Wei School's Three Good Students

Chapter 178 is all about internal strife.
In the autumn of the second year of the Tianyou calendar, due to factional struggles within the Hao Kingdom, King Hao, disregarding Zhao Cheng's advice, led a portion of his elite troops eastward, ostensibly to strengthen the defense of the eastern Bo region.

In fact, Zhao Cheng had anticipated all of this. After all, Zhao Cheng knew that whatever he insisted on, Hao Wang's people would subconsciously oppose it; in this way, unless it was an obvious trap that Hao Wang wouldn't fall into, as long as Zhao Cheng said not to jump in, Hao Wang's group would definitely step into it.

King Hao is just over twenty-five, which is the age when he is least willing to be controlled.

After five years of frustration, he finally rallied a group of young men and made a sudden move, relocating his territory out of Zhao Cheng's control and to a city in the east.

Little did they know! In theory, it would take six months to stockpile provisions to garrison a large army in any city outside the capital. To ensure efficient storage of provisions and prevent most of them from being consumed by people and horses along the way, it was necessary to build a fodder depot every five kilometers to ensure that the tired cattle and horses could be moved to the fodder depot to recuperate.

However, to stockpile fodder near the post station, it was necessary to conscript laborers from various counties in advance. And mobilizing these laborers required local officials in Shihao to arrest people. But Zhao Cheng, having been engaged in continuous warfare for years, had already exhausted his manpower.

King Hao is now marching eastward with his loyal troops, naturally following the same route he used when he led his royal court of several hundred men on his eastern tours in the past.

Little did he know that in the past, when he went on tours, he relied on merchants passing through the Eight Paths of the North to provide provisions. Now, this supply is simply not enough to support an army of 30,000.

Why did King Hao suddenly decide to make this city his capital? Because he had heard over the past two years that the city was sturdy and rich in copper and iron. So he made the decision and went there without hesitation.

This was a decision comparable to that of Ma Su, focusing only on the advantages while completely ignoring the fatal flaws. Furthermore, he suffered from the common failings of rulers: habitually making decisions to develop new routes, fixating on the "advantages of the new route," completely ignoring the "shortcomings of the new route," and lazily delegating the task of addressing these shortcomings to others.

The more fatal flaw of King Hao now is that he has failed to see the "liability" he is creating during the military campaign.

When traditional military strategists march long distances, their main camp only contains essential items such as sand tables and military archives, which are at most enough for four horse-drawn carts and do not affect the operation of the army.

Emperors traveled extravagantly, but rarely returned to a life of frugality. They were required to bring female artisans, precious cooking pots for their meals and lodging, and even their large beds, which often required hundreds of people to carry. Such standards meant that maintaining an army around them was extremely difficult—hence, during the Northern and Southern Dynasties, when a monarch hastily fled, he immediately became a puppet ruler.

This is similar to travel in the 21st century. In the eyes of the person in charge of the itinerary planning, it is necessary to book tickets in advance, plan hotels, and determine which restaurants are close to the attractions so that you can visit them all within a limited time.

Instead of the carefree attitude of "just pack up and go on a trip." Especially some people who think that being willful is justified, and that all willfulness will require spending money, time and resources to make up for mistakes.

Narrator: This isn't being carefree, it's being shameless.

…The jade fell onto the sandy road…

After King Hao relocated his troops, the northern vassal states of Dayao received the news and were all delighted: "If we can't deal with Zhao Cheng, we can at least deal with you!"

General Liu Yun, the northern vassal general, began his northward march with his troops. He mobilized 20,000 men under his command. In contrast to the Hao King's mindless, ant-like approach, Liu Yun first spread the word to all sides that he was leading 100,000 troops northward, creating a show of force to confuse the Hao army.

He then dispatched a detachment to intercept and kill the troops accompanying King Hao on his relocation of the capital. With this maneuver, King Hao hurriedly accelerated his entry into Tingcheng. He thought that if he moved quickly and entered the city first, the other troops would spontaneously move towards him. Little did he know that as soon as he left the main force, his entourage slowed down.

In December of the second year of the Tianyou calendar, at Tingcheng, Liu Yun led 1,500 elite armored soldiers to the city walls, two hundred of whom were his elite troops, prepared to be the first to scale the walls.

Simple catapults were deployed and positioned. As the final landing points of each arc were determined, although the walls of the city were sturdy, the area was too small. All the towers on the east side of the city wall collapsed with a roar. The roofs of the damaged towers were almost intact in the upper half before falling from the sky, as if they had been beheaded.

On the first day of the siege, King Hao pretended to be calm, but vented his anger in the harem that night.

However, starting from the third day, as King Hao indulged in wine and women, he found it difficult to get up on time.

Even if he gets up on time, he is too lazy to bear the pressure on the front line. Just like college students, after skipping class for the first time and finding that they are not called on, they become lazier and lazier over time.

