The situation in the Central Plains was treacherous and ever-changing.
The Northern Lands belonged to Jiang Mian's newly risen Yan Kingdom. Its troops were strong and its horses robust, ever ready to march south and unite the realm.
Meanwhile, forces great and small stood everywhere across the south. Minor warlords and feudal lords might possess only a single city, while the greater lords could contend with the Yan Kingdom for the realm. The strongest were Southern Wu and Southern Chu. Though their state titles sounded steeped in heritage, carrying the lingering air of ancient dynasties, in truth they had little to do with those ancient courts that had vanished thousands or tens of thousands of years ago.
Southern Wu lay in the southeastern coastal region, a rich land of fish and rice. Its many powerful clans possessed vast fortunes and never lacked military pay.
Southern Chu, however, lay close to the Southern Wilderness and was not particularly wealthy. Many Aristocratic Clans had ambiguous ties with the Nine Li. Though military pay was insufficient, its people were fierce and hardy, daring to fight and charge. Southern Wu had fought them several times and never gained the slightest advantage.
When picking persimmons, one picked the soft ones. Jiang Mian set his sights on prosperous Southern Wu...
Southern Wu's soldiers were few and of mediocre fighting strength. After seeking aid from the various sects and being met with closed doors, the King of Wu furiously cursed those sects for taking money without doing any work. In ordinary times, all manner of tribute and resources were sent up their mountains. Yet when trouble truly came, they dismissed him with a single line: cultivators must not interfere in worldly affairs. If cultivators must not interfere in worldly affairs, then why did they go into the