Longzang

Chapter 72 Unscrupulous
The official was fair-skinned with a few wisps of a beard. He entered the room with a smile and cupped his hands in greeting: "I'm truly sorry to have kept Immortal Wei waiting. However, Magistrate Sun is currently in seclusion, so I will receive you, Immortal Wei. I am Ren Youwei, the Assistant Magistrate of Quyang County. May I ask what brings you here, Immortal Wei?"

The county magistrate holds a high position but no real power; he is a sinecure, essentially a candidate for county magistrate. Don't be fooled by his harmless appearance; he is actually a Dao Foundation cultivator.

Wei Yuan stood up and returned the greeting, then got straight to the point: "I've come for the three hundred militiamen of Shayang Village! They've been in the army for months, fighting many battles, but they haven't even received a single tael of silver in military pay, let alone any compensation. I've come here to ask where their pay and compensation are!"

Ren Youwei feigned sudden realization and said, “So that’s what it is. Immortal, you may not know, but provisions and pay are of paramount importance. The imperial court has strict laws that no one can violate. Not just anyone can organize militia. To train militia, one must submit a memorial to the imperial court and obtain approval. Otherwise, if everyone could train militia, wouldn’t the world descend into chaos? The power to approve militia in this county does not lie with the county government, but with Military Commander Liao. In fact, we forwarded Mr. Fang’s memorial on militia to Military Commander Liao long ago, but for some reason, it has been delayed in receiving approval. Without approval, how dare we allocate even a single tael of silver? That would be a matter of life and death!”

Ren Youwei was a cunning old fox; he immediately passed the buck to Liao Canjiang, exonerating himself completely.

Wei Yuan, lacking experience, was helpless against this slippery old fox. But he knew that if he left like this, he would be playing right into Ren Youwei's hands. So Wei Yuan remained seated and said, "I will also visit Lieutenant General Liao. Putting aside the matter of provisions and pay, thirty-seven men have died in battle over the past few months and should be compensated. What regulations does Lord Ren intend to follow for their compensation?"

Ren Youwei looked troubled: "Military personnel who die in battle should be given compensation, but firstly, they must be registered, and secondly, they must have died in battles designated by their superiors to be eligible for compensation. Forgive my bluntness, but I'm afraid the people from Shayang Village don't meet either of these criteria."

Wei Yuan continued, "Several elderly people in the village have already starved to death, and the imperial court should provide relief. I don't want to put you in a difficult position, so let's allocate some grain for the emergency; this is a matter of saving lives."

Ren Youwei sighed deeply and said, "It pains me to see people starve to death. Alas! What can we do when the world is in chaos? It's wartime now, and our county is on the front line. According to the imperial law, all grain and fodder are for military supplies. Without a joint order from the county magistrate and the military commander, no one can move a single grain. Even the pancake stalls in the county have been shut down. I really can't do anything about allocating grain."

Wei Yuan's anger rose, his face darkened, and he sneered, "Lord Ren, you've really washed your hands of this! The county government accepts a Liao barbarian head for one tael of silver, and then resells it for a thousand taels! Meanwhile, the frontline militia have no food or pay, and some families are starving to death. Can you sleep soundly after making this money?"

"A thousand taels of silver? How could that be?" Ren Youwei asked in astonishment. "Lord Sun and I simply took out our private funds to reward the people for their meritorious service in defending the land."

"What about those heads?"

"After they were collected, they were sent directly to the county seat, but the prefect took them all. I don't know what happened after that."

Ren Youwei claimed ignorance to all questions, denying everything. Wei Yuan grew increasingly furious, slamming his fist on the table and shouting, "Lord Ren! Do I need to show you just how much your foundation truly is?"

Ren Youwei looked panicked and said repeatedly, "My humble magical power is nothing compared to the torment of an immortal! If the immortal insists on taking action, then I will accept my death. But shouldn't the immortal at least let me die knowing why? Does the immortal sect's immortals have the right to kill people indiscriminately without reason?"

This was the first time Wei Yuan had ever seen such an impenetrable tough guy, and since the guy was acting as if he would never fight back, Wei Yuan really didn't want to resort to violence.

However, the vast amount of history knowledge he possessed finally came in handy at this moment. Following the examples in the books, Wei Yuan calmed himself down. He remained expressionless, staring intently at Ren Youwei until his eyes flickered.

Wei Yuan then said, “It seems these matters have nothing to do with Lord Ren. No matter, then please tell Magistrate Sun that I, Wei Yuan, have been in the defense zone for two days and have only received ten garrison soldiers. According to the law, someone has to lose their head for this, and not just one. So within two days, I want to see two hundred soldiers in my defense zone! I don’t care what methods you, Lord Ren or Magistrate Sun, use, not a single soldier can be missing! If it’s really not enough, you can use your concubines to make up the numbers, or if that doesn’t work, I’ll trouble you, Lord Ren, to make up the numbers yourself! If it’s difficult for you, Lord Ren, then I will petition the True Lord and ask him to send Taoist soldiers to garrison the area.”

