Longzang

Chapter 469 Ban
Wei Yuan suddenly felt that the whole world had become strange and eerie. What was going on? Was the girl Yin Yang now truly spiritual, or was it, like in the mortal world, a false spirituality due to the sum of calculations of countless minute details?
Wei Yuan hesitated for a moment before replying: No.

Having passed all three questions, the girl sent a message: the game has been deleted.

Then the girl's yin and yang fell silent, and there was no further movement.

Wei Yuan withdrew his consciousness from his sea of ​​consciousness and suddenly saw the relieved expressions on the faces of the officials in front of him. He immediately realized something was wrong, and then he noticed that there was indeed a faint smile on his face. So his expression darkened, and the officials immediately fell silent.

"Why is Lord Yuan still here?" Wei Yuan asked again.

Yuan Qingyan said, "The imperial court had already issued a transfer order, summoning me back to the capital to take up a post in the Ministry of Rites, but I refused."

"Hmm?" Wei Yuan was quite surprised.

Ningxi was incorporated into its jurisdiction. Normally, important officials and those with connections would be transferred. As the head of a prefecture, Yuan Qingyan would have been transferred even if he had been given a sinecure. Why did he stay?
Wei Yuan glanced at the officials again. Most of them were low-ranking officials. These were the ones who had no way out and were directly abandoned by the court. They couldn't afford to be transferred, so they had no choice but to stay.

Wei Yuan spoke a few words to the officials, but as he spoke, he felt his words were empty and meaningless. Although the officials responded enthusiastically, their content was equally hollow, making the conversation utterly boring. Therefore, Wei Yuan, not wanting to waste any more time, simply dismissed all the minor officials.

There's a reason why these minor officials have low rank and little power; they can't even flatter the right people. In contrast, the county magistrates like Niu Jinbao are much more sophisticated. They always make Wei Yuan fully enjoy the meetings, and now even Cui Yu and others like to have meetings with them.

When only Yuan Qingyan remained, Wei Yuanfang said, "Tell me, why did you stay?"

Yuan Qingyan said solemnly, "I heard that there is a method to improve one's foundation in the Azure Netherworld. On a whim, I cast a divination and found out that my path to immortality is related to the Azure Netherworld. If I stay, I may be able to advance further and perhaps even enter the Myriad Transformations Realm."

Secondly, I am a lone official in the court, and I have botched this post. Upon returning, I will be relegated to a sinecure. This time, at the Ministry of Rites, I will be assigned to guard the sacrificial vessels—to put it bluntly, a warehouse keeper, only allowed to open the warehouse three times a year. I am unwilling to waste my life like this. Staying with you, I still have a chance to earn a future through my own abilities.”

"Lord Yuan is indeed flexible and adaptable."

Yuan Qingyan smiled bitterly and said, "To be honest, Lord Wei, I really have no other choice. I can't just resign from my post and become a wandering cultivator, or live a life of leisure as a wealthy old man, can I?"

"Can't the central government move a position?"

"I've already offended everyone, so where would I find a real position? My last resort is to go to war. But compared to Lord Wei, my military strategy is utterly insignificant. Even on the battlefield, I'm no match for the opposing Dharma Minister, and without protection, I could easily perish."

Yuan Qingyan was right. He was no match for Wei Yuan when Wei Yuan was at the Dao Foundation stage. Yuan Qingyan's advancement to the Dharma Aspect stage was seven or eight parts luck. Therefore, among the Dharma Aspect stage cultivators, his combat strength was even inferior to that of the old Daoist Chuhe who didn't have his elder brother. If they were on the battlefield, he would easily be instantly killed by the opponent's powerful Dharma Aspect.

However, Yuan Qingyan is, after all, a Dharma Aspect cultivator, and she still has her uses. Qingming is expanding rapidly and needs people everywhere. After pondering for a while, Wei Yuan said, "In that case, you should focus on your work, and I'll see how to arrange things later. Oh, by the way, it shouldn't be long before you can reunite with your family."

Seeing that Yuan Qingyan didn't seem particularly happy, Wei Yuan found it rather strange.

Yuan Qingyan didn't hide anything, saying, "To be honest, I have recently taken four concubines, all of whom are pregnant. In addition, I have five illegitimate children outside the home, who are living ordinary lives. This is something that others don't know. The people in my original family are all of average talent, so it doesn't matter whether they come back or not."

