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

A month later, the Northern Kingdom's forces had completed their assembly, and Mu Changtian's 200,000-strong army was heading straight for Heyang County, while Wei Siyuan's navy was also ready to march south.

Lu Chen also handed over all the political affairs of the Northern Kingdom to Zhuge Chongguang, and then marched south with the 200,000-strong army led by Xuan Yuanchen.

On the first night of his journey south, Lu Chen hosted a family banquet, and his women and children all came to Fengyun Palace.

The Fengyun Palace is actually quite large. Even when all of Lu Chen's wives, concubines, and children appeared in the Fengyun Palace, there was still a lot of empty space.

Of course, even so, they would no longer eat dinner together. Although Fengyun Courtyard was large enough, there were too many people in the Prince's Mansion, and one table was clearly not enough to accommodate them all.

When Lu Chen held family banquets, he always adopted a separate serving system, with the food placed in front of each of his wives and concubines, and they were quite separated.

After glancing at his wives and concubines in the main hall, Lu Chen's gaze fell on Chu Yuqin. He looked at Chu Yuqin and said, "Aunt Chu, after I leave, the safety of the Prince's Mansion will be in your hands."

Chu Yuqin said, "Yes, I will take good care of the entire Prince's mansion."

Lu Chen's gaze then fell on Wu Yunwan. He looked at her with a smile and said, "Princess, I would like to trouble you to look after my family for me."

"I will definitely repay you properly when I get back."

Hearing Lu Chen's words, Wu Yunwan glanced at him with a hint of sadness. She was now, after all, this guy's woman, yet he still referred to himself as the eldest princess at the family banquet. Did he not consider her a member of the royal family?

Wu Junwan said calmly, "If the Prince's residence is in danger, I will take action."

Upon hearing Wu Yunwan's reply, Lu Chen smiled and said to the women in the hall, "Yunwan and the Grand Scholar have both entered the Dao Integration stage and are about to become Celestial beings. I believe that with the two of them here, no enemy will be so foolish as to provoke the Northern Prince's Mansion."

"However, you should still be careful. After I leave Yancheng, you should try not to go out. Even if you do go out, take more people with you, or only stay in places where the Grand Secretary can come in a short time."

Mu Zixuan said, "Your Highness, please rest assured, we will try our best not to leave the palace and wait for Your Highness's victorious return."

At this moment, Chu Yuqin thought of something and said, "Chen'er, you're probably not coming back for a while after this trip south. Why don't you take Xiaobai with you?"

Lu Chen thought for a moment, then said, "Okay."

At this point, Lu Chen looked at Bai Qingqing, who was sitting in the corner and had almost no presence, and said, "Xiao Bai, you'll come south with me this time."

"Yes, Your Highness."

Although Bai Qingqing spoke without expression, she was actually very happy inside. She was somewhat glad that she didn't have any children, so she could stay by Lu Chen's side and take care of him, while Lu Chen's other wives and concubines could only wait for Lu Chen to return to the Northern Prince's Mansion.

Sitting in another corner, Xue Linglong felt a little strange seeing the peaceful scene in the main hall. Although she had also come to the family banquet, she felt out of place as a demonic witch from the Demonic Sect.

Just then, Wang Qingci whispered to her, "Sister Xue, you're also going south with the Prince, right?"

Seeing that Wang Qingci took the initiative to talk to her, Xue Linglong breathed a sigh of relief. Before, no one had spoken to her, and she had always felt excluded and isolated.

Xue Linglong then said, "Yes, the prince wants me to go south with him."

Wang Qingci said with a smile, "I really envy Sister Xue. She can take care of the Prince at all times and be favored by him."

Hearing this, Xue Linglong chuckled and then said, "If Sister Wang is envious, why don't you speak to the Prince and ask him to take you south as well?"

Wang Qingci said, "My sister still has a child and needs to take care of the child at the Northern Prince's residence, so she can't go south with the prince."

While Wang Qingci and Xue Linglong were talking, Lu Chen's other wives and concubines were also chatting amongst themselves, making the hall incredibly lively.

Seeing this lively scene, Yun Xianxian felt very uncomfortable.

Inside this main hall, apart from the maids and servants of the Northern Prince's Mansion, everyone else is Lu Chen's wife, concubine, or children, all of whom have very close relationships with Lu Chen. However, I am merely this guy's master.

She felt a little strange about having her master attend Lu Chen's family banquet.

She hadn't originally planned to come. For a cultivator like her, the desire for food was no longer important; she could go without food for days without any problem.

