Longzang

Chapter 1184 Spare the King's Life

When Wei Yuan emerged from the cave again, it was already early summer of the seventeenth year of the Hongjing era.

Ganzhou has a cold climate, allowing for two harvests a year. This season is the most important for grain production, with summer planting followed by autumn harvest. Winter wheat is then planted in autumn, survives the winter, and is harvested in early summer of the following year. However, winter grain is only a supplement and is far less important than summer grain.

This year is the first year after the boundary stones were rearranged, which is of utmost importance. Previously, many senior cultivators in charge of related work were very nervous, running around to various places, fearing that they might have disturbed the earth's veins and suddenly encountered a natural disaster.

In the Azure Netherworld, natural disasters are not the most frightening thing; what is truly terrifying is inadequate disaster relief. Everyone knows that the Realm Lord values ​​mortals immensely, and if ineffective disaster relief leads to mass casualties among mortals, it will incur the wrath of thunder. As a result, many cultivators in the Azure Netherworld jokingly refer to themselves as second-class citizens.

Fortunately, if we include the template Dao foundation, then the vast majority of cultivators in Qingming are now promoted locally, and their relatives and families are all in the local area, so there is no sense of alienation from the distant and unapproachable cultivators.

Moreover, there are simply too many template cultivators; they have become an indispensable part of the Azure Netherworld's operation, and you can find a handful of template Dao foundations at any construction site.

So over the years, everyone has come to a consensus that Dao Foundation cultivators are just higher-level workers. High-level or low-level, they are essentially still workers.

However, Wei Yuan wasn't worried about the summer grain harvest of the Western Jin Dynasty at all. Since the boundary stones were rearranged, the old Taoist priest Chuhe and the Eight Heroes of Jianmu had already been making preparations. After all, they were the ones who moved the boundary stones, and if any disaster struck, they would bear the consequences first.

After a busy winter, Qingming finally established a main granary in the county seat of each prefecture, and then set up several branch granaries within the prefecture, which stored canned military rations.

The Qingming army's rations contained meat, oil, and vegetables, and were cooked very salty to replenish their oil and salt content, making them an unparalleled delicacy in this era. In the event of a calamity, the prepared rations would be used as an emergency measure immediately. Once the first few days were overcome, subsequent supplies would be continuously transported from Qingming.

With everyone paying close attention, the summer grain planting in the entire Western Jin Dynasty proceeded smoothly without incident. For a whole month, nothing needed to be reported to Wei Yuan, giving him ample peace and quiet.

Upon emerging from seclusion, Wei Yuan was still somewhat unwilling to give up. He also needed to reassess the fortune contributed by the Dharma Images.

Since the last batch of Kaguya Heaven-Changing Pills were distributed, Qingming has been shaken, with the number of people signing up for the Outstanding Cultivator Program increasing sharply and continuing to rise.

Xu Henshui finally displayed his unique talent in the Creation View. After keenly discovering that the pill given by Wei Yuan had a slight effect of cleansing the body and changing aptitude, he immediately gave it the terrifying name of "Huiya Heaven-Changing Pill," emphasizing the word "Heaven-Changing" to highlight its ability to change aptitude.

In the cultivation world, it's common knowledge that pills that alter aptitude and those that provide daily cultivation are completely different, like comparing heaven and earth. Compared to the function of altering aptitude, replacing three years of arduous cultivation is simply insignificant; it's merely a bonus.

Of course, Xu Henshui only said that this pill could improve one's aptitude, without specifying how much. If one could consume thirty to fifty pills, then there would indeed be a noticeable effect.

Each person selected for the Outstanding Cultivator Program received one Dharma Image as their initial reward, and could receive another one every three years. That wasn't all; Xu Henshui also selected the top 100 contributors to the Azure Nether Dharma Images and gave each of them one, while the top 10 received two.

In addition, Xu Henshui also said that there will be a re-evaluation next year and the year after, so as long as you work hard, everyone has the possibility of getting the Heaven-Changing Pill.

Of the one hundred slots, Xu Henshui specifically allocated twenty to those at the Golden Core stage. This move caused a sensation among the nearly one thousand Golden Core cultivators, many of whom wept bitterly. For years, they had finally felt they could stand on equal footing with true Dharma Aspects. It was also the first time a major award was given based solely on contribution, not cultivation level.

