Wei School's Three Good Students

Chapter 184 Sneaking into the Era, Planning for the Decisive Battle

Inside the Lord of Lelang's mansion, crows and magpies were fighting for territory on the roof ridge.

Xuan Chong and the Qinghua Sect leader had a “frank exchange”, “deep understanding”, and “constructive considerations” with each other.

Of course, the soldiers guarding outside heard the old sect leader's furious roar: "General, do you really disregard the common people!"

However, this was immediately followed by a resounding response from their own military leader: "We have a responsibility to all living beings. But the people are not just your immortal sect! For the sake of human suffering, the well-being of the people and the nation, can't our sects make some sacrifices for the greater good? Must we seek the rise of the Daoist sects in this time of turmoil?!"

Upon hearing this, the soldiers outside the gate exclaimed, "Our lord is truly a saint! As for that old immortal, he has been worshipped by mortals for so many years, yet when the world is in trouble, he refuses to give a single hair for the world. He is truly wicked."

…eloquent and quick-witted…

The sect leader of Qinghua Sect looked at the strategist before him and calmed his own Dao heart. His Dao heart was originally very strong, but now he had encountered this "demonic heart".

This newly appointed military leader of the Wu family is something else; with just a flick of his tongue, he can turn an old ox into a stubborn donkey with his sarcastic remarks.

As a cultivator, this old immortal was simply standing in the transcendent position of a monk, persuading those struggling in the mortal world to let go of their attachments.

The strategist seemed to know his words, and instead began to advise him to do good, to be more open-minded, and not to have any obsessions.

Standing by the table, Xuan Chong, who was making sarcastic remarks, sighed, "Don't advise others to be kind if you haven't experienced their suffering." But then he thought to himself with glee, "Sarcastic remarks are meant for eccentric people. Hurt you? Hurt your mother my ass."

At this moment, Xuan Chong is indifferent to the immortals. The two sides are not on the same path. The nature of spiritual energy and evil energy being difficult to integrate makes the two sides creatures fixed in two different ecological domains.

It's like humans and orcas; both suffer in their respective environments.

Xuan Chong had heard all sorts of inspirational quotes in his past life. So when you advise me to "take it easy," I'll reciprocate by advising you to "take it easy," throwing the boomerang back at these mentors—that's the most ruthless way to respond.

And so, the military and the immortals sat facing each other on either side of the table, and Xuan Chong served the old man a cup of tea, which was considered to be fulfilling diplomatic etiquette.

"Incredible, truly remarkable." The Qinghua Sect Master looked at Xuan Chong, seemingly in admiration, but in reality, it was a threat. "It seems the Martial Lord is confident he can roam the world alone?"

Xuan Chong looked at him and said, "It's not that I'm confident, but is this your attitude towards cooperation? You sit too high. You're too aloof, and you look down on people too much!"

In terms of transcendence and detachment from worldly affairs, Xuan Chong, as a transmigrator, is actually the most detached. Especially in his identity as a "student," after inquiring with the system, Xuan Chong learned that once the mission in this world was completed, it would be the end of his studies.

In fact, Xuan Chong still maintained a cooperative attitude during the negotiations. His hand rested on the table, ready to take out the map and use the spiritual veins of Southern Xinjiang as leverage to discuss the matter. However, his opponent was clearly possessed by demons.

Xuan Chong frowned: "Where is the Dao heart of the cultivators? They can't even stand a little bit of sarcastic talk?"

The threat posed by the "Evil Moon," currently the sole target of the entire Xi Human Realm, is something I don't possess more information about than the Immortal Sect; I only know that the "Evil Moon," this celestial body, infiltrates Xi Huang Star through information, always scraping away matter from Xi Huang Star. Moreover, the matter scraped away by the "Evil Moon" has a specific bias.

If the Qinghua Sect has a good attitude, Xuan Chong is willing to share the responsibility with the Immortal Sect, but!

Xuan Chong was furious as he faced the stubborn old man who had lived for hundreds of years: "You come in all high and mighty, thinking you shouldn't have to take responsibility, like you're some kind of savior. Your shamelessness reminds me of those white people who came here in my past life seeking solutions to the economic crisis."

