Chapter 121: Onward
In the 36th year of the Shu Tian Calendar, March, in the palace. Prince Zhou looked at his father’s seat on the throne in the grand hall, restrained the impulse to sit on it, led the civil and military officials in paying respects. Then he sat at the desk seat for the regent below his father’s exclusive throne.
He had just sat down when he discovered that this chair was not comfortable to sit on; it was slightly tilted forward, and after sitting, it would slide forward. He focused slightly, knowing that this chair was a reminder from his father who had already left the capital. Thus, he restrained his elation and began leading the court ministers to handle the capital’s operations.
In these two months, two teams had respectively left Yao Capital: one was Emperor Shu’s traveling carriage and horses, the other was the Eastern Market Army directly dispatched to the Northern Border. This indicated that a power vacuum had appeared in the city.
Prince Zhou began reviewing state affairs reports; although he had been assisting Emperor Shu for four years already, handling things alone felt different. He began to handle every matter diligently.
First was the grain transportation via the capital’s waterways. And the diversion of refugees from various provinces.
For most of these affairs, the Imperial Court already had strategies, and the various court ministers, in order to strive for a good impression in front of the next emperor, had temporarily ceased factional struggles and did not engage in party strife in the grand hall.
However, the orderly operation of each department made Prince Zhou feel that he had no place to apply his skills. — These ministers were working according to Emperor Shu’s habits, that is, making Emperor Shu worry the least.
Yet this inertial operation was too boring for Prince Zhou, this “limited test” player.
As the strategies proceeded routinely one by one, Prince Zhou couldn’t help but think if he could arrange some strategies himself? A flash of inspiration jumped in Prince Zhou’s mind, but the flash was a bit blue.
Prince Zhou: Why do the refugees from Lu Prefecture need to transfer in the north side of Yao Capital?
The minister responsible for the transfer was clueless, but Sima replied: “Your Highness, these refugees need to be screened; after weeding out the troublemakers, they can be settled in various commanderies.”
Prince Zhou nodded: “Then where do the troublemakers go?”
Sima: “The Eastern Market Army has already headed north, so the screened troublemakers are actually for the army’s ‘vanguard selection’.” (Vanguard selection: Selecting elites from numerous able-bodied men to form an assault team.)
Prince Zhou became slightly interested: Oh, that Eastern Market Army? — This new army trained by his father’s favored minister was very unlike the image of the royal army in the court ministers’ mouths. If he could make this army reform and return to righteousness, wouldn’t that be his achievement?
Of course, as the crown prince with “considerable” political experience, he currently would not act according to the likes and dislikes of his subordinates. Even if the Eastern Market Army had a notorious reputation before, it was now the “royal army” dispatched by the Imperial Court, representing the court’s dignity outside.
The currently ruling Prince Zhou had no intention of giving the Eastern Market Army a hard time. But he noted down the officers in the “vanguard selection station”.
Prince Zhou remembered one officer in the “vanguard selection station” named Cai Luyun; after all, he was his grandmother’s grandnephew. Of course, not direct lineage. But now he was in a useful place, so he was a useful relative.
Since he was in power, he should take advantage of this period when his father handed state affairs to him to insert some of his own people in certain places. Little did he know, his father had long anticipated these thoughts, and this “Cai Luyun” was actually one of the secret guards.
…Perspective shifts from Heavenly Palace to Eastern Market…
For the residents of the capital city, it was truly a great relief that the Eastern Market Army, which mobilized collectively every month like “rats and cockroaches”, had finally rolled out from under the Son of Heaven’s feet.
Those “merchants” operating flesh trade and gambling dens in the marketplaces hoped this rat army would best freeze to death in the north. Let the capital remain peaceful forever. — Of course, there was also an unspeakable thought in the capital: “Emperor Shu’s western hunt this time had better be delayed on the road too”, after all, not all the dandies’ disciples in Yao Capital were in the Eastern Market Army.
And in the workshops in the city, batches of artisans were completing orders according to standards.
A firecracker workshop had now become a bullet workshop; rolls of rough paper were soaked in tung oil, hammered and compressed into paper cartridges, stuffed with gunpowder and coated with a layer of tree wax to ensure lubrication, and a batch of paper cartridge bullets was completed.
Regarding the firearms used by the Eastern Market Army, there was no worry; for the revolver-structured firearms that Wu Fei wanted, as long as enough iron material was provided, Da Yao Armory could always produce sufficient quantities. Now Wu Fei had already had the armory prepare five thousand firearms.
Firearms were no problem, but those able-bodied men had not yet arrived at the frontline to complete garrisoning, so this batch of firearms could not be directly handed to Wu Fei yet!
The situation of Da Yao Armory was absolutely black technology for Wu Fei.
Palace of Exchange, that is, the armory guarded by those two white tigers, was still a place Prince Zhou had no permission to enter; as dragon horse vehicles transported iron material into the Palace of Exchange, streams of metal white qi processed the iron material into fixed parts like a lathe’s steel knife, and then under the power of Yao calculation, they were assembled into weapon structures.
