Chapter 1686

Non-committal means disagreement.

Bai Tan didn't dare to force the Heavenly God, so he came to Qingyang to ask for advice. This former Beijia State Preceptor had dealt with gods for almost her whole life and must have a lot of insights.

Qingyang saw through his little schemes and said bluntly: "At this juncture, you want to go to the Heavenly God for a blessing; what are you thinking?"

The Heavenly God played a decisive role in the Yao palace coup. Countless eyes saw the Goddess Fenghe manifest to open the palace gates for Bai Tan, and also witnessed two Heavenly Gods descend to fight the Yao nation's guardian divine beast.

Bai Tan wanted to strike while the iron was hot. If the Heavenly God agreed to hold a blessing ceremony in Tianshui City, it would be an acknowledgment of him, and he could bind himself to the Heavenly God.

As long as he controlled the divine grace, in this Yao nation where everyone worshipped gods, his overthrow of the King of Yao's rule and his seizure of power and the army would have legitimacy and rationality.

But the temple was not a pushover; how could it easily fulfill his wishes? Bai Tan said awkwardly: "Our uprising was sudden, and Tianshui City is still terrified. I thought that the Heavenly God's blessing could soothe the fear and trauma of the subjects."

"The Heavenly God abandoned the King of Yao, which is why she borrowed your hand to end his rule, and the people will know this." Qingyang pointed out, "But if you want to win the Heavenly God's affirmation, your actions are far from enough!"

"The south gate of the palace was opened by the Goddess Fenghe for you, and the Thousand Illusion True Person's clone was driven away by the two Heavenly Gods who descended personally. What have you done?" She looked at him coldly, "You just cut the King of Yao's throat with your own hands."

Bai Tan wanted to speak but stopped.

His work behind the scenes and in front of the stage was all done at full capacity. But Qingyang was right; the key to the action was all cleared by the Heavenly God and Qingyang.

Perhaps the gift he just sent worked, and Qingyang's tone softened: "Some things you did well. Distributing grain to relieve the people and stabilizing prices can indeed soothe the hearts of the people. However, you have to eat one bite at a time and do things one by one; you are too anxious."

This afternoon, Bai Tan ordered the county offices in each city district to post public notices, shops to open for business, grain shops to resume supply, and prices to be pressed back to seven wen per jin! This was astonishing—astonishingly low.

Although it hadn't fallen back to the floor price of previous years, compared to the sky-high grain prices before the Yao palace coup, this price was like a pie falling from the sky.

Bai Tan also ordered the county offices to set up porridge sheds to relieve disaster victims and refugees, and forbade the porridge from being as thin as water, and each disaster victim could get two steamed buns.

This was following the big stick with a sweet date.

Bai Tan created a night of blood and wind in Tianshui City, and the next day he had to give the civilians some benefits to soothe them.

When the King of Yao was alive, the poor were almost out of food; when Bai Tan took power, everyone had food to eat.

Comparing the two, General Bai was better to the civilians, right?

Moreover, to create a grain shortage earlier, he and Qingyang used a lot of manpower to frantically sweep up the autumn grain on the market. Now, he was just putting this hidden grain back on the market; supplying a Tianshui City was more than enough. Bai Tan appeared very humble at this time: "Please teach me, Regent!"

What he wanted to ask was, how could he gain the support of the Heavenly God? "The Glittering Gold Plain has always respected the strong; this is a rule that even the Heavenly God must respect!" Qingyang said lightly, "The Yao nation has always been the most powerful country, so it received the favor of Miaozhantian; the King of Yao was abandoned by the Heavenly God because of his incompetence and mediocrity. If you want to reopen a prosperous age and rival the glory of the Yao nation for two hundred years, then you must prove yourself under the gaze of the gods and prove that you are worthy of sitting on the throne!"

If you want to ascend the throne and claim kingship, there is only one way: defeat all competitors! Just like the Glittering Gold Empire a thousand years ago.

Just like the founding ancestor of the Great Yao two hundred years ago.

The Heavenly God will only favor the winner and will only support the only winner.

Qingyang continued: "You took Tianshui City, and all the wealth of the Yao nation is in your hands. The materials and soldiers are incomparably abundant. Compared to forces like Zhongwu and Luodian, you can be said to have an absolute advantage. This opening is far better than others."

Others lead an army and have to worry about where to settle, worry about grain and grass, and worry about not being able to pay military salaries. Bai Tan has none of these troubles! Bai Tan stood still for a long time before saying in a deep voice: "I understand, thank you Regent for clearing my doubts!"

He truly understood. Killing the King of Yao and uprooting the royal family was not enough; taking the secret medicine and being loyal to the Heavenly God was also not enough.

He had to defeat all opponents before the Heavenly God would acknowledge him and bless him.

If killing the King of Yao could easily put the whole country into his pocket without wind or waves, why had no one succeeded in the past two hundred years? Bai Tan never dared to underestimate the difficulty of his path, but now he had an excellent start.

Qingyang looked at the treasure chest on the carriage. Since someone came to her with sincerity, it wouldn't be right if she didn't give him a trick. After all, the Quiet Lake Lodge was still within the scope of Tianshui City, and she was still living on someone else's territory.

For a local snake, one still had to maintain three points of courtesy.

"Well, I'll give you a way."

