Longzang

Chapter 308 Reward
"...Feng Weiyuan was appointed as the military governor of Dingxi, in charge of all military affairs, and was granted half the usual court etiquette when he entered the court."

Admire this! "

The long, drawn-out voice echoed across the realm. The young masters from the noble families behind Wei Yuan were still somewhat bewildered, and the cultivators of the Tai Chu Palace in the distance were equally confused. This official position seems rather high-ranking?
Wei Yuan knelt on one knee and, after listening, said, "Thank you, Your Majesty!"

Zhao Tong accepted the imperial edict and handed it to Wei Yuan. He then took Wei Yuan's hand and said with a smile, "From now on, when you see the King, you must address him as Holy King. This is something you cannot overlook."

Wei Yuan hurriedly said, "Thank you for your guidance, Eunuch Zhao!"

Taking advantage of the moment of bowing, he subtly withdrew his hand.

Zhao Tong said, "Entering the court with half a ceremony is a unique honor among the high-ranking officials of our Great Jin! From now on, Lord Wei is also a second-rank official."

Wei Yuan hurriedly replied, "I am deeply humbled. I will need your continued guidance in the future!"

Zhao Tong glanced at Wei Yuan and smiled, "Governor Wei has connections in the court, so there aren't many places where he can use my skills. However, I feel a sense of closeness with the governor, so we might as well visit each other more often in the future."

"That's natural!"

"Since we're already here, and we've long heard of the many wonders of the Azure Nether Immortal Stone, why don't you take us there to broaden our horizons, Governor?"

The atmosphere suddenly became somewhat heavy. Wei Yuan paused for a moment, then smiled and said, "If you wish to see, Your Excellency, there is no problem."

A moment later, Wei Yuan and Zhao Tong stood beside the Azure Nether Immortal Stone. At this moment, the Azure Nether was still the size of a tabletop, but it was crystal clear, with azure energy flowing around it, and wisps of misty aura constantly being generated and dissipating into the world.

Zhao Tong took a deep breath, inhaled a few wisps of steam, tasted it, and was slightly disappointed.

He raised his left arm, and the red-browed eunuch rushed over, supporting his hand and acting as a human armrest.

"Let's go and explore somewhere else."

After leaving the secret chamber where Qingming was located, Zhao Tong casually wandered around Qingming, taking a quick look around. After also visiting the weapon forging workshop, he specifically asked to see the herb garden.

So Wei Yuan accompanied Zhao Tong to the herb garden.

Before stepping into the formation, Zhao Tong smiled and said, "This herb garden truly embodies the grandeur of immortals. If it were filled with the immortal herbs of Nanshan, just thinking about it..."

He stepped into the formation and saw gusts of cold wind and chilling air. The aura of the underworld rushed towards him. If a few demons or ghosts were to float by, it would definitely be the underworld.

Zhao Tong swallowed the rest of his words.

After a moment, he turned to Wei Yuan and asked, "Is this the herb garden?"

“This is a medicinal herb garden!” Wei Yuan said with certainty.

"Is this really a medicinal herb garden?"

"It's true, this is indeed the herb garden!"

Zhao Tong still refused to believe it, when suddenly two eerie red lamps lit up in the black mist, and a foul wind immediately swept through the area! Zhao Tong's face turned pale, and although the young eunuch beside him was also trembling, he still stepped in front of him, his voice trembling as he said, "What, what kind of monster is this? Retreat at once..."

The content of the statement was very assertive, but the tone was one of negotiation.

At this moment, an old Taoist priest emerged from the black mist and chuckled, "What, is this old man interested in this old Taoist's spiritual plant?"

Upon hearing this, Zhao Tong's spirits lifted, and he asked, "May I ask what kind of spiritual plant you have planted, Immortal?"

The old Taoist priest instantly became interested. With a wave of his hand, the array covering the three fields in front of him opened, revealing the scene inside.

All three plots of land were a dark reddish-black, with thick, blood-like liquid seeping out from time to time. Three small vines grew in the fields; two appeared normal, but the upper half of one had turned black and was as transparent as glass. As soon as the formation was activated, several of its branches turned around, seemingly fixing their gaze on Zhao Tong!
The old Taoist chuckled, “These three were originally demon-eating vines, but I cultivated them with Netherworld Soil and buried some remains and flesh of a Great Witch underground. Finally, one of them transformed into this form, which I named the Ink Jade Demon-Eating Vine. Don't underestimate it because of its small size; currently, it's merely preying on Dao Foundation cultivators. Once it matures, even a Dharma Body entangled by it will suffer a severe loss of life, if not death. Furthermore, it is highly poisonous, best at eroding lifespan. Just a whiff of it reduces one's lifespan by ten years, and a single bite…”

Zhao Tong's face twitched, and he hurriedly said, "Alright, alright, Immortal Master, please turn off the formation!"

The old Taoist waved his hand to close the formation, trapping the restless demonic vines once again.

Zhao Tong looked deeper and saw that the air was filled with yin energy. Although the spiritual energy was plentiful, there was clearly nothing he wanted. In this kind of environment, only poisonous demon vines could thrive.

After leaving the herb garden, Zhao Tong waved for the young eunuch to step back, and with Wei Yuan by his side, he said, "Lord Wei, I've heard that you have a magical tree here? I wonder what its wondrous uses are?"

"It was just a broken branch of a celestial tree bestowed upon me by a celestial lord in the palace, but it was skilled in killing. Now I have forged it into this celestial sword."

Wei Yuan manifested the Crimson Night Immortal-Slaying Sword. Zhao Tong took the sword, examined it carefully for a moment, and repeatedly praised, "What a fine sword! What a fine sword!"

After playing with it for a while, he returned the immortal sword to Wei Yuan and sighed, "It's a pity that I'm getting old and have lost interest in all this fighting and killing. I just want to live a few more years in peace."

The two talked and walked until they returned to the town of Zhike. Once they were seated again, two cultivators carried in a box. The box wasn't large, but it was quite heavy, causing the table legs to creak when it was placed on the table.

Wei Yuan said, "The realm has just been established, so we don't have anything of value. We only have a small gift to offer you, sir."

The young eunuch beside him, estimating the weight of the box, began to breathe more rapidly.

Zhao Tong's eyes were sharp; without even using any special abilities, he could tell at a glance that the box contained at least 15,000 taels of silver. His lips curled into a wide smile, as if hooked and unable to relax. "Oh dear! Lord Wei, how can I accept this?"

"Just a little bit of local specialty products."

Zhao Tong chuckled and said, "Lord Wei is indeed a remarkable man. No wonder he was able to establish a fiefdom and rise to the second rank at such a young age. You don't know, Lord Chen Dao also said he would send me some local specialties, and it turned out that most of them were indeed local specialties, haha!"

Wei Yuan chuckled a few times.

Zhao Tong then said, "Since Lord Wei is so kind, I won't hold back. If we come across any longevity medicine in the future, we will try our best to acquire it, as it will be of great use."

Wei Yuan's heart stirred, and he said, "Please enlighten me a little, Eunuch."

"This place you're in produces precious medicines. Oh, Lord Wei, you've only been in the Western Regions for a short time, so let me be more explicit. The Witch Clan possesses a secret longevity elixir called the Yingluo Pearl. Although it has endless potential for harm, it can be a lifesaver in dire straits. Therefore, in your future dealings with the Witch Clan, whether you rob, cheat, or trade, you must acquire at least a few Yingluo Pearls, otherwise you will disappoint many lords."

"A necklace bead?" Wei Yuan had never heard of such a thing before. It wasn't in the exchange system of the Taichu Palace's Hall of Merit, nor was it in Xu Jingfeng's father's secret vault. There was no record of such a thing in any documents.

The young eunuch quietly left the room and closed the door.

Zhao Tong lowered his voice and said, "The Yingluo Bead is also known as the Blood Yingluo, and the superior grade is called the Soul Yingluo. This is... a small item that appears during the Wu Clan's heaven-worshiping ceremony. If this item is consumed using a secret method, it can replenish the lifespan lost due to various reasons!"

Wei Yuan's heart skipped a beat; he roughly understood what it was. He remained calm and asked, "If you take too much of this, won't it attract the Heavenly Punishment of the Human King Sword?"

"It's been so long, there are plenty of ways to cover it up," Zhao Tong said meaningfully.

