Chapter 99: Ancestral System
After Wu Fei’s return, upon seeing this Gong Qian, he hurriedly cupped his hands and bowed: “I apologize for keeping the envoy waiting. This subordinate general Wu Fei has been tilling the fields in the wilderness and failed to welcome the imperial envoy; it is truly a great fault.”
Gong Qian, seeing that Wu Fei carried a seal with him, adopted a very respectful attitude: “The general is busy with military affairs; how could there be any offense.”
Then came the formal announcement of the imperial decree, which was the matter that Wu Hanluan had already mentioned to him in his family letter—Emperor Shu wanted to summon him to the Divine Capital.
After a series of rituals were completed, Wu Fei presented the list of local tributes from the Southern Border Tribes over these years, and then both sides took their seats.
From this chief envoy, Wu Fei discerned a sense of “having weathered much hardship”; this feeling resembled the geological workers from his previous life impression. As for the deputy envoy Qian Zheng, well, he was obviously just there to make up the numbers, with a disdainful look in his eyes, lacking social lessons.
Gong Qian looked at Wu Fei and secretly sighed “good”—a fine talent!
In Gong Qian’s eyes: When Wu Fei entered, that one glance sweeping the entire room had eyes like flashing lightning! This was precisely the sharp gaze of a commander leading a great army, yet when facing him, he switched to utmost composure; although he was extremely courteous now, Gong Qian recalled that in the Zhenzhou great war, it was this man who served as the “vanguard,” seizing the passage, then swiftly turning the blade edge straight to push into Wei Guan’s Yongzhou, catching Wei Guan off guard and in disarray. Thus, he dared not underestimate this seemingly young general.
…Channels aligned…
During the meeting between both sides, they mutually held admiration, and even though their positions were opposed, the conversation was very pleasant.
Soon a banquet was set out. On the banquet, unlike the meals in Da Yao’s interior lands, there were steamed taro paired with honey; fish dredged from the lake waters were charcoal-grilled then pan-fried in oil, served on the desk. At the same time, there were plates of stir-fried fresh vegetables.
Wu Fei respectfully accompanied the drinks: “Imperial envoy, please be seated. This place is not like inside the pass; conditions are crude. Although the city has pigs and sheep, here in the Southern Border, pigs are only slaughtered at the winter solstice. Thus, they cannot be brought out now, and we can only use these fish and shrimp to fill the plates.”
Gong Qian was not particular; he picked up a piece of taro, chewed it with the bamboo sap in his wine cup, and after one bite, said: “Good, this thing is refreshing and sweet.” —Having come to the Southern Border, he had eaten taro more than once. So his current “fresh” reaction was just playing along.
Beside him, Qian Zheng had no interest in taro; even though this stuff was coated in honey syrup, it was vulgar food among the five grains, and eating too much caused rear-end gas leaks. As a cultivator, he already ate little of the five grains. He was indifferent to such grain. However, he did have some interest in the grilled fish.
Gong Qian: “The southern lands favor taro; the general shares joy with the locals here.”
Wu Fei showed an “embarrassed” smile and explained: “My lord, do not mock me. Compared to rice and flour, taro can only stave off hunger. This thing, harvested from the fields, has too much moisture; one jin of millet can yield five jin of rice porridge. But this thing, whether steamed or charcoal-grilled, does not reduce in weight. Thus, for long-distance transport when people eat and horses chew, it is far less durable than millet. Only because this thing withstands the weather, and the natives are lazy with farming yet can still dig it from the soil, for the convenience of the army foraging outside the fortress, our army has promoted this thing.”
Hearing this, Gong Qian nodded; he knew Wu Fei was defending why he opened fields outside the fortress, and why the fields were not reported to the Imperial Court.
These potato fields outside the fortress could only be used for campaigns outside the fortress.
Gong Qian raised his cup: “The general leads the Royal Army here to deter petty villains; it is a great achievement.”
After he raised the wine cup beside him and drained it in one gulp, he was choked and coughed a few times, looking at the wine in his wine cup.
Wu Fei, who never drank at all, chuckled inwardly while hurriedly explaining: “This is also brewed from ‘potato grain’; it is too strong. If my lord finds it not to your taste, why not try some coconut juice.”
