Super Cultivation System of the Three Kingdoms

Chapter 195: Banquet for the Powerful
Liu He hit Zhu Ye on the forehead and said, "You are such a rare boy. You should use your brain more often in the future and stop being so reckless."

Zhu Ye was praised by Liu He, and he immediately smiled when he heard what Liu He said.

Ye Wang was full of hesitation: "Oh... these nearly 70,000 or 80,000 people are just relocated like this, and many cities are just abandoned like this, will it be..."

Seeing that he didn't change his mind, Liu He continued to explain: "Sir, our goal is to repel the Xianbei. If we lose people and land, we can still recover them. If the land is preserved but the people are lost, then both the people and the land will be lost. Please make a decision quickly!"

Ye Wang thought about it and finally gritted his teeth.

"Okay! I believe in Captain Liu!"

"Wait a minute, He wants to know how powerful those wealthy families are in the city now?"

Ye Wang and Jing Xin could probably guess the reason why Liu He asked this question, and they said it out loud without reservation.

"In the entire Yanmen County, there were 26 families that were originally powerful and had people holding important positions in the county. The situation in Yanmen has been tense in the past two years, especially after the great defeat at the end of last year. Many families moved south to Taiyuan County and Shangdang County, or moved east to Jizhou and Youzhou. The remaining 12 families have all moved their property and power to the four cities of Yinguan City, Yuanping County, Guangwu County, and Loufan County. However, their heads of families and their blood relatives all live in Yinguan City."

"What are the financial resources and strength of these twelve families now?"

"Although I don't know the details, the combined wealth of the twelve families is no less than thirty or fifty million, and their land holdings are no less than hundreds of thousands of acres. They have tens of thousands of retainers and guards, and even many military generals have been recruited. Therefore, their combat effectiveness is not inferior to the original imperial border troops."

Jing Xin seemed to realize something as soon as he finished speaking.

"Captain Liu, are you thinking... This is absolutely not possible! If these families rise up in rebellion, the external threat will not be resolved, and internal troubles will arise again. Wouldn't that throw them off balance? Moreover, we have no legitimate reason to fight, and we will be easily denounced by the court officials."

Liu He grinned, "Hehe, how can they be unfounded? They turned the imperial border troops into their own private soldiers, which is a capital crime. No wonder these people repeatedly inquired about our army's strengths and weaknesses during the welcoming banquet last night. It is obvious that they want to repeat their old tricks on our Anmin Army and benefit themselves at the expense of the public. How can we keep such parasites? It's a pity that they met me, Liu He!"

He clasped his fists towards Jing Xin and said, "Please inform the heads of these families, Lord County Magistrate, that I, Liu He, have just arrived and I would like to ask for their help in hosting a banquet in my Commandant's Mansion tonight. Please do them the honor of coming."

"Captain Liu, you..."

Ye Wang and Jing Xin were very worried and did not dare to respond.

"Don't worry, my lords. He promises to handle this matter thoroughly and won't leave any evidence behind."

Cui Jun also laughed and said, "You two adults may not know that in addition to wiping out the Yellow Turban bandit leader, my lord also has another title, which is 'tyrant killer'. From Langtiao County to Yu County, Yangqu County, and Luwei County, I don't know how many local tyrants we have eliminated. It can be said that we are familiar with the route."

The two looked at each other, thought about it, and it seemed that this was the only way to do it.

"Okay, Xin will do it right away."

Liu He bowed again and said, "Thank you both for your trust in me. I promise that as long as you do these two things well, I will defend Yanmen Pass to the death this autumn and will never let the barbarians take even a single step in!"

These words gave the two of them a reassurance, and their expressions looked much better.

"Okay, if that's the case, then the two of us will go and prepare. As long as we can defend this county, we will risk everything else! It's better to offend someone than to lose your life!"

After receiving this invitation, the twelve family heads looked at each other in confusion, totally bewildered.

They gathered in twos and threes to discuss whether or not to go to the banquet.

In the end, whether they were confident in their own power or felt that Liu He, an outsider, would not have the guts to attack them, they all showed up at the night banquet at the Duwei Mansion. Liu He looked at the teams of people outside the mansion and said to Cui Jun beside him, "These people are really afraid of death. They bring thousands of guards with them just to have a meal."

"Haha, isn't this exactly what the lord expects?"

"The one who knows me well is my military advisor! All right, the prey has all arrived, it's time for the show to begin."

Liu He and Cui Jun walked into the main hall.

"Oh, it is a great honor for you to visit my humble home! I have just arrived here, and I will be bothered by your advice in the future, so I have prepared a little wine as a token of my respect!"

These twelve family heads were originally a little nervous, but when they saw Liu He's attitude, they all felt relieved.

"Captain Liu is so young, yet he knows how to respect his elders. Well, the young are indeed formidable."

"Yes, there is nothing in Yanmen County that our family cannot handle. As long as Commandant Liu is sincere enough, we will naturally take care of you in the future."

These people were all below Liu He in terms of official positions, yet they were all so brazen and arrogant at this moment.

Liu He was not angry.

"I am truly grateful that you, the masters of the families, are so kind to a junior like me. I would like to offer you a toast. I will drink it first to show my respect!"

Liu He tilted his head back and drank the bottle of wine.

Everyone was toasting each other and drinking happily until the wine was more than thirty glasses and the dishes were more than five dishes. The twelve family heads looked at each other as if they had a tacit understanding.

"Since Nephew Liu wants us to take care of you, then of course it's fine. But Nephew Liu has a large army under his command, and we don't know how he is doing, how many soldiers and horses he has, how much food he has, what he lacks, what he needs, so even if we want to take care of him, we don't know where to start."

"That's right! My dear nephew, you started from a mere Langtiao County, and you recruited tens of thousands of Yellow Turban surrendered soldiers in a short time. I think it must be difficult to support you. Since you respect us as your elders, we should help you solve your problems. We also have many guards in our houses, and we consume a lot of food on weekdays. Why don't you arrange some soldiers from the camp to train and feed them in our houses together, and then call them back when the Xianbei attack. Wouldn't it greatly reduce the burden on my dear nephew?"

"Well, Master Lin, this is a good idea. Although this will increase the burden on each of our families, we are all serving the country, so why differentiate between us? Even if it is more difficult and tiring, we are willing to do it."

Liu He looked at Cui Jun. They both seemed to be angry and amused in the corners of their eyes, but they held it back in the end.

Liu He pretended to be very surprised and said, "Oh? Are the uncles really so loyal?"

"Of course. My dear nephew, do you still doubt our sincerity?"

"As long as you leave the word, you don't need to trouble me to do this personally. Tomorrow, the twelve of us will send people to the army to take a group of people to your respective homes for daily training and care. The court is increasingly looking down on the army here. If you rely on the court's food and wages, I'm afraid that sooner or later your soldiers will mutiny. By then, not to mention making achievements, even your lives will be in jeopardy!"

"Since you call us uncle, we should shoulder this heavy responsibility for you. Nephew, don't worry."

Liu He slammed the table and stood up.

"My uncles, you are so loyal to your country and take such good care of me. It is really touching! On behalf of my 50,000 troops, I would like to thank you all!"

As soon as these words came out, the twelve family heads looked at each other and their eyes widened!
(End of this chapter)