Chapter 716: Where Is the Way

Facing the death topic of commenting on the Great Kings of the two countries, Wei Yuan naturally would not easily take the move, but asked back: "What does the Fourth Prince think?"

Li Chengfeng laughed and said: "My view is inevitably a bit biased, but since Wei my lord asked, I naturally have to answer. To put it simply, the Jin King is muddled and does many unrighteous things; the Zhao King is heroic, but likes to be arbitrary, and accompanying the king is like accompanying a tiger."

Wei Yuan nodded and asked again: "Since the Fourth Prince knows, but still wants to come and ask me, what is the meaning?"

Li Chengfeng said meaningfully: "Wei my lord's Qingming territory was all fought down by your own strength, and Western Jin didn't give you any help at all. If it weren't for the fact that my Zhao country's envoy was attacked halfway, today Wei my lord would be the Military Governor of my Great Zhao."

I came here this time to ask Wei my lord one sentence: If the Jin and Zhao countries go to war, what will Wei my lord do?"

Wei Yuan laughed and asked: "Have the mountain people in the west been wiped out?"

Li Chengfeng was stunned and said: "The mountain people are powerful and easy to defend and hard to attack, so it is impossible to talk about wiping them out."

"And have the Guiche and Yaoli in the southwest and south been wiped out?"

"Not either."

Wei Yuan's two consecutive questions were aggressive, but here he suddenly smiled slightly and said: "I, Wei Yuan, am currently the Military Governor of Qingyang in Great Tang."

Li Chengfeng's heart turned, and he said: "Wei my lord's meaning is to be transcendent and not involved in the disputes between the two countries?"

Wei Yuan said: "Wei is currently fighting in the north. If it weren't for the fact that your Bishui Domain is nearby, I would have wanted to raise the army of Qingming and send it to the Northern Shanmen."

Li Chengfeng sighed and said: "Wei my lord, forgive me for being shallow and speaking deeply. Since ancient times, those who want to play both sides have had no good end. Whether the Jin or Zhao countries are strong or weak, those who are interested can see it clearly.

And although the Father King is stubborn, he is by no means jealous of talent. As long as meritorious service is made, the rewards that should be given will never be short.

Over the years, such as the Marquis of Ping'an and the Marquis of Wuding have reached the peak of their ministers, but they all hold military power, and there has never been a case of killing the donkey after the mill is finished. Such a king, it's just that his temper is a bit big, what else can be required?"

Wei Yuan smiled slightly and said: "Is the Fourth Prince here to be a lobbyist?"

Li Chengfeng suddenly bowed to the ground and said: "I not only want to invite Wei my lord to join the Zhao country, but also want to ask Wei my lord to help me! In the future, when I ascend to the throne, on the outside, you will be under one person and above ten thousand; on the inside, you and I will be brothers, and the two families will intermarry for generations.

Li Chengfeng is not talented, and I ask myself that I have no other skills, but I keep my word, and I have self-knowledge and the capacity for people!"

Wei Yuan hurriedly helped Li Chengfeng up and said: "Fourth Prince, please don't say that. Wei cannot afford it. Wei is currently the Military Governor of Great Tang, and his heart is tied to the north, so he really doesn't want to participate in the internal disputes of the human race.

How about this, if there is really a war, then I have nothing else, but I have some military equipment and grain. If the Fourth Prince needs it, just take it."

"This..." Li Chengfeng stopped talking and finally sighed: "Since Wei my lord insists on this, I shouldn't persuade you anymore, but the Father King cannot tolerate sand in his eyes, so there may be some trouble."

Wei Yuan laughed and said: "The Zhao King is the Zhao King, and we are us. There is no reason for me not to give you what you need, Fourth Prince."

Li Chengfeng said: "Then Li will go back first."

"Wait a moment, Fourth Prince! Do you have any extra refugees there?"

Li Chengfeng said: "There are still tens of thousands that have not been resettled. Why, is Wei my lord short of manpower again?"

Wei Yuan also sighed: "With so much land empty, someone has to grow grain!"

"That's good, I will organize the team within three days and arrange for them to set off!"

"The Fourth Prince is indeed straightforward. Then, is it still the old price?"

