Longzang

Chapter 997 Power Over the Court and the Country

Wei Yuan took out the Zhao State sand table map, placed it on the flying boat, and then sailed straight towards the Jin capital. During the journey, Wei Yuan kept his eyes on the sand table, constantly refining his plans amidst the everyday life of ordinary people.

At this moment, in the Qingming Yong'an City, several Dao Foundation cultivators in the government office suddenly returned to their seats and began to write furiously, compiling orders one after another and sending them to the main building of the government office.

Xiao Yu sat behind the large table, carefully reviewing each order before comparing it with the overall plan in the Human World. Once confirmed, she stamped it. Then, cultivators would collect the orders and categorize them for distribution to the relevant departments. Many orders were relayed through the Human World again, directly reaching other cities in other regions.

At this moment, the distance between Qingming and all directions exceeds six thousand miles. Even if a Dao Foundation cultivator were to send a message by air, it would take half a day. However, by using mortal settlements as transit points, the message can arrive instantly.

Only an hour after Wei Yuan left, Qingming had already begun to activate.

Rows of Foundation Establishment cultivators pushed open the warehouse doors, each weighing tens of thousands of kilograms. Trucks were already parked at the warehouse entrance, with more arriving one after another. The cultivators loaded boxes of packaged military rations and meat onto the trucks, preparing to transport them to the Zhao Kingdom.

The guinea pig herder constantly moves from one ranch to the next. At each ranch, large numbers of mature guinea pigs automatically enter the processing plant and become meat. Because of their sheer number, the previously idle breeding guinea pigs become busy.

A large number of still-unfinished floating airships took off and flew to their designated locations. The internal structures of the airships were exposed; they hadn't even been sealed yet. One by one, the Cloud Sky Warriors brought their own stools, boarded the airships, and began this round of emergency missions.

Half a day later, Qingming's first convoy of wagons, fully loaded with grain, headed towards the State of Zhao.

Wei Yuan landed outside Yingdu City and entered the Vajra Zen Temple.

As Wei Yuan entered the courtyard, he saw the blue-eyed woman in a simple dress sweeping the ground. The weather was bitterly cold, and several plum trees in the temple were in full bloom, their petals scattered across the ground. The blue-eyed woman swept the fallen petals into one spot. Among the pile of flowers, something was planted, and a few new green shoots were beginning to sprout.

The woman with blue eyes swept away the fallen flowers as if nothing was wrong, and said, "Prince Jin is in the side hall, you can go there yourself."

Wei Yuan nodded and walked into the courtyard. Suddenly, he saw that the Merit Lotus Pond was half full of clear water again, with three or five lotus leaves floating on the surface, and then a small lotus bud.

Wei Yuan glanced at the lotus bud again. Just then, the sound of a bell rang out, echoing through the ancient temple courtyard, layer upon layer, as if washing away much of the dust of the world.

The lotus bud suddenly opened and blossomed, transforming into a small white lotus.

Wei Yuan seemed to understand something, yet also seemed to understand nothing at all.

Wei Yuan continued forward, looking up at the main hall ahead. The hall now seemed even more dilapidated and decaying, with wild vines growing on the walls, braving the cold to climb them.

Wei Yuan turned and walked along a side path, then entered the side hall. A single lamp flickered in the hall, and the lotus platform was empty. The Prince of Jin sat cross-legged before the Buddhist shrine, wrapped in a thick blanket, his head nodding as if he were drowsy.

The green lamp was placed in front of him, illuminating only three feet around him. Outside the lamplight was darkness, and within it seemed to be many menacing creatures.

Wei Yuan walked to the Prince of Jin's side and sat down on the futon next to him. The Prince of Jin heard the footsteps, opened his eyes, and after a while recognized Wei Yuan. Then he regained some energy and said, "You've come."

At this time, Prince Jin was still more than ten years away from the end of his life, but he looked incredibly old, at least a hundred years older than when they last met.

Wei Yuan suspected there must be a reason, but since the Prince of Jin had that blue-eyed woman by his side, he didn't need to worry about these things.

Wei Yuan took out a medicine box and placed it in front of the Prince of Jin, saying, "I have come across a fine item by chance and have brought it here to present to Your Majesty."

The Prince of Jin stared at the medicine box for a moment before opening it, revealing a blood-red pill inside, with what appeared to be flames burning within.

