Where Will the War Funds Come From

Southern Qi, the royal palace. The King of Qi and Duke Huien were strolling through the imperial garden. Looking out at the magnificent view of red plums weighed down by snow, the King of Qi sighed and said, "I remember when we were children, the two of us used to play together in this garden all the time. Then, all of a sudden, you were nowhere to be seen. Look—this garden is still the same garden, those few plum trees still stand in the old spots, but both of us are nearing a hundred years old." Duke Huien replied, "Back then, Your Majesty became the Crown Prince, and my brothers and I had reached the age when we had to leave the palace, so we all moved out." The King of Qi sighed. "During those years, my position as Crown Prince was never truly secure; all my thoughts were consumed with protecting my seat. Only after I actually became king did I realize that throughout the entire country, from top to bottom, there are so many affairs to worry about and so many people to manage. Every civil official and military officer in court acts with utter conviction—each one more convincing than the last. Even with my divine art of seeing through people, I cannot see what they are truly thinking. "Being an ordinary ruler is hard enough, but striving to be an enlightened sovereign is harder still. When I was young, I dreamed only of leaving a name in the annals of history. Now several decades have passed. The country my father handed down to me was proclaimed the mightiest of the nine states, yet over all these decades, all I have added is a mere three commanderies. Looking back, most of my energy all these years was spent dealing with my uncles, brothers, and sisters." Duke Huien remained silent for a moment before saying, "Your Majesty gave me back my eyes. I have always held that in my heart." The King of Qi gave a dry chuckle. "Among all our brothers and sisters, only you were cleverer than me, and you were the one I feared most. Back then, my willingness to let you restore your eyesight was actually just because I felt we shared blood after all—that is a bond that can never be severed, and there was no need to be so ruthless. Besides, if you had remained without eyes, I would have slept soundly, and I likely never would have achieved what I have today. "All these years, I have guarded against you at every moment, not daring to slacken in the slightest, not daring to reveal any flaw. Only because of that did I become an enlightened sovereign in the eyes of the world." Duke Huien said, "Your Majesty is wise and martial; future generations will render fair judgment." The King of Qi sighed. "Indeed. Now I have a reputation, and the internal troubles have mostly been rooted out. The common people have pledged their hearts, and the ministers are reasonably capable. But I am merely a pseudo-Scenery Command, and this is as far as I go. A while ago, I heard that you attained Scenery Command and can live for another millennium. Deep down, I truly envy you." Duke Huien fell silent. The King of Qi said, "Are you thinking of telling me that if I lay down this burden, I too could reach Scenery Command?" Duke Huien replied, "That is Your Majesty's personal matter. How would I dare speak out of turn?" Looking at the blood-red plum blossoms, the King of Qi sighed, "Longevity and supreme sovereignty cannot both be had—that has been the rule since ancient times. Yet that rule was also made by men." Duke Huien said, "Forgive my bluntness, but if one wished to alter this rule, even the Immortal Ancestor would likely be powerless." The King of Qi smiled. "As we talked, you went right back to addressing yourself as a subject. Never mind. Amidst his quiet cultivation, the Immortal Ancestor still cares about state affairs; not long ago, he even asked about adopting Li Zhi into the royal line. But lately, things seem to be going poorly for him in the State of Ji—casualties have already surpassed a million, haven't they?" Duke Huien hurried to say, "I have heard of this as well. The King of Ji grew muddle-headed in old age, but in his youth he was quite formidable. In this hour of national peril, he has shown great decisiveness after all, giving Sun Chao'en and Wang Zhi free rein to purge the court's clean-stream faction and reclaim military authority. "On the front lines, Wang Zhi conducts warfare with sharp brilliance; so long as the disparity in troop numbers is not overly vast, he has never suffered a single defeat. In the rear, Sun Chao'en devises strategies—even senior generals whom he personally framed and imprisoned are willing to exert themselves to the death after being reinstated. He also keeps a relentless stream of grain and fodder flowing to the front lines. With this trio of monarch and ministers, the State of Ji is indeed a formidable foe." The King of Qi nodded slowly. "My army is also fighting a grueling campaign on the northern front. Pushing in step by step, our casualties have far exceeded those of the Ji army. If we keep fighting like this, even if we manage to swallow the State of Ji, I'm afraid we will need a century to recover." Duke Huien said, "As long as we can successfully swallow even less than half of Ji, Southern Qi's national