Around dinner, Li Zhi arrived in a hurry. Finding Wei Yuan, he asked with concern, "Master Cai has left. I asked him why, but he wouldn't say a word."
Wei Yuan replied helplessly, "He said I am ruthless and unrighteous, beneath his contempt to associate with."
Li Zhi paused in surprise. "Is it because of sending mortals to the front line?"
Wei Yuan nodded.
Li Zhi frowned. "Master Cai possesses true learning, but he cherishes his reputation above all else, always taking pains to keep his record spotless. When the moment calls for it, he is indeed capable of laying down his life for righteousness, yet he is also rather pedantic and stubbornly set in his ways. Ah, I was too impatient. If only I had waited until the war was over before recommending him to come here."
Wei Yuan gave a wry smile. "It's still hard to say whether we can win this fight. Talking about the end of the war is far too early. If all the newly arrived refugees from Zhao and Jin are used up and the Shamans still haven't retreated, we'll have to find other means."
"What is the current ratio between Qingming natives and refugees?" Li Zhi asked.
"Roughly ten percent Qingming residents to ninety percent refugees."
Li Zhi looked at Wei Yuan inquiringly. "This ratio..."
"There's no hidden meaning to the ratio. It's simply because this composition yields the highest overall combat strength and can hold out the longest."
Li Zhi understood at once. If Qingming fell into the hands of the Shamans, none of its residents could hope to survive, so every single one of them would fight to the death. But refugees from outside had no such stake; their default choice would be to remain displaced wanderers and flee to somewhere else.
Therefore, by pairing a small proportion of Qingming residents with a large majority of refugees, when battle commenced, with overseers guarding the rear and their comrades charging ahead, the refugees would surge forward alongside them. What followed naturally was a brutal, bloody melee—fight or die.
If all the Qingming residents fell in battle, the refugees would surely scatter in chaos before the enemy.
Li Zhi pondered for a moment, then said suddenly, "I know Master Cai well. He won't simply walk away; he will inevitably write treatises denouncing you. He has quite a reputation in literary circles, and such an indictment will do immense damage to your name. Before he gets too far, let me send someone to dispose of him."
Wei Yuan asked, "Did he take all his disciples with him? Did he say anything when he left?"
"When I went to urge him to stay, he had only taken half of his disciples, leaving the other half behind. He said that once Qingming Academy is built and the first batch of pupils graduate, he will gradually withdraw the rest. He said that while you are ruthless and unrighteous, the common folk are innocent, and these scholars devoted to learning should not have their futures cut short on account of it."
Wei Yuan sighed. "This Master Cai can at least be said to see things through."
Li Zhi countered, "That is merely a trifling matter. Anyone else could do the same; if Brother Fang Hetong were here, he might do an even better job. But a single essay from Cai could ruin your reputation entirely, perhaps leaving a stain that even history books could never erase. Many of those who compile the histories across the various states are fellow disciples of Master Cai. Such people can wield their brushes to judge whole eras, but they can just as easily invert black and white. Those who achieve great things do not sweat the small details, nor can they be bound by petty sentiments. Let me handle this for you."
Wei Yuan thought it over seriously for a moment, but still shook his head. "In the end, Master Cai and I simply hold different principles. If he wants to write essays cursing me, then if I ever have leisure in the future, I can naturally write essays cursing him back. If I don't have time myself, I can hire someone to write them in return.
"Killing him, however, crosses the line in my view, and it's unnecessary. Once I drive back the Shamans, secure Qingming, turn Qingming into Qing Province, and carve out a land of peace and prosperity, the world will judge for itself."
Li Zhi let out a sigh and glanced at Wei Yuan. "You... really are naive! My worthy brother, you are peerless and invincible on the battlefield, but you severely underestimate the darkness of the human heart. The hearts of the world's people are also a battlefield, and the most fickle and unpredictable of all. Just because you believe reason is on your side doesn't mean others will agree! Many oppose you simply because they find you an eyesore and wish to see you fall.
