You get Lu Bu as your starting character.

Chapter 276 Clan Chief, This Matter Has Nothing to Do with Us
Customs.

The Northern Capital.

Lu Bu glanced at Liang Tong and the other man lying on the ground, a hint of disdain on his face.

Even his halberd couldn't stop it.

Is this what is meant by a person who is detached from worldly affairs yet still engaged in them?

Nothing more than that.

Lu Bu had initially thought that these worldly people, who seemed detached from worldly affairs, possessed some real strength.

The result, however, greatly disappointed Lü Bu.

Lu Bu sheathed his halberd and looked at Gao Shun; "General Gao, are you alright?"

Gao Shun shook his head; "It's alright, thanks to General Lü's timely arrival."

"Otherwise, I'm afraid I'll have no choice but to take action at all costs to capture these two."

Gao Shun glanced at Liang Tong and the other person lying on the ground and said.

If Lü Bu hadn't appeared in time, Gao Shun would have had no choice but to resort to forbidden methods.

If that were the case, the result would definitely be killing a thousand enemies while losing eight hundred of your own.

Upon hearing this, Lü Bu said, "As soon as I received His Majesty's decree, I rushed here without stopping."

"These worldly people are no ordinary people."

"Now, there are quite a few such people entering the world, General Gao, you should be more careful in the future."

Although Lü Bu disdained the strength of Liang Tong and his group.

But deep down, Lü Bu had to admit that Liang Tong and his group were quite strong.

Within the Great Zhou territory, few could rival them.

Of course, Lu Bu is an exception.

If Gao Shun were to act at all costs, he could indeed take down these two.

But the price paid is absolutely unimaginable.

Therefore, Lü Bu had to remind Gao Shun to be more careful.

After all, Lü Bu came to Beidu City only to capture Liang Tong and the other two; he couldn't possibly stay in Beidu City.

The safety of Beidu City from now on still depends on Gao Shun and his team.

"General Lü, rest assured, I will be very careful."

Gao Shun nodded. He had also received news from the court that many people like Liang Tong had entered the world.

Meanwhile, the Northern Di prisoners who had been causing unrest around the area had been suppressed by the Trapped Camp and the Prefectural Guards.

……

Jinluan Palace.

Early morning of the Great Zhou Dynasty.

Civil and military officials walked along both sides of the imperial road, entering the Golden Palace in order of their rank.

After all the civil and military officials had taken their places, Zhou Chen stepped onto the golden imperial road and ascended to the court.

"Long live your majesty."

All the civil and military officials knelt down to pay their respects.

"Flat body."

Zhou Chen sat upright on the dragon throne, looking at the civil and military officials in the court, like a fierce tiger lying on a desolate hill.

"Thank you, Your Majesty."

All the civil and military officials stood up.

"When there is something going on, we will start, and when there is nothing going on, we will retreat."

The sharp voices of the eunuchs and guards echoed throughout the entire Golden Palace.

Cao Zhengchun did not attend court with Zhou Chen today because Zhou Chen only gave him three days to deal with the Assassin's Tower.

Therefore, Cao Zhengchun had already left Luoyang.

No sooner had the eunuchs and guards finished speaking than the Minister of War stepped forward, cupped his hands, and said, "Your Majesty, I have something to report."

"speak."

Zhou Chen slowly uttered a single word.

"Your Majesty, all the private soldiers in the country have been collected, numbering a full million. These private soldiers are mixed up, and some can only be considered servants, not soldiers at all."

"These private soldiers, aside from supplementing a portion of the Divine Martial Guard, how should the remaining private soldiers be placed? Your Majesty, please decide."

The Minister of War loudly submitted his memorial.

With the completion of the decree issued by the Prince of Kao Shan to collect the private armies of powerful families and wealthy clans across the land, the Minister of War began to have a headache.

These private armies number in the millions.

Furthermore, these private soldiers were a mixed bag; some of them could not be considered soldiers at all, but rather servants.

How to settle so many private soldiers became a problem for the Ministry of War.

After hearing this, Zhou Chen pondered for a moment and said, "The armies on the four borders have suffered considerable casualties after several major battles."

“These private soldiers, in addition to supplementing a portion of the Divine Martial Guard, can also be used to supplement the large armies on the four borders.”

"As for those servants who are unsuitable for military service..."

At this point, Zhou Chen pondered for a moment and said, "We can hand all these people over to the Ministry of Revenue, register them as citizens, and issue land to those who do not have land, so that they can all return to being ordinary people!"

Zhou Chen remembered that the powerful and wealthy families he had previously wiped out had acquired a considerable amount of land.

Especially the seven great families like the Yuan family of Runan and the Zheng family of Rongyang, after the imperial court destroyed them, they obtained a large amount of land.

