Lai City lay in the heartland of Western Jin and had always been renowned for its prosperity. If even Lai City was in such a state, there was no need to look at any other city. Thus, Wei Yuan lingered no longer and quickened his march. Covering several thousand li a day, he arrived at Hanyang Pass ten-odd days later.
Unlike on his journey there, Wei Yuan chose to pass straight through the fortress city on his return, and the garrison commander, Xu Zhongxing, turned a blind eye to it. Nor did Wei Yuan send a calling card. The two brushed past each other, deliberately avoiding a meeting.
Though Wei Yuan had been appointed Military Commissioner, the ancestor of the Xu family and the Immortal Monarch of the Palace of Grand Beginning were still locked in battle in the void beyond heaven; the Xu family naturally could not change their stance toward the Palace of Grand Beginning. Yet Xu Zhongxing served as an official of Western Jin and had to show the imperial court some degree of deference. He therefore chose to avoid meeting, but no longer enforced a strict border closure as before to prohibit merchant caravans from traveling west.
In truth, closing the pass had lost much of its effect by now. Ever since the trade route through Zhao had opened, some caravans were already planning to detour through Zhao. Enforcing a blockade on the Zhao trade route should have been the duty of Ningxi's commandery governor, Yuan Qingyan. Unfortunately, every checkpoint he had established had been swept clean away, and when he sought to set up new checkpoints, not a single officer was willing to take the post.
Hanyang Pass was far more bustling than when Wei Yuan had first arrived; at least several tens of thousands of displaced refugees had joined the city.
As Wei Yuan rode out of the pass, he saw vast throngs of refugees lining both sides of the road, queued up waiting for the gatekeepers to let them through. The soldiers seemed long accustomed to the sight and knew these refugees possessed nothing except grime. Thus, they did not make things difficult; a quick pat-down to ensure no concealed weapons or contraband, and they waved them right through.
The clearance rate was uncharacteristically efficient, letting at least several thousand people enter the Western Regions each day. More would have been possible, but many refugees could walk no farther once they reached the pass; they needed to rest inside, beg for a bite to eat, or sell their labor for some dry rations before they could continue along this point-of-no-return journey west.
After leaving Hanyang Pass, Wei Yuan instructed, "Go ask those refugees why they are coming to the Western Regions."
Several cavalrymen galloped off and returned a moment later, reporting, "They heard the Western Regions are truly turbulent, so they want to find unowned land to farm or enlist in the army. In any case, they could hardly survive back in their hometowns."
Wei Yuan ordered the main cavalry force to return to the domain first, keeping only several dozen riders with him as he headed for Bianning Commandery to see Sun Chao'en.
Back in the Western Regions, Wei Yuan's power was fully restored; he no longer required bodyguards.
By this time, Commandery Governor Li Weisheng had long since stepped down, and all administrative affairs in the commandery were being overseen by Vice Prefect Sun Chao'en. By standard precedent, Sun Chao'en might well expect an imperial edict promoting him to full governor.
Thus, upon meeting Sun Chao'en, Wei Yuan offered his congratulations: "Congratulations to Lord Sun on your imminent promotion! Rising two ranks in less than a year is a rare speed indeed."
Sun Chao'en shook his head, however. "That is far from certain."
Wei Yuan asked, "Why so? With Li Weisheng transferred away, shouldn't you be the one to fill the vacancy?"
"A commandery governor is a substantive post and the most critical step on the official career path—a true ruler over an entire region. Lord Li possesses such a prominent background, yet even he had to come to this desolate land of Ningxi for a stint just to fill such a vacancy. That tells you everything. I have only recently been promoted to vice prefect. Even if Lord Li puts in a good word for me, I am unlikely to secure the governorship. Furthermore, I have not yet formed a dharma idol, so I still lack weight on the scales."
Wei Yuan asked, "If the post of governor is in such high demand, why hasn't anyone come to replace Yuan Qingyan?"
