Longzang

Chapter 670 First, seize the initiative
When Wei Yuan first took office as the military governor of the Western Jin Dynasty, he went to the capital to pay homage to the emperor. At the hunting festival, he deliberately underperformed, but unexpectedly, he was firmly nailed to the first place and forced to inherit the fate of the Western Jin Dynasty. Moreover, the number of those who participated in the hunt far exceeded Wei Yuan's expectations.

In the past two years, the Western Jin Dynasty was facing unfavorable circumstances in the northern war, but Wei Yuan defeated the Wu tribe in the Western Regions, and the country's fortune rose instead of falling. Now, Qingming has been recuperating for more than half a year, and its strength is becoming more and more powerful. The sky above the human world is also gradually becoming higher and clearer.

Suddenly, the sky crumbled, and the remaining light resembled blood. Judging from this, the fate of the Western Jin Dynasty returned to the time when Wei Yuan took over as military governor.

The fate of a nation is subject to numerous and complex changes. Even if the King of Jin, the court, and Wei Yuan were combined, they would only account for about 30% of the entire Western Jin dynasty's fate.

The influence of the Northern Liao witches on the fate of the nation was the majority, while the rest was scattered among the Lü and Xu families, as well as various aristocratic families that had business dealings with the Western Jin Dynasty.

Just as the Western Jin Dynasty was facing difficulties, the Zhao State established a new border close to Qingming, clearly indicating its intention to wage war against Jin.

Not long ago, the King of Zhao was still waging war against the State of Ji, fighting intermittently for several years and seizing two commanderies. Now, it is very likely that he will take advantage of the weakness of the Western Jin Dynasty to plunder it.

A strong sense of crisis rose in Wei Yuan's heart, and he felt he had to do something quickly. Having enjoyed the benefits, it was time to fulfill his obligations.

The fate of the Western Jin Dynasty transformed into the heavens above, a crucial link in the perfection of the human world. If this link were to break down, Wei Yuan's cultivation path would be delayed for an unknown amount of time.

At this time, Li Zhi arrived in Qingming, and it had been quite some time since the two had last seen each other. Wei Yuan then arranged a banquet in the guest town, and after a few rounds of drinks, Wei Yuan inquired about Li Zhi's recent situation.

Li Zhi had previously poured all his resources into supporting Qingming, deploying over 100,000 troops, nearly half of whom were lost. Discontent was high within Zhenshan territory, and many complained directly to the Princes of Zhao and Qi. However, Li Zhi suppressed all opposition and continued to provide full support to Qingming.

After finally defeating the Rain Kingdom, Li Zhi gained immense prestige, and the previous doubts instantly turned into unanimous praise. Because of the birth of such a remarkable son, Duke Hui'en took three more concubines, preparing to further strengthen the Li family.

Prestige was extremely important to Li Zhi, who was majoring in the study of human kingship. The victory in this great battle made his cultivation completely complete, and he returned to the Four Saints Academy to prepare for the Dharma.

The Four Saints Academy also devoted itself to supporting Li Zhi, significantly reducing the resources allocated to the other promising cultivators and using all the ancient true essences that could only be used once on Li Zhi.

Ultimately, Li Zhi fused the sword and the cauldron into one furnace, and cultivated the Dharma form: the old site of Xuanling.

Long ago, a human emperor built the Xuanyuan Terrace to offer sacrifices to Heaven. Later, this place fell into the hands of a foreign race, and the altar was destroyed. After a thousand years of war, the human race reclaimed the altar. When the Great Tang Emperor successfully established his kingdom, he sealed the ruins and never rebuilt them, so as to inspire future generations and remind them not to forget the hardships of their ancestors.

The wonder of this Dharma image lies in the fact that what Li Zhi built was not the Xuanyuan Altar of Heaven, but the site after it was destroyed by foreign tribes.

This was because the Four Saints Academy extracted a wisp of the Emperor's fortune that had been sealed for a thousand years and bestowed it upon Li Zhi, which allowed his Dharma form to undergo a transformation and reach a higher level.

In this Dharma image platform is a broken ancient cauldron, a precious sword is stuck in the side of the platform, and blood-stained military flags are all around.