These lands, which the imperial court has not yet fully disposed of, are perfect for these landless servants to cultivate.

Having received instructions from Emperor Zhou Chen, the Minister of War understood what to do and withdrew.

Next, Fang Xuanling, Du Ruhui, and several other ministers stepped forward one by one to present the problems they had encountered, awaiting His Majesty's decision.

And so, the morning court session of the Great Zhou proceeded in an orderly and unhurried manner.

More than an hour later, no one in the court, whether civil or military officials, stepped forward.

Zhou Chen looked at the civil and military officials in the hall and said, "Do you have anything else to say, my dear ministers?"

"We are finished..."

Zhou Chen placed his right hand on the armrest of the dragon throne and slowly said, "Since all my ministers have nothing else to say, I have something to say."

"I have received news that Xun Yu was assassinated in Langya."

what?
Was Xun Yu assassinated in Langya?

Upon hearing this, the expressions of all the civil and military officials changed.

Who is Xun Yu?
This is the Minister of Revenue, a high-ranking official of the court, and a close confidant of His Majesty.

Who has the audacity to try and kill Xun Yu?
"Furthermore, officials from the Ministry of Revenue who went to various places to investigate powerful families for plundering land were also assassinated, and three of them were killed."

Zhou Chen glanced at the civil and military officials and then spoke.

This time, the civil and military officials were shocked upon hearing this.

No one expected that not only Xun Yu was assassinated, but other officials of the Ministry of Revenue who were stationed outside the capital were also assassinated, and three of them were killed.

This caused quite a stir among the civil and military officials.

It should be noted that over the years, very few people have dared to assassinate court officials so openly.

Even in the past, when the imperial court was in decline, almost no one dared to do this.

After all, even a starved camel is bigger than a horse; everyone knows that.

Assassinating a court official would be tantamount to provoking the court and making an enemy of it, which would be a losing proposition.

But now, someone actually dared to openly assassinate court officials, and even killed three officials from the Ministry of Revenue. They even dared to lay a hand on Xun Yu, the Minister of Revenue. How could this not shock all the officials?

"First, when Prince Kaoshan was returning to Luoyang, he was ambushed and killed thirty miles outside the city, and Prince Kaoshan was seriously injured."

"Now, Xun Yu and officials from the Ministry of Revenue have been assassinated one after another, and three officials from the Ministry of Revenue have been killed."

"This means that someone is dissatisfied with the court and with my decrees."

Zhou Chen's voice echoed in the ears of the officials, causing their hearts to tighten involuntarily. The civil and military officials were not fools; they naturally understood the meaning behind Emperor Zhou Chen's words.

It is clear.

The emperor suspected that powerful and influential families were behind the assassination attempt.

Some officials glanced discreetly at the Minister of Justice.

Langya was the territory of the Wang family. Xun Yu, the Minister of Revenue, was assassinated in Langya, so the first suspects would probably be the Wang family of Langya.

The Minister of Justice was also on tenterhooks.

He was genuinely afraid that if Xun Yu were assassinated in Langya, the emperor would suspect his Wang family.

If that were the case, the Wang family would be in big trouble.

Zhou Chen scanned the civil and military officials, his gaze finally settling on the Minister of Justice, Wang Yangming; "Wang Yangming."

"The minister is here."

The Minister of Justice was startled and immediately stood up.

Zhou Chen looked at Wang Yangming and said, "You are the Minister of Justice. Although I have already ordered the Eastern Depot to investigate this matter, your Ministry of Justice cannot do nothing."

"Your Ministry of Justice must also send capable personnel to apprehend those assassins, investigate the mastermind behind them, and bring to justice these audacious madmen who dare to assassinate court officials."

With a court official assassinated, Zhou Chen naturally couldn't leave the Ministry of Justice unused.

After all, the Ministry of Justice was the only department in the imperial court that was legitimately responsible for investigating major cases and tracking down criminals.

"The minister obeys the order."

The Minister of Justice immediately bowed and accepted the imperial decree.

"Regarding the assassination of the Ministry of Revenue official, the local authorities have not yet reported it to the authorities. You can go to the Eastern Depot to find out more."

Zhou Chen then addressed the Minister of Justice.

The Eastern Depot's information travels much faster than the official channels of the imperial court; news of the assassination of the Ministry of Revenue official has yet to reach the court.

"Yes, Your Majesty."

The Minister of Justice bowed again.

"Retreat."

After that, Zhou Chen said nothing more and got up to leave the Golden Palace.

……

Langya.

Wang family.

Inside the council chamber.

The head of the Wang family sat in the main seat, with more than ten senior elders of the Wang family seated below him.

The Wang family patriarch looked at the dozen or so elders seated below with a tense expression and said in a deep voice, "I will ask you one more time, is any of you involved in Xun Yu's assassination attempt?"

