Longzang

Chapter 489 The Emperor's Decree
The State of Zhao, Anxi Commandery, the ancestral home of the Cui clan, Fengqi Palace.

A dignified old man walked out of the Phoenix Perch Hall accompanied by the old lady of the Cui family. Behind them were a dozen or so young men and women, chatting quietly among themselves.

The old man bowed in farewell and left with the group of young people. The old lady did not turn back until they had boarded the carriage. A middle-aged scholar hurried over and handed over a letter.

The old lady walked to the side hall and sat down before unfolding the letter and reading it carefully. After reading it, she said, "Go to the Heavenly Mystery Hall."

The Cui family's Heavenly Mystery Hall is not tall but large, consisting of a main hall and nine subsidiary halls. In the center of the main hall is a huge sand table map, displaying the entire human realm and its surrounding terrain. Surrounding the main sand table is a ring of smaller sand tables, each several feet in diameter.

The old lady walked directly to a corner of the main hall, where a newly made sand table map depicted the entire Western Regions. However, the map had many blank spaces and the details were not very complete.

Two middle-aged men also arrived and stayed by the old lady's side. They were both outstanding members of the Cui family's Dharma Masters, with the potential to become emperors, and were currently the pillars of the family.

The old lady stood in front of the sand table for a long time before saying, "Yu'er wrote back a letter, asking for some assistance."

A middle-aged man said, "When Qingming sent his letter requesting help last time, didn't the elders already send a batch of supplies? Why is Young Master Yu sending another letter?"

Cui Yu was the fourth in the direct line of the family, so after he was promoted to the position of Dharma Minister, some called him the Fourth Young Master, while others called him Young Master Yu. At that time, "Young Master" was a respectful title, mainly because Cui Yu was still very young.

Another person said, "Qingming is good, but it is someone else's foundation. Young Master Yu is young and promising, and it is time for him to come and serve the clan. Why make wedding clothes for others?"

The old lady said slowly, "What you say makes sense, but you don't know the truth. Wei Yuan wrote to the Tang Dynasty requesting aid, and now the Tang Dynasty has sent General Wei Boyang of Anyuan to help. The other day, it caused quite a stir in the capital. Li Shenji lost face completely and only managed to suppress the matter with great difficulty. Now, the safety of Qingming is the focus of the world's attention, and we are nearby. If we only send a little bit of supplies, do we want the world to laugh at our Ji Zhao Cui family?"

The old lady's tone was already quite stern, so the two of them didn't dare to say anything more.

The old lady added, "Furthermore, Wei Yuan has already cultivated more than five hundred Dao Foundations for my Cui family. Even if they can't make any further progress, it has greatly increased the foundation and strength of my Cui family."

"But we've already paid the celestial silver..."

"Shortsighted!" the old lady said sternly, "Can five hundred Dao Foundations be bought with immortal silver? If you have that ability, go and get me fifty Dao Foundations and let's see!"

The two dared not say another word. If they offended the old lady, their future promotions would be difficult.

The old lady said in a deep voice, "This matter has attracted worldwide attention, and we do indeed owe Wei Yuan a favor. So, we will send two elders from the Imperial View Sect to Qingming to oversee the situation. These are the elders from your two branches. It has been so long, it's time to meet with the Youwu Sect and see what formidable figures they have produced this time."

The two middle-aged men exchanged a glance and hurried away.

……

Qingming, Wei Yuan was discussing the structure of the new fortifications with Yu Zhizhuo when someone suddenly came to report: General Wei Boyang of the Great Tang Anyuan has arrived!

Wei Yuan was slightly surprised. He had only written to the Tang court for help as a casual gesture, so how could reinforcements have actually arrived? General An Yuan, the title sounded extraordinary. According to Tang etiquette, he was a second-rank official, which was completely different from the second-rank title conferred by a feudal lord like Wei Yuan.

