Wei School's Three Good Students

Chapter 308 Strategy and Ambition

In the year 2110 of the Han calendar, in the northern part of Dongtu Island, a new city emerged in this region, which was considered a harsh and cold place by outsiders. The constant strange sounds of forging emanating from the new city caused the wild animals in the vicinity to retreat to the depths of the island.

Following the unusual noise, we drove into the city and saw efflorescence appearing on the red brick walls of rows of factory buildings. This unique weathering clearly indicated that the city had been built for some time.

"Clang, clang," the metallic sounds were much clearer than outside the city, but to hear them more clearly, the visitors walked toward the largest factory building.

Upon entering this largest red-brick factory, the temperature suddenly plummeted to the sweltering heat of summer, as dozens of meters-long red iron bars rolled off the production line on conveyor belts. It was this noise, absent in nature, that drove wolves and tigers away from a distance of ten kilometers.

Inside the new factory, workers in uniforms of corresponding colors and job types are supervising the flow of the production process. Coal transported from Heiqiu River is coked and crushed before entering the furnace along with iron ore.

Inside the converter, where metal beams are hoisted, the molten steel is as warm as orange juice. Then, this "orange juice" flows out and quickly enters the processing plant. —This entire production process is calculated precisely, with each step seamlessly connected to the second.

All of this stemmed from the engineers' excellent design. However, during the implementation of the process, Xuan Chong first tested the torque to eliminate any obstructions and ensure that all processes were running smoothly before starting formal production.

It is said that Xuanchong also has another fully torque-based production chain, which simplifies those complicated production processes to the point of being as simple as eating and urinating. This production process can turn steel raw materials into an armored vehicle in three hours.

Xuan Chong: I think this is my "base vehicle".

Xuan Chong had quietly assembled five pairs of wheels and a jet engine. In a sense, Xuan Chong was now on par with the orcs to the north, both capable of creating things simply by "thinking" about them.

On May 3, 2110 of the Han calendar, Xuan Chonggang was summoned to his hometown city when he cut the ribbon for the first car.

In the apartment building where he woke up, Liu Dangzhen had compiled a list of Xuan Chong's activities throughout 2109 on his desk, but today he would not discuss the results.

Liu Dangzhen looked at his eldest son and said, "You work so hard, it's great, but have you ever thought about whether you've forgotten something?"

Xuan Chong looked at his old father and felt a sudden pressure for no reason.

Liu Dangzhen took a deep breath and sighed, "Alright, a prodigal son's return is priceless, so I won't be too harsh on you. Let me tell you, when you start to have your cake and eat it too, no matter what the initial reason was, you must pay attention to balance. Because neither of those boats will consider your difficulties. You're not just having two boats between you now!"

Xuan Chong understood that his father said this because he had not been in contact with the South for the past few months.

Xuan Chong said with a wry smile, "I am a member of the Lin Group, but I cannot return now."

Liu Dangzhen: "I know it's difficult for you too; you have many things to do."

At this point, the middle-aged man couldn't help but smile: "There are some things you can't do, but you have to consider them; and you have to be humble, (the pride of not asking for help) hidden deep in your bones, and not show it on your face."

Next, Liu Dangzhen said what he was going to do: "You take good care of this family. I'm going to the south. Remember, pride goes before a fall, and humility brings benefit. Humility must be maintained at all times."

Xuan Chong looked up, and at that moment, Liu Haoxing felt a strange sense of emotion, understanding the old father's intention.

He was clearly not good at asking for favors, but Liu Dangzhen was able to see his "social anxiety" and help him solve the problem.

Liu Haoxing (Xuan Chong) bowed to his father with heartfelt respect.

However, Liu Dangzhen's next words embarrassed Liu Haoxing.

Liu Dangzhen: "You're about to come of age, it's time for you to settle down. I'm going there this time to help you with your marriage. Stay home and work on your studies, don't do anything rash."

Xuan Chong hesitated for a moment, then said, "Father, what about me? (Xuan Chong was preparing to seek out high-quality products.)"

Liu Dangzhen glanced at Liu Haoxing, and before Xuan Chong could finish speaking, he explained on his own, "I know you're practicing Qi Refining, cultivating the Unblemished True Body. If you want to keep your primordial yang untainted, take a spoonful of innate essence, store it in the Cold Jade, and leave it for your wife (the Cold Jade is a sperm bank cryopreservation chamber)."

Xuan Chong: "Me? (No)"

Liu Dangzhen sighed to himself, "The era of great strife is about to arrive. Before going all out, we must ensure that our bloodline has a successor."

