Wei School's Three Good Students

Chapter 223 The more the merrier
In the spring of the fifth year of the Tongzheng calendar, the world took notice when Xuan Chong officially used the name of Duke Zhen during the autumn sacrifice last year.

Does Xuan Chong qualify for such a ritual today? Of course he does, whether it was for the merits he made for Da Yao during the reign of Emperor Xu, or the titles bestowed upon him by Emperor Tongzheng after he was the first to acknowledge Emperor Tongzheng.

Several years ago, many vassal states with smaller territories and fewer troops than Xuanchong also demanded the title of "Duke" from the two small courts. They were granted this title because the two small courts were in dire need of allies at the time.

But times have changed; the struggle for supremacy has entered its seventh year. Everything has entered its second half, and most of the local power holders who once obtained their titles from the small imperial court have now been wiped out.

Being called a "public figure" is merely obtaining an entry ticket to this world. After several years of fierce battles, the results have proven that most people, after entering the arena, are simply prey for the strong within.

Xuan Chong hadn't used the title "Gong" before, but now he suddenly does. It's like someone who suddenly went on a diet suddenly starting to eat a lot, which makes some people feel uncomfortable.

Immediately after Xuan Chong used the rites and carriages of a duke to attend the ceremony, a large number of scholars in the local area, Shuihe and Donghua counties, began to discuss that Xuan Chong's use of the title "duke" was not in accordance with the regulations.

In a thatched hut outside Changcheng in Donghua County, the scholars began discussing the following topics again.

Scholar 1: Wu Yuanchang has been protecting the borders and ensuring the safety of the people all these years and has done a good job; why is he suddenly overstepping his bounds now? This is really unwise.
Scholar 2: The sun has risen and the old days are about to set. The general cannot see the situation clearly now, which may bring great disaster upon him!

Scholar 3: Alas, no one can escape the temptation of vying for power in this world. The ambition of kings and nobles always outweighs the livelihood of ordinary people. It's just a pity that this is the last pure land in the world.

The scholars were discussing it excitedly. Someone was copying something in the thatched hut, but the person in charge of copying was not only a clerk sent by the local prefect to listen in, but also an undercover agent sent by the security bureau.

The Security Bureau categorized the reactions of the powerful families in various regions. After gaining a grasp of this, Xuan Chong began to replace the military and political bureaucrats in these two areas.

Xuan Chong planned to have the replaced personnel stay at home for six months. After six months, with the establishment of the wartime system and the mobilization of a large number of grassroots forces to his side, he would send all the officials from these areas to the southern border.

Wu Xiaoque, with her petty temper, said to the "unlucky ones" who had been circled: "Don't say you're wronged! At the moment when we're about to go to war, you didn't firmly side with me, but instead indulged these wavering opinions, which shows that you are very wavering! In order to reduce the uncertainty, I can only ask you to leave."

Xuan Chong: Did the court appoint you to official positions so you could gild yourselves and show off in the provinces? Official positions are just cogs in the ruling machine. Once an official position fails to fulfill its intended 90% function within the group, it must be replaced.

As for the vacant bureaucratic positions? There are plenty of people to fill them, given the large number of people who bought bonds.

Xuan Chong will conduct a detailed assessment of their ability to further resolve debts. If they are deemed capable, their "dispersed titles" will be revoked, and they will be granted a "high title," with the same treatment as their families. They will then be assigned to official positions in newly occupied territories.

Using the money and men of his powerful subordinates to stabilize the occupied territories, Xuan Chong said: Use your money to do your thing.

…The Security Bureau is now under Wu Lu's control, and Wu Lu, who has always listened to hymns of praise, has started to complain…

At the Duke's Mansion, centered around Xuan Chong, the core members of the Military Staff and the Ministry of the Interior were all working. Wu Lu, on the other hand, was learning everything from Xuan Chong.

During the six months that Wu Lu was by Xuan Chong's side, he became more composed; because in the past he was "carried" along and believed that every step he took would be auspicious.

When Xuan Chong took him along, he made it clear to him that every step forward was hindered by numerous forces.

"There's no such thing as the world's hearts turning to you. It's just like the rotten wood being pressed down by the Fiery Sparrow's claws, preventing the worms inside from daring to emerge!" Wu Lu couldn't help but shake his head. To be truly strict, the number of people with dissenting intentions in the Zhen Kingdom is no less than in Zhao Cheng's territory.

