Chapter 383

Capital of Western Jin, Hall of State Affairs.

The Prince of Jin sat at the head, discussing the transfer and garrisoning of local government troops with his ministers.

The Minister of War reported, "Since the beginning of this year, the Hanyang Pass garrison has been repeatedly drafted, and none have been replenished to full strength. Hanyang Pass is a vital hub of the Western Regions, and military preparedness cannot be neglected. Your subject believes we should transfer troops from nearby regions and then draft private armies and retainers from local wealthy families to supplement them."

The Left Chancellor said, "The imperial court's capable armies are basically all transferred to the north. In the Western Regions, there are only some old and weak troops, and military discipline is lax; transferring them to Hanyang Pass is useless and would only waste provisions. Therefore, we should focus on drafting nearby private armies and the retainers of local wealthy families."

The Minister of Revenue, Xu Gong, stepped out and said, "The national treasury is empty now. If we want to draft local private armies, we must provide corresponding compensation. Where will this silver come from? Furthermore, the Dingxi Military Governor, Lord Wei Yuan, is currently guarding outside Hanyang Pass, serving as the first barrier of the Western Regions. The role of Hanyang Pass is no longer as urgent as it was at the beginning of the year. Therefore, your humble subject believes this matter can be slowed down; it would be better to train new troops first and wait until the treasury is flush before drafting private armies."

The Prince of Jin was expressionless, without a hint of a smile.

Drafting the private armies of wealthy families to fill the ranks of government troops was a common practice in the past, and it had saved Western Jin several times in history. By convention, although compensation had to be given when drafting private armies, it was only given symbolically. For example, ten private soldiers would normally cost ten taels of immortal silver, but when drafted, they would basically only be given half a tael. This kind of drafting was, in reality, equivalent to making the wealthy families pay a donation.

The Hanyang Pass area had always been the Xu family's sphere of influence, and all the wealthy families had intricate connections with the Xu family. Drafting private armies was actually equivalent to cutting flesh from the Xu family. The new Minister of Revenue, Xu Gong, saying this meant the Xu family simply did not want to pay to fill the gap at Hanyang Pass.

The ministers in the Hall of State Affairs were all old foxes; how could they not understand his meaning? However, Xu Gong was not wrong either. With Wei Yuan's Azure Void holding the line in front, it didn't matter if Hanyang Pass had more or fewer soldiers. If Wei Yuan developed well, the Xu family could also receive protection from behind. If Wei Yuan was crushed by the Shaman tribe, Hanyang Pass was still there, and the Shaman tribe wouldn't be able to get through either.

In short, as long as Hanyang Pass existed, the Xu family could remain in an invincible position.

Just at this moment, an eunuch hurried over and handed an urgent report to the Prince of Jin. The Prince of Jin took a look, his expression changing slightly at first, then returning to normal, and said, "This is an urgent report from the Western Regions; everyone, take a look."

The urgent report stated that the Heaven-Slaying Gang horse bandits had launched a surprise attack on Hanyang Pass, slaughtered their way into the pass city, and the Dingxi Military Governor, Wei Yuan, immediately dispatched a large army to suppress the bandits; the two sides were currently engaged in fierce fighting inside Hanyang Pass. The Hanyang Pass garrison had been completely wiped out, and the newly appointed Garrison Commanders and Vice Commanders, Xu Chunyuan, Fan Dong, and others, were missing and their fates unknown.

This report was passed among the ministers of state, and the Hall of State Affairs fell into silence.

Xu Gong stepped out again and said loudly, "This Wei Yuan has the heart of a wolf, crossing the border to suppress bandits; he clearly has a heart of rebellion! I request that Your Majesty issue an edict to immediately dispatch a large army to arrest Wei Yuan and bring him to the capital!"

The Nine Gates Commander, Lu Zhongzhi, said, "This matter is truly suspicious; we must not act rashly. The Dingxi Military Governor is on the front line of the Western Regions. If there is a slip-up, the gateway to the Western Regions will be wide open, and the Shaman tribe will surely drive straight in again. Now that the situation at Hanyang Pass is unclear, if the Shaman tribe enters the interior of Ningzhou, that would be a catastrophe. Your subject believes we should first dispatch an imperial envoy to the Western Regions to ascertain the truth before making a decision."

