Chapter 1 "This, so this is Wang Jiang."

The Fifth Prince, Ji Chengwen, stood by the Wang Jiang River, gazing at what lay before him.

The rainy season and flood season hadn't arrived yet, but even so, the waters of the Wang Jiang were still mighty. Back then, the Yan people, the wildlings, and the Chu people fought two major battles around this river.

Including the time when prisoners were slaughtered, the Wang Jiang had been stained with blood three times in recent years.

However, nowadays, the banks of the river are lush with vegetation and aquatic plants. If one didn't deliberately dig into the muddy and soft ground to carefully search for broken blades and white bones, it would be impossible to associate it with the tragic scenes of the great battles of the past.

Ji Chengwen took a deep breath.

The Yan Emperor disliked leaving the capital. Since his ascension to the throne, his imperial carriage had basically never left the capital. The princes, apart from the Eldest Prince, who had always been raised in the army, and Little Sixth, who styled himself as a carefree prince and often ran errands and traveled around, indulging in frivolous pursuits, basically had no chance to go out and see the world.

Ji Chengwen also loved carpentry, and he was usually too lazy to even leave his house. This time, it was the farthest he had ever been in his life.

"The mighty Wang Jiang flows northward, its waves washing away the heroes of the past."

Ji Chengwen turned around, looked at the Earl of Pingye standing behind him, and smiled.

"I have always heard that the Earl of Pingye is not only a brilliant strategist in military affairs, but also that his poetry is astonishing."

"Poetry is just a minor art, enough to cultivate one's sentiments and serve as a pastime. There is no need to pursue it excessively, just like the Qian Kingdom. What good is it to be the best in literary style? Elegant and classic articles of morality cannot stop the trampling of iron hooves."

"The Earl of Pingye is right. Ultimately, a strong army is the most important thing for a country. A country without wings is like a pile of eggs. I am enlightened."

"What are you saying, Your Highness? In my opinion, what you are researching is also of great use to the country."

This wasn't Zheng Boye flattering him. In fact, Zheng Boye didn't need to flatter a prince again. He was already bound to Little Sixth. Stepping on several boats now wouldn't be wise, but foolish.

The truth was, Zheng Boye had seen the blueprints that Ji Chengwen had brought to Jin. The Blind Man had seen them too. Although San'er wasn't here, and neither were the people from Tianji Pavilion, they could still see some progressive elements in Ji Chengwen's blueprints based on some later experience.

Building Gundams was a joke, but some of Ji Chengwen's designs and ideas were indeed ahead of this era. His designs weren't just in carpentry, but also in forging and boilers. He had his own ideas.

The reason why he left the impression that he only liked carpentry was because, after all, he lived in a prince's residence. It wasn't possible to set up a boiler there and start experimenting, right?

A prince, starting a boiler in his own residence in the capital and forging things all day long with a clang, what was he trying to do?

Was he trying to rebel so hard that his brain was filled with molten iron?

Among them, what interested the Blind Man the most was that some of the blueprints showed things similar to Western magic array patterns.

Xue Hai Pass also had its own casting workshop, quite large in scale. Firstly, Xue Hai Pass itself had a huge demand for armor and weapons, and secondly, its support was essential for the development, construction, and production of many workshops.

San'er had discovered long ago that both the Yan and Jin craftsmen often deliberately carved some patterns inside and outside the furnace when building them, and inlaid some special materials in the patterns. They weren't considered precious, but they could be called rare. For example, there was a kind of powdered stone body, which the locals called gray crystal, which could only be found in the Tian Duan Mountains.

Xue San had brought the Blind Man to probe the patterns on the casting workshop's furnaces with mental power. The Blind Man's feedback was that when these furnaces encountered high temperatures, there would be an extremely weak energy fluctuation on the patterns, which, to a certain extent, did help improve the success rate of smelting.

