Longzang

Chapter 74 Fellowship
To be honest, Wei Yuan had absolutely no desire to meet these officials again. He was afraid that if he couldn't control himself and attacked, and if he went too far, these fragile Dao Foundation cultivators wouldn't be able to withstand many blows, and someone might even die.

However, Li Zhi said that provisions and official titles were matters of life and death and needed to be handled properly. Furthermore, he and his fellow disciples from the Immortal Sect would eventually leave, but Fang Hetong and the others would have to remain in Quyang. With Wei Yuan gone, aside from Fang Hetong, at least the three hundred militiamen would certainly have a hard time. It would be common for them to be arrested and beaten half to death every few days under some pretext. If these problems weren't resolved now, they might cause future trouble.

Wei Yuan also thought it made a lot of sense, so he agreed. Fang Hetong was extremely unwilling, but for the sake of the villagers, he had no choice but to attend the banquet.

Before dinner, Li Zhi chatted with Wei Yuan about his experiences and interesting stories in cultivation over the years.

Li Zhi was initially unconvinced when he lost to Wei Yuan in the unified examination. Later, through connections, he obtained Wei Yuan's exam records and learned how many points Wei Yuan had been unfairly penalized, and that Wei Yuan was actually two years younger than him. Even so, Li Zhi still couldn't surpass Wei Yuan in the exam, and was utterly defeated in the martial arts test. Only then did Li Zhi finally accept defeat.

Afterwards, Li Zhi diligently cultivated the Way of the Human King at the Four Saints Academy, achieving success in five years and establishing the Dao Foundation of the Four Symbols Three-Legged Cauldron. This cauldron was used by ancient human kings to offer sacrifices to Heaven, possessing the power to suppress the fate of the nation, and is also the foundation of immortality.

When Li Zhi was eight years old, he already showed great talent. Now, ten years later, he has lost the affected maturity of his youth and is now gentle and composed. When he talks to people, it is like a spring breeze. His demeanor and knowledge are admirable.

As night fell, the backyard of the Quyang County government office was brightly lit. A large table was set up in the main hall, with Li Zhi seated at the head of the table, Magistrate Sun and Wei Yuan on his left and right respectively, and Fang He sitting beside Wei Yuan. Also present at the table were County Assistant Ren Youwei, Registrar Wang Delu, and other important officials.

Fang Hetong, however, looked at the table full of delicacies, his face ashen, unable to suppress his anger, and stood out from the others who were chatting happily at the table.

Wei Yuan maintained a polite, faint smile, rarely speaking, only replying with a word or two when others approached to speak. Li Zhi, on the other hand, was all smiles and laughter, making everyone who spoke with him feel very comfortable.

Li Zhi only brought two riders with him on this trip, leaving the remaining dozen or so riders behind in Shayang Village to assist in the defense. These riders were actually the personal guards of Duke Hui'en. The soldiers of Southern Qi were far more elite than those of Western Jin, and a dozen or so of the Duke's personal guards were more than enough to defend Shayang Village. Even if two or three groups of Liao barbarians came, they would be defeated and sent back empty-handed.

Since he had no worries about Shayang Village and was there to resolve the identity issues of the three hundred militiamen, Wei Yuan was in no hurry. He observed and memorized everyone's words and actions, and devoted himself to learning.

In no time, several rounds of wine had been drunk. Magistrate Sun brought out a fine wine that could aid in the cultivation of one's Dao Foundation stage; its potency was extraordinary, and after three cups, even those at a relatively weak Dao Foundation stage could not withstand it. Apart from Li Zhi and Wei Yuan, who remained unaffected, the others were now speaking somewhat incoherently and were no longer as reserved as they had been at the beginning.

Magistrate Sun offered another round of toasts, and Fang Hetong could no longer contain himself, slamming his wine cup heavily on the table. This startled everyone present, who all stared at Fang Hetong. Fang Hetong remained silent, his chest heaving as he breathed heavily.

Li Zhi laughed and said, "Brother Fang is concerned about the country and its people, abandoned his pen for the sword, and fought bravely against the Liao barbarians. He is truly a role model for us scholars. I, Li, am also a scholar, having come from the Four Saints Academy, and I greatly admire Brother Fang. Lord Sun, three hundred militia is a small matter, easily resolved with a wave of the hand. Why make such a fuss?"

Sun Chaoen put down his wine cup and said to Li Zhi, "General Li, you may not know this, but it is no small matter."

