Fang Hetong called in several men to carry the three crates of military supplies into the storehouse, specifically instructing them to conduct a strict inventory and log everything properly before finally sitting down beside Wei Yuan once all was arranged.
Fang Hetong remained silent for a moment before sighing. "Speaking of which, this is actually my own doing. Several months ago, when the barbarian Liao invaded, I set aside my brush to join the ranks out of sheer impassioned fervor. Yet when I arrived in Quyang County, I discovered that the assistant commander here was pocketing pay for phantom troops, all under the county magistrate's shield. In times of peace, padding payrolls might be overlooked, but now with foreign invaders crossing our borders and frontier troops shorthanded, isn't it the common folk who suffer? In a fit of fury, I sent a petition to the commandery governor, impeaching the county magistrate as well.
"Little did I expect the governor to be in cahoots with them. Once my letter was sent up, it vanished without a trace, while retaliation from the magistrate and assistant commander came in swift succession. Back then, I raised a call and rallied hundreds of resolute men to defend our homeland, but the assistant commander dragged his feet, refusing to recognize their status as militiamen. The county refused to grant a single copper or grain of food, leaving me to subsidize their provisions out of my own pocket. But what fortune did I possess? Selling off my fields and homestead brought in only a meager sum. It was solely through aid from my fellow disciples at the academy that I managed to hold out until now—and in the end, our food still ran out. Had Brother Wei not arrived, I truly would not have known what to do."
"Brother Fang is my elder; I dare not accept being called Brother Wei."
"Then having a few years on you, this elder brother shall presume to address you as worthy brother."
"Please continue, Brother Fang."
Fang Hetong sighed heavily. "In truth, I have often wondered: if someone else had rallied them to guard the border instead of me, perhaps the brothers outside would have gained official recognition as militiamen long ago, rather than shedding blood against the Liao while their families starved at home."
Wei Yuan was unfamiliar with Western Jin politics, and his mission here was merely to guard the frontier. The Palace of Grand Beginning had no intention of meddling in Western Jin court affairs, so he did not know how to handle these bureaucratic entanglements. However, if the authorities would not help, the Palace of Grand Beginning was still there.
Each of those two crates of dried meat held a thousand strips, together enough to sustain two hundred soldiers for ten days. However, the Palace of Grand Beginning's standard for soldiers assumed one had completed tempering muscle and sinew—such people had an appetite far exceeding ordinary mortals. For the villagers of Shayang Village, who had only just begun Body Casting, half a strip a day was sufficient. For an ordinary mortal who had never cultivated, it would take four days to consume a single strip.
A crate of dried meat like that was priced at one tael of immortal silver within the Palace of Grand Beginning. In other words, an introductory disciple's monthly stipend could sustain over a thousand ordinary mortals for more than a month—and that was based on military rations. If converted into coarse rice, it would keep them alive for well over half a year. Even if Wei Yuan relied solely on his own monthly stipend to exchange for grain, he could easily support these people.
Gathering himself, Fang Hetong said, "I was merely brooding and venting a few grievances; Junior Brother, do not take it to heart. Since you have only just arrived, let me first brief you on the battle situation."
The two stepped before the map, and Fang Hetong said, "The enemy directly facing us is the Agula tribe of the barbarian Liao. Agula is considered a mid-sized tribe among the Liao, yet they still boast over a hundred thousand mounted archers. Several months ago, Agula seized the last three counties of Pingning Commandery, annexing the entire territory, which turned Bianning and Ganning Commanderies into the front line. Our Quyang County is the poorest in the entire commandery; the barbarian Liao have little interest here, focusing their main force on Ganning Commandery. Here, they have deployed only detached forces, typically approaching from the north and northwest. I suspect their camps are located in these spots."
Fang Hetong tapped several locations along the edge of the map. "Judging by the geomantic veins, these sites likely possess underground water sources, making them natural places to pitch camp. The barbarian Liao are adept at finding water; these locations wouldn't escape their notice."
Fang Hetong continued, "The barbarian Liao fight primarily on horseback, coming and going like the wind. To restrict their movement, aside from raising the parapets, I had many pits dug outside the walls—one foot wide and two feet deep—preventing them from charging at full gallop. However, the barbarian Liao occasionally mount night raids, which prove exceedingly troublesome. Many of our men cannot see clearly after dark, so I must stand watch in person to ensure nothing goes amiss."