There were Yan craftsmen and Jin craftsmen in Xue Hai Pass, who were collected with the help of Little Sixth. Through comparison, it could be found that the Yan craftsmen's smelting and forging technology was significantly stronger than that of the Jin craftsmen.

This was a case of losing in one area but gaining in another. The Yan people established their country at the eastern gateway and had been fighting with the barbarians since the beginning of their founding. The barbarians were located in the middle area of the two major civilizations of the East and the West, and unconsciously assumed the role of the "Arab merchants" of Zheng Boye's familiar time and space.

The Yan people admired black armor, and there was more to it than just reverence for the color "black."

Elite soldiers, coupled with sturdy armor and sharp blades, the Great Yan cavalry's invincibility in recent years actually had objective factors in it.

Xue Hai Pass had the foundation laid by San'er, plus the absorption of the Tianji Pavilion people, but it was still difficult to establish a completely self-sufficient supply of military equipment in a short period of time. When the imperial court transported money and food every year, there were actually still a lot of military equipment quotas.

Zheng Boye was also a perfectionist, fantasizing that in the future, his cavalry would all be armored, and not just leather armor, but sturdy armor and hard crossbows. This naturally meant extremely terrifying costs, but dreams were always a must.

If Ji Chengwen's identity wasn't inconvenient, Zheng Boye really wanted to knock him unconscious with a brick and take him back to Xue Hai Pass. He liked to stay at home, didn't he? He could let him be a technical otaku for the rest of his life.

Of course, this was just a thought.

Here, Zheng Boye's flattery made Ji Chengwen very happy. He certainly knew that there weren't many people in Great Yan who could make the Earl of Pingye flatter them, and he was clearly not one of them.

"Earl, we must part ways here."

"Yes." Zheng Boye nodded.

They had traveled fast, so the news from Yanjing City hadn't reached here yet.

So, they didn't know that a vengeful fire to attack Chu had begun to spread from the heart of Great Yan, Yanjing City, and was about to radiate throughout Great Yan.

A prince being assassinated by assassins from an enemy country was a great disgrace to the Yan people.

If the Third Prince hadn't died at a banquet, but on the battlefield, the Yan people might not have been so angry. Because in the Yan people's simple worldview, dying in battle was a kind of glory. If one's skills were inferior, one's soldiers were inferior, or one's strength was inferior, then dying in battle was dying in battle.

After all, a hundred years ago, the Ji family's descendants had fought in the desert one after another, and several emperors had died in battle.

But this kind of despicable method would only ignite the anger in the Yan people's hearts.

Furthermore, the Yan Emperor's trampling on the aristocratic families had indeed destroyed the vested interests of many people, but after the imperial court took over the fields that originally belonged to the aristocratic families, it distributed them to the local people to cultivate, which was considered a re-registration of land.

This kind of imperial manor-like approach would inevitably easily breed corruption, land annexation, and a series of other problems, but that was a matter of decades later. Just like the Blind Man had said, the Ming Taizu created a garrison system back then, and this system did play a great role at the beginning, but it was only abolished in the mid- and late-Ming Dynasty.

However, in any case, this approach did receive great support from the people. After a country had been at peace for a long time, such as the Yan Kingdom in the past, it was really better for the people to work as tenants for the aristocratic families than to cultivate their own fields. Because the aristocratic families controlled a large amount of land and population, the imperial court's ownership would inevitably decrease, and the land tax and corvée would naturally be greater, forming a vicious circle. But when the common people worked as tenants for the aristocratic families, they only paid a rent to the aristocratic families. This rent couldn't be low, but it was less than the imperial court's "exorbitant taxes," and they could also be exempted from corvée.

But the new fields had only been distributed for a few years, and anything at its beginning was bound to be relatively "pure." In addition, Little Sixth wasn't stupid enough to think about squeezing the common people, so the bottom people did get benefits. Therefore, trampling on the aristocratic families did offend a class, but it gained the support of the lower classes. In the eyes of the princes, their father, who was extremely terrifying and cold, was simply a benevolent emperor in the eyes of the common people.

