Longzang

Chapter 717 Be Kind to Him
The royal palace of the State of Zhao.

King Zhao stood before his desk, staring at the map that covered the entire desk.

This map was indeed a magical treasure, now displaying images of mountains and rivers, a detailed and miniature representation of the land, stretching from the State of Zhao in the south to the northern frontier in the north.

King Zhao pointed at the map and said, "For the past six months, Wei Yuan has been transporting weapons and supplies to the northern mountain gate. Although not many people have gone, the flying boats have been continuous, which shows that his focus has shifted to the north."

However, the Liao dynasty is powerful, and the situation on the northern front shows no change. The two million-strong army of the Western Jin emperors Ying and Cheng is pinned down in the north, unable to move. If they dare to withdraw troops south, the Northern Liao can immediately reach the gates of Yingdu.

Three princes, two princesses, and seven or eight high-ranking officials stood in the study, all listening quietly.

King Zhao drew a line on the map and said, "I have secretly sent people to inspect the 800,000 troops on the southern front of the Western Jin. The actual number is only 400,000, and their military preparations are lax, their generals are incompetent, and there are probably less than 100,000 who can fight. As long as we send 300,000 elite troops, we can break through the entire southern part of the Western Jin."

A young prince stepped forward and declared loudly, "Your subject is willing to share your father's burdens! Give me 100,000 elite troops, and I am confident I can utterly defeat the Western Jin!"

Without even looking up, King Zhao said, "My brothers and sisters haven't spoken, so why should you?"

The young prince retreated awkwardly, bowing his head and not daring to speak.

King Zhao suddenly frowned slightly and muttered to himself, "That old fellow Lü Ming was quite troublesome when he was young. Not long ago, the Crown Prince seized power, and Lü Ming had it all under his control, but he managed to turn the tables. Has he just laid the entire south out in front of me like this? If he still has elite troops hidden, where would he place them?"

At this moment, the Crown Prince said, "Father, there is still a variable: Qingming Weiyuan. We must be wary of this man!"

King Zhao said calmly, "We do need to test his mettle again, but he is not a threat at the moment. It is easy for Wei Yuan to advance westward, and we control several strategic passes in the southeast. Even if he has a million soldiers, he cannot break through."

Moreover, he had thwarted Lü Changhe's painstakingly laid trap. Lü Changhe was a vengeful man; how could he swallow this insult? The question now is, what has that old fellow Lü Ming been doing since he extended his lifespan?

Everyone remained silent, knowing that King Zhao had already made up his mind and was just making final considerations.

Finally, King Zhao pointed to the map and said, "Draft a letter to Lü Ming, first listing his seven major crimes, and then demanding that he cede two southern commanderies. As long as he is willing to hand over the two commanderies, then my 500,000 iron cavalry of Great Zhao will not be attacking Western Jin, but will instead march north to the grasslands to help him compete with Northern Liao!"

“Father, you mustn’t!” A princess exclaimed, her face paling. “Western Jin is vulnerable. We can easily defeat their southern army at a very low cost. We’ll gain far more than just two counties. This is a golden opportunity!”

"If the Prince of Jin agrees to this condition, we will not only receive two commanderies, but we will also have to go north to help them fight against the Liao people. The Liao people don't border us, so the land they conquer won't be in our hands. Isn't this just doing all the work for someone else? Moreover, if we defeat the Northern Liao, they might gain more than just two commanderies."

The King of Zhao seemed to dote on the little princess. He merely glanced at her without getting angry, and then said to a civil official, "Draft the decree."

When King Zhao said this, it meant he had made up his mind, and no one dared to question it anymore.

The old minister immediately drafted an edict on the table beside him, listing thirteen major crimes committed by the King of Jin. The King of Zhao crossed out several of them, combining them into seven crimes, and then affixed the imperial seal.

……

Wei Yuan saw the Prince of Jin again in the palace; this was the first time he had ever entered the Prince of Jin's study.

The Imperial Study was not large. In the center of the room was a desk, and on the shelves on both sides were various classics and official documents.

The Prince of Jin was reviewing memorials. Two stacks of official documents were piled high on his desk, one side awaiting approval and the other side already reviewed.

Wei Yuan entered the study, and Zhao Tong withdrew.

The Prince of Jin did not stop, and Wei Yuan did not disturb him, quietly watching the Prince of Jin review the memorials.

Prince Jin read memorials very quickly and responded just as quickly. But occasionally he would pause to think for a long time, followed by lengthy and meticulous comments.

After a short while, having finished reviewing more than a dozen memorials in one go, the Prince of Jin glanced longingly at the tall pile of memorials before putting down his official duties and saying, "When I first ascended the throne, I did this every day, reviewing more than six hundred memorials a day. Just now, I felt as if I had returned to my youth. Indeed, being busy makes one feel better."

"Your Majesty is diligent in governing, but you must also take care of your health," Wei Yuan said.

The Prince of Jin was taken aback, then burst into laughter, saying, "How come you've become so eloquent? I've heard that your Heavenly Azure Palace lineage doesn't need more than three sentences to make enemies?"

Wei Yuan remained calm and composed: "That's just a rumor from the martial arts world, don't take it seriously."

After laughing, the Prince of Jin said, "You know what, even though what you just said was a lie, it just sounded nice."

