Radical after a brief analysis

The Huai River Water Palace was dug out from the riverbed, but eventually sank back into the riverbed.

As the already unstable riverbank began to collapse during excavation, the area was buried again, making it difficult for ordinary people to access.

Those who were capable of opening the water palace lost interest.

The King of Jiangdu cursed almost the entire way, while the King of Huainan stroked his beard and pondered deeply.

A pearl the size of a fist was held in the palm of the King of Huainan. What would be a precious object to an ordinary person had lost some of its significance at this moment.

It wasn't until the King of Huainan noticed a tiny mark with lightning on the pearl that he snapped out of his daze.

"This is an item from the ancient Heavenly Court, not from the Immortal Court!"

The symbol of Heavenly Court is thunder, while the symbol of the Immortal Court is floating clouds.

The King of Huainan looked at the pearl with the inscription and seemed to be deep in thought.

When the Dragon King of the Huai River withdrew, he seemed to have left behind the treasures he had previously seized from the Heavenly Court's water palace.

This might not be a trap aimed at them, but rather an attempt to return the item to its rightful owner.

The fact that the dragon king of the Huai River returned the property after seizing the other party's water palace demonstrates his anxiety.

"The Immortal Court must have suffered a great calamity to force the Dragon King of the Huai River to back down and even leave behind the treasures he had previously seized!"

It may appear to be just a large pearl bearing the mark of the Heavenly Court, but upon closer examination, one can vaguely glimpse the rudimentary form of the power that existed at that time.

This situation may only be a microcosm of what happened at the time.

This situation likely persists to this day. Even though time has passed, the Dragon King of the Huai River has not returned, and the Heavenly Court has not sent a water god to the Huai River.

"The Immortal Court is in decline, and even the Heavenly Court seems to lack the strength to overcome it!"

When they returned to the walls of Shouchun, the King of Huainan had already finished organizing all the matters he had considered.

This judgment gave the King of Huainan a great sense of accomplishment.

The Great Han Dynasty always guarded against the Immortal Court, just as the Qin Dynasty steadily and surely consolidated its borders, guarding against the resurgence of the ancient Heavenly Court.

However, the Heavenly Court and the Immortal Court seem to have become tigers on paper, having long since lost the ability to control the Southern Jambudvipa Continent.

"If the King of Qin had acted more decisively back then, he might have been able to eradicate the Immortal Court and the Heavenly Court directly. What a pity!"

The King of Huainan pondered the events of a century ago, lamenting the oversights of the Qin King's unification and speculating on the reasons for the Emperor Qin's conservative approach.

Time has passed, and what has happened cannot be changed, but figuring out some things might yield some useful insights.

This could even allow the new emperor and his allies to focus their attention outward, rather than constantly eliminating internal threats.

"If Your Majesty could continue to wage war against the Xiong State and the Immortal Court, that would not be such a bad thing!"

Once the gazes fixed on him were removed, the King of Huainan felt he would even be willing to lend a helping hand rather than side with the conservative faction led by Cheng Bushi and others.

He sat in the carriage and looked at the King of Jiangdu, who was cursing and swearing inside.

Most martial artists are warlike, and there aren't many conservative martial artists like the King of Huainan and Cheng Bushi. The Prince of Jiangdu in front of us is a hawkish one who is eager to fight. No matter how capable he is, he never stops talking about killing the Xiong State.

"No matter how much the King of Jiangdu curses in Shouchun City, it will be to no avail. Why not direct your resentment at those wicked people of the Xiong State?" the King of Huainan said.

"Hey, if His Majesty leads the army to kill those wicked bastards who plunder cities and kill civilians, I, Liu Fei, will be the first to go into battle!" King Jiangdu said indignantly. "I don't know what you people are thinking. The more you read, the more afraid you become. If you ask me, let's do it! No matter how many or how few we kill, we can avenge the humiliation of our great-grandfather's Siege of Baideng."

"I'm not afraid of trouble, I'm only afraid that you won't beat me hard enough," the King of Huainan said, spreading his hands.

"Wasn't the beating severe enough?" King Jiangdu asked doubtfully. "What do you mean, not severe enough?"

"To cut the weeds, you must pull out the roots," the King of Huainan chuckled coldly. "If we cannot break through the secret realm of the Northern Kuru Continent and eliminate Zhu Jiuyin, Lu Ya, and Nine Spirits in one fell swoop before destroying the royal family of that Xiong State, then small-scale skirmishes are utterly meaningless!"

