Wei School's Three Good Students

Chapter 168 Intercepting and Killing the Jizhou Army

In May of the second year of the Tianyou calendar, Wu Fei was also gathering information during the assembly of the Southern Route Army.

Since it was highly certain that businessmen were involved behind the rebellion in Zhendi, Wu Fei transferred a group of people from the Southern Security Bureau and then used film distributors in the south to investigate the information.

Merchants, after all, don't have a united will. Southern merchants, seeing such a good opportunity to kick their northern counterparts when they're down, naturally wouldn't let it pass.

These people anonymously reported to the Security Bureau, revealing rumors about how their "colleagues" on the northern route engaged in speculation and profiteering, extorting money and goods, and then vomiting back gold after being imprisoned. They also shared with Wu Fei their observations that these "friendly merchants" were particularly careful when supplying resources to the rebellious areas before the uprising.

It was practically saying that their northern counterparts harbored resentment towards Wu Hanluan and were plotting a rebellion.

Under Wu Fei's supervision, the Security Bureau met with several groups of merchants from outside the Zhenzhou trade route, who all described the chaos in the north in different contexts.

Merchant A: "It is said that in March of this year, General Wu Hanluan was short of grain and wanted to borrow some." (This is a probing question.)

Merchant B: "In Jizhou, the finest brocade is made." (This is a digression.)

Merchant C: "Sir, my family's unworthy descendants have recently pulled off several deals in Zhenjiang." (This is a lightning-fast cut-off, and a tainted witness type.)
Wu Fei did not blindly believe everything he heard. He also found some small merchants from the northern route to interrogate. Through their stammering explanations, Wu Fei pieced together the information.

General situation: Before the incident, Wu Hanluan had a huge conflict with the merchant groups in Zhenzhou. As a result, these merchant groups, under the influence of other powerful groups in other states, betrayed Wu Hanluan.

So Wu Fei took out a list of the Zhen Di Chamber of Commerce, which listed the corresponding business types of each company, and marked them with √ or ×.

Even though Wu Fei had been gone for several years, these businessmen had cultivated many connections—but Wu Fei's statistics on their business situation from a few years ago were still valid. A businessman's stance may change, but he would never easily abandon business channels and brand names.

Wu Fei matched this commodity statistics with various merchants, and the accuracy was even higher than the local household registration and land area correspondence in various states.

So, the merchants want to rebel? Impossible. From the very beginning, Wu Fei's power structure was modeled after Chiang Kai-shek militarily, Qin and Han dynasties politically, and Roosevelt economically. —It maintains the ability to destroy any chamber of commerce without resorting to force.

As for whether the businessmen were wronged in this conflict and whether they needed to be appeased?
Wu Fei showed absolutely no remorse. Wu Fei said, "If you won't do it, plenty of others will."

Over the past decade, in order to expand southward, government-supervised and merchant-run businesses have sprung up everywhere. While the city has become prosperous, Lelang City has also accumulated a huge amount of wealth. All the conflicts are due to the distribution of wealth.

Merchants amassed the most wealth and were the most active in instigating conflicts in various regions!

For example, the hierarchy of contempt between slaves and free citizens of the city was created by these merchants; in order to get more free citizens to buy cotton cloth, the merchants designated linen as a commodity for slaves.

The North-South conflict was also related to merchants. During the great turmoil in the North, many northerners migrated south, and conflicts arose during their cohabitation.

In the context of northerners, "being exiled" or "being banished" means "being pulled out of famine" or "not being satisfied."

The resentment of the southerners lies in the fact that they do the same work, but do not receive the same land or housing.

Northerners, on the other hand, felt that when they bought salt, cloth, and iron pots from the merchants at the General's Mansion, the prices were always higher than those from the local southern merchants.

While the established order still exists, these resentful people are submissive and obedient. Merchants take advantage of this "resentment" to exploit all sides. The merchants' rhetoric to the northerners is: "Those southerners are bad, they deliberately sell you inferior goods!" The rhetoric to the southerners is: "The northerners are ungrateful, they have land and houses, yet they are still stingy and miserly."

