Longzang

Chapter 481 Petition for Aid
After all the cultivators had expressed their opinions and weighed the options, Wei Yuan said, "We will not give up on Ding'an City. We will open the warehouses, activate the city-protecting array that was dismantled from Hanyang Pass, and set it up here!"

Wei Yuan pointed to the high ground behind Ding'an City, then drew a circle that perfectly covered the rear half of Ding'an City, including the city lord's seat.

Wei Yuan then said, "Uncle-Master Yu, please take some men to survey this area and see what kind of fortifications can be built as a second line of defense after Ding'an City falls."

“Uncle Sun, we need to set up a wartime medical clinic. I’ll give you the most concentrated part of the Jiamu Shengxuan area. You have at most thirty days left. You need to train as many apprentices as possible, just enough to teach them how to treat wounds.”

Sun Yu nodded, then said, "I also need a group of bright and clever nurses. They need to be literate."

Wei Yuan recalled the time when he was sprayed with too much skin-regenerating powder in Xuanming Hall, and immediately realized the importance of nursing care. So he approved a thousand slots for Sun Yu and let him choose the people himself.

Meanwhile, the old Taoist priest had already begun planting crops on the front lines. It was a kind of thorny grass that would grow freely once sown, the favorite grass of the witch tribe's poisonous lizards, as it aided digestion. However, the grass cultivated by the old Taoist priest had mutated, and the poisonous lizards would be poisoned if they ate it, remaining weak for at least seven or eight days.

After all the miscellaneous matters were settled, Wei Yuan hesitated for a moment before making up his mind and said, "Issu armor and weapons to mortals."

Everyone remained silent.

Cui Yu said, "Recently, some mortals have started trying to leave Qingming, and several hundred have already been intercepted at the border. What should we do?"

Bao Yun rolled her eyes at him and said, "Does this even need to be said?"

Cui Yu immediately realized what was going on and said, "I know what to do."

Wei Yuan interrupted him, saying, "It's alright, I'll make this decision. No one is allowed to leave Qingming. Gather all the elderly and children who are completely unable to fight and send them to Xuanwei Qi in the east for temporary accommodation."

"Where is the caravan?"

"Caravans are free to come and go, but they are not allowed to take away strategic materials. In addition, we should rent escort troops from them, preferably on credit."

Wei Yuan then issued a series of orders, mobilizing every ounce of strength within Qingmingli to prepare for war.

Finally, Wei Yuan pondered for a moment and asked Zhang Sheng, "Will the Zhao Kingdom come to our aid?"

Zhang Sheng said, "After we are crippled, the Zhao Kingdom will come."

“That means we can’t count on them.” Wei Yuan unconsciously tapped the table lightly, then resolutely said, “Openly ask the King of Zhao for help! And while we’re at it, also ask the King of Ji and the Tang family for help!”

Zhang Sheng said calmly, "By doing this, you are openly slapping King Zhao in the face."

“If they had sent reinforcements sooner, it wouldn’t have been a slap in the face,” Wei Yuan said.

Li Zhi said, "There's still a chance that Zhao will send reinforcements. Why don't we wait? Otherwise, given our current actions, the King of Zhao might get angry and not send any reinforcements at all. If Qingming is lost, you'll lose your escape route."

Wei Yuan coldly said, "If Qingming can't be defended, what other way out do I need? But no one around here should think about sitting on the sidelines and watching the tigers fight. If Qingming is gone, at least they can forget about their reputation. History will record a record of them."

Li Zhi frowned and said, "Should we hold off on sending a memorial to Emperor Tang for now?"

Wei Yuan said calmly, "If we don't submit a memorial to Emperor Tang, how can we expect the historians to record the shamelessness of the Prince of Jin, the Prince of Zhao, and the aristocratic families?"

Cui Yu said, "I will ask my family elders to intervene and see if they can persuade the King of Zhao."

Wei Yuan hesitated for a moment, then sighed, "Alright, you can try it first, but you only have three days."

After everyone finished their discussion, Li Zhi stayed behind alone and said, "Brother, why are you doing this? What good will it do to let Zhao stand by and watch?"

