Starting with the titmouse, seventy-two transformations

Chapter 369 Kill Guo Deshen, and Pay the Pledge of Allegiance
"Nephew Liu, at this point, stop keeping us in suspense!"

Du Xingwu suddenly spoke, his face filled with urgency:
"Speak your mind. If my Du family can truly overcome this calamity as you say, I will agree to your marriage with Bingyan!"

As he spoke, he turned to look at Du Xingheng:
"Big brother, don't you think so?"

Tsk, as expected of a noble family's eldest son, his ability to seize every opportunity is already masterful.

A strange light flashed in Liu Sheng's eyes. He turned his eyes and gave Du Xingwu a deep look.

His future father-in-law had interrupted earlier, essentially playing the role of a straight man, and by conveniently linking the marriage to him, he was now forcing Du Xingheng, the head of the family, to agree.

Aristocratic families valued face, and they would always keep their word unless faced with unavoidable circumstances.

As long as Du Xingheng nods in agreement, his marriage to Du Bingyan will basically be settled.

Who said my father-in-law is all show and no substance?

With such cunning and shrewdness, he would be more than qualified to be the head of any other family.

Du Xingheng's eyes flickered a few times. He looked around and saw that everyone in the hall had different expressions. After a moment's thought, recalling what Liu Sheng had said earlier, he gritted his teeth and nodded:

"Appreciate further details."

"Since we've been targeted by the Gongsun clan and there's no possibility of reconciliation, we might as well go all in and fight them to the death..."

Liu Sheng took a deep breath and spoke his mind.

The Gongsun clan dominated Youzhou for over a thousand years, wielding immense power and considered the "heaven" of all factions in Youzhou.

But was the Du family just sitting around doing nothing?

For the past few centuries, they have kept a low profile, biding their time and concealing most of their wealth and military power underwater. They have been using their prestigious family background to conduct business across the country, accumulating wealth from various regions and expanding their military strength. This has reached its limit.

Two tigers cannot share one mountain. Given the current size of the Du family, unless the Gongsun family are all fools, it would be difficult for them not to notice them.

Furthermore, with the resurgence of spiritual energy and the growth of the world, the territory of Youzhou is now comparable to that of the former Yu Kingdom.

Moreover, the laws and regulations of the imperial court are now lax, and many of the regulations have become mere formalities.

In recent years, the local Suspended Mirror Bureaus and Demon Suppression Bureaus have been acting independently, unable to fulfill their duties, and outwardly complying with but inwardly defying the central government.

The consensus among those with a sense of purpose that "chaos is imminent" has long been established.

Some of the top aristocratic families and martial arts holy lands have already begun to take action, silently preparing for the future struggle to conquer the Central Plains and dominate the world.

The Gongsun clan has dominated Youzhou for a thousand years, regarding it as their own territory and the foundation for their future conquest of the world. They are determined to suppress all forces within the state and unify all resources.

They either submit like the Guo family of Changping, becoming their dogs, or they are dismembered and divided, becoming nourishment for the Gongsun family's growth.

Other forces could submit and flee, but the Du family couldn't take that path.

Ultimately, its size is too large to be hidden.

Even if you were willing to humble yourself and submit like a dog, Gongsun would not believe you.

Just like Liu Sheng's previous life, after more than forty years of keeping a low profile, Dongda University has grown to the point that others cannot ignore it. It is no longer possible for them to remain low-key and patient.

Unless, like the previous Big Brother, he kneels down and commits suicide, allowing himself to be dismembered.

Even so, others will still spit a wad of phlegm on your bones and curse you as a "cheap bastard."

At this point, it's a matter of life or death; there's no room for retreat.

If they cannot replace the Gongsun family and become the "heaven" of Youzhou, they will inevitably be attacked by all sides, divided up and destroyed, and meet a tragic end.

Liu Sheng had only heard Du Bingyan give a general account of the Du family's situation before, and had some vague guesses about it.

It wasn't until he witnessed and experienced the naval battle at Lianjiang Town, combined with what he saw and heard after arriving at the Du family's residence, that he realized the Du family's strategy had changed.

