Chapter 1901

"The money's been spent, but the goods haven't arrived yet. No matter what, we have to wait until the supplies are in hand before we can cut off this route. Otherwise, wouldn't the losses all be on me?" Saying this, Bai Tan's tone turned resolute: "Since the Heavenly Gods have abandoned Yangshan, once we gather all the goods, we'll sever ties with them, and for future procurement, we'll find other ways."

Qingyang gave a mocking smile.

She's been in the bureaucracy for over a hundred years—can't she see Bai Tan is using the "delay" tactic?

"Once we gather all the goods"? I'm afraid the supplies won't be fully gathered before these few battles are over.

When a major war breaks out, everything domestically must yield to the war effort.

Bai Tan's so-called "no longer using Yangshan's signboard" is simplicity itself—just change the shop front, change the sign; call it the Prosperous Merchants Guild, or the Treasure-Incoming Merchants Guild—any name change means it's no longer the Yangshan Merchants Guild, right?

Of course, the name change only applies within Yaodi; outside Yaodi, these guilds still fly the Yangshan banner—otherwise, how would they deal with foreigners?

Just as Bai Tan said, Yangshan in Yaodi only puts up a signboard, only opens channels. Now he can take down Yangshan's signboard, but he must keep Yangshan's channels.

So, did the Heavenly Gods and Qingyang wipe out the Yangshan Merchants Guild in Yaodi?

Of course not. Yangshan merely changed its name—the channels remain, so it still exists.

The personnel are still the same crew, just renamed.

Bai Tan doesn't know—is his doing this an act of outward compliance but inward defiance toward the Heavenly Gods? Colloquially, it's called fooling the gods.

But what else can he do?

The existence of the Yangshan Merchants Guild concerns the interests of Tianshui City and local bureaucratic elites, and it concerns Bai Tan's army's logistical supplies. At least until the internal war in Yaodi ends, he cannot directly abolish the Yangshan Merchants Guild.

Qingyang also grew somewhat weary of pressing Bai Tan: "Just do it this way."

Bai Tan was overjoyed, stood up, and bowed deeply: "Palace Lord's wisdom! Then I'll trouble the Palace Lord to advise the Heavenly Gods and convey my firm resolve to carry this out!"

He was about to leave when he suddenly remembered something:

"By the way, Palace Lord, regarding the religious affiliation of Tianshui City—has any word come down from above?"

After the fall of Miao Zhantian Zun, Tianshui City appeared with a religious vacuum—many temples were left without direction. Who is Miao Zhantian's successor? Which Heavenly God can become the chief deity here? Bai Tan has already asked Qingyang twice, but has yet to receive an answer.

Qingyang inwardly sneered, but said on the surface: "Too little time—don't rush."

How many days have passed since Miao Zhantian Zun fell?

Yaodi and even the Jingjin Plains are one of the important sources of faith for the Lingxu Gods—whichever Heavenly God takes over Miao Zhantian's mantle will gain a surge in strength and status.

Given Qingyang's understanding of the Heavenly Gods, the upper echelons are probably in chaos like a pot of porridge, but no decision will be reached that quickly.

Bai Tan acknowledged with a sound, feeling a bit disappointed, was about to take his leave, when Qingyang suddenly asked:

"After subduing Chen Chuihua and taking all of Yaodi, who will be your next enemy?"

This question came out of the blue; Bai Tan startled, blurted out: "The Luo Dian people?"

The Luo Dian people and Yaoguo have been enemies for generations; after Yaoguo's fall, they've caused no end of trouble—the Left Zongzhu of Luo Dian State, Ru Likehai, led troops southward, fought him for a long time, and even now still seriously threatens the safety of Tianshui City.

Qingyang snorted: "You never considered it might be the Jiukuang Great Emperor?"

"He Yao?" Bai Tan truly hadn't thought of it. Even if the legends of the Jiukuang Great Emperor and the Dragon God are rampant, isn't that just a few legends?

As for He Yao himself? His army? To this day, not even a shadow has been seen.

Saying the Jiukuang Great Emperor wants to seize Yaodi—isn't that just baseless alarm?