Bai Tan immediately cupped his fists: "I've been waiting for these words from you!"

"You have a great advantage but don't know it, and that is 'divine grace'."

Bai Tan's expression changed: "But didn't you just say..."

Didn't she say that before he swept across the eight directions, he couldn't get the Heavenly God's help?

"Gods are mostly silent and watch coldly most of the time; this is true for you, and it is true for your opponents. But—" Qingyang said slowly, "The manifestation of Fenghe when attacking the Yao Palace and the descent of the two gods were all witnessed by countless people. Since yesterday, the saying 'The Heavenly God helped you defeat the King of Yao' has spread rapidly. Now, do you know what to do?"

Hearing the last two sentences, the corners of Bai Tan's mouth curled up: "I say I am bathed in divine grace, and the Heavenly God and the temple won't object, right?"

Qingyang smiled without speaking. For such a small matter, the Heavenly God was too lazy to come forward to clarify.

It is true that the Heavenly God will not come forward again to bless Bai Tan, but they will not come out specifically to say that they do not favor Bai Tan! And Bai Tan was still as if helped by God yesterday—no, not "as if," but truly! To the ordinary people, to the vast believers of the Heavenly God, and even to most of the Yao nation, he was the chosen one! Even the Heavenly God had taken a fancy to him, so what reason did the people have not to fear and love him? Bai Tan understood, but was still a little worried: "Won't the Heavenly God bless others?"

"Rest assured." Qingyang's words had deep meaning, "They are impartial."

The Heavenly God will not bless Bai Tan again, and likewise, the Heavenly God will not bless others.

From now on, only the winner can enter their eyes! Bai Tan was overjoyed, and a heavy stone in his heart fell.

Calculating this way, his chances of winning were very high; he occupied the resources of most of the Yao nation and could steal divine grace to support himself.

The dual advantages of geographical and human conditions were both on his side.

Hearing what he wanted to hear, Bai Tan no longer lingered and immediately bowed to say goodbye.

Qingyang smiled: "I am injured, so I won't send you to the door. Yuan Xuan, you send General Bai for me."

Before turning around, Bai Tan looked at Qingyang again.

At this moment, he truly regretted his miscalculation on the night of the coup, not keeping Qingyang in the city.

After the Yao palace coup, she immediately moved back to the Quiet Lake Lodge on the grounds of healing, acting as a hands-off manager. This was delegating power; the vast Tianshui City was left for Bai Tan to dispatch and play freely.

She stated she wouldn't intervene, and Bai Tan was initially happy and proud; after all, Qingyang and the King of Yao had been fighting for power for more than half a year. But when he truly seized absolute power, he found something wrong.

Qingyang seemed to have returned to her transcendent status, watching his frantic efforts from the sidelines, but in reality, her status hadn't dropped at all.

Because Bai Tan's power was snatched, and his rise was illegitimate! The Yao nation had existed for nearly two hundred years, which was rare on the Glittering Gold Plain, and the people's identification with it far exceeded that of the Glittering Gold people. Bai Tan killed his superior, making it hard to win the hearts of the people.

When he was young, he had gone to Lingxu City to study and read many history books, knowing that for a national change, the person who rebelled and killed his superior was often not the final winner.

What Bai Tan had to avoid at all costs was doing a favor for others, overthrowing the Yao nation for others, and failing to reap the fruits of victory in the end.

But the more chaotic the situation in this country, the more transcendent Qingyang's status became.

She represented the will of the Great Beijia Empire and could maintain good communication with the Heavenly God.

This meant that any force wanting to collude with Beijia or gain the Heavenly God's acknowledgment had to come to her.

She would become the hub for communication between all parties.

Not to mention the distant ones; didn't Bai Tan have to come to her to bridge the gap if he wanted to talk to Zhongwu?

This was the power Qingyang had regained!

Seemingly not fighting or grabbing, but actually holding everyone in her hands.

The old Palace Master, who sat firmly in the top chair of the Beijia State Preceptor, was not senile at all. Only those who faced her directly could feel the pressure Bai Tan felt.

Bai Tan's departing steps were still a bit heavy.

As Qingyang said, the Glittering Gold Plain respects the strong. If he wants to sit on the throne, he has to defeat the challengers.

Not one, two, but all! Respect and recognition are earned through strength.

"Go inside." Seeing him leave, Qingyang played with the newly acquired Yellow Heaven Staff, in a good mood, "Brew me a cup of fragrant tea with roses and cinnamon."

The moon was bright tonight, and there was no need to carry a lamp along the way; the reflected light of the ice and snow could illuminate the road ahead.

But on the way to the Quiet Lake Lodge, Bai Ziqi's party actually encountered bandits.

These were all refugees who had escaped from the city.

Robbery cases in the suburbs of Tianshui City were unimaginable in the past, but now no one cared.

When Bai Ziqi arrived, Qingyang had just finished changing her medicine and was eating.

"Envoy Bai, you are late." Qingyang invited him to sit together, "I brought back two jars of pear blossom wine from the King of Yao's palace last night. It is said to be twenty-year-old vintage, with a clear and sweet taste. The King of Yao wouldn't even give it away in the past."

Her tone was friendly and casual; if Bai Ziqi hadn't just left Tianshui City, he wouldn't have been able to feel the terror contained in this sentence.