Chapter 159: Exhaustion Of Literary Spirit, Enfeoffment Of Mountains And Rivers
Inside Shazhou City, on the Haoguo Imperial Court. King Hao was looking at the empty rows of military officials in front of him, trying hard to show majesty, but his heart was filled with fear. He had set up the Imperial Court in Shazhou originally to dilute Zhao Cheng’s influence, but now it had suddenly turned into him being held hostage.
On the Imperial Court, his familiar uncles and such, within two years, first lost Bo Prefecture, then lost Gu Shou Pass, and now the Yan Land battle was not won either. Dew appeared in the eyes of the dragon patterns on the bronze pillar, like tears.
In the Yan Land decisive battle, the two full-strength corps mobilized by Hao State now only had defeated remnants left. As battle reports kept coming from the front, the Wu Family Brothers showed a great momentum of sweeping from east to west, destroying a nation in one battle.
Dragon Descendant bureaucrats were also discussing these two generals who had appeared in Yao State now, and could not help but look back on the past.
Recalling the Dragon Descendants’ previous Haotian Realm, in the midst of the end times, that planet because of the brutal killing and warfare, various races all produced powerful generals; some of these generals had individual combat power comparable to demigods, some received Tian You blessings and used troops like gods. Many Dragon Descendants had already compared the Wu Brothers to those legendary generals of the Haotian Realm.
King Hao very much wanted to say to send people to hold them off, but in the great hall, the military generals’ faction now only had generals from Zhao Cheng’s line.
King Hao looking at this line of military generals, finally regretted making things so tense with Zhao Cheng.
…On the other side, the transmigrator’s busyness…
Tian You Calendar Year 1, from August to October, Wu Fei here transported grain and farm tools, barely settling down all the captives in Yan Land, and planned out strips of shallow water channels. These water channels were too shallow, not yet conducting water; digging them now was to fix the farming areas for next year’s cultivation.
Wu Fei after a series of calculations, matched serfs one by one to the non-commissioned officers with outstanding merit in this battle, and granted them fiefdoms.
These recipients of fiefs were mainly rope-pullers as well as soldiers who had once been able-bodied men.
For these wretches, cashing in their battle merit in Yan Land to become master, enclosing such a large piece of land, was quite attractive.
But for those imperial relatives and noble families from Yao Capital, the fiefs here were irrelevant; they would exchange them all for goods and manors inside the pass. They did not oppose Wu Fei’s city governance planning in Yan Land, of course they also did not support it.
For the generals from Yao Capital dandy backgrounds and the eight thousand disciples Wu Hengyu brought from the south, as long as these lands could supply soldiers and food and grass, and the ranks of the people here were below their own, they were very satisfied. They did not care about Yan Land’s governance situation.
Xuan Chong: This is just like when I play games, hoping for a spot that can automatically farm resources; the kings during the great age of navigation also hoped colonies were milk cows that could supply trade interests without complaint.
However, from a ruling perspective, Yan Land’s output requires governance, and in Da Yao’s interior, those capable of governance disdain exiling themselves here.
Yan Land this place, its value over the next ten years is because of the system Wu Fei built while enduring the bitter cold land.
But if Wu Fei leaves next? Wu Fei looking at those “vagabond” officers and soldiers celebrating becoming masters, and the current indifferent looks of the officers and soldiers from interior scholar backgrounds, fell into contemplation.
Yan Land’s civil governance system lacks self-sustaining ability!
Nowadays “civil governance talent” is monopolized by noble families; the reason is simple: clans large enough, involving all walks of life; only children who can hear about “farming, commerce and various novel things” at home will have sufficient vision.
Disciples grown up in such an environment, when reading articles and doing things, because of possessing this invisible resource, will consider from a global perspective, multi-party interests.
Yan Land’s current production relies on serfs; no matter how large serf groups are, discussions among serfs lack vision. And the masters above the serfs also will not form production discussion and communication meetings.
Xuan Chong connecting to his previous life, historically the Liao region rose strong several times either because the Central Plains’ upward paths were blocked, talent overflowed; or Central Plains warfare, some families fled north to avoid disaster; or even weak Song suppressing military too much, northerners going south to raid for supplies and grab people, conveniently grabbing scholars out too. Only thus could a proper empire system be maintained.
