Chapter 181: Out of Food |
Several wooden houses had been erected on an open plot outside Willow Ash Town, forming a small courtyard—this was Yuan Qingyan’s commandary office.
The man was currently sitting in the main hall and examining a map spread out on his desk closely. Just then, an attendant entered the hall and reported, “Lord Yuan, Xu Jingfeng, the head of the Xu Clan of Ningxi, is requesting an audience with you. He has also sent a list of gifts.”
Yuan Qingyan asked without looking up, “Are the gifts valuable?”
“Quite.”
His expression eased slightly, and he replied, “Accept the gifts and send him home. Tell him that I’m busy at the moment.”
The scribe, well aware of his master’s habits, showed no surprise as he left the courtyard.
Not far away, on an open field, Xu Jingfeng stood waiting with a dozen or so attendants. Beside them were several porters carrying about ten gifts of all shapes and sizes.
The attendant summoned a squad of soldiers to carry the gifts away. He then said to Xu Jingfeng, “Please return, Patriarch Xu. My master said he’s not here!”
Xu Jingfeng’s smile froze on his face.
Xu Jingfeng let out a heavy grunt and said coldly, “It would appear that Lord Yuan’s reputation for incorruptibility is well-deserved! Since Lord Yuan holds me in such low regard, we shall take our leave.”
“Patriarch Xu, wait.” The attendant called out to Xu Jingfeng and halted him in his tracks.
“Is there anything else?” Xu Jingfeng’s face was as ugly as could be; it was a miracle he hadn’t lost his temper on the spot.
The attendant tilted his head back slightly and glanced at Xu Jingfeng from the corner of his eye, saying, “This servant will take the liberty to add one more thing. Once you’ve returned, you’ll still need to send gifts from time to time, Patriarch Xu. Although my master still won’t see you after you’ve sent them, he will most likely hold it against you if you don’t.”
It would be an understatement to say that Xu Jingfeng was furious. He let out a hollow laugh and asked, “Are you threatening me?”
The attendant gave him a thumbs-up. “That’s exactly what I mean. You’re indeed clever, Patriarch Xu!”
At this point, Xu Jingfeng’s face was as grim as the bottom of a pot. When he glanced at the soldiers around him and noted how they were eyeing him like tigers, though, he forced himself to swallow his anger. When he returned to the Xu Clan residence, he slammed the main gate shut with a loud bang.
Just then, the sound of rapid hooves echoed from outside the town. A scout on horseback came galloping like he was flying and charged straight to the gates of Yuan Qingyan’s courtyard.
Upon arriving, the scout tumbled off his horse and staggered into the small courtyard, exclaiming, “Lord Yuan, we’ve uncovered the fate of the people of Willow Ash Town! They were kidnapped by horse bandits and sold to the realm of Qingming! We followed them all the way to the border, but the horse bandits intercepted us! Of the dozen or so men with me, I’m the only one who managed to escape back!”
Yuan Qingyan leaped to his feet and exclaimed, “Tens of thousands of people, all of them sold to the realm?”
The scout replied affirmatively, “That is correct. Judging by the tracks left on the ground, there must have been thirty to fifty thousand men at least.”
A murderous glint flashed in Yuan Qingyan’s eyes as he muttered to himself, “So this is how you want to play it, is it? Very well! Men!”
A clerk stepped into the hall and waited by his side for instructions.
Yuan Qingyan ordered, “Send a fast horse to Anbian, Qiaohe, and Weining and issues these following orders: all grain and provisions within a two-hundred-li radius of the county seats are to be confiscated, and all peasants from the countryside are to be relocated to the county cities immediately. At the same time, I want checkpoints to be set up on all major thoroughfares; not a single grain of food will be allowed to pass into the west!
“Finally, send letters to Lord Chen and Lord Yue and inform them that I require reinforcements of at least twenty thousand elite troops. With thirty thousand troops at my disposal, I’ll be able to seal off the southern and eastern borders completely!”
The clerk’s brush flew across the paper like lightning. Just moments later, the official documents were drafted and presented to Yuan Qingyan. The commandery administrator glanced at them and said, “Acceptable. You may dispatch them as they are.”
Yuan Qingyan then summoned several staff generals and deputy generals commanding the troops into the hall, ordering them to advance separately and construct military fortifications at key north-south transportation routes to sever all traffic between the two directions. At the same time, they were to dispatch cavalry scouts far and wide to search the mountains and wilderness. They were to track down everyone living in seclusion or remote villages and confiscate all of their food supplies before driving them toward the realm of Qingming.
One of the deputy generals asked, “What is the meaning of this, Lord Yuan?”
Yuan Qingyan replied, “The realm of Qingming loves collecting common people, don’t they? Then I’ll send them plenty! Let’s see how they manage to feed hundreds of thousands of people after I’ve sealed off all the food supply routes!”
The generals exchanged glances, all feeling that this course of action was somewhat ill-advised. But considering Lord Yuan’s reputation, no one dared to speak up.
Within the realm of Qingming, Wei Yuan was holding a piece of jade paper and studying it intently.
The jade paper contained Yuan Qingyan’s complete profile in great detail.
Yuan Qingyan came from a humble background. At the age of eight, he passed the Immortal Sect Unified Examination and began his cultivation at a third-tier blessed land. He established in Dao Foundation at twenty and passed the imperial examination at thirty-seven, after which he transferred to the Great Tang Imperial Academy[1] to continue his cultivation. Ten years later, he entered the service of Western Jin and gained some renown in just three years. He was later appointed as a compiler in the Hanlin Academy.