Prince Jin was no stranger to this medicine; he could tell from the aroma that it was a longevity-promoting elixir, and that it was of even higher quality than the last one.

The King of Jin wore a complex expression, sighed heavily, and his breath was thick with phlegm. He suddenly coughed violently, and only calmed down after a moment, sighing, "I originally planned to abdicate this year and pass the throne to the King of Chu, to live out the rest of my years in peace. But you came at this time. This precious medicine seems difficult to swallow!" Wei Yuan said, "This medicine can originally extend one's life by thirty-six years. You have taken similar medicine before, so its effect will be reduced, but it can still extend one's life by at least eighteen years."

Prince Jin, however, seemed uninterested in the longevity elixir. He looked at Wei Yuan with his somewhat cloudy eyes, slowly wiped the dirt from the corner of his eyes, and asked, "What do you want?"

"The Regent Prince, who also served as the Grand Councilor of the Southern Military Affairs, was granted the title of Prince of Wei."

These were the rewards given last time, which Wei Yuan had returned entirely. But this time, not only did he ask for them back, he also added the title of Grand Councilor of the Southern Military Council. With these, Wei Yuan essentially held absolute power and influence in the Western Jin Dynasty.

"What do you need these for?" the Prince of Jin asked.

Wei Yuan said, "I want to be admired by all and famous throughout the country."

The Prince of Jin seemed to be deep in thought, and said, "But this step is easy to take, but difficult to take back. It's easy to be infamous for all time."

"I know."

The Prince of Jin nodded and said, "Alright, I grant your request. Go and ask Qing Tong for the imperial edict."

Wei Yuan expressed his gratitude and then said, "Once this medicine is opened, its medicinal properties will continuously dissipate, so it needs to be swallowed immediately."

The Prince of Jin picked up the pill, put it in his mouth, and swallowed it in one gulp. Immediately, his sideburns turned black, his hunched back straightened up, and his eyes once again revealed murderous intent and glint.

The Prince of Jin glanced at Wei Yuan and said, "It seems that your pill was really hard to swallow."

Wei Yuan smiled, got up and left the side hall. Qing Tong was still sweeping the floor, but there was an imperial edict on the stone table in the corner of the courtyard.

Wei Yuan took the imperial edict and flew into Yingdu.

The next morning, the morning bell rang, a rare occurrence. It was still dark when the officials of the Western Jin Dynasty, carrying lanterns and braving the cold wind, hurried along the palace paths, taking small, quick steps, and filed into the main hall.

The wind was biting cold at that moment.

In the main hall, Prince Jin, who had not attended to state affairs for many days, sat on the throne, a rare sight. Some of the old ministers were surprised and, glancing at him, even found that they seemed to see a few traces of Prince Jin in his prime.

Only after the court assembly officially began did Wei Yuan enter the hall fully armed. All the ministers, especially the Left and Right Chancellors, narrowed their eyes upon seeing the sword hanging at Wei Yuan's waist!
On this day, Wei Yuan was officially enfeoffed as a king in the Western Jin Dynasty, an act that immediately caused a huge uproar and drew fierce condemnation from numerous scholars throughout the land. Even the Thirteen Protectors could not withstand the criticism.

Meanwhile, convoys of Qingming carts entered the Zhao Kingdom, bringing in massive quantities of grain. The Master of Hoeing the Land led five thousand Qiankun Earth-Dredging Warriors into Zhao, dispersing them throughout the various counties and prefectures to guide the Zhao people in cultivating the land.

Wei Yuan's plan was to first feed the people of Zhao, then open up large tracts of land and distribute it to the poor to cultivate, thus giving them hope. Since ancient times, this method has been the only way to gather people's fortune, and it was no exception in the state of Zhao.

As a result, within a month, King Zhao's prestige soared to unprecedented heights, becoming unparalleled for a time.

Various titles such as sage king, wise king, enlightened ruler, and benevolent monarch have been bestowed upon King Zhao. If this continues, in a while, the title of "Emperor of All Time" will probably be added to King Zhao's list.

At this moment, in the Western Jin Palace, next to the Chunhua Hall, in the Wude Hall, a tall young man, much taller than ordinary eunuchs, was throwing a tantrum and smashing everything he could in the study.

The palace servants and eunuchs were all trembling with fear, and none of them dared to offer the King of Chu a single word of advice.

(End of this chapter)