Western Jin, the Hall of Political Affairs.
Only seven or eight high officials were gathered in the hall, alongside Prince Wei and the Crown Prince. At the center of the hall, a terrain sand table depicted the various commanderies of Qingming and Ningxi.
Neither Xu Gong, the Minister of Revenue, nor Lü Wenbai, the Military Commissioner of Yunxiang, were present. These two men essentially represented the Xu family and the Lu clan. Although some of the other senior ministers hailed from those two families, they leaned more or less toward the King of Jin.
At this moment, the area surrounding Qingming was clear. With the reopening of Hanyang Pass, the general consensus was that the Xu family's stance toward Wei Yuan had softened. Thus, Qingming's surroundings had finally stabilized, leaving it temporarily free of external enemies.
The King of Jin listened to his ministers analyze the situation for a while, then chuckled. "This Wei Yuan has no enemies left around him now. He should finally be able to quiet down for a spell, shouldn't he?"
Prince Wei spoke up abruptly. "The imperial court intends to establish Qingzhou, set up Qingyang Prefecture, and appoint a Military Commissioner of Qingyang. Must the Military Commissioner of Qingyang and the Military Commissioner of Dingxi be the very same person?"
The King of Jin's expression darkened slightly. "What else? The decree is already on the road. Can you make the imperial court revoke it?"
"This is an intervention in our state's internal affairs. Such a precedent must never be set," Prince Wei said, not backing down in the least.
The King of Jin tapped his fingers lightly on the desk. Caught somewhat off guard by Prince Wei's sudden challenge, he fell into brooding silence. When the King fell silent, it meant someone else had to speak.
Taking the cue, the Left Prime Minister said, "The Tang dynasty embodies the mandate of legitimacy. While non-interference in the internal governance of the various states is standard practice, it remains an unwritten convention. When the Son of Heaven issues an edict, we must nominally carry it out unless we have an exceptionally compelling reason not to."
Prince Wei spoke again: "Qingyang Prefecture encompasses the original territory of Ningxi's four commanderies and more, extending another thousand li to the west. If Wei Yuan is made the Military Commissioner of Qingyang, our path westward will be completely sealed off. In the future, we won't have the slightest chance of dipping our fingers into Qingzhou!"
The King of Jin's expression remained impassive, making his thoughts impossible to read. "Say whatever you have to say. Speak plainly," he said calmly.
Gritting his teeth, Prince Wei said, "Your subject is willing to guard the state's gates on Father's behalf and serve as the Military Commissioner of Qingyang! I implore Father to grant me two hundred thousand elite troops, along with Prince Ying's fifty thousand men of the new army. That will be plenty!"
The assembled ministers' faces shifted. Even the Crown Prince, who rarely voiced his opinions, showed a flicker of emotion and turned to look at Prince Wei.
The Hall of Government Affairs fell dead silent, save for the increasingly heavy sound of Prince Wei's breathing. Beads of sweat formed on his forehead and rolled down his cheeks.
The King of Jin suddenly laughed, breaking the silence. "Wei Yuan repelled the millions-strong army of the Wu Clan and forced the Xu family to voluntarily open Hanyang Pass. You want to march out with a mere two hundred thousand men? Are you going there just to die?"
A look of resentment surfaced on Prince Wei's face. "Over a million died on Wei Yuan's side as well; the tombstones on Heroic Spirits Mountain cover the hills and valleys. Right now, he is an arrow at the end of its flight. How many elite soldiers could he possibly have left? Setting that aside, even if I am no match for him and die by his hand, Father will gain a pretext of righteousness to obliterate him. When that happens, the Tang dynasty won't be able to say a word."
The irritation on the King of Jin's face receded, replaced by a thoughtful expression. "How do you plan to proceed? March out and wage open war?"
His spirits lifted, Prince Wei hurriedly replied, "To do so without just cause would be ill-advised. I will concentrate our main force in vital strongholds, deploy light cavalry to guard the flanks, and establish checkpoints along key transit routes to inspect passing merchant caravans and levy heavy taxes. As long as we sever his trade routes, I do not believe Wei Yuan will be able to endure it. If he kills even a single one of my soldiers, it will be considered treason!"