When Xuan Chong was studying the essentials of military strategy, he was not much better than the natives of these times and spaces in terms of memorization. You should know that photographic memory is a standard feature of child prodigies.

But Xuan Chong knew he was only human, and he established many precepts in his application of military strategy; the first of which was to abstain from alcohol and sex. Alcohol would cloud reason, while sex would weaken one's spirit. If one could not regulate one's own schedule with the precision of a Puritan, how could one stably coordinate the work of tens of thousands of people?

The ruler of Hao Kingdom, a consciousness that had transmigrated from another era, was adrift in adversity and was already heading straight for the end.

Pu'e, who was setting up a teleportation portal in the north, was using her supernatural powers to observe the situation within Hao Kingdom.

She focused precisely on the singing and dancing of the court ladies, shook her head and said, "Huai Sheng's (the transmigrator who is the king) will projection has reached its limit."

Pu'e opened the system. On the system interface, there were countless stars, each starlight representing a flickering consciousness on this plane. Around a dozen or so stars, there was a bubble-like halo. (This is the filling seal.)

Pu'e stared at the starry sky-like interface, where a small hexagonal star was about to go out. This little star belonged to "Huaisheng." Pu'e remembered every good thing about him: his strong will, his ambition, and even his fierceness, but now it was being worn down to its end.

Pu'e decided to retrieve the data after this mission and project it into a specific spacetime to restore it through the "spirit infusion" technique.

However, Pu'e frowned slightly at this moment, because on the star map she saw, there was a "vast" area that she couldn't explain. This meant that there was no considerable consciousness in that area, or that she simply couldn't observe it at all. Even in the chaotic April of this plane, faint starlight of consciousness could be seen.

In a dimensional system, the strength of one's will is not determined by certain superficial standards. Respecting the rules of a dimension is not a sign of weak will. Rebelling against the rules is not a sign of strong will either. True strength lies in proving one's ability to grasp the direction of development after spacetime unfolds.

For a time traveler like Pu'e, her level depends on the scale and quantity of "consciousness" she mobilizes.

Currently, the only thing she can mobilize regardless of cost is this "rogue" level transmigration consciousness. This "rogue" level transmigration consciousness can only be used for one transmigration, and sometimes it cannot even withstand one adversity.

…the dragon claws were scratching…

That night, a coup occurred in the Hao Palace. The Grand Councilors, their faces covered, hurriedly entered the palace. However, early the next morning, all the ministers of Hao Tian were summoned to the main hall, where the people of the inner court "weeped and wept" to announce that the king had passed away.

In such a situation, the ministers in the court could immediately tell that something was wrong with the people in the inner court. They would try to go back to their hometowns, collude with the powerful figures, and then argue with the eunuchs who controlled the palace.

However, the very next day after King Hao's death, Zhao Cheng swiftly dispatched troops to his aid. Seeing the situation was dire, Liu Yun immediately fled from the city walls. At the same time, he sent orders—well, no need for him to issue them—that the detachments he had sent to the east also flee in panic.

Without collusion between eunuchs and court officials, the unexpected death of the monarch could not be concealed. This is true of many clearly recorded eunuch coups in historical texts.

However! Once the eunuchs colluded with the court officials, many unknown cases of monarchs dying suddenly occurred, as recorded in history books.

Institutionally, the Hao Kingdom resembles the Tang Dynasty system. When the Hao Kingdom's predecessor, Zhen Dan, existed in the Hao Tian Realm, emperors bestowed excessive favors upon their close advisors, the Yellow Gate Attendants, sometimes allowing these officials to cultivate their own prestige. However, that was in the Hao Tian Realm. The Hao Tian Dragon Kingdom had its princes enfeoffed in various regions to maintain order. While the central Yellow Gate Attendants held power, they also helped the Hao Emperor control more people. Furthermore, the "Grand Privy Council," the inner guard force, was selected from those with strong connections near the capital. This, to a certain extent, prevented other dragon princes in the regions from interfering.

Now, not only is the Hao Kingdom constantly relocating, but the "Grand Privy Councilors" are also newly appointed officials from humble backgrounds who have no stable property due to the war and are now speculators in the palace.

The court officials have tacitly approved of this regicide; remaining silent in the hall now would not signify agreement.

Inside the royal court, an old minister began to probe the eunuch, asking, "Now that the king is dead, the country cannot be without a ruler for even a day?"

The head of the Imperial Secretariat looked relaxed and quickly took over the conversation, saying, "Yes, yes, the king has passed away, and the country must establish a new ruler as soon as possible; Lord Qing is highly respected, so please give us your advice."

Subsequently, many ministers began to discuss the matter, and after the discussion, they enthroned the four-year-old eighteenth son of King Hao as the new ruler.

