had the final say on their merits.

…The perspective shifts to the south…

While waiting for Wu Hanluan to come to his audience, Emperor Xu paced back and forth. At this time, Wu Hanluan was changing clothes next door, a procedure for meeting the emperor, ensuring that there was not a single sharp object in sight.

He knew perfectly well that his ability to subdue Wu Hanluan stemmed from his greater legitimacy, a position far more secure than that of the Zhou King's regency and enfeoffment. Even if Wu Hanluan retained only a tenth of his intelligence, he would have made the correct choice in this power struggle.

Emperor Xu paced back and forth in his room, looking at the secret reports sent by his guards regarding the capital. As he stopped walking, he said with a sorrowful yet chilling tone, "It seems that many people are now hoping for my passing."

Emperor Xu knew very well what exactly was causing the disturbance in the capital. Throughout history, every hundred years, four or five marquises were enfeoffed, and every hundred years a batch of marquises were also eliminated.

In this generation, aristocratic families have gradually gained control of the court through debates on classical texts, but for them, the emperor is harsh and cruel, making it very difficult to be granted a title of nobility. Only military achievements can earn one a title.

Therefore, the group that is now coercing the Zhou king must be trying to gain status and titles by supporting him.

The emperor was furious. His son, who had stayed in the capital, was the successor he had chosen, but now he had not only dabbled in things he shouldn't have, but was also acting recklessly.

Until a few days ago, Emperor Shu still had some doubts about the authenticity of the great victory in Bo County. After all, he had fought against Hao's army so many times and ended up losing, while Wu Fei's side had recovered lost territory with a detachment. This made Emperor Shu, who was proud, feel a little resentful.

Emperor Xu no longer denies the military achievements of the Eastern Market Army, because he believes that whoever wants to secure their position in the capital must gain control of this army. What is the Eastern Market Army? Its officers are all nobles of the capital, and it is now a powerful army, irreplaceable in the great capital.

Emperor Xu could proudly say that every young general was personally selected by him, and that the army was composed of "his own sons".

Originally, this army was intended to be left to the Zhou king, but the Zhou king's team lacked someone with military power.

Looking back a few years, Emperor Shu appointed King Zhou as military supervisor, hoping that King Zhou could discover a young general on his own. However, King Zhou proved incompetent. Emperor Shu then had to select some young men himself.

But Emperor Xu never expected that if he loosened his grip even slightly, his power would be usurped by the "filial piety of father and son," so he had no choice but to seize this card and hold it in his own hands.

Emperor Xu breathed a sigh of relief after confirming that the King of Zhou had not yet granted Wu Fei a marquisate!

As for why he wasn't granted a title, Emperor Xu understood it was due to the character of the advisors around King Zhou—ambitious but incompetent, with great aspirations. After all, Wu Fei had been exceptionally arrogant when he led the East Market Army in the city, and was looked down upon by these young people who felt they were close to his command.

…Huangmen's sharp voice began to summon Wu Hanluan…

Emperor Xu summoned Wu Hanluan and offered him a seat. However, the topic of conversation did not involve the events in the capital; instead, they engaged in casual conversation.

The emperor teased, "Your little brat came to see me, asking if he could take the clothes he changed into back with him?"

Wu Hanluan felt somewhat ashamed; Wu Fei was indeed capable of such a thing. He then said, "Your subject lacks discipline."

Emperor Xu said to Wu Hanluan: "Wu Fei is doing very well in the capital. He is now making meritorious contributions on the frontier and has won my favor. I have long wanted to give him a title, but I am afraid that people in the capital will gossip. So I want to first make him my son-in-law and then proceed slowly."

Wu Hanluan quickly thanked His Majesty for his favor. —Hmm, the Emperor's meaning was clear: he didn't want to expose his family's dirty laundry. To bestow a higher title upon Wu Hanluan now would be undignified, and outsiders would gossip that he was being "coerced by his subject."

Wu Hanluan remained kneeling, indicating that although his son (Wu Fei) lacked discipline, he would never err in matters of loyalty and righteousness. Emperor Xu was quite satisfied with Wu Hanluan's performance.

Politicians are wary of impulsive and reckless individuals. If Wu Hanluan shows dissatisfaction, it means he wants to force the emperor to grant him a title of nobility now.

If Wu Hanluan insists on it now, the Emperor will have no choice but to comply with Wu Hanluan's demands immediately.

However, when Emperor Xu returned to the court, in order to balance the influence of Wu Hanluan's "rewarding merit for titles", he had to also bestow titles upon the generals in the northwest who had accompanied him on the expedition and lost a large number of troops.

For Wu Hanluan, this would actually diminish the value of the titles he had earned for his great achievements in Lingnan and Wu Fei in Bohai.

Under the glow of the copper lamp, after a brief exchange of unspoken words between the two old foxes, Emperor Xu now stated his position to Wu Hanluan: "We must first strip the legitimacy of those people in the capital, and then bestow additional status upon the Wu family afterward."

Wu Hanluan knelt down to express his gratitude and agreed to the deal.

