Chapter 671

In the fourth year of Tianqi of the Great Tang, banditry was rampant in the Western Regions. Five counties in Yuyang Commandery fell into the hands of horse bandits overnight, the land was scorched for a thousand miles, and the common people were all looted clean.

If it were in the early years of the Great Tang, this matter would definitely have been recorded in the history books and written about extensively.

But at this time, the Tang house was declining, disputes were arising everywhere, and once the flames of war started, it was common for nine out of ten houses to be empty within thousands of miles. Hundreds of thousands of common people being robbed was already considered a small matter, only worthy of a note in local history.

The current historian of Yuyang Commandery was a clever one, so he came to ask Cui Shutong whether this matter should be recorded or not. He originally thought he could curry favor, but who would have expected Cui Shutong to just say lightly, "This official does not interfere with historians," meaning you figure it out yourself.

After this historian withdrew, he suddenly couldn't figure it out. He didn't know whether to write it or not, and he didn't know to what extent to write it. In his anxiety, he fell seriously ill.

And after the historian withdrew, Cui Shutong's two sons were a bit worried, saying that if this historian wrote nonsense, wouldn't it affect their father's reputation?

Cui Shutong, however, didn't care, saying that the people of the five counties were robbed by horse bandits, so what did it have to do with him? Let the historian write whatever he wanted. Subsequently, Cui Shutong packed his luggage and went to the royal capital to meet the King of Zhao.

Cui Shutong was not worried about the history books, and Wei Yuan was not worried either. This matter was done by horse bandits, so what did it have to do with him? If the history books were to record it, it would be that the Founding Emperor Yuan... no, the Dingxi Military Governor Wei Yuan sent troops to suppress the bandits and saved the people from fire and water.

At this time, the Azure Void sent tens of thousands of troops, repelled the rampant horse bandit Mietian Gang's First Battle Group, and saved hundreds of thousands of common people from fire and water.

Subsequently, the Azure Void army told the common people that the horse bandits would make a comeback and would slaughter and retaliate at that time, so there was no way back to the Zhao territory, and they could only go to the Azure Void to live temporarily. And for this trip to the Azure Void, camps and porridge sheds had already been set up along the way. Although it was thousands of miles to the Azure Void, everyone could rest assured.

Subsequently, an Azure Void merchant fleet appeared, with hundreds of large cargo trucks.

The Azure Void army moved all the old, weak, women, and children onto the cargo trucks and headed to the Azure Void first. As a result, many families' dependents went to the Azure Void, so they extinguished the idea of returning to their hometowns. Anyway, it was farming wherever they went, and it was said that the fields in the Azure Void were even more fertile.

Hundreds of thousands of common people moved forward in a long line, which was spectacular. Nearly ten thousand Azure Void troops escorted them along the way. When the officials of Western Jin along the way saw that it was the Dingxi Military Governor's troops, they immediately provided great convenience, almost escorting them out of the territory with courtesy, and no one dared to make things difficult.

Those who could be officials in the Western Regions naturally knew the power of the horse bandits. Ten thousand Mietian Gang horse bandits had once blocked the gate of Hanyang Pass, preventing hundreds of thousands of troops inside the pass from sending out a single soldier or pawn. It was rare in the world for horse bandits to be able to do this. Horse bandits with heavy artillery were even more unprecedented.

And no matter how arrogant the Mietian Gang horse bandits were, they could be wiped out by Lord Wei in the blink of an eye, although they would pop up again not long after being wiped out.

Therefore, both those who understood and those who didn't felt that Wei Yuan was very powerful.

Seven hundred thousand Zhao common people walked for more than a month and finally arrived at the Azure Void before winter.

This journey was nearly seven thousand miles, but fortunately, there was sufficient food along the way, and the rest were all strong men who were used to hard work and could eat their fill. From time to time, cargo trucks would come to pick up the sick and weak, so the large group of common people walked quite fast.

Approaching the Azure Void, the climate was no longer cold, and after entering the Azure Void, it was even a bit hot.

The crowd of common people was stunned at the time. The morning mist had just dissipated, and among the surrounding mountains, silver-like rivers divided ten thousand acres of fertile fields. The soil was fertile and actually glowed with a viscous luster like honey. In the boundless territory, there was a faint, gurgling blue Qi flowing, which made people feel refreshed and relieved of all fatigue when they smelled it. Although they had been running all the way and were exhausted from the journey, they could eat their fill at every meal and had entered such a fairyland, so these common people felt as if they were in a dream at the time, and when they came to their senses, they were even more overjoyed.

