Chapter 205: The Common People Can Never Be Taken Lightly

"I wonder, Senior, what are your plans for the next step?" Zhang Xianzhong swallowed, his expression inexplicably agitated.

He knew that Chen Mo also intended to rebel, and this point was very important.

With such a top-tier powerhouse taking the lead, and with a god standing behind this powerhouse.

Then the rebel kings across the world, currently scattered like sand, would have a chance to unite and merge into one.

The success rate of their rebellion would undoubtedly be much higher than before.

To say nothing else, even if they could not succeed in the end, they could still turn the world upside down.

To drag those high and mighty aristocratic clans and corrupt officials and evil gentry down from the clouds and make them die alongside them—that would be enough.

At least up until now, Zhang Xianzhong and his brothers in Daxishan had never thought about successfully rebelling, let alone claiming the title of king or emperor.

His—or rather, not just his—sole purpose for rebelling at present was revenge.

Whether he lived or died did not matter, but he had to kill a few corrupt officials or scions of aristocratic families; killing one was a gain, and killing two was breaking even.

They had no platform, not even clear goals or ideas. They only rebelled because they were oppressed too heavily by corrupt officials and aristocratic clans, and had no other choice.

"Spread the faith to gather strength, wait for the Imperial Court to offer amnesty to infiltrate their ranks, find an opportunity to kill the Emperor, and seize the Jade Seal. Take advantage of the chaos to escape the Capital, then raise the banner of righteousness again."

Chen Mo stated his next plan; this plan of his could not be called clear, and was even somewhat chaotic.

If one truly intended to rebel, it was obviously impossible to use such a plan.

But when Zhang Xianzhong heard it, he appeared extremely agitated; if one spoke of aristocratic families, was there any family in the world greater than the Imperial clan?

If one spoke of corrupt officials, there was likely no one in the world more corrupt than the Emperor.

At the mere thought of being able to kill the Emperor, Zhang Xianzhong could not stop his heart from racing.

He had long understood that all talk of the "wise and sagely Son of Heaven" being misled by corrupt officials below was complete bullshit.

If the superior acts, the inferior follows; if there were truly a sagely Son of Heaven on the throne, how could there be so many corrupt officials?

The Son of Heaven knew everything; he knew what was happening below, he simply did not care about the thoughts of the common people and did not want to bother with it.

Since the Son of Heaven did not care about the lives of poor people like them, treating them as oxen and horses, viewing them as wheat in a field to be harvested crop after crop.

Then they would let the Son of Heaven know that water can carry a boat, but it can also capsize it; the common people can never be taken lightly.

"I, Zhang Xianzhong, am willing to lead the brothers of Daxishan to follow the Subduing Demon Venerable God and follow you, Senior, in your work!"

Zhang Xianzhong's expression was filled with undisguised agitation, even a sense of fanaticism.

He immediately bowed down, prostrating himself like a collapsing golden mountain and a falling jade pillar, and shouted.

"Good, with the help of Xianzhong, it is like adding wings to a tiger for me!" Chen Mo revealed a smile, reached out to help him up, and immediately asked.

"There are three other rebel kings within the Thousand Mountain Alliance; do you have any understanding of them?"

Zhang Xianzhong showed a thoughtful expression, then nodded and said.

"Reporting to Senior, I have a relatively good understanding of them. The three of them are just like me—they were forced to rebel because they could no longer survive."

Almost all the rebel kings within the Thousand Mountain Alliance were forced to rebel, and only then were they compelled to hide in the mountains.

If they were truly bandits and villains, they would not need to hide like this; they could finish a job and hide in other prefectures, still able to enjoy life securely in large cities.

The Imperial Court would not go all out to investigate such things because the difficulty was too high.

Moreover, once bandits had money, they would also buy houses and land, wanting to purchase property and live a stable life.

Only rebel kings like them would choose to hide in the mountains.

"I have already had the Qingshan Demon Lord summon the other three rebel kings to come. When the time comes, you will tell them what I intend to do and see if they are willing to join.

If they are willing, they shall all be under your command; arrange for them to worship and believe in the Subduing Demon Great Sage. At the same time, make preparations to attack the Sanqu Jun city."

Chen Mo pondered briefly, then immediately proceeded to make arrangements.

His own strength would soon be improved, so it was time to find an opportunity to accept amnesty from the Imperial Court.

Although he was unclear about the strength of the top powerhouses in this world, he imagined it should not exceed the Heavenly Human Realm.