Then, the King of Jin's smile vanished, and he said, "I summoned you here today to ask you a question: if the Zhao Kingdom were to invade, how would you prepare to deal with it?" Wei Yuan had anticipated this and was already prepared. He immediately replied, "The fourth prince of Zhao has established the Bishui Boundary on the edge of Qingming, where he has amassed a large army. If Jin and Zhao go to war, I will first attack the Bishui Boundary, but I will not rush to take it down, so that Zhao will continuously send troops to its aid, thus relieving the burden on Great Jin."

The Prince of Jin remained unmoved, placed a letter in front of Wei Yuan, and said, "This is a letter that Li Shenji gave me this morning. Take a look."

Wei Yuan opened the letter and glanced over the Seven Deadly Sins. Whether it was seven, nine, or eighty-one, it was just a round number to make it sound better; it didn't really mean much. He read the conditions at the end of the letter several times before finally putting it down.

"What do you think?" the Prince of Jin asked.

Wei Yuan said, "The gain or loss of a prefecture or a county is not a big deal. Two prefectures may seem like a lot, but they are inhabited by Jin people, and the people's hearts are with them. It will be easy to take them back in the future. But if we let the Zhao army go north to resist the Liao, it will be like opening a passage for Zhao to move freely through the territory of Jin. The areas on both sides of the passage will no longer belong to Jin."

"The will of the people?" The Prince of Jin chuckled self-deprecatingly and said, "Do you think I still have the support of the people?"

Wei Yuan said, "As long as Your Majesty works diligently to govern, allows the people to rest and recuperate, reforms the administration, and then wins a victory in the north, the people's hearts will immediately return."

Wei Yuan spoke of these three things with incredible ease, as if they could be accomplished immediately. Moreover, he spoke so fluently and naturally, as if he himself believed it.

Upon hearing this, the Prince of Jin's spirits lifted, and he laughed heartily, saying, "You said you could accomplish just one of these three things, and I wouldn't be considered bad in the history books. You little rascal, how did you become so slick? Alright, let me ask you, if it were you, which of these three things could you accomplish?"

Wei Yuan said, "The north has won a great victory. This is the easiest thing. Whether we win or not is not important, or even whether we fought or not is not important. As long as the people outside the northern border believe that we have won, that's enough."

The King of Jin was also taken aback, and sighed, "You really dare to speak like that. Others deceive the emperor, but you deceive the people!"

The Prince of Jin then asked, "The situation in the south is in a state of chaos. What are your plans to do?"

Wei Yuan said, "First, transfer the commanders of each legion to the capital and detain them to prevent them from communicating with the outside world. Then, check the roster of each battalion and eliminate all vacancies. After that, reorganize the military equipment, select elite soldiers to train a new army, and reissue new weapons. To eliminate vacancies and reorganize the military equipment, we need the authority to act first and report later, and there may be many people to be killed."

Forgive my bluntness, but these 800,000 troops in the south are nothing more than 800,000 mouths to feed. Without them, the war would be much easier to fight.”

The King of Jin said, "Those generals won't let you act so recklessly, and many of them are even my relatives."

Wei Yuan said, "Most of these generals are from aristocratic families. If Zhao doesn't come, they are officials of the Great Jin. If Zhao does come, they will transform into officials of Zhao. Your Majesty's relatives are no exception; they may have even more tricks up their sleeves."

"Because they can serve as officials in both sides, I predict that many of them would rather surrender than give up this ill-gotten silver. Rather than letting them become carefree officials in Zhao, it's better to execute them on the spot. Killing a few more will surely make the others behave."

After a long silence, the Prince of Jin said, "Young people do have ideas. I am truly getting old."

Wei Yuan found it difficult to respond to this, and could only remain silent.

The Prince of Jin was lost in thought. Outside the window, the sun was gradually setting, and the sunset was like blood, staining the window frames, painting the walls red, and even smearing a layer of red on the Prince of Jin's face.

After a long while, the Prince of Jin said, "I have thought about it for a long time. I originally planned to hand over all the military affairs in the south to you, but after careful consideration, I realized that you are not qualified enough to keep those old men in check."

"Alright then, I will instruct the Ministry of War to prioritize purchasing military equipment from Qingming. Then, I will issue a decree to you authorizing the establishment of post stations along trade routes throughout the country to accommodate refugees. No region may obstruct the flow of the refugees you require. Although I am old, I still retain this authority."

Wei Yuan expressed his gratitude.

This was something he had been considering. Once war broke out, there would inevitably be refugees everywhere, and it would be a matter of how many he could plunder. With the decree from the King of Jin, Wei Yuan could openly station troops in key locations throughout the Jin Kingdom. Whoever dared to touch his refugees, Wei Yuan might not dare to act, but the bandits were always ready to respond to any summons.

After expressing his gratitude, Wei Yuan felt that the Prince of Jin's words seemed to have a hidden meaning, but he couldn't quite figure it out for the time being, so he could only analyze it by putting it into the context of everyday life.

Prince Jin lightly tapped the jade chime on the table, and Liu Quangong entered. Prince Jin then instructed, "Take Wei Yuan to Chunhua Palace."

Liu Quangong remained calm and said, "I'll go over there now."

Wei Yuan followed Liu Quangong with a stiff upper lip. Just as he was about to leave, he suddenly heard the Prince of Jin call out "Wei Yuan!" Wei Yuan, who was already feeling guilty, was so startled that his heart skipped a beat.

Of course, on the surface, Wei Yuan couldn't see anything unusual.

Prince Jin added, "Prince Fu is still young, you must treat him well."

(End of this chapter)