Zhao Yishan's personally written lecture manuscript was the last straw that crushed the countless civil officials in the south.
What left the Qi Kingdom's generals most helpless was that East Ding had committed no offenses whatsoever along the way. Even when ambushed by the Court Army, it remained extraordinarily restrained.
Although East Ding's generals were already dissatisfied, Crown Prince Hou Duzhou of East Ding forcefully suppressed them. Every general who tried to escalate the conflict with Qi was stripped of office and sent back to East Ding.
The Court Army secretly fanned the flames and repeatedly employed guerrilla tactics, yet they could do nothing against East Ding's great army.
The situation on the Dingnan Prince's Army side was even worse than East Ding's.
Because the Dingnan Prince's Army consisted of Qi Kingdom's own people, it encountered no obstruction on its northward march. Local officials everywhere surrendered their authority one after another.
In wartime, the Dingnan Prince had that authority.
Thus, the entire line west of the capital had been completely sealed off by the Dingnan Army.
To the south was East Ding, to the west the Dingnan Army, and to the north the Idle Prince Army occupying Heaven Gate Pass.
At this point, Divine Capital had been completely isolated.
Intelligence reports flew in one after another. Forces loyal to the court everywhere made their moves, but before the three colossal entities of East Ding, the Dingnan Prince's Army, and the Idle Prince Army, they were like clay chickens and porcelain dogs—unable to withstand a single blow.
What left the court generals most helpless was that Fate Arts Masters were everywhere within those three armies.
Before Fate Arts Masters, the court's armies were like shorn lambs, laid bare at a glance.
No matter what tactics, strategies, schemes, or tricks the court