This was the view of a seasoned veteran, and the ministers echoed his sentiments one after another. Xu Gong and the other two Xu family members were helpless.

In fact, everyone knew this was Wei Yuan beginning his revenge, but no one said it. However, everyone felt a chill in their hearts; no one expected Wei Yuan to return, and upon returning, his methods were so intense, so they quietly raised Wei Yuan's danger level by several grades in their hearts.

There was one more thing everyone tacitly understood: crusade against Wei Yuan? With what would they crusade?

At this time, Hanyang Pass had already fallen entirely into Wei Yuan's hands.

Some people in the attire of the Heaven-Slaying Gang were active in various districts within the pass city, mainly the poorest and oldest ones. They said to the countless refugees gathered here, "The Ximen is open. Not far after leaving the pass, there are people serving porridge; why haven't you left yet?"

These Heaven-Slaying Gang members were all carrying large backpacks, from which they took out steamed buns one by one and distributed them. The buns were very small, only half the size of a fist, but the refugees, who had been starving for days and were already on the verge of death, miraculously gained strength after eating the buns, their faces glowing with health as they ran toward the Ximen.

These buns were laced with a bit of medicinal powder from marching pills, which greatly increased physical strength after consumption, allowing for long-distance travel.

At this time, the four gates of Hanyang Pass were wide open, not restricting the movement of refugees at all, and the news that there was porridge being served on the west side spread among all the refugees. Thus, the refugees left through the Ximen and traveled far away.

In the eyes of the residents and wealthy families of Hanyang Pass, the situation in the city was bizarre; Wei Yuan's army was being beaten by the horse bandits and forced to guard the four gates, shrinking back and not coming out.

The city was full of Heaven-Slaying Gang horse bandits; they drove away the soldiers Wei Yuan had stationed in the camps, then took all tens of thousands of garrison troops captive and escorted them out of the pass, after which their whereabouts were unknown.

The entire Hanyang Pass was looted, and six or seven out of ten wealthy families in the pass had their homes ransacked. Wei Yuan's government troops had looted a wave in the name of suppressing bandits, and then the Heaven-Slaying Gang horse bandits had come for another wave in the name of borrowing grain.

The armory, treasury, and granaries inside the pass were all sealed off, and carts were being pulled out of the pass one after another; no one knew whose carts these were.

The Heaven-Slaying Gang looted the pass city for a whole day until Wei Yuan's follow-up reinforcements arrived, at which point they left the pass and retreated. Wei Yuan did not stay long either, withdrawing from Hanyang Pass the next day and returning to the realm.

It was not until half a day after Wei Yuan left that the officials of various ranks in the city emerged from their hiding spots and hurriedly ran to the Garrison Office to express their loyalty, only to find that the Garrison Office had already been burned to the ground, and the several Garrison Commanders were nowhere to be found.

At this moment, several hundred miles to the west, Wei Yuan was riding side-by-side with Fan Donghe. Wei Yuan said, "General Fan, remember to bring the news when you go back this time. Also, if you fall into my hands again next time, I won't give you any discounts."

Fan Donghe gave a bitter smile and said, "After my older brother was imprisoned, I had already lost heart. In the future, I plan to take an idle position in the family and live out the rest of my life in peace."

Wei Yuan gave a faint smile and said, "General Fan is still young; perhaps you will have a breakthrough in the future. If you want to seek revenge on me then, I will be waiting at any time."

Fan Donghe shook his head repeatedly: "Lord Wei's cultivation is profound, and you are skilled in single combat. I am no match for you now, and there will be even less chance in the future."

"Oh, right, one more thing. After you go back, say this: The Xu family's Dharma Forms are all trash."

Fan Donghe could only smile bitterly and say, "The Xu family has many Dharma Forms, and there are quite a few geniuses among them."

Wei Yuan said, "No matter. As long as it's single combat, I fear no one. Anyone who is not convinced can come find me. However, time waits for no one; once I achieve the Dharma Form, they will never have another chance."

