Wei School's Three Good Students

Chapter 209 Building a City in a Foreign Land
In October of the second year of the Tongzheng calendar, with the Wu family army's swift and decisive deployment of troops, the besieging troops in the corner had already retreated upon seeing the enemy.

The king and nobles of Griffin City breathed a sigh of relief. Bloodstains still remained on the dilapidated city walls, like the marks left by swatted mosquitoes on a wall in the summer.

As Xuan Chong watched the ferocious horned people flee at the first sign of trouble, he poured cold water on his troops as always: "These nomadic horned people were not defeated, but rather they completed their KPI targets for this year's raids; so after the monsoon season changed, most of them ran back, preparing to continue raiding by boat next year."

Xuan Chong arrived at the foot of Griffin City. The area inside the city walls was only about the size of a small community, and the total length of the city walls was 800 meters. However, judging from the ruins of the settlements surrounding the city, the population of the residential area surrounding this city-state at its peak was 40,000 to 50,000.

After Xuan Chong pulled the arrowhead stuck in the wooden city wall, he discovered that although it was rusty and poorly smelted, with sand mixed in, the horned man was indeed made of iron.

Xuan Chong: It's not hot forging, but a very rudimentary technique, probably only at the workshop level, called "water forging".

There are now "alchemy pools" in Lingnan and Zhendi, but the technical requirements are very high. They can produce iron sand, but the iron sand still needs to go into the furnace for sintering, melting, and hydraulic forging before it can become refined steel.

Regardless, the existence of iron tools indicates that the Horned People's technological level was not low.

Xuan Chong summoned one of his sergeants to write a memo: "In operations in foreign lands, there can be no arrogance whatsoever."

"Have a meeting tonight and convey my message." Xuan Chong felt he had to take the right attitude.

...The battlefield without the flash of swords has just begun...

In this city-state that had just experienced the ravages of war, Xuan Chong looked at the wooden palace with great curiosity: castles are all made of wood, what if they catch fire? Of course, after touching it, he discovered a layer of salt crystals on it and suddenly understood.

Upon entering the main hall, Xuan Chong, through an interpreter, negotiated with the King of Griffin City. As an ally of Storm City, Griffin City, and other winged city-states, Xuan Chong declared that his legion firmly stood on the side of the alliance, jointly confronting the incursions of the southern barbarian tribes.

Therefore, Xuan Chong decided that his troops would not move and instead found a port area 150 kilometers north of Griffin City to build a city. Two hundred li (approximately 100 kilometers) north by sea from there would be the mouth of the Lingjiang River.

When Xuan Chong handed over this letter of state, he was already prepared to be scorned by others.

This blatant exploitation of an ally's vulnerabilities to seize a piece of land is utterly shameless.

However, in the main hall, the winged nobles, who were "allies," frowned slightly and began to ask when they could jointly send troops next year after the city was completed.
After exchanging ideas, Xuan Chong realized that the two sides were not thinking at all.

The Griffin City faction believes that the Yao Army's construction of a city in the north, consuming a large amount of manpower and resources, will delay their joint defense duties. That's why they are frowning.

Xuan Chong, on the other hand, embodies the traditional Eastern mindset: "Under the whole heaven, all land belongs to the king; on the shores of the earth, all people are subjects of the king!"

Put yourself in their shoes. Imagine someone else's military forces suddenly establishing a city within our traditionally controlled territory? What are they trying to do? Are they trying to seize our land? What do you mean by unclaimed, desolate land? Our territory may be vast, but not an inch is superfluous. The desolate borderlands are a constant source of trouble for barbarian tribes; every dynasty has experienced this.

After noticing the differences in understanding between the two sides, Xuan Chong cautiously probed the issue. According to the traditional thinking of land-based powers, inviting an external force to solve a problem could lead to that force taking the opportunity to establish a foothold, creating a sense of unease that "it's easy to invite a god, but difficult to send him away."

Xuan Chong: It seems they don't consider me a "troublemaker" at all. Oh, our forces aren't strong enough in their eyes, so we're not a threat.

So I began to reflect on my own blind spots in "mindset". After carefully considering the map, I concluded that these were "agricultural mindset" and "maritime mindset".

