Consolidation

Wei Yuan deliberated thoroughly and found himself exceptionally pleased with the plan. He imprinted his divine sense upon it, formally putting it into effect. Now, any major legislation, measure, or policy required Wei Yuan's divine sense imprint to be legally binding. Nearly impossible to forge, divine sense imprints had become standard procedure for officials at every rank when endorsing official documents, serving the same function as a seal from the world beyond the heavens. The moment the plan was enacted, a strange sensation stirred in Wei Yuan's heart. It felt as though the Great Daos of heaven and earth were turning once more, grinding some things to dust while giving birth to others. Unfortunately, Wei Yuan was not yet an immortal; otherwise, he could have probed the depths of the matter to discover precisely what monumental shift had just occurred. Naturally, he had no way of knowing that within the Pure Land, Spirit Mountain was quaking. The earth was splitting open, and subterranean fires were rising from the widest fissures. Very few lotus thrones and Buddha pedestals remained on Spirit Mountain, and now several more lotus pedestals shattered. A few had even held seated Buddha statues, which came tumbling down as their pedestals gave way. These Buddhas had once looked serene and tranquil, smiling gently, but now panic, sorrow, and confusion showed across their faces in a variety of expressions. Yet all of them had turned clumsily rigid, as if truly reduced to clay and wood. They tumbled down Spirit Mountain, crashing against rocks along the descent, their golden bodies shattering as hands snapped and heads broke off. After a long fall, several Buddha figures finally crashed onto the foot of Spirit Mountain. From the jagged breaks in their shattered golden bodies, what leaked out was grayish-white, foul water. A final Buddha head tumbled down with a clatter, struck a broken torso, and flipped over, revealing a face contorted in agony. Across the desolate land, several lines of monks walked forward at a measured pace, utterly blind to the cataclysms around them. *** In Qingming, Wei Yuan stood within the Hall of Mountains and Rivers, contemplating his next move. Whether he wished it or not, a series of developments—from Liumiao, Cangwu, and the Venerable Master to the Liuli Immortal Lord—was steadily pushing him into direct opposition with the aristocratic families, gradually casting him as a defender of the Martial Ancestor's grand design. Circumstances were forcing Wei Yuan to choose, but the trouble was that this was not what he wanted. Before understanding what the Martial Ancestor's design truly entailed, he had no desire to pick a side rashly. And if he were compelled to stand with someone, he would stand with the Palace of Grand Beginning. On the sand table in the Hall of Mountains and Rivers, Qingming's heavy mechanized forces were shown advancing steadily, sweeping aside all opposition. The Lu clan's final bastions had each fallen after a single battle, none holding out for more than three days. The fall of the northern three commanderies was a foregone conclusion. Even if the Lu clan recalled every garrison stationed in the northern borders, it would change nothing. Morale within the Lu army had already collapsed; the prisoner camps in the rear held nearly one and a half million captives. Lu forces either broke upon first contact or surrendered at the mere sight of their approach, and countless battles ended before a single cannon was fired. On the sand table, one Qingming detachment ranged far ahead of friendly forces, thrusting northward straight along the border of Eastern Jin. Advancing deep into enemy territory on its own, this unit had severed the Lu clan's escape route eastward into Eastern Jin. Looking at the meager slivers of territory remaining to the Lu clan on the map, Wei Yuan frowned slightly. He faintly sensed an invisible hand pressing against his back, prodding him to smash the Lu clan's ancestral home and tear this prominent lineage out by its roots. In Wei Yuan's view, projecting an intent to eradicate the Lu clan was his own business, a warning to anyone who dared oppose him. But if some hidden hand behind the scenes was trying to steer him toward doing it, the matter warranted reconsideration. His present strategy was simple: dig deep tunnels, build high walls, and store grain widely. As for claiming the mantle... Wei Yuan suddenly remembered that rulers in this world did not live long, so he automatically omitted the thought of crowns. Of the ten commanderies in Ganzhou originally belonging to the Lu clan, nine were about to fall into Wei Yuan's hands, and he had no intention of relinquishing any of them. Those nine commanderies were home to roughly eight hundred million residents. Added to the central commanderies of Western Jin and the five southern commanderies, Wei Yuan now held twenty-six newly acquired