Wei School's Three Good Students

Chapter 169 How to End It
On June 5th of the second year of the Tianyou calendar, the Wu family army completely annihilated the military force that had advanced westward from Jizhou into Zhenzhou. The entire battle was like a clown making a comical entrance, only to be knocked down with a single punch.

"Remove your armor!" "I told you to remove your armor, did you hear me!" The officers of the Wu family army swung their whips and clubs, urging the prisoners to take off their armor, their eyes looking at them as if they were seeing a beautiful woman.

Although Governor Yan's military force was weak in combat and its commander had the negative characteristics of "arrogance, extravagance and debauchery," the recruitment and maintenance costs of the entire army were not low.

Their armor was made of iron plates lined with cowhide. In the southern borderlands, even cotton cloth signified middle-class status, so cowhide paired with iron plates was equivalent to "wearing a luxury car." Furthermore, each suit of armor was imbued with a murderous aura and could automatically wrap around the wearer at their will.

After batches of armor were loaded onto the vehicles, some shrewd soldiers of the Wu family army didn't care about the reward money and shouted to the officers that they must get their hands on a share of the armor.

In this era of spiritual energy revival, martial arts have become popular in the military, with people developing internal strength and other martial prowess. However, armor remains unchanged. While powerful bows and crossbows can still penetrate shields like the Golden Bell Shield, armor reduces damage taken. In fact, for martial artists, the shields in the military can nullify many of their attacks.

Of course, all this good equipment went to waste in the hands of Long Wandong's troops. After interrogation, it was revealed that the equipment of this unit was also quite good in Jizhou, and it was a collection of resources pieced together from various sources. As for whether they could assemble a second one? Long Wandong honestly said during the lesson: "Even if we could still gather some more, this defeat has already wiped out 60% of the Jizhou army's assets!"

This made the Wu family army sigh, realizing that the north was far more prosperous than the south!

The troops led by Wu Fei were just the vanguard. When the follow-up troops arrived to escort the prisoners, they were envious when they saw that Wu Fei's vanguard had been fully equipped with armor. However, they all knew that one should not accept rewards without merit, so they all told Wu Fei that they could also be the vanguard.

Among the Wu family's southern army, the officers muttered, "So weak, yet so well-equipped. If we don't seize this opportunity, we'll only bring trouble upon ourselves!"

…Amidst the atmosphere of avenging the old marshal during the Northern Expedition, a surge of fervor arose…

The Wu family army's annihilation of the Jizhou force caused a sensation throughout the land! This was because, although the northern regions of Da Yao were already battle-hardened, and the various military strategists were accustomed to readily drawing their swords against each other; moreover, they had become more like regional warlords, and their relationship with the aristocratic families had turned into a cooperative one in which they were in control.

However, for the rear prefectures of Da Yao, many military strategists were still just dogs tethered by powerful families.

Because of their dog ownership, these states are essentially just displaying their armed forces, hoping to achieve their goals without fighting.

Xuan Chong commented: "Do these poets really think they can defeat a thousand armies with a single plan?"

The governors believed that "the soldiers under their command are merely ornaments for their power."

This is similar to how, within a powerful family, a white jade cup worth twenty-eight fine knives is an ornament used to demonstrate their "abundant resources" within their ruling circle. Ornaments are for show, and military power is also for show.

Such an army, like the beautiful maids of a wealthy family, is merely an appendage for show. All that glitters is not gold; its true nature is dog-like.

When Wu Fei was raising his army, whether it was miners or boatmen, the first thing he did was to remove their "dog-like" and "base" traits, kick down those "lowly people" who had previously been above them, and make them kneel before him. At the same time, he would squat down and tell them that as long as their blood and sweat were enough, they could earn "blood rewards" (a leap in status).

Xuan Chong's summary of these negative examples: The Confucian scholars may preach various righteous principles throughout the land, but an army only needs to uphold one righteous principle! Blood for blood. An army without a goal of "self-improvement" lacks fighting power, no matter how lofty its "doctrinal doctrines" may be.

So, this is what the strategists in the south planned: this trip to Zhenzhou was to reveal their "values," and then Wu Fei from the south, ashamed of his own inadequacy, would ultimately retreat. Following this, the officials in Da Yao, Jingzhou, Xiazhou, and other places would then be able to use their jade knives to divide the Zhenzhou region.

The result was that the southern barbarians in their eyes couldn't understand the true "numerical value" of the troops under the complex "scriptures" packaged by the high-ups. They only judged the useless "Jizhou Army" based on its marching situation and thought they could take it on. So they directly "drew their swords" and believed that the brave would win in a narrow encounter.