Wu Fei had someone replace the cup. Gong Qian waved his hand and said: “No harm, no harm. One region’s water and soil produce its unique things; savored carefully, it has a distinct flavor.”
After three rounds of drinks
Gong Qian: “General, I presume you have already heard the Imperial Court’s imperial decree. Your Majesty wishes to summon you to the capital.” —At this point, he began observing Wu Fei’s reaction.
Wu Fei: “Summoned by Your Majesty, Fei naturally feels double heavenly grace. I hate that I cannot set off immediately. It’s just that…”
Gong Qian seemed to have anticipated it and gestured for Wu Fei to continue.
Wu Fei: “Could we delay departure by half a year? Farming is still ongoing this year, and next month, our army has the routine southward show of force.”
Gong Qian: “Naturally it is possible. However, general, for this southward trip, could you bring this old brother along to broaden my horizons?”
Wu Fei was slightly surprised, but then his stance was very clear: “If the imperial envoy wishes to accompany our Da Yao heavenly army, it is excellent, spreading heavenly grace to all barbarians.”
…New territory needs official notation…
At the end of August in year 33, with the dry season arriving, troops exited Yongji Pass once again. This time, the target for exiting the pass had been set last year: to make the Ling River tribes learn the spirit of Da Yao’s “eight items of ritual law.”
For this exit, Wu Fei mobilized a total of five thousand battle soldiers, divided into left, center, and right armies, with two thousand each on the left and right, and one thousand in the center. Compared to the year before last, the troop strength exiting the pass was reduced by three thousand.
Because the Southern Border was even safer this year than last, for economic considerations, Wu Fei reduced the scale of troops.
The greatest reduction was in his own center army, because starting last year, his center army had not encountered any battles. Wu Fei planned the routes for the left and right armies on the sand table in the camp.
Despite the troop strength dropping to five thousand, for this battle, Wu Fei’s command still maintained the standard of raid and sweep.
In mid-September, the army took ten days to follow the roads opened in previous years all the way south to the Ling River.
Along the way, Gong Qian saw a peculiar phenomenon: every place Wu Fei arrived, some Southern Border local foreign race troops came to the camp to join, then reported military affairs to Wu Fei, received orders, and continued south.
Gong Qian wanted to inspect these Clawed People and Horned People troops, but Wu Fei’s marching speed was too fast, leaving him overwhelmed along the way.
After arriving at the Ling River, Gong Qian saw a great river, with a row of stone elephants guarding a bridge on both sides. After the entire army arrived in the Southern Border, he discovered the fortress system on the southern side of the Ling River, as well as the three thousand local vassal army troops already standing by.
This campaign was like a hunt: the left and right flanks, under the center army’s orders, swept along the roads repaired last year, clearing out those “small tribes” in the jungle that were in embryonic state along the way.
These “small tribes” were small teams of a dozen or twenty young men. But this time Wu Fei was not here to capture slaves; with the Da Yao imperial envoy present, he was reinforcing some concepts.
As mentioned before, these small tribes were like lion prides on the grasslands: the male lions in a pride would drive out grown cubs, letting them go independent. These sub-adult lions would wander outside and one day choose a lion pride, drive out the old lion, and establish a new lion pride.
But since this year, Xuan Chong’s research found that constantly capturing such small groups was, to some extent, working for the Southern Border slave capture groups and tribal hardliners, and not conducive to stabilizing the Tusi system he promoted.
In a relatively stable Southern Border, great tribes would experience population explosions, but productive resources were limited, so tribal leaders would also adopt designated inheritance systems.
It was just that under interference from certain powers, the great tribes chose to leave property to the youngest son.
As for those older sons, if they were willing to downgrade their status in the tribe and honestly serve as servants to the youngest son, they could stay.
But most eldest sons were not compliant, either driven out of the tribe or forced to leave by the youngest son’s maternal clan forces.
Thus, men leading dozens from the tribe formed the current “embryonic tribes” in the jungle.
The existence of these “embryonic tribes” was the origin of the ceaseless southern border troubles for Da Yao in the past. That is, the Da Yao Southern Region Border Army would smash rebelling great tribes, but their women and mountain forest remnants of productive resources would still be inherited by someone. After decades of breeding, they would recover vital energy. And tribes that recovered vital energy would be even more aggressive than the original old tribes.