Tang Shi was the ruler of the world, and he had sent General An Yuan from thousands of miles away to provide assistance. Wei Yuan could not afford to be negligent and immediately notified the cultivators of Taichu Palace and Li Zhi to lead their troops out to welcome him.

At this moment, the enormous flying boat hovered beyond the azure sky, with the sounds of drums and melodious string instruments filling the air. The flying boat was entirely black, decorated with gold patterns, and its bottom was the blue, surging sea.

This flying boat is far more luxurious than any of the flying boats in the Taichu Palace.

Wei Yuan and more than ten other cultivators flew onto the ship and landed on the foredeck. They saw two rows of brightly armored warriors already standing on the wide deck, each holding a golden axe, tall and strong, all of them Foundation Establishment cultivators! Judging from their uniforms, they were none other than the famous Imperial Guard of the Great Tang Dynasty.

Five hundred Imperial Guards stood on the deck alone, their imposing presence was truly awe-inspiring.

At the end of the two rows of imperial guards, on the high platform of the deck, sat a burly man, looking down at Wei Yuan. Mountains faintly appeared around him, clearly indicating that he was a Yujing, and his mental world was nearing completion.

Upon seeing Wei Yuan, the general's pupils constricted slightly, and he even felt a faint sense of pressure! This was unprecedented, meaning that Wei Yuan likely possessed something that could threaten him.

Wei Boyang abandoned his underestimation and asked in a deep voice, "Is the person who came Wei Yuan?"

"Exactly!"

Wei Boyang immediately stood up and said in a long voice, "Wei Yuan, receive the imperial decree!"

There was an imperial edict? This was a genuine decree from the Son of Heaven, completely different from those of the kings of the Nine Kingdoms. Thus, Wei Yuan led his men to receive the edict.

Wei Boyang proclaimed loudly, "...Qingzhou is hereby established, and Qingyang Prefecture is hereby appointed. Considering Wei Yuan's concern for the people and his merit in expanding the territory, he is hereby appointed as the garrison commander of Qingyang. This is the imperial decree!" Wei Yuan thanked the emperor and accepted the decree. It must be said that the imperial decree of the Tang emperor was of a high standard, even serving as a powerful artifact. Wei Yuan became an official of the Tang dynasty without even realizing it. However, the Tang dynasty was in decline, and the appointment of officials was also arbitrary, simply handing him the title of governor.

This imperial edict contains many hidden meanings, mainly dividing Qing and Ning prefectures with Hanyang Pass as the boundary. Outside Hanyang Pass, Qing Prefecture is established alone, and the four counties of Ningxi are now all designated as Qingyang Prefecture, with Wei Yuan as its garrison commander.

According to the official system of the Great Tang Dynasty, a prefecture was a level between a state and a commandery, sometimes established and sometimes not, depending on the nine kingdoms. The chief official of a prefecture was the governor (巡抚) for civil affairs and the commander (提督) for military affairs. Prefectures located in border areas sometimes had a pacification commissioner (镇抚使). The pacification commissioner held both military and political power, such as Cui Shutong, the pacification commissioner of Yuyang Prefecture in the Zhao Kingdom.

The Zhenfu Shi (镇抚使) can be considered a smaller Jiedushi (节度使), while Wei Yuan had already been appointed as the Dingxi Jiedushi of the Western Jin Dynasty. If Emperor Tang were to appoint him, the position would have to be smaller than the one given by the Western Jin Dynasty, in order to demonstrate the status of the Tang Dynasty.

The same piece of land was a second-rank military governor in the Western Jin Dynasty, but in the Tang Dynasty, it could only be a third-rank garrison commander.

However, from another perspective, the official titles conferred by the Western Jin Dynasty were real, while the title of Qingyang Zhenfu Shi granted by Emperor Tang was more of a nominal one.

After reading the imperial edict, Wei Boyang helped Wei Yuan up, looked him up and down, and said, "I've long heard that the Taichu Palace has produced a peerless genius who dares to cultivate an invincible aura and declares that all Dharma Masters in the world are trash..."