The King of Jin showed unusual patience today. "Wei Yuan keeps quite a few horse bandits under his wing. If he claims the horse bandits killed your men, what can you do?"
Prince Wei said, "If he can use that trick, why can't I? If he says horse bandits did it, I'll simply find a few men, dress them in Qingming uniforms, and declare that Qingming sent the killers."
The King of Jin pondered for a moment, not pursuing the topic further. "We shall discuss this matter another day."
Prince Wei pressed on: "There is one more matter. Wei Yuan has been a subject of our Great Jin for years, yet we have not seen a single speck of tax silver remitted to the court. I believe this precedent must not be permitted. Otherwise, if every military commissioner excuses themselves under the pretext of border warfare and remits nothing to the court, will we not have states within a state?"
The King of Jin did not reply. Instead, he looked at the Left Prime Minister. "What do you think?"
The Left Prime Minister said, "This matter requires thorough consideration and careful deliberation."
The King of Jin seemed to have anticipated that this old fox would offer nothing useful. "Let us stop here for today. I am tired."
After leaving the Hall of Political Affairs, the King of Jin had his carriage convey him to Chunhua Palace. Moments later, he was sitting in the garden, drinking tea across from Consort Yuan.
Consort Yuan remarked, "The last time Your Majesty came to my palace was four months ago."
The King of Jin said, "Affairs of state have been hectic of late, and you have the children to care for. I did not want to disturb you."
"Lately, I hear that the King often frequents the Hall of Political Affairs, even shortening the morning audiences considerably. What is the reason for this?"
The King of Jin chuckled softly. "Recently, I have begun to feel that my energy is constantly failing. I suppose my years have caught up with me. When one gets old, one tends to brood over things one never considered before. A few days ago, I found myself wondering: after I die, how will posterity judge me? What will the history books write about me?
"So, I thought of a method. From now on, I will hold more deliberations in the Hall of Political Affairs, where nothing said is recorded. Going forward, I will avoid issuing public edicts directly. Those matters that draw public outcry will be carried out through the ministers, while I will personally handle the noble deeds—granting universal amnesties, distributing grain, reducing taxes, and punishing corrupt officials.
"Do this for a few years, and perhaps my reputation might recover a bit."
"The King is not that old yet. Besides, aren't there grand masters and secret arts available?"
The King of Jin shook his head. "Can any master surpass an immortal? Right now, certain immortals can hardly wait. I'm not even dead yet, and their hidden moves are already being played."
Consort Yuan said serenely, "If the King is not in a rush, you might as well tell me."
"The Tang dynasty suddenly issued an imperial decree establishing Qingzhou and setting up Qingyang Prefecture, then tacked on the title of Military Commissioner of Qingyang. This Qingyang Prefecture is none other than Ningxi's four commanderies.
"Hmph, those fellows in the Tang dynasty—even while lingering on their deathbeds, they refuse to sit still. Issuing such an edict without clearly naming an appointee... isn't that just tossing Qingming out like a meaty bone for everyone to fight over?"
Consort Yuan said, "Isn't this meant for Wei Yuan? Aside from him, who would dare snatch this post? Even if someone did, what use is an empty title?"
The King of Jin chuckled. "There you are mistaken. Quite a few people wish to seize it. Just now, the fifth prince declared he was willing to guard the state's gates for me and wants to be this Military Commissioner of Qingyang."
Consort Yuan thought for a moment, then said, "The fifth prince possesses some petty cleverness; at the very least, he shouldn't be so foolish. Does he have someone behind him?"
The King of Jin said, "Who else could it be but that figure from my own family's direct lineage? There is no one else. If not on his instructions, where would the boy get such courage? Hmph, he even asked me for the new army. If I recall the new army, what will I use to hold back the Liao Clan?"
"Then what does the King intend to do?"
"One word: stall. Stall for a few years, and the matter will resolve itself."
Consort Yuan frowned slightly. "I'm afraid it won't be that simple."
The King of Jin laughed softly. "Naturally, I know it won't be that simple. What I mean is, I will be gone in a few years anyway. Out of sight, out of mind. Let the Crown Prince and the Left Prime Minister nurse that headache."