After the Jizhou army was completely annihilated, the news spread to other prefectures, and many governors were shocked.

Without a doubt, Wu Xiaoque from Lingnan was subjected to a fierce verbal attack by the older generation of Da Yao.

A renowned scholar from a prominent family that had held high office for four generations in Jizhou asked, "Do you, the Wu family, truly wish to be enemies of the entire world?"

The governor of Xia Prefecture said, "Weapons are instruments of violence. Such reckless use of violent troops will surely lead to our own destruction!"

Each of these articles is more powerful than a million soldiers, keeping a governor up at night. In times of peace, these great Confucian scholars can sever cultural ties between two regions at the territorial level. In other words, they can make the dialects and dietary habits of two places different.

Of course, Wu Xiaoque was too uncultured to understand these things. Besides, the world was about to descend into chaos, and everyone was starving, so they would eat anything. In order to survive, the Yao people would migrate from one state to another in large numbers—Xuan Chong didn't care about cultural blockades at all. Xuan Chong: "You've got guts. When your whole family suffers in the future, can you really maintain the integrity of refusing to eat Zhou grain?"

Now, Wu Xiaoque is not afraid of the literary battles among the many governors of Da Yao; her only concern is the military battles in each prefecture.

The governors ultimately held back, each offering their own reasons. The most shrewd reason was that they considered themselves of high moral character and shouldn't associate with the barbaric military families. They believed that such "low-level" matters as military conquest should be left to others.

After obtaining this intelligence through intermediaries, Xuan Chong burst into laughter. This reminded him of his past life, where the intellectual elites of Assyria and other abstract-region countries treated the "theory of freedom" provided by the Western theoretical circles as a valuable aid project that met their needs; then shamelessly asked the East to provide "low-end" infrastructure aid.

Low-cost aid like verbal assistance is far more sophisticated than substantial military and infrastructure aid! That's why only a fool would use real money to aid these clueless idiots.

Similarly, in the context of a multi-state alliance in a grand scheme, when writing articles criticizing this low-cost, verbal campaign as more sophisticated than high-cost, military maneuvering, then virtually no one is willing to contribute to the alliance.

Thus, the alliance of the seven families, presided over by Governor Yan, did not proceed as the many powerful families had hoped.

…To the great Confucian scholars, they were “too sophisticated for the masses (ironic)…”

On June 12, Wu Fei's vanguard arrived at the border of Chennan. The local military commander immediately opened the gate for Wu Fei and personally led two hundred guards to join Wu Fei's troops. Wu Fei was very pleased and recorded a merit point for him in the merit book for "annihilating five hundred enemies".

Over the next month, tens of thousands of advance troops from the south poured in, beginning their northward march. Tens of thousands more followed.

At the same time, Wu Fei proclaimed to all directions, denouncing the governor of Jizhou for conspiring with sorcerers to persecute loyal officials. He accused the governor of spreading plague in Zhenzhou one moment and supporting rebels the next, using morality to mask his evil schemes the next. He declared that he would lead troops to punish the governor.

The proclamations spread like snowflakes, and the army sang "General Wu's Training Song" along the way, while changing the villain to Governor Yan and shouting that the demon Yan ate human flesh and drank human blood.

When the banners of the Long family army were displayed to the high-ranking officials of various cities during their advance, it was basically confirmed that Jizhou was the villain!

The villagers' logic was simple: Heaven is impartial, so the righteous are invincible, and only the villains will be wiped out!

…The perspective shifts to Thorn State…

"Guards! Execute the entire Long family!" The governor of Jizhou sat upright in his seat, ruthlessly issuing the execution order. Beneath this imposing demeanor lay a desire to shift blame, for he couldn't very well admit that it was his own fault that led to the massive loss of troops.

His advisors urged Governor Yan, "My lord! The most crucial thing now is how to deal with the Wu family's southern army."

Governor Yan jumped up in alarm: "He's spreading rumors!" He then smashed the cup.

Xuan Chong surmised that this habit stemmed from their self-proclaimed upper class, who were unable to express their anger with "highly offensive language," so they resorted to smashing things. Wu Fei believed that this condition could be cured by sending them to prison for two days of hard labor.

The advisor was taken aback, feeling helpless, but still explained the situation indirectly: "Now that we haven't won the battle, the alliance with the other six governors has become a pipe dream. News has already come that the original plan for the alliance of the seven major lords has been abandoned by the other six, who are now saying they want to wait and see and remain stationary on the outskirts of Zhenzhou."

