Wei School's Three Good Students

Chapter 217 Martial Spirit from the Inside Out.

In June of the 3rd year of the Tongzheng calendar, according to official samurai records, Xuan Chong led his army to fight against the rebellious Jukuren in the region at Dapo. Hence it is known as the "Battle of Dapo".

The military historian recorded: "In the Battle of Dapo, Jinjiao gathered his troops to attack, but they were no match for Yao's army; corpses littered dozens of miles away, and they retreated in disarray to Fengbao City."

Wu Leng led his cavalry in a relentless attack along the way. This young man from the north was now very eager to prove himself. He was experimenting with several cavalry tactics he had learned in school, and now he was using the "wolf attack" tactic.
Compared to the wall-style charge that directly defeats the enemy, the wolf raid tactic is a tactic specifically designed to drive away deserters. It involves constantly sticking to the enemy's back and occasionally flanking them from both sides, creating a sense of urgency of being surrounded on three sides but missing one, causing the enemy to abandon their teammates and flee quickly.

After pursuing for five kilometers, Wu Leng stopped using bows and arrows. Arrows were too expensive, so he led his troops to use horse-drawn carriages to charge within five meters of the enemy and throw spears.

On horseback, Wu Leng raised his head, squinted, and aimed at his target with the tip of his spear as the point of reference, then slowly raised the spear tip.

A five-meter-tall giant horned man staggered away in front of them; his calves were riddled with bloody holes. As the horses' hooves drew near, the giant horned man turned around in fear, wildly waving wooden planks he had somehow managed to dismantle, trying to block the spears that were whistling through the air behind him.

However, it couldn't stop it. Wu Leng was very strong, and the spear pierced its calf again. It immediately knelt down.

A group of cavalrymen split into two lines and circled around to his sides. Amidst terrified screams, five spears pierced his body.

Before the horned man could even retaliate in pain, the cavalrymen rode away at full speed, and the weapon the horned man had thrown hit empty air. Immediately afterwards, the horned man struggled to pull the spear from his body, and blood flowed out like water from an open bottle.

After walking another hundred paces, he collapsed. Wu Leng ordered his men to stab him a few more times with their spears. Then he whistled to signal the military police behind him to keep count, while he led his cavalry to continue the assault.

With his battle achievements counted in this way, Golden Horn hastily retreated back to Storm City.

…Opening…

Ten days later, Xuan Chong convened a meeting in Griffin City, where a large number of Winged Race members who had fled from Storm City and Griffin City arrived.

In no time, the docks outside Griffin City were piled high with small boats from the sea, just like dead fish accumulating on the shore due to eutrophication of the lake.

These winged civilians needed fresh water and firewood to come ashore, so they would return as long as a city could provide them with such shelter. Their days adrift at sea had left them reeking of fish.

Many of the Feathered Clan civilians were somewhat uneasy about the fact that Griffin City was now occupied by alien races. However, their fresh water was running low, and they were also running out of leaves, which they needed to chew, so they had no choice but to go ashore.

Mu Yun Kuo Hai, leading his assembled noble entourage, leaped lightly from the masts of his ships, spreading his silken wings to signal to his fellow winged people: moor your ships in the dock area and do not crowd together.

The common people of the Feathered Clan cheered for their king upon seeing these wings that could levitate freely. They did not know what Mu Yun Kuo Hai's predecessor was, nor did they know where the original royal families of Griffin City and Storm City had gone after the chaos; they only knew that a king was one whose wingspan exceeded four zhang and who could levitate freely.

The winged creatures cheered, for a new king would lead them forward in Griffin City.

As Mu Yun Kuohai delivered his passionate speech, announcing the army's intention to recapture Storm City, the commoners of the Feathered Clan all expressed their desire to join in. Of course, the commoners were also curious: why were Mu Yun Kuohai and the nobles with the alien army?
But what does it matter? As long as we can recapture Storm City and everyone can return to their own cities, Muyun Kuohai will be the new king.

…wings flapped across the harbor, and bricks were being laid on the east side of Griffin City…

In Griffin City, a brick-and-tile trading post is under construction. During the year that Xuan Chong broke through Thorn Ridge, he repeatedly returned to the north while farming in his mech, each time revealing news of the produce from the south.

