Longzang

Chapter 981 A Pact of Friendship
Suddenly, the wind and clouds changed color within the Great Treasure Flower Pure Land, thunder roared in the void, and a bolt of lightning struck down, blasting a corner of the Sutra Repository to collapse!
The monks, young and old, were terrified. Some of the older monks were even so frightened that tears streamed down their faces as they murmured, "The Dharma is in its final days! The Dharma is in its final days!"

Suddenly, countless golden lotuses bloomed in the void, and the sounds of Zen chants and Buddhist hymns echoed. Boundless golden light emanated from a certain point, spreading endlessly until it covered the entire sky.

Several monks, their bodies entirely golden and radiating light from the back of their heads, flew over and stood motionless around the Sutra Repository. After a moment, numerous lotus platforms appeared above, revealing several majestic Buddha figures.

In the lower corner, a handsome young monk, as beautiful as a woman, secretly looked up and suddenly realized that the Buddha figures were not sitting in the void, but on an incredibly huge mountain covered with lotus thrones, and most of the lotus thrones on the mountain were empty!
Most of the empty lotus seats were shrouded in thick black mist and bloodstains, with only a few still emitting a faint light.

The young monk was greatly surprised. This scene was clearly a post-apocalyptic landscape, which did not conform to Buddhist scriptures and was completely different from what his masters taught him.

He quietly said to a young monk beside him, "Master, why are so many lotus platforms on the mountain empty?"

The young monk whispered, "Many people in heaven are watching, so don't look around! And don't tell anyone! It's a good thing that the lotus thrones are mostly empty; otherwise, how would it be your turn?"

The young monk fell silent, only watching furtively. All the Vajra Arhats in the sky revealed their Dharma bodies, and even more Bodhisattvas manifested their true forms. It is said that the Arhatship is equivalent to that of an immortal in the outside world, and at this moment, there were more than ten Arhats and Bodhisattvas appearing in the Pure Land.

The young monk, however, felt somewhat puzzled. It was said that the Taichu Palace only had two immortals. If that were the case, the Great Treasure Flower Pure Land should have been able to sweep across the world long ago. How could the Taichu Palace have stolen the title of the number one immortal sect?
At this moment, invisible gazes swept across the Sutra Repository, but the Bodhisattvas remained silent, creating an extremely oppressive atmosphere.

After a moment, a Bodhisattva residing on a high place said, "Take inventory of all the scriptures and find the missing and newly added ones. The monks who were called out, stay behind; the rest, go back and do your homework."

Then several monks in robes came over, chanting their names, and those whose names were called were to go to the scripture hall to review the scriptures.

"Huixing, Honglian."

When the young monk and the novice monk realized they had been called upon, they went together to the fat monk. The fat monk glanced at the novice monk, frowned slightly with disgust, and said, "Huixing, how many times have I told you not to give your disciples random Dharma names! What kind of nonsense is this 'Red Lotus'? It's not even in the disciple's lineage. Change it immediately."

The young monk, whose Dharma name was Huixing, said, "I'll change it right away, I'll change it later." With that, he pulled the young monk into the Sutra Repository. The fat monk shook his head, knowing that this guy was only thinking of getting away with it, and who knew when he would actually change his Dharma name.

As the young monk stepped into the temple, he suddenly sensed something. Looking up, he saw that a lotus throne on the sacred mountain outside the void had suddenly cracked open, the Buddha's light vanished, and black energy was constantly emerging from the crack.

The young monk felt a strange mix of emotions, but Huixing pulled him into the main hall. Huixing lowered his voice and said, "What you just saw must never be told! Remember that!"

Although the young monk did not understand, he always respected his master, so he nodded.

As the two entered the main hall, the scenery shifted, revealing rows upon rows of bookshelves, each several meters high and dozens of meters wide, stretching as far as the eye could see. One of these bookshelves had been completely shattered, with scriptures scattered all over the ground, some still burning.

