Chapter 1620: Red Hot and Prosperous

He Chunhua's victory was quicker than I expected," He Lingchuan mused, stroking his chin. "Besides his personal ability, perhaps Naraku had invested more resources."

"The gods are usually stingy, so Naraku's sudden generosity likely stems from profit." He Chunhua's alliance with Naraku was not a recent development, nor was it just a matter of a year or two; Naraku's imprint still remained in the sea of consciousness of He Lingchuan's body. When He Chunhua struggled alone in Blackwater City previously, enduring much hardship, how many times did Naraku intervene?

Over the past two or three years, however, the gods had suddenly become more generous, indicating they had recognized He Chunhua's potential and deemed him worthy of investment.

Now, He Lingchuan's understanding of the gods far surpassed his previous knowledge. He knew that among the gods, there were factions, hierarchies, and divisions, and a large retinue of deities often surrounded a chief god like Naraku.

One could also say that each chief god formed their own ecosystem, with deities distributed in order of rank below them.

This point was similar to the human world.

Thus, as a group leader, Naraku's every major decision, though seemingly autocratic, actually held accountability to the gods behind him, and he could not act completely unrestrained.

Without the backing of Beijia, it was not easy for gods outside of the Lingxu faction to cultivate their own power in the human realm. This showed that Naraku's actions — deploying resources and helping He Chunhua end the civil war — were well-considered and also revealed a sense of urgency.

He Lingchuan murmured to himself, "What does he want to do?"

"Ah, who?" the mirror asked. "Are you asking about Naraku, or He Chunhua?"

He Lingchuan looked out the window. On this night of mixed rain and snow, there was only boundless darkness between heaven and earth.

"Both," He Lingchuan replied. "He Chunhua has established his kingdom and become king; his long-cherished wish has come true. What then?"

"Can't he just rest content on his throne?"

"Naraku was so kind as to help him ascend the throne for free?" He Lingchuan shook his head. "There's a contractual relationship between those who worship gods and the deities themselves. Now that He Chunhua has achieved his goal, he must fulfill his original promises. Therefore, a portion of his subsequent actions will inevitably be to satisfy the gods' demands, which is something we should pay close attention to."

The mirror asked him, "Why pay attention to them?"

"Naraku's actions are inextricably linked to the turmoil in the divine realm. We know too little about the other world, so we can only make reverse inferences from changes in the human realm," He Lingchuan analyzed. "I even suspect that the diminishing faith and nightmare energy collected in the Shanjing Plain has forced those gods to shift their focus westward and increase their investment in Shen, the new state He Chunhua just established."

"In the past, this might not have been the optimal choice, especially with Beijia right next door. With their power and bad temper, who wouldn't be wary of such a neighbor? But for gods to cultivate power in the human realm isn't like farming, where planting melons yields melons and beans yield beans. The greatest likelihood is a wasted effort: those they try to support might never succeed, while those they ignore grow like weeds."

"So in the end, they just have to make do?" The mirror chuckled. "It's remarkable that a He Chunhua could even emerge. Naraku, as the God of Destiny, certainly possesses some good fortune."

"Indeed, if Naraku wanted to find someone stronger than He Chunhua, who knows how long he'd have to wait," He Lingchuan added. "Judging by their impatient behavior, it seems the chaos in the divine realm has made them unable to wait any longer."

"Does that mean Shen, under Naraku's control, won't be peaceful either?"

"The State of Yuan was impoverished and weak, and for years it was plagued by internal strife, which He Chunhua finally managed to replace. The first thing he did even before his enthronement was to sack Yuandu, which shows you how desperate he was for money and supplies."

Though He Chunhua fought fiercely against Dong Haoming and persevered to victory, it was a Pyrrhic victory, costing a thousand men to defeat one hundred, leaving the people impoverished and resources depleted. Thus, he had no choice but to demand funds from the wealthy officials.

He caused a river of blood in Yuandu. On one hand, this was to eliminate future troubles; on the other, it was to squeeze out every last drop of wealth.

He Chunhua knew all too well how inefficient the Yuan court was and how corrupt its officials were. More than half of the State of Yuan's wealth was concentrated in the hands of these officials.

By exploiting the lingering might of his great victory to execute them, the new state would have reserve funds for its operations.

However, during Dong Haoming's occupation of Yuandu, he had already scoured the capital, and all the money and supplies he plundered had been used for the war. He Chunhua missed out on the initial spoils, and Yuandu's wealth had been significantly diluted.

"Therefore, the most crucial thing He Chunhua should do right now is to let the people rest and recover their strength," He Lingchuan sighed softly, "especially since the frequent outbreaks of Imperial Dew and the increasing spiritual energy in the human realm present a great opportunity for the new state. I hope he has the resolve not to be completely swayed by Naraku. Otherwise, this human realm will be a living hell for the people of Shen!"

But he understood that Shen replacing Yuan was far from the end, but likely the beginning of a new wave of changes in the west.

He Chunhua should not be underestimated, even though he was merely the ruler of a small state.

Afterward, He Lingchuan opened the second letter.

This one was longer, primarily a report from Ding Zuodong on the recent situation of the Yangshan Archipelago.

Every seven to ten days, the Yangshan Archipelago and the Yangshan Chamber of Commerce on Shanjing would send a rapid report to He Lingchuan.

In truth, Yangshan's recent business was, to put it mildly, spectacularly successful!

This was because the State of Mou placed a large number of orders, not only purchasing a significant quantity of potions, weapons, and protective gear from Yangshan, but also concluding several exclusive major deals with Yangshan, involving twenty-six categories of goods. It was important to note that the State of Mou's domestic weapon forging greatly required catalysts like Veyronium Agent, but such supplies were usually unobtainable as they were only produced in Beijia and the State of Yao.

The State of Yao had refused to sell such nationally controlled critical materials to the State of Mou to this day. However, He Lingchuan had long been the exclusive foreign agent for Veyronium Agent. The Yao court, desperate for funds for the Tianshui Eastward Expansion project, had led He Lingchuan to buy up vast quantities of goods over the past few months, acquiring not just Veyronium Agent but also massive amounts of high-quality assets.

When the State of Mou learned of this, they approached Yangshan for business.

Qingyang, as the Regent of the State of Yao, had strong objections to this, raising the issue multiple times in court. Although the State of Yao did not sell the materials directly, the State of Mou could still acquire critical supplies from the Yangshan Archipelago. Meanwhile, the State of Mou was still at war with Beijia.

Essentially, the State of Yao was selling Veyronium Agent and other materials to Beijia's adversary. It would be strange if Qingyang and Beijia had no objections.

However, the State of Yao had not yet revoked the most-favored treatment for the Yangshan Archipelago. Firstly, He Lingchuan was spearheading the Tianshui Eastward Expansion project and was on the front lines against Qingyang, so the King of Yao needed to cede some benefits to him. Secondly, He Lingchuan judged that the King of Yao also wanted to use this as leverage for future negotiations with Beijia.

The State of Yao was no longer completely submissive to Beijia.

From this perspective, it was not easy for He Lingchuan to continue selling Veyronium Agent. The pressure and risks involved were considerable, so naturally, the price was not cheap.