Chapter 20: Burning The Midnight Oil On Homework
Outside Zhu Prefecture City, in the Central Military Camp.
At the entrance of the military tent, two soldiers on sentry duty were chatting.
Soldier A: “Did you hear? The Marshal is hosting a banquet in Zhu Prefecture City for the four local great clans: Wang, Li, Sun, and Su.”
Soldier B: “So what? They won’t drink the respectful toast, they’ll drink the punishment wine! Earlier, our Yuan Chang General taught them a lesson, so now they wouldn’t dare not come!”
Soldier A: “Sigh, I heard Hengyu General entered the city to attend the banquet, so why is our Yuan Chang General still in the camp?”
Soldier B: “The camp always needs someone to guard it, right? The Marshal has calculated everything. If those people in the city have any ill intentions, Hengyu General, with his unparalleled bravery, can fight his way out, and our camp must charge in under Yuan Chang General’s lead—foolproof.”
Soldier A: “Oh, I thought the Marshal was playing favorites. I heard Yuan Chang General is the Marshal’s nephew, while Hengyu General is his own son. The Marshal’s Military Master position~”
No sooner had he spoken than Soldier B quickly cut him off: “Shut up, someone’s coming. Your loose tongue will get you killed.”
…The footsteps nearby silently faded away…
The two small soldiers had no idea that their conversation was heard clearly by Wu Fei, who had come out to patrol the camp.
Regarding these gossiping sentries, Wu Fei just laughed it off.
Thinking about this matter along the lines of sowing discord, Wu Fei could think even further: After Wu Hengyu attends the banquet, the four great clans of Zhu Prefecture and He Prefecture, after sending their family disciples to serve as Wu Hengyu’s personal soldiers, will egg on Wu Hengyu to vie for his father’s approval and reclaim the position of next Military Master of the Wu Family, toppling that villain (Wu Fei himself).
Moreover, if they really want to be enemies, it’s not just about speculation—they have to be willing to spend money to take action. For example, separately dispatching people with money to befriend friends in his own camp and Wu Hengyu’s camp, then inciting contradictions. These current rumors show that the people behind them are really stingy, not spending any silver money or putting effort into bribing his military squad leaders.
Wu Fei had read the “Espionage” chapter in the military treatises. And as Xuan Chong, with past life wisdom, he also remembered a classic historical teaching case from his previous life: in early Han, Chen Ping staged a model of how to incite contradictions between Xiang Yu’s Xiang Clan and outsider generals.
The contradiction between the Xiang Clan and outsider generals centered on Xiang Yu’s unfair distribution of interests.
As a military general, he must guard against such espionage. If he really can’t prevent suspicion among his subordinates, he himself must stay steady, carefully observe who jumps the hardest, and if the contradiction can’t be resolved in the end, single out and eliminate the one stirring it up. That is, enforce military law— even temporarily stabilizing the contradiction is stabilization.
Right now, the Wu Family soldiers are guest troops. Wu Fei had secretly noted the camp team to which this sentry group belonged. Their words were absolutely not baseless—they should be echoing the complaints from their camp captains that their own merit is far inferior to that of Wu Hengyu’s troops.
…Xuan Chong is a petty person, but as a commander, he must broaden his mind…
Wu Fei knew that what he had been doing in Zhu Prefecture lately was unpopular!
He had emptied six walled villages of the four great clans, seizing enough grain and pay to sustain the Wu Family Army for four years of food and drink, and forced the local great clans to bow their heads and hand over ten million strings in “gratitude fees” (protection money) for rescuing their family members. Otherwise, he would come to kidnap and kill.
These great families smiled openly but couldn’t swallow this humiliation behind closed doors—it’s normal for them to gossip darkly.
In the words of these local great clans, Wu Xiao Que in the south is a gold-sink, Guiche bird in the north mountains is a life-taker. Both are harmful birds.
So the “harmful bird” Wu Fei had no intention of going directly to the banquet to provoke the local families’ emotions.