"A wild card like Master Cai will ultimately bring far more trouble than you imagine. The best course is still to nip the danger in the bud."
Wei Yuan replied candidly, "Then it seems I am not cut out to be an emperor. Master Cai did help me, after all; I cannot bring myself to strike him down."
Li Zhi shook his head and finally said, "Forget it, let us talk about immediate matters. My Zhenshan Army suffered rather heavy losses, and morale has been shaky lately. Give me five thousand soldiers as reinforcements, and I'll need another hundred thousand refugees to place on the front line. Publicly, I will say this was my own decision. Master Cai once received patronage from my Li family; since I am involved, he might show some restraint when he writes his essays."
"Thank you!" Wei Yuan gave Li Zhi a hug.
Li Zhi raised a hand and patted Wei Yuan's back. "Nothing to thank me for. If the lips are gone, the teeth are cold. If your Qingming falls, my domain will be finished as well."
***
Ten days later, atop the ruins of the former Ding'an City, Wei Yuan had constructed several new forts while reinforcing the tower batteries behind them. Now, steel-roofed strongholds were erected atop the towers, shielding the city defense cannons within.
Having enjoyed good food, drink, and day-and-night training for over a dozen days, the vast horde of refugees had grown noticeably stronger in constitution. As the battle drew near, they were deployed in batches to forward camps right against the front line.
From the moment they entered these camps, they would receive only two commands: advance and hold.
Any command even slightly more complex would breed chaos; any command requiring thought would breed chaos. Wei Yuan possessed a keen intuition regarding this, so from the very beginning, he gave the refugees no opening to fall into confusion. Thus, all orders were simple and direct—to be executed without thinking.
The Shamans continued to press forward, and their canal construction finally came to a halt a hundred li out. In truth, Hongye had wanted to excavate further ahead, but Wei Yuan abruptly launched several high-speed missiles. The missiles came with astonishing swiftness, catching all the Shamans unprepared. The Shamans' main defensive strength was concentrated around their altar, so they could only watch helplessly as the missiles struck the canal construction site, blasting tens of thousands of Shaman laborers to death on the spot.
All the laborers and slaves scattered and fled. The Shamans' canal project was forced to halt, and only after great effort did the nobles manage to re-establish order.
In the middle of a great lake nine hundred li from Qingming, a magnificent altar had now been erected. Blood converged at its center, churning and surging ceaselessly like a boiling cauldron.
The Sacred Shaman hurried up to the summit of the altar, arriving before the pool of blood, where he stood in quiet wait.
Within the churning blood, dark grayish-black wisps drifted and swirled with the crimson waves, yet never dispersed.
At that moment, a whirlpool formed at the pool's center, and Hongye slowly rose from within. Yet he revealed only his upper body; his lower half remained submerged in the blood.
The Sacred Shaman glanced into the blood pool and saw wisps of grayish-black aura floating off Hongye and diffusing into the blood. Hongye's eyes were tightly shut as he strained to steady his breathing.
"How are you now?" the Sacred Shaman asked.
Hongye opened his eyes languidly and said, "They are blessed by an immortal's methods, bearing an exceptionally high status. I cursed and killed fewer than two hundred thousand of them, yet the karmic debt is already becoming unbearable. Slaying a human in Qingming generates at least five to six times the karmic debt of doing so anywhere else. A curse like the Collapsing Starry Dome is something I can cast at most once more, though it would be best avoided. Do you have any good news on your end?"
The Sacred Shaman said, "There couldn't possibly be good news. Ju Ling's kin have retrieved his corpse. Their clan's Grand Ancestor was exceedingly enraged and has already taken the complaint all the way to the City of Heaven. If you cannot provide a satisfactory explanation, they will find a way to have the Ancestral Shaman revoke his favor from you."
Hongye was greatly surprised. "How did Ju Ling's corpse end up in his kin's hands?"
"The Desolate Ancestor Tribe managed to obtain Ju Ling's corpse from the humans and handed it over to his kin."
