Longzang

Chapter 248 Outperforming others
In the study, Chen Dao picked up a stack of official documents and placed them in front of Yue Jinshan.

"Old Yue, there have been eleven fires at grain depots of all sizes across the country this month. Isn't that a bit too many?"

Yue Jinshan remained silent for a moment, carefully reading through all the official documents. Chen Dao waited patiently, showing no intention of urging him on.

After reading all the official documents, Yue Jinshan said, "There have been seven fires in the granaries of Bianning County. Only two of them were related to the frontline troops, and the other two were not under my command."

"You are the Commander of Ningxi Prefecture, aren't all these people your subordinates?"

"Since Lord Chen has said so, then I will replace the several adjutants tomorrow. Please send an official document to follow up."

Chen Dao said helplessly, "Old Yue, you're still lacking in skill. Let me be frank, your nephew is in charge of Bianning County. I've heard that General Yue has absolute power in military affairs, making it impossible for the county governor to interfere. Of the seven granaries, at least four are military granaries. Doesn't General Yue have anything to say about that?"

Yue Jinshan remained calm and said indifferently, "Which army unit doesn't have its granaries catch fire a few times a year? These just happened to happen this month; it's purely coincidental."

Chen Dao took a sip of tea, his expression unchanged, and asked, "If I don't believe it's a coincidence, I will definitely investigate further?"

Yue Jinshan finally showed an expression, and sneered, "Your Excellency, do you really intend to investigate?"

"More than a dozen grain warehouse fires in a month, there has to be an explanation."

Yue Jinshan sneered: "Fine, then I'll ask you, the 50,000 border troops I brought from the northern border, each of them has achieved blood fusion, so they can be considered elite, right?"

"The general's troops are the elite of the land, a fact acknowledged by both the court and the public."

"A soldier at the Blood Fusion Realm, who goes into battle during wartime and trains in body tempering during peacetime, needs meat, milk, and eggs every day, or at least ten catties of military rations. Is that too much to ask?"

Chen Dao nodded: "The amount required for body forging is several times that of ordinary people. The spiritual energy here is scarce and there is no replenishment, so this number is normal."

"Since it's normal, then the imperial court allocated three months' worth of military rations, but by the time they reached me, each person only received three catties per day. Lord Chen, what do you suggest: should I shorten the three-month defense period to one month, or reduce the 50,000 troops to 15,000?"

"General Yue has served in the army for many years, so he naturally has a solution."

"There is a solution, but you will inevitably get some soot from the fire on your hands."

Chen Dao pondered for a moment and said, "But there are also generals who are not covered in dust."

Yue Jinshan sneered: "Lord Chen, I know these generals you're talking about. They fall into two categories. One type is untainted by dust but stained with the blood of soldiers. Go to their camps and see if they can muster even half their troops. The other type, on the other hand, happens to include one of your classmates, Lord Chen. This man graduated from the Four Saints Academy, and his writing is exquisite. He has mastered both literature and military prowess, earning him the title of 'Confucian General,' a model among the upright officials."

Chen Dao, who was always extremely shrewd, frowned slightly.

Yue Jinshan retorted without any politeness, "This fellow scholar of Lord Chen is known throughout the land for his incorruptibility, honesty, and integrity. The court gives him 1.5 jin of grain, and he actually distributes 1.5 jin. But ordinary people don't even get 1.5 jin a day for daily labor, yet his soldiers only eat 1.5 jin a day—aren't they as thin as monkeys? And he has the nerve to call it 'toughening their minds and starving their bodies'! He's guarding a few counties in the interior; he can train tens of thousands of soldiers to be like monkeys without any problems. But what if he were transferred to guard the border?"

Chen Dao coughed lightly and said, "General Yue..."

Yue Jinshan pretended not to hear and sneered, "If you, my fellow graduate, were in my position, Lord Chen, you probably wouldn't be able to sleep without wearing armor every night, would you? With his fifty thousand monkeys, I only need to send two thousand elite troops to slaughter them until they can't find their way north!"

"Let's get back to the main topic."

"A scholar-general of integrity, admired by all under heaven. If I, Yue, were to say a few more words, wouldn't that also be to spread his fame?"

Chen Dao sighed and said, "General Yue, please say less. It's already thanks to my efforts that you've managed to get 30% of the military rations allocated by the court. No matter how much my fellow graduate tries, he'll only ever get 15%."

