The grain carts returned to the domain fully laden, yet the crisis remained unresolved.
Each of the military redoubts had held only ten days' worth of rations, without a scrap to spare. Ten days of provisions for four thousand imperial troops would last thirty days if the common folk rationed them carefully. When calculated out, Wei Yuan's entire day of toil had only brought back enough grain to feed the domain for a single day.
He had plundered plenty of weapons and armor, which were of considerable value, but one could not eat such things right now.
At present, Ningxi Commandery's largest granary was still located in Quliu Town, standing right beside the Commandery Prefect's Office and adjacent to the military barracks. Wei Yuan's original plan had been to launch a direct raid on Quliu Town, but upon deeper consideration, he felt the ramifications would be too far-reaching. And while Wei Yuan hesitated, over ten thousand reinforcements arrived at Quliu Town.
According to the intelligence sent by Xu Jingfeng, the newly arrived troops of over ten thousand were border soldiers transferred from the north—veteran elites of a hundred battles. The general commanding them was surnamed Xu and hailed from the direct line of the Xu family. Possessing both martial might and a powerful background, the deployment of such a force in Ningxi carried an unmistakable deterrent.
Therefore, Wei Yuan turned east instead, first dismantling the blockade network that Yuan Qingyan had painstakingly assembled into scattered remnants, waiting to see how the prefect would respond.
Upon receiving the battle report, Yuan Qingyan was instantly struck by shock and fury. He had never imagined that Wei Yuan would truly dare strike imperial troops. Was this not outright rebellion?
As for his rage rising to the point of smashing teacups, three parts were genuine, but seven parts were sheer performance. In the past, many political rivals had mistakenly assumed Yuan Qingyan was short-tempered, irritable, and easy to deal with. Harboring contempt, they had sought every means to provoke him, only to unwittingly walk straight into his traps.
At this moment, Yuan Qingyan was already contemplating how to draft his memorial to the throne—how to phrase it so the King of Jin would be enraged, ideally sending troops heedless of the cost to level Qingming, that thorn in their side.
If Wei Yuan could be forced to surrender his status as domain master, then Yuan Qingyan would naturally be the undisputed candidate to take over.
Yet right now, that clown Xu Jingfeng was still hopping about.
Once the servants cleared away the porcelain shards from the floor, Yuan Qingyan looked toward General Xu and said, "Xu Jingfeng shows blatant contempt for this official and acts with utter recklessness. I ask General Xu to take the field and bring this man in."
General Xu replied, "I'm not going."
Yuan Qingyan's brows shot up as he said coldly, "What did you just say, General? I didn't hear clearly!"
Raising his voice, General Xu repeated, "I'm not going!"
Shaking with rage, Yuan Qingyan sneered repeatedly. "This is open defiance of orders!"
General Xu pointed upward. "Above me is Provincial Commander Yue, and I take military orders only from Provincial Commander Yue. A mere commandery prefect has no authority over my head. Even if you did have authority over me, do you think I would accept an order that sends me to my death?"
Yuan Qingyan's expression tautened, and he asked, "Why do you say that, General?"
"The Ningxi Xu family has been rooted here for hundreds of years, and those grand manors have always been the seat of their branch family. The Xu family is a prominent clan. You want me, a late-stage Dao Foundation cultivator, to walk into a place they have cultivated for centuries just to arrest someone? Prefect Yuan, I advise you not to enter either. In a place like the ancestral seat of a great clan's branch family, even a single dharma idol probably couldn't suppress the situation."
General Xu then sneered, pointing toward the general seated across from him. "Besides, the dog you keep is sitting right across from me. A chore that offends the Xu family is perfectly suited for him. Otherwise, what do you feed him for?"
That general's face alternated between pale and flushed as he said, "General Xu, this subordinate hasn't offended you."
General Xu scoffed. "Who cares whether you've offended me or not? Right now, I just find you an eyesore. What are you going to do about it?"
The general turned aside, forced to look away.
Just then, the hurried clatter of footsteps sounded outside the hall. A dispatch courier rushed in and presented an official document. Such dispatch couriers all possessed Dao Foundation cultivation and belonged to the prefectural capital, dedicated solely to delivering vital official documents.
