Mythical Three Kingdoms

”In other words, after this incident, the Yuzhou Aristocratic Families are willing to lean toward us? I don’t recall Zhou Yu causing any trouble recently,” Chen Xi asked, puzzled. Zhou Yu wasn’t that aggressive, was he?

”That’s why I said ’after this incident.’” Chen Shang said, looking at Chen Xi. In an instant, Chen Xi understood the implications.

”No wonder my great-uncle said it would be the icing on the cake. I see now. If we win, in their eyes, we will have laid the foundation for our dominance. Plus, based on what they’ve seen and heard, it’s natural for them to want to come to our side, and probably Sun Ce’s style has made them dissatisfied,” Chen Xi said with a neutral expression.

”Exactly, how to use this item is up to you.” Chen Shang sold the item to Chen Xi without any hesitation. After all, it wasn’t one of their own that was getting the short end of the stick. If those guys were unlucky, it was just contributing to their own people.

”Alright,” Chen Xi nodded, ”Any other requirements? Just put them all out there. I don’t have much of an aversion toward the aristocratic families. To put it precisely, as long as you don’t provoke the rules I’ve set, unless you’re eliminated by history, I won’t target you specifically.”

”Can you put that in writing?” Chen Shang asked directly, this message being more important than others.

”Sure, but putting it in writing is too trivial. We have someone here who has calculated that the Heaven-Man Dual Cauldrons will soon appear. I can then have the phrase ’Not to undermine the foundation of the state, no group or individual, including commoners and aristocratic families, shall be targeted by any ruler’ engraved on the cauldron,” Chen Xi said carelessly.

In Chen Xi’s view, the Heaven-Man Dual Cauldrons that were about to appear were simply fakes created by Li Youu, and could be handled haphazardly. The aristocratic families just wanted some peace of mind, and indeed, he had no intention of eliminating them outright, so he might as well give them that reassurance.

Chen Xi saw inherent issues with the system of the aristocratic families, especially after education became widespread. It was inevitable that they would be relegated to history.

Of course, if the aristocratic families hadn’t faded into history despite the widespread education, then it’s likely they had undergone systematic reform and adapted to the new era. If that were the case, was there any need to specifically target them?

This time, Chen Shang was completely taken aback. When Chen Xi mentioned the Heaven-Man Dual Cauldrons, Chen Shang hadn’t reacted yet. But when Chen Xi suggested engraving on them, Chen Shang realized he was talking about the Two Xuanyuan Cauldrons!

”Is that true?” Chen Shang muttered to himself.

”There’s no need to deceive you. After the Yuann Cauldron, the Heaven-Man Dual Cauldrons are also about to appear. When they do, I can have this phrase engraved on them, to be preserved forever!” Chen Xi said quietly, turning his head. He found that deceiving people was so easy, especially when he held their Achilles’ heel.

”Not to undermine the foundation of the state, no group or individual, including commoners and aristocratic families, shall be targeted by any ruler,” Chen Shang repeated to himself silently, just like before. This rule was still absolutely fair, but did the commoners have any significance to be targeted? No, only the aristocratic families held such value.

”What does ’not to undermine the foundation of the state’ mean?” Despite being startled by Chen Xi’s shocking declaration, Chen Shang, as a figure promoted by the aristocratic families, quickly recovered from the shock and asked, going straight to the heart of the matter.

”Boning will engrave his complete code of laws onto the Heavenly Cauldron, so you will know,” Chen Xi said with a smile. ”In that way, as long as you memorize the parts concerning yourselves, that will be enough.”

Chen Shang twitched slightly. To dare to engrave these on the Heaven-Man Dual Cauldrons—meaning that even if there were parts that undermined them, it would certainly be written out, so they wouldn’t be unknowingly trapped. As for the traps that were written out, if you still jumped into them, then there’s nothing more to say, it’s an intelligence issue.

”Very well, I can agree to all of these. When the Heaven-Man Dual Cauldrons appear, our families will naturally send someone to observe. If the content engraved at that time is consistent with what was said today, we will surely comply!” said Chen Shang with a solemn expression. Of course, embedded in his words was the implication that the cauldron could be fake, but this cauldron must receive the approval of Liu Bei and the people under his rule.

”No problem,” Chen Xi said, not really concerned about these matters; he knew enough about the families’ objectives.

However, Chen Xi hadn’t expected that what would be unearthed in the end would be the genuine Heaven-Man Dual Cauldrons—a reality that would change the world’s atmosphere, something clear to anyone who wasn’t blind. Once it was moved to Fenggao, the nation’s fortune that was almost visible to the naked eye further confirmed what this object represented.

Naturally, when Chen Xi let people carve at that time, the aristocratic families would verbally curse Chen Xi for desecrating a Divine Artifact while secretly reveling in his brilliant actions. To be engraved onto it, in the families’ eyes, was practically being in the presence of a Divine Artifact themselves.

”This is a list of the traitors from all the families of the Qing Xu aristocracy,” Chen Shang said, producing the list that they had agreed among themselves not to hand over to Chen Xi unless absolutely necessary.

”So you’re selling out these people...” There was a clear twitch at the corner of Chen Xi’s eye; the aristocracy really had no integrity at all.

”It’s not about selling them out. This information wasn’t supposed to be provided to you, but now there’s no need for it. We are satisfied with your demands, and the aristocracy wants growth, not death. We never harbored any hope for victory in this rebellion,” Chen Shang said, shaking his head.

Chen Xi didn’t respond; he just listened quietly, very interested in the aristocracy’s behavior.

”There are indeed some within the Qing Xu aristocratic families who are extremely dissatisfied with you, but most acknowledge that following you does lead to growth. We’re not blind, and there are quite a few among us with wisdom and talent. While not as stunning as you, there are certainly those capable of managing an entire prefecture,” Chen Shang took a breath and continued, ”At most, we’re unwilling to settle.”

”That can’t be helped. I have no control over some families in Qingzhou opposing me; that I haven’t obliterated them already shows I have been merciful. To put it bluntly, I don’t have the time to deal with the aristocracy. As long as you keep pace with me, your families will continue to grow,” Chen Xi said with a sneer.

The truth was, Chen Xi hadn’t targeted the aristocratic families too much, only disciplining them collectively if one family offended him and he noticed a similar inclination in others.

Chen Xi’s consistent strategy was to pull and hit at the same time, offering dates while wielding a stick. Even if he had to severely beat a family, as long as they obeyed his commands, he wouldn’t single them out for further punishment. In fact, if an aristocratic family wanted to leave, Chen Xi wouldn’t do much to stop them.

”The families are growing, but Mount Tai is growing faster, which is why conflicts arise within the aristocracy. Otherwise, with the rapid growth of the aristocracy like nowadays, they should fully support those in power at any era,” said Chen Shang with a sigh, helplessly.

(To be continued. If you like this work, welcome to Qidian ) to vote for recommendation tickets and monthly tickets. Your support is my greatest motivation. Mobile users please visit m.qidian.com to read.)