Chapter 76 Even Fury Can Be Cute
The music was interrupted.
"You dare to insult me with copper coins!" The Zhou family head was stunned.
Guan Zhiwei went to look at Gao Huan first.
Because he once said that a person can be killed but not humiliated.
People are about to be killed, yet they still care about whether they can be humiliated.
Her gaze was mocking.
Gao Huan moved his lips but said nothing, helplessly enduring it.
Guan Zhiwei then looked at the somewhat dignified Zhou family head, scrutinizing him from head to toe as if he were a rare object, and asked, "Why won't you live a peaceful life?"
She came to collect grain and taxes, but for aristocratic families, this wouldn't cause any serious harm, at most it would just be a couple of slaps. Why are you resisting? Didn't you see I'm holding a knife? Do you think my knife is bad?
The Zhou family head stiffened his neck, kept his eyes closed, and continued playing the zither, drawing out the melody: "Twenty-five strings play the night moon, an unbearable sorrow flies in."
Guan Zhiwei laughed again, speaking in a mumbled and unclear way, leaving people to guess. It was the power of a superior to treat a subordinate; she really couldn't distinguish between primary and secondary matters.
“Kill him.”
She doesn't even need to lift a finger; she just gives the order, and someone else does it for her.
Soldiers swarmed forward, knocking the xylophone to the ground and smashing it in two. The Zhou family head was pinned to the ground, his clothes torn, his hair ornament falling to the ground, his hair disheveled, and he looked utterly wretched. When a knife was held to his neck, his calm and composed expression finally changed.
"I am a member of the clan, how dare you kill me with swords!"
Gao Huan gazed into the distance: "Have you not seen Mount Li and Maoling reduced to ashes, yet shepherds come to climb them?"
“My Zhou family has prospered, with over a hundred members serving in government over three generations. I have served the emperor with twelve imperial tassels, and even His Majesty has never shown me any disrespect! You jackal, a blacksmith and medicine seller, who amasses an army and dares to try to kill me…”
Heads fell to the ground.
His neck wasn't harder than a knife.
He was very stubborn, but it was useless.
Guan Zhiwei was scolded, but she didn't get angry.
So weak, even their rage seems endearing.
He said that the fact that so many talented people came from his family shows that the feng shui of this place is good.
Upon closer inspection, she found that both the terrain and the architecture were indeed aligned with the auspicious star of literature.
“My lord does not yet have a residence in Yong’an City. Why not turn this place into the Grand Tutor’s Mansion? It can be passed down through generations, ensuring the family’s prosperity and the growth of talented individuals like orchids and jade trees.” Gao Huan suggested that she take over the mansion.
Guan Zhiwei waved her hand, "What descendants do I have to pass on? Let's set up a school here and bring Gouya and Sanlang over so they can also study."
Gao Huan hesitated before reminding him, "Promoting commoners to replace aristocratic families is very difficult."
It's not just difficult, it's practically impossible.
The prevailing circumstances of the time were such that to teach people to read, one needed teachers, people with profound knowledge. And those teachers first and foremost had to come from aristocratic families. These families were closely connected, and how could they teach outsiders without promoting their own members? Especially not commoners whom they looked down upon.
They have superior conditions, noble lineage, and knowledge passed down through generations, but they look down on the petty cleverness of commoners.
Moreover, if commoners are educated, who will farm, who will join the army, who will forge iron, and who will sell medicine?
The market is already saturated with interests; there's no need for anyone else to get a share. What's needed are people who serve those interests.
Only when ordinary people do what ordinary people should do can the foundation be guaranteed to be stable.
Creating a stable environment is the greatest fortune in life for ordinary people. They will be very grateful.
Guan Zhiwei has already risen to a high position and is no longer among the common people.
Looking down from her vantage point, she couldn't make out individual faces; she could only see swarms of people, like ants. At that moment, the focus wasn't on individual good or bad, but on the stability of the collective.
Whether it's a struggle for power or war, it's all based on a stable supply of resources.
The world changes, and so do people.
“I understand that times have limitations. I’m not going against the times. I just feel it would be a shame not to share such a great place. I’m starting here. How it develops afterward is up to the world.” Guan Zhiwei said casually and then put it out of her mind.
One person cannot move an era forward, but when an era chooses to change, it will inspire countless people.
Gao Huan always felt that there was a hope that transcended the times in her eyes, and he sincerely praised her: "It is a blessing for the people of the world that the lord never forgets them."
"You're getting better and better at being a minister." That was a really good flattery.
Gao Huan sighed, his eyes darting around: "There's nothing I can do. I'm somewhat knowledgeable in literature and warfare, but not an expert. I'm afraid I won't be able to help when the Yuan clan attacks. When the time comes, you'll surely appreciate the junior captain's victory on the battlefield. But once there's a new person in front of you, you won't want to listen to me anymore, so I can only do some petty flattery."
Guan Zhiwei glanced at him and mumbled something.
"Let others handle such petty and trivial matters as flattery. You'll be busy soon; war is about to break out again, and we need to keep them in line for the time being. I have a plan; you can cooperate with it."
The Zhou family's property was confiscated, and all the aristocratic families in Yong'an City were in a state of panic. After all, sending a message to the Yuan family was the result of their conspiracy, and they feared that Guan Zhiwei would carry out a massacre.
But unexpectedly, the matter was not pursued further; it was left at that point, and the Zhou family seemed to have been made an example of.
But expecting to scare everyone into submission is unrealistic.
What is a human being?
Humans are insatiable, greedy, and always want more.
So we still have to satisfy them a little.
Gao Huan hosted a banquet for the various prominent families. After several rounds of drinks, they were all thoroughly enjoying themselves. In a moment of joy, he distributed the Zhou family's confiscated land among the guests.
The leader of the traitors was punished, but the others benefited.
Whoever sticks their neck out will die.
When someone is courting disaster, you can quietly reap the benefits.
In that case, who would be willing to be the first to stick their neck out?
They all became docile quails.
Guan Zhiwei laughed it off: "These aristocratic families vie for fame in the court, just as ordinary people vie for profit in the market. There is no difference between them."
"There is still a difference. They think they are superior, look down on me, and still try to be polite to me." Gao Huan rubbed his temples, feeling very unwell from the hangover.
"Whether something is noble or lowly, it's not up to them to decide, it's up to me."
They simply felt that Guan Zhiwei was not a ship that could sail for long.
Guan Zhiwei was about to give the Yuan family a sound beating right under their noses, and destroy their ship, so they would rush to board her own.
Let them go from having a choice to having no choice, and then back to me having the choice.
The city was in the midst of intense preparations for war, with many laborers being conscripted to repair the city walls and dig trenches. Zhi Junyuan led a scout team, constantly going in and out to gather information.
She donned armor, equipped herself with all her weapons, and awaited the battle.
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