Longzang

Chapter 651 How about this?

Ji Liuli carried almost no luggage, and apart from the robes he wore, he had virtually no magical artifacts or treasures. This was a common practice among the young, talented disciples of the Taichu Palace during their training; they relied almost entirely on external objects, except for their own Dao foundation, in order to forge the most perfect Dao foundation.

Wei Yuan was the same way back then, but he was genuinely poor and wanted something from outside, so he had to have it.

After leaving the cave, the two flew low to the outside of the mountain gate as per the rules. Wei Yuan then took out the frame of the aircraft, assembled a two-seater version, and installed twelve spray nozzles in one go.

"What is this?" Ji Liuli asked curiously.

"It's a twelve-shot combination flying artifact," Wei Yuan said seriously.

Ji Liuli didn't ask any more questions and followed Wei Yuan onto the aircraft. Wei Yuan then activated the jetpack. To show off its performance to his senior sister, he turned the power up to the maximum in one go.

With a loud bang, the twelve nozzles and two wings instantly disappeared into the distance, leaving only the fuselage carrying Wei Yuan and Ji Liuli still in place.

Wei Yuan then realized the importance of the Institute of Structure and Materials Mechanics within his Dao Foundation, and decided to give them extra training later.

"I tested the engine, and the results are quite good." Wei Yuan said this without batting an eye.

Then he took out the spare materials, this time making the wings three times thicker, hanging three spray nozzles on each side, and two more on the tail. Then he carefully took off and flew straight toward the Liao tribe's defense line.

The Liao clan's powerful figures spotted the uninvited guest from afar and quickly took to the air to intercept him. Wei Yuan showed no mercy, unleashing a series of heavenly lightning bolts that sent several of his opponents into a haze of smoke. Then, a powerful aura surged upwards from below, and a powerful expert at the Imperial Realm level, enraged, prepared to teach the junior a lesson.

Wei Yuan reacted swiftly, striking him with a lightning bolt that scorched his hair and beard, causing him to roar incessantly. Then, without lingering in the fight, Wei Yuan unleashed ten attacks simultaneously, accelerating his escape.

With Ji Liuli in tow, their speed was roughly equivalent to that of a regular Yujing. Those chasing from behind were also just regular Yujing. Wei Yuan had taken the lead, so Ji Liuli couldn't catch up and could only watch as Wei Yuan crossed the defensive line and sped away.

Hearing the thunderous roar from behind, Ji Liuli suddenly laughed, a particularly joyful laugh.

The two flew across the land for a day and a night before arriving at Qingming.

After arranging accommodations for Ji Liuli, Wei Yuan let her sleep, then took her spirit through the human world to the Netherworld and summoned the Dream Eater.

On the way, Wei Yuan had already explained to Ji Liuli the method for resolving the Dao Heart issue during this trip. Ji Liuli was familiar with the process, so she sat down in the quiet room of the Netherworld.

Countless eyes lit up in the void, all staring at her, and a large number of invisible ripples were generated. Ji Liuli had entered a dream.

Wei Yuan watched for a while and, seeing that Ji Liuli's primordial spirit was stable and showed no discomfort, he was relieved. Just as he was about to leave, the Dream Eater suddenly appeared, saying with a mischievous grin, "Want me to arrange for you to play in her dream for a while?"

"Play?" Wei Yuan was very wary of this word.

"It's just for fun. Since it's in a dream, it doesn't matter what you do. Afterwards, she'll just think it was her own idea. Just like the Paper Wedding Dress game."

Wei Yuan said sternly, "How can this be? This matter must not be mentioned again. Furthermore, you are not allowed to use this technique on anyone from my sect, do you hear me!"

Shi Meng snorted and said, "People are trying to help you out of your troubles, but you don't appreciate it. That's really annoying."

Wei Yuan then said, "If you really want what's best for me, then help me keep an eye on the resources in the surrounding area, as well as any demons or monsters I need to be wary of."

The Dream Eater's eyes lit up: "If this is done well, can I go and take a look in your mental world?"

