Longzang

Chapter 313 Overture
After the court session ended, Prince Jin returned to his study, where several others also came to the study, bowed, and took their seats.

"You've all met Wei Yuan today, what did you think?"

To the left of the King of Jin was a handsome man whose age was hard to discern, exuding an air of contentment. It was as if neither being in the court nor sleeping in the mountains could affect his state of mind. This man was King Cheng, who had ascended to the rank of True Lord a hundred years ago.

Opposite King Cheng was a man who appeared slightly younger, with eyes like lightning, his entire being like a sword drawn from its sheath, exuding an extremely sharp aura. However, this sword seemed to be one with heaven and earth; although it was right in front of him, he felt no threat until the moment it struck.

This person is none other than the Prince of Ying, a member of the Western Jin imperial family, who has also cultivated to the Yujing realm, and is a key figure in turning the tide recently.

Below the two were the two prime ministers, and Liu Quangong stood beside the Prince of Jin.

When the King of Jin asked the question, the King of Cheng replied, "It's an inherent unruliness and unwillingness to be humiliated. But that's normal for young people. It's this kind of spirit that allows them to achieve such victories."

The King of England also said, "With him guarding the borders in the Western Regions, our pressure will be much less. I think we can transfer Yue Jinshan back to the northern frontier. There are no soldiers available in the north now, and they urgently need to be replenished."

The Right Chancellor said, "This boy is born rebellious and we must be wary of him! If he grows too powerful in the future, it will be difficult to control him."

The King's face immediately darkened, but the Prime Minister acted as if he hadn't seen it.

The King of Jin remained calm and continued, "Several people have reported that Wei Yuan has close ties with the State of Zhao and harbors rebellious intentions. What do you all think?"

The Left Chancellor said, "Qingming was newly established and had nothing. The Xu family also blocked the eastward trade routes, so he had no choice but to exchange what he needed with the Zhao Kingdom to the south. The memorials submitted by the censors were biased."

The Prince of Jin was somewhat surprised and said, "I didn't expect you to speak up for Wei Yuan. Then tell me, what approach should be taken against him?"

The Left Prime Minister said, "There is much criticism of Wei Yuan in the court. The reason is that he is not from a noble family and comes from a poor background. Secondly, he is too young. Many people in the court are old enough to be his grandfathers, so they naturally dislike him. In addition, there has always been a saying that commoners can only reach the seventh rank, but Wei Yuan entered officialdom as a second-rank official, which inevitably arouses jealousy."

The Prince of Jin nodded slightly.

The Left Chancellor continued, "I believe we should contain Wei Yuan around Ningxi, but this containment is for show, to quell public opinion, not to truly restrict him. We should trust those we employ and not employ those we don't trust. Our Great Jin's focus is currently on the north; we can leave the west to Wei Yuan. The Wu tribe has suddenly slowed its offensive for some reason, but they will attack again sooner or later. Even the Xu family couldn't hold the Western Regions; how can Wei Yuan possibly do so?"

The Prince of Jin chuckled softly and said, "Let's do it that way."

Inside the Crown Prince's residence, the current Crown Prince sat behind his desk, flanked by rows of civil and military officials, resembling a miniature court assembly.

The Crown Prince's residence was not far from the palace, and was larger than that of an ordinary prince, almost as large as the palace itself. According to the Jin dynasty system, the Crown Prince should have lived in the Chengqian Hall within the palace. However, in recent years, the Crown Prince had begun to share state affairs and was allowed to establish his own residence. As a result, the number of civil and military officials in his residence grew, making it extremely inconvenient for him to enter and leave the palace. Therefore, the Crown Prince moved out.

At this moment, a scholar who appeared to be only in his early thirties below said, "That Wei Yuan is wild and untamed, and he is naturally unwilling to be subordinate to anyone. I don't think there's any need to recruit him. He's like a sword without a blade; wielding him will surely cause harm!"

A scholar opposite him sneered, "Could it be that Vice Minister Zhang said this because he couldn't overpower him?"

