Yefutidaolu

Chapter 329 The Banner of the Divine Dynasty

By sacrificing the entire Kim family, Gao Jian clearly conveyed a message: those who submit to me may not prosper; those who oppose me will perish! And it will be a complete and utter annihilation, leaving no room for retreat!

"Invitation letter...the main hall of the Jin family ancestral home..."

There was a scion of a prominent family who lived a life of luxury and privilege. As the heir to the family fortune,

Looking at the invitation, which seemed stained with the blood of the Jin family, his hands trembled so much he could barely hold it. Go? That was a battlefield of carnage, where everyone had just been slaughtered!

The air is probably still thick with the lingering stench of blood! Not going? Just wait and see what happens to the Jin family! That 'high-minded' guy, what if he shows up at your doorstep any second?
Among the twenty-three prominent families in Liangzhou, the Jin family is the most prominent.

Now, the heads of the Kim family members are hanging on Gao Jian's flagpole.

There were a total of twenty-three aristocratic families in Liangzhou, with the Jin family being the strongest. However, this strongest Jin family has now been wiped out.

Gao Jian, this 'imperial envoy,' finally revealed his true colors.

To put it bluntly, the powerful families aren't fools. By now, they already know what Gao Jian is up to.

Gao Jian was like driving a tiger to devour a wolf, using instigation to kill the head of the Jin family! He also got something for nothing, using the Jin family's resources and the help of Youming Land to build up the entire border.

Because of the drain on the Jin family caused by these two events, he took this opportunity to collude with various tribes of the grasslands, completely swallow up the leaders of the aristocratic families in Liangzhou, and prepared to take their place!
When the snipe and the clam fight, the fisherman benefits. Gao Jian had been plotting this struggle for so long, and finally, it was time for him to reap his reward.

The remaining twenty-two companies, faced with this blatant and irresistible "invitation," had all their calculations, weighings, resentment, and anger ultimately coalesce into one thought—to submit.

They once submitted to the Kim family, and now they submit to Gao Jian.

Three days later, at dawn, the bloodstains on the vermilion gate of the Jin family's ancestral home had been hastily washed away, but still retained an indelible dark red hue.

The gate slowly opened, and a procession of lavishly decorated yet unusually silent carriages arrived from all directions of Liangzhou City and stopped outside the gate. The once arrogant heads of powerful families and elders now looked solemn, even somewhat pale, and stepped down from their carriages with heavy steps.

Their eyes met, and all they saw was a shared fear and helplessness in their mutual suffering. No one made a sound, no one spoke, not even a cough was suppressed.

They entered the imposing mansion, which had just witnessed a massacre and still carried a faint smell of rust, in a suffocating silence, as if they were going to their execution or as subjects paying homage to a new king.

The sky over Liangzhou had completely changed hands. Gao Jian sat in the former seat of Jin Dafu, calmly awaiting the arrival of these "guests." His fangs were already bared, and his majesty was forged in blood.

Next, it was time for him to take control of the entire Liangzhou.

I imagine no one would dare not come.

Soon, in the hall.

The atmosphere in the main hall of the Jin family mansion, which once symbolized supreme power but is now filled with a faint scent of blood and despair, is so oppressive that it is suffocating.

The representatives of the twenty-two powerful families, who used to be so influential in Liangzhou that their mere stomp of their feet could shake the ground, now stood like lambs to the slaughter, their hands clasped at their sides, even their breathing deliberately subdued.

Their gazes, filled with fear, resentment, or despair, were fixed on the young figure sitting upright in front of them—once Jin Dafu's sandalwood armchair covered with a white tiger skin.

Gao Jian changed into a brand new black official robe, which made his skin appear even whiter, and his face remained calm and expressionless.

“Liangzhou has been severely damaged by this chaos.” Gao Jian’s voice was not loud, but it clearly reached everyone’s ears, with the calmness of a ruler proclaiming a decree. “Although the border wall is strong, nine out of ten houses are empty, the fields are barren, and trade has stopped. This is not a long-term solution.”

He paused, his fingertips lightly tapping the smooth armrest, producing a soft, resonant sound that seemed to strike the hearts of everyone present.

"Gentlemen, you are all pillars of Liangzhou, with deep roots." Gao Jian's lips seemed to curve into a very faint smile, but it was devoid of warmth. "From today onwards, there will be a ten-year period. You must open the granaries to distribute grain, recruit refugees, build water conservancy projects, widely procure agricultural tools, encourage farming and weaving, and take all necessary measures."

