Longzang

Chapter 675 Let's see how lucky we are
"The second condition is that you have to sell me five million catties of silk at 80% of the market price."

After a quick calculation, Li Chengfeng realized that the request was roughly equivalent to a little over one million taels of silver. He had already spent ten million taels just building the city walls, so he immediately agreed.

Fortunately, Wei Yuan didn't make any further demands. Instead, he said, "Until you fulfill the two conditions mentioned above, your subordinates will have to make do for a few days in Qingming. I will release them when you have resolved the matter. However, each of them will have to pay one tael of silver per day for food and lodging before they can be released."

"Is this true?"

"I, Wei Yuan, keep my word!"

“Alright! With Lord Wei’s status and reputation, he shouldn’t be the type to go back on his word!” Li Chengfeng immediately agreed.

At this moment, an advisor presented him with paper and pen, and Wei Yuan was taken aback: "What's this for?"

The strategist said, "Words are no proof. Let's write a treaty and have both parties sign it as witness."

Li Chengfeng's face darkened. He thought to himself, "If I sign this peace treaty, won't I become a sinner for all time? How can I sign such a peace treaty that will nail me to the pillar of shame?"

But since the strategist had already brought it up, Li Chengfeng forced a smile and said, "That's fine then! What does Lord Wei think?" In his heart, he was cursing the blind strategist to death and was planning to find a way to kill him when he got back.

Wei Yuan laughed and tore up the paper, saying, "What's the point of signing? What can a peace treaty bind us? That's just pedantic thinking! We've reached an agreement now, so let's do it as agreed. If we can't reach an agreement later, we can fight another war and renegotiate. What do we need a peace treaty for? Do you think I'm afraid you'll go back on your word?"

The strategist's face turned pale and then red. He could only curse the barbarian in his heart, how could he dare to say another word? This kind of barbarian, Wei Yuan, did not know how to respect scholars. You couldn't talk to him about integrity and dying for one's principles. Wei Yuan really knew how to kill.

Li Chengfeng breathed a sigh of relief and quickly settled the matter.

Wei Yuan added, "I will only hand over the task here at Bishui."

Li Chengfeng not only breathed a sigh of relief, but also felt a weight lifted from his heart.

Raising five million catties of silk would be difficult, but with money, it wouldn't be a problem. The difference would only be a little over a million taels of silver, and Li Chengfeng could even make a profit on the silk, bringing the total to about seven or eight hundred thousand taels of silver. In his eyes, it was a trivial matter.

As long as the Biyue territory is preserved, soldiers can be replenished if they are all killed, and military funds can be allocated if they are insufficient; these are not problems.

A smile appeared on Li Chengfeng's face. He then ordered the soldiers to lay down their weapons and remove their armor, and return to Qingming with Wei Yuan's army. The soldiers were told that they were not prisoners of war, but rather collateral for the peace negotiations, and that they would be able to return in a while.

The hostages had a much better reputation than the prisoners, and they were considered to be serving the country, so the soldiers didn't resist much and obediently complied.

A smile finally appeared on Li Chengfeng's face, and the atmosphere eased considerably. Wei Yuan rubbed his hands together excitedly and asked, "Shouldn't we start the lottery?"

Li Chengfeng and a Dharma-style general unfurled the scroll and said, "Lord Wei, please!"

He appeared confident, and the strategists and generals who knew his background all praised the Fourth Prince's wisdom in their hearts. The Li family had been trying to obtain this Phoenix Fire Immortal Palace painting for hundreds of years, but they only had one immortal artifact, four Imperial Landscape Treasures, and very few Dharma Aspects or Magic Treasures. The vast majority of their resources were just Dao Foundation materials.

Now, Li Chengfeng has managed to preserve the Azure Water Realm and gain Wei Yuan's withdrawal with such a vague prospect, which is a very worthwhile deal.