Yue Jinshan snorted and said reluctantly, "What I mean should be clear to Lord Chen: if you want to do something, you have to get your hands dirty. If you don't get your hands dirty, you'll end up like your classmate. If there are too many people like that, the Western Jin Dynasty will be doomed sooner or later."

Chen Dao sighed and rubbed his forehead, "General Yue... well, too many granaries have caught fire, they need to be dealt with, otherwise no one can explain it away. How about this, General Yue, pick two out and I'll handle them, okay?"

Yue Jinshan frowned, but still pulled out two documents from the archives and placed them in front of Chen Dao, saying, "These two guys aren't my men. They're just trying to take advantage of the chaos and make a quick buck for themselves."

Chen Dao placed the two official documents on the other side of the table and said slowly, "The laws and regulations of the court have been established over many years and cannot be easily changed. Under this system, everyone inevitably has something on their hands, whether it's ashes or blood. But having something on one's hands is a violation of the law, and it is right for someone to want to investigate. However, who to investigate and who not to investigate is my business."

"Just like my intention to investigate this fire, but I had a very pleasant conversation with General Yue today, so the selection of the person to investigate will be left to General Yue. But next time, I'm afraid I'll have to choose myself."

Yue Jinshan snorted, got up and left. After leaving, he slammed the door shut, which shook the entire study. A large amount of dust fell from the roof, and the room was filled with smoke and dust.

But Chen Dao was enveloped in a pure aura, untouched by any dust. Sunlight pierced through the dust and fell upon him, revealing his graceful figure and otherworldly air. In this turbid world, he was like a white lotus.

Chen Dao picked up another official document and examined it closely. This document was from Yuan Qingyan, the prefect of Ningxi County. It stated that he had received news that Qingming was short of food and might be planning something soon. He requested that the prefectural city send more troops to strictly blockade the area, preventing even a single grain of food from entering Qingming. At the same time, he suggested that displaced people be encouraged to go to Qingming to increase their burden.

Chen Dao shook his head inwardly. More than a dozen granaries had caught fire, and over a million catties of military rations had gone missing. Looking across the entire Shattered Domain, who else could possibly consume so much grain?

However, Yuan Qingyan, being in a remote corner, was unaware of these matters. Therefore, after pondering for a moment, Chen Dao approved the document and issued it to the relevant departments for execution.

Wei Yuan returned with a full load, but as soon as he entered the realm, Yu Zhizhuo grabbed him.

“Nephew Wei Yuan, I need your help with the mine.”

A mineral vein? Wei Yuan's ears perked up.

It could be said that mineral veins were the most important thing besides food. Although Wei Yuan could use the power of Qingming to explore the earth's veins, he could only see up to a hundred feet deep. Moreover, Wei Yuan knew nothing about the distribution of mineral veins. The rocks in his divine sense all looked exactly the same. How could he know what each rock contained?
Yu Zhizhuo's invitation indicated that there had been an important discovery. Wei Yuan naturally did not refuse, and after instructing people to receive and settle the looted supplies, he flew away with Yu Zhizhuo.

The two flew north, where there were many rolling hills.

On the way, Yu Zhizhuo said, "I have been surveying the earth's veins these past few days, but I haven't found much. However, I discovered a special rock layer in the northern mountains. If we can break through the rock layer, there might be something there. Let me tell you some basic knowledge about earth veins first."

Regardless of whether Wei Yuan wanted to listen or not, Yu Zhizhuo began to speak eloquently, starting from the transformation of chaos into Yin and Yang, explaining how various innate supreme energies mixed and evolved, how they repelled and attracted each other, resulting in countless combinations and changes, numbering at least several thousand. This was only the initial transformation; when the three gave birth to all things, the changes multiplied by several thousand, and this was a simplified account.

It wasn't until they flew to the ground, entered a pre-existing mine shaft, and went dozens of meters underground, standing before a rock stratum fracture, that Yu Zhizhuo began to explain the third type of change. There were still over a million more types that he hadn't had time to discuss.

Before Wei Yuan stood a dark blue stone wall, its rock layers exceptionally fine, like a piece of unpolished jade. The rock face was about three zhang wide and one zhang high, covered with marks of axe and chisel work. In front of the stone wall were more than a dozen Foundation Establishment cultivators. Several were Yu Zhizhuo's junior brothers, and the rest were Foundation Establishment helpers transferred from other realms.

