Otherworld Advance Team
Chapter 1306 - 1299: Support from the Merchants

Chapter 1306: Chapter 1299: Support from the Merchants

"Just call me Leader Zisu, I’m not used to the honorifics you Kyushu people use," Zisu said indifferently in the Kyushu language.

"Oh, yes, yes, Leader Zisu." Boyan seemed very shocked to hear Zisu speaking fluent Kyushu language.

"Speak, what is the purpose of your visit?" Zisu continued to inquire.

"I wonder if the Manor Lord has conveyed our intentions to Leader Zisu?" Boyan said while his gaze shifted toward Ziang.

"Uh, they are here to do business." Seeing his plea for help, Ziang explained to Zisu.

"Do business..." Zisu murmured and lowered her head to ponder.

"Yes, with the war progressing to this stage, your manor must be in urgent need of supplies, right? I can provide all sorts of goods your manor desires, including food, cloth, and even weapons. We only hope that you will allow us to enter the city for trade," Boyan said cautiously.

"It’s not possible for you to enter the city; we still don’t know your identities. If you are spies, then wouldn’t we be infiltrated?" Zisu stated cautiously.

To Ziang’s surprise, it seemed that Zisu did not find anything inappropriate about doing business with Kyushu merchants during wartime; she was only genuinely worried about their identities.

"No, no, no," Boyan hastened to explain, "We are bona fide merchants, Leader Zisu. As the leader of the Maoyou Clan, you must understand that we merchants have never deigned to fraternize with the military, and those noble families reject us too. We long for normal trade, unlike them who only know how to seize by force."

Hearing Boyan’s explanation caused Ziang to pause for a moment before turning to look at Zisu. She, having listened to Boyan’s account, actually nodded in understanding.

"Even so, you cannot enter the city at the current stage. Since we are going to do business, it should be a slow and steady process. There’s no need to rush," Zisu said.

"Yes, yes, of course," Boyan quickly nodded in agreement.

There was another layer of reasoning that Zisu didn’t elaborate on. That was, with Luo’er continually stirring things up, anti-Kyushu sentiments within the city had peaked. To let these merchants into the city, even Zisu would have difficulty ensuring their safety. Therefore, the most appropriate course of action was to maintain limited contact for now.

"To show our sincerity, we have brought thirty carts of food with us on this trip to alleviate the urgent needs of your manor," Boyan said, gesturing to the line of carts behind them.

Even Zisu was taken aback for a while upon seeing so much food. It was well-known that what Lingyuan City currently lacked most was food. These thirty carts could not solve the food problem once and for all but would, at the very least, ease the urgent crisis.

Moreover, the most important point was, if these merchants could transport thirty carts of food to Lingyuan City, it meant they could deliver even more – fifty, one hundred, or perhaps three hundred carts. With this food supply, Abisien would have enough confidence to launch a counteroffensive.

However, beyond her shock, Zisu couldn’t help but fall into deep thought, suspecting the real intentions of these people. After all, as the scout leader, it was necessary to be extra cautious.

"You haven’t poisoned these grains, have you?" Ziang couldn’t help but ask impulsively.

"Absolutely not," Boyan suddenly became assertive upon hearing the suspicion, frowning and speaking earnestly, "We’ve come with genuine sincerity, please do not spurn our good intentions."

"I accept your intentions, but there’s no such thing as a free lunch; what exactly do you want to do, to sell us these grains?" Zisu still appeared very cautious.

"No, no, it’s not to have you buy them but to give them to you as a symbol of our friendship," Boyan gestured as he spoke.

"Give it to us," upon hearing this, Zisu found herself surprised once again, and asked even more cautiously, "What exactly do you want to do?"

"To be frank, we merchants unanimously hope that the Demon Clan can emerge victorious in this war and drive away the army and those nobility families. So, we hope to cooperate with you all to achieve this goal," Boyan stated bluntly.

"Why?" Cheng Ziang seemed somewhat astonished, aware that Boyan and his fellows were also from Kyushu, yet they were actually hoping for the Demon Clan to completely drive away the forces of the Dongsheng Empire.