Clearly, this four-year-old emperor of the Hao Kingdom is merely a transitional figure. The old ruler was "dignified"ly sent away by an accident; if the new emperor were an adult with his own thoughts, and after ascending the throne, followed Cao Mao's example and committed suicide for his country, things would be difficult for everyone to handle.
Just as this group began to establish a new ruler and waited for General Zhao Cheng to rescue them, a group of Dragonborn Guards escorted Emperor Hao's daughter away from the city.

Looking at the Hao Kingdom embroiled in endless internal strife, Pu'e sighed: "The nation has suffered repeated defeats; someone should have died long ago. But you, Huai Sheng, can only die yourself. Only after your death will this nation have a sliver of hope."

Pu'e glanced in Zhao Cheng's direction and nodded. She had now decided to leave this mess to the "card-drawing general" who was about to betray her.

Under Pu'e's direction, the four daughters of the former ruler of Hao Kingdom are now heading east to seek refuge with their aunt, Yu Li. Yu Li's three sons with Wu Hengyu are also of dragon lineage, and intermarriage among dragon descendants is essential to prevent the bloodline from weakening. Amidst the snowflakes of the north, Pu'e, now in dragon form, gazes south, believing that Yu Li will make the most advantageous choice.

Since Wu Hengyu's bloodline is all dragon descendants, in Pu'e's view, wasn't she also helping the Haotian dragon descendants rebuild on the Xiren planet?

As for Zhao Cheng, who rushed to protect the emperor, he has already obtained the legal basis he wanted. Will he become the meticulous and resourceful Zhuge Liang, or the magnanimous Cao Cao?
Pu'e was very interested in this! Because in the original timeline, Zhao Cheng had no choice, so the monarch was wary of him and took precautions to nip the problem in the bud.

Five days later, Wu Hengyu noticed the internal turmoil within the Hao Kingdom, so he launched a westward campaign to capture Yangquan Pass. However, just as he was preparing to launch a further offensive, he encountered the Hao army fleeing eastward.
Wu Hengyu originally intended to take down this group of 500 Heavenly Court Dragon Guards and Dragon Descendants, but was persuaded by Yu Li to accept this group of Dragon Descendants who were willing to change their names and identities.

After all, Emperor Yao was unjust, and Wu Hengyu had no obligation to help him exterminate the Hao people's entire clan. Just as Pu'e had predicted, Yu Li cherished these four daughters of the dragon lineage, treating them as her goddaughters.

In November of the second year of the Tianyou calendar, Wu Hengyu heard that Wu Fei had received the full support of the Wu family. He temporarily abandoned his idea of ​​returning home in glory.

Now Wu Hengyu suddenly remembered that since childhood, Wu Fei had been undermining him and making him uncomfortable.

Because Wu Fei indeed had the qualifications to undermine him, if he couldn't keep his brother in check, it would be like having food without roasting or vegetables without salt. Therefore, Wu Hengyu stayed in the north to manage the business.

…"ethics"…

At the same time as the coup in Haoting Palace, turmoil also occurred in Dayao Palace.

The nine floating palaces of the Great Yao were all equipped with "Armillary Spheres." The officials in charge of astronomy routinely performed divination for the nobles in the palace once a year. This divination was similar to a health check-up.

In particular, the disciples of the various palaces and their respective divination chambers must come here to inspect, dressed in robes.

Different people's characteristics and residences can be quantified using divination symbols. After calculation, the hexagrams can be used to advise the person being divined about the impact of their daily words and actions on their fortune or misfortune. This is similar to how in the 21st century, someone with an explosive personality might have hyperthyroidism and need to adjust their diet and lifestyle, while someone with a yin and damp personality would need to regulate their condition through exercise such as hiking and sunbathing.

Since ancient times, shamans and doctors have been indistinguishable. The strongest medical guarantee is not to invite a doctor who can "cure all diseases with medicine", but to have someone like Bian Que who can see the depth of the disease from the symptoms.

The person in charge of this matter was the Director of Astronomy, named "Diheng".

However, such palace attendants, who knew the king's secrets, often met with death.

Di Heng gazed at Prince Ji (Ying'er), born to Consort Li, and his heart trembled. For Consort Li's son and Da Yao had no heirs. —This was a matter of great importance, a plot to usurp the throne.

However, just as he was preparing to investigate, he was abruptly killed the next day by a collapsing armillary sphere while working at the Astronomical Observatory. The palace conducted numerous investigations, confirming that the armillary sphere had fallen into disrepair over the years, thus leaving it a minor unsolved case. This was because those who questioned it suspected that someone was trying to cover up something "unspeakable" about celestial phenomena.

There was much discussion in the palace, but the real reason was covered up.

In the courtyard, Suwang was drenched in cold sweat. He clutched his chest, the thorny chain now firmly binding his heart and lashing at his soul—a chain that would punish anyone who discovered the secret.

