Chapter 1909: Open for Business

Weng Su heard the sound and jumped down from the tree. "They're here! Are we heading to Xuecheng now?"

"No, Qiaoguo."

"Huh?" Weng Su was one of the few who knew about the sub-plan; after all, he and his brother had previously been intermediaries between the Black Armored Army and Dr. Li. "Wasn't Xuecheng the original target?"

"It's changed. The message we received ten days ago already indicated a change, and our people have also infiltrated, disguised as merchants." Dr. Li handed him a note. "See, His Lordship has reconfirmed the target of the operation."

It was written in code. It had taken the Weng brothers several months to memorize and understand the cipher.

"Alright, let's do it!" Weng Xing rubbed his fists together in anticipation, but Weng Su was a little worried.

"The target changed from a city to a country. Do we have enough people for this?"

"The Emperor's judgment is precise; there will be no mistake," Dr. Li said seriously. "Xuecheng was indeed a good target, but Qiaoguo was overthrown twenty-five days ago, and its people are unsettled. Now is a good opportunity for an uprising."

"Twenty-five days ago?"

Weng Xing interjected, "You were away on business then. Qiaoguo got a new ruler."

"A new ruler... such a big event, and you didn't tell me when I got back? Are we even brothers?"

"I-I just forgot. Around here, it's normal for one day to be about you fighting me, and the next about me fighting you. Changing a country's name is common. The people are still the same, the city is still the same. What's so strange about a new ruler?"

Seeing the brothers glare at each other, ready to fight, Dr. Li quickly steered the conversation back. "Qiaoguo's new ruler is weak; he's been on the throne for less than half a year. His own brother marched on the capital, forcing him to abdicate, saying that doing so wouldn't harm their bond and they'd still be good brothers afterward. The foolish king actually believed him and opened the city gates wide. As a result, after his brother entered the city and took power, he acted decisively. He not only killed him but also slaughtered all eight of his children and five elderly officials."

Weng Su spat on the ground. "Faithless and unjust! His rule is illegitimate!"

"In short, the new ruler has only been in power for twenty-five days, and it's only been twenty days since he murdered his brother. The entire court dares not speak out, but there's a lot of public outcry. Because when he led his army into the city, he didn't strictly control his subordinates, and the soldiers took the opportunity to loot and extort in the city. He didn't take it seriously afterward. When the common people cursed them, they even included our Black Armored Army."

"Oh?" Weng Xing was curious. "What did they say?"

"The common people are claiming that the Dragon God will dispose of this unscrupulous ruler for them. As you know, rumors are spreading everywhere that the Dragon God is about to sweep across Shanjin—" (Of course, these rumors were spread by them.) Dr. Li turned to instruct his subordinates to prepare their weapons before continuing. "This new ruler is probably furious and terrified. He forbids public discussion and has arrested all the 'big mouths' and thrown them into prison. They also prohibit private worship of the Dragon God and the Great Emperor of Nine Hells. If caught, it's either chopped hands or chopped heads. In the past twenty days, it's said at least a dozen heads have been chopped off."

Weng Xing exclaimed, "Isn't this a prophecy? They're hoping for the Black Armored Army, and the Black Armored Army will naturally come!"

Weng Su also nodded. "No wonder the note mentions, 'The people of Qiao yearn for the Dragon God even more, eagerly awaiting the Black Armor's arrival. It is fitting to act.'"

No wonder the Emperor told them to start the uprising here; it turns out there's popular support. However, "The Emperor is hundreds of miles away; how does he know the people of Qiao yearn for the Dragon God even more?"

If a girl he didn't know, hundreds of miles away, missed him, how would he know? At most, his nose would feel a bit itchy.

Dr. Li let out a long breath, equally stirred. "The Dragon God's power is beyond our comprehension."

Weng Su was still in plain clothes. He just tightened his belt and stretched his neck—

"Let's go, let's do it!"

"It's 'depart'," Weng Xing corrected him. "We have to go in disguised as a merchant convoy. We're dispatching over a dozen carts of goods."

Two days later, Qiaoguo's capital.

Late at night, the streets were deserted. The notice board under the city gate was covered with announcements. A gust of wind from nowhere blew the topmost sheet away.

The writing on the notice was fresh. Its main message was that the emergence of the Dragon God was pure nonsense and misleading heresy. It forbade public discussion, and violators would be flogged and imprisoned. It prohibited private worship, and violators would be beheaded.

When such notices were first posted, people would stand by, beating gongs and repeatedly issuing commands. They would loudly read the announcement's content for illiterate citizens.

Now, as it fell, no one bothered with it. The wind swept it to someone's feet, where it was stepped on a few times and turned black.

This person was the night watchman.

It was almost the second watch of the night. He held his gong but didn't strike it. Instead, he walked around under the city gate.

The city gates had been locked and closed at dusk. There should have been six city guards on duty, but only four were present. The other two, being more senior, were secretly sleeping in a small room within the city wall.

Even these four guards were standing crookedly and were half-asleep. Two of them were dozing while leaning against the wall.

This lousy shift was just something to get through. Anyway, the pay was pitifully low; they didn't earn much in a day.

The night watchman walked around lightly. Then he turned and quickly made two hand gestures towards the inn.

Behind the city gate, there was usually an inn. It served as a place for travelers and merchants, both long and short distance, to feed their horses, rest, and change.

Not far away was the outpost of the Yangshan Merchant Guild. Its back door quietly opened.

Then over a dozen figures darted out from the merchant guild's back door. They circled behind the stables and rushed towards the main gate.

By rights, there shouldn't have been any obstructions near the city wall. But here, not only was a section occupied by the inn, but there were also three or four sheds set up by the road tax collectors.

These dozen-plus people hid behind the sheds. In two quick moves, they rushed behind the guards.

With two thuds, two men fell to the ground. One guard suddenly woke up and was about to shout, but someone from behind choked him.

The last man barely managed to draw a breath, his mouth not even open yet. He was struck heavily on the temple—the night watchman's stick wasn't for his gong tonight.

After subduing the guards, these few quickly pushed aside the iron bolts and swung open the capital's main gate!

There were also patrols on top of the city wall, but for some reason, after finishing their two usual naan breads for dinner, they were yawning incessantly. Their eyelids wouldn't stay open, so they found a deserted corner to crouch in for the night.

Below the city, there were strange noises, like rapidly approaching hooves. The two men barely managed to pry open their eyelids and peered down—

Someone was there.

"Huh? People?!"

A vast, dark mass of people and horses poured into the city!

"Huh? Huh? What's going on?" The two were so startled that their drowsiness vanished. Just as they were about to strike the large bell on the city gate to raise an alarm, several feathered arrows suddenly struck near their feet. Two black-armored figures jumped in from outside the battlements and said in a muffled voice, "The Black Armored Army has entered the city! If you don't want to die, get down!"

After so many days of rumors, had the Black Armored Army really arrived? The two guards looked at their armor, then at the Dragon Banner unfurled by the army below, and thought they were dreaming.

Until the others raised their crossbows and aimed at them again, the two men jolted, snapping back to reality.

Without a second's delay, they scrambled down the stone steps from the city wall, abandoning the bell. Let whoever dared confront the Black Armored Army do so; they certainly wouldn't!

In the darkness of the night, the army advanced swiftly. They rushed along the dirt road of the main street towards the palace city.