According to the “Longzhong Plan” Wu Fei gave to Wu Hanluan: This campaign must maximize the Wu Family Army’s interests—not just fleecing a fortune from the two regions’ powerful clans, but also recruiting their talented individuals, turning them into listed stocks to lock them in.
Sure enough, the Wu Family has a harmful bird, but also an auspicious beast. Playing up a contrast of “one yin, one yang.”
With Wu Fei, the smiling dagger who loves money to death, there is also the bold and capable Wu Hengyu.
When Wu Hengyu’s five hundred cavalry swiftly quelled the rebellion, sheathing their swords quickly without excessive bloodshed, leaving a mighty reputation. Wu Fei was already thinking about maximizing interests.
Defeated ones admire the strong. Especially in regions reliant on waterways with a thick commercial atmosphere, the “talented individuals” who pride themselves on broad knowledge will actively follow the strongest fighter, even if that strongest one once dealt with them.
In Xuan Chong’s previous life memory, “Han Yue” was a folk style reliant on water and commerce. Despite lighthouse troops stationed there, driving cars into people, rape, sewage discharge, and such reckless behavior, they were still the most important allies of the two countries.
While mountainous areas have more resolute people, facing strong enemies they compromise less, because they can just hide in the mountains. In ancient times, after Qin expanded east, encountering Zhao of Taihang Mountains was a tough bite, nearly capsizing. In near modern times, the “empire’s graveyard” also made many great powers grit their teeth.
The above are Wu Fei’s insights from recently reading the very obscure “Winning the People” chapter in military strategy. This chapter has no annotations in the family classics, but Wu Fei comprehends it himself and applies it live.
…City wall separation, brightly lit dividing line…
At the banquet in Zhu Prefecture City, at the banquet with many powerful clan disciples, amid everyone’s excitement and slight intoxication. Just as the local prestigious clans prepared to lead a respectful toast, intending during the high raising to make General Wu Hanluan promise that “a strong dragon doesn’t press local snakes,” to cede the fertile small town where the Wu Family Army is stationed, and even further strike while the iron is hot, requesting the general to love the people and release their family slaves “robbed by thugs.”
Wu Hengyu then stood up and faced this round of respectful toasts!
Wu Hengyu came to the center of the banquet, and under everyone’s gaze, lifted the great cauldron, carried the great cauldron to each powerful clan head’s desk, shouldered the great cauldron with one hand, and ladled wine with a spoon in the other.
When each family head saw the giant cauldron weighing a thousand jin suspended over their heads, all words were swallowed.
Undoubtedly, this thousand-jin burden, the Wu Family could lift to serve wine to everyone, or “slip” and smash it down. Alcohol arced into each person’s porcelain cup, splashing pearl-like foam.
After one round of respectful toasts, Wu Hengyu steadily “helped” everyone keep the giant cauldron suspended over their heads, earning a round of unanimous praise.
…Two days after the banquet…
Personnel changes occurred in the Wu Family Army camp.
In the eyes of locals, Wu Hengyu, with his cauldron-lifting prowess, suffered jealousy. Wu Hanluan took back Wu Hengyu’s five hundred cavalry, leaving him only the remnants and defeated soldiers gathered locally to eliminate the banditry on the roads of He Prefecture and Zhu Prefecture.
Such an appointment stirred thoughts among the local powerful clans just subdued by Wu Hengyu.
The so-called Common Union Rebellion was actually the contradiction between local powerful clans constantly growing stronger yet unable to obtain corresponding political power, and the Da Yao system. Local powerful clans accumulated massive wealth and proliferated numerous descendants, yet couldn’t place them openly.
So these clans played hidden clan and visible clan: the visible clan holds high moral prestige locally, the hidden clan acts as mountain kings doing the family’s dirty work. The youths of the visible clan may not recognize the hidden clan’s uncles, but will notice distant brothers often coming to the family, and the clan leader and elders emphasize brotherly love with these distant kin, forbidding bullying.