Liu Dangzhen added, "That Miss Qin from the South is quite nice. I'll propose marriage to you this time."

Clearly, the phrase "playing both sides" refers not only to political and economic matters but also to personal affairs. Liu Dang's forces were dissatisfied with Ma Feiyan from the Northwest. While silver hair and snow-white skin might have been acceptable in the Northwest due to generations of mixed non-Han blood, such an appearance was absolutely unacceptable for the imperial heirs of the Eastern Tu.

Even if they knew that albino blood was unrelated to the Bai Man bloodline, the Dongtu clan would not allow such a genetic disease to enter their family. After all, the Dongtu clan has always been a single-lineage clan. If indiscriminate marriage leads to the extinction of the lineage, and the court has to re-select the bloodline, the Dongtu royal family's assets will be completely reset.

The culture of modern Han culture is very different from that of the Xuanchong era. In the Xuanchong era, good families in those compounds did not reject intermarriage with white foreigners, and even welcomed the emergence of beautiful mixed-race second-generation children.

However, in modern Han Chinese tradition, the royal family that presides over the sacrificial rites must be a purely indigenous core faction, and according to ritual law, the maternal family of the royal family must be within the "Hundred Family Surnames of Han Chinese" system. What is the necessity of this?

It is said that a certain nomadic commercial people, after the Industrial Age, were very keen on intermarrying with the upper echelons of various powers, but they just couldn't penetrate into the modern Han Chinese society. The ruling class's maternal families were always their own, ensuring that they wouldn't side with outsiders.

Although Ma Feiyan is of Han descent, she doesn't look like one. Ordinary people in Dongtu can't accept her. Even without a reason, rumors can spread.

…Teachers at Dimension School: Let's begin the group formation…

In June 2110, Liu Dangzhen had already gone to the south. The reason he went to the south was to participate in the manufacturing process of the latest Emperor-class battleships.

Before leaving, Liu Dangzhen left an order for his son in the north, instructing him to stay home and work behind closed doors, and not to go out.

Xuan Chong: "What would my family need battleships for? There aren't any high-value shipping lanes around here, is it worth using battleships for escort?"

Xuan Chong then checked the information and realized that they actually needed similar shipbuilding technology to build icebreakers.

Therefore, three days after Liu Dang's army marched south, Xuan Chong, under the pretext of missing his father, spoke with Lin Zu.

Lin Zhu praised Xuan Chong, saying, "I'm glad you remember you're a member of the Lin Group. Don't worry about me. Do your best in the north."

The emperor was already aware of Xuan Chong's leap from a scholar to a successful candidate in the provincial examination. After a moment of reflection, he felt helpless, realizing that the emperor's move was truly impeccable.

Lin Zhu was quite pleased to see Xuan Chong's very "humble" initiative in making the call. He knew he could still have opportunities to be of use in the future.

Just as Xuan Chong was wondering why the Lin Lord was so sentimental, the proposal from Yandu to establish a Protectorate in Hanbei entered the discussion phase.

Xuan Chong: This Protectorate General wouldn't have anything to do with me, would it?
…The situation changed drastically…

As cold air originating from Novaya Zemlya invaded six months ago, it happened to blow over the area where the Orks and local Cossa nomads clashed in the East O region, and the spores began to spread throughout the "Inner Asia region".

Because the Western Regions were heavily guarded by the Dragon Group and Tiger Group, with several Dragon Power users possessing abilities and related to ecological organic reactions stationed there, the spores did not spread within the inhabited areas of the Western Regions. However, the spores landed in the sparsely populated northern desert region. The easternmost part of its spore spread area even reached the Dalie River (Lena River) area north of Xingguo Ridge.

After half a year of development, these spores successfully developed into a wave of orcs. Since the newly hatched orcs were easy to bully, they were targeted by some people.

It's worth mentioning that historically, 90% of the ironware found on the grasslands originated from the Yan-Zhao region. If a dynasty established its capital in the Guanzhong region and maintained strong control over Yan-Zhao (like the Tang Dynasty), then merchants from the Yan-bei region would smuggle ironware across the border. However, since the Han Dynasty's capital was located in Yandu, the merchants trading on the grasslands were from the Jin region.

This area is where the influence of the king is relatively weak.

Over the past two or three centuries, when the nomadic people of northern Mongolia were known for their singing and dancing, merchants from Shanxi gradually penetrated the entire region economically, not only by lending money but also by operating numerous illegal mining sites.

These illegal mining sites have always been short of manpower, so much so that there is a common saying in Shanxi that men should not travel alone in Shanxi, but must travel in groups of three, otherwise they are likely to get lost.