Agricultural civilizations prioritize "land production" as their national policy. Therefore, they are extremely sensitive about land; how could they tolerate others sleeping soundly beside their own bed? This explains why, in the past, in the East, even if a powerful nation occupied a previously undeveloped island nearby, they felt extremely uneasy!

The maritime mindset is based on "trade routes." Whether or not a piece of land is ceded to a neighboring country is not the top priority. What matters most is whether that piece of land threatens my trade routes.

As for land? In the absence of special resources, if one armed faction is willing to invest in building a city on its own, then that city belongs to that faction.

From a maritime perspective, it's illogical to think that if I take a small, undeveloped fishing village, build it into a large city, and then suddenly want to take it back. This is highly unreasonable. —This is why a strong clash of values ​​arose between East and West regarding the issue of "ports" during Xuan Chong's previous life.

Even after the British Empire had relinquished vast swathes of colonies, it still longed to retain its jewel in the East, a claim even the conservatives of the British Parliament felt was somewhat justified. This was the reason.

After redefining his "mindset," Xuan Chong began to define the "boundaries" between himself and his allies.

Clearly, for the king of this small winged city-state, "land" was not the primary conflict with his allies; rather, it was whether his allies could uphold the military alliance.

At the long table, Xuan Chong looked at the local parchment map, which indicated that before Griffin City was restored, a force of three hundred men would be stationed at a base five miles away.

The king and nobles of Griffin City were very satisfied. After the conversation ended, Zi Xing (a member of the Forest Feather Clan), dressed in gorgeous silk and who had taken the meeting very seriously, said to Xuan Chong, "My lord, you don't need to be too concerned about the boundaries of such a weakened city-state."

In short, Xuan Chong was too polite.

Xuan Chong looked at the maid and smiled slightly: "You haven't gotten used to the way we Yao people think yet, and of course, I haven't gotten used to your way of thinking either."

Although the Feathered Clan city-states pride themselves on civilization, they still maintain a "might makes right" mentality in diplomacy. However, Xuan Chong believes that "allies should maintain a sense of boundaries."

Xuan Chong: Because I am looking to make great profits based on a ten- or hundred-year foundation. Once we have determined the boundaries of our respective core interests, we will know where the obstacles are.

Establishing a city-state in the south is possible, but only the sea routes of the Da Yao region can be used; the sea routes of other city-states cannot be seized. Furthermore, a strong army is possible, but naval intervention is not allowed.

In its initial stages, the Wu family army numbered 3,000. According to the latest intelligence, in addition to the ten city-states previously established, there are more than forty winged city-states scattered along the coast. The population of these city-states ranges from 5,000 to as many as 70,000.

Xuan Chong left a note for the person in charge of Dingling City: "The person in charge who stays here must follow the 'boundary principle,' prioritize long-term interests, and manage short-term conflicts as much as possible."

…Confirming the public enemy…

Six days later, at the harbor dock, Xuan Chong welcomed Ang Ri and his Yak people subordinates who had returned from surveying at sea.

Although the Feathered Race has provided sea charts, their measuring tools may differ from those of the Great Yao, or perhaps the Feathered Race used their core city-state as the center when creating the maps, deliberately reducing the "error tolerance" for the less frequently explored northern outlying areas.

In Xuanchong, the core area is the line from the Lingjiang estuary to Dingling City, and the location of the coastline and marked islands is different.

On the newly drawn map by Xuan Chong, the three islands southeast of the Lingjiang estuary are actually an equilateral triangle; however, on the Yuzu's nautical chart, they are located at the edge and are distorted into a line.

Narrator: If you use someone else's nautical chart, you can only follow their routes and be subject to the control of their patrolling navy.

Xuan Chong led the group into the conference room, unfolded the white cloth on the sand table, and began to add the content of these observations.

Xuan Chong gazed at the clearly visible, descending vortex to the south, and at the beam of light projected down from the very familiar Chaos Green Lotus within it.

Xuan Chong silently wondered, "Is the system's mission to conquer the moon that I have to enter from there?"

