Facing such a deadly topic as evaluating the monarchs of two states, Wei Yuan naturally would not take the bait so easily. Instead, he countered, "What does the Fourth Prince think?"
Li Chengfeng laughed heartily. "My view is inevitably a bit biased, but since Lord Wei has asked, I naturally must answer. To put it simply, the King of Jin is benighted and commits countless tyrannical acts. The King of Zhao is valiant and martial, yet prone to arbitrary autocracy—serving him is like walking with a tiger."
Wei Yuan nodded and asked again, "Since the Fourth Prince already knows this, what is your intention in coming to ask me?"
Li Chengfeng said meaningfully, "Lord Wei, this territory of Qingming was won entirely through your own efforts; Western Jin hasn't given you a single copper of assistance. If our Zhao emissary hadn't been ambushed en route back then, you would be a military commissioner of our Great Zhao today. My purpose in coming this time is just to ask Lord Wei one question: if war breaks out between Jin and Zhao, how will you position yourself?"
Wei Yuan laughed out loud and asked, "Have the western hillfolk all been wiped out?"
Li Chengfeng was taken aback. "The hillfolk are formidable, and their terrain is easy to defend and hard to attack. Wiping them out is naturally out of the question."
"And have the Guiche and Demon Li in the southwest and south all been eradicated?"
"Neither."
Wei Yuan's two consecutive questions were aggressive and probing, yet here he suddenly offered a faint smile. "I, Wei Yuan, am currently the Military Commissioner of Qingyang under Great Tang."
Li Chengfeng's mind raced. "Does Lord Wei mean that you will remain detached, staying out of the disputes between the two states?"
Wei Yuan said, "I am currently fighting in the north. Were it not for your Bishui domain right next door, I would have mobilized all of Qingming's armies and sent them to the Northern Mountain Gate."
Li Chengfeng sighed. "Lord Wei, forgive me for speaking candidly despite our shallow acquaintance. Since ancient times, those who try to play both sides have never come to a good end. Anyone paying attention can see clearly which of Jin and Zhao is strong and which is weak. Furthermore, although my royal father is headstrong and obstinate, he is by no means an envious man who suppresses talent. As long as one renders merit, the due rewards are never withheld. Over the years, figures like Marquis Ping'an and Marquis Wuding have reached the pinnacle of court nobility while still commanding their own armies. There has never been any talk of purging meritorious subjects or casting aside loyal retainers once their usefulness is served. Under such a monarch, who merely has a bit of a temper, what more could one ask for?"
Wei Yuan smiled slightly. "Has the Fourth Prince come to act as a lobbyist?"
Li Chengfeng suddenly bowed deeply to the ground. "I do not merely wish to invite Lord Wei to join Zhao; I also wish to ask Lord Wei to lend me a helping hand! When I ascend the throne in the future, at court you will be beneath only one man and above ten thousand; in private, you and I shall treat each other as brothers, and our two families shall be bound by generations of marriage. Unworthy though I am, I may not have other talents, but I keep my word, possess self-awareness, and have the magnanimity to accommodate others!"
Wei Yuan hurriedly went over to help Li Chengfeng up. "Please, Fourth Prince, do not say such things; I cannot bear them. I am currently a military commissioner of Great Tang, and my heart is tied to the north. I truly have no wish to take part in internal strife among the human race. How about this: if war truly breaks out, though I have little else, I still have some armaments and provisions. If the Fourth Prince needs anything, feel free to take them."
"This—" Li Chengfeng hesitated, wanting to speak, before finally sighing. "Since Lord Wei insists, I cannot press further. It is only that my royal father cannot tolerate a grain of sand in his eyes. I fear there may be trouble."
Wei Yuan laughed out loud. "The King of Zhao is the King of Zhao; we are we. For the things you need, Fourth Prince, I naturally have no reason to refuse."
Li Chengfeng said, "Then I shall take my leave first."
"Wait a moment, Fourth Prince! Do you still have surplus refugees over on your side?"
Li Chengfeng said, "There are still tens of thousands yet to be settled. What, is Lord Wei short of manpower again?"
Wei Yuan let out a long sigh as well. "With so much land sitting empty, someone has to grow grain!"
"Very well, I will organize the groups within three days and arrange for their departure!"
"The Fourth Prince is straightforward indeed. Then, still the old price?"
