"My lord, is this Heavenly Dragon Lake? Is it possible to travel by boat from here all the way to Jiangnan?"
"The lake here doesn't flow directly to Jiangnan, but rather to the East Sea. If you circle around the East Sea, you can reach Jiangnan," Chen Qing said with a smile.
"Why are you staring at me like that, my husband?" Xiao Mingxue blushed slightly as she noticed Chen Qing staring at her.
The slight blush on her face made Chen Qing's heart skip a beat.
This girl has been calling me "husband" ever since we left the city, especially in front of Chen Ying. She does it so naturally. I thought the shy girl from before had suddenly transformed. It seems she's still a bit shy after all.
Thinking of this, Chen Qing glanced again at Chen Ying, who was sitting beside him with her eyes closed, resting. This girl, who used to be shy, had somehow squeezed into the carriage today, making the atmosphere quite awkward.
"Oh, I was just curious, have your eyes always been that color since your bloodline awakened? They seem a bit different from your aunt's."
"This?" Xiao Mingxue touched her eyelashes. "The Empress Dowager said it's because I just awakened and can't control my bloodline yet. Does my husband think it's ugly?"
"How could that be? It's very beautiful, but it's easy to hurt your eyes if you look at it for too long," Chen Qing chuckled.
Xiao Mingxue couldn't help but roll her eyes at him. Chen Ying, who was resting with her eyes closed, twitched slightly. She didn't know if she had lost her mind to squeeze into the carriage. What could Chen Qing possibly do in broad daylight?
Besides, even if he wanted to do something, she was his legal wife, so what could she say?
Chen Qing glanced at Chen Ying and realized that the girl hadn't actually slept at all. He was even more speechless. This girl had come to the capital herself for the sake of her reputation and almost died at the hands of Wutu Gu. If it weren't for that Yaksha desperately blocking her way, she probably would have had to take a job in the Underworld.
Shouldn't I give myself an explanation?
"Do you have any questions about Wang Shiyu from earlier?"
"My husband will speak when he wants to."
The two spoke almost simultaneously, glanced at each other, and then looked at Chen Qing.
A bead of cold sweat rolled down Chen Qing's forehead; she felt much more pressured than when she faced Xiao Mingxue.
"My lord, do you think this person is someone we can work with? Is he reliable?"
After a few awkward moments in the car, Xiao Mingxue took the initiative to ask.
"Whether they're reliable or not, I don't know. In my opinion, none of them are reliable, but reliability and cooperation are two different things."
"I see," Xiao Mingxue nodded, as if she were learning something.
Chen Ying then asked, "What does he want to cooperate on? What can he offer? What benefits can I gain from cooperating with him?"
Chen Qing looked at Chen Ying. This girl's pragmatic style is becoming more and more established. She has grown a lot in the years she has been managing the college. However, because the college's style is pragmatic, her personality is straightforward and she is still more suited to doing academic work.
"Let me first explain the situation to you." Chen Qing pulled out a map from somewhere. "This is the Great Jin. The capital city, where the royal family resides, has been recognized by the people of the world after Great Jin years of development. It occupies a dominant position in the world's fortune, and its status is deeply ingrained in people's minds. Jiangnan occupies a very good commercial position. Even if we develop very well, we cannot change the current perception of the world in a short time. Even though in the past three years, Jiangnan has produced the best Yin-Yang Academy and has the best business opportunities, attracting countless nobles, in everyone's eyes, it is still just a place full of opportunities and prosperity."
"Unless a major disaster occurs and we live in peace, even if all the world's commerce is concentrated in Jiangnan, we will not be able to become a second capital city."
Upon hearing this, Chen Ying glanced at Xiao Mingxue discreetly. Chen Qing's words were blatantly an attempt to seize control of the capital, a clear indication of his rebellious intentions. As a member of the royal family, how would Xiao Mingxue react?
But looking at her, Xiao Mingxue's eyes were bright, and she listened quietly, seemingly not at all disgusted by Chen Qing's desire to replace the capital with Jiangnan.
Xiao Mingxue caught a glimpse of Chen Ying's annotation out of the corner of her eye, and the corners of her mouth curled up slightly.
The Empress Dowager had asked her about it when she arrived.
