On the seventh day of the third month in the third year of Hongjing, Wei Yuan—Regent King of Western Jin, Prince Wei, Minister Presiding Over Southern Military Affairs, and Military Commissioner of Dingxi—submitted a memorial stating that he had obtained a chest of correspondence from an insider within the State of Zhao revealing collusion between Jin officials and Zhao. The evidence was ironclad, and according to both the Tang Code and the Jin Code, all those implicated deserved clan extermination.
Wei Yuan had already captured and imprisoned all the implicated officials across the southern eight commanderies, merely awaiting their trials before execution. However, these offending officials also implicated many high-ranking court ministers, which was why Wei Yuan had submitted this memorial demanding that they be punished with equal severity.
Appended to the memorial was a list of implicated officials and accessories, running expansively to over a thousand people!
Among them, the old acquaintances and disciples of the Left Prime Minister numbered the most, totaling eighty-seven; forty-two were linked to the Right Prime Minister; as for the other court dignitaries, anyone who had opposed Wei Yuan had anywhere from two or three to several dozen associates implicated. Those who maintained good relations with Wei Yuan had not a single person involved.
This maneuver was so blatant and undisguised that it left the entire court utterly flabbergasted.
In the Hall of Government Affairs of Western Jin, the King of Jin had summoned fewer than ten high-ranking ministers, with only two ministers from the Six Ministries permitted to attend. Aside from the officials seated in their formal places, Prince Chu was also present, seated to the side to listen in.
At this moment, an image projection was playing in the center of the hall.
In the morning mist, an antique compound was still immersed in slumber. With white walls and dark tiles, it was tranquil and serene. Just then, a large detachment of soldiers suddenly charged out of the morning mist, encircling the ancient manor in the blink of an eye. Then, an officer smashed the heavy compound gates to pieces with a single hammer blow, while many soldiers, fierce as wolves and tigers, vaulted straight over the high courtyard walls and stormed inside.
Inside the compound, any servants or guards who rushed over upon hearing the noise were hacked to death on the spot if they dared utter a single word. Because the head steward pointed a finger at the officer's nose and cursed, "What kind of thing do you think you are?", his arm was severed, and then a soldier pierced his shoulder with a spear, pinning him dead against the wall.
A moment later, crowds of masters, young lords, concubines, and secondary wives were dragged out of the various courtyards. An officer held a registry, calling off names one by one. Those called were dragged onto individual prisoner carts and hauled away on the spot.
A greasy-faced middle-aged young master merely shouted, "Punishments do not extend to grandees!", only to take a vicious whip across the face. An old man with graying hair trembled as he cried, "I was a jinshi from the early years of the King's reign!", only to be kicked to the ground.
Several concubines and wives threw tantrums and rolled on the ground, but before they could even wail twice, the whip came down on them. Fortunately, the soldiers of Qingming maintained strict discipline and measured their strikes carefully; they did not grope or molest, lashing only where the flesh was thickest. After a few lashes, every woman instantly became reasonable and emotionally stable.
In the end, everyone throughout the entire mansion, high and low, was carted off, leaving only a few soldiers behind to stand guard. Room by room, these soldiers affixed official seals without touching any valuables without authorization.
The projection ended here.
The Left Prime Minister stepped forward, dropped to his knees, and said, "What we just witnessed was Wei Yuan mobilizing troops without authorization to raid the ancestral residence of Mu Tianyan, Vice Prefect of Xingrong Commandery! This Wei Yuan is truly reckless and lawless! Openly seizing court officials is nothing less than treason! We beseech Your Majesty to issue an edict condemning his crimes. Your old servant is willing to personally lead troops to suppress him!"
At this moment, Minister of Personnel Xu Gong spoke up: "As Regent King and Minister Presiding Over Southern Military Affairs, if officials below the rank of commandery governor commit crimes, Wei Yuan has the authority to execute first and report later so long as there is solid evidence. Only commandery governors require a submission to the court for decision. At present, he has merely apprehended a vice prefect; there is no overstepping of authority. Thus, what we need to clarify right now is whether there is solid evidence."
The Left Prime Minister was taken aback. He glanced at Xu Gong, his mind calculating furiously.
The officials' gazes fell upon the lacquered wooden chest set in the middle of the hall. Inside it were the letters from Jin's local officials, high and low, secretly communicating with Zhao, delivered by Wei Yuan alongside his memorial.
At this point, Lü Zhongzhi, Commander of the Nine Gates, stepped forward and said, "Setting aside for the moment whether these letters are forged, even if one or two among them are genuine, they must still be thoroughly investigated and verified through a joint trial by the Three Judicial Offices before anyone can be imprisoned and prosecuted. I believe—"
Xu Gong sneered, "And what do you believe should be done? Strip Wei Yuan of his title of Regent King?!"
