Longzang

Chapter 246 I am a good citizen

Before coming here, Wei Yuan had done a lot of research on the political situation in the Western Jin Dynasty.

The factional struggles in the Western Jin Dynasty were quite intense. Among the various forces, the civil officials of the "pure stream" were the most prominent, led by the two Grand Secretaries, the Left and Right Chancellors. However, the Left and Right Chancellors were not on good terms, and the Right Chancellor was currently at a disadvantage. Otherwise, it would not have been so easy for Sun Chaoen to offer his tribute.

Secondly, there were the nobles and military generals led by Prince Cheng. Prince Cheng was the current Prince Jin's uncle, and his cultivation was astonishing; his inner world had begun to manifest outwards. Most of the military generals in the court who held significant military power belonged to this faction, but Yue Jinshan was not.

Yue Jinshan does not belong to any faction.

Then there was the eunuch faction led by Grand Eunuch Liu Quangong and Grand Eunuch Zhao Tong. This faction received overt and covert support from Prince Jin, but they were still struggling and were targeted by both civil and military officials.

This was originally the faction that Wei Yuan aspired to belong to. Although the eunuch faction never had a good reputation in historical records, history was written by scholars, and scholars naturally wouldn't write a single good word about the eunuch faction. Wei Yuan read history only by looking at the events themselves and didn't care about the historians' evaluations; by looking at it this way, he could glean a lot of information.

Historically, the interests of eunuch factions were relatively simple, and their desires were also straightforward: primarily money, with power being secondary. Once they had money, many eunuchs would still be willing to serve. Unlike civil officials, who were obsessed with power, money, women, enjoyment, and fame, wanting everything and creating extremely complex and exhausting relationships.

Another reason is that the eunuch faction is the weakest and has no military power, which is exactly what Wei Yuan can fill.

Unexpectedly, there was an even weaker maternal relative in the Western Jin Dynasty. How weak was he? The key figure, Marquis Xiang, came to him on his own.

Wei Yuan had a very clear understanding of his own position. Within the Taichu Palace, he was merely a Foundation Establishment cultivator, one of approximately nine thousand such individuals. In the martial world, he wasn't even a regional warlord; at best, he was a mountain bandit king. After repelling the Wu Clan's attack, Wei Yuan felt his status had risen, taking him one step closer to becoming the number one bandit in the Western Regions.

The imperial court and its princes personally recruited a band of thieves? Wei Yuan thought that even in traditional storybooks, they wouldn't dare to write something like that, unless the bandit leader had a name like "One Flower" or something.

However, Wei Yuan did indeed have a flower in his hand.

Wei Yuan said, "This Marquis Xiang wouldn't be thinking of taking my Immortal Tree, would he? He's overthinking it."

“We’re definitely going to make an offer, but it’s not a must. That’s why we need to see your strength. Also, I suspect that there are some things in the delegation that the higher-ups want, but they don’t want anyone to know, so it would be best if these things were stolen. Otherwise, there would be no need for Marquis Xiang to bring this up,” Sun Chaoen said.

"Understood, I'll adapt to the situation. But if you want to borrow money to balance your accounts, the handling fee might be a bit high," Wei Yuan said.

The two quickly agreed on the details, and the matter was settled. Yue Qilin, listening from the side, was restless, unsure whether to leave or stay.

Seeing his constipated expression, Wei Yuan smiled and asked, "Is this chair uncomfortable?"

Yue Qilin said, "At most, I just buy and sell some military rations and weapons, but what you're doing is something that could wipe out your entire clan! I have a family to support, and I haven't even had enough time to enjoy the company of my new wife!"

Wei Yuan comforted him, saying, "Reselling military rations and weapons will also lead to the extermination of the clan, it won't be any worse."

Then Wei Yuan added, "But I'm a little curious. General Yue should have everything he needs, so how could he sell me a million units of military rations all at once?"