Fang Hetong explained several more defensive measures, the most crucial being three heavy crossbows borrowed from the academy, extraordinarily devastating within a hundred zhang. Furthermore, he possessed a magical artifact longbow capable of shooting three hundred zhang. It was through his own archery that Fang Hetong had traded shots with the Liao horsemen without falling behind.
Fang Hetong had also gathered the elderly, weak, women, and children from three villages and relocated them to the two rear villages. Initially, small bands of Liao cavalry had noticed Shayang Village's tight defenses and attempted to bypass it to strike the settlements behind. They never anticipated that Fang Hetong's artifact longbow could cover every approach leading to those rear villages. Over ten horsemen were picked off as they tried to skirt around, and from then on, the barbarian Liao dared not circumvent Shayang Village again.
Fang Hetong knew Northern Liao quite well and had organized defenses properly. Combined with defending their homes and kin, every man fought with his life on the line; only thus could he lead several hundred untrained farmers to hold off Northern Liao for three full months without grain or pay.
Listening to this, Wei Yuan felt genuine admiration for Fang Hetong. Having already forged a Dao Foundation, Fang Hetong could be considered to have set foot upon the immortal path. Yet he endured hunger and cold, leading a band of farmers to resist foreign invaders and squandering his personal fortune without hesitation, never yielding despite being suppressed and harassed at every turn by the powerful. Such unyielding character was rare indeed.
"Junior Brother Wei, might we compare notes on our Dao Foundations and specialized arts? That way, we will know each other's strengths and coordinate properly on the battlefield," Fang Hetong suggested. This was entirely reasonable, and Wei Yuan naturally agreed.
Seeing Wei Yuan nod, Fang Hetong said, "My aptitude is dull. After more than twenty years of bitter cultivation, I had barely completed Body Casting, with no hope of ever forging a Dao Foundation. Later, one day, as I was reading the sage's Three Immortalities, feeling stirred in my heart, I achieved my Dao Foundation. It takes the form of a book containing three treatises: the first is Establishing Words, and the second is Establishing Merit."
Before Wei Yuan's eyes appeared a volume. Its style was quite antique, thread-bound into a booklet. Seeing it, Wei Yuan felt a flicker of surprise; it had been a long time since he had seen a book made of mortal paper. Inside the Palace of Grand Beginning, everything was jade paper. Most of what was called a book was merely a single sheet, perused with divine sense. Even vital texts consisted of only three jade sheets: front cover, content, and back cover.
A single sheet of jade paper could hold a million words, and higher-quality jade paper could even hold a trace of Dao charm. Thus, all cultivation methods within the Palace of Grand Beginning were inscribed on jade paper, often infused with a wisp of the author's comprehension upon writing, offering tremendous aid to anyone studying its contents. The highest-grade jade paper could even bear the insights of a True Monarch. However, refining a single sheet of the highest grade required ten thousand ordinary jade sheets, so even across the entire Palace of Grand Beginning, very few existed, all reserved for recording heaven-reaching paths.
Fang Hetong's book was not particularly thick, about a finger's breadth across, containing roughly a hundred-odd pages. Although this was a Dao Foundation, a Dao Foundation was an externalization of what took root in one's heart—it showed that in Fang Hetong's mind, a book was meant to look like this.
"Why not use jade paper?" Wei Yuan asked. Not that Wei Yuan looked down upon mortal paper, but as a Dao Foundation, jade paper and mortal paper occupied entirely different grades; jade paper would have endowed it with manifold mystical properties. A book could bear the Great Dao and was no mundane vessel. If Fang Hetong's Dao Foundation were a book of jade paper, it might very well have reached Earth Tier.
Fang Hetong said helplessly, "Our White Maple Academy is a humble sect; how could we compare to an immortal sect? Aside from a few heritage cultivation methods recorded on jade paper, everything else in the academy is on mortal paper. Ever since I joined the academy, I have copied texts and practiced calligraphy on mortal paper, and all the books I have read were on mortal paper. Even mortal paper could not be used carelessly. That is why the Dao Foundation I condensed looks like this."