Lü Zhongzhi's dignified square face gradually flushed purplish. Ignoring Xu Gong's mockery, he said to the King of Jin, "He indeed should be stripped of his regent title, brought back to the capital, and held to account!"
Xu Gong clapped and said, "Splendid courage, Lord Lü! Since Lord Lü has made this proposal, whoever raises the motion bears the responsibility. Why doesn't Lord Lü lead his own troops and go arrest Wei Yuan? You are the Commander of the Nine Gates; surely Wei Yuan wouldn't dare lop off your head!"
Unable to endure it any longer, Lü Zhongzhi bellowed, "Xu Gong! His Majesty has not even spoken—how is it your place to spout nonsense here?!"
Xu Gong sneered, "Indeed, His Majesty has not spoken—how is it your place to spout nonsense here? His Majesty is benevolent and disinclined to lay things bare, but I am willing to relieve His Majesty of his worries and state things plainly! Don't think that just because you have someone sitting above you, you have nothing to fear. If you have the guts, go to Qingming and see whether Wei Yuan dares to kill you—that's all there is to it!"
Lü Zhongzhi scoffed coldly, "I truly never expected the Xu family to become Wei Yuan's lapdogs as well!"
"The Xu family..." Xu Gong drew out the words.
Lü Zhongzhi's expression shifted drastically. He immediately cupped his hands toward the heavens and said solemnly, "Lü spoke without thinking in the heat of the moment. I beg the Immortal to forgive my offense!"
He waited for a moment. Seeing no reaction in the sky, he finally breathed a sigh of relief.
Only then did the King of Jin finally speak: "Wei Yuan's design this time is grand, his resolve immensely firm, and he has offered Us sufficient benefits. We also know that Us living a few more years makes some among you very unhappy. But there is no helping it. Since We are still alive, you will just have to endure it."
The officials did not dare utter a sound. At this moment, the King of Jin seemed to have reverted to the ruler he was when he first ascended the throne—deeply calculating, ruthless, and decisive.
A chill ran down the Little King of Chu's back, his layers of clothing soaked through with sweat before he even realized it.
The King of Jin surveyed the hall and continued, "What We find curious is that even the Zhao-Li Immortal Ancestor personally stepped in to arrange this affair for Wei Yuan across the entire State of Zhao. Wei Yuan stopped just short of proclaiming to the entire world that this matter concerns his Dao path and future. Since you took action to obstruct his path, you should have known the consequences. Why are you kicking the ball back into Our court now?"
Of the nine high court officials present in the hall, all except three choked on their breath.
The Left Prime Minister said, "This matter concerns the dignity of the court, as well as Your Majesty's dignity. If Wei Yuan is left unchecked, I fear it will chill the hearts of scholars across the world!"
The King of Jin gave a soft sigh and said, "Hah! 'Chill the hearts of scholars across the world'—We hear those words several times almost every year, and to think We are hearing them again now. We recall that when you first spoke those words to Us, you were merely a petty censor. In the blink of an eye, you have reached the pinnacle of subjecthood, sitting upon millions in lands and estates."
The Left Prime Minister's expression remained unchanged as he said, "Those are nothing but rumors! If Your Majesty does not believe it, you may send men to raid my home. Whatever is confiscated, your old servant is willing to offer entirely to the state treasury."
The King said indifferently, "Spare Us those fine words that not even ghosts would believe. It was no easy feat for Us to live a few more years; We still wish to enjoy them properly. Time is precious, so We will not waste it bickering with you over nonsensical trifles. If you have nothing useful to say, go sit to the side. If you don't wish to sit, then see yourself out."
Chilled with dread, the Left Prime Minister silently kowtowed and unexpectedly went back to his seat to sit down.
The Right Prime Minister gave a light cough and said, "As things stand, this minister believes we should first summon all six commandery governors on the list back to court and hand them over to the Three Judicial Offices for interrogation. At the very least... that would preserve a modicum of face."
Hearing this, the King of Jin was somewhat inclined to agree.
Just then, someone sprinted in and announced, "A memorial from Prince Wei, an urgent dispatch across ten thousand li!"
The high officials in the hall all felt their hearts tighten, seized by a faint foreboding.
The King of Jin received the memorial, opened it to read, and suddenly burst into hearty laughter. He casually handed the memorial to the Right Prime Minister beside him. The Left Prime Minister, sitting opposite the Right Prime Minister, instinctively reached out to take it, but his hand grasped only empty air.
When the Right Prime Minister read it, his complexion drastically changed, and he passed the memorial to the next person. In the blink of an eye, the memorial made a complete round among the ministers before finally reaching the Left Prime Minister's hands.