Merchants from the north heard about the situation in the far south. After a year of preparation, the merchants began transporting their supplies to Lingnan and then slowly brought silk and ceramics southwards to this region.

Merchants have now appeared on the territory of the Feather Clan. These merchants look around the Feather Clan city-states and then carefully step into the Feather Clan city-state market in their toothed wooden clogs.

Why wear wooden clogs? The winged tribe's settlement has no paved streets; instead, the streets are made of a large net of thick ropes, which the winged people walk on to move back and forth. As for garbage, it is all thrown under the ropes; and every day, the winged tribe releases seawater at high tide, which accumulates in a puddle upstream of the market. This seawater is then regularly flushed away, washing the garbage from the streets into the sea.

Merchants and people of the divination arts naturally lacked the ability to walk steadily on the net, but they could use wooden clogs to continuously lift and lower themselves on the net, walking slowly.

For the merchants from Yao, doing business in another place means adapting to local customs. They've come for the "jewelry," "rare shells," and "dragon bones" of this place.

In the two-story commercial building constructed of red bricks, Xuan Chong went upstairs, accompanied by Wu Leng.

Xuan Chong favored this guy because he was tall and strong, a promising talent similar to Wu Hengyu; Xuan Chong gave him the courtesy name Hongguang for this reason.

Xuan Chong: "Hongguang, are you enjoying the food here?"

Wu Leng: "Reporting to my lord, although it is all fish food here, we can still get used to the food."

Xuan Chong: "As long as it's edible, as long as it's good. By the way, among the merchants who came from the south this time, did any of them use your connections?"

Wu Ling paused. He had heard at home that Wu Fei separated the military from local commerce and did not like the two to be mixed up.

Wu Leng: "My lord, someone came to see me, but I turned them all down."

Xuan Chong: "In this foreign land, you don't need to recommend people based on their talents or kinship. Recommend a few people to me; I need a few regular servants here."

Wu Leng scratched his head: "My lord, I lack the ability to judge people."

Xuan Chong: "Then let's appoint relatives and friends. Tell me who you think is pleasing to the eye, and I'll choose." He then added, "I can't just drag you over to be the governor, your family would curse me to death."

Wu Leng: "Um, me? Me."

Xuan Chong: "I'll take you back north in a few months. You can choose a griffin as your mount here. To be honest, the resources I value most here are griffins and balsa wood (materials for the Wind-Riding Flying Ship and Skyship)."

After defeating the Horned People and leaving behind an embassy, ​​the entire southward strategy would be considered complete.

Xuan Chong watched as the merchants of Da Yao stood tall, heads held high, chatting and laughing. This proud and confident demeanor was the greatest achievement of this southern expedition!

Despite the chaotic state of affairs in Da Yao, the core group of the "victors" continues to expand, and the pie is getting bigger little by little. As a result, the morale of Zhao Cheng's group is constantly rising.

On the contrary, although they had amassed a large population by occupying several states, the morale of their internal groups was weak.

Xuan Chong: What is most important about a small place holding up the world? It is having the spirit to compete with the world! Only with this spirit can one avoid becoming corrupt.

As a result, Xuan Chong continued to expand southward. By advancing the front lines, increasing the scale of trade, and assigning a large number of administrative personnel and military titles with substantial land affiliations, he made his hundreds of core members, tens of thousands of middle-ranking officers, and millions of subjects feel that his "power" was growing.

In short, within the PUBG community in the East, simply staying put and waiting for both sides to weaken each other is not an option.

While staying put in a hostile environment can boost the local economy, the lack of available positions within the group during this time leads to a shortage of administrative and military talent. Consequently, reserve cadres who were originally intended to "stay put" will go to other organizations, hoping to gain local governance positions by defecting to those organizations.

In other words, it was easier to "conquer Chang'an" than to "pass the imperial examination to enter Chang'an".

If a power wants to ensure its talent pool is "abundant," simply using economic means to support officials only produces bureaucratic advisors like "Shaoxing secretaries," who are only good at handling official matters. True talent reserves come from "practical training."

Xuan Chong advanced southwards in a straight line. Even though he's now at the limit of his advance, with only four hundred soldiers left to watch the sea with him...

