Wei School's Three Good Students

Chapter 143 Faction Development
Compared to the power struggles in the imperial court of Yaodu, the situation on the front lines of the Bo region appears quite stable.

In the Eastern Market, the weapons were polished with oil, while the trowels, chisels, and other construction tools were covered in dust. The other side, however, was "poorly stocked."

In winter, Gu Shou Pass and the surrounding mountains were covered with a layer of snow. The Hao soldiers on the city wall were not on guard duty, but instead had made a straw effigy on the wall. The defenders themselves huddled in a sheltered spot, staring blankly at the wall, not uttering a word to conserve energy. At the same time, they carefully picked stones out of the embers, wrapped them in rags, and stuffed them into their clothes.

Just as things were quiet, a firework suddenly went off below the city wall and landed on the top of the wall with a bang. Yao Jun saw the crowd moving around on the top of the city wall and heard the gongs clattering. He then rode away, but he didn't leave completely. He would come back later that night.

Wu Fei held his opponents in the highest regard. Originally, Wu Fei planned to wait until the latter half of 37 years later before taking action against Gu Shou Pass, allowing the people of Bo County to recover, their grain reserves to accumulate, and the morale of the garrison at Gu Shou Pass to be further worn down. He was certain that he could capture the pass with fewer than a thousand casualties.

But now Zhao Cheng has arrived. He has prepared a military force eighty miles north of Gushou Pass, which is convenient for both food and support for Gushou Pass at any time.

Once Wu Fei realized his "exam paper" had arrived, he couldn't wait to start trying to answer it. For the past few days, he had been sending small groups of people to keep watch at Gushou Pass every few days.

Wu Fei did more than just harass; he also organized a group of slaves to rush to the checkpoint and investigate whether there were any traps underneath.

Regarding naval raids, Wu Fei no longer pursued capturing enemy food supplies, and instead told Zhao Xianzhong to use rockets directly when encountering enemy forces.

…The exam paper must be filled in completely; no blanks are allowed…

Looking back into the pass, Zhao Cheng observed the chaos caused by the fireworks atop the city walls, his expression slightly displeased. Clearly, the patrols outside the pass had failed in their duties.

After ten to fifteen days of fighting, Zhao Cheng realized that the battle in Bohai had become a protracted stalemate. He considered Wu Xiaoque and himself to be like Bo Ya breaking his string.

Zhao Cheng even sensed that "after I arrived, Wu Fei became a bit crazy."

In Zhao Cheng's strategy, losing Gushou Pass was not a major strategic concern. He could make up for it at other strategic points.

However, given the current situation in Hao Kingdom, if Gu Shou Pass is lost to Zhao Cheng, then something big will happen! Over the years, the dragon descendants in Hao Kingdom have been trying to wrest military power back from Zhao Cheng, and if they are defeated at Gu Shou Pass now, it will give the dragon descendants a pretext to attack.

Zhao Cheng felt a chill run down his spine when he saw Wu Fei's "If you don't hit me, I'll bother you" attitude.

He had no choice but to take the blame. Moreover, Zhao Cheng had a feeling that Wu Fei was not just bluffing. If his defenses were to slacken for a moment, or if Zhao Cheng were to be forced to leave Gushou Pass for a time, this army from Bohai would definitely come after him.

"My lord, these Bo soldiers are really annoying!" A lieutenant promoted by Zhao Cheng expressed his disdain for the fireworks on the city wall.

Clearly, some soldiers inside the pass had become weary of the harassment tactics of Bo County and felt that there was no need to pay attention to these petty tricks, so they kept watch on the city walls day and night.

Zhao Cheng shook his head and said to the generals he had promoted, "You think the other side is faking it, but in fact they really want to take this pass from me. If you let your guard down, that person (Wu Fei) will definitely come."

Zhao Cheng made a new decision: he sent his advisors to use their connections and spend money to move his loyal generals back to Shazhou.

Zhao Cheng's advisor said, "Sir, if you force people to be transferred, it won't work. Hao Jun has to take the initiative to exclude us so that we can adapt to the times and be transferred away." (He pointed to the dragon pattern on the screen behind Zhao Cheng)

Zhao Cheng nodded and asked his advisors, "What kinds of goods are traded between Yan and the south, and which of them are valuable?"

After his advisors presented the list, Zhao Cheng nodded: "We need to keep all of these in our hands. (Waiting for the Dragonborn to come and seize them, and to exclude them)."

