Chapter 419: Great Prosperity of National Fortune

Within three days, Little Wei Yuan advanced another hundred li, capturing over a hundred Shaman tribe villages and towns and several small cities, before returning to Qingming.

In this battle, Little Wei Yuan's main force was always kept at around thirty thousand, but the supply personnel mobilized in the rear exceeded one hundred thousand, and cumulatively replenished over ten thousand soldiers to the front line.

In this battle, the Shaman tribe dispatched a total of four hundred thousand troops, ultimately suffering nearly two hundred thousand casualties, with over a thousand villages destroyed, over ten small cities combined, and over a million Shaman tribe casualties, with another two million displaced, fleeing deep into the Shaman domain.

Little Wei Yuan's subordinates suffered nearly ten thousand casualties cumulatively; fortunately, the dead and disabled only totaled over three thousand, and the rest were minor injuries. Little Wei Yuan fought while replenishing troops, which continued the military Qi and ensured combat power.

In this battle, six Great Shamans were also annihilated. Little Wei Yuan distributed several hundred merit points in total, but the bulk of his own merit points came from that shot at Lord Shuangyu; this shot was worth one thousand merit points.

Little Wei Yuan captured Gong Gong Yufeng City almost unscathed, and because the main force arrived in time, there were two full days for relocation.

A large amount of immortal silver, medicinal herbs, martial equipment, and various useful materials were found in Gong Gong Yufeng City, as well as Blood Blood Yingluo that could prolong life by three hundred years. The supply troops, after delivering supplies, took them back to Qingming on their return trip.

As for other things useless to the human race but vital to the Shaman tribe, such as fish bait and various Shaman tribe grains, Little Wei Yuan burned them all to the ground.

Finally, Little Wei Yuan also blew up the four gates of Gong Gong Yufeng City and many sections of the city wall, and also blew up all the important buildings in the city. It was a pity that there was stagnant water everywhere in the Shaman city, otherwise a great fire could have burned the whole city.

In the few days after repelling Lord Shuangyu, Little Wei Yuan also captured three villages and towns that produced human sacrifices.

The environments of these villages and towns had been transformed to be similar to the human domain, and the captured human race lived and multiplied inside, with excellent men and women being screened once a year, the excellent ones being left to leave descendants, and the ordinary ones being taken to be sacrificial offerings, holding various rituals.

The people in these three villages and towns had become accustomed to such a life; they were isolated from the world and didn't even know that a thousand li away was the kingdom of the human race. They even served the Shaman tribe as gods, and when Little Wei Yuan's troops appeared, many even fought alongside the Shaman tribe.

Little Wei Yuan obtained a total of forty thousand people from the three villages and towns, all of whom were escorted back to the human domain.

Up to this point, the Shaman tribe members of the Rain Kingdom within three hundred li of Qingming had been almost completely swept away, and large strongholds within three hundred to six hundred li had been uprooted. Although the foundation of Gong Gong Yufeng City still existed, Little Wei Yuan adopted the strategy of Real Person Master Chuhe, poisoning the most fertile fish ponds of the Shaman tribe, so that fish production would be very low for at least three to five years.

In the battle area this time, there were also five or six towns of the Ancestral Wilderness Tribe. For them, Little Wei Yuan drove the Shaman tribe members away and then destroyed the towns to ensure they would not return to the territory of the Rain Kingdom.

Little Wei Yuan's western expedition and sweeping of the Shaman domain shocked the Western Jin court and the public, and those who had grudges with Little Wei Yuan in the past were somewhat panicked. It is said that the Prince of Wei drank heavily at home for several consecutive days and beat several maids and servants to death over minor matters.

On this day, after the morning court session, the Prince of Jin did not return to the palace, but went all the way to the Political Affairs Hall to discuss what kind of reward should be given to Little Wei Yuan.

The Prince of Jin sat at the head, rarely with a smile on his face, and said: "Little Wei Yuan attacked the Shaman tribe and returned in great victory, strengthening the prestige of our Great Jin; we cannot but reward him. Have you all discussed a plan?"

