Chapter 205: In Chaotic Times, Invest Your Money In People
Regardless of whether Yun Ce was willing or not, in the face of the general trend, he had no room to refuse.
The trade route being blockaded was a matter of life and death for all cities and passes along the Great Wall. Given the current situation, apart from launching a war to execute Tan Shou, there was almost no other solution.
Among the Great Wall Defense Line, the Cao Clan had the strongest strength, the largest army, and the most ample provisions. Him proclaiming himself the alliance leader for everyone was only natural.
After securing the position of alliance leader, commanding Yun Ce, the victim, was also only natural.
Whether it was Jingkou Pass or Yun Clan Villa, neither could survive independently detached from the broader environment of the Northern Territory. Being driven by shared profit was also only natural.
This was the benefit of seizing the general trend, and also the reason why Cao Clan Old Butler Zheng Tianshou had worked hard to seize first occupy the advantage along the Great Wall.
At the end of the Eastern Han, Yuan Shao had also used this tactic. It was just unknown what kind of alliance Cao Kun would turn this meeting into this time.
“Apart from Cao Kun, no one should know what the battle at Yongshou River Estuary is really like, nor does anyone know if Pingzhou’s Tan Shou and Lingzhou’s He Tian are really at war.
Many times, when two major powers go to war, as they fight on, people are surprised to discover that the two of them suffer little loss, while the small powers around them are killed off completely.
Such things are not common, but not rare either. Therefore, my lord, we must first scout clearly what the situation is between He Tian and Tan Shou, and also figure out if Cao Kun has any collusion with these two.”
1 After Feng An finished speaking, he turned to look at Zhang Min.
1 Zhang Min said: “Panxing Tower should have early records on these two. I’ll send a letter via carrier pigeon to Wu Tong to ask.”
1 Feng An added: “The interactions among the nobles span centuries at a time. You in me, me in you—it’s impossible to cut apart in a short time. Looking at past records may have even more reference value than the latest ones.”
1 Seeing Feng An’s suggestions finished, Qin Shu said to Yun Ce: “General going alone into danger is not advisable. Better to bring this subordinate along, so there’s at least someone to help when the time comes.”
1 He Qingfang also chimed in: “Cao Kun has ill intentions.”
1 Yun Ce shook his head and said: “I’ll still go to Xiangcheng alone with Cao Kun’s five hundred cavalrymen. If you go, in that kind of environment, I won’t be able to act freely.”
1 He Qingfang asked puzzledly: “Act freely how?”
1 Yun Ce sneered and said: “If things seem off, I’ll just kill them all. You don’t need to worry about my affairs. Just keep a good eye on the over forty thousand women and children in the manor—that’s more important than anything.
1 In the past ten years, we’ve gone with the flow. The next ten years will be when we truly make our mark. This is our established development strategy.”
1 The next morning at dawn, a weary carrier pigeon landed at Yun Ce’s window. Zhang Min was startled awake by the carrier pigeon’s call, didn’t put on clothes, opened the window, and was just about to reach out to grab the carrier pigeon when E Ji roughly slammed the window shut.
2 “Opening the window without clothes on—who are you showing off to?”
2 Zhang Min glanced at E Ji, who was already dressed, and teased with a coquettish laugh: “Feeling bad for your young master?”
2 With that, she pushed E Ji aside, opened the window, stuck out her infinitely alluring upper body, and in the terrified gazes of An Ji and the maids, grabbed the carrier pigeon back.
2 Ignoring E Ji slapping her bare back repeatedly, she took a metal tube from the carrier pigeon’s leg, read it once, and said to Yun Ce who was still sleeping: “Tan Shou and He Tian really have started fighting, and they’re striking viciously. Tan Shou dispatched General Yan Fei from Yongshou River Estuary to raid Feixiang City in Lingzhou, catching He Tian off guard. Now Feixiang City has fallen into Tan Shou’s hands.
2 Also, He Tian sought aid from Cao Lang in Qiu He Prefecture, promising that once Tan Shou is defeated, he only wants the two cities to the south, and the rest all go to Cao Lang. Oh, Cao Lang is Cao Kun’s father.”
2 Yun Ce stretched lazily, smoothly pulling Zhang Min’s slender waist back under the blanket. E Ji stood by the bed, annoyed, watching the two fool around under the blanket, swung her fists wildly smashing at them a few times, then yanked open the blanket and yelled at the two naked people: “Get to business.”
2 Zhang Min extended her long legs and poked E Ji’s stomach twice: “I’m a concubine—serving my husband is the real business. Isn’t that right, young master?”
2 In the past, the word “concubine” was E Ji’s trump card to pin down Zhang Min—as soon as “concubine” was said, Zhang Min would go mad. Now it was reversed; “concubine” had become Zhang Min’s vital point to pin down E Ji.
2 Seeing E Ji about to pounce like a mad dog to devour her, Zhang Min and Yun Ce hurriedly got up and summoned the Yun Clan’s vassals to continue discussing matters.
2 “If we can take Xiangcheng, then Xiangcheng and Jingkou Pass can connect into one piece. We could even dig open a section of the Great Wall nearest to Xiangcheng and build another city pass there. Then, if the Gui Fang people invade, in the worst case, we migrate the common people to Xiangcheng.
3 If large-scale warfare breaks out south of the Great Wall, we can also migrate Xiangcheng’s people north of the Great Wall. Though this doesn’t help the general trend, it allows maneuvering in a small area, greatly increasing our chances of survival.”