Wei Yuan shook his head: "During the Great Curse of Cause and Effect, I had already had enough of the cold indifference of others. Now that a powerful enemy is pressing in, I must use every ounce of my strength. I want to make King Zhao understand that if he doesn't save Qingming, he will also pay the price!"

Li Zhi frowned and asked, "Why are you so certain that the King of Zhao will not send troops?"

"intuition."

Li Zhi was taken aback, then sighed, "I originally thought that if we persuaded Xiang Yu properly, the King of Zhao would still get involved when the war reached its midpoint, and we could just offer him some more benefits."

Wei Yuan looked Li Zhi up and down, then suddenly asked, "Do you still have any protective magic items? Preferably something like a substitute talisman."

Li Zhi was somewhat puzzled and asked, "We used up all of it during the last Karma Spell, what happened?"

"Quickly prepare two more."

Li Zhi instantly became alert: "Do you think I'm in mortal danger? That's not right, why isn't my luck giving me any warning?"

Wei Yuan was somewhat surprised: "Your luck has this function?"

Li Zhi said, "The cultivation method I practice is special, and my Qi has many uses. When faced with great danger, I will have this urge beforehand. Wait a moment, I have another magic weapon..."

Li Zhi took out a pure black pearl and said, "This is the Erhai Mermaid Pearl. It can be used to test one's current fortune if it is over a thousand years old. A one-foot golden beam is equivalent to a ten-foot fortune."

Li Zhi held the pearl in his hand and channeled his magic power into it. The pearl only emitted a dim, finger-sized glow, like a candle flame, seemingly about to be extinguished by the wind. Judging from this light, Li Zhi's current fortune was probably less than a foot.

Li Zhi was taken aback, while Wei Yuan looked puzzled and asked, "Is your magic weapon broken?" Li Zhi tried it several times, but the result was the same, so he put it in Wei Yuan's hand and said, "Try it."

Wei Yuan channeled his Dao power according to the incantation, and then a bright light suddenly appeared in front of the two of them, and the world became a vast expanse of white, and nothing could be seen.

Caught off guard, the two were both struck. After their vision was finally restored, they saw that the merman pearl in Wei Yuan's hand had been shattered into pieces.

“It is indeed broken.” Wei Yuan returned the Mermaid Pearl to Li Zhi.

Li Zhi didn't know what to say.

……

The Great Tang Imperial City, Haojing.

The throne of Emperor Tang was empty. One level below the high platform, another chair was placed, on which sat a man with a purplish-red face, thick eyebrows and scaly eyes, dressed in the robes of a nobleman, high above.

The one sitting high on the throne is King Jin of the Great Tang Dynasty.

This King of Jin was not the same King of Jin as the other; he was Emperor Xuan's great-uncle. According to the ancestral system of the Great Tang Dynasty, only members of the imperial family could be granted the title of king. However, Xu Yan, a powerful minister at the time, had no more titles to bestow, so he was finally granted the title of King of Jin, with his fiefdom located in what is now the Three Jin regions. After Xu Yan's death, the State of Jin split into three, becoming the Western Jin, Eastern Jin, and Southern Jin of today. Of the original Xu family, only the Southern Jin remains.

With the example of Jin preceding them, the rulers of the nine states successively declared themselves kings, and the ritual system of the Great Tang Dynasty completely collapsed. After that, the nine states also began to appoint their own kings, resulting in a proliferation of various princes and nobles. From then on, kings appointed by the Tang Dynasty would have the words "Great Tang" added before their titles to distinguish them.

Emperor Xuan was already young, and before the new year, his throne suddenly collapsed, causing him great shock, and he fell ill and never recovered. The Empress Dowager, who was ruling from behind the curtain, also fell and had to recuperate. The Prince of Jin of the Great Tang Dynasty seized the opportunity to ascend the throne and become regent.

The Great Tang Imperial Palace is thirty zhang high and one hundred zhang long and wide, supported by only nine pillars, making it a magnificent and imposing structure.

