Longzang

Chapter 688 This is the Imperial Edict

At the Yongshui County Prefectural Governor's Office, the current governor, Lu Weidao, looked at the report in his hand and immediately sneered: "This Wei Yuan's wolfish ambition has finally been exposed! Leading an army of 100,000 to the capital to meet the Emperor? I've never heard of the King issuing an imperial edict."

A military officer beside him said, "Lord Lu, Wei Yuan will arrive soon. How should we deal with him? Should we prepare a camp for them in advance?"

Lu Weidao sneered: "You're still setting up camp for them? They don't even have any food or water! Send down the order that they stay indoors for the next few days. Let's see if Wei Yuan still dares to attack."

The military officer advised, "My lord, Wei Yuan is irritable, domineering, and unpredictable. Why provoke this scourge?"

Lu Weidao said sternly, "We are determined to be irreconcilable enemies with these traitors. At worst, we will die. If we can leave our names in history, it will not be a loss!"

The officials dared not speak again.

Meanwhile, far away, Wei Yuan, who was marching with the army, also received the report and laughed to his men, "Yongshui County is closed. Our envoy couldn't even get through the city gates. This Lu Weidao has some backbone!"

Yuan Qingyan snorted from the side and said, "Lu Weidao is stubborn and eccentric, and has offended many people. His career is already over. He is obsessed with empty fame. He is betting that the Lord of the Realm will not bother with him and will not really kill him, so that he can achieve the reputation of a loyal and valiant minister."

Wei Yuan nodded and said, "I see."

This trip would involve dealing with a number of minor officials in the Western Jin court, similar to Lu Weidao, so Wei Yuan brought Yuan Qingyan along. Sure enough, Yuan Qingyan was extremely knowledgeable about all the officials, high and low, in the Western Jin bureaucracy.

Cui Yu, standing nearby, remarked, "Isn't this just like Lord Yuan back then?"

Yuan Qingyan shook his head: "It's not the same. It's not that I'm ignorant of human relationships, but I just want to be a loyal minister so that His Majesty can trust me. This Lu Weidao is obsessed with fame and will do anything for it, but he's not good at governing a region."

After he said that, Cui Yu, although still disliking him, couldn't say anything to him.

Wei Yuan already had a plan in mind, and said, "I was just worried about not having a way to establish my authority, and Lu Weidao delivered himself to my doorstep. It's a good opportunity to use him as a sacrificial lamb and let others see who can earn a good reputation under my command."

The army surged forward and arrived at the city walls a day later.

Lu Weidao had already led a group of officials to stand on the city wall. Looking down at the endless, dark mass of the army, many officials trembled with fear. Lu Weidao, however, was beaming with excitement, his face flushed and his body trembling slightly.

He had already prepared a speech, and as soon as he cleared his throat and said, "Is that Wei Yuan below?", Wei Yuan roared, his voice echoing throughout the city:
"How dare you! You're just a nobody official, why don't you kneel before me? Do you have any respect for the court or the law? Are you plotting a rebellion?"

Lu Weidao was stunned. These accusations rendered all his words meaningless. He hurriedly said, "You are nothing but a traitor and rebel, why should I kneel..."

Before he could finish speaking, Wei Yuan pulled a scroll from his robes, his voice booming throughout the city, completely drowning out his words once again: "The King's decree is here, and you still won't kneel? Why don't you seize this traitor?"

Lu Weidao's mind was in chaos. Wei Yuan looked like a rebel, so how could he really have an imperial edict?

Before he could even come up with his words, Wei Yuan shouted sternly, "You refuse to kneel before the imperial decree and refuse to open the gates! Lu Weidao, you are rebelling! Men, bomb the city! Today we will only arrest the ringleaders, and the rest will be spared! Anyone who dares to resist will be killed on the spot without mercy!"

Three eight-wheeled war chariots rushed out from the army behind Wei Yuan. After entering the battle, each chariot retracted its sixteen legs, landed on the ground, and stood firm with steel spikes. Then they fired their cannons one after another, and several shots shattered the city gate!

