Yu Sheng'an's Strategy

"Low-price? Are you insane?!"

Dendall abruptly rose to his feet.

Not just him—Zimor and Bethany looked equally grim.

In that instant, countless thoughts flashed through their minds, and an utterly dreadful suspicion surfaced in their hearts.

—Could it be that the God of the Internet was on good terms with the Goddess of Music?

If that were true, it would be unbelievably unfortunate!

Though the Goddess of Music was a god—and one recognized by all Five Great Gods, at that—her presence on the Aizeya Continent was not insignificant, yet few truly held her in awe.

The reason was simple:

The authority granted by her Godhead was quite limited in power;

Her followers were spread throughout the Aizeya Continent, but they were limited to musicians kept by nobles;

She had established the Earthly Divine Kingdom of Vias in the Lanlun Mountain Basin, but in the end, it was merely a city-state;

Her Divine Kingdom did not engage in production. All pursuits were deemed inferior to music, and any commoner who could compose beautiful music could surpass even the captain of the palace guards in status within minutes.

The only influence her Divine Kingdom had abroad was that nobles across the Aizeya Continent all recognized musicians trained by the Vias Conservatory of Music.

Or rather, whether one possessed a musician from the Vias Conservatory of Music had already become a luxury item through which nobles of every nation flaunted their wealth and status.

How could such a neutral and mild god inspire fear?

Of course, from another perspective, the Goddess of Music was an exceptionally clever god who knew her own limits.

She had no ambition and simply minded her own little domain.

A small nation with a sparse population, earning meager profits.

Whether the Five Great Gods or the various Evil Gods, none would generally trouble her over that tiny patch of land.

After all, she was still a legitimate god who possessed a Godhead.

No matter how weak she was, even if she could not accomplish anything, she could still ruin things.

If truly provoked, she could abandon the Earthly Divine Kingdom of Vias altogether and still disgust you to death!

By comparison, Thorne, the fairly powerful God of Contracts, had been besieged and fallen. Her survival strategy could not be called anything but successful.

But successful as she was, if the God of the Internet truly had a close relationship with her, then the Kevil Empire would be in deep trouble.

They had worked so hard to grow that grain, only to sell it to her at a low price. Who could possibly feel good about that?

Even if the seeds had been developed by the God of the Internet.

"Do you have an objection?"

Yu Sheng'an looked at Dendall, then glanced at Zimor and Bethany from the corner of his eye.

"Please do not be angered, sir. Grain concerns the stomachs of the Empire's people, but even more, it concerns the stability of your Spring of Source Essence! Now that the Internet is increasingly permeating every aspect of the Empire, vast numbers of people are leaving the land and entering the cities. If something goes wrong with the grain supply, your Spring of Source Essence will be in grave danger!" Zimor spoke up.

It had to be said that no one who became a Magic God was foolish.

When advising Yu Sheng'an, he wholly assumed the posture of someone saying, "I am considering this from your perspective, for your own sake."

"Yes, I admit that the crops you improved have greatly increased grain production, temporarily sparing the Empire from the danger of famine. But as grain yields rise and literacy becomes widespread, more and more Farmers will only leave the land. Therefore, we must stockpile ample grain against unforeseen disasters." Bethany also spoke.

"My lord, grain may be sold, but it absolutely cannot be sold cheaply! Otherwise, if Farmers cannot make money, they will no longer be willing to farm. In that vicious cycle, the Empire's collapse will be a matter of days."

Dendall began making dire predictions as well.

Listening to the three of them echo one another, Yu Sheng'an suddenly laughed.

He straightened up, interlaced his fingers, and placed them on the table.

"I had no wish to involve myself in your country's affairs, but since you insist this concerns my Missionary Zone, then it is only proper for me to participate. Why, then, do you oppose my suggestion?"

"I am telling you: from now on, the Empire will not only sell grain to Vias at low prices. It will sell grain cheaply to every other nation as well!"

Yu Sheng'an's astonishing words directly stunned the three Magic Gods, making their expressions change drastically!

The three exchanged glances, each seeing the difficulty in the others' eyes.

Dendall narrowed his eyes. "Do you truly think that currying favor with the gods will buy you lasting peace?"

Bethany, the only female Magic God, also turned cold and aloof. "My lord, do not attempt to follow the Goddess of Music's path. The Kevil Empire is not a tiny place like Vias! There are sixteen great cities here, each with a population of a million, and we control six million qianzhang of land. The gods will not give up such a juicy piece of meat."

Zimor said nothing. His magical projection merely began flickering abruptly, turning insubstantial one moment and solid the next, as though he might swap his true body over at any time.

For the first time, the three Magic Gods displayed their forceful side.

They had no choice but to be forceful.

The Internet had already completely permeated the Empire. They would not allow the God of the Internet to pursue a policy of appeasement.

Yu Sheng'an chuckled.

"Heh heh..."

It was clear that Yu Sheng'an was laughing quite happily.

Yet the expressions of the three Magic Gods grew even colder. They remained silent, as though they might strike at any moment, but for some reason, they did not dare act rashly.

"I had always struggled to understand how your country managed to remain independent while surrounded by the Five Great Gods. Now, I understand."

Yu Sheng'an waved a hand. "I like your attitude. Relax a little. I do not lack backbone as much as you imagine."

The three Magic Gods exchanged looks, all somewhat bewildered by Yu Sheng'an's attitude.

They still said nothing, merely watching Yu Sheng'an.

Yu Sheng'an, on the other hand, became increasingly relaxed. "Have you never considered why I intend to implement the Low-Price Grain Strategy? Still, your reactions have put me at ease. If even you cannot see through it, then this strategy is likely highly feasible."

Under the uncertain and suspicious gazes of the Three Magic Gods, Yu Sheng'an began to explain at length.

"Have you considered what consequences the Low-Price Grain Export Strategy would bring? Let us not discuss the Empire for now. Let us speak of foreign countries. With vast quantities of cheap grain pouring in, they will no longer be willing to grow crops."

"Three to five years later, their grain supplies will become severely dependent on imports. Then, as long as we choke off grain exports, no matter how devout the followers of the Five Great Gods are, after going hungry for seven or eight days, they will go mad and rebel!"

"During that period, we can even encourage and guide them to plant magical plants that yield greater economic benefits but severely deplete soil fertility. They can exchange magical plants for grain. Once we obtain those magical plants, we can use our advantage in Magic to process them into high-value magical tools, then sell them back to those countries."

"In that way, we will never suffer losses. We can even use part of those profits to subsidize Farmers, purchase grain at high prices, and encourage them to cultivate the land."

"Oh, right. By then, we can even guide the Empire's mages by telling them that the Missionary Zones of the Five Great Gods are filled with magical plants. If they want more magical resources, the only way to advance further is to seize their territory."

Yu Sheng'an slowed his speech. "Now do you understand what I mean? My goal is to use cheap grain to destroy their systems of grain self-sufficiency."

The pupils of the Three Magic Gods widened. All of them were shaken by Yu Sheng'an's words.

They had always believed grain was a good thing, the foundation of the Empire's stability, and naturally something that had to be protected at all costs!

But they had never imagined that this good thing could produce such terrifying and vicious effects.

If all of this could truly be carried out smoothly, they would be able to weaken enemy nations from within and subdue their troops without fighting.

For a moment, the way the three looked at Yu Sheng'an changed completely.

How was he still the God of Agriculture, rumored among the people to have saved countless lives?

He was clearly an Abyssal Demon God!

No, an Abyssal Demon God that only knew how to fight and kill was not even worthy of carrying his shoes!