Chapter 27: Leaving the Pass, Returning to the Pass.

"What is Spirit, and what is Sha (Malice)?"

Wu Fei flipped open a bamboo scroll. Compared to his peers in this world, or even his colleagues in the military, Wu Fei had a hobby: reading. Oh, Xuan Chong recalled that before he transmigrated, he had always loved reading novels. There is always benefit in opening a book, after all.

Back to the topic, the bamboo scroll read: "To diminish the excessive to supplement the insufficient is Spirit; to diminish the insufficient to supplement the excessive is Sha."

This statement is puzzling at first glance. One must compare it against the classics of the Immortals, as well as the Confucian, Legalist, and Military canons of the human world to truly understand it. That is the one drawback of these square characters—they are prone to deep meanings in concise phrases, where a vast number of terms are essentially jargon for the initiated. Thus, one must read extensively and repeatedly; with each increase in understanding, every reading yields a different interpretation.

Immortal cultivation involves consuming and nourishing spiritual energy—diminishing the excessive to supplement the insufficient. The world is complete with the Five Elements, but because cultivators have incomplete spiritual roots, they draw from the "excessive" mountains, rivers, and earth to make up for their own deficiencies.

All cultivators possess spiritual roots; Wu Fei could not cultivate. It was said his aptitude was insufficient. So, what then? "To diminish the insufficient to supplement the excessive is Sha."

Wu Fei savored the content of the scroll carefully, for the Sha gathered upon him was becoming intense.

After finishing the scroll, Wu Fei suddenly condensed his Sha. Within a ten-zhang radius, everything turned a grayish-white. The chirping of insects within half of the city pass vanished, and a crying child at the end of the street immediately fell silent.

...Wu Fei: I only wish to maintain the order and system around me...

In the second half of the 26th year of the Xuetian Era, as Wu Fei led twelve hundred men south to expand their sphere of influence, the mission—once underway—involved not only capturing slaves but also forcibly offloading the backlog of goods within the pass.

It is worth noting that Wu Fei did not capture slaves indiscriminately. He targeted only those tribes that dared to block the southern routes he had designated. As for the poor wretches in the deep ravines? Wu Fei: Why would I bother attacking them?

Furthermore, Wu Fei employed a strategy of taking them in as "dogs." Anyone willing to obey and swear loyalty was spared.

After opening the trade routes to Tanzhou and Zhuzhou, the jade and timber from Yongji Pass could fetch a good price. However, when outside merchants purchased large quantities of salt and cloth to transport them here for a windfall, they found no buyers. This was the reason why, after Wu Fei led those eight hundred men out of the pass earlier that year and returned "empty-handed," some in the pass began gossiping behind Wu Xiaoque’s back.

But this time, as Wu Fei marched out with blade in hand to clear the designated routes, he also used the opportunity to force the sale of the goods stockpiled in the warehouses.

It could be said that if one tried to seize everything from the tribes by force, they might not get much, as no one knew where the locals buried their valuables. But by using blades to trade, they managed to collect all the jade, pine resin, furs, and other goods.

From October to the end of the year, merchants holding "Gold Brick Orders" followed the army's route, selling off the goods that had been stockpiled for months. At the same time, seizing the window of opportunity, they hauled back timber, jade, raw gold sand, and even pigs and sheep from the southern borders. To this end, they paid out of their own pockets to set up temporary outposts at key locations as ordered, providing clean water and fodder along the way.

By the standards of the military, the defenses of these merchant-run outposts were incredibly lax—nowhere near the level of the granary camp Wu Fei had guarded when Wu Hanluan ventured deep into the Red-Refining Mountains.

But there was no need for comparison. When Wu Hanluan had ventured deep to burn the snake-people’s hatching pools, the snake-people were bound to fight to the death. Wu Fei, however, was simply clearing out disobedient tribes along the road. Once these tribes realized the situation, they fled far away; how could they possibly wage guerrilla warfare against the Wu family army? Other irrelevant villages, faced with the Great Yao’s aggressive door-to-door sales, had no desire to fight either.

Additionally, Xuan Chong strictly limited the distance of the troops, forbidding any unit from venturing more than two hundred miles south of Yongji Pass.

Within this radius, Wu Fei believed that if his troops encountered a surprise attack from the Southern Borderers—and if those attackers possessed the same strength as the snake-people who had assaulted his granary years ago—his entire force would have to immediately cover for one another and retreat back into the pass for defense.

...Two months...

The trade activities outside the pass went smoothly. As the return date approached, the troops grew increasingly indulgent, attempting to make one last profit. They began cooperating with large local tribes and interfering in tribal conflicts—essentially, finding excuses to capture people.

When Wu Fei discovered that his soldiers were so excited about catching slaves that the price of wooden cages inside Yongji Pass had risen, he decided it was time to rein these boys in.

However, in the tents, the team leaders who had returned from outside were still in high spirits, refusing to settle down even during their rotations. The merchants in the pass wined and dined them, and the soldiers made all sorts of promises in return.

Inside a tent, after the map was spread out, Wu Fei had barely asked about their next steps when someone took the lead: "We must continue to fight south! Fight to the places the old Army Lord (Wu Hanluan) once reached."