commanderies, populated by 1.7 billion people. More than half of Western Jin's territory was already under Wei Yuan's control. All that remained outside his grasp were the northern frontiers, the seven commanderies held by the Xu family of Ningzhou, and the four commanderies surrounding the royal capital. At this point, the exhaustion of Western Jin's national strength was plain to see. Though its territory was thirty percent larger than the State of Zhao's, its mortal population was less than a third of Zhao's. During the decades the King of Jin had neglected state affairs, the population had plummeted from six billion to under three billion; nearly two-thirds had vanished. Now, however, the territories under Wei Yuan's direct control were contiguous, bisecting Western Jin right down the middle. To the west, the Xu family was confined to an isolated corner, completely cut off from other regions. To the northeast lay the royal capital, the northern frontier, and the eastern frontier; while their military forces were relatively substantial, those were battle-worn lands, impoverished in resources and sparsely inhabited. Western Jin's treasury was thoroughly empty, and the border legions had been taken over by Wei Yuan, relying entirely on Qingming for their pay and provisions. Thus, despite the border army's size and respectable combat strength, there was no longer any worry that they would turn against Qingming. With so much land and so many people, there had not yet been time to develop them properly. Wei Yuan therefore decided to halt expansion and focus all his efforts on digesting the territories in his possession before looking to see who could challenge him. Yet even with the decision to pause expansion, certain necessary moves still had to be made. Wei Yuan took up his brush and wrote a letter, passing it to the Sword Palace to deliver to the Xu family of Northern Qi. The letter stated that Xu Shuhe had attempted to assassinate Wei Yuan, a monstrous crime for which he had paid with his life, though death hardly wiped the slate clean. Now, in his great magnanimity, Wei Yuan was willing to let the matter rest on three conditions: the Xu family had to hand over three young prodigies capable of reaching Scenery Command, twenty young prodigies capable of reaching the dharma idol stage, and an indemnity of one hundred million Qingyuan. Failing that, he would eventually overturn the Xu family's ancestral land, cutting off their bloodline and their immortal path. Once this letter was sent, Wei Yuan anticipated that even if the Xu family of Northern Qi dared defy it, they would be thrown into utter chaos. *** Across the northern lands, winter had locked the world in ice and snow, burying the roads beneath deep drifts. Ordinarily at this time of year, only the war mounts of Northern Liao could gallop across the vast snowy plains; most human breeds of warhorses could not endure the bitter cold, much less march through several feet of snow. Along the border between Western and Eastern Jin lay a flat expanse stretching thousands of li, endless and devoid of natural barriers. The two sides had built walled cities hundreds of li apart, staring each other down across the wastes. The Lu clan had erected six forts, while Eastern Jin had built eight. On this day, martial aura suddenly rose against the distant horizon. Alarm signals rang out simultaneously in two border cities, one in the east and one in the west, though Western Jin sounded horns while Eastern Jin tolled bells. A column came winding forward, its martial aura rigid, square, and infused with the hue of cold steel. Wind and snow howled together. Though it was midday, the sky was dark enough to pass for dusk. The commanders in both border cities wondered who on earth would be marching through such a storm. With the wind howling and snow swirling thick, it was impossible to see clearly from afar. The commanding general of the Eastern Jin border city decided to dispatch a squad of iron cavalry to investigate. Leading more than a thousand elite riders himself, the general rode out of the gates. But as he drew near the oncoming force, he could not help drawing in a sharp breath of cold air. The entire column consisted of vehicles made entirely of steel, rolling forward in silence across the snow. Cultivators leaned out from top hatches, surveying their surroundings. Many vehicles mounted guns and cannons, their muzzles aimed at both flanks. The entire force numbered several hundred steel vehicles of various designs, crawling across the earth like a colossal iron serpent. After gasping in shock, the Eastern Jin dharma idol general flew closer and shouted, "This is Eastern Jin territory! Who are you? Do you realize you have crossed our borders? State your origins at once and await our judgment!" Inside a command vehicle at the center of the column, the cabin was warm and comfortable. Seated within was a noble youth as delicate as a