Yinshan Record

Chapter 461 Outwardly Harmonious but Inwardly Disharmonious: Who is Wei Hu? (Part 1)

The crown prince didn't pay attention to what the two were talking about.

The Xie clan of Chenjun and the Wang clan of Langya were both large and prosperous families that could easily produce ten daughters, let alone one. They could pick up any type of girl, regardless of their size or figure.

Besides their own strength, these powerful families are also adept at weaving such a vast network, where they fight each other but never break apart, and at the same time form a united force. They have long been intertwined with each other, creating a situation where each is intertwined with the other.

Sometimes, when the Crown Prince woke up in the middle of the night, he would ask himself if he were to take action to wipe out the Wang and Xie families now, even the Yu family of Yingchuan and the Su family of Duling would probably not agree.

Because the connections between powerful families were already very deep, and the court had no other power to rely on if it bypassed them.

Bailudong might have been an option in the past, but that's no longer a possibility.

If the Su family of Duling is willing to form a marriage alliance with the Wang and Xie families, then so be it. However, the Crown Prince is well aware that the Duke Su clearly understands his own position with the Su family.

In fact, the military figures of Yongliang, led by Wei Huaiwen and Su Gui, had always maintained a considerable distance from the Wang and Xie families.

The thunderous sound of hooves, the clanging of armor plates, the fluttering of banners, and the palpable aura of killing intent.

The dark clouds surged in like a cold tide. When Su Gui, who was leading the way, was about fifty paces away from the Crown Prince, he dismounted. This "Old Su," who was famous throughout the north and south, was wearing ordinary iron armor and a lion-headed helmet. He slowly moved forward, holding the reins.

His face was clean and beardless, but there was an undisguised weariness in his eyes.

In this mission to receive Wei Huaiwen as he traveled south, Su Gui had already exhausted much of his strength after repeated duels with masters from the Northern Dynasties.

Even though he is a rare fourth-rank martial arts master, he is now exhausted both physically and mentally.

"Wei minister pays homage to His Highness the Crown Prince."

Su Che gave a slight bow to the large number of princes, but did not actually perform a formal salute.

The representatives of the Wang and Xie families, as well as the court officials standing behind the crown prince, did not take offense.

There is an unwritten rule in the Northern and Southern Dynasties that anyone who has reached the fourth rank in cultivation is entitled to the privilege of not having to bow when entering the court, not having to mention their name when praising, and not having to kneel when seeing the emperor.

Because those who walk the path of the Void are already immortals who can ascend to the realms beyond, and the rules of the imperial court cannot be used to deal with immortals.

Of course, these rules only came into being after the end of the Middle Ages and the subsequent chaos in the world.

Back when the world was unified, only immortal beings were entitled to enjoy such prestige.

All rules are a reflection of strength.

In some small western countries, even a fifth-grade elixir is enough for the ruler to treat the immortal as an honored guest. Some rulers even offer their harems as concubines to entertain the immortals who set foot in their country.

However, the mysteries involved are not for outsiders to know.

"Thank you for your hard work, Mr. Su."

The Crown Prince stepped forward and asked, "How many victories did you achieve on this northward journey?"

"Yuwen Rui is an outstanding man of his generation, and his Taoist skills have improved. He is probably only one step away from achieving immortality. The Prince of Zhongshan, Dugu Sheng and others have also entered the fourth rank. The Northern Dynasty has accumulated strength and is not to be underestimated."

Su Gui shook his head: "This time, on the northward expedition, we killed twelve people from the Northern Dynasty who had attained the elixir of immortality. As for the losses of our dynasty, please let Commander Wei tell His Highness himself."

The crown prince remained silent upon hearing this.

The root cause of this Northern Expedition lies in the southward advance of the Northern Dynasties. The Great Liang Dynasty was essentially on the defensive, but the protracted war also drained its national strength. Ordinary people refer to a fifth-rank cultivator as a "pillar of the nation" because a fifth-rank cultivator, when placed in a local area, already wields the power to suppress a region.

Now the Northern Dynasty has lost twelve Dan cultivators, but what price has the Great Liang paid?
The Crown Prince believed that wasting such precious resources on conquest was nothing more than a scheme employed by Yuwen Rui.

The more Rejuvenating Pills are lost on both the North and South, the more it highlights the rarity and scarcity of experts like him at the Void Step level. On the Liang side, this can subtly raise Old Su's status, but on the North side, it will solidify Yuwen Rui's unshakeable position.

However, according to Su Gong, in this fierce battle, Yuan Ying, the Prince of Zhongshan, and Dugu Sheng, the General Who Guards the East, have both reached the fourth rank. The Northern Dynasty has indeed risen to prominence, which is certainly not a good thing for the Great Liang.

However, if such a person could divert Yuwen Rui's momentum and increase the pressure on the Grand Tutor in the court, the entire Liang Dynasty would probably be happy to see it happen.

The Crown Prince was well aware that the biggest hidden danger between the North and the South lay with this Grand Tutor Yuwen.

If he were to break through to the realm of immortality, he could potentially rewrite the entire political landscape between the North and the South.

Seemingly noticing the worry in the Crown Prince's eyes, Su Gui smiled gently.

"However, this time it is a great victory for our dynasty. Your Highness, please relax. We will meet force with force and water with water. No matter how strong the Northern Dynasty is, there will always be people like us to hold your halberds for Your Highness."

The Crown Prince was originally a magnanimous person, and when he heard Su Gui say this, he smiled.

Not bad.

In the end, the Great Liang emerged victorious in this battle.

Wang Xu and Xie Buyi, who were standing behind the Crown Prince, exchanged a glance and both saw a complicated look in each other's eyes.

The main person to be welcomed in the suburbs was Wei Huaiwen, but Su Gui was walking at the front.

This was tantamount to the crown prince leading all the officials to welcome him outside the city.

Given Lao Su's tactful and principled nature, he would never make such a mistake.

Both of these are foxes that have lost all their fur, so one can't help but start to speculate.

Could there be some other unexpected event?
The sounds of horns and war drums grew louder, and a group of people approached from the distant horizon, carrying banners bearing the name "Wei Hu." Their heavy feet pounded the ground, causing the bluestone bricks to groan softly.

This group of people were almost entirely infantrymen, each wearing several layers of thick armor. Their weapons were all heavy weapons such as large hammers and heavy axes. Each of them was almost as tall as a staff, and their thick bodies exuded a demonic aura.

When these foot soldiers mingled together, the demonic energy almost solidified into a tangible form.

These foot soldiers were clearly demons who had achieved great cultivation. Their heads still retained their animal forms, and iron chains could even be seen wrapped around their bodies. Almost every one of them had a crimson talisman imprinted on their face.

This large force was the elite troops that Wei Huaiwen had gathered from various places. Xuanhu Kaishandu, if you look closely, many of these demons were captured from Xuanshan by the Liang Dynasty's secret police, Jingyesi and other government agencies. They were then trained using secret techniques to become such a fearless elite force.

Wei Huaiwen fought in the north and south, and this demon army truly made outstanding contributions.

Of course, this also explains, to some extent, the Liang Dynasty's tolerance of the Xuanshan demons.

Because Xuanshan is an excellent source of soldiers.

Wei Huaiwen was dressed in a scholar's robe, wearing a legal hat, and a jade hairpin was inserted in his gray hair. He gently waved the round fan in his hand, stood up on the palanquin, and bowed to the Crown Prince from afar.

"This old minister has not rendered any service and dares not accept Your Highness's welcome outside the city."

(End of this chapter)