The inexplicable disappearance of people in the Jin region once angered the Han scholar-officials, who began to take strong measures against the area, which led to some improvement in the abduction phenomenon.

Now, as the spores spread in the northern desert, these shady factories have set their sights on these humanoid creatures. In this respect, the coal merchants of the Han-Jin region and the merchants of Longzhou (North America) are just as outrageous, sending themselves to the gallows for profit.

In June, as the sword fight between the Orks and the Gossa in the Eastern Ou region came to an end, the soldiers sent by Lin Sima to the Western Regions sat back and watched the fight unfold, seemingly unaffected by the situation.

Little did they know, the roar of the Orks could spread across regions. The force field, waaagh!, gradually began to infiltrate and infect the grasslands eastward. And after the battle of sabers involving tens of thousands of Orks in the east, a small team of about twenty men, led by Ork leaders, moved eastward like a spark, following the nomadic migration route into the northern plateau. This fire ignited uncontrollably.

In the northern part of the Mobei Plateau, near a massive mine pit with a diameter of 800 meters, an unexpected riot broke out. The security team of the Shanxi merchants there was immediately overwhelmed by the riot of the Ork beastmen.

After thousands of orcs quickly seized the mine facilities, they even used a loudspeaker to broadcast a message, effectively turning on the power.

This round of electrification caused an uproar among the current high-ranking officials of the Han court. Back in 2109, the Han court had already been puzzled. They had clearly annihilated the main force of the Orks, so where did these small groups of Ork bandits come from in the northern desert, making it impossible for the herders to graze their sheep in peace?

So these were Ouk from illegal mines. The Shanxi merchants had kept it so tightly under wraps for the past six months that the Han court assumed most of the Ouk groups on the grasslands were returning from Dong'ou, hence the strict checkpoints in the Western Regions. (Indeed, a very small number did return from Dong'ou, which led to the Han court's misjudgment.)
Now that the illegal mining sites in Jin have exploded, the matter has come to light and can no longer be covered up, so the blame has been shifted to the Han court. The Han court also wants to cover up the situation, so it quickly airdropped a battalion of troops and distributed weapons to the miners at nearby state-run mines to suppress the rioting Ork orcs.

On June 5th, in the large coal mining area in the southern part of the North Sea, the battle between humans and the rioting Orks lasted from morning till night.

The Orks, wielding weapons with exaggerated calibers but prone to jamming, charged forward wave after wave. After a barrage of heavy machine gun fire, a group fell, but after some time, seemingly having removed the bullets, another group rose from the ground, surging onto the battlefield like a green tide. They leaped over barbed wire, brandishing large machetes and hacking at the humans.

The newly armed miners were no match for these alien beasts, and the mine was quickly overrun. The Orks scavenged for mine carts and other vehicles on the battlefield while using their irregular, sharp teeth to chew up human corpses for sustenance.

This battle raged in the mining area for a full month. How could this irregular Han army possibly wipe out the Orcs? They could only defend passively. In the repeated battles, the Han miners began to despair and started trying to write letters to the rear.

Eventually, censors from a newspaper in the Han Dynasty noticed something amiss, rented horses to investigate, captured the scene on film, and sent the film back to the interior.

This scene appeared on the front page of all the newspapers in modern Wuhan almost overnight. This was the first time that the people of modern Wuhan realized that the alien meteorite that had been causing trouble for more than a year was so ferocious and had been expanding continuously over the past year.

That's how public sentiment works. People are often indifferent to something at first, but once specific information emerges, it can breed intense panic.

Rumors spread like wildfire, and a large-scale migration of people occurred throughout the northern desert region. Train stations were packed with people fleeing south along the Great Wall, causing traffic jams in the streets and alleys.

…On this day, the residents of northern Han finally recalled the fear of being dominated by border troubles…

Since the Zhenhan era (of the previous dynasty), the Central Plains' control over the grasslands has no longer involved "relocating people to the interior," but rather establishing permanent settlements in pastures. Now, the people from the grasslands are leaving the pastures, sparking discussions among some scholars in the Central Plains about the arrangements for the foundation of the state.

10 month 10 number.

During a court meeting, senior officials began discussing the changing situation on the border. While discussing the reinforcement of troops in the north, they also began discussing the issue of relocating people.

In total, nearly five million people need to be resettled in the area north of the Great Wall.

However, south of the Great Wall, the consensus in the local councils was that defending the territory was paramount. (Clearly, they did not want the people of the northern deserts to return, so they emphasized that the nomadic peoples of the north must resist to the death.) The wealthy families within the councils began to raise funds, offering to provide weapons for the nomadic peoples in the northern pastoral areas.