A moment later, Fan Donghe headed east alone. Even now, he was still a bit dazed.

It was not long ago that he and Xu Zhongxing attacked Azure Void. At that time, although Wei Yuan was already very powerful, Fan Donghe felt he could still defeat him, and Xu Zhongxing was even more certain.

As a result, the Shaman tribe's causal curse did not kill Wei Yuan, and after he returned, his cultivation base directly became Dao Foundation Perfection. In this battle of Hanyang Pass, Wei Yuan fought four Xu family Dharma Forms alone, resulting in capturing one alive, killing one, and forcing Fan Donghe to surrender; it could be called a complete victory.

!.

It was just that Wei Yuan kept saying he came alone, but Fan Donghe thought of his two Dharma Form puppets and the cat and snake, always feeling something was wrong.

No more than half a day after Wei Yuan withdrew his troops, Zhao Tong appeared in front of Hanyang Pass. He looked at the wide-open pass gates, the empty gate towers, and the streets where few people could be seen, almost unable to believe his eyes. Zhao Tong then walked around the city walls and saw that the eight giant crossbows only had their bases left, and his expression finally changed.

Just after returning to the realm, Wei Yuan received a report that Zhao Tong was requesting an audience.

Wei Yuan immediately rushed to the Guest Reception East Town, and upon seeing Zhao Tong, he greeted him with a smile and said, "Eunuch Zhao, you've come at the right time. I've just acquired a batch of little trinkets; Eunuch, please pick out a few."

Without waiting for Zhao Tong to answer, Wei Yuan waved his hand, and several attendants carrying large trays filed in. The trays were glowing with a faint luster, piled high with jewelry.

Zhao Tong's eye for treasure was naturally not bad; he saw at a glance that the trays were filled with top-quality pearls, jade, and emeralds. When these trays were brought out, even he could not help but lose his composure.

Wei Yuan pulled Zhao Tong to the trays, scooped up the jewelry with both hands, and stuffed it into Zhao Tong's pockets.

Although Zhao Tong had seen the world, this was the first time he had experienced such a scene, and he said repeatedly, "This won't do, this won't do! This, how can this be..."

But Wei Yuan's hands did not stop, and in the blink of an eye, Zhao Tong's pockets were stuffed full, so full they could not hold any more.

Wei Yuan simply took the imperial edict from Zhao Tong's hand, pulled the edict out of the bag, set it aside, and then filled the bag that held the edict. Not until the yellow silk bag was full did Wei Yuan tie it shut and stuff it into Zhao Tong's hands.

"This, this..." Zhao Tong held the bag containing the edict, while gems kept falling out of his pockets, bouncing on the ground and making the room flash with light.

Finally, Zhao Tong sighed and said sincerely, "Lord Wei, you said you wanted to vent your anger, and that's fine. But why did you dismantle those eight giant crossbows? Where can such giant crossbows be built now?"

Wei Yuan laughed, "Those eight giant crossbows were dismantled by the Heaven-Slaying Gang; it has nothing to do with me."

Zhao Tong stamped his feet and said, "Lord Wei, such a big matter is not something to joke about! Without those eight giant crossbows, Hanyang Pass has become a mere decoration. Once the Shaman army comes, won't it be a flat plain? These giant crossbows cost 1.5 million taels each; now that the treasury is empty, where can we build new ones? For the sake of the big picture, please find these giant crossbows and bring them back!"

Wei Yuan said, "The prefectures behind Hanyang Pass all belong to the Xu family; how much money can the Prince collect in a year? Eunuch Zhao, why bother worrying about them? Besides, with my Azure Void in front, the rear can naturally rest easy. But if something happens to Azure Void one day and it can't hold, then the Shaman army will drive straight in and naturally smash all the pots and pans in the back to pieces. Hehe, if I can't live well, then no one should think about living well!"

Seeing Zhao Tong's face turn pale and green, Wei Yuan laughed, "Eunuch Zhao, look, Azure Void is the big picture now. Whoever goes against my Azure Void is disregarding the big picture!"

(End of chapter)