"What happened?"
Ran Zijin frowned and walked straight outside. He wanted to see what could have happened to make his steward so frantic.
In Northern Liang, even the Prince of Northern Liang wouldn't dare touch him lightly. What else could possibly threaten him?
"Master, Lin Yi, the Prince of Northern Liang's heir, is distributing land outside. Many of our hired farmhands have run off. They want to farm for themselves and won't work for us anymore!"
The steward looked terrified. He had no idea what Lin Yi was up to, actually distributing land to hired farmhands.
With so many people leaving at once, the Ran Clan's fields had been brought to a standstill. This was a truly serious matter. If it wasn't dealt with promptly, this year's harvest would go down the drain.
"What?"
Ran Zijin was stunned for a moment. He couldn't help frowning as he said, "Giving land to hired farmhands? What's going on? Has Lin Rusong decided he doesn't want his family fortune anymore and wants to help the common people?"
What a joke. Land could actually be given away to others? Lin Yi must have gone mad.
And those hired farmhands were stupid too. They didn't even have land of their own, yet they dared run off to Lin Yi. Weren't they afraid he would stop giving them work?
"No. It's said that the land is being given to the common people to farm themselves. They only need to hand over half their harvest to Lin Yi each year," the steward explained.
Half?
Ran Zijin couldn't help frowning. That meant giving the other half to the common people. Wasn't that a little too generous?
This was hardly distributing land. He was plainly buying people's hearts.
But where had he found vacant land? All the land belonging to the residence was already being farmed. Now he wanted to give it to the common people, but surely he couldn't just drive his own hired farmhands away.
"Well..."
The steward glanced cautiously at his master. He knew full well that quite a bit of their own land was among it. What Lin Yi was doing was practically a slap in his master's face.
He steeled himself and explained, "Master, this land doesn't belong to the Prince of Northern Liang's Residence. It was all seized by Lin Yi earlier. Now he's simply brought it out to distribute, without the slightest bit of heartache."
"What? He's using my land to buy people's hearts?"
Before Ran Zijin could speak, Ran Chao, who was beside him, shot to his feet, furious. That was all his land, so naturally Lin Yi felt no heartache over it.
He was the one who had acquired most of that land. Lin Yi had gone too far!
He had originally planned to take the land back after some time. He hadn't expected this to be what Lin Yi had in mind. Didn't that mean he would never get his land back?
He looked at his father and frowned. "Father, we absolutely can't let him do this. Otherwise, who will still take our Ran Clan seriously?"
This was a slap in their family's face!
"Hmph!"
Ran Zijin looked displeased as well. Although he thought little of that bit of income, having someone else take what was his left a bad taste in his mouth.
He said gravely, "Since Lin Yi can wipe out these underworld forces, we can do the same. When the time comes, we won't be the only ones taking losses. Lin Rusong will be added to the list!"
"What do you mean?"
Ran Chao was utterly baffled. Why couldn't he understand what his father was saying? Hadn't those assassins and the rest already been wiped out? What else was there to wipe out?
"Hmph, fool!"
Ran Zijin glared at his son, looking as though he hated iron for not becoming steel. He said angrily, "Why do you think the Northern Liang Guard has never moved against them, even though Northern Liang City is in such chaos?"
"Wasn't it said that the Prince of Northern Liang lost interest in governing because his wife died and his son was ignorant and incompetent?" Ran Chao thought for a moment and gave two answers.
Smack!
Ran Zijin slapped him across the face and sneered. "Fool, do you believe that explanation?"
"I..."
Ran Chao instinctively wanted to say he did, but when he saw the murderous look in his father's eyes, he quickly shut his mouth and thought carefully.
Suddenly, his pupils contracted, and he blurted out, "Father, could it be that the Prince of Northern Liang did this deliