695 Ling Tian Matchmakes (1/2)

Xiao FengHan laughed bitterly, looking at Green Ripple Immortal Park where half of it had turned into ruins. After a long time, he sighed in desolation before speaking. ”Ling Tian, Crown Prince, this Xiao has a request to make.”

”Please speak your mind.” Ling Tian lightly smiled, guessing his intentions.

Xiao FengHan sucked in a deep breath of air, a lonely aura surfacing between his brows as he slowly said, ”I hope that Crown Prince can treat the various civilians of my Southeastern area kindly, and as for my troops, Crown Prince may use what can be used. Those that are not needed, please do not harm them. Allow them to have their freedom once again, removing their armors and returning back to the farms. Would that be possible?”

”Xiao Family Head is overthinking things. These two matters, even if you did not speak of them, I was also planning to handle them in this manner.” Ling Tian unhesitatingly agreed as he smiled. ”A strong army and valiant soldiers are the foundations of any country. How would I be able to let go of them? As for the civilians, they will be citizens of my Divine Prefecture Empire in the future, sharing the same vision. For those soldiers who are tired of the battlefield, they may return at any time!”

”Good!” Xiao FengHan loudly hollered. ”Since Crown Prince has this intention, then this Xiao can announce right here that the Xiao Family shall no longer exist in the Southeast! I'll move my entire clan over to Sky Bearing and enjoy my twilight years with that old brother of mine.”

The moment he finished speaking, the entire place fell into absolute silence! Only the sounds of sharp breaths were heard. Everyone present clearly understood the severity behind the words that the Xiao Family Head had spoken! This especially rang true for those in the Xiao Family. They were even more clear what it meant for Xiao FengHan to come to this decision.

By moving the entire family over to Sky Bearing, the Xiao Family would cease to exist in the Southeast!

The millennium-long efforts of their ancestors would be given up! A total of 3,000 miles of mountains and rivers would change hands!

The number one financial magnate of the world would disappear and turn into history!

As for the troops, warhorses, and generals of the Xiao Family, they would have a permanent handicap, as all of them would follow the Xiao Family to be stationed within Sky Bearing. Within the Divine Prefecture Empire, their lives would all be held in the hand of the Emperor. Even if they had any plans to be disloyal, how much chaos could they incite? They had lost the support of the behemoth that was the Xiao Family. Even if you had heaven-defying talent, how could a person's strength go against an entire empire?

This move would not only remove the hidden problem that was the Xiao Family for the Ling Family but would also convert them to a force that would support them in their cause!

Ling Tian smiled as he looked at Xiao FengHan meaningfully. He gently replied, ”This spirit of Xiao Family head is indeed earth-shaking. Ling Tian admires you!”

Xiao FengHan's face reddened at the praise. He dryly laughed in return. ”Crown Prince is joking. I'm just saying this in my capacity as the Family Head of the Xiao Family. This matter will still need to be discussed with my children and grandchildren. I just decided to make my stand clear early, to prevent any potential troubles.”

Ling Tian nodded in reply but did not continue the conversation.

Xiao FengHan had already made his words clear. If he spoke further, then it would make him seem petty and would spoil this perfect scenario. Forget it, let him be the evildoer this time!

The Xiao Family was undergoing huge changes at the moment. Although their biggest cancer these few years, the Above Heavens Sect, had been taken out, it was a Pyrrhic victory, with a great amount of their strength being sapped away. But no matter what, their greatest danger was now behind them. From now onward, they could take their time to replenish their forces, and to rise back up again was not an impossibility. Furthermore, without the handicap that was the Above Heavens Sect, the rise of the Xiao Family would be even harder to curb.

The Xiao Family did not lack people with knowledge and wisdom, this part was naturally clearly evident. They even didn't lack people with the ambition to conquer the entire world. While they might choose to temporarily be stationed under the Ling Family as officials, but this was mainly with the intention to endure humiliation as part of an important mission. The moment they were fully fledged and developed, they would not hesitate to rip aside all pretenses. For their goal of hegemony, how would they allow these sort of trivial emotions and grat.i.tude bind them?

But for the Xiao Family head, Xiao FengHan to be able to extrapolate this far, then how could the detailed and meticulous Ling Tian not be able to do so? How would he even overlook this point? Since he could annihilate the Above Heavens, then what more effort would it require to finish off a half-dead Xiao Family? Even if he were to stay his hand based on the respect for Xiao FengHan as the family head and based on his granddaughter Xiao YanXue, what about the future? The moment his clansman displayed any suspicious movements or even harbored suspicious thoughts, it would be enough for the entire family to be sent into the pits of h.e.l.l!

How could Ling Tian, who was farsighted, allow the Xiao Family to have the chance to make a comeback? Even if we were to take ten thousand steps back and say that Ling Tian would not act against the Xiao Family currently, so long as their foundations remained in the Southeast, Ling Tian would one day employ vicious methods to cripple the governing power of the Xiao Family!

For such a scenario, the Xiao Family would just end up pa.s.sively receiving the innumerable schemes that Ling Tian would create. Their days would get worse, and they would still not get the chance to make a comeback and rule over the world. In the end, the Xiao Family would still have to move to Sky Bearing to avoid a disaster! However, if they only chose to move at that time instead of now, then things would be vastly different. To say it bluntly, it was akin to not moving when asked to, but only moving after being beaten up!

In contrast, if they were to pledge allegiance and move over now, they would definitely be able to maintain a small portion of their forces within the army. Ling Tian was not someone unreasonable, and would not purposely make things difficult for them. In addition, Ling Tian would also be willing to use the Xiao Family's strategists and military officers. If it was the alternative method, all of these people's talents would go down the drain!

Thus, Xiao FengHan borrowed the opportunity from Ling Tian's words to immediately state that the Xiao Family would be moving out of the Southeast. By doing things in such a clear-cut manner, not only did he protect the Xiao Family, but he managed to completely secure themselves without any losses!

This was truly what they called far-sighted and deeply scheming! The Xiao Family Head indeed lived up to his name!