Wei School's Three Good Students

Chapter 177 First, settle things internally.

In July of the second year of the Tianyou calendar, a new emperor brought a new court. Xuan Chong began to rank the powers outside Zhenzhou.

As for Donghua County, since they had pledged their allegiance, they were now considered loyal subjects. Xuan Chong took over all of Li Zhao's more than a thousand troops from the Donghua County camp, formalized and reorganized them, and incorporated them into the official system.

Furthermore, Li Zhaohe and his family descendants were brought into his own non-commissioned officer team for necessary training and assessment; at the same time, the more than twenty staff members he recommended were also brought into the government office for training in rules and regulations.

In some people's eyes, Xuan Chong's direct interference in the personnel affairs under Li Zhao was tantamount to seizing power.

These laymen were the aristocratic families of Changcheng, who were excitedly speculating over tea and after meals, "Li Zhao must regret serving Wu Xiaoque; when Li Zhao comes to join us, we can open the door to him with great ease!"

These "virtuous" women, accustomed to being served by maids and servants in Changcheng, were now seen as ignorant and unsophisticated bumpkins when faced with Xuan Chong's new system. They had no idea how Xuan Chong's ruling machine was functioning.

Xuan Chong did not transfer Li Zhao's people out of Donghua County, which sent a clear signal to Li Zhao: he would still be in charge of Donghua County in the future, but his internal system would need to be aligned with Xuan Chong's side.

The special envoys sent by Xuan Chong to Li Zhao were not there to seize power from Li Zhao, but to supervise Li Zhao and his subordinates on how to grasp power in the entire Donghua County and how to bring an end to the incompetent officials in Changcheng.

For Xuan Chong, his future plan is to use Donghua County as a springboard to gradually erode the power of Jizhou; he also needs to rely on the locals of Donghua County to gradually seize military, political and local control.

Li Zhao and his subordinates awaited the special envoys sent by Xuan Chong at their residence. The special envoys then began coordinating with his subordinates on systemic matters.

Xuan Chong's actions were entirely within Li Zhao's acceptable range! Li Zhao wanted to protect his hard work in Donghua County, and Xuan Chong protected it for him.

Xuan Chong didn't touch his local connections. As for him and his subordinates' descendants, they all had positions reserved for them to climb the ranks within their own circle, based on their past achievements.

What he lost? Some people's hearts. After all, his military and civil officials, after accepting Xuan Chong's system, would value Xuan Chong's titles and rewards more! Therefore, Li Zhao could no longer rule the camp on the north bank of the Donghua River.

Of course, even if he were to rule alone, he wouldn't be able to handle the current mess in Donghua County.

Back then, Wu Xiaoque made all the bigwigs in Changcheng, south of Donghua County, afraid to speak up, something Li Zhao himself couldn't do now. However, as Wu Fei's (Xuan Chong's) direct subordinate, having a powerful backer meant sacrificing power within his own team in exchange for issuing orders to Donghua County.

This is the "logic" of heroes joining forces: exchanging the "small power" of their own group for the "great power" granted to them by the larger group.

Xuan Chong has always followed the "power formula exchange," so there's always a chance to make money by participating in Xuan Chong.

Li Zhao is a model here! He is the template for Xuan Chong to deal with these feudal lords who were sent out to the frontier.

As a ruler, you must delegate power to these regional officials who have been sent to remote areas; otherwise, who would follow you if there were no benefits? However, you must delegate power, but you cannot let them be completely independent.

The Chen Sheng and Wu Guang uprising made this mistake; the Chinese textbook describes it as having "tens of thousands of armored soldiers and hundreds of chariots" in less than six months. Xuan Chong, a student, wanted to hear what happened afterward. Then... nothing.

Xuan Chong: With so many soldiers, even if we lose the battle, it should still be a famous and renowned battle.