Seeing his shocked expression, Boyan turned to Zisu and said, "You must know why the Heavenly Army is on a far-flung campaign to West Outer Heaven, right?"

"Uh..." Cheng Ziang hesitated and looked at Zisu, but she, with narrowed eyes, did not volunteer to engage in the discussion.

Without her input, Boyan seemed not to mind and said indignantly, "The root cause lies in certain nobility families of Kyushu wanting to get their hands on the Origin Ore of West Outer Heaven, thereby leveraging their influence within the court to launch this expedition."

"Before the outbreak of the war, the Origin Ore of West Outer Heaven had always been procured by us merchants to sell in Kyushu. The onset of war changed everything. The nobility families took over these mining resources, treating them as their private assets, not even allowing us a sip of the broth."

"Although we have plenty of money, we lack the power to contend with these nobility families. The continuous northward advance of the Heavenly Army and the relentless retreat of the Demon Clan made us think that West Outer Heaven was on the verge of being ruled by the Heavenly Dynasty. However, the battle at Lingyuan City turned the tide, with the Demon Clan’s forces repelling the Heavenly Army, causing them heavy losses, and this gave us a glimmer of hope."

"Therefore, we urgently hope that the Demon Clan’s forces can launch a counterattack, take advantage of the Heavenly Army’s instability, and drive them all away, restoring the previous order of South West Outer Heaven."

"Cutting off someone’s wealth is akin to killing their parents," Cheng Ziang muttered to himself upon hearing Boyan’s heartfelt explanation.

It had to be said, the internal contradictions within the Dongsheng Empire were indeed numerous. Within the military, generals were eager to fight while commanders appeared reluctant. Beyond the military, the nobility profited handsomely, while merchants felt their interests were invaded, hence their desire for the Demon Clan to expel the Dongsheng Empire.

This also indirectly confirmed Luo’er’s hypothesis that internal strife riddled the Dongsheng Empire; it was not united, and Abisien was not fighting a lone battle.

However, no matter what, at the current stage, anyone who could help Abisien should be co-opted, not blindly repelled.

The Dongsheng Empire lacked a sense of national identity, and merchants even more so. They only valued their interests, and regardless of how much the empire suffered after a defeat, they simply didn’t care.

In fact, due to the scarce Magic Crystal Mines in Kyushu, most Magic Crystals were dependent on imports. Even after deducting various taxes along the way, merchants could still turn a significant profit by purchasing a batch of Magic Crystal Mines from West Outer Heaven.

This was exactly why, after the nobility families of Kyushu occupied West Outer Heaven, the merchants were so enraged, as it directly harmed their vested interests.

Moreover, in a feudal society, merchants had little status, and the Dongsheng Empire was no exception. As the saying goes amongst the ranks of Warrior, Farmer, Artisan, Merchant, the nobility largely belonged to the Warrior class, while merchants were at the bottom rung, completely devoid of a say.

This was a feudal era, the irreconcilable conflict between traditional self-sufficient feudal economies and market economies. Unable to reclaim their interests through the Dongsheng Empire, merchants naturally had to hope for external forces.

Thus, to them, the Demon Clan was not an enemy but rather a vital force that protected their interests; as long as they could restore their profits, they didn’t care who ruled over West Outer Heaven.

From a class analysis perspective, the General belonged to the Warrior class, while the commander belonged to the Civil Official class, so the General was discontented with being under a commander’s command.

The merchants belonged to the lowest Merchant class, and the nobility also belonged to the Warrior class, leaving the merchants without even the means to challenge the nobility.

Ultimately, the internal strife within the Dongsheng Empire was the class conflict of the feudal era, which was profoundly difficult to reconcile.

Due to the objective existence of magical power, the Warrior class naturally held ruling power but lacked ruling capability. It was precisely for this reason that the Dongsheng Empire sought to reform, allowing Civil Officials to help them manage the Empire.

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