Yuan Qingyan opened the document and read through it carefully. "This is a joint order issued by Governor Chen and Provincial Commander Yue. Both lords are exceedingly furious over mounted bandits attacking the military camp. They order us to rebuild the redoubts and apprehend the bandits of the Heaven-Battling Gang within a strict deadline. General Xu, the document explicitly states that I may mobilize the troops within the commandery for this matter. Care to take a look?"
General Xu took the document, examined it thoroughly, gave a grunt, and handed it back to Yuan Qingyan. "I only attend to duties concerning the redoubts and the mounted bandits. The Xu ancestral residence has nothing to do with me. Whoever wants to offend the Xu family can go right ahead; in any case, I'm not going."
The smile that had just begun to surface on Yuan Qingyan's face froze. Suppressing his irritation with effort, he said, "Then I must trouble General Xu to take charge of the eastern redoubts."
"Rest assured. With me there, an entire battalion will not be stripped bare again."
***
Anzhao Commandery, Dingbian City.
Dingbian City was bustling at this hour. Camp tents stretched on without end, and buildings of all sizes were rising from the earth. Choosing this location to establish the prefectural city was something the court grandees had weighed carefully, as it commanded key crossroads in all four directions.
At present, the city's commoners were fewer in number than the soldiers. Over a hundred thousand troops were stationed across the prefectural city, alongside more than thirty thousand wounded. Outside the city walls, vast tracts of burial grounds had been cleared, with twenty thousand fallen soldiers still waiting to be laid to rest.
Over a dozen figures flew across the sky above the prefectural city, landing before the gates of the garrison commander's office. The sentries quickly saluted upon seeing the arrivals, addressing the leader as General Yue.
The leader was none other than Yue Jinshan. He waved his hand to dismiss his entourage to wait in the side hall, taking only two personal attendants into the rear study of the office. Inside the study, Chen Dao was reviewing official dispatches. Seeing Yue Jinshan enter, he rose and asked, "Has the campaign gone smoothly?"
Yue Jinshan said, "The Shamans have temporarily pulled back. But in truth, we didn't win; it was merely a draw. The one commanding the Shamans this time is formidable. He hasn't made a single mistake, and he nearly led me into an ambush."
Chen Dao smiled. "Every time, you say you were nearly ambushed, but I've never seen you actually get caught in one."
"Has that eunuch surnamed Zhao left yet?"
Chen Dao hurriedly said, "Mind your words!" He then cast a glance toward the two attendants.
Yue Jinshan replied indifferently, "They have braved life and death alongside me; they are trustworthy... Fine, you two stand watch outside. I have confidential matters to discuss with Lord Chen."
Once the attendants stepped out, Chen Dao spread out a map and said, "There is a troublesome matter right now. That Wei Yuan practically uprooted the entire eastern line of redoubts along the domain. He is bold indeed."
Yue Jinshan said, "He didn't take the soldiers' lives, only plundered their supplies and grain. He still showed some restraint."
Chen Dao said with deep implication, "This man is unruly and backed by a great sect. If the aristocratic families hadn't stood on our side this time, he likely would have grown into an unmanageable power."
"What do you plan to do?"
Chen Dao said slowly, "Though Yuan Qingyan is irritating, he possesses both vision and competence. This grain blockade strikes right at the enemy's vital point; otherwise, they wouldn't have resorted to raiding the redoubts to seize military grain. Were it not for the Shaman invasion, this offense alone would suffice to sentence him to death. Even the Palace of Grand Beginning would have had to choose between keeping the territory or keeping the man."
Yue Jinshan frowned. "You people... That Yuan Qingyan is no good either. When I was locked in bloody combat against the Shamans, I didn't see that fellow send a single soldier to reinforce us. Yet when it comes to plotting against his own people, his tricks are endless!"
Chen Dao laughed. "I know you want to say none of us are good people. But think about it—once the Shamans withdraw, how will this land be handled? You wouldn't want an enclave outside the law to emerge within your jurisdiction, would you?"
"Wouldn't following precedent suffice?"
Chen Dao said softly, "According to precedent, this land might not belong to us."
Yue Jinshan's brow locked tight.
