Wei School's Three Good Students

Chapter 160 The Recapture of Yan

At the end of the first year of the Tianyou calendar, in Chunyan City, with the crunching sound of hard snow being crushed underfoot, groups of serfs were fleeing through the snow. Behind them, a dozen or so Hao Kingdom knights were chasing after them on horseback, their hooves leaving shallow tracks on the ice, and the breaths of both men and horses exhaling long, white puffs.

Just six months ago, these serfs who fled south were the Haotian peasant army, fighting against the Wu family army on the battlefield with agricultural iron tools.

Now, without armor, weapons, and even starving, this group of people fled downstream. The column was scattered, and it was unknown how many had fallen behind, but they were eventually reunited as the knights pursued them.

However, just as they bowed their heads and closed their eyes, awaiting their eleventh round of slaughter before being led back, a patrol of Yao soldiers appeared downstream. These serfs, who had escaped from Hao, shouted loudly, attracting the attention of the Yao soldiers. This caused the Hao slave-catching team to curse a few times and ride away.

These serfs of the Hao Kingdom knelt before the troops coming from the south, and were then obediently driven to the prisoner-of-war camp in the south.

…Snowflakes covered the footprints, but new footprints were quickly made…

Throughout the winter, as many as six thousand serfs fled south, and that was only the number who escaped. Countless others starved to death, or froze to death on the way because they couldn't escape.

Wu Fei received intelligence that a severe food crisis had occurred in Chunyan City of Hao Kingdom.

On the other hand, in the farms built around Shenglong City, most of the serfs survived because Wu Fei had delivered a large amount of grain in advance, stored up a lot of firewood before winter, and washed and weighed the serfs every ten days.

Of course, in Wu Fei's plan, these serfs were only meant to survive; all notions of decency and morality were discarded.

In the large communal sleeping quarters of the earthen enclosures, the serfs huddled on the earthen beds like mice swarming among the weeds. Men had one bed, and women had another.

As for "sleeping together under the same quilt," these serfs had all done it, but they would never do it every day. As the saying goes, one only thinks of lust when one is well-fed and warm. For serfs, with only so much food to eat each day, the waste of public grain was simply unbearable.

The female serfs living in the earthen houses were all between thirty-five and fifty years old. However, pregnant women received a larger personal ration, so these strong women worked hard throughout the winter. It's worth mentioning that they had already faced death in their late teens and early twenties; surviving the famine now was more important than the calamity that would follow in ten months.

What? What about serf girls aged 10 to 20? The young and pretty female captives have long been sold to the soldiers in the south as wives.

To put it in the most inhumane terms, the places where serfs lived were like "bamboo rat burrows," solely for survival and reproduction; all scientific planning was merely for this purpose. The serf owners' management was about maximizing the amount of food consumed while simultaneously maximizing the amount of physical labor available.

Because such management was too brutal (too much like P-Society), Wu Fei worried that it would cause harm for thousands of years. So he sent a message to the local feudal lords, warning them: "This model cannot last. Once the granaries are full, you must know etiquette. Once you have enough food and clothing, you must know honor and shame."

Even so, the serfs of Yaojun did not starve to death! Moreover, the serfs were able to accompany their lords on horseback patrols and hunt bears, which led many of the laborers from the northern Hao Kingdom who could no longer endure the hardship to flock south to serve them.

Throughout the entire winter in Yan, the fact that people were not starving actually won over the hearts of the people.

…As a modern person, I feel that in chaotic times, there is no limit to how bad things can get…

Wu Fei learned through "information" that in Chunyan City, even the lowest-ranking soldiers could not maintain the reward system of "more rewards for hard work" and "more pay for bravery".

Wu Fei sensed that it was a ruler's calculating mentality of "you've contributed enough, so hurry up and die, don't waste resources."

For example, the story of the slaves who fled south, lying on straw mats, goes like this: They were building camps in Chunyan City, and one craftsman's camp was better than the others. During a heavy snowfall, he felt that the stables were not strong enough and mentioned it to the lords. The lords immediately ordered him to repair them, but when he returned, he was shivering all over. The next day, sure enough, the stables in other districts collapsed, but the area he was responsible for did not, and the carpenter caught a cold. However, the lords did not give him any medicine or hot soup, nor did they even give him credit. In the end, the carpenter died and was thrown outside the city.

Regarding this story, Wu Fei feigned reluctance, first denying it: "It's fake."