Ren Youwei's smile became somewhat unnatural. If this matter were pursued relentlessly, someone would definitely lose their head, though it was uncertain whose head would fall. The True Lord certainly wouldn't directly send Dao soldiers; even if he did, they would only be there to behead people.

Wei Yuan then said, "Since Lord Ren says that Commander Liao won't approve it and we'll have to trouble you to write a letter, I'll take it to Commander Liao right now to get to the bottom of this." Ren Youwei had no other choice but to write a letter and hand it to Wei Yuan. Wei Yuan didn't linger, immediately getting up and saying before leaving, "Lord Ren, take care of yourself!"

Wei Yuan stopped arguing with Ren Youwei, left the county government office, cast a speed spell on himself, and headed straight for the military camp outside the city. In a short while, Wei Yuan arrived at the military camp.

The military fortress wall was two zhang high, mainly constructed of rubble and bound together with straw mortar—a unique construction method in the northern border, sturdy and easy to repair. The fortress wall wasn't particularly high, but when Wei Yuan arrived outside the gate, he immediately felt several stinging points on his body; he had been targeted by a skilled soldier using a crossbow.

After announcing his identity, several soldiers led Wei Yuan into the central command hall. At the head of the hall sat a burly man with a scar on his face, a short beard, hawk-like eyes, and a sinister gaze. Wei Yuan recognized him from his attire as Lieutenant General Liao Jingwu.

Wei Yuan bowed and said, "I am Wei Yuan from Taichu Palace, and I have come to pay my respects to General Liao!"

Liao Jingwu's gaze swept over Wei Yuan, and Wei Yuan immediately felt a ball of scorching flame roll over his body. He felt a chill run down his spine, realizing that General Liao was not a beginner in the Foundation Establishment stage, but most likely had already reached the second realm. Liao Jingwu was only at the Earth-rank Foundation Establishment stage, which made him a bit more difficult to defeat. Wei Yuan secretly assessed that if he wanted to win, he would probably have to empty his Dao power.

After the two exchanged greetings, Liao Jingwu asked, "So you are the young immortal master from Taichu Palace. What brings you here?"

Liao Jingwu's voice had a metallic, hoarse quality that sounded very unnatural.

As a disciple of the Taichu Palace, Wei Yuan naturally had no fear of other sects' Dao Foundation cultivators. Even when facing a Dharma Avatar, he remained neither humble nor arrogant—this was the confidence of an immortal sect. Moreover, although Liao Jingwu was only a Earth-rank Dao Foundation cultivator, Wei Yuan was not afraid of him in a real fight. At that moment, Wei Yuan didn't beat around the bush and directly stated his purpose, asking why the three hundred men of Shayang Village had not yet been included in the militia.

Liao Jingwu remained calm after hearing this, and had the captain bring the relevant documents, which he then examined closely in front of Wei Yuan. If Wei Yuan hadn't known the details behind the scenes, judging solely by his current demeanor, he would likely have assumed Liao Jingwu was completely unaware. This Liao, the adjutant, seems to be a seasoned performer.

After looking at it for a while, Liao Jingwu put down the document and asked the captain a few more questions before saying, "Fang Hetong did indeed submit a list of militiamen, but according to our investigation, there are discrepancies between the submitted list and the actual number of people. That's one issue. Secondly, the list is full of elderly, weak, and weak farmers, which raises suspicions of falsely reporting the number of personnel and defrauding the company of rations. The war is in full swing, and I am too busy with my duties to personally verify this. So let's put it aside for now."

Wei Yuan felt a surge of anger. Liao Jingwu's words sounded high-sounding, but he was actually a seasoned veteran of the officialdom. The reasons he gave were far-fetched and couldn't stand up to scrutiny.

For example, the discrepancy between Fang Hetong's reported list and the actual situation. Several battles had already taken place after the list was submitted, each resulting in casualties. How could the actual number of personnel match the initial list? Secondly, which militia wasn't a farmer in normal times? And farmers aren't usually as strong as oxen; most are thin and weak. Not to mention farmers, even the local militia that Wei Yuan saw were mostly old, weak, sick, and disabled.

This wasn't like Ren Youwei, who claimed to know nothing when asked; instead, he just made up some excuse without even bothering to think it through.

The problem is that Wei Yuan knows Liao Jingwu is making excuses; Liao Jingwu also knows that Wei Yuan knows he is making excuses; Liao Jingwu continues to make excuses.

This is true recklessness.

(End of this chapter)