He had indeed taken the journey south seriously.
"Not only that, there are also troops stationed there. There aren't many, but there are about 3000 of them ... To maintain order on the journey south."
"This ship is really fast. I suspect that Minister hou and the others may have just crossed the South not long ago ... It's actually faster to enter the North Sea by this road, but it's not very convenient to transport by land."
Hou Xiaochen's group most likely didn't take this path, but rather walked on land, so they wouldn't go south. However, from their location, if they went south and passed through the entrance to the North Sea, they would be able to directly enter the North Sea province, which was closer than on land.
