Sitting in the lowest seat, Chen Ye could not help silently marveling at Zhang Rang's words.
The man's methods were masterful indeed.
He threw out a proposal that everyone found hard to accept, then conceded a little at the right moment. A few rounds of this were enough to more or less settle the matter.
After all, every family had brought its finest men. Whose fists were harder and who had more trump cards would only become clear after a contest, and the losers would have nothing to say.
Compared with the naked declaration that "whoever has the strongest troops takes charge," deciding the outcome through a martial contest was clearly easier to swallow.
Sure enough, everyone nodded in agreement.
"Good! Since no one objects, it's settled!"
Everyone in the hall voiced their assent, and the atmosphere immediately grew much more relaxed.
"However, I have one more thing to say.
"You are all in charge of your families' affairs in Danfeng Prefecture. If you enter the arena yourselves, fists and feet have no eyes. Should anyone suffer a serious injury, it would only damage our harmony."
Zhang Rang wore a warm, genial smile. After a moment's consideration, he said, "In my view, we should each select a few subordinates to fight in our stead. It would provide some entertainment without damaging our harmony, while still allowing us to determine the rankings and the winner. What do you think?"
Everyone exchanged glances, weighing the proposal.
Seated at the head of the left-hand row, Xie Xuan'an looked up and studied Zhang Rang for a moment before saying, "Grandpa Zhang makes a sound point. Naturally, I agree."
"That works."
"..."
"Excellent!" Seeing that everyone had agreed to choose the alliance leader through a martial contest, Zhang Rang's smile deepened. "It has been a