Longzang

Chapter 259 Strategies for Governing the Country
Wei Yuan knew that the Marquis of Xiang could not produce any grain.

The Western Jin Dynasty suffered from poor harvests, and only civil officials and nobles could mobilize large quantities of grain; even the eunuch faction couldn't do it. Transporting large quantities of grain was also a major problem, so if the Marquis of Xiang wanted to supply grain, it would be best to obtain it from Ningxi Prefecture.

As it happened, Wei Yuan had bought up all the grain in Ningxi Prefecture, both the sellable and unsellable grain, at twenty times the price. If the existing grain were sold, the soldiers would go hungry.

Soldier pills are a valuable commodity; one pill during wartime can keep one from hunger for three days and provide ample energy, enabling continuous fighting without sleep. The Marquis of Xiang produced ten thousand pills in one go, equivalent to five hundred thousand catties of military rations.

However, ten thousand military ration pills wouldn't take up much space, and a skilled individual could easily deliver them. What Wei Yuan wanted to see now was who could transport large quantities of supplies in Ningxi Prefecture; that was real power, while the rest were just petty thieves.

As for the opportunity that Marquis Xiang mentioned, Wei Yuan didn't really care. It was something invisible and intangible, nothing more than a pie in the sky; Wei Yuan didn't want a pie, he only wanted something real.

Ever since he defeated the old man beside the princess in a fair one-on-one battle, Wei Yuan has become somewhat arrogant. Now that he can even defeat a Dharma Aspect cultivator, his value is naturally different from before, and if you want to win him over, you'll have to pay more.

Of course, Wei Yuan believed in his heart that the battle was quite fair.

The princess was there for all to see; her destiny was innate. Who could the old man blame for not channeling his full power? In the end, he was defeated by Wei Yuan in a single move. That said, being able to unleash the equivalent of dozens of Dao Foundations in one breath was Wei Yuan's skill. If it were the old man, with his frail body, he probably wouldn't have lasted a single breath before exploding.

What Wei Yuan truly wanted were a large quantity of spiritual plants, preferably saplings, but seeds would also suffice. However, Xiang Hou could likely provide these and deliver them to him, so they wouldn't have the desired effect of intimidation and would only reveal his own needs. Besides, these could all be obtained from the Hall of Merit, so they weren't particularly urgent.

On the return journey, Wei Yuan chose the military fortress guarded by guerrilla general Wang Kun, the same for which Song Chao had been killed right under his nose last time.

Wang Kun definitely had Yue Jinshan's ambush here, but Wei Yuan was also certain that these ambush troops wouldn't come out of the city to fight. As long as he didn't attack the military fortifications, everything would be fine.

If Wang Kun were to truly turn against him and try to rescue the prisoners of war under his control, Wei Yuan wouldn't mind teaching him a lesson. Fighting three hundred Daoji in the field? Back then, Wei Yuan only deployed his seventh squad and wiped out a battlefield of six or seven thousand men. Wei Yuan didn't believe Wang Kun's fortified camp could hold ten thousand men.

The safest route was the military fortress guarded by General Liu. However, it was rare to find a sensible general in charge, and Wei Yuan worried that if he made too many trips, he might lose his official position.

Half a day later, a large contingent marched past the military camp in a grand procession. Wang Kun, standing on the city wall, remained expressionless. He stood as still as a mountain, but the captain beside him suddenly became agitated, pointing to one of the prisoners and saying, "That, that's Captain Zhang Ming! Wasn't he on duty in Bianning County? How did he get captured?"

Then the crowd recognized several more familiar captains. Wang Kun and Yue Qilin were on good terms, and the officers under his command also had good relationships with each other.

"General, should we go and rescue them?"

Wang Kun smiled enigmatically and said, "What, you also want to go to Qingming to eat grain?"

The captain then fell silent.

He knew his general's personality well; his next question would definitely be, "How many can you fight?" The captain knew his own abilities; he might not even be able to defeat those masked knights one-on-one. There were already rumors that at least thirty of the Fifty Great Thieves of Zhan Tian were at the Dao Foundation Establishment stage. While the captain didn't quite believe it, he knew there were at least a dozen at the Dao Foundation Establishment stage.

Wang Kun watched the prisoners depart into the distance, then suddenly chuckled self-deprecatingly and muttered to himself, "Raising bandits is a way to gain prestige... Heh! I'm just afraid these bandits will get too fat too quickly, and no matter how many I give them, it won't be enough to feed them."
-
Bianning County.

Li Weisheng pushed a pile of official documents in front of Sun Chaoen and said, "Lord Sun, these are all documents from Prefect Yuan requesting money and grain. What do you think we should do?"

After reading through them one by one, Sun Chaoen said, "Prefect Yuan's writing is truly remarkable. There is absolutely no reason not to provide the money and provisions."

Li Weisheng simply smiled and did not speak.

Both men knew perfectly well that there was no food available at the moment, unless the officials were willing to reduce their meals—the prefects, assistant prefects, deputy generals, and so on—and stop holding banquets at their homes, living on simple porridge and vegetables every day. This was absolutely impossible.

