Longzang

Chapter 1093 Long-term
"Now the Tang dynasty is in decline, the world is divided, foreign tribes are powerful, and the nine kingdoms are exhausted. Our human race has not had a great event of expanding its territory for a long time. The story of the three immortals settling Yunzhou is more than three thousand years ago."

Wei Yuan, the younger brother of Wei Xian, opened up Qingzhou and Yizhou, but in reality, they only controlled a few commanderies, a significant gap compared to the previous emperors. Even so, it was a rare feat in that era. Why was this? There is only one reason: the Tang dynasty was weak and incompetent, and the nine kings were powerless!
In this era, it is imperative for us to rise up and rally the people, to revitalize humanity, to secure internal stability before addressing external threats, and to recreate the glory of our former kings. Only then will our life's cultivation be worthy of our efforts.

Li Zhi's voice was calm, only rising slightly when he spoke of the Ninth Prince's incompetence. He instinctively felt that in front of Zhang Sheng, who seemed to be one with heaven and earth, any emotional fluctuation would be seen as immature and would earn him a look of contempt.

Zhang Sheng raised an eyebrow slightly and said, "You want to overthrow the Nine Kingdoms?"

Li Zhi said solemnly, "More than a thousand years have passed since the founding emperor Wu Zu laid out his earth-shattering plan. Looking back over hundreds of thousands of years, how could the situation remain unchanged for a thousand years? Therefore, from today's perspective, I'm afraid Wu Zu's plan is outdated. The weakness of the Tang Dynasty and the incompetence of the nine princes are clear evidence of this."

If I were one of the nine kings, knowing my throne was as secure as a rock, I wouldn't want to strive for power; I'd only want to live a carefree life. That's human nature. Even before becoming an immortal, one still retains human nature.

But I am not like Brother Wei Xian, and I know my abilities are limited. I can only use this time of tribulation to do my part for the world and for humanity. Overthrowing the nine kingdoms is impossible; I only wish to give the foundation of this great edifice a little push. If there is any sequel in the future, it will be after I ascend to immortality, or perhaps after I understand the Martial Ancestor's scheme.”

Zhang Sheng finally nodded slightly and said, "Very ambitious."

Li Zhi's heart, which had been hanging in suspense, finally settled down.

For thousands of years, countless people have tried to destabilize the Martial Ancestor's plan, but none have succeeded. Let alone succeed, no one has even been able to understand it. Even if one or two great masters had grasped its essence, they couldn't articulate it. Li Zhi's claim of wanting to understand the Martial Ancestor's plan places him at least among the top ten most influential figures of the past millennia.

This seemingly arrogant act was not ridiculed by Zhang Sheng, and Li Zhi's little adventure was finally a success.

Zhang Sheng asked again, "How do you plan to begin?"

Li Zhi hurriedly said, "Looking at the nine kingdoms, the Western Jin seems weak but is actually strong, and it is also the land reserved by Qingming. Among the three western kingdoms, only the Ji Kingdom seems strong but is actually weak, and it can be taken. I plan to send troops under the pretext of purging the court of corrupt officials, and advance at the border of the Southern Qi, Wu and Ji Kingdoms. At the same time, I will set up a boundary stone at the southwest corner of the Ji Kingdom, attacking the Ji Kingdom from both sides. If Qingming can send troops to help, it will be enough to shake the foundation of the Ji King and bring chaos to the world."

Zhang Sheng said slowly, "This kind of ancient calamity is extremely dangerous and full of variables. Once there is any mishap, it will be an eternal disaster. Those two immortals in your academy may not be able to protect you."

Li Zhi resolutely said, "Master Zhang, rest assured, I have realized my mistake! This time, I rely not on my teacher, but on my intention to establish a moral compass for Heaven and Earth!"

"That's good. I'll talk to Wei Yuan, and the decision is up to him. But I think he'll most likely not agree to this."

Li Zhi was taken aback: "Why is that?"

Zhang Sheng said, "Wei Yuan cares about ordinary people. If you cause chaos and disaster, it will lead to the suffering of the people and countless people being displaced. Therefore, he will most likely not agree."

Li Zhi was somewhat puzzled: "The Martial Ancestor's plan is bound to be broken in the long run, and chaos will come sooner or later. Moreover, the calamity I caused is only in one corner of the nine kingdoms. It's like a dam on the verge of collapse, which will eventually burst and flood the entire downstream area. Now, we're opening a small breach in advance and releasing the water slowly. In the long run, the damage will be much less. This is a choice between long-term pain and short-term pain. How could Brother Wei not understand this principle?"

Zhang Sheng said, "I don't know what his decision will be, but if you go to him like this, you will most likely be rejected. Let's think of a way that won't affect the people."

Having said that, Li Zhi did not insist any further and rose to take his leave.

