Longzang

Chapter 1067 Unable to Be Human
Seeing that Ji Jun's morale was about to collapse, Xiao Jingyuan finally stopped worrying and ordered a retreat.

At this moment, the generals of Ji State displayed their talents, fighting and retreating at the same time, taking turns to cover each other, and slowly withdrawing, actually leading the main force out of the fortified area.

Although there were still losses during the retreat, the generals suppressed the morale and prevented a rout. Cangwu also did its best to suppress the Qingming artillery, so the Ji Kingdom army did not suffer heavy losses during the retreat.

Once the army had retreated to almost complete, all the gray-clad Taoist soldiers turned into green smoke, flew into the sky, and returned to Cangwu's hands. Looking at the few remaining soldier beans, Cangwu's lips were almost bloodless.

During the retreat, the casualties among the ordinary soldiers of Ji Army were relatively good, but the casualties among the Dharma Aspects and Dao Foundation Captains were quite heavy. Wei Yuan did not slaughter any more Dharma Aspects, and the Immortal Aspects of Taichu Palace did not deliberately kill them either, but only took action incidentally, resulting in the killing of five or six Dharma Aspects who resisted stubbornly.

Having stayed in Qingming for a long time, the cultivators have no shortage of various resources, so their need for Heavenly Merit is not so urgent. Moreover, a large portion of the exchangeable materials in the Hall of Merit come from Qingming, which the cultivators can use right there, so they don't need Heavenly Merit at all.

In the final stage of the battle, Wei Yuan and Xiao Jingyuan fought fiercely for half an hour, shouting and yelling at each other. The two sides were evenly matched.

Thus, the first major battle came to an end.

After the ceasefire, Zhujie Fanhua quickly gathered data from various sources, compiled the battle results, and submitted a report to Wei Yuan.

In this battle, Qingming suffered 50,000 casualties, most of whom were new soldiers who had been in the army for less than half a year. The casualties of the veteran soldiers and template Dao bases transferred from Qingming were very limited.

The Ji army suffered 150,000 casualties, with more deaths than injuries. The Daoist army, after deducting those destroyed by the Red Lotus Karmic Fire, suffered nearly 200,000 losses. The Ji army's casualties were actually less than the Daoist army's, mainly because they fought a more leisurely battle, advanced more slowly, and withdrew more quickly.

Of the 50,000 casualties suffered by Qingming, only 3,000 were wounded by Ji Jun; the rest were killed by the gray-clad Dao soldiers. Although Qingming had many new recruits, it also brought in a large number of battle-hardened veterans as its backbone, as well as numerous template Dao Foundations as captains. Template Dao Foundations are still Dao Foundations; they were the main force in killing the Dao soldiers.

After the great battle, the Ji army camp was also conducting a post-battle inventory. However, all night had passed, and the various units were still in a chaotic state of counting, with no figures yet reported down to the captain level.

Although there were no precise casualty figures, the generals were very experienced. After a moment of shock, they glanced at the soldiers in the camp and found that far more had returned than expected. They were overjoyed, as if they had won a great victory.

The surviving Dharma Aspect generals huddled together, exchanged a few words, and soon realized something was amiss. This time, the casualties in the troops were generally less than expected, and several Dharma Aspect generals also realized that the cultivators of the Primordial Palace had shown mercy and had not used their killing moves, which allowed them to escape.

After the exchange, all the generals had strange expressions. Then, several high-ranking generals or those who were close to Xiao Jingyuan came to the central army to report.

But the central army was empty, and all the imperial guards had disappeared.

At this moment, in the sky above, the five Imperial Guards, including Xiao Jingyuan, stood in a row, not daring to breathe.

Cangwu stood above the crowd, his face ashen, looking down at them coldly, and said, "The mortal soldiers suffered only 150,000 casualties, while my Dao soldiers lost 200,000? One of my Dao soldiers is more than enough to be worth a hundred of your mortal soldiers! What kind of lousy battle is this? Everyone is trying to protect their reputation and expect my Dao soldiers to clean up your mess? With a million troops mobilized, have you killed even 10,000 of the enemy?"