Vice Minister Zhang immediately flew into a rage: "Liu Hanlin! If you can suppress him, I will immediately host a banquet to apologize!"

An old minister smoothed things over, saying, "Wei Yuan is neither of noble birth nor a disciple of a sage. His sudden rise to such a high position is surely disheartening for the gentry of the world. Secondly, he is still young, his cultivation is mediocre, and he clearly lacks experience. His current position is entirely due to the support of the Taichu Palace, not his own ability. It is absurd that such a greenhorn can hold a second-rank official position! Your Majesty's considerations this time are truly inappropriate."

Another senior official said, "Anyone who recruits Wei Yuan will be making an enemy of all the gentry and scholars in the land!"

The crown prince remained silent in thought.

The room was packed with people, with hardly any room for another person.

When Wei Yuan returned to the post station, it was already broad daylight, and the servants served him breakfast.

The morning court session started early and ended early as well. Breakfast at the post station was served in two meals: one before going to the morning court session and the other after returning from the session. Lunch was served in a separate meal.

On the large table in front of Wei Yuan, there were twelve dishes, eight small plates, six staple foods, and four soups, totaling thirty dishes.

This is the breakfast of a high-ranking official.

Wei Yuan stared blankly at the table full of dishes. He then called over Cui Yu, Xu Yi, and other disciples from aristocratic families to help clean up the mess.

For these people from powerful clans, such breakfasts were commonplace. But after months of craving food in the realm, they hadn't had anything good to eat, so the young masters of these noble families had all turned into ravenous wolves, completely oblivious to their backgrounds. Before noon, Wei Yuan's reputation for being crude, uncultured, and lacking in manners had spread again.

After breakfast, Wei Yuan went to the study in the post station and spread a map on the table. This was the newly demarcated map of the Western Regions. The four prefectures still existed, but their boundaries had changed. The three southeastern prefectures had retreated, and Ningxi Prefecture had even become a crescent moon. Ten miles outside Quliu Town was the jurisdiction of the Dingxi Military Governor.

Although Ningxi County is only a long and narrow strip, with its narrowest point no more than ten li, it is like a thin sheet of skin that still encloses the border. In theory, the governor of Ningxi County could set up checkpoints to completely seal off the border, and in fact, Yuan Qingyan had done just that before, but all the checkpoints he set up were taken down by Wei Yuan's men disguised as bandits.

At this time, the Prince of Jin wanted to win over Wei Yuan, so he turned a blind eye. But the day he no longer needed Wei Yuan, these things would be brought up again and he would be convicted again.

Wei Yuan's gaze fell on Anzhao County. The Western Jin Dynasty had set up a boundary stone here, but he didn't know the extent of the boundary or what would happen if the two boundaries met.

After a moment, Hou Yuan put away the map and continued to observe the sword.

Today, the imperial court was attacked from behind, and Wei Yuan relied entirely on his physical strength to withstand the attack. Since he had cultivated his Dao Foundation, he had rarely used his physical strength, and had almost forgotten that he still possessed a top-quality physical body.

After advancing to the next level, Wei Yuan's Dao power became even more vast and boundless. For example, the Rapid Flow Blade Technique relied purely on unleashing a massive amount of Dao power to overwhelm opponents. During this period, Wei Yuan firmly believed that brute force could overcome any technique and that clumsiness could defeat skill, almost forgetting that he possessed countless other methods besides Dao power.

For example, of the three immortal plants, only the sword energy of the laurel tree can be somewhat utilized; its other uses have basically not been developed.

If used properly, the Dharma Aspect Warrior has endless uses. Although the Dao Foundation Yin Yang cannot move yet, a wisp of her aura can serve as the core of many formations, and can also elevate the artistic conception, making the originally ordinary Dao techniques become profound and far-reaching.

Take, for example, the Eternal Sword. This is a true method that points directly to the Great Dao. It can achieve unity with just three moves of true meaning, while Wei Yuan hasn't even scratched the surface yet.