The imperial court would certainly not implement this terrible idea. Human nature is darkest; the southern council only thought of sending the herders to the north to resist to the death, but they forgot about how to organize the resistance, believing that the herders had an obligation to participate in the organization.

If weapons were really distributed to the herdsmen, some of the more aggressive and ruthless individuals wouldn't necessarily follow the southern lords' idea of ​​going to the north to fight to the death; instead, they might think of simply finding a place in the south to rob a few, then changing their ways and living a better life.

The cabinet discussed how to deal with the herders who fled south.

Wang Situ: "Where can we find accommodation?"

Sikong had already drawn a circle on the map: "Designate areas in Japan, including southern Kurahara and other places, and deploy and settle them."

The discussion was almost turning into an argument when the Minister of Rites calmly sipped his tea and said, "Some of the northern princes might be able to resolve this matter, but the court must provide sufficient resettlement funds."

Lin Sima, flustered, immediately said, "Of course, funds will be allocated to pacify the people, so Lord Qingde need not worry."

The Minister of Rites glanced at the Grand Secretary, no longer showing him any respect, and bluntly criticized him: "It's not just about money. With so many people, without work relief, there will be chaos everywhere. If a few more troublemakers take over the scholars, it will become even more chaotic."

Lin Sima's lips moved, but he ultimately suppressed his anger and turned his gaze to Wang Situ in a show of weakness: "Situ, what do you think should be done about this matter?"

Looking at Lin Sima, who was desperately seeking any treatment, Wang Situ sighed and said, "I'll go talk to the vassal king."

In October of the year 2110 in the Han calendar, before the imperial court allocated immigrants to the northern region, it had privately held tea ceremonies with the major prefectures and kings of the northern region.

The Ministry of Rites contacted Xuan Chong, and after hanging up the phone, Xuan Chong's expression turned thoughtful. Rationally speaking, the current Han dynasty's resettlement of immigrants is essentially sending a million-strong population package to the Eastern Tu, along with even larger-scale industrial support. This has truly accelerated his initial accumulation of wealth.

However, to publicly endorse and advocate for immigration policies would be nothing short of provocative, as many vassal states at that time were opposed to immigration.

Just like in some online novels, when faced with a situation that might lead to conflict, the protagonist can "frown his brow and then quietly retreat behind the crowd."

Based on Xuan Chong's personality, he believed that the current large-scale migration to the north was not in the interests of some other northern prefectures and would inevitably face opposition. He figured he could simply watch as the court pushed forward the migration policy under pressure and eventually enforced it, while he reaped the benefits from behind.

But what Xuan Chong never expected was that he would be arranged to "jump out and start a fight" next, and the reason for this left Xuan Chong speechless.

After the phone call from the Ministry of Rites ended, Xuan Chong did not give a clear response. Immediately afterwards, a Jinshi (successful candidate in the highest imperial examination) from Wang Situ's faction in the court, who was also Xuan Chong's tutor, arrived.

The Confucian scholar, holding Xuan Chong's policy essay from when he passed the imperial examination, first asked whether Xuan Chong's policy essay, "relocating national wealth inland" (attracting investment to develop the inland areas), was truly beneficial to the country and its people.

When it came to his success in the imperial examination, Xuan Chong reacted just like a melon vendor asking a customer, "Do you guarantee the ripeness of your melons?" They immediately started arguing.

After Xuan Chong claimed that his melons were "absolutely guaranteed to be ripe," the official from the Ministry of Rites would lift Xuan Chong's scale pan to see if there were any "magnets" underneath to add water to the weight.

Xuan Chong took a deep breath and reflected on his current situation: the Han Dynasty's civil service examinations were different from later Chinese essays. In Chinese, one could write an essay and then disregard it; one moment he was a "great father," and a few years later he could be a "biological father." The Han Dynasty's policy essays, however, were documented.

In other words, Xuan Chong passed the imperial examination, wrote an essay, and made grand pronouncements, which is why the emperor and great Confucian scholars praised him. If he were to betray the words in his essay, his current success would be nothing but a deception and a fraud. Only by firmly adhering to the words in his essay could he truly preserve his success.

Under the "official rank" system, the examination papers submitted by scholars during the autumn examinations were sealed by the Ministry of Rites and then retrieved when personnel appointments were made!
This shows that the Ministry of Rites sometimes held power in the imperial court that was no less than that of the Ministry of War, which was in charge of military affairs, and the Ministry of Revenue, which was in charge of officials and finances.