Sun Chao'en chuckled. "What is left of his commandery is barely a sliver of land, stripped bare of people, and lying squarely under the shadow of your domain. Who would willingly seek out such misery?"
Wei Yuan tapped his fingers lightly on the tabletop and pondered for a moment. "Back then, when Li Weisheng agreed to become governor, he certainly never anticipated that Qingming would rise so quickly. Had he known, he likely would never have waded into these muddy waters. Now that he has left, anyone coveting the governorship must assume that I have submitted to the imperial court—and that with me blocking the Shamans to the west, this region will be a land of peace."
"Indeed, that must be it."
"Then won't our problem be solved if we simply turn this post into a hot potato?"
Sun Chao'en said, "I have thought about that as well, but for now I see no good way. As for rampant horse bandits, everyone knows the Heaven-Battling Gang belongs to you; that trick will no longer work. You can hardly kidnap the governor for real, can you?"
Wei Yuan pondered, and suddenly an inspiration struck. "There is another way: a refugee uprising! On my way back, I saw countless refugees along the road. Those who could make it this far are all able-bodied, and they have no way back. Inside Hanyang Pass alone, there must be at least tens of thousands right now. If we set up porridge kitchens and relief in Bianning Commandery, we can draw a massive horde of refugees over."
Sun Chao'en frowned. "The plan is sound in theory, but the commandery currently has virtually no surplus grain. I can open the granaries, but they will not last long. Gathering so many refugees without enough grain will inevitably cause an uprising! In such a turmoil, the casualties would not be few. I cannot bring about so many deaths merely for a rank-five post, can I?"
Wei Yuan gave a faint smile. "You may not have grain, but I do! Summon these refugees first and let them stay here for a time. Once your matter is settled, I will take every single one of them into my fold. If you truly cannot secure the vacancy this time, then when the new governor arrives, we will prepare a refugee mutiny as a welcoming gift. As long as our people instigate it first, we can keep the unrest under our control, and casualties will be minimal."
Sun Chao'en contemplated for a moment before asking, "How many refugees can you absorb?"
"As many as come."
Sun Chao'en's expression hardened with resolve. "This also counts as giving the refugees a path to survive. We will proceed as you proposed!"
Leaving the governor's manor, Wei Yuan took a stroll around the city. The commandery seat had grown quite lively. Though everything was still in the midst of rebuilding, sheds and shacks stood everywhere, shops had opened across several designated commercial districts, and on prime plots along the riverbank, several grand mansions were under construction at the same time.
Wei Yuan inquired about the owners of the mansions. As expected, most belonged to the Xu and Lü clans.
Upon returning to the domain, Wei Yuan felt his spirits lift, sensing Qingming's joyful elation. The moment he stepped into the domain, a misty drizzle began to fall from the sky, rich with threads of spiritual energy. The growth rate of all the spiritual plants accelerated once more.
Rain also began to fall within the Ten Thousand Li of Rivers and Mountains. Yet this rain fell from the heavens laden with a heavy aura of decay and ruin. Even so, the spiritual plants sprouting within his Dao Foundation seemed fond of such rain, growing ever more imbued with spiritual vitality.
The illusory and the real mirrored one another; for a time, it was hard to tell whether reality was born of illusion or illusion was taking physical form.
All in all, with Western Jin's state fortune, Wei Yuan's cultivation speed increased once more, quickening by a good twenty percent.
Upon his return, the first thing Wei Yuan did was head to the Hall of Merits. This time, he intended to redeem a batch of ancient tomes regarding karmic luck.
Just as he reached the entrance of the Hall of Merits, he saw Junior Sister Fei Yutong of Water Moon Hall hurrying over and handing a slip of paper to the cultivator guarding the hall doors.
The cultivator took the slip, entered it into the register, calculated for a moment, and said, "You may come redeem it four days from now. That is the earliest batch."
"Thank you, Senior Brother." Fei Yutong bowed in greeting and hurried off.
The two cultivators guarding the Hall of Merits hailed from Sky Azure Hall and Water Moon Hall respectively, both familiar faces. Wei Yuan walked up and asked, "What are you recording?"