When Wu Fei conveyed this attitude to his interrogators, the storyteller became exceptionally excited: "My lord, everything I've said is true. Everyone who came with me saw it—that Mu Laoshi was thrown into the river! Go ask him if you don't believe me!"

After Wu Fei, a high-ranking official, received a "denial," the head of the serf camp diligently verified the information. What was submitted next was no longer the version presented in the storybook, but rather testimonies from multiple serfs, including the carpenter's name being "Honest Wood," and the date he was thrown out being November 20th of last winter.

Wu Fei's principle for intelligence gathering is that no matter how compelling a person's story is, it cannot be included in the analysis database; it must be verified on an alternating basis.

In fact, when many serfs were passing down the carpenter's tragic story by word of mouth, it was no longer necessary to determine whether it was true or false. The key point was that the story was being passed down among the lower classes while the officials of the Hao Kingdom above pretended not to know, which was a kind of ostrich effect.

Wu Fei analyzed: "If Chunyan City truly knew the far-reaching consequences of this incident, it would have dealt with it promptly."

Giving "Honest Wood" a sufficient reward is actually not difficult. The reason for tacitly not responding is that there are too many people like "Honest Wood," and the officials are in the wrong, so they pretend it's a "trivial matter" so that they can still maintain control of the overall situation.

In reality, the overall situation of the Hao Kingdom was already out of control. Unable to win external wars and plagued by internal conflicts, it had become a disorganized mess. The serfs in Chunyan City were fighting tooth and nail over a single steamed bun, and the relationships between the different villages were comparable to a prison drama.

If Wu Hengyu had attacked the city last year, it would have been a tough battle, but not this year.

Wu Fei summoned Wu Hengyu and explained, "The people in Chunyan City have almost all starved to death. After we take that city, we can live in peace."

Wu Hengyu warmed his hands with a fire lit by a rush pith and asked, "How do you plan to do this?"

Wu Fei, wearing gloves, flipped through the cool bamboo slips: "I've arranged for people. When you go, there's a signal. Someone will open the city gate. Even if no one opens the gate, the southwest corner of the city wall is dilapidated and there's no moat there; a direct assault can take it."

Wu Hengyu: "Prepare more of those nuts and dried rations."

Wu Fei: "Of course."

…five hundred soldiers marched at full speed…

On January 10th of the second year of the Tianyou calendar, in Chunyan City, Wu Gao, lying in a warm bed with a stove, suddenly woke up. He was covered in cold sweat. In his dream, he had led his troops in a final battle against the Wu brothers on the frozen Zihe River.

At the height of the battle, the ice beneath the jade lion's feet on the riverbank was shattered, and cracks spread rapidly across the entire battlefield, drowning countless soldiers.

Wu Gao wiped his sweat and sighed, "It was just a nightmare. I still have two thousand soldiers and eight thousand militiamen. How could I possibly lose?!"

Just as he was about to go back to sleep, a commotion broke out in the city. However, just as he was about to reprimand his soldiers for failing to quell the mutiny in time, a piercing scream suddenly rang out from outside his house: "Enemy attack!"

Wu Gao was immediately surprised. Shouldn't the enemy be shouting from the city wall two hundred paces away? How come they are suddenly within twenty paces?

Wu Gao was unaware that his men at the city gate had already had their throats slit. Guided by the fleeing farmers, Wu Hengyu's troops entered the city. Just like a parade, the thousand men were divided into several groups and moved along the streets. The serfs in the various camps had become accustomed to being suppressed by Wu Gao's men in recent days, so when they saw the armed and wielding Yao Army troops entering the city, they all hid in their earthen fortifications and pretended not to see them.

Wu Hengyu's army reached the outside of Wu Gao's residence. Wu Gao's nightmare might have been a sudden whim after the approaching evil aura.

However, it was too late. After Wu Gao's residence was surrounded, he put up a final, desperate resistance. But once the battering rams were brought into the city, the walls collapsed with a loud crash, and Wu Hengyu rushed in.

Wu Gao's personal guards were determined not to surrender. When they saw Wu Hengyu enter alone, they fought bravely, but Wu Hengyu, after killing a hundred men with his sword, rushed to Wu Gao with his clothes soaked in blood.

Wu Gao was dumbfounded. His personal guards, numbering in the hundreds, were practically "fifty axemen." But it was all for naught.

Facing the ferocious tiger, Wu Gao murmured, "You are Wu, Wu, Hengyu." The corpses and wounded people in the courtyard, lying inside and outside the walls, could not get within three steps of Wu Hengyu.