"Don't even think about it." How could Wei Yuan allow it into his mental world?

At this time, Ji Liuli's condition was stable. Guiding the dream and finding the location of the mental tribulation was not something that could be accomplished overnight. Wei Yuan left a Dao Foundation Warrior to guard the site while he went to inspect the construction site.

Currently, over a thousand people are busy in the main hall of Shuli, dismantling the original Wu Clan city, inventorying useful items, and moving them to the warehouse. Once the entire Wu City is demolished, Wei Yuan plans to build fortifications at the entrance to the passage leading to the Tianyuan Demon, as a means to deal with the demon incarnations.

A small hall has been built at the boundary stone of the ancestral master outside, temporarily covering the boundary stone. A group of cultivators from the Heavenly Crafts Hall are surveying various places, and then designing and improving the city plan to reserve space for functional buildings.

Besides digging and refining artifacts, building cities on barren land also brought them joy, just like the old Taoist priest who enjoyed leading people to cultivate spiritual fields. At this moment, the old Taoist priest was no longer in the Netherworld, but had returned to the Azure Netherworld to find land to cultivate.

The Azure Netherworld now extends to six hundred miles in its outer edge, and the amount of primordial energy that changes every day is enormous, gradually altering the landscape.

The greatest pleasure of the Farmer is now leading snakes and cats, wandering across the vast land, and then searching for suitable land to cultivate and plan the opening of fields.

Of the two million people in Qingming, a full one million are currently engaged in farming and land reclamation. Wei Yuan is already planning an additional two million mu (approximately 667 hectares) to bring Qingming's total land area to over ten million mu (approximately 6.67 hectares).

The second largest employer is mining, employing over 100,000 people. However, only a small number actually work underground; these days, at least a Blood Fusion Realm cultivation level is required to mine. The dozens of Foundation Establishment cultivators that Wei Yuan keeps underground year-round are more efficient at mining than ten thousand miners. Most of the mining workforce is used for transporting ore and finished products between workshops.

In addition, another 100,000 people were involved in building houses and constructing cities, another 100,000 were engaged in scattered occupations, and the rest were the elderly, women, and children. The population of Qingming mainly came from refugees, and one of the great advantages of refugees was that most of them were young and strong; otherwise, they would have died on the way long ago.

The military is of paramount importance, but with the increasing production of gunpowder and the growing proportion of firearms and infantry artillery, the need for soldiers to cultivate their physical abilities is no longer so urgent.

The battle with the Land of Rain left behind a wealth of lessons to be learned, with hundreds of articles compiled from the initial findings alone. Fueled by passion and imagination, the young talents of Zhuge Liang and Pang Tong began to offer their opinions and advice on how to fight the battle against Wei Yuan.

The culmination of this effort was a report placed before Wei Yuan, produced by the Institute of War Equipment for the Equality of All Beings. The report presented a completely new military reorganization plan, thoroughly reforming and reorganizing the Qingming Army. Although it had a theoretical feel to it, it was still quite inspiring.

Wei Yuan already felt that the Qingming military system needed a major overhaul, which would be the second major change after the transition from cold weapons to firearms.

Wei Yuan took this matter very seriously, so he specially chose a quiet time to study the plan.

The core of the new plan is a fundamental shift in combat tactics, moving from relying primarily on individual firearms to relying primarily on infantry artillery, with the main objective of eliminating the enemy beyond the range of bows and crossbows.

The new plan was arguably unorthodox. Cavalry was deemed a liability and would ultimately be rendered useless. Infantry, instead of being the main players in the war, were relegated to the role of defensive positions and patching up gaps, their primary responsibility being to occupy territory and defend. The main players in the war were artillery and missiles, and any weapon capable of delivering steel and fire to the enemy's head from beyond their field of vision.

Upon seeing this, Wei Yuan couldn't help but gasp, feeling that this step had been taken a bit too far.

If he hadn't known that the mortals in the human world were all reincarnations of human souls who died in the Qingming realm, Wei Yuan would have almost thought that the people in the research institute came from another world.