power will pull ahead of Zhao, making us the undisputed foremost among the nine states. Taking a period to recuperate is only natural; afterward, our progress will only accelerate." The King of Qi glanced at Duke Huien and said with deep meaning, "Looking at it now, Sun Chao'en and Wang Zhi are both tremendous talents! Why was Li Zhi blind to such men, insisting on driving them into the King of Ji's camp? By adding those two names to his list to purge the court of traitors, our Southern Qi has to pay with the lives of over a million soldiers!" Duke Huien dropped to his knees immediately and said, "Li Zhi was greedy for glory and reputation, which led to this blunder. I implore Your Majesty to recall him at once and dispatch another general to take command and oversee the situation." The King of Qi said placidly, "He is already beneath the walls of the Ji capital. I like to see things through to the end. We will talk about it after the capital falls. "Besides, adopting Li Zhi was the Immortal Ancestor's will. Even if I wanted to replace him, the Immortal Ancestor would have to speak first." The King of Qi suddenly lost his enthusiasm. With a wave of his hand, a supervising eunuch escorted Duke Huien out. Beneath the capital of the State of Ji, the snow-covered plains were blanketed by a dense, unbroken expanse of military tents. Li Zhi stood upon a high platform, staring at the towering royal city with tightly knit brows. Since the division of the nine states, no state's capital had ever been breached. Though the State of Ji's national strength was feeble, this royal capital had been maintained for over a millennium, continually expanded and repaired year after year. Now its walls rose twenty zhang high and measured thirty-five zhang thick, resembling an ancient behemoth crouching upon the earth. No matter how fatuous or incompetent the successive monarchs had been, the city-guarding grand formation had been passed down from their golden age, its might not a whit inferior to antiquity. Against such a colossal city, even an army of a million could hardly encircle it completely. Right now, they simply could not close off the royal city's northern gate, from which Ji troops periodically charged out. Reinforcements also continued arriving from the rear without end. To fill the gap in his troop strength, Li Zhi had no choice but to conscript heavily throughout the counties and commanderies under his occupation in Ji, even reaching the point of drafting anyone he could lay hands on. Consequently, many cultivators originating from the State of Ji came to view the Zhenshan Army as deadly enemies; any Zhenshan cultivator who found themselves isolated faced mortal peril. The State of Ji had suffered many years of upheaval, and Qingming's invasion had dealt a massive shock to the court and countryside alike. Countless arrogant soldiers, fierce generals, and masters of military strategy had been made into laughingstocks by Wei Yuan. Afterward, Wei Yuan took only two commanderies and pushed no further, concentrating instead on expanding into the lands of the Mountain Folk. Meanwhile, those two occupied commanderies changed day by day; the transformation was earth-shaking, and the common folk lived as if in paradise. Such a stark contrast completely overturned the impression of Qingming and Wei Yuan in the hearts of the Ji people. Later, when Qingming openly shared its Golden Dan and template cultivation paths, the entire State of Ji flocked to them, with numerous cultivators embarking on the practice with near-blind devotion. Thus, in recent years, the number of low-tier cultivators in the State of Ji had surged. Three to five template cultivators ambushing together stood a very good chance of taking down a Dao Foundation colonel. Li Zhi felt as if he were treading through a massive quagmire; though he was still moving forward, every single step was terribly heavy and came at a steep price. A general rushed up on foot, bowing behind Li Zhi, and reported, "Scouts just reported that an ammunition convoy broke through our defensive line and entered the north gate. Our army fought with all our might but only managed to destroy one wagon. Judging from the wreckage left behind, all six wagons that entered the city were carrying artillery shells!" Before Li Zhi could speak, another general beside him grew anxious. "Six wagonloads of shells?! Where did they come from? Are they Qingming shells?" The reporting general replied, "This subordinate has already investigated their origins. Judging by the packaging traces left behind, these shells were indeed manufactured in Qingming, but the State of Ji purchased them from Southern Jin." Li Zhi remained silent for a long time before finally saying, "It will still take several days before the siege can be sealed tight. The ammunition transported inside during this period is already substantial, and what was originally stockpiled in the city is likely far greater. Men! Dispatch people to Qingming to purchase artillery shells—the more, the better! Trade the previous shipment of military rations for shells as well!" "T-this... where will the war funds come from?" Li Zhi spoke every word with deliberate weight: "I'll borrow, I'll steal, I'll rob!"