What would you do if Chen Qing rebelled?
His own answer was: Chen Qing rose to power through rebellion, and the Chen Qing; why would she care about that?
The Empress Dowager nodded. "It would be best Xiao Household could maintain their position as emperor, but if they cannot, they cannot end up like the Zhao Household of the previous dynasty!"
The Zhao Household of the previous dynasty was the royal family, but their fate was to be wiped out by a host of angry families!
With the support of the Xiao Household matriarch, her claim to the position was legitimate. As for the man who planned to marry her off to her father, the Southern Barbarians Emperor, what did it matter if he betrayed her?
If he had had even the slightest pity for his mother and daughter, his mother wouldn't have died such a tragic death!
"Does my husband mean that cooperating with the North can replace the capital?"
Chen Ying also looked over curiously. The north was now a mess. Even if what Wang Shiyu said was true, and he really did use some means to save hundreds of millions of northern people from the mouths of countless giant snakes, the north's reputation was already ruined. Even the boldest merchants dared not approach it. What was the point?
What's the point of Jiangnan cooperating with him? Is it because they covet his population?
The population of Jiangnan is exploding! Back then, the Duke of Wei sacrificed himself to freeze hundreds of millions of northerners who were transported from North Sea City. Now, the development of the West Sea Archipelago is to deal with these people. Every day, she has to work so hard to settle those northerners!
Chen Qing then said, "As I just said, in times of peace, no matter how prosperous Jiangnan, it can never replace the capital. But if there is no peace, it's a different story."
"What does my husband mean?"
"A great calamity is imminent." Chen Qing pointed to the northern map. "The north is the starting point of the disaster. In no more than six months, a catastrophe that sweeps across the world will descend. At that time, the place that can protect humanity will be the royal city in everyone's hearts. Once the world is in chaos, the prestige of the royal city will rapidly decline, and the era of division will return."
"An era of division." Mingxue murmured, looking at the map.
Chen Qing also looked at the map. Now, the various forces have begun to emerge. One of the five major guilds has chosen the royal Xiao Household, using the capital as its base, and is planning to use the noble army led by King Xiang as the starting force for the second version of the resource competition.
Of the four coastal cities, Jiangnan is based on the West Sea Dragon Palace, while the South Sea is occupied by the Chen Household. Whether any guild will contact the Chen Household is anyone's guess.
The East Sea has been occupied by that guy, the King of Qin, and there's been no news of it since. All the major powers have suddenly fallen silent.
But Chen Qing knew that things wouldn't be quiet for long. The Earth Spirit Revival had already begun, and the surrounding demons were growing stronger every day. In at most six months, they would completely escalate to a level that the human race could not withstand. It was only a matter of time before the world descended into chaos, and the Xiao Household family dynasty would be unable to protect the entire Central Plains.
When the time comes, whoever becomes the royal city in the hearts of the human race will have to rely on their own abilities.
"Is the North important to this disaster?" Xiao Mingxue asked curiously.
"Very important," Chen Qing nodded. "The northern region is actually larger than you imagine. It's just that the further north you go, the colder it gets, so many people think that the Northern Wasteland is the limit. But that's not actually the case. The entire Arctic region, and even the seas covered by the Arctic, are larger than the four seas we know today!"
"Is that so?" Both Chen Ying and Xiao Mingxue's eyes lit up. Chen Ying was eager to learn, while Xiao Mingxue was simply curious. After all, she had been trapped in the capital for so many years, and her dream was to travel Jiangnan. Now that she heard that the world was even bigger than what she had read in books, she found it even more interesting.
The reason no one knows is because the Arctic is too cold for life to thrive.
"What's the point?" Chen Ying frowned.
"But it's different once it's been done with makeup."
"It melted?" The two were taken aback. "It can even melt?"
"Yes!" Chen Qing nodded. "Soon. The Arctic will thaw, and the things frozen inside will soon emerge. At that time, all of humanity will face some ancient things, with the north bearing the brunt. The forces behind those giant serpents in the north are not simple. Once they control what's inside the Arctic, the world will belong to them!"
No one could have imagined that the future trend would be in the North, and the resource hub of the second version would also be in the North. The frigid Arctic region would soon become the most sought-after place in the world!