Longzang

Chapter 716 Where is the road?
Faced with a discussion about the deaths of the two kings, Wei Yuan would not easily respond, but instead asked, "What does Your Highness think?"

Li Chengfeng laughed and said, "My opinion is inevitably somewhat biased, but since Lord Wei has asked, I will naturally answer. To put it simply, the Prince of Jin is muddleheaded and does many immoral things; the Prince of Zhao is brave and martial, but he likes to act arbitrarily, so serving him is like walking on thin ice."

Wei Yuan nodded, then asked, "Since Your Highness already knows, why did you still come to ask me?"

Li Chengfeng said meaningfully, "Lord Wei, you conquered this territory of Qingming entirely on your own. The Western Jin Dynasty did not provide you with the slightest assistance. If it weren't for the attack on our Zhao envoys on the way, Lord Wei would be the military governor of our Great Zhao today."

"I've come here today to ask Lord Wei a question: if the states of Jin and Zhao were to go to war, how would you conduct yourself?"

Wei Yuan laughed and asked, "Have the Western Mountain People all been wiped out?"

Li Chengfeng was taken aback and said, "The mountain people are powerful and easy to defend but difficult to attack, so there is no question of annihilating them."

"Have all the ghost carriages and demons in the southwest and south been wiped out?"

"Never."

Wei Yuan's two questions were aggressive, but he suddenly smiled and said, "I, Wei Yuan, am the current military governor of Qingyang in the Great Tang Dynasty."

Li Chengfeng's mind raced, and he said, "Does Lord Wei mean to remain detached from worldly affairs and not get involved in the conflict between the two countries?"

Wei Yuan said, "I am currently fighting in the north. If it weren't for your Azure Water Realm being right next to me, I would have already mobilized the entire Azure Nether Army and sent them to the northern mountain gate."

Li Chengfeng sighed and said, "Lord Wei, please forgive my bluntness, given our brief acquaintance. Throughout history, those who try to please everyone have never had a good ending. Anyone with a discerning eye can clearly see which state, Jin or Zhao, is stronger."

Moreover, although my father is stubborn and self-willed, he is by no means a jealous person. As long as someone makes a contribution, he will never be short of the rewards he deserves.

Over the years, rulers like Marquis Ping'an and Marquis Wuding have held extremely high positions, yet they all wielded military power and there was never a case of their merits overshadowing the ruler, or of them being discarded after their usefulness was over. What more can one ask of a ruler like this, who might simply have a bit of a temper?

Wei Yuan smiled slightly and said, "Is Your Highness here as a mediator?"

Li Chengfeng suddenly bowed deeply to the ground and said, "I not only want to invite Lord Wei to join the Zhao Kingdom, but I also want to ask Lord Wei to lend me a hand! In the future, when I ascend to the throne, you will be second only to the emperor and above all others; at home, we will be brothers and our families will be linked by marriage for generations."

Li Chengfeng is not talented and knows he has no other skills, but he always keeps his word and is self-aware and tolerant!

Wei Yuan hurriedly went over to help Li Chengfeng up, saying, "Your Highness, please don't say that. I am not worthy of such a title. I am now the military governor of the Great Tang Dynasty, and my heart is with the north. I really do not want to get involved in the internal strife of the human race."

"Alright then, if there really is war, I may not have much else, but I do have some military equipment and provisions. If Your Highness needs them, please feel free to take them."

"This..." Li Chengfeng hesitated, then sighed, "If Lord Wei insists on doing so, I can't persuade him any further. But my father is intolerant of any dissent, and I'm afraid there will be some trouble."

Wei Yuan laughed and said, "The King of Zhao is the King of Zhao, and we are us. Whatever Your Highness needs, I naturally have no reason not to give it to you."

Li Chengfeng said, "Then I will head back now."

"Your Highness, please wait a moment! Do you still have any extra refugees?"

Li Chengfeng said, "There are still tens of thousands who haven't been settled. What, is Lord Wei short of manpower again?"

Wei Yuan also sighed deeply: "So much land is empty, someone has to grow the grain!"

"Alright, I'll organize the team and arrange for them to set off within three days!"