Governor Yan, in despair, said, "They have broken their promise. How can I, Wu Yuanchang, be a general appointed by the emperor? Who can fight him now?" (Governor Yan's memory has suddenly improved; he remembers that Wu Fei is a general.)

The advisor bowed and said, "My lord, we cannot defeat them. However, our conflict with the Wu family is due to instigation from someone within the court! Wu Yuanchang is currently in a fit of rage; perhaps we should request the court to mediate and avert this imminent disaster."

The governor of Yan hesitated and asked, "Will the imperial court help us?"

The aide said, "Sir, we still need you to pull some strings with those people in the court now." (He leaned close to the governor's ear and began to whisper.) When Governor Yan heard the names of Suwang and the other eunuchs, a look of disgust appeared in his eyes.

As a member of a prominent family, he looked down on warriors like Wu Fei, and at the same time, he despised the eunuchs; even more so, he looked down on those opportunistic eunuchs. Wu Fei's marquisate, at least, was earned through battle and bestowed by the emperor's decree. The eunuchs, on the other hand, were despised by the entire world.

But for now, he seems to have no choice but to swallow his pride and feign compliance with these treacherous officials of the court.

…Jizhou is still seeking a solution from higher authorities, while Wufei is focusing on the “lower levels”…

The axe-wielders stormed into the Long family home, kicking down doors in every courtyard and taking away all the men, women, and children.

Meanwhile, the Security Bureau contacted local merchants and all sorts of people and decided to storm the execution ground. So, under the oil lamp, the Security Bureau made a promise with the martial arts figures and merchants that as long as a batch of Long family members were rescued, the Commander-in-Chief would definitely give them ten merit points for each person rescued.

Merit points alone are nothing, but for a merchant, they can directly ensure the stability of a business channel for over twenty years. Furthermore, they can be recommended for the civil service examination.

That evening, after bribing officials, they secretly swapped out the dozens of boys and girls from the Long family's household during a change of guard. They then reported the epidemic to the outside world.

…Lax military discipline and tyrannical rule over subordinates are naturally weaknesses…

On June 21st, during a break from military duties, Wu Fei interrogated Long Wandong. This man had already learned that his entire family had been executed by Prefect Yan, and he was utterly despondent. He even seemed on the verge of bursting into maniacal laughter.

It's no wonder he went crazy. He's been groveling and trying to fit in for so many years, only to be slaughtered like a dog after one failure. Isn't that a joke?

Wu Fei gave a signal, and a bodyguard immediately slapped him to wake him up, shouting, "Wake up!"

Long Wandong knelt down: "General Wu, if you can let me avenge myself—"

Wu Fei: "Alright, alright, let's take a look at this list first."

Wu Fei tossed a list over, and when Long Wandong unfolded the scroll, it revealed his descendants. There were eighteen in total.

Upon seeing the familiar name, Long Wandong's hands trembled. Wu Fei knew the name of his son, which meant he had made contact with his own family. So he asked, "General, what is this?"

Wu Fei said, “When my people learned of this situation, they couldn’t bear to see the ‘hunting dog being cooked after the cunning rabbit is dead,’ so they took the risk to test you. Fortunately, although you are not good at leading troops, you still have some kindness to your subordinates. (The Jizhou soldiers) did not kick you when you were down. After taking the money, they quietly released you and are now transporting your children back.”

Long Wandong cried: "My lord, your kindness to me is as heavy as a mountain."

Wu Fei said coldly, "Don't cry!"

Long Wandong stopped crying, but still kept his head on the ground and refused to get up.

Wu Fei pointed at him and said, "Your only use to me now is to kill that guy surnamed Yan! Tell the Security Bureau about his troop strength, his men's equipment, and so on! Remember, that's all you're good for. Don't even think about getting any other job from me until you kill that guy surnamed Yan."

At this point, Wu Fei cursed, "You're a complete waste! So all those profound military strategies passed down in your family were ignored, and you just spent them all learning useless poetry from those good-for-nothing scholars? (It was only through a surprise interrogation by the Security Bureau that Wu Fei learned he was related to his ancestors. But after getting the information, he naturally had to make a few sarcastic remarks.)"

Wu Fei: "You're not much of a use anymore, but you should take good care of your kids; I'll reserve a spot for them at the Sergeant Academy."

Long Wandong naturally understood that this was a warning that his abilities did not match his high position, but it would leave a future for his descendants: "My Long family will serve Marquis Lao Guang for generations!"

Wu Fei had the security bureau take him away to work specifically in Jizhou.