Military reorganization cannot be accomplished overnight. Wei Yuan sent the report back, asking them to continue to improve and refine it.

However, there is still one thing to do: how to maintain and improve the morale of the army.

Previously, the Qingming War raged, and everyone was a soldier. Although the casualties were heavy, the people's fighting spirit was boiling and their morale was extremely high. This was because if they took another step back, they would be their last home, their parents, wives and daughters. Therefore, everyone fought to the death, and it was an honor to die on the battlefield and be enshrined in the Hall of Heroes.

Now, Qingming's granaries are full, and silk is everywhere. The regular army has begun to be equipped with breastplates and muskets, and people are eager for a stable life. However, some disarray has begun to emerge within the army.

But Wei Yuan knew the war was far from over; the Xu family was eyeing them covetously, and the Zhao state harbored no good intentions either. Besides the remnants of the Rain Kingdom, any further expansion southwestward by the foreign tribes would mean bordering the mountain peoples.

Looking at the new plan, Wei Yuan began to ponder, intentionally dividing it into more than two hundred different directions for consideration. If he divided it into more, Wei Yuan would find it difficult to cope.

Therefore, Wei Yuan never takes on missions in the mundane world.

As he pondered, a sudden flash of inspiration struck him, and he recalled some content from Xu Wenwu's materials. At the time, Xu Wenwu was also a long-time online military enthusiast, the kind who had been offering his opinions on military affairs for over a decade. Therefore, his materials contained a considerable amount of information about the armies of various extraterrestrial nations.

One of the passages suddenly gave Wei Yuan an idea, so he assigned a high-level task amidst the everyday life of ordinary people: to design new military uniforms.

The military system of the nine kingdoms under the Great Tang Dynasty was chaotic, and the uniforms were also a mess. Basically, each branch of the military had its own set of uniforms, and each military governor had their own set of uniforms. Those who had money would dress neatly, while those who didn't would wear whatever they could find.

Wei Yuan was preparing to design a new type of military uniform. The important requirements were a slim fit, a grand appearance, and a luxurious color scheme. In short, it all boiled down to one word: handsome.

The new military uniforms were mainly prepared for junior officers. Taking advantage of the recent lull in fighting, Wei Yuan ordered the establishment of a military academy specifically for training junior officers. From the captain of a hundred-man squad and above, whose cultivation had reached the Bone Forging Realm or above, to the colonel, whose cultivation had reached the Great Perfection of Body Casting or the initial stage of Dao Foundation Establishment, everyone had to go through the military academy.

These junior officers entered military academies, where they trained for eight hours a day, slept for four hours to cultivate their mental fortitude, and learned about warfare, terrain, logistics, and a range of other knowledge.

Wei Yuan made a very full schedule for the three-month training period; even the livestock at home back then wouldn't have dared to be used like that.

The new uniforms should be introduced first to military academy officers, ensuring they are prominently displayed when they leave the academy. This will motivate lower-ranking soldiers to work hard and strive to become junior officers.

After the task was assigned, Renjian Yanhuo (a nickname) unleashed their creativity, designing all sorts of bizarre military uniforms, but there were always a few that were normal and that Wei Yuan thought looked good.

Wei Yuan then pulled Xu Wenwu over, ready to hear his opinion.

At this time, Xu Wenwu had already reached a high level of cultivation, and his supernatural abilities were far beyond what he had possessed before. Moreover, he felt that this was his area of ​​expertise. He immediately began to critique several sets of military uniforms and manually modified them according to his ideas. After making the modifications, he could even materialize them. He was no longer the clumsy, reclusive person he used to be.

In the end, Wei Yuan felt that although the military uniform called a long trench coat was strange, it was indeed handsome and slimming, and left a deep impression at first glance.

Wei Yuan also became interested. He felt that the military uniform was a bit plain and should be decorated with something. So he conjured a large, golden dragon head with exquisite details, attached it to the front of the uniform, and turned around to ask, "How is this?"

Even Xu Wenwu, with his discerning eye, couldn't help but cover his face.

(End of this chapter)