Xuan Chong thought of history: those ministers who were passively employed by the Ming Dynasty at the end of the dynasty, such as Sun Chuanting and Lu Xiangshan, all of whom devoted themselves to their posts and died in office. Even Xiong Wencan silently took the blame for the peace negotiations for Chongzhen.

Many more scholars in the Ming Dynasty had to change their allegiance when the dynasty changed. The reason was simple: when Sun Chuanting and Lu Xiangshan were appointed, they were put to the test by the Ming court and had to follow the principles stated in their "policy essays," otherwise they would be stripping themselves of their official titles.

Other scholars from the late Ming dynasty who were not included in the census were able to remain neutral when the Ming dynasty fell, arguing that "the Ming court perished because it did not heed my advice," thus preserving their reputations. What if they had been transferred to the Ministry of Rites and given important positions by the court, only to be repeatedly dismissed? They would have been utterly disgraced.

The way Xuan Chong obtained the title of Juren was actually similar to the process of selecting the Zhuangyuan in the palace examination.

When the emperor and the cabinet reviewed the examination papers and found talented individuals suitable for promotion, they would seal the papers related to "official rank" and, when the country needed them, simply retrieve these papers and have the scholars complete their own testimonies.

Xuan Chong knew that he could not remain uninvolved in the turmoil of the court. Since he had submitted his policy proposal, he could only take the lead and actively confront the conservative forces in the court who were preventing "funds from being invested in the inland areas".

This is why lower-ranking officials jump out to take the lead in factional struggles: their articles, full of lofty ideals, are used as leverage by their mentors.

…To repay the emperor's kindness? To fulfill my ambitions…

As expected, at the conference the following day, the alliance of feudal lords in Japan expressed their opposition to the imperial court's immigration plan, which involved providing work relief.

However, the imperial court was not in a hurry. Representatives from many prefectures in the north expressed their fervent sentiments that the nation was in peril and they could not shirk their responsibilities.

Xuan Chong was the third to speak, firmly stating that Dongtu absolutely supported the court's northern border strategy, economic adjustments, and response to the northern threat. He also announced, in anticipation of the event, that preparations were underway for the first phase of receiving 900,000 people over the next three months. The second phase, to be completed a year later, would involve numerous infrastructure projects, including building a bridge spanning Dongtu and the Miaojie estuary, and constructing a new industrial city called Yaoguang Port.

While other prefectures were still making excuses about insufficient preparation, the Eastern Tu was ready, and its statement was decisive. This move brought down the "conservative alliance" formed by feudal lords from Japan and other regions.

This would give the court a reason to reprimand the officials in these "unprepared" regions for holding their positions without doing their jobs. However, such a brilliant performance naturally attracted hatred, and after speaking, Xuan Chong realized that he could no longer play the good guy.

The 20,000-ton heavy icebreaker ordered by Dongtu has arrived at the port, and the specifications of the ship's smokestack indicate that it burns heavy oil.

This icebreaker will be responsible for breaking through the winter ice floes in the North China Sea to ensure that merchant ships can successfully reach Yaoguang Port, which is across the sea from Dongtu.

The Tartary Sea is further north of the Sea of ​​Okhotsk (the Japanese Sea), and along the historical line of Xuanchong, it is called the "Sea of ​​Okhotsk." Of course, if we trace back to the initial contact between the Qing Dynasty and Tsarist Russia, this region was called the "North China Sea" on European maps. This sea corresponds to the "South China Sea," which was later used in the lawsuit with the monkeys of Lüsong, and was determined based on ancient European nautical charts.

Xuanchong established some temporary villages around Beihuahai to transport coal, which served as residences for personnel who would be stationed there again in the winter.

The first step in immigration is actually to settle "livestock farming." After all, compared to industry, the threshold for extensive organic fish farming at sea is lower.

At the temporary dock, ice sleds towed supplies from the icebreakers from the ice to the shore and delivered them to the homes of the displaced people.

Xuan Chong braved the heavy snow to reach the homes of the people holding out in their strongholds along the Beihuahai coast, bringing them warmth. He delivered the first barrel of oil and grain to each household, and then had detailed conversations with the relocated residents.

This is not just for show; at this moment, whether the grain and oil can be accurately distributed to the relocated households will determine whether the national policy of "converting animal husbandry to fishing" will be effective.

Xuan Chong complained: "If I don't check whether the oil and grain have been distributed, who knows what kind of brutal actions the lower-level officials might take, like 'destroying dikes and flooding fields'? —Without a frontline supervisor, the imperial relief grain would definitely end up on the black market."

(End of this chapter)