Cangwu's voice was like thunder, so powerful that several Imperial Guards saw stars and their consciousness wavered. No one dared to utter a word, not even the usually arrogant Embroidered Robe Supervisor, who was now meek and submissive.

Cangwu grew angrier as he spoke, and with a wave of his hand, he said, "If tomorrow's battle is fought in the same way, then there's no need to fight anymore! You all want to protect yourselves? Very well, I will strip you of all your titles, official positions, land, houses, and private property. As long as I am alive, none of your relatives or blood relatives will ever be able to pass through the Dharma realm!"

The imperial guards dared not speak. They had been powerful and influential for half their lives, but they never expected to be taught a lesson like children. However, their faces showed sorrow and sincere resignation, revealing no trace of resentment.

Cangwu's voice turned icy, and he glanced sideways, saying, "Think carefully, is your own and your descendants' path of cultivation more important, or the lives of these mortal soldiers? As long as you think it through and make a choice, I will absolutely support you. Get out!!"

With a single word, "Get lost!", the cultivators were instantly sent flying thousands of feet back to the barracks.

Xiao Jingyuan was quite magnanimous, and after standing still, he walked straight towards the central command tent.

A figure flashed to the side, and the Embroidered Robe Supervisor appeared, saying with a forced smile, "General Xiao, your skills are still sharp! You actually managed to fight Wei Yuan for half an hour without being at a disadvantage. I, the Supervisor, couldn't even last an incense stick's time against Wei Yuan. General Xiao is such a hero, I will certainly report this to the King and reward him handsomely!"

Xiao Jingyuan sighed and said, "You jest, Your Excellency. Do you not know my strength? Wei Yuan simply wants to stall me. Let alone half an hour, even if he wants to fight for a whole day, do I have any say in refusing? It's just a cat playing with a mouse. Whether he lives or dies, how long it lasts depends entirely on his mood."

The Grand Eunuch hadn't expected Xiao Jingyuan to be so blunt, so he couldn't add any more sarcasm. He could only say indifferently, "General Xiao probably needs to explain to Duke Cao why you didn't intervene at the beginning. Otherwise, Duke Cao will most likely think you abandoned him to his fate."

"How is Duke Cao's injury? I will go and visit him immediately."

"Go and take a look. Duke Cao has lost half of his buttocks. I'm afraid we can't count on him for the future battles."

……

In Guantun New Town, the smoke of war has not yet dissipated, and the streets are still marked by the traces of battle. Several blocks have been reduced to ruins, but a few buildings in the center are exceptionally sturdy and well-preserved.

Wei Yuan stood in the top-floor command hall, before him a list. At the head was the Embroidered Robe Commander, followed by Mo Fentian, then Xiao Jingyuan, fourth was the Duke of Wu, fifth was the Duke of Cao, and behind them were dozens more, all of whom were Imperial Jing of Ji State.

This list includes all the known Imperial Guards of Ji Kingdom, but many are either not under the control of the King of Ji or are too old and frail to be as powerful as they once were. Those who are both strong and have actually participated in the war are the Imperial Guards at the top of the list. Originally, Su Wuwang was ranked second and Ling Canglan third, but both of their names have now been crossed off the list.

Wei Yuan looked at them one by one, first putting an X over the name of the Embroidered Robe Supervisor, meaning that this person must be eliminated.

In the main hall, most of the cultivators from the Taichu Palace had already arrived, and there were several chairs placed nearby. At this moment, only True Monarch Xuan Yue and Sanren Zhidan were sitting.

Wei Yuan ticked Mo Fentian's name, meaning that there was no need to specifically kill him; they could take action when the opportunity arose.

Then it was Xiao Jingyuan's turn. Wei Yuan pondered for a moment, then circled the name. This surprised all the cultivators of Taichu Palace, and Xuan Yue and Zhi Dan were also somewhat puzzled.

This circle not only means leaving a way out, but also not inflicting serious injury. In other words, even a group of immortals should try not to use lethal moves on the opponent.

All the cultivators seemed to be deep in thought, but Feng Tingyu didn't want to use his brain, so he asked directly, "Why spare this old thief's life?"