The young monk moved away from the burning bookshelf, went to a corner, and casually picked up a scripture to read. The young monk Honglian followed suit.

But then a sigh suddenly came from behind the bookshelf, and someone said, "There weren't many positions to begin with, and now there's one less!"

Another aged voice said, "This time is different. It is clear that a new position has appeared, causing the old position to dissipate."

"But the new position is not in Mount Ling..."

"...Be careful what you say!"

After a moment, the aged voice whispered, "Who could have imagined that someone would make such a grand ambition? It's normal for their attainment to be shattered."

They stopped talking and prepared to leave. Then two old monks emerged from behind the bookshelves and saw the young monk and the novice monk.

The four bald men were stunned for a moment. None of them expected that there would be fellow disciples in this particularly remote corner. They then put their palms together in greeting, went their separate ways, and acted as if nothing had happened.

……

Although Wei Yuan was in Guantun County, most of his thoughts were still on Qingming.

It was already late autumn, and Qingming's general appearance for the year was becoming clear. The report submitted to Wei Yuan had been expanded to include predictions for the entire year.

In the second year of Hongjing, Qingming has not seen a war for over a year, and it is said that many bandits can no longer see their own toes.

The True Man of the Hoeing Fields traveled back and forth between the Qingming and Ji Kingdoms, making a round trip every few days, tirelessly.

In Qingming, Master Chuhe has cultivated 40 million mu of land. The new fields are planted with medicinal herbs, hemp, cotton, and even pasture. Originally, Master Chuhe didn't want to grow grain, but under Wei Yuan's strong insistence, half of the land was designated for grain production. This resulted in Qingming's grain reserves exceeding 10 billion jin, forcing Yu Zhizhuo to open two new canneries. They steam rice, mix it with fish, meat, and vegetables, stir it thoroughly, and then pack it into iron barrels. Each canister contains 1,000 jin and can be stored for five years.

Chuhe Laodao continued planning for the fifth 10 million mu, while also taking care of Xianji and exploring the mountain dwelling area.

The mountain people's region is a completely different world. Once the old Taoist priest finds the way to cultivate the fields, it will be equivalent to comprehending a new great Dao of heaven and earth. With Qingming and the immortal rooster, the old Taoist priest will have three paths to heaven in one go, and he won't have enough legs to carry him.

At this moment, in the Jianmu Hall, the cultivators realized that Ancestor Huang Yun had indeed had keen insight, recognizing Chu He as nothing at the time.

Qingming's internal development was progressing smoothly, but its foreign trade figures showed a significant decline. This immediately enraged Wei Yuan, and upon closer inspection, he discovered the problem.

Not long ago, the King of Zhao issued a third coin: the Void Coin. But this time, not as many people fell for it, or in other words, the Kingdom of Zhao didn't have enough fools left.

The issuance of Void Coins was hindered, leaving a large amount stuck in King Zhao's hands. On the black market, the price plummeted from the official rate of one coin to one tael of silver to one hundred and fifty coins to one qian of silver. Had King Zhao not ordered that all those with official titles were forbidden from selling and only allowed to buy, Void Coins might have truly fallen into the void.

The Void Coin plummeted, causing the two coins that had occurred earlier to also plummet. As a result, all thirty-six coins within the Zhao Kingdom experienced a sharp drop, including Li Chengfeng's Azure Water Coin, which lost 80% of its value.

Li Chengfeng wrote several letters to Wei Yuan complaining about the matter, and also to Zhang Sheng, but to no avail. Zhang Sheng had long since used up the Qingyuan coins he had exchanged, and now Li Chengfeng wanted to exchange for new Qingyuan coins, but the exchange rate was subject to market conditions. However, when Li Chengfeng finally agreed to go with the market and wanted to exchange Qingyuan coins at a rate of eight to one, he discovered that Qingming Bank did not accept Bishui coins at all.