So the purpose of Wu Fei’s campaign to the Southern Border this time was: “How can you still linger in a matrilineal society? This does not conform to our Da Yao’s ritual law; all of you must restore the system of eldest son inheritance!”
…All value promotions behind them are considerations of real order and interests…
In the jungle, tribal youth Hao Qing watched in shock as the northern great army, fully armored, drove wolfdogs to search the mountains.
This hundred-man team was basically impervious to sabers and spears. And among this northern great army, he saw the servant of his enemy in the tribe.
Twenty minutes later, he was caught and brought before the Da Yao general, and also saw Gong Qian. In front of the Da Yao envoy, Wu Fei questioned them one by one.
Hao Qing was quickly dragged out and looked at this Da Yao general oppressing him with prestige. Once upon a time, he and other tribal brothers drank together, discussing one day gathering Southern Border brothers to do big things! Make that Da Yao Vermilion Bird general withdraw troops to the north bank of the Ling River! But now, upon seeing Wu Fei, he immediately trembled in fear.
Wu Fei: “You are the eldest son of the Ge Ya tribe; after your father died, you were driven out?”
Hao Qing stammered his tale: “The family gave him a chopping knife and a map marking livable mountain caves, sending him out to start his own great venture.”
Wu Fei: “Our Da Yao follows the eldest son inheritance system; do you pledge loyalty to Da Yao?”
Hao Qing was stunned, then immediately kowtowed to Wu Fei: “I am Da Yao’s dog.” As he lowered his head, the steel mane from the back of his forehead to his neck changed from its initial bristled state to smoothed down.
Wu Fei nodded: “Clean him up, put a crown on him (standard for coming-of-age ceremony), carve out the ancestral spirit tablet, and I will take you back to inherit.”
Wu Fei then consulted Gong Qian, who indicated that Wu Fei’s actions conformed to ritual law.
…Xuan Chong: Southern barbarians need Confucian teachings…
After taking charge of Southern Border governance, Wu Fei deeply studied the “tribe” forms of the feudal era.
From the system there, he directly obtained historical materials for study, focusing on the different grassland policies of “Jin” and “Qing.”
Actually, from the perspective of some modern political science, “Jin” played the balance of power on the grasslands very well. The strategy of supporting the weak and attacking the strong kept the grasslands long divided and in long-term warfare.
But the Jin people overlooked the most basic “youngest son inheritance system” on the grasslands, which left a large number of adult young and strong men “proletarianized” from birth and receiving war education under harsh conditions. They then banded together in fierce competition to decide winners, and under the strongest leader, began “waaaaaagh.”
It could be said that the grassland empire that made Eurasia tremble was not historically inevitable; it was something “Jin” blindly created after not understanding grassland culture.
In those days, calculating the strength of nomadic tribes by assuming tribal mobilization was inaccurate, because the “youngest son inheritance system” meant that if a tribal leader grew old with insufficient war merit, his own prestige in the tribe could not represent the mobilization of grassland young and strong men.
Even in modern society, you absolutely cannot let a bunch of men gather to live together, because in the end it becomes “plundering the weak while having surplus to offer.” Unless you spiritually castrate all the men.
Qing: Right, right, I’ll spread Yellow Hat Buddhism there, and then there will be no threat.
Of course, for Han culture: this method is too messy, and in a millennium of fighting the grasslands, they wouldn’t dare think of this move. Because spiritual castration not only removes the combative nature but also clips away labor production enthusiasm.
Now the entire Southern Border is Wu Fei’s territory; Wu Fei encourages the Tusi-ization, settling down to farm, and protects the interests of farmers.
Wu Fei, following Confucian teachings: absolutely cannot tolerate the various tribal family fighters pushing instability outward to support the youngest son!
Wu Fei summoned the accompanying Da Yao Confucian scholars, who shouted like Confucian scholars: “The eldest son must return home to inherit the family business; don’t fool around outside leading a bunch of little brothers—what kind of propriety is that! Whoever dares violate the Da Yao system! We must strike with iron fist.”