According to the nautical chart, that is the center of the Mediterranean Sea, where there is an "Island of Death"; because the island is in a windless area, ships cannot escape, making it a place of death.

The winged people can reach this island by traveling 100 kilometers south along the coastline.

The island's location is quite peculiar, because a circumnavigation of it appears to be only twenty kilometers, making it seem like a very small island from the sea.

However, once you arrive on this island, walking around it, let alone going around it, is a distance of "four hundred kilometers" even if you walk from south to north.

The entire island space is like a crumpled "paper ball". From the outside, the paper ball looks very small, but the space inside the paper ball is very large.

From Xuan Chong's perspective as he rode the peacock, the island was locked in place by tentacles descending from the evil moon in the sky, twisting and turning like a bowl of rice piled high, and getting higher and higher.

Refer to the situation during the "Expedition to the Rotten Moon." At that time, the prison was almost invisible due to the shrinking space. In the end, it was only by increasing the spiritual energy of the entire city through "Emperor's Drunkenness" that the prison appeared in the streets. After it appeared, Xuan Chong and the others did not enter the prison, but rather a "large spatial point" formed before the spiritual veins of the entire Zhen land were drained and they were about to ascend to the Evil Moon.

It seems that the "Death Island" is also about to be extracted and ascended to the sky.

Xuan Chong's hand just happened to be drawing the general topography of the entire island. After finishing the map, Xuan Chong pointed to a bay and muttered, "Land on that island, and then walk along the island's coastline to find the node that connects the Evil Moon to the planet."

If one's own army erases this node, the spatial distortion created by Evil Moon will disappear, and the area of ​​Death Island will shrink to normal. At that time, the feat of "severing the umbilical cord of matter in the weak gravitational region between two celestial bodies by human power" will be completed.

During the cross-sea operation, there is still a 400-kilometer military transport route to be covered. There are many things to consider; this is a field I have never been involved in before.” Xuan Chong looked at the map hesitantly, and one could even say that the sailors he had recruited were not up to standard.

These sailors had some understanding of river warfare, but naval warfare was a completely different matter.

River warfare has this characteristic: it allows for confrontations across the river, or upstream and downstream; in short, it allows for knowing where the enemy is coming from and keeping a close eye on them. At sea, however, there is no such clear intelligence gathering. Xuan Chong, recalling his previous life's maritime defense, added to the memorandum: "If the defending side doesn't have enough fishermen as scouts, information about the sea is lacking."

Therefore, the loss of fishermen's interests should not be taken lightly. Fishermen are crucial to coastal defense and are essential green leaves for the flower of a large fleet. It can even be said that in the past, our country's maritime strategy still had room for maneuver without a large fleet, but without the support of fishermen, it was just an empty shell.

So, should we fight a naval battle? Xuan Chong immediately marked this option as "cautious."

Xuan Chong: I will abandon this mission if necessary! — This was said to the system.

After Xuan Chong figured things out, he rang the bell to signal the officers to prepare for a meeting that evening!
Xuan Chong glanced at the "Dingling City" he was building to the north. Storm City and the other Winged Races didn't care now, but what about a generation later? What if trade routes started concentrating more and more northward?

Xuan Chong began to worry about the future. Allies turned against him, and his subordinates betrayed him. Now he had to take precautions in advance.

Many officers took their seats, and the female elf, who was the future city lord of Dingling City, was seated in the place of honor.

Xuan Chong: "I've called everyone here to discuss two topics; the first is the construction of the northern port, and the second is the threat posed by the Cape people."

Xuan Chong pointed at the map and muttered to himself, "It's said that some of the Horned People haven't left yet and are still loitering in the nearby sea, preparing to turn around and ambush us. They are a threat to us, and we have to find them and give them a good beating. Hmm, it's also an explanation to our allies. Everyone, please share your opinions."

Faced with Xuan Chong's questioning gaze, the attendees each shared their views on their respective areas of responsibility over the past few days.

For example, Wu Zhantie's domain was fighting with captured horned people; after determining the horned people's physiological weaknesses, he suggested improving the hook-and-sickle spear by changing the scythe blade into a special curved hook blade, which looked like a "?".