In other words, no matter how hard the vassal lords gathered artisans everywhere, they could never match Yao Capital in weapon production and progress. In theory, as long as materials were sufficient, Yao Capital could produce weapons without limit, even war giant beasts like iron lions and golden bulls could be churned out in batches. Of course, this was also why the craftsmen households in Yao Capital did not have high status; after all, they could not play a decisive role.
And for Wu Fei, military supplies were not just weapons; ceramic water canteens, marching straw sandals, reed mats, tent cloth, even straw ropes for binding cargo needed for vehicle transport, the frontline lacked all of them.
On Wu Fei’s side, based on the consumption of various materials during his several previous exits from closed-door cultivation for expeditions, he placed goods orders proportionally to the various workshops in Eastern Market of Yao Capital.
As for the money to purchase these goods? The silver money needed to buy jewelry and brocade for marrying the princess was all used by Wu Fei to exchange for straw sandals, water canteens, cloth clothes, liquor, and other medicines.
The money Wu Hanluan sent for “proper business” was now urgently used by Wu Fei for “proper business”.
Wu Fei: Where is home if the Xiongnu are not exterminated.
Wu Fei felt he was not wrong: The low-level foot soldiers valued the imperial family’s grace highly; that is, if he (Wu Fei) married the princess, even if defeated in battle, he would have an extra retreat.
Of course, the nobles in the city knew what proper business was, but those dandies and the foot soldiers were separated by class system; their grasp of soldiers’ psychology was far from enough, and they would not explain for Wu Fei.
Now the entire army had surged forward, and Wu Fei was still too busy drawing closer to the low-level soldiers with his identity; how could he let the “imperial son-in-law” identity create such misunderstandings unfavorable to mutual understanding between superiors and subordinates?
…Straw sandals friction with the ground, grass clippings falling…
After setting out, the Eastern Market Army rapidly headed north, marching day and night along the way, five days and four nights, from marching on foot to boat transfer, crossing five hundred li, directly arriving at the southern side of the northern border fiefdom.
Such marching was extremely efficient, so much so that fiefdom’s military marquis Zhu Liqiang subconsciously became vigilant upon hearing the news, worrying that the court had come to harm him. For a time, he had his troops on alert. Of course, soon he received the “explanation” from Wu Fei for garrisoning in the territory.
On the road, everyone was covered in dust.
In the main camp, Wu Fei was sternly reprimanding three squad leaders; these three had made the mistake of “personnel loss” during the march, although those who “deserted” were accidentally lost.
Wu Fei pointed the horse whip at the non-commissioned officers: “I told you to conduct roll calls three times a day, morning, noon, and evening; it was repeated admonition. You treat it as wind past your ears! Now we are still in friendly territory; if outside, personnel loss means captured by enemy scouts! Our march could be ambushed by the enemy!”
One squad leader said: “Marshal Wu, we know we were wrong. But we think! At our speed, the enemy couldn’t catch up even if they wanted to ambush us!”
Wu Fei said nothing, opened the map: “This speed was previously in friendly territory; I dispatched scouts ahead to set up porridge stations and had inns prepare bedding in advance, saving you the effort of making fires, cooking, and pitching camp. Soon we will be fighting outside the northern border; do you think it will still be so smooth?
After the squad leader could not retort.
Wu Fei: “No more defenses? Then go receive thirty lashes.”
…Iron pieces on the soles of leather boots left scratches on the ground as he turned…
All the work Wu Fei did along the way to ensure “smooth marching” during the troop movement had been planned before departing Yao Capital. Including notifying the docks and trading posts along the way a month in advance about big business.
That is, the troops had sent people ahead with silver money to book under the name of escort agency and traveling merchants, and the locals preparing to do escort and merchant business waited for Wu Fei’s large army to arrive.
In marching and fighting, supplies must be concentrated at fixed points along the route. Most of the time, local levies were far inferior to accumulating supplies by contacting local snakes through merchants for profit.
However, after these local snakes gathered the supplies, Wu Fei did not spend much money and issued a large batch of military vouchers.
Amid the resentful gazes of many merchants, this army from the capital only paid thirty percent of the money, followed by IOUs.
Wu Fei’s camp IOUs could be redeemed with women captives from future wars, as well as cattle and sheep, gold and silver. — Yes, transporting spoils of war directly back to Yao Capital was too uneconomical. Best to digest them locally in the northern border.
Xuan Chong: Borrowing to wage war is common sense. When fighting, don’t worry about not being able to repay in the future; prepare everything to win.
…Four days later…
Eastern Market Army’s vanguard legion of one thousand, plus two thousand able-bodied men grabbed at the recent station, a total of three thousand arrived at the southern camp of Bo Prefecture.
After the Eastern Market Army completed rewards and punishments for the march to the barracks. Wu Fei went to visit the local military town leader, Marshal Zhu.