"Your Highness is indeed decisive. So, the same price as before?"

Li Chengfeng smiled enigmatically and said, "Once war breaks out, refugees will be everywhere. Prices will definitely plummet then. Lord Wei, why don't you consider buying later?"

Wei Yuan waved his hand dismissively: "No need! It's only a few tens of thousands of people, not much money at all. Buy it sooner and enjoy it sooner!"

After saying goodbye, Li Chengfeng left Zhike Town and returned to Bishui.

At this moment, the young advisor said, "Qingming is already quite powerful. If we continue to supply him with refugees and resources, he will become too powerful to control. We should find a way to blockade Qingming and prevent the supply of refugees!"

Li Chengfeng turned to his older advisor and asked, "What does Mr. Shi think?"

With Wei Yuan's endorsement, he has become much more polite to his older staff members and has regained some of his former respect for scholars.

The senior aide said slowly, "If you are in a position, then you should govern accordingly. If you are not in a position, then you should not govern accordingly."

The young staff member was somewhat puzzled, but Li Chengfeng instantly understood.

For the past six months, Li Chengfeng seemed to have suffered a defeat and humiliation, and was forced to make several transactions with Wei Yuan. But whether it was reselling brocade and raw silk, or collecting medicinal herbs and refugees to exchange for armor and weapons, Li Chengfeng made a profit from every single transaction.

Although he was quite restrained, only daring to make a small profit, the sheer volume was overwhelming. Even if he only earned half a tael per piece of brocade, he still made over two million taels of silver in the blink of an eye, and the profits from other goods were roughly the same.

With money in hand, many things can be accomplished. Now, the Azure Water Realm has not only restored 100,000 elite soldiers, but also attracted 100,000 residents, creating a thriving scene.

These residents were not refugees; many of them were skilled craftsmen, and the rest were strong and capable, farming in their spare time and wielding swords in times of war.

Li Chengfeng's strength has risen sharply among the princes and princesses, and he currently ranks firmly in the top three. He is planning to train another 100,000 new troops, so that he will have 200,000 elite soldiers at his disposal. He will then be the most powerful figure in the entire Zhao Kingdom and will no longer need to rely on his status as the Fourth Prince.

All of this hinges on maintaining trade relations with Qingming. Currently, Zhao has imposed a complete blockade on Qingming, but the Azure Water Realm has become a gateway, through which all traded goods pass. As long as goods flow through its borders, Li Chengfeng can profit. Everyone knows that such a large volume of goods movement will undoubtedly strengthen Qingming's power, but the problem is that Li Chengfeng also needs money and power. Without immortal silver, there is no army, and the throne will inevitably slip away.

Blockading Qingming is advantageous to the Zhao state, but trade is of paramount importance to Li Chengfeng. If Li Chengfeng wants to become the King of Zhao, he must find a way to maintain trade relations with Qingming. It's not too late to blockad Qingming after he ascends the throne.

In the azure sky, after Li Chengfeng left, Wei Yuan waved his hand, and Bao Yun and Cui Yu came out.

Wei Yuan then said, "Li Chengfeng's visit is probably on the orders of the King of Zhao. It seems that the King of Zhao is going to take action against the State of Jin."

Cui Yu said, "Given King Zhao's temperament, he will certainly not allow us to sit on the sidelines and watch the tigers fight, reaping the benefits. I think he will most likely send troops to fight another battle. Only through this battle can we establish a framework for our future relations."

Bao Yun said, "The chariot force is now complete. If the Zhao Kingdom comes, it will be a good opportunity to test the might of the world-renowned Zhao Iron Cavalry."

Wei Yuan said, "That's why I want to keep you in Qingming. Also, the farming must not stop. If there's too much grain to store, we need to find other ways to store it. That canned food that Xu Wenwu mentioned, has it been developed yet?"

Bao Yun said, "This thing looks simple, but it actually has very high requirements for the sheet metal used for encapsulation. Uncle Yu has been researching for a long time and finally developed a thin sheet steel that can barely meet the requirements. However, the surface of this sheet steel needs to be treated with Dao power, and there weren't enough cultivators before. After this grand ceremony, Uncle Yu has added another 500 people to produce this thin steel, which should be enough."