When used, the blade of this "?" can be used like a "bottle cap". No matter what kind of "horn" is on the horned person, once hooked by the "?", it's like a "bottle cap" being pried open by a "bottle cap". At that time, the soldier with the long pole can simply have the axemen in front sit on the pole and use the leverage effect to break the "horn" directly. Of course, even if it can't be broken, the horned person will be pressed to the ground by this leverage.

The "corner," being a sturdy part, is a point of leverage if the soldiers can "grip" it tightly with tools.

Xuan Chong was pleased that Wu Zhantie had come up with such a good idea, and said, "We should communicate more with our comrades in the future."

Xuan Chong clearly knew that this wasn't his idea at all. It was Wu Leng, who had recently started his shift, who came up with the idea.

…Xuan Chong gave the locals a voice…

Besides discussing battles, the meeting focused more on diplomacy. Xuan Chong inquired about this with the Queen of the Forest Winged Clan, "Ying Zhao," because she was said to have a high bloodline and possess diplomatic advantages over the kingdom's winged clans.

Yingzhao is now wholeheartedly providing advice to the Wu family army, because when Xuan Chong travels south from the Thorn Ridge, the new commercial stations he establishes are designed according to the garden layout of the Forest Feather Clan, with trees planted and Forest Feather Clan members stationed there. This inadvertently helps the Forest Feather Clan expand their influence southward.

It is worth mentioning that the Kingdom of Feathered Clan has a tradition of capturing slaves; if the diplomatic agreements that Xuan Chong has now established through military force are unstable, these sites will become targets for plunder by the Kingdom of Feathered Clan city-states in the future.

Ying Zhao awkwardly took a brush and recorded the contents on the bamboo slips, refining and supplementing the military treaty between the Da Yao Zhennan General's Mansion and the Feather Clan Kingdom.

Ying Zhao emphasized that the Feather Clan's large fleet must provide escort when the Yao Army marches south. Furthermore, if other forces blockade its ports, Griffin City must dispatch a fleet to relieve the siege.

Xuan Chong nodded. His forces were invincible on land, but their weakness was at sea, where they needed "order and restraint." Unless he could build a large armored fleet in the Dingling Sea, he had to make good use of the treaty.

After Xuan Chong's detailed questioning, Zi Xing began to recount her story. Xuan Chong's understanding was that the fleet blockade of this era was not a single-ship blockade like in the 21st century, but rather involved departing from the home port and rotating batches of ships to line up in the enemy's port.

Ships cannot remain anchored in enemy-held ports for extended periods. Even the largest ship is but a wooden sampan on the vast ocean; drifting for a month, the fresh water in the barrels turns to stench. Then, disease spreads across the sea, and the captain and sailors play a game of werewolf: will the captain find the troublesome sailor first and throw him overboard, or will the troublesome sailor, while the captain is "closed in the dark," orchestrate a vote to send the captain to the ocean to feed the sharks?

Upon hearing this news, Xuan Chong paused for a moment and asked Zi Xing, "So, those horned people drifting at sea are also waiting to come ashore?"

After receiving Zixing's reply, Xuanchong asked, "Can you deduce to what extent their supplies have been depleted?"

Zixing shook her head, and Xuanchong waved his hand: "It's okay, you continue with your introduction, I'll investigate this." As he spoke, Xuanchong picked up a pen and began to record the key points.

…It's more uncomfortable at sea than on land…

On the ocean, Silver Horn, having separated from his elder brother, was leading his fleet adrift at sea. Gold Horn was leading a large force of horned people southwards to plunder, while Silver Horn, unwilling to give up, sought revenge against the foreigners from the north.

Flies were swarming around the wooden barrels on the deck of the Horned Man's ship. The fresh water that had been inside had been drunk up, and now they were filled with urine.

Silver Horn used magic to erase the sense of taste from his subordinates and himself, drinking the yellow liquid while staring at the ocean with bloodshot eyes. In the cabin, the people were grinding their teeth.

The remaining 1,200 people on these 15 boats have been waiting for an opportunity to go ashore and rob a group.

But across the sea, the Wu family army's evil clouds were constantly moving.