This strong dragon of the Eastern Market Army indeed came to clash with the local fiefdom’s local snakes.
But Wu Fei was not wielding the imperial sword to behead Marshal Zhu and seize local military power. — Sometimes conquest does not require a knife.
At this banquet, besides bringing Eastern Market Army officers Li Xiaorong and Mu Xingyu, Wu Fei also brought a key figure, Gong Qian.
Marshal Zhu’s banquet was undoubtedly extremely luxurious, with toasts exchanged; Wu Fei was very flattering, calling himself “little brother” and addressing the other as “big brother”.
Recognizing this big brother was not wrong; Zhu Liqiang was seventeen years older than Wu Fei.
Taking advantage of the drinking mood, Wu Fei said: “Big brother, the pillar of the Northern Border is still you; little brother is here to gild himself, rub off some military merit; please give little brother convenience in the garrison area.”
Although before the banquet, Zhu Liqiang was senior to Wu Fei, he did not dare act superior at all. After all, that “flying-like” marching speed was something only an “insider” from a military family could achieve.
Speaking of which, his several clan younger brothers were initially unconvinced upon hearing it, because they with two thousand elite cavalry could also force march hundreds of li in five days and four nights, but! Mixed “infantry” “cavalry” “vehicle” troops marching was far more difficult than “pure cavalry” high-speed marching.
Because cavalry, infantry, and carriage commands are different. For example, on a bumpy horse, sharp whistling arrows are needed to indicate direction, while in dust, drum beats are needed to command steps for guidance. Several different troop types moving on one road without interfering requires extremely high command level.
Marshal Zhu knew that his clan’s “fierce and brave” generals’ upper limit was leading “three thousand elite cavalry”;
While Wu Fei’s command upper limit was far beyond; although currently only one thousand vanguard had arrived, the accompanying eighty large carts brought all the needed military supplies, leaving stations along the way, with large numbers of civilian laborers continuously catching up. This was commander ability.
At the banquet, Marshal Zhu carefully probed, but under Wu Fei’s repeated toasts of “handsome guy” “big brother” “pillar of the state”, he relaxed his vigilance.
No one saw that the alcohol in Wu Fei’s wine cup was burned away by a wisp of red flame before entering his mouth. Thus, a thousand cups without drunkenness.
At the wine banquet, Wu Fei obtained Lu Jiao City as his defense zone; this city was on the east with sea routes for transport and supplies. This defense zone had four rundown towns, originally territories of Bo Prefecture’s local snakes, the largest town being the Han family. This Han family was the ancestral home of Prefect Han appointed by Da Yao before Bo Prefecture fell. But now, they were all fallen households.
…Head-on collision banquet ended, Xuan Chong closed the interpersonal relations networking system…
After Wu Fei returned to camp, he did not let the three who attended the banquet go; he made them drink sobering soup and continue the meeting.
In the vanguard camp, all forty-three non-commissioned officers were present.
Wu Fei: We pitched camp today, and there are scouts around; these scouts may be from local soldiers and generals, or possibly the enemy’s.
One Yao Capital military general: “Does the general mean the Zhu family army is colluding with the enemy?”
Wu Fei: “What collusion? Think before speaking. Read more drill manual; the drill manual says, take advantage of the chaos when two enemy armies interact to dispatch spies in enemy clothes; the success rate of infiltration is highest. Just like now, our army can’t recognize friendly features, the enemy may come to scout. These few days, keep the troops restrained; except necessary procurement personnel, no one else leave camp, and for procurement personnel, instruct them not to discuss with unrelated people.”
The generals nodded.
Wu Fei took out a list: “These are the famous big clans originally in Bo Prefecture; they are now hiding deep in the mountains; go bind a few and bring them back. Remember, only if unable to invite, then ‘bind’! You can be rough in operation; once confirmed they ‘change heart’ and are willing to be guests, be polite.”
Wu Fei then drew on the map the locations where these local clans now hiding to avoid disaster frequented, showed them to the generals. Then handed it to a nimble-handed Wu family disciple and a capital non-commissioned officer of high birth and good temperament to handle together.
After instructing several more precautions, Wu Fei checked the marching status of the subsequent able-bodied men teams. Prepared for the upcoming camp construction work. However, Wu Fei still did not let the non-commissioned officers slack off.
Wu Fei: “Do you have any opinions? You can speak them.”
Non-commissioned officers: “None!”
Wu Fei shook his head: “No, you definitely do; you will think: Laozi is here to fight! Those able-bodied men are here to serve Laozi! How has it become Laozi doing work for them in advance now!”
Under Wu Fei’s gaze, the various non-commissioned officers were stunned, realizing that if worked to exhaustion, they would really think that way.
Wu Fei: “It’s right for you to think that; let me tell you all, to be a general, first be a good nanny. I’ll let you in on something: these able-bodied men, I will find a way to keep them all in the future; everyone will have a share.”