Before this campaign, Li Zhi had secured a deputy general position in the Southern Qi dynasty through the influence of the Hui'en Duke's family. The official systems of the nine kingdoms under the Great Tang dynasty were largely the same, hence Sun Chao'en addressed him as General Li.

Having started, Sun Chaoen, looking helpless, poured out his grievances: "This stubborn fellow... as soon as he arrived in Quyang, he heard some rumors about embezzling positions, but without any real evidence, he sent a letter to the prefect. This prefect was from the Lü family and had only been in office for a year. He was determined to change the surname of Bianning County from Xu to Lü. The prefect had been unable to find any fault with Liao, but at the crucial moment, he delivered a fatal blow. At that time, a major battle was about to break out, and Liao had originally planned to be transferred to the rear. However, the prefect used this letter to his advantage, directly rejecting the transfer order and pinning Liao down in Quyang. At the last moment, he was forced to stay on the front lines and die. Do you think Liao wouldn't hate him to the bone?" Li Zhi remained calm and continued listening.

Sun Chaoen glared at Fang Hetong with hatred, and said, "That stubborn mule couldn't get evidence of embezzlement, so he came to me for it. How could I have any evidence? In the end, he wrote a letter to the prefect, and he also impeached me severely, saying that I was an accomplice! I don't have the background of Liao Canjiang, so the prefect scolded me and almost dismissed me! Fortunately, he thought I was not a member of Xu's faction and that I was still somewhat useful, so he ordered me to defend Quyang to the death and atone for my crime. If the county town is lost, I won't need my head either."

At this point, Sun Chaoen, reeking of alcohol and with a flushed face, pointed at Fang Hetong's nose and cursed, "Fang! We've been fellow students for twenty years. When you first entered the academy, didn't I take care of everything for you? When you were ten, you were seriously ill, and I stayed by your side for seven days and seven nights! Then, when I first entered officialdom, I changed my name from Sun Qingliu to Sun Chaoen, and you wrote several articles criticizing me for that! Now that I've finally achieved some success in my official career, you almost ruined it with one letter! Is this how you repay me for twenty years of friendship?"

Wei Yuan and Li Zhi were both surprised. They did not expect that Sun Chaoen and Fang Hetong had this relationship. They were actually classmates and both came from Baifeng Academy.

Fang Hetong raised his head and said loudly, "Small favors and petty righteousness should naturally give way before important matters! You just said that you have no evidence, humph! If the embezzlement quota doesn't go through the county government, do you think you won't get a share of the profits? Who can you fool with that? I just have things I won't do, I'm not stupid! If you had given me the evidence back then, I certainly wouldn't have disregarded our past relationship to write a second letter to the prefect."

Sun Chaoen retorted angrily, "Only half the positions are missing, and you call that 'drawing positions without working'?! Aren't other places short 70% or 80%? Why don't you mention that?"

"I can't see it, so naturally I can't control it."

Seeing that the situation was getting out of control, Li Zhi raised his cup and said, "I never expected that Lord Sun and Brother Fang had this kind of relationship! Scholars are different, isn't that normal? Even the words of sages are interpreted differently by the great scholars of the past. We are certainly not comparable to the sages of the past, so some differences are normal. Now, no matter what, we are all of one mind to resist the Liao barbarians. Come, let's drink this cup first!"

When Li Zhi offered a toast, Fang Hetong couldn't refuse. Putting aside everything else, Li Zhi, as the son of the Duke of Southern Qi, held a prominent position, yet he willingly went to the front lines of Western Jin to defend against foreign invaders. This alone is enough to earn one's admiration.

After drinking a cup of wine, Li Zhi asked, "Why hasn't General Liao come?"

Although Liao Jingwu was not under the jurisdiction of Quyang County, his defense zone was there. Under normal circumstances, he should have attended the banquet hosted by Magistrate Sun for Li Zhi, otherwise it would have been impolite.

Sun Chaoen said quietly, "General Liao is of noble status and generally does not attend banquets of us lowly officials. General Liao's wife's surname is Xu, and she comes from the prestigious Xu family."

"I see." Li Zhi nodded, then turned to Wei Yuan and said, "Brother Wei, it seems they look down on us!"

What else could Wei Yuan say? He had just been kicked out of the military camp at noon.

P.S.: There's nothing tonight.


(End of this chapter)