Many among the crowd possessed the ability to observe aura, and Wei Yuan clearly displayed only ordinary fortune, no different from any other person. It seemed the previous claims that Wei Yuan was a chosen one of destiny were merely rumors. If Wei Yuan were truly a chosen one of destiny, wouldn't they all have become destiny itself?

Phoenix Fire Immortal Palace is the place where the divine phoenix fell. The phoenix, a bird of heaven, values ​​fortune above all else, and there is a saying that it will not perch on anything but the parasol tree. That is why the Li family has the tradition of using this treasure to test the fortune and status of their descendants.

The celestial sect's unified examination for assessing one's fortune cannot exclude those with fleeting luck, nor can it completely disregard those with exceptional fortune or rank. Therefore, many who are temporarily lucky can also catch the eye of the celestial palace. Those with fleeting luck, however, rarely gain the approval of the divine phoenix.

So everyone was waiting to see what Wei Yuan's expression would be when he pulled out a Dao Foundation material. Some people were also uneasy, thinking that he should at least be given a Dharma Aspect magic weapon, otherwise Wei Yuan might get angry.

Wei Yuan, on the other hand, was full of anticipation and was surprised to find that the lottery was quite exciting. He loosened his collar, took off the silk scarf given to him by True Lord Yan Shi from around his neck, and then reached into the painting with his large hand.

Within the painting, the celestial realm isolated divine senses. Wei Yuan felt as if his fingertips had touched many things, but they all bounced away as soon as they touched him. Finally, he grabbed a clump of somewhat slippery fire. The fire burned so intensely that his primordial spirit trembled. With a scream, he withdrew his hand, clutching a large clump of moss still faintly burning with phoenix heavenly fire.

As soon as this object appeared, the surrounding temperature rose sharply. The cultivator at the Foundation Establishment stage was almost set ablaze and had to retreat dozens of feet away to stand.

When a celestial object is born, it naturally has a name in the world. Wei Yuan used his Qi Observation Technique to observe it, and with his peak luck, he broke through the Heavenly Dao Laws surrounding it in one fell swoop, learning the name of this object: Phoenix Blood Longevity Moss.

Based on the painting's origin and the treasure's true name, Wei Yuan roughly guessed the origin of this celestial object: it should be a piece of moss that grew after the divine phoenix fell and absorbed its blood. Among the celestial treasures left behind by the Phoenix Fire Immortal Palace, this item would most likely rank first.

Wei Yuan immediately stored the Phoenix Blood Moss in his mortal realm. Despite being burned by the Phoenix Fire to the point of wanting to jump up and down, Wei Yuan felt an indescribable sense of joy.

However, he looked utterly dejected and said, "What bad luck! I only managed to grab a handful of grass!"

Then Wei Yuan tied the silk scarf back on.

Some strategists and generals smiled, seeing that Wei Yuan showed no sign of turning hostile, thinking they had finally escaped a calamity. Li Chengfeng, however, stood there dumbfounded, wishing he could slap himself a few times.

"The battle is over, and I should be leaving now. Your Highness, please make preparations as soon as possible; the brocade will arrive in three days. Silk is not easy to procure, so you need to hurry. With tens of thousands of troops, the food and lodging for one day costs forty thousand taels of silver!"

Li Chengfeng forced a smile and asked, "What about those wounded soldiers?"

Wei Yuan said, "One price, ten taels of silver per person."

"Deal." Li Chengfeng agreed without hesitation.

Wei Yuan immediately returned to the main army. At this time, Qing Ming began to clear the battlefield, taking all the Zhao soldiers away. Only Li Chengfeng's two thousand personal guards were left behind.

Wei Yuan brought several hundred trucks, which was just enough to transport the wounded soldiers of Zhao's army. Seeing that Qing Ming treated the Zhao army fairly politely and took good care of the wounded, treating the seriously wounded on the spot and not being stingy with medicines and ointments, Li Chengfeng was somewhat relieved.

Then he began to think about how to repay his father.

(End of this chapter)