Subsequently, more than ten Dharma Masters from Wei Yuan's army, along with hundreds of Daoist foundations, flew up to the city wall.

The officials on the city wall were already stunned. Except for Lü Weidao, who put up a few resistances, the rest of them knelt down and surrendered.

With a wave of his hand, Wei Yuan sent his army rolling into the city.

The next morning, Wei Yuan ate and drank his fill, then went to the main hall of the prefectural governor's mansion. He sat down in the main seat, picked up the gavel, examined it, and found the wood to be of excellent quality, so he put it away.

On both sides of the hall stood officials of all ranks from the prefectural governor's office, each one disheveled and pale-faced.

Wei Yuan then smiled and said, "Although you all have acted disrespectfully towards the court, I have already investigated and found that you were coerced by rebels, which is understandable. No evidence of treason was found in your homes last night, so this matter will be dropped, and you will all be reinstated. Do you have any objections?"

Although the officials' homes were ransacked, the losses were limited to gold, silver, and valuables; the real losses lay in the land deeds and property deeds, which Wei Yuan left untouched. Therefore, the officials dared not say anything more and expressed their deepest gratitude for Wei Yuan's magnanimity.

Wei Yuan then asked with a smile, "Since you are being coerced by rebels, then who are the rebels?"

The officials looked at each other in bewilderment. Suddenly, a minor official knelt on the ground, tears streaming down his face, and said, "Lu Weidao has long harbored rebellious intentions!"

Wei Yuan was overjoyed and asked his attendants, "Let's see if there are any lucrative positions in this prefecture, and fill them for him! I'll ask the Ministry of Personnel to issue the approval later."

The officials acted on the spot. They dared not refuse; if they were even slightly slow, Wei Yuan would look over.

Lu Weidao was then brought up, completely naked and covered in wounds, clearly having been tortured all night. Seeing himself naked before his colleagues, he was so ashamed and indignant that he nearly fainted.

Wei Yuan glanced at him and laughed, "So Lord Lu is an ivory toothpick! It's exquisite, but it seems the women in your household are having a hard time."

The officials all had strange expressions, their eyes darting around nervously.

Lu Weidao coughed up a mouthful of blood on the spot, too angry to speak.

Wei Yuan slammed the scroll on the table and said, "Having seen the imperial edict, why won't you kneel?" Only then did Lu Weidao see the scroll's design clearly. He was immediately enraged and exclaimed, "This is no imperial edict!"

"This is the imperial edict."

"You're talking nonsense! This isn't an imperial edict at all!"

Wei Yuan then looked around and asked, "My lords, is this an imperial edict?"

The officials all said, "This is indeed His Majesty's decree."

Wei Yuan laughed heartily, put away the scroll, and said, "Very good! With you all here, I am relieved. Alright, it's time for me to head to the capital. Guards, strip Lord Lu of his official rank and release him for now. I will punish him after I arrive in the capital to meet the Emperor!"

Afterwards, Wei Yuan left the prefectural governor's residence, surrounded by a group of fierce-looking generals, and headed north from the city. The officials felt as if they had just woken from a nightmare, and many of them fell seriously ill after returning home.

That night, Lu Weidao threw himself into a cesspool and drowned.

The whole city was talking about ivory toothpicks and drowning by throwing excrement; no one cared about Lord Lu's past heroic deeds.

After this, Wei Yuan's journey to the capital proceeded smoothly without any further obstacles. The army marched north, devouring seven prefectures until nothing grew, and finally arrived at the walls of Yingdu. By this time, the hundreds of thousands of soldiers had all gained several pounds.

The crown prince did not sleep all night.

The sky was just beginning to lighten, but the council hall of the mansion was brightly lit, and the officials all looked weary, having discussed matters all night. The only topic of discussion was how to deal with Wei Yuan's hundreds of thousands of troops.