His voice suddenly turned cold, like a chilling current sweeping across the land: "Ten years from now, I must see the population count on the Liangzhou household register restored to the level of Liangzhou's heyday, without fail."

Gao Jian didn't finish his sentence, but his cold eyes, like the sharpest blade, slowly swept across each face below, each one drained of color in an instant. The unspoken meaning was more chilling than any threat.

The bloodstains still damp at the Jin family's ancestral home are the best testament to this.

It's not that such things can't be faked; there are ways to forge rosters and ways to inflate the population. But what Gao Jian wants is definitely not those things.

Is this some kind of attempt to fool someone with profound insights?
I'm afraid... it won't work for now.

At first, there was a deathly silence, but soon, heavy breathing filled the air.

Finally, a representative from a relatively remote and weaker aristocratic family, perhaps feeling that his family was not the ringleader and might be able to gain some leeway, mustered all his courage and asked in a trembling voice, "Lord Gao... Lord Gao, please understand! Liangzhou is bitterly cold, and after this calamity of war, refugees have scattered everywhere, and its vitality has been completely lost... Restoring it to its former glory in ten years... I'm afraid we may not be able to do it! I wonder... if you could grant us some leeway..."

Before he could finish speaking, Gao Jian's gaze was like two sharp arrows tempered with ice, instantly piercing him!

There was no scolding, no explanation, just looking at him.

That meant the rest of his words caught in his throat, his face turned from white to green, cold sweat poured down his forehead like a stream, his legs went weak, and he knelt down with a thud, trembling like a leaf, not daring to utter another word.

Gao Jian's gaze shifted indifferently, as if he had merely brushed away a tiny speck of dust.

At this moment, an elder from another aristocratic family, perhaps feeling the need to invoke a stronger backer, suppressed his fear and spoke in a dry voice: "Lord Gao's grand plan, we... will certainly do our utmost. However... however, those in the Netherworld... having heard of the Jin family's affair, I fear... I fear they will not let it go easily, and will definitely send envoys to question us. At that time... at that time, Liangzhou may be thrown into turmoil again, delaying your... your plans, sir..."

He tried to steer the conversation toward a more powerful external threat, hoping to make Gao Jian hesitate.

Upon hearing this, Gao Jian's cold smile seemed to deepen slightly. He picked up the tea that had been prepared beforehand, took a small sip, and moved with elegant composure.

"The Netherworld?" He put down his teacup and let out a barely audible hum, his voice carrying an air of absolute certainty. "I have my own arrangements. You need not trouble yourselves with this matter."

His words were casual, as if he were talking about a trivial matter, yet they revealed a chilling and unfathomable depth.

The elder opened his mouth, but ultimately dared not ask any more questions.

However, some people always harbor illusions, or rather, are blinded by fear and the prospect of enormous financial loss. The head of a powerful family, who believed he could rise to the top ranks after the Jin family's destruction, looked at Gao Jian's excessively young face and his cultivation level "no more than the sixth realm," and then, thinking of the overwhelming power of the Netherworld, he suddenly took a step forward, his voice sharp with a hint of recklessness:
"Lord Gao! Don't push your luck! If the messenger from the Netherworld arrives, your 'having your own arrangements' will be nothing but empty talk! Our noble families have exhausted our resources to support the people for you, but if the Netherworld punishes us, wouldn't we be left with nothing? Today's matter needs further consideration! Until the Netherworld's attitude is clear, I'm afraid your ten-year agreement is difficult to fulfill..."

Before he could finish speaking, the instant his voice fell, a dark, cold light, like a venomous snake lurking in the shadows, shot out without warning from the shadow of the pillar beside the patriarch!

Fast! Faster than the visual senses can capture!

The malice and threat on the patriarch's face hadn't even fully solidified when his voice abruptly stopped! He only felt a chill on his neck, as if a very thin line of ice had grazed it.

The next moment, he was horrified to see that his body was still standing in the same place, but his vision was uncontrollably spinning and rising... He saw the terrified faces of the people below, saw the fountain of blood gushing from the neck cavity of his headless body, and finally, he saw the roof beam of the hall painted with auspicious clouds and cranes...

Pfft!
The head rolled to the ground with a dull thud. The headless body swayed slightly before collapsing with a thud. Thick, warm blood quickly spread across the carpet, mingling with the bloodstains from the Jin family earlier.

Qin Long's figure flashed past the corpse like a ghost, disappearing once more into the shadows behind Gao Jian's chair, as if he had never moved.

