As the court of the Great Jin Immortal Dynasty rejoiced, a hidden pawn, meticulously placed by Wu Tao long ago, was activated.
This pawn was named Liu Yue.
He was a collateral descendant of the Liu imperial clan, whom Wu Tao had encountered in the imperial capital of Chang'an during the Rank Assembly.
Despite being a member of the Liu imperial clan, their numbers had long since surpassed ten million through generations of proliferation.
Excluding mortals without spiritual roots, there were over a million Liu clan members who had become cultivators.
With so many cultivators, it was impossible to satisfy their consumption needs, no matter how abundant the resources.
Consequently, the Liu imperial clan was divided into collateral and direct lineages.
Direct Liu clan descendants held higher status, possessed more resources, and received greater attention from the higher echelons.
Collateral Liu clan descendants, on the other hand, had lower status, received fewer resources, and were not prioritized by the higher-ups.
However, even a starved camel was larger than a horse. Regardless, collateral Liu imperial clan descendants were still considerably stronger than rogue cultivators and ordinary aristocratic family descendants.
Nevertheless, discord existed between the direct and collateral lineages.
Liu Yue was precisely such a collateral descendant, frequently bullied by the direct Liu clan descendants.
Throughout this ordeal, Liu Yue harbored immense resentment and endured countless indignities.
It was precisely for this reason that he accepted Wu Tao's overtures without hesitation.
With Wu Tao's substantial assistance of spirit stones, and leveraging his status as a collateral descendant of the Liu imperial clan, Liu Yue quickly secured a position in the Ministry of War within the central court of the Great Jin Immortal Dynasty.
After years of development, Liu Yue could now exert some influence within the Ministry of War.
At the very least, after some manipulation, he was partially responsible for compiling a portion of the list for suppressing the rebellion of the Yanhan Fleet.
And this portion of the list, unnoticed by anyone, was subtly altered by him, replacing the original targets with others.
...
During the major shifts in the market, the Fusu family, a second-tier aristocratic family, colluded with several surrounding influential families to artificially inflate the prices of various magical artifacts and treasures. Through this endeavor, they amassed a considerable fortune in spirit stones.
This was not the most critical point. What was truly significant was that during the widespread rebellions, the Fusu family also secretly attacked a stronghold of the Liu imperial clan, seizing a large amount of spirit stones.
Furthermore, the Fusu family spread rumors and slandered the Liu imperial clan during this period, attempting to destabilize their rule.
However, such typical rebellious aristocratic families were not initially included in the list of those to be purged by the princes controlling the court. It was only later, after Liu Yue's secret alterations, that they appeared on the list for liquidation.
Why was this the case?
The reason was naturally that the Fusu family had backing, a powerful patron, and was a difficult family to deal with. Thus, the Liu princes, out of apprehension, did not choose to eliminate them.
And who was the patron of the Fusu family?
Their patron was the Qin family, one of the Four Throne families.
The Fusu family was a staunch follower of the Qin family, and many women from the Fusu family had married into the Qin family, meaning the two families were bound by marriage.
If the Liu imperial clan were to act against the Fusu family, it would be an affront to the Qin family.
If the Qin family stood by idly, not only would they lose face, but their other followers, seeing their great patron unable to protect even their subordinates, would also begin to harbor doubts.
This meant that if the Fusu family were to face trouble, even if the Qin family did not seek revenge for them, they would have to engage in a conflict with the Liu imperial clan for the sake of face and interest; otherwise, it would be unforgivable.
Considering this, during this tumultuous period,
The princes controlling the court, hesitant to act for fear of repercussions, overlooked the Fusu family, which was making a great deal of noise.
Of course, they did make a note of the Fusu family's name, and once the situation truly stabilized, they certainly would not let the Fusu family off the hook.
There were several other families, like the Gongxi family, the Qidiao family, the Ledong family, and the Rangsi family, that had also been altered by Liu Yue's modifications.
These were families that were making a lot of noise, yet the princes, for various reasons, dared not move against them.
However, their considerations were quite sound, having thoroughly weighed the advantages and disadvantages.
The list of rebels to be purged was finalized after several days of deliberation among the princes and ministers.
Their original intention was to first eliminate a large number of families without significant backgrounds, and then offer terms to those more difficult families, thereby quickly stabilizing the situation.
But they never imagined that the list they had so carefully considered would be altered by those below.
Some things are just like this; the plans meticulously devised by those above, though intended for good, completely change their nature once they reach the lower levels.
...
The cultivators piloting the Yanhan warships did not ponder as much as the princes and ministers.