But once such an empire entered the pass and established its capital inside, those most excellent governance talents also followed back inside. Then measuring fields on the black soil land, household registration assessments, and river course planning these necessary works had no one to handle.
It can be said, a hundred years later, the grassroots governance once built on the black soil land will inevitably collapse with talent loss, civilization regressing.
Wu Fei: If it were me governing Yan Land, it would inevitably be strengthening the direct port policy between Ascending Dragon City and Bo Prefecture cities, turning Ascending Dragon City into a great metropolis accommodating all industries and commerce, nurturing culture, maintaining grassroots governance. But—Wu Hengyu does not care about the land he conquered himself.
Wu Fei patted his face, bitter smile. He forgot, actually he himself is special too; the “civil governance systems” he creates are not sustainable.
From the source of culture, Wu Fei is someone who received modern education: under modern education, observation of things’ development and change follows a habit of “moment by moment” establishing planning and adjustment.
Wu Fei this kind—conquering a place, immediately planning in five-year stages, every year listing interest contradictions and potential conflicts in various places in the region, then making targeted adjustments.—is impossible in this era.
Even the current most excellent noble family disciples would not “moment by moment worry about worldly disturbances” like this.
Using a complimentary term to describe Xuan Chong’s governance mindset, that is “exhausting his mind and energy.”
Wu Fei exhaled a breath of white air: “For now, never mind here; in the future here won’t be my control area either.”
Bo Yan land is Wu Fei’s practice ground for civil governance. After Wu Fei summarizes experience, going back he will promote schools, compile textbooks under the basic principles of scholars, farmers, artisans, merchants operation.
…Autumn day, harvesting grain, celebrating…
October, Ascending Dragon City, Wu Fei outside the city lord’s mansion, looking at the bustling streets. Because a temple fair was now being held here, and the biggest focus at the temple fair was Daoist priests performing rituals.
As a sweet rain fell from the altar, amid waves of “gods and immortals bless” chants, a crowd of commoners knelt in worship, among them not lacking soldiers Wu Fei had enfeoffed locally. Of course with everyone kneeling, Wu Fei standing out was quite conspicuous, especially with a strand of magic power pinched in his hand.
Wu Fei watching from the side, confirmed these few still had dao cultivation. Stirring up “feudal superstition” on his own turf, causing large-scale gatherings—this matter is neither big nor small. All depends on how it’s defined.
The three Daoist priests finished the ritual and jumped down from the altar; Wu Fei walked straight over. But before he could speak, a nearby soldier introduced for him: “General, this is a Cixin Sect disciple.”
However Wu Fei’s killing intent flashed, whether the Daoist priests or the speaking soldier all felt danger. The soldier knelt down sweating profusely.
And the three Daoist priests’ expressions were also awkward, because they discovered that several zhang away around them had been covered by sea-wave-like killing intent, leaving only the one-zhang range beside them.
Wu Fei looking at these three Daoist priests, asked without sorrow or joy: “You few, are you residing here permanently, or wandering through?”
The lead Daoist priest, as if under a fierce tiger’s gaze, answered: “General, my junior brother and I are wandering through here—”
Wu Fei’s face turned unpleasant: “Hm?!”
The Daoist priest hurriedly said: “I am an outer sect disciple of Cixin Sect.”
Wu Fei stared at him: “I don’t know where your sect’s mountain gate is; do you have a station here?” Then prompted: “North of Ascending Dragon Mountain there’s a temple—(this temple doesn’t exist yet, but can in the future)”
The Daoist priest hurriedly said: “Yes, this one is preparing to establish a Daoist temple here.”
Wu Fei’s expression turned sunny, hurriedly embracing the Daoist priest, patted and said: “Daoist priest, that’s exactly right; under Da Yao’s laws, this general cannot allow licentious sacrifices locally; you must establish a Daoist temple here, reside permanently for thirty years.”
The Daoist priests behind had stunned expressions, hurriedly wanting to say something, but were held back.