As long as his own strength was restored, he would attack the prefecture city, then annihilate the Imperial Court's reinforcements, and reveal his intention to accept amnesty.

The Imperial Court of this world would naturally offer him amnesty; as long as he could obtain an official position, regardless of rank, he would finally have a channel and method to access the national destiny and dragon Qi.

At that time, he could consider storming the Palace City, forcibly seizing the Jade Seal, and controlling the Emperor.

However, to achieve this step, he needed to possess great power in this world.

"This subordinate understands!" Zhang Xianzhong answered loudly. He truly did not expect Chen Mo to want to attack a prefecture city right away, but this was exactly what he wanted.

"This is a wisp of Divine Nature; you may first fuse with it to improve your strength." Chen Mo took out another wisp of Divine Nature and slowly instructed.

No matter who it was, once they fused with Divine Nature, their life and death would be under his control.

Martial Artists in the Entry Realm could of course also fuse with Divine Nature, and because they had previously absorbed a wisp of Heaven and Earth Power.

Therefore, after fusing with the Divine Nature, the improvement they gained would be even greater.

Zhang Xianzhong did not decline or refuse; he understood that if he did not completely fuse with this wisp of Divine Nature, Chen Mo would likely be unable to fully trust him.

"Very well, then this subordinate will first go into the city to fuse with the Divine Nature." Zhang Xianzhong accepted the Divine Nature, bowed, and left.

The Qingshan Demon Lord had already begun to act, transforming back into his original form, and the stones that had been shattered earlier were also re-absorbed into his body.

He began to tidy up the river channels around the city, as well as the official roads that had just been destroyed into pieces.

Chen Mo took a rough look at the situation, and after confirming that everything was fine, he took the Demon Pill and stepped into the deep mountains in the distance.

The process of fusing the Heaven and Earth Power of the Demon Pill remained extremely dangerous; for every portion of Heaven and Earth Power he fused, Chen Mo had to discard a portion of his demon bloodline.

And this small portion of demon bloodline would drag a portion of the Heavenly Law completely into the Mirage Sea.

One Demon Pill after another was fused, and the power within Chen Mo's body was also constantly climbing.

Until the power he could mobilize reached the Creation Realm, the Demon Pills in Chen Mo's hands were also completely exhausted.

During the days he spent refining and absorbing the Demon Pills, the entire Changsheng County, or rather the entire prefecture, had undergone great changes.

Although Chen Mo was in seclusion absorbing the power within the Demon Pills, he had always been paying attention to the situation in the outside world.

More than ten days ago, Fu Qiuyu had brought several close friends, as well as her relatives and disciples—three or four hundred people in total—and hurried to Changsheng County, prepared to take orders under Chen Mo.

Chen Mo did not need to say much, nor did he need to make any further arrangements.

Fu Qiuyu already had a plan of his own; the reason he brought people over was simply to inform Chen Mo.

Not only that, seeing the many rebel kings gathered together, he felt no fear or worry, but instead appeared even more proactive.

He took the initiative to propose that the various rebel kings detach some of their troops to conspire with him, first attacking various county towns to spread the faith and doctrines of the Subduing Demon Venerable God.

Chen Mo gladly agreed to this.

As for Zhang Xianzhong gathering together with the many rebel kings, the remaining rebel kings learned that Chen Mo was able to easily subdue the Green Mountain Demon Lord.

And since he wanted to lead them to kill officials and rebel, and even kill the dog emperor, the group naturally had no objections; they were all willing to serve Chen Mo as their master and worship the Subduing Demon Great Sage together.

Chen Mo then handed them all over to Zhang Xianzhong to command, organizing the troops and preparing to attack the prefecture city.

The rebel army could naturally not be called elite; one could even say they were just some farmers, only relatively stronger in physique.

Because those who were not physically robust had long since died in the Imperial Court's encirclement and suppression, and in their endless flight.

They had all kinds of weapons in their hands, mostly pitchforks and wooden spears.

As for armor?

Even leather armor was something only a few commanders possessed.

The number of the Righteous Army was not large, but added together, it was as many as seven or eight thousand.

This was enough; at the very least, there was no difficulty in taking the prefecture city.

The Great Zhou Dynasty's military equipment was rotten, and the number of garrison troops in the prefecture was less than one in ten.

