Relocating the Entire Family

"Brothers, soldiers are raised for a thousand days to be used in a single moment!"

"Now is the time for us to lay down our lives!"

"Do not be afraid! We only need to hold them back for a little while, long enough for the Master and Young Master to get away. Then we can withdraw!"

"Kill!"

Among the guards, someone stepped forward and raised his arm in a shout.

Generations of stewardship had made these Household Retainers incomparably loyal to the Wang family. Even when facing a regular army, they still dared to fight!

Of course, some were terrified and turned to flee.

Not everyone was unafraid of death.

But no one had the time to care about them now.

"You still dare to resist? You truly don't know whether you live or die!"

Wu Qianjue sneered, then ordered the cavalry to charge.

This cavalry force was exceptionally elite. Of its more than ten thousand riders, a full third were at the Body Strengthening Stage!

Experts of the Muscle and Tendon Changing Stage and Blood Exchange Realm were even more plentiful!

There were even commanders at the Bone Forging and Marrow Cleansing Stages!

The cavalry crashed fiercely into the Wang family guards. Countless flashes of blade light erupted, and heads rolled across the ground.

In a single exchange, the Wang family guards were routed, suffering devastating casualties!

Before a disciplined army, the individual martial prowess of the Wang family guards had no room to show itself.

"Run!"

"I surrender! I'll confess everything! We only acted under orders from the Wang family!"

"Don't kill me!"

"I'm still useful! I'll expose the Wang family! Over the years, they shipped vast amounts of supplies to the Great Kang Empire!"

After one charge, only several hundred Wang family guards remained.

Many had been scared out of their wits by the army. Before death, human nature was unbearably fragile.

"Hmph. These Merchants really dare to deal in anything."

Wu Qianjue snorted coldly, wishing he could confiscate the estates and exterminate the clans of every one of these Merchants.

But when he remembered his father's words, his killing intent gradually subsided.

"Crown Prince, how should these people be handled?"

A middle-aged man asked.

"Kill them all. Take the goods."

Wu Qianjue waved his hand. In an instant, long blades rose like a forest, and heads fell to the ground.

"Crown Prince, will this not stir dissatisfaction among these Merchants?"

"These Merchants have been rooted in You Province for a long time. Their connections are deep and tangled. One or two families are nothing; killing them is no great matter."

"But if we kill too many, I fear all these Merchants will feel endangered and join forces."

"If these Merchants unite, we need not fear them, but it will still be troublesome."

The middle-aged man hesitated before offering his advice.

"General Pang need not worry. This trip of mine is merely meant to intimidate these Merchants."

"If they obediently listen, so be it. If not, kill them all."

"Merchants are merely Merchants. They cannot make any real waves."

Wu Qianjue was unconcerned. Not one of You Province's great Merchants was a good person. If they were all dragged out and killed, none would be wrongly accused.

Previously, his father had only just arrived and had been busy taking control of the Youzhou Army. Now that the Youzhou Army was fully in his grasp, it was time to free up his hands and deal with these Merchants.

"The Crown Prince has considered matters thoroughly. This subordinate spoke out of turn."

The middle-aged man bowed and said no more.

"Also, spread the word that the Wang family encountered an enemy Border Invasion, their guards suffered severe casualties, and all their goods were looted."

"If the Wang family knows what is good for them, they should know what to do."

Killing his own people did not sound good in the end, so Wu Qianjue pinned the matter on the Great Kang Empire.

It was certainly impossible to conceal it completely. Those with power and influence all knew that Prince Wu's legitimate son had led an army to sweep across the You Province border and wipe out more than a dozen merchant caravans.

But Wu Qianjue only needed to deceive the common people.

This would also serve as a warning to the Merchants of You Province, letting them know what they should and should not do.

Wang Ji and his group were still shaken as they raced all the way back to Baiyang City.

Only after returning to Baiyang City did they finally breathe a sigh of relief, feeling as though they had narrowly escaped death.

