Longzang

Chapter 862 A Glorious Era
Lu Changhe wanted to gather Qi, but Wei Yuan would never agree to that. Not only did it concern the paths of many, but it also went against Wei Yuan's fundamental beliefs, and no one knew if Lu Changhe might secretly do something else. If Qingming's very essence was damaged, Wei Yuan would regret it deeply.

As for whether Lü Changhe was happy or not, Wei Yuan really couldn't care less. Ever since Wei Yuan forced the Crown Prince to commit suicide, the feud between the two sides had become quite serious.

But Wei Yuan was also puzzled. They were just some naturally gifted people. How could they make Lü Changhe lower himself and send someone to Qingming to negotiate?
So Wei Yuan went to find Bao Yun and asked her carefully. He then learned that in aristocratic families, the practice of absorbing qi to change one's bones was quite common.

The ancestral lands of aristocratic families are actually grotto-heavens. Grotto-heavens absorb and exhale the primordial energy of heaven and earth, giving rise to some innate spiritual beings, which are more numerous and of higher quality than the Qingming at this moment.

Most of this spiritual energy was used up by the immortals, leaving a small amount to be refined into elixirs similar to the Three Immortal Pills, used to refine the foundation and help future generations of the clan improve their aptitude. If the elixir is of superior quality, there is a chance that it can advance the Heavenly Foundation to the Immortal Foundation.

It is conceivable how precious this type of elixir is. It often takes twenty or thirty years to gather enough spiritual essence to start a batch, with a batch containing at least one elixir and at most five.

Given the Bao family's immense wealth, they only had four such pills left in their inventory. Bao Yun was already close to the peak of the Immortal Foundation stage back then, with excellent aptitude and fortune, so she didn't need such pills.

This is a common occurrence in aristocratic families, and Bao Yun spoke of it with great ease.

Wei Yuan listened silently and then said, "If we don't refine these pills and let the spirits choose their own masters, wouldn't we be able to add hundreds of Dao Foundation cultivators every year?"

Bao Yun sighed softly and said, "Not to mention that the Immortal Ancestor would have to use up most of it first, if the spiritual essence chooses its own master, the Dao Foundation that appears will basically be of the Earth Rank, and the Heaven Rank will be extremely rare. In the eyes of the elders, a hundred or a thousand Earth Rank or Human Rank foundations are not as good as one Immortal Foundation."

Wei Yuan then understood that in the eyes of aristocratic families, if they could exchange one hundred Earth-rank Dao Foundations for one Heaven-rank Dao Foundation to advance to Immortal Foundation, it would be a huge profit.

Bao Yun said softly, "The immortal ancestor of a noble family is everything. If there is no immortal ancestor, or if the immortal ancestor is not strong enough to protect many interests, then the noble family will become a piece of fat meat in the eyes of powerful enemies. Therefore, it is only natural for the whole family to serve the immortal ancestor alone."

This is different from Qingming; here, even the templates for Dao foundations are extremely useful, so having more Dao foundations is naturally beneficial.

"We..." Wei Yuan felt a surge of joy upon hearing this word.

Bao Yun rolled her eyes at him and said, "If it's not us, then what is it?"

Wei Yuan tried to take Bao Yun's hand, but Bao Yun gently pushed him aside, saying, "It's still daytime, and this is the study. How can we do that?"

Wei Yuan was taken aback. He wanted to say that this was not what he meant, but his explanation didn't seem quite right either.

Bao Yun smiled gently and said, "I have a meeting soon. This afternoon is full of meetings: defense lines, military supplies, mobilization and conscription, wartime roads, vehicle requisition... I'll probably be busy until evening. There will be some breaks between meetings, but not much time. If you really can't stand it, you can have a drink."

Wei Yuan was extremely embarrassed and had no choice but to take his leave.

Just then, someone reported that reinforcements from the Western Jin Dynasty had arrived, and that Li Chengfeng, the fourth prince of Zhao, had also come to visit. Wei Yuan looked at the list of the imperial guards who had come to help and found that it was once again the First Army of the Imperial Guards, and that its number had reached 30,000.