Xuan Chong initially thought the textbook was brief, but later learned that Chen Sheng and Wu Guang had directly enfeoffed their subordinates and launched attacks in all directions. However, these troops he had enfeoffed did not obey his orders, and when they encountered the suppression forces sent by Zhang Han, Chen Sheng could not withstand them, while the rebel armies he had sent out remained "rationally bystanders" in their respective territories.

Xuan Chong has now begun to consider how to handle his relationship with the officials who have been sent to other places.

Xuan Chong's attitude towards Wu Hanluan's former officials who were sent to various places was: "Provide them with resources, preserve their connections, and take care of their offspring."

Ultimately, however, local finances and the appointment and removal of officials above the county level are all under their own control.

Some say that Li Shimin was suppressed by his father in this way, as the Grand Secretary, whom Li Shimin controlled, could not appoint or dismiss officials of the sixth rank or above. However, none of the high-ranking officials promoted by Li Yuan, this incompetent old man, during the Li family's conquest of the empire, rose from the ranks.

During Li Er's conquest of the empire, those promoted from the grassroots were actually responsible for conquering the country, but Li Yuan did not appoint them.

Now, the progress of the startup project is all under Xuan Chong's control! Xuan Chong has personally built a training system for non-commissioned officers, possessing the unique ability to organize a large army of tens of thousands of people.

Even if a powerful regional official like Li Zhao retained his authority over personnel matters at the grassroots level in his original territory, could he really use that authority to build a military force that could rival the Xuan Chong Group? It's obvious to everyone that they couldn't. Therefore, anyone with even a modicum of ability would gravitate towards Xuan Chong. They couldn't even outmaneuver Xuan Chong's merchant guild system economically.

Not only is the entrepreneurial project of conquering the world in Xuan Chong's hands, but the team that will maintain and govern the world is also around Xuan Chong.

When Wu Hanluan was still alive, Xuan Chong was the head of the Wu family.

The "reproduction" system implemented in Lingnan has led to the development of workshops into factory clusters; in pottery, bamboo ware, cloth, agricultural ironware, and even cattle breeding, it has already formed a cost advantage that overwhelms other regions.

When Li Zhao and other local factions reintegrated into the Wu family group, their power structure was similar to that of the chieftains in southern Xinjiang for Xuan Chong!
It could even be said that, militarily, Li Zhao was less confident than the chieftains of southern Xinjiang.

After all, the roads within the territory of Da Yao are smooth, making it very suitable for suppressing rebellious forces. In Dong Hua County, however, the relationship between ruler and subject is already established; if he dares to rebel, Xuan Chong only needs to send a battalion of five hundred men to deal with him.

If Li Zhaozhao really wanted to oppose Xuan Chong in the future, he could only "admonish" and "obstruct" him from the perspective of etiquette and law.

After all, if the chieftains of the southern frontier acted even slightly improperly, Xuan Chong would slap them and force them to find a new successor, while the rest would be exiled to the south. However, regarding Li Zhao's voluntary submission, Xuan Chong still had to be reasonable, lest he be seen as harsh and ungrateful, thus preventing internal "disunity."

Of course, Xuan Chong was certain that Li Zhao would not have any "rebellious intentions" if he shared the profits with him.

Thus, the military power of Donghua County was taken back, and the 800 most combat-effective troops, with the cooperation of their commander Li Zhao, thoroughly studied the instructions in Xuan Chong's "Infantry Manual".

After Li Zhao took the lead, it was the peak period for various factions in the south to come and serve each other; Xuan Chong was compiling a list, clarifying the interests of both sides, and then establishing regulations to ensure that the monarch and his ministers had relevant interest chains.

After busying himself for a while, Xuan Chong turned his attention to the inner quarters. The woman beside him was no pushover either.

…The family is busy preparing to recast Wu Hanluan's statue at the temple. …

On the fifteenth of July, Wu Yangshi was transformed into a goddess worshipped in Lelang County. Her image, holding a lotus lantern, was enshrined in every household. People along both banks of the Zhen River released lotus lanterns as prayers, stretching for dozens of miles.