While the Confucian scholars affirmed this was correct, they were willing to execute the correct judgment for Wu Fei here, thus judgment courts appeared in the four fortresses of the Ling River.
Thus, this year the lone lions south of the Ling River suddenly encountered a blue sky.
Numerous “wanderers” who had been laying mats in jungle mountain caves to start ventures, upon hearing of Hao Qing as an example, suddenly found the “hardship of wilderness entrepreneurship” life unappealing.
These wandering men all emerged and knelt before the Royal Army great army, all stating that their families had committed the illegal act of discarding the eldest for the youngest, and they were willing to lead the army back to restore order. Of course—due to his own military force, Wu Fei only confirmed the situations of Hao Qing and two other tribes.
With the mobilization of vassal army, the three tribes were forced to take back their disciples, and in one Clawed People tribe, the maternal forces supporting the youngest son were so excessive that they captured those wanderers’ mothers, attempting to force the wanderers to self-end outside with “fire punishment.”
Such a tragedy contrary to human relations, Wu Fei of course would not ignore, so after the Wu Family Army violence army corps arrived, in this tribe, instead it was the maternal side loaded into slave cages and transported north. As supplements to the slave camp area. These wooden cages were all crafted by those wandering Southern Border men outside; the cages were built very sturdy.
Such a shock made the various tribal leaders in southern Ling River more or less come to request enfeoffment, confirming themselves as legitimate lines.
On September 9, in Yun Qie Valley, a place that left enough terrifying memories for the Southern Border hundred races, after Wu Fei arrived riding a peacock, he met these tribal leaders and stated past misdeeds would be forgiven, but henceforth inheritance must follow Da Yao’s ancestral law system. —If the legitimate eldest son was utterly depraved and seriously violated ritual law, it also required verification by the Da Yao-enfeoffed General Who Pacifies the South before determination.
That is, Da Yao’s southern guardian holds the highest interpretive power; whether the legitimate eldest has sinned to the extent needing “deposition,” or cases needing judgment, it is up to Da Yao people to decide.
On the new inscribed text, the eldest son inheritance words were written with Wu Fei’s blood dripped into wine as ink. As the inscribed text was melted to form indentations, the mountain range also emitted a serene aura, as if praising the immeasurable merit of Wu Fei erecting the stele. Regarding this scene, Da Yao imperial envoy Gong Qian remained silent; he vaguely felt used by Wu Fei.
Wu Fei’s inner calculation: “Now my official position is not high enough, but with the imperial envoy here, legitimacy is at its highest! I am acting on behalf of the Son of Heaven.”
At this grand ceremony of erecting the “Thousand Character Admonition” human relations stele, Hao Qing knelt on the ground, kowtowing the most devoutly. One must know, previously he was like Snow White in the fairy tale, hunted by his stepmother. Now on the animal hide on his chest, there was still the blood-sealing-throat poison needle shot at him by tribal hunters during his escape. All hatred, prepared for long-term planning.
Wu Fei once again brought spring breeze to the Southern Border. But the spring breeze would not stay forever. How could millennia-old habits and forces be easily overturned? Of course, the political struggles in these Southern Border tribes would accelerate next.
Next, in tribes that had not yet driven out their eldest sons, some maternal forces would torment threatening heirs to death. Heirs unwilling to die would also flee.
Wu Fei chuckled: Under the Zhou dynasty ritual law system, vassal state princes fleeing was common; fleeing abroad to rally aid and counter-attack was also frequent.
After Wu Xiao Que’s spring breeze blew through the Southern Border, as long as the fled legitimate eldest sons in the great tribes now definitely stood with Da Yao, seeking Da Yao to uphold justice.
This way, the social contradictions overflowing from family fights would no longer plague the Southern Border by producing a leader, then borne by the Wu Family Army; with this move, Wu Fei poured the contradiction back in.
Narrator: That is, the internal family fight situation in a certain Xinluo peninsula Li dynasty; there family fights gloriously inherited even to modern times, with many tycoon TV dramas featuring intense grudges.
Wu Fei knew this campaign had already shifted from traditionally stopping enemies at the border to deeply interfering in the internal politics of various Southern Border tribes.
