Longzang

Chapter 327 Expedient Measures
Laicheng, located in the heart of the Western Jin Dynasty, has always been known for its prosperity. If Laicheng is like this, then there's no need to look at other cities. Therefore, Wei Yuan did not linger any longer and quickened the pace of his march. Traveling thousands of miles a day, they arrived at Hanyang Pass after more than ten days.

Compared to his arrival, Wei Yuan chose to pass through the city on his return journey, but the garrison commander Xu Zhongxing ignored him. Wei Yuan also did not send an invitation, and the two sides simply passed each other by, avoiding each other's presence.

Although Wei Yuan was granted the title of Jiedushi (military governor), the Xu family patriarch and the Immortal Lord of Taichu Palace were still fighting in the heavens, so the Xu family naturally could not change their attitude towards Taichu Palace. Xu Zhongxing, on the other hand, served as an official in the Western Jin Dynasty and had to give the court some face, so he chose to avoid meeting them, but he no longer strictly closed the passes as before, forbidding any merchant caravans from traveling west.

In reality, the closure of the passes is no longer very effective. Since the trade routes to Zhao were reopened, some caravans have already been planning to bypass Zhao. Blocking the trade routes to Zhao should have been the responsibility of Yuan Qingyan, the governor of Ningxi Commandery, but unfortunately all the checkpoints he set up were cleared out, and no one was willing to take on the task of setting up new checkpoints.

Hanyang Pass was much more bustling than when Wei Yuan first arrived, with at least tens of thousands more refugees in the city.

When Wei Yuan left the pass, he saw a large number of refugees lining up on both sides of the road, waiting for the guards to let them through. The soldiers seemed to be used to this and knew that the refugees had nothing on them except dirt, so they didn't make things difficult for them. If they found no hidden weapons or anything else, they let them pass.

The efficiency of passage was unusually high, allowing at least several thousand people to enter the Western Regions each day. More would not have been impossible, but many refugees could not go any further and needed to rest inside the pass, beg for food, or sell their labor to earn some provisions before continuing their westward journey, a road of no return.

After leaving Hanyang Pass, Wei Yuan instructed, "Go and ask those refugees why they came to the Western Regions."

Several knights rode away and returned a moment later, saying, "They heard that things are really not peaceful in the Western Regions, so they want to come here to find a piece of unclaimed land to farm or join the army. Anyway, they are about to die back in their hometowns."

Wei Yuan then ordered the main force of cavalry to return to the border first, while he himself left only a few dozen riders to go to Bianning County to see Sun Chaoen.

Upon returning to the Western Regions, Wei Yuan had fully recovered his strength and no longer needed guards.

At this time, Prefect Li Weisheng had already left office, and all affairs in the prefecture were being managed by Assistant Prefect Sun Chaoen. According to custom, Sun Chaoen might be able to wait for an imperial edict to officially appoint him as the prefect.

So when Wei Yuan saw Sun Chaoen, he congratulated him: "I wish Lord Sun a speedy promotion! You have been promoted two ranks in less than a year, which is quite rare."

Sun Chaoen shook his head and said, "That's not necessarily true."

Wei Yuan then asked, "Why is that? Li Weisheng was transferred, so shouldn't you be filling his place?"

“The position of prefect is a real one, and it’s the most crucial step in one’s career. It’s about truly governing a region. Even someone with Lord Li’s background would make the trip to this barren land of Ningxi to fill this vacancy. You can imagine how important it is. I’ve only been promoted to assistant prefect for a short time. Even if Lord Li put in a good word for me, I’m afraid I still won’t be able to become a prefect. Besides, I haven’t become a high-ranking official yet, so I’m still lacking some leverage.”

Wei Yuan asked, "Since the prefect is in such high demand, why hasn't anyone come forward to replace Yuan Qingyan?"

Sun Chaoen laughed and said, "His entire prefecture is practically deserted, with no people left, and it's under your control. Who would want to cause trouble for him?"

Wei Yuan tapped the table lightly, pondered for a moment, and said, "When Li Weisheng agreed to become the prefect, he certainly didn't expect Qingming to rise so quickly. If he had known this would happen, he probably wouldn't have gotten involved in this mess. Now that he's gone, if anyone wants the position of prefect, it must be because they think I have submitted to the court. With me blocking the Wu tribe in the west, this place will be a peaceful and prosperous land."

"That is true."

"So all we have to do is turn this position into a hot potato, right?"

Sun Chaoen said, "I've thought about this too, but I don't have a good solution for now. Everyone knows the Zhan Tian Gang is under your control, so this tactic won't work anymore. You can't really kidnap the prefect, can you?"

Wei Yuan pondered for a moment, then suddenly had a flash of inspiration and said, "There's another trick: create chaos among the refugees! On the way back, I saw many refugees along the way. Those who made it this far are all strong and healthy, and they have no way to retreat. There are probably at least tens of thousands of refugees in Hanyang Pass alone right now. If we provide porridge and relief in Bianning County, we can attract a large number of refugees here."

Sun Chaoen frowned and said, "This plan is good, but the county has almost no surplus grain. Although I can guarantee that the granaries will be opened, it won't last long. If there's no grain and so many refugees gather, things will inevitably change! In this upheaval, many people will die. I can't let so many people die for my own fifth-rank position, can I?"

Wei Yuan smiled slightly and said, "You don't have food, but I do! You can bring these refugees here first and let them stay for a while. After I finish my business, I will take them all in. If you really can't fill the vacancy this time, then when the new prefect arrives, we'll have to prepare a refugee mutiny as a greeting gift for him. As long as our people start it first, we can control the unrest and there won't be many casualties."