Li Chengfeng smiled and said: "Once the war starts, refugees will be everywhere. At that time, the price will definitely plummet. Does Wei my lord want to consider buying later?"

Wei Yuan waved his hand: "No need! It's just tens of thousands of people, and it doesn't cost much money. Buy early and enjoy early!"

After the two said goodbye, Li Chengfeng left Zhike Town and returned to Bishui.

At this time, the young aide said: "Qingming is already quite strong. If we give him refugees and materials, I am afraid that the tail will be too big to be wagged, and it will be difficult to control. We should find a way to blockade Qingming. Refugees cannot be given!"

Li Chengfeng turned to the older aide and asked: "What does Shi Mr. think?"

With Wei Yuan's endorsement, his attitude towards the older aide was much better now, and he picked up the taste of being polite to the virtuous and condescending to the scholars.

The older aide said slowly: "If you are in that position, you should plan for that government. If you are not in that position, do not plan for that government."

The young aide was a little confused, but Li Chengfeng suddenly understood in an instant.

Over the past half year, Li Chengfeng seemed to have been defeated and humiliated, forced to make several consecutive transactions with Wei Yuan. But whether it was reselling brocade and raw silk, or collecting medicinal materials and refugees in exchange for armor and military equipment, every time the materials passed through his hands, Li Chengfeng would make a little profit.

Although he was quite restrained and only dared to make a small profit, he couldn't stand the huge quantity. Even if he only earned half a tael per bolt of brocade, in the blink of an eye, he earned more than 2 million taels of immortal silver, and the other materials earned about the same amount.

With money in hand, many things could be done. Now in the Bishui Domain, not only have 100,000 elite soldiers been restored, but 100,000 residents have also been attracted, which is thriving.

These residents are not refugees. Many of them are skilled craftsmen, and the rest are strong and healthy, farming in their spare time and holding swords in wartime.

Li Chengfeng's strength is rising linearly among the princes and princesses, and he is currently firmly in the top three. He is planning to reorganize 100,000 new troops. By then, with 200,000 elites in hand, he will be a real power figure in the entire Zhao country, and he will no longer have to rely on the status of the Fourth Prince to act.

And the premise of all this is to maintain trade with Qingming. Now the Zhao country has completely blockaded Qingming, but the Bishui Domain has become a window, and all trade materials between the two sides pass through here. As long as the goods circulate within the territory, Li Chengfeng can make money.

Everyone knows that such a large amount of goods circulation will definitely enhance Qingming's strength, but the problem is that Li Chengfeng also needs money and strength now. Without immortal silver, there is no army, and the throne will inevitably leave him.

Blockading Qingming is beneficial to the Zhao country, but trade is extremely important to Li Chengfeng. If Li Chengfeng wants to become the Zhao King, he must find ways to maintain trade with Qingming. It will not be too late to blockade Qingming when he ascends to the throne.

In Qingming, after Li Chengfeng left, Wei Yuan beckoned, and Bao Yun and Cui Yu walked out.

Wei Yuan said: "Li Chengfeng came here, it is estimated that it is the Zhao King's meaning. It seems that the Zhao King is going to take action against the Jin country."

Cui Yu said: "With the Zhao King's temperament, he will definitely not allow us to sit on the mountain and watch the tigers fight, and reap the benefits of the fisherman. I think he will likely send troops over to fight another battle. Only with this battle can we fight out the rules of getting along in the future."

Bao Yun said: "The chariot troop has been assembled. If the Zhao country comes, just try the power of the Zhao country's iron cavalry, which is famous in the world."

Wei Yuan said: "This is why I want to keep you in Qingming. In addition, opening fields must not stop. There is too much grain to store, so think of other ways to store it. What about that... canned food that Xu Wenwu mentioned, has it been researched?"

Bao Yun said: "This thing looks simple, but it actually has very high requirements for the iron sheet of the package. True Lord Yu studied it for a long time and finally researched a thin steel sheet, which can barely meet the requirements. It's just that the surface of this steel sheet needs to be treated with Dao power. Previously, the number of cultivators was not enough. After this ceremony, True Lord Yu has 500 more manpower, specially used to produce this thin steel, which is almost enough."