Zhang Xianzhong had previously not dared to lead people to attack the prefecture city first; one reason was his own insufficient strength, and the second was the fear that the Imperial Court's main army would encircle and suppress them, causing his efforts to fall short of success.

But now that he had someone behind him, his concerns were gone, and he was determined to take this prefecture city.

The main army had already set off earlier, with the Green Mountain Demon Lord accompanying them.

With the Green Mountain Demon Lord clearing the way, by Zhang Xianzhong's estimation, he probably would not even need to do anything, and the prefecture city would surrender at the mere sight of them.

As a top-tier Transformation Realm great demon, once the Green Mountain Demon Lord showed his face, it was simply impossible for the local garrison troops to stop him.

In reality, it was indeed so; the moment the Green Mountain Demon Lord appeared, the already extremely rotten garrison troops fled at the sight of him.

The Prefect of Sanqu Prefecture received the news and immediately ordered people to pack up gold, silver, and valuables, fleeing in a panic, intending to escape from the city.

He did not understand why those rebel kings would gather together, and even less did he understand why the Green Mountain Demon Lord, as a top-tier great demon, would help those rebel kings!

Could it be that the other party really wanted to break with the Imperial Court?!

Demons were strong, but the Imperial Court's power was not enough to confront all demons.

If it were only one or two great demons, the power of the Great Zhou Imperial Court could still easily suppress them.

Thinking was one thing, but the Prefect of Sanqu Prefecture did not hesitate in the slightest when it came to running away.

"Zheng Ye'an, hurry and pack things up; we can't stay in this city anymore, let's go to the provincial capital to avoid disaster!"

The Prefect of Sanqu Prefecture shouted loudly, not forgetting to bring his advisor with him when he left.

Zheng Ye'an's expression was incomparably ugly, and more than that, he was confused; although he did not pride himself on being extremely intelligent, he truly could not see the current change in the situation.

Just at this moment, a streak of black light rushed over.

That black light was a bird; the difference was that this bird had four wings, and its entire body flashed with a cold, chilling light.

Its form was not large, only the size of an adult's palm.

A rather miniature bamboo tube was tied to the bird's leg; the Prefect of Sanqu Prefecture saw it and hurriedly walked up to open it.

"Zheng Ye'an, take a look quickly." The Prefect of Sanqu Prefecture read it once and realized this matter was very serious, but he just could not understand it.

He immediately called his advisor over to look at it together.

Zheng Ye'an picked up the letter; what was recorded on it was only one thing, which was that Fu Qiuyu had rebelled against the family.

It was not just him who left; of the seven Blood-Changing retainers in the clan, five left at once.

These five people left together with Fu Qiuyu, and it was only after Fu Qiuyu headed to Changsheng County that this sudden change occurred.

The family wanted the Prefect of Sanqu Prefecture to investigate whether Fu Qiuyu had headed to Changsheng County.

Zheng Ye'an read the letter back and forth several times, his mind constantly pondering.

Suddenly, a flash of inspiration crossed his mind: the incident in Changsheng County, the matter of killing officials and rebelling, the appearance of the Green Mountain Demon Lord, the matter of Fu Qiuyu, and the many rebel kings wanting to attack the prefecture city.

These things intertwined back and forth in his mind, but they all had one point of intersection, and that was Changsheng County.

Zheng Ye'an did not know the specific situation in Changsheng County, but he could be certain of one point now, which was that something must have happened there, and it was a massive event.

Based only on the information known so far, being able to guess this much already counted as quite good.

As for what specifically happened in Changsheng County, that was not something he could easily guess.

"My Lord, something must have happened in Changsheng County, and it is a major event. The Green Mountain Demon Lord has appeared, and many rebels are attacking the city. This matter cannot be covered up no matter what; we must quickly find a way to pass the message and inform the Imperial Court of this."

Zheng Ye'an gripped the Prefect of Sanqu Prefecture's shoulder, still frowning in thought.

The Prefect of Sanqu Prefecture was stunned; although he did not know what change had occurred in Changsheng County, he also understood.

Rebels leading troops to attack a city, with a Transformation Realm great demon clearing the way for them—this was a massive event no matter how one looked at it, and naturally, it had to be reported to the Imperial Court.

But if he reported it to the Imperial Court, would he still have his life?

"Besides, you and I had better not leave. If the prefecture city falls, as the Prefect, if you flee, although it won't go so far as to execute the nine generations, it is absolutely a crime punishable by the extermination of three generations.