Even with only a small amount of remaining Dao power, there are countless ways to utilize it. For example, although Wei Yuan's Dao power is now less than one-tenth of what it used to be, it's still more substantial than an ordinary Heaven-rank Dao foundation. However, he intentionally suppressed his Dao power, bringing it down to the level of an ordinary Earth-rank cultivator. If anyone were to truly treat Wei Yuan as a mere Earth-rank cultivator, things would get interesting.

Furthermore, he confided in Zhao Tong that he only retained two or three tenths of his Dao power. If Zhao Tong believed him, he would naturally seriously underestimate Wei Yuan's normal Dao power limit.

The vast landscape could not be fully visualized, making it an unprecedented experience. It was as if a new world had opened up before Wei Yuan's eyes, allowing him to glimpse endless mysteries.

Wei Yuan was not in a hurry. He calmly observed the sword, and his control over his Dao power and himself gradually improved as he observed the sword.

At noon, Wei Yuan finished observing the swordplay, and his attendants brought him two visiting cards.

One letter came from the King of Wei, who is also the fifth son of the current King of Jin. The other letter came from the King of Ying.

Both of these visiting cards were the main attraction.

Although the King of Wei was the fifth son, he was more than twenty years older than the Crown Prince. It is said that in his early years, the King of Jin devoted himself to the path of immortality and rarely visited the harem, so he had few children. It was not until decades after he ascended the throne and his first queen passed away that he changed his mind and his offspring gradually increased.

The mother of the King of Wei was granted the title of Queen Xi, and was the second queen of the King of Jin. However, she had a tragic fate and died of illness the year after she was made queen, leaving behind only the King of Wei as her son.

Prince Wei was exceptionally intelligent from a young age, mastering everything he learned instantly. He was also born with extraordinary talent and fortune, said to be no less than the Crown Prince. With both innate talent and exceptional fortune, Prince Wei's cultivation progressed rapidly. Now, before even turning thirty, he had already barely touched the threshold of the Dharma Aspect stage. However, he was single-mindedly emulating the sages, suppressing his cultivation level to meticulously refine his Dharma Aspect, hoping to ascend to the highest level in one leap.

The Prince of Jin clearly preferred the Prince of Wei, and as the Prince of Wei's legal representative was about to be appointed, there were already some rumors about the deposed crown prince.

The King of England is one of the two true rulers of the royal family, currently serving as the Grand General, in charge of the northern military affairs and controlling the border armies. The Snow-Treading Army, which the King of England led in his early years, was an elite force in the land, once ranking among the nine armies of the Great Tang Dynasty.

However, later the King of England was convicted and imprisoned, and many generals in the Snowwalking Army were implicated. The 100,000-strong army was also scattered and distributed among other armies. The Snowwalking Army was removed from the list of the Nine Armies.

The King of England was imprisoned for a full ten years before being released, but he was still under house arrest in his palace. It was only recently, when the war situation deteriorated, that the King of Jin reinstated the King of England to take command of the northern military. After nearly a month of fierce fighting, the defeats were finally halted.

King Wei was known for his courteous treatment of scholars, and Wei Yuan had already anticipated that King Wei would be appointed as a military governor after his audience with the emperor. Regardless of King Wei's true intentions, he had to take action to maintain his reputation.

But Wei Yuan couldn't understand the King of England's invitation. This was a truly important figure, who had single-handedly built up the Great Tang Ninth Army from scratch—he was simply invincible!
His later conviction and imprisonment were also shrouded in mystery. When Wei Yuan was researching important figures in the court, he could not find any information about this period of history.

The King of Wei's banquet is tonight, while the King of Ying's banquet is tomorrow; the two do not conflict.

So Wei Yuan calmed himself down and spent the entire afternoon observing the sword. Barring any unforeseen circumstances, tonight would be a night of turmoil; the grand drama in the capital was only just beginning.

(End of this chapter)