"Junior merely could not bear to see warfare drag on endlessly and the common people plunged into misery—" Wei Yuan began.
Yet catching the look in the young cultivator's eyes, he immediately changed his tune. "Halt! We'll halt it at once! Only... those who are already on the road might be a bit difficult to turn back."
The young cultivator considered this for a moment. "Forget those already on the road. But none who haven't boarded the carriages may leave."
Wei Yuan promptly issued orders through the Smoke and Fire of the Mortal World. Moments later, several Dharma Idol cultivators took to the skies, flying in all directions to reel in the dispersed forces.
The young cultivator had not expected Wei Yuan to be so decisive. Nodding slightly, he said, "The sand you scattered across the fields..."
"That is specifically for cultivating red-stemmed cotton. Junior will purchase every bit of cotton produced. By growing cotton, the people of Zhao will earn three times as much as they would from growing grain."
"And what about the grain deficit?"
"Qingming will be responsible for supplying grain at fair market value, guaranteeing the price matches grain in the rest of Zhao. Furthermore, all cotton-farming commoners may purchase without limit."
The young cultivator said coldly, "So I ought to thank you, then?"
"It is only what Junior ought to do."
The young cultivator shook his head and sighed. "With that thick face of yours, even Yanshi might fall slightly short. No wonder Shenji was no match for you. Now the battle has been fought, soldiers have died, and on our side, even a Scenery Command cultivator has fallen. Speak: what do you want in the wake of this war?"
Wei Yuan took out the Qing-Zhao Treaty of Friendship, Commerce, and Navigation that he had drafted long ago, and respectfully presented it.
The young cultivator swept it with his divine sense and read aloud, "...Pensions for fallen soldiers, reparations for losses, opening the following cities as treaty ports, granting Qingming merchant caravans freedom of passage throughout Zhao territory, and any Qingming subject who violates the law must be remanded to Qingming for trial, with Zhao having no right to punish them..."
With each clause he recited, the young cultivator's expression darkened another degree.
Wei Yuan hastily chimed in, "The last clause—extraterritoriality—can be removed. However, if the King of Zhao arrests Qingming's people at whim again, another war will likely follow. Honestly, keeping it would be better—"
"That clause must go!" the young cultivator cut in coldly.
"Very well." Wei Yuan conceded readily.
The young cultivator looked over it once more and asked, "Which other terms do you think can be removed?"
Wei Yuan replied, "Pensions for our fallen soldiers won't be necessary. As for reparations for military expenditures—"
In truth, Qingming had barely lost anyone in this campaign, so survivor pensions were negligible. But the flip side of zero casualties was an enormous consumption of ammunition.
Each flying sword round for the rapid-fire autocannons cost a whole liang of immortal silver. To counter Zhao's iron cavalry, Wei Yuan had deployed over three hundred autocannons and fired off five million rounds. Factoring in the artillery shells expended while assaulting Cui Shutong's commandery capital, his military expenses for this campaign totaled a staggering eight million liang.
It could be said that Zhao's hundred-plus thousand elites had been bludgeoned to death purely with Wei Yuan's immortal silver.
Watching the young cultivator's expression, Wei Yuan gritted his teeth and said, "Out of respect for Senior, you need not reimburse the military expenses either!"
The young cultivator frowned slightly. "How much did you spend in all?"
"Nine million liang." Wei Yuan was not lying. Ammunition was only part of it; mobilizing over a hundred thousand troops, hundreds of war chariots, and thousands of supply wagons back and forth had burned immortal silver at every step.
"Truly?"
"If I speak a word of falsehood, may Heaven strike me with lightning!"
Before the words had completely left his mouth, a bolt came out of the blue with a sudden crash, smashing straight down!
Wei Yuan jumped in shock. He could not fathom for the life of him why he had been struck by lightning when he had clearly told the truth.
A rare hint of a smile touched the young cultivator's face. "Once your cultivation reaches your level, do not lightly swear oaths. You think it was fulfilling a vow, but in truth, you disturbed the Heavenly Dao. Especially with an extraterrestrial demon upon you now—the moment you alert the Heavenly Dao, a lightning tribulation will inevitably strike."
Wei Yuan realized at once. "Thank you for the guidance, Senior."
The young cultivator continued, "Nine million liang is no small sum, but Zhao genuinely cannot produce that money right now. The livelihood of our people is withering, prices are soaring, merchants are collapsing in droves, and the state treasury has run dry. Demanding another nine million liang of immortal silver would surely provoke a civil revolt. And that is not what you want, is it?"
With matters put so plainly, what could Wei Yuan say? Besides, his own ideal Dao path was to create a prosperous world, so he could only offer a bitter smile.
The young cultivator glared at him. "You and Shenji issuing currency has stirred Zhao into utter turmoil and ruined the people's livelihoods. I have yet to settle this score with you."
Wei Yuan wore an innocent expression. "How could issuing currency ruin livelihoods? Look at Qingming issuing Qingyuan—it has only grown more and more prosperous."
"Is that so?"