Li Chengfeng gave a half-smile. "Once war breaks out, refugees will cover the hills and plains. The price will definitely plummet then. Does Lord Wei want to consider waiting to buy them later?"
Wei Yuan waved a hand. "No need! It's only tens of thousands of people, not much money at all. The sooner I buy them, the sooner I benefit!"
After parting ways, Li Chengfeng left Zhike Town and returned to Bishui.
At this time, the younger aide said, "Qingming is already quite formidable. If we give them more refugees and materials, I fear the tail will grow too large to wag, becoming impossible to restrain. We should find a way to blockade Qingming; we cannot give them refugees!"
Li Chengfeng turned to the older aide. "What does Mr. Shi think?"
With Wei Yuan's endorsement, his attitude toward the older aide had improved considerably, regaining a hint of deference toward men of talent.
The older aide said slowly, "When in a position, attend to its duties. When not in that position, do not meddle in its affairs."
The younger aide was somewhat baffled by this, but Li Chengfeng's mind was instantly illuminated with crystal clarity.
Over the past half year or more, Li Chengfeng had appeared to suffer military defeat and humiliation, forced into making multiple transactions with Wei Yuan. Yet whether it was reselling machine brocade and raw silk, or gathering medicinal herbs and refugees to trade for armor and weaponry, Li Chengfeng made a profit on every batch of goods that passed through his hands.
Though he exercised considerable restraint, daring only to take a modest cut, the sheer volume was simply overwhelming. Even if he earned just half a liang per bolt of brocade, that quickly amounted to over two million liang of immortal silver, and his profits from other materials were of a similar magnitude.
With money in hand, many things could be accomplished. Now, not only had Bishui domain rebuilt a hundred thousand elite troops, but it had also attracted a hundred thousand residents, thriving with prosperity. These residents were by no means mere refugees; many among them were skilled craftsmen, while the rest were strong and able-bodied—farming in peacetime, bearing swords in war.
Li Chengfeng's standing among the various princes and princesses had soared, currently ranking firmly in the top three. He was planning to recruit and train another hundred thousand new troops. Once he held two hundred thousand elite soldiers in hand, he would be a heavyweight figure of real authority in all of Zhao, no longer having to rely solely on his status as the Fourth Prince to get things done.
And the prerequisite for all of this was maintaining trade relations with Qingming. At present, Zhao was enforcing a total blockade against Qingming, but the Bishui domain had become a conduit through which all traded goods between the two sides passed. As long as goods flowed through his territory, Li Chengfeng could make money.
Everyone knew that such a massive flow of goods would inevitably strengthen Qingming's might. The trouble was that Li Chengfeng also needed money and power right now. Without immortal silver in hand, there would be no grand army, and the throne would surely slip from his grasp.
A blockade on Qingming benefited the state of Zhao, but trade was of paramount importance to Li Chengfeng personally. If Li Chengfeng wished to become the King of Zhao, he had to do everything possible to maintain trade with Qingming; once he ascended the throne, it would not be too late to blockade Qingming then.
Back in Qingming, once Li Chengfeng had left, Wei Yuan waved his hand, and Bao Yun and Cui Yu stepped forward.
Wei Yuan said, "Li Chengfeng's visit this time was likely at the King of Zhao's bidding. It seems the King of Zhao is preparing to move against Jin."
Cui Yu said, "Given the King of Zhao's temperament, he will certainly not allow us to sit on the mountain and watch the tigers fight, reaping the fisherman's profit. In my view, he will most likely dispatch troops to fight another battle against us. Only through such a battle can terms for our future coexistence be hammered out."
Bao Yun said, "The chariot unit has been assembled. If Zhao comes, it will be the perfect chance to test the prowess of Zhao's world-renowned iron cavalry."
Wei Yuan said, "That is precisely why I am keeping you both in Qingming. Furthermore, land reclamation must under no circumstances be halted. If there is truly too much grain to store, find alternative ways to preserve it. What about that... canned food Xu Wenwu mentioned—have they developed it yet?"
Bao Yun said, "It looks simple, but in truth the requirements for the sealed sheet iron are exceptionally high. Martial Uncle Yu spent a long time researching it and finally managed to develop a thin steel sheet that barely meets the specifications. However, the surface of this steel sheet needs to be treated with Dao power, and previously we lacked enough cultivators. After this grand ceremony, Martial Uncle Yu gained another five hundred hands dedicated exclusively to producing this thin steel, which should be just about enough."
