Mythical Three Kingdoms

"Now, only the aristocratic families with strong backgrounds, clean reputations, and clever strategies remain," Li Youu said, looking at the aristocratic family genealogy and private slave register, which were already mostly in hand.

"Yuanfang, what should we do if Li Wenru comes? This guy is really ruthless. Should we give him what he wants and show some courtesy?" Xun Shuang sighed as he looked at Chen Ji. The three families had fled together, and since their families had no shortage of wise members, they initially were shocked by Li Ru’s tactics and almost contacted Chen Xi, but soon caught on.

Unfortunately, Li Youu seized the initiative and didn’t give them a chance to unite and resist, rapidly neutralizing threats. Quickly, he obtained what he wanted with his previous influence.

This led to the insightful members of various aristocratic families realizing Li Youu intended to establish the state’s foundation in one breath, but it was too late to stop him.

"Just give it to him," Chen Ji sighed. "We’ve lost this time — swift and ruthless. When he came to us, there were only a few families left that he hadn’t gathered. The situation is overpowering; we have no choice."

"There’s no other option," Xun Shuang said, feeling equally helpless, facing a situation without any preparation.

"Zichuan is indeed gentle by nature, but Liu Xuande’s subordinates lack none of the decisive and ruthless characters. This serves as a reminder; losing means losing. Even if we protect ourselves somehow, we’d only become a target for everyone," Chen Ji said with a hint of lamentation.

The Chen Family produced a figure who dominated an era, which inherently attracted disdain. If not for Chen Xi’s mild temperament, managing to hold other aristocratic families together, the Chen Family, with its deep roots envied by all, would have an unpleasant situation.

Without these factors, had the current generation of the Chen Family offended too many, once Chen Xi left, suppression of the Chen Family would be inevitable.

Though the Chen Family appears prosperous and harmonious now, it’s still fraught with danger. Until now, they’ve managed without issues, coexisting peacefully with other families mostly due to their inherent foundation.

If the Chen Family chose to stand against Li Youu’s demand, honestly, with their current resources, they could withstand. Li Youu, even if he wanted to nitpick, wouldn’t find significant faults. The Chen Family indeed hasn’t done anything outrageous nor caused trouble for Liu Bei.

Under these circumstances, even if the Chen Family refused, Li Youu couldn’t possibly annihilate the entire family, no matter how furious he felt.

So, while they could hold firm, for Chen Ji, it’s meaningless. Li Youu’s achievement was nearly registering everyone in the realm.

Amid such conditions, the Chen Family failing to submit their genealogy and private slave register would stand apart from the system. They may remain unafraid with Chen Xi, but once he’s gone, they’d likely face inevitable backlash.

Standing outside like a pillar drawing fire, although with resources at hand, founding a state abroad as a foundation, confronting the nation to halt its action is conceivable.

But it’s futile — not seeking a mere century-old aristocratic status, but striving as a millennia-old family suffices. As for constraints, Chen Ji doesn’t believe Xun Shuang couldn’t see; outside the borders, Li Youu’s efforts would face significant destruction.

Then, limitations remain but dwindled to pieces like post-Guangwu dynasties. Even if Li Youu possessed vast capabilities, recording every family member on the register is impossible. Holding a country of aristocratic families isn’t easily restricted.

By that time, plenty of ways exist to hide. Threats like obliteration were scoffed at by the families.

Xun Shen had already guessed Li Youu’s plan for designing templates for the future, arranging power for family state establishment, but the methods were upsetting. Even the seasoned ones hadn’t reacted before everything was already acquired.

Only six or seven families remain. Li Youu ceased threatening, as these families are tough — intimidation hardly works. These families lack nothing in reputation or wisdom, so Li Youu doesn’t want to be underestimated by them.

"I..." Xun Shuang’s mouth twitched as he eyed Li Youu. Unaware Li Youu was actually Li Ru, he’d been wondering who was so ruthless, acting cleanly and decisively.

Speaking of, Xun Shuang hadn’t focused much on this aspect; recovering health, he primarily sorted relationships among the aristocratic families, educating the younger ones to grow correctly. Producing figures like Xun Yu generation after generation reassured him more than any enterprise.

As for the younger members, several guessed Li Youu’s identity, yet certain things are unstated despite being known, so no one informed Xun Shuang. This meeting with Li Youu left Xun Shuang embarrassed, encountering an old acquaintance.

"What’s wrong, Ci Ming." Chen Ji also noticed Xun Shuang’s unusual expression and immediately transmitted his voice to inquire.

