Chapter 1556: Duty-Bound

The market is also more prosperous, and King Yao is still complacent about this. "That's just the initial blindfold. No wonder they say, He Xiao is truly a capable person! In order to scramble for land, merchants and commoners will frantically sell off the assets in their hands. The supply in the market suddenly increases, so the price naturally won't go up." Qingyang placed two melon seeds on the table, one on the left and one on the right, "These two melon seeds, the one on the left represents the silver money in the market, and the one on the right represents the assets in the market."

Everything people need in life can be called assets.

She took away the melon seed on the left: "Thanks to this capital eastern expansion project, suddenly, most of the money in the market will be taken away by the national treasury and King Yao."

King Yao's method is too toxic, so this process of sucking gold is extremely rapid, and even high-ranking bureaucrats didn't react. She knew that this also relied on Tianshui City's high degree of urbanization, with many more commoners living in the city than in the suburbs. Otherwise, if it were any other place on the Shanjin Plain, this trick wouldn't work.

Of course, she wouldn't mention these causes and effects to Bai Tan. But how long had He Xiao been in the Yao Nation, and he could eat through and use these factors so thoroughly, which was also...

Truly a capable person harboring evil intentions.

Bai Tan nodded: "Commoners want to buy assets, but have no money."

"Everything has a gradual process. According to the current progress, this matter would have taken a few years to happen, after all, the Yao Nation itself has a deep foundation and various administrative decrees to guarantee it, and it can also profit from the Shanjin Plain."

To put it plainly, the Shanjin Plain is the Yao Nation's large blood bag, which is also one of the important reasons why King Yao is unscrupulous.

"Unless—" she took away the melon seed on the right, "—it is greatly artificially accelerated."

Bai Tan was thoughtful: "Take away the assets?"

"Things are precious because they are rare; the fewer assets in the market, the higher the price; if assets suddenly drop sharply, the price will also rise sharply in the short term. Now He Xiao has opened the first half for us, and from now on, it's our turn to take over the second half."

"I'm talking about 'in the short term'!" Qingyang emphasized, "If this period is missed, the Yao Nation will definitely be able to recover."

A good planner can adjust their plan at any time according to the time and situation. He Xiao's capital eastern expansion project, on the surface, is to solve the waterlogging and national treasury emptiness for King Yao, but why can't it be used by her?

Bai Tan's gaze flickered: "Accelerate?"

Was it the meaning he thought? He hesitated: "The assets of the Yao Nation are probably not so easy to buy out."

How deep is the Yao Nation's foundation; how could one or two forces do a short sale?

"No need to buy out, just need to make it temporarily tight." Qingyang emphasized the word "temporarily," "As long as the operation is proper, when this contradiction will break out, and to what extent it can break out, is controllable. By then, what will the people who suddenly can't buy assets and can't live do?"

Qingyang opened her left hand to show him, and the melon seed lay in her palm.

Clearly visible, and you are also very eager, but when people refuse to give it to you, what should you do? Bai Tan reached out and stopped.

"No harm."

Bai Tan then picked up the melon seed from her left palm:

"I understand. Is there anyone else operating this?"

Qingyang smiled without saying a word.

So Bai Tan truly understood.

For so many years, both the Yao court and the people have maintained thousands of threads of connection with Beijia.

This former Beijia state preceptor is not as lonely as she looks.

He took a deep breath:

"Palace Master, can I see Chief Envoy Liang?"

The path he is about to take cannot be turned back once started. So before starting, he must ensure that he obtains the support of the heavenly deities.

Qingyang pointed outside the window: "Look, who is that?"

The small boat went with the water and happened to reach a wild ferry, where the wooden planks of the pier were mostly broken.

At this time, a person walked onto the pier, tall and thin, wearing a veil hat.

Yuan Xuan personally poled the boat over and picked him up.

The boat curtain was lowered again, and the person sat down in the cabin, taking off the hat that blocked his face.

Bai Tan was overjoyed and immediately bowed: "Chief Envoy Liang!"

Bai Tan longed to obtain the support of the heavenly deities, which Qingyang had long anticipated. He had to make such a major decision, so naturally, he had to communicate face-to-face with Chief Envoy Liang.

Chief Envoy Liang smiled: "General Bai, I knew long ago that you would abandon darkness for light."

Bai Tan was solemn, cupping his hands in salute: "For the Goddess, I am duty-bound!"

Qingyang personally poured hot water for Bai Tan again, and then handed him a pale golden pill.

Bai Tan took it in his hand and stared at it twice.

This was the true letter of allegiance.

After taking this pill, he was a true participant in Qingyang's plan.

Bai Tan secretly made up his mind, threw the pill into his mouth, tilted his neck, and swallowed it down his throat.

Qingyang smiled happily: "Since everyone is here, let's discuss the plan."

King Yao thought that if he didn't take the secret medicine of the heavenly deities, he wouldn't be controlled by the heavenly deities, and the Yao Nation could ignore Beijia's management.

Heh, naive.

Beijia has plenty of ways to beat him into a sober human.

￥￥￥￥￥

Peng Nation Julu Port, pier tavern.

