A family of loyal martyrs, starting with nine wives to continue the family line.

As Han Dashan pressed the dagger into his palm, blood dripped into the copper bowl through his fingers.

No one spoke inside the tent.

Seven royal banners stood on either side of the main tent, bearing the names of Black Mountain, Red Blade, Iron Ridge, Hedong, Azure Dragon, Baiyue, Haidong, and White Deer. Yet, none of the people sitting there truly took the phrase "to live and die together" seriously.

Han Dashan knew.

Old Zhou knew.

Liu Suan knew even better.

The so-called blood oath alliance, to put it bluntly, is just a group of people who were about to be driven to their deaths by Wei Zhao forcing themselves to tie their necks together.

The rope may look thick, but when the knife actually comes down, everyone wants to push the other person out to block it.

But we can't not get married now.

The Golden City was not destroyed.

Du Heng is almost gone too.

If Emperor Wei Zhao, the one in white, were to swallow up Huainan, the salt route, water fortresses, and shipyards would all fall into the hands of Xin Wu.

By then, it's hard to say whether the Eighth Prince will still be called the Eighth Prince.

Han Dashan dripped the blood into the bowl and glanced at everyone.

"From this day forward, all kings shall advance and retreat together."

Qin Lie's envoy first cut off his palm.

"The Iron Ridge Army of Liangzhou recognizes King Han as their leader."

Ma Chengyi's men followed.

"The righteous army of Hedong obeys the covenant."

Xu Zhongmou's men smiled gently, and their knife cuts were shallow.

"The Jingxiang Qinglong Camp is willing to join forces with the kings to resist the new Wu."

Feng Wanjun, Sun Qing, and Xue Feng also bled in turn.

When it was Zhou Laodao's turn, he picked up the dagger and paused for a moment.

Han Dashan looked at him, his eyes narrowing.

Old Zhou grinned, and the blade sliced ​​open his palm, the blood dripping into the bowl—more than anyone else's.

"The Crimson Blade Army accepts the alliance."

These four words were squeezed out from between his teeth, sounding less like an alliance and more like holding a grudge.

Han Dashan felt a sense of satisfaction.

He felt great, but he wasn't stupid enough to actually believe that Old Zhou had given in.

Zhou Laodao, that mad dog, bowed his head today because he couldn't bite Wei Zhao and didn't want to be crushed to death on the spot by the princes.

Given the chance, he will definitely retaliate.

So we have to be quick.

Before these people start plotting against each other again, we need to take action against Wei Zhao first.

Liu Suan picked up the copper bowl, circled the tent once, and finally presented it to Han Dashan.

"Alliance Leader, please."

Han Dashan glanced at him.

That Taoist priest really knows how to behave.

He called him "Alliance Leader" more naturally than anyone else, which made the faces of those in the tent even uglier.

it is good.

The uglier the better.

Han Dashan picked up the copper bowl and took a sip. The bloody taste made him want to frown, but he held back and instead burst into laughter.

"Very well! From this day forward, anyone who dares to harbor ulterior motives or retreat in the face of battle will be executed by all the kings!"

Everyone inside the tent raised their bowls at the same time.

"To be punished together!"

The voices were in unison.

The hearts are not united.

Liu Suan stood to the side, watching this scene, but there was no smile on his lips.

This is enough.

He doesn't need them to be truly united.

All he needed was for them not to break up for the next three days.

Liu Suan walked to the military map and stretched out his hand to connect Huainan, Huangjincheng, and Heifengling into a line.

"Du Heng won't last more than three days."

Upon hearing this, the envoy from the Huai River Alliance turned pale.

Han Dashan didn't scold him.

He knew it was the truth.

Du Heng is a good-for-nothing. He's a bit skilled on water, but on land he's just a piece of easy prey.

With Wei Zhao personally carrying out the operation, it's uncertain whether they can even survive a day, let alone three days.

Liu Suan continued, "After Wei Zhao conquers Huainan, he will surely return with his troops."

Old Zhou sneered.

"Isn't he not going back to Golden City? His son and wife are both in the capital, but he hasn't come back."

Liu Suan glanced at him.

"At that time, Golden City could be defended. Huo Qingluan was on the city wall, and Li Huai was in the capital. Of course, Wei Zhao dared not to return."

His fingertip pointed to Huainan.

"But things will be different after we take Huainan. We have already won our first military victory in Xinwu, we have already secured the salt route, and we have lost Du Heng. If Wei Zhao does not return, it will be tantamount to leaving the Golden City and the capital exposed to the armies of the princes for a long time."

Han Dashan understood.