Note: From then on, Yao San Niang took the surname Yang. This surname was determined by Xuan Chong. "Yao" was not a common surname in Da Yao, but Yang was. This was to officially recognize her as the legitimate wife.

The temple fair in Lelang County was so popular that the incense offerings made by the people were so great that they even created the illusion of lotus lanterns thousands of feet high on the entire Zhenshui River.

Countless spirit birds flew in and landed on the stamen of the giant lotus. An overwhelming force of faith and will suddenly pressed down on this land like a weight. She had already assumed the divine office of the Zhenshui Water Goddess. The original Zhenshui Water Goddess, eight hundred years ago, when she was still a cultivator, was a Daoist partner with a former sect leader of the Linjian Sect. Because of this problematic background, she was removed from the temple.

The various sects, already suffering from the backlash of the evil moon's power, remained silent upon witnessing this scene. Although they realized that their previous blockade of the mountains and rivers was the result of their own actions, they showed no intention of admitting their mistakes.

In the past few months, they have sent disciples down the mountain to various villages to perform rituals, pray for blessings and ward off disasters. They are trying to convince the people that the sect is still benevolent through these rituals.

The sect's ulterior motive in doing all this is to use the pretext that "the disaster will affect the people of Zhendi" to drag the people down with the burden of the calamity.

During this period, the sects that had sealed off the Zhen region also favored the wealthy and recruited ordinary disciples from Zhen. Hundreds or even thousands of them were brought into their sects at a time, where they would start as servants and only be allowed to cultivate immortality after a five-year assessment.

The sect's methods and schemes made the blue moonlight in the sky even brighter.

But Yang San Niang is now a virtuous wife and can't stand seeing these sects causing trouble. So she used her power of vows and magic to send dreams to the village sorceresses everywhere, pushing all the blame and suffering onto the surrounding sects.

The people of Zhen did not pay any attention to these sect disciples and instead participated in the temple fair to welcome the gods, turning away the disciples sent by various sects.

The immortals who had previously sat high in the clouds, and the prefect who had intended to divide the land of Zhen with the white jade knife, summoned the Astronomical Minister. Upon seeing the "human destiny" gathered by the lotus lanterns, they each felt churning earth dragons in their respective regions, sensing something ominous. Thus, in the various states of Heluo, an Astronomical Minister renowned throughout much of the land pointed out the predicaments of the various sects and families surrounding Zhen. A few days ago, the Evil Moon Calamity was at its peak, and the demonic calamity had reached the mortal realm, its jaws clenched, ready to plunge an entire state into the demonic realm. Since Lelang City was unwilling to sacrifice itself, the immortal sect presiding over this grand sacrifice would suffer a backlash.

Upon hearing this, the renowned scholars and literati of the Heluo region unanimously agreed: While the sect may have made mistakes, it is wrong for Zhenzhou to completely prioritize its own interests over its neighbors.

Clearly, when Xie Yue's act of devouring mountains and rivers became inevitable, the great Confucian scholars remained firmly rooted in their own interests. However, these scholars were unaware that such selfish desires only made Xie Yue more appealing.

If there must be sacrifices in some places during the current extermination of evil, then the great Confucian scholars in the Heluo region all felt that the "sacrifice priority of Lelang City" should be placed above the spiritual mountains in front of their gates.

Therefore, on July 20th, some Confucian scholars submitted a memorial to the imperial court, characterizing Yang San Niang's prayers in the Zhen River as "licentious worship"!

So in August, just as Xuan Chong was preparing to have Da Yao officially recognize Yang San Niang as his principal wife and then establish Wu Lu as his successor, Yao Chao refused!
Regarding the successor, Xuan Chong tacitly agreed that Wu Lu must be the successor. In terms of status, he was tacitly agreed upon by the Southern Frontier faction and was the eldest son.