At the same time, the continuous victories in foreign wars in recent years not only shifted the internal turmoil and a series of contradictions in the Yan Kingdom, but also greatly increased the Yan Emperor's personal prestige.

In the imperial court, the Yan Emperor's words carried great weight, and the imperial power was supreme.

Among the people, the Yan Emperor was simply a totem.

Did the assassin want to kill the Third Prince?

Who was the Third Prince?

The Third Prince, who had been imprisoned in the Lakeside Pavilion for several years, was like an actor who had retired behind the scenes. The common people had long forgotten him. They only knew that the despicable Chu slaves dared to use assassins to assassinate their wise emperor.

How could they tolerate this?

Zheng Boye, with the help of the Blind Man and other devils, had been carrying out a "god-making movement" in Shengle in the past and now in Xue Hai Pass, and the effect was remarkable. But the emperor was the master of this way.

The Son of Heaven, the Son of Heaven, the son of Heaven, shepherding the people on behalf of Heaven.

From a certain point of view, the Son of Heaven was in itself a "divine position."

Here, while Zheng Boye and Ji Chengwen were chatting by the Wang Jiang River, there, the Yan Kingdom's anger, from top to bottom, and from top to bottom again, began to operate with the Yan Emperor's decrees.

Within the Yan Kingdom, troops from all sides began to mobilize.

At the same time, a larger-scale conscription and corvée were also being carried out.

The Yan people had a tradition of being pioneers for the king and fighting the barbarians alongside the Ji family's Son of Heaven since ancient times.

Even if the aristocratic families were gone, the private soldiers belonging to the aristocratic families had long been dispersed, but this folk tradition had not been abandoned. Any family with male descendants for more than five generations, which family didn't have ancestral weapons or armor?

Even if the weapons had long been corroded and broken, even if the armor could no longer be worn, it meant that in the early years of the Great Yan, it was truly a case of everyone being a soldier.

Eight hundred years ago, the three marquises opened up the border under the command of the Great Xia Emperor, but the wildlings and the Shanyue people were not in the same league as the barbarians at all. Therefore, the Jin and Chu kingdoms were settled long ago. Although the Shanyue people in Chu often rebelled, they couldn't make any waves.

But it wasn't until the establishment of the Zhenbei Marquis Mansion a hundred years ago that the Yan people managed to suppress this terrifying neighbor.

That is to say, in the extremely long years, the Yan Kingdom was different from the Jin, Chu, and Qian kingdoms. The latter three were stable national systems in operation, while the Yan Kingdom was more like a war tribe like the barbarian royal court.

It was just that a hundred years of peace hadn't completely worn away the bloodthirst of their ancestors fighting with the barbarians in their bones.

The imperial court's decrees were extremely smooth, and the entire empire's central and bureaucratic system began to operate madly under the emperor's will.

At the same time, countless good families purchased armor, weapons, and horses on their own initiative to join the army. And good families had always been the best quality soldiers. Their numbers were huge. They first began to gather and register at the county offices in various places, and then went to the various prefectures and counties to converge, like streams converging into a river, and then transported to the places that needed them.

They would become supplementary soldiers for the army, and they would also serve as auxiliary soldiers on the battlefield, and training and integration would begin on the way to departure.

Corvée were even more numerous, because a national war would put enormous pressure on logistics, requiring a large amount of manpower and material resources to provide support for the front lines.

At the same time, the increase in taxes had also been carried out.

In the past, they were eating next year's grain this year, but now, they were really starting to collect taxes a few years in advance.

The major families and large households took the initiative to "destroy their homes to relieve the nation's difficulties." All those who could make a name for themselves had to disperse at least more than half of their family property and grain, otherwise their stance would be unswerving.

The vigorous preparations for the war had already begun in full swing.

It was said that Ji Laoliu had sat blankly in his Ministry of Revenue office for the entire afternoon, and no one could get him to respond.