That night, in Silverhorn's cabin, the skin of a man who had tried to ambush him was torn to shreds. He ran around the cabin screaming in agony for most of the night before finally dying. The initial commotion in the cabin began to subside under the shock.

The next day, on the deck, after throwing the blood-red corpse overboard, Silver Horn said to his subordinates, "Don't rush, wait three more days."

…ask the guide…

Dingling City was still under construction, with a large amount of bricks and tiles being piled up. Xuan Chong came to inspect the city's condition.

Xuan Chong strode to the city gates. Interestingly, even before Xuan Chong's city was established, the Feathered Clan had already set up fishing villages and trading posts outside it.

Xuan Chong analyzed that this was actually similar to the situation during the Spring and Autumn Period, when nomadic peoples and agricultural peoples lived together in one area. However, in the east, as the people became more stable in agriculture, they gradually drove the nomadic peoples of the same kind to the north.

However, the situation in Mediterranean civilization was different: "Savages" lacking land consistently settled around city-states, relying on commerce for survival. Over a long period of development and evolution, some, like the Gypsies, continued their nomadic culture. The majority successfully integrated into the areas surrounding the castles. Settlement facilitated cultural accumulation, transforming them into a "citizen class," who ultimately became the dominant force in the state by controlling artisan manufacturing.

However, these guys outside the city who are trying to gain security protection are currently considered "savages".

Xuan Chong entered this market filled with the fishy smell. It's worth noting that, unlike the serfs of the Feathered Clan city-state lords who could only babble and lacked the ability to communicate, the other low-status individuals in this market possessed ample communication skills.

Xuan Chong arrived at the shantytown and found a group of fishermen who had come in their fishing boats to sell fish to learn about their situation.

In a fisherman's hut that had been simply cleaned, Xuan Chong watched as the local Yu ethnic villagers knelt at his feet.

Two hours ago, Xuan Chong's personal guards came with silver to inquire, and a fisherman reported tremblingly: they had discovered traces of the horned people.

After questioning several villagers, the military intelligence officer in the city confirmed that the man's information was not fabricated, because his departure times at sea were consistent.

But in terms of numbers? The fisherman Xuan Chong is currently facing is the only one who can roughly describe the Horned People's ships; as for specific information on their numbers, that's impossible to obtain.

Xuan Chong looked at him: "You mean, there are thousands of these horned people?" The winged villager stammered: "Yes, sir, the horned people are different from us. They don't rely on carts and horses to carry food when they attack, but rather they raise meat beasts. The bigger the meat beasts are raised, the more meat they can maintain during long marches. On the small island I landed on, I saw, I saw, I saw hundreds of meat beasts. These meat beasts devoured all the plants on the island. Yes, yes, these hoof prints are as big as washbasins. Only tribes with more than a thousand horned people can possess such property."

Xuan Chong nodded. In the barbarian culture, small tribes were not entitled to possess large assets. Even if the tribal chief intended to use a trick to give large livestock to a small tribe, his subordinates would certainly not carry it out.

Xuan Chong took out the nautical chart and, hoping for the best, asked the man to point out the clues. Surprisingly, the man could read the chart and pointed out several points.

Xuan Chong looked at the villager, brushed his dirty hair aside, and found that he was actually quite young. He asked in a kind tone, "What's your name?"

The villager stammered: "My name is Xike, sir, my name is Kuohai."

Note: Fishermen should not have surnames, much less noble names.
After learning the Great Yao Language, Kuohai was certain he might gain the favor of the important figure before him. Therefore, he cleverly translated his grandfather's name for the official. In the culture of the Feathered Clan, a noble name can be passed down through generations, with prefixes like "first generation," "second generation," "third generation," and so on.

Xuan Chong smiled even more kindly: "Not bad, you learn the great divination phrases very quickly. What is your surname?"

Kuohai looked up at Xuan Chong and stammered, "Sir, we haven't had a surname since my father's generation. (My grandfather's generation did have surnames.)"

Xuan Chong understood that these were the descendants of illegitimate sons who had been kicked out of noble families.

Xuan Chong: "Now Muyun is your surname, Muyun Kuohai."

(End of this chapter)