Wei School's Three Good Students

Chapter 298 Retire after success
Within the Yuezhi territory, twenty airships bearing dragon head insignia arrived in the grassland region. Below, a force of six thousand was carrying out extermination operations on the grassland.

Large mushrooms that had just sprouted on the grass were ignited by flamethrowers used by special forces. The tangled mycelium curled up upon contact with the flames, much like hair being scorched by fire, emitting a pungent, burnt protein odor.

The orc larvae hidden inside the giant mushroom then sprang out from its cap; however, they didn't get far before being killed by the modern Han soldiers with bayonets. The air was filled with the aroma of roasted mushrooms.

Seven hundred years ago, when the Zhenhan dynasty rose to power and the Han army was on a long expedition to the grasslands, the rule for those who invaded the northern border was "anyone taller than a cartwheel will be beheaded".

For the first two hundred years after the founding of the Han Dynasty, this rule was inherited. As for later, the grasslands were known for their singing and dancing, and this program had not been activated for a long time, as if it had rusted.

The specially modified military dogs searched the grasslands. These dogs were modified by "Ji Hou" (Liu Mei) and were a million times more sensitive to the scent of beastmen. Even if a beastman was blown by the wind dozens of kilometers away, the scent could be detected by the military dogs.

Liu Yi's attitude towards the Orcs in the grasslands is to eradicate them at their root.

This is actually related to Xuan Chong. Due to Xuan Chong's "incompetence," half a division was almost decimated, which made it so that no one in the Han court or among the people dared to speak of the strategy of "leaving a lineage" of alien species to control foreign nations. This alien species was too dangerous.

…a battle to divide credit…

On the airship, Liu Yi received the overall battle damage report from the Dayuezhi Fortress.

Liu Yi covered her head, feeling utterly helpless. This report was submitted by Xuan Chong himself. Anyone else facing such unprecedented battle losses would have kept quiet, but Xuan Chong, instead of fearing public scrutiny, focused on reporting his mistakes rather than his achievements.

However, Liu Yi, regaining her composure, suddenly realized that Xuan Chong might be deliberately tarnishing his own reputation. "The tallest tree in the forest catches the most wind." He was being suspected by Lin Sima in the court. Having achieved such unparalleled merit, his greatest fear should have been being praised to death and dragged into the forefront of court intrigue. But now, he had cleverly retreated to advance.

He saw the report, which detailed the perilous nature of the battle and Xuan Chong's successful maneuver to turn the tide.

In other words, our observation system located the beast's command center, and combined with previous monitoring, confirmed its command chain, and launched a systemic attack on it, thus achieving this victory.

What followed was a series of lamentations, claiming that 3,000 soldiers had died in this battle, and if you include the previous battles, another 5,000 were wounded, leaving the entire organization half-crippled and needing to recuperate inland for half a year before it could be fully restored.

Liu Yi paced back and forth: "You're making such a big deal out of nothing but trivial matters in the newspapers, how am I supposed to speak up for you?"

Liu Yi had firsthand video footage, and the situation on it was far more dangerous than described in the battle report. So much so that when he first watched the slideshow, he was puzzled: "They were about to be overwhelmed and collapsed, how did they turn the tide and win?"

But after witnessing the final airship bombardment, Liu Yi repeatedly tapped the screen to pause the playback. Even after slowing it down, she didn't dare blink. —Liu Yi concluded: This wasn't a mishap, but a meticulously planned trap from beginning to end. A feigned weakness was used to lure the alien barbarians in for a brutal slaughter.

Looking at the vast grassland, Liu Yi saw that the alien barbarians were all newly formed beings without any fighting ability, and their resistance was almost non-existent.

So Liu Yi got a great credit for nothing, but he wasn't happy. As a "shi" (a type of scholar) in the modern Han dynasty, he couldn't bring himself to take the credit for himself.

Admittedly, he did dislike Xuan Chong, but the root of his dislike lay in the fact that Xuan Chong had switched jobs from the north to the south. As a northerner, he had recognized the ancestral temple in the south. This kind of back-and-forth was a bit like forgetting one's roots. So, initially, he wanted to teach Xuan Chong a lesson.

However, compared to the important matter of national defense, those petty personal grudges cannot be brought up in the open.

Liu Yi ran back to the table, opened the drawer again, and took out the report that had been placed there. She looked at the battle losses reported by Xuan Chong: three thousand dead and five thousand wounded, half the combat casualties of a division. This seemed very serious, but the artillery, armored forces, and main fortifications were all intact. Moreover, this battle was a complete victory, wiping out 99% of the enemy's combat strength and completely eliminating one aspect of the threat.