Because Ji Laoliu, who was good at managing finances, was already clear in his heart that after this national war, the Great Yan's finances, which were already barely maintaining, would directly declare bankruptcy.

Not to mention the investment of so much money and food, the large-scale mobilization of young and middle-aged labor force, stripping them from their original production operations, would also create a deficit that would be an astronomical figure.

This battle could only be won and not lost.

If they won, they wouldn't ask to make up for the deficit, because it was impossible to make up for it at all. With such a large territory and so many people in Great Yan plus Jin, no matter how big the spoils of war against Chu were, it was impossible to rely on fighting to balance the books, and achieve a mode of not losing money and even making a profit, like the small place of Xue Hai Pass.

The Great Yan's national mobilization had already begun, and at the same time, the Yan Emperor's decree began to be issued into Jin.

The Great Yan imperial court, which had originally been "affectionate" to Jin, finally revealed the ferocious aura of a conqueror at this time.

The various Jin military camps began to allocate troops, and at the same time, they were allowed to expand. The Jin troops began to march towards the eastern Jin area.

The major cities and clans in Jin were assigned quotas separately.

The Yan court didn't discuss with you at all, and wouldn't consider your specific difficulties either.

You had to meet the set amount of money, food, manpower, and various material needs, otherwise it would be defying the imperial decree.

This approach had a kind of "Heaven and Earth are not benevolent, and treat all things as straw dogs" meaning.

This was a national war, and the meaning of a national war was to bet on the national fortune.

I did it, you do as you please.

As the saying goes, a son of a thousand gold doesn't sit in a dangerous hall. Those who wear shoes have a different mentality from those who are barefoot. Small wealthy families cherish this stability the most, while large wealthy families want to improve their family status in order to seek wealth for generations to come.

And the royal family, the emperor, had already reached a kind of peak.

Why do emperors like to seek immortality and ask about the Dao? Worship Buddha and worship gods?

Even the Qian Kingdom's official family liked to walk around in a Taoist robe in the greenhouse.

Could it be that they were really wholeheartedly devoted to the Dao? To Buddhism? To God?

No, it was nothing more than seeking to prolong their lives so that they could enjoy a few more years in this supreme position.

He is already the supreme Buddha in the world, so why seek the gate of a temple elsewhere?

It could only be said that the Yan Kingdom was an oddity.

The oddity itself wasn't the position where Zheng Boye and the seven devils awakened in this world, but in the Yan Kingdom.

Sometimes, Zheng Boye couldn't help but wonder, who were the devils?

Compared with those three, his side was really a bit embarrassing.

An emperor who directly delegated military power, treating his own flesh and blood, his own pillow person, as mere grass.

A Southern Marquis who exterminated his entire family, bloodwashing everything on the night when the entire clan was preparing to welcome the joyous occasion of being conferred a marquisate.

A Northern Marquis who sent his daughter away and whose son was still inexplicably alive, possessing the most powerful and most loyal military power of the Great Yan, but willingly gnawing sand in the desert.

These three people, living in the same country and standing together, was it the country's fortune or misfortune?

From the day of the West Gate's oath with swords, the decrees issued from the central government to the Great Yan to Jin were like snowflakes.

And among them, the two most eye-catching and most foundational decrees were:

Restoring Jingnan Marquis Tian Wujing's Jingnan Prince title.

Appointing the Jingnan Prince as the Grand Marshal for the conquest of Chu, commanding all the troops in Jin and about to enter Jin.

Granting the Emperor's Sword, Jin officials, from the prefect to the common people, regardless of Yan or Jin, could be beheaded without asking.

There was an even more concise decree:

During the conquest of Chu, from the Emperor to the common people, anyone who impeaches or criticizes the Jingnan Prince will be executed without mercy.

Yes, this decree, which clearly violated the system, was still issued from the central government under the Yan Emperor's strong push. In the decree, even the Emperor was regulated.