Wei Yuan nodded and said, "Then make a batch first for backup. This will be the best military rations during wartime. We don't need to make them as small as Xu Wenwu suggested. We need to make large barrels, enough for ten people at a time."

Wei Yuan then asked Cui Yu, "How is the matter of renting the flying boat from the Cui family progressing?"

Cui Yu said, "Our ancestor is very supportive of this matter and has decided to rent one giant flying boat, three medium-sized flying boats, and ten small flying boats."

Wei Yuan's eyes lit up, and he exclaimed, "So many?!"

Previously, Wei Yuan had searched for all the flying boats he could find and requisitioned all the flying boats that could be allocated from the Tai Chu Palace. So far, there are only nine of them, eight of which are small and one is medium-sized.

Only three ships were transferred from Taichu Palace; the other six were rented from the Chamber of Commerce. These flying ships carried little cargo and were slow. A single flight to the northern mountain gate covered a distance of only a few hundred thousand li, taking nearly a month for a round trip.

As a result, Wei Yuan had to use most of the airship's transport capacity to transport ammunition, and could not even transport many artillery pieces. There were only twenty tanks and a force of just over ten thousand men.

However, at the northern mountain gate, due to the suppression of the natal immortal treasures, only Dao soldiers can receive a relatively significant boost. Apart from the most elite tens of thousands of Qingming soldiers, going to the northern mountain gate would offer no advantage, and casualties would surge.

After discovering this, Wei Yuan changed his strategy, focusing on strengthening the Daoist soldiers of the northern mountain gate itself. However, due to limitations in the transport capacity of the flying boats, the speed of arming could not reach the ideal state for Wei Yuan.

This time, the Cui family has gone all out. Putting aside everything else, the capacity of just one giant airship is more than the total capacity of all current transport.

Cui Yu laughed and said, "Our ancestor said that she has taken out 30% of the family's wealth this time, so that you will treat me better in the future."

So many flying boats, yet they only account for 30% of the Cui family's flying boats? Wei Yuan once again directly realized the terrifying wealth of powerful clans.

Having finished dealing with matters in Qingming, Wei Yuan was preparing to return to the northern mountain gate when he learned that Zhao Tong had arrived in Qingming. This old acquaintance looked worried and said to Wei Yuan as soon as he saw him, "The King wants you to go to the capital to see him if you have time. Also, Consort Yuan asked me to tell you that she misses you very much."

Wei Yuan glanced at his schedule and said, "The war in the north is in full swing. Why don't we head to the capital now?"

Zhao Tong then said, "That would be perfect!"

……

Western Jin Dynasty, Yingdu, Vajra Zen Temple.

Prince Jin slowly walked into the gate of the Zen temple, paused for a moment in front of the Merit Lotus Pond, which was now only covered with withered leaves, before continuing to walk inside, climbing the steps to enter the main hall.

The altar at the far end of the main hall was empty. The woman with blue eyes knelt before it, striking a wooden fish drum rhythmically. The sound of the drum was hollow and desolate, carrying the rust of countless years.

The Prince of Jin stopped behind her and asked, "Is there any path left for me to take?"

Qing Tong didn't turn around, and said, "The road is always under your feet."

"I want to ask, are there any other paths?"

"Most people in this world have nowhere to go. But you, at least, have one path, the path to heaven, which has always been there. You have already walked most of it, but you are unwilling to continue. So why ask me now?"

"How do I compare to Xu Wangu?"

"He can carve a path out of nothingness, how can you compare to him? Originally, if you follow this path to the end, you will see a mountain, and if you can climb to the top, you can be compared to him."

"But you've only gone halfway. Right now, let alone Xu Wangu, even Lü Changhe could easily wipe you out with a casual move."

"But I have already broken the deadlock!"

"Wei Yuan broke that game. And you should know the price he paid for breaking it."

The Prince of Jin walked out of the main hall and passed by the Lotus Pond of Merit. He stood by the pond, which was full of withered and yellow lotuses, for a moment before leaving.

There is no longer a second pool of merit lotus flowers in the vast Vajra Zen Temple.

(End of this chapter)