"If it involves any of you, speak up immediately and don't hide it from everyone."

"Otherwise, it will bring big trouble to the Wang family."

The Wang family patriarch scanned the crowd with an extremely serious and solemn expression.

This matter is of utmost importance. In the past, given the Wang family's influence, they wouldn't have needed to be so nervous.

But things are different now. The imperial court is no longer what it used to be; it now wields great power and influence.

Since Xun Yu, the Minister of Revenue, was assassinated in Langya, the first group of people suspected by the court would definitely be his Wang family.

Who told Langya to be part of the Wang family's territory!

Therefore, the Wang family patriarch must determine whether this matter has anything to do with the Wang family.

If there's no connection, then anything is fine.

But if they really have something to do with the Wang family, then they're in big trouble.

The dozen or so senior members of the Wang family present exchanged glances but made no comment.

One of the senior elders spoke up, saying, "Clan leader, this matter has nothing to do with us."

“We’re not stupid. Even if we really wanted to take action against Xun Yu, we wouldn’t choose to do it in Langya, our own backyard.”

"Everyone knows that if we do this, the first family to be suspected by the imperial court will be our Wang family."

The words of this senior elder were met with nods of agreement from the other elders.

"Yes, clan leader, this matter has nothing to do with us."

"However, since Xun Yu was assassinated in Langya, our Wang family will definitely be the first to be suspected by the court."

“That’s right. Langya is our Wang family’s territory. Xun Yu was assassinated here, and our Wang family is the first suspect. We don’t know who did this. Isn’t this a betrayal of our Wang family?”

The faces of the several senior elders were very grim.

The imperial court's recent actions against powerful and influential families have strained the relationship between the court and these families.

Langya is the territory of the Wang family, and the Wang family is one of the three most powerful and influential families.

Xun Yu was assassinated in Langya. Wasn't this just stirring up trouble between the court and the royal family?
The Wang family patriarch, seated at the head of the table, visibly breathed a sigh of relief upon hearing the words of these high-ranking elders; "It's good that this matter has nothing to do with our Wang family."

"As for the court's suspicions, that's not important. His Majesty in the palace is no ordinary person; he knows this very well."

“As long as it has nothing to do with our Wang family, the Eastern Depot will not be able to find anything about the Wang family.”

The Wang family patriarch felt much more relaxed.

It's good that this matter has nothing to do with the Wang family.

What he feared was that this matter was related to the Wang family.

If that were the case, given the capabilities of the Eastern Depot, they would definitely be able to trace it back to the Wang family.

At that time, the Wang family might really be in big trouble.

"Clan leader, I heard that the assassin who tried to kill Xun Yu was from the Assassin's Guild."

"It wasn't just Xun Yu; the Prince of Kao Shan was also ambushed by the Assassin's Tower thirty miles outside Luoyang. Even three officials from the Ministry of Revenue were killed by the Assassin's Tower."

"These assassins are quite audacious. More than twenty years ago, they were besieged and suppressed by the imperial court."

"They still dare to act so recklessly. Aren't they afraid of another round of suppression by the imperial court?"

"A senior elder frowned and said."

Such a major event as the assassination of Prince Kao Shan and officials from the Ministry of Revenue could not be kept secret from these top aristocratic families.

These top aristocratic families received the news immediately.

The Wang family patriarch shook his head and said, "I don't know if the Assassin's Guild is afraid of being besieged by the imperial court, but the Assassin's Guild is in big trouble."

"Given His Majesty's style of doing things, he certainly won't let the Assassin's Tower go."

"And the person behind this is probably going to be in big trouble too."

As the Wang family patriarch spoke, his eyes flickered.

"However, these things don't really concern us."

"Now, the people in that place have all entered the world again, this time much earlier, and it's a bit different from before."

"This time, these worldly people are visiting various families and forces, and the young masters who came to our Wang family are all of extraordinary status."

"This is an opportunity for our Wang family, but it is also a crisis."

"Therefore, we must be more careful with these young masters from now on, to avoid any problems."

The Wang family patriarch said solemnly.

As a top-tier family in the Great Zhou Dynasty, second only to the four great clans, the head of the Wang family naturally knew a bit about those who were involved in worldly affairs.

Previously, when those people entered the world, they rarely visited these secular forces.

But this time was different. Those who had entered the world seemed to have some purpose in visiting various forces in the Great Zhou, and even the Wang family was no exception.

Some worldly people also came to visit, and they were quite influential.

This is why the Wang family patriarch repeatedly and solemnly instructed these senior Wang family elders.

"Don't worry, clan leader, we understand."

The dozen or so senior members of the Wang family present all understood the meaning of the Wang family patriarch. As they were able to hold high positions in the Wang family, they were all discerning individuals who knew what was important.

(End of this chapter)