The sect leader of Qinghua Sect understood Xuan Chong's words, but he found it hard to accept such a rebuke from a military lord!

From the perspective of the Immortal Sect, Xuan Chong was indeed arrogant...

A military strategist from the southern border was sent by the Wu family as a favor to the sect; however, most of the inner disciples of the Qinghua Sect come from higher social standing than the Wu family. The Wu family had to curry favor with the sect, offering them magical treasures and exotic beasts to gain entry. Now, taking advantage of the chaos in the world, they've turned around and reprimanded the sect—they've gone too far!
As a sect that has stood firm for thousands of years, the Qinghua Sect has a strong foundation that will not tolerate a family that has been around for less than a hundred years stepping on its head!

So what if you're good at using military force to conquer the world? You can conquer the world, but if you want to stabilize it, you still need the support of various local forces.

Of all the powerful forces the Wu family has now, their most staunch supporters are those baseless drifters, while none of the local aristocratic families are truly on their side.

The veteran cultivators in the Immortal Sect are hundreds or even thousands of years old, and their influence over various local families is extremely strong.

Therefore, this sect leader would not allow the Wu family to oppose the Immortal Sect in this way. Even if they had some royal aura, they would ultimately lose the hearts of the people.

Those who walk different paths cannot make plans together.

The Qinghua Sect Master believed he could influence the Wu family's core power base. This was similar to how, in Xuan Chong's previous life, the US believed that "cutting off technological exchange" would put a pause on the East's development, hence the maintenance of a high-pressure stance.

Xuan Chong's core base wasn't actually comprised of local aristocratic families. As military organization modernized, and as the "wooden ox and flowing horse" trains, similar to railways, began operation, and as iron smelting workshops developed large-scale forging processes, all iron ore began to be produced using "great alchemy" technology, the expansion of martial arts academies meant that the first batch of military household children also acquired teacher training qualifications.

Xuanchong is now preparing to modernize.

Back then, when the Beiyang government had the resources, it considered how to modernize; it had almost met its own needs. How could it turn back when it was time to move forward?

What is the foundation of modernization? It is the vast manufacturing plants built by industrial capital.

To ensure a sufficient supply of talent, modern rulers needed to establish schools; to protect industrial capital, they needed to organize armies; and to facilitate the logistics and exchange of industrial capital, they needed to improve docks and railways. All of this relied not on local powerful families to supply talent, but rather on cities themselves.

Those within his future inner circle may still be given titles like "Grand Master Craftsman," "Captain," or "Chief Astrologer," inheriting the grand ritual system. However, their backgrounds will inevitably be those of people with "student," "worker," or "military" roots.

Xuan Chong: "Only people with this kind of background have the right mindset and can consider issues related to the development of modern industries."

Note: Unlike Xiandaoren's practice of putting old wine in new bottles, Xuanchong brews new wine and puts it into old bottles.

The core base of Xuan Chong's rule consisted of a large number of unruly commoners, but there were no aristocratic families who were tied to the land!

The powerful families not only bind land to the land, but also to the population. The pyramid-shaped system of powerful families is so stable that even when productivity has developed to the postmodern level, they still create a class of outcasts who are "unworthy of enjoying modern industrial products" when it comes to ranking people.

All modernized nations eventually had to make changes to "land ownership".

This is not a question of "public versus private land ownership." Rather, the important point is that "there is no society formed with land ownership as the center of wealth."

Therefore, Qinghua Sect thought it had the leverage to control Xuanchong's core base, but this is precisely the target that Xuanchong's future policies aim to suppress and purge!
So, what was Xuan Chong's purpose in doing this?

Xuan Chong: "This is a history lesson, so I have to do something in line with the historical trend! I've done a lot of ridiculous things in this world, but I still have to hand in my answer sheet."

…the final break…

Xuan Chong looked at this righteous sect leader and gave him one last chance, shamelessly declaring, "I am actually a cultivator too, though a heretical one; based on observations of the interaction and influence of celestial information in this world, I have derived a formula that can calculate the location of the next Evil Moon eruption!"