If he had known beforehand that Consort Li's son was not of royal blood, he would never have formed an alliance. Although he desired power, as a former official of Emperor Ling's old palace, his sense of loyalty remained. At the very least, he had to ensure that the next generation of the empire would still belong to the Prince of Zhou.

But now, he can't back down even if he wants to. Tampering with the royal bloodline is the most heinous crime, and it can't be solved by just punishing Consort Li and the Li family. As a political ally, he will also be completely overthrown by his political enemies taking this opportunity.

"Find your own way out" or "be loyal to the imperial court"? Suwang was in agony, yet his agony was tinged with a strange pleasure.

Ultimately, he chose to completely abandon morality and go down a dark path, thus tearing away the last shred of self-respect he had left. After that shred of self-respect was removed, a strange sense of pleasure arose.

Suwang was unaware that the great being he was communicating with actually enjoyed seeing what was "originally said to be unbreakable" being quietly corrupted and changed.

Loyal ministers become treacherous officials, and chastity becomes shamelessness. As for intelligence, it ultimately turns one into a fool who is outsmarted by their own cleverness.

Suwang suddenly turned around and asked who it was.

Just then, a shadow stood behind him and asked, "What's wrong? Don't you want to work here anymore?"

Suwang looked at the shadow and assumed it was Wu Long (the one who hosted the World Pill Gathering), and said in a low voice, filled with anger and confusion, "Was all of this your scheme?"

The shadow controlled by the Daoist mocked, "Every path has unknown risks. Didn't you know the 'unpredictability' of our relationship back then? But you still chose it, didn't you?"

Suwang bit his tongue to force himself to calm down and whispered, "Was it you who planted the seed in Consort Li's belly?"

The Daoist Master chuckled and said, "Such a thing as usurping imperial energy is impossible to do without sufficient good fortune. I am but a wandering hermit; how could I dare to steal dragon energy for my own use?"

Suwang understood the implication and suddenly asked, "Then who is it that dared to steal the stars and replace the moon?"

The Taoist priest smiled but did not give a reply.

Su Wang stared at Xian Daoren, thinking to himself, "Whose power does this person belong to? He's right. Although Yao Shi's virtue has declined, it's not something just anyone can usurp the Mandate of Heaven. So the source of King Ji is also extraordinary. He must also be a king or general. Otherwise, he wouldn't be able to withstand the backlash from the dragon vein (the human consciousness within Xi Huang Star)."

Now that Suwang himself is unable to extricate himself from the situation, he wants to use secrets to blackmail the true lineage of Prince Ji into becoming his ally. He believes that the clan possessing Prince Ji's bloodline also fears the spread of the secret.

Seeing that Xian Daoren was unwilling to speak, he said, "I have already grasped the situation in the court. If you do not tell me, I will ask His Majesty to issue an order during the autumn sacrifice three months later, allowing the ancestors of all civil and military officials in the court to enjoy the offerings. At that time, I will accompany Prince Ji to bestow the ancestral tablets upon these officials one by one, and then we can distinguish them."

The Taoist nodded and praised him, "That is indeed a good idea."

When Suwang saw that his threat of mutual destruction had failed, his momentum waned, and he asked in despair, "What exactly are you plotting in this matter of stealing the stars and changing the moon? Since it's about stealing the dragon's energy, you must be using it for your own purposes!"

Xian Daoren: "Nothing more than what I believe in. I simply want to see what will happen after the world changes hands. As for you, telling you who Prince Ji's father is isn't necessarily a bad thing. Come closer."

Suwang's eyes lit up, and he began to approach the shadowy figure. — At this moment, the desire for the truth was so intense, and the helplessness after knowing the truth would only bring immense despair.

Like a chef preparing delicious food, Xiandaoren continuously processed Suwang's corrupted consciousness.

Sure enough, Suwang's expression froze like marble after hearing the name mentioned by Xiandaoren. The truth was so obvious, yet so impossible for him to bear!

If it were any other king, nobleman, or general, no matter how deep their foundation, Su Wang was certain he could use this secret—enough to ruin their reputation—to bind them to his side. But the name Xian Daoren uttered made him murmur, "Impossible, how could it be him!"

Regarding this person's name, King Zhou himself was the one who lost his virtue first. Now, as for right and wrong, after pondering for a long time, Su Wang realized that this "secret" seemed to have no effect on that person.

Xian Daoren was very satisfied to see Su Wang looking so lost and bewildered.

The "saint" he believes in likes to use all things to confuse mortals, and ultimately use the truth to stun the target and arouse mortals' fear of the truth.

The pleasure and pain that are constantly induced by the truth belong to the Purple Evil Moon.

Now, the purple thorns gripped Suwang's heart, while the blue brand marks crawled all over Suwang's forehead, burrowing into his brain.

(End of this chapter)