Although Wu Xiaoque wanted to take revenge on all the seven warlords who invaded Zhenzhou, Wu Fei knew that he could not make enemies everywhere because of his political capital!
But if the Wu family doesn't retaliate, then the Hundred Fists will come, so we must hold Jizhou firmly. Wu Fei: Even the Heavenly King himself couldn't stop them, I'm telling you.

…The perspective shifts to Zhenzhou…

Many cities in the south were pacified without a proclamation, but Wu Fei's various corps successfully occupied the relevant areas. After all, Wu Fei had mobilized the entire Lingnan region, reaching the level of a nation-state on the eve of modernization.

In particular, there are grain stations in various parts of Zhenzhou, and Wu Fei has information on household registration; now that there is no shortage of troops, it is enough to maintain order by force.

On March 20th, Wu Hanluan led 6,000 troops to attack Laocheng, but was killed in an explosion. As a result, the attacking army retreated to Lelang City. Subsequently, the morale of the troops was low, and they were corrupted in Lelang City. Then, Wu Baichuan and his soldiers met Wu Xiaoque and were reorganized in Lelang City.

It is now June. After Wu Fei personally led a force of 2,000 men to Laocheng, as Wu Fei's banner was raised and cannons were being deployed on the high platform outside the city, the rebels inside the city started fighting among themselves. They then opened the city gates and offered up the heads of the rebels.

At the city gate, these leaders knelt on the ground, holding the "heads" in their hands, not daring to meet Wu Fei's gaze! Because as traitors, their stains were too great.

After the Wu family army entered the city, their task was to maintain order. Upon entering, they encountered a large group of rioters in the streets who were smashing, looting, and burning. They were shouting "Wu family army" slogans as they smashed and destroyed the city. These people were then arrested, crying out their innocence as they were being arrested.

Wu Fei glanced at the scumbags: "Thieves will be flogged, those who injure will be imprisoned, and those who kill will be put to death. The conviction documents for theft must be signed by the local headman, the sentencing for injury must be reviewed by the circuit judge I appoint, and the final determination of murder cases will be made by me. A curfew will be imposed tonight."

As for the merchants whose property was vandalized, it was later proven that they had sided with the rebels. That's why the local thugs dared to come and trample on them like that.

The once chaotic shop entrance was calmed down after the soldiers whipped it, leaving only some damaged debris.

Wu Fei, riding his horse, rushed over, looked at the merchants who were half-dead, and said, "Arrange for someone to treat them. This is a critical moment. Tattoo their crimes on their arms; tell them that they can atone for their crimes now, and not to try anything funny, or they will be beheaded or bring disaster to their families."

Wu Fei still doesn't want to kill these rebels in Laocheng! There are three reasons.

1. If a rebellion is started by indiscriminate killings from the bottom up, the clues will be lost very quickly, and you will not be able to find the mastermind behind it.

2: Furthermore, although Wu Fei stubbornly insisted that the "plague" had nothing to do with his uncle, he was still aware of the truth in his heart.

3. These rebel soldiers were, after all, part of the Northern Route Army back then. Our Southern Route Army just arrived and didn't even interrogate them before hastily wiping them out. This sets a bad example. It makes it seem like the Wu family is hastily fighting amongst themselves. Besides, they were trained soldiers, and in chaotic times, troops are scarce. Simply purging them is a huge waste. Wouldn't it be better to send them to the southern frontier?
Therefore, following Wu Fei's appeasement policy, envoys from various parts of Zhenzhou came to make contact, stating: "We have never rebelled; we have always been helping the Wu family army suppress local unrest."

In Laocheng, in front of the burned-down archives, Wu Xiaoque gradually smiled happily. "Destroying the ledgers makes us safe, right? The ledgers were meant to protect you, and this gives me a reason to be held jointly liable!"

He followed the office staff, looking at the lists of officials marked with an "X," all slated for dismissal within five years. A headache struck him, because it meant he'd have to fill the vacancies with a significant number of workshop-trained school graduates.

Wu Fei patted Wu Juwang on the shoulder: "Kid, make sure you recruit people you've personally vetted, otherwise your future ambitions won't be realized."
That evening, Wu Fei received another piece of news: his third aunt had also arrived.

Wu Fei frowned: "Why is she here without her child?"

Then, sensing something, he asked, "Where is she now?"

Gongshu Wang: "Madam went to the City God Temple to give you a message: the Immortal Sect is still not giving up."

Wu Fei slapped his head, speechless, and said, "These bizarre and superstitious things."

(End of this chapter)