……

On the airship, the cleanup went smoothly, and Liu Yi, as the head of the Dragon Group, began to report the current situation on the grassland to the Emperor.

"The Yuezhi grasslands have been confirmed to have been largely cleared of the alien species." "The Chilong group is searching Gaotianling; the organic matter map shows that harmful bacteria still remain." "The Baxia group is currently (details omitted)."

Liu Yi reported that everything was fine at the moment, and the orcs had no ability to resist.

When the emperor inquired about how to deal with the current criticisms in the court—the current Han dynasty is a "figurehead emperor," and the political system is run automatically by the internal group of scholar-officials, but there are some awkwardness in the automatic operation. For example, in this kind of situation, the Three Dukes have difficulty making a judgment, and the final decision-making power falls into the hands of the emperor.

Liu Yi respectfully advised the Yandu officials: "This is a brilliant victory. If we're going to be critical, then if there's trouble on the border again, no one will come to the north to do their work."

The emperor asked, "Do you think he's a capable person?"

Liu Yi paused, then gritted her teeth and admitted, "Yes."

The emperor looked at him meaningfully and said, "It's good that you've admitted it."

What does it take to get things done? It takes vision, knowledge, and courage.

Xuan Chong's ability to hear "waaagh!" was first reported to Liu Yi and the Emperor; in hindsight, Liu Yi had complete knowledge of the intelligence at the time, but failed to make good use of it.

Because knowing the intelligence doesn't necessarily mean you'll dare to act based on it.

Liu Yi is Xuan Chong's superior. Before carrying out the "deception plan," Xuan Chong reported the relevant intelligence to him according to procedure, but when it came to how to utilize Ouke's intelligence on "sociality," it was still in the "continue to study" stage.

Xuan Chong, on the other hand, was actually using the "organizational collapse" of a small part of the division as a means of tactical deception.

Looking at it now, it's a success. But what if it had been a loss? Most people wouldn't dare to take that gamble.

The difference between a hero and a mediocre person lies in whether they can keenly discover key moments that are difficult for ordinary people to notice.

The difference between a hero and a coward lies in whether one can boldly place bets based on one's own observations while others are still hesitating; losing is certainly a disaster, but winning is a meteoric rise.

The emperor nodded in response to Liu Yi's statement: "There are people in the court who share your views."

…Infighting within the court…

Situ Wangxiang and Sima Linfeiyou are vying for power. Situ Wangxiang wants to protect Xuan Chong, while Sima Linfeiyou demands severe punishment.

The reason for such opposing stances is simple: Wang Xiang, the Minister of Civil Affairs, most desires a "quick resolution to wartime issues."

He didn't support Xuan Chong from the beginning. Previously, Xuan Chong flew westward and made a mess of the local area. His subordinate bureaucratic system was forced to take on a lot of tasks, and if they didn't do well, they would be blamed.

So much so that he hadn't had any good words for Xuan Chong before, but now that the war in the northwest was quickly over, he was going to stand up and "protect the country's soldiers".

Wang Situ spread out his ivory counting rods (the evolution of the scepter): "When a country suddenly encounters an emergency, what it needs most is 'precedents.' No matter how well 'precedents' are prepared, they can serve as a reference for future generations. If 'precedents' are destroyed, future generations will have nothing to learn from."

Narrator: From the perspective of the Xuan Chong era, this means that in the late Qing Dynasty, there were no precedents for coastal defense, resulting in chaos. However, there were precedents in the west, with the Kangxi, Yongzheng, and Qianlong emperors relentlessly pursuing the northwest. For centuries, the bureaucratic system had established methods for raising funds and hiring merchants to supply the northwest. Therefore, when Tsarist Russia instigated the Yaqub Beg rebellion in the northwest, Minister Zuo Zongtang relatively easily quelled the uprising. The Qing court, based on that campaign, was seen by the British as capable of curbing Tsarist Russia's southward influence.

So Wang Situ calculated the expenses in the Northwest. At least Xuan Chong made the accounts clear. If the war in the Northwest was completely denied, what if someone else came in and "the accounts couldn't be calculated"? This is the thing that civil administration officials fear most.

However, Lin Sima denied this, saying, "The accounts can certainly be calculated. Our dynasty's operations in the Western Regions have not been counted since the Xuan Chong campaign. The military losses in the Northwest are unprecedented in hundreds of years! If we do not deal with this seriously, we will not be able to stabilize the morale of the army."

