"Another movement from the Shamans?" Wei Yuan looked at the secret intelligence before him, his expression solemn.
There was more than one report; over a dozen had arrived through various channels. Tianyu alone had delivered four, each covering different aspects. Synthesizing the information from all these dispatches, Wei Yuan was able to piece together a comprehensive picture.
Led this time by Heavenly Shaman Huiye, the Shamans had assembled eleven tribes from two realms, absorbed the remnants of the Land of Rain, and launched another military campaign toward the Western Regions, with their vanguard pointing straight at Qingming.
While the exact size of the Shaman army remained unknown, it was certainly vastly larger than that of the Land of Rain before, boasting far more elites and high-cultivation experts. To facilitate troop movements, the Shamans had conscripted a massive sea of laborers and begun dredging the waterway Hongye had excavated back then.
Following the defeat and retreat of the Land of Rain, Wei Yuan had once driven his forces a thousand li deep into enemy territory to destroy the canal as thoroughly as possible. Yet advancing a thousand li had been his limit at the time; pushing any further would have exposed them to ambushes by powerful Shaman figures. Now, with Qingming's expansion, the terminus of the old waterway lay a mere three to four hundred li beyond Qingming's borders.
With the Shamans reopening the canal to transport troops, Wei Yuan found himself without any particularly good countermeasures—unless there was a way to strike the civilian laborers building the waterway, which in truth would only buy a limited amount of time.
Fortunately, excavating the canal took time. Wei Yuan estimated he still had at least six months, and at most a year, to prepare.
Not intending to shoulder the burden entirely on his own, Wei Yuan submitted memorials to the King of Pu and the Great Tang imperial court, detailing the massive impending Shaman invasion and requesting reinforcements.
Well aware of how bureaucratic and sluggish the imperial court was, and lacking allies at court at the moment, Wei Yuan naturally refused to sit idly by and wait for doom. He drafted articles and distributed them to the scholars who had received stipends from him, instructing them to disseminate the writings widely so all intellectuals across the realm would know the Shamans were attacking in force.
This placed the court, Jin, and Zhao in a corner where they had no choice but to respond, lest they face universal condemnation. The moniker of the Thirteen Guardians of the Wei Clan was no empty title; they were not above berating people until they sickened and died of pure vexation.
With a formidable enemy looming, karmic luck was of paramount importance. Wei Yuan finally resolved to roll out a series of major initiatives he had contemplated for a long time.
First was the founding of the Qingming Imperial Academy, established specifically to recruit renowned, seasoned literary masters with exceptionally lavish treatment. Not only were they offered substantial salaries paid in Qingyuan, but they could also receive a ten-year longevity pill every five years. The Imperial Academy established twelve Academician seats, recruiting across the entirety of Great Tang.
Such an endeavor, of course, would not truly rely solely on public recruitment; in fact, recruitment was merely a front. Wei Yuan had already quietly persuaded two great Confucian scholars closely tied to the Four Sages Academy through Li Zhi to serve as Academicians. When the time came, they would arrive accompanied by their numerous disciples, bolstering Qingming's prestige.
Although the two were only second-rate figures in the literary world, contemporary great Confucians held a transcendent status. They only took office among the Nine Kingdoms, and exclusively as officials of the first rank or higher—far beyond what Qingming could currently reach.
The Imperial Academy served as a signboard and a banner, but Wei Yuan's true focal point was the Qingming Academy.
Under the new plan, Wei Yuan divided the academy into three tiers: advanced, primary, and preparatory. The primary academy received the bulk of the focus, with unlimited vacancies for instructors; so long as candidates met the qualifications, as many as arrived would be accepted.
The academy's teachers were also assigned official ranks. Upon successfully advancing to the senior tier, they would receive the official status of an eighth-rank official of Great Tang. Headmasters of primary academies and vice-headmasters of advanced academies were granted seventh rank, while headmasters of preparatory academies held eighth rank. Teachers of preparatory academies who reached the senior tier likewise received eighth rank.
Wei Yuan himself was a second-rank official of Great Tang and a Military Commissioner entitled to open his own administrative bureau, which granted him the authority to confer official ranks of the seventh rank and below on his own, with the sole caveat that he had to fund their salaries himself.
Salaries were a trivial matter. Not only did Wei Yuan pay them directly in Qingyuan, but he also provided instructor uniforms fashioned from loom-woven brocade.
These two measures were similarly broadcast throughout the world via essays penned by the Thirteen Guardians of the Wei Clan and their peers. In no time, this sparked quite a sensation. Scholars across the realm flocked to the news, and skyships heading toward Qingming were soon packed to overflowing.
