Chapter 2076

Two years ago, when Xue Zongwu passed through Mangzhou, he had already complained that these formation plates behind the gate had long been neglected. Later, when Bai Tan strengthened the defenses of the Five Cities, he also sent specialists to work on the formations, but even after the repairs, they were still lacking.

As the saying goes, a hemp rope always breaks at its thinnest point.

After conquering Mangzhou in just three days, He Lingchuan led his once-reorganized Dragon God Army northward again, with only one goal:

Shuishui City.

By this point, Bai Tan had already despaired.

He sat in Shuishui City looking out—on all sides were enemies. This once-famous capital of Yao State was now surrounded by the surging Dragon God Army like a tiny island in a stormy sea.

Qingyang was dead, the entire Yao State had fallen, his loyal followers and commanders were gone, and even the troops within Shuishui City trembled with fear.

Where could reinforcements come from? Bai Tan went again to the temple, but the hall was silent and empty—no matter how he prayed, he received no answer—

The heavens had abandoned him.

Even the gods were helpless in the face of Yao State's current situation.

Bai Tan could find no chance of victory, nor any hope of turning defeat into triumph.

After sitting in anxious despair for a long time, he finally sent someone to deliver a message to the Nine Abysses Great Emperor, saying he was willing to surrender Shuishui City, but asked the Great Emperor to spare his life and allow him to leave Yao safely.

But the envoy he sent never even saw the face of the Nine Abysses Great Emperor before being turned back.

"Just passing along a simple message and expecting to negotiate terms? General Bai is being childish."

At this point, what does He Lingchuan have to be anxious about?

The four cities captured earlier immediately relieved the army's urgent needs—such as food shortages and insufficient supplies.

No worries—Shuishui City will eventually be his; for now, he only needs to wear them down slowly.

Bai Tan, helpless, had no choice but to write a letter by hand and send it again to the Nine Abysses Great Emperor.

This time, the Nine Abysses Great Emperor readily refused him, had the surrender letter proclaimed publicly, and sent someone to read it aloud at the very front of the two armies' standoff!

General Tao Ran of the Nine Abysses Great Emperor stepped forward to convey the will of the Dragon God:

Bai Tan murdered his lord, slaughtered the innocent, incited internal rebellion, consorted with demons, harvested lives, and spread poison and corruption—his crimes are monstrous; ten deaths would not suffice to atone for them!

Therefore, the Dragon God will never accept Bai Tan's surrender!

The Dragon God wants everyone to see what fate awaits the running dogs of demons!

The Yao troops erupted in an uproar.

We here fight to the death for Bai Tan, little knowing he would turn around and sell Shuishui City, seeking only his own wealth and comfort.

Bai Tan never expected the enemy to be so vicious; he hurriedly denied it, claiming it was merely an enemy spy's scheme, insisting he had never sought surrender from the Dragon God, and would lead Shuishui City to fight to the bitter end, and so on.

But once the seed of doubt is planted, it will inevitably bloom and bear fruit.

The Dragon God Army's attacks grew ever fiercer, while morale within Shuishui City plummeted—soldiers neglected duty, grew lazy and passive, and several times nearly lost the city gates.

Outside, the Dragon God Army intensified its persuasion to surrender, daily listing Bai Tan's crimes throughout his life, separating him from the Yao citizens, and urging the people of Yao to come out and surrender.

Thus, one after another, people began sneaking over the city walls at night to flee and join the Dragon God camp.

Bai Tan flew into a rage and ordered the beheading of a hundred people.

The Yao Army already resented him; this only further inflamed public anger, and the "nails" He Lingchuan had previously planted in Shuishui City redoubled their efforts to stir discord and sow division.

Finally, on the thirty-first day of the Dragon God Army's siege of Shuishui City, the city's officers rose in revolt!

Bai Tan was shocked and enraged, and launched a fierce crackdown.

His response was swift, but before the "traitor generals" were killed, they still managed to open the southern gate of Shuishui City!

The Dragon God Army, long waiting nearby, surged forward like a tidal wave.

Once the southern gate was opened, it could never be closed again.

Only three hours later, the street fighting ended, and Bai Tan was captured.

And just as the sun rose, the Dragon God ordered Bai Tan dragged to the central square of Shuishui City, where, before the entire populace—elders, children, soldiers—he was beheaded as a public example!

Before his death, Bai Tan let out a long, heavenward sigh:

"Qingyang betrayed me!"

If not for believing the lies of that old demoness Qingyang, how could the great White General of Yao have fallen to such a fate!

Seeing him kneel and offer his head, the crowd suddenly erupted in thunderous applause, many Yao people weeping with emotion.

Bai Tan's death marked the complete end of Yao resistance; Yao territory was truly absorbed into the Dragon God's domain and officially renamed "Yaoxian."

Afterward, the Dragon God Army opened granaries to distribute grain and comforted the people.

Due to ongoing internal strife, Yao's grain production had sharply declined over the past year and a half. Though Bai Tan had transported the grain he scavenged to the Five Cities, most of it remained stored in military granaries—ordinary civilians could get none.

Bai Tan's defense of Shuishui City for over a month led to the starvation deaths of over 2,500 civilians; deaths from looting, illness, and other causes added another 5,000-plus.

No matter what people originally thought of the Dragon God, when its army arrived and opened the granaries to distribute grain, it was met with citywide cheers.

Especially the residents of Shuishui City, who had enjoyed decades of prosperity as the wealthiest in Shanjin, now, since Bai Tan's regicide, often went hungry—this contrast was unbearable. Now, receiving grain from the conquerors, their resistance greatly diminished.

He Lingchuan had already prepared a full administrative team for the region in advance; on the very day Bai Tan was executed, he took office immediately, and his first decree was to reclaim wasteland and organize late-summer production.

Yao State had been plagued by internal conflict for over a year, displacing refugees and leaving the land without a master. Though Bai Tan ultimately prevailed, he was busy training troops and had no energy for production, leaving vast tracts of fertile land fallow.

He Lingchuan clearly understood: to restore order in Yaoxian swiftly after war, the most important thing was to ensure production and supply—only then could stability be achieved.

Now it was summer, and with the frequent heavenly nectar descents, spiritual energy in heaven and earth surged, leaving mortal lands in a state where "whatever is planted will grow, whatever is raised will thrive quickly." He Lingchuan's advisors estimated that if planting began now, harvest could come by late autumn at the latest—and likely even earlier.

This period truly deserves the saying: "An inch of time is an inch of gold."

The Yaoxian territory already conquered had long been organizing production, daring not to waste a single moment.

He Lingchuan's urgency in attacking Yaoxian stemmed crucially from the need not to waste this precious opportunity. Otherwise, when autumn came and all things withered, civilian food would again become a serious problem.

Without grain, public sentiment cannot be stable.

During wartime, he actually thought most about the postwar period.

Thus far, the central and eastern regions of Shanjin have been fully pacified, and the Dragon God Army has also received strong logistical support.

The grain and funds He Lingchuan had stockpiled for the Dragon God's war had actually been completely used up! By the later stages of training, supplies were already stretched thin; when launching the attack on Yao State, the Shanxin Merchant Guild and army logistics were daily patching east walls to fix west walls, scrambling to secure rations for the troops—Ding Zuodong worried day and night, his hair had turned half-white, his gums were swollen, and he had even lost two teeth.