His immediate priority is to defeat Chen Chuihua and drive out the Luo Dian people—why would he waste effort chasing shadows, worrying about an enemy that exists only in legend?

Even if we concede a hundred steps—suppose the Jiukuang Great Emperor truly has ambition—but the Jingjin Plains are so vast; why would he attack anywhere else, why must he first come to cause trouble for Bai Tan?

Normal people would first pick the soft persimmon to squeeze—Yaodi may be chaotic, but a starved camel is still bigger than a horse, and its elite warriors and fierce generals still far surpass those elsewhere.

If Yaodi could be fully taken, Bai Tan's first wish would certainly not be to fight, but to rest and recuperate, restore vitality. He's already drafted the blueprint for governing internal affairs—just waiting to implement it right after defeating Chen Chuihua.

But the Heavenly Palace's Dharma Protector again mentioned the Jiukuang Great Emperor, so Bai Tan could only respond solemnly: "This is indeed also a major threat."

"Then, General Bai, how do you plan to deal with it?" Qingyang saw through his perfunctory reply at a glance: "The Heavenly Gods also believe he will be a major threat to Jingjin."

"After subduing Chen Chuihua, I'll have 180,000 troops, a huge population, countless supplies—why fear one obscure impostor Dragon God?" Bai Tan slapped his chest: "Palace Lord, rest assured—if the He surname dares to invade, I'll make him know war is no child's play, and I'll kill him to relieve your anger!"

Last year, He Yao leveraged the Yaowang's influence to stir up wind and rain in Tianshui City, and Qingyang still remembers suffering a major setback because of it.

But he doesn't know—this flattery landed on the horse's leg. Qingyang was displeased inwardly, furrowed his brows, and said: "Let me lay it out for you—the Heavenly Gods already regard the Jiukuang Great Emperor as a grave internal menace, must be eliminated swiftly, so you must certainly prepare in advance. If you can slay He Yao before he even acts, you'll achieve unparalleled merit. By then, even if you wanted to invite the Lingxu Holy Venerable to be the chief deity, He might gladly agree."

Bai Tan startled, blurted out: "Is this really true?"

Qingyang lightly sipped a cup of fruit wine: "When have I ever joked?"

False.

How would the Heavenly Gods put a fake Dragon God in their eyes?

Please... you... collect 6... 9... books... please!

Bai Tan rubbed his hands, somewhat moved: "I understand, thank you, Palace Lord, for pointing out the way! As soon as I take down Chen Chuihua, I'll immediately prepare for the Jiukuang Great Emperor!"

The meaning of this is: at any given time, one can only defeat one opponent. He must first take Yaodi before considering taking down He Yao.

Qingyang's brows remained still, he set down his cup: "Go."

Bai Tan took his leave, departed in haste from the Quiet Lake Cottage.

This trip to Qingyang to plead was a snatched moment of leisure amid busyness—afterward, he still had to rush back to the front lines.

On the road, he unconsciously said: "Truly, not managing a household, one doesn't know the value of firewood and rice."

"General?" The guard beside him puzzled.

Bai Tan gave no answer. The lofty Heavenly Gods, the lofty Qingyang—only know how to issue orders; who knows the actual hardships of his leading troops in battle, and all those unavoidable circumstances?

Heck, these gods are also snobbish—no rabbit, no hawk released; they won't bestow favor on him as Yaodi's lord until they see him defeat Chen Chuihua.

Fortunately, he's also close to success.

As for the Jiukuang Great Emperor? Heck, if the Heavenly Gods truly urgently wanted to eliminate the Jiukuang Great Emperor, they'd help him end the Yaodi war quickly, right?

After Bai Tan left, Qingyang sat in silent meditation for a long while in the Quiet Lake Cottage.

She said nothing, just stared blankly at the withered branches on the wallhead. Now it's early autumn—this old peach branch hasn't sprouted since spring, appearing utterly devoid of vitality.

What a pity—last year it clearly burst into full blossoms.

Perhaps it also knows this is its last spring, worthy of expending all its strength to leave the last radiant bloom for the human world.