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The Wu Family had become a concern to Tang Gaomin. He continuously felt that over the years his actions had alienated Wu Huan, afraid that the Wu Family, along with several other smaller clans, had pledged their allegiance to the Mi Clan.

Bringing up this topic at the dinner table was also part of his seeking advice from Tang Zhi. The thought of having to make amends to Wu Huan after pushing him around for many years felt like a hit to his pride.

If there were a better way to solve this problem, preserving his face was definitely worth a try, and so Tang Gaomin was earnest in his intention.

His little scheme, of course, did not escape Tang Zhi’s sharp eyes, but the clan leader seemed indifferent, seriously explaining, “If they continue to stay in Xiling, the Wu Family, who have already taken center stage, are only left with two painful choices. Either fall under the control of the Mi Clan and be used as the vanguard in their fight against our clan or struggle to survive under the pressure of both clans. The West Hills, located exactly to the west, is situated at the intersection of both clans’ influences. Previously, there used to be a town separating the two clans. However, all that remains now is a river and a mountain range. No matter who initiates the attack, the West Hills will be the first battlefield.”

“Given Wu Huan’s shrewdness, he certainly would not allow the foundation painstakingly built by the Wu Family over two hundred years to be wasted on this meaningless battlefield. The considerable display he has put up now is not to show off the Wu Family’s power to both clans, but to attract other smaller clans to become their followers. Then, they would leave Xiling together. If everything goes as planned, the whole West Hills should be occupied with shipbuilding rather than arming themselves.” Tang Zhi seemed to be confident in his judgement.

All the noble families in Xiling now considered the Wu Family as a rising power, but Tang Zhi knew clearly that this was merely a tactic used by the Wu Family to deceive the two clans.

Because a clan that had been patient for two hundred years would definitely not send their members, who have been raised with great effort, into an uncontrollable battlefield to become cannon fodder.

With just a few words, Tang Zhi had stripped down the Wu Family, basking in their glory in Xiling, leaving them bare for everyone to see.

Tang Gaomin thought carefully about the actions of the Wu Family, brightening up with each realization.

He had recently exchanged a letter with Wu Huan from West Hills, where Wu Huan was assertive, stating that the Tang Clan would need to offer two million catties of grain for Wu Huan to remain neutral, or else he would lead the Wu Family to pledge allegiance to the Mi Clan. Reflecting now, Wu Huan appeared strong outside but weak within. This must be a sign that the Wu Family was planning to flee.

Since Clan Leader Tang Zhi already had a well-thought-out plan, Tang Gaomin simply gave up on contemplating the matter, and instead asked directly, “Then, according to our clan leader, what is the appropriate way for us to negotiate with the Wu Family?”

“There’s no need to negotiate.” Tang Zhi replied, smiling and shaking his head, “Just send out our navy to patrol and blockade the western waterways, and ask Wu Huan to hand over the smaller clans who have joined their side to us.”

When it comes to naval wars, no one in Xiling excels more than the Tang and the Tang Mi Clans. Outfitting the small naval vessels with a few Transcendent squads, agile like fish, would be sufficient to patrol the western waterways and prevent the Wu Family from retreating. Unless the Wu Family intends to go to war with us, they will have no choice but to accept our conditions.

Hearing this, Tang Gaomin’s eyes lit up. Compared to apologizing and mending relations, Clan Leader Tang Zhi’s proposal for negotiation was even more to his liking. The Tang Clan would not have to spend any resources, and they could also take in more than ten smaller clans. They may not have squads of strong warriors, but nearly twenty top tier warriors were still a force to be reckoned with.

However, he still had some doubts, “Even if Wu Huan agrees, how can he bring these more than ten clans and pressure them to come to North Mountain?”

They needed warriors, not corpses. Defeating these independent squads was not a big challenge, but subduing them wasn’t easy.

Just to suppress five top-tier warriors of the Ji Family, the Tang Family had to deploy thirty martial arts masters. Though this was done out of precaution, it also demonstrated the difficulty of subduing top-tier warriors.

“Elder Six, there’s no need for concern.” Tang Zhi chuckled, “With Wu Huan’s capabilities, he surely will handle this matter perfectly. We just need to wait and welcome these noble families from Xiling.”

Sometimes, it wasn’t great for those in high positions to have high cultivation levels, because once a problem arose, they would instinctively think of the most direct solutions. If the Wu Family could force over ten warriors to come to North Mountain, why would they even need to flee? Wouldn’t it be better for them to stay in Red Cloud Mountain like the Xiao Family?

After chatting about the Wu Family in West City, the Tang Clan’s leaders at the table began to discuss more casual topics. For example, both Chu’s and Wei’s Families had been extremely active since their migration to North Mountain, renovating the crude stone fort, and even starting to cultivate fields on the mountain slope, making it obvious they planned to stay for a long time.

For instance, the Xiao Family had moved into Red Cloud Mountain and had claimed two big mountains as their territory after driving out the commoners who had originally sought refuge there. Du Sha had heard about this and confronted them, fighting Xiao Qi without a clear victor, which then ended with Xiao Jinlin intervening and chasing away Du Sha.

After losing two main peaks, Red Cloud Mountain, which had already been cramped with over a million civilians, had become even more crowded. Du’s Family could only open their familial territory to accommodate the civilians, which however was still woefully insufficient.

Luckily, the members of Du’s Family, who practiced Red Cloud Skill, kept constructing caves on the cliffs, barely solving the housing problem for some of the old and weak population.

When they mentioned Red Cloud Mountain, everyone watched Tang Luo’s reactions. However, the new Minister Luo just kept eating his meal, appearing as if he didn’t care at all. This piqued the curiosity of Tang Gaomin, and he asked, “Minister Luo, you sent a message about the flood to the entire city and then never went to Red Cloud Mountain again. Even now, you seem indifferent when we talk about it. Why is that?”

Elder Six’s question hit at what everyone was wondering, so they all turned their attention to Tang Luo. The new minister merely put down his chopsticks and bowl, saying indifferently, “I had already announced the flood three days in advance. It’s only been three days since then, what’s there to worry about?”

With three full days to prepare, even if all that time was spent finding food and digging out edible roots, one could still gather at least a hundred days of rations for their entire family. If, after being warned, they still couldn’t resist the disaster at all, then those fools didn’t deserve to be saved a second time.

This cold attitude was completely different from his previous hysterical behavior in the back hall. Tang Gaomin and Clan Leader Tang Zhi exchanged a surprised glance.

Tang Gaomin thought since he had already asked about it, he might as well question Tang Luo about his plans. Thus, he asked again: “Minister Luo, because you announced the flood in advance, now one million six hundred thousand civilians have gathered at Red Cloud Mountain. But what will you do next?”

The reason why clans tend to suppress information during major natural disasters is not just for the opportunity to profit greatly, but more because they don’t have the ability to take care of massive numbers of refugees when their world crumbles.

For noble families where everyone practices martial arts, despite their small numbers, their consumption of food is quite high. A normal adult who doesn’t practice martial arts only needs half a kilo of food a day, whereas a twelve or thirteen-year-old martial artist eats three kilos of food a day.

The destruction of fields means they can only consume stored grains. Naturally, the clan has to prioritize those within the clan. If they were to take care of a massive number of civilians, no matter how much food they have, it would never be enough.

So, saving one million six hundred thousand people is only the beginning. If these people starve to death on Red Cloud Mountain, the gratitude they have towards Tang Luo today will turn into curses of resentment tomorrow.

Have you thought about this? Tang Gaomin stared at Tang Luo, his eyes filled with a sense of vicissitudes..