Chapter 165: Voyage Through The Mantle
On the 5th of the 4th month of the 2nd year of the Tian You Calendar, the Wu Family Army obtained the terrible news from interrogating those cultivators who had fallen into the ocean that the Old Marshal had already died.
Wu Hengyu fell into great grief, and the entire Northern Army began wearing mourning. Even the generals of the Eastern Market Army all expressed that the dead take precedence.
Because from the perspective of all parties within Bo Prefecture, they could not see the evil deeds done by Wu Hanluan.
After hearing this news, these Yao Capital disciples instead empathized more with Wu Hanluan’s fate: this Old General had guarded the border for Da Yao, but in the end, he only became a Ting Marquis in Chong Land, and was then found a pretext by corrupt ministers in the Imperial Court to be killed.
The officers and soldiers in the Eastern Market Army could not help but associate it with themselves: with such great merit they had established for the country now, when merits were tallied next year, would they also end up like Wu Hanluan?
Under this gloomy dusk, the generals of the Eastern Market Army also increasingly grew estranged from the Imperial Court. So much so that even the thunder in the sky sounded muffled.
Wu Fei, seeing Wu Hengyu silently shedding tears, thought of something, and thus gave him one final assist before departing.
…With the old man dead, they had no choice but to consider dividing the family…
Before departing, Wu Fei made arrangements for the army handover, including planning the rewards and punishments for the final battle to Destroy Hao.
Wu Fei knew that Wu Hengyu was first-rate in bravery, but had major flaws in rewards and punishments; others were eagerly awaiting titles and rewards, yet he did not understand people’s hearts.
Therefore, during Destroy Hao, what merits and titles for ascending first, what titles for city breaches. If these were not handled well, there would be trouble. And Wu Hengyu would absolutely overlook a key point, that of the titles to be given to those who surrendered on the battlefield.
In front of the main tent, Wu Fei announced in front of Wu Hengyu the future reward and punishment regulations for this Northern Army Corps in sieges and conquests. An officer in the army asked: “Sir, by that logic, even if enemies offer the city, they get titles?”
All the soldiers in the military tent gazed at Wu Fei. Wu Fei said word by word: “The primary goal of this battle is to Destroy Hao; no meritorious minister is dispensable in this battle, even Dragon Descendants, as long as they Restore Order, can receive titles and rewards.”
“After we breach False Hao, only the thief leader cannot be spared. If the thief leader commits suicide and his family is willing to offer the city with his head, then he can be honorably buried, and his heirs well treated!” Wu Fei was giving a way out for those around King Hao to surrender, as well as a “dignified” ending.
For ministers, in a doomed situation, as long as they give the monarch dignity (suicide), that is loyalty. As for the monarch, if he does not want this dignity, then he puts his ministers in a difficult position.
For example, the last emperor of Southern Ming, who made Wu Sangui somewhat difficult, forcing an undignified end.
Wu Hengyu was immersed in sorrow and remained silent, having no mind to express an opinion at this time.
In their previous private discussion, Wu Fei knew he had no such detailed plans.
If Wu Hengyu were leading the siege, he would certainly have the power of life and death over the defeated.
So at that time, Wu Fei earnestly advised: “Our greatest enemy now may become certain forces within Da Yao. Thus, why not turn wolves into dogs?” Only then did Wu Hengyu come around and tacitly accept this edict.
In front of the generals, Wu Fei finished reciting all the reward and punishment regulations, then handed them over to Wu Hengyu. Finally, he glanced at the generals of the Eastern Market Army.
Wu Fei had already coalesced strategic objectives for Wu Hengyu’s subordinates, determining that future strategic enemies were Hao State and Da Yao warlords. If Hao State fled far away, then Wu Hengyu could only fight the Da Yao warlords.
And in this way, yesterday it was preventing Dragon Descendants from Exit Closed-Door Cultivation, today it was leading Dragon Descendants to Exit Closed-Door Cultivation.
This absurd outcome made Wu Fei quibble: “On the matter of Exit Closed-Door Cultivation, Wu Sangui leading the Qing to Exit Closed-Door Cultivation and Li Tang leading the Xianbei to Exit Closed-Door Cultivation are essentially different, right?”