Wu Lu learned from the Security Bureau's files that many of the talented people on Zhao Cheng's side were "filial and incorruptible" individuals who had escaped from his own area.

These people were "filial and incorruptible" officials who rose to their positions through local connections ten years ago when Xuan Chong's rule was weak. But now, these deeply entrenched local relationships have been largely dealt with by Xuan Chong.

After several major espionage cases were uncovered, Wu Lu discovered that these people not only didn't work for him, but also went to the enemy to hand over the city defense map.

This kind of outward compliance but inward defiance made the hot-tempered Wu Lu feel like his whole body was cracking open.

Wu Lu: One doesn't know the cost of firewood, rice, oil, and salt until one is in charge; one doesn't know the five scoundrels and cunning people until one holds power.

Wu Lu had studied history books in a private school and knew that the ancient wise and virtuous kings all possessed the magnanimity of a "benevolent king" (this implies that Wu Xiaoque is petty). But now, in practice, Wu Lu has discovered that trying to avoid getting angry is utterly futile.

After reviewing numerous cases, Wu Lu quickly grasped a principle without formal instruction: in this chaotic world, one who is too weak is unworthy of holding a foothold in a region.

He restrained himself from dealing with such traitors; he sought his father's advice on how to proceed—Xuan Chong told him: you can't confiscate all the property. These forces are like a surging river, you can't drain them all; you have to pick a typical one, and then investigate all the vital connections of that typical family before you take action.

Xuan Chong rationally listed the various aspects that would lead to the extinction of these families, blocking their mining sites, trade routes, and official connections. Even without confiscating their property, internal conflicts over the distribution of profits would cause them to fight amongst themselves, exposing all sorts of sordid and dirty deeds within the families. Ultimately, they would collapse on their own, leaving behind a complete and utter mess.

Note: These sordid and dirty things, such as beating servants to death without permission, are considered clean! In reality, in these declining and idle large families, drinking human breast milk and fathers-in-law having affairs with their daughters-in-law would happen.

To outsiders, these powerful and influential families appear to be like a "celestial palace," but in reality, even celestial palaces are cannibalistic.

Regardless of how dirty it is, the Wu family's affairs with Wu Zhantie and the lizard gang, once exposed, wouldn't have a much better reputation than some aristocratic families who directly sleep with their stepmothers.

Xuan Chong warned Wu Lu: "If an individual or a family does not have a proper business that benefits the country and the people, but instead lies on mountains of gold and silver, all sorts of dirty problems will arise."

Wu Lu nodded, then asked Xuan Chong, "General, why do you tolerate these guys (these aristocratic families)?"

Xuan Chong smiled and said, "It's because I forced these aristocratic families to become like this!"

Wu Lu's expression was one of intense shock.

Xuan Chong recounted leisurely that he had offended the sect because of Wu Hanluan's corruption back then; and because the sect had close ties with local aristocratic families, he had also ignored the local aristocratic families for several years.

Xuan Chong smiled and said to Wu Lu, "After I blocked their 'benefit to the country and the people,' they will definitely come with evil intentions."

Narrator: Things that benefit the country and its people are not just about those in high positions making strategic plans; ordinary people who farm and collect manure to "earn their own living" also benefit the country and its people, and can also become self-reliant and strong in spirit.

However, aristocratic families cannot withstand the decline in social status. After failing to seize those positions of "governing the country" and "pacifying the countryside," they become corrupted in the illusion of accumulating vast wealth in the past. Ethics are reversed, and speculative madness occurs.

However, Wu Lu was still shocked by Xuan Chong. He had heard before that one should "be close to virtuous ministers and keep away from petty men," but now Xuan Chong showed that these aristocratic families could be made virtuous, or they could be made not virtuous!

This kind of "turning one's hand to make clouds or rain" tactic is just like...! Wu Lu couldn't find the words to describe it.

However, using the realm of immortals to describe it: cultivators at the Refining Spirit realm still rely on spiritual veins and energy. True powerhouses, on the other hand, can control the power of rules, creating spiritual veins with a wave of their hand and turning a place into a demonic realm with a mere flick of their wrist. (Of course, this isn't creating something from nothing, but at the cost of extracting the souls of heaven and earth.)
Xuan Chong is such a powerful being!
Wu Lu felt that good and evil had been reversed, and asked in a daze, "Father, why, why?"

He was a little scared. If Xuan Chong acted without reason, purely out of personal whim, then he could be considered the most wicked demon.