……

Upon returning to Zhenshan Territory, Li Zhi ordered his men to retrieve the map of Ji Kingdom and immediately used his magic to create a sand table. After its creation, the sand table changed on its own, revealing that the southwestern region had become noticeably barren and desolate.

This is one of Li Zhi's innate divine abilities. Wherever he goes, it can transform into a sand table, directly reflecting the current reality with the power of the Heavenly Dao, unless a powerful being intervenes to conceal the secrets of Heaven. At this moment, the eight western prefectures of Ji Kingdom are sparsely populated, and the boundary stones are empty, making them appear barren on the sand table. However, Qingming is disturbed by the Mirror Lake boundary stone, which disrupts the Heavenly Dao. Even immortals would have to pay a great price to calculate it. Therefore, Li Zhi tried several times to use his innate divine ability to check on Qingming's situation, but he almost suffered a backlash and was seriously injured.

At this moment, a scholar appeared beside Li Zhi, exuding authority without anger; he was none other than Master Gu, the headmaster of the Four Saints Academy. He then asked, "Haven't you reached an agreement?"

Li Zhi then repeated Zhang Sheng's words and said, "That's roughly it, so this disciple wants to rethink the strategy."

Master Gu looked displeased, snorted, and said, "Everyone says that Wei Yuan is so talented and brilliant, but I didn't expect him to be so soft-hearted! What great things can such a person accomplish? You should train hard, and when you ascend to immortality, I think you can relinquish the title of the number one immortal sect, Taichu Palace."

Li Zhi hurriedly replied, "This disciple is of limited talent and knowledge, and may not be able to succeed, but I will certainly do my best!"

Mr. Gu nodded in satisfaction: "We should have the courage to face difficulties head-on and the decisiveness to take responsibility. But for now, we still need Wei Yuan's help. What are your plans?"

Li Zhi said, "Zhang Sheng never speaks falsely. If she says Wei Yuan won't agree, then he won't agree. This matter has nothing to do with personal feelings; it has touched his bottom line. Therefore, I plan to adjust our focus and make the eastern route from Southern Qi to attack Ji a secondary one, as long as we can contain Ji's main force."

Then, the main direction of attack will be the southwestern border. This area has always been a remote frontier, sparsely populated, and the people have suffered greatly for many years. Many rebel groups originated from here, so in the past few years, the government troops have carried out brutal reprisals here, with harsh governance and widespread misery. If I advance from here, no matter how much or how widespread the war, the people won't suffer too much. Wei Yuan should agree.”

Mr. Gu's brows furrowed even more deeply as he said, "If we take the southwest as the main direction of attack, we will have to mobilize the entire army of Zhenshan Territory, traversing hundreds of thousands of miles of mountainous lands. The military expenses alone will increase several times over. Moreover, the journey from the southwest to Jidu is long and arduous, with numerous checkpoints along the way. More than a dozen counties along the route have all suffered from war, making it difficult to resupply locally."

"It would be better to launch a main attack on Southern Qi, then reinforcements and supplies will flow in continuously, making the effort twice as effective."

Li Zhi sighed, "But Wei Yuan will not agree."

Mr. Gu's face darkened, and he snorted, saying, "If it weren't for the sage's handwritten note that the Chaotic Calamity could only be initiated with Wei Yuan's help, why bother considering the opinion of such a short-sighted person?"

Li Zhi said, "Since the patriarch has given us this guidance, in my opinion, it's best to follow it. It may take more time and money, but we can afford it."

Mr. Gu's expression softened slightly, and he slowly nodded.

……

In Yizhou, Wei Yuan was reviewing an engineering proposal. The proposal concerned the management of a suspended river. This river was filled with silt, which accumulated year after year, and in the past, it would breach its banks and flood every few years, inundating thousands of miles downstream.

Now that the river has been brought under the jurisdiction of Wei Yuan, some former water conservancy officials from the State of Ji have submitted a petition proposing to open the dikes and release water, at the cost of flooding more than a dozen counties, in order to reduce the risk of a major flood.

Upon seeing the proposal, Wei Yuan first checked the overall engineering capabilities in Yizhou, then looked at the order of important projects for this year, and then directly rejected the proposal, telling the waterworks to continue reinforcing and raising the dikes this year and just get through the year first.

Some officials in charge of water conservancy projects were puzzled and cautiously inquired about the reason. Wei Yuan did not explain, and the officials dared not refute him and had no choice but to carry it out.

These officials were unaware that time brings many changes, that enough time can resolve all problems, and that time was on Wei Yuan's side.

Next year, Yizhou's engineering capabilities will be further enhanced, allowing them to focus on completely resolving the issue of suspended rivers. This applies not only to suspended rivers but also to other similar problems.

(End of this chapter)