Longzang

Chapter 690 Promotion by Half a Rank
Wei Yuan, formerly the Jiedushi of Dingxi in the Western Jin Dynasty and a high-ranking official of the second rank, is now the Jiedushi of Qingyang in the Great Tang Dynasty and a councilor of the Western Jin Dynasty's government affairs hall. He has been promoted by half a rank and has become a high-ranking official of the first rank in the Western Jin Dynasty, concurrently holding the third rank in the Great Tang Dynasty.

Before the imperial edict of investiture could be framed and delivered, Wei Yuan left the post station and hastily fled Yingdu.

In just a few days in Yingdu, Wei Yuan received over 1,700 visiting cards from all sorts of people, including several local gang leaders who wanted to become his sworn brothers. Naturally, they couldn't accept such a title without offering their own wives.

These past few days, Wei Yuan has been eating about ten meals a night, changing meals every half hour, from dusk until dawn.

Some meals were unavoidable, such as those for the Left and Right Prime Ministers, the Six Ministers, the Grand Secretaries, Lü Zhongzhi, and the other Grand Secretaries.

Princes and princesses have to take a backseat.

Some meals are ones you don't want to eat, but you have to eat them later.

For example, Wei Yuanguang and the princesses ate eight meals, which made Wei Yuanguang gain a pound – this was after eating more than seventeen. If there had been more time, the princesses who were fourteen or older would probably have also had a meal.

According to the Da Tang ceremony, men and women can marry when they are twelve years old.

In reality, dining with the princesses was meaningless, so Wei Yuan only ate for thirty minutes with each one, mainly to give face to the Great Jin royal family, and certainly not because the princesses were all beautiful in their own way.

Besides, no matter how beautiful the princesses of the Western Jin Dynasty were, they were not as beautiful as the princess of Ningguo of the Great Zhao Dynasty.

As for the princes, Wei Yuan refused to meet with any of them, making his stance clear: he would not participate in the struggle for the throne.

However, when the eight princesses had eaten the sixth one, Consort Yuan sent someone to summon Wei Yuan to Chunhua Palace.

Wei Yuan immediately declined, citing that he was too busy to be in two places at once. At this time, Chunhua Palace was not open to entry, as there were at least seven or eight Dharma Images from Taichu Palace residing there, plus Zhu Yuanjin.

If Wei Yuan doesn't go, Chunhua Palace will be filled with the smoke of battle. Yuanfei has been fighting with the cultivators of Taichu Palace for several days, and she has actually managed to win over Ji Liuli, Feng Tingyu and Sun Yu to her side. Baoyun is gradually losing ground and often denounces the traitors for not showing loyalty to their fellow disciples.

If Wei Yuan were to go, everyone would immediately unite to criticize him, or at least watch with smiles on their faces. Master Yuan Jin, on the other hand, would sit back and enjoy the story, perhaps even taking a sip or two of wine.

After much deliberation, Wei Yuan realized that he really couldn't stay any longer.

At this time, the Western Jin Dynasty was weak in defense. There were two million troops in the northern border and nine hundred thousand troops in the south to resist the Zhao state. The one hundred thousand imperial guards in the capital were all relatives of the emperor, and most of the two hundred thousand city defense troops were just on the list and were useless in battle.

Now, with Wei Yuan's army of over 200,000 men, one foot inside the city and the other outside, purging the court of corrupt officials is merely a matter of a thought.

Therefore, all the officials were extremely uneasy, seeing Wei Yuan as if he were their own father. After all, a misstep could mean their own demise.

Wei Yuan grew tired of this kind of life after just a few days and began to miss the carefree days of gathering chaotic energy in the void. So, unable to wait for the imperial decree, he led his army away from the capital and returned to Qingming.

The return route was much more direct and faster. After all, the counties along the way had been almost completely exploited, there was little profit to be made from the land, and the gavel in the government offices had all become quite new.

On the return journey, Wei Yuan did not remain idle. Instead, he left behind several thousand armed laborers at intervals to gather refugees in various places and lead them slowly toward Qingming.

At this time, the Crown Prince was killed, and all the merchants and guilds in the eight prefectures of Ningxi fell silent, never mentioning the matter of seeking revenge against Wei Yuan, and even pretending that their own father had died.

These merchants now finally realized that they were nothing but empty wealth, and the so-called skilled workers they hired were utterly inadequate in real battles, unable even to defeat bandits.