Murderous intent flashed in Hongye's eyes. "Sun of the Great Desolation! He is courting death!"
The Sacred Shaman shook his head. "You cannot touch him. Ju Ling's Grand Ancestor has already pledged protection to the Desolate Ancestor Tribe. Unless you want to go to war with the Spirit Shamans right now, you had best not lay a hand on them. As an aside—you don't actually think you can defeat a Spirit Shaman, do you?"
Hongye said, "The Desolate Ancestor Tribe is so close with the humans, yet why haven't I heard a single whisper of it?"
"In the past, the only one close with the humans was a minor figure named Tianyu, and back then he wasn't even a Great Shaman. So I didn't pay it any mind and never followed up. The current situation clearly has little to do with Tianyu either."
Hongye grew thoughtful. "Are you saying someone is pulling the strings behind the Desolate Ancestor Tribe? Could it be that lord among the Spirit Shamans?"
The Sacred Shaman shook his head. "I wouldn't know. But that lord isn't the only one who might make a move. You've seized the initiative right now, so your potential enemies are vast in number."
Hongye suddenly smiled faintly. "You are right about one thing: I have already seized the initiative. The others can only make their moves once things are concluded here. Until I fail, they can only watch."
A topographic projection suddenly appeared before the Sacred Shaman, displaying the battlefield around Qingming. On this map, a long canal stretched straight up to Qingming's doorstep; it served not only as a transport waterway, but also as part of an array of terrifying proportions.
"My troops are already in position and will attack tomorrow at the hour of the Rat. For this battle, you will oversee things with our tribe's Nether Shamans, but there is no need to clash in magic arts against the humans. Our focus will be grinding them down on the ground. I want to see just how many people Qingming has left, and how many more battles it can endure!"
The Sacred Shaman said, "The scouts we placed among the humans have sent back quite a bit of intelligence, some of it rather intriguing. First, the Xu family continues to reinforce their troops at Hanyang Pass, perhaps hoping to reap the fisherman's spoils once we suffer a setback."
"We will not suffer a setback."
The Sacred Shaman continued, "Yesterday we captured a reconnaissance patrol from the Xu family. They wanted to open a new trade route with us."
"A trade route? What are they selling?"
"Cloud brocade."
"No sacrifices?"
The Sacred Shaman said, "Just a few pathfinders; they didn't know much."
"I want sacrifices—the more, the better. Whether they have cloud brocade or not doesn't matter in the least. If they agree, open the trade route; if not, forget it."
"Very well, I will tell them."
"What other news is there?"
"There is another rather interesting matter. According to our spies, Wei Yuan has been recruiting refugees from Zhao and Jin non-stop, packing them onto the front line. Most of those we slaughtered in the previous battles were precisely these worthless refugees."
Hongye said in a deep voice, "I have already noticed. It is a very effective strategy, and I have no good countermeasure against it. Wei Yuan is no useless fool; he is a formidable foe! However, refugees can only move so fast, and the number he can recruit within a given time is limited. Once they are wiped out, he will have no more reinforcements. Furthermore, refugees will not fight to the last man. Once enough die, they will mutiny on their own."
The Sacred Shaman said, "What's interesting isn't that, but that his methods seem quite frowned upon by certain people among the humans. Some reportedly despise him fiercely for it. So all we need to do is bribe a few officials in their imperial court to attack Wei Yuan mercilessly, and perhaps the humans will cut off Wei Yuan's reinforcements all on their own."
Hongye found this somewhat incredible. "For the sake of refugees who are little different from the slaves and lower folk on our side, they would attack a great general of their own race who defends their borders? When did the humans become so foolish?"
"How should I know? But that is supposedly the truth. What Wei Yuan has done is called 'brutal and unrighteous' on their side."
Hongye immediately said, "Good! Bribing a few people costs next to nothing—let us bribe even more! Reel in every single official in their court willing to take money!"
Chapter 519