Wu Fei said: “I will definitely handle the ordination certificate for Daoist priest you, let the faithful in the city offer incense and fire every month.”
Then turning his head to shout to everyone: “Everyone, welcome the Daoist priest to come here to establish a sect!”
Wu Fei raised both hands upward in greeting, and immediately numerous commoners followed suit, jeering and cheering as if it were a great joyous occasion.
…And so, the temple fair continued, while orthodox sects must not “lose belief”…
Wu Fei opened a fast track at the government office, handling local ordination certificates for the three Daoist priests. The official document on the ordination certificates firmly assigned them the task of clocking in for duty locally.
Every festival and holiday, they must stand guard at rituals such as the spring planting prayer and harvest prayer.
Regarding these Daoist Sect disciples collecting incense and fire, and causing large numbers of commoners to come kneel and worship! This to some extent threatened the rule of the military group.
But acting like that fool Sun Ce, directly executing Yu Ji, was the most foolish move, as it went against the inclinations of the majority.
The result was that Sun Ce’s robust body suddenly dropped dead.
This brings up another matter, still concerning his old Sun family. The Buddhist Kang Senghui came to the Central Plains to spread Buddhist teachings, and just then King Wu Sun Hao dug up a Buddha statue behind his palace. This great fool from the Sun family placed the Buddha statue in the latrine, using urine for initiation, to prove that the karma and retribution spoken of by Kang Senghui was a lie. As a result, Sun Hao suffered pain all over his body, especially in his groin, rolling on the ground in agony. Servants told him he had insulted the sacred image, so Sun Hao kowtowed to the Buddha statue in repentance. Only then did his pain subside.
Setting aside these superstitious elements, Xuan Chong said: “His old Sun family clearly could not control the people around them. Whether Sun Ce’s sudden death or Sun Hao’s case, both show that people close by worked behind the scenes against the Sun family, but they couldn’t track it down, so it turned into ghosts and spirits’ retribution.”
Wu Fei was not worried about karma and retribution, but he was concerned about Daoist priests organizing believers to conspire in secret under the name of deities. (Eastern Han Zhang Jue’s Peaceful Dao)
Thus, the standard handling of religious belief by later regimes was Qianlong’s experience: they would not conflict with you, but the legitimacy of orthodox belief and every other link must be held in my hands.
First, Daoist priests spreading teachings cannot be without a temple.
Then, when you spread teachings, it cannot be haphazard—one place today when you’re happy, stirring things up tomorrow when you’re not. All your formal rituals must be reported like clocking in. If you fail to clock in, it means you’re derelict in duty! In Eastern beliefs, even deities derelict in duty will be punished by Heaven.
Wu Fei: As long as these key points are controlled by secular governors, so what if the Daoist priests accept secular kneeling and worship?
They all must stay obediently in the shrine.
On the other hand, Wu Fei wanted to keep the Daoist temple, because it was for civilization. This place had a thin cultural environment, unable to nurture complex social conditions, and was too impoverished to retain people; thus, he could only emulate the Western church system, using the Daoist temple as a blueprint to establish a “knowledge transmission” system.
…Wu Fei felt he had taken advantage…
After Wu Fei handled the ordination certificates for the three Daoist priests, unexpected ripples arose in heaven and earth.
At the river’s estuary, several groups of sect disciples all raised their heads to look at the changes in terrain and stars. One Daoist priest: “They actually got ahead by one step!” Another Daoist priest, while calculating, said: “Do not lose heart, there is still a chance for reversal.”
Wu Fei did not know that his casual enfeoffment of the Daoist temple to the three Daoist priests now had all sides of the immortal families gnashing their teeth.
In this world, the “Human Realm” is the foundation; major changes in territory will cause shifts in the flow of mountains and rivers’ earth veins.
Although military strategists compete for fertile riverine areas, which appear to be a bustling mortal world unrelated to immortal family cultivation, in the surrounding uninhabited mountains and rivers, spiritual veins will change according to the human path.
Currently, each sect and faction is doing everything possible to support the most promising military strategist, of course, provided they can intervene.