maiden—Xiaoyu. Beside him, Star Lord Shaoyang was reading a history of Eastern Jin. An officer stepped into the compartment and reported that an Eastern Jin border patrol was blocking the way ahead, led by a dharma idol general demanding to know their purpose. "Eastern Jin border troops?" Xiaoyu finally looked up from the map. After a brief pause, he said, "Send a few people to capture that general, and don't let a single soldier with him escape. If they resist, kill them without exception." The officer looked slightly surprised, but asked no questions and departed with the order. A moment later, more than a dozen Golden Core and dharma idol cultivators rose into the air, flying forward aggressively under the lead of an Earth-tier dharma idol. The Eastern Jin general was thoroughly shaken, but steeled himself and moved to intercept them. The leading dharma idol from the Qingming army asked only one question: "Surrender or not?" Seeing that the Eastern Jin general refused to submit, the dharma idol said, "Very well, strike him down." The dharma idol cultivators attacked together. Innumerable rays of light merged into a torrential beam, shattering the general's protective art with the very first strike. Then more than a dozen flying swords pierced through his body, riddling him like a sieve. The thousand-odd elite cavalrymen were stunned senseless by the sight of so many dharma idols. Most dismounted and surrendered on the spot; a smaller portion turned and fled back toward their fort. Naturally, the dharma idol cultivators disdained attacking mortals. But vehicles had already begun flanking them from both wings. Driven by four base cores, these combat vehicles had a top speed far greater than that of warhorses. They quickly caught up with the fleeing cavalry, and after a burst of autocannon fire, blossoms of blood bloomed across the snow. Only then did Xiaoyu fly over the battlefield. With a single glance, he pointed toward the distant border city and said, "Take it." The entire column shifted course, rumbling toward the Eastern Jin border city. Watching from afar, the Western Jin border city on the opposite side was scared out of its wits. Several Lu clan generals hurriedly packed their valuables and fled the city without a moment's hesitation. The wealthy households and high officials within followed suit, fleeing in utter disarray. Xiaoyu paid no attention to the scurrying on the Lu clan's side. Standing in midair, he watched quietly as his army encircled the city, blew open the gates with heavy artillery, and sent heavy infantry dismounting to march inside, seizing the fortress. Xiaoyu issued another order: "Blow up all four gates." Moments later, deafening explosions echoed across a hundred li. The border city's sturdy gatehouses collapsed with a roar, blasted apart from their foundations. Since the Qingming army possessed explosives in abundance, they blew up several sections of the city walls as well. Just like that, the costly border city was effectively ruined; rebuilding it would take months, if not an entire year. Only then was Xiaoyu satisfied. He ordered the troops to withdraw, capturing the remaining Eastern Jin garrison along the way to send to the rear. Star Lord Shaoyang, who had watched the entire affair from the side, finally spoke. "Does the Realm Lord intend to go to war with the Xu family of Eastern Jin?" Xiaoyu blinked. "Is that so? I never received any such order." Star Lord Shaoyang looked enlightened. "Then you... ah, I understand. You were anticipating your superior's intentions. Knowing the Realm Lord plans to discipline the Xu family, you provoked this conflict intentionally." Xiaoyu paused again, then said, "I had no such intention! I simply dislike the Xu family. Last time, Xu Youyi dared to bully her way to our doorstep. It's infuriating that my Xiao family had too many reservations back then to intervene, letting that woman swagger around!" He gave a cold snort. "I just wanted to vent that anger! If not for the sake of Martial Uncle Henshui, would I stop at merely razing a few border forts? I would have leveled at least one of their commandery seats! If that Xu Youyi has a problem with it, she's welcome to come to the Xiao family and demand an explanation!" Xiaoyu spoke without the slightest reservation, using Xu Youyi's personal name directly. It was clear he harbored immense hatred for the immortals who had intimidated Qingming that day. Star Lord Shaoyang felt an urge to bury his face in his hands. He had thought Xiaoyu was finally maturing, learning to read the situation and anticipate his master's designs. As it turned out, this fellow was simply a spoiled scion from a paramount family bullying an inferior house. Star Lord Shaoyang could not help feeling deep regret. Why had he descended upon this fellow in the first place? If he had shown a bit more restraint and wandered around Qingming first, he might have ended up as Taiyin's neighbor instead.