When fighting against other races, this Dharma Image can significantly enhance military morale, inspiring the army to fight with unwavering resolve. When fighting against humans, if the opponent lacks a powerful treasure to counter their strength, their morale will be noticeably suppressed. Within territory, this Dharma Image can enhance the properties of boundary stones, reducing the likelihood of natural disasters and man-made calamities within the territory.

Wei Yuan also deeply admired Li Zhi's appearance, believing it to be the perfect appearance for an emperor.

Li Zhi smiled wryly and said, "To tell you the truth, the academy's founder sealed my Dharma form. What I usually show is a sword and a cauldron. The old site of the altar and the blood-red banner have been hidden. Otherwise, if this Dharma form were to appear, I'm afraid the Emperor of Great Tang would not be able to sleep at night. I'm just telling you this so that no one else will know."

Wei Yuan knew this was a big deal and solemnly agreed. But thinking about it, it made sense. If any emperor knew that such a person had emerged in his country, a clear-cut traitor, he would definitely try every means to kill him.

After the great war with the Rain Kingdom, Wei Yuan delivered 100,000 sets of breastplates to Li Zhi, enabling the Zhenshan Army to be fully equipped and significantly improving their combat strength. Coupled with Li Zhi's own great prestige, the generals finally realized the enormous benefits of participating in the war.

Wei Yuan originally intended to train another 100,000 infantrymen for Li Zhi, but after Li Zhi achieved the Dharma Aspect, he felt more at ease using his own elite troops, as he trained them personally. Qingming's fighting style was too unpredictable and not necessarily the right approach, so the matter was dropped.

After the two talked about old times for a while, Wei Yuan got to the point and told them about Li Chengfeng's establishment of a new domain with the intention of sealing off Qingming and cutting off Qingming's connection with Zhenshan Territory.

Li Zhi did not immediately express his opinion but asked, "Brother, you must have a plan in mind. If there is anything you need from me, please feel free to speak up."

Wei Yuan said, "I want to seize the initiative in this matter and first appease the public. Therefore, I would like to ask Brother Li to help me find some great scholars who are not afraid of powerful figures to publish more articles and thoroughly criticize King Zhao! I will definitely pay them generously for their writing!"

By this time, the two had almost finished eating. Li Zhi then had the food and wine cleared away, and brought paper and pen. He wrote down more than thirty names in one go, then crossed out five or six, before smiling and saying:
"You've touched on the core of our Four Saints Academy. These days, scholars pride themselves on their integrity and take pride in criticizing emperors and nobles. There are far too many who aren't afraid of trouble. The few I crossed out are those who aren't very well-known."

Wei Yuan glanced at the list and was surprised to see Cai Shizhi's name on it as well. He asked in surprise, "Is this Mr. Cai also willing to speak up for me?"

Li Zhi laughed and said, "Times have changed. It's true that you used to incite the common people to fill in the lines, and it's also true that the King of Zhao disregards the greater good and wants to send troops to take advantage. Speaking up for you now can also show that he is impartial and not personal. I'll find two people who know him well to give him some encouragement, and this matter will be settled. Of course, the payment is still necessary, and I'll say that I'm the one who paid it."

Wei Yuan sighed, "You scholars are really full of tricks...and have the most ideas."

Li Zhi and Wei Yuan went through the list one by one. Wei Yuan's matter was clear about right and wrong, so it was relatively easy to handle. The Four Saints Academy was a sacred place for literature and Taoism in the world. If Li Zhi personally intervened, more than half of the twenty-odd great scholars would give him some extra money for writing.

The remaining seven or eight people were either eccentric, unruly, or had feuds with other great scholars; they were the type who would always write the opposite of what others had written.

Having quirks is fine, as long as you have hobbies.

Wei Yuan and Li Zhi prescribed the right medicine and quickly found a solution, leaving only two people in the end. These two were honest and upright, with few friends, and relied solely on their literary talent to make their way in the world.

Wei Yuan and Li Zhi pondered for a long time but couldn't come up with a good solution. Wei Yuan stared at their files for a while, then suddenly asked, "Do they have any descendants?"

"That's definitely true."

Wei Yuan then said, "Tell them that if they succeed in this matter, I will promote one of their incompetent juniors to the Dao Foundation stage!" Li Zhi slammed his hand on the table and exclaimed in admiration.