In just a few days, this mine tunnel could be dug to a depth of several dozen feet, and more than one tunnel was dug. The Heavenly Crafts Hall truly has expertise in mineral exploration.

Yu Zhizhuo then said, "This rock wall is actually part of a whole rock layer. There might be a surprise after we break through this rock layer. However, it is exceptionally tough, making it extremely difficult to carve."

Yu Zhizhuo flicked his wrist and unleashed a sword aura, which only managed to cut three feet into the rock surface. He struck several times in succession, but only managed to dig out a piece of rock the size of a tabletop. A cultivator at the initial stage of the Dao Foundation stage walked up with a specially made pickaxe, swung it forcefully, and only managed to chip off a piece the size of a fist.

Wei Yuan had a vague sense of unease.

Yu Zhizhu stepped aside and said, “I observed that the Swift Water Blade Technique used by my junior brother that day was incredibly powerful and extremely long-lasting, making it perfect for excavation here. Please, junior brother, take action and first dig a ten-zhang-long exploratory tunnel diagonally downwards.”

Following Yu Zhizhuo, all the disciples of the Heavenly Crafts Hall stood up, looking at Wei Yuan with expectant eyes.

Wei Yuan remained expressionless, his heart ashen. He assumed a fighting stance, and a halo of light suddenly appeared, illuminating the entire underground area. Then, a dazzling stream of water shot against the rock wall. Under the cutting and erosion of countless water blades, a large hole appeared in the rock surface at a visible speed, growing deeper and deeper.

"Stop!" Yu Zhizhuo watched for a while and then decisively called for a halt.

Wei Yuan stopped, puzzled. In the time it takes to drink a cup of tea, a hole the size of a water vat and half a zhang deep had appeared on the rock surface. On the ground, a layer of extremely fine rock sand had been piled up, like bluish flour.

Yu Zhizhuo said, "Earth overcomes water, and water blades are ultimately not good enough at cutting rocks. But water also generates metal. If you replace the water blade in your Daoist technique with a metal blade, the efficiency will increase greatly. I have an improved metal blade technique here. It has been improved by generations of predecessors, and now the structure of the Daoist technique is close to perfect. I will pass on this metal blade technique to you now. You can add it to the Daoist structure of the Rapid Water Blade Technique. You can add several of them."

A moment later, Wei Yuan unleashed another torrent of golden light, significantly increasing the cutting and excavation speed. There was even enough energy to widen the opening, making it easier for cultivators to enter and exit. The opening, about the size of a water vat, required one to crawl in and then back out. Now, with Wei Yuan's enlarged opening, people could crawl on their knees and even turn around inside.

Once the exploration tunnel is opened, the cultivators of the Heavenly Crafts Hall can enter and use their divine sense to scan the surrounding geological structure. After finding the ore vein, they then open up the mining channel at the ore face; this is the basic prospecting process.

Although the exploratory burrow was successfully dug, Wei Yuan felt inexplicably frustrated, and he didn't know why.

With nowhere to vent his pent-up emotions, a mysterious aura suddenly filled the area within several feet around him, and a torrent of pale red petals shot out, instantly deepening the cave by twenty feet!
Yu Zhizhuo's eyes lit up, and he almost pounced on Wei Yuan, praising, "Nephew, what skill you have! Truly the demeanor of an immortal! Anything else?"

Wei Yuan said expressionlessly, "No! Even if I had one, I wouldn't need it!"

He had just unleashed this water blade technique, imbued with the tree's aura, while the laurel tree was off guard. The laurel tree, feeling humiliated, was now unleashing seven sword energies to curse Wei Yuan.

But after Yu Zhizhuo's persistent pleading, appealing to his sense of righteousness, and enticing him with promises of profit, Wei Yuan was finally dragged to another mining area. This was the actual mineral vein.

That night, the magic roared all night long. Wei Yuan traversed thousands of feet underground, his Golden Light Water Blade Technique ruthlessly subduing all who dared to resist. He removed millions of pounds of ore, prompting Yu Zhizhuo to exclaim in amazement, "The student has surpassed the master!"

After finishing work, a knowledgeable disciple from the Heavenly Crafts Hall brought up a money bag, which swept away Wei Yuan's fatigue and pent-up frustration.

(End of this chapter)