In the eleventh month of the sixth year of Tianqi, Li Chengfeng of the State of Zhao mobilized an army of one hundred thousand. Within a single month, he led a blitz across seven thousand li, winning nine out of nine battles. Driving straight in without resistance, he bore down on Hanyang Pass, besieged it for half a month, and ultimately seized it in one stroke, shaking the world.
When Zhao's other princes and princesses heard the news, their temperaments all reportedly underwent sharp changes. In particular, the Sixth Prince, whose previous raid against Hanyang Pass had ended in the annihilation of his entire force, flew into such rages that he struck several maids dead by accident.
The Crown Prince, who had been training troops in the rear, abandoned his drilling upon hearing the news and rushed back to the front lines overnight to personally take charge of the offensive against Yunxiang's two commanderies.
The fall of Hanyang Pass sent shockwaves through Western Jin's court and populace alike. It meant their western gateway was now shut, cutting off the realm of the Military Commissioner of Dingxi—the fiercest military commission in the realm—from Jin soil. Jin was now encircled on three sides, while to the east lay Eastern Jin.
The Three Jin states had perpetually waged life-and-death struggles over the true mantle of Great Jin. For Eastern Jin not to seize this opportunity to launch an invasion was already generous; no matter how badly Western Jin's situation deteriorated, they dared not budge a single soldier from the five-hundred-thousand-strong army stationed on their eastern border.
When word of Hanyang Pass's fall reached the Jin capital, the King of Jin broke precedent by convening an emergency evening court assembly to deliberate the crisis.
Once the officials were assembled, the King of Jin hurled a map directly in front of the Right Prime Minister and berated him: "You have overseen military affairs for twenty years, and this is how you run them?! In the east, you cannot hold your ground, and in the west, a mere hundred thousand Zhao soldiers took our greatest pass! If We tied a dog to your post, it wouldn't do any worse than this!"
The Right Prime Minister's face turned livid. He had never imagined the King of Jin would humiliate him so utterly without saving a shred of face.
At this point, the Left Prime Minister stepped forward and petitioned: "Your Holy Majesty, please calm your wrath! The blame in this matter lies squarely with Wei Yuan. Zhao's army marched past right under his nose, yet he held his forces back and did not move an inch. There is grave suspicion of collusion with the enemy! This subject requests Your Holy Majesty issue an edict ordering Wei Yuan to recover the lost territory within one month, failing which he is to be brought to the capital to face justice!"
The King of Jin narrowed his eyes slightly and scanned the civil and military officials gathered in the hall. He saw peculiar expressions across the civil officials' faces, none of which conveyed fear or respect.
The King of Jin knew that if he pressed any further, the entire court would likely fall to their knees to exonerate the Right Prime Minister and urge the monarch to rescind his decree.
A sudden thought crossed the King of Jin's mind: *What if I insist on having the Right Prime Minister beaten to death right here in court?*
The corner of his eye glanced at the guards standing outside the palace hall, and in his heart he already knew the answer: the commander of the guards would drag his feet, stalling for time, while the officials continued to plead for mercy. If the King refused to grant them this face, his only option would be to take matters into his own hands.
The King of Jin closed his eyes slightly, as if envisioning himself descending the dais sword in hand to slay the Right Prime Minister in person. The officials would rush forward to restrain him—some grabbing his waist, others seizing his arms—and amid the chaos, he would somehow feel a sharp pain in his body. Then his consciousness would fade, and he would collapse headfirst, cracking his skull until blood flowed.
In the end, the imperial physicians would arrive, fail to revive him, and announce that he had died from a sudden rush of enraged blood to the heart. The ministers would then enthrone a child emperor, appoint themselves regents, and oversee affairs of state.
As for the child emperor... Prince Fu's figure suddenly flashed across the King of Jin's mind.
The moment this thought surfaced, a sudden chill rose within him. He could not help wondering: *Could it be that he is in on it as well?*
"Your Holy Majesty? Your Holy Majesty?" Several calls jolted the King of Jin back to reality.
The King of Jin opened his eyes and said wearily, "We have barely slept these past few days and are truly somewhat fatigued. Let us continue the discussion. What is Wei Yuan doing right now?"
A military officer in charge of intelligence reported: "To report to Your Holy Majesty, Wei Yuan is refining pills."
"Refining pills?" The King of Jin was greatly astonished. The Left Prime Minister, Right Prime Minister, and other civil ministers also wore baffled expressions.
The officer continued, "For the past two months, Wei Yuan has secluded himself behind closed doors, doing nothing but refining pills. He has already opened three successive cauldrons of Great Sun Morning Splendor Pills, every batch producing anomalous phenomena, and the final furnace even drew down a heavenly tribulation. It is said that Wei Yuan's talent in the alchemical dao is peerless, far surpassing his peers at the Creation Temple, and the Temple Master of Creation intends to pass on his position to him."
