Longzang

Chapter 1115 Night Tour
During this night tour of the deep palace, Prince Ji led Wei Yuan on a two-hour tour, not only recounting the secret histories and architectural features of each palace, but also many hidden events that occurred in specific palace chambers.

Naturally, due to Prince Ji's peculiar hobbies, no secret event in the palace could escape his notice.

What left Wei Yuan speechless was that in one corner of the palace, there was a separate courtyard. This courtyard was for people from outside the palace to stay temporarily inside. It was divided into four different small courtyards, each with its own secret passage leading to different parts of the palace.

Thus, under the arrangement of someone with ulterior motives, various events unfolded between people from outside the palace and those inside in the four courtyards, each with a different storyline. Prince Ji watched with great interest, but Wei Yuan, unaware of the identities of the fighting demons, naturally yawned incessantly.

In Wei Yuan's view, the greatest enjoyment of these demon fights lay in the demons' identities, not in the fights themselves. If the demons weren't acquaintances, the enjoyment was halved. Therefore, Wei Yuan found them utterly boring.

After finally touring the entire palace, Prince Ji's attitude towards Wei Yuan had clearly changed. Now, they could put their arms around each other's shoulders and waists in a more intimate manner. Although Wei Yuan strongly resisted, he had no choice but to reluctantly accept it because of the watchful eyes of the heavens.

Fortunately, having witnessed Prince Ji's heroic and dashing moment and knowing his centuries of unwavering forbearance, Wei Yuan felt that treating him as an equal was not unacceptable.

Judging from this, it seems that Prince Ji had already seen through Sun Chaoen's true intentions. Wei Yuan hesitated whether to give Sun Chaoen a heads-up, but after careful consideration, he gave up the idea.

Sun Chaoen is a man who understands the big picture and the general trend, but his shortcomings are that he lacks talent and his cultivation is mediocre.

Sun Chaoen's first priority was a world of peace and prosperity over the course of a century, not the immediate, fleeting boom. Second were Qingming and Wei Yuan, third was Prince Ji, and only fourth were the others. Following this order, Wei Yuan felt that whatever he did would be largely correct and wouldn't lead to major mistakes.

If any adjustments are needed, and Wei Yuan changes his policies, Sun Chaoen, with his wisdom, will immediately sense the shift in the wind and make corresponding adjustments.

This is normal. Powerful ministers like Sun Chaoen, who came from favored families, were naturally adept at understanding the emperor's intentions and changing their stance according to the prevailing winds.

This "upper" encompasses not only King Ji, but also Wei Yuan, a powerful ally far stronger than Ji. Often, allies are more important than King Ji. If these allies are alarmed, then the world will collapse for Ji and a large number of its people.

Therefore, it was quite natural for Sun Chao'en to act in accordance with Wei Yuan's wishes; at worst, he would only be criticized in the future. However, most of the upright historians in Ji State were now receiving payment from the Qingming Development Bureau, so in future historical records, Sun Chao'en would most likely be portrayed as a wise and capable minister, praised by later generations.

After two crushing defeats in major wars, and with the added propaganda of numerous bribed intellectuals, Qingming's invincibility had taken deep root in the hearts of the people of Ji Kingdom. The intellectuals further embellished Qingming's life in various publications.

In short, the moon is rounder, the sun is bigger, the fat is more fragrant, and even the water in the ditches is sweet. Being a maggot in a ditch in Qingming is better than being a superior person in Ji Kingdom.

The scholars' abilities far exceeded Wei Yuan's expectations. The Qingming Development Bureau used less than one-hundredth of the military budget, yet the results were comparable to, or even better than, those of a million-strong army. Even Wei Yuan felt that if he were Prince Ji, he would be helpless in the face of the current situation.

Of course, there is a solution, and Qingming is already implementing it: enlightening the people.

When the people are enlightened, ordinary folks will naturally realize that the moon is round everywhere, and so are maggots. A maggot from the State of Ji will still be a maggot even if it goes to the Azure Sky.

Sun Chaoen's cultivation level was insufficient, and his acting skills were not as natural as those of Prince Ji and Wei Yuan. If he knew too much, he would inevitably reveal his flaws. Therefore, after careful consideration, Wei Yuan decided to let things take their course and not let Sun Chaoen know too much.

It was nearly dawn, and although they were still reluctant to leave, the morning bell had already rung, and everyone got up. Prince Ji had no choice but to take Wei Yuan back to the Imperial Study to discuss the next steps.

