Chapter 727: Awaiting the Dawn

"It's merely taking advantage of the situation," Han Xun replied, his tone calm. "Please hand over your family seals. By tonight, Fenggao will have new masters, putting your minds at ease."

"The Chen family's seal isn't with me, and you needn't overthink it. I'm just an elder of the Chen family," Chen Shang glanced at the others, his anger subsiding as he tried to stay composed. The current head of the Taishan Chen family was Chen Xi.

"The Chen family naturally requires no involvement, as Chen Hou is of great importance to us as well," Han Xun said, giving Chen Shang a glance. He then bent down to remove the jade pendant from Cheng Hui's waist, before standing up and looking at the other family heads.

"Sigh!" Bai Ying let out a long sigh, the first to hand over his bronze short sword to Han Xun. With the first person complying, the other family heads, albeit reluctantly, also handed over their family seals with expressions of resignation.

[As expected, Bai Ying has issues. Given the situation, let them be.] Chen Shang gave Bai Ying a quick glance, realizing that the others must understand this as well. But if they were willing to hand over their seals now, there were likely ulterior motives at play.

"My family's seal isn't with me, and I have nothing on me that could prove my identity," Deng Lun stepped forward, facing Han Xun directly. In such a critical moment, there were bound to be those who had thought ahead and brought nothing with them.

"The ones behind me are the same. We suspected something, so we brought nothing that could identify us. And tonight, no matter what happens, any family member or elder who dares to step outside has the right to execute anyone caught outside," Deng Lun said, meeting Han Xun's gaze with unwavering eyes.

"Hmph, aren't you afraid of dying here?" Han Xun's cold gaze swept over Deng Lun and the family heads standing behind him.

But surprisingly, Deng Lun relaxed, casually pulling up a chair to sit down. "I can give you face by allowing you to bind us. You can also kill us here, but the aristocratic families, when facing life or death, can sacrifice anyone, including me."

A cold light flashed in Han Xun's eyes, but Deng Lun remained utterly at ease, showing no trace of fear. The other family heads behind him were similarly unafraid.

"General Han, it's best not to kill these few. Since they were prepared, let's do as they said and bind them here," Wang Yu quickly stepped in, seeing that Deng Lun and the others showed no fear.

In Wang Yu's view, tonight held a high chance of victory, and depleting the strength of the Qingxu aristocracy didn’t align with his interests. Later, he would need the Qingxu families to follow him in gaining more benefits from Yuan Shao.

"Hmph!" Han Xun snorted coldly but made no further move.

"Men, bind these people and take them to the secret room. Who else among you is like them?" Wang Yu ordered the private soldiers standing outside.

Another group of family heads stepped forward calmly, accounting for about one-fifth of all the heads present.

[What a pity that Cheng Hui was too hasty.] Chen Shang quietly turned his head, as if the door to the room no longer existed.

As the secret room’s door closed, Deng Lun muttered to himself, "What gave you the confidence to blind yourself to the truth?"

"Let it be; we'll wait for the head of the Chen family to rescue us. Being tied up for one night is a small price to pay if it means our families can gain more. I wouldn’t mind going through this a few more times," the head of the Shen family said with a wry smile.

"Let's see what tomorrow brings. Although I don’t believe Yuan Benchu has any chance of victory, ever since Chen Zichuan settled here, Fenggao has grown rapidly. Let's wait for dawn," another family head added.

"Indeed, let's wait. I can tell they have no interest in tormenting us. In that case, why not focus on developing our families?" the head of the Han family said nonchalantly.

These were all open-minded family heads who, after realizing they couldn’t keep up with Taishan's development speed, turned inward to seek knowledge and nourishment from Taishan, growing their strength in preparation for the future.

"Click." The head of the Zheng family, Zheng Tai, used a specially crafted bracelet to cut the ropes binding him. Stretching lazily, he remarked, "I think this is good news. We should form an alliance among our families."

"Zheng Gongye, how are you free to move?" Deng Lun suddenly noticed Zheng Tai leaning back in his chair, eating snacks.

"Hurry and untie us; I'm nearly suffocated." "Me too, I can't stand this anymore." "I've never suffered such indignity! How could you free yourself without helping us?"

Now that Zheng Tai had freed himself, the others began clamoring.

"I'll untie you right away," Zheng Tai quickly set to work, and soon all the family heads were free. They each sat in the chairs they had been tied to, sharing Zheng Tai's snacks.

"I feel much better now. Gongye, what was that thing you used?" Deng Lun asked.

"Wengong gave it to me," Zheng Tai replied, showing off the bracelet-like tool on his wrist. "My younger brother made it; not bad, right?"

"No wonder Wen Gong has a reputation as a skilled craftsman," one of the family heads praised, even in such circumstances. Zheng Hun was already well-known, even at this time. "I think the outcome is clear—Yuan Benchu is doomed."

"We were prepared," Shen Wen said with a sigh of relief.

"So, let’s just wait for the result," Deng Lun said with satisfaction.

The night, which should have been peaceful due to the curfew, turned into chaos. The sounds of shouting and fighting echoed through the streets of Taishan.

The clouds in the sky grew thicker, and soldiers emerged continuously from the shops of families that had already aligned with Yuan Shao. Armed with the family seals, Han Xun began mobilizing the private soldiers of the aristocratic families.

Some private soldiers joined Han Xun without question upon seeing the family seal, while others fell into disarray, only to be suppressed by the increasing number of other families' private soldiers who took over.

Of course, there were also families that simply did not open their doors, no matter how hard they were knocked. While some might see this as foolish, these family heads were wise in the larger scheme.

For those who couldn't be swayed, Yuan Shao's lower-ranked officers had no better plan. Once Han Xun's signal arrow was shot, all of Yuan Shao's troops and private soldiers gathered, preparing to storm the core of Fenggao—where the families of both Yuan Shao's and Liu Bei's high-ranking generals and officials resided.

As the family soldiers, servants, and private troops gathered, Han Xun and Gongsun Du led a force of three thousand Yuan Shao soldiers and several thousand private soldiers from various families.

At the same time, due to Yuan Shao's plan, or whether it was out of ignorance or complicity, aristocratic families across Taishan, Qingzhou, and Xuzhou revolted. However, compared to other regions, the rebellion in Fenggao was by far the most significant!

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