If you and I don't leave and die in the city, our wives and children can still be preserved. If you and I leave, then truly nothing will be left."

Zheng Ye'an's tone was calm, as if he had already accepted his fate, but from his slightly trembling lips, one could see that he could not hide the fear in his heart either.

"Is there really no other way?" the Prefect of Sanqu Prefecture asked, unwilling to give up.

Zheng Ye'an nodded, "Even if you and I escape, in order to preserve the family, you and I won't survive, and perhaps even our wives, children, and relatives won't survive."

The reason why great aristocratic families could be passed down for so long, besides mastering the blood of demons and having a good relationship with the gods.

The most important point was being ruthless enough; not just to outsiders, but equally ruthless to their own people.

Even if the Prefect of Sanqu Prefecture could return alive, the family would find a way to make him die in order to minimize their losses.

As long as he is dead, no matter where he dies, it can be claimed that he died within the prefecture city.

But if he stays alive, he is a disaster; when the time comes, not only he, but his relatives as well, could all be wiped out by the family.

The Sanqu Prefecture Governor's face turned pale, and almost instantly, cold sweat began to stream down his face.

"I understand, I understand." He muttered to himself, trembling as he turned around, his legs going weak, nearly collapsing.

There is great terror between life and death, and this kind of terror is not something everyone can endure.

Zheng Ye'an hurriedly reached out to support him, dragging his body toward the main hall of the prefectural office, preparing to transmit the news of this place to the Imperial Court.

With the prefectural office fallen, no matter the process, the Sanqu Prefecture Governor could not escape death; by transmitting the news in time, and with his own death, the Imperial Court would not pursue the matter of his relatives.

…………

…………

The commoners within Sanqu City were in a state of chaos, and the city was under martial law, but many of the yamen runners were merely for show and could not manage the situation in the city at all.

Fortunately, the chaos was ultimately on a small scale; after all, the city had not truly fallen yet, and the local thugs and hoodlums still had some reservations about their actions.

And on the city walls, many sallow and emaciated soldiers wore plain clothes, holding weapons in their hands, their bodies instinctively shrinking into a ball.

They were Imperial Court garrison troops, but aside from their uniforms being relatively uniform, there was really no great difference between them and the rebelling Righteous Army.

Behind them were small groups of elite soldiers supervising the battle, but their numbers were truly too few, and each of their expressions was erratic, with some even contemplating how to escape.

The speed at which Zhang Xianzhong and the others acted was truly too fast; there was simply no opportunity to gather many soldiers within the city.

Even the local garrison commander had been beheaded earlier, and the straggling soldiers who had fled here were in even greater disarray.

"Boom!" The earth trembled, causing the entire city wall to shake, and many already decaying wall bricks fell from the city wall with a clatter.

Qingshan the Demon Lord revealed his true form, a towering giant appearing, stepping upon the earth, shaking the wilderness.

The soldiers on the city wall who had seen Qingshan the Demon Lord now mostly had no heart left to resist.

They truly did not understand what kind of ability they possessed to have a chance to oppose such a giant demon.

And behind Qingshan the Demon Lord was the dark, dense mass of the Righteous Army.

At this time, many soldiers of the Righteous Army had already put on armor, and the weapons in their hands were clearly much finer than when they had set out.

Outside the city, many impoverished commoners watched from afar, and some even curled their bodies into balls, either lying or kneeling, prostrating themselves toward Qingshan the Demon Lord.

The rebel army bypassed them directly and marched toward the city.

Long before the great army set out, three rules were established.

First, do not plunder the poor; second, do not oppress the impoverished commoners; third, do not forcibly press-gang commoners into the army.

Anyone who violates these orders will be dealt with according to military law.

As for the noble families and corrupt officials, they had oppressed the commoners for who knows how long, and among them, many had parents, wives, or children who had been driven to death by these noble families.

Now that the righteous army had arrived, it was only natural to return everything the commoners had suffered back to them.

Blood for blood, tooth for tooth.

By now, the noble families in the manors outside the city had already hidden inside the city, and the Righteous Army did not pause for a moment, continuing to march into the city.

On the city walls, the soldiers began to scatter, and even some of those supervising the battle found opportunities to flee.

Facing Qingshan the Demon Lord, they truly could not imagine what kind of power they could use to resist.

Even if the Imperial Court wanted to suppress such a great demon, they would have to send experts in advance.

And currently, even looking across the entire prefecture city, there were no experts capable of dealing with such a great demon.