A civil official was speaking passionately: "There are still 100,000 imperial guards in the city, and hundreds of thousands of soldiers capable of fighting. I am willing to lead tens of thousands of troops to the city walls to defend against the enemy outside the gates..."

"Shut up!" the crown prince suddenly roared, startling all the officials.

The crown prince's face turned ashen, and he shouted sternly, "Right now, the main army is in the north, and the capital is undefended. Even if I personally lead the troops, I dare not say we can hold it. My army is not for you to use for your own fame and posthumous reputation! Empty talk will ruin the country. Get out of here!"

The civil official turned ashen-faced and dared not say more, bowing his head as he left the room.

The Crown Prince, usually so composed and rarely so enraged, was clearly losing his composure at this moment.

At this moment, the Left Prime Minister coughed lightly and said, "Wei Yuan's intentions are unclear. Let's hear what the Director of the Imperial Observatory, Wang, has to say."

An elderly man sitting at the back of the court rose and said, “The heavenly secrets suddenly became chaotic the other day, but the nation’s fortunes did not decline. Judging from this, Wei Yuan’s visit is not for rebellion. This is just my opinion; Your Majesty should make your own judgment.”

The crown prince's expression softened slightly.

The Left Prime Minister then said, "Since Wei Yuan has no intention of rebelling, then it's easy to talk about. It's inevitable that he'll be a bit arrogant. In my opinion, since he wants to meet the Emperor, then let him meet the Emperor."

The crown prince remained silent for a long time until the distant morning bell rang, at which point he slowly nodded.

Beneath the walls of Yingdu, Wei Yuan was once again greeted by Lü Zhongzhi, the Commander of the Nine Gates. In the past, Lü Zhongzhi had been high and mighty, but this time he stood shoulder to shoulder with Wei Yuan, looking at the massive, dark army before them, a barely perceptible look of surprise flashing in his eyes.

He remained calm and said, "Lord Wei, why bring so many people on your journey to the capital? It's a waste of resources and manpower!"

Wei Yuan sighed, “Years of war have made the world in turmoil. Many people in the region have turned against us. I’m a bit afraid of death, so I brought more men with me. Speaking of which, I almost got ambushed and killed in Yongshui County. I still feel scared when I think about it. But I couldn’t do anything to Lu Weidao, so in the end I had no choice but to let him go.”

Lu Zhongzhi could only say, "I've heard about this matter as well. There must be some misunderstanding involved. But Lu Weidao is dead, so there's no rush. We can investigate it slowly."

Wei Yuan asked in surprise, "Lu Weidao is dead?"

Lu Zhongzhi cursed inwardly, but said aloud, "He committed suicide out of fear of punishment, which he deserved. Death absolves all sins, so let's leave him aside. But how will Lord Wei's large army be stationed this time?"

Wei Yuan said, "I only brought 20,000 men this time, which can be squeezed into the barracks. The remaining 10,000 to 20,000 are civilians who can camp close to the city wall to avoid the wind and snow."

Lu Zhongzhi cursed inwardly again. This huge, dark mass, tens of thousands? More like hundreds of thousands! He, Lu Zhongzhi, a dignified late-stage Dharma Aspect cultivator, wasn't blind.

But he still had to smile and ask, "The barracks are small; it's a bit crowded for 20,000 people."

Wei Yuan laughed and said, "It's alright. I can hide my military aura on myself while they are stationed in the city. Any late-stage Dharma Aspect cultivator who wants to assassinate me will be no match for me if I use my military aura to suppress them."

Lü Zhongzhi, in his later stages of the Dharma-image period, chuckled dryly a few times.

Everything then went as Wei Yuan had hoped. After the army was stationed, Wei Yuan led several hundred of his personal guards to stay at the city's post station, preparing to enter the palace to meet the emperor early the next morning.

In the Vajra Zen Temple outside the city, Qing Tong slowly opened his eyes, his pupils a deep, unfathomable blue, and said softly, "...The secret of heaven has arrived."

(End of this chapter)