But while both emperors postponed the "reward," Emperor Wu's methods were far more sophisticated than those of the Zhou king's advisors; Emperor Wu uttered a single sentence: "The position of General Who Conquers the North has been vacant in the dynasty for more than fifty years."

Wu Hanluan was moved to tears: "Your Majesty's favor has been bestowed upon me for generations. I do not seek fame or fortune, but only wish to repay Your Majesty's kindness in recognizing my talent."

…The emperor's might remains as mighty as ever…

A few days later, Wu Hanluan dispatched another 1,500 men, bringing the total to 3,000 men, to escort the emperor back to the capital. At the same time, he sent documents along the way to officials at all levels within the Da Yao territory indicating the location of the imperial residence.

As a minor incident, Emperor Xu enfeoffed the son of the King of Bo as the "King of Xusi" in Lingnan.

In the Eastern Palace, King Zhou was enjoying the company of Consort Li in the warm, hibiscus-scented tent. This newly acquired Consort Li was exceptionally beautiful, charming, and skilled at serving the king, thus winning his deep affection.

However, today King Zhou did not punish her. Instead, he asked the imperial physician who had come to fetch him, "Is Consort Li pregnant?" The physician replied, "It is true, she is already three months along."

King Zhou calculated that it was exactly the same shot he had fired that day. As a man, he was very satisfied that he had hit the mark so high. He then issued an edict to promote Consort Li by three ranks and summoned her mother to the palace to take care of her.

When King Zhou made this decision, his mind was blank, because all his energy was focused on his father. This terrible news plunged him into despair: his father had not become the late emperor, but had returned from his western hunt. The three thousand troops dispatched by Wu Hanluan had already escorted His Majesty past Jizhou.

…Compared to his father, the son may know a few tricks, but he's too inexperienced…

King Zhou smashed an inkstone in the palace and roared, "Marquis of Qiansu Pavilion, fine, fine, fine! You won't listen to reason, so you'll have to drink the penalty cup!"

At this time, in the imperial edict for the emperor's return north, Wu Hanluan still referred to himself as the Marquis of Qiansuting. However, the Marquis of Yun, previously enfeoffed by the King of Zhou, was a township marquis, and a township with a thousand households was also called a marquis of a thousand households. Wu Hanluan, while escorting the emperor back, did not accept the King of Zhou's promotion to marquis, which was tantamount to declaring that he did not recognize any of the titles bestowed by the King of Zhou during his regency.

This blocked the path for those who wanted to be promoted by King Zhou and advance quickly.
“The Wu family uncle and nephew appear to be honest and kind, but they are actually treacherous officials in the court. They are deceiving His Majesty and sowing discord between you and His Majesty. I urge Your Highness to make a decision as soon as possible.” Su Wang, the attendant of Prince Zhou, quickly offered this advice.

These advisors who were loyal to King Zhou were now filled with intense hatred for Wu Hanluan. Their arguments were so heated that the tone of their voices sounded like tearing fabric.

The reason is this: "If you are not granted an official title, how can I be? If I am not granted an official title, how can His Highness the King of Zhou ascend the throne? If His Highness the King of Zhou cannot ascend the throne, how can you, well, how can we advance!"

Those in the capital who were clustered around King Zhou, and who considered him as the core of their circle, believed that Wu Hanluan should accept the title of "Marquis of Yun" now. This would force Emperor Shu to acknowledge the reality of the upheaval in the court. After all, Emperor Shu had lost the Zhanlu Army during his western hunt, and Wu Hanluan only needed to express his opinion slightly to secure the title of Marquis of a Thousand Households—it was clearly a win-win situation.

But little did they know that if Wu Hanluan really made this black glove, he would be recorded as a traitor.

But Wu Hanluan, as a military family whose titles have been passed down through generations based on military achievements, is still a powerful regional governor. He is a highly sought-after figure by all parties. Why should he get involved in such a mess?

If you play such a despicable role, you won't be able to secure a core position in the new ruler's circle.

Even if King Zhou kept his promise and reserved a core position for Wu Hanluan, his faction would still dislike Wu Hanluan and would only assign him dirty work.

Furthermore, these princelings don't even have a personal letter from the Prince of Zhou, and they don't consider Wu Hanluan as their core at all.

If the King of Zhou truly regarded the Wu family as his confidants, then he should have taken care of them long ago after Wu Fei entered the capital as a hostage.

Wu Fei's seemingly "arrogant" behavior in the East Market was actually his last meal before entering the battlefield. King Zhou should not have cherished his reputation and should have spoken up for the East Market army.

Cheng Ji did shady work for the Sima family, but instead of receiving a personal audience with Sima Zhao, he was subcontracted by Jia Chong.

Both were doing clandestine work, but Li Shimin personally went to see Chang He, who was guarding Xuanwu Gate! After all, both were carrying the stigma of "betrayal." From Chang He's perspective: You're not even willing to come and verify the authenticity of my defection, yet you make me do the riskiest and least rewarding job?
Now that the powerful scions around King Zhou are facing a crisis, they realize that their plans lack the cooperation of the high-ranking officials on the frontier, and they think, "It is truly unwise of Wu Hanluan not to conspire with us."

(End of this chapter)