When the bandits raided the auction, they slaughtered over a hundred bodyguards, captured two Dharma Masters alive, and the remaining four hundred bodyguards surrendered on the spot, while the bandits only lost a dozen or so. The bodyguards were a disorganized mob; how could they possibly be a match for a well-organized army?
Before Wei Yuan even reached Hanyang Pass, he received news that several lost merchant caravans had all been found by kind-hearted people and brought to Qingming. These kind-hearted people, of noble character, refused any reward.

The army marched westward and soon arrived at Hanyang Pass. As usual, Wei Yuan bypassed the city. At this moment, a messenger flew in, saying that an old friend was waiting for Wei Yuan at the west gate tower of Hanyang Pass and invited him to come and talk.

Wei Yuan then took to the air and flew alone towards Hanyang Pass.

The army below watched Wei Yuan's departing figure with admiration and pride, feeling that their world lord was brave and unparalleled, always going alone and never knowing what fear was.

As the sun began to set, the majestic gate tower of Hanyang Pass was bathed in its golden light, exuding a unique desolation. On the ancient city tower, the scars left by war could not be concealed by the passage of time.

There were no soldiers guarding the city tower, only a table of wine with two people sitting at it.

Wei Yuanfei went over and took a seat, only to find that they were indeed all old acquaintances. One was Xu Lanshan, and the other was the Prince of Ying.

Wei Yuan then bowed to the King of Ying and said, "I was unaware that Your Highness was also here. I apologize for my rudeness. How is the war situation in the north?"

After not seeing him for many days, the King of England looked much more weathered, his brows furrowed involuntarily. Although he still exuded an imposing aura, one could tell that he was preoccupied.

The King of England said, "I came to ask the Xu family for help, and I happened to hear that you were passing through this place, so I came to see you. Hehe, seeing your military spirit, even though I have been leading troops for many years, I am ashamed of my inferiority. The Crown Prince's defeat was not unjust."

Xu Lanshan smiled, a rare occurrence for her, though it was somewhat unnatural as she hadn't smiled in a long time. She said, "There are 80,000 refugees in the city. Take them."

Wei Yuan was somewhat surprised, as the Xu family did not seem to have this attitude in the past.

Xu Lanshan said, "You have thwarted the Lü family's plan this time, causing Lü Changhe to be caught off guard. The Immortal Ancestor is very pleased and is preparing to head north with all his might. He has instructed that we can cooperate more in the west."

Wei Yuan was taken aback: "Is it that serious?"

He knew that the Crown Prince and the Prince of Wei both had the influence of the Lü family, but he never expected that his move to bring down the Crown Prince would cause Lü Changhe to be in such a state of chaos.
Wei Yuan had no intention of targeting the Lü family, nor did he want to offend the immortals for no reason. His original plan was to unite with the Lü family to counterbalance the Xu family, and with the Ji, Zhao, and Cui families as his backers, to counterbalance the Zhao family, and then slowly develop in the cracks, waiting for the northern gate of the Taichu Palace to break the deadlock.

But now the situation seems to have completely reversed, with the Xu family joining forces to attack the Lü family.

Wei Yuan was astonished, but could only sigh at the unpredictable and mysterious nature of the immortals' moves. Without reaching that level of understanding, it would be impossible to know the true relationship between them.

Wei Yuan, unwilling to give up, asked again, "A crown prince, could he really be that valuable?"

Xu Lanshan took out a celestial sword, placed it on the table, and then drew it three-tenths of its length. In an instant, the space within three zhang around her became indistinct, completely isolated from the real world. As the sword was drawn, a small white dragon leaped out, circled in the air, and then scrutinized Wei Yuan as if it were alive.

This sword truly belongs to an immortal. It must have accompanied the immortal for many years and has already developed its own spirit and sharpened its edge.

Wei Yuan's Scarlet Night Immortal-Slaying Sword can only be described as a sword embryo at this moment. It has the foundation, but it still needs polishing and needs a catalyst to give birth to a true sword spirit, just like the Demon Blade July, before it can be called a true immortal weapon.

“Now that this sword is drawn, there are some things we can say,” Xu Lanshan said, then turned to look at the King of England.

The King of England sighed and said, "This matter is rather dishonorable to talk about, but it is of great importance, so it is best to let my young friend Wei know."

Seeing the King of England's solemn attitude, Wei Yuan felt a strong sense of unease.

(End of this chapter)