The Nine Gates Commander Lu Lu Zhongzhi played: "Wei the Military Governor has elite troops and sufficient grain, but the imperial court only gave the establishment of four towns, and many military officers and fierce generals have to commit themselves to local militia. I think we can give another four towns establishment, totaling eight towns and forty thousand establishment, set up four regional commanders, and one general title; the general needs to enter the capital to receive the title."

The Prince of Jin's expression remained unchanged and asked: "What other insights do you ministers have?"

The Left Minister said: "After this battle, Qingming's expansion is unstoppable. For the sake of appeasement, the three counties of Ningxi, Anzhao, etc., can be placed in the jurisdiction of the Dingxi Military Governor. Only Bianning County should be left outside the pass."

The Minister of Revenue, Xu Gong, immediately came out and said: "This matter must not be done! Our Great Jin has now re-established itself in the Western Regions, and the refugees settled in the several counties are increasing, and they will soon become fertile land. At this time, dividing the three counties to Dingxi is like handing over three gold mines! Now our Great Jin's national treasury is empty, and we need new tax sources."

The Prince of Jin didn't say he agreed or disagreed, but turned to ask: "What is Quangong's meaning?"

All the officials were startled in their hearts, secretly pondering what the Prince of Jin's question meant.

The Prince of Jin held court to discuss affairs, and Liu Quangong had always served by his side, and only when he was not there would Zhao Tong top it. But he had always played the role of serving, and never had the qualification to discuss affairs in court.

Although the Political Affairs Hall was not as formal as the court session, it was actually the place where military and national affairs were decided; how could Liu Quangong have a say? Now that the Prince of Jin suddenly opened his mouth to ask, the officials couldn't help but speculate in their hearts. Generally, when the eunuch party was reused, it was when the Prince of Jin intended to clean up someone.

Liu Quangong didn't seem prepared either, and upon hearing this, he was startled first, and then said: "The Dingxi Military Governor's troops are now the elite troops of the world, and it is difficult to resist. The old slave thinks that the reward should fall on the actual situation, so that he can be grateful and serve the country wholeheartedly. As for the empty national treasury, counting on the Western Regions, I'm afraid that will be ten years later. At present, the most feasible way to enrich the national treasury is to conscript soldiers from the west of Ningzhou and conscript money and grain from the south of Ganzhou."

Ningxi was the Xu family's territory, and the several counties in the south of Ganzhou were the Lu family's sphere of influence.

The Minister of Revenue, Xu Gong, immediately said: "This move shakes the foundation of the powerful families, and must not be done. And once this precedent is opened, the disaster will be endless! The Holy King shares the world with the powerful families and shares the world with the scholar-officials! Weakening the powerful families is shaking the foundation of the country; this is the theory of a dying country! I think the Chief Eunuch Liu does not understand the art of governing the country, so it is better to talk less about national affairs!"

These words were extremely impolite, and the Prince of Jin's face darkened, but Liu Quangong still lowered his head, not refuting.

Lu Lu Zhongzhi observed the Prince of Jin's expression and said: "If the reward is insufficient, the Dingxi Military Governor may feel resentment. There are rampant bandits in the Western Regions, and even Hanyang Pass was captured some time ago; if there is no Dingxi Military Governor to suppress them, I am afraid there will be more trouble. And Wei the Great has achieved the Dharma Form, so in reason and emotion, the imperial court should express something."

Xu Gong snorted and said: "What Little Wei Yuan relies on is nothing more than fire guns. This thing is not difficult to make; our Great Jin can also make it! We just need to make more fire guns and organize them into an army, and the bandit trouble in the Western Regions can be resolved on the spot. Qingming has been less than two years, and our Great Jin can build an elite force of the same kind in half a year by mobilizing the whole country. What is there to fear?" The Prince of Jin's smile had already disappeared at this time, but Xu Gong seemed not to notice, still talking eloquently.

The Prince of Jin interrupted Xu Gong and said: "I am tired, let's discuss this tomorrow."

After saying this, the Prince of Jin got up and left the seat, leaving the Political Affairs Hall directly.

The officials looked as usual, as if nothing had happened.

Before returning to the palace, the Prince of Jin looked up at the sky, seeing only the high sky and light clouds, and his mood improved a lot, ordering the carriage to be set for the Diamond Zen Temple.

