The most crucial point was that they still had the Piercing Cloud Bow. If a Grandmaster used the Piercing Cloud Bow, there was a chance to kill the royalty's Grandmaster. Their advantage was immense.
With this thought, Lu Shuyun's lips curved slightly upward, and he couldn't help but think to himself, "My dear father, Emperor, you will soon regret letting me leave the Capital. You've occupied that position for so many years, it's about time you let me sit in it for a while."
Having finished discussing the Grandmaster, Lu Shuyun then began to arrange their tasks.
Although they had already assembled hundreds of thousands of troops, among these soldiers were many private armies belonging to various families. These private soldiers had not fully integrated and were basically fighting on their own.
Lu Shuyun had no intention of disrupting these soldiers and reorganizing them, because doing so would mean interfering with the interests of the Aristocratic Families.
He needed the help of these Aristocratic Families for the rebellion and didn't dare meddle with their interests at such a time.
Since it was not feasible to disband and reorganize the private armies of these Aristocratic Families, the only option was to assign them tasks.
Lu Shuyun, according to the current situation, assigned the private armies of the Aristocratic Families to some important counties in the north to defend against attacks from the imperial army.
At that moment, Lu Shuyun turned his head to Dongfang Yi and said, "Dongfang Family Master, your family has been in commerce for generations and owns many merchant ships, and your private soldiers are mostly adept at naval warfare. Therefore, the defense of the southeast coastal areas will be entrusted to you, lest the imperial army attacks from the sea."
Dongfang Yi immediately responded, "Please rest assured, Crown Prince, the Dongfang Family will surely hold the southeast coast and not allow any imperial soldiers to come ashore."
Upon hearing Dongfang Yi's words, Lu Shuyun felt very satisfied. However, he suddenly remembered something and then said, "By the way, I've heard that Longyue has run off to the North Country and has yet to return?"
Dongfang Yi sighed deeply and with a helpless expression, he said, "Your Highness, it's all my fault for not raising her properly from a young age, which has resulted in her becoming so willful. I've sent people several times to bring her back, but she has escaped every time. She's adamant about not returning home. Please forgive me, Your Highness.
After the war is over, I will make sure she is brought back to kowtow and apologise to you."
Lu Shuyun said, "That's alright, the South is about to go to war anyway, so it's fine for her to stay in the North Country for the time being."
Lu Shuyun brought up Dongfang Longyue primarily to remind Dongfang Yi that they were now in an alliance through marriage, so he wanted the Dongfang Family to wholeheartedly support him.
Dongfang Yi returned home.
As soon as he arrived, he was informed by the servants that the core members of the Dongfang Family had gathered in the council hall waiting for him.
Dongfang Yi then proceeded to the council hall.
At that moment, an elderly man with white hair was seated facing the entrance. As Dongfang Yi returned, the elder spoke up, "Yi'er, what are your plans moving forward?"
Hearing the elder's address, Dongfang Yi's lips twisted slightly, feeling somewhat discontented in his heart.
He was of such an age, yet the old man still insisted on calling him "Yi'er."
However, these were minor matters. Dongfang Yi then said, "The Crown Prince intends for our Dongfang Family to guard the southeast coast to prevent an attack from the imperial army by sea. I plan to take the opportunity, while defending the southeast coast, to send some family members to the North Country aboard our merchant ships."
Although the Dongfang Family was an inside agent for the Sum Emperor in the South, the uncertainties of war were great. Dongfang Yi didn't want to get too involved and planned to escape to the North Country and seek asylum with the Son of Destiny, the North Prince.
As for the war between the court and the Southern Aristocratic Families, they no longer needed to intervene.
The Dongfang Family had already secretly moved a number of elite soldiers to the southeast coast on behalf of the court. Assuming there were no major surprises, once the war started, the rebels would be caught in a pincer attack, and it was highly likely that Lu Shuyun and his forces would suffer a bitter defeat.
Whether the Aristocratic Families' Grandmaster in the South could turn the tide was uncertain; after all, the Sum Emperor had prepared for such a long time and would have been aware of the existence of a Grandmaster among the Aristocratic Families. Therefore, it was likely that he had long been ready to deal with the Grandmaster of the Aristocratic Families.
After hearing Dongfang Yi's plans, the patriarch Dongfang Qi stroked his white beard and then spoke, "With the Son of Destiny now revealed, we indeed should not continue to be involved in the conflict between the court and the Aristocratic Families."
They had initially chosen to cooperate with the Sum Emperor and side with the court mainly because they had their own mission.
Rebellion carried too many uncertainties. If they wanted to play it safe, they needed to hedge their bets.
Now that the Son of Destiny had appeared in the North Country, why should they bide their time any longer? They might as well flee to the North Country. What was the point of serving the court and the Southern Aristocratic Families anymore?
The Dongfang Clan was a commercial family, and the mission of a commercial family was to make money for the Son of Destiny. Staying in Sufeng City and meddling in the conflict between the court and the Southern Aristocratic Families would only delay fulfilling their family's mission.
Seeing that the patriarch had spoken, Dongfang Yi added, "Since you, father, have said so, then it's settled. We'll make the preparations. Once the battle up front breaks out, we'll take our merchant ships and head for the North Country by sea."
This was still the Land Power Era, and people did not pay much attention to the seas. Only the Dongfang Clan had built several large merchant ships. If they were to head for the North Country by sea, it was highly unlikely the Southern Aristocratic Families would notice, unless they were under constant surveillance by them.
However, the Brocade Guard of the North Country had already infiltrated the South, so the Dongfang Family would be able to receive advance notice of any movement by the Aristocratic Families through the Brocade Guard, so there was no need to worry too much about being discovered.
As for resupplying the merchant ships en route to the North, that was even less of a concern. The Dongfang Family had already reached an agreement with the Sum Emperor, and their ships could stop at ports governed by the court during their journey northward.