Wei Yuan nodded and said: "Then make a batch for backup. This is the best military ration during the war. Don't make it as small as Xu Wenwu said, make large barrels, the kind that is enough for ten people to eat at once."

Wei Yuan said to Cui Yu again: "How is the progress of renting flying boats from the Cui family?"

Cui Yu said: "The Ancestor is very supportive of this matter and decided to rent one giant flying boat, three medium-sized flying boats, and ten small flying boats."

Wei Yuan's eyes lit up and said: "So many?!"

Before this, Wei Yuan searched for all the flying boats he could find and requisitioned all the flying boats that could be separated from the Grand Void Gate. So far, there were only nine, of which eight were small and one was medium.

Only three were transferred from the Grand Void Gate, and the other six were rented from merchant associations. These flying boats had low cargo capacity and slow speed. Flying to the Northern Shanmen once, it was a voyage of more than 100,000 miles, and it took nearly a month to go back and forth.

As a result, Wei Yuan had to use most of the flying boat transport capacity to transport ammunition, and couldn't even transport many cannons, and there were only twenty chariots, and only more than 10,000 troops went over.

However, in the Northern Shanmen, because of the suppression of the natal immortal treasure in front, only Dao soldiers could get obvious blessings. Except for the few tens of thousands of elites in Qingming, going to the Northern Shanmen had no advantage, and casualties would increase sharply.

After Wei Yuan discovered this, he changed his strategy, focusing on strengthening the Dao soldiers of the Northern Shanmen itself. It's just that limited by the transport capacity of the flying boats, the speed of arming has never reached Wei Yuan's ideal state.

This time, the Cui family's handwriting was huge. Not to mention anything else, just one giant flying boat had more transport capacity than the sum of all current transport capacities.

Cui Yu smiled and said: "The Ancestor said that this time she took out 30% of the family's foundation, so you should treat me better in the future."

So many flying boats only accounted for 30% of the Cui family's flying boats? Wei Yuan once again intuitively recognized the terrifying financial resources of the aristocratic families.

After dealing with Qingming's affairs, Wei Yuan was preparing to return to the Northern Shanmen when he learned that Zhao Tong had arrived in Qingming. This old acquaintance looked worried, and as soon as he saw Wei Yuan, he said: "The Great King asked you to go to the King's Capital to see him if you have time. In addition, Concubine Yuan asked me to bring you a message, she also misses you very much."

Wei Yuan looked at his schedule and said: "The war in the north is tight, why don't we go to the King's Capital now?"

Zhao Tong said: "That would be better!"

Western Jin, Yingdu, Jin Gang Zen Temple.

The Jin King walked slowly into the gate of the Zen Temple, stopped for a moment in front of the merit lotus pond with only withered leaves, and then continued to walk inside, climbing the stairs all the way, and entered the main hall.

The altar at the end of the main hall was empty. The green-eyed woman was kneeling in front of the altar, knocking on the wooden fish one by one. The sound of the wooden fish was empty and desolate, revealing a kind of rust washed away by long years.

The Jin King stood still behind her and asked: "Do I still have a way to go?"

Qing Tong did not look back and said: "The road has always been under your feet."

"I want to ask, is there any other way?"

"Most living beings in the world have no way to go. And you, at least have one road, the road to heaven, which has always been there. You have already walked more than half of it, but you are unwilling to continue. Why ask me again now?"

"If I compare myself to Xu Wangu, how is it?"

"He can open a road in the void, how can you compare with him? Originally, if you walked to the end along this road, you would see a mountain, and then if you could climb to the top, you could be mentioned in the same breath as him.

But you only walked half the way. Now, don't talk about Xu Wangu, even if Lu Changhe casually makes a move, destroying you is more than enough."

"But I have already broken the situation!"

"That situation was broken by Wei Yuan. And you should know the price he paid to break the situation."

The Jin King walked out of the main hall and passed the merit lotus pond again. He stood by the lotus pond full of withered yellow for a moment before leaving.

There was no second merit lotus in the huge Jin Gang Zen Temple.

(End of chapter) ===== CHAPTER 717 =====