Consort Yuan fell silent, the light fading from her eyes.
The King of Jin gave a soft sigh, his expression softening. "I once thought myself a man of consummate talent, but in the end, I turned out to be nothing more than an ordinary mediocrity. If I could live a few years longer, the best arrangement would actually be to send Prince Chu to take up the post of Military Commissioner of Qingyang. But now, it is simply too late.
"After I am gone, what do you plan to do?"
Consort Yuan sighed gently. "I will return to Zhao. There is certainly no staying in this palace. The two children are still young, so I cannot follow the King in death either. That son of yours... hmph, the look in his eyes when he watches me isn't right."
The King of Jin nodded. "Going back is fine as well. The hour grows late; I should head to the Jingang Zen Monastery."
"Didn't they say that grand master is unreliable? Why not stay the night here?"
The King of Jin shook his head with a bitter smile. "Now, I will grasp at any straw. I won't rest; I'd better go put in some effort."
Only after the King of Jin had departed did Consort Yuan let out a breath and slump weakly.
Her maidservants hurriedly supported her onto the bed and unfastened her outer garments. Beneath them, along her ribs, lay a foot-long wound!
Blood had soaked through layers of gauze, faintly tinged with wisps of black qi. As the bandages were opened, a foul, rotting stench assaulted the air.
Gritting her teeth against the pain, Consort Yuan said, "Fetch that Earth Fire Pill that stimulates potential. I will take it now!"
One maidservant could not help but urge, "This might damage your foundation!"
"That is a minor concern now. If I don't take it, I might not even survive tonight."
One maidservant tended to Consort Yuan's wound while the other rushed to fetch the medicine. Watching Consort Yuan swallow the pill, one of the maids could not resist saying, "Perhaps we should send a message to Master Wei."
Pale-faced, Consort Yuan shook her head. "Forget it. He can barely look after himself right now; how could he have the means to attend to me?"
"It's not that he lacks the ability—he simply lacks the heart!"
"Shut your mouth!" Consort Yuan snapped harshly.
***
Within the city of Yong'an in Qingming, Wei Yuan was conferring with a group of close and trusted caravan managers.
Wei Yuan asked, "Over the past three months, how much brocade did the Xu family transport to the west?"
Each manager was responsible for his own sector, and they reported their figures one by one. Once the last man finished, Wei Yuan nodded. "Four hundred thousand bolts of brocade sold in three months. The numbers tally. Hmph, they've certainly made a tidy profit. With the money they received, are they buying up silk?"
An elderly manager replied, "To this old man's knowledge, every brocade store belonging to the Xu family has been aggressively buying up silk. Their purchase price is even higher than what we offer, and they have even turned around to purchase silk from us. Following your instructions, this old man has already resold five hundred thousand jin of silk to them, and we sold off the five hundred thousand jin in our reserves as well; we are currently awaiting their wagons to collect the goods. Just this single round of buying and selling yielded six hundred thousand liang of immortal silver!"
"My Lord, if we do this, won't we run out of silk ourselves?"
Wei Yuan smiled slightly. "You need not worry about that. If the Xu family's brocade stores still wish to purchase silk, sell it to them at the current market price, capped at... one million jin. However, they must hand over the silver before we prepare the goods. Furthermore, give them only ten days. Once ten days have passed, not a single liang of silk is to be sold—transport every last bit of it to me."
All the managers found his actions baffling, unable to fathom what scheme Wei Yuan had up his sleeve. The price of silk had already soared to eight times its original value, and it was still climbing in a straight line.
This season, Wei Yuan had slightly more ice mulberry saplings available for sale, roughly ten thousand cuttings. They were snapped up in an instant, with prices driven as high as fifty liang of immortal silver per branch.
The skyrocketing price of silk had silenced every skeptic, prompting them to obediently plow under their own grain fields and plant mulberry trees instead.
Data gathered by these merchant managers alone showed that across the eight commanderies, at least two million mu of grain fields had been converted into mulberry groves in this season alone.
Wei Yuan had no intention of disclosing his plans to these men. Before long, they would see: a Wei Yuan who wasn't fighting wars was the most terrifying of all.
Chapter 607