Chapter 408: One Term in Office, A Deficit of A Million

Bianning Commandery.

Commandery Administrator Xu Xi set down the official document in his hand with a deep frown on his face. He summoned one of his advisors and asked, “Why have the numbers of refugees been increasing so much lately? In the past ten days alone, fifteen thousand refugees have passed through this commandery. Should we cut the amount of porridge we distribute by half?”

Shocked, the advisor hurriedly replied, “Absolutely not, my lord! Last time, one distribution center tried to serve less porridge, resulting in the refugees rioting and beating up all the workers from top to bottom! That is why no one is willing to work at the food relief center these days. But the refugees say....”

“Stop beating around the bush and speak up!”

“They say that... if they can’t survive, they’ll come to the office to eat!”

Xu Xi slammed his palm down on the table and roared, “How dare they! Are we really unable to suppress a mere band of refugees?”

The advisor stammered, “My lord, the refugees are truly ferocious. It’s not that we’re incompetent... it’s just that we truly can’t defeat them.”

Xu Xi suddenly felt a surge of rage and picked up an inkstone, intending to smash it on the floor. But halfway through the motion, he slowly set it down on the table, let out a dejected sigh, and asked after a moment, “Does the food relief center have any silver left?”

The advisor whispered, “They’re gonna run out very soon. Grain prices are skyrocketing lately—they’ve tripled in just a few short months.”

Xu Xi walked to a cabinet, took out a packet of immortal silver, and handed it to his advisor, saying, “There’s five hundred taels in here. Take it!”

The advisor accepted the silver but replied, “My lord, this... is going to last a few days at most.”

“Get out!”

The advisor hurriedly withdrew.

Xu Xi slammed his palm on the table, unable to contain his rage. Ever since the entire office had been ransacked last time, the refugees had grown increasingly brazen, causing disturbances almost every day.

Xu Xi had originally, at great expense to himself, hired an Avatar to protect him. But to his dismay, the man had been ambushed under the cover of night just three days into the job and severely injured. Afterward, he refused to stay under any circumstances and hired men to carry himself away.

Today, the food relief centers were the only means of keeping the refugees in check. However, there were two separate food relief centers within the commandery: one belonging to the commandery office, and another to Wei Yuan. If the commandery office’s food relief center provided less porridge than Wei Yuan’s, then the refugees would still riot. Bianning was a newly established commandery, so its treasury was more or less empty to begin with.

Moreover, the reserve grain in the granaries had long been sold off entirely by Sun Chao’en in collusion with the former commandery administrator, Li Weisheng. But if Xu Xi dared to investigate the grain reserves, he would not only alienate everyone in the Ningxi administration but also make an enemy out of Li Weisheng for life.

Besides that, cleaning up after a predecessor was one of the unwritten rules of officialdom. To be fair, the mess Li Weisheng had left behind wasn’t particularly difficult to handle. However, he had the misfortune of running into the most ferocious refugees anyone had ever encountered.

The last time Xu Xi had brazenly shut down the food relief center, the refugees had stormed the commandery administrator office that very night. Xu Xi himself had been drugged and knocked unconscious that evening. By the time he awoke, the whole place had been completely ransacked.

After that incident, Xu Xi realized he could not afford to antagonize this group of refugees and had no choice but to use his own silver to subsidize the food relief center.

He could not understand how this had come to be, though. He had traveled thousands of li to fill this vacancy, thinking that with the Military Commissioner of Western Pacification to back him up, it would be a cushy post. Little did he expect that after taking office, trouble would haunt him every step of the way. Not only had he lost multiple beautiful concubines, he had also had to dip into his own pockets. At this rate, by the end of his term as commandery administrator, he feared he would be a million in the red.

Xu Xi angrily cursed Wei Yuan, but dared not raise his voice too loudly.

Unbeknownst to Xu Xi, Wei Yuan had snuck into the commandery city. He was currently at Sun Chao’en’s residence.

The two did not waste time exchanging pleasantries. As soon as they met, Wei Yuan pushed a medicine box toward Sun Chao’en and said, “This is the Three-Ingredient Immortality Ascension Pill from my Palace of Absolute Beginning. It can enhance the spirituality of one’s dao Foundation and increase the chance of attaining an Avatar by ten percent.”

“This is precisely what I urgently need. I will take it without hesitation,” Sun Chao’en said as he accepted the box.

Wei Yuan smiled faintly. “Brother Sun, you’ve been sheltering and aiding many refugees along the way. Over the past year alone, you’ve directed more than two hundred thousand refugees into Qingming. Such merit more than compensates for a single elixir. Though, it is troublesome that Commandery Administrator Xu still refuses to leave. There are many matters that we cannot handle openly so long as he is still present.”