Lin Sima also had his own selfish motives. Xuan Chong was a bureaucrat who had been inserted into the southern naval system and was promoted by Liu Kehua.

If Xuan Chong, the General of the Flying Cavalry, were to truly fall into the Han army system in the west, it would put him in a difficult position; and with the war in the northwest stabilizing, a number of young men under his command wanted to go to the west to "serve the country," and they would have to face Xuan Chong as an obstacle.

Lin Sima thought to himself, "Similarly, if we had such a gifted general under our command, who went south and achieved the great feat of leading the capture of an island and the destruction of a country, and then became a thorn in the side of the South China Sea Navy, you (Liu Kehua) would feel just as uncomfortable as I do." It would be fine if Xuan Chong were willing to reconcile, but unfortunately, Xuan Chong is currently stuck on the approval process for the Northwest Han Army's channels and is completely unyielding.

Lin Sima then argued with Wang Situ, who clearly didn't accept Lin Sima's nonsense that "the accounts can definitely be settled." After all, in every war, hasn't the current Ministry of War rightfully demanded money and resources?
As a result, the court was divided into two factions, arguing so fiercely that the emperor himself had to make a decision.

The Emperor discussed the affairs of the court with Liu Yi, who pondered for a moment and said, "Liu Haoxing possesses a 'natural nemesis' ability against these alien beasts. This refers to Xuan Chong's ability to hear and calculate 'waaagh!'."

Liu Yi then subtly remarked, "We can't let this kid go back to the South. This battle shows he's ruthless and vicious. Keeping him in the North with high-ranking positions and generous salaries wouldn't cost much. But if we let him go back to Linzu, are you really at ease, Your Majesty?"

…withdrawing from the conflict…

Xuan Chong looked at the intelligence sent from the front lines.

The Han army that operated in the Dragon Group's area completely wiped out all the orcs in the Aral Sea region within a month. This was a very clean and efficient way to eliminate their opponents.

When the war broke out here, a special force from the northwest entered the Tianshan Mountains region.

Tiger Group stormed into the mountains and discovered that the Orks had an arms factory inside.

The Ouk tech geniuses cleverly set up ceramic water tanks to "produce acid using rudimentary methods," while simultaneously drilling downwards to use the gas overflowing from the deep wells as fuel to build gun barrels.

The Tigers threw dozens of 100-kilogram aerial bombs into the area, smothering and cremating the orc technicians who had prosthetic arms fitted with mechanical limbs.

It's worth mentioning that while prosthetics are far less effective for humans than the originals, powerful orc leaders possess a "waaagh!" force field that allows them to flexibly drive the mechanical joints to swing.

For a powerful enough Orc boss, replacing its arm with a mechanical one that is indestructible, painless, and doesn't lose dexterity is indeed quite "wow".

Ultimately, all the Orcs from the High Sky Ridge region were beheaded.

Xuan Chong read through these special operations reports. The unit responsible for carrying out the mission was operating very quickly, with no free time at all.

Xuan Chong couldn't help but marvel at how someone could formulate such a tight tactical plan with no room for error, and yet execute it so flawlessly. Xuan Chong: "This is amazing."

Note: At this time, Ma Feiyan was in charge of the operation to pursue the remaining enemy forces. Her "time" ability allowed her to coordinate perfectly with her subordinates.

Xuan Chong felt relieved. Now that someone was watching the front lines, he didn't need to worry. It was time to sell himself for a good price.

Xuan Chong made a telegram to contact the Ministry of War. These past few days, the Ministry of War has been stalling over the issue of pensions, claiming that it is approving the level of pensions.

Faced with such ignorant behavior, Xuan Chong looked at the list of officers that the Ministry of War wanted to send to the front lines and rejected them one by one, blocking these young officers from Yandu who were preparing to go to the front lines to gain experience.

The two sides began bargaining, and Xuan Chong telegraphed: "Four times the compensation!"

The Ministry of War, on the other end of the telegram, was clearly furious. Faced with such an exorbitant demand, they still sent a telegram proposing "double the compensation."

Since Yandu was willing to reply with a telegram, it means they wanted to negotiate a price.

Xuan Chong replied: "Four times is the minimum, otherwise I will refuse to refund."

The officials in Yandu said, "You should submit a statement of your guilt first."

