Chapter 57: Giving The Transmigrator A Shocking Lesson
Fengcheng fell within three days, and Guotai’s army won under Zhao Cheng’s command, reversing the overall situation in the North.
First, on the Yan Prefecture side, four out of the fifteen corps had to face a harsh reality: they were strategically separated from the Eastern Region’s main army. Once Guotai controlled the Yinshan Mountains area, they could more flexibly cross terrain via earth vein flows, and the Da Yao Northern Border region would face comprehensive harassment.
Of course, at this moment, there was still an unspeakable issue among the various Northern Army corps.
The four corps in Yan Prefecture were still disunited internally, and the reason for the disunity was that one of them was Emperor Shu’s so-called “direct lineage”: the Zhanlu Legion.
This Zhanlu Legion was formed by expanding an Imperial Guard force from the Divine Capital. Decades ago, the Zhanlu Legion was formidable; this corps, personally built by Emperor Shu, had successively experienced three strangulation battles against sea clans in the eastern border.
But now, this troop had decayed, infiltrated by unexamined noble family disciples as advisors. This battle was merely to prove that Emperor Shu’s treasured sword had not dulled. So all sides knew that even if the Zhanlu Army performed poorly, they could not call it out.
In the Imperial Court, from the newly appointed Grand Marshal to the middle-level officials, all were aware of the Zhanlu Legion’s situation, so they let the other corps “bear with it” more.
Thus, a highly unreasonable situation arose in this Eastern Region army: the Zhanlu Army held the best weapons and guarded the armory, yet was not on the frontline.
The Zhanlu Army had such a war machine called the Baijiang Platform, this floating war machine lifted by clouds to a height of twenty zhang. On its rock structure carved like colorful clouds were placed war drums and cannons, and it could accommodate fifty armored soldiers, directly floating over enemies’ heads on the battlefield to shoot arrows and fire shells.
But in this Northern Border campaign, up to now, it had not fired a single shot. The armored soldiers boarding the Baijiang Platform were all pot-bellied types.
Worth mentioning is that the main resentment among these three corps in Da Yao was not toward the Zhanlu Legion, or rather, if it were truly resentment erupting against the Zhanlu Army, the gaps between the corps would not be so large. It was simply joining hands to avoid this group of Divine Capital meritorious sons and daughters.
The senior generals of these three corps knew that the Imperial Court heavyweights behind the Zhanlu Army were beyond their provocation, so when armor was scarce, what they fought over was often from the other two allied corps, to the point that tensions between their three corps often arose over food and grass, such that now after two queues pass by, they disdain each other’s regional accents. Even soldier leaders bumping into each other in city marketplaces over drinks would give each other the cold shoulder.
The Imperial Court knew of this gap, but those upper lords in the court who had not experienced “rank and file” or “prefectural clerk” roles turned a blind eye to such “vulgar worldly disputes,” instead seeing it as the key for the court to control the frontline.
Even Emperor Shu had been led astray by this mindset, thinking that if during this great war to pacify the evil dragon, the frontline generals remained harmonious while their power grew, would that not endanger the court?
Thus on the Imperial Court dais, subconsciously they determined that there must be “disunity” among the frontline rank and file.
It could even be said that the Da Yao Emperor applied this same experience to certain situations with the Wu Family Army. An army stationed locally should always have some disharmony.
Emperor Shu looked down on everything from above, his perspective far broader than some people (Wu Xiao Que). And the Wu Family Army’s situation was also under the Da Yao Emperor’s gaze.
Wu Hanluan quietly aligning with Prince Zhou, and Wu Fei privately gathering troops to exit closed-door cultivation in the Southern Border process, Emperor Shu knew all of it. Moreover, the Wu Family Army now supported Southern Merchants, while Ji Prefecture’s Prefect was Emperor Shu’s cousin, and the contradiction between these two was clear.