However, Chen Wanrong insisted on bringing her along, saying that Lu Chen might have something important to say later. But when they arrived, she only saw Lu Chen and his wives and concubines talking about love, and he didn't say anything important.

Yun Xianxian strongly suspected that Lu Chen, this wicked disciple, might have included her in his harem as well.

Although she felt uncomfortable, Yun Xianxian didn't say anything. At this moment, Mu Zixuan suddenly said to Yun Xianxian, "Senior Yun, I entrust the prince's safety to you."

Upon hearing Mu Zixuan's words, Yun Xianxian coldly replied, "Lu Chen is my personal disciple, and I will naturally not allow him to be harmed. Your Highness need not worry."

Mu Zixuan said, "Then I will thank Senior Yun in advance."

Yun Xianxian didn't reply and continued drinking the white wine brewed by the Prince's Mansion.

After the dinner party ends.

The women looked at Lu Chen, wondering what his plans were for tonight, since he was leaving early tomorrow morning.

Lu Chen glanced at them and said with a smile, "Aunt Chu, why don't you stay at Fengyun Palace tonight? I have something to talk to you about."

Lu Chen had already taken good care of his wives and concubines a few days ago, and he had visited each of them.

He only had one night tonight, and he had to head south early tomorrow morning, so he couldn't leave all his wives and concubines in the Fengyun Palace.

Upon hearing Lu Chen's words, a slight blush appeared on the beautiful woman Chu Yuqin's face. "Okay, I understand."

Afterwards, the women began to leave Fengyun Courtyard one after another, leaving only Mu Zixuan and Chu Yuqin.

Lu Chen first took a simple bath with Mu Zixuan and Chu Yuqin. Then, Lu Chen grabbed Chu Yuqin and got down to business. Chu Yuqin was a little helpless. It was she who suggested that Lu Chen have two wives and concubines take care of him every night.

But every time Lu Chen dragged her to do bad things with other women, she always felt incredibly ashamed.

However, Lu Chen's focus tonight wasn't on doing bad things with Chu Yuqin. After finishing his business, Lu Chen had a good chat with Chu Yuqin and Mu Zixuan about the things the Northern Prince's Mansion should pay attention to after he left.

They talked until dawn.

As the first rays of morning sunlight streamed into the room, Lu Chen realized it was time for him to leave.

When he left the capital, he made up his mind that he would return to the capital one day, and now it was time to realize his dream.

Lu Chen released Chu Yuqin from his arms, then got up and walked towards the bath. Chu Yuqin and Mu Zixuan quickly got up as well. The two women personally bathed Lu Chen and then dressed him in a black royal robe with gold trim.

After getting dressed, Lu Chen looked at Chu Yuqin and Mu Zixuan and said, "Aunt Chu, my beloved concubine, I'm entrusting the Prince's mansion to you."

The two women said in unison, "Your Highness (Chen'er), please take care on your journey. We await your early return!"

Lu Chen smiled slightly, said nothing more, and then walked towards the door.

When Lu Chen arrived at the gate of the Prince's Mansion, his wives and concubines were already waiting for him there.

At this moment, the women came to Lu Chen, their faces showing reluctance to part. None of them knew how long it would take for Lu Chen to return after going south.

Lu Chen glanced at his wives and concubines, a smile appearing on his face. He had been in this world for almost twenty years, and he never expected to have such a happy family.

If it were his past life, he certainly wouldn't have all of this now.

Regardless of the system's purpose in binding itself to him, at least he has already enjoyed it.

Thank you, world. Thank you, system.

After bidding farewell to his wives and concubines, Lu Chen entered the carriage and headed to the train station platform.

They will travel south by train to Anping City, where they will assemble their army and launch a war to annihilate the Qi Kingdom.

For the next period of time, Lu Chen will stay in Anping City until the obstacles to his southward advance are completely removed, at which point he will lead his troops straight to the capital to defend the emperor.

The autumn wind was chilly. After boarding the southbound train, Lu Chen saw nothing but withered yellow leaves through the window. The leaves were dancing in the wind, and Lu Chen was filled with emotion.

When he was studying on Earth, he was always reading other people's history. He never imagined that one day he would become a person who would create history.

I hope things will go smoothly this time.

Once he seizes the throne, unifying the world will be half the battle won, and destroying the major dynasties will not be so difficult afterward.

……

Qi State, capital.

Prince Qi's Mansion.

Qi Wanglu and Tai hosted a banquet to entertain the heads of prominent families within the Qi Kingdom.