With bloodstains on his face, Wu Hengyu remained silent. Like picking a watermelon, he lightly sliced ​​off the man's head with a knife. He then had his men hoist it onto the flagpole, and everyone in the city surrendered. After capturing the city, Wu Hengyu sent a message to Wu Fei, instructing him to handle the aftermath, primarily the determination of rewards and punishments.

Wu Hengyu was used to letting Wu Fei handle these kinds of mentally taxing tasks.

…The snowflakes were used to wipe away the blood from the swords and blades before being sheathed…

During this northern expedition, all the soldiers, including Wu Hengyu, highly approved of Wu Fei's division of the spoils.

For example, after capturing Thang Long, the reason why Wu Hengyu's army was able to quickly go to Wu Gao's place for a decisive battle without getting entangled in the spoils of war was because Wu Feilai was in charge of guarding the spoils of Thang Long.

Now, after capturing Chunyan City and seeing many women, the soldiers under Wu Hengyu's command, formerly of the Northern Route Army, are restless, some even eager to try their luck. Wu Gao's household has many beautiful maids, possessing the tall stature and indomitable spirit of Northern women—in internet slang, plump and fertile.

Just as the soldiers were stirring and some were shouting "first come, first served!", the sound of thunder and wind arose as nine phoenixes flew in from the sky. The veterans, seeing Wu Fei present, began to retreat and became obedient, their brows furrowing as they quietly retreated to the back of the crowd, while some fools were still leading the charge.

After each victory, Wu Hengyu might allow his soldiers to indulge themselves, but this "second general" of the Wu family, who was in charge of the money, was known for his strict adherence to rules. Even the "dormitories" set up in the army required everyone to wash themselves clean first and wear pig bladders and fish bladders.

After Wu Fei came down, he restrained the few soldiers who had led the commotion. After confirming that their contributions were not significant and that they had only followed the army into the city with the wind, he immediately sent men to remove their heads.

After Wu Fei arrived, the camp quieted down after the heads of those useless but troublesome soldiers in Yao Army were hung on the flagpole, and several meritorious soldiers were given a spanking. The more farsighted veterans then chuckled at the new recruits, saying, "See? They got whipped. Why were they in such a hurry? They've even sent women to the camp. What's yours is yours."

Wu Fei quickly sorted out the merits and calculated the merit points for all the soldiers, then assigned women to the five hundred men who had made the most contributions in the battle. This allocation was personal and could not be exchanged; after the battle, each person would take their assigned woman back to their hometown.

Some people were envious when they saw that the person who had made the first move in the battle had gotten a woman, but no one dared to say that they wanted a share.

Because Wu Fei always prioritized the best fighters who risked their lives in battle when allocating food, the others who didn't get any didn't dare to complain.

Three hours later, after the distribution was completed, Wu Fei let out a sigh of relief. After such a great victory, the distribution of other lands and wealth could be delayed, but the distribution of women was the only exception. If it was slow, it would lead to mutiny. Those who have tasted blood are like wild beasts breaking free of their chains; one must not try to provoke their bloodlust with the "sage" air one might have acquired in the study.

In the Battle of Xingyang, the battle in which Liu Bang almost perished, the Jiangdong men were thrown into chaos when they encountered two thousand armored women sent by Chen Ping.

Wu Fei looked further west and sighed, "Ah, I hope there are enough women of dragon lineage. The taste of a dragon maiden, hehe."

The attack on Chunyan City required 500 men, but if they continue westward across the grasslands to sweep through, they will eventually need to maintain 5,000 men. Wu Hengyu's troops are all high-maintenance-cost combat soldiers; he doesn't have any economically viable units.

…Migratory birds from the south begin their northward flight, a few feathers landing on the green water…

However, just as Wu Fei was busy with work and returned to Shenglong City, Wu Hengyu had just rested when he encountered Bai Renfeng urgently requesting an audience.

Bai Renfeng, a sword immortal, held the sect's messenger: "A report has arrived from the imperial court that evil spirits have appeared in Zhenzhou, and a plague has broken out."

Wu Hengyu was slightly taken aback, then asked, "How serious is the situation you're describing?"

Since joining the army, Wu Hengyu had encountered several plagues, one in Donghua County and one during the Battle of Zhenshui, but none of them caused any major problems or affected the army. However, this time he came specifically to report on the plague, which was obviously unusual.

Bai Renfeng looked at his senior brother with a complicated expression and said, "According to the investigations of various sects, the cause of this plague is related to your father."