"So I believe the grain blockade is an excellent stratagem, and we must continue using it. Dispatch some battle-hardened veterans to blend into the redoubts and wait for him to strike. As long as I can seize tangible dirt on him, there will be no fear of him refusing to yield!"
Yue Jinshan asked, "What if he doesn't come?"
Chen Dao smiled faintly and said, "He has no choice but to come. I have received confirmed intelligence: the domain currently has only a few days of grain left. For several hundred li around Qingming, there is no civilian grain to be found—only the military provisions in the redoubts. If he does not come, he will have to watch over a hundred thousand people starve to death. So I believe that within two to three days, five at most, the Heaven-Battling Gang will mobilize in full force. It will surely be a hard battle then, and I will leave it to you, General Yue."
Yue Jinshan said calmly, "If he truly dares raid the main camp, I will ensure he never returns."
Chen Dao nodded. "It would be best to capture him alive. Once he is taken, we need not worry about the Palace of Grand Beginning refusing to bow its head."
With just a few exchanges between civil and military officials, an inescapable net was woven for Wei Yuan.
***
Meanwhile, within the boundless Wu domain, several riders traversed mountains and forests, heading east. Wei Yuan had brought only Xu Yi and Wang Yu on this journey. With their profound cultivation, the three infused their warhorses with Dao power, crossing peaks and ridges as smoothly as traversing level ground.
"Domain Master, what are we going to do?" Xu Yi asked curiously.
Wei Yuan said, "Go see an old friend, and gather grain while we're at it."
"Isn't there grain in the military redoubts?"
Wei Yuan said, "Yuan Qingyan isn't stupid either; he didn't leave much grain inside them. He actually wanted to bait us into attacking. He just didn't expect us to sweep five of his redoubts in a single breath. Making such a massive mess only makes him appear incompetent instead. Right now, I reckon he is busy rebuilding the redoubts and preparing a surprise for us within them. Unless we deploy all the Dao Foundation elites in the domain, we likely won't be able to chew through that surprise."
"Domain Master is truly formidable, anticipating the enemy's moves—far more capable than that commandery prefect!"
Looking at Xu Yi's face filled with admiration, Wei Yuan inwardly shook his head. Were it not for the fact that the strand of azure qi from Xu Yi had always remained paper-thin, Wei Yuan might almost have believed her. By contrast, although Wang Yu was a man of few words, the azure qi he contributed was nearly ready to coalesce into a drop of Great Fortune.
Traveling with all their might, half a day took them over a thousand li to the commandery seat of Bianning Commandery.
Compared to Quliu Town, Bianning Commandery's seat was far more prosperous. The city originally held twenty thousand residents. After being officially designated as the commandery seat, several thousand officials of various ranks, escort guards, soldiers, and attendants took up residence, and many scattered civilians from the surrounding areas had relocated inside as well.
Near dusk, an escort of soldiers accompanied an official sedan chair to a newly constructed residence, and the passenger stepped down in the front courtyard.
A somewhat plump, fair-skinned official emerged from the sedan, possessing quite handsome features. As soon as he stepped out, his steward came up to greet him, saying, "Master, three people claiming to be your old acquaintances have arrived. I have had them wait in the study."
The official's expression darkened, and he said coldly, "Of late, the old acquaintances who have come seeking this official number eighty if not a hundred. If I let every one of them in, when would I ever get any sleep?"
The steward hurriedly replied, "How could I be so lacking in discernment? But these people are truly different."
With that, the steward presented an item—a heavy bar of immortal silver. One look told the official: at least fifty taels!
With a flick of his robe sleeve, the immortal silver vanished. The flick was completely unhurried and casual, without the slightest hint of ostentation, revealing at least twenty years of martial skill.
The official broke into a broad smile and said repeatedly, "An old acquaintance visits—how could we keep them waiting? Lead me to see them, quickly! Also, instruct the kitchen to prepare a table of fine dishes. Today, this official will drink until dead drunk!"
The steward led the official to the study. The moment he laid eyes on the figures inside, the official froze on the spot.
Wei Yuan rose, gave a clasp-handed bow, and smiled faintly. "Lord Sun, long time no see."
Chapter 217