Xuan Chong means: Don't think that you are the only one who can predict the world. I also have weather forecasts. If you want to cooperate, then cooperate; if not, then forget it.

However, the term "heretical cultivator" provoked the Qinghua Sect. The sect leader coldly snorted, "If you consider yourself a follower of unorthodox paths, then so be it. I've come here in vain."

After the Qinghua Sect Master left in anger, he hadn't even gone two miles when he sensed the overwhelming killing intent emanating from Lelang City behind him.

Xuan Chong watched as the sect leader, aboard his spirit boat, vanished into the distance, and slowly said, "Your trip wasn't in vain. Enemy or friend, isn't that settled now?"

Xuan Chong's face was filled with murderous intent. As a novice military strategist in this world, he was becoming more and more decisive in his actions.

When you have a strategic advantage, you should take advantage of strained relations and push things to the extreme. This way, you can then tell other surrounding powers, "As everyone knows, we are quite sincere; the problem isn't with us!"

After seeing the immortal off, Xuan Chong immediately issued the following orders: First, schools should be established in various prefectures; second, the "Liangtian Pavilion" (University) should be established.

He then ordered all the corps to sing a song of encouragement to study while marching. The lyrics were: "Why go deep into the mountains to seek the Way? Going deep into the mountains means abandoning your parents; being ordered around and treated as a servant, you are recruited as a student at the Liangtian Pavilion; you explore the heavens and listen to the netherworld, the Way should be about helping the world, a heart of iron and stone is the way of the Lesser Vehicle!"

Since the sect still harbors hostility towards Zhendi, Xuan Chong naturally cannot back down and decides to directly sever its lineage and destroy its foundation. Xuan Chong: "Singing a military song directly against the emperor is too presumptuous. Shouldn't it be alright if I directly oppose the Daoist sect?"

Two days later, following the order, troops everywhere began singing the new song. This spread much faster than folk rhymes from the countryside.

The sect leader of the Five Elements Immortal Sect's expression changed drastically. He calculated with his fingers and saw that the overwhelming human fortune was beginning to gather from all directions to where Xuan Chong was; while the fortune of all the Taoist sects in the world was cut off out of thin air. No matter what, the fortune would be greatly reduced!
Qinghua Sect originally wanted to teach the Wu family a lesson, but Xuan Chong immediately showed them the consequences of turning against them.

Meanwhile, Yang Sanniang pondered for a moment. She murmured, "Has the will of this world begun to retaliate?"

The blessings radiated by the evil moon are information; the fortune believed by all beings in the Xi human realm is also a kind of information; it is a concept anchored by the "belief" in the minds of a large number of intelligent beings.

The reason why Taoism flourishes during times of human suffering is that people choose to believe in the "ethereal" path of immortality during times of hardship, and a large amount of information radiates and converges on Taoism. What would happen if this "anchor" were truly removed, and Taoism lost its "luck" to suppress it?

Xuan Chong: Alas, I lack the aptitude for cultivation.

Just as Zhendi began to use the "Exhortation to Learning" song as a pretext to create new ideas, bad news came from the cultivation world; in Jizhou, the terrifying news came that the "Heavenly Tribulation" had annihilated the Shangqiong Palace, a thousand-year-old sect.

Although this sect participated in the blockade of Zhendi, it was only a mid-level sect; Xuan Chong did not use the "Heaven-Shaking Bow" to shoot at their mountain gate. However, their small sect could not withstand the great calamity.

In April of the third year of the Tianyou calendar, the Shangqiong Palace was struck by a great calamity caused by evil spirits. Under the gloomy moon, blood rain fell on the mountain gate for fifteen days in a row. Pine and cypress trees withered and died, rocks shattered, and spirit birds and beasts turned into skeletons.

Then, when the moon was full again, the entire mountain range where the sect was located was uprooted from bottom to top, severing its connection to the earth's veins.

The powerful information injected from the Evil Moon polluted this spiritual land, ultimately severing the gravitational connection between this place and the planet. Then, following the attraction generated by the "information," the entire mountain where the sect was located was moved towards the Evil Moon celestial body in the sky.