Actually, Wu Fei had no confidence in his heart either. Because in his rational analysis, Li Tang could lead the Xianbei to Exit Closed-Door Cultivation precisely because the Five Barbarians had caused chaos for too long, and the expectations of the great clans of Han lands for the imperial lineage had dropped to the lowest point;
Although Li Tang’s paternal line was traceable to the Han Dynasty, their own style had become barbarized; in the early founding, due to the “surname” issue, they were rejected by the major surnames of the Central Plains, and later relied on repeatedly beating down the mixed barbarians to reshape Han prestige, gradually winning people’s allegiance. The Northern Army and Eastern Market Army absorbing foreign races in Bo Prefecture and taking foreign women as principal wives was also “barbarization.” Da Yao here had a single lineage for ten thousand generations; Wu Fei was uncertain if the various forces within Da Yao would be so “open” as to accept an impure border army corps taking control.
Of course, even if Bo Prefecture and Yan Land had problems in the future, Wu Fei shrugged: “It would be on Hengyu’s hands.”
After the rewards and punishments were set, just as Wu Fei was preparing to ride the peacock back, Yu Li was brought over by Wu Hengyu.
This Dragon Descendant looked at Wu Fei: “Military Master Sir, on your way back, you will inevitably encounter interceptions by various people within Da Yao territory. I have a technique that can let you ride the wind for ninety thousand li.”
Wu Fei paused slightly and looked at Wu Hengyu; his clan brother nodded, clearly having this Yu beauty firmly in hand.
“This woman captured in the great marsh is said to be a Dragon Descendant noble. Tsk tsk, if Zhao Cheng turns disloyal in the future, this Xuan Cheng could be a hidden trump card.” Wu Xiao Que secretly pondered how to cause trouble for Zhao Cheng.
Wu Fei: “Please instruct me, sister-in-law.”
Yu Li’s face reddened, her blue scales on her lower jaw like ripened fruit; she then glanced at Wu Hengyu.
…Perspective shifts to Hao State…
On the bronze desk, little jade beasts were stepping on different kinds of official documents under their feet. These paperweights were quite intelligent; if another paperweight took the wrong document they were responsible for, they would clash and snatch it back.
On Zhao Cheng’s desk was placed the latest reward and punishment order from the Da Yao Northern Army Corps, especially the news that Dragon Descendants could surrender and the Dragon Slaying Decree was no longer in effect; he nodded.
Zhao Cheng judged that Wu Fei should be gone; he began issuing orders, saying to the person beside him: “The trouble for us taking control under heaven has left.”
The advisors beside Zhao Cheng immediately understood; the leading general named “Hao Tian” said to Zhao Cheng: “Lord, shall we step on the jade stairs (march troops into the palace to force abdication)?”
Zhao Cheng looked at him and sneered, shaking his head: “Without merits towering to heaven to act in heaven’s stead, would we not be corrupt ministers and traitors?”
For usurpers, without establishing great achievements, they lack the ability to actually grant various positions and titles to subordinates. Forcibly usurping the name is useless. Most ministers in the system will not play house with the usurper ascending the throne.
Only after conquering most of the territory and achievements, with the substantive ability to grant titles, will talented people under heaven, for the sake of titles, eagerly acquiesce to the usurper’s dynastic change. But then it cannot be called a usurper anymore, because this foundation was fought for with real blades and guns.
Zhao Cheng now needed achievements more than Wu Fei, because he was currently just a hired hand; legally, he could be kicked out by the boss at any time! Only by rapidly expanding, then transferring assets in the expansion, could he usurp the property rights.
Company reality is so ruthless; the boss will not share equity with you just because you do the hard or technical work; they might even optimize out the technician once the technology stabilizes. Only by rising to management, accessing company finances and property transfers, can one trap the boss in debt, collude with the mortgaged company, and swiftly take the premium assets to live freely.
For Zhao Cheng, a head-on clash with Wu Fei in the military strategist domain would absolutely let him exert his skills to the extreme.
But after killing Wu Fei? Retire at thirty-five? Then be summoned to the palace and poked to death by palace maids with bamboo spears? Zhao Cheng’s post-traumatic stress disorder flared up.
But if the company boss’s son was himself a backbone skilled in technology, it would be different.
Zhao Cheng was quite envious of Wu Fei: first having ability, second having family backing; in these chaotic times, he started working for himself. As for Wu Fei now returning to handle family affairs?
Zhao Cheng: “Now it seems, the disaster over there (Zhenzhou) won’t trouble him for long; at most a year to pacify, and I am certain—”
Zhao Cheng opened the map, pointing to a large circle of adjacent prefectures around Chong Land: “There will be a bunch of fools in Da Yao stepping into this pit. (Those vassal lords around Wu Hanluan are too eager to seize Zhenzhou.)”