Compared to a few months ago, this tavern had doubled in size, the drinking hall was more spacious, ten small square tables were added, and there were three more types of wine on the wall, the most expensive being the Aphid Honey Wine from the Yangshan Archipelago.

In the past, where would such expensive wine have a market in Julu Port? But today, there was a guy half-squatting on the wine table, smacking his lips while raising his cup to catch the Aphid Honey Wine poured by the waiter.

More than two hundred drinkers surrounded him, and someone shouted: "Quick, quick, hurry up and continue!"

The man squatting on the table gulped down a large mouthful of wine and made an "ah" sound, his face full of contentment.

"We all treat you to the most expensive wine; if you dare to sell secrets again, the next cup will be urine!"

The man put down his wine cup: "Where did I get to? Oh, we followed Head Liu to attack Jue Mountain. Alas, Jue Mountain Dock is truly hard to attack, like an iron bucket. Now there are righteous armies everywhere, and these bastards also know they have done too many wicked things, so they have all reinforced and heightened their territory, shrinking inside and not coming out. We fought for six or seven days before breaking their mountain gate, and the government came right after!"

Someone said: "Jue Mountain Dock used to occupy fields and kill people, forcing good people into extinction, and they all have the government backing them. Eight out of ten, Jue Mountain Dock saw you attacking, so while closing the doors, they sent people to report to the local authorities."

"That's exactly it!" The man on the table said, "Jue Mountain Dock saw the government soldiers coming and immediately rushed out to attack us from inside and outside. We only had three hundred people, Jue Mountain Dock had about a hundred, and there were more than five hundred government soldiers!"

He sipped his wine again: "We were charged twice, and many of us were injured. Head Liu shouted to retreat."

Someone off the stage said: "Too slow. When the government soldiers came, you should have run."

"Right, right, we have experience in this."

"It wasn't that Head Liu hesitated because the gate of Jue Mountain Dock had already been broken, but Jue Mountain Dock and the government soldiers merged into

"And then, and then!" the crowd urged. "We buy you drinks, and you just feed us water? When exactly does the Black Armor Army make its appearance?"

"When we were being chased, the Black Armor Army appeared! Taking advantage of the fact that Jue Shan Wu was empty, they went straight in and gutted the place, then set it on fire. When the pursuers saw their old nest smoking, they rushed back, and then they were beaten to a pulp by the Black Armor Army..."

This man went on a wild rant, describing the battle at the time with vivid detail.

After he had been talking for nearly a quarter of an hour, the crowd was finally satisfied.

At a table by the window, a guest in white suddenly asked, "So, you mean to say that your Boss Liu never spoke to the Black Armor Army from start to finish? They lifted your siege and left without saying a word."

"..." The man looked him up and down. This ugly freak really had an unpleasant way of speaking. "The Black Armor Army rarely talks to people. Why don't you ask the people in this tavern, who has ever talked to the Black Armor Army?"

"Did the Great Emperor of the Nine Netherworlds appear?"

"Uh, I didn't see him."

The guest in white quickly pressed, "The Great Emperor of the Nine Netherworlds has a unique appearance; others should be able to recognize him at a glance."

"I didn't see him, anyway."

"But you saw the Black Armor Army."

"Right."

"How do you know those were really the Black Armor Army?"

The man let out an 'eh' sound. "What's wrong with you? Are you here to interrogate me?"

Upon hearing the words "interrogate me," the way the tavern patrons looked at the guest in white changed.

Who interrogates people? Government officials.

They were naturally standing on the opposite side of the people in this tavern.

"Just curious. I came from the west and only just came ashore. You can tell from my clothes that I'm not a local."

His clothing material was very fine and the style was novel; he was at least a wealthy merchant.

The guest in white asked again, "You didn't follow the Black Armor Army to see where they went?"

"The Black Armor Army comes and goes without a trace; that's common knowledge. Following them would be a waste of time, so why bother with the effort?" The man scratched his head. "Besides, we were exploring Jue Shan Wu at the time, trying to rob the rich to help the poor; we didn't have much time."

The crowd burst into laughter. The prerequisite for "helping the poor" was "robbing the rich." These were all outlaws who didn't know if they'd have their next meal, and they didn't even have two copper coins in their own pockets. So Boss Liu must have been in a hurry to rush into Jue Shan Wu and rummage for spoils; how would he have the heart to track the Black Armor Army?

The guest in white asked again, "Did the Black Flood Dragon pattern appear at Jue Shan Wu?"

"It did, why wouldn't it?" The man held his head high. "Right on the big rock behind the stockade gate, a pattern as big as a millstone, true to life."

He even reached out to gesture. The guest in white continued to ask him, "What did the horns on the Black Flood Dragon's head look like?"

"What did they look like..." The man was stunned by the question. "They just looked like dragon horns."

The guest in white took out two taels of silver and spread them on his palm. "Draw it, and I'll sponsor you some drink money."

So generous? The man dipped his finger in some wine and drew a simple sketch on the table.

It was truly minimalist; the Black Flood Dragon he drew was about the same as an earthworm, just with two tree branches on its head.

(End of chapter)