Having many children brings many blessings; the struggle for power begins with marriage.

Chapter 317 Time to Show Off Our Muscles

Since Lu Chen dared to speak out, he was naturally not afraid of what consequences this news would bring, after all, there really was a Celestial Realm expert in the Northern Kingdom.

Now, more and more people have the opportunity to break through to the Celestial Realm. It is obvious that Zhuge Chongguang's matter can no longer be kept secret. Someone in the Great Xia Imperial Palace has started the Path of Dao Integration, and the ancestors of Sifang Mountain and Dingfeng Mountain have also started the Path of Dao Integration. As long as they are not fools, they cannot possibly not guess what Zhuge Chongguang's current situation is.

Continuing to hide it will only deceive our own people.

Lu Chen said that Zhuge Chongguang's breakthrough to the Celestial Realm was a strategic deception of potential enemies, not a deception of his own people.

Now that Zhuge Chongguang's secrets are about to be exposed, there's nothing left to hide.

After hearing Lu Chen's words, it took the officials in the hall a long time to come to their senses.

Without a Celestial Realm expert in charge, the Northern Kingdom would have no way to deter the Great Xia, or the vassal kings within its borders. It might not be long before a civil war breaks out in the Great Xia.

Moreover, the northern kingdom is also likely to fall into crisis.

During this period, other dynasties have realized the potential threat that the Northern Kingdom might pose in the future. The main reason why those dynasties have not dared to do anything to the Northern Kingdom is that they believe that the Northern Kingdom has a Celestial Realm expert in charge.

If they knew that there were no Celestial Realm experts in the Northern Kingdom, they would probably immediately think of eliminating this huge threat.

At this moment, Li Rui stepped forward and said, "Your Highness, this matter must not be known to people of other dynasties, especially the Great Wu Dynasty."

Lu Chen said calmly, "It can't be hidden anymore. Now that Grandmasters who have embarked on the path of Dao Integration have appeared in Dingfeng Mountain and Sifang Mountain, other dynasties will eventually realize that the Northern Kingdom is bluffing."

"Instead of thinking about how to continue hiding it, it's better to prepare for the trouble that may come next."

Upon hearing this, Zhuge Chongguang, who was seated in front of the officials, said, "Your Highness is right. There is indeed no need to continue to conceal the fact that this old minister has not broken through to the Celestial Realm."

"If we continue to conceal it, some forces will think that the current power in the North is weak and can only rely on lies to intimidate other forces."

In Zhuge Chongguang's view, the Northern Kingdom had already passed its most difficult period. The reason they tried to imply that Zhuge Chongguang had broken through to the Celestial Realm was mainly because they were worried that after the Xia Emperor dealt with the aristocratic families, he would immediately send his army north to attack the Northern Kingdom. At that time, the Northern Kingdom was not ready to go to war with the court, so they had no choice but to use this method to intimidate the Xia Dynasty.

Now, the various vassal kings within the Great Xia Dynasty are restless, and the struggle for the throne has reached a fever pitch. If the Xia Emperor wants to attack the Northern Kingdom, he must first appease the other vassal kings within the Great Xia Dynasty, and then suppress the struggle for the throne.

With so many matters to attend to, Emperor Xia had no time to concern himself with the Northern Kingdom. As for whether other dynasties would attack the Northern Kingdom at this time, Zhuge Chongguang was not worried at all.

On the contrary, Zhuge Chongguang believed that during the period when Emperor Xia Teng did not take action to deal with the Northern Kingdom, the Northern Kingdom should have one or two clashes with potential hostile forces.

Only by truly unsheathing our swords can we let the enemy know just how strong the Northern Kingdom really is.

The North is developing so rapidly that it can no longer hide its strength. It is impossible to continue to live in seclusion. Therefore, the best way is to flex its muscles and demonstrate its power.

Furthermore, even if he fails to break through to the Celestial Realm, the Northern Kingdom has a Celestial Realm expert in charge, so there is no need to worry that the Northern Kingdom is no match for those hostile forces.

After hearing Zhuge Chongguang's words, Lu Chen pondered for a moment. At this moment, Mu Changtian also stepped forward and said, "Your Highness, I think what the Grand Scholar said makes a lot of sense. The Great Wu Dynasty had already planned to join forces with the Great Yue to deal with the Great Xia. Once the Great Wu learns that the Northern Kingdom does not have a Celestial Realm expert in charge, they may take the initiative to attack the Northern Kingdom, wanting to destroy it directly and prevent the Northern Kingdom from growing up in the future and threatening the Great Wu."

"Even if we don't initiate a war, Da Wu is very likely to do so. In that case, let's prepare in advance."

Mu Changtian represents the soldiers who joined the army from the Northern Kingdom later. These soldiers were eager to make a name for themselves and to achieve military merit, so they were the most supportive of launching the war.

The army is now divided into two factions: one is the soldiers summoned by the system, who firmly support all of Lu Chen's decisions; the other is the radical faction represented by Mu Changtian.

Upon hearing that the Grand Scholar Zhuge Chongguang was going to war, Mu Changtian was the happiest, because only in this way could their value be proven and their army's combat effectiveness be verified.

They used to be on the defensive, and for them, defending was much easier than taking the initiative to attack.

Although they had defeated the Tianqi King's army last time, in the eyes of Mu Changtian's soldiers, their true fighting strength had not been fully utilized, so they longed for another war to break out in the Northern Kingdom.

Lu Chen was obviously aware of this situation, but he was not worried about what consequences these soldiers would cause in the future. Soldiers in an army must be passionate and have a majority of hawks. If the soldiers in an army are all doves, what kind of war can they fight?

Lu Chen then said, "Starting today, the Northern Kingdom will enter a state of alert, and the border troops will be on high alert regarding the situation on the borders of Dayue and Dawu."

"If Da Wu and Da Yue are going to launch a military campaign against the Northern Kingdom, then we should indeed flex our muscles as well."

Upon hearing about Lu Chen's image, the pro-war faction in the main hall became extremely excited.

After the small court assembly, Lu Chen returned to his study and summoned all the generals of the Northern Kingdom to his study to make further military deployments.

By the time the military meeting ended, it was already noon.

At this moment, the maid who was guarding the door entered the study and said to Lu Chen, "Your Highness, Miss Murong has been here."

Hearing this, Lu Chen was taken aback for a moment, then asked, "Where is she now?"

The maid replied, "Miss Murong has already returned. She said she would visit you again when you have time, but she sent word that she will be returning to Dayue to report for duty in a few days."

Lu Chen thought to himself, it seems that Murong Xue'er came to say goodbye and also to try to get some information from him.

Thinking of this, Lu Chen immediately said, "Have someone go to the Dayue Mansion and tell Miss Murong that I am free this afternoon. If possible, please let her come to see me this afternoon."

The maidservant replied, "Yes, Your Highness."

As soon as she finished speaking, the maid turned and left.

Lu Chen didn't linger in the study any longer; it was already noon, time for lunch.

in the afternoon.

The Oriental Daily News published an article about martial arts realms, which for the first time introduced the Grandmaster Supreme Realm, a realm below the Celestial Realm and above the Grandmaster.

The news that Zhuge Chongguang had not broken through to the Celestial Realm spread instantly throughout Yancheng. Only then did people realize that the Eastern News Agency and the official newspaper of the Northern Kingdom had played a trick on them.

Both newspapers reported that Zhuge Chongguang had broken through, but neither said that he had reached the Celestial Realm. As a result, people now realize that there is a Grandmaster Supreme Realm above the Grandmaster. People suddenly feel like they have been fooled.

(End of this chapter)