However, this process of establishing trading posts and expanding arable land along the way involved the migration of hundreds of thousands of people and the lives of millions. Poor young men from several western states were tied to the expansion of related industries and commerce, rather than to the empty task of "governing the countryside" as cruel officials.

These capable people are now all working for Xuan Chong! They are undergoing performance evaluations. They are accompanying Xuan Chong, waiting together for him to make a name for himself.

…We should press the enemy to their death with our remaining strength…

On July 5th, Xuan Chong led a coalition of two thousand Feather Clan soldiers, three hundred of whom were his own Yao Clan troops, and the rest were Feather Clan members who had gathered together.

Mu Yun Kuohai was responsible for restraining these winged tribe troops who were merely stepping stones, keeping them stationary at a distance with longbows and light arrows and shields; their main task was to advise the main army on how to capture Storm City. Meanwhile, the winged tribes were also aware of the Yao people's situation. Faced with a powerful allied force, some local winged tribe nobles had already "begun" to acknowledge Da Yao as their ally in the north.

However, just as these noble powers were preparing to interact with the northern foreigners on an "equal" basis, their mentality was reshaped once again by the appearance of Zhan Kui.

The two war beasts were sent by Gongshu Wang and charged into the Storm City battlefield.

The many winged creatures stared in horror at the single-tracked monster with two large landing gear wheels, steaming as it sped forward.

Beneath Storm City, as the horned people bared their fangs and claws on the city walls, the steam monsters resolutely advanced despite the barrage of catapults and torsion crossbows.

The friendly Feathered Clan watched as the specialized Siege Warfare Kui wielded a 500-kilogram iron ball, demolishing the city wall like a mouse gnawing on a threshold.

A few of the Horned People tried to overwhelm the Steam Monster by sheer numbers and find its weakness, but they were driven back by the cavalry with muskets.

After the city wall collapsed, Zhan Kui broke through the wall, and the Jiao people fled in chaos. Yao Jun did not go to the breach, but instead led his troops to carry ladders up to the city wall.

The Feathered Clan's cities differ from those of the Great Yao; they are not centered around city walls, but rather around towers. Their city walls are very thin. At the very top, there are only narrow, winding paths, making it like walking a tightrope for the Horned People.

After seeing the city wall breached, Xuan Chong restrained Wu Leng, who wanted to rush in directly. He first placed a ladder on the wall, and the Feather Clan ally climbed up. Then, they followed the connection of the wall to attack the towers.

The city walls of the Feathered Race are adapted to their needs; most of their wings cannot take flight, but they maintain their balance on these small walls. As for why it's the Yao Army carrying the ladders! The Feathered Race lacks physical strength and their execution is too slow.

Mu Yun Kuo Hai received orders to raise his flag and command the Feather Clan's troops to rush up to other locations and seize the city walls.

The soldiers of the Feathered Clan's allied forces were greatly encouraged to see the Horned People easily defeated by Zhan Kui's attack. Moreover, upon hearing that those who climbed the city walls to fight would be rewarded with a silver coin, they all joined Mu Yun Kuo Hai's team, flapping their wings and climbing up the ladders set up by the Yao Army.

The winged race swarmed in, flapping their wings and gliding up the city walls. They then climbed the high towers and fought with the horned people. This dark mass was like a swarm of wasps. On the high towers in the air, the horned people were all kicked off by the winged people. Even if the winged people fell off the city walls, they could still flap their wings to maintain their balance and land steadily.

Xuan Chong's troops ignored the fighting between the winged and horned people on the city walls and charged into the city like sharp knives.

After the fortifications of Storm City were taken down, Xuan Chong dispatched his cavalry regiment to charge into the city and openly displayed the Wu family's "Vermilion Bird Star" banner.

The troops at Golden Horn were gradually confined to the city.

…another force contributing to the uncertainty of friendliness…

At this moment, on the sea outside Storm City, there is a fleet of five ships; this is the fleet sent by the Southern Feathered People Alliance, and Kau is here.

The two princes are also in the fleet. They are now reinforcements with "suspicious intentions".

Two weeks ago, the Confederate States of America was constantly arguing about whether to send troops to the North because the Horneds' rebellion was too large and there was also a rebellion in their territory.