If viewed by an immortal family’s spiritual eye, the killing intent on Wu Fei’s body is a massive sea of fire condensed near Ascending Dragon City, while Wu Hengyu’s killing intent is a giant dragon capable of churning that sea of fire.
The Cixin Sect sect leader in the North, upon hearing that his disciples sent down the mountain easily obtained control of the main dragon vein’s Daoist temple in Yan Land, could not help stroking his beard in admiration: “The disciples I sent are truly blessed deeply; without any magic battle or struggle, they obtained permission to build the temple from the local prefecture.”
The major sects were now extremely concerned; several great sects had used supreme treasures to divine who was the tribulation bearer in this great tribulation.
Military strategists do not have a “high expert ranking” in the cultivation world, just as generals holding military command in the 21st century do not participate in wealth rankings. There is only talk of tiers; when military strategists of the same tier clash, victory or defeat depends on Heaven’s Mandate, while strong-tier military strategists defeating weak-tier ones is defying heaven and changing fate.
Without a doubt, Wu Fei and Wu Hengyu this time fighting from Bo Prefecture to Yan Land was an act of defying heaven and changing fate.
In the mountain range backing Ascending Dragon City, right after the three Cixin Sect Daoist priests set up a thatched shed here, ten fellow Daoists arrived at night under the stars and moonlight, requesting to borrow lodging.
Those Cixin Sect Daoist priests naturally did not allow it, because once they lent lodging, they would cede the Daoist temple’s location. Peachwood swords and banners confronted each other.
Both sides engaged in a magic battle, but the Cixin Sect Daoist priests ultimately could not prevail. They revealed their ordination certificates, borrowing a force from the City God via the ordination certificates. Thunder flashed in the sky above the city, and thunder light erupted with waves of killing intent. This terrifying killing intent swept away the other fellow Daoists. The magic battle ended.
And when the killing intent in the city was mobilized, Wu Fei sensed it, after all, this killing intent was his own—he felt as if two or three hairs on his body had been plucked.
Wu Fei’s soldiers caught those “wild Daoist priests” without ordination certificates and with their magic power failed the next day.
These Daoist priests were miserable, disheveled and twitching all over upon seeing Xuan Chong, like monkeys electrocuting themselves by touching the wrong wire.
Then through interrogation, Wu Fei learned of these Daoist priests riding cranes across hundreds of kilometers for business, only to be taught a harsh lesson by reality, ending up in such a predicament.
Wu Fei complained: “I used to think cultivating immortality was like playing in the mortal world; you outer sect disciples have it so rough?”
These Daoist priests sourly revealed a reality: “We outer sect disciples run business in the countryside. We do the hard labor of collecting merit and surveying earth veins.”
While those inner sect disciples handle major client business, that is, when kings and nobles demand “longevity” or “blessings,” inner sect disciples exchange orthodox methods in response.
Wu Fei took out the mountains and rivers map, casually pointing to a spot six hundred li into the mountains and rivers.
These mountains and rivers had not even herb gatherers; Wu Fei waved his hand grandly, enfeoffing this mountain top to these cultivators.
Regarding the effect of Wu Fei’s enfeoffment?
For the mountains and rivers in this prefecture, only the prefect’s endorsement can record them in the human path system “Prefectural Annals.”
And now the “Prefectural Annals” were in Wu Fei’s hands, with the legitimacy of the Prefectural Annals stemming from contracts between the major clans and great households in this prefecture and these mountains and rivers, establishing the state altars here. After Wu Fei divided farmland planning and waterways in various places, confirming some soldiers settling here, Wu Fei became the prefect here.
Wu Fei wrote down the names of these mountain tops—one copy kept in the Prefectural Annals, one carved into inscribed text—then had the cultivators transport it to the mountain, making it the sect gate. The cultivators who unexpectedly received Wu Fei’s promise showed unanticipated joy, all expressing they would establish a long-term Daoist temple branch here.
Through the Daoist priests’ “nonsense,” Wu Fei understood that his enfeoffment had a ghosts and spirits effect.
The Wu Fei who did not believe in ghosts and spirits sneered, but could not help thinking of the Southern Border—whether there were ghosts and spirits in the Southern Border waiting for him to enfeoff.
