453: Rumors

"This is not normal!!!" Prince An roared.

With a "thud," the official was so frightened that he fell to his knees, trembling and not daring to speak again.

The others in the hall were a bit dazed watching this scene; in fact, many people didn't think there was anything wrong after hearing the official's words, but seeing Prince An's expression, they feared he was extremely dissatisfied with the situation...

Prince An's face was gloomy. He took a few deep breaths and finally said slowly, "Li Zheng, I don't care what method you use, within three days, you must make everyone in all the residential settlements withdraw into the city. Note, I mean everyone!!!"

"Ah?! Prince An, the workload is too huge, and it's simply impossible. The resistance from those people is too great, and our manpower is too little!"

"Even if they could all be withdrawn, the subsequent resettlement work would be under huge pressure. Our base simply cannot accommodate so many people; by then, I fear even eating and drinking will become a problem!" kneeling Li Zheng said tremblingly.

"Oh? Just because of logistics problems, we are going to let hundreds of millions of people fall into the bellies of the Sea Clan?" Prince An said.

"This... Prince An, it's not that we don't want to save those people, but there are many rumors and gossip outside right now, and our resistance is indeed extremely great!" Li Zheng decided to throw caution to the wind and replied directly.

Prince An was stunned and asked curiously, "Rumors and gossip? Tell me about them..."

"They all say this is an official trick, an attempt to use this opportunity to encroach upon their ancestral land and property!" Li Zheng said.

"Nonsense! Don't they know how formidable the Sea Clan is? Or did you not explain it clearly to them?" Prince An was so angry he almost laughed. Had the brains of these people outside the city been flooded? To actually dare to stay outside the city at such a time was simply waiting for death!

Li Zheng shook his head and said, "Prince An, you have been in seclusion for many years and do not know. Although there are beast infestations in the Great Ming, they are actually within a controllable range. For the past two hundred years, life has been quite peaceful. Many people have long gone out of the city to reclaim wasteland, establish strongholds, and multiply the population. This is also the reason why there are so many residential settlements and people outside the city now!"

"Oh?!" Prince An was stunned upon hearing this; he really didn't know much about this situation.

He realized he might have made a mistake, so he said, "Get up and speak properly!"

"Thank you, Prince An!"

Li Zheng stood up and continued, "These people who dare to go out of the city to reclaim land are all strong individuals. They are not only relatively strong, but they have also formed loose Alliances and established their own spheres of influence. Some of the friendlier forces even build their strongholds in a mode that allows mutual support, which enables them to combine their strength when encountering disasters and enhance their ability to survive!"

"Developing to this point, some of their forces are not weaker than the forces inside the city at all. Because they have more opportunities to fight with exotic beasts, their strength is even stronger. Compared to our base, they might be slightly weaker in terms of city defense, but if we talk about combat capability, they might be even stronger than our official combat teams. Speaking of which, when our people went to persuade them, their attitude was very respectful and polite, but they might really not know how powerful the Sea Clan is, which is why such rumors spread..."

"So that's how it is..." Prince An was speechless after hearing this. That's right, the situation was indeed different from when he first went into seclusion. The space inside the city was limited, and growth had a ceiling, so naturally, people were willing to go out of the city to reclaim land, expand their influence, and increase their wealth. Moreover, after leaving the city, they fought frequently with exotic beasts, so their strength grew faster. Compared to those who were well protected inside the city, their chances of survival were actually greater!

However, he did not draw a conclusion yet. He turned to look at Yu Xun and asked, "Director Yu, what is your opinion?"

Yu Xun saluted and said, "Prince An, what Lord Li said is correct. In fact, many large forces outside the city are extensions of large forces inside the city, and many small and medium-sized forces cling to the Alliances formed by large forces, together forming various Alliances. These Alliances generally have built castles and have strong defensive and combat capabilities. Some have a history of nearly two hundred years. If we ask them to give up everything and withdraw into the city just because of the information about the Sea Clan, it is understandable that they are unwilling. After all, whether the Sea Clan is actually coming is still an unknown, and once they give up, it will not only be more difficult to take it back, but the losses in the process will be immeasurable!"

"In your opinion, what should we do?" Prince An asked.

"My humble suggestion is that we might as well let them choose for themselves. We can resettle those who are willing to enter the city, and let those who are unwilling be. If the Sea Clan really attacks, and they can't stop them, they can't blame our officials!" Yu Xun said.

"General Qi, what do you think?" Prince An asked Qi Wuxia again.

Qi Wuxia's expression was a bit hesitant. He asked, "Prince An, I do not know the exact time of this Sea Clan invasion. Also, judging from the information just received, the Sea Clan seems to be heading towards the Shanhai Pass in the north. It shouldn't be so serious for our southern Linhai City area, right?"

"The exact time should be within three days. And as you said, the first wave should be aimed at the Shanhai Pass direction, but I believe the south will also suffer from the Sea Clan's scourge!" Prince An said coldly.

Qi Wuxia's face sank like water, and he said, "Since that is the case, we should still try our best to persuade some forces to abandon their strongholds and withdraw into the city as soon as possible! As for those who are determined not to evacuate, then let them be!"

Hearing this, Prince An's face finally returned to calm. He nodded and said, "Good! You should send capable generals to the northern and southern residential settlements as soon as possible. Persuading one more is one more!"

"Yes! Please rest assured, Your Highness!" Qi Wuxia replied.

"Director Yu, you take the lead in doing a good job in the resettlement tasks for the returning civilians. Forces with strong strength can be incorporated into the city defense army to participate in the city defense together!" Prince An added.

"Yes! I obey," Yu Xun replied.

"Li Zheng, take the video of the Sea Clan slaughter that I recorded years ago to quell the rumors and gossip. If they still dare to stay outside and face the Sea Clan alone after seeing these videos, then let them be!" Prince An took a storage box out of his sleeve pocket and threw it to Li Zheng.

Li Zheng hurriedly took it and replied loudly, "I obey!"

As the three men left, the hall became quiet again. At this moment, a guard hurried in from outside and reported loudly, "Reporting to Your Highness, the supplies from Tiangong Group have arrived!!!"

"Oh? So fast!" Prince An's spirit was lifted. He immediately got up and headed outside the hall. Soon, he saw the scene of countless people pushing thunder god cannons from a distance!

The guard said, "Your Highness, there are a total of three thunder god cannons, ten High Grade Xuan Guns, five sets of mechas, a batch of gene potions! And a batch of Advanced Xuan Guns and ammunition!"

"What? Even mechas and gene potions are included?!"

...