The Rebellious Officials and Traitors of the Late Han Dynasty

Chapter 463 Yuzhang Family
"Thirty servants? What can they do?"

"This is a huge joke. If we only had thirty servants, those bandits would kill us immediately."

"King Tang doesn't want to give us a chance to live!"

....
In Yuzhang city, in the Zhang family hall, some aristocratic families gathered together to discuss the latest order from Qin Shou. All aristocratic families must not have more than thirty servants, and are not allowed to possess crossbows, armor and other weapons. Even the land of the family is strictly restricted.

For a moment, there was an uproar in Jiangdong.

This requirement was really too harsh. Because of the Yellow Turban Rebellion, a large number of aristocratic families in the Central Plains migrated south. They had integrated into the local community and began to occupy large amounts of farmland, build forts, and raise servants, showing a tendency to gather in one area.

In Yuzhang, the largest and most powerful families were Xiong, Luo, Lei, Chen, Zhang, Xu, Hu, etc. The former were even known as the Five Surnames of Yuzhang, which shows the strength of the Five Surnames. Not only did they have many clan members and a lot of land, they also had hundreds of servants.

To reduce the number of these hundreds of retainers now would be like killing them. So these people gathered together to discuss countermeasures.

“The noble families in Jiangbei can support fifty servants. Some people opposed this in the past few years, but they were all confiscated and exterminated for treason or other crimes. Our King Tang is very powerful.” Xu Zong, the patriarch of the Xu family, said with a wry smile.

He was a good friend of Kong Rong and had been to Chang'an and Luoyang. He came to Yuzhang because he was dissatisfied with Qin Shou's policies. Unexpectedly, a few years later, Qin Shou's troops entered Yuzhang again. Wherever the army went, major cities surrendered and they were about to reach Yuzhang City.

This made him feel very bitter. If he had known that Qin Shou was so ferocious, he should have stayed in Qingzhou instead of abandoning his foundation and coming to Yuzhang, a place where he was unfamiliar with, to start over.

"Humph, can he really kill all of us from noble families?" A middle-aged man with an elegant appearance said disdainfully, "A petty clerk who got lucky and rose to prominence really thinks he is so noble."

When everyone saw this, no one dared to say anything. The man in front of them was from the Xiong family, named Xiong Xun. He was from the royal family of Chu. He thought of himself as a noble bloodline and looked down on others.

Not to mention Qin Shou, even if it was the bloodline of the Liu family, the other party would probably not look down on him.

"Given the situation, there is nothing we can do." Wu Ying, the head of the Yuzhang Wu family, said with a wry smile.

He didn't have many servants in his family, and his fields were not as large as others, but he knew that Qin Shou didn't have a good impression of these aristocratic families. Once the army entered Yuzhang, life would be difficult for him and others.

"Humph, I say the same thing again. Can he really destroy us, the aristocratic families? If so, Jiangdong will become a corrupt place, and the people will suffer, which will lead to chaos in the world." Xiong Xun snorted coldly.

"If we are all dead, how can we take care of the future? Only when we are alive can we think about other things. Otherwise, our money, food and even wives and daughters will be owned by others." Xu Zong's face was full of bitterness.

In the past, he thought he was powerful, but now, suddenly, he realized that in front of a powerful army, these things were not enough. The other side had nothing, but they had swords and guns and could snatch all these things away.

Everyone's faces suddenly showed a trace of solemnity after hearing this. Although there is a saying that the law does not punish the masses, what if something unexpected happens? After all, fighting against the Cavalry Army is a matter of life and death. If you are not careful, the family will suffer. This is not a joke.

"Does he really want to see Jiangdong bloodshed?" Xiong Xun had just shouted loudly, but at this moment, his eyes were filled with worry and fear. "This is not a merciful master. He has killed more people than we have eaten salt." Xu Zong showed a trace of fear on his face.

If the other party was really a kind-hearted person, he would not have come this far and would have been destroyed by other princes long ago. How could he have waited until today? Xu Zong could even conclude that Qin Shou might really attack these people.

"Hmph, let's see how many people he can kill. Isn't he afraid of leaving a bad name in history?" Xiong Xun snorted coldly, "I believe that this matter is not just about us. I'm afraid that everyone in the world has this idea. We have a big family and a big business, but we only have a few dozen private soldiers left. How can we protect our property?"

After hearing this, the other noble families who were originally interested also nodded. If they could win and force the King of Tang to lift the restrictions on his servants and private soldiers, it would not only be the noble families in Jiangdong who would benefit, but also the noble families in the world.

"The more noise we make, the greater the momentum, and the more support we will get. If all the noble families in the world support us, I believe even the King of Tang will have to reconsider." Xiong Xun said proudly, stroking his beard.

These people had no intention of supporting Cao Cao and resisting the Cavalry Army. They were all smart people and knew what they could do and what they could not do.

It is a foregone conclusion that the Cavalry Army will unify the world. Anyone who dares to collude with Cao Cao and resist the Cavalry Army will be seeking death.

"This is the current situation. If you have any ideas, please speak them out. No matter what, we, the aristocratic families of Yuzhang, should advance and retreat together." Xiong Xun's eyes flashed with ferocity.

This is a deal that will involve confiscating property and exterminating the entire clan. Once it is leaked, the entire Yuzhang family will be wiped out.

In fact, Xiong Xun's words have set the tone, that is, we are all in the same boat, and either we work together or we do nothing.

"Do we have any other choice?" Wu Ying said with a wry smile, "Resisting means death. Not resisting means we will die in the future. Either way, we will die. We might as well stand up and resist. Maybe we still have a chance of survival. It's better to surrender to Cao Cao than to Qin Shou."

Everyone couldn't help but nod after hearing this.

It was hard for them to imagine what would be left after a family lost most of its private soldiers and a large amount of land. They were afraid that as time went by, the entire family would disappear in the long river of history.

If that's the case, what other choice is there? Might as well resist to the end.

Such meetings were not only held in Yuzhang City, but also in many aristocratic families in the vast land of Jiangdong, and the meeting had even spread to Jiangbei.

It can be imagined that all the aristocratic families in the world were probably shocked by this incident. Those aristocratic families that had been suppressed by Qin Shou for a long time seemed to see new hope and each of them was watching the changes in the situation in Jiangdong.

Qin Shou seemed unaware of all this and still led his army towards Yuzhang City.

(End of this chapter)