Family Cultivation: My entire family are Villains-Chapter 744 - 331: Plotting Nanjiang

"Gentlemen, you all know about the gift that Leiyin Temple sent us, right?"

What needed to be discussed today, Hou Yuxiao had already shared with Hou Yuduan, allowing him to speak first. It was nothing more than to explain the situation to everyone, but after Hou Yuduan stood up, he didn't directly address the matter. Instead, he opened with a question.

The fact that Leiyin Temple had sent a gift was not only hot gossip within the Hou Clan, but as the wedding banquet concluded, the news was bound to spread throughout Hexi, becoming common knowledge. The people gathered there were taken aback yesterday—a battle at Longxiang Ferry had left Leiyin Temple humiliated, and Hou Yuxiao's wedding would have gone well enough if they hadn't come to make trouble. Instead, they surprisingly presented a gift of considerable value, the Spiritual Artifact known as the Buddha Light Screen.

No matter how one thought about it, the matter seemed bizarre.

"Family Head, may I ask if Leiyin Temple has recently faced any significant upheaval?"

In today's Hou Clan, there were no shortage of clever individuals.

Leader Duan of the Pingtian Gate was one of them.

The games played between great powers were naturally hard to see through for most people, but Duan Hong was different. Having served as the leader of Pingtian Gate for many years, though he had now joined the Hou Clan, his vision and outlook remained intact.

In this world, for someone to put aside their prejudices and actively seek favor with an enemy, there are generally only two scenarios: One is when the enemy is too strong, and the other is when they themselves are facing a problem and seek reconciliation first.

Leiyin Temple was well aware of Hou Yuxiao's marriage alliance, and if it were because of the Ziqing Holy Sect, they would have sought to make peace earlier. Given that there hasn't been any other significant change within the Hou Clan recently, there was only one possible explanation:

Leiyin Temple must be having troubles.

"Leader Duan, truly formidable!"

Hou Yuduan's praise confirmed Duan Hong's deduction, and joy immediately appeared on the faces of those below.

For Hexi, currently peaceful only in the east, the temple to the south and Leiyin Temple to the west were troubles. Now that Leiyin Temple was facing issues, it was undoubtedly good news for Hexi.

"At the shortest, a few years, and at most, a decade or more, Leiyin Temple should not trouble Hexi. This is the reason they sent the gift. Gentlemen, now that the trouble from the west is gone, what should Hexi do next?"

As soon as Hou Yuduan posed this question, most of the people below were at a loss, looking at each other in bewilderment. Only a few people looked up at Hou Yuxiao above them, and their eyes lit up slightly.

"May I ask the Family Head, do you intend to take action against Nanjiang?"

This time, the one who asked wasn't Duan Hong, but Gao Cheng.

Gao Cheng, having served as the commander of the Qinglong Association for many years, had an understanding of the situation around Hexi that was no less comprehensive than that of Hou Yuling, who controlled the Lower Hou Sect. Hearing Hou Yuduan affirm Duan Hong's speculation and recalling Hou Yuxiao summoning them all today, the connection was easy to guess.

"Indeed, I have intentions to act against Nanjiang, but..."

"Please reconsider, Family Head! In its prime, the Nanjiang Temple was a power comparable to a Holy Land, and even in its weakened state, it still has a standing army of at least two million. Although the Wu Miao are internally divided, they will unite against any foreign invasion. For our Hexi alliance, a mere one million soldiers facing Nanjiang may be insufficient to succeed."

Duan Hong was the first to stand up in opposition. Hou Yuxiao did not blame him; he was well aware of the strength of Nanjiang Temple, and indeed, as Duan Hong had said, not only did Hexi have fewer regular forces compared to Nanjiang, but the gap between their top fighters was also significant.

Leaving others aside, in every Miao clan, there sat a Sub-Saint of Martial Dao, and even on this point alone, Hexi was lacking, not to mention the powerful figures of the Yuan Dan stage and those within the Yin Yang Holy Realm.

In terms of top-level experts and army numbers, Hexi could not compare with Nanjiang.

There were definitely more people than just Duan Hong who wanted to discourage the idea.

"Didn't I say I hadn't finished speaking?"

It was then that Duan Hong remembered that Hou Yuxiao had been interrupted as he was about to continue speaking. He quickly bowed in apology and retreated to continue listening.

"Nanjiang indeed has much greater strength than us; hence, this matter requires careful, long-term planning. Currently, Leiyin Temple is too preoccupied to deal with us, Tongtian Prefecture in the east is on good terms with us, and there is ongoing warfare in Hedong, giving us an opportunity to focus solely on Nanjiang."

Speaking up to this point, Hou Yuxiao paused and noticed the puzzled looks on everyone's faces. Knowing that they were still not very optimistic, he fell silent for a moment before shaking his head and saying, "Not everything in this world is straightforward. In terms of strength, can Hexi compare with Leiyin Temple?"

Hou Yuxiao's question left everyone looking stunned.

They quickly realized what Hou Yuxiao meant, and their expressions started to shift slightly.

If it were purely a matter of hard power, Hexi was no match for Nanjiang or Leiyin Temple, but did that necessarily mean defeat?

The Battle of Longxiang Ferry served as a bloody lesson.

With the right strategy, Hexi could even defeat Leiyin Temple, let alone the Nanjiang Temple!

"Currently, Hexi has an army of one million soldiers, which includes the Red Flame Army of two hundred thousand and the Zhaoyang Army of three hundred thousand, and five hundred thousand from the Hexi forces. Hearing of a million-strong army is exhilarating, yet when looking at the whole world, it's really not much of a force."

Not to mention the distant powers; Tongtian Prefecture has an army of myriad beasts, and even when the World-Honored One, Fahai of Leiyin Temple, was present, he didn't dare to confront their might. River Lord of today is on good terms with us and poses no immediate threat, but who can ensure that he will always remain friendly with Hexi?

In Hedong, the Wuwei King commands an army of five hundred thousand warriors, as elite as those from a Saint Realm, and with Hou Jing capturing Lingyuan and Guangling prefectures, his forces continue to grow. Once he captures Junkang Prefecture and controls three prefectures, his armies will be too many to count. Should a day come when he covets Hexi as well, what then should be done?"