Upon receiving the imperial decree, Xuan Chong shook his head and said, "Since Da Yao does not allow it, let's put it aside for now."

…Emperor Ling's indulgence made Xuan Chong feel that his life was nearing its end…

Xuan Chong entered the courtyard and met with Wu Yangshi. Nominally, the two were husband and wife, but in reality, their relationship stopped after Wu Lu was born.

Xuan Chong had hinted that they could "have another child," but the two sides differed on how they would have one.

Xuan Chong suggested, "Why don't you release the Vermilion Bird's essence again?" Yang San Niang firmly opposed this. Yang San Niang said, "For you, it's just releasing a trace of fire, but for me, it's burning half my life."

So at this moment, Third Sister's face was as white as jade, her legs were laid out leisurely, and she was willing to serve in another way; but Xuan Chong, who upheld the spirit of eugenics, said: "The two of us have different parenting philosophies."

The spirit of Xuan Chong's previous life: either don't have children, or have the best! Parenting and education will be so much easier then. Xuan Chong wants the system to vouch for him.

However, Xuan Chong was still wary of Yang San Niang.

Xuan Chong was well aware of his own limitations: he was just an ordinary mortal, and although he was reasonably good-looking, he was far from being a handsome man; he held significant military power, which made him worthy of support from sects dedicated to spreading their teachings, but he was definitely not someone cultivators would be willing to sacrifice their own cultivation foundation to assist. What was the Third Sister, originally a fairy of the cultivation world, trying to gain by getting herself involved?
"I don't believe in, and I'm not comfortable with, loving so wholeheartedly!" Xuan Chong said warily. —The romantic dramas of his past life depicted beautiful love, something only the most beautiful and pure people could possess.

Xuan Chong felt he shouldn't even think about it! —Fairy tales are always for princes and princesses.

Xuan Chong's idea caused a rapid tremor within the system, with lines of small text flashing rapidly, but due to the lack of censorship, it could not be seen from Xuan Chong's perspective.

While discussing other matters in the room, Xuan Chong asked Yang San Niang, "Is the current religious propagation activity in Zhenzhou necessary?"

Looking at Xuan Chong's obviously overly cautious and probing expression, San Niang gave a stiff smile and nodded: "Praying for blessings is necessary, and it needs the people's willpower to ignite it."

Xuan Chong glanced at her, now somewhat skeptical of this supernatural tale, but gave her a reminder: "However, the imperial court has already made it clear that this matter has a bad influence. As someone from my inner quarters, it is inappropriate for you to perform this kind of Buddhist ritual."

Third Sister nodded, but did not promise to let go.

Xuan Chong: "I will be going on a business trip to the Southern Frontier in the next few months. When I return, I will be able to settle my karmic debts with the immortal sects. Is there anything you need?"

Third Sister took out the lotus lamp and said, "You already have many incense offerings in the Southern Frontier, and the Vermilion Bird Flame on your body is a divine object. You only need to leave some blood as oil for the lamp, and the lamp will be lit in the city to suppress all evil."

Xuan Chong: "How long will the light stay on?"

Xuan Chong was aware of the hostility from the various sects and even the prefects. He knew that the cultivators and the Demon Suppression Bureau would take advantage of his absence to cause trouble using metaphysical methods, and that San Niang would be in danger.

After thinking for a moment, Third Sister said, "One ounce of blood can burn for a month."

Xuan Chong looked at San Niang, knowing she was asking for a price out of thin air, but he didn't expose her: "Then I'll offer two taels." — This completely blocked her from having any reason to go to the City God's place to perform any more rituals.

Third Sister paused slightly, a warmth spreading through her heart, and silently thought, "He cares about me."

But then San Niang thought to herself, "He's rational, not trying to protect me because of any romantic feelings." Even though she knew that Xuan Chong's decision was purely rational, she couldn't help but feel her heart flutter.