Then, many others stood up to echo him: "Yes, yes!" "The Young General has campaigned before; he knows the way!" "We are willing to die for this!"

Yet, as they spoke, the scene gradually quieted. Wu Fei simply leaned back, watching them with a faint, steady gaze, but his aura of Sha rendered them unable to utter another word.

Wu Fei stepped down from the general's chair, picked up his sword, and pointed at the silk map. His finger moved toward the south, specifically toward the river marked "Spirit River," where a "big fish" appeared to be leaping. Wu Fei paused, then realized this was a marking on the map—a silk map embroidered by Third Aunt.

Readers viewing such a divination-system silk map for the first time, if they failed to collect their thoughts, would lose themselves in it; the minor consequence was listlessness and drooling, the major one was falling into a coma. The silk map was not merely lines of mountains and rivers; when one looked closely, the lines conveyed a vast amount of other information, including details of certain regions.

Wu Fei’s first time looking at a silk map was in Wu Hanluan’s main camp, and he had been trapped by it then, too.

Wu Fei stared at the winding river. The large fish that leapt out from time to time, and the exotic beasts hiding in the lines of the surrounding mountains, all shrank back under the suppression of Wu Fei’s Sha.

Rubbing his temples, Wu Fei felt someone standing too close and looked up to say to Third Aunt, "Step aside; I need to see the map clearly."

Then, Wu Fei issued strict orders to all the soldiers who had "agreed" on moving south: "This border patrol plan is limited to two hundred miles south of Yongji Pass. As for further south, we will not consider it this time; we shall discuss it only after returning to the pass! Everyone, prepare your luggage and be on high alert. We are returning to the pass!"

The generals in the tent bowed in obedience, but they exchanged glances. Wu Fei then tossed out his military orders!—"From this day on, anyone who leaves the camp without authorization will be beheaded. Anyone who speaks to merchants privately will be beheaded. Anyone who kills captives indiscriminately will receive fifty lashes..."

Wu Fei rattled off ten military orders in one breath. The bamboo slips in his hand transformed into flying birds, each darting out to strike the drums outside the tent. With every beat of the drums, the faces of the soldiers turned pale; the Sha directly shook their spirits, making their breathing and heartbeats feel as though they were being gripped by Wu Fei.

...Under this high pressure, the camp began to operate with lethal solemnity once more. Zhao Tu walked the grounds with his blade, inspecting each unit...

As the designer of the "Blood-Reward, Blood-Labor" system, Wu Fei was always aware that the core purpose of his framework was to ensure the long-term, vigorous morale of the army, not to let them fall into the trap of fighting solely for profit.

If a tendency toward "fighting only for profit" were established, how could he stimulate morale on a day when there was no profit to be gained from a hard battle? To use the words of some crude generals regarding their style of command: "You cannot let the soldiers eat too full; if they are too full, they cannot fight."

Wu Fei still did his best to ensure his soldiers were well-fed—at the very least, they were better fed than the vast majority of people under his governing system.

Wu Fei was by no means a fan of the Confucian "Benevolent Governance." Ever since the slave rebellion years ago, Wu Fei had stopped trying to "empathize with subordinates," opting instead for the cold principle of "matching contribution with rank."

For example, there were many "low-status" people within his controlled areas. This didn't just mean slaves; many fishermen and mountain hunters were also of low status. These people were often bullied when they entered the cities, and Wu Fei would not go out of his way to champion their cause. Even though Xuan Chong came from a modern age of equality.

Because the feudal era is not the industrial era. With the current level of productivity, the economic activities of hunters, merchants, and fishermen were highly free; his group could not collect taxes from them, and they would not pay taxes voluntarily.

Farmers, due to their collective settlement, were easily managed by the grassroots bureaucratic system, and thus bore the responsibilities of military service and taxation. To force equality between farmers and these unregistered people would be the true injustice.

Of course, Wu Fei firmly opposed the caste system. As long as merchants provided money during wartime, and fishermen and hunters were willing to join military operations, they would be granted titles!

This was the Qin legalist system, built entirely on the reality of needing people to serve as soldiers and needing farmers to pay taxes to maintain the state's machine of violence.

...A brief interlude...

Inside Yongji Pass, a Horn-person named Wu Haha stared out from his cage. These days, he felt a sense of despair. He vaguely remembered the joy of robbing a Great Yao merchant caravan on the road a year ago, but before a year had passed, he and his team had been captured. Some of his brothers were pulling carts, others were doing hard labor under the lash, carrying bricks to the city walls. If he hadn't offered enough treasure in time, he would have been embedded into the city wall during the rammed-earth construction.

"You, come out!" With the crack of a whip, Wu Haha was driven out.

He felt a sense of impending doom, thinking he might be executed, so he knelt down, forcing a smile.

However, it was to no avail. He was dragged to a place, but it was not an execution ground. Other slaves of various tribes were there, too—he recognized them; they were fellow gang leaders who had also robbed on the trade routes. To his left, the Claw-person known as "Steel Tooth," who had once fought him for territory, was there.