3 Yun Ce knew Feng An had been reading The Art of War recently《》, but didn’t expect him to actually grasp some insights. At least, in terms of this vision, Yun Ce was inferior.
3 “Privately destroying the Great Wall is a grave crime.” Liang Kun didn’t quite agree with Feng An’s wild ideas.
3 “Though the court is weak now, it still holds the banner of righteousness. Moreover, with the Ancestral Fire still in Chang’an, people under heaven must show the court some respect.
3 Destroying the Great Wall isn’t just intolerable to the court—even the common people won’t accept it. If we demolish the Great Wall and privately open a pass, we won’t get the benefits before becoming everyone’s target.”
3 Zhang Min said: “It can be done secretly.”
3 He Qingfang waved her sleeve: “If it’s done, it’s done—can’t hide it. Many things that seem hidden at the time turn out, in hindsight, to only be overlooked temporarily for various reasons. Once there’s a need to expose it, they’ll do so in the shortest time, making us ruined in body and name.”
3 Feng An pressed both hands down, and once everyone looked at him, he pulled out an intricately crafted model from under the low table.
3 “This is the main suggestion this one is putting forward to my lord today: building Jin Suo Pass.”
3 Yun Ce looked at the model Feng An brought out and said: “Who made this for you?”
4 Feng An said: “Huo Liao.”
4 Yun Ce asked again: “How many Fire Tribe people do you have on hand right now?”
4 Feng An said: “Two hundred seventy-seven, of whom two hundred are proficient in digging tunnels and piercing mountains.”
4 Zhang Min said in surprise: “Aren’t Fire Tribe people living off iron smelting?”
4 Liang Kun smiled and explained to Zhang Min: “How could madam forget those suspension bridges in Chang’an? What Fire Tribe people excel at isn’t just iron smelting, but also mining by digging mountains, and the study of mechanisms and hidden devices. It’s just that the world values their iron smelting most.
4 My lord, if Jin Suo Pass is an underground city, this one has no objection.”
4 To be precise, Jin Suo Pass was actually a city existing beneath the Great Wall. This city took a natural cave as the main excavation body, following the fissures extending inward from this cave, digging all the way through to breach the mountains under the Great Wall’s base, achieving internal-external communication.
4 From the model Feng An brought, it was clear that Jin Suo Pass’s most important duty was storage and disaster avoidance. A natural cave, with nearly every usable spot arranged meticulously by the Fire Tribe people.
4 Troop barracks area, living quarters, storage area, and quick roads connecting inside and outside the Great Wall—just one look at the model made it all crystal clear.
4 It was a very good plan.
5 Yun Ce took the exquisite model and casually handed it to E Ji, who had long been eyeing it eagerly, then said to Feng An: “Does Huo Liao trust you now?”
5 Feng An smiled: “This one and Huo Liao are as close as brothers. As long as my lord helps him kill Huo Minggong, he will surely be loyal to my lord.”
5 Yun Ce stood up: “Then grasp it well—don’t stop halfway and cause trouble. At the same time, entrust the building of Jin Suo Pass to Huo Liao, with you assisting at the side.
5 Whatever is needed or used, supply with priority.
5 Finally, tell Huo Liao that if he can build Jin Suo Pass well, Huo Minggong’s head will be my congratulatory gift to him on the day Jin Suo Pass is completed.”
5 Feng An smiled, saluted, and said: “If Huo Liao hears my lord’s promise, he should be moved to tears.”
5 Yun Ce said to Zhang Min: “Seal off all news regarding Jin Suo Pass.”
5 Hearing this, Zhang Min happily accepted the order. With Yun Ce’s words, from now on, she would be the leader of the Yun Clan’s secret agents—truly holding great power.
5 Zhang Min planned to select personnel from those half-grown children. She felt their loyalty hardly needed checking. In no more than three to five years, she would have a very capable intelligence team in hand.
5 Feng An also selected those half-grown children to assist the Fire Tribe in digging the cave. In the Yun Clan, children were far too numerous, nearly half the current population.
6 When the lord came north of the Great Wall, his emphasis on those children had once left the stewards baffled, especially not understanding why, when he himself wasn’t even full, he was still frantically taking in orphans.
6 Now it all made sense. A ten-year-old child, with three to five years of investment, could support themselves. Another three to five years of education, and they’d form the Yun Clan’s core foundation. Such loyalty couldn’t be bought with money and grain.
6 These half-grown children following the Fire Tribe people to dig Jin Suo Pass—once Jin Suo Pass was dug, these children would basically have mastered mountain-digging techniques, effectively suppressing any improper thoughts in the Fire Tribe people’s hearts.
6 “Investing in anything is not as good as investing in people, especially in those helpless little children. You’ll get back tenfold, a hundredfold returns, not to mention the benefits are nearly permanent.
6 You don’t need to envy Zhang Min being able to handle big affairs now. In truth, as long as you raise these Yun Clan children to adulthood for me—don’t abuse them, don’t treat them harshly, occasionally care about their food, clothing, housing, and transportation, sternly urge them to study—once these children grow up, that bit of power Zhang Min holds is nothing.”
6 Even in the heat of passion with Zhang Min, Yun Ce remained clear-headed.
6 Those words could be said to Qin Shu and He Qingfang; those words could be said to Feng An and Liang Kun; those words could be told to Zhang Min; those words could only be let E Ji alone know. There’s great knowledge in this.