"This guy is Li Ru." Xun Shuang’s face remained calm, but he was speechless internally. He had been wondering who could be so ruthless, and now he understood—Li Ru, wasn’t it a common pattern for him to massacre entire families?

"I appreciate the two elders for welcoming me." Li Youu approached and performed a courtesy first. Sima Jun was absent this time; that guy simply dared not wander around anymore. At eighty to ninety years old, the weariness of travel would surely be too much, so the Sima clan’s leader this time was Sima Jun’s son, Sima Fang.

Of course, Sima Jun had already briefed Chen Ji, Xun Shuang, and his son Sima Fang, that if something major happened, as long as it wasn’t a family extermination, Chen Ji and Xun Shuang should dictate the course of action, and Sima Fang should just follow along. If those two wanted to play with Sima Fang, he couldn’t withstand it, so he’d better refrain from unnecessary actions and just obey.

Being told off like this by his own elder father, Sima Fang shrugged, indicating that he was just here to listen in, so he followed the two old men, not interfering at all.

Both parties performed the courtesy and remained silent, while Li Youu felt somewhat frustrated inside. How come those rebels from Luoyang and Chang’an weren’t all dead yet? On this journey, he’s encountered several of them, some of whom were directly involved. How are they all still alive and kicking?

"I imagine the two elders already know my purpose, and since Zichuan has disclosed some information, you both know more than the others. May I know your choice?" Li Youu went straight to the point. He wasn’t sure he’d win playing political games with these two, so he opted for directness.

"Everything is prepared, and you can take the main register directly, but as for the rest, you should have received the entire genealogy and private slave register from other aristocratic families. You can have them, but they must not be damaged," Chen Ji stated helplessly.

"Thank you both." Li Youu, while aware that these two are indeed smart people, it is precisely because of their intelligence that they are hard to predict. Resolving things this way is quite fortunate.

"No need to thank us, and try not to commit too much slaughter. Those forty-plus families may have erred, but surely you know their crimes don’t warrant extermination," Chen Ji sighed somewhat.

"It’s true the crimes aren’t deserving of death, but at this point, future troubles can’t be left behind. Only a unified country can stride forward, and I’ve given them four chances. Each time, they dragged their feet. I’m unsure if, once abroad, they’ll continue to hinder progress," Li Youu nodded, but didn’t admit any wrongdoing. Four chances, every time dragging feet—without exterminating their entire families, would they just continue afterward?

Li Youu wasn’t so degraded; he seized this opportunity to eliminate them entirely, both as a warning to the remaining aristocratic families and to permanently remove future troubles. If those hindering families were fiefed and founded new countries, they’d surely be a big nuisance.

Now they needed unity against external threats. Eliminating those families who didn’t know when to act wouldn’t weaken national power, but rather save some effort in dealing with foreign issues.

The benefits Chen Xi offered were substantial, but under such circumstances, if they still grasped randomly, it showed restraint was ineffective. If restraint wasn’t working, then they ought to die!

The whole country needed to exert force westward, so whether the major families exert force directly west, west-northwest, or west-southwest, Li Youu wouldn’t interfere. Even at the beginning, when they hadn’t sorted things out yet, some exerted force even to the south or north, which was understandable.

But it’s been four times, four times and some still exert force eastward. If Li Youu didn’t exterminate their entire families, that simply wasn’t his character. Some families are indeed foolhardy, but to be foolhardy even after three warnings and still exerting force eastward, that’s truly a death wish.

"That’s settled then, we’ll try to make them understand, but understanding doesn’t mean permission. You’d better be careful going forward, there’ll be assassination attempts before the national gate opens." Chen Ji sighed; yes, the crimes don’t warrant death, but at this stage, this is the most correct choice.

"Thank you!" Li Youu bowed, as for promising Chen Family and Xun Family, forget it. These two families need no promises—the things Li Youu knows, these two old men basically know as well. Even if not, by sharing internal family information, they’d figure it out.

The two families boast ten possessors of Spiritual Talent. If internal family issues due to second and third generations hadn’t caused division, their strength could be even stronger.

"Go back and tell the kids at home not to fall into this guy’s hands." Xun Shuang and Chen Ji watched Li Youu depart. Xun Shuang advised Chen Ji, falling into Li Youu’s hands means certain death. This guy is truly a madman who bravely enacts ideals with his life.

"No need, let’s just stay in the Northeast." Chen Ji said slowly, then smiled at Xun Shuang, saying, "Speaking of which, without the Spiritual Talent, the feeling of suppressing an era has faded quite a bit."

Xun Shuang raised an eyebrow, quietly nodding. It seemed he relied too much on his Spiritual Talent. Without that thing, there was a constant emptiness, and his actions became more conservative.