Wasn't this the fairyland of their dreams?

Next was registration, family reunions, then registration of people with various specialties, and then explaining the various systems of the Azure Void to them, with the focus on the military merit system. Then they were sent to various places in the Azure Void in batches to settle down and live.

These matters had long been extremely familiar within the Azure Void, and hundreds of small officials handled them in an orderly manner, without needing Wei Yuan to worry.

The seven hundred thousand mortals from the Zhao state only contributed less than thirty thousand strands of Qi fortune to Wei Yuan. Wei Yuan had expected this long ago; after all, they were not true refugees. Being able to have thirty thousand strands of Qi fortune after leaving their homes and coming to the Azure Void was not bad.

However, as time passed, when they integrated into the life of the Azure Void, not to mention anything else, just the fact that they could eat their fill, Wei Yuan estimated that he could collect another one hundred thousand Qi fortune, and then when they accepted the military merit system, some would be promoted to commoners and some would successfully forge their bodies, at least another two hundred thousand would be accounted for.

In the nearly two months before winter, Wei Yuan was preparing for the arrival of seven hundred thousand mortals on one hand, and preparing his army for war on the other, busy to the point of taking off on the spot.

However, the Western Jin side never found out any news, only hearing that the war in the north was unfavorable, but how unfavorable it was, there was no accurate word.

The imperial court seemed to be as usual, the Prince of Jin held court as usual and discussed matters as usual.

But national fortune cannot deceive people. Only when Wei Yuan brought seven hundred thousand Zhao common people into the Azure Void and simultaneously sent three months' worth of trade goods into the Zhao state before the King of Zhao closed the pass did the Western Jin national fortune rebound a little, and then it went from bad to worse.

Wei Yuan was never clear why the Western Jin national fortune was like this, so he could only make the worst plans, flipping through the biographies of those "foster fathers," "sub-fathers," "fake fathers," and "regents" in the history books, watching with cold sweat, and finding that it seemed not many of them had a good end.

For several months, the Zhao state's Bishui domain had expanded to over a hundred miles away, the inner city was nearing completion, and Li Chengfeng had transferred one hundred thousand troops from within the Zhao state. But he did not transfer more troops, obviously very confident in his own military strength.

Li Zhi was preparing for winter, purchasing five million catties of grain from the Azure Void.

The seasons in the Mountain People's Domain are distinct, and it is bitterly cold after winter enters. Li Zhi's domain can now be self-sufficient, and Wei Yuan also knows that the Dharma Form he cultivated has the power to increase production, but Li Zhi still purchased grain on a large scale, obviously for strategic reserves, and was also secretly preparing for war.

The mountain rain was about to come, and the wind was filling the building.

Western Jin, Crown Prince's Mansion.

During this period, the flow of people in the Crown Prince's Mansion was like weaving, and guests gathered. The Crown Prince banqueted envoys from various countries, sometimes holding four or five sessions a night.

The Crown Prince also had extraordinary energy, needing only half an hour of meditation every day. He held court during the day, and after court, key officials such as the Left Minister, Right Minister, and Ministers of the Six Ministries would gather in the Crown Prince's Mansion to re-discuss the day's political affairs. Sometimes things decided in the court were not done, and they had to be re-discussed in the Crown Prince's Mansion.

The orders of the Prince of Jin could no longer leave the palace gates.

At dusk this day, the Crown Prince was discussing matters in the mansion as usual, and the room was packed, with many officials having to stand against the wall. But they had no complaints; being able to stand in this room meant having a place in the new dynasty, which was a great honor.

After all state affairs were discussed, the Crown Prince suddenly said, "Father still has three years of life left. Now that the various systems in the court have been generally set, there will be no trouble. It's just that the Yuan Consort is still outside. This spring outing has already lasted until winter."

A civil official immediately said, "It is appropriate to ask His Majesty to issue a decree to immediately summon the Yuan Consort back to the capital."

A flash of obscure and indistinguishable heat flashed in the Crown Prince's eyes, and he said, "The safety of the Prince of Chu is also very important. Ask Father to issue another decree, letting Wei Yuan ensure the safety of the Prince of Chu; he must be sent back to the royal capital safely."

"Yes, Your High... no, Your Majesty." That civil official changed his words quickly.

The Crown Prince nodded slightly and began to discuss the next matter, but he had forgotten the Prince of Fu behind his head.

"The Prince of Ying urgently requests additional military equipment, especially heavy armor for soldiers, and specifically names the breastplates produced by the Azure Void. What are your opinions on this, my lords?"