When Li Chengfeng inquired further, he learned that Qingming Money House no longer accepted any currency from Zhao State. Moreover, the people Li Chengfeng sent made it clear that the previous quota had been used up, and if they wanted new quotas, they should contact Zhang Sheng or Wei Yuan for approval.

Li Chengfeng dared not approach Zhang Sheng, so he could only write to Wei Yuan. Wei Yuan approved ten million in two separate letters, so Li Chengfeng felt embarrassed to write a third letter.

Without the influx of Qingyuan, the Zhao Kingdom would be in chaos, with prices skyrocketing. And the more chaotic the situation, the more money the various issuing parties would print. Everyone wasn't stupid; they all realized it had become a race—whoever printed more and faster could exchange it for more goods. A slight delay, and the market would be left with only coins.

As a result, many ordinary small-scale wealthy households and workshop owners found that the various currencies they held turned into worthless paper in the blink of an eye, leaving them heartbroken and helpless.

King Zhao then discovered that the Zhao Kingdom's reserves of immortal silver were nearly exhausted, and the flow of Qingyuan was accelerating. Although Qingyuan was no longer appreciating in value on the black market, it could still be exchanged for one tael and six qian of immortal silver, remaining exceptionally stable.

King Zhao couldn't understand why the Qingyuan coin held up so well, while his own coins repeatedly failed. He was the true king, and who was Wei Yuan? Just a commoner, barely better than a lowly peasant. Even now, he was merely a military governor. Why did the people trust him instead of him?
No matter how confused he was, King Zhao had already grasped the purchasing power of Qingyuan. With Qingyuan in hand, one could exchange it for Immortal Silver or use it directly. To stabilize the country, King Zhao had no choice but to close the trade route with Qingming once again.

If this passage is not closed, the Qingyuan within the territory of Zhao will flow back to Qingming.

As a result, Qingming's trade figures look very bad. Although the Western Jin Dynasty has completely abandoned its defenses against Qingming, the Jin state is not large enough to absorb all of Qingming's goods.

More importantly, Wei Yuan simply couldn't find anything else to buy.

The inability to purchase sufficient goods from outside sources has resulted in a distorted and unsustainable trade structure. Trade with Zhao already covered 30% of Zhao's territory, and Wei Yuan planned to expand to the entire region within one or two years, turning Zhao into a source of raw materials and migrants. However, the Zhao king's sudden closure of the border directly disrupted Wei Yuan's plans.

Wei Yuan composed himself, calmed his mind, and waited until his heart was as still as water before he began to examine the current situation.

He simultaneously established two thousand missions amidst the everyday realities of life, examining every aspect and potential consequences. The benefits of the Mind World beginning its evolution towards the Imperial Realm finally became apparent at this time. Wei Yuan was now able to manage two thousand missions with ease and without effort, a feat that even Feng Tingyu could not accomplish.

Moreover, Wei Yuan still has the energy to spare; adding another ten or so tasks wouldn't be too much of a strain.

Wei Yuan quickly reached a conclusion, and then wrote letters to the Tai Chu Palace, addressing Xuan Yue, the Lord of the Ming King Palace, and most importantly, the Immortal Lord Yan Shi.

The second letter was addressed to the King of Zhao, with only one main point: to avoid damaging the friendship between Qing and Zhao, the King of Zhao was advised to immediately open the border, otherwise Zhao would be responsible for all the consequences.

Wei Yuan then ordered the mobilization of the First and Second Army Corps, putting them into a state of full combat readiness.

After making all the preparations, Wei Yuan spread out another sheet of paper, opened the map, and began to draft the document himself, referring to the map.

Why did the King of Zhao dare to close the border? Did he think Qingming's cannons weren't numerous or powerful enough? Therefore, Wei Yuan was determined to use a short and powerful war to blast open the gates of the Zhao Kingdom with heavy artillery!

Having made up his mind, Wei Yuan wrote down a line on the paper: "Treaty of Friendship, Commerce and Navigation between Qinghai and Zhao".

(End of this chapter)