Once Wei Yuan and King Ji were in their positions, negotiations naturally proceeded much more quickly. Wei Yuan's main demands were free trade, the right to build bridges, roads, and docks within the territory of Ji, and protection for Qingming's core personnel from persecution by local officials.

The two commanderies of Xiang and Han had already been agreed upon, effectively ceding them to Wei Yuan as his fiefdom. Wei Yuan, in turn, promised that the two territories would forever remain part of the territory of the State of Ji. Furthermore, Wei Yuan compromised by agreeing to transfer a portion of the future taxes from Xiang and Han to the State of Ji, but stipulated their intended use.

At this time, apart from Sun Chaoen and the King of Ji, no one in the entire Ji Kingdom knew what this promise meant. The King of Ji was in dire need of a large amount of military equipment, but the national treasury was empty. Wei Yuan then proposed that the Zhao Kingdom sell second-hand military equipment to the Ji Kingdom, so that the Ji Kingdom could be armed without incurring the wrath of Heaven, and the face of Emperor Li Zhi could be saved.

As for the purchase expenses, Wei Yuan obtained the right to levy taxes on the borders of the four territories of Ji State, and the military expenses incurred will be gradually deducted from the border trade taxes in the future.

Prince Ji had never even heard of the border customs tax.

Previously, the State of Ji was embroiled in war and had almost no trade with other states. Therefore, for the King of Ji, this was tantamount to exchanging a blank sheet of paper for countless much-needed weapons, so naturally he would not refuse.

In addition to the above, Wei Yuan also requested that King Ji allow the movement of the poor and the buying and selling of refugees. Wei Yuan would purchase an unlimited number of refugees from Ji at a fixed price. King Ji readily agreed and promised that the buying and selling of refugees would only be conducted through the inner palace, so that no one could interfere.

This can be considered as Wei Yuan slipping money into Prince Ji's private treasury, and then Prince Ji giving it to someone else. The transaction is not aboveboard, but both parties get what they want.

The rest were just minor matters, such as Qingming renting a few plots of land for its own use, and the trial procedures for Qingming's core personnel in Ji State, and other trivial matters.

Military equipment, trade, road rights, and border taxes were all implemented immediately, while land leasing was delayed. Wei Yuan wanted to select several important cities to lease land for garrisoning troops, and Prince Ji recommended a large city in the southern central region. Wei Yuan gladly accepted.

This city is strategically important; Li Zhi would have to pass through it if he wanted to travel north. Wei Yuanqingming's establishment of a concession here serves as a de facto barrier. Li Zhi would likely think long and hard before attacking this city.

As for the trial of Qingming personnel, Wei Yuan proposed that this clause be discussed again in three years, and then the previous items be added together to form a treaty to formally end the state of war in Qingji.

To put it bluntly, Wei Yuan planned to delay for another three years. Whether or not Prince Ji saw through Wei Yuan's ulterior motives, he readily agreed.

Prince Ji then proposed to introduce some Qingming iron forging and mining technology, which Wei Yuan readily agreed to.

The true core of Qingming's industry now lies not only in its technology, but also in its massive amount of template-based Dao foundations. Without these template-based Dao foundations, no matter what other countries try to imitate, even if Qingming directly provides the complete technology, the final cost will still be more than double that of Qingming.

King Ji understood the key point and planned to send a group of young and qualified cultivators to Qingming for further study, so that they could cultivate a template Dao foundation before returning to the country.

For Wei Yuan, this was just a matter of convenience.

However, after this matter was implemented, most of the young talents of Ji Kingdom who had completed their Dao Foundation cultivation tried every means to stay in Qingming. They were unwilling to return to Ji Kingdom, even if it meant starting as criminals. This was beyond the expectations of Wei Yuan and King Ji.

After speaking with Prince Ji, Wei Yuan returned to Yizhou and first reviewed the latest quarterly reports from Qingming and Yizhou. However, the situation described in the reports was increasingly pessimistic; goods were piling up in Qingming, with nowhere to go. Yu Zhizhuo had no choice but to slow down production and control capacity.

The flow of Qingyuan also came to a standstill. Neighboring countries offered everything they could to exchange for Qingyuan, even selling their children. Wei Yuan accepted anything offered to Qingming, but even so, the deficit continued to grow.

Wei Yuan, who had suddenly gained a huge advantage in printing Qingyuan, had nothing to buy, so he couldn't take advantage of it.

Wei Yuan was filled with worry. He spent a long time looking at the map before heading straight to the Western Jin Dynasty, intending to have another good talk with the King of Jin. At the same time, it was time to extend the King of Jin's life.

　First come, first served

　　
　
(End of this chapter)