"Clang!" A divine light drifted up, and a golden phantom with a dragon's head and human body appeared above the prefecture city.

Bursts of dragon might drifted, suppressing the wilderness and overawing all things.

This deity was named Taihao Dragon Lord, the deity who founded Great Zhou, rumored to be the distant ancestor of the Great Zhou imperial family.

In the vast majority of prefecture cities, there was a Divine Idol of Taihao Dragon Lord, and every year the Emperor would lead civil and military officials to worship Taihao Dragon Lord.

This deity could be called one of the most supreme deities in the world.

"Qingshan, do you truly intend to attack my Great Zhou prefecture city!" Divine light exploded in the eyes of Taihao Dragon Lord, staring straight at Qingshan the Demon Lord in the distance.

He actually did not know much about the current situation; he had only suddenly learned that there were rebels causing trouble here and that they actually intended to attack the prefecture city.

Not only that, but even a Shape Transformation demon king of this place had gotten involved; this could indeed be called a matter of heaven-shaking importance.

Although there had been rebels in the past, they were basically of the Human Race, and even if demons were involved, they could not possibly truly come to attack a Human Race city.

Therefore, the Imperial Court had never been very concerned about suppressing bandits.

As for the corrupt officials and rebels rising everywhere in the world, the Imperial Court, or rather the imperial family, would only exert effort to manage them when they truly could no longer control the situation.

The reason for this, while having many other causes, ultimately came down to the root.

It was because the reason the imperial family was the imperial family lay in the bloodline within their bodies, in the numerous demons they controlled, and in the several deities the imperial family possessed; it did not lie in the commoners of the world.

Faith was certainly important, but the numerous deities all had their own divisions of power; the imperial family was strong, but they could not intervene in every single place.

The places the imperial family could truly control were only the Capital and the two nearby provinces; in more distant places, they could not project much power, and they would not use it lightly.

But if someone truly rebelled and wanted to attack a city, Taihao Dragon Lord naturally could not watch this city be occupied; upon learning of the situation, he hurriedly used his Divine Power to activate the Divine Idol and descend upon this place.

Qingshan the Demon Lord stopped his steps upon hearing the voice and looked at the dragon-headed, human-bodied deity in the distance; his massive body was actually trembling slightly.

Zhang Xianzhong also lost his confidence for a moment; he had never seen the strength of Taihao Dragon Lord, but he had heard of it.

Being able to defeat the many deities of the Human Race, and using schemes to suppress numerous noble families to seize the Human Emperor's throne and obtain the largest piece of the Human Race's cake, was enough to demonstrate his strength and methods.

Facing this kind of deity who had existed for over a thousand years, even he dared not act rashly.

The power Taihao Dragon Lord projected here was actually not strong, and Qingshan the Demon Lord could easily suppress it.

But he dared not, because he understood what kind of situation he would face after suppressing Taihao Dragon Lord.

Someone even stronger would certainly come and beat him into dust bit by bit.

Therefore, even though the power he faced now was weak, he dared not make any moves.

"Zheng!" Zhang Xianzhong gritted his teeth and drew his sword; when things came to a head, he had no choice—even if he were to die, he had to attack the city now.

"Boom!"

The Heaven and Earth Power surged, and the Five Elements forces converged.

Chen Mo made his move!

Since ending his closed-door cultivation, he had been traveling with the Righteous Army, but having encountered no strong enemies along the way, he had not yet taken action.

The boundless Heaven and Earth Power intertwined and fused into one; before the phantom of the Divine Spirit of Taihao Dragon Venerable could offer any effective resistance, it was suppressed by Chen Mo.

"Junior, I will make you pay the price!"

Taihao Dragon Venerable roared aloud, feeling the power constantly pressing in on him from all sides.

He wanted to say more, but he was completely suppressed; that wisp of Divine Nature was taken into Chen Mo's body, where it was continuously scoured by his own Blood Qi, in preparation for absorption later.

"Continue the siege!" Chen Mo swept his gaze over the many members of the Righteous Army and commanded in a deep voice.

Waking up, Wei Na discovered that they had been reborn into "Swallowed Star".

Good news: starting on Earth, with a prominent family background and extremely high talent; one only needs to cling tightly to City Lord Luo's thigh to ascend to the heavens.

Bad news: there is a fiancé named Li Yao.

Damn it!

I've become the aunt?

(End of this chapter)