"Uh, your idea..."

The King of Jiangdu considered himself a proponent of war, his ideas were radical, and he was far stronger than the conservatives such as the Empress Dowager, the King of Huainan, and Cheng Bushi who were all subservient.

But after hearing the King of Huainan's words, he felt that his advocacy for war seemed too conservative.

Even General Li Guang, who had previously been stationed in the Northern Border and frequently launched attacks, did not have such thoughts.

"You used to make a ruckus, wanting war and revenge, but even if you win a few battles on the borders, it will be meaningless," said the King of Huainan. "Besides depleting the national treasury and our manpower, such battles, even if won, are useless, and will only reduce the number of elderly people in our already food-deficient Xiong State."

"Then we can't defeat powerful demons like Zhu Jiuyin, Lu Ya, and Nine Spirits," said King Jiangdu. "Even our great-grandfather couldn't defeat them back then, how can we!"

"Don't be afraid to die in war. If we're going to fight, let's fight a big one, until Northern Kuru Continent is destroyed!" said the King of Huainan. "If Your Majesty needs us, Huainan will provide all its manpower and resources to support you. I myself am even willing to don armor and charge into battle!"

"I can't quite accept your radicalism; your idea is too crazy!"

The King of Jiangdu opened his mouth and began to persuade the King of Huainan.

He had been cursing and swearing, feeling extremely unhappy, and his differing political views from those of the King of Huainan caused him considerable discomfort.

But the King of Jiangdu's resentment had subsided, and he felt that the King of Huainan was likely stimulated by the Water Palace and had become somewhat fanatical.

They were very radical, but they couldn't accept the King of Huainan's radical war plan.

He loved fighting, and he loved winning battles even more, but the King of Jiangdu felt he couldn't fight to that extent, and even considered attacking the stronghold of Zhu Jiuyin and his men in the Hundred Thousand Great Mountains.

"Calm down, let me analyze the current situation facing our Great Han Kingdom," King Jiangdu advised. "Our Great Han Dynasty..."

"Stop talking so much, just tell me if you're going to fight or not," said the King of Huainan. "Don't make me look down on you over this!"

"I... you... hey, calm down, let's talk again in a few days!"

The King of Jiangdu thought the King of Huainan had gone mad.

Of course, if the King of Huainan could calm down and discuss the matter with him, and then unite with the pro-war faction in Chang'an City, their pro-war forces would gain a significant advantage.

For Li Guang, the addition of the King of Huainan could be considered his greatest source of support at the moment.

"This is my stance: either we don't fight, or we beat them Northern Kuru Continent they'll be shitting themselves," said the King of Huainan.

"Calm down, calm down!"

"I am calm, and I am speaking to you seriously, King Jiangdu. Your subservient manner truly despises me. Have you forgotten the humiliation our ancestor suffered at the Siege of Baideng? He died young, and I now have evidence of the weakening of the Immortal Court and the Heavenly Court. Let me tell you..."

After a brief conversation, the King of Huainan practically transformed into a battle-crazed troll.

His words were completely different from his past attitude, which made the King of Jiangdu almost doubt his life. But when the King of Huainan explained the reasons for the complete conquest, he couldn't help but feel a little excited.

Seeing that even a war advocate like the King of Jiangdu was trying to persuade him to calm down, the King of Huainan felt a little smug.

He made his stance clear to the King of Jiangdu, which also convinced the King of Jiangdu to join his united front.

Once he persuades the King of Jiangdu, the King of Jiangdu will inevitably become his mouthpiece and hide him in the background.

To Li Guang and others, he was a fanatical radical hidden within the conservative faction.

However, to the Empress Dowager and others, he still belonged to the conservative faction.

As long as things proceeded according to his plan, the King of Huainan felt that everything would be fine.

If the new emperor is willing to launch an attack abroad, his attention will inevitably turn to external threats, which will prevent him and his allies from focusing their efforts on him.

Successfully conquering external threats would lead to an expansion of the Great Han's territory, which would reduce the influence of the Huainan region's practice of cultivating magical arts and occupying the imperial court's resources.

If the campaign against external threats fails, it will exacerbate internal problems within the Great Han Dynasty, leading to widespread internal strife.

At this point, the King of Huainan felt that whether the new emperor could target him was no longer important; he believed that many conservatives would push him to take control of Chang'an City.