Mythical Three Kingdoms

Those who left were all executed here, and on that very day, the military emerged from Chen Commandery. The families of these executed landlords and gentry were also all seized, and any who resisted were executed. Even if the landlords and gentry fortified Wu Fort, they could not withstand the regular army.

Jia Xu and Li Youu moved from place to place, slaying as they went. Li Youu killed the head of the family, exterminating the entire clan; Jia Xu killed the subordinates, directly annihilating any resisters.

Their cooperation was seamless, their preparations comprehensive; the Great Aristocratic Families hadn’t even had time to react, and Li Youu had already executed the families that had committed offenses more than thrice.

The northern migration of the aristocratic families was the time of their greatest vulnerability. Away from their native land, without fortifications, without city-level defenses, without carefully planned escape routes, without complex connections, they couldn’t have anyone wandering about as before.

The relocation of an entire clan means everyone returns, and naturally, during the killing, not one is missed, avoiding situations where some legitimate lineage members aren’t home.

"Li Ru, you shall not die a good death!" Those from Chang’an weren’t all dead yet, so naturally there were those who remembered Li Ru. But it was of no matter; Li Youu brought only loyal followers.

"Kill!" Li Youu coldly ordered, seeming utterly indifferent to being identified, fearing not in the slightest the threat of dying a terrible death. Joke, Li Youu afraid of that!

"Is this the last family?" Li Youu found the killing easy; within a month, he slaughtered them almost entirely. Even the most well-informed among the Great Aristocratic Families couldn’t have heard yet how many families Li Youu had destroyed, for his swift, fierce, and precise actions hardly leaked any information.

Even if nearby individuals quickly relayed messages, there was no sharing among the Great Aristocratic Families. With the Military Spirit Legion’s swiftness, and Li Youu’s prior arrangements to block message transmission, the Great Aristocratic Families couldn’t have imagined a quarter of them had already fallen by Li Youu’s blade.

"Yes, Family Head." Li Youu’s butler bowed in response.

"Go, now release the news, letting the Great Aristocratic Families receive it within five days, and then we’ll compile the household registrations family by family!" Li Youu sneered. He, Li Wenru, had been compiling household registrations for years, yet hadn’t completed it simply because he couldn’t intervene in these families. But this time when he demands their registrations, the Great Aristocratic Families will surely be fearful!

"Understood!" Li Youu’s butler promptly ordered messengers to swiftly lift the blockade on information. The greatest advantage of the household registration in Li Youu’s hands is that he can easily restrict certain people!

"Strategist, if you proceed like this, Strategist Jia will be in a passive position. He surely hasn’t completed his task yet," Wan Peng expressed some hesitation. Li Youu had to wipe out over forty families, while Jia Xu’s target was far more.

"Don’t worry, Wen He surely has it handled." Li Youu glanced at Wan Peng. Wan Peng felt his hair stand on end, reminiscent of ten years ago. Li Youu hadn’t changed at all; for a goal, he would not hesitate to kill without mercy.

"Alas, seems like the killing was slightly excessive." Jia Xu looked at the booklet in his hand, feeling a bit of a headache. "But it doesn’t matter, it’s already done."

"Time is tight now; we’ll rely on Wen Ru’s expertise. The aristocratic families are likely to be speechless this time. Wen Ru’s preparations are overly thorough, with morality and legality in their hands, and the army ready," Jia Xu sighed deeply. When it comes to ruthlessness, he and Li Youu fell a bit short. If the aristocratic families don’t capitulate, Li Youu might slaughter another wave!

The previous hesitation stemmed from Chen Xi’s softness and the impossibility of complete extermination. But this time, if he softens again, there will surely be trouble later, especially with Li Youu having absolute confidence in extinguishing entire families, leaving no aftermath!

In these circumstances, need anyone say how Li Youu, famously ruthless, would choose? The whole-family-extermination strategy was set when Li Youu casually mentioned to Chen Xi he wouldn’t kill recklessly.