…Loyalty is no longer sufficient…

Zhao Cheng was reporting the initial situation to Pu E. Both sides were currently testing each other's patience, like children watching who could blink first, waiting for the other's national strength to give way.

However, Pu'e could see that Zhao Cheng was clearly at a disadvantage in this kind of attrition! The national strength of Hao Kingdom could not support such consumption, and the output of Yan Land was insufficient. On the other hand, Wu Fei could afford to wait, restoring agricultural production internally and gradually cutting off the trade routes of Hao Kingdom to the north, blocking the possibility of exchanging fur for grain.

The ruler of Hao and his internal factions were also worried about allowing Zhao Cheng to maintain control over key locations in Yan for an extended period.

In December, at the end of the year, Zhao Cheng wanted to use a trick. He sent someone to ride his own mount away from the pass under the cover of night, pretending that he was not in the pass, in order to lure Wu Fei into attacking the pass ahead of time.

However, Wu Fei only sent light cavalry, and pretended that he had no interest in attacking the city. He circled around Gu Shou Pass, as if he had completed his mission, and left to go back for the New Year. This made the garrison inside Gu Shou Pass nervous and they did not have a good New Year.

After the New Year, the two sides exchanged New Year's greetings, auspicious and joyful. But behind each other's backs, they were both cursing the other as a "cunning old fox" and "dishonest."

…The authority of the major hexagram is being strengthened…

As the year drew to a close, a colorful cloud drifted in from the south through Huangyu City, and a distinguished guest appeared in the city.

The imperial court dispatched an envoy, a eunuch, who brought fine wine and silk to reward the three armies. The imperial decree particularly highlighted generals like Li Xiaorong and Mu Xingyu, who were from the same lineage, and bestowed titles and honors upon them.

Wu Fei and many generals knelt down to express their gratitude, which was an affirmation of the war in Bo County by the emperor after he entered the capital. At least the emperor could still show "tolerance" for now.

After awarding the prize, Huangmen also issued a decree allowing the sons of Yaodu to return to their hometowns.

It was said to be a favor, but in reality, the emperor wanted to transfer the core members of this Dongshi army back to establish military forces in the capital region.

When the eunuch announced this favor, all the generals of the Yaodu faction looked at Wu Fei, and of course, the palace eunuchs also saw this scene.

Under the pressure of the situation, Wu Fei replied quickly: Yes, we've been fighting for more than half a year, it's time for everyone to go home and visit their families. All the brothers who came from the south, we'll draw lots tonight to decide the order of our family visits.

Wu Fei stood up and said to the eunuch, "This official should inform His Majesty that the existing laws and regulations in the army need to be maintained, therefore, the sons of Yaodu cannot all return at once."

Huangmen said, “General, you are strict in your discipline and understand the emperor’s heart. Please rest assured, General.” He smiled and accepted the gold that Wu Fei handed to his sleeve.

The eunuch sent by the emperor received his main task from the emperor: to mobilize troops from here. —If Wu Fei is willing to give it, he is a loyal subject. Willing to send half a thousand men back to the capital is the height of loyalty, and even sending just a hundred men back still shows his stance.

Now that Wu Fei had made his stance clear, Huangmen gave him another imperial decree.

When Wu Fei saw the imperial decree, he was stunned. The emperor had asked Wu Hengyu to help him and announced that whoever broke through Gu Shou Pass first would be the "General Who Conquers the North".

Huangmen said, "His Majesty said, 'Brothers fight tigers together, and fathers and sons go to war together.' I'm sure that if your own elder brother came, you would be able to take Gushou Pass."

Wu Fei pondered the Emperor's intentions, then nodded and said, "Thank you, Your Majesty. My elder brother is a man of unparalleled bravery. If he were here, we would surely be able to take Gushou Pass."

Huang Mendao: That's good, that's good.

While Huangmen went to discuss the Emperor's benevolence and power with the other officials of Yaodu, Wu Fei sat silently.

…sitting and doing homework…

In January of the 37th year of the Tianli calendar, the air was filled with the scent of cooking smoke from the year-end feasts. With no cavalrymen from the north raiding for supplies, every household enjoyed a peaceful New Year.

On the first day of the year, ruts began to appear on the official road of Huangyucheng. Elders from all over the country rode in oxcarts wrapped in dry grass to the Huangyucheng compound to attend the first maintenance meeting. This unorthodox meeting was presided over by Wu Fei, and all the oxcarts were arranged in a coordinated manner. As for the dry grass for warmth, it was also Wu Fei's idea.