Otherwise, why would Du's Bolang Guards have sailed against the current and breached the Lianjiang Town naval force?

Why did the Du family patriarch make such a powerful appearance, killing Chunyu Donglong and the Su family patriarch in succession?

Liwei!

Looking across the various forces in Youzhou, which one is worthy of the Du family changing their old ways and establishing their authority aggressively? And who in the Du family can influence the entire clan's strategic direction?

The answer is self-evident.

Unfortunately, there are still some incompetent people in the Du family who can't even see this point, which is both pathetic and laughable.

Don't blame Liu for using it as a raft to squeeze every last drop out of it.

"Fight to the death? The Du family is merely a prominent clan; what makes them capable of fighting the Gongsun family?"

Guo Deshen jumped out again, launching into a barrage of sarcastic remarks, completely unaware that Liu Sheng's gaze towards him had turned icy cold...

It was like looking at a dead person.

On the contrary, the heads of the Wang, Chen, and Tian families seemed to have sensed something. They sat in their seats like statues, silent and observing coldly.

"The patriarchs of the Wang, Chen, Guo, and Tian families should have gone to the Dragon-Binding Hall by now, right?"

At this moment, Liu Sheng suddenly spoke, causing the expressions of everyone present to change drastically.

He looked around and immediately understood that he had guessed correctly again.

It makes sense. When four families join forces to force the emperor to resign, the first person they need to deal with is the Du family patriarch.

If they weren't confident, why would they dare to come to Du Xingluo's door, or even collude with him?

And who else besides the ancestors of each family could make them confident enough to deal with the Du family patriarch?
Ultimately, this world is ruled by might.

All those people fighting for so long in Yuntao Hall were just putting on an act. The one who truly played the decisive role was the one from Fulong Hall.

However, their trump card, which they thought would be foolproof, has not yet worked.

This means that the Du family patriarch, fighting four opponents at once, has not yet been defeated.

This gave Liu Sheng room to maneuver.

"Senior Du."

He called out softly, and seeing that Du Xingheng's face was completely calm, revealing neither joy nor anger, he couldn't help but think to himself, "A master of acting," and said in a deep voice:
"As relatives of the Du family by marriage, the Wang, Chen, and Tian families should be of one mind and advance and retreat together. However, the Gongsun family is powerful, so we must take precautions. Perhaps..."

He paused, looked at Guo Deshen, his gaze cold and ruthless:

"Let them offer a pledge of allegiance."

The concept of a "pledge of allegiance" has existed since ancient times. It refers to the act of killing someone and offering one's head as a sign of loyalty when joining a gang.

A blood oath and a life stake are both a pledge and a weapon.

Liu Sheng's intention was to have the Wang, Chen, and Tian families join forces to kill the head of the Guo family as a pledge of loyalty to join the group.

In this way, the three families' escape routes were cut off, making them completely bound to the Du family and sharing the same fate.

After all, the Guo family had already pledged allegiance to the Gongsun family, and killing Guo Deshen, the head of the family, would be tantamount to a life-or-death feud with the Guo family of Changping.

Moreover, Gongsun Yu had already died.

Once this is done, there's no going back for the three families, unless the Gongsun family is magnanimous and forgives past grievances...

But is this possible?
"Kill me to pledge my allegiance? Hahahaha... How laughable!"

Guo Deshen was stunned for a moment, a hint of fear flashing in his eyes, but he quickly recovered and burst into laughter:
"You little brat, you're still wet behind the ears. I've eaten more salt than you've eaten rice. Do you think the three brothers from the Wang, Chen, and Tian families are as naive as you, unable to see the situation clearly?"

He looked around and patted his neck hard:
"My head is right here; who dares to kill me?"

"Who dares to kill me?"

"Who dares to kill me?"

He called out three times, and seeing no one move, he grew even more smug. Just as he was about to make a few sarcastic remarks, a sword slashed behind him:
I'll kill you!

(End of this chapter)