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

When the people of Prince Qi's mansion returned to their residence, they were all terrified. Now that Prince Qi was dead, their patron was gone, and they had become prisoners. According to custom, all the people in Prince Qi's mansion would likely be executed.

While the people of Prince Qi's mansion were panicking, there were others who were even more terrified: the aristocratic families within the city.

Although Xuan Yuan Chen seemed to have let them go, it was only temporary.

Once Xuan Yuan Chen has investigated the relationship between the aristocratic families in their city and the Qi Prince's Mansion, he will likely take action against these families.

Therefore, they absolutely cannot sit idly by and wait to die.

Of course, they did not intend to confront the Northern soldiers head-on. After all, the Northern army possessed such terrifying weapons that even the hundreds of thousands of troops of the Qi Kingdom had been defeated by them. Their private soldiers from these aristocratic families were simply no match for the Northern army.

The best course of action now is to find a way to escape the capital.

Now that the powerful clans have all submitted to the Northern King, the Northern army may lower its guard.

The heads of the major families all had the same idea. They quickly made contact in secret and began to formulate an escape plan.

The major families are located in different parts of the capital. If they take any action, the commotion will be enormous, and they will not be able to gather together in a short time. However, it is precisely because they are located in different parts of the capital that they have the opportunity to escape.

If they fled in one direction, they might be surrounded and wiped out by the Union army.

If they escape through the various city gates, they can distract the Union army and increase their chances of escaping.

After deciding to escape, Han Fu immediately had his family pack their belongings and tried to contact the captured soldiers.

A few days later, one night, the most bustling red-light district in the capital of Qi was engulfed in flames, drawing almost everyone's attention to the red-light district.

Several teams headed straight for the four city gates—east, west, south, and north—following their pre-planned routes.

Although these aristocratic families did not have any Grandmasters, they did have Grandmaster-level experts. Just when they thought they could rely on Grandmasters to break through the city gates, the weapons used by the Northern Army quickly shattered their illusions.

Before the grandmasters from the various noble families could even get close to the soldiers guarding the city gates, they were riddled with bullets by the muskets of the northern soldiers.

However, there's always a chance of something going wrong.

Because of a huge gap in the north gate, many members of the Han family, under the cover of their private soldiers, managed to escape through that gap.

When Xuan Yuan Chen learned that someone had actually escaped, he was not angry at all; instead, he smiled.

If the powerful families don't run away, it will be harder for him to make a move. Since they've taken the initiative to cause trouble, they shouldn't blame him.

Xuan Yuanchen then ordered the messenger to fire a signal flare, and a huge firework burst open in the dark night. Immediately afterwards, the cavalry, who had been prepared, set out.

The night passed quickly.

The major families in the capital of Qi Kingdom thus became history.

News of the fall of the capital of Qi Kingdom quickly spread to all the major powers and also reached the imperial court.

The capital city of the Great Xia Dynasty.

Inside the imperial study, Emperor Xia frowned as he looked at the intelligence report in his hand.

Although he had anticipated that the destruction of the Qi Kingdom was inevitable, he did not expect that day to come so soon.

Is that rebellious son's weapon really that terrifying?

The hundreds of thousands of soldiers from Qi State, plus the two hundred thousand soldiers from the imperial court, did nothing to stop that rebellious son's southward advance. At their current pace, it probably won't be long before he reaches the capital.

At this moment, the candlelight in the room suddenly flickered, as if two gusts of wind had blown into the imperial study.

The next moment, Yu Changqing and Fu Hongchou appeared in the imperial study.

The Xia Emperor said unhappily, "Although we have cooperated, it does not mean that you can do whatever you want in my palace and go wherever you want."

Yu Changqing ignored the Xia Emperor's words and stroked his beard, saying, "Your Majesty must already know about the destruction of the Qi Kingdom, right?"

The Xia Emperor said, "So what if I know?"

Yu Changqing continued, "We have confirmed through our spies that the former palace master and the current palace master of Xuan Yue Palace have traveled south with the Northern King. At their current pace, they should be able to reach the capital in less than three months. We should also make preparations."

The Xia Emperor said calmly, "I have already made preparations."

Fu Hongchou asked from the side, "Since Your Majesty says that preparations have been made, then to whom does Your Majesty intend to entrust that divine weapon?"

Upon hearing this, Emperor Xia frowned immediately.

After a moment of silence, he swept his sharp gaze over Yu Changqing and Fu Hongchou. "What, are you two interested in that divine weapon?"

Emperor Xia suddenly realized that the two men were after that divine weapon; otherwise, why would they have come to ask about it?

Seeing that the Xia Emperor had misunderstood, Yu Changqing smiled and said, "Your Majesty may not know, but a divine weapon of such power is not something that ordinary people can use."

"You mentioned before that one of your soldiers accidentally activated a divine weapon, and as a result, that soldier suffered a backlash and died on the spot."

"If such a dangerous divine weapon is not entrusted to a reliable person, not to mention whether it will backfire on the user, it is questionable whether it can even hit the old palace master of Xuan Yue Palace."

Upon hearing Yu Changqing's words, Emperor Xia fell into deep thought; this was indeed a problem.

He had been thinking for a long time about who should use this weapon. If he gave it to someone else, what if that person suddenly betrayed him during battle? Wouldn't he end up being killed by that divine weapon instead?

However, that divine weapon was too sinister. Every time he saw it actively absorbing the blood of martial artists, he felt extremely uneasy.

Such a bizarre weapon... if I were to use it myself, what if it backfired...?

After much deliberation, Emperor Xia said, "I will personally use this divine weapon, so there's no need for you two to worry."

Upon hearing Emperor Xia's words, Yu Changqing laughed and said, "Your Majesty has great courage!"

"Since His Majesty has decided to use this divine weapon personally, we will not say any more."

……

City in the Clouds.

Lu Yi's temporary residence.

Inside the courtyard of the mansion, the military officers remained silent.

Nobody knows what to do now.

Many people present initially joined Lu Yi's team mainly because of the Northern King's support for Lu Yi. Now, the Northern King has led his troops south under the guise of serving the emperor.

Moreover, they destroyed the Qi Kingdom in such a short time. They are not fools; they can all see what the Northern King is trying to do by going south.

This is clearly a plot to seize the throne!

Although Lu Yi seems to be surrounded by a lot of powerful forces, these people all have ulterior motives and are not sincere towards him.

Many of them were already thinking of leaving Lu Yi's group and going to join the Northern King.

Lu Yi also lacked confidence in himself. The thought of those mysterious weapons from the North sent chills down his spine. The scene of Xuan Yuan Chen leading his troops to attack Heyang County was deeply etched in Lu Yi's mind.

Even now, he still dreams of being blown to pieces by cannons from the North when he sleeps at night.

Just then, exciting news suddenly came from outside the courtyard, "Your Highness, Your Highness, good news!!!"

Everyone in the courtyard immediately looked towards the courtyard gate, where a soldier rushed in from outside.

Lu Yi asked with a stern face, "What good news?"

Lu Yi didn't think there could be any good news for him right now.

The soldier ran into the courtyard, panting, and said, "We found something that can explode like the iron ball from the North!" (End of Chapter)