Nine dragons fight for the throne, I don't want to sit on this throne

The fourth stop is the Zhao family mansion in Xingyang.

Zhao Kuo, the head of the Zhao family, had a somewhat upright character, but in the face of absolute strength and bloody intimidation, that uprightness instantly vanished.

He looked at Ran Ming and the personal soldiers behind him whose eyes were like hungry wolves, and then thought of the fate of the royal family during the day. All his resentment and hesitation disappeared.

He took the invitation respectfully and said in a deep voice, "Zhao understands. I will attend the banquet on time tomorrow."

While Ran Ming was personally visiting these most representative top families, other soldiers under his command also took action separately and delivered the same style of invitations to all the heads of influential families in and around Chang'an City.

Be it a century-old family with a long tradition or a newly emerged powerful nobleman in recent years, their reactions when they received the invitation from Chu Ning were surprisingly consistent - shock, fear, and then they agreed without hesitation and even with a bit of eagerness.

No shirking, no excuses, and no courage to refuse.

"Please report to Your Majesty that we will attend the banquet on time!"

"It is an honor for our clan to be spared by Your Majesty!"

"Thank you, my lord. I will be waiting for you in the palace early tomorrow!"

Similar assurances were heard one after another in front of the gates of various aristocratic families in Chang'an City.

Before receiving the post, they might have been engaged in heated debates within their family, discussing how to behave in the new dynasty, whether to keep their distance or to cooperate with it to a limited extent.

But when the invitation with the bloody scent of Ran Ming was actually delivered to his hands, all the calculations and hesitations were replaced by the most primitive fear.

Chu Ning used the most direct method - demonstrating absolute strength and ruthless killing - to ensure that there would be no unexpected absences at the banquet.

These heads of aristocratic families, who usually called the shots in the local area and even the imperial power had to be wary of them, now clearly realized that the situation in Chang'an City had completely changed and the will of the new emperor would not tolerate any form of challenge.

Tonight is destined to be a sleepless night for many aristocratic families in Chang'an City.

Under the lamp, they repeatedly pondered the deep meaning of the gold-embossed invitation and discussed how to deal with it tomorrow in order to seek a glimmer of hope for the family under the cruel new emperor, or even... perhaps there would be new opportunities?

Deep in the palace, Chu Ning listened to Ran Ming's report and just nodded lightly.

Everything was within his expectations.

Tomorrow's back garden banquet will be a key step for him to completely digest the Han area and bring the last force on this land that is not under his absolute control into his hands.

The net has been cast, waiting for the fish to fall into the trap.

The night was as dark as ink, shrouding Chang'an City in silence.

However, deep in the Qinghe Cui Mansion in the east of the city, in a heavily guarded and brightly lit secret room, the atmosphere was so solemn that it almost seemed to drip water.

The bloody smell at the West Market entrance seemed to linger in the daytime, and the gold-plated invitation card that the evil spirit Ran Ming personally delivered to the door in the evening was more like a red-hot iron, burning every family head present to feel uneasy.

In addition to Cui Yan, Wang Jing, Li You and Zhao Kuo, who were personally visited by Ran Ming, the secret room also gathered five or six other representatives of influential families in the Han area.

After receiving the post, they all chose to come to the Cui family, which had the most power, in an attempt to gather together for warmth and discuss countermeasures.

The flickering candlelight illuminated the gloomy and worried faces.

These family heads who usually live a life of luxury and enjoy chatting and laughing are now like ants on a hot pan, unable to maintain their usual composure.

"Mr. Cui,"

Wang Jing, the head of the Taiyuan Wang family, spoke first in a dry voice. He unconsciously stroked the invitation in his hand, as if trying to squeeze out some hope from it.

"The Chu Emperor's move is clearly a Hongmen Banquet! He just slaughtered the entire Liu family in the daytime, and now he's sending us a message in the evening. This... this banquet is not a good one!"

Li You of the Longxi Li family sighed, his gray eyebrows knitted tightly together:

"Brother Wang, you are absolutely right. The King of Chu rose from humble beginnings and acted cruelly and unreasonably."

"The arrogant and fierce generals under his command disregard etiquette and laws."

"I'm afraid tomorrow's banquet will force us to express our stance, or even cut our flesh and bleed!"

"Cutting flesh and bleeding?"

Zhao Kuo of the Zhao family of Xingyang had a relatively upright character. Upon hearing this, he couldn't help but raise his voice, his face full of resentment and unwillingness.

"Haven't you heard of the policy that the Chu State implemented in its homeland? 'Equal distribution of land, equal distribution of wealth'!"

"They forcibly confiscated the land of the powerful landlords and distributed it to the peasants!"

"If he were to implement this policy in our Han land, he would be digging up the very foundations of our families!"

The word "field" was like the sharpest needle, instantly piercing the most sensitive nerve of everyone present!

The reason why these aristocratic families have been able to stand firm through the changes of dynasties is that they control a large amount of land and the tenants and retainers who depend on the land.

Land is the basis of their power, the source of their wealth, and the foundation of family inheritance!

"Brother Zhao hit the nail on the head!"

The other family head, surnamed Zheng, slapped his thigh suddenly, and the muscles on his face twitched.

"My Zheng family has lived in Yingchuan for generations. We have thousands of acres of fertile land and countless manors. This is all thanks to the accumulation of our ancestors and the inheritance of poetry and literature!"

"If Chu Ning really wants to follow his old Chu's example and forcibly divide up our land, then... wouldn't that be more painful than killing us? A century-old foundation will be destroyed in an instant!"

There was an uproar in the secret room, and everyone could no longer suppress their inner panic.

"Yes! My family's farm in Jizhou has been run by more than ten generations!"

"And those tenants and dependents who depend on our clan, if they are all divided up, how will we maintain the family? How will we support our children's education and careers?"

"This Chu Emperor is trying to cut off our chance of survival!"

"He just slaughtered the Liu royal family and is filled with murderous intent. If we disobey him at the banquet tomorrow, will...will we also end up with our heads and bodies torn apart?"

A timid householder spoke out everyone's deepest fear in a trembling voice.

Thinking of the piles of headless corpses and heads hanging high at the West Market Gate, the secret room suddenly became quiet, with only heavy breathing and the crackling sound of candlelight.

A chilling feeling of grief ran up from the soles of everyone's feet to the top of their heads.

As the most senior and prestigious family head present, Cui Yan had been listening to everyone's discussions in silence, his face so gloomy that water could be squeezed out of it.

He spoke slowly, his voice a little hoarse: "Everyone, please be patient. Panic will not solve the problem."

He looked around, his eyes sweeping over every frightened face: "The Chu Emperor's intentions are known to everyone."

"What he wants is the complete submission of the Han region and the elimination of all forces that may threaten his rule."

"We, the aristocratic families who control important lands and have influence over the region, are naturally thorns in his eyes."

"Then... then according to Mr. Cui, how should we respond tomorrow?" Wang Jing asked anxiously.