Sun Chao’en let out a sigh and said, “To be honest, he hasn’t had an easy time. His office has already been attacked twice and looted clean each time. Besides a few elderly maids, all the young maids in the office have been taken away. He could not find a single soul who would want to guard his house, and he’s even paying out of his own pockets to keep the food relief center running. The fact that he still refuses to leave despite all this is, honestly, respectable.”

Wei Yuan looked thoughtful for a moment. Suddenly, he asked, “Could it be that he has nowhere else to go?”

Sun Chao’en had never considered this possibility before, but now that Wei Yuan had brought it up, the more he thought about it, the more plausible it seemed. After a moment’s reflection, Sun Chao’en suggested, “Why don’t we drag him into this?”

Wei Yuan shook his head. “We’ve already come this far; we might as well see it through to the end. Besides, if we drag him in, where would that leave you? Once Bianning is truly stabilized, the post of commandery administrator won’t be yours anymore.”

Sun Chao’en sighed and said, “I guess it’s the only option. Let me think this through carefully and see what charge I can pin on him to eliminate any future trouble.”

“There’s one more thing. I want all the information on the seven commanderies in the western part of Ning Province—the more detailed, the better. Pay special attention to grain, local specialties, mining; the medicine industry, salt, and iron.”

Sun Chao’en was startled. ‘Are you planning to take action against the Xu Clan again?”

“No. For now, I just want to make some money off them.”

“Oh, that reminds me. The court has been secretly forming a new army in the northern frontier. Rumor has it they’re using firearms.”

Upon hearing this, Wei Yuan’s expression grew somber. As the man who had personally established the firearms unit, he was well aware of the immense advantage such weapons gave to ordinary humans.

The Western Jin court had maintained exceptional secrecy this time; Wei Yuan hadn’t caught even a whisper of it. It was only because Sun Chao’en possessed the potential to become an Avatar, and the court’s powerful figures were intent on giving him a hand, that he’d been privy to this information.

Wei Yuan instructed Sun Chao’en to gather as much intelligence as possible on this matter, then turned to leave.

......

The Realm of Zhenshan.

Lee Zhi had reorganized his army. He was currently leading 30,000 elite troops in a standoff against 100,000 Mountain Dwellers on a battlefield. Both sides were bracing for battle, and a major conflict was imminent.

Ever since his narrow escape from being surrounded by the Mountain Dwellers last time, Lee Zhi had been training his troops and preparing for battle day and night. Now that he was finally fully prepared, he led his 30,000 troops to confront the Mountain Dwellers’ main force, determined to avenge his previous defeat.

For this battle, Lee Zhi brought along a full 10,000 elite cavalrymen from the Southern Qi. Each of his 100 personal bodyguards was a Dao Foundation cultivator as well. His ranks were led by 200 Dao Foundation stage squad leaders, all equipped with the newly acquired flying-sword guns.

As the two armies faced off, Lee Zhi channeled his Qi Viewing Spell to scan the opposing ranks. When he spotted four Avatars, he let out a cold chuckle.

Lee Zhi had made thorough preparations for this battle, going so far as to hire an additional Avatar to bolster his ranks. At the moment, a total of three Avatars were standing behind him. Theoretically speaking, three human Avatars held a slight advantage over four Mountain Dweller Avatars. Moreover, the enemy once again did not have any Mountain Giant.

In the previous battle, the Mountain Dwellers had fielded a similar formation, only to be effortlessly pierced by Wei Yuan’s cavalry of several thousand. After a few back-and-forth charges, he had launched a single all-out assault to shatter the enemy. It was such simple and straightforward strategy that even a fool could master it.

Lee Zhi drew his treasure sword and roared, “The enemy is no match for us! All cavalry, charge with me!”

A golden glow surged from Lee Zhi’s sword and became one with the army aura. Over 10,000 cavalrymen followed in his wake, surging forward like a rolling tide. Their collective aura, like raging waves, crashed down mercilessly upon the Mountain Dwellers!

The Mountain Dwellers refused to be outdone. Their own army aura soared skyward, towering like a mountain.

The 10,000 elite cavalrymen of Southern Qi charged straight into the Mountain Dwellers’ formation. In the blink of an eye, they sliced through the enemy ranks like a sharp blade cutting through tofu, charging all the way to the center of the formation and—stopped. They were unable to see through the charge until the end.

Lee Zhi swung his sword downward. Wherever the sword qi passed, dozens of Mountain Dwellers were swept away and killed in an instant. However, even more Mountain Dwellers filled the gap.