"I see. Then what purposes do these three treatises serve?" Wei Yuan shifted the topic smoothly.
Sure enough, Fang Hetong's spirits lifted, and he explained in detail.
Establishing Words allowed Fang Hetong to impart knowledge, teach skills, and resolve doubts with twice the result for half the effort. Imparting knowledge was not limited to reading books; guiding disciples in cultivation received a boost as well. Over the past few months, Fang Hetong had led the men in building fortifications and working the fields by day, taught them reading and literacy by night, and then had them practice Body Casting for two hours before sleep. These men were originally illiterate farmers, yet after several months, the slowest had learned over a hundred characters, while the quickest recognized five or six hundred. Moreover, they had all made progress in Body Casting. Making headway in Body Casting while unable even to eat their fill was truly no small feat.
Establishing Merit originally referred to achieving great deeds and renown, but in Fang Hetong's Dao Foundation, it temporarily enhanced the abilities of those around him. Under the empowerment of this treatise, these former farmers could display the capabilities of someone who had completed tempering muscle and sinew, their combat strength rivaling that of qualified soldiers in the regular frontier army. Though the duration was short, when used well on the battlefield, it could work wonders. It was with this treatise that Fang Hetong had repeatedly turned around doomed battles, holding off the ferocious Liao barbarians for months with a band of farmers.
Fang Hetong did not mention what the third treatise was, nor did Wei Yuan ask. After all, they had only just met, and it was only natural for Fang Hetong to hold something back.
When it was Wei Yuan's turn, he frankly stated that he had only achieved great mastery of Body Casting and had not yet condensed a Dao Foundation. As for what he specialized in, Wei Yuan had never actually considered it, and could only say that he dabbled a bit in everything.
Wei Yuan's physical toughness was seven or eight times that of peers at his level, and his Dao power was over ten times greater. At this stage, he could cast virtually any Daoist art at will, so he could hardly claim a particular specialty.
Fang Hetong did not look down on Wei Yuan for lacking a Dao Foundation. Disciples of immortal sects and cultivators from minor sects like theirs were simply from different worlds; challenging opponents of higher cultivation realms was routine for them. Even if an immortal sect disciple possessed an ordinary Dao Foundation, their magical artifacts and Daoist arts could effortlessly crush minor sects.
Naturally, what was even more terrifying was not the immortal sect disciples themselves, but their masters and fellow sect members. If you struck a Dao Foundation disciple from an immortal sect, you would have to fight your way up the chain—and before you knew it, a Scenery Command True Monarch might come bursting forth. That was nothing like White Maple Academy, which had at most a single dharma idol cultivator who sat at the very bottom among those of the same realm, forced to swallow insults and compromise at every turn.
After comparing notes on their abilities and Dao arts, Fang Hetong discussed the defensive system with Wei Yuan.
Fang Hetong began with local defense. With Northern Liao invading south in force, it was naturally impossible to rely solely on garrison troops and militiamen to hold them off. The main defensive force of Quyang County was actually the fifteen hundred elite frontier troops stationed in a military redoubt thirty li away. The assistant commander leading them was named Liao Jingwu, who had forged his Dao Foundation twenty years ago and was said to still have a sliver of hope to advance further.
Military redoubts were the core of Great Tang's northern frontier defense. Armies built redoubts at strategic points to hold the line, equipping them with immensely powerful siege crossbows that only Dao Foundation cultivators could operate, capable of felling a Dao Foundation cultivator with a single bolt. Each redoubt was also assigned a cavalry unit; when faced with a vast foreign army, they would hold the fortification, and when facing small enemy contingents, cavalry would ride out to annihilate them. These redoubts, garrisoned with elite troops, served as defensive anchors across a hundred li, forming an interlocking defensive network alongside county seats and villages.
Hearing this, Wei Yuan understood immediately: the key figure overseeing the broader local defense was in fact Assistant Commander Liao Jingwu, who held sweeping authority to deploy troops, distribute military supplies, and command the militia.
It was just that the one Fang Hetong had petitioned the commandery governor to impeach for embezzling on phantom troops was this very Assistant Commander Liao.
Chapter 67