What Shajia truly cared about was Redwood River. After Redwood River fell into Hu Xiaotian's hands, they set their sights on the Southern Yue Kingdom. Over the past year, they had encroached on and swallowed up nearly a third of its territory. Although Southern Yue had long had an alliance pact with Li Tianheng of Western Sichuan, Li Tianheng had focused solely on seeking a breakthrough in the northeast. After his crushing defeat at Yunyang, he could barely fend for himself, much less spare any energy for Southern Yue. Now Southern Yue's territory was steadily shrinking, and the kingdom stood on the brink of destruction.
Hu Xiaotian had heard about the situation there long ago. In a sense, the Shajia people resembled Black Hu: both harbored great ambitions and yearned to rule the Central Plains one day. However, the greatest obstacle to Black Hu's southward invasion was the powerful Great Yong, whereas the greatest challenge facing the Shajia people was the treacherous terrain of mountains and forests. Even if they conquered Southern Yue, they would still have to cross those mountain ranges, peak piled upon peak, before entering the Central Plains.
Heldan laughed at Hu Xiaotian's question. "However fine the Central Plains may be, they can't compare with my homeland. The moon is brighter in one's hometown! Never mind anything else-even this damp climate of yours is more than I can bear."
Hu Xiaotian smiled. "When I arrived at your camp earlier, I almost thought I'd come to the great grasslands."
Heldan said, "You call this great? Once you've been to our Sky-Covering Grassland, you'll know what a true grassland is. What you have here is nothing more than a pasture."
Hu Xiaotian said, "If the Central Plains are so unpleasant, why do so many people want to lead armies