At this moment, King Qi looked at the glass in his hand and said, "The Northern King is eyeing the Northern Kingdom covetously, and has even published a proclamation against the traitor in the newspaper. Judging from his appearance, it will probably not be long before he leads his troops south."

"Everyone, think carefully about what we should do next?"

Upon hearing Prince Qi's words, the people in the hall looked at each other without saying a word, and the entire hall became extremely quiet for a moment.

At this moment, a family head said, "Putting everything else aside, just looking at what the Northern King has done in the Northern Kingdom, we cannot allow him to ascend the throne."

"Once he ascends the throne, not to mention the reduction of the power of the feudal lords, he will definitely take back all the land. In the future, only he will own the land, and we will all be his slaves."

Upon hearing this, another family head chimed in, "That's right. No matter what, we must assist the imperial court in blocking the Northern King and absolutely cannot allow him to advance south."

Prince Qi swirled the wine in his cup, then said calmly, "The Great Wu's hundreds of thousands of troops have been wiped out by the Northern Kingdom. Do you, the heads of the various clans, truly believe that I have the strength to stop the Northern Kingdom's army?"

At this moment, a family head hurriedly said, "Your Majesty, please rest assured. In order to deal with this crisis, our noble families will definitely work together. Whether Your Majesty needs soldiers or food, our noble families will provide it."

Upon hearing this, Prince Qi smiled and said, "With everyone's help, I am relieved."

"However, I am still a little worried about the mysterious weapons of the Northern Kingdom. When the Northern King helped the Crown Prince attack Heyang County, he conquered the entire Heyang County in a very short time."

At this moment, the current head of the Wang family stepped forward and said, "Your Majesty, please rest assured. In order to resist the Northern King's southward invasion, our Wang family is willing to hand over the Cloud-Piercing Bow and Cloud-Piercing Arrows to the Qi Kingdom. With the Cloud-Piercing Bow and Cloud-Piercing Arrows, I believe Your Majesty's soldiers will surely be able to defeat the Northern King!"

After the Jiangnan aristocratic families were destroyed, some of the aristocratic families who escaped from Sufeng City came to Qi State and were accepted by the King of Qi.

Although the Jiangnan aristocratic families have lost their former glory, they still control a considerable amount of resources. When they fled, the Wang family took with them a number of cloud-piercing bows and arrows.

The Cloud Piercing Bow is capable of easily killing a Grandmaster. Prince Qi has always wanted it, but the Wang family has never brought it out because they are wary of Prince Qi.

However, the Wang family is helpless this time. If the Northern King goes south, the Wang family will probably never have any hope of rising again. Compared to the Xia Emperor, the Northern King is even more terrifying to the aristocratic families.

The Xia Emperor only destroyed a portion of the aristocratic families, but the Northern King's actions made it impossible for the vast majority of them to continue to survive, and they would have no choice but to rely on the Northern King from now on.

Upon hearing the head of the Wang family say that he would bring out the Cloud Piercing Bow, Prince Qi was overjoyed. He immediately downed the wine in his cup and said, "Please rest assured, everyone, as long as I live, I will never allow the Northern King to march south."

Prince Qi thought to himself, with the court's 200,000 troops, plus the 100,000 troops he had secretly expanded before, and the 50,000 soldiers he already had, that would amount to 400,000 soldiers.

If they relied on the terrain and city defenses, it would be virtually impossible for the 200,000-strong army led by the Northern King to march south.

Thinking of this, Prince Qi revealed a confident smile.

He also knew that he could not confront the Northern King head-on, after all, the Northern King's army had defeated the Great Wu.

However, victory in war does not depend entirely on the army's combat strength. The Qi Kingdom is located in the transition zone between plains and mountains, with many mountains. Some mountains are natural barriers, and some cities are located between mountain passes, making them very suitable for blocking the enemy.

King Qi believed that as long as he did not launch an attack and devoted all his strength to defense, with the help of the court's 200,000 troops, it would not be easy for the Northern King to advance even one step.

Just as King Qi was thinking this, a soldier rushed into the hall, shouting, "Your Majesty, the northern army is attacking!"

Upon hearing this, Prince Qi's face instantly darkened.

"So fast?"

He immediately asked, "Where is the imperial army now?"

The soldier immediately replied, "The imperial army has arrived at Ziyang City."

After a moment of contemplation, King Qi immediately ended the banquet and ordered all the military generals of Qi to be summoned. (End of Chapter)