Merchants profited from both sides by exploiting information asymmetry under a stable order, but once the order collapsed slightly, the merchants began to feel aggrieved and started to collude with outsiders.

Wu Fei: "I opened the entire channel and I ensured its security; I take 10% of the profits to support the military, and the local government takes 30% to maintain the facilities. You take 60% and you're still not satisfied? You're deceiving the heavens!"

Xuan Chong: "After taking the path of promoting commerce, the ruling group enjoyed the benefits that commerce extracted from the lower levels, but they must also realize that after the excessive extraction of commerce, everyone under their rule will inevitably become greedy and despicable people who want to have it all!"

Every faction, to a greater or lesser extent, prioritizes preserving its own "petty interests." As for those who prioritize "public justice" too much and understand the bigger picture, they will be exploited and killed by factions in the larger environment that prioritize their own interests over public justice.

Just like how justice such as "helping others and giving way to women" was once widespread, but ten years later, who would dare to put such justice as their top priority?

Having experienced this era of change, Xuan Chong would not, like a corrupt scholar, impose moral shackles on everyone under him, demanding that they be modest, content with poverty, and strive to contribute.

But how do you foster unity? That's where "occasionally" creating "whale falls" comes in. Only during a whale fall do the fish, shrimp, and crabs of the sea quietly gather together to eat, instead of fighting each other.

…Fire is fierce, so few are burned; water is weak, so many drown…

In mid-May, Wu Fei's first batch of troops assembled, and the two thousand men immediately set off north. Ten days later, the second batch of troops also assembled. This was the peasant army, with about eight thousand men, and they went to the northern armory to collect armor.

Next, Wu Fei dispatched officers with conscription teams to various public slave camps in Lingnan, where they conscripted 20,000 people.

Wu Fei issued twenty-four execution orders and thirty-eight reward orders for these slaves, instructing everyone to memorize them before they could be immediately released from slavery and march north with the army.

Upon hearing Wu Fei's imperial edict, the people in these slave camps lined up, expressing their willingness to go north to seek a better future.

For this northward expedition, Wu Fei needs troops—a large number of troops. The goal is to eliminate all the unreliable interest groups in the northern states, requiring an overwhelming and decisive crackdown to resolve the issue as quickly as possible.

In Lingnan, every household was excitedly rubbing their hands together in anticipation. They all understood from previous expeditions to the southern frontier that the stronger the storm stirred up by Wu Xiaoque's wings, the greater the spoils would be; the size of this storm determined the scale of the deployed troops.

Conversely, if Wu Xiaoque sends out fewer troops, then each family should be more mindful and not open their mouths too wide, otherwise Wu Xiaoque will misunderstand it as "snarling" and give them a beating when she returns.

The various factions in Lingnan gasped in astonishment: "Is Wu Xiaoque currently mobilizing 10,000 troops? Wait, it's 30,000? And she's still recruiting men to march north. Is she planning to devour the north whole?"

Come to think of it, Zhenzhou used to be Wu family territory, but it belonged to the Wu family's Northern Route Army.

When the old marshal was alive, the Northern Route Army could still be considered one of their own. But now that the old marshal is gone, and his death was very mysterious, it is said that he was betrayed and died.

As the old marshal's designated successor and the de facto head of the Wu family's southern faction, shouldn't Wu Fei take good care of the northern territories, such as Zhenzhou?

The merchants of the Southern Route Army revealed cruel smiles: "What, do those northerners think that just because they've won, they can get our Flying General to come over and eat at their banquet? They're dreaming!"

These merchants from the south had been ruthlessly exploited by Wu Fei's "land reclamation shares" in the southern frontier for years, but now that they knew someone in the north was even worse off, they stood before Wu Fei with renewed vigor. …Those who weren't enthusiastic about eating had something wrong with their thinking…

The first battle of the northward march has begun.

Long Wandong led 5,000 troops from Jizhou toward Lelang City in a massive attack. As the representative of the seven allied armies that jointly pacified Zhenzhou, his troops were the best, wearing the finest armor and carrying the best weapons. Yet, they marched in the worst formation.