Yue Qilin said irritably, "First of all, it wasn't me who sold the grain, it was Lord Sun, and everyone in the prefecture, from top to bottom. Lord Li also tacitly approved it, and he got his share without any less. Secondly, I can live with myself if I give you the grain."

Finally, all the soldiers in my battalion were on duty; if they said eight thousand, then there were eight thousand. According to the regulations of the court, the allocated funds and rations would only be enough to feed half the men at most. If I didn't raise money, what would my brothers eat? This is the front line; we're going to fight the Wu tribe. How can we survive if we're not well-fed?

At this moment, Sun Chaoen said, "Speaking of staffing, I just had an idea. Mr. Zhang is here too, let's discuss it together."

Sun Chaoen took out another map and opened it; it was also hand-drawn by himself. This map was less detailed than the previous one, but it was densely marked, showing the defenses of all four counties in the Shattered Domain.

Yue Qilin gasped, "You're planning a rebellion?" Wei Yuan laughed, "That's too much. I'm a law-abiding citizen! I just wanted to know where the weak points might be vulnerable to bandit attacks."

Several military fortifications were marked with conspicuous red pen annotations, indicating that these were traps set by Yue Jinshan. Other fortifications were marked with question marks, so Wei Yuan and Sun Chaoen both looked at Yue Qilin.

"Why are you all looking at me like that? This is a capital offense, I won't do it!"

Sun Chaoen laughed and said, "Hasn't General Yue done enough things that could get him beheaded? You wouldn't want bandits to attack your uncle's direct subordinates, would you?"

Yue Qilin snorted and pointed at the map: "I only know this one, I don't know about the others."

Wei Yuan nodded: "Settlements everywhere, that should be enough."

"What are you going to do?"

Wei Yuan pointed to a small town located in a second-tier city and said, "I plan to clear this place out."

Yue Qilin remembered that the small town had some grain stored up, but not much, only two or three hundred thousand catties. So he asked, "Are you still short of grain?"

“I don’t lack anything, but I need to make others think I do,” Wei Yuan said.

Wei Yuan and Sun Chaoen talked until late into the night, planning several more things. Throughout the night, Yue Qilin ate without really tasting anything, as he had been involved in every single one of these important matters.

This meal led to several heinous crimes punishable by death by a thousand cuts.

Now he finally understands that the "friends" in a clique can be those who share the same bad habits, or those who are not in control of their own destiny.

Upon returning to the realm, Wei Yuan had reaped a bountiful harvest, his arms now filled with several maps. These maps showed military fortifications, trade routes, and the distribution of mineral deposits and geological formations.

Wei Yuan's plan wasn't about actually siding with any faction; he simply wanted to muddy the waters. Given some time, Wei Yuan would deliver a pleasant surprise.

After the great battles, more than 40,000 people died in the region. After obtaining that batch of military rations, there was no shortage of food, enough to support the harvest of 20,000 mu of newly cultivated farmland.

Of those who survived, nearly half had been through the baptism of war, while the rest had lived in the realm for a period of time and their health had greatly improved.

Wei Yuan, facing a shortage of manpower, had long ago exchanged several of the easiest-to-learn Body Forging techniques from the Tai Chu Palace and distributed them directly to everyone. Now, out of more than 90,000 people, 40,000 have newly advanced to Body Forging, and together with the original ones, there are a total of 60,000 Body Forging cultivators in the entire realm.

The vast majority of those so-called body forging are only at the level of the farmers in Populus euphratica village back then. However, with the support of the power of the realm and the ability to eat and dress well, these people can cultivate very quickly and complete the forging of their muscles and bones in just a few months.

In fact, those who survived the various torments of the Broken Realm were all physically strong; the weaker ones would have died long ago and never even reached adulthood.

After returning to the realm, Wei Yuan carefully selected three thousand newly promoted cultivators, intending to take them out for training and to let them see the level of the local guards of the Western Jin Dynasty.

Qingming is known for its swift and decisive actions. Wei Yuan returned at dawn, and by daybreak the team had already set off eastward.

(End of this chapter)