The Right Minister in charge of military affairs said, "This is a matter of life and death concerning the country's safety. Although the Prince of Ying still refuses to express his allegiance, we must never hold him back on this matter. This official believes that we should satisfy it as soon as possible. All procedures can be put aside first; directly allocate immortal silver to purchase, and once the breastplates are bought from the Azure Void, send them to the north immediately."

The Minister of War, however, was a new face and said, "Breastplates are just common tools, not rare. Where in the world are they not available? Why must we purchase them from the Azure Void? Wei Yuan has the heart of a wolf and will explode sooner or later. Buying armor from him again, wouldn't that make him even harder to control? This move must never be taken!"

"This official believes that we should purchase from within the country. With so many workshops, there are more than two hundred under the Ministry of War alone, which is enough."

The Right Minister's face sank, and he said, "The Prince of Ying wants fifty thousand sets! Relying on those iron smelting workshops under your command, when will they be finished? Next year, or the year after? By then, the Liao people will have already fought to the gates of the royal capital!"

The Minister of War, however, was not afraid at all and said, "If we can't finish, can Wei Yuan finish? In the end, isn't it the same?"

This new Minister of War could be said to be quite overbearing, but the Crown Prince surprisingly did not speak, and the Right Minister was so angry his face turned blue, but he was helpless. Just because this person's surname was Yuan, and he married a daughter of the direct lineage of the Lu family's immortal ancestor, he stood here representing the Lu family.

In the end, the Crown Prince said, "Let's do this: first urgently purchase ten thousand sets from the Azure Void, and the remaining forty thousand will be produced by the Ministry of War. The required immortal silver will all be listed by the Ministry of Revenue."

The Minister of Revenue's face, however, was not very good-looking, and he glared fiercely at the Minister of War. He was a person of the Xu family, but he didn't have to look at the Lu family's face, and said, "Your High... Your Majesty, the national treasury is empty. Should we purchase more from the Azure Void?"

A set of breastplates bought from the Azure Void is twenty taels of immortal silver; but in Western Jin, the market purchase price is twenty-five taels of immortal silver, and the quality is not as good as the Azure Void's. If ordered from workshops under the Ministry of War, the asking price is fifty taels, not to mention the quality is the worst.

The Crown Prince hesitated for a moment, but finally said, "Let's settle it this way; no need to discuss further."

Azure Void, inside a newly built hall under the main peak, Xu Wenwu stood on the stage, while manifesting various scenes, while speaking with flying saliva.

Sitting below were the cultivators of the Taichu Palace, and there was also a batch of high-level military generals.

The topic Xu Wenwu started to talk about was "The War in My Mind." He spoke brilliantly on the stage, but the cultivators below had little response.

It was hard for Xu Wenwu to finish, and the applause was sparse. Fortunately, there were several Dao Foundation cultivators responsible for the venue's order who used magic power to manifest countless falling flowers, and among the melodious heavenly music, several heavenly maidens and heavenly men danced, so the atmosphere was still okay.

Wei Yuan and Yu Zhizhuo walked out of the venue together, and Yu Zhizhuo said, "This old Xu is becoming less and less creative; his imagination is poor! You have to keep an eye on him and let him cultivate quickly; don't just know how to eat hot pot with the old Daoist Chuhe all day long. Look at him, his belly has grown a circle again; what kind of imagination can he have!"

Wei Yuan was puzzled: "He's fat, what does that have to do with imagination?"

"Once a person is fat, they don't want to move, and their brain is the same."

Wei Yuan felt that it made some sense.

Yu Zhizhuo said, "Once he cultivates his Dharma Form, he will understand some of the Master Yu Jing means, and maybe he can think of some new tricks. Just looking at it now, the few things I'm researching there are much wilder than what he's thinking now."

Wei Yuan became interested and said, "Good, when I have time, I'll go take a look."

"They are still on paper, but theoretically they have been proven feasible and will be built soon. Oh, by the way, when are you going out to fight? If you don't fight again, the earliest batch of flying swords in the warehouse will expire."

Wei Yuan couldn't help but have a headache. Now all the cultivators of the Taichu Palace in the entire Azure Void were urging him to go out to fight, for different reasons.

Xu Henshui wanted to sell elixirs, Sun Yu's beautiful disciples needed to practice medical skills, the foster fathers of True Person Chuhe wanted to exercise their bodies, and so on and so forth.

The biggest driving force for the Azure Void to promote war now was these industries related to war.

(End of chapter)