Zheng Boye had said to the Qian Kingdom's official family that he didn't know the military.

In fact, the Yan Emperor, who had never left the capital since his ascension to the throne and had never commanded troops, probably didn't know the military either.

But what the Yan Emperor did was to completely hand over military power and front-line battles to the commanding marshal.

He himself was willing to sit in the rear, suppressing the pressure and disharmonious voices from the rear, and at the same time, raising grain and troops for him.

………

Zheng Boye and the Fifth Prince separated by the Wang Jiang River. The Fifth Prince was going to Yingdu, and at the same time, he planned to lead a group of Yingdu officials who knew how to control water to personally check the river course.

Although he probably knew in his heart that the national war was about to begin, he probably wouldn't be able to repair the river works, but until the imperial decree arrived in Yingdu, he would have to continue to do his own thing.

And Zheng Boye continued to travel day and night, returning to Xue Hai Pass at the fastest speed.

Zheng Boye's pixiu mount was fine, but most of the guards around him were left behind on the way because of the horsepower problem, which showed Zheng Boye's determination to hurry.

It was indeed necessary to be resolute.

Zheng Boye returned to Xue Hai Pass at night.

After sending the exhausted princess back to the back house to rest, Zheng Boye immediately convened a military conference. All generals above the rank of participating general in Xue Hai Pass participated, and at the same time, three orders were issued:

First, all standard households and soldiers inside and outside Xue Hai Pass were to withdraw from production and gather for war.

Second, control domestic demand and carry out wartime storage.

Third, all workshops and Tianji Pavilion were to start building siege weapons with all their strength.

After these three orders were issued, the faces of the generals present all showed shock, followed by ecstasy!

A big battle was about to be fought, not against the snowfield, but against the Chu Kingdom.

The reason was simple. What were you building siege weapons for if you were fighting the snowfield tribes?

Were there cities on the snowfield for you to attack?

There were indeed two or three castles outside Xue Hai Pass that were built by the Dacheng Kingdom in the past, but the wild tribes had long withdrawn from those castles. No one dared to occupy them, and Xue Hai Pass was too lazy to send people there to garrison because of insufficient troops and a series of other reasons.

And even if their own marquis wanted to rebel, it was impossible. First, their own marquis had just returned from the capital after receiving an award. Second, if their own marquis wanted to rebel, he shouldn't be actively building siege weapons, but should be guarding against the Jingnan Marquis leading a large army to attack Xue Hai Pass.

Therefore, they were bound to fight the Chu Kingdom, and a real attack!

Zheng Boye, who was covered in dust and whose mouth was a little chapped, sat at the head and looked down at the generals below.

He said, "Please, everyone, help me get the title of marquis!"

……

The Jiangnan region of the Qian Kingdom was known for its cultural gatherings. The poems, songs, and courtesan romances there seemed to have dyed the Jiangnan wind with a layer of scholarly atmosphere.

And the Chu Kingdom's Yingdu was known for its romance. The early summer was the time when it was neither too cold nor too hot, which was the season when the Chu celebrities were the most unrestrained and indulgent.

Outside Yingdu was a river called Mi River. It was said to be a river, but it was actually a river.

According to legend, when the Chu Marquis was looking for a site to build the capital, a fire phoenix fell into this river, as if searching for some kind of spiritual essence, hence the name.

One grand event after another unfolded along the Mi River outside Yingdu.

There were songs and dances, silk and bamboo music, scholars, calligraphy, painting, chess, and even wrestling, beast fighting, and so on.

Most of the great nobles in Chu had direct descendants living or serving as officials in Yingdu, so everyone's recreational activities were extremely rich.

The banks of the Mi River were truly lively. According to common sense, the Chu Emperor would also come here in disguise to enjoy himself with the people and the nobles. The previous Chu Emperor had even personally won the championship in the Mi River's wrestling arena by defeating five strongmen in a row, which was a legend.