Most of those who made the journey were frustrated scholars who had met with failure in their careers. What drew them above all was the chance to obtain official rank in Great Tang—a grand honor capable of bringing glory to one's ancestors! Second was the salary paid in Qingyuan.
Many had originally possessed no clue what Qingyuan even was, and began inquiring everywhere. Unwittingly, they spread the name far and wide. By the end, the rumors turned increasingly supernatural; some even claimed that enshrining Qingyuan at home brought boundless wealth. The most absurd claim went so far as to assert that Qingyuan could grant male offspring, provided one had enough of it.
Hearing of Qingyuan's myriad wonders, scholars cast aside their fears of being swindled and rushed to Qingming in droves to seek a sliver of opportunity.
The scholars of Great Tang were by no means frail bookworms incapable of lifting a hand. On the contrary, virtually all possessed cultivation, differing only in depth. Among the Six Gentlemanly Arts of contemporary Great Tang, swordsmanship, riding, and archery were directly tied to cultivation, while poetry and classics formed the bedrock of Confucian cultivation methods.
Hence, it was commonplace for a contemporary great Confucian to travel among the states accompanied by thousands of disciples. Lords of minor states would treat them with extraordinary deference, even bordering on reverence and fear. There was no avoiding it; if they provoked a great Confucian, their small state's army would stand no chance against thousands of fierce, wolflike disciples.
Thus, Qingming's grand recruitment of scholars was virtually indistinguishable from recruiting a vast horde of cultivators—and educated cultivators at that.
As the two great Confucians closely tied to the Four Sages Academy announced their appointments as Academicians of the Imperial Academy, Wei Yuan's renown climbed to new heights, dragging his public reputation upward with it.
Even his bitter adversary Cai Shizhi published an article stating that Wei Yuan's courteous reception of the realm's scholars was a commendable deed, hailing it as a precious and rare return of a prodigal son to the righteous path.
Consequently, the appraisals of Wei Yuan transformed from 'rashly initiating warfare' to 'brave and skilled in battle,' from 'treating human life as weeds' to 'flawless in every calculation,' and from 'covetous of wealth and fond of beauty' to 'romantic and untamed.' While the underlying deeds remained identical, changing the phrasing produced an entirely different impression.
Only the notorious moniker 'Three Spears' proved impossible to wash clean. Fortunately, those close to Princess Ningguo offered a benevolent clarification, stretching the duration of 'three spears' to the time it took an incense stick to burn, which at least preserved a shred of face for Wei Yuan.
Ever since the news of open recruitment spread, over a thousand scholars arrived in Qingming within the very first month. Over the following two months, the numbers swelled further. By the fourth month, more than seven thousand scholars poured in during that single month alone, among whom were over six thousand cultivators, including nearly a thousand at the Dao Foundation realm.
Wei Yuan turned no one away. Over these several months, he even temporarily set aside military preparations, devoting all his efforts to constructing academies, with preparatory academies rolled out across the board. The total number of enrolled students within Qingming had originally stood at just over two hundred thousand; in merely a few short months, the academy's student body had multiplied tenfold, totaling over 2.6 million.
Although the registered teachers across the academies exceeded thirty thousand, over two million students clearly pushed the system beyond its limits. Fortunately, a steady influx of scholars continued to arrive, easing the strain.
Over the course of several months, the Smoke and Fire of the Mortal World continuously gathered data and student feedback, steadily refining the curriculum. It updated a new edition of textbooks almost every month, eliciting endless groans and complaints from the teachers. Looking at the revised syllabus, many scholars decried it as heretical and outrageous, and a few extremists even threatened to go on strike.
Yet under the dual temptation of future eighth-rank official status and generous current payments of Qingyuan, most scholars persevered. As for the handful who refused to back down from striking, Wei Yuan dismissed them outright, leaving them drowning in immediate regret.
No one had expected Wei Yuan to push academy construction forward so aggressively. Yet with the Smoke and Fire of the Mortal World coordinating the effort, the administrative experience accumulated by officials large and small, and genius Dharma Idol cultivators like Bao Yun and Xiaoyu handling daily administrative minutiae day and night, the entire blueprint was brought smoothly to fruition.
The academy's student population surged to three million and stabilized there, while the number of teachers leveled off at sixty thousand.
Students did not spend all their time studying. Most attended classes in stages for a term, returned to work, and then came back for another term. Some worked by day and studied by night. Others worked normally and came to study three days each month; various arrangements coexisted.
Fortunately, the Smoke and Fire of the Mortal World withstood the soaring workload. Throughout this process, Feng Tingyu and Ji Liuli took on an unimaginable volume of tasks, each processing a total number of duties that added at least an extra zero compared to Wei Yuan's.
