"You? You're nothing but a traitor!" Lin Rong sneered. Anyone who stood in his way was an enemy! "Tie them up."
"You dare! Ugh!" Chu Kuang had barely finished speaking when a soldier slapped him in the mouth with a gun barrel, knocking out several teeth. Then, a stinky sock was stuffed into his mouth; the stench almost made him vomit up his dinner from the night before!
And that wasn't all. He was forced to swallow the vomit and digestive waste again because the sock was still in his throat, making him feel disgusted twice over!
Yu Ren fared no better; he was captured and tied up, receiving the same treatment.
If they didn't cooperate, then kill them outright.
Find a charge, then make it public.
Find the civilians persecuted by the two families, have them tearfully recount their plight, evoke sympathy, and then execute them by a thousand cuts!
As long as it's not a complete extermination, kill two of the three major families, spare one.
This kind of operation won't cause any major problems; at most, it will make people wary of it. They'll have to cooperate with him properly in the future, otherwise they'll be doomed!
The wandering knight was spreading the word in the streets and alleys that the long-established tyrannical family had been wiped out, and he was also looking for coerced civilians, offering them money to come forward as witnesses.
Meanwhile, Zhou Tai, with his reinforcements, controlled the streets to prevent anyone from taking advantage of the situation to cause trouble. He also arrested any troublemakers and publicly beheaded them as a warning to others!
Everyone was busy, controlling the armory, military camp, and granary, and besieging the Yu and Chu families.
Lu Ming was leisurely riding his horse through the streets. Tong Kuang, standing beside him, saw the steward waiting anxiously outside, but being stopped by guards. It was clear something had happened.
"Sir, that's my steward. May I ask if he can come over?" Tong Kuang had no choice but to ask. If he continued to pretend not to hear, he would never be able to get help.
The steward was mature and steady; he would never bother him unless it was something extremely urgent.
"Hehe, no need to rush. Did you give me this mansion?" Lu Ming looked at the residence before him, almost comparable to the Jia Mansion in Chang'an, with its double-flowered gate and vermilion doors exuding an ancient charm.
The tall brick walls, with their intricately carved brackets under the eaves, appeared simple and heavy, all adorned with fresh patterns, without any painted red or white, a uniform water-polished wall, and a white stone platform carved into a pattern of Western floral designs.
"Yes, I didn't need it. I happened to take over this mansion and renovated it. Knowing that you, sir, were coming, I assumed you had nowhere to stay, so I gifted this mansion to you. It's rather humble and simple; I hope you won't mind." Tong Kuang said helplessly, but with a hint of ingratiation.
He vaguely guessed what had happened. Seeing the soldiers already there, who didn't seem to be on patrol, he suspected something serious was going on!
However, he couldn't immediately determine what had happened, but he was certain there was something fishy going on, and he needed to investigate further.
"I'll accept your gift. Let your steward wait outside. Come in and enjoy the fragrant tea I've specially prepared. Don't worry, it's nothing serious," Lu Ming said calmly, stepping into the mansion.
Tigers climbed the walls, vines entwined the trees, the second gate led to a courtyard paved with square bricks, and Xia Jingtian had erected a 36-foot-high canopy.
It truly had a certain artistic merit. This was probably something Tong Kuang had prepared for him to enjoy; if it weren't for the unexpected event, he probably wouldn't have given it to him.
Tong Kuang sighed helplessly, shook his head at the steward, and then followed him inside.
The three sat down, and Lu Ming poured a cup of kava tea, brewed with kava pepper, for each of them. "Please," he said, "this is kava tea, a kind of medicinal food. It can calm the mind and soothe the soul, and it also has the effect of curing colds and fevers."
Jia Xu leisurely picked up his teacup. He wasn't worried at all; it was the three major families in the city who were worried.
He had already advised them that cooperation and mutual benefit were the best approach.
There was no point in fighting against those who held military power. No matter how much money you had, without military power, you were like a rootless plant.
There weren't many private soldiers in the city. Most of the three families' wealth was in the fortified villages outside the city. Grain was collected and transported to these fortified villages for storage before being brought into the city.
Huang Zhong and Gan Ning were the vanguard in taking down the fortified villages. Whether they were prepared or unprepared, taking them was inevitable; the only question was how much damage would be done in the process.
Although Tong Kuang was anxious, he could only take a sip of his kava tea.
Sure enough, his anxiety subsided somewhat.
He put down his teacup, cupped his hands in greeting to Lu Ming, and said, "My lord, what are your plans for the future?"
"To sweep across the land, to pacify Liangzhou. To cultivate the land and raise troops, to develop commerce, to improve the people's livelihood, and to repay the Emperor's grace." Lu Ming's words were simple; as for what the Emperor's grace meant, that was something he already knew.
"If my lord does not despise me, I am willing to serve him with utmost loyalty!" Tong Kuang bowed his head deeply. He, too, wanted to be like Zhang Chun, to pledge allegiance.
Although Zhang Chun's son had seemingly been killed, the Zhang family's power was unstoppable. Anyone with eyes could see this was a warning to others; it was only his son's fault for committing a crime.
For a large family, this was nothing. A son could be born again; children were just children. With the right means, there would always be more.
But family wealth was different. Once it had declined and fallen, rebuilding it would inevitably face obstacles from all sides.
The money is fixed; anyone else sharing it will definitely be unhappy.
Lu Ming hadn't received any system notifications, so his so-called loyalty to Tong Kuang was just for fun. "Good, it's good to have Tong Kuang's words."
They continued their conversation for three days. Most of the time, Lu Ming asked questions, and Tong Kuang answered; Jia Xu only responded when asked.
The conversation mainly revolved around understanding the livelihoods, economic structure, and distribution of workshops in Didao.
The most important topic was the so-called Yuezhi tribe. If it was real, Lu Ming wouldn't mind taking more prisoners.
As the sun rose higher, Lu Ming checked the time and decided it was about time.
His personal guard, Lin Rong, arrived at the door to report and wait. He said, "It's getting late. Let's have lunch together. The afternoon executions will be quite a spectacle; Tong Kuang might as well come and watch with me."