The ideology instilled in them from a young age was obedience to command. In essence, they were merely war machines cultivated by the Liu imperial clan.
If they were told to kill, they would do so with utmost efficiency, as they were accustomed to it and found it to be their natural forte.
However, asking them to weigh pros and cons or analyze situations would be a severe imposition.
In the eyes of these cultivators piloting the Yanhan warships, all the aristocratic families, rogue cultivators, and other numerous cultivators on this list were mere vermin.
And their current mission of suppressing rebellions was actually the extermination of these vermin; they were the righteous side.
In reality, there is no absolute justice or evil.
What is called justice or evil is merely a slogan uttered from one's own standpoint, arising from the significant clash of interests presented before them.
The storage bags of cultivators across various regions were found empty, their wealth largely plundered. While this was due to Ye Yu's series of grand maneuvers, ultimately, Ye Yu and Wu Tao were the masterminds behind the scenes.
However, without the greed of Liu Ba and other high-ranking officials fanning the flames, Ye Yu and Wu Tao alone could not have stirred up such a storm.
Fusu family stronghold.
Forty to fifty Yanhan warships hovered above the estate of the Fusu family, a second-tier aristocratic family.
"By the decree of the Immortal Emperor, your Fusu family shall be annihilated!"
A chilling voice emanated from the leading Yanhan warship.
Below, within the protective formation of the clan, the Fusu family disciples were struck dumb with fear.
"Sir, I, Fusu Li, admit my guilt. Please wait a moment, and I will immediately prepare a batch of treasures to present to you."
"Please grant me a few days, and I will go to the court to inquire. What do you say?"
Gazing at the dozens of colossal warships in the sky, the Fusu family head, Fusu Li, felt his scalp tingle.
Their family, though it had connections, had connections that were both useful and useless.
This was because their backing was not present at the moment and could not offer them support.
In other words, if this matter was not handled properly, his Fusu family could be annihilated today.
"Hmph, the Fusu family colluded with other aristocratic families to sow chaos in the Great Jin, causing widespread unrest and turmoil. That, in itself, is inexcusable. Furthermore, they dared to attack imperial outposts during the chaos, showing utter disregard for their own lives."
The cultivators within the Yanhan warships, upon hearing this, did not diminish their anger in the slightest; it only intensified.
In their view, all of this was caused by these damned aristocratic families, and today they were acting as protectors of the people.
Moreover, the orders they received before departing were that all factions on the list must be eliminated without a single survivor!
"Kill! Leave no one alive!"
The commander of the forty to fifty Yanhan warships roared.
"Yes!"
As soon as the words fell, the forty to fifty Yanhan warships moved in unison, turning their cannons towards the Fusu family estate below.
Upon hearing this, Fusu Li, who had been speaking politely with a fawning smile, saw his expression drastically change, and a powerful killing intent emanated from him.
Knowing that a peaceful resolution was impossible today, Fusu Li did not hesitate and immediately prepared to engage.
...
"Do you think my Fusu family is truly afraid of you?"
"Since you refuse to listen to reason, then do not blame me for being ruthless. Guards, come with me and shoot down these warships in the sky."
Fusu Li shouted loudly.
His voice was so powerful that everyone within the Fusu family estate could hear it.
Instantly, thousands of cultivators in the entire Fusu family mobilized.
Led by Fusu Li, five Nascent Soul stage cultivators, along with thousands of other cultivators, launched a counterattack relying on the clan's protective formation.
It must be noted that unlike Gongliang Yue, who was out fighting, this was the ancestral land of the Fusu family, and the entirety of the Fusu family's foundation resided here.
Even with the combined might of forty to fifty Yanhan warships, it would be extremely difficult to annihilate the entire Fusu family.
After three days and three nights of fierce battle, the Fusu family was annihilated, leaving no survivors, be they cultivators or mortals.
Tens of thousands of people perished, leaving not even ashes.
News of this event spread like wildfire, causing a sensation throughout the Great Jin.
The Fusu family was gone, completely wiped out. Who would be next?
Whose neck would the Liu imperial clan's blade fall upon next?
In the one hundred and eight domains of the Great Jin Immortal Dynasty, how many families had participated in the rebellion? Who could truly claim to be untouched?
The Fusu family was merely one among many aristocratic families, one that had participated not too deeply, but not too superficially either.
If such a family could be annihilated, then a question arose:
Could those families that were more deeply involved still remain safe?
(New book is being updated, please collect, please recommend tickets, please share, please subscribe. Support genuine works, and come to Zongheng Chinese Network to help out, give more support. Thank you friends, your support is my motivation!)