The Three Kingdoms: I asked you to save Guan Yu, not to destroy Sun Quan.

Gu Mu was genuinely terrified. He knew all too well how terrible reforms could be. Throughout history, every reform had resulted in rivers of blood.

What's even more infuriating is that reforms always target this group of vested interests. Whether Li Kui's reforms, Shang Yang's reforms, or Wu Qi's reforms succeeded or not, they all resulted in the massacre of the scholar-official class. It's completely unreasonable.

Those damned Guan father and son actually want to carry out reforms in Jiangdong; this is clearly aimed at their aristocratic family.

Gu Mu angrily retorted, "As members of the aristocratic family, aren't you and your son afraid of cutting yourselves off from the aristocratic community?"

Guan Xing retorted, "Bullshit! My father is just a stinking date seller, what kind of aristocratic family is he? My father and I aren't even from humble families. At least a humble family has a door."

“Uh…” Gu Mu said speechlessly, “So what? Your father has already been ennobled and appointed as a general, becoming a great war god of the Han Dynasty who is famous throughout China. What’s the point of all this fuss? Wouldn’t it be better to just stay put and live a peaceful life?”

Guan Xing retorted, "How can we live a normal life like you, killing off the husband and in-laws of any woman you fancy and steal her away?"

Gu Mu was speechless, and angrily cursed, "That bitch came with me willingly. We were in love and colluded. How can you pin the blame on me alone?"

"Besides, even if I forcibly took a woman, so what? What business is it of yours?"

“Guan Anguo, I advise you to think about yourself first. You should be aware of your current situation. Although you have occupied Jianye, you have not taken over Jiangdong. The Jiangdong gentry can unite at any time and surround Jianye, leaving you and your son with nowhere to be buried.”

Guan Xing spread his hands and said, "That's why we must do our best to promote reform and call on the masses at the bottom to unite and overthrow all of you gentry. If all the gentry in Jiangdong are dead, then no one will oppose us, father and son. Don't you think that makes sense?"

“Uh…” Gu Mu gritted his teeth and cursed, “So that’s what you were planning, but do you think it’s possible for you and your son to wipe out the entire Jiangdong gentry?”

"Guan Anguo, aren't you overestimating yourself?"

Guan Xing shook his head and said, "I don't know, let's wait and see. Maybe I'll succeed?"

"But whether you succeed or not is no longer important to you, because I'm already prepared to use you as a sacrifice. Before the war starts, someone always has to be sacrificed, right?"

After saying that, he turned and left. Gu Mu shouted at his back, "Guan Anguo, I curse you to be hit by a car and trampled to death by a warhorse when you go out. You will die a horrible death!"

Gu Mu was so angry he could have teeth itched, but Guan Xing waved his hand lightly with his back to him, completely unconcerned.

Upon leaving the room, Guan Xing immediately summoned his subordinates to assign tasks. Gu Jia was the first step in his reform, and he had to make the most of it.

In this battle, he not only wanted to eliminate Gu Mu, this scoundrel who forcibly took a woman from the people, but also to use this opportunity to spread the news of the reform and let the people of Jiangdong know about their reform ideas.

Publicity is of paramount importance in reform. If publicity is not done well, the people will not know what you are going to do, so how can they support you?

As darkness fell, Guan Xing did not rest. Instead, he used an oil lamp to read through all the testimonies of the servants in the manor before going to sleep.

At daybreak, Guan Xing gathered all the servants of the manor at the drill ground, preparing to take his first step.

Guan Xing walked up to the group, flashed what he thought was a friendly smile, and said, "My name is Guan Xing. I called you all here today for no other reason than to have a chat. There's no need to be nervous."

Everyone rolled their eyes. You have so many soldiers surrounding us, who wouldn't be nervous?

Guan Xing continued, "I guess you've worked for the Gu family for decades, maybe even generations. Are you satisfied with your life here?"

Someone couldn't wait to express their loyalty, saying, "Of course we're satisfied, extremely satisfied. The patriarch and the young masters treat us like family. We are very happy."

Gu Mu isn't dead yet, and even if he were, the Gu family would still be around. How could they dare to say they're not satisfied?

Hearing everyone's eager answers, Guan Xing realized he had asked a foolish question and quickly stopped them, pointing to a seventeen or eighteen-year-old boy and asking, "What's your name? What's your job at the Gu residence?"

The boy answered timidly, "My name is Gu Qi, and I'm in charge of tending the horses for the Second Young Master."

Guan Xing then asked, "How long have you been working at the Gu residence? Are your parents still alive? Are you married? Do you have children?"

This was basic information, and Gu Qi felt there was nothing to hide, so he honestly replied, "My parents are also in the mansion, and we have a two-year-old daughter. Our family has been tenant farmers of the Gu family for three generations."

Guan Xing continued, "Tenant, so you don't have any land. Do you want to own your own land?"

“Uh…” Gu Qi’s face showed a hint of interest, but after thinking for a moment, he shook his head and said, “Forget it, being a tenant farmer means paying rent to the Gu family, while farming on your own means paying taxes to the imperial court. There’s not much difference.”

Guan Xing had a toothache. He wasn't afraid of the aristocratic families oppressing him; he was afraid that these people would develop a sense of happiness from being oppressed and become unwilling to make changes.

After a moment's thought, Guan Xing changed his approach and continued, "You probably want a son too, right? Have you thought about what your son will do when he grows up? Will he still be a tenant farmer for the Gu family?"

"This..." Gu Qi remained silent, clearly not having thought that far ahead.

Guan Xing faced the crowd and said, "Please think about a few questions: Do you feel happy with your current life? If not, do you want to change it? Do you want tomorrow to be better than today? Do you want your descendants to be more successful than you?"

"If you feel happy, then disregard what I said."

Upon hearing this, everyone fell into deep thought, some even whispering among themselves.

Seeing that there was a chance, Guan Xing continued, "As the old saying goes, there is no place like home. As human beings, who doesn't want to own their own house and land, work at sunrise and rest at sunset, and live a happy life without worries about food and clothing? I believe you are the same."

"Can this simple dream be realized in the Gu family? I think not. If you all own land, who will the Gu family exploit, right?"

Everyone fell silent again, the entire training ground so quiet you could hear a pin drop. Seeing this, Xie Chong walked up to Guan Xing and said in a voice only the two of them could hear, "Captain, these people are all lackeys who bully others by taking advantage of the Gu family's name. They are the exploiters you mentioned. You've picked the wrong people to talk to."

To ordinary people, the gentry were like gods, high above all others. Gods would never do anything immoral themselves; they would send their lackeys to do it.

When a lackey is doing something for his master, he will definitely use the excuse of doing the job to get something for himself.

Therefore, in some respects, lackeys are more hateful than aristocratic families, because they are the direct perpetrators of oppression against the people, the knives that are slashed at their heads.

Guan Xing responded in a low voice, "I know, but not all of them are perpetrators. There must be victims too. If just one victim comes forward, wouldn't that be the breakthrough point?"

"Even if no one steps forward, we can still use them to spread our ideas. By the way, has Shen Yi returned?"

Xie Chong shook his head and said, "Not yet."

"Then let's continue." Guan Xing waved Xie Chong away and was about to give another speech when a commotion suddenly broke out in the crowd behind him. Everyone turned around to look and saw Shen Yi personally helping an elderly woman in her fifties or sixties walk towards them.

As soon as the old woman approached the crowd, she raised her cane and struck Gu Qi on the head, cursing as she did so: "You villain, give me back my granddaughter's life!"