During the court hearing, the village elders brushed the bits of grass off each other and joked that they were all just commoners.

Wu Fei didn't care about these formalities and started directly to report and compile statistics.

Now, Wu Fei is also in charge of manpower allocation in Bo County, starting to build new irrigation canals, store grain, and pave roads. These were the responsibilities of the former governor of Bo County, but the governor was clearly incompetent. Every year, thousands of laborers died from exhaustion during the conscription of corvée labor, and hundreds of families were ruined. In fact, even the governors and prefects from aristocratic families in Da Yao were not as capable as Wu Fei in their work.

The average level of prefects and governors in this era was so low that, in this feudal era, the practice of reducing taxes and levies became a celebrated example of effective governance.

If light taxes and corvée labor were truly a panacea, why would so many people still rebel? Local officials needed to efficiently and effectively organize the labor force (corvée labor) for engineering projects like water conservancy and roads. This was a highly skilled task.

This is how production was restored during the Qin and Han dynasties. However, during the Later Han and Jin dynasties, the central government lost control over the evaluation system for state officials, which led to a significant decline in the governance capabilities of state officials for several centuries.

This situation persisted into the Song and Ming dynasties, with imperial power not extending to the county level. Powerful families were allowed to privately maintain slaves. Consequently, the labor required for the construction of canals and roads was entirely borne by the self-sufficient farmers. The large-scale deaths of these farmers due to forced labor had a negative impact, leading to evasion of labor and further depletion of manpower for the maintenance of public facilities. This, in turn, resulted in decreased grain production, insufficient road capacity, and increased costs for production and resource mobilization, creating a vicious cycle.

Wu Hanluan once told Wu Fei, "You have the talent of a prime minister." At the time, Wu Fei thought this was just a family member praising another family member.

However, after heading north, Wu Fei also discovered that he was doing a better job than other regional officials in Da Yao. Of course, this was a benefit brought about by his "vision ahead of the times".

For example, manpower was optimized in Bo County. In order to prevent the aristocratic families from hiding their manpower, Wu Fei implemented a voting system in the localities. Representatives of each maintenance committee had to win enough votes from local adult men to retain their seats. The number of votes in the maintenance committee corresponded to the speaking power of each person in charge.

After identifying the key figures within the puppet regime through voting, Wu Fei assigned them labor service. Within the puppet regime, whoever garnered the most votes was assigned the most labor. Naturally, whoever contributed the most men would have their opinions reflected in the list of people displayed on Wu Fei's desk. The selection of talent under the recommendation system was thus directly decided by them.

After receiving the corvée labor, Wu Fei settled the laborers according to "military management." He transferred a group of poor soldiers to become officials, and their daily work hours were limited to no more than five hours. Even for work-related injuries, doctors were provided. This year, few people died in the corvée labor in Bo County, and most of them even took some money home with them.

With the irrigation canals built, grain production increased, and fewer people died from forced labor. As a result, the major clans now felt that it was good for Wu Fei to stay, and some even thought that Wu Fei should simply not leave.

Of course, Wu Fei knew that this system would gradually become ineffective after he left, because it required people who could "calculate, write, and weigh things," and the threshold was too high, at least relative to this era.

Because if labor mobilization is miscalculated, it can lead to mass incidents. Without a systematic structure for cultivating talent (modern education), talent shortages are commonplace. Qin faced this crisis after unifying China.

To be honest, the rebel army was actually recruited and organized by the Qin state itself; if they had conscripted people everywhere, Liu Bang and his men, left in the countryside, might not have been able to gather together even in the event of a natural disaster.

Xuan Chong's personal opinion can be summarized as follows: Qin's corvée labor system would be overthrown by uprisings, while Song's corvée labor system would lead to the country being brutally attacked and destroyed by foreign tribes.

At present, Bo County is located on the frontier, and Wu Fei has sufficient ability to govern internally and defend the border.

Wu Fei issued a series of orders to the maintenance committees, and then, based on the situation of each maintenance committee this year, announced the list of candidates for the civil service examination.

The things Wu Fei did in Bohai were reported to Zhao Cheng by his spies. As Zhao Cheng listened to the spies' account while looking at the map of the south, he could not shake off the feeling for a long time.

On the other side of Gu Shouguan, Zhao Cheng, knowing that he was wasting time by squatting in the toilet, couldn't help but say, "A person like you is a capable minister who can govern a peaceful world."

...Sitting still for too long makes your mind wander...

