Longzang

Chapter 988 The Portal Opens (Bonus Chapter)

Wei Yuan said, "This junior simply couldn't bear to see the continuous ravages of war and the devastation of the people..."

But after glancing at the young cultivator's eyes again, he immediately said, "Return! Return immediately! However... it's not so good to ask those who have already set off to go back..."

The young cultivator pondered for a moment and said, "Those who have already set off are fine. Those who haven't boarded the vehicle yet are not allowed to leave."

Wei Yuan immediately issued an order through the smoke and fire of the mortal realm, and several Dharma Aspect cultivators then took to the air and flew in all directions to gather the scattered troops.

The young cultivator hadn't expected Wei Yuan to be so decisive. He nodded slightly and said, "The sand you scattered in the ground..."

“That’s specifically for growing red-stemmed cotton. The younger generation will buy all the cotton produced. The people of Zhao will earn three times more from growing cotton than from growing grain.”

"But what about the food shortage?"

"The Qingming Society will be responsible for supplying grain at a fair price, ensuring that the price is the same as in other regions of Zhao, and all cotton farmers can purchase unlimited quantities."

The young cultivator coldly replied, "So, I should thank you?"

“This is what the younger generation should do.”

The young cultivator shook his head and sighed, "Even Yan Shi would be slightly inferior to you in terms of looks. No wonder Shen Ji was no match for you. Now the battle is over, the soldiers are dead, and we've even lost Yu Jing. Tell me, what do you want after this battle?"

Wei Yuan took out the "Treaty of Friendship, Commerce and Navigation between Qinghai and Zhao" that he had prepared long ago and handed it over respectfully.

The young cultivator swept his divine sense across the area and said, "...compensate the fallen soldiers, compensate for the losses, open the following cities as trading ports, allow the Qingming caravan to travel freely within Zhao territory, and if any Qingming member breaks the law, they must be judged by Qingming; Zhao has no right to punish them..."

With each line read aloud, the young cultivator's expression grew increasingly grim.

Wei Yuan hurriedly said, "The last clause, extraterritoriality, can be removed. But if the King of Zhao continues to arbitrarily arrest the people of Qingming, I'm afraid we'll have to fight another war. Actually, it's better to keep it..."

The young cultivator said coldly, "This one must be removed!"

“Okay.” Wei Yuan readily agreed.

The young monk looked it over again and asked, "Which of these do you think can be removed?"

Wei Yuan said, "There's no need for compensation for the fallen soldiers; just pay the military expenses..."

In this battle, Qingming didn't lose many people, so the compensation was negligible. However, the absence of casualties was accompanied by a huge consumption of ammunition.

Each of the rapid-fire machine gun's flying sword shells cost one or two taels of silver. To deal with the Zhao cavalry, Wei Yuan prepared over three hundred machine guns and fired five million flying sword shells. Adding the artillery shells used in the attack on Cui Shutong's city, Wei Yuan spent a total of eight million taels of silver on this battle.

It can be said that hundreds of thousands of Zhao's elite troops were killed by Wei Yuan using immortal silver.

Wei Yuan glanced at the young cultivator's face, gritted his teeth, and said, "Just for your sake, senior, the military expenses don't need to be reimbursed!"

The young cultivator frowned slightly and asked, "How much military expenditure did you spend in total?"

"Nine million taels." Wei Yuan wasn't lying. Ammunition was one aspect, but the movement of hundreds of thousands of troops, hundreds of chariots, and thousands of freight trucks was all burning through immortal silver.

"really?"

"May I be struck by lightning if I am lying!" Before Wei Yuan finished speaking, a bolt of lightning suddenly struck down from the clear sky!

Wei Yuan was shocked and couldn't understand why he was being struck by lightning when he hadn't lied.
The young cultivator rarely smiled, saying, "At your level of cultivation, don't make oaths lightly. What you think is fulfilling an oath is actually disturbing the Heavenly Dao. Especially now that you have the Heavenly Demon within you, as long as you disturb the Heavenly Dao, you will surely suffer a tribulation of lightning."

Wei Yuan suddenly understood and said, "Thank you for your guidance, senior."

The young cultivator said, "Nine million taels isn't a small sum, but Zhao Kingdom really can't afford it right now. The country is suffering, prices are skyrocketing, businesses are going bankrupt, and the national treasury is empty. Providing another nine million taels of immortal silver would likely cause a popular uprising. That's not what you want, is it?" Having said that, what could Wei Yuan say? Besides, his own ideal path was to create a prosperous world, so he could only smile bitterly.

The young cultivator glared at him and said, "You instigated the issuance of the Divine Coin, causing chaos and misery in the Zhao Kingdom. I haven't settled accounts with you for this yet."

Wei Yuan looked completely innocent: "How could issuing currency cause widespread suffering? Look at Qingming, it's becoming more and more prosperous since Qingyuan was introduced."

"is it?"

