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

The villagers in front of them were too crazy. They were not only punching and kicking Gu Ba and his group, but also biting them.

A woman bit Gu Ba's ear and then tore it off, which made Guan Xing, Xie Chong and the others shudder and get goosebumps all over their bodies.

Another young man grabbed Gu Jiu's hair and slammed his head against the ground repeatedly, almost knocking him unconscious, when someone suddenly stepped on Gu Jiu's genitals.

Is it okay to walk around that area freely?

Gu Jiu, who was about to faint, suddenly became like a man possessed, letting out a scream that was inhuman. The scream was so loud that it drowned out the noise of the villagers, which showed how vicious the kick was.

The villagers ignored his screams and continued to punch and kick him, venting their anger.

Gu Mu was so frightened by this scene that his legs went weak and his heart turned cold. His body trembled like a leaf. He never dreamed that the people who were usually more docile than cats and dogs could be so crazy and brutal. It was too terrifying.

Gu Mu dared not look any longer and had no choice but to plead with Guan Xing for a quick death.

He no longer hoped that Guan Xing would let him go out of consideration for the gentry; he only hoped that Guan Xing would not drag him out for a public trial and let him die as miserably as Gu Qi and the others.

This way of dying is too painful and too shameful. If the dignified second young master of the Gu family were to die under the beating of a mob of lowly people, wouldn't he be ridiculed by his relatives for decades?

Unexpectedly, Guan Xing shook his head firmly and said, "No rush, your business isn't over yet."

Gu Mu was furious and roared hoarsely, "Guan Anguo, don't you dare go too far! What exactly do you want?"

Guan Xing then ordered again, "Gag him again. I don't want to hear him speak."

Gu Mu: "..."

I have a few words I'd like to say, but I don't know if I should.

Guan Xing ignored Gu Mu and stared ahead, waiting for the villagers to finish venting. Then he clapped his hands and stepped forward, shouting, "Alright, they're already dead, so stop making a fuss. Come and get your food, line up one by one."

The allure of grain was clearly greater than that of death. Upon hearing this, the villagers stopped queuing and went to the truck to receive their grain, one basketful per person, and so on.

Some people, however, wanted to take more than their share, and said with a fawning smile, "General, could you give me another basketful? I have a large family and my children are still young."

Guan Xing laughed and said, "It's not that it's impossible, but the problem is that there's only so much grain. If you take more, others will have to take less, or they might not get any at all. If you want to take more, you can ask the villagers behind you if they agree."

These words immediately aroused public outrage, and the villagers shouted, "Zhang Laosan, don't be shameless, get out of here!"

Zhang Laosan dared not confront the entire village, so he had no choice but to obediently retreat, and order was restored.

Watching the villagers queuing up eagerly, coming with empty bags and going with full ones, Gu Mu gritted his teeth in hatred.

Damn it, this is all my family's grain, my family's grain...

Under Guan Xing's direction, all the villagers received their grain, but not all of it was distributed; more than half a cartload remained.

So the villagers didn't leave, but stared intently at the grain sacks on the cart, hoping that Guan Xing would have mercy and give them the remaining grain as well.

Guan Xing naturally couldn't take the remaining grain back—it would be too tiring, right? So he casually pointed to a dozen or so able-bodied men and asked, "Do you want this grain?"

All the young men nodded in unison. Wasn't that obvious?

Guan Xing said, "I can give you the grain, but you have to do me a favor. After you get the grain, immediately go to other villages and tell all the villagers who have been oppressed by Gu Qi and the others that they have been executed. Do you have any questions?"

The young men shouted in unison, "No problem!"

Even if you hadn't told us, we would have gone anyway. After all, who doesn't have a few relatives?

Guan Xing nodded and said, "When we spread the good news, we'll also announce that I'll be distributing grain to everyone at the Gu Family Manor in two days. Everyone who comes will get a share. You all know the Gu Family Manor, right? The grain there is piled up like mountains."