At this moment, at the end of the court, the Vice Minister of Rites stepped forward and reported: "Wei Yuan, the military governor of Dingxi under the Great Tang and Western Jin dynasties, has submitted a memorial stating that the Wu tribe has launched a large-scale invasion of the Western Regions, and their military strength is overwhelming. He requests the court to send troops to their aid. At the same time, he is also presenting a thousand bolts of brocade and ten longevity pills!"

With a hum, the ministers immediately began to discuss among themselves.

With the Tang dynasty weakened, the ministers spent their days in court discussing nothing more than the mundane matters of the imperial domains and the wars with foreign tribes. But frankly, these wars with foreign tribes had little to do with the Tang dynasty anymore. Like the Song dynasty, the Tang dynasty's territory was entirely enclosed and did not border any foreign tribes.

The eight kingdoms and the foreign tribes were all fighting their own battles, neither expecting support from the Tang court nor listening to its nagging. If the Tang court were to send an envoy, he would most likely not even get to see the king.

The ministers' discussions on conquering foreign tribes were merely expressions of their concern for the world and a sharing of their opinions.

Therefore, when Wei Yuan submitted a memorial requesting the court's support, it was something that hadn't happened in many years. All the officials were very excited and asked each other who Wei Yuan was, but they were all completely clueless.

The minor official who stepped forward was only a vice minister, but because he was in the Ministry of Rites, he was naturally half a rank higher than the other five ministries. This was also a characteristic of the Tang Dynasty, which considered ritual to be of utmost importance, hence the high status of the Ministry of Rites.

At this point, King Tang and his ministers quieted down a bit, and he asked for their opinions.

After a while, the ministers spoke, some in favor and some against. At this moment, an elderly man with an extraordinary bearing stepped forward. He was none other than Yu Jing, one of the Three Dukes of the court, the Grand Minister of Works.

He stroked his beard and said slowly, "A border official has submitted a memorial requesting assistance. This is a sign of the decline of the vassal states and the revival of the Tang dynasty! This matter must not be refused, otherwise it will surely chill the hearts of the loyal and righteous people of the world and make the nine states even more arrogant."

One of the military officers said, "But the Western Regions are far away, and sending reinforcements there would be a million miles away. I'm afraid it would be like sending water from afar to quench a thirst in the present."

The Grand Minister of Works had already made up his mind, saying, "The Western Regions are a wild and uncivilized land, long untouched by civilization. They are likely ignorant of etiquette and military matters. The court only needs to send a thousand officers to the Western Regions to lead the local troops, and then send a general to oversee the situation. This will not only stabilize the situation but also demonstrate the might of our Tang Dynasty."

King Tang of Jin on the throne nodded slowly and said, "What Sikong said makes sense. So be it. Send General Anyuan Wei Boyang with a thousand imperial guards to the Western Regions."

A burly general stepped forward from among the military officers and said in a deep voice, "This humble general will surely wipe out the foreign tribes and return!"

King Jin of Tang said, "I have heard that the Western Regions are already a broken land. General Wei must not be careless on this trip. Once we are targeted by extraterrestrial monsters, it will be no small matter."

"You will finally understand."

Next, the ministers discussed state affairs as usual, and then, when the time came, the court session ended.

The Prince of Jin of the Great Tang Dynasty exited the Imperial Palace through a side gate at the rear. This gate was originally reserved for Emperor Tang, but it had been used by the Empress Dowager during her regency, and now the Prince of Jin was using it as well, and no one dared to utter a word.

After leaving the Imperial Palace, Prince Jin turned towards the exit passage and asked those around him, "How is His Majesty's health today?"

"I'm still weak, and I can only get out of bed and walk a few steps with difficulty."

"Instruct the imperial physicians to take good care of him. Also, who is this Wei Yuan? Send a copy of his information to my study."

After a moment, King Jin of Tang carefully reviewed Wei Yuan's information and then ordered, "Let General Wei lead three thousand imperial guards and a large ship there. Or rather, let him ride in my own ship!"

The attendant was somewhat surprised, but he accepted the order and left.

The Prince of Jin suddenly sneered and muttered to himself, "Li Shenji, Li Shenji, if we don't make a bigger show of it, how will we put you in the hot seat?"

(End of this chapter)