Sun Chaoen said, "This matter is easy to handle. It can be summed up in four words: nurture the enemy to maintain your own importance."

"Appreciate further details."

Sun Chaoen said, "Bandits are rampant in the county now. Even the Zhao Kingdom's envoy delegation was robbed. I heard that the princess was also wronged..."

At this point, Li Weisheng's face lit up. He leaned forward and lowered his voice to ask, "Did you say the bandits succeeded?"

Sun Chaoen also chimed in: "I heard that you managed to get that bite, but you swallowed it a little too quickly?"

How urgent?

“Swallowed whole!” Sun Chaoen said with absolute certainty, as if he had witnessed it with his own eyes.

Li Weisheng let out a long breath, his expression a complex mix of worry and joy, and said, "I wonder what these dates taste like." Sun Chaoen replied, "You swallowed them whole, too quickly. You only knew they tasted good, how could you have time to savor them?"

"What a pity, what a pity..." Li Weisheng sighed repeatedly.

The two officials then sat up straight and continued their business.

Sun Chaoen continued, "...bandits are rampant in the prefecture. On the one hand, we have to send a large force to suppress them. This suppression requires money and grain; on the other hand, the money and grain we send to Ningxi Prefecture are also easily robbed. Not to mention, this time, General Feng's defeat has wiped out half of General Yue's old guard."

Li Weisheng understood immediately.

Everyone knows what Feng Lin is up to: he can't afford to support a full complement of soldiers, so he has to get rid of some of them to continue drawing salaries without actually serving his quota. Now that Feng Lin has failed to properly guard the envoy, the Zhao princess is furious, so Li Weisheng has already imprisoned him, and it's estimated that he won't be released for good.

However, Feng Lin cleared out half of the positions, which was a real benefit, but it all ended up in the hands of Li Weisheng and Sun Chaoen.

Li Weisheng pondered and said, "The Zhantian Gang has too much of a reputation. It's a case of 'the bigger the tree, the more the wind blows.' It would be best to change its name."

Sun Chaoen then said, "I reckon they'll be changing soon."

Li Weisheng said, "This plan is good, but there is one thing that worries me. Prefect Yuan's territory is peaceful and well-governed, while our side is plagued by bandits. This doesn't sound good! Prefect Yuan is a former official who speaks out against the government, so I'm sure there will be no shortage of memorials impeaching us."

Sun Chaoen smiled slightly and said, "I have quite a few memorials to the throne as well."

Li Weisheng then said, "Oh, what have you written recently? Could you let me know?"

Sun Chaoen then took out a stack of jade papers and handed them over. Li Weisheng picked them up and saw that they were all copies of recent memorials, but after reading the contents, his expression turned strange.

"Your Majesty, how are you feeling today?"

"Your Majesty, your humble servant Sun Chao'en respectfully wishes you a long and peaceful life!"

"Your Majesty, I have found a precious medicine and wish to present it to you."

……

"Your Majesty, how are you feeling today?"

……

Li Weisheng put down the jade paper, both amused and exasperated: "What are you writing here? Do you have to force yourself to play a musical piece even when there's nothing wrong with it?"

“A little trick, just in case the King forgets me,” Sun Chaoen said with a smile, then his expression turned serious. “I heard that the people of Quliu Town under Prefect Yuan’s jurisdiction have all been relocated into the territory by Wei Yuan. He’s a man who goes to extremes, so he simply drove the scattered people in as well. So there shouldn’t be many people under his jurisdiction now. Without people, there are no taxes and no grain. But his military strength is real, and the daily consumption of food and supplies for men and horses is enormous.”

My lord, you have connections in the court; Prefect Yuan cannot touch you. You only need to remain calm and collected. In time, those border generals will all realize that if they want to eat their fill, they'll have to come to you!
Wouldn't that improve public opinion in the court?

Li Weisheng pondered the matter carefully, finding it increasingly reasonable. He then said, "Lord Sun is indeed a man of great talent. This plan is brilliant, but why tell me? If I am transferred due to my poor governance, wouldn't you become the prefect?"

Sun Chaoen said, “Lord Li has been promoted, and I am still a prefect. Besides, only you, Lord Li, can use this strategy. With you in this position, Prefect Yuan cannot overthrow you. If it were me, I would probably have been torn to pieces and swallowed up long ago. I have no roots; to put it nicely, I have joined the Right Chancellor's faction. But the Right Chancellor's threshold is too high; how can I possibly cross it?”

Li Weisheng nodded slowly and said, "Lord Sun is wasting his talents in this remote place. I believe he will be able to enter the imperial court sooner or later. However, governing the imperial court is not the same as governing a remote place; one must have strategies for governing the country. I will probably remain in this position for a while longer, so Lord Sun can think about it carefully during this time."

"Actually, I have already come up with a plan for governing the country, and I was just about to ask Lord Li for his opinion."

Li Weisheng became interested and said, "Tell me about it."

Sun Chaoen sat upright, his righteous spirit gradually rising. At this moment, he no longer resembled a slick official, but rather a novice scholar preparing to give his opinions on the country.

He said, word by word, "The court is filled with upright officials!"

(End of this chapter)