Lee Zhi swung his sword several more times before realizing that something was wrong—they had failed to break through the enemy formation!

How was this possible?

The Mountain Dwellers’ formation hadn’t changed from the last time. Not only had Lee Zhi carefully chosen his point of attack, behind him stood 10,000 elite cavalrymen—more than Wei Yuan had commanded that day.

Yet the Mountain Dwellers’ formation had crumbled like paper before Wei Yuan, but stood like an impenetrable wall of bronze and iron before him.

Lee Zhi was both shocked and furious. He considered his military prowess to be firmly superior to that of Barbarian Wei, and only slightly inferior to Bao Yun’s. So where exactly had he gone wrong[1]?

But now wasn’t the time to dwell on that. Lee Zhi was well aware of the danger of being trapped after a failed charge, so he immediately shouted for a fierce assault and led his cavalry in a desperate charge forward. At the same time, the commander of the rearguard, seeing the situation turning dire, immediately ordered the entire army to advance and rush to their aid.

The two armies quickly plunged into a chaotic melee.

Two hours later, several thousands remnant soldiers, with Lee Zhi in their midst, managed to escape the valley. Only when they saw that no Mountain Dwellers were in pursuit did they slow their pace slightly.

Lee Zhi’s face was ashen. He reined in his horse and looked back[2].

An Avatar-stage cultivator standing nearby said, “Many of our soldiers know how to navigate the mountains. They still have a chance of returning. It’s a good thing we have the flying-sword guns gifted to us by Lord Wei, Military Commissioner of Ningxi. Otherwise, it would’ve been much more difficult to break through the encirclement.”

Lee Zhi suddenly said, “Send someone to Qingming to purchase another three hundred flying-sword guns, and two hundred flying swords for each gun!”

A general said, “My lord, these guns can only be wielded by Dao Foundations. We don’t have that many.”

“By the time the guns arrive, we’ll have them.”

“As you command, my lord.”

Shortly after Wei Yuan returned to the realm of Qingming, someone delivered a stack of jade papers. They contained detailed records of the seven western commanderies of Ning Province—the territory controlled by the Xu Clan—including local customs, topography, natural resources and mineral deposits, as well the distribution of key figures and factions.

Sun Chao’en had always been swift and decisive in his work.

These materials amounted to hundreds of thousands of words. Wei Yuan studied them carefully, and before he knew it, two hours had passed. Even with his stamina, he actually felt a slight sense of fatigue. After all, this was the first time Wei Yuan had considered strategies beyond warfare, and the first time he had approached an issue from a holistic perspective.

Wei Yuan set the documents aside and cast a glance into the Great Realm.

The household that had just completed a wedding was now brimming with joy. The bride, fair-skinned and lovely, was sitting in the courtyard and gently caressing her slightly rounded belly, her face radiant with happiness and anticipation. A spirit tree stood in the small courtyard, and in the corner were some newly planted spirit flowers and grass.

Wei Yuan watched for a while; until his mood grew considerably more tranquil. Then, he withdrew his perception.

Somewhere in the Great Realm, the main body of the cultivation complex had been completed. Consisting of three halls and six towers, it was quite massive. It seemed that the people running the complex were quite ambitious, having already planned for future expansion. The rear hall, now finished, contained three cultivation spots. Three people were cultivating there right now.

With just one sweep of his perception, Wei Yuan knew that the person in the center was exceptionally gifted. He had already reached the peak of the Body-tempering stage and was now awaiting the right moment to establish his Dao Foundation. The other person’s aptitude wasn’t bad either—he would be considered a heaven foundation in the outside world.

However, the cultivator on the left only had average talent. Wei Yuan estimated that he was at most an earth foundation, yet for some reason, he was able to outshine many far more talented individuals outside and gain the right to cultivate inside the hall.

Although the sky of the Great Realm was still predominantly dark red, the dark red patch in the center had faded considerably. It was even faintly revealing a hint of blue-green.

The royal capital, Western Jin.

The King of Jin was holding a wine cup and gazing at the evening glow filling the sky with a sense of joy. He raised his cup toward the setting sun and drank it in one gulp. Zhao Tong, standing beside him, immediately asked, “Why is Your Holiness so delighted today?”

The King of Jin laughed. “The nation’s fortune is flourishing day by day—how can I not be delighted?”

1. You did not equip the ordinary BT-stage cultivators with ordinary guns, which Wei Yuan specifically told you is the key to everything. ☜

2. You know, I think this is a slight allusion to Griffin and Guts from Berserk. Except you know, Guts isn’t punished and Griffin didn’t get a deux ex machina to save his stupid ass. ☜