Only when the academy's expansion reached a steady milestone did Wei Yuan finally exhale a breath of relief. Pouring himself a cup of tea, he checked the progress of the Shamans' canal excavation as a matter of routine.
By this time, the vanguard scouts of the Shamans had reached five hundred li outside Qingming and clashed with Qingming's own scouts. Qingming's scouts possessed powerful individual firepower, while the Shaman scouts were numerous and mighty in cultivation. Both sides sustained casualties in their skirmishes, neither gaining the upper hand.
Upon the sand table before Wei Yuan, numerous new fortification markers had appeared. Now that the primary axis of the Shaman assault was known, Wei Yuan transplanted the Northern Mountain Gate's tactical doctrine here, embarking on massive fortification works. He prepared to trade steel and concrete for flesh and blood, turning all of Qingming into a meat grinder to force the Shamans to withdraw through horrific casualties.
As he studied the map, Yanshi's voice suddenly rang out beside him. "Why have you made such a massive commotion this time? What is your true goal?"
Wei Yuan looked up and saw Yanshi standing beside him, flanked by True Monarch Xuanyue and the Master of the Hall of the Bright King.
Seeing Yanshi, Wei Yuan felt a trace of bewilderment. He looked them up and down, then gasped in astonishment. Looking at Xuanyue and the Master of the Hall of the Bright King, he was even more shocked. "Ancestors, have all of you arrived in your true bodies?"
Xuanyue retorted testily, "What else could it be if not our true bodies? Your ancestor isn't extravagant enough to have avatars roaming about outside!"
All three were renowned for their combat prowess; in terms of spell dueling at their level, only the Master of Haotian View could stand alongside them.
Yanshi said, "We have our reasons for coming. First tell us why you suddenly threw yourself into establishing academies. None of us have been able to make sense of it."
Wei Yuan collected his thoughts and said, "The Shamans are advancing menacingly. Just like the last invasion by the Land of Rain, they won't retreat until their resources and forces are utterly exhausted. Though Qingming's strength has grown, weathering this trial will hardly be easy.
"This is a war of attrition. We must tap every ounce of Qingming's war potential. Taking advantage of the remaining time, this disciple implemented the academy plan ahead of schedule to enlighten the entire populace. This is our sole opportunity. This move serves two purposes: first, for karmic luck; second, to ensure an inexhaustible stream of recruits."
The Master of the Hall of the Bright King was somewhat perplexed. "For recruits? Does charging the front lines require literacy and reading books? Having arms and legs is enough—you don't even need to bring your head."
Wei Yuan said, "Many of the military branches in our army today can only be manned by soldiers who have received an education. Basic literacy alone is not enough; they must at least complete the preparatory stage and master basic arithmetic."
The Master of the Hall of the Bright King marveled, "Arithmetic as well? What kind of wondrous branch—"
True Monarch Xuanyue snapped, "Shut your mouth! Let Wei Yuan finish speaking first."
The Master of the Hall of the Bright King said, "You can tell me not to talk, but why tell me to shut my mouth? My mouth wasn't speaking!"
"Quiet!" With a single word from Yanshi, both Xuanyue and the Master of the Hall of the Bright King fell completely silent.
Yet Xuanyue's lips were still twitching, and while the Master of the Hall of the Bright King kept his mouth closed, his two eyebrows were twitching erratically, rubbing against one another—his previous words had been 'spoken' precisely in this manner.
Both True Monarchs had bellies full of things to say, but Immortal Monarch Yanshi directly altered the Great Dao of Heaven and Earth in this space, rendering them utterly incapable of producing any sound. Moreover, specifically targeting the Master of the Hall of the Bright King, he decreed that no part of his body could emit a single noise.
Only when silence was finally restored did Wei Yuan have room to speak. He said, "This matter arose suddenly, and the Shamans are coming with immense ferocity. This disciple has no absolute certainty of holding the line. Should any mishap befall me, at least a blueprint for enlightening the populace will remain for future generations.
"These instructors who taught, and these students who studied in the academies, are all seeds. Even if Qingming is destroyed, they will scatter to other lands, taking root and sprouting. If we wish—"
Yanshi's expression abruptly shifted, and a surge of immortal power sealed Wei Yuan's mouth.
Yet though Wei Yuan's mouth could not move, his voice continued to reverberate through the air: "—If all people are to become like dragons, then all people must cultivate. The beginning of cultivation requires enlightening the populace so that everyone has books to read. Unworthy though this disciple may be, I am willing to walk this path. Today, I shall first enlighten the populace!"
As the declaration concluded, even immortal power failed to suppress it. The moment the final word fell, karmic luck surged forth like a rolling tide, and Wei Yuan realized that things had taken a very serious turn.
Chapter 827