The King of Jin asked in wonder, "Wei Yuan is that skilled in pill refinement? Could it be that the Longevity Extending Pill he presented last time was refined by his own hand?"
The expressions of several elderly ministers in the hall turned strange again. If Wei Yuan had refined that Longevity Extending Pill himself, didn't that mean where there was a first, there could be a second?
The King of Jin gathered his composure and decreed: "The collapse of our southern defenses is a reality. The Right Prime Minister has been overtaxed of late, so We grant you one year of leave. All duties shall be assumed by Lü Zhongzhi. In addition, dispatch an imperial edict to Wei Yuan ordering him to march immediately and reclaim Hanyang Pass without fail!"
The Left Prime Minister's long brows twitched slightly, but this time he raised no objection. The Right Prime Minister gave thanks for the imperial grace, stepped back to the head of the military officials, and stared at the tips of his feet, uttering not another word.
A moment later, the court assembly dismissed. The Left and Right Prime Ministers walked side by side. The Left Prime Minister suddenly said, "Were it not for his alchemy, I would almost have forgotten that he possesses god-given talent and is destined to walk the immortal path in the future."
The Right Prime Minister nodded. Sooner or later, Wei Yuan would cast aside worldly affairs to step onto the immortal road; he was fundamentally not of their kind. Why provoke him now over nothing?
Astride Hanyang Pass, Li Chengfeng stood upon the gate tower and looked west. The setting sun was like blood, casting ten thousand li of radiant glow across the vast green sea below, as though draping a golden-red coir cape over the earth.
His heart surged with expansive elation, stirring an urge to let out a long cry, or perhaps compose a poem titled *Li Chengfeng's Reflections upon Ascending Hanyang Pass*.
Just then, a black speck suddenly appeared on the horizon. Li Chengfeng rubbed his eyes and peered closely, realizing his vision had not played tricks on him: a person was truly flying toward him. The figure traveled at astonishing speed, arriving before him in the blink of an eye.
The guards started in alarm and drew their blades, but seeing that the newcomer was Wei Yuan, they promptly sheathed their weapons.
Li Chengfeng waved a hand, dismissing all his guards, and said, "Brother Wei, to what do I owe the honor of your guidance?"
As he said this, Li Chengfeng repeatedly chanted in his mind: *This guy is over two hundred years old. Calling him that isn't shameful, not shameful at all...*
Even so, his face still felt slightly warm.
Wei Yuan asked, "What were your casualties in taking the pass?"
"Hardly any. There were only twenty to thirty thousand defenders in the city, either raw recruits or militiamen. I besieged them for half a month and they surrendered. Total casualties were under three thousand."
Wei Yuan said, "Not bad. That can indeed be counted as a splendid victory."
Li Chengfeng gave a wry smile. "The Xu family never deployed heavy forces to defend it, and their main army hasn't made a move to this day. I'm currently pouring all my efforts into reinforcing the defenses, not knowing when this place might be surrounded by the Xu family's main force."
Wei Yuan said, "Take whatever wealth you like from the city. Just sell the refugees and prisoners of war to me. I don't want those who have homes and honest livelihoods in the city."
"If Brother Wei wants them, just take them. Speaking of buying and selling only makes us sound like strangers. Of course, if it can offset part of my debt, that would be even better."
Wei Yuan said, "Naturally it can. But do you plan to garrison this place long-term?"
Li Chengfeng's heart gave a thump. "What advice do you have, Brother Wei?"
"You've already taken the territory, won the fame, and suffered no loss to your strength. Isn't that the best possible outcome? As for holding the land, it's better left to someone else—say, whichever of your brothers or sisters you can't stand. After all, you're blocking my path, cutting me off from the tens of thousands of troops I left in Jin."
Li Chengfeng saw the light at once, cold sweat immediately drenching his back. He hurriedly asked, "Arranging that will take some time. How long do I have?"
Wei Yuan smiled. "I still have several cauldrons of pills to finish refining, which will take at least three months, likely after the New Year. During these few months, don't just sit idle. Travel around and take a look at the surroundings—Huangping Commandery, for instance—and help me round up more refugees. Mind you, there might be a few tough battles to fight in Huangping Commandery, so prepare early."
Li Chengfeng showed no fear, sneering, "The Xu family's private armies? Not to boast, but fighting them one-on-one would almost be bullying."
Wei Yuan chuckled. "If you don't fight with overwhelming momentum, which of your brothers or sisters would dare take over from you?"