Wei Yuan could only give an awkward smile, unsure of what to say. He had clearly only said that the Xu family's Dharma forms were all trash, so why was everyone spreading the rumor that all Dharma forms in the world were trash?

Wei Boyang laughed and said, "No matter what, a Dharma form at less than twenty years old is still a rare sight in the world. May I ask if you have any questions? Is your Dharma form a divine form?"

Wei Yuan mumbled, "I guess... I guess so..."

Wei Boyang took Wei Yuan's words as mere modesty and said, "How could I not be a celestial being? Alright, let's get down to business. This general has come to provide assistance on the orders of the Regent Prince of Jin. I wonder how the battle is going? Have any sorcerers appeared on the other side?"

“There is a ghost witch.”

A glint flashed in Wei Boyang's eyes, and he said, "Very good! It's been decades since I've fought against the Netherworld Witches. Do the Netherworld Witches on the other side have any reputation? They might even be acquaintances of mine. It'll be a good opportunity to see if their cultivation level has declined over the years."

Wei Yuan immediately said, "At present, we only know one named Hongye, who was knocked down from the Netherworld Witch realm. We do not yet know the names of the other Netherworld Witches."

Wei Boyang's expression hardened, and he asked, "How many Netherworld Witches?"

Wei Yuan carefully recalled the auras he sensed and said, "Judging from the auras, there are at least six, in addition to a Holy Witch."

Wei Boyang's smile froze on his face.

He forced a smile and asked, "For the Holy Witch to mobilize, this offensive must be extraordinary. How many troops has the Witch Clan mobilized in total?"

"The initial estimate is 1.8 million, and there are still tens of millions of laborers and coolies in the rear."

Wei Boyang's smile had faded, and he frowned, asking, "Given this situation, has the Western Jin not sent any troops? What has the Xu family done?"

Wei Yuan said, "The Liao tribe in the north is launching a very aggressive offensive, and the northern border has already lost more than a thousand miles of territory. So I estimate that the Prince of Jin is unlikely to be able to come to our aid. As for the Xu family, they have always been my enemies, and we even fought two major battles last year, so it is impossible for them to come to our aid either."

Wei Boyang said, "Personal grudges are personal grudges, what do they matter in the face of a foreign invasion?! This Xu... Hmph!"

Although he was the Grand General of the Tang Dynasty, it seems he could not address Xu Wangu by his given name.

Wei Boyang paced back and forth a few times before saying, "This general did not expect the situation to be so critical. Although I brought three thousand imperial guards with me, these guards are the emperor's ceremonial guard and cannot be easily lost. So even if we have to use them, we can only use them in key rear areas to maintain order."

Although he didn't say it explicitly, Wei Yuan knew that those who could become members of the Emperor's Imperial Guard were all descendants of nobles. They joined the army to gain seniority and for show, not to actually fight. The deaths of even a few of these Imperial Guards would be a significant problem, so Wei Yuan didn't intend to give them any important missions; he just wanted to find a safe place to station them and maintain appearances.

Wei Boyang looked up at the sky and said, "This Shattered Realm is indeed as bad as it sounds, it's very troublesome. However, I came here on orders, and I have the blessing of the Emperor, so I can naturally hide from the monsters from the heavens. As long as I don't go all out, they won't be able to detect my presence."

Taking advantage of this, I'll hide in your azure sky and see which foolish sorcerer will offer themselves up..."

Halfway through his sentence, a surprised voice suddenly rang out from the sky: "Wei Boyang?! What are you doing here? This old Daoist thought you had died eight hundred years ago."

Wei Boyang's expression changed as well. He looked up at the sky and saw Xuan Yue Zhenjun standing in the air.

He looked at Xuan Yue Zhenjun, then at Wei Yuan, and then back at Xuan Yue Zhenjun, and sighed, "What a fine child! How did he end up becoming a disciple of you, you old scoundrel? It's a complete waste of talent, a pearl cast before swine! A beautiful flower stuck in your pile of cow dung!"

(End of this chapter)