Chapter 1913: Beacon Fires Rise on All Sides

Bingji Chamber of Commerce had traveled through many places, and they knew all too well how brutal the coup in the Jinjin Plains was, how greedy human nature could be, and how ferocious the army was—like wolves and tigers.

So when the capital fell into chaos, Bingji Chamber of Commerce and the Chen family prepared to pack up and flee.

Chen had donated eight thousand taels tonight, hoping to win favor with the new official and buy his family a little more time to escape.

But now he waved his hand: "Don't rush. The newly appointed prefect refuses my donation."

Everyone gasped upon hearing this: "He won't accept it? Doesn't that mean he wants our lives?"

Chen Ru then recounted what had happened tonight.

The eldest son immediately said: "They must be afraid we'll flee, so they're using this trick to keep us in place—untrustworthy. We should still leave."

"If they wanted to deal with us, they'd just detain me, and you'd naturally be unable to leave." Chen Ru pondered, "I think the Shaozhou official genuinely has some sincerity. After all, he was sent by the Dragon God—his conduct should differ from that of his predecessors. Aren't you secretly worshipping the Dragon God every day?"

He said this last sentence to his wife.

His wife replied: "You say the Yangshan Chamber of Commerce is also under the Dragon God? Right—since the sovereign is dead, whose territory is this place now?"

"Then it should belong to the Dragon God, shouldn't it?"

"Isn't that a good thing?" his wife snorted, "Wasn't Ding Guozhang also beheaded tonight?"

"He was."

"Then his monopolized trades—like the tooth-cleaning paste—are now ownerless?" Ding Guozhang had used his status to monopolize business; in the Ducheng area, any chamber of commerce wanting to sell tooth-cleaning paste had to buy the main ingredients from him.

Tooth-cleaning paste is toothpaste. The Bei Jia had long since appeared with specialized oral-cleaning toothbrushes made of horsehair or pig bristles. But until forty or fifty years ago, similar tools only appeared in southern Jinjin, accompanied by tooth powder or tooth-cleaning paste.

In Qiguo, Ding Guozhang didn't monopolize the tooth-cleaning paste itself, but rather the trade in its few main ingredients.

"Ownerless." Chen Ru exclaimed, "My wise wife reminded me well—now that he's fallen, we should quickly take over."

If it weren't for the Black Armor Army's arrival, when would such a state-monopolized business ever fall into his hands?

The eldest son froze—his father wasn't just refusing to leave; now he was even considering taking over Guozhang's business? "So are we leaving or staying?"

You don't even care about your life anymore—truly worthy of being a father.

"Don't rush. Observe for two more days. Moving house and relocating the chamber of commerce are exhausting—better not to move if we can avoid it." Chen Ru waved at him, "Go heat some water for me—I need to take a bath."

After all the frights and joys of this night, drenched in cold sweat, he needed to calm his mind.

……

The allied army leader, Boss Situ, had been having a rough few days lately.

Their main target, Bixia, had originally been on the verge of collapse, needing only a final stab to the heart, but the Heavy Arm General led troops west from Yaodi and firmly protected Bixia's capital, repelling the allied army's attacks several times.

After a long absence, these few major victories boosted Bixia's morale, and the allied army's extermination campaign once again fell back into a stalemate.

Victory now seemed distant and unattainable.

Unlike before, when they advanced with relentless momentum, the allied army this time is unusually impatient. The war against Bixia has lasted over a year, yet they keep falling short at the last moment, and internal doubts about Boss Situ are growing louder.

At the same time the war is going poorly, beacon fires are rising all around the allied army:

The Nine Abyssal Great Emperor has taken action!

This time it's not just a simple purge of violence and evil, slaying the wicked—it's mobilizing armies, assaulting cities and seizing land!

The Black Armor Army's target is no longer just individual corrupt officials and bullies, but now points its sword at all regional regimes!

The first news Boss Situ received was that Zhongnan Force's Qiguo had already been destroyed by the Black Armor Army.

Before he could even react with surprise, the towns of Budzhong and Tongxian in the central-western Jinjin Plains, and Ruhan and Nandu in the south, had also been captured—reports say the Black Armor Army took them easily, needing only half a night to finish, with little to no organized resistance locally.

Upon hearing this news, Boss Situ's first thought was:

Just how many units of the Black Armor Army are there?

In the following days, reports of Black Armor Army sightings kept flying in like snowflakes, completely dominating his desk, pushing aside the military updates from Bixia.

Their speed of action is too fast—some units can capture two places in a single night!

This is completely different from the allied army's old ox pulling a broken cart.

According to intelligence, every place the Black Armor Army captures, they take the local troops with them, leave behind a new garrison, then rush nonstop to the next victim, as if evil spirits were chasing them from behind.

For major locations they occupy, follow-up teams arrive later, mainly handling governance, pacification, and stability.

As more information came in, the Black Armor Army's route gradually became clear—always advancing slowly from their uprising points toward the center.

Boss Situ was studying the sand table when another servant rushed in: "Report, urgent news from the west!"

West? Then it's not about Bixia.

Not a single word, not a single thread, not a single shot, not a single inner thought, not a single thing missed!

But Boss Situ's mood didn't improve in the slightest, because news from the west must certainly concern the Black Armor Army.

Sure enough, upon opening the letter, he let out a heavy sigh:

The Black Armor Army has captured Penguo, and Yun En Guang has abdicated!

He only received news yesterday afternoon that the Black Armor Army was attacking Penguo, and this morning, they had already finished.

Destroying a state in two days—godlike speed.

Penguo was the state founded by Yun En Guang after he killed the Taiwang; its economy was still quite thriving, living up to its name, and it had the backing of Muguo behind it—yet no one expected its reign to last only two short years. The Jinjin Curse truly lives up to its reputation.

However, intelligence says Penguo offered almost no resistance across its entire territory—the Black Armor Army actually descended upon the palace city like heavenly soldiers, launched a sudden strike, and then Yun En Guang abdicated.

What exactly happened inside the palace city remains temporarily unknown to outsiders, but anyway, the Black Armor Army seized power smoothly, with only minor bloodshed.

As swift as child's play.

So, who will manage the occupied Penguo?

The key point has arrived.

The other uprising points of the Black Armor Army are too far away, and intelligence arrives too slowly—but Penguo is close by. Thus, Boss Situ finally figured out who takes over the seized territories for the Black Armor Army:

Yangshan!

These two characters seem to carry magic, gluing his eyes to the paper—he couldn't look away for a long time.

The letter also said that folk tales are spreading: on the night the Divine God slew Miao Zhantian, it still hovered above Jukang Harbor, lingering for a long time before departing—indicating that place is where the Dragon rises!

Whose stronghold is Giant Deer Port? No need to ask—it's the Yangshan Chamber of Commerce.

Therefore, Yangshan upholds the will of the Dragon God, seeking blessings for the people of Shanjin.

This is evident from the name Yangshan itself:

Yangshan—Yangshan, upholding heavenly benevolence, initiating the prosperity of the people.

Situ He saw this and didn't know whether to laugh or cry, only muttering: "Well, well—what a Yangshan, what a He Xiao!"

Yangshan is clearly just the name of an island! Yet He Xiao makes a fuss over this, showing how deeply he plots!

The Yu God said the Nine Abysses Great Emperor is He Xiao—this is ironclad proof.

Had it been any other faction, who could easily take Peng State? Who could seize so many lands as if reaching into a pocket?