The two cultivators rose and said, "These are Uncle-Master Zhang's instructions. Any cultivator of the Palace of Grand Beginning lineage who needs to redeem merit points must first register in the ledger, and we will redeem them all together once enough requests accumulate for a full batch."
Wei Yuan understood immediately upon hearing this. It was indeed a fine approach, allowing them to make full use of the cassia tree fruits.
Although the sub-hall's rank as a magical treasure had risen thanks to Wei Yuan's massive sacrifices, the cultivators from the Palace of Grand Beginning were also growing more numerous. Furthermore, after several major battles, none of them lacked merit points, and so the demand for redemptions had swelled accordingly.
Seeing that Wei Yuan was about to enter the Hall of Merits, the two cultivators hastily pushed everyone's redemptions back by one slot. Seeing this, Wei Yuan said, "No need to alter it. I am offering sacrifices and do not need to take up an existing slot."
Wei Yuan glanced at the items people wished to redeem and was surprised to discover that the most requested items were not medicinal pills, but all sorts of ancient tomes. He could not help chuckling, wondering if everyone had been led astray by his own habit of constantly redeeming piles of books.
Still, the texts of the Palace of Grand Beginning were practical, plentiful, and cheap; Wei Yuan felt merit points spent on them were well worth the cost.
How they spent their points was their own affair, and Wei Yuan did not interfere. He stepped straight into the Hall of Merits, expertly sacrificed Nether Soil, and exchanged it for a batch of tomes on state fortune, along with several arrays for refining state fortune.
Once the redemption was complete, a subtle change occurred in the Hall of Merits, and a strand of information was conveyed to him—the exchange value of Nether Soil had actually been increased. Unsure what upheaval had occurred, it seemed the Palace of Grand Beginning was now in urgent need of Nether Soil.
Wei Yuan made a mental note of this, planning to ask Eldest Senior Sister about it when she returned from the palace sect. If the Palace of Grand Beginning truly had a heavy demand, he was prepared to contribute a batch.
Returning to his residence, Wei Yuan reviewed the domain's recent development. By now, all affairs were on track, broadly unchanged from when he had left. The only difference was that because Wei Yuan had traveled to the capital for an audience with the sovereign, the promotion of this batch of Cui family scions to the Dao Foundation realm had been postponed. Consequently, they had spent a month performing hard labor in the domain, under the flattering pretense of tempering their foundations.
The fellow disciples from Sky Azure Hall and Water Moon Hall had already integrated into the domain, each finding useful work to do, which was welcome news. Wei Yuan had naturally felt close to his own sect disciples; had Ren Suxing not jumped out and bossed people around upon arrival, Wei Yuan would never have left them out in the cold in the first place.
Wei Yuan brought the tomes back to his quarters and began reading carefully. During occasional pauses, he pondered the current situation of Western Jin. His conversation with Wang Duan echoed in his mind from time to time.
Xiaoyu, Bao Yun, and Cui Yu, who had first rushed to the Palace of Grand Beginning, were all core scions of the Seven Surnames and Thirteen Clans. Among the sixteen noble daughters and young mistresses Cui Yu had brought to the domain back then, Wang Yu and Xu Yi were rising ever higher in rank, while the rest were gradually occupying key mid-level posts.
Although Wei Yuan judged people solely by capability regardless of origin, and those capable of distinguishing themselves through successive bloody battles were undeniably outstanding talents, this could not change the reality that aristocratic scions were steadily gaining complete control of authority. What Lai City was today might well be what the domain became tomorrow.
How could taxes ever be collected from the great noble houses?
As his thoughts deepened, Wei Yuan also began reflecting on the reality within the domain. Then it suddenly dawned on him that Qingming had no taxes at all—all production was confiscated in full and then redistributed.
At the thought that he had just been criticizing Lai City's administration, Wei Yuan felt thoroughly embarrassed and guilty, hurriedly chanting to himself in his heart: *An expedient measure, merely an expedient measure.*
Chapter 326