Even those who didn't like this kind of excitement could choose to be light and indulgent.

For example, every time this season came, there would always be Chu people walking barefoot by the Mi River. The Chu people believed that the water of the Mi River could be loved by the fire phoenix, so it was naturally pure and could wash away the dust and bad luck on their bodies.

This year, because the Yan army in Jin suddenly oppressed Zhennanguan in the first half of the year, the atmosphere in Yingdu was tense for several months. Now that the war had receded, retaliatory revelry had appeared. The people of Yingdu wanted to use a more enjoyable way to make up for their regrets in the first half of the year.

A flower boat floated on the Mi River.

There were four people sitting on the flower boat.

The leader was a very young youth, in the stage of just transforming from a child but still retaining some childishness. However, his status was noble. He was the Eighth Prince of Chu, and also the Regent's most beloved younger brother.

Sitting on his left was Zhao Cha, a member of the Zhao family.

Sitting on his right was Si Kang. When the previous Emperor was in power, his father, Si Jian, was promoted from a servant, thus becoming rich.

However, because General Nian Yao was so prominent, those who had become rich from being servants were often mentioned Nian Yao, but before Nian Yao, the Si family was always mentioned.

Sitting opposite the Eighth Prince was Jing Renli.

The Zhao and Jing families, plus the Qu family, were the oldest great nobles in Chu history. They had served by the Chu Marquis's side when the Chu Marquis opened up the border.

There was an official position in the Chu Kingdom called the Sanlu Grand Master, whose job was to preside over the ancestral temple sacrifices and manage the education of the children of the Qu, Jing, and Zhao families, which showed the prominent status of these three families in the Great Chu.

"Brother Renli, didn't you see Sister Liqing in Xue Hai Pass?"

The Eighth Prince asked with a smile.

Jing Renli was recommended by Nian Yao. It was said that he had once faced the infamous Yan Marquis alone late at night. With this achievement, he was summoned by the Regent and later sent to Xue Hai Pass in a private capacity to deliver a dowry to the princess.

In fact, the Chu royal family sending a dowry to Xue Hai Pass and the Yan Emperor treating the Great Chu princess with great respect and letting her stay in the palace were the same thing. Although Yan and Chu were enemy countries, in the eyes of the Ji family, the only two families that could be on par with their own in history and status were those two.

The Yu family was no longer considered, leaving only the Xiong family.

The Chu royal family sending a dowry was not bowing their heads and admitting to being inferior, but the rules were like this, and it was a matter of face.

Jing Renli immediately answered carefully, "Replying to Your Highness, Zheng Fan and the princess are not in Xue Hai Pass. They have gone to the Yan Kingdom's capital."

"Oh, they went to Yanjing. Hehe, they are taking my imperial sister to show off their merits, alas."

Zhao Cha smiled and said, "The Yan people are uncouth and barbaric, with a heavy fishy smell. They like to do this kind of thing the most."

This was comparing the Yan people to poor relatives who had never seen the world and were eager to show off as soon as they had something good.

Then, Zhao Cha said again, "However, the princess's matter is really hard to say."

Because everyone present knew the inside story and knew that when the Qu family got married, it was the princess who took the initiative to leave with the Yan Marquis, and not that the Yan Marquis had kidnapped the princess as the rumors said.

The Eighth Prince shook his head and said, "Don't mention this matter again."

It was okay to joke and ridicule the Qu family in private, but there were four families present today, so there was no need to leave this handle.

Just then, a larger flower boat appeared in front of them. Because there were stages built on both sides of the river, the already narrow Mi River inevitably seemed a little cramped, so the flower boat where the Eighth Prince and others were had to stop.

A burly man appeared on the other flower boat and shouted arrogantly at them, "Hurry up and get out of the way!"

The Eighth Prince smiled "hehe," and Zhao Cha also sipped his lips calmly. Si Kang and Jing Renli immediately stood up. The Eighth Prince and Zhao Cha were of noble birth, so they could naturally be reserved.