After Wei Yuan pressed for more details, he finally understood that Yuan Qingyan had long been wary of others harming her family, hence her severing ties and showing little affection for them. The last time Wei Yuan sent someone to make a move, Yuan Qingyan immediately took two concubines, one of whom was now about to give birth.

This response was something Wei Yuan had never expected, rendering his supposedly ruthless methods futile and forcing him to re-evaluate the people in the court.

After dealing with Yuan Qingyan's matter, Wei Yuan left the prefectural governor's mansion and headed to the Xu family mansion. It had been some time since Wei Yuan had been there, so this was a return visit. Around noon, Xu Jingfeng hosted a banquet, with Sun Chaoen and Xu Xi also present. Everyone was already seated, waiting for Wei Yuan.

After Wei Yuan took his seat, he smiled and said, "If Lord Xu wants to see me, he can just call out to me. I often go to Bianning County, so it's easy for me to see you."

Xu Xi hurriedly stood up and said, "Not at all, I should have come to pay my respects to Lord Wei long ago! I was ignorant before, but now I know that it was Lord Wei's kindness that allowed me to escape this predicament. I came here specifically to express my gratitude, and this small gift is nothing but a token of my respect."

He immediately pushed a gift box over, and Wei Yuan accepted it without ceremony. Inside the box was ten thousand taels of silver.

After receiving the gifts, the atmosphere at the table improved considerably, and the four chatted and laughed. After sitting for about the time it takes to drink a cup of tea, Wei Yuan got up to take his leave, and then Sun Chaoen followed him out.

Xu Xi's visit this time was because he had been approved for a transfer and would no longer have to waste his time as the prefect of Bianning County. In the past few days, he had almost exhausted all the wealth he had accumulated over the years, and he was almost unable to even afford a gift for Wei Yuan. He sent a gift to Wei Yuan mainly because he was afraid that something might happen on the way to his new post, after all, the bandits in the Western Regions were really too fierce, and this was not the first time he had been scratched and seriously injured.

With Xu Xi gone, Sun Chaoen will naturally be promoted to prefect. This time, he will discuss with Wei Yuan the matter of establishing a relay station in the prefecture to accommodate caravans and refugees.

Furthermore, the position of prefect was not the end goal for Sun Chaoen; he wanted to go further, and at this point, he had to start planning.

For officials to be promoted, the normal requirements are military merit, the people living in peace and prosperity, and the increase of grain tax. Other key factors include having enough money to pull strings.

Wei Yuan had long had ideas about the planning of Bianning County. At this time, many people in the county wanted to abandon grain production and plant mulberry trees, which Wei Yuan firmly opposed. Therefore, he and Sun Chaoen agreed that the grain fields should not be touched at all. With grain, paying taxes to the court wouldn't be a problem. The rest would be silver.

Sun Chaoen then set his sights on military funds. Bianning Commandery was a frontier military unit, with a quota of 20,000 men, but at this time there were only 7,000 men in the barracks. Sun Chaoen planned to use all the military funds to buy armor and weapons from Wei Yuan, and then resell the surplus to other places.

The cost of producing breastplates in Qingming is only one or two taels of immortal silver, while they can be sold for twenty or thirty taels elsewhere. Wei Yuan will share some of the goods with Sun Chaoen, which will be enough for him to accumulate a large amount of immortal silver and replenish the troops' manpower.

By the time Wei Yuan boarded the carriage, the two had already discussed the matters concerning Bianning County, and Wei Yuan then returned to Qingming.

At this very moment, deep within the Witch Realm, several members of the Witch Clan stood atop an enormous tree stump. One of them, with his back to the others, gazed at the sky.

Several members of the witch clan exchanged rapid conversation. One of them said, "The new weapons used by the humans are extremely powerful. Once a certain number are used, they will create a dense rain of bullets that our warriors simply cannot overcome."

“Their armor and heavy shields are used extensively, and our crossbows are not very effective; they need to be redesigned.”

"The human race has also developed a new weapon called a cannon, but its range is very short, and our archers can shoot down their gunners."

"The blood curse is still effective, but it has been largely neutralized by the power of the realm, so we need to develop a new blood curse."

The shamans discussed the matter incessantly, proposing and rejecting various solutions, some of which were accepted and then quickly improved.

At this moment, the sorcerer who had remained silent suddenly said, "Do not forget his Immortal Path at Dusk. Prepare for the Heaven and Earth to be sealed off. This time, the seal is: the spear!"

(End of this chapter)