Hundreds of thousands of bushels of grain were found in the manor. Guan Xing did not want to leave so much grain to the gentry, but he could not take it with him. So he could only distribute it to the villagers.

Firstly, it can win the favor of the villagers and gain local support; secondly, it can lay the groundwork for subsequent land reform.

If Guan Xingruo directly distributed land to the villagers, they might not dare to accept it due to fear of Gu Jia's tyranny. But distributing grain was a different story; everyone wanted it.

Afterwards, the Gu family came to collect the confiscation, but the villagers were unwilling to hand it over, which inevitably led to a conflict between the two sides. If the Gu family were to take any extreme actions as a result, it would completely push the villagers to Guan Xing's side.

If the Gu family swallows their anger and doesn't pursue the matter, it doesn't matter, because the villagers who have tasted the benefits will definitely have higher demands.

People who have a thousand coins want ten thousand more. Human greed will amplify infinitely with their circumstances. The villagers are no exception. They start to covet the grain belonging to the Gu family. Once the grain is gone, they will covet the land belonging to the Gu family. At that time, Guan Xing can take advantage of the situation and start land reform.

Guan Xing had a long-term vision, but the villagers couldn't think that far ahead. When they heard that they could receive grain, they cheered loudly and secretly vowed not to tell anyone except their children's uncles (aunts), so that more people would receive grain and they would receive less.

After the villagers finished cheering, Guan Xing called the selected young men to come up and collect their grain, and then led his team away in a dashing manner.

The villagers stood quietly at the village entrance, watching until the army's figures had completely disappeared before surrounding the young man who had delivered the news. They earnestly instructed him, "Remember, when you go to other villages, just tell them that Gu Qi and the others have been killed. Don't mention the grain distribution from the manor."

A dozen or so young men nodded hurriedly, went home to hide the grain, and immediately set off. When they arrived at a nearby village, they told their relatives about the farm distributing grain.

These days, which family doesn't have a few sisters who married into nearby villages, and which family hasn't married a girl from a nearby village? These are real relatives. If you don't tell them about good things, how will you maintain contact with them in the future?

They only thought about their own relatives, forgetting that their own relatives also had relatives. After a while, the news of the manor distributing grain became a secret that everyone kept.

With no baggage to carry, Guan Xing's team returned very quickly.

On the way, Xie Chong found Guan Xing and asked, "Captain, you sent those villagers to deliver the message without assigning anyone to supervise them. What if they try to shirk their duties and don't go?"

Guan Xing laughed indifferently, "If they don't want to go, they don't have to go. We were going to distribute the remaining grain to them anyway. Asking them to help with the work is just a side benefit, so what do we lose?"

"On the contrary, even if only one person out of a dozen helps with the promotion, we've already made a profit. That's called sowing widely and reaping little, understand?"

"The captain is wise," Xie Chong said. "But I feel we can't place all our hopes on the villagers. We need to send someone else to notify each village. Otherwise, it would be very awkward if only people from Luoshi Village came to collect the grain two days later."

Guan Xing laughed and said, "I think you're right, Shen Yi. Go through the trouble again and send someone to spread the word about the grain distribution so that the nearby villagers can all come to the manor to gather."

"Yes..." Shen Yi clasped his hands in a bow and led his men away.

Guan Xing returned to the manor without incident. As soon as he entered, Gan Xun rushed over and bowed, saying, "Captain, after you left, someone came to investigate the area around the manor. They were acting suspiciously and were obviously spies from other families. What should we do?"

Guan Xing said, "Don't worry about it. Even if other families receive the news, they will need to confirm it repeatedly, hold meetings to discuss it, mobilize troops, and rush to the manor. The whole process will take at least two or three days. By then, we will have already finished and left."

Now that Wu's main force is not in Jiangdong, the only troops that the gentry can mobilize are their private families' private armies. As mentioned before, the gentry's private armies have been broken up into smaller units under Sun Quan's pressure, and it will take time to regroup them.

So what's there to be afraid of!