People were only one aspect. Beyond that, Lingwu City's wealth also ranked among the foremost in the Northern Lands.
The vast Wu River water network meant that although Lingwu City was merely one city, it enjoyed transportation convenience that other prefectures and counties could scarcely match. Bordering three prefectures, it connected routes in every direction.
The wealth earned through shipping alone each year was an astronomical figure.
Not to mention its dense population, circulating goods, vast sums of capital, and powerful martial artists, all of which further stimulated the flow of currency.
It was precisely because of Lingwu City's unique position that these Thirteen Families had stationed people here and put down roots.
Otherwise, what ordinary city could possibly have so many hidden dragons and crouching tigers?
With people and money came immense potential for war.
From a military perspective, its position was even more crucial—a strategic chokepoint commanding the routes of three prefectures. Who would dare underestimate it?
In the past, because of Lingwu City's uniqueness, whether outsiders or locals, no one had truly understood its real potential. Most had merely kept their eyes on their own little patch of land.
Now that the Zhuo Family Patriarch had raised the matter, everyone followed this line of thought and pondered it more deeply. In an instant, they understood Lingwu City's status and power.
Some of the sharper minds even drew inferences from it and guessed why the Imperial Court had chosen this moment to establish the Prefectural Army.
Whether or not troops were to be sent south to suppress the rebellion, at the very least, Lingwu City—with its formidable war potential—had to be kept under the imperial family's control.
The south was already in chaos; the north could not be allowed to fall into disorder. Given Lingwu City's terrifying potential,