He immediately asked for the list, which was a thick booklet. Wei Yuan flipped through it casually and saw many familiar names, indicating that most of the playboys who originally served in the First Army had arrived.

Wei Yuan was curious, not understanding why the Prince of Jin was doing this. Was he sending these纨绔 (sons of wealthy and powerful families) to him as hostages?
Wei Yuan then ordered people to settle the 30,000 imperial guards, while he himself flew to the border to see Li Chengfeng.

After not seeing him for several days, Li Chengfeng had grown a short beard, and his demeanor had become less sharp and more gentle. Upon seeing Wei Yuan arrive, Li Chengfeng stood up to greet him and even embraced him.

Such enthusiasm left Wei Yuan somewhat at a loss for what to do.

Li Chengfeng smiled and said, "I have some good news to share with you, my dear brother."

"A few good things?"

Li Chengfeng nodded: "The first thing is that Father has finally approved the construction of a road between Bishui and Zhao. Half of the cost will come from the national treasury, and I will have to raise the other half myself."

Wei Yuan had brought this up for over a year, and King Zhao finally approved it, which was indeed considered fast among the nine kingdoms.

"What other good news is there?"

Li Chengfeng said, "Father believes that you and Qingming have made great contributions by holding off the Wu tribe's army. Therefore, he has petitioned the Tang court to reward you. At the same time, Father has also specially allocated two flying boats that can carry 100,000 shi (a unit of dry measure) for you to use free of charge until the Wu tribe withdraws its troops."

Wei Yuan was overjoyed, as flying boats were absolutely strategic resources. Even now, Qingming didn't have its own flying boat and had to rent them from various merchants and the Cui family when needed.

Although the two flying boats weren't a gift, they were still a timely help. Wei Yuan thanked them sincerely, and then asked, "Why has Your Majesty suddenly changed your mind?"

The two sides had fought several battles not long ago, and King Zhao had even blocked trade between the two places. Now, with the construction of roads and the delivery of flying boats, the rapid change made Wei Yuan somewhat unaccustomed to it.

Li Chengfeng simply said, "I heard this is the Immortal Ancestor's intention, but I don't know anything else. Do you need soldiers? My troops are also available for your command."

Wei Yuan laughed and said, "It wasn't easy for you to accumulate your wealth. Right now, my situation is very passive, and the casualties are heavy. You'd better not get involved. If you want to help me, send more refugees over."

Li Chengfeng asked in surprise, "You need more people?"

“Of course, the more the better.” Li Chengfeng thought for a moment and said, “We’ve basically gathered all the refugees in the surrounding area, so they need to be transported from Zhao territory. The number might not be too large.”

Wei Yuan was aware of the situation, so he suggested that Li Chengfeng form a caravan and follow Wei Yuan's example in the Western Jin Dynasty by setting up post stations of various sizes along the way. This would expand the scope of gathering refugees from within a thousand miles to as far as five thousand miles.

After agreeing on the price for the refugees with Li Chengfeng, Wei Yuan saw the satisfied fourth prince off. The two flying boats had already sailed into Qingming and were parked at the border, awaiting the arrival of Qingming's people for handover.

The aid from Zhao was limited, but highly useful. Wei Yuan had no shortage of gold, silver, and provisions, nor did it lack soldiers and able-bodied men; what it lacked were airships capable of rapidly transporting large quantities of supplies. Qingming's current industrial and mining capacity was enormous, with a transportation volume hundreds of times greater than that of a prefecture of similar size, making transportation the main bottleneck.

These two airships are crucial; a single deployment can sustain a legion of 100,000 men in battle for several days.

No sooner had Li Chengfeng left than Song Cui's envoy from Qinghe arrived.

The Cui family brought a list of several boundary stones they possessed for Wei Yuan to choose from.

At the same time, the Cui family began to fulfill their promise, sending a giant flying ship to transport ten Dharma Aspects, three hundred Dao Foundation Establishments, and three thousand elite troops in one go.

These few thousand people are the core of the city the Cui family will build. Before the city is built, they will be organized into a legion, under the command of Wei Yuan, to fight against the Wu tribe.

