Chapter 1995: Money Is Not Enough to Spend

“Go on.”

“Assuming this Guobaiyu situation is indeed a trap,” he said, “can we turn the tables?” He then explained his idea.

Dong Rui listened and was greatly pleased. “You’ve really got something there, kid. Much smarter than before.”

“Oh, you flatter me,” Wan Qiliang said, a little smug. “How could I ever compare to the Weng brothers?”

He wasn’t stupid; he was just prone to impulsiveness before!

“By the way, shouldn’t you contact the prefect of Miancheng? I’m afraid they won’t be able to hold out.” Dong Rui glanced towards Miancheng and sighed.

“Yes, I will privately inform Prefect Huang. The bird demon said they managed to reclaim a good deal of grain for the city a few days ago, so it seems there’s enough food for now.” They couldn't send troops to support them yet, but they should at least give them some hope.

In desperation, hope is the guiding light that keeps people going.

Dong Rui asked him, “How many of the disruptive forces within the Dragon God’s territory have we eliminated?”

“Around a dozen, I suppose?” Wan Qiliang’s expression was far from relaxed. “But we’ve also lost a lot of territory, and the remaining Glimmering Gold forces are banding together.”

During the “transition phase” of the Dragon God Army’s training, it was extremely difficult for just the Black Armored Army and local militia to maintain this situation.

On the Glimmering Gold Plain, the war around the Dragon God’s territory was brutal and fierce, ongoing every day.

Both sides knew clearly that this was a fight to the death; there was no retreat!

But the Dragon God’s territory was so vast, there were always places that could not be defended.

These Glimmering Gold forces, with their unique local cunning, were searching for the Dragon God’s weak points under the protection of the Heavenly Gods, attacking frantically.

Although this protection might just be a deception, and most of these forces were merely cannon fodder.

But their numbers were sufficient.

As the old saying goes, ‘Many ants can gnaw an elephant to death.’ Were the Heavenly Gods hoping that many ants could also gnaw the Dragon God to death?

This time, Wan Qiliang asked, “Is the Dragon God Army’s large-scale training progressing smoothly?”

“It’s going fairly well. There were some issues, but I hear they’ve all been resolved.” Dong Rui nodded. “More than half of this phase is complete. If we hold out for another month or so, the army will be ready to deploy. It’s just tough on places like Miancheng, having to withstand an opponent like Guobaiyu.”

For the past two months, he had been working day and night, barely eating a proper meal.

Wan Qiliang also perked up. “There aren’t many strongholds like Guobaiyu’s, and quite a few have already been eliminated. The Great Emperor said that their emergence indicates the Glimmering Gold magnates are also making a desperate last stand. We are not far from victory.”

Dong Rui rubbed his nose. The same event could indeed be interpreted completely differently by a pessimist and an optimist.

After dispersing the allied forces and annexing six territories, the Black Armored Army immediately marched north, directly entering Perliu, the northernmost state of the allied territories, advancing rapidly for a hundred *li*. Further north lay Bixia.

The news of Perliu’s monarch’s demise hadn’t even reached his own country when the Black Armored Army arrived and caught Perliu’s Third Prince near the southern border, perfectly illustrating the meaning of “speed is paramount in warfare.”

At dawn, the Third Prince woke up in the arms of a beauty, still completely bewildered when he was captured. He was truly unlucky; his current tour of the southern spring fields and border was merely routine, a trip for leisure and enjoyment. Who knew a formidable figure would descend from the heavens, grab him by the collar, and grimly inform him of a fact:

“Your father is dead, but he hasn’t gone far.”

“If you don’t cooperate, you can go join your father immediately.”

After the death of King Perliu, the throne should have been inherited by the Third Prince. However, after two hours of serious, sincere, and candle-lit conversation with the Nine Nether Emperor, the Third Prince’s mind was changed. With a sense of righteous dignity, he decided to surrender his entire nation!

After all, his father was dead, and he wasn’t prepared to ascend the throne; after all, other allied forces had already surrendered, leaving Perliu isolated and powerless; and after all, the Nine Nether Emperor could even track his movements, capturing him with unerring accuracy. He dared not imagine what his fate would be if he refused.

Thus, all seven allied forces in the central and western parts of the Glimmering Gold Plain were incorporated into the Dragon God’s dominion!

While integrating the allied forces’ combat strength, He Lingchuan stayed in Perliu for two days, receiving an urgent report from Ding Zuodong along the way.

When leading the army on the move, it was inconvenient for him to handle official business. This backlog meant many important matters needed review and action.

This old subordinate used coded language to go over the accounts with him. The funds He Lingchuan and Yang Shan had available were less than thirty percent of the original.

The Nine Nether Emperor’s funds and provisions were not limitless either.

On the eve of initiating the Dragon God War, He Lingchuan’s main sources of income were threefold:

First, the operating profits of the Yang Shan Chamber of Commerce.

Yang Shan’s business spanned most of the Glimmering Gold Plain, with involvement in countless industries, even establishing pillar and monopolistic industries in some areas. The logistical support for the Black Armored Army and the Dragon God Army heavily relied on the vast trade routes Yang Shan had established earlier.

Second, the massive wealth He Lingchuan acquired from the Ghost King’s Catacombs, Yao State, and the Upside-Down Sea.

The diligent savings of Ghost King Xuanlu over several centuries, and the entire fortunes of Grandmaster Miaozhan and True Immortal Qianhuan, all fell into He Lingchuan’s hands. He also legitimately obtained large sums of money from Yao State’s Nether Lake project and new city construction—because King Yao had also participated in the dividends, and when Yao State fell, King Yao died before he could collect the later installments of his share.

Third, the confiscated assets and properties of evildoers seized by the Black Armored Army and the Dragon God Army in the name of divine justice.

Any one of these three categories represented wealth that an ordinary person couldn’t spend in thousands of lifetimes. Yet He Lingchuan treated them merely as war funds—any money thrown into war seemed to vanish like a stone skipped across water, making no sound.

And given the current situation, it seemed genuinely insufficient.

There was no alternative; the front lines needed to support armies, and the rear needed to ensure civilian livelihoods. Even if labor in Glimmering Gold was cheap, it couldn’t offset Yang Shan’s need to distribute wealth to countless people. More troubling still, due to the long-term exploitation by heavenly demons and immortals, Glimmering Gold’s current grain output was not abundant. Although the Yang Shan Chamber of Commerce was dispatching resources with all its might, even purchasing from other regions, the crisis of material shortages continued to proliferate everywhere.

To put it plainly, there was only so much grain and so many supplies, truly not enough for everyone. No matter how capable Yang Shan was, it couldn’t conjure things out of thin air.

Among the special products He Lingchuan brought from the Upside-Down Sea were two or three types of seeds named “Jade Millet.” This was the main staple food for the common people of the Upside-Down Sea, resembling large yellow millet. In an environment with abundant spiritual energy, they grew faster and yielded more than the sweet potatoes He Lingchuan was familiar with, provided strong satiety, and were resistant to pests and diseases.

He Lingchuan, Wan Qifeng, and others had eaten it in the Upside-Down Sea. Its texture was poor, neither fragrant nor sweet, and it had a gritty feel, lacking the aroma of rice or flour. However, it could be made into various foods like cakes, noodles, and fried dough twists.

According to He Lingchuan, it was “nutritionally sufficient.”

The key was that it wasn’t picky about soil, grew quickly, and was resistant to drought, flood, and pests. What did it matter if it was a bit unpalatable? It would make an excellent ration.