Wei Yuan fell silent. Issuing currency itself has no cost and can be decided with a single word; it's hard for anyone to resist the temptation. That alone wouldn't have been so bad, but Zhang Sheng had used a combination of enticement and coercion to get many people to issue currency. King Zhao, failing to investigate in time, didn't centralize the power to issue currency, resulting in the current situation where there are over thirty different types of currency within the Zhao state.

With a large number of people involved, rampant printing is inevitable, and whoever prints first benefits, eventually leading to a competition among everyone to print more. For example, in the month since the two sides started their war, King Zhao's Void Coins have fallen to the point where 200,000 coins can only be exchanged for one coin of Immortal Silver, and there is still no market for them.

This is an open conspiracy, and there's no way to solve it.

Zhang Sheng's schemes are like his sword; once unsheathed, they are deadly.

The young cultivator's eyes were sharp; he had already seen through the root of the problem. Wei Yuan also knew that this one couldn't be fooled; in fact, no immortal was easily fooled.

So Wei Yuan said, "Then I will compromise further, as long as the caravan has the right to travel throughout the entire territory and the seven ports are open. In addition, a Trade Affairs Office will be established, and all cases related to the Qingming caravan will be handled by the Trade Affairs Office. The head of this office will be appointed by Zhao and Qingming respectively."

The young monk finally nodded: "Okay."

Wei Yuan's true desires were simply for caravans to pass freely and for ports to open. The Trade and Commerce Bureau was dispensable; its main purpose was to ensure that the people of Qingming were not mistreated or discriminated against in Zhao. However, if the King of Zhao were to launch another large-scale manhunt for the people of Qingming, the Trade and Commerce Bureau would be powerless to do anything, and then another war would be necessary.

At this point, Wei Yuan had achieved all the goals of the war: opening the gates.

The young monk said, "You've stated your conditions. I also have two conditions."

Wei Yuan's heart skipped a beat, and he said, "Please speak, senior."

"Firstly, Zhao suffered heavy casualties this time, and Shenji will have a hard time explaining it. Your Qingming is not short of money and food, so take out some grain, meat and Qingyuan to compensate Shenji as a form of compensation."

Wei Yuan understood perfectly well that this was the face the King of Zhao wanted. Without it, the King might have issued an edict of self-reproach. This small amount of face was of no concern to Wei Yuan; as long as the gates remained open, the King of Zhao could claim a great victory if he wanted. Wei Yuan was now an expert in the art of winning battles and was very willing to help the rulers of various states save face.

"Secondly, intermarriage between the two sides. If you fancy any princess, just tell me."

This was a genuine surprise for Wei Yuan. In truth, the Zhao royal family, in terms of both appearance and temperament, far surpassed those of other nations, truly belonging to a class of their own. Only after meeting the Zhao immortal today did Wei Yuan understand where the naturally beautiful Consort Yuan, Chunyi, and the Sixth Princess came from.

But we're currently discussing important matters between our two countries. Trade may seem like a minor issue, but it's actually crucial for Qingming's future development. Is it really a good idea to suddenly propose a marriage at this time?
While Wei Yuan found it absurd, he subconsciously compared Princess Ningguo with the Sixth Princess and suddenly found it difficult to choose.

Seeing this, the young cultivator smiled slightly and said meaningfully, "Don't rush to make a decision, take a look at this first."

What to look at?
Wei Yuan was somewhat bewildered when suddenly the room darkened, and a graceful figure rushed in, carrying a sweet, noble fragrance. She thrust her sword at Wei Yuan and shouted, "You villain, prepare to die!"

Although the assassin's face was covered, Wei Yuan's eyesight was exceptional. Just by looking at her figure and hearing her voice, he knew she was the Sixth Princess.

The Sixth Princess was no weakling in cultivation, and her Taoist magic and swordsmanship were exquisite. At this moment, she was dressed in a form-fitting night-clothes, her long hair pulled back high, her waist so slender it was only as thick as Wei Yuan's palm. Wielding her sword, she chased after Wei Yuan, hacking and slashing wildly, cursing as she did so, displaying considerable ferocity. After several unsuccessful attacks, her watery eyes blazed with rage, her teeth clenched, resembling a helpless, furious kitten scratching at someone. However, with the immortal sitting nearby, Wei Yuan couldn't very well use excessive force against the junior in front of the immortal.

Wei Yuan's current methods are either to suppress and kill her in the Mind World, or to rely on his unparalleled physical body and sheer brute force to achieve a miracle. Either way, it's too brutal and unsuitable for the Sixth Princess. Wei Yuan can't very well summon hundreds of soldiers to swarm her and bury her alive, can he?
As a result, Wei Yuan was bound hand and foot and was chased all over the house by the Sixth Princess.

The young cultivator sat calmly to the side, watching the battle, completely unseen by the Sixth Princess. While the Sixth Princess couldn't see him, Wei Yuan could. Being watched by an immortal like this, Wei Yuan felt immense pressure.

　P.S.: September has arrived before we knew it. This month's theme: Small rolls. Let's see if we can roll a monthly pass.

　　
　　
　
(End of this chapter)