The battle in the southeast had already reached a fever pitch in less than ten days. Both the Southern Barbarians and Southern Capital troops at Tiannan Pass. It was said that the Southern Barbarians states had united and gathered an army of 500,000. They obviously knew that once Tiannan Pass was occupied by Jiangnan, the Southern Barbarians's golden opportunity to advance into the Central Plains would be completely lost.
Before the great battle, Chen Qing did not delay again and went to the front line in person. He was not worried that Tian Heng would lose to the Southern Barbarians, but he was worried that the capital might take some other actions.
As for Jiang Xiaoling, Chen Qing arranged for her to return to Liuzhou in Jiangnan, with two Yaksha generals escorting her along the way, and not a single major figure among them.
However, it wasn't that Chen Qing didn't value it; the main problem was that they were short-handed. Ziyue, Yuchi Feihong, and others had gone to the north, and Tian Heng and Ao Zhen had to accompany him to take over Jiangnan in the shortest possible time.
Seventh Master Shen's skills are very suitable for scouting the battlefield, and he cannot leave. Wei Gongcheng and the other Shen Family need to do their best to resist the loopholes opened by the Underworld.
At that point, who would bother to assign an important person to escort a child?
Of course, the key point is that Chen Qing isn't worried about him being kidnapped. The only one with a motive, the King of Qin, has given up on the matter; surely he wouldn't Heavenly Secrets to kidnap him, would he?
And so, Jiang Xiaoling and the rest of his family traveled by water to Liuzhou in Jiangnan three days later.
"Mother, would you like some porridge?"
Jiang Xiaoling, carrying the meat porridge, walked into the room with a gentle tone.
The boat used for the transfer was a fast riverboat, a type of boat unique to Jiangnan. It was not only fast but also spacious. However, due to the large number of people fleeing to Jiangnan this time, the cabins were somewhat crowded. Even an important person like Jiang Xiaoling only had a private compartment.
The woman sitting on the bed was Jiang Xiaoling's mother. Fortunately, most of the women in the family survived, although they were somewhat emotionally unstable.
However, Jiang Xiaoling also understood that after the men were slaughtered and she and the others were stripped naked and roped like dogs in front of everyone, it was already a testament to her strong mental fortitude that she hadn't gone insane yet.
The mother was slightly better. Although she was somewhat dazed, she showed no signs of suicidal ideation. Clearly, the existence of herself and her sister gave her the courage to live. After serving the meat porridge, she looked at the girl next to her.
Compared to her mother, her nine-year-old sister was like a walking corpse.
As the woman watched this scene, large tears streamed down her face and fell into the meat porridge, making it impossible for her to eat for a long time.
"Mother, don't worry." Jiang Xiaoling picked up another bowl of porridge and gently fed his sister, "When we get to Jiangnan, no one will know what happened that day. We'll have new neighbors and a new beginning. I've already been granted special permission to enter Jiangnan Academy. I've heard that the sorcerers there have extremely high status. I'll definitely find a good marriage for you, sister."
Hearing this, the woman's pale face warmed up a little. "Will this work?"
"Of course it can work!" Jiang Xiaoling nodded quickly. "The officials in Jiangnan said that I am very talented and that I can choose any of the four major colleges of the Jiangnan Academy. Then our family will receive direct subsidies and won't have to live a hard life."
"I'm talking about your sister's marriage," the woman said, looking at Jiang Xiaoling. "Your sister, she..." She glanced at the girl with a blank expression, and then noticed that the girl's eyes had regained their sparkle, and she was looking at them nervously.
Seeing this, Jiang Xiaoling felt a little relieved. Her sister was still reacting, which meant she also wanted to look forward.
He quickly replied, "There won't be any problems. Once we get there, no one will know about this. Sorcerers hold a very high status in Jiangnan, and many prestigious families will try to curry favor with them. It won't be difficult to find a good marriage for my sister."
"But so many people saw it."