After a moment's thought, Wei Yuan said, "I will keep an eye on it."

Zhao Tong sighed and said slowly, "If there were no other way, no one would want to take this step. Of course, it would be best to have other precious medicines. I had heard that Qingming had the miraculous power of Jiamu generating Xuan, and you also have the immortal tree, so I thought I would come and take a look. However, such treasures of heaven and earth are, after all, rare and hard to come by."

Wei Yuan said, "Your Excellency is in the prime of your life, why are you already thinking about prolonging your life?"

“We don’t need it for now, but we will need it sooner or later. And some of the older officials are already impatient. Alright, I’ve said everything I needed to say, and it’s time to go back and report to His Majesty. However, according to ancestral rules, Lord Wei must go to the capital to meet the Emperor within three months. This is a major event, so Lord Wei must not forget it.”

Having said all that needed to be said, Zhao Tong handed over all the official seals and court robes of the military governor and returned to the capital.

Before leaving, Zhao Tong weighed the box in his hand and said to Wei Yuan, "It will be late autumn when we enter the capital. The journey is long and the wind is cold. Lord Wei, please wear more clothes."

After seeing Zhao Tong off, Wei Yuan broke out in a cold sweat. Being with this chief eunuch required him to be constantly on edge.

Wei Yuan then summoned all the cultivators of Taichu Palace to discuss the King of Jin's decree.

Zhang Sheng said first, "This is the most orthodox way out, and it's a good thing."

Cui Yu also said, "Half a ceremony upon entering the court! Heh, even among aristocratic families, only a handful receive such treatment. This is really...unlikely. Could it be that the Prince of Jin has recently developed a mental illness?"

The sourness in his words was palpable.

Ji Liuli said, "The Immortal Sect has the right not to bow, so Little Wei Yuan is only paying half a bow!"

Zhang Sheng said, "If we don't worship, then we are worshipping the True Lord and the Immortal Lord."

Ji Liuli snorted and stopped arguing.

The so-called "half-courtesy" refers to Wei Yuan's kneeling on one knee when receiving the imperial decree today. Apart from meeting the Prince of Jin, he is not required to kneel before anyone else, which is considered a special courtesy. According to historical records, those who received even higher honors tended to have less than favorable outcomes.

Next came the granting of various real powers to Wei Yuan. These powers were compiled into a separate document, which arrived as ordered.

The first and most crucial point is the decentralization of military affairs. Simply put, Wei Yuan is in charge of all military matters, including building and training the army, and can form his own troops. However, the court allocates only one garrison to him.

According to the military system of the Great Tang Army, a town consisted of five battalions, each with a thousand men. The town commander could be a deputy general, a guerrilla commander, or a general.

Upon reading this, Yu Zhizhuo said, "Only five thousand? That's not enough. The next batch of breastplates alone will require twenty thousand sets."

Zhang Sheng said, "Five thousand is approved by the imperial court, and equipment and pay will be issued accordingly. In addition to the garrison troops, there are many other ways to hide soldiers, such as personal guards, local militias, civilian militias, or even household guards."

"I see!" Yu Zhizhuo exclaimed in sudden realization, "Junior Brother Zhang is indeed talented; he knows everything!"

Zhang Sheng felt uneasy after being praised so piercingly by his senior brother, wondering what his senior brother was thinking.

Sun Yu also said, "That makes things easier. Let's start by gathering 40,000 guards... Oh, is it a bad idea to poison the guards' weapons?"

Wei Yuan was both amused and exasperated. Forty thousand guards—how big must that courtyard be? He coughed to bring the topic back on track, saying, "There's another important matter at hand: going to the capital to meet the Emperor."

Zhu Xiu frowned slightly. This was indeed a big deal. After all, everyone knew that Wei Yuan's strength would drop sharply without Qing Ming.

Going to the capital, one may not have to worry about life or death for the time being. After all, the grand investiture will be announced to the world. Both the feudal lords and the emperor value reputation, and the King of Jin will not embarrass himself.

When Wei Yuan suddenly rose to a high position, no one could do anything to him while he was in Qingming, but once he went to the capital, some people would probably jump out and want to reassess Wei Yuan's worth.

(End of this chapter)