Only a single drop of crimson blood slowly dripped from the tip of that dark, heavy short sword.

The entire hall was deathly silent! You could hear a pin drop!
All the remaining representatives of the aristocratic families were frozen in place, their bodies stiff, their faces ashen, and their pupils dilated with extreme fear.

The last vestiges of hope, the last tentative steps, and the last trace of resentment that had remained were utterly crushed by this merciless, lightning-fast slaughter! The fresh smell of blood in the air was more convincing than any words.

Gao Jian didn't even lift his eyelids, as if he had just had a bothersome fly swatted.

He picked up his teacup, took another sip, and spoke in a completely calm tone:
"Who else wants to 'discuss this further'?"

There was no answer. Only heavy, suppressed breathing and the clattering of teeth could be heard.

"Very good." Gao Jian put down his teacup, his gaze sweeping over the silent crowd below once more. "The specific details will be delivered to your residences later. Remember, ten years. If one person is missing, your entire clan will be used to make up for it."

"Go away."

There was no bargaining, no pretense. Only cold, hard commands and unquestionable execution.

This involuntarily brought to mind the images from six months or even a few months ago.

Back then, Liangzhou City was filled with distinguished guests, and people were drinking and chatting.

The newly appointed imperial envoy, Lord Gao, was young and handsome, with a warm smile like the early spring sun. He moved among the banquets of various noble families, keeping a very low profile and speaking humbly, even with a touch of the appropriate "naivety" of a newcomer.

At that time, he was all smiles, as if anything could be discussed and any difficulty could be understood.

The initial wariness of the powerful families gradually eased under his gentle and persuasive "sincerity" and "showing weakness."

At that time, he seemed so "easy to talk to" and so "reasonable"! The noble families even thought that this imperial envoy was much better than those fools who only knew how to ask for money and grain with a stern face, and that he was someone who could be "cooperated with" and "guided".

Jin Dafu even sneered in private: "He's just a slick kid who wants to use us to gain some political achievements so he can get promoted back to the central government! We'll just have to appease him!"

They could still remember Gao Jian's slightly embarrassed yet forcedly generous demeanor when he was urged to drink at the banquet.

I remember him admiring a precious peony in the Chen family garden, humbly asking for advice.

I remember when he was outside discussing matters, facing the endless arguments of various parties, he wore a wry smile that showed his dilemma, his attempt to reconcile but his powerlessness...

The young man sitting in the tiger-skin chair in the Jin family's house had no trace of warmth on his face anymore. There was no room for negotiation whatsoever.

The stark contrast was like a bucket of ice water poured over their heads, chilling all the family representatives in this chaotic arena to the bone, from head to toe!
When the words "Let's disperse" were uttered, the representatives of the aristocratic families felt as if they had been granted a pardon, yet also as if they were heading to the execution ground.

They bowed deeply, almost prostrating themselves, then staggered and dejectedly retreated from the death-filled main hall, not daring to look once more at the still-warm corpse on the ground.

Gao Jian sat in the armchair, watching the figures fleeing in panic, his eyes deep and unfathomable.

In the eyes of these still-shaken aristocratic families, Gao Jian's actions were tantamount to imprisoning them and turning them into tenants and long-term laborers who were responsible for raising his special "human resources"!
They will pay a heavy price in the future, bound by heavy shackles. For the next ten years, or even longer, their lives will be bleak. They will have to tighten their belts and exhaust the wealth accumulated by their families to complete an almost impossible task—to restore the population of Liangzhou to its peak within ten years in the harsh and cold region!

This is practically squeezing every last drop of their marrow dry!
However, Gao Jian was very confident that he could succeed.

However, in the eyes of the aristocratic families, all of this was understandable.

Because that's the logic of the powerful families.

Gao Jian is forcibly overturning the foundation of Liangzhou in a manner that borders on plunder.

He established his authority with the blood of powerful families and used their wealth to support the people. He didn't care about the lives of these families, only whether the crops known as "population" could ripen on time and in the right amount.

Is this... the meaning of the Divine Dynasty?

Nobody knows, nobody dares to say yes, and nobody dares to say no.

But population is indeed the resource of the Divine Dynasty, the greatest spiritual material produced in large quantities by the Divine Dynasty.

Perhaps some people will now recall that... the banner of the Divine Dynasty was always carried by Gao Jian.

He was a legitimate imperial envoy.

This banner is something that Youmingdi and the Jin family want to borrow, and Yang Ling wants to borrow it, but why... can't Gao Jian use it himself?

See, it's coming in handy now.

(End of this chapter)