But Si Kang and Jing Renli, one was from a newly rising family, and the other was from a family that was just beginning to emerge, so they naturally had to act as subordinates and come forward.

Si Kang scolded, "Where did you blind slaves come from? Don't you look at the calendar when you go out?"

Jing Renli then shouted, "Slap yourself thirty times, otherwise, I will cut off your tongue today!"

The burly man on the opposite flower boat immediately scolded, "Presumptuous, do you know who my master is? How dare you speak like this? If you don't know what's good for you, I will immediately overturn your boat and let the water of this Mi River wash you clean!"

At this time, a young man walked out from behind the burly man, looked down, and said, "I was wondering who it was who dared to block my sister-in-law's boat, but looking at them, they are all quite handsome. Okay, I like it. Today, I will give you a chance to wash your back doors clean and let me pick them, giving you a bright future!"

As soon as these dirty words came out, the Eighth Prince's face immediately darkened.

Zhao Cha, who had been waiting calmly, suddenly stood up.

The Eighth Prince picked up his wine glass, took a sip, and said with some doubt, "Which family's people are so ignorant of the rules?"

Yingdu, as the capital of the Great Chu, was naturally a place of hidden dragons and crouching tigers. There were countless children of high-ranking officials and nobles.

But those good-for-nothing people who only knew how to cause trouble for their families outside were, after all, a minority among the minority.

It was even more foolish for people to go out and fight for jealousy or make trouble over some small matters, and then report their families to compete in family status face-to-face.

When the children of wealthy families went out, they first looked at each other's clothes. The Chu people liked long gowns, loved to wear fluttering sashes, and also loved jade and various accessories. These details could show the depth of the other party's family background.

Then they looked at their followers, and then at their temperament.

If there were signs of conflict, and the two sides looked like they were about to fight, they would basically subconsciously suppress their anger and let themselves or the people around them inquire in a roundabout way.

If the family backgrounds were similar, then there was nothing to say. They would retreat separately, giving each other a way out. They were just out for entertainment, and no one could afford to bring back an enemy of equal standing to their family.

If the family backgrounds were very different and they had kicked an iron plate, then those who should admit defeat would admit defeat immediately, giving enough face. The higher-ranking person would also not argue with you for the sake of demeanor. In the Chu Kingdom, the measure of an elegant person was a noble standard of self-cultivation.

Like the people on the opposite flower boat, who were arrogant from the beginning and then uttered dirty words, tsk tsk, it was really not often seen.

The Eighth Prince, as the "Imperial Younger Brother," would be granted the title of prince as soon as the Regent ascended the throne. Counting the Zhao and Jing family children around him, who in this Great Chu dared to be so arrogant and despotic towards them?

Zhao Cha said coldly, "May I ask, what family do you belong to?"

The young master patted his chest and said, "The Liao family."

"The Liao family?"

Everyone present looked at each other and didn't know where the Liao family came from. In their impression, there was no such surname among the Chu nobles.

Could it be that a small noble bumpkin from a remote place had entered Yingdu for the first time?

The young master saw the reaction of the people on the flower boat below, and didn't seem surprised or angry.

Instead, he said proudly, "My sister-in-law is the current Great General!"

Great General was an official position in Chu.

When Zhao Cha heard this, he wasn't angry. He sat down, picked up his wine glass, and started drinking.

As a member of the Zhao family, he wasn't afraid of Nian Yao. To be frank, Nian Yao was indeed more prominent than Si Jian back then, but the Si family had been established for so long and was still cautious and careful. Nian Yao was interesting. How many years had he been up, and his family members were so arrogant?

But Zhao Cha wasn't convenient to say anything, because Nian Yao was from the Regent's household, that is, a slave of the Xiong imperial family. He wasn't convenient to say anything.

If you want to beat a dog, the owner must do it.

The Eighth Prince's eyes showed a hint of coldness.