After the matter was settled, Li Zhi went straight to the Four Saints Academy.

Three days later, renowned scholars began publishing articles, vehemently condemning King Zhao for disregarding the greater good of humanity and taking advantage of Qingming's weakness to launch a military campaign. They argued that if everyone in the world acted this way, who would be willing to resist foreign invaders, and who would be willing to shed blood and sweat for the sake of humanity?

Cai Shih-chih's article was the most radical, and its core message was: "When a country is ruled by a wicked and petty person, that country will not last long."

The main hall of the Zhao state.

King Zhao grabbed a stack of jade papers from the table and slammed them down in front of his ministers, angrily saying, "I have been King Zhao for decades. Some have criticized me for being a warmonger and a waste of resources, and some have criticized me for not caring about the people's livelihood. But I have never been called a villain without virtue before!"
And why are so many people writing articles to criticize me at the same time? Did I send a single soldier to attack Qingming? On the contrary, Wei Yuan is arrogant and unreasonable, killing my Zhao soldiers first! Why are all these people criticizing me, and not a single one saying a word about Wei Yuan?!
Such a huge event, and you didn't even have a single word about it! What use are you to me?!

King Zhao roared in fury, and his ministers fell silent, none daring to utter a word.

……

Wei Yuan sent people to the State of Jin to find out what major events had recently occurred, while simultaneously preparing his army for war.

After leading a motley crew of over ten thousand cavalrymen of varying skill levels and abilities to circle around in front of Li Chengfeng, Wei Yuan estimated that Li Chengfeng was confident of winning, but certainly unsure about his troop numbers. Therefore, his choice should be to reinforce his troops rather than retreat.

In addition, he had just mobilized all the Confucian scholars in the land to criticize King Zhao. If King Zhao had any temper, he would not have allowed Li Chengfeng to withdraw his troops.

With a major battle imminent, Wei Yuan still had some matters to attend to.

So he gave the order that trucks set off from various places in Qingming, becoming dozens of small caravans, picking up supplies at designated locations, and then converging along the way. The small caravans became medium-sized caravans, and the medium-sized caravans became large caravans. By the time they left Qingming, they had become a huge caravan of more than 500 trucks.

Wei Yuan, on the other hand, went ahead and flew to the State of Zhao.

The State of Zhao, Yuyang Commandery.

The garrison commander Cui Shutong had just finished lunch and was sitting in his study enjoying tea when a thought suddenly struck him. He said, "Since distinguished guests have come to visit, why not show yourself?"

A faint, ethereal voice echoed in the air: "It is not convenient at the moment. Please dismiss your attendants, Your Excellency."

Cui Shutong then said, "You may all leave. No one is allowed to enter this courtyard without my permission."

The servants and guards waiting outside then withdrew from the courtyard.

At this moment, Wei Yuan appeared, already seated in the guest seat.

Cui Shutong's pupils contracted slightly, and he said, "Lord Wei's cultivation is becoming more and more extraordinary. It seems that he has a good chance of ascending to immortality in the future."

"Ascension to immortality is a matter for the future; worldly matters are more important right now."

"What important matter is it, sir? Please tell me in detail," Cui Shutong asked.

Although the two met in different places, they had dealt with each other countless times, and the amount of goods they exchanged had been increasing. It could be said that most of the silver in Uncle Cui's pocket now came from Wei Yuan.

Wei Yuan said bluntly, "Now that a conflict between Jin and Zhao is imminent, I am worried that the King of Zhao may ban trade between us."

Cui Shutong didn't hide anything and said, "That's right. I estimate that the imperial decree is already on its way and will arrive in the next couple of days."

Wei Yuan then said, "My caravan is already on its way and will arrive at the border by noon tomorrow."

Uncle Cui's eyelids twitched: "How much stock do you have?"

"Five hundred carts, carrying breastplates and brocade."

Cui Shutong's eyelids twitched, and he said, "A great battle is imminent, and you're still selling breastplates?"

Wei Yuan smiled slightly and said, "That's more convincing."

Okay, what do you want?

"The same as always, people."

Uncle Cui gritted his teeth and said, "Take all 700,000 people from the five surrounding counties!"

Wei Yuan smiled and said, "Doing business with Lord Cui is so refreshing!"

(End of this chapter)