The Nobles Beat the Drums of Rebellion to Protect Their Estates; the Gentry Feared the Butcher and Debated Delaying

"My steward just escaped from Wu'an City. He said that County Magistrate Wang Bo was beheaded in front of everyone because he tried to stop Zhao Cheng from dividing up the land!

"Every subordinate official of his who had ties to the Qian Family was caught. Not one got away—all were executed on the spot!"

At those words, the meeting hall fell noticeably quieter.

Some of the fire went out of Li Song's anger, and the panic on his face vanished in a flash.

He picked up his cold tea and gulped it down, but still couldn't suppress the dread in his heart.

Then someone said, "I heard an immortal even stepped in at the time to save Wang Bo, but couldn't keep him alive!"

"And the Qian Family, who had partnered with Wang Bo, had most of its people slaughtered by that Blood Butcher. A lineage that had stood for a hundred years was torn apart by the killing!"

At that, Li Song shuddered all over and muttered, "So this man's a ruthless killer who wouldn't blink an eye. We can't afford to provoke him!"

Wang Zhong's face had gone pale too. His fingers clenched the tablecloth. "You should all know by now that this Blood Butcher is a madman who kills without blinking!

"If we fight him head-on, we'll probably end up like Wang Bo and the Qian Family..."

"Then what do we do?"

Someone panicked, but when he thought of his family's land, he gritted his teeth and said, "We can't just stand by and watch him divide up our fields, can we?

"My family has seven hundred mu of irrigated farmland. It yields a thousand shi of grain every year. If it's divided up, my whole family will have to go hungry!"

"Damn it, has this