Chapter 480

After the various cultivators expressed their opinions, Little Wei Yuan weighed them and said: "We will not abandon Ding'an City. Open the warehouses, activate the city-protecting array dismantled from Hanyang Pass, and deploy it at... here!"

Little Wei Yuan reached out and pointed to the high ground behind Ding'an City, then drew a circle that perfectly covered the rear part of Ding'an City, including the City Lord's seat.

Little Wei Yuan added: "Uncle Yu, please take people to survey this area and see what kind of fortifications can be built as a second line of defense after Ding'an City falls."

"Uncle Sun, we need to establish a wartime medical clinic now. I will give you the place where the Wood-Life Profound energy is most concentrated. You have at most thirty days; you must train as many apprentices as possible, as long as they know how to treat wounds."

Sun Yu nodded and then said: "I also need a batch of clever and quick-witted ones for nursing duties. They must be literate."

Little Wei Yuan recalled the past incident where he had been covered in too much muscle-generating powder in the Xuanming Hall, and immediately recognized the importance of nursing, so he approved a quota of one thousand for Sun Yu to select people himself.

The old Daoist Chuhe had already begun planting on the front lines; it was a type of thorn grass that could grow freely once scattered, which was the favorite grass of the Shaman tribe's poison lizards, helping them digest. But the batch of grass cultivated by the old Daoist Chuhe had naturally mutated; once the poison lizards ate it, they would be poisoned and at least be weak for seven or eight days.

With various miscellaneous matters settled, Little Wei Yuan hesitated for a moment, then made up his mind and said: "Distribute armor and weapons to the mortals."

Everyone remained silent.

Cui Yu said: "Recently, mortals have begun wanting to leave Azure Void, and several hundred have been intercepted at the border. How should this be handled?"

Bao Yun rolled her eyes at him and said: "Does this even need to be said?"

Cui Yu suddenly realized and said: "I know what to do."

Little Wei Yuan interrupted him and said: "It doesn't matter, I will make this decision. No one is allowed to leave Azure Void. Gather the elderly and children who are completely unable to fight and send them to the Eastern Xuanwei Seven to stay temporarily."

"What about the merchant caravans?"

"Merchant caravans are free to come and go, but they are not allowed to take away strategic materials. In addition, rent their guard units, preferably on credit."

Next, Little Wei Yuan issued a series of orders, mobilizing every ounce of strength in Azure Void to prepare for war.

Finally, Little Wei Yuan pondered for a moment and asked Zhang Sheng: "Will Zhao Guo come to assist?"

Zhang Sheng said: "After we are crippled, Zhao Guo will come."

"Then we cannot count on them." Little Wei Yuan tapped the table unconsciously, then said resolutely: "Publicly request aid from Zhao Wang! By the way, also request aid from Ji Wang and the Tang Chamber!"

Zhang Sheng said indifferently: "If you do this, you are openly slapping Zhao Wang in the face."

"If they send reinforcements sooner, then it won't be a slap in the face," Little Wei Yuan said.

Li Zhi said: "Zhao Guo still has some possibility of sending reinforcements; why don't we wait a bit? Otherwise, with the current approach, Zhao Wang might be annoyed and embarrassed, and might not send reinforcements at all. If Azure Void is lost, you will also lose a retreat route."

Little Wei Yuan said coldly: "If Azure Void cannot be held, what retreat route do I need? However, no one around here should think about sitting on the mountain and watching the tigers fight. If Azure Void is gone, at least they shouldn't want their faces either; history books will naturally leave a note for them."

Li Zhi frowned and said: "Should we not submit a memorial to Tang Di first?"

Little Wei Yuan said indifferently: "If we don't submit a memorial to Tang Di, how can we let the historians record the shamelessness of Whether Jin Wang, Zhao Wang, and the noble families?"

Cui Yu said: "I will ask my family elders to come forward and see if they can persuade Zhao Wang."

Little Wei Yuan stopped speaking, sighed, and said: "Fine, you try first, but you only have three days."

After everyone finished discussing, Li Zhi stayed behind alone and said: "Why bother, brother? What if we just let Zhao Guo watch from the sidelines?"

