As night fell, an enticing aroma drifted through every corner of the military camp; the scent of stewing meat even seeped into this tent. Zhuang Zhong sat upright and motionless, his eyes lowered. As a dharma idol cultivator, going a month without food or drink posed no problem to him. Yet being left out in the cold for an entire day was something he had etched into his mind—and he would remember it for a very long time.
One of his attendants said, "I'll go out and scout for news."
After stepping outside the tent, the guards did not make things difficult for him. They merely warned him not to approach the central command camp, which was protected by defensive arrays—anyone trespassing would be slain, and no one would be able to save him. As for the rest of the grounds, he was free to wander.
The attendant strolled over to a nearby campfire and saw a massive cauldron suspended above the flames, the water inside already coming to a boil.
A cook then hauled over a large tin barrel, sliced open the lid with a knife, and scooped out a substance resembling minced meat paste. He scooped out half a barrel in one breath, dumping it into the cauldron to boil alongside vegetables into a thick, hearty broth. The stew was then ladled out into the soldiers' bowls, each man receiving a generous portion to wash down their rations of rice and flatbread. Every single soldier ate until their faces glowed with ruddy heat, steam rising from their brows.
The attendant had some knowledge of military matters, and what he saw left him dumbfounded. For this single meal, each soldier received at least half a jin of meat!
When the commandery troops of Xiangrong Commandery fought, military regulations dictated they be provisioned with meat as well, yet they were fortunate to get a meal of it every few days, and even then only an ounce per man. That was without counting the embezzlement at every level of the chain of command; what truly made it into a soldier's mouth was likely barely ten to twenty percent of that allotment.
The attendant made a circuit through the camp, checking at least a dozen hearths. Every one was the same. Still, he found it difficult to believe. If the entire army ate like this, just how immense was their consumption of military supplies? The mere thought made his head spin.
Just then, he caught sight of a female general passing by. Judging by the cut and color of her uniform, she was at least a general of rank. He hurried forward to block her path, saying that Commandery Governor Zhuang had already waited the entire day and begging her to pass word to Wei Yuan so that Lord Zhuang could be received without further delay.
The female general merely nodded, then walked straight into the central camp.
A short while later, an expressionless cultivator strode into Zhuang Zhong's tent. After looking Zhuang Zhong up and down, he asked, "You are Zhuang Zhong?"
Zhuang Zhong possessed profound restraint. Although this cultivator was exceedingly rude, Zhuang Zhong showed not the slightest trace of anger, replying with utter calm, "This humble official is indeed."
The cultivator said, "Lord Wei is very busy today and has no time to see you. In any case, Governor Zhuang is merely a fifth-rank official with nothing much to do, so your time isn't worth much. You might as well wait two more days. When Lord Wei finds some free time, he will see you."
A flash of livid azure crossed Zhuang Zhong's face. Suppressing his rage, he said, "This humble official holds a lowly post, so naturally I do not enter Lord Wei's esteemed sight. However, I must ask this gentleman to relay a message. Many of my kin and subordinates are currently detained in the camp, and I do not know how they fare. If possible, might I visit them first?"
The cultivator sneered, "So you finally realize how lowly your rank is? A measly fifth rank, yet you expect an audience with Lord Wei the moment you arrive! Anyone watching would think you were of the first rank!"
Zhuang Zhong held his temper, but the attendants beside him were infuriated. One shouted, "Governor Zhuang is a master of the dharma idol stage! You had better show some respect!"
To their shock, the cultivator's aura surged, and a giant patterned tiger manifested above his head as a dharma idol. In an instant, the sheer pressure forced the attendants sprawling to the ground. The cultivator then sneered, "So what? Who doesn't have a dharma idol?"
Zhuang Zhong was both shocked and enraged, yet a chill ran through his heart. This cultivator's dharma idol was peculiar, but one glance showed it was a divine beast specialized for slaughter. This was a Heaven Tier dharma idol, completely beyond anything his own proud Earth Tier dharma idol could match.
The dharma idol cultivator remained expressionless as he said, "More than four hundred people are detained in the camp. As for who is who, I have no idea, but none of them have eaten for three days. Since Governor Zhuang is here, remember to hurry and have people deliver their food. Fifty jin of rice and ten jin of meat per person each day, otherwise they'll starve."
Zhuang Zhong replied, "I must see Lord Wei before I can discuss this matter."
The dharma idol cultivator let out a cold laugh. "Who's discussing anything with you? This is a notification."
Zhuang Zhong said coldly, "Then I would like to see whether Lord Wei can truly watch those people starve to death."
With that, he paid the cultivator no further heed, closing his eyes to rest his spirit.
Inside the central command tent, Wei Yuan stood before a map of the five commanderies, laying out the next phase of his plan. "The checkpoints along the main roads have already been established, but there are still a dozen or so secondary paths. Checkpoints must be set up there as well. Then release word that in half a month, regardless of identity, an eighty percent levy will be extracted from all passing cargo as military funds. Imperial kin and royal relatives will be no exception."
Several dozen officers stood within the tent, all outfitted in new uniforms—a clean, uniform shade of dark black that made for a striking sight.
Wei Yuan continued, "Starting today, Qingming will halt all grain sales to the five commanderies. Along the border, set up a congee station every ten li. Mobilize the local gangs and ruffians to spread word of these border stations, telling everyone that there is food to eat if they go to Qingming.
"In addition, print a batch of congee tickets. Anyone holding these tickets may redeem them for congee at any station established by Qingming. If all goes smoothly, the congee tickets alone will draw over a massive crowd.