During the march, these soldiers, who had been smug back home, gathered in groups along the way. At each stop along the route, a group of people rested, taking off their boots and finding a rock to sit on; some took out cricket cages hidden in their pockets under the shade of trees, while other soldiers took out their rice bowls and dice and started gambling together.

Wu Fei's vanguard arrived. As a veteran unit of the family, they were clad in wire and leather armor, carrying crossbows and firearms, and had marched all the way here.

Through the reconnaissance of the Crow Guards, Wu Fei discovered that the enemy troops were dragging their feet on the road for a full five kilometers, and that every noon, the enemy soldiers who were running at the front would take off their armor because of the hot weather and wait for the main force behind them.

After confirming the news, the officers all looked at Wu Fei. Especially those Wu family disciples who had followed Wu Fei back from Boyan; although they weren't particularly outstanding under Wu Hengyu, they were all worldly-wise and knew the strengths and weaknesses of various armies. They understood that a Wu Hengyu-style surprise attack at this moment was perfect for their side.

Wu Fei calmly said to the officers around him, "Let's make a plan."

About half an hour later, the sergeant beside Wu Fei presented the battle plan: that afternoon, everyone would start a fire and cook enough rations; scouts would go ahead, with soldiers stationed every few hundred meters as guides; the entire army would follow the guides that night, marching rapidly to the enemy's front. They would finally reach a point twenty li ahead of the enemy at the fourth watch of the night, at which point the main force would rest, and small squads would be sent out to guard the perimeter. After two hours of rest, when the sun was high in the sky, the whistles would be sounded, and everyone would prepare for battle.

It's worth mentioning that this plan was classified as Level 2, meaning that once the troops reached their destination after the forced march, they would not inform their own soldiers. All soldiers were instructed before setting off to "not ask where they were going and not make any noise."

This means that once the sergeants lead their teams to the location, they cannot rest.

Even after the fourth watch of the night, the officers remained tense, only able to take short breaks. When the two-hour mark was up, they had to immediately relay the next orders.

As for why the sergeant keeps the operation procedures secret from the soldiers, it is to ensure that the soldiers can relax after arriving at the location, so that they don't have something on their minds and can't sleep well during the two hours after rushing to the front-line outpost.

Wu Fei glanced at the detailed plan, nodded, stamped it, and issued other supporting orders, such as requiring follow-up troops to arrive quickly to assist in handling the prisoner issue.

…High-efficiency execution and low-efficiency procrastination…

On June 3rd, as the sun rose higher and the heat intensified, Long Wandong raised his whip, ordering his troops to halt. As his whip cracked, the guards following behind him scattered like fallen leaves, finding clean spots to sit down. Long Wandong, helped off his horse by his attendants, removed his armor and leaned against a rock, while a bronze guardian beast stepped forward to cool him.

Long Wandong opened the map, confirmed that they had traveled five li today, and felt that was enough. He then spurred his horse and ordered his personal guards to urge the rest of the troops to catch up quickly.

The army had stretched out for five miles, which he found somewhat inappropriate; this long march was actually a first for him, despite being from a family with a military tradition. He had read his family's military books and was considered the most knowledgeable about military affairs within the clan.

In fact, Long Wandong himself was quite confident about this battle, because the various factions had formed an alliance and gathered a total force of 5. Even if the martial families in the southern border had objections, they would have to back down depending on the situation.

As for the Wu family? Long Wandong scoffed inwardly, because if he looked at the family tree, his Wu family was just a lowly soldier under his ancestor. Due to differences in military merit, the Wu family was assigned to the southern border, while his family remained in the capital. To be precise, when his branch moved from the capital to Jizhou, the Wu family had come to his main branch to borrow military books decades ago.

The two Wu brothers are now very powerful in the north, but he doesn't care: their military tactics are all based on fragments of their family's military manual, so their military tactics are nothing to fear, nothing to be afraid of!