At the age of fifty-nine, Yuan Qingyan unexpectedly became an Avatar and caused quite a stir at the time. He was subsequently promoted to a scholar of the Hanlin Academy, then to an oversight advisor of the state. Now, at the age of sixty-three, he was appointed the commandery administrator of Ningxi Commandery.
Wei Yuan found this rather troublesome—he did not think that this fellow would be an Avatar! Although Yuan Qingyan could be an Avatar of the lowest rank just like the headmaster of White Maple Academy, he was still an Avatar.
Yuan Qingyan was a man of extreme convection, believing that the teachings of the sages were timeless truths that could not be altered or questioned. He was famous for his outspokenness and unrestrained speech. Yet, because he was incorruptible and his personal integrity was exemplary, no one in the court could find a single weakness to use against him. Consequently, everyone found him a source of immense frustration and tried to stay out of the mad dog’s way as much as possible.
The report did not contain phases like, “hates evil as if it were an enemy” or “upright and impartial”. The intelligence reports crafted by noble clans were extremely precise in their wording and rivaled that of historical texts. The absence of such terms indicated that, in the eyes of the person who wrote this report, Yuan Qingyan was not that kind of person.
After reviewing the report, Wei Yuan set the jade paper aside. The King of Kin’s intention in placing this mad dog before him was crystal clear. However, Wei Yuan had already made his move. All that remained to be seen was how he would respond.
Ningxi Commandery currently had a population of over 200,000. Wei Yuan estimated the actual number was probably between 220,000 and 250,000. Since 140,000 people had come under his control, Yuan Qingyan could only serve as a commandery administrator without any subjects for the time being.
Wei Yuan ordered an attendant to look for Xiao Yu. Moments later, the swordsman appeared before him.
To his surprise, Xiao Yu’s eyes looked slightly sunken and ringed with dark circles. His eyeballs were bloodshot as well. He was the proud owner of an immortal-tier Dao Foundation, and he looked as though he hadn’t slept properly for days! That said, he was still exceptionally handsome, so his appearance only made him look all the more pitiable.
As soon as he saw Wei Yuan, Xiao Yu snapped, “Just spit it out and get to the point! I’m busy!”
Putting on his most sincere and warm smile, Wei Yuan reached out to massage Xiao Yu’s shoulders. “You really have been working too hard, Junior Brother!”
Xiao Yu swatted Wei Yuan’s hands away while huffing, “You don’t say?! Get your hands off me! Don’t get all touchy-feely!”
“Don’t you think you’re reacting a little too strongly?” Wei Yuan put on an aggrieved expression.
Xiao Yu retorted, “I just got Yong’an somewhat under control, and now you’re dumping two more cities on me! Do I owe you or what?”
Wei Yuan broke into a sheepish smile. “Who else could handle it? Those guys—and I don’t mean to be rude—are just armchair strategists. I simply can’t entrust these matters to them; the slightest misstep could cause a massive mess, you know?”
Xiao Yu watched him warily. “You’re not thinking of handing over those three cities to the west and north to me as well, are you? Don’t even think about it!”
“Of course not!” Wei Yuan declared. He had to swear on his life to convince Xiao Yu to relax his guard slightly. He then continued, “I’ll have Wang Yu and Hsu Yi each take charge of one of those three cities. The last one will be jointly administered by members of the five noble clans.”
Xiao Yu immediately frowned. “Those good-for-nothings are completely clueless. How could they possibly know how to manage a city of tens of thousands of mortals? They wouldn’t even know how to run a village.”
Wei Yuan slapped his thigh in agreement. “I know right?! But I really have no one else to turn to—after all, we’ve suddenly gained eighty thousand people. How about this: when you have some free time, go take a look around those three cities. If you see anything they’re doing wrong, then give them just a little guidance.”
Xiao Yu mulled over it for a moment before nodding reluctantly[2].
Wei Yuan let out a sigh of relief and asked, “The food has arrived, right? Is there enough?”
“You mean the shipment from the east?” Xiao Yu shook his head with a frown. “The people we sent had bought up every last grain from every merchant in that direction, but we only managed to secure one point one million catties of food in total. That’s only enough to last seven or eight days. I was just about to come talk to you about this. Our warehouse reserves are running out as well—they’ll last ten days at most. We need to figure something out fast.”
“It’ll be fine. I’ve already instructed Xu Jingfeng to organize two large caravans and purchase grain from Inner Jin. They should have reached Hanyang Pass by now and will be back in three days. Once these two caravans return, we’ll be able to hold out for at least another month.”
Xiao Yu’s expression brightened slightly. “Let me know when the grain convoys return. I need to see what varieties and quality they’re carrying before I can decide how to distribute the grain.”
“No problem.”
Xiao Yu had many matters to attend to at the moment, so he didn’t linger and walked straight out the door. However, after flying a short distance, he suddenly realized that Wei Yuan wasn’t managing a single city himself!
After Xiao Yu left, Wei Yuan continued to pore over the map in deep contemplation. Just then, an attendant knocked on the door and stepped inside. He handed him a letter and said, “Realm lord, you have a secret letter from the Xu Clan of Ningxi.”
Wei Yuan took the letter and opened it. His expression gradually grew grave as he read its contents.
1. The Taixue, variously translated as the Imperial Academy, Imperial School, Imperial University, or Central University, was the highest rank of educational establishment in Ancient China created during the Han dynasty.
2. And that is how you get someone to do what they expressly said they don’t want to do just seconds earlier. Wei Yuan’s a bloody natural.