Of course, when Xu Henshui did these things, he pushed it all onto Wei Yuan, saying that everything was arranged by Wei Yuan. As a result, the fortune of most Dharma Aspect cultivators was contributed to Wei Yuan.

So much so that Wei Yuan was stunned when he received over a hundred streams of Dharma Aspect Luck in one go. In the following days, the Luck continued to flow in, sometimes dozens, sometimes a dozen, until it gradually became scarce after nearly a month, but a few streams would still come in from time to time.

Therefore, Wei Yuan checks every day to see if his Dharma Aspect's luck has increased. Wei Yuan takes the lion's share of this luck, but Xu Henshui isn't without his share either. For example, a few cultivators contribute their luck to Xu Henshui, but he's not happy about it at all.

The main reason is that the luck bestowed upon Xu Henshui is mixed and impure.

Therefore, although all the Qingming cultivators knew that luck could help their cultivation, and most of them had gained some luck to some extent, only Xu Henshui avoided it like the plague, yet he always managed to gain mixed kinds of luck.

During the period when the Twelve Immortals' Portraits were published, Xu Henshui's true appearance was revealed, resulting in him gaining an immeasurable amount of good fortune and remaining in a state of being blessed with good luck for a long time.

That period was also when Xu Henshui was at his worst, because none of his luck was pure.

In short, nothing happened during Wei Yuan's routine retreat, except for checking the Dharma Aspect's fortune. He was just about to return to preside over the formation when he suddenly received a message that a cultivator from the Ji Kingdom had come with a royal edict from the Ji King and wanted to see Wei Yuan.

Upon seeing the name of the person requesting an audience, Wei Yuan immediately became interested and ordered that he be summoned in at once.

A moment later, a dignified and imposing cultivator in a blue robe and turban entered Wei Yuan's reception hall in the Immortal City. Wei Yuan himself emerged from the back of the hall and took his seat in the main seat.

The cultivator sensed Wei Yuan's aura, then suddenly stood up, knelt down, and said, "This humble official, Wang Zhi, pays his respects to the Military Governor!"

Wei Yuan's eyebrows twitched slightly. This person neither called himself the Realm Lord, nor the Palace Master, nor the True Lord, but instead called himself the Military Governor. This was quite interesting.

Wei Yuan's official position has been updated several times, and the titles and ceremonial regalia of the Western Jin Dynasty are no longer important. His latest identity in the Tang Dynasty is the military governor of Qingyang and concurrently the military governor of Yizhou. Because he was simultaneously appointed to Qing and Yizhou, there were plans to grant him some additional titles, but these plans have been delayed indefinitely.

It wasn't until Wei Yuan issued a proclamation to the world, requesting to come to the capital to meet the emperor, that Emperor Jing hurriedly bestowed upon Wei Yuan the title of Marquis of a certain place, officially elevating him to the rank of First Rank.

This was an expedient measure taken in an emergency, and everyone in the world could see it clearly. In the end, Wei Yuan only issued a proclamation to the world and did not take any action to go to the capital, which immediately revealed the weak nature of the Tang Dynasty.

Wei Yuan knew quite a bit about Wang Zhi's deeds and admired him greatly. He was like a paperhanger, patching up the sinking ship of Ji State, hoping for a chance to turn things around.

Wei Yuan appreciated all loyal followers, except, of course, those who were his enemies. He then asked, "What brings you here?"

Wang Zhidao said, "I will soon be promoted to the rank of Yujing, but I lack a wise teacher. I have come here to ask the military governor for guidance so that I can continue on my path."

Wei Yuan knew that this meant he was being accepted as a disciple, which meant he was essentially Wei Yuan's half-master, and Wei Yuan would have to obey his orders. This was a different kind of patronage, and even more reliable than traditional patronage.

Wei Yuan remained calm and asked, "Anything else?"

Wang Zhi said in a deep voice, "This humble official would like to request Lord Wei to spare Prince Ji's life."

　The title is under review; it will be released once approved.

　　
　
(End of this chapter)