"What is this for?" Wu Haha asked in a low voice. "Who knows? Maybe they want to use us for a flag sacrifice..." Steel Tooth was not as arrogant as before, muttering in a low, dispirited tone.

Just then, a gong sounded, and a young man from the Great Yao wearing a mask appeared on the high platform.

Though very young, Wu Haha felt a sense of danger. He and all the other Southern Borderers present lowered their heads.

The young man said, "You have all been very obedient lately. Not bad, not bad. I have decided to give you a chance."

Just as Wu Haha thought they would be forced to fight to the death to decide a winner, the young man continued: "I am giving you a chance to be my dogs. Six thousand strings of cash as a deposit per person, and I will give you salt and cloth to sell in the Southern Border. If you succeed, you can get goods from me every year. If you don't have enough for the deposit, you can trade information for it. Whoever reports it first gets the credit."

Wu Haha and the others were stunned. Some eyes showed urgency, others showed cunning—clearly planning to escape and run off with the goods.

Wu Haha was the first to raise his hand to cooperate. He didn't want to pay the money, crying that he had become a pauper, but he provided some intelligence. However, upon hearing the requirement that intelligence needed time to be verified—and that they would have to return to the cages during the verification period—he gritted his teeth and decided to reveal his hidden treasure cache to escape immediately.

Five days later, Wu Haha, in handcuffs, was escorted by Great Yao soldiers to the treasure spot he had revealed. Only after digging up the treasure was he allowed to leave.

A total of fifteen leaders were released along with him. Of course, to transport the goods, the Great Yao gave them slaves of their own tribes.

Wu Haha looked at the towering Yongji Pass, his eyes submissive and humble. Fear of not daring to be an enemy had taken root in his heart. But after a while, a restlessness of greed and resentment surged within him; at this moment, Wu Haha’s gaze was influenced by a blue hue.

...

On Yongji Pass, Wu Fei watched these alien tribesmen he had released depart. Third Aunt asked from the side, "Do you really believe their promises won't change?" Wu Fei stared into Third Aunt’s blue pupils, ensuring her gaze was fixed on his: "Of course not. Barbarians fear power but do not cherish virtue. There will certainly be betrayal."

Third Aunt was slightly startled. Meanwhile, Xuan Chong was flipping through the historical data provided by the system: "The Way of Heaven is constant; it does not exist for Yao, nor does it perish for Jie!"

Xuan Chong was waiting for this group to make all sorts of little moves, but he would teach them what choices were beneficial and what were not. I only act according to the rules most favorable to me and promote these rules. As for whether you believe it, that is up to you. To use the words from his old home before he transmigrated: "The sage is not benevolent; he treats the people as straw dogs."

...The difficult part of going outside the pass lies in when to return...

In November of the 26th year of the Xuetian Era, three months after heading out, the military operation to clear the trade routes concluded. All units of Yongji Pass began to withdraw back into the pass.

Wherever the great army had gone, the local barbarians had "welcomed them with open arms," appearing "simple" and "kind."

However, after the army left, those merchant caravans that refused to listen and did not want to retreat discovered that their business had suddenly become difficult. All the local tribes kept their eyes on the goods but refused to pay, and once they received the goods, they completely reneged on their debts. This led the loss-making merchants to return, cursing and complaining, and filing petitions at the General's Mansion, begging Wu Fei to go out again to teach these barbarians a lesson.

But Wu Fei’s response was: "Just wait."

Everything came and went in a rush. Following the army's withdrawal, all supply points along the trade routes were sealed off.

The merchant stations left behind only stone foundations; the buildings were dismantled, and all the wood was dragged to a secluded spot half a mile away, marked for easy identification. As for the wells dug at the stations, they were plugged with heavy stones to block the springs. These heavy stones had "holes" carved into them for chains to pass through, so that when the army arrived the following year, they could be hoisted up using pulley systems and animal power. This was something the local barbarian tribes of dozens of people could not possibly achieve.

Wu Fei: Everyone needs to celebrate the New Year. After the New Year, the pass needs spring plowing, and the rainy season will return. With the abundant rainfall outside, the fruits, mushrooms, fish, and frogs in the jungle will be plentiful. The tribes of the Great Yao's Southern Border will certainly form alliances and attack northward.

There were still some heroes in the Southern Border who harbored rebellious intentions in the face of the Great Yao's southward expansion.

However, what these heroes saw next was Wu Xiaoque saying: "I accept your rebellious intent, but I am withdrawing now."

What, stay behind to defend? Without the "agricultural" system to support fixed property and a fixed heart, all education and governance are just a clever woman trying to cook a meal without rice!

Therefore, going out when the season is good and returning when the season is bad—this is the only correct method.

The Great Yao's system for governing the world could not understand this kind of "warfare." It was too nomadic! According to the Confucian school, Wu Fei’s behavior was that of a Yao person who dealt with barbarians on the border too often, leading to his thoughts and actions becoming "barbarized."

But, after studying the data provided by the system, Xuan Chong believed: This was not "barbarization," but a unique path of development chosen based on local economic conditions.

Xuan Chong: "How did I do in answering?"

System: "You are ready to take the civil service exam."