Hedaizhou, flowing clouds on the river.
That night, the river was filled with red lanterns and painted boats, the sound of stringed instruments lingered in the air, and both banks were also full of lights and people. Many of the restaurants along the river were filled with vermilion carriages. The sounds of drinking and chatting were incessant, and occasionally the sound of women's laughter could be heard.
Although the world has changed drastically, the prosperity of this place has not been affected. Moreover, King Huainan is now in charge here, and the army is guarding it. The land of the three continents is extremely stable. The wars in the distance seem like a distant world in people's mouths, and they cannot be felt.
Inside a tall, five-story pleasure boat, hundreds of women from a music troupe were dancing gracefully. Lights flickered in their sleeves, and wine glasses clinked against each other. The dignitaries present were toasting each other, and the atmosphere was lively and joyful.
After a long period of singing, dancing and feasting, the dancers gradually dispersed, and the few people present began to talk about what was happening now.
"Master Bian, are you satisfied with today's banquet?" An old man in blue clothes in the pleasure boat raised his glass and faced the young man sitting at the top.
"Hahaha, satisfied, satisfied. You old man, I didn't expect you to have such good taste." The young man in silver-embroidered clothes tapped his knees with a folding fan and responded with a big laugh. There were also several beautiful dancers sitting beside him.
Then the people present echoed and praised him, which made the young man feel elated.
Most of the people present today are from local aristocratic families in Hedaizhou. Naturally, they entertained this young man on this pleasure boat to please him.
Why would these powerful local aristocratic families do this? Of course it has something to do with his identity. This Prince Wang Bian comes from the Dongshan Wang family, a famous and prestigious family in the dynasty. Now the Wang family's legitimate daughter is the wife of the King of Huainan. This Prince Wang Bian is also the brother-in-law of the current King of Huainan, so he is being flattered so much.
After a round of compliments and praise, everyone saw that the young man was feeling elated and finally asked some questions that they had prepared long ago.
"Recently, I heard that the Beifushan army is heading south with great momentum, and people are in panic. My good friend is also in the north now, and he is very worried..." He shook his head and sighed.
"Haha, don't worry about this matter." Wang Bian was a little drunk at this moment, his face was flushed, and he was staggering with his wine glass.
"I've already asked my sister about this. Zhuo Muye, huh, although he's a great general, he's truly foolish. He actually disobeyed the king's orders and even followed a false imperial edict. It's truly laughable."
"Now the Holy Lord (Prince Huainan) has sent the armies of Xiyi and Qinghuan to advance, and they will surely be routed in the wilderness."
"The Northern Palace Mountain Frontier Army is the most important force in the dynasty. I am deeply concerned about it."
Although this young master said that King Huainan had already sent out a large army, everyone present was still unsure. After all, Zhuo Muye had been stationed in Beifu Mountain for many years and had great prestige. No one dared to underestimate him. Now he was leading a large army south, stretching across several continents. The military strength was at least over 300,000, not including the local garrisons that would be conquered and dispatched later. In the end, the total might exceed one million. The momentum was so great that this made everyone uneasy.
If they had not wanted to find out the current situation and the confidence that King Huainan had in dealing with the Beifu Mountain army, they would not have specially set up a banquet to entertain and please this young master Wang Bian.
At this time, the young man sitting at the top was seen waving his folding fan, with a smug look on his face. After a while, he finally spoke to answer.
"You may not know that the emperor is so powerful now that several major sects have come to him for support. Although the Beifushan army is strong, it has offended all the factions. No major sect is willing to support it. The Dynasty Dragon Cavalry alone will definitely not be able to hold on. I think his life will not last long."
"Never mind. These things will get out sooner or later. I guess it won't matter if I tell you." He burped, sobering up a bit, then feeling dizzy again.
"Now, the three sects of 'Red Dust Fantasy Shop', 'Five Blades and Seven Weapons Sect' and 'Wild Fire Dark Moon Sect' have made friends with His Majesty and have sent many disciples to support him. With these three sects in charge, I think Zhuo Muye's death is imminent, hahaha." He laughed a few times, then snored drowsily, and it seemed that he was drunk.
When the people present saw this, they nodded slightly, then had someone help the young man to rest, and then slowly walked out of the pleasure boat.
When they got to the deck, three of them stood by the railing, looking at the river view on the opposite bank, and then started talking.
"So, now there are four major sects that have come to support King Huainan."
"The situation is already determined. Even if King Dai can find an ally, it will be difficult to suppress King Huainan."
"We have to place our bets too."
"The river flows endlessly, and no one knows who will have the last laugh. Let's take it one step at a time."
After talking for a few words, they fell silent again. Although the current situation was acceptable and the Hedai Continent where they were located was extremely stable, the people present were still unsure about the future situation. After all, the world had been stable for hundreds of years. Even their inherited families did not have much experience in struggling and surviving in troubled times. Now they could only follow the trend and get close to King Huainan, hoping that this adult could unify the world and make it to the end.
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In March, peach blossoms begin to bloom, dotted like stars.
Beifushan's army marched southward, conquering prefectures along the way and mobilizing garrisons from various states to accompany them. Its military power expanded like a snowball, until it was close to 600,000 troops, when it was finally stopped by King Huainan.
On Hexing Island, a series of warships entered from the Yellow Sea and went upstream, and the powerful border troops originally stationed in the east also went north with the ships. Among them were the Qinghuan Army with 150,000 soldiers, the Xiyi Army with 100,000 soldiers, and the coalition forces supporting the various states under the command of King Huainan with 120,000 soldiers. A total of 370,000 troops were stationed along the river, blocking the Beifushan army's way south.
It started with sporadic dragon knight clashes in the air, and then the army slowly advanced, starting the first contact and large-scale decisive battle in early April.
During the battle, the army of Beifu Mountain advanced like an iron curtain, with dragon flags covering the sky. The brave armored cavalry attacked from the flank, breaking up the central army led by King Huainan. In the chaos, Zhuo Muye's son Zhuo Fengtong fought to within about a hundred meters of King Huainan before being repelled by a true disciple of the "Five Blades and Seven Weapons Sect".
After this battle, King Huainan's reputation plummeted, and the states in the rear became unstable. The Xuanfeng Black Army, which had conquered the seven Lei continents, also launched a series of attacks and gradually occupied the fertile Muqing, Qingfang, Huansha, and Liuleng continents. These four continents were the prefectures and counties occupied by the Wang family, a prominent family in Dongshan.
As the relative of King Huainan and his important supporter, the Wang family had to appeal to King Huainan for help. As a last resort, the 100,000 Qinghuan soldiers turned back and quickly rushed to Muqingzhou with the help of the large ships and boatmen of the "Panlong Society".
After that, about 500,000 Beifushan troops rolled like huge rocks, slowly crushing and pushing back the troops led by King Huainan step by step, until a fire broke out in the rear and the logistical supplies were burned to ashes by the disciples of the "Wild Fire Dark Moon Sect". Only then did they stop in Moshangzhou, facing the remaining 200,000 troops of King Huainan from afar.
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