Behind this rebellion in the two regions were the local powerful clans’ hidden clans jumping the most! Why could Common Union revive within forty years? Because these local strongmen needed a path within Da Yao to accommodate their overflowing power.
After Wu Hengyu set up his independent camp, local sturdy men immediately came to join, accompanying Wu Hengyu to eliminate local banditry.
And those thugs, as Wu Hengyu led troops to arrive, scattered one after another. A few were killed, while the greenwood heroes among them chose to join.
Wu Fei, reviewing historical records: These locals are a bunch of shrewd ones, but the Wu Family is the one that can run the table.
With under heaven about to be in chaos, Wu Hengyu recruiting thousands of talented individuals from these two regions is to fight out and establish merit. In short, all the operations after the Zhu Prefecture City banquet are Wu Hanluan helping Wu Hengyu pull off empty-hand white wolf, conjuring a team out of thin air.
…As for after Wu Hengyu led troops to form another camp, his words toward Wu Fei became even more arrogant…
As the region was fully pacified, local heroes, while praising Wu Hengyu, often stepped on Wu Xiao Que.
Speaking of Wu Fei’s petty character, hearing such pulling and stepping, it’s impossible to say he felt no anger. But Wu Fei’s character is petty—even if angry, he absolutely wouldn’t vent in a way that damages his own interests.
But anger is anger, Wu Fei still had to be humble, because packaging Wu Hengyu as a listed stock was originally his own suggestion to Wu Hanluan!
According to the current deductions by the Sitian Cheng in the court and various sects, “the great tribulation is coming.”
For military strategists, what are the two most important resources in chaotic times?
Money and reputation. Money raises armies, reputation recruits soldiers.
In peaceful prosperity, money is important. Because when troop size is limited by institutional constraints and can’t expand, money is key to ensuring the combat power of the existing fixed numbers.
But in chaotic times, reputation is crucial. Because the faster one’s team expands, the stronger one becomes!
Put it this way: relying solely on the Wu Family Army, the good sons of good families we can muster now are limited. Once a major defeat happens, not to mention anything else, after five hundred casualties and disabled in the central army now, the Wu Family Army’s vital energy would be badly hurt, unable to move for ten years.
If a thousand people kicked the bucket, the family fortunes would decline.
If in chaotic times all mobilizable good sons of good families are mobilized to the limit, at most scraping together an army with six thousand as core, various civilian laborers and auxiliary troops totaling twenty to thirty thousand. If that six thousand loses five thousand, there’d be no face to see Jiangdong elders.
Wu Hanluan is now cultivating Wu Hengyu, but the central army’s seal remains in Wu Fei’s hands. The reason: Wu Fei has a hard eight characters, does things steadily. The son stock, invest freely—whatever profit is pure gain, but the original shares must be held steady.
Back to Wu Fei: synthesizing the above information, his current long-term plan is, with under heaven not yet in chaos, the Wu Family must grab a batch of “reputation” early!
…A few days later, someone’s magnanimity was once again filled to the brim…
Hearing “little sparrow” again, Wu Fei comforted himself muttering: In the future, use others’ disciples to build my family’s merits. Mm, no loss, no loss—Wu Fei worked hard to persuade himself, and his original irritation from being stepped on gradually calmed.
Wu Fei: No need to take offense. Wu Hengyu’s fighting style will carry unknown risks in the future, while what I need to do now is preserve my soldiers as much as possible, withdrawing from here back to my bases region.
The dirty work of fleecing money in Zhu Prefecture and He Prefecture has already been done by Wu Fei. A person can’t have it both ways—the idol of the He Prefecture and Zhu Prefecture food circle is for Wu Hengyu to play.
As for these locals’ rude pulling and stepping? Wu Fei accepted it! His fingers cracked with pinching.
Since I’m the one you all step on, I’ll lay my cards on the table: I’m here to make money. The harder you step, the more ruthlessly I fleece.
Wu Fei was indeed somewhat angered by these local defeated ones egging him on. Can’t persuade the flamboyant Wu Hengyu? Can’t I deal with you lot?