"Crack!" Wu Hengyu crushed the cup in his hand, staring at him: "Who said this?"

Bai Renfeng's expression remained unchanged as he spoke truthfully, despite Wu Hengyu's murderous aura: "Wang Hengzong has found evidence that there is a Great Yellow Spring beneath Lelang City. The only direct tunnel connecting the Great Yellow Spring to the surface has always been guarded by your father's troops to prevent anyone from intervening."

Wu Hengyu denied this, saying, "Wang Hengzong is located at the border of Yongzhou and Yuhuazhou. They are not without their own secret dealings with the false Hao at this time."

Bai Renfeng immediately dispelled Wu Hengyu's hopes, saying, "Da Yao's Demon Suppression Division has also confirmed the news, so your father's matter is most likely true."

Wu Hengyu stood with his hands behind his back, like a suppressed storm, and slowly said, "They are taking advantage of the fact that my father has no one by his side."

Bai Renfeng: "General, it's best if you don't worry about it."

Wu Hengyu turned his head and stared at Bai Renfeng, then suddenly said, "Senior brother, it seems you also believe that my family is the one who did evil?"

The malevolent aura surged forth like water. In Wu Hengyu's eyes, he had just conquered two prefectures for the Great Yao Dynasty and made great contributions; but just as things were beginning to settle down, this incident occurred.

Bai Renfeng withdrew all his spiritual energy, but his sword intent remained. He stood tall and faced Wu Hengyu, slowly saying, "General, the court has enfeoffed you in Bo, hoping that you will not get involved in this matter."

Wu Hengyu: "Father and son are one, how can I be separated? What does the sect (Qinghua Sect) think?"

Bai Renfeng slowly said, "General Wu Hanluan sent a letter, severing ties with our sect."

Wu Hengyu entered an eerie calm. He asked Senior Brother Bai to leave, but Bai Renfeng knew very well that this was not a compromise, but rather a buildup of unstable emotions.

Bai Renfeng calculated that the Wu family was currently in dire straits in this matter, but there was a glimmer of hope amidst the misfortune.

Bai Renfeng hurried north, heading towards Chunyan City. As a messenger, he was to deliver the letter to the Wu brothers.

…The strategists and the immortals have begun to intersect, a rare occurrence…

Wu Fei is currently planning the planting in Chunyan City after the start of spring, as well as the defensive fortress nodes for next year, in order to use these as a base to prepare for the future destruction of the country.

Wu Fei's plan to destroy Hao was simple: block the mountain passes in western Yan territory, build fortifications, and then send troops out of the passes every year to the grassland tribes north of Tutu Shazhou to cause trouble for Hao's rear. Cut off Shazhou's horse supply. After subduing some tribes, take them in as lackeys, and then send a thousand troops every year with cannons and auxiliary troops to blow open the Shazhou fortifications and then enter the pass.

This went on for three years, with several such incidents, forcing the Hao Kingdom, whose rear end was constantly pierced, to withdraw its troops to the north for defense every autumn.

Even if things calm down for a few years, we still have to reflexively guard against Wu Xiaoque going south to cause trouble. At that time, even if Hao Kingdom has Li Mu stationed in the north for many years, it will still face the same predicament as Zhao Kingdom in the late Changping period, where the country was weak.

Standing atop the city wall, watching the white expanse fade away, Wu Fei couldn't help but sigh. If Emperor Xu were still alive, and the Great Yao remained stable for a few years, the Hao Kingdom would almost certainly be pacified. Note: The remaining uncertainty lies in the various unpredictable events that could occur with Emperor Xu's family.

Wu Fei's assessment of the Emperor Xu's family was: their bloodline contained the gene of "seeking wealth and honor in danger, and creating danger even when there is none."

Wu Fei grumbled as he recalled the past: he'd encountered several such cases himself. Four hundred years ago, the Crown Prince Li concocted elixirs and was eventually banished to the southern border—that was one example; ten years ago, the Prince of Bo refused to be imprisoned and ran away—that was another; the Prince of Zhou, now the emperor, launched a chaotic campaign with fifteen armies—that was yet another; and three years ago, the Emperor of Shu personally led an expedition—that was yet yet another. For people like that, no amount of insurance would be enough; they were all about playing with fire.

Looking at Wu Juwang, who was obedient and capable, Wu Fei couldn't help but feel smug: "My family is fine, there aren't so many troubles."

At this moment, a white blade flew over from the horizon, landing five hundred meters away from the baleful aura, then revealed its waist token and came to pay its respects.

(End of this chapter)