Sun Chaoen pondered for a moment before asking, "How many refugees can you take in?"

"We'll take as much as you have."

Sun Chaoen's expression hardened, and he said, "This can be considered as giving the refugees a way to survive. We'll arrange it as you suggested!"

When Wei Yuan left the prefectural governor's mansion, he took a stroll around the city. The prefectural city was now quite lively. Although everything was in need of reconstruction, shacks were being built everywhere, and many shops had opened in several specially designated commercial areas. Several large mansions were also under construction in prime riverside locations.

Wei Yuan inquired about the owners of the house, and as expected, Xu Lü was the majority. Upon returning to the realm, Wei Yuan felt a surge of energy, sensing Qing Ming's joy and excitement. As soon as he stepped into the realm, a light drizzle began to fall, the raindrops rich in spiritual energy, which further accelerated the growth of all the spiritual plants.

Rain also fell across the vast rivers and mountains, but the rain came from the sky, carrying a strong aura of decay and ruin. However, the spiritual plants sprouting in the Dao Foundation seemed to like this kind of rain, becoming even more spiritual.

The real and the unreal reflect each other, making it difficult to say whether the unreal gives rise to the real or the real transforms into the unreal.

In conclusion, with the blessing of the Western Jin Dynasty, Wei Yuan's cultivation speed increased slightly, by about 20%.

Upon returning, Hou Yuan's first task was to go to the Hall of Merit, where he planned to exchange for a batch of books related to destiny.

Just as they arrived at the gate of the Hall of Merit, they saw Fei Yutong, the junior sister of the Water Moon Palace, hurrying over and handing a form to the cultivator guarding the gate of the Hall of Merit.

The cultivator took the form, registered it, and after calculating, said, "You can come and redeem it in four days. This is the earliest batch."

"Thank you, Senior Brother." Fei Yutong bowed and left in a hurry.

The two cultivators guarding the Hall of Merit were from the Azure Sky Hall and the Water Moon Hall, respectively; they knew each other. Wei Yuan walked over and asked, "What are you recording?"

The two cultivators stood up and said, "This is Uncle Zhang's instruction: all cultivators of the Tai Chu Palace lineage who have merit points to exchange should register first, and then exchange them together once a whole batch has been collected."

Wei Yuan immediately understood; it was indeed a good idea to make full use of the osmanthus fruit.

Although the grade of the Sub-Palace as a magical artifact improved after Wei Yuan's numerous sacrifices, the number of cultivators in the Taichu Palace also increased significantly. Furthermore, after several major battles, everyone had plenty of merit points, leading to a surge in demand for its exchange.

Seeing that Wei Yuan was about to enter the Hall of Merit, the two cultivators hurriedly postponed everyone's exchange by one place. Wei Yuan said, "No need to change it. I will use a sacrifice, so there is no need to occupy the existing quota."

Wei Yuan glanced at what everyone wanted to exchange for and was surprised to find that the most common items weren't pills, but various books. Wei Yuan couldn't help but chuckle, wondering if his own habit of exchanging for piles of books had influenced them.

However, the various books in Taichu Palace were practical, plentiful, and inexpensive, so Wei Yuan felt that the merits he had earned were well worth it.

How to exchange them was a matter for each person, and Wei Yuan did not interfere. He went straight into the Hall of Merit, skillfully offered sacrifices of the Netherworld Soil, and then exchanged them for a batch of books about the fate of the nation, as well as several formations for refining the fate of the nation.

After the exchange was completed, the Hall of Merit suddenly changed; a message arrived that the value of exchanging Netherworld Soil had increased. It was unclear what had happened, but the Primordial Palace now seemed to desperately need Netherworld Soil.

Wei Yuan noted this down, intending to inquire about it with his senior sister after she returned from the palace. If the palace indeed had a large demand, Wei Yuan planned to contribute a batch.

Upon returning to his residence, Wei Yuan reviewed the development of the realm during this period. Everything was back on track, and overall, it was not much different from when Wei Yuan left. The only difference was that because Wei Yuan had gone to the capital to meet the Emperor, the advancement of the Cui family's disciples to the Dao Foundation stage was postponed. Therefore, they spent a month doing hard labor in the realm, euphemistically called "polishing their foundation."

The fellow disciples from the Azure Sky Palace and the Water Moon Palace have all integrated into the realm and found their own jobs, which is good news. Wei Yuan has always been naturally close to his own sect, and if Ren Suxing hadn't jumped out and started interfering, Wei Yuan wouldn't have left them out in the cold.

Wei Yuan took the books back to his residence and began to read them carefully. Occasionally, he would rest and ponder the current situation of the Western Jin Dynasty. His conversation with Wang Duan would occasionally echo in Wei Yuan's mind.

Xiao Yu, Bao Yun, and Cui Yu, who initially came to Tai Chu Palace, were all core members of the Seven Clans and Thirteen Families. Among the sixteen princesses and young ladies from noble families that Cui Yu brought to the realm, Wang Yu and Xu Yi rose in rank, while the others gradually occupied important middle-level positions.

Although Wei Yuan disregards background and only values ​​ability, and those who emerge victorious from countless bloody battles are all exceptional individuals, this cannot change the reality that scions of powerful families are gradually gaining complete control of power. The present state of Lai City may very well be the future of the realm.

How can we collect taxes from powerful and wealthy families?

As Wei Yuan delved deeper into his thoughts, he also began to reflect on the reality of the realm. Then he suddenly realized that Qingming currently had no taxes at all; all its output was collected and then redistributed.

The thought that he had just been criticizing Laicheng's administration made Wei Yuan feel very guilty, and he quickly muttered to himself: "A temporary measure, a temporary measure."

(End of this chapter)