Meng Zhao still said nothing. To him, Sifang City's rise had both advantages and disadvantages.
If it became his ally and served his purposes, then naturally, the stronger Sifang City's influence and strength, the better.
But if Sifang City served someone else—especially Meng Zhao's opponents and enemies—then its powerful strength would instead make Meng Zhao rather uncomfortable. Many of his schemes and arrangements would be affected.
"Dragon King Meng, would it be possible to arrange for some people from Sifang City to return to the Northern Lands first, as a test?"
Rather than becoming smug and arrogant because of this, Zhou Jiankang calmed down and sought Meng Zhao's help.
Though he called it a request for help, in truth, he was signaling his desire to cooperate.
Since those people would be settled by Meng Zhao, they would naturally have to be controlled, directed, and used by him. This was an invisible transaction.
What would Sifang City gain from it?
Perhaps nothing. No tasty food, no warm clothing, no all manner of ornate furnishings. They would still have to live this life on the Arctic Ice Plains—a life that could only be called harsh and miserable.
But they might also gain an understanding of Meng Zhao's true strength, the living conditions of Sifang City's people in the Northern Lands, and even further test how greatly their martial arts would be affected after they, people who had abandoned the Great Yong Dynasty and been squeezed out and rejected by the Imperial Dynasty's National Destiny, returned to the Divine Continent.
How should one put it? You could not grow fat from a single bite. Zhou Jiankang had never expected to bring all of Sifang City's people back to the Divine Continent in one wave.
What he wanted was to feel out a path