"And after they take over?"
Wei Yuan offered a faint smile and did not answer.
Once Wei Yuan departed, Li Chengfeng immediately summoned his generals and divided his forces into multiple detachments of three thousand men each, fanning them out in all directions to raid commanderies and counties.
Wherever they went, they seized all grain and forage, burning whatever could not be carried away. In short, wherever the army passed, neither food nor houses were left standing. If they encountered fierce resistance or the main Jin army, they were to fall back, and Li Chengfeng would personally lead the main force to support them.
It was an exceedingly strange order, and the generals were puzzled by Li Chengfeng's intentions, but they complied nonetheless.
In the blink of an eye, the New Year arrived.
This year, the New Year in the Western Regions was utterly desolate. Flames of war burned everywhere, displacing commoners and swallowing cities in seas of fire. Countless refugees clad in thin garments trudged through thick snow, heading step by step toward Qingming. Rumors had long spread far and wide: as long as one reached Qingming, there would at least be a bite to eat.
Many even held porridge coupons issued by Qingming. In the five southwestern commanderies, these coupons could be redeemed with the Qingming army for small amounts of grain, making them far more practical than immortal silver.
Li Chengfeng was indeed a man of true capability. Leading his troops against the Xu family elders, he defeated them in detail, isolating the Xu family forces dispersed across various cities and wiping them out one by one. After two months, he had seized the greater part of Hanyang Commandery and half of Huangping Commandery. The main forces of the Jin army and the Xu family's private troops in both commanderies suffered devastating losses and no longer possessed the strength to fight on.
At Li Chengfeng's insistent demands—and by his direct nomination—the Sixth Princess of Zhao finally arrived with an army of two hundred thousand to take over the defense of the two commanderies. The Sixth Princess was a full sibling of the Crown Prince, born of the same mother; she was well-versed in the art of war and had distinguished herself with repeated military merits.
The two sides met in a small town on the border of Huangping Commandery, each accompanied by fully armed personal guards confronting one another.
Li Chengfeng stepped forward into the space between the two forces first and smiled. "We haven't met in many days, Sixth Sister. Your poise is as magnificent as ever!"
Opposite him stood a female general clad in full armor. She was exceptionally beautiful, yet exuded a fierce murderous aura as she spoke: "Fourth Brother called me out by name. If I hadn't come, Royal Father might very well have married me off. For this kindness of yours, Fourth Brother, I will certainly repay you in the future!"
Li Chengfeng said with a genial smile, "Sixth Sister, you are far too polite. There's no need for repayment; it was only what I ought to do. Being able to cause a little grief for you two siblings is my greatest reward. Oh, by the way, these two commanderies are teeming with unruly rabble. You must be exceedingly careful. If you suffer defeat and get captured, falling into enemy hands and bearing a few children, you won't even be able to marry yourself off in the future."
The Sixth Princess replied coldly, "If you could take it, I can hold it!"
Li Chengfeng burst into laughter. "Sixth Sister, you're famous for fighting battles only on paper. The territory I've conquered is something you might truly fail to hold!"
Their meeting reeked of gunpowder. Finding no common ground, they traded sharp barbs before Li Chengfeng tossed a map to her and marched off with his army.
The map indicated the withdrawal schedules for each city, with the entire evacuation spanning no more than three days. The Sixth Princess immediately divided her forces at top speed and marched with all haste, barely arriving at each location before Li Chengfeng's units pulled out to take over the defense of the cities.
Over these three months, the King of Jin issued twelve successive imperial edicts urging Wei Yuan to deploy his troops, but Wei Yuan simply stayed in seclusion refining pills, not sparing the edicts a single glance.
By now, he had grown increasingly adept at refining the Great Sun Morning Splendor Pills. Every opened cauldron inevitably drew down a heavenly tribulation. Spirit pills with three or four veins were commonplace, and even several five-vein mystic pills had emerged. Across the three months, Wei Yuan had endured seven full heavenly tribulations, leaving him scorched on the outside and tender on the inside.
Though Wei Yuan enjoyed his leisure, Qingming was extraordinarily busy. Li Chengfeng was exceptionally skilled at stirring up turmoil; under his scorched-earth pillaging, vast swathes of commoners in the two commanderies were turned into refugees and fled toward Qingming.
During these three months, Qingming absorbed over three million refugees from the two Xu family commanderies alone, and another two million in total from Xiangrong and two other commanderies.
In the seventh year of Tianqi, Qingming's population reached thirteen million. Taking stock of his karmic luck, Wei Yuan saw that his mortal fortune azure qi had breached two million. Knowing the time had come, he decided to open the world fragment once again.
Chapter 752