The atmosphere in the Council Hall was heavy, and as the sky darkened, it seemed to shroud the hearts of the people with thick clouds.
There are seven or eight small states in the Southwest foreign country, formed from the split of Nanjiang and, since the founding of Nanchu, they have all been subjects to the Imperial Court of Nanchu, becoming vassal states.
These vassal states still belonged to Nanjiang at the center, but the King of Nanjiang's power was in name only, having no real control over these seven or eight small states; they governed independently. Although there were occasional frictions between these small states over the years, with the policies of the Imperial Court of Nanchu in place, things had been stable and peaceful.
