Chapter 2024: Tricky Moral Issues

Zhao Qing’s death sounded suspicious, but not enough to alarm the Dragon God.

“Zhao Qing is not yet thirty, in good health, and cultivated. How could he just drop dead?” He Lingchuan stroked his chin. “What had he done before?”

“I remember, I remember!” This time it was the Soul-Snatching Mirror that spoke. “About ten days ago, Su Yishui led his army to attack Peng Zhe, a powerful figure in Blazing Gold. Zhao Qing went to help, cutting off Peng Zhe’s retreat.”

Su Yishui was the leader of the Black Armored Army active in the central and western parts of Blazing Gold. Recently, he had consecutively defeated two powerful Blazing Gold factions, one of which was Peng Zhe.

“First helping the Black Armored Army deal with a Blazing Gold strongman, then dropping dead at home twenty days later?” He Lingchuan said offhandedly. “Send someone to investigate.”

“We already have.”

Just then, another guard entered, handing He Lingchuan a document:“A letter from Yundong City!”

Yundong City? He Lingchuan opened the letter. The stationery was exquisite gold-flecked paper, covered with dozens of characters.

This was Nannong He’s second invitation to the Great Emperor of Nine Hells for a meeting.

The first time was a verbal message brought back by Wanqi Liang. At that time, Guo Baiyu had abandoned Miancheng and fled, but Nannong He cut off his retreat. Only then did Wanqi Liang catch up with his troops and slay Guo Baiyu.

Afterward, Nannong He had Wanqi Liang relay a message to the Great Emperor of Nine Hells, requesting a meeting.

He Lingchuan had been busy and had no time to deal with him. Now, seeing the words “discussing the future” in the letter, he began to consider it.

The Yundong region belonged to the Nannong family. Eleven years ago, Nannong He inherited the five cities of Yundong from his father and formally assumed the position of Lord of Yundong City.

Looking across the entire Blazing Gold Plain, the Yundong region was truly fortunate. Both Nannong He and his father were well-rounded individuals, adept in both scholarly pursuits and martial arts. Their personal cultivation was profound, and their territory was well-governed and harmonious. Over the past decade or so, while the people might not have lived in complete abundance, their lives were far better than in other parts of Blazing Gold. Thus, the Nannong family was deeply supported by its populace.

It was like Julu Kingdom 160 years ago, thriving and promising prosperity.

Conversely, on the Great Emperor of Nine Hells’ Wish Power Sand Table, the starlight representing wish power from the Yundong region was very faint. This indicated that the people there were more satisfied with their current rulers and had little interest in the Great Emperor of Nine Hells or the reincarnated Dragon God. Therefore, He Lingchuan had originally planned to conquer Yundong last.

The difficulty of taking Yundong would be no less than that of the Allied forces.

Besides the Nannong family’s own strong army, the Dragon God Army also faced the awkwardness of lacking a legitimate reason for war to attack the Yundong region.

In most other parts of the Blazing Gold Plain, the Dragon God Army had advanced unhindered and gained popular support by fighting tyranny, restoring order, and ruling for the people. However, the Yundong region generally had a higher standard of living, and its people approved of the Nannong family’s governance. What justification would the Dragon God Army have for attacking Yundong?

No matter how impoverished the Blazing Gold Plain was, there were always a few places that still seemed to hold some hope.

At this stage, the main obstacle for He Lingchuan was Bai Tan, and he temporarily wished to avoid conflict with Yundong.

The Soul-Snatching Mirror asked him, “If he truly refuses to surrender, what do we do?”

He Lingchuan returned to his study, casually summoning his sand table to observe the location of Luofeng Pond. “No wonder Guo Baiyu wanted to occupy this place. Luofeng Pond is the gateway to Yundong. To its west is fertile land with no difficult terrain to defend.”

In other words, it would be relatively easy for a large army to enter Yundong territory from Luofeng Pond, moving westward.

But what reason could he use to launch an expedition?

The Soul-Snatching Mirror gave a soft exclamation. “Do you think the Nannong family might be colluding with the Sky Demons?”

He Lingchuan shook his head. “In the Yundong region, building temples and privately offering sacrifices to gods are forbidden, with severe penalties for violators. Therefore, the Nannong family is very resistant to Sky Demons.”

The mirror retorted, “These are extraordinary times. Perhaps the Nannong family has learned to be flexible and has also gotten involved with the Sky Demons.”

The prime examples of flexibility were Bai Tan and King Liupo.

“The Situ family and the Nannong family are old acquaintances with frequent interactions. Situ He once described Nannong He’s temper as stubborn and unyielding, like a stone in a latrine – both stinky and hard,” He Lingchuan recalled. “When I restarted the Hometown Association, I specifically invited several younger members of the Nannong family to participate, hoping that one day they could become a bridge for communication between Nannong He and me.”

“Wow, Master was preparing for a rainy day so early? Did it work?”

“Hardly any,” He Lingchuan shook his head with a sigh. “Moreover, Nannong He is very wary of the Yangshan Merchant Guild. To this day, Yangshan only has two small branches in Yundong, and the most important and profitable businesses remain firmly in the Nannong family’s hands.”

“The land in Yundong is fertile, with abundant resources, and they even have their own horse farms. The Nannong family can live well by themselves, behind closed doors – and they’ve largely done so for the past decade.”

Therefore, Yundong was quite exclusionary.

In fact, this phenomenon and mentality also appeared in Qianyao. Its political, economic, and cultural standards were far higher than other regions of the Blazing Gold Plain. Its people lived as if they were from two different worlds, so why would they want to associate with others?

Simply put, it was three words:Contempt.

He Lingchuan mused, “Once we come into conflict with the Nannong family, Guo Baiyu and the Sky Demon forces behind him will widely publicize the Dragon God Army as sanctimonious and hypocritical.”

While operating under the banner of the Dragon God certainly offered many advantages, its shortcomings were also very clear: it could not afford to lose too much moral standing.

The Soul-Snatching Mirror indignantly said, “Does the Nannong family dare to challenge us? If they aren’t blind and deaf, how could they not know that the Dragon God Army’s power in the Blazing Gold Plain is unmatched?”

“Situ He said that Nannong He is set in his ways but not inflexible. He’s probably accurately figured out that we’re currently more intent on dealing with Bai Tan,” He Lingchuan said. He personally picked up his brush, quickly drafted a document, and sent someone to deliver it to the Yundong region.

Later, after much deliberation, he found someone to ask, “When Bixia destroyed Gaopu Kingdom and pressed into the Situ family’s territory, did Yundong City send troops to assist?”

The person he consulted was Dongye Jun, one of the key members of the Hometown Association. Dongye Jun came from the nobility of Gaopu Kingdom but entered officialdom in Pei Kingdom. He had a deep understanding of the situation among the Seven Allied Kingdoms and was very quick-witted.

He Lingchuan used the Hometown Association as his foundation, and as he swept across Blazing Gold, he recruited many talents. He had now initially formed his own makeshift team—or rather, a think tank. After all, neither the current war nor future governance could be accomplished by him alone.

“When Bixia invaded the Situ family’s Yaopo, the Nannong family dispatched troops twice to fight alongside the Situ family, so there was indeed a past friendship.”

He Lingchuan frowned. “When I had the Yangshan Merchant Guild assist the Situ family, why didn’t I hear anything about the Nannong family’s involvement?”

Dongye Jun replied, “At that time, it coincided with the passing of the Nannong family’s old patriarch, Nannong He’s father. So, the Nannong family had no time to concern themselves with external conflicts.”

He Lingchuan handed him the letter. “What do you think Nannong He wants?”