A thousand-year-old family begins with one fighting against ten thousand.

"By my royal decree, I will personally lead the army, mobilizing all available forces to fight Sun Jian to the death!"

Liu Bei also became ruthless, no longer considering the consequences, and directly used all the money and grain stored in Jingzhou to conscript nearly 50 troops again in Jingzhou, exhausting the reserves accumulated by Jingzhou over the years.

"Also, have the Wu family contact the powerful families of Jiangdong and have them cause some trouble for Sun Jian."

"If they can't even handle this simple matter, then once I take over Jiangdong, they won't have any reason to exist anymore."

With predecessors like Yuan Shao, Cao Cao, and Dong Zhuo around, even though Liu Bei rose to power through the influence of powerful families, he would not treat them as honored guests. He even dared to say such things to them without fear of them turning against him.

After all, the powerful families in the world don't have many choices right now, and what Liu Bei said makes sense. If you can't help now, why should Liu Bei use you when he unifies Jiangdong?

Have you always been loyal to Sun Jian? Is that why you're unwilling to contribute? If we really wipe you out, there's nothing we can say.

"Yes, sir!"

……

When Liu Bei's order reached Jiangdong, the aristocratic families there were extremely dissatisfied. As the smallest region that had been ravaged by Dong Zhuo, Jiangdong still had a great deal of power left by the aristocratic families. However, Sun Jian, that simpleton, relied on his troops and supplies and didn't care about the unspoken rules among the aristocratic families.

They were often met with violence, forced to hand over money and provisions, causing these aristocratic families immense suffering.

They originally thought that with Liu Bei, a warlord promoted by a powerful family, ruling Jiangdong, their good days were about to begin.

As a result, Liu Bei also joined in the fun.

Then let's fight! Do you really think the Jiangdong aristocratic families are pushovers, that anyone can bully them?

"Go and contact the King of Qi. We are willing to invite him to Jiangdong."

"Since we're all going to be humble and insignificant anyway, why not go for the biggest one?"

"The current situation in the world is clear. Since the victory of the King of Qi in the Battle of Guandu, the King of Qi has become the most popular candidate to unify the world."

"We are of one mind now, and we will not lose our current position in the future."

"If we wait until the King of Qi attacks before surrendering, we will be at the mercy of the King of Qi. If we can leave behind even a little offering, it would be a sign of the King of Qi's benevolence."

The heads of the four major families of Jiangdong—the Lu, Zhang, Gu, and Zhu families—gathered at the Lu family residence, each one furious.

"I agree, Sun Jian and Liu Bei went too far!"

"What a humiliating disgrace!"

"Then this matter is settled. However, King Qi is currently attacking Ye City and is probably unable to advance south. We still need to find a good excuse to appease Sun Jian and Liu Bei."

The head of the Zhu family had a slightly bristly beard and hair, an old face covered in orange peel-like skin, and bloodshot eyes, as if he had suffered a great injustice.

The arrogance of the group vanished simultaneously. Neither Sun Jian nor Liu Bei were a match for them. Distant water cannot quench immediate thirst; they still needed to deal with these two warlords first.

"Enough, enough, enough. We'll contact other families and gather another batch of military supplies to send to Sun Jian."

"Then contact Yan Baihu and the southern barbarians, and let them incite a rebellion, which will be enough to deal with Liu Bei."

Yan Baihu and the barbarians were their last trump cards. After this, all they could rely on was their family's fortified village and private army.

The people sent by the four major families to contact Cao Cao, Yan Baihu, and the southern barbarians were killed by Wei Hai's men who had been lying in ambush after they left Wu County.

The letter naturally ended up in Wei Hai's hands.

"These damned aristocratic families, I spared their lives, yet they are not grateful and dare to collude with Cao Cao. What's even more infuriating is that Yan Baihu, who plunders and kills countless people, was also supported by them."

"And those barbarians, huddled in those deep mountains and forests, occasionally venturing out to plunder, surprisingly also have the shadow of these aristocratic families among them!"

"Powerful families are indeed a cancer! Dong Zhongying was right!"

Sun Jian clutched the letters tightly, his inner murderous intent boiling.

Sun Ce stepped forward and volunteered, "Father, leave them to me. I will bring you the heads of those four old bastards!"

"Those who collude with barbarians shall all be sentenced to death!"

"Alright, the situation at the front is critical now, with Liu Bei pressing forward relentlessly. Your father can only spare 1 elite troops for you, and Gongjin also has to serve in the army at the front. Bofu, are you confident in your ability to fight alone?"

Sun Jian looked at his son with some satisfaction. His son was brave and skilled in battle, handsome and extraordinary, and his martial prowess had even surpassed that of his father.

"Your subject is willing to swear a military oath: if I fail to defeat the four great families, I will offer my head in retribution!"

Sun Ce stepped forward, knelt on the ground, and made a pledge.

"Excellent! As expected of my son!"

"From now on, these ten thousand men will be your personal guard. Go, and come back quickly!"

Sun Jian said with satisfaction.

Sun Ce's pledge was ignored by everyone present, as it was common knowledge that pledges made during the Three Kingdoms period were only valid for Ma Su.

Guan Yu let Cao Cao escape at Huarong Pass, Zhang Fei made a military pledge to capture Zhou Yu alive when attacking Jingzhou, and Cao Hong and Xiahou Dun under Cao Cao also violated their military pledges, and they were all punished with three cups of wine.

After Sun Ce left, he quickly led his troops to the Lu family in Wu Commandery, which was the closest to them.

Upon hearing the message from their men stationed at the city gate, Lu Kang immediately realized that the information had been leaked.

"Lu Yi, get out of here through the secret passage immediately."

"Remember, from today onwards, you are no longer Lu Yi, the legitimate son of the Lu family, but Lu Xun, a genius from a humble background, born in Yazhou. I have arranged your entire life story under this identity. Do you understand?"

"Grandpa, I remember."

Two tears welled up in Lu Xun's eyes. He was intelligent from a young age and was regarded by Lu Kang as the prodigy of the Lu family. Lu Kang personally took him under his wing and taught him. He had a very deep relationship with Lu Kang.

But he also knew that he bore the heavy responsibility of continuing the Lu family line and could not die here.

"Good child, go! There are provisions and identification documents prepared in advance in the secret passage. Go quickly."

Lu Kang looked at his grandson with a loving expression, his eyes filled with reluctance.

From now on, you'll have to walk your own path. Grandpa will be praying for you from the afterlife.

Lu Kang thought to himself.

Lu Xun left, turning back every few steps, tears blurring his vision.

As his grandson disappeared from his sight, Lu Kang's smile gradually faded, replaced by a face as cold as ice.

"You want to destroy the Lu family? You'd better see if you have the teeth!"

"Send a signal flare to notify the other three major families and the aristocratic families in the city. If the lips are gone, the teeth will be cold. After my Lu family is destroyed, it will be their turn."

"Mobilize the people that my Lu family has helped in the past, and let them help my Lu family defend Wubao."

"Open the treasury, take out all the money, grain, and armor, distribute the armor and armor, and spread the word: kill one person and you'll receive ten thousand coins! Treat everyone equally, whether they are servants or civilians coming to defend!"