Once Shangguan Qianmo departed, Wei Yuan put her completely out of his mind. Picking up a stack of blueprints, he began reviewing the underground municipal pipe network projects across the various cities of Qingming.
In Wei Yuan's eyes, sewers were of paramount importance—the vital foundation upholding the quality of mortal life and the essential prerequisite for the rise of massive metropolises. Even now, Wei Yuan vividly remembered his journey west years ago, when he first arrived in Quliu Town and saw every household soaked in foul runoff.
Thus, while constructing floating roads, Wei Yuan had simultaneously engaged in large-scale building of subterranean pipes. Now, every city in Qingming was extraordinarily clean and orderly, without the slightest trace of the stench of slops and urine common in the cities of Great Tang.
This round of expanding the underground pipe networks was preparation for megacities numbering tens of millions. It was also a prerequisite project for increasing the daily per capita water usage among mortals. Beyond drinking, water could dramatically improve living standards. Wei Yuan had once envisioned a future where everyone could take a bath every day. Wei Yuan read through more than thirty blueprints in one breath; apart from two that were sent back for revisions, all were approved.
Projects such as underground municipal networks offered benefits that would last for hundreds or thousands of years. The shift might not be noticeable in the immediate term, but looking at the bigger picture, the additional karmic luck they brought was substantial. Qingming had already claimed all the easily acquired karmic luck available; what remained were projects like the sewer systems, requiring massive investment and offering little obvious benefit in the short term, but yielding tremendous long-term returns.
There were many similar initiatives: supplying milk powder for every infant, providing prompt and effective medical care, and making authentic delicacies from across the realm accessible without leaving the city.
Wei Yuan set down the blueprints and suddenly glanced up toward the sky. Above Immortal Heaven, Xu Youyi had arrived over Qingming, waiting to meet him. With a shift of his silhouette, Wei Yuan appeared before her.
Xu Youyi said, "I have two gifts for you. How do you intend to repay me?"
Hazarding a guess, Wei Yuan smiled. "Let us first see the sincerity."
Xu Youyi replied, "Eastern Jin's populace has grown prosperous of late, and its numbers have climbed, leaving many idle with nothing to do. I rounded up some displaced refugees and gathered fifty million of them, all transported to the border commanderies. You may take custody of them at any time."
Wei Yuan's spirits lifted, and his demeanor instantly grew much warmer. "Immortal Xu truly understands me!"
"The second gift," she continued, "is that post roads have been constructed across Eastern Jin, with refugee camps set up along the way. Anyone wishing to come to Qingming may travel freely along the route. It is initially estimated that ten million refugees can arrive each year. If you desire more, Qingming will need to assist in establishing a new transit network."
Wei Yuan said repeatedly, "As it should be, as it should be!"
Xu Youyi added, "There is one more thing. Eastern Jin has now rolled out template Dao foundations and Golden Pellet dharma idols on a comprehensive scale. It is anticipated that the number of cultivators will increase substantially within three years."
Wei Yuan beamed with delight. "That makes three gifts!"
"Three already? Three it is, then," Xu Youyi said.
Wei Yuan pondered for a moment, then said, "Given Immortal Xu's tremendous sincerity, I naturally must make a return. However, adopting King Xuan as my godson is truly difficult. In future history books, not only would he be reviled, but I would be condemned as well."
Xu Youyi covered her mouth and chuckled softly. "Then what do you propose?"
Wei Yuan said, "How about this: from now on, the prices for all medicinal herbs supplied to the Xu family will be lowered by ten percent. How does that sound?"
Xu Youyi had originally entertained other ideas, but upon hearing Wei Yuan's offer, she nodded immediately. "Done!"
The quantity of herbs Qingming supplied to the Xu family every year was immense; a ten percent price reduction meant an astronomical sum. Xu Youyi had no way to refuse and cast her original thoughts straight aside.
Once the agreement was settled, Xu Youyi remarked before leaving, "Recently, the Venerable Master contacted numerous immortals, determined to strike together when you ascend to immortality and prevent you from easily reaching Immortal Heaven."