He said, "Let that dog slave Nian Yao roll down to see me!"

The burly man on the opposite flower boat was stunned, and the young master was also stunned. No matter how stupid they were, they knew that the other party dared to say these words after they had reported their sister-in-law's family, so they were either fools or really had something to rely on.

The former was unlikely.

The young master immediately turned around to call his sister-in-law.

After a short while, Nian Yao, dressed in casual clothes, walked to the deck and immediately pursed his lips after seeing everyone on the flower boat below, especially after seeing the Eighth Prince. He directly bent down,

"Poof!"

Because Nian Yao's flower boat was higher than the Eighth Prince's, he rolled down and continued to roll forward, rolling all the way to the Eighth Prince's presence.

He said flatteringly, "This servant pays his respects to the Eighth Prince."

This really confirmed what the Eighth Prince had said earlier, to let Nian Yao roll over to see him!

Nian Yao had done this, but the Eighth Prince couldn't say anything. He knew that his fourth brother valued this house slave. Although he had temporarily transferred him back from Zhennanguan, he would obviously be of great use in the future.

Earlier, he had only said that in a fit of anger.

Now that Nian Yao had given enough face to his master, the Eighth Prince immediately said, "I didn't expect it to be General Nian. Come, get up and have a drink."

"This servant dares not. Your masters are having a good time here, and this servant has disturbed your elegant mood. This servant is terrified. This servant's identity is humble, so how dare I drink with you masters at the same table?"

Zhao Cha smiled "hehe."

Si Kang's face also showed a smile. His family and the Nian family were both from slave origins, but his family had always been careful and cautious. But seeing the Nian family being so arrogant, he was happy to see them get a lesson today.

"General Nian, please get up quickly, please drink..."

At this time, a man in a Fire Phoenix Scorching Cloud uniform flew over from the opposite side of the Mi River. His toes touched the water surface each time and then bounced up immediately. It was really good footwork!

And the identity of this person was obvious at a glance from his clothes: the Phoenix Nest Inner Guard!

Like the Silver Armored Guards of the Qian Kingdom, the Phoenix Nest was also a branch of the Chu royal family's imperial guards, but it was later separated and became a special affairs office.

So, they also had official uniforms and government offices.

After the person landed on the flower boat, his eyes quickly scanned the entire field.

When he saw the Eighth Prince, he was stunned for a moment.

But he immediately knelt down on one knee to Nian Yao, who was kneeling on the ground with his butt sticking out high, and saluted, "General, the Regent has ordered you to enter the palace immediately to meet the Emperor!"

The Eighth Prince recognized the messenger in front of him as a close attendant of his fourth brother, the Phoenix Nest Inner Guard. Since his fourth brother had let him out to call people, it was obvious that something big had happened.

So, the Eighth Prince immediately asked, "Has something happened?"

This Phoenix Nest Inner Guard didn't hide anything and answered directly, "Replying to Your Highness, the Yan territory's Phoenix Nest Inner Star has just sent a message in the night. The Yan Emperor has issued a clear edict to launch a national war against our Great Chu."

When the Eighth Prince heard this, he was immediately stunned for a moment.

The Yan Kingdom, the Emperor, launching a national war against Chu?

Not the Yan Marquis doing it as a show in the first half of the year, but the whole country!

The Eighth Prince took a deep breath.

In his memory, the memories of Yupan City attacked again.

That day, if the sword maker hadn't taken him away quickly, he might have become a lonely soul by the Wang Jiang River, unable to escape.

He licked his lips, trying to keep himself calm.

At the same time, he raised his wine glass and said to Nian Yao:

"Since it is a matter of state, General Nian, drink this cup and then quickly go see..."

Before the Eighth Prince could speak, Nian Yao had already gotten up.

He took the initiative to reach out and take the wine glass from the Eighth Prince's hand.

He drank it all in one gulp.

He said, "Well, I'll go now."