"Winter has already set in. Most of the grain reserves in the five commanderies have been requisitioned as army provisions, and the borderlands rely entirely on grain from Qingming to survive. The moment we stop selling grain, famine will inevitably break out across the five commanderies, and people will certainly begin selling their fields and land.
"When that happens, the bureaucratic households and prominent clans will move to buy up land. But this time, we will buy land as well. No matter how much they offer, we will outbid them, driving prices back up to the level of normal harvest years. However, our payment will be half in silver and half in congee tickets."
A young officer offered a suggestion: "My Lord, I have a proposal. If we include a portion of actual grain in the purchase price, the results will be even better. In times of war and chaos, money cannot buy grain. So long as we provide grain, even if our price is slightly below normal, farmers will be far more willing to sell to us. Those seeking to sell their land are starving and unable to survive; as long as they see food, they will do anything we ask."
Wei Yuan recalled this officer's dossier. Born into poverty, the young man had been among the earliest refugees to put down roots in Qingming and part of the first cohort to establish a Dao Foundation. Since then, he had fought valiantly with boldness and meticulous care, racking up military achievements to earn an early promotion to colonel. After spending half a year studying at the Qingming Military Academy, he had reached the middle Dao Foundation stage and been promoted to vice general—a young officer cultivated entirely by Qingming itself.
Wei Yuan said, "An excellent idea! Then modify the grain portion to half congee tickets and half physical grain. Go oversee the transport of another five million jin of grain from Qingming. I want polished rice."
Once the deployments were arranged, Wei Yuan concluded, "Simply plundering gold, silver, and jewels will not make these prominent clans submit, nor will it break their bones. Their greatest wealth is land—it can only ever be land—and that is something we cannot carry away. Thus, they will believe that so long as they grit their teeth and endure for the moment, we will eventually leave.
"All of you must remember: our objective this time is people! We must do everything possible to separate them from the land and migrate them to Qingming. By the time these clans realize they are left with barren expanses of land and no one left to till it, it will already be too late."
Only then did the officers realize why Wei Yuan had persistently orchestrated his moves around grain, artificially engineering turmoil and famine across the five commanderies. Only famine could force peasants to abandon their native soil and migrate elsewhere.
"Very well. Keep the primary objective firmly in mind, and feel free to exercise your own judgment on the specifics. Each man's mission and assigned troops will be distributed shortly. Return to your camps and await orders."
The officers dispersed, and within moments, units began departing the camp one after another, galloping off into the distant night.
Xu Yi asked, "With such a massive disturbance, won't they report this to the imperial court?"
Wei Yuan offered a faint smile. "Only what happens here in Xiangrong Commandery will be submitted to the throne; the other commanderies won't make a sound. These local officials have always reported only good news and suppressed the bad. How could a few starving refugees ever matter more to them than the official hats on their heads? As long as it doesn't trigger a massive popular uprising or form an organized rebel army, they won't report it. We can act with complete freedom."
"And what of Xiangrong Commandery?"
Wei Yuan said, "We have our own people at court, and the King of Jin will wrangle with them on our behalf. At most, that clean-stream faction will attack me with brush and tongue, slapping a label on me as a treacherous official and an overbearing minister so my name stinks for ten thousand years. Aside from that trick, there is nothing else they can do to harm me. Would they actually dare fight a war against me?"
Xu Yi's eyes went wide. "Is having your name stink for ten thousand years not a monumental matter?"
"Reputation is merely something left behind after death; it is nothing to fuss over. Besides, if I perish before my time, then everything ends anyway, so what does reputation matter? And if by good fortune I succeed, could I not simply commission someone to write the history? Whatever displeases me, I'll have them rewrite it! And while they're at it, give everyone I dislike a thorough tongue-lashing in the records!"
Xu Yi was left speechless.
As the two spoke, an enraged roar suddenly rang out in the sky above the encampment: "Wei Yuan! Hiding away and refusing to face me—what kind of hero does that make you?!"
The shout echoed across the wilderness, audible in every corner of the vast camp. Countless soldiers emerged from their tents, gazing into the night sky, curious to see who possessed the sheer audacity to challenge the Military Commissioner.
In midair, Zhuang Zhong drew a deep breath, preparing to shout once more, when he saw Wei Yuan flick a finger from afar. Instantly, innumerable bolts of lightning formed in the sky, cascading down like a torrential waterfall!
Arcing lightning swallowed Zhuang Zhong's figure. With a wretched shriek, thunderfire erupted across his entire body, reducing him to a scorched cinder that plummeted straight to the earth.
A collective sigh of disappointment rose from the soldiers. They had expected to witness a breathtaking duel between top masters, only to find another fool who couldn't even withstand the Military Commissioner's signature lightning strike. There was truly nothing worth watching.
A pair of boots appeared before Zhuang Zhong's eyes. Struggling to prop himself up, he raised his head and finally laid eyes on Wei Yuan.
Wei Yuan grinned. "Though you and I both stand at the dharma idol stage, destroying you is like crushing a passing ant, or an autumn wind sweeping aside fallen leaves by the road. Once you are wiped out, no one will even know you ever existed."
Black smoke billowed from Zhuang Zhong's mouth and nose. His eyes rolled back into his head, and he fainted dead away from sheer fury.
Xu Yi, standing at Wei Yuan's side, asked in slight confusion, "If all we want is the people, isn't creating a famine enough? Why waste time on someone like him?"
Wei Yuan replied, "Taking the people is merely the first step. Dealing with men like him is for the second."
Chapter 748