Wei Yuan nodded. "Then manufacture a batch first as reserves; when war comes, this will be the best military ration. There's no need to make them as small as Xu Wenwu described—make them into large drums, enough to feed ten men in one sitting."
Wei Yuan then turned to Cui Yu. "How is the progress on leasing flying boats from the Cui family?"
Cui Yu replied, "Old Ancestor was very supportive of this matter and decided to lease us one giant flying boat, three medium flying boats, and ten small flying boats."
Wei Yuan's eyes lit up. "So many?!"
Previously, Wei Yuan had gathered every flying boat he could find, requisitioning all that the Palace of Grand Beginning could spare, yet up to now he had only managed to assemble nine vessels—eight small and one medium. Only three had been transferred from the Palace of Grand Beginning; the other six were leased from merchant guilds. These flying boats had small cargo capacities and slow speeds. For a single flight to the Northern Mountain Gate, a journey of merely a hundred-odd thousand li, a round trip took nearly a month.
As a result, Wei Yuan had been forced to devote the vast majority of flying boat transport capacity entirely to moving ammunition; he could hardly transport many cannons, had only managed to send twenty chariots, and had moved just over ten thousand troops.
However, at the Northern Mountain Gate, due to the direct suppression by the natal immortal treasure, only Dao soldiers received significant enhancements. Apart from its few most elite divisions, Qingming's troops held no advantage at the Northern Mountain Gate, and casualties would spike drastically. After realizing this, Wei Yuan shifted his strategy, focusing primarily on strengthening the Northern Mountain Gate's own Dao soldiers. Yet constrained by flying boat transport capacity, the pace of outfitting them had never reached Wei Yuan's ideal pace.
This time, the Cui family had acted with immense generosity. If nothing else, the carrying capacity of that single giant flying boat alone exceeded the sum of all their current transport capacity.
Cui Yu smiled. "Old Ancestor said that this time she brought out thirty percent of the family's assets, so you'd better treat me well in the future."
So many flying boats accounted for only thirty percent of the Cui family's fleet? Once again, Wei Yuan gained a firsthand appreciation of an aristocratic clan's terrifying wealth.
Having settled Qingming's affairs, Wei Yuan was just preparing to return to the Northern Mountain Gate when he learned that Zhao Tong had arrived in Qingming. This old acquaintance wore a worried expression. The moment he saw Wei Yuan, he said, "His Majesty said that if you have free time, you should go to the royal capital to see him. In addition, Consort Yuan asked me to pass along a message: she misses you dearly as well."
Wei Yuan checked his schedule and said, "The war in the north is pressing. How about we head to the royal capital right now?"
Zhao Tong replied, "That would be best of all!"
***
Western Jin, Yingdu, Jingang Zen Monastery.
The King of Jin walked slowly through the monastery gates. He paused for a moment before the Merit Lotus Pond, where only a single withered leaf remained, before continuing inward, ascending the steps, and entering the main hall.
Upon the altar at the end of the hall, nothing rested. The green-eyed woman knelt before the altar, striking a wooden fish with rhythmic, steady taps. The hollow, desolate clacks of the wooden fish carried the rusted patina of time washed over by long ages.
The King of Jin came to a stop behind her and asked, "Does This King still have a path forward?"
Without turning around, the green-eyed woman said, "The path has always been beneath your feet."
"This King wishes to ask: is there any other path?"
"The vast majority of living beings in this world have no path to walk. Yet you have at least one path—a path to the heavens—that has remained there all along. You had already walked most of it, yet you became unwilling to continue. Why come to ask me now?"
"How does This King compare to Xu Wangu?"
"He could carve a path out of nothingness; how could you compare to him? Originally, had you followed this path to its end, you would have beheld a mountain. If you could have scaled to its summit, you would have been worthy of comparison with him. Yet you only walked half the journey. Now, to say nothing of Xu Wangu, even a casual idle move by Lu Changhe would be more than enough to destroy you."
"Yet This King has already broken the deadlock!"
"That deadlock was broken by Wei Yuan. And the price he paid to break it is something you should know."
The King of Jin walked out of the main hall and passed by the Merit Lotus Pond once more. He stood for a moment beside the pond filled with withered yellow leaves before departing.
In the vast Jingang Zen Monastery, there was no longer a second pond of Merit Lotus flowers.
Chapter 713