At noon, the Prince of Jin sat opposite the green-eyed woman, with an eight-headed beast-pattern bronze incense burner lit between them, and the curling green smoke slowly dissipated.

The Prince of Jin said: "I have felt recently that the national fortune is flourishing, and I don't know if my feeling is wrong."

"The Dingxi Military Governor's western expedition was a great victory, sweeping away five hundred li of the Shaman tribe, which naturally benefits the national fortune. Now one-tenth of the national fortune of Western Jin is on him; if he is strong, the country is naturally strong. This is common sense; how could the King not know, why ask me?"

The Prince of Jin said: "Since the national fortune was placed on him, I have finally put down a worry. Now it seems that this move was very critical. It's just that he returned in great victory and I wanted to give some rewards, but was opposed by the Lu and Xu families together. It was either not giving at all, or only giving some empty things! Hmph, today someone even said that I should share the world with the scholar-officials!"

"A kingdom is like a body, powerful families are like bones, and cultivators are flesh and blood; isn't that the truth since ancient times?"

!.

The Prince of Jin snorted heavily and said: "Although that is the case, those two families clearly don't put me in their eyes! I really can't swallow this breath!"

The green-eyed woman said: "The key to this matter actually lies with Lu Changhe."

The Prince of Jin suddenly sighed and said: "I know, but this matter is unsolvable."

"Not necessarily; current events always change, and perhaps one day a turning point will come."

The Prince of Jin shook his head, but didn't believe it. It was no wonder he was discouraged; even though he was the Prince of Jin, the Immortal Lord was like a great mountain, pressing him until he couldn't breathe.

At this time, the green-eyed woman suddenly opened her eyes, and the green light in her pupils seemed to come alive. In the incense burner, there was a bang, and fire suddenly sprayed out from the incense hole, and for a time, the room was full of fragrance!

The Prince of Jin also felt something and suddenly turned his head to look outside the hall. He saw misty vapor rising in the lotus pond outside the hall. The vapor changed indefinitely, as if it had turned into many auspicious beasts.

In the center of the lotus pond, a water lily suddenly bloomed, and it was actually a purple lotus! After the flower bloomed, it spat out a purple Qi from the lotus heart, which turned into a dragon shape, circled three times above the lotus pond, and then disappeared.

The Prince of Jin's eyes shone, and although he had already guessed, he was still somewhat incredulous and asked: "This, what is this omen?"

The green-eyed woman smiled and said: "The King has forgotten again; this mountain suppresses the national fortune of Western Jin, and this merit lotus pond is the manifestation of national fortune. Heaven and earth produce purple lotuses, and Qi luck turns into true dragons; this is precisely the omen of the great prosperity of Western Jin's national fortune!"

"Sure enough, sure enough!" The Prince of Jin could no longer remain calm, ran to the side of the lotus pond, and looked carefully at the purple lotus.

The green-eyed woman came to his side and said: "National fortune is flourishing, and there must be a manifestation. The King can pay attention to things around him recently, national affairs, and even world affairs."

The Prince of Jin moved in his heart and suddenly asked: "Does it have anything to do with Little Wei Yuan?"

The green-eyed woman shook her head: "Little Wei Yuan's western expedition to the Shaman tribe was ten days ago; at that time, the national fortune already had a corresponding manifestation, and the King should have already felt it. So this time it should have nothing to do with Little Wei Yuan, unless he did something else. But this degree of national fortune improvement is only a line away from the descent of a saint; even if Little Wei Yuan sweeps away another three thousand li of the Shaman tribe, he cannot do it."

The Prince of Jin nodded, somewhat expectant, and somewhat troubled.

The green-eyed woman said: "The King's mental state is already chaotic, and it is not suitable for cultivation. It is better to return to the palace first."

"That's fine, I will just see what happened."

At this moment, a figure flew over at an astonishing speed. The person who came was Zhao Tong; it seemed that there was an urgent matter, and he didn't even use a carriage or horse, flying over directly.

As soon as he saw the Prince of Jin, Zhao Tong said: "Report to the Holy King, Concubine Yuan has just given birth to a son, and both mother and child are safe!"

(End of chapter) ===== CHAPTER 420 =====