He even knew of internal contradictions in the Wu Family Army, Wu Hanluan’s son and Wu Fei being like fire and water. (What exactly was the relationship between Wu Fei and Wu Hengyu? Outsiders did not know, but the dispatched secret guards could see that the group under Wu Hengyu chattered about Wu Fei.)
Hmm, on this point, Emperor Shu was very satisfied. Even errors in the Southern Border like “private trafficking of salt and iron” and “abducting border commoners as slaves” became somewhat tolerable under this premise.
Emperor Shu’s methods were strong, but in this era of great contention, there was no room for divided loyalties.
…Upper and lower dividing line…
In the Wu Family headquarters in Nanzhao Commandery’s Tianchi City, that is, the family rear. As soon as Wu Fei returned to the family, he was invited to the inner courtyard, where a cousin named Wu Zhantie personally guarded the door. Wu Fei was surprised in the inner courtyard to see Wu Hengyu wearing a conical hat and veiled.
Wu Fei widened his eyes and retorted: “Whether you veil or not makes no difference; on this turf, who else has a nine-chi stature!”
Wu Hengyu: “I returned last night; no one saw.” Then he took out a secret letter and said to Wu Fei: “Your place now has too many eyes and ears; Father asked me to deliver the message personally at home.”
Wu Fei read every word of the letter without missing any. First, the Imperial Court was once again demanding the Wu Family Army relocate.
Of course, the large camp next to Donghua Commandery would not be completely canceled; it would be retained as a conscription point for the Wu Family Army’s Northern Army. The Imperial Court now demanded the Wu Family Army mobilize elites toward the west of Longyou Commandery. This was because further north, Prince Lelang in Zhenzhou was gradually acting improperly.
Based on this, Wu Hanluan asked Wu Fei to provide his views on the current Da Yao northern war situation and the overall under heaven situation.
Wu Fei was pondering on this side, while Wu Hengyu on the side was sampling Wu Fei’s newly made “night travel ration bars,” this nougat boiled from egg whites, almonds, and cane sugar. After chewing one piece, he tried a second, then a third.
Unlike modern people sitting in offices moving only a thousand steps a day, the military camp soldiers’ foot travel absolutely matched their consumption. And as a military general, Wu Hengyu had to draw his twelve-stone strongbow a hundred times daily. Thus, this sugar had no chance of turning into fat for him.
Wu Fei asked: “How’s the situation inside the Imperial Court? The rumors I hear are that the scholar forest is buzzing, discussing how long it will take Da Yao to regroup and restore the war situation? Is that true?”
Wu Hengyu: “It is. But those Confucian scholars love to meddle in military warfare matters they don’t understand.”
Wu Fei: “So, these Confucian scholars all think that in the Fengcheng battle, our dynasty was just careless? That as long as we reorganize and prepare, we can win?”
Wu Hengyu put down the sugar, raised an eyebrow: “What, you think we can’t win?”
Wu Fei drew a map on the sand table beside, replaying the Lu Prefecture battle: “Half a year ago, Guotai’s that general (Zhao Cheng) came from the north; when entering Lu Prefecture, he shouldn’t have exceeded three thousand men! Likely only a thousand elite soldiers; more than that number, the required military supplies couldn’t have seeped through the court’s vast net.”
Wu Hengyu nodded. In his current command process, he also felt over a thousand elite cavalry were the most handy. Plus another ten thousand infantry at most. More than that, it would be hard to unleash his sharp offensive.
Wu Fei tentatively added his evaluation: “That Guotai general uses troops very ‘nimbly.'”
Wu Hengyu shook his head nonchalantly: “The court just lost its formation temporarily.”
Wu Fei felt no one was paying attention to this point, so his tone grew heavier: “From Yan Prefecture’s situation, the court’s formation is getting more chaotic, and also~”
Wu Fei stared at Wu Hengyu: “Have you noticed a problem: taking Fengcheng requires soldiers to hold it. With limited troop strength, the defenders can’t simultaneously attack. And here, and here—”
Before Wu Hengyu could continue chewing the sugar, Wu Fei pulled him to point at the entire Yan Prefecture on the map: “These places are all maintaining offensive momentum right now!”