Zhao Cheng turned his finger, setting strategies for Yuhuazhou and three other prefectures.
Just after Zhao Cheng set strategies here, within three days, talents in Hao State gathered at the Great General’s Mansion.
…Dynastic change around Pu E…
And in the palace, King Hao began his tyranny, looking at the assembled civil and military officials, starting to distrust his ministers.
Even though before transmigration, he had jested at the madness of those last dictators. Yet when it truly came to him, facing this scene, he could not stay calm.
In a team where morale had scattered, everyone awaited “the end”; and he was precisely in a position to be the “period” prop. As a failed emperor, he wanted one last gamble.
On the other side, Pu E, who was undergoing Dragon Transformation and roaming high in the sky, was confirming new star gate teleportation parameters.
As clusters of blue starlight fell from behind, Pu E hurriedly dodged. And turning her head to look at the direction of the blue meteor, she saw it heading straight toward the palace where King Hao was.
Pu E was slightly stunned and sighed. Over the past year, the series of divide-and-conquer strategies left by Wu Fei in the North had stirred up the minds of all sorts of people from top to bottom in Hao State, dismantling them into strands, with no cohesion for shared fate.
For Zhao Cheng, Pu E felt uncomfortable; but upon observing and understanding Wu Fei, it turned to disgust.
Perhaps because of this “disregard for rules, self-righteousness.”
…Under heaven divides…
Pengze, at the rippling water waves, Wu Fei rode the peacock leading the team to arrive; this time, a total of five hundred twenty-seven people followed Wu Fei back together.
Among them were the younger generation like Wu Juwang, as well as Wu Family disciples represented by Wu Hong. (Wu Hong went north with Wu Fei in chapter 120)
These Wu Family disciples who had followed Wu Hengyu in campaigns in the Northern Army for over ten years, except for a few who had already settled families in Bo Prefecture, ninety percent took this chance to return and avenge their family’s old Military Master, following along.
Wu Fei had advised them that there was no need for all to return, but they said they were worried about the elders at home and insisted on following back!
Wu Fei roughly understood their intentions and thus let them have their wish to follow him.
Note: These Wu Family disciples were not accustomed to staying under Wu Hengyu and could not say it outright. They had fought with those unrelated people for over ten years and were tired now. Thus, taking advantage of Wu Fei taking over the reward and punishment work under Wu Hengyu, and having tallied their merit account books! They quickly jumped over, preparing to seamlessly dock into Wu Fei’s southern army merit redemption system.
Note: The merit books personally compiled by Wu Fei must be recognized by those non-commissioned officers in the Southern Route.
Five Guiche landed under Wu Fei, twelve war chariots formed a chariot formation; as Yu Li activated the magic array of the Grotto-Heaven, surrounding clouds began to envelop. The entire army entered the Grotto-Heaven.
Wu Fei activated the marker perception, then widened his eyes. Good grief, the Grotto-Heaven seemed like a space elevator, endlessly extending to the mantle, and curving toward the Southern Region.
Wu Fei looked at the layered vortex tracks, raised his hand; the peacock beside him, with perfect understanding, raised its wings along with Wu Fei; when Wu Fei’s hand waved lightly, the peacock flapped along with Wu Fei, the wing amplitude perfectly matching Wu Fei’s hand amplitude, and the surrounding vortex walls gently rippled with the flapping.
Wu Fei felt he could manipulate the vortex tracks and thus began operating.
Wu Fei, based on his perception, avoided those small vortex interferences in the mantle shuttle paths.
These small vortices, like whirlpools in a pond gathering insect corpses and rotten grass filth, were currently gathering malign entities.
These small vortex points were Da Yao’s current ponds and marshes abundant in Yin Energy, and the monsters and essences in those marshes could discover the Grotto-Heaven’s tributaries while diving.
And in Wu Fei’s view, the opening and closing of these Grotto-Heavens were the sources of the small vortices he encountered underground now.
As long as he touched these “vortex tails” hanging from top to bottom during shuttle, he would encounter resistance. (Vortex tails can be referenced to the vortex tail in a shaken cup of water.)
And moreover! With the peacock’s coordination, the stirred vortex went deeper and deeper, passing these small vortices, beginning to shuttle toward greater depths.
Just as rocket bullet trajectories and intercontinental missile trajectories are both ballistic, but intercontinental missile trajectories are higher, avoiding more atmospheric resistance.