Wei Zhao did not turn back because he wanted to establish the prestige of the military merit system.

Now that Huainan has fallen, his authority has been established, and he has eaten the meat, he should turn around and pull out the knife at his own doorstep.

This is their only chance.

Han Dashan stroked his chin and said in a gruff voice, "You mean, we're giving up on Golden City?"

The eyelids of the people inside the tent twitched.

give up.

Everyone wants to say those two words, but no one dares to.

After a month-long siege and so many deaths, the final word to give up would be seen as a defeat.

Liu Suan nodded directly.

"Give up the city of gold."

Old Zhou scoffed.

"Master Tianlong, you're quite the smooth talker. One minute you're talking about a strategic shift, the next you're saying you're abandoning the Golden City. You think you can salvage your reputation just by changing the words?"

Liu Suan was not annoyed.

"His reputation wasn't salvaged by words, it was salvaged by Wei Zhao's life."

There was a moment of silence in the tent.

Han Dashan's fingers stopped.

He liked hearing that.

I love listening to this.

It would be shameful to fail to take down Golden City, but if we could kill Wei Zhao at Black Wind Ridge, then all the casualties in Golden City over the past month could be renamed.

It's not called a defeat.

It's called luring the enemy.

Liu Suan stuck a wooden stick into Black Wind Ridge.

"The entire army will break camp tonight and withdraw from Golden City. Instead of taking the main road, we will split into three groups and head south. The Black Mountain Army will be in the center, the Red Blade Army and the Iron Ridge Army will be in the front, and the Hedong, Qinglong, Baiyue, Haidong, and Bailu armies will be on the left and right flanks."

Old Zhou's eyes immediately turned cold.

He could tell.

The forces that clashed head-on with Wei Zhao were the Red Blade Army and the Iron Ridge Army.

Han Dashan sat in the central army.

They won. Han Dashan is the leader of the alliance, the future ruler of the world.

If he loses, Zhou Laodao will be the first to die.

Qin Lie's envoy also frowned, but did not speak.

Tieling Jun is stable and best suited to be a striker; this is hard to refute.

It may be suitable, but who would be the first to try and take advantage of Wei Zhao?

Han Dashan slammed his fist on the table.

"good!"

……

That night, the anti-king coalition broke camp.

Campfires were extinguished one by one, supply wagons went first, wounded soldiers were roughly shoved onto carts, and the dead were thrown directly into pits.

The Black Mountain Army's supervisory team brandished their swords and urged them on, while the Red Blade Army cursed and dismantled their camp. The Iron Ridge Army was the quietest, standing in rows and packing up their supplies, as if they had been waiting for this military order.

The million-strong allied army retreated from outside the city of gold like a tide.

On the city wall, Huo Qingluan stood behind the crenellations, watching the flags move southward one by one in the distance.

The garrison commander lowered his voice and said, "Madam, they really have withdrawn."

Huo Qingluan didn't smile very obviously; she simply tapped her fingertip lightly on the city brick.

"They withdrew as expected."

The garrison commander was taken aback.

"Did Madam foresee this?"

"It wasn't me."

Huo Qingluan looked south, her eyes calm.

"His Majesty said before sending troops to Huainan that if Golden City could be held, the Eighth Prince would not dare to continue to waste time. They would either scatter or move to another place to wait for him."

The commander's throat moved.

"Did His Majesty also anticipate that they would set an ambush?"

Huo Qingluan did not answer immediately.

Of course she knew.

When Wei Zhao looked at the map, his finger stopped at Black Wind Ridge twice.

twice.

Others might not notice, but she could.

That wasn't just a casual press; it meant the path was already etched into his mind.

Han Dashan thought he was gaining a time advantage.

Liu Suan thought he had seen Wei Zhao's route of retreat.

But what they didn't know was that Wei Zhao's most frightening trait wasn't his fighting skills, but his willingness to expose his weaknesses, making the enemy think he was easy to bully.

Then wait for someone to put their hand in.

Cut it off.

……

Among the southward-bound army.

Old Zhou sat on his horse, his face darker than the night.

The confidant leaned closer and whispered, "Your Highness, Liu's plan sounds brilliant, but the more I think about it, the more something seems off."

Old Zhou didn't look at him.

"What's wrong?"

His confidant gritted his teeth.

"We are the ones fighting Wei Zhao head-on. Han Dashan sits in the center of the army drinking tea. If we win, he will become the leader of the alliance. If we lose... our Red Blade Army will be the scapegoats."

The confidant's voice was even lower.

"What should we do then?"

A cold glint flashed in Zhou Laodao's eyes, but he did not answer.