"Those who went to Jiangnan this time were all wealthy families, and like us, they had all been bullied by those beasts. Everyone had suffered humiliation, so no one would spread rumors about anyone else. If someone did, they would definitely be suppressed together. This is an attempt to ruin the women of our families. If it's such a despicable person, the higher-ups probably won't tolerate it."
"Are these all wealthy families?" The woman stared at her son, somewhat bewildered.
" Your Lord King of Qin is ambitious and confident in conquering the southeast and driving out the Southern Barbarians. We people in the southeast are terrified of the Southern Barbarians and all want to flee to the Jiangnan Yangtze River. But after Your Majesty conquers the southeast, you need the people of the southeast to continue cultivating the land. How can you allow a large number of people to flee to the Jiangnan? Wouldn't that create refugees?"
"That's true, but why are the wealthy able to do it?"
"There are many reasons, and my son can't explain them either," Jiang Xiaoling shook her head.
He actually knew the reason: the rich value their lives more and are more willing to pay the price. What Chen Qing wanted was very simple: land.
If you want to go to Jiangnan, you can do Jiangnan by exchanging all your land with the government.
He believed that Chen Qing had the ability to forcibly reclaim the land, but this would not be conducive to his rule. At this time, due to the crisis, wealthy households who valued their lives would voluntarily hand over their land to save their lives in Jiangnan, which would be in Chen Qing's best interest. Of course, he would be willing to facilitate this.
This is none of his business. To be honest, he actually hopes that Chen Qing's influence will continue to grow so that he can have a stable environment to settle his family.
Now that the Earth Spirit have been revived, Jiangnan may be the last piece of land suitable for ordinary people to live on. If Chen Qing can't hold on, he doesn't dare to think about how he can protect his mother and sister.
When his entire family was slaughtered, he realized both the importance of power and the importance of a stable environment for ordinary people.
He can't acquire great power now, so at the very least, he needs a stable power base to protect what he cherishes most.
Just as Jiang Xiaoling had suspected, the large ships heading to Jiangnan were mostly occupied by wealthy families from the southeast.
At this moment, they were all crammed into the various cabins like refugees, gazing blankly at the Jiangnan they were about to arrive at.
"Father, why did you sell off all the land, leaving none behind? If the King of Qin conquers Tiannan Pass, our land will surely appreciate in value again."
Inside the cabin, a middle-aged man asked his father, who was over sixty years old.
"What are you keeping it for if you're not going to sell it?" The old man glared at his big, simple-minded son. "This time, there's a natural disaster in the southeast, demons are everywhere, even the insects in the soil can go berserk and kill people. The value of the land has plummeted. Now is the perfect time and place to take advantage of this and buy our land at a low price. How can you resist?"
The burly man was speechless. The land was indeed a liability; no one wanted to cultivate it, yet the King of Qin was willing to exchange it for jade, the most valuable currency in Jiangnan. Indeed, few noble families were willing to resist. To be honest, the amount offered was already quite generous.
"But... if the southeast is conquered, won't the King of Qin deal with the demon incidents? I've heard that there are no demons in the countryside Jiangnan. Besides, the King of Qin spent so much to acquire our land, so he must be confident in handling those demon incidents, right? Otherwise, what's his motive? We shouldn't sell it all, what if there's room for appreciation?"
Upon hearing this, a middle-aged man next to him chuckled, clearly unable to hold back his laughter.
"What are you laughing at?" The man who had just asked the question suddenly became angry.
Before the person on the other end could reply, the man's father couldn't help but shout, "Alright, stop embarrassing yourself! Even you can see it, do you really think everyone else is stupid enough not to? 'Appreciation'?"
The old man looked at his foolish son and sighed helplessly.
King of Qin the overwhelming military force that drove out the Southern Barbarians in an instant, it's already quite generous of them not to forcibly seize your land. Do you really expect to have it all? To sell some to cash out, then go to a safe place like Jiangnan to observe the situation, and return to continue being a large landowner once the King of Qin has stabilized the situation?
What are you thinking about?
Do you really think their swords are only meant for the Southern Barbarians?