Wu Fei and the peacock synchronously showed curiosity; as the vortex continuously extended, Wu Fei sensed this planet’s core, and around the core even discovered many energy bodies, these energy bodies dancing like small mosquitoes around nighttime lights.
Wu Fei also discovered a familiar presence, that Vermilion Bird coordinate infiltrating the Core of the Earth.
This Vermilion Bird energy coordinate also discovered him and thus flew over from the Core of the Earth.
Immediately, Wu Fei hurriedly waved his hand to indicate he was not going together with it; Wu Fei pointed toward Tianchi City direction. This Vermilion Bird energy understood and began escorting.
Gongshu Wang, following Wu Fei south, looked at Wu Fei and asked: “Sir, this, this Grotto-Heaven travel you can control?”
Gongshu Wang held the compass, looking at the increasingly distant ground surface above, sensing the mountains and rivers power constantly merging into the shuttle tracks, gathering earth spirit fluctuations in the shuttle space, pushing everyone faster and faster. His fingers trembled.
Wu Fei: “Oh, I’m not controlling it.” But after seeing Wu Juwang’s pale face, he changed his tune.
At this time in the shuttle interface, the Vermilion Bird’s reflection circled like a large brocade carp in an ocean world water channel, and could even interact with him; such a sight made the other “passengers” on this great flight with Wu Fei terrified. After all, even deep-sea navigation brings abyssal fear syndrome; this was under the nine serenities.
To reassure the entourage, Wu Fei said: “My guardian god is here.”
Then Wu Fei pointed at the Vermilion Bird Fire around the bubble; the Vermilion Bird Fire paused outside the bubble, then a point of flame pierced the bubble and touched Wu Fei’s forehead; the people beside jumped at this sudden rising flame. Wu Fei touched the red mark on his forehead and said to everyone: “See, it’s quite playful.”
Regarding this metaphysical system under the core of the earth tour this time, it was similar to manned spaceflight—no, manned core of the earth travel.
At this time, Wu Fei’s perception was slightly different from when he had gone north with Gong Qian, surveying heaven and earth.
Back then, Wu Fei looked up at the starry sky and could see large celestial bodies with space distortions falling toward the ground; now, Wu Fei looking up could see the myriad phenomena of the ground surface. (Reference: looking up underwater to see waves on the surface.)
Mountain ranges undulating like dragon bones above, along the arc-shaped earth interface, the rolled folds at the mountain roots, all clearly visible.
Gongshu Wang was constantly recording information with the feng shui compass; Wu Fei also reacted, picking up a charcoal pen. While looking up, he outlined the positions of great mountains on the ground above, as well as the directions of those water veins.
Wu Fei muttered to himself: “For the upcoming battles, we need to understand the terrain. Right, where is the terrain around Zhenzhou?”
At this moment, the Vermilion Bird coordinate outside the bubble began light-cone marking the places on the ground above that Wu Fei wanted to know.
Now Wu Fei saw the Zhenzhou situation: a green bubble abruptly there. And the anomaly there was clearly caused by the space distortion falling from the Evil Moon.
This green “bean” (where Golden Dou is) polluted the underground water veins one by one, all clearly visible to Wu Fei.
Wu Fei did not yet know what his vision from deep within the earth essentially meant in this world.
The System was unwilling to explain any physical phenomena of this planet using physics terms familiar to Xuan Chong’s previous life.
Wu Fei’s current visual cognition was positioned as a kind of “earth remote sensing”; he not only saw water veins, but under the Vermilion Bird’s explanation, discerned the meanings of some special colors, where white-gold indicated iron ore deposits.
As the track began gradually approaching the surface, Wu Fei also discovered that although the “green bean” was most dazzling at Lelang City in Chong Land now, some blue spider silk was also spreading, and at mountain ranges in several surrounding prefectures, blue beans had formed.
After Xuan Chong hurriedly recorded these “pocks” projected by otherworldly power on the surface, the shuttle was getting closer and closer to the surface.
…System: The task of North contest has been completed, currently scoring…
Yu Li at Pengze was stunned, looking at these deep rippling waters, long unable to speak. When she and Wu Hengyu shuttled, it was by jumping multiple lake surfaces midway (short trajectory), encountering numerous malign entity obstructions; whereas her little uncle-in-law, after drilling underground, traveled ten thousand li in one go! Without interference from any malign entity power, returning in one shot to the home ten thousand li away.