After Wu Fei finished resolving the maintenance meeting, a military meeting was held here. The core members of the Dongshi Army in the past were troops from Yaodu. Under Wu Fei's deliberate guidance, they were to be localized and Bodi natives were to be promoted continuously.

The current land reclamation policy has been very successful. After the introduction of canals and the removal of abandoned land from the war, the newly reclaimed land is now twice as much as before the war, according to statistics.

Wu Fei established a system based on Shang Yang's reforms, beginning to redistribute these barren lands to local military officers through a merit-based system of granting titles. Before long, within two years, the aristocratic families and clans of this land would transform into a military-based group. This marked the beginning of the military conglomeration of the Guanzhong Plain.

Just as Wu Fei was pondering how to continue this stalemate, Li Xiaorong, instigated by many officers, began to pressure Wu Fei to resign.

"Xiao Rong, you're here." Wu Fei stared at the sand table without even looking up.

Li Xiaorong walked in, looked around, and then came in carrying a box of oranges. He said to Wu Fei, "Sir, these were sent from our hometown. Please have a taste."

Wu Fei looked at him and said with a smile, "Just say what you have to say."

Li Xiaorong: "Sir, when do we attack Gushou Pass?"

Wu Fei paused for a moment: "What, you want to go home?"

Li Xiaorong scratched the back of his head: "No, it's just that when you hold back, everyone feels uncomfortable!"

Wu Fei patted him and said, "After you followed me out of Yaodu, you fought dozens of battles, big and small. There were 150 of you back then, how many are left now?"

Li Xiaorong paused and said, "Only three brothers were injured or disabled, and there are still 147 people left."

Wu Fei looked at him and said, "So you've been winning too easily, and you feel like you can take down every city in one battle."

Li Xiaorong: "But now, haven't you prepared enough?" He looked at the wall full of bamboo slips behind Wu Fei; these were the minutes from their monthly meetings.

The meeting reported that Bohai Land was accumulating more and more medicines, cloth, and tung oil. They were also stockpiling land and grain.

Wu Fei sighed: "We need to prepare for the worst. Okay, let's not talk about that for now. What do you think of the soil and water in Bohai?"

Li Xiaorong: "My lord, Bo County is now thriving under your rule."

Wu Fei looked at him and asked, "Have you ever considered taking up a post as governor in one of the cities of Bo County?"

Li: "Sir, you wouldn't really be—?"

Wu Fei: "You're just keeping a bandit in order to enhance your own prestige, right?"

Li Xiaorong remained silent, looking out of the tent in alarm. Wu Fei waved his hand and said, "His Majesty's spies are not here today. Besides, it wouldn't matter if we informed His Majesty."

Wu Fei stared at him and said, "I'm not raising bandits, I'm raising you all. As for me—I can be transferred away at any time with a single order. But you are different. You are His Majesty's trusted advisors in the future. Now that you have governed Bo County well, when His Majesty needs to appoint important officials to posts outside the capital, he will choose from among you."

Li Xiaorong left in a daze. When questioned by his colleagues, he gritted his teeth and said, "The lord hopes that we, the sons of Yaodu, will share weal and woe with the locals in Bojun for a while."

…Wu Fei: I will not keep the glory of victory to myself…

Wu Fei and Li Xiaorong explained in detail the future of the Dongshi Army, stating that the group of officers brought out from Dongshi would eventually form a faction.

Since it will become a faction, it should be considered from the perspective of faction. A faction not only needs a large number of capable people in the military, but also needs a group of people in the local areas. Only in this way can it become a permanent force in all the changes to come.

Wu Fei's original words: "If we finish the job all at once, we will be forced to choose sides when we get back. And if we choose the wrong side, all our achievements will be wiped out. So leaving some people behind to hold back is a backup plan. I can indeed be removed with a single imperial edict, but the entire Dongshi Army is what you and I built together. I don't want to see our hard work be eliminated with the slightest flick of a finger by those who are scheming, and all our glory and brilliance be buried in oblivion."

The last snowfall after the start of spring has melted. The oxen have started pulling the plow.

The perspective shifts to Yaodu. In the spring sacrifice of the 37th year, Emperor Xu presided over the ceremony under the watchful eyes of the crowd. However, what made the officials even more uneasy was that the King of Zhou was not present.

Just six months ago, Emperor Xu was happily praising King Zhou for his effective oversight. But now, many of King Zhou's cronies have been imprisoned, and many aristocratic families, sensitive to celestial affairs, are aware that the succession may be in jeopardy.

(End of this chapter)