As Jia Xu sighed, Li Youu had already surrounded the Yang Family of Hongnong with his army. Five days had passed, and the Great Aristocratic Families had all received news of Li Youu’s actions. Such madness had thrown all families into panic; even the Chen-Xun family was in fear and dread.

"Li Wenru, what brings you here!" Yang Hongg ordered the protectors of his family to form a formation while personally stepping out to negotiate with Li Youu. Naturally, the Yang Family, unsure of the reason yet, was prepared for total annihilation, knowing over forty families before them had been obliterated.

Even in broad daylight, surrounded by the army, the Yang Family of Hongnong was in dire straits. First, the legitimate lineage Yang Biao committed suicide, though a letter was sent back to explain the cause; while the Yang Family of Hongnong was deeply troubled, they adhered to the agreement to migrate north. But now, would they face total ruin?

"Yang Family’s genealogy and the roster of servants in your clan, hand them over!" Li Youu directly stated. Since the Yang Family signed the documents without any breaches, naturally Li Youu couldn’t destroy them. But if he didn’t use this occasion to fill his household registration, it’d be utterly foolish.

Yang Hongg paused, but at this point, the situation overpowered him. One command from Li Youu could lead the Yang Family to be exterminated like the previous forty-plus families, so despite Yang Hongg’s bewilderment, he had nothing to say and promptly handed over the clan’s roster to Li Youu.

"Farewell to Yang Family heading north. Originally 9,400 qing of fertile land will be registered under the Yang Family name. I’ll additionally grant 600 qing as a calming gesture." Li Youu bowed and instructed the presentation of land deeds and map planning already prepared to Yang Hongg, then led his troops away.

Yang Hongg looked at the map and land deeds in his hand, somewhat dazed, completely oblivious to the events that transpired. But with the whole family unharmed and 600 qing of land received, what was there to be discontent about? Getting rid of such a curse was to amass a fortune!

Yang Hongg was entirely unaware that once these items reached Li Youu’s hands, Li Youu could truly start compiling the household registers he’d long desired; Yang Family’s submission was just the beginning.

Afterward, Li Youu threatened family by family; by now, the Great Aristocratic Families, already in disarray, froze as Li Youu’s army surrounded them, naturally surrendering without any action. The blood of those exterminated families had yet to dry!

In the great terror and chaos, nearly all the aristocratic families had no time to react before Li Youu demanded their genealogies and rosters of household servants, private slaves, and private soldiers. Then, Li Youu straightforwardly gave some compensation and marched his troops away, providing no explanation to these unnerved individuals.

"Hey, Li Wenru, don’t go overboard, surrounding us with your army—what do you intend to do?" After encircling the Zheng Family of Xingyang, the Shen Family of Shanyang, and the Deng Family of Yingyin, Zheng Tai, Shen Wen, and Deng Lun directly exclaimed.

These three didn’t originally live together, but due to the camaraderie of a past revolution, and their shared understanding, they coexisted afterward. During the northern migration, they moved together, only to be collectively surrounded by Li Youu now.

"Wen Ye, hurry and flee; I’ll hold back Li Wenru. This guy’s intent on exterminating the entire family!" Deng Lun adopted a posture of wanting to stay behind, urging Zheng Tai and Shen Wen.

"I’ll stay behind. You two go quickly!" Shen Wen pulled Deng Lun.

"Enough, you three hand over the family genealogy and the roster of private servants," Li Youu said with a tinge of helplessness. These three families hadn’t caused any trouble, proving themselves staunch supporters, never committing offenses or creating disturbances. Hence, they knew full well there was nothing to fear from Li Youu.

The trio hesitated, with faces of reluctance; it was tantamount to revealing the foundation of their main families, causing their initial bravado to fade into silence.

"Stop pondering; no one can escape this." Li Youu’s expression remained unyielding as he faced the trio.

"How many have you collected?" Zheng Tai asked after a pause.

"Not counting you, just eleven families remaining." Li Youu tranquilly replied.