Wu Fei’s tone trembled slightly: “His troops are growing more numerous as they fight!”
Wu Hengyu put down the sugar, listening somewhat seriously.
Wu Fei explained at top speed: “And now, the battle at Fengcheng requires sieging the city and blocking rescue from the court’s other corps. According to his current strategic layout, if all true, it needs at least thirty to forty thousand soldiers at minimum. And from last summer to this spring, from thousands to tens of thousands, just a few short months!”
Wu Hengyu looked at the place Wu Fei pointed to, withdrew his gaze following Wu Fei’s finger, and slowly said: “They’re just farmers.”
Wu Fei shook his head: “Yes, northern region farmers, and court defeated routed soldiers, but now all integrated into his combat strength!”
At this point, Wu Fei turned to Wu Hengyu: “This is the ability of a flood dragon stirring great waves upon entering the sea. If the court one day calls Uncle to head north, this point must be taken seriously.”
…As a transmigrator’s confusion…
Xuan Chong was no longer paying attention to how Da Yao’s pig teammates were being picked off one by one by Zhao Cheng. Instead, he was very puzzled by the opponent’s (Zhao Cheng’s) troop recruitment issue.
In this era, Xuan Chong had just figured out a problem-solving template to handle “military strategist command” issues: fighting requires blood rewards; there’s no way to rally soldiers to the battlefield with empty speeches. —In a game, building troops costs money; it’s impossible for other players to conjure troops from void. If so, that’s cheating.
In the Southern Border, Xuan Chong racked his brains thinking how to make those below willingly shed blood in battle. Nitpicking how to give the most precise rewards at the right level to best stimulate combat enthusiasm. He set strict rules including himself that no one could “eat an extra bite” and all must participate in blood labor.
So many beautiful maidservants sent by Southern Merchants, Wu Fei himself did not privately use them, sending all to the women’s institute to learn women’s virtues, then assigning to valiant officers and soldiers. And for this, he arranged for these meritorious officers and soldiers’ offspring future schooling.
In his own problem-solving process, Xuan Chong looked at his less than two thousand battle soldiers nurtured with massive resources, naturally finding the northern side’s ability to quickly integrate troop combat strength unbelievable.
Xuan Chong’s heart trembled: Could it be equal-field system, fighting landlords?
Soon Xuan Chong dismissed this idea; Guotai absolutely had not crossed into modernization. Their ruling core was dragon descendants as state race, following the divine right of kings path; without the “rulers’ power granted by the people” phase, commoners were legally kneeling to accept heaven-selected rule, and the allocation system was graded around the heaven-selected one. Absolutely impossible to tolerate bottom-up self-taking modes.
Because tolerating people choosing and taking equals negating the monarch-core heaven-granted authority.
When historical processes had not yet forged a strong “people-granted monarch” systemic authority, any attempt to bypass “imperial divine right” and directly mobilize power from bottom commoners faced authority deficiency issues.
Xuan Chong: The fact is this; when rulers lack seriousness and sanctity, why should my effort go to you? Who are you? Previous life’s Red Court “people-granted imperial power” did not appear from thin air; it was battle-heaven-fight-earth, realized great vows, beat half the world into fleeing, before gaining sanctity and seriousness.
As for the authority of elected rulers in those decades after the last emperor abdicated before such sanctity was forged, it was all coped with from below by warlords and local tyrants in mocking, muddling ways.
That era’s political seriousness was one of the most farcical moments in the East’s thousand-plus years.
If truly facing a super-era systemic oppression, Xuan Chong would directly surrender! The wise recognize the times as talented individuals.
“But what’s really going on now?” Xuan Chong hugged his blood reward formula, repeatedly calculating the northern side’s current expansion and recruitment, couldn’t figure it out, so his head hurt.
At this moment, as a modern person facing this “ancient moment,” Xuan Chong had a post-era “see-through-everything” arrogance, not thinking this era had any social phenomena beyond his theories.