Xuan Chong stood up and looked outside. The filth on the city walls had faded considerably; after a torrential downpour, it had begun to flow out of the city along the stone ditches on both sides of the street. He slowly said, "It is said that there are mountains stained red with blood in the southern borderlands."

Third Sister was slightly taken aback, then suddenly realized that it was a transaction; suddenly she felt a barrier between them, and her heart felt heavy and uncomfortable.

Yang San Niang said, "My lord, I've mentioned that rusty mountain in the south before. But it's a dangerous place."

Xuan Chong turned his head: "No need to exaggerate, I've been there and I roughly understand the layout. You gave me advice on that day. Now do you have any more specific information?"

Yang San Niang paused slightly, then stammered, "Back then, that was back then. Now—"

Yang San Niang used to have a carefree attitude towards life, but after giving birth to Wu Lu, her mindset changed; she didn't want Xuan Chong to go and take the murder weapon, nor did she want Xuan Chong to settle old scores with her.

Xuan Chong now understood the assignment: the northern expedition was complete, and the next step was the southern expedition; the final crucial test required attacking the point where the evil moon had fallen. Therefore, the elements in the information provided by Yang San Niang, the "teaching aid," must be one of the "conditions" for completing the assignment, and something he absolutely had to do.

Under Xuan Chong's intense questioning, Yang San Niang reluctantly revealed the information she knew, emphasizing that Chi You's soldiers would eventually erode the user's emotions, turning them into heartless iron men.

Xuan Chong nodded in agreement. "I will resolve everything before I turn sixty and then let go. I won't leave any trouble for future generations."

Then Xuan Chong looked at Yang San Niang and said the most despicable thing: "You had better also end your worldly ties after I turn sixty. Go back to cultivating your immortality and don't linger in the mortal world, otherwise I will make you die for me."

Upon hearing this, Yang Sanniang did not sever all ties or immediately act like a stranger. Instead, with her eyes glazed over, she said, "Born in the same forest, to die in the same grave? My husband, are you making a promise to me!"

Xuan Chong paused but did not answer. However, Yang San Niang's smile became even more alluring.

Xuan Chong clearly made a mistake: it's okay to threaten a stupid girl with the threat of "living as a sacrifice," but it's wrong to use it to threaten a smart woman!
Yang San Niang knew very well that if the petty-minded Wu Xiao Que truly wanted to settle scores with someone, she would do so secretly and without revealing her true intentions. While she outwardly warned herself with the threat of "living as a martyr," she secretly harbored a slight reluctance to part with him. Therefore, she was quite pleased to have guessed Xuan Chong's underlying thoughts.

Xuan Chong, with a stern face, avoided the topic, and indeed, he was right; he had indeed used Yang San Niang as a teaching tool. But! Xuan Chong stubbornly insisted: My heart remains as hard as iron.

Xuan Chong disliked changing things carelessly. For example, he would be reluctant to throw away or damage used bamboo cups or other utensils because of the long time that had passed, even if someone gave him a golden goblet.

…System text…

A formula that girls before the 23rd century didn't care about: simple boys are often the most romantic, while extravagant and wasteful ones are often the worst.

What is "emotion"? Emotion is the attachment to things that accompany us.

When a man has no attachment to the things around him, uses them and throws them away as he pleases, seemingly regarding money as dirt, why would he fall in love with a woman at first sight and remain devoted to her until death?
What? In the 23rd century? Boys who don't need to save money for their wives basically have no concept of frugality.

The history teacher lamented: In their vast living space in the deep sea, they lived with a harem of highly realistic AI girlfriends, which was truly extravagant and decadent!

Although the harem of the AI ​​girlfriend will be a nightmare for mothers in the future, the brothers in the Deep Sea will help hide it well, just like two centuries ago, when perverts wouldn't use this as leverage to tell their parents.

(End of this chapter)