Jiapingguan Chronicle

"It's not necessarily all benefits and no harm; it's just a matter of choosing the lesser of two evils." Xia Chen sneered. "The aristocratic families appear glamorous on the surface, but everyone knows very well what they're really like inside. However, it seems that Mian didn't have this business of kidnapping children at the beginning."

"No?"

"What I heard is that this organization exists because there are too many people in each family, leading to severe internal strife. The entire family has become chaotic, with elders not acting like elders, juniors not acting like juniors, and siblings fighting like fighting cocks. At best, one might get injured or expelled from the family; at worst..."

"Wait a minute," Shen Cha and Qi Zhifeng said in unison, "At the very least, they'll be expelled from the family?"

After saying that, the two looked at each other, then simultaneously reached out and patted each other on the shoulder.

"Compared to what comes later, it is indeed relatively mild." Xia Chen waved his hand. "Don't rush, let me finish. There is a more serious consequence later. Listen carefully, the most serious consequence is death. The most outrageous thing I've ever heard of is that a certain aristocratic family carried out several corpses in the middle of the night. There were members of the main family and members of branches. The conclusion given by the yamen at the time was that they died from fighting each other."

"Their internal strife is that severe?" Xiao Fengqi frowned slightly, sighed softly, and said, "However, there's no need to be surprised about people from a hundred years ago; isn't it pretty much the same now?" He gave a bitter smile, "I don't know why, even though they're all family, even though they share the same blood, they insist on fighting to the death. The Xiao family is like this, the Wanyan family is like this, the Yelü family..."

“Where there are people, there will be conflict; there’s no solution to that.” Xia Chen shrugged helplessly and continued, “But if things continue like this, it will be detrimental to the development of each family, especially since these families are not at the top of the aristocratic families. The truly top-tier families have very strict internal practices and methods, and this situation would never occur.”

"No, no, no, it will happen." Song Yaojia waved her hand. "It will just be a warning to others. Anyone who dares to fight among themselves, no matter the reason, will also be punished, along with their parents, grandparents, and siblings. If they have children, their children will also be punished."

"How will you punish them? Vigilante justice?"

"Yes!" Xia Chen nodded, looking at Shen Cha, "You know, right?"

“I know, Master and Grandmaster have both mentioned some of the methods aristocratic families use to punish their members. Although they are simple, they are terrifying. Take internal strife, for example. If it's a fight within one branch of the family, everyone in that branch, whether master or servant, will be punished with a cane. The master's punishment varies depending on seniority and the severity of their role in the conflict, ranging from one hundred to fifty, thirty, or ten canes. Some people are too weak to withstand the punishment and might die before they even reach thirty canes.” Shen Cha sighed and continued, “If it involves two or more branches, depending on the severity of the situation, punishments like whipping can be added. The most important thing is not the punishment itself, but what truly shocks people is that this punishment is witnessed by everyone in the entire group, not done in private.”

"Several hundred people watched someone get beaten up? And they were all acquaintances who lived under the same roof and saw each other all the time?"

“Not just.” Shen Cha held up a finger and shook it gently. “Not only the clansmen, but also the servants in the house, men, women, and children all want to come and see.”

Hearing this, Qi Zhifeng couldn't help but groan, saying, "For those masters who are usually so high and mighty, this is like the sky falling. Even if these tortures might not kill them, they probably wouldn't survive after being tortured." "That's exactly the effect we wanted," Shen Cha smiled. "So, this one instance of making an example of someone has deterred most people in a short time, at least preventing the internal strife from becoming too chaotic and severe. They know that the internal strife will definitely not stop, but it can be done quietly in private, without making a big fuss. Therefore, the internal strife of aristocratic families like the Wang and Xie families is all done quietly. At least on the surface, they seem to be getting along well, and that's enough."

"These aristocratic families have a different vision and perspective, but compared to them, other families are far inferior. They can't control the number of their clansmen, nor can they stop their internal strife. So, I don't know which wise person came up with this solution for them: select non-heirs from each family, conduct secret training, and form a mutual assistance organization. Families can hand over any difficult problems they can't handle to them, and they are also allowed to take on external business, allowing them to release their pent-up energy. Of course, those who can join are carefully selected, and many are much more outstanding than the rightful heirs. Those good-for-nothings are beneath me."

“That’s true.” Shen Cha nodded. “Now it seems that everyone except Wang Xie has gotten involved.”

"I don't know the specifics. You'll have to ask your great-uncle. He's the only one who knows the inside story right now."

"Your Majesty doesn't know?" Seeing Xia Chen shake his head, Shen Cha curled her lips. "Just thinking about it, you can probably guess. Apart from the few families in Jiangnan with deep roots who don't need to use such methods to achieve their goals, they should all be involved."

"It's true, those companies were completely unaware of this."

"Completely unaware? You think you can hide it from them?"

“They truly went into seclusion, completely ignoring everything. After all, they've lost many talented individuals in the last two or three hundred years, but thanks to their deep-rooted foundation, they're still managing to get by.” Xia Chen held up a finger and gently shook it, saying, “Actually, at first, I thought the same as you—that even powerful clans like the Wang, Xie, Pei, and Xun families would have some connection. But I didn't expect them to not only look down on us but also say that these scoundrels must be completely eradicated. Not only are these families completely unrelated, but your master…” He looked at Shen Cha, “their family has no connections either.”

“My master’s family,” Shen Cha chuckled, “let’s not even mention it. So-called aristocratic families look down on families that come from military backgrounds, and they also look down on families that come from business backgrounds. Although there are branches of their family that do this, they still despise it. This kind of business, which they consider a good thing, is something they would never include my master and his family in.”

"The Great Xia Dynasty values ​​literature over military prowess?" Xiao Fengqi and Qi Zhifeng exchanged a glance, both looking completely bewildered. "We've never heard of that before!"

“Not now, but three hundred years ago, when Mian was first established,” Shen Cha explained. “I never imagined that we would all be so destined to be harmed by both Mian and the Qinglian Sect.”

"If that's the case, then we should unite against a common enemy." Xiao Fengqi smiled, looked at Shen Cha and Jin Miaomiao, then at Song Yaojia, Xia Chen, and Xue Ruitian. "Hiss, I just had an idea. Do you think they might have any interaction?" (End of Chapter)