Chapter 824: Disturbing Chaos to Restore Order or Correcting Order to Bring Chaos?

## Chapter 816: Setting Things Right, or Turning Things Upside Down?

Unfortunately, the old water lizard in Longchuan had only heard of Wen Daolun's death, not the specific cause.

However, it knew that after their first successful joint raid on Yuheng City, the Golden Tree Nation and the Longchuan Water Bandits seemed to gain experience, as subsequent attacks became relentless. The Golden Tree Nation harassed the borders while the Longchuan Water Bandits raided trade routes, operating in perfect concert and inflicting significant damage on Yuheng City.

Panlong City was forced to send troops multiple times to assist Yuheng City, hoping to help them overcome their predicament.

However, the Longchuan Water Bandits were masters of hit-and-run tactics. They deliberately evaded the Panlong City and Great Wind armies, engaging in guerrilla warfare within the watery expanses.

The subsequent records left He Lingchuan utterly speechless:

General Fushan Lie of Bega gradually absorbed the Longchuan bandit gangs. The former Xiji army under his command grew increasingly powerful, even challenging government forces. This army evolved from merely plundering merchant caravans and attacking official patrols to directly assaulting towns and villages, burning and killing. They moved unimpeded throughout southern Xiji, inspiring widespread terror.

In those years, Longchuan became a haven for bandits. The scent of wine perpetually hung in the air around the water fortresses, and the sound of knives being sharpened was constant. Masses of desperate individuals converged from all directions, eager to join this grand confrontation.

Just a few years later, five years after Panlong City's conquest of Xiji, it was forced to relinquish both Yuheng City and the old Xiji capital.

Panlong City had, by then, ceded all its Xiji territories, retreating once more to the Panlong Wasteland!

It was a measure born of sheer desperation.

He Lingchuan finished reading, his mind unable to settle for a long time.

Could the Longchuan bandit problem truly cause such widespread devastation?

He was personally experiencing that period of history in the Panlong world and could confirm that the Longchuan bandit problem initially seemed like a minor nuisance. No one anticipated it would later fester into such a gaping wound that even Panlong City couldn't contain.

Regarding Xiao Maoliang's expedition with six hundred men deep into Longchuan to suppress bandits, Yuheng City's records corroborated this, and He Lingchuan was well aware of the situation. Regardless of any romanticization, an army is a war machine, prone to violent solutions. The more He Lingchuan learned about Panlong City's history, the more he understood that neither Zhong Shengguang nor General Hong were known for their leniency.

The means, by necessity, served the ends.

Furthermore, while both local gazetteers and clan histories referred to a "Panlong army," He Lingchuan understood clearly that the troops stationed in Yuheng City and tasked with suppressing the Longchuan bandits were not the Great Wind Army, nor even the Panlong City Army. Instead, they were the Yuheng City Army, a force independently formed by Yuheng City itself, comprising local Xiluo and Changhou recruits.

With limited training and far less combat experience than the Great Wind Army, its combat capabilities were not comparable to either of the other two forces.

Was it then possible for Panlong City to deploy the Great Wind Army to Yuheng City specifically for bandit suppression?

It was likely not that simple.

Though unrecorded in any of the texts, He Lingchuan knew that Panlong City constantly faced pressure from the west and north. The Great Wind Army's primary responsibility was to defend Panlong City, their main stronghold.

Even if Zhong Shengguang could spare some troops for Yuheng City, it would be a mere drop in the ocean, insufficient to change the situation or alter the overall trajectory.

Ultimately, Yuheng City had to grow its own strength and discover its own methods to resist external aggression.

From a later perspective, Yuheng City's failure to suppress the bandits, regardless of the reasons, had severe repercussions for its mother city, Panlong City. The gradual decline of the southern trade route forced the closure of Panlong City's external connections, once again leaving it surrounded by enemies and isolated.

Was Fushan Lie the mastermind behind the Longchuan bandit problem? It was unclear, but that round of the struggle was certainly won by it.

Was Panlong City's eventual decline related to this incident? He Lingchuan couldn't say for sure, but deep ice doesn't form from a single day's chill.

Such disadvantages and hardships, accumulating slowly, would inevitably lead to a qualitative shift.

So, for He Lingchuan, armed with his extraordinary insight into historical processes, what possible means existed to reverse this situation?

The Longchuan bandit problem was indeed very complex.

It was complex geographically, socially, and emotionally.

But could this very complexity, conversely, be turned to his advantage?

He Lingchuan harbored an even grander ambition:

Yuheng City was historically destined to fail.

If he could reverse this decline, would it imply that Panlong City, which also met a similar end, could likewise achieve a different fate?

This temptation was simply too great for him.

He dismissed the notion that "changing a fictional history serves no purpose." While a fictional history couldn't grant him real elemental power, Panlong City could.

If Panlong City could overcome its calamity and change its destiny, what would this mean for him, for the Great Square Vase, and even for the real world?

How exciting!

Time passed bit by bit as he pondered.

Night deepened, and Blackwater City, too, succumbed to the depths of slumber.

He Chunhua lay down fully clothed, on the verge of sleep.

It was a habit he had recently acquired from campaigning, allowing him to rise at any hour of the night.

He had exerted himself greatly in the south, quelling rebellions, eradicating bandits, and enacting policies, before pressing westward non-stop to Blackwater City. The arduous journey meant he was in dire need of proper rest tonight.

However, he had barely lain down when he sat up again, rubbing his eyes to close the window.

He then cast a barrier, placed the statue facing east, and lit seven incense sticks—a sequence of actions he performed with considerable practiced ease.

As the hazy grey smoke coalesced into a vague human face within the room, He Chunhua's voice, raspy from insufficient sleep, spoke:

"Greetings, Divine Venerable."

"You have arrived at Blackwater City?"

"Yes. Does the Divine Venerable have any instructions?" He was overcome with fatigue.

"Is He Lingchuan already here?"

"Yes, I must find a way to take him to the Panlong ruins, as strange phenomena frequently occur there." He Chunhua then briefly described the red light that had pierced the sky that evening.

However, Nairuo Tian questioned him with great precision and pondered for a long time.

He Chunhua waited for a moment, and hearing no response, proactively inquired, "Is something amiss?"

"When divine artifacts manifest, anomalies often accompany them," Nairuo Tian said slowly. "But this disturbance is far too significant. It's overly conspicuous."

He Chunhua's spirits instantly lifted: "In the Divine Venerable's opinion, should we still proceed?"

"Go," Nairuo Tian replied. "The Heavenly Palace might also send envoys."

If it were to retreat, and a divine artifact truly appeared, and the Great Square Vase fell into the Heavenly Palace's hands...

He Chunhua was startled: "What? Bega has also sent people?"

"It is the Heavenly Palace, not Bega," Nairuo Tian corrected him. "The Stargazing Tower lost a treasure connected to the Great Square Vase, and the Heavenly Palace will not abandon that lead. They may have already arrived."

If the Heavenly Palace also joined this contest... He Chunhua composed himself: "What are our chances of success?"

"You need not fear; the Panlong ruins are not the Heavenly Palace's domain," Nairuo Tian scoffed coldly. "Ancient Panlong City and the Heavenly Palace are old adversaries. The stronger the force the Heavenly Palace dispatches, the greater the resistance they might encounter within the ruins or secret realm. Do not be the first to rush in; it would be best to let the Heavenly Palace trigger any traps. Remember, your most crucial task is to choose the most opportune moment to summon me!"