The mortals within hundreds of miles of the Upper Palace watched as the majestic Qiong Mountain, which they had grown accustomed to for generations, rose from the ground, floated in the sky, and disintegrated into numerous fragments. A terrifying sense of "dismemberment" arose in their minds.

In the following months, similar calamities also occurred in many famous mountains and sects in the Central Plains.

The same evil moon shrouded the entire mountain gate, and many disciples were unable to escape amidst the blood and light. Then, the moonlight shone alone on this place, and under the moonlight, all kinds of blue crystals grew on the mountain. The growth of the crystals divided the mountain, and finally the mountain was sucked into the sky, and the entire sect was destroyed; only a few true disciples who left the sect were able to escape the disaster.

…The system advised the Xi Ren Realm: "Don't be afraid of pain, change always comes at a price. You have a lot of health..."

In the third year of the Tianyou calendar, Xie Yue's relentless massacres were actually related to Zhao Cheng. Zhao Cheng had completely captured Yuhua Prefecture and his army was now heading towards Heluo County, only 3 li away from Yaodu, a flat plain stretching out before him.

Such conquests and territorial expansions led to rapid changes in the human realm, and were also the main reason for the break between the major spiritual mountains and the Xiren Realm.

In Hancheng, Yuhua Prefecture, Zhao Cheng dispatched troops to guard the Observatory. He now commands 200,000 soldiers, tens of thousands of armored warriors, a thousand chariots, and eighty war beasts, making him one of the most powerful forces at present.

However, just as Xuan Chong faced the transition from "plundering" to "occupation" after conquering the southern border, Zhao Cheng faced the same problem. For the soldiers, following General Zhao in battle might have initially been about survival, risking their lives with a sword; but now that you have territory and powerful families from various regions have submitted, shouldn't you at least consider the "future" for everyone?
This involves the distribution of land and official titles to Zhao Cheng's generals in the future.

Zhao Cheng initially bypassed the complexities and went straight to "selecting and appointing officials," amassing an army of tens of thousands. Xuan Chong, on the other hand, initially sought to establish a system and prepare for bloodshed, seemingly taking a longer route.

But Zhao Cheng still can't avoid this question. The work he needs to do now is the same work that Xuan Chong initially did as the character "Wu Fei".

Zhao Cheng looked at the maps of various regions, which were now plagued by natural disasters and man-made calamities, with floods and locusts everywhere! How could he possibly allocate such low-value lands to his subordinates?
If there aren't enough "famous items" to go around, then there's no going around! Because if someone gets one and someone else doesn't, then the group has to break up.

On the Star Gazing Platform, the Celestial Minister reported the latest situation in the world to Zhao Cheng. Zhao Cheng gasped in shock. At this moment, Xie Yue, like a gluttonous beast, had extended its tentacles in just three months, engulfing the most nutritious (rich in cultural information) mountains and rivers of the Xi Ren Realm.

The literal meaning of the character "大爻" is "the land is shattered." It signifies that a peck of seeds sown in the fields yields less than four pecks of harvest.

Even after the territory he had conquered was destroyed, Zhao Cheng did not forget to send "spies" to observe the enemy's territory.

However, the intelligence they received indicated that Zhenzhou was recovering extremely quickly, with all agriculture and sericulture operating at full capacity, and the major cities were densely populated, showing no signs of having suffered a major disaster.

Zhao Cheng felt a chill run down his spine; he could understand Xuan Chong's actions. His time was extremely limited.

Zhao Cheng: This is what it means to win a victory in the imperial court!

In times of chaos, the population, like international capital in Xuan Chong's previous life, is mobile.

Why is Xuanchong not fighting or seizing territory now? It's because other places are at war, and people are fleeing.

Xuan Chong: As long as we don't go to war right now, the population will flow to our area. And this population movement will only occur within this time window.

This window of opportunity occurs when the ruling power of the Great Yao is declining, and local military groups have not yet consolidated their bases and are vying for control of their respective territories.

It was during Zhao Cheng's brutal beating of various feudal lords that a large number of people were displaced.