The seventeen-year-old Wu Fei, far from having enough scheming depth, gritted his teeth: Scrape the locals to the root, take thirty percent home, spend seventy percent locally! Forced buying and selling, love to owe accounts—your new dad is me…
While Wu Fei was in the big tent furiously writing, calculating how to impose an “unequal treaty” on the locals, outside the tent, Yao San Gu tilted her head embroidering, her fine brows slightly furrowed. At this moment, her fingertip was retracting two threads, but a bead of blood appeared on her fingertip.
These two threads had originally been silently connected to those two chatty soldiers just now!
Yao San Gu and Xian Daoren are both “Immortal Venerable” spokespersons in the mortal world. Leading wind and cloud strong ones to contend in changes is the essence of the “Immortal Venerable game.”
Just now, Yao San Gu once again tried to move the golden destiny thread she selected, and as expected, failed again.
But this time she wasn’t annoyed like last time, because earlier, her senior brother “Eye of the Future” was also backlash when fiddling with this golden destiny thread. His “Eye of the Future” was covered in a layer of fog, losing grasp of the outside environment, only able to follow the currently selected destinee through this foggy plot before leaving Wu Hanluan’s side.
In the dark night, Yao San Gu spread her wings, the eye of the past on her brow slowly opening, absorbing energy from the “stars” in heaven. Suddenly, she showed an amused expression: The more difficult the mortal is to enlighten, the more value in enlightening them!
A crisp, pleasant laugh like starlight tinkling appeared on her face. This is something those lacking world-shaking wisdom cannot comprehend.
However, soon Xuan Chong exited the tent, moved a bench and sat in front of Yao San Gu, gesturing for her to continue her cultivation while he borrowed the light to work. The oil lamp at night was bright, but the tent inside was hot. Now outside, with San Gu’s wings spread emitting light—cold light from her angel wings, um, the blue wings emit exceptionally bright light.
Yao San Gu paused, staring at Wu Fei, who was doing accounts. Her wings’ radiance was the Immortal Venerable’s “light of common knowledge.” In theory, any text or knowledge carrier would activate under such light! But this “stubborn and ignorant” one of hers was actually actively letting the divine lord illuminate.
She watched for a good while, then proactively stood behind Wu Fei, spreading her wings to provide light. Yet Wu Fei’s recorded characters were like black iron wires, unmoving. —In this red-sleeve adding fragrance state, Yao San Gu hesitated whether to open the eye on her brow, but! A warning omen lingered in her heart, and in the end, she obediently completed the full lighting work for Xuan Chong.
…In outsiders’ eyes: White hair is not snow substitute, meeting is already the best lot…
Xuan Chong: “System, how’s my homework?”
Xuan Chong showed a “Twenty-One Demands” treaty that only his previous life’s era could understand, showing off his live application to the system.
Meanwhile, the system: “Oh, nice streetlight you found.”
Xuan Chong nodded, pretending to understand: “Isn’t she a teaching aid?”
Xuan Chong already knew this Yao San Gu had evil arts, able to bewitch hearts. But sensing the system could handle it for him, he began probing the edges. Mainly probing the system’s attitude.
System: “You can use teaching aids when doing homework. As for other situations, you’re responsible for your own behavior.”
Xuan Chong nodded obediently: “Got it, I’ll definitely do my homework seriously.”
…Probe end dividing line…
After Wu Fei finished the bamboo slips, he said to Yao San Gu: “I’m done with my business, you continue.”
Yao San Gu: “General, my wings are a bit sore. Can you, um, help me tuck them away?”
Wu Fei turned his head for a look, gave an apologetic smile: “Oh, sorry, my hands are sore too.”
After confirming she was a demoness, Wu Fei dared not continue flirting when the system wasn’t covering him. The system had clearly noticed his mischief just now. The very emotionally intelligent Wu Fei felt the system must be considering a lesson—better not give the system a negative example so quickly.
Thus, Wu Fei slipped away in a flash—arrived grinning, left vanishing.