Xuan Chong slowly said, "Because their resources, if given to prodigal sons who were once beggars or thieves, these good men who have turned over a new leaf can benefit the country and the people after sufficient training. They can also play a role in the human world."

Wu Ju, standing nearby, twitched his ear. Xuan Chong said, "And these men who have turned their backs are more efficient in benefiting the country and its people. They are also more willing to lead more people to benefit the country and its people than those aloof scions of noble families. By the way, have you ever heard of many child prodigies in noble families? Do you know that the saying 'one person's wisdom can defeat a hundred' means that in the position of 'benefiting the country and its people,' one person can hold off a hundred people?"

Wu Lu opened his mouth wide, suddenly realizing what was going on; Xuan Chong looked at the General Staff Headquarters, where both military and administrative departments had hundreds of people working there.

Xuan Chong said to him, “Don’t lament that one person cannot be ‘virtuous’; if one person is not virtuous, but hundreds of people are virtuous, that is exactly right. Heaven and Earth are ruthless, treating all things like straw dogs; the sage is ruthless, treating the people like straw dogs. The core of the Heavenly Way system is stability, and the core of the Human Way system is efficiency (performance).

Xuan Chong's tone gradually rose, because many people around him were listening intently. Compared to the previous small meeting where he was strategizing, Xuan Chong was now raising the banner and establishing a great cause in a public setting.

Xuan Chong's voice echoed in the hall: "Our war is not simply about the pursuit of kingship and hegemony, but about a humanitarian revolution! We farm, build roads, and take up arms! We did not accomplish these things based on the lessons of those moralistic scholars; this is our own way. One day, we too will be eliminated by the rising tide of humanity due to our inefficiency. But for now, let those old-fashioned people die!"

After Xuan Chong finished speaking, everyone, led by Wu Rui, raised their hands in salute. The synchronized movements made a sound, causing Wu Lu to pause for a moment. Unconsciously, he realized that he was surrounded by people.

Suddenly, Wu Lu realized that he was in the middle of a wave, and at the center of the wave was his father. Just seconds before, he had been struggling with the indiscriminate distinction between good and evil, but in an instant, it was like a phoenix singing its first cry in the chaos, its brilliance illuminating the fog.

Good and evil, the good and evil of an individual or a family, are nothing to lament. The point now is to push the wheels of humanity forward.

After everyone had started to return to their places, Xuan Chong said, "Aren't you curious about what would happen if I were forced into a situation where I 'could not benefit the country and its people'?" Wu Lu was slightly taken aback.

Xuan Chong tapped his forehead: "Collecting manure in the streets to fertilize the fields and grow grain is also beneficial to the country and the people, as long as you're willing to humble yourself." — Xuan Chong reminded him. Sending members of the Wu family clan to the frontier cannot stop; these areas are short of people for positions that are "beneficial to the country and the people."

Those who are willing to fall from the heavens into the dust will not be corrupted by chaos.

…Without their own set of principles, they couldn't possibly stand up to Zhao Cheng, who now controls half the world…

On Zhao Cheng's side, he received a signal through spies that a major change was taking place in Zhendi. The first thing was that the township council hall was now rife with the stench of money.

Many wealthy households began to possess the initial third-level military merit titles, thus enabling them to participate in political discussions with the soldiers. Zhao Cheng took a quick look at Xuan Chong's set of "title debts" and discovered that these "title debts" could only reach the level of "Zan Niao," and this title could be marked by adding a ribbon on horseback.

Such titles were purchased on behalf of others (payment on their behalf). In other words, many merchants, after realizing they couldn't buy a high-ranking title themselves, would buy one for each of their clansmen or brothers. With so many people holding titles, they could gain entry into the county council and obtain voting rights, thus contributing to the evaluation of the county magistrate during their quadrennial assessment.

Zhao Cheng's advisors mocked Wu Yuanchang, saying his actions were a last-ditch effort to make a quick buck before his death. But Zhao Cheng was horrified!
Xuan Chong's territory was originally wealthy, but lacked military strength. Without a large army to recognize it, this wealth would be plundered once Hao's army arrived.

Now, Xuan Chong is using this method, and the merchants of the State of Zhen are eagerly handing over their money to the Wu family army.

Qi Xiao (strategist): "My lord, why should you worry? The wealthy households are only giving money to Wu Yuanchang because they want to have a voice in the village. They are not truly loyal to Wu Yuanchang. Wherever our army goes, they will turn to us."