Wu Qianjue simply did not care much about the Wang family. Otherwise, under the encirclement of a great army, even if Wang Ji and the others had managed to escape, it would not have been so easy.

"Pan'er, Baiyang City is no longer safe for us. Give the orders immediately. Pack only valuables; leave everything else behind. Take your mother and the others, and we will go to Lanzhou."

Wang Ji's face was pale as he issued orders in rapid succession.

"Your son understands."

Wang Pan nodded.

Earlier, Wang Pan had thought that if the enemy's numbers were small, he would step in and work with the Wang family guards to defeat the attackers.

He had not expected an army of more than ten thousand cavalrymen to arrive, much less such an elite force.

Even Wang Pan could only avoid them.

Otherwise, he would have faced nothing but death by encirclement. Still, Wang Pan was confident that before dying, he could have inflicted heavy losses on that cavalry force.

But Wang Pan was no fool. He would not throw away his life merely to make that cavalry suffer heavy losses.

Urged on by Wang Ji, they quickly finished packing. Protected by dozens of guards at the Muscle and Tendon Changing Stage, the Wang family left the city.

All the family's real estate was distributed among the servants. As for how many of them could hold on to those assets, no one knew.

After the Wang family group had gone far from Baiyang City, the upheaval that had befallen the Wang family became known to the other families.

At first, many families thought it was only a rumor and paid it no heed.

But then the Government Office came forward to confirm it. On their return from trade, the Wang family had encountered a small force from the Great Kang Empire during a Border Invasion. Their guards had suffered severe casualties, and all their goods had been looted.

The Government Office then warned the other families not to send merchant caravans to the Great Kang Empire anytime soon. This time it was the Wang family; next time, it would be them.

For a time, countless families large and small began carving up the Wang family's properties.

There were even those unafraid of death who believed the Wang family must have taken their most valuable possessions with them.

They actually gathered their own guards and left the city to intercept and kill the Wang family.

Wang Pan did not even need to act. The Wang family's many guards at the Muscle and Tendon Changing Stage alone slaughtered all those who pursued them.

Three days later, when the Youzhou Governor learned that the Wang family had abandoned their estate and fled with their entire household, he did not know whether to laugh or cry.

The Wang family was far too timid. Only some of their guards had been killed, merely as a warning to the Wang family and the other families not to continue dealings with the Great Kang Empire.

In the Youzhou Governor's view, if Merchants like the Wang family had any sense, they should have offered him a large sum of money, and he would have lightly let the matter pass.

After all, the imperial treasury was empty now. Where would the money come from to support You Province's several hundred thousand troops?

These Merchants might be audacious, but they were still useful to him. The Youzhou Governor had no intention of uprooting them completely.

After all, every profession had its specialty. When it came to making money, Merchants were still the best at it.

As long as these Merchants could provide him with enough money to support You Province's several hundred thousand troops, and did not go too far in their dealings, he would turn a blind eye and pretend not to see.

That was why the previous Youzhou Governor had obeyed proclamations but ignored orders, becoming faintly independent. The Empire simply could not provide enough money to support several hundred thousand troops!

The previous Youzhou Governor had been notorious for greed, but he had no choice but to be greedy.

Without greed, where would he get the money to support several hundred thousand troops? Once the salaries could no longer be paid, if the army mutinied, the Youzhou Governor would likely be the first to die.

Thus, this Youzhou Governor had also intended to bring these Merchants under his control. Originally, he had meant to strike the mountain to frighten the tiger.

He had not expected to scare the tiger away.

Still, it did not matter if the Wang family fled. What mattered most was that all of the Wang family's properties remained behind.

Once he took over the Wang family's vast assets, the Youzhou Governor would be able to recover a great deal.

After all, the money used to support the Youzhou Army over the years had all come out of his own pocket, causing the Youzhou Governor no small amount of pain.

He was a dignified Prince who had amassed wealth for most of his life, yet in barely ten years, he had spent nearly all of it.

If he did not find a way to make money soon, even the household's food, clothing, and daily expenses would have to be cut back.