Little Wei Yuan shook his head: "During the Great Causal Curse, I had already had enough of others watching from the sidelines. Now that a strong enemy is pressing on the border, I must use every ounce of potential strength. I just want to let Zhao Wang understand that if he doesn't save Azure Void, he will also have to pay a price!"

Li Zhi frowned and said: "Why are you so certain that Zhao Wang will not send troops?"

"Intuition."

Li Zhi was stunned, then sighed: "I originally thought that if we persuaded him well, Zhao Wang would still enter the fray when the war reached the middle stage; at worst, we could promise him more benefits."

Little Wei Yuan looked Li Zhi up and down and suddenly asked: "Do you still have any protective magic treasures? Preferably something like a substitute talisman."

Li Zhi was a bit confused and said: "They were all used up during the last Great Causal Curse, why?"

"Hurry and prepare two more."

Li Zhi instantly became alert: "Do you think I have a fatal disaster? That's not right, why hasn't my luck given a warning?"

Little Wei Yuan was a bit surprised: "Your luck has this function?"

Li Zhi said: "The cultivation technique I practice is special, and luck has many uses. When a major danger is imminent, there will be a premonition in advance. Wait a moment, I have another magic treasure..."

Li Zhi took out a pure black pearl and said: "This is a Mermaid Pearl from Erhai Lake; it can test current luck if it's over a thousand years old. A golden light column of one foot is equivalent to one zhang of luck."

Li Zhi held the pearl in his hand and input magic power, but only a dim light the size of a finger lit up on the Mermaid Pearl, like a candle flame, which could be blown out by the wind at any time. Looking at this light, Li Zhi's luck at this moment was probably less than one foot.

Li Zhi was shocked, while Little Wei Yuan had doubts on his face and said: "Is your magic treasure broken?" Li Zhi tried several times, but the result was the same, so he shoved it into Little Wei Yuan's hand and said: "You try."

Little Wei Yuan input Dao power according to the formula, and then a bright light suddenly appeared in front of the two, the world was vast and white, and nothing could be seen.

Caught off guard, both were hit. After finally recovering their vision, they saw that the Mermaid Pearl in Little Wei Yuan's hand had already shattered into pieces.

"It is indeed broken." Little Wei Yuan returned the Mermaid Pearl to Li Zhi.

Li Zhi didn't know what to say.

Great Tang Imperial City, Haojing.

Tang Son of Heaven's throne was empty, and another chair was placed on the lower level of the high platform, on which sat a man with a purple-red face, thick eyebrows, and dragon eyes, dressed in the attire of a Prince, high above everyone else.

The one sitting high on the throne was the Great Tang Whether Jin Wang.

This Whether Jin Wang was not that Whether Jin Wang, but the paternal grand-uncle of Emperor Xuan. According to the Great Tang ancestral system, originally only members of the Imperial House could be enfeoffed as Princes, but back then, the powerful minister Xu Yan could not be enfeoffed further, and was finally enfeoffed as Whether Jin Wang, with his fief being the land of the three Jins today. After Xu Yan died, the Jin State was divided into three, becoming the Western Jin, Eastern Jin, and Southern Jin of today. The original Xu family now only had Southern Jin left.

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With the example of Jin, the rulers of the nine states subsequently declared themselves Kings one after another, and the Great Tang ritual system completely collapsed. After that, the nine states also began to enfeoff themselves as Kings, and all kinds of Princes and nobles were flying everywhere. Since then, the Princes enfeoffed by the Tang Chamber would add the words "Great Tang" in front to show the distinction.

Emperor Xuan was already young, and a year ago, the throne suddenly collapsed, and he was frightened, falling ill ever since. The Empress Dowager, who was listening to politics from behind the curtain, also fell, and had to recuperate. The Great Tang Whether Jin Wang took the opportunity to take power as regent.

The Great Tang Imperial Government Hall was thirty zhang high, one hundred zhang long and wide, supported by only nine pillars, which could be called magnificent and majestic.