Just like early 20th century, when some international instructors came to the East to guide, they too didn’t think this backward place had situations beyond their theories.
Of course even if there really were, stubborn Xuan Chong would need time to admit it.
System: “So it’s just lacking education.”
…Dimensional dividing line…
History class reporting to the Wei School’s academic affairs office:
Most students, historical view cultivation through multiple stages; primary stage is initial grasp of historical currents, putting down worship of historical figures and colorful characters in biographical novels.
While high school level exists, it is putting down arrogance of “post-hoc commentary.”
This is why our side now facing nomadic systems has not completely expelled them; I believe using the obsessions they bring as “teaching aids” can assist teaching.
Wei School, in a zero-point small hourglass, completed approval.
…Long history, some experiences repeatedly lost…
At this time in Zhao Cheng’s northern large camp, a group of former rebel army now Guotai farmer soldiers’ farmers newly entered the camp, looking at each other, some uneasy, some looking around.
After two shichen, the thousand-man queue finally lined up, and after formation, the general’s bamboo tallies also counted the army numbers.
Then these queues were divided into several hundred small blocks, each block six people per group, and then meal distribution began.
Today’s meal, each group six cakes. But! Three with oil and salt, the other three without. Rule is one per person; once taken, no robbing others’.
One by one small groups of farmer soldiers, amid debate, competed out the allocations.
Second day, drill again.
Cakes still six, but only two with oil and salt. Thus another debate.
By third day, six cakes with only one with.
Among this, no lack of contention; even in modern prison cells with extremely strict management, those most resourceful eat best.
……
Several days later, camp rank and file underwent reallocation; soldiers who ate oil cakes these days were separately listed as one camp. After warning of twenty beheading laws, they were announced “ten rewards,” including charging into battle, seizing flags, leaping assaults, etc. merits.
And the other camp-entering soldiers, by number of oil cakes eaten, were also divided into grades.
Among them, farmer soldiers who daily failed to contend for oil cakes were made to memorize thirty beheading orders and multiple joint liability prohibitions, firmly limited to duties. As for rewards, only after enemy encounters gaining “severed head merits” could they get chances for meat food, same treatment as chargers. —Honest dutiful good family soldiers must be trained by rules, accumulating day by month into rock-solid formations.
Zhao Cheng used a method some modern person dared not imagine, to quickly classify the farmers summoned into camp.
In Zhao Cheng’s classification standard: if letting those daring to eat upper cakes mix with lower cake eaters, when warfare unfavorable, upper cake eaters would first weigh overall and self survival pros-cons, then seize chance to retreat. Lower cake eaters would blindly follow. If letting lower cake eaters mix into upper cake eaters, in blood labor fierce fighting, lower ones would cherish life (slack off), making upper ones compete to slack. Thus, separate camps to manage.
…The above set is called “Vanguard Selection”…
The modern era Xuan Chong was in had been brainwashed with “everyone equal,” hence didn’t think of subdividing by personality. Southern Border’s blood reward mode was blanket applied to all. This was equivalent to “flood irrigation” paddy mode, whereas Zhao Cheng was “drip irrigation.”
But ancient elites knew: different people have different willingness to “change class gaps.” And different willingness to defend “one’s inherent stratum.” Former good at attack, latter at defense.
Warring States nobles often raised retainers, with Lord Mengchang most renowned. And how to most efficiently raise retainers loyal to self? Warring States nobles had a set of “physiognomy” (like Bole spotting horses). Relying on this “physiognomy,” nobles selected beneficial people from personality-varied crowds.
Once a retainer misunderstood Lord Mengchang slighting him; Lord Mengchang showed his own meal, this retainer realized his error and immediately self-decapitated. And what nobles of various states wanted were such people.
However, retainer selection methods were lost after mid-Han abolished Hundred Schools revering only Confucianism. In Northern and Southern Dynasties process, sometimes present sometimes hidden; for example, Erzhu Rong during Vanguard Selection gathered a bunch of demons and monsters under him, but then it disappeared in history.