Xuan Chong: "Get out!" (Confessing one's own guilt is tantamount to admitting defeat in this battle. Why should soldiers who die in battle receive high compensation?)
After much bargaining, the Ministry of War in Yandu finally managed to get the funds into Xuan Chong's hands, and the officers arranged by Sima and other factions then approved the appointment of Xuan Chong, the governor.

Xuan Chong successfully sold himself for a good price using the "handover process." He ensured that the Western Region troops who had bled in this battle received the necessary compensation, and Xuan Chong also gained something very important—prestige.

Lin Sima's personnel transfers were being blocked. His son's cronies were plotting to impeach Xuan Chong. His father's influence had always been invaluable; Xuan Chong, this young upstart who had just earned some credit, didn't know his own limitations, yet dared to challenge his father's authority—this was unacceptable!
Upon learning of this, Lin Sima immediately punished his son by making him kneel in the ancestral hall. He also reprimanded him for being useless.

Admittedly, Lin Sima's faction had the toolbox of "impeachment" and could also use the complex structure of the military to bring down Xuan Chong, whose foundation was weak. However, in the hands of veteran politicians, this is always "a means to be used only after other methods have failed."

The political operating principle is to first bribe, then coerce, to gather a useful faction, ideally on one's own side; secondly, to prevent them from blocking one's path; and lastly, to make an example of one to deter others.

The "problems" Xuan Chong has created can be easily resolved by the Sima faction with money.

However, the younger generation of the Lin family seems to have become too complacent in their role as in-laws in recent years, and when things don't go their way, they're ready to use the "nuclear option" directly. This may seem like a blustering tactic, but it's actually a declaration to various stakeholders that their faction no longer has the funds to bribe other useful factions.

Then, all parties will prepare to launch a coordinated attack on the Sima faction, led by the "wealthy party".

Therefore, Lin Sima was angry with his son, who had been in officialdom for so many years but had not made any progress.

…Six days later…

The airship-borne Taigeng Brigade took over key military locations, then unloaded large and small packages of captured "Orc" prisoners and their "invented" equipment. These items were transported to the rear for research. Of course, those scrap metal pieces couldn't really be used for research, just as dolphins can't understand how a human "health cup" provides pleasure, because dolphins don't have hands.

Similarly, without the precise "waaagh!" force field delivering coal dust from the fuel tank to the cylinders, humans wouldn't understand how these junk engines, without fuel lines, could control their engines.

Inside the Yuezhi Fortress, the Tiger Group, having completed their military mission, arrived at the fortress, and Xuan Chong met with the members of the Tiger Group.

But actually, it was Liu Yi who came to him, trying to keep Xuan Chong in a sinecure position.

Liu Yi walked ahead, about to introduce Xuan Chong. However, she seemed to sense a sudden "boom" in the space, and in that instant, Liu Yi saw Ma Feiyan standing in Xuan Chong's place. Xuan Chong, meanwhile, instantly teleported to Ma Feiyan's position ten seconds earlier. Their positions had reversed.

Although it took Liu Yi a moment to react in the blink of an eye, she was shocked: "Dragon battle?!"—that is, a clash of supernatural abilities.

Not all superpowers collide; only those related to each other do. For example, electric powers collide with magnetic powers, while light doesn't collide with kinetic energy. As for Ma Feiyan's "space-time" power, it has always been lawless and uncontrollable. Very few powers of the same type can touch her, and she just collided with one.

Xuan Chong, who had just emerged from the void, looked visibly shocked, having just experienced something terrible. After emerging, he examined his wrist.

To outsiders, there was nothing on his wrist. However, in Xuan Chong's own perception, multiple pop-up windows appeared on his wristwatch, prompting him to interact with the tools in his original pencil case after introducing the new condition of "time".

This watch was placed on the table in front of Xuan Chong before the math exam to plan the time he would spend on each type of challenging math problem.

In the short period of time that has just passed, many things have happened. Xuan Chong and Ma Feiyan have engaged in a power struggle.

Of course, Xuan Chong did not consider himself to be "competing in strength." He only used a "tool" to measure Ma Feiyan's abilities when she activated them.

However, this "measurement" is extraordinary. To outsiders, Ma Feiyan's ability to teleport has always been seen as having everything under control.

After she ended her ability, she stared at Xuan Chong as if she had been desecrated; of course, there was an indescribable emotion in her wariness.

Ma Feiyan: The ability to see through time and space allows one to see everything, and watching others is like watching a movie, which is a solitary experience. But now, one can bring someone to watch these movies with.

(End of this chapter)