“So, after this event, these noble families in Yuzhou are willing to side with us? I don’t recall Zhou Yu causing any recent trouble,” Chen Xi asked, puzzled. Zhou Yu wasn’t typically this aggressive.

“That’s why I said ‘after this.’” Chen Shang looked at Chen Xi, and in that moment, Chen Xi understood the underlying meaning.

“No wonder Uncle mentioned this as ‘icing on the cake.’ I see now. If we win, they’ll see it as the foundation of a lasting power, and combined with what they’ve witnessed, they’ll naturally consider joining us. It’s also because they’re dissatisfied with Sun Ce’s methods, right?” Chen Xi said calmly.

“Exactly. How you use this information is up to you,” Chen Shang said, handing over this strategic advantage to Chen Xi without hesitation. After all, it wasn’t his own people who would suffer if things went wrong—those unfortunate families could just be seen as contributing to the greater good.

“Understood,” Chen Xi nodded. “Is there anything else? Go ahead and say it all at once. I don’t have any deep-seated resentment toward noble families. To be honest, as long as you don’t challenge the rules I’ve set, I won’t go out of my way to target you unless history itself deems your existence obsolete.”

“Can you put that in writing?” Chen Shang asked directly, recognizing how important this promise was.

“Sure, but writing it down is too basic. We have someone who has calculated that the Two Heavenly Cauldrons of Heaven and Man will soon emerge. When the time comes, I can have the words ‘No group or individual, be they commoners or nobles, shall be targeted by any ruler unless they destabilize the foundation of the state’ engraved on one of the cauldrons!” Chen Xi said nonchalantly.

To Chen Xi, the supposed emergence of the Two Heavenly Cauldrons was just a fabrication by Li You. He could do whatever he wanted with it. The noble families merely sought reassurance, and since Chen Xi had no intention of outright destroying them, he might as well give them that peace of mind.

Chen Xi believed that the noble family system inherently had flaws, especially after the spread of education. Their eventual decline into history was inevitable.

Of course, if the noble families somehow managed to survive and even thrive under the new educational system, it would mean they had undergone systematic reforms and adapted to the new era. At that point, would it even be necessary to target them?

Chen Shang was initially stunned by Chen Xi’s words. It wasn’t until Chen Xi mentioned engraving on the cauldron that Chen Shang realized the significance—these were none other than the legendary Cauldrons of Heaven and Man, associated with Emperor Huangdi!

“Is this for real?” Chen Shang asked in a daze.

“There’s no reason to deceive you. The Three Cauldrons of Heaven, Man, and Earth are said to belong to Emperor Huangdi. With the emergence of the Heavenly Cauldrons, I can have this statement engraved on them, to be preserved for all time!” Chen Xi said, tilting his head slightly. He felt that deceiving people was surprisingly easy, especially when you could strike at their vulnerabilities.

“No destabilizing the foundation of the state—no group or individual, be they commoners or nobles, shall be targeted by any ruler,” Chen Shang repeated, realizing that, like before, this was incredibly fair. But commoners had no reason to be targeted; only the nobility had any value in this context.

“What exactly does ‘destabilizing the foundation of the state’ mean?” Though shaken by Chen Xi’s words, Chen Shang quickly regained his composure, pinpointing the crux of the matter.

“When the time comes, Bo Ning will have his legal principles engraved on the Heavenly Cauldron, so you’ll know. Just focus on remembering the parts that pertain to you,” Chen Xi said with a smile.

Chen Shang’s face twitched. If they dared to engrave such things on the Cauldrons of Heaven and Man, it meant that even if there were traps, those would be clearly written out. If you saw the trap and still walked into it, there was nothing more to say—it was a matter of intelligence.

“Alright, I’ll agree to all of this. When the Heavenly Cauldrons emerge, the noble families will send representatives to witness it. If the contents engraved match what we’ve discussed today, we will abide by them!” Chen Shang said solemnly, implying that while the cauldrons might be fake, they must at least be recognized by Liu Bei and the people under his rule.

“No problem.” Chen Xi wasn’t concerned with these details. As long as he understood the noble families’ intentions, that was enough.

However, Chen Xi hadn’t anticipated that the cauldrons they would eventually unearth were the real deal. When the cauldrons were unearthed and the sky turned turbulent, it was clear to anyone with eyes that these were authentic. By the time they were moved to Fenggao, the visible manifestation of the nation’s fortune further solidified what these cauldrons truly represented.

Naturally, when Chen Xi had the statements engraved, the noble families outwardly condemned him for desecrating the sacred cauldrons, but inwardly, they were pleased. To them, having their concerns etched into these artifacts placed them alongside the legendary cauldrons.

“This is a list of all the rebellious members within the Qingxu noble families,” Chen Shang said, handing over a document that was never supposed to reach Chen Xi. 𝒻𝓇𝑒𝘦𝘸𝑒𝒷𝓃ℴ𝑣𝘦𝑙.𝒸ℴ𝘮

“You’re just selling them out like this...” Chen Xi’s eye twitched. The nobility had no scruples, it seemed.

“It’s not selling them out. This information wasn’t supposed to be given to you, but it’s no longer necessary. We’re satisfied with your conditions, and the nobility’s goal is to grow stronger, not to court death. We never really expected to win this rebellion,” Chen Shang said, shaking his head.

Chen Xi said nothing in response, simply listening intently. He was genuinely intrigued by the behavior of the noble families.

“There are indeed some within the Qingxu nobility who are very dissatisfied with you, but most acknowledge that following you has indeed made them stronger. We’re not blind, and we have plenty of intelligent people, even if they’re not as brilliant as you. There are still enough capable of governing a district or a county,” Chen Shang sighed. “At most, we’re just a bit unwilling to accept the situation.”

“There’s nothing that can be done about that. In Qingzhou, some families oppose me. What can I do? The fact that I didn’t wipe them out shows my restraint. As for the rest of you, to be blunt, I don’t have time to micromanage the nobility. If you follow my lead, your families will continue to grow,” Chen Xi said with a shrug.

The truth was that Chen Xi hadn’t gone out of his way to target the nobility unless they directly opposed him. Even then, he would only crack down on them if he noticed a widespread trend among them. Chen Xi’s strategy had always been to balance rewards and punishments—offer benefits while holding a stick. Even if he beat down a family, as long as they started following orders, he wouldn’t target them further. In fact, if a noble family wanted to leave, Chen Xi wouldn’t stop them.

“Our families are indeed growing, but Taishan is growing even faster. That’s why there’s internal conflict within the nobility. Otherwise, with our current rate of growth, we’d be fully supporting the ruling power in any other era,” Chen Shang said helplessly.

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