The kings of the various city-states debated repeatedly about "how many troops to send," because sending too few would mean they couldn't win the battle.

However, when the Southern Winged Alliance heard that Mu Yun Kuo Hai, the "newly crowned king," had met with his northern allies in Griffin City to jointly attack Golden Horn and had begun to gather forces to besiege Storm City, they immediately sent an army to take a look.

Mick gazed at the northern Vermilion Bird banner rising atop the distant city walls, and the banner of Griffin City, and murmured, "They've already taken it?"

Xunfeier: "In that case, we should take a look too."

Before they arrived, the two had already agreed that if Mu Yun Kuohai failed to take Storm City, they would immediately appear and, in the name of the alliance, try to persuade the nobles of Griffin City to break away from Mu Yun Kuohai and welcome Ruerge back.

If Mu Yun Kuohai captures the city but both he and the Horned People are severely injured, then he will appear to exert pressure and acknowledge the status of the Kyle family (the Luger family).

However, if Mu Yun Kuo Hai captures a city and his power remains strong, then praise him and bring this emerging force into your camp.

This is the tradition of complex "noble conspiracy" among the various city-states of the Feather Clan, a culture quite different from the strict etiquette of the Great Yao.

In the major hexagram, clandestine collusion between various local forces is considered disloyal. Even if there is collusion, if the interests are not closely and reliably intertwined, such as in-laws or family members sharing interests, there is a risk of leaks during the clandestine collusion process.

Over time, the major factions came to regard "private schemes" as "shameful." Even if they did have private dealings, they would cover them up and deny them, presenting themselves to the outside world as "honest and upright."

Xuan Chong himself maintained the "public" status, while dispatching the Security Bureau to monitor the collusion among those below.

However, there has never been a concept of "central rule" among the winged city-states. Even during periods in history when some extremely powerful city-states were in control, they could not prevent the clandestine collusion among their subordinates.

…The sun shines brightly…

After the city was completely breached, Xuan Chong discovered the situation on the sea and summoned Xi Yuan, Lurger's sister, who had previously asked for help and promised to help him tame the griffin.

Xiyuan initially resisted marrying Muyun Kuohai, but she agreed after Xuan Chong promised her a reward of royal bloodline.

Of course, the Feather Clan is very open-minded. Her agreement is limited to having a son with Mu Yun Kuo Hai to inherit Griffin City. After completing this task, she will choose to live a free life.

Xuan Chong was "deeply shocked" by this but expressed understanding. Don't expect a cultural group that prioritizes bloodline above all else, even to the point of inbreeding, to have any concept of ethical chastity. At least they haven't developed a custom of "sacred marriage" like the Sassanid Persians.

Xiyuan, having folded her large wings, knelt before Xuan Chong. Once she confirmed that Xuan Chong was a divine messenger, she showed him such reverence.

At first, she wanted to kiss his toes, but Xuan Chong stopped her.

Xuan Chong: "Those people on the other side of the sea might be your allies. Call them over."

Looking at the sails and flags on the sea, Xiyuan said to Xuanchong, "They are families from the Southern Alliance. Their purpose in coming here is not to help us."

Xiyuan looked up at Xuanchong with innocent eyes. Xuanchong stroked her forehead and said, "I don't want their help, but rather for them to understand the situation first."

Xuan Chong gave the order: "Invite them over and take a good look at how Storm City was recaptured."

…deterrence…

As Mick steered the ship closer, nine-headed birds flew over from the city.

The five ships, ranging from one hundred to two hundred tons, immediately set sail and formed a convoy. They also deployed their ballistae for defense.

Kau rode his griffin to meet them, only to see the ghost carriage stop a thousand paces away. The rider on the ghost carriage jumped off and spread his huge wings to come forward.

Kau stared blankly at his princess.

Xiyuan's wings had grown larger, a sign of the awakening of his royal bloodline. He bowed to the princess he served. Then he glanced at the giant bird circling in the distance, worried that the princess might have been abducted.

Xiyuan gazed at the knight who had protected her since childhood, and following his gaze, said, "You don't need to worry, this is my battle beast."

Xiyuan: "Bring the Langjuan family and the Taiyangci family over. The Divine Envoy wants you to witness firsthand how Storm City has been recaptured."

(End of this chapter)