Just as he was feeling good, the sun was suddenly shrouded in dark clouds. A chill ran down his spine; he thought the bronze beast behind him was releasing too much cold air.

He saw the sand beneath his feet tremble, and dust billowing in front of him, clearly indicating that an army was approaching.

Long Wandong sensed something was wrong and ordered his personal guards to raise their troops. Note: If he had truly studied and applied military strategy, his personal guards would have been blowing horns, and his troops would have immediately engaged in battle upon hearing the horns. However, he had not conducted such discipline training at all. His personal guards jumped out and shouted, while the soldiers who were sprawled out in the shade became lazy and were not even whipped much.

…the playfulness of Wen Tianwu…

When Wu Fei's troops arrived, they found the enemy huddled together in a corner. They didn't even need to surround them; they could just charge straight into their scattered formation.

Wu Fei's crossbowmen quickly changed from a column to a line and began firing in volleys. These Long family soldiers wore decent armor, but they had clearly been hastily put on their armor before engaging in battle; it hadn't even been properly fastened, so it ripped off as they formed ranks, causing them to cry out and scramble to cover their heads with their armor, much like students trying to shield themselves from the rain with a towel.

"Have mercy! Stop hitting me!"

Under the constant barrage of crossbow bolts, Wu Fei's cavalry circled around and pursued, and soon the vanguard of this force was scattered.

Long Wandong himself was dragged in front of Wu Fei. The defeated general's mouth was gagged, but he clearly wanted to say something. Wu Fei had no time to bask in the glory of victory in front of him, and waved his hand to hand the interrogation over to his personal guards.

Long Wandong tried to ingratiate himself by recounting the long-standing friendship between their families, but before he could even express his literary talent, he was met with a barrage of whips from the soldiers.

In the small interrogation tent behind, the questions were: "Will you confess or not!" "Oh ho, so stubborn, what a tough guy!"

"Boss, it looks like his mouth is still gagged!"

Long Wandong nodded hurriedly, almost crying with grievance. Little did he know, this was all intentional on the part of Wu Fei's personal guards. A beating to intimidate him would strip away his so-called scholarly arrogance, making questioning easier and preventing him from putting on airs.

As for why he was so brutal, it can only be said that prisoners were divided into ranks; Wu Fei personally untied prisoners who were capable and likely to surrender.

But Long Wandong was just too incompetent; he was so incompetent that he had no value in the united front effort.

Wu Fei: "If you were a civil official, I'd be fine with vegetables; as long as you share weal and woe with the soldiers, and when our army attacks, you run to the front line to die but fail, and are then captured. I'll at least learn from the story of 'Three Visits to the Thatched Cottage' to untie you, and then reason with you with your feelings and righteousness, and even resort to some of the underhanded tricks in 'Water Margin' to help you write a rebellious poem, and then bring your family here before I take action."

Wu Fei's personal guards were teasing him: "You're a military general, and your armor is from a century-old brand called Glory. How come you're so weak?"

Several hours later, Wu Fei, who was reviewing the battle and writing a battle report on the sand, couldn't help but exclaim after reading the interrogation report: "You're such a coward! Your marching has turned into a pampered stroll for young masters. When faced with an iron hooves charge, you ran away naked with the fleeing soldiers. And now you want to talk to me about family friendships? You're asking for it!"

A guard standing nearby, whip in hand, was about to leave when Wu Fei called out, "Come back."

Wu Fei addressed his personal guards: "Lock him up with the other prisoner officers and reduce his rank to that of a common soldier. Let's see if the other guards will help him."

Half an hour later, Long Wandong saw that the captains of his rear guard had also been tied up and thrown in. This meant that the Wu family army had launched a surprise attack and scattered his entire army of five thousand.

Long Wandong stared at his retainers, and suddenly he felt like a joke!
Like the story of the man from Handan who tried to imitate the way people walked in Handan, three generations of people tried to associate with the upper class of Jizhou and learned a lot of elegance, but they forgot their roots. After a defeat in battle, everything was in vain!
(End of this chapter)