Wei Yuan originally intended to explain, so he said, "Xiao Jingyuan has many old friends and disciples in the Ji army, and his family's influence extends throughout the three prefectures. The Xiao family has been in Ji for more than ten generations and has been a noble family for generations since three hundred years ago. Now it is the largest military force, and almost half of the Ji army has become the Xiao family's private army."

Prince Ji was already very wary of him, and now Xiao Jingyuan had an exceptionally talented son and a great-grandson. The son had already reached the perfect Dharma Aspect stage and was a potential candidate for the Imperial Realm. The great-grandson was only sixty years old and had already reached the mid-stage of the Dharma Aspect stage, also a potential candidate for the Imperial Realm in the future. Prince Ji simply could not tolerate such a Xiao family, and would try every means to suppress them whenever he had the chance.

With the Ji Kingdom's army pressing in, the time for a decisive battle is far from ripe. Therefore, King Ji most likely intends to use this defeat to eradicate the Xiao family completely. We cannot do this for King Ji. We must make him take action himself; only then will we avoid internal strife.”

The cultivators then understood and nodded in agreement.

Zhi Dan Sanren seemed to be deep in thought, but seeing that Xuan Yue looked like he had taken it all in, he couldn't help but ask in surprise, "Elder Chunqiu... Brother Xuan Yue, did you understand?"

Xuan Yue chuckled and said frankly, "No."

Zhi Dan Sanren couldn't help but roll his eyes, thinking to himself, "If you didn't understand, then why are you pretending to be in complete control and confident?"

Xuan Yue Zhenjun seemed to know what he was thinking and chuckled, "It's enough that my grand-disciple understands; there's no need for this old Daoist to rack his brains."

Zhi Dan Sanren rolled his eyes again and said irritably, "I didn't ask that."

At this moment, Wei Yuan added, "That was just one aspect."

Or is it just one aspect?

Wei Yuan said, "Secondly, Xiao Jingyuan will definitely be brought down, but who will bring him down is a very important matter. I plan to join forces with courtiers and eunuchs, with the upright officials as the main force, to launch impeachments continuously until Xiao Jingyuan's faction is completely brought down."

After success, many of the upright officials lacked substantial family backgrounds; at most, their relationship was that of teacher and student. They wouldn't be resented by the King of Ji, and therefore would reap the greatest benefits. Once the civil service, primarily composed of these upright officials, held power, then the government of Ji would be under our control.

Feng Tingyu was still somewhat confused and pressed on, "Don't the 'pure stream' people all think highly of themselves? Why should they listen to us?"

Wei Yuan smiled slightly and said, "First of all, the upright officials we promote are all carefully selected, mainly those who have received payment from the Qingming Development Bureau. Secondly, they are those with whom we have business dealings. As long as they can be promoted, I will increase the scale of our business dealings and open up more controlled goods to them."

These so-called "pure officials" have no clear stance, yet their stance is unambiguous: their stance is determined by where their money is.

Feng Tingyu's chest heaved, and he asked, "What if someone just refuses to cooperate with us?"

Wei Yuan smiled calmly and said, "Such a person will inevitably be ostracized by the other upright officials, and there will be no place for him in the officialdom. Then we will block all periodicals and academic journals, prevent him from participating in any literary or poetry gatherings, and mobilize all our writers to ostracize him. At that time, he will have no official position, and his works will have nowhere to be published and will remain unknown. Even if he has extraordinary talent, he can only be buried in the countryside and live a life of obscurity."

Feng Chutang seemed thoughtful and said, "It's still not safe enough; we need to add some more constraints."

Wei Yuan smiled and said, "There are indeed ties. I plan to give some free places to the families, children and grandchildren of these Qingliu at every Dao Foundation Ceremony in the future. Qingming Higher Academy will also give preferential treatment to their descendants for admission, and the journal will also reserve some space to publish the works of their descendants."

Oh, by the way, I also plan to establish the Dongmu Academy in the Ji Kingdom and invite many great scholars to participate. In the future, when members of the academy enter the imperial court, they will naturally stand on our side.

With such a multi-pronged approach, the corrupt officials will naturally be put to my use.

In the underworld, the Heavenly Demon began to doubt his own existence again, unable to understand why he couldn't defeat someone in his own natural domain. Could it be that that person wasn't human?

(End of this chapter)