Zhao Cheng looked at the strategist and asked scrutinizingly, "What happened after Wu Yuanchang obtained the money?"

The strategists exchanged glances, and another stepped forward: "Reporting to the lord, the Wu family army consists of eight divisions. No matter how generous their financial favors are, they cannot make their soldiers fight ten against one. After our army is defeated, all of these will belong to us."

Zhao Cheng snorted coldly: "What if Wu Yuanchang were to conscript laborers into soldiers?"

The strategists were bewildered; they did not know why Zhao Cheng was worried. Other feudal lords had also tried to conscript laborers for the army, but all of them had been defeated by Zhao Cheng's main forces. Now, the overall situation in the world was largely settled, and the Zhen region was a weak and isolated place. Even if Xuan Chong conscripted people into soldiers, they believed that the soldiers would lack morale.

Zhao Cheng glanced at the advisors, deciding he didn't want to discuss these topics with them anymore. —Xuan Chong's actions in the south, squeezing out the power of the local powerful clans who had been selected through the "recommendation and virtuous conduct" system, had greatly displeased the advisors, who were themselves from these clans. This led them to subconsciously speak ill of Xuan Chong in areas they didn't understand.

Little did Zhao Cheng know, his opinion of Wu Yuanchang was: "His use of troops has reached the point where the more the merrier."

Zhao Cheng picked up two bamboo slips, each containing two pieces of information. The first piece of information stated that in Donghua County, wealthy households had begun to eat potatoes for their three daily meals, saving millet to fund the purchase of "noble bonds."

On the other hand, in the labor camps for road construction along the rear line of Xuanchong, since July of last year, large quantities of live pigs have been supplied to the laborers; those who cannot are provided with salted meat and rendered pork fat in wooden barrels. So, can the labor driven by Xuanchong be the same as the labor driven by the powerful feudal lords?

Zhao Cheng: "I give him food, but I don't give him any status. Alas, I plot against him, and he plots against me."

…reserve force…

At the construction site in Donghwa County, 50,000 laborers are repairing the road with shovels and picks. This is a new train line that is being rushed to completion.

At the construction site, laborers were breaking stones; after the wooden oxen and flowing horses brought in food, everyone began to eat. Under everyone's gaze, three large iron ladles of lard were poured into a large iron vat of rice that could hold a person; after a quarter of an hour of seeping in, the rice was covered with an iron lid and sealed, then rolled three times to allow the lard to spread as much as possible into the rice, and then it was announced that the meal was served.

The laborers received only one spoonful of rice per person; the rest was potatoes, which they ate as a substitute for meat. The rest of the meal consisted of braised leeks and other vegetables.

While eating, the laborers squatted beside the pile of stones, watching the train pass by on the road, and began to chat.

Laborer 1: "Hey, did you hear? That Zhang from back home, he's actually a Gongshi!"

Laborer 2: "Damn it, he doesn't even deserve it! What makes him so great!"

Laborer 1: "He paid one hundred silver leaves."

Laborer 3: "How come he's so rich?"

Laborer 3: "It was that relative of his who sold oil from Lingnan to the north and made a lot of money, which he used to buy him a title."

At this moment, more and more people gathered around. Laborer 4 said, "What's the point of buying a title? Only fighting for it shows real skill!"

Laborer 2: "Then go and fight!"

Laborer 4: "You think I wouldn't dare?"

In a stable society, there is no anxiety about class decline because everyone's paths are blocked, the lower classes are relatively even, and all they have to worry about is getting by. However, when a group of people in the lower classes suddenly rise in rank, the others begin to feel anxious—because they fear that these people who have jumped up might come and bully them.

Especially after these hooligans have eaten their fill and satisfied their basic physiological needs.

On the other side, a man wearing a straw hat began to stroll among the laborers. He was recording the situation and considering whether soldiers could be recruited from among the laborers. His name was Wen Siting, and his current title was: Guan Dafu.

He now also dreams of upward mobility, hoping to become a marquis under Duke Zhen before he turns fifty! Wearing a bamboo hat, he selects his future "brothers".

Wen Siting had his relatives beat the gong, just like the wandering knights of the past, while he himself held a clapper and sang: "Hey, with a single command from Lord Chen, the news spreads throughout the city; those with money contribute, gold and silver are sold for titles; we are poor as dirt, but we have courage..."

Facing the crowd, Wen Si spoke to each of them individually.

(End of this chapter)