Wei Yuan held his tongue. Issuing currency had virtually no cost and could be dictated with a single word; no mere mortal could resist such temptation. That alone was bad enough, but Zhang Sheng had gone on a spree of cajoling and coercing multiple factions into issuing currency. Caught off guard, the King of Zhao had failed to reclaim the minting authority in time, culminating in a situation where more than thirty different currencies circulated within Zhao's borders.
When too many joined in, excessive printing became inevitable. Whoever overprinted first reaped the benefits, turning it into a competitive printing race. For instance, in the month since the war began, the King of Zhao's Void Currency had plunged to the point where two hundred thousand notes were needed to exchange for a single qian of immortal silver—and even then, there were no buyers.
This was an overt plot, utterly insoluble.
Zhang Sheng's schemes were like his sword: silent until drawn, but lethal the moment they struck.
The young cultivator's gaze was piercing; he had already seen through to the root of the problem. Wei Yuan knew this was someone he could not fool—in truth, no immortal was easy to fool.
Thus, Wei Yuan said, "Then Junior will take another step back. I ask only for freedom of passage for our caravans throughout Zhao and the opening of seven treaty ports. In addition, we will establish a Commercial Investigation Bureau. Any cases concerning Qingming caravans will be handled by the Commercial Bureau, with the bureau's leadership jointly shared by one official from Zhao and one from Qingming."
The young cultivator finally nodded. "Agreed."
In truth, all Wei Yuan really wanted was the transit rights and the opening of ports. The Commercial Investigation Bureau was nonessential, serving mainly to ensure that Qingming's people would not suffer abuse or discrimination in Zhao. If the King of Zhao were to launch another mass arrest of Qingming's people, the bureau would be powerless anyway; when that time came, another war would be in order.
With that, Wei Yuan had achieved all his war aims: the Open Door.
The young cultivator said, "You have finished your conditions. Now I have two conditions of my own."
Wei Yuan's heart tightened. "Please speak, Senior."
"First, Zhao suffered heavy casualties this time, and Shenji will have a hard time giving an account. Your Qingming does not lack money or grain, so provide some grain, meat, and Qingyuan as compensation to Shenji for survivor pensions."
Wei Yuan understood with crystal clarity: this was the face the King of Zhao needed to save. Without it, the King of Zhao might have been forced to issue an edict of self-reproach. Such superficial face mattered nothing to Wei Yuan; so long as the open door was secured, the King of Zhao could claim a glorious victory for all he cared. Wei Yuan was now thoroughly versed in win-ology, more than happy to help monarchs save face.
"Second, a marriage alliance between both sides. Whichever princess catches your eye, just say the word to me."
This time, Wei Yuan was genuinely taken aback. In truth, the Zhao royal house completely outshone all other nations in both looks and bearing, occupying a tier entirely of its own. Seeing the Zhao immortal today, Wei Yuan finally understood where natural beauties like Consort Yuan, Chunyi, and the Sixth Princess got their looks.
Yet here they were, discussing weighty state affairs. Commerce might seem trivial on the surface, but it was the linchpin of Qingming's future development. Was it really appropriate to abruptly slip in a marriage alliance right now?
While Wei Yuan found it absurd, he subconsciously compared Princess Ningguo with the Sixth Princess, and immediately found it impossible to choose.
Seeing this, the young cultivator offered a faint, meaningful smile. "No rush to decide. Take a look at this first."
Look at what?
Just as Wei Yuan was feeling bewildered, the room abruptly dimmed. A graceful figure lunged toward him, trailing an aristocratic sweet fragrance, and thrust a sword straight at Wei Yuan with a cry: "Villain, hand over your life!"
Although the assassin wore a face veil, Wei Yuan's eyesight was far too sharp. One look at her figure and one sound of her voice told him it was the Sixth Princess.
The Sixth Princess herself possessed no weak cultivation, and her Dao arts and swordplay were exquisite. Right now, clad in a form-fitting night-suit, her long hair pinned up high and her slender waist cinched so narrow it seemed no thicker than Wei Yuan's palm, she gripped her treasured sword and chased Wei Yuan around, slashing wildly while hurling curses with immense fervor. After several failed strikes, fiery fury burned in her watery eyes; gritting her teeth, she looked like nothing so much as a clawing kitten in impotent rage. Yet an immortal was sitting right beside them, so Wei Yuan could hardly lay heavy hands on the man's descendant right in front of him.
Wei Yuan's current methods boiled down to either crushing someone with his mindscape world or relying on his Peerless Dharma Physique to smash them with brute-force miracles. Either option was far too brutal to use on the Sixth Princess. He could hardly summon several hundred Dao soldiers to swarm in and bury her alive, could he?
And so, with his hands and feet tied, Wei Yuan was chased all around the room by the Sixth Princess.
The young cultivator sat nearby, calmly watching the show, entirely invisible to the Sixth Princess. She could not see him, but Wei Yuan could. Under the watchful eye of an immortal, Wei Yuan felt pressure as heavy as a mountain.
Chapter 983