As long as I (Xuan Chong) seize this opportunity and attract as many people as possible to my area, I am guaranteed to win in the future!
After the chaos caused by the "mad soldiers" and the "plague", the powerful families in Zhenzhou were wiped out and the area was weakened like never before. During this process, the local population also declined significantly. Xuan Chong took this opportunity to vigorously deal with the displaced people and the army, and his vitality recovered rapidly.

Once this window of opportunity is missed, the situation becomes hopeless.

We can refer to the example of Liu Bei conquering Hanzhong, but Cao Cao moved all the households in Hanzhong away, which led to the inability of Zhuge Liang to continue governing the country!
While Cao Cao repeatedly massacred cities in his early days, he was the first to stabilize the situation and had a large population; in the later period, the strength of Cao Wei was able to steadily suppress Shu Han and Eastern Wu.

Xuanchong's biggest advantage right now is that it was the first to stabilize its "core regional base".

From Xuan Chong's perspective: So why take the risk of sending troops to seize territory and then give up your current ironclad advantage? — Once you start fighting here and conscripting soldiers and requisitioning grain, the refugees will stop coming.

If Xuan Chong were to send out his troops now, Zhao Cheng would still have room to maneuver. Both sides are at the same level in terms of military skill, and Zhao Cheng could even win by using his experienced tactics. But now that Xuan Chong is not sending out his troops, Zhao Cheng really has no room to maneuver at all!

So, Pu'e, being an outsider, thought that the "battle of the gods" was a passionate exchange of blows.

In reality, after Zhao Cheng and Xuan Chong started fighting, they were like two AIs in chess, hoarding their strength to avoid direct confrontation, all for the final showdown!
In Yuhua Prefecture, at the General's Mansion, a screen in the shape of a black jade tiger tally was placed in the center of the main hall. Zhao Cheng sat in the hall, discussing the current situation with his generals on either side.

Looking at the map, Zhao Cheng couldn't help but sigh. In the 28th year of the Heavenly Calendar, he had the best opportunity! But once he missed it, it was gone forever.

However, just when Zhao Cheng was at his wit's end, half a month later, disciples from aristocratic families came to serve him, and even some people from Xuan Chong's jurisdiction fell into his trap.

After receiving these disciples from aristocratic families in the peaceful western region, Zhao Cheng was somewhat perplexed!
He couldn't understand why Wu Fei was being "tyrannical" at this time and couldn't win over the core supporters in Zhengdi.
…The strategic thinking of Xuanchong is deeply marked by the era…

This strategy of "establishing a foothold first" and accumulating momentum earlier than others is what we call the G2 rivalry in the past.

Strategists in second-tier countries around the world are hoping for a G2 rivalry, a repeat of the previous Eagle-Bear conflict; they almost wish the G2 would just start fighting. But the top brass of the G2 all know that in the process of choosing sides in the rapidly shifting global technological and industrial power structure, whoever makes the first move is a fool.

During the rivalry between the Soviet Union and the United States, the anticipated scenarios for future warfare were Red Alert, wasteland, and subway scenarios, namely, armored assaults after nuclear bombs cleared the way; the key elements for victory in the war were "energy" and "unwavering will," which were also the two most intense points of conflict between the Soviet Union and the United States at that time.

This means they are locked in a fierce battle on the cultural front, and are constantly making moves in the oil-rich region at the heart of the World Island.

The bear lost in both aspects, so it surrendered without a fight.

As for the future wars predicted by G2, they are a self-sufficient new energy source, an enhanced version of the Star Wars program, satellites conducting electromagnetic interference, atmospheric information warfare, precision-guided firepower on the ground followed by drone patrols, and robots taking over.

Such factors for victory in war are not determined by "the belief and will to organize firmly in the wasteland" or "the amount of fossil energy possessed," but by "the completeness of the industrial technology chain."

When the global supply chain collapses, (similar to a major shift in the cosmology) technology is also in a state of great flux (population movement).

Therefore, during the flow of resources, neither side will get themselves into a war that requires "mobilization potential," because once the war potential is mobilized, the technological forces in the flow will not be able to come over.

Only after the supply chain is completely restructured and all the technology providers of the old international supply chain have fully settled in will the final showdown take place.

(End of this chapter)