The envoy from the Cui family this time was an elderly cultivator with white hair, who had already reached the perfect Dharma Aspect stage. This man was quite straightforward and generous, stating frankly that the Cui family could accept 10% casualties and 30% injuries.

Meanwhile, these people had already prepared their own military supplies. This was just the advance force; Song and Cui would send more people later, bringing the total to 200,000 troops, 700,000 accompanying family members, and artisans.

Song and Cui of Qinghe were indeed making a grand gesture, sending over a million people to build the city in one go. Clearly, they had been holding back for years and were determined to seize this enclave.

Wei Yuan planned to have Song Cui build a city in the southwestern part of Qingming, about 10,000 li away. This location was relatively close to Li Zhi's Zhenshan territory, allowing for mutual support. Furthermore, the Cui family could attack the mountain people to the south and subdue the witch tribes to the west and north – an ideal place for military operations.

The Cui family seemed somewhat surprised by this distance. This old cultivator of the Dharma Aspect was clearly very knowledgeable and shrewd. He simply gave Wei Yuan a deep look and didn't say much, but he had probably already guessed the potential coverage area of ​​Qingming in the future.

Wei Yuan didn't reveal the details, but they agreed that he would provide the Cui family with comprehensive support for the city in the future. In return, the Cui family would give Wei Yuan 30% of the new city's profits. At the same time, Wei Yuan could also station troops in the city.

To be honest, Wei Yuan hadn't expected the generous terms offered by the Cui family. Once this matter was settled, Qingming would essentially be forming an alliance with Song and Cui, gaining a powerful external ally.

The two sides began discussing the details, and the process went very smoothly. They finished discussing most of the details in one afternoon, and then drafted an agreement that could be signed.

The Cui family will sign directly in the name of the Immortal Ancestor, while Qingming will be signed by Wei Yuan. However, at the special request of the Cui family, Zhang Sheng and Xuan Yue Zhenjun were added as guarantors.

Once the Song and Cui families of Qinghe made their move, all the other aristocratic families that had been observing also began to act. The Xu family and the Ji, Zhao, and Cui families were the first to arrive, bringing with them a number of private troops and each gifting a flying boat.

The Bao family was far away and arrived a little late, but they directly sent a large flying ship capable of carrying five million shi (a unit of dry measure). The one who came from the Bao family was Bao Shu, who didn't say much, but simply patted Wei Yuan on the shoulder.

Although Baoshu didn't say it explicitly, the implication was quite clear: this is Baoyun's dowry, and you'd better handle it.

The various factions also sent a total of 300,000 private troops to provide support, which was quite a substantial effort.

Not long after, Tang, the imperial envoy, arrived again, believing that Wei Yuan had rendered meritorious service in resisting foreign tribes and should be further honored.

The imperial envoy arrived with great fanfare that day. A crimson portal suddenly opened on the luxurious flying boat, and from the swirling smoke, several eunuchs in fine robes emerged. An imperial envoy dressed in a scarlet python robe stepped out, holding a yellow silk scroll, and strode swiftly across the jade steps to stand before the crowd.

"The imperial edict arrives——"

The crowd parted like waves, and Wei Yuan stood in the middle, his expression upright, bowing slightly.

"By the grace of Heaven, the Emperor decrees: Military Governor Wei Yuan, you are loyal to the country, tireless day and night, and have made outstanding contributions in resisting foreign tribes... You are hereby promoted to the rank of Military Governor of Qingyang, a second-rank official, and granted the title of General of Zhenxi and Earl of Dingyuan."

These words immediately caused an uproar.

Although this series of honors had no substantial content, it made Wei Yuan a legitimate and important minister of the Great Tang Dynasty, giving him a legitimate status.

Judging from the reactions of all parties, the strong support from the major families was not as sensational as the empty reward from Tang.

"Your subject receives the imperial decree—"

Wei Yuan bowed and accepted the imperial edict, his eyes filled with the bright sunshine and the beautiful landscape.

With the support of neighboring countries, the assistance of numerous powerful families, and the bestowal of titles and honors from the imperial court, Wei Yuan enjoyed unparalleled prestige.

At this moment, Qingming was like a scene of dazzling prosperity, like oil being poured into a blazing fire.

(End of this chapter)