Wei Yuan started. "Would that not be interfering with the Heavenly Dao? Are they not afraid of the heavenly tribulation?"
"It is said the Venerable Master possesses a secret art that allows him to evade heavenly tribulations. He used this very secret art to prolong his meager existence and escape the Martial Ancestor's pursuit."
Wei Yuan nodded and bowed. "My thanks to Immortal Xu for the warning."
Xu Youyi said, "They did not seek me out, and I am powerless to stop them. All I can do is inform you so that you can make preparations early."
Wei Yuan bowed once more in gratitude. Xu Youyi's gifts this time carried immense weight. Fifty million people entering Qingming provided a foundation of roughly one hundred million mortal karmic luck, with another ten million to be delivered every year. Wei Yuan naturally would not sit idly by; he would certainly construct post roads throughout Eastern Jin, ensuring that forty to fifty million people could enter Qingming annually in the future.
As they were parting, Wei Yuan felt a touch of concern for Xu Youyi and asked, "With Immortal Xu aiding me to this extent, will it not be difficult to account for to the Venerable Master?"
Xu Youyi smiled faintly. "Rest assured. I have placed wagers on their side as well."
Wei Yuan was taken aback, finally understanding that there was good reason for the Xu family's enduring prosperity.
With Eastern Jin offering refugees as a pledge of allegiance, the other nations promptly followed suit.
Shortly afterward, an envoy from Southern Jin arrived, stating their willingness to grant Wei Yuan one hundred million refugees—all hale and hearty, comprising thirty million men and seventy million women. The condition was that Qingming deploy its troops in return.
Wei Yuan flatly refused to dispatch troops, but offered to evaluate the one hundred million people and exchange them for military hardware, providing a catalog to the envoy. The envoy initially intended to decline, but upon seeing the catalog, immediately sent men back to report. However, Cui Wantong appeared at that moment and settled the matter directly, securing complete sets of equipment sufficient to outfit a hundred thousand heavy armored infantry from Qingming.
This transaction amounted to trading one thousand healthy refugees for a single heavily armored warrior. In a chaotic age engulfed in flames of war, it was an exceptionally worthwhile bargain. Wei Yuan was quite satisfied as well; one hundred million refugees yielded at least two hundred million mortal karmic luck to start. Moreover, with young, healthy women forming the majority, there would be many children in the future. Seventy million robust women would translate to seventy million sturdy infants two years down the line.
Having endured prolonged warfare, Southern Jin saw a decrease in young men and a preponderance of women. Qingming, on the other hand, had constantly focused on development, urgently needing a new generation born on its own soil. With such a demographic ratio, both sides obtained what they needed, to everyone's delight.
As for the possibility that Southern Jin might face a refugee shortage, that was hardly an issue. Refugees were the sort of resource that, with a mere tax increase, would cover the land in swarms.
Meanwhile, toward Northern Qi, Fei Yutong was also stepping up the plundering of population. Had she not feared offending the harmony of heaven, she would have ripped out the boundary stone itself and dragged it back to Qingming. Over the past year, Qingming had absorbed nearly three hundred million people from the various nations, yet Wei Yuan still felt it was not enough. He stared at the map, lost in silent thought.
Qingming was now like a colossal machine, operating on an unprecedented scale. Even the living standards of the so-called developed nations in the otherworldly realm could not match Qingming today. In the mortal sphere, the otherworldly realm's meticulous craftsmanship had surpassed many areas, but Qingming possessed cultivators, and cultivators formed the primary workforce.
Equality for all was unfeasible in Qingming. A dharma idol cultivator would never consent to being equal with a Dao foundation cultivator, nor would a Dao foundation cultivator be willing to share equal standing with mortals. Thus, over the decades, Qingming's hierarchy based on cultivation levels had grown increasingly refined and functioned with ever greater stability.
Yet right now, Wei Yuan needed mortal karmic luck, the more the better. Opening the otherworldly realm required an astronomical amount of mortal karmic luck, and what Qingming produced fell far short. Other means had to be found to fill the void.
Wei Yuan's gaze settled upon Western Jin.
Chapter 1423