At this moment, at the end of the officials below the hall, the Vice Minister of Rites stepped out and reported: "There is a memorial from Little Wei Yuan, the Dingxi Military Governor of Great Tang Western Jin, stating that the Shaman tribe is invading the Western Regions on a large scale, with strong military force, and it is difficult to resist by force. He requests the Imperial Court to send troops to rescue. At the same time, he offers one thousand bolts of cloud brocade and ten longevity pills!"

With a buzz, the officials began to discuss it.

The Tang Chamber was weak, and the officials discussed nothing on the hall all day long but the common affairs of the Imperial House's direct territory, or wars with foreign tribes. But to be honest, wars with foreign tribes had nothing to do with the Tang Chamber anymore; the Tang Chamber's territory, like Song's, was all sealed inside and did not border foreign tribes.

The eight states also fought their own battles with foreign tribes, neither counting on the Tang Chamber for support nor listening to the Tang Chamber's nagging. If the Tang Chamber sent an envoy, they probably wouldn't even see the face of the Great King.

The officials discussed the foreign tribe wars just to show their concern for the world and express some insights.

So at this moment, Little Wei Yuan's memorial requesting aid from the Imperial Court was simply something that hadn't happened in many years. The officials were all excited, asking each other who Little Wei Yuan was, and then all had blank faces.

The small official who stepped out was just a Vice Minister, but because he was in the Ministry of Rites, he was naturally half a rank higher than the other five ministries. This was also a feature of Great Tang, believing that rites were the most important, so the status of the Ministry of Rites was also high.

At this time, the Great Tang Whether Jin Wang waited for the officials to be a bit quieter, and then asked for the officials' opinions.

The officials talked for a while, some in favor and some against. At this time, an old man with an extraordinary bearing stepped out, who was also a Dharma Form, one of the Three Dukes of the current dynasty, the Grand Minister of Works.

He stroked his beard and said slowly: "A border official has submitted a memorial requesting aid; this is a sign of the decline of the vassal states and the revival of the Tang Chamber! This matter must not be rejected, otherwise it will surely chill the hearts of the loyal and heroic in the world and make the nine states even more arrogant."

A military general said: "But the Western Regions are far away, and the reinforcements would have to travel a million miles; I fear that distant water cannot quench near thirst."

The Grand Minister of Works had already made a plan and said: "The Western Regions are a barbaric land, long outside of civilization, and I imagine they do not know rites or military affairs. The Imperial Court only needs to send one thousand military officers to the Western Regions to lead the local troops, and then send a great general to sit in command; this can stabilize the situation and also manifest the might of our Tang Chamber."

The Great Tang Whether Jin Wang on the throne nodded slowly and said: "The Minister of Works' words are reasonable, so let it be so; send General Anyuan Wei Boyang to lead one thousand Imperial Guards to the Western Regions."

A burly general stepped out from among the military officials and said in a deep voice: "This subordinate will surely pacify the foreign tribes and return!"

The Great Tang Whether Jin Wang said: "I hear that the Western Regions are already a shattered land; General Wei must not be careless on this trip. Once targeted by monsters from outside the sky, it is no small matter."

"This subordinate understands."

Next, the officials discussed state affairs as usual, and then the time was up, and the court was dismissed.

The Great Tang Whether Jin Wang exited the Imperial Government Hall from the side door at the rear. This door was originally only for the Tang Emperor to pass through, but it was used when the Empress Dowager was regent before, and now it was used when the Whether Jin Wang was regent, and no one dared to say a word.

After exiting the Imperial Government Hall, the Whether Jin Wang turned to the passage out of the palace and asked those around him: "How is the Emperor's health today?"

"Still weak, he can only barely walk a few steps after getting out of bed."

"Order the imperial physicians to take good care of him. Also, who is that Little Wei Yuan? Send a copy of his information to my study."

A moment later, the Great Tang Whether Jin Wang finished reading Little Wei Yuan's information in detail and ordered: "Let General Wei lead three thousand Imperial Guards and take a large ship... forget it, let him take my personal boat!"

The attendant was a bit surprised, took the order, and left.

The Whether Jin Wang suddenly sneered to himself: "Li Shenji, oh Li Shenji, if I don't make the momentum bigger, how can I roast you on the fire?"

(End of chapter)