The contents of the memorial were very simple, consisting of merely a few lines: Seeing their conspiracy exposed, the six commandery governors—including those of Huangping and Xiangrong—have committed suicide to evade punishment.
Several officials felt waves of chill rise from the depths of their hearts. They knew that this was Wei Yuan striking back.
Yet none had expected Wei Yuan to strike with such ruthlessness, leaving not a shred of leeway. This was a momentum aimed at uprooting all their disciples, old acquaintances, relatives, lands, and manors throughout the southern eight commanderies!
Even the worst-case scenario they had previously envisioned did not amount to a tenth of Wei Yuan's current retaliatory measures. How had it escalated straight to a fight to the death?!
Observing the expressions of the officials, the King suddenly felt immensely gratified. He laughed out loud and said, "Wei Yuan told Us long ago that he does not care in the slightest about posthumous fame. Even if he is reviled for ten thousand or a hundred million years by future generations, he will first slaughter the enemies right before his eyes in this life! Hahaha! Against such an unreasonable brute, why did a bunch of scholars like you insist on provoking him?
"The history books must always be written by someone, but right now, it seems the brush writing those books will have to be held by another."
The officials' faces darkened and lightened unpredictably. Lü Zhongzhi suddenly said, "Speaking of which, has Wei Yuan's Dao path truly been obstructed?"
The King of Jin said indifferently, "So, you caused him to fall short of success at the final hurdle, and now you want Us to take the blame? What are your intentions here? Should We consider this usurpation, or high treason?"
No one dared answer this. All were frantically calculating countermeasures in their minds, pondering how to extricate themselves and how to strike back. Yet some also felt secretly elated: at long last, Wei Yuan's Dao path has been severed!
***
At this moment, Wei Yuan had just stepped out of a teleportation gate. He looked up at the three blazing suns overhead, feeling not oppressive heat, but only warmth. He took a deep breath of air hot enough to ignite paper, feeling thoroughly refreshed in body and mind.
The moment Wei Yuan appeared, the world rejoiced from the inside out, lifting his mood considerably along with it.
He looked at the familiar scenery around him, then at the three Heavenly Pillars in the far distance and the newly emerged mountain range. He suddenly found himself missing Ronglong, Tianyu, Jidao True Steel, Hunter Thirty-One, and the others. Recalling those days of fighting in the Desolate Realm, they had been simple and joyful.
Stepping once more into the Desolate Realm, Wei Yuan stirred his divine sense, sending a message across the vast expanse. Before Wei Yuan's eyes, the scenery blurred, and Jiumu's massive dharma body appeared before him. At this moment, every one of his tentacles was cradling a gigantic wine barrel, a straw clamped in his mouth, sipping from one barrel one moment and from another the next.
All nine of Jiumu's eyes opened together and blinked at Wei Yuan, conveying: Speak if you have something to say; my mouth is busy.
Glancing over them, Wei Yuan was surprised to find that every wine barrel bore the mark of Qingming; it turned out this liquor was actually produced by his own domain. In that case, Jiumu's purpose in coming with these barrels in his grasp was glaringly obvious.
Wei Yuan thus said, "I am truly out of options, so I came to ask for a strand of Heavenly Shaman karmic luck."
Jiumu blinked his eyes and asked, "Then what benefit do I get?"
Wei Yuan pointed to the sky and said, "I possess a bit of Heavenly Shaman authority from this realm; I can trade that in exchange."
All nine of Jiumu's eyes opened wide once more. He scrutinized Wei Yuan, then said, "However, can Heavenly Shaman karmic luck of mine handle the affairs of your human race?"
Wei Yuan gave a bitter smile. "There will indeed be some hidden drawbacks, but time is simply too tight, and an immortal of my own race played me for a fool. So this is the only way: get past this tribulation first. Later, I will settle scores with them one by one!"
Jiumu said, "Giving you a strand of karmic luck isn't out of the question, but I also have a condition. If you agree, you can take the luck right now!"
"What condition?"
Jiumu said, "First say whether you agree or not."
Jiumu was a Heavenly Shaman who never spoke hollow words. Wei Yuan knew there was truly no room for negotiation here, so he could only grit his teeth and say, "If it pertains only to me, then I agree!"
The moment these words were spoken, a subtle change occurred across heaven and earth, recording the statement into the Heavenly Dao.
Immensely pleased, Jiumu said, "My requirement is that if we fail to find a suitable candidate after a while, you will succeed to the position of Heavenly Shaman of this realm!"
Stunned, Wei Yuan pointed at himself. "Me, a human, succeeding to the post of Heavenly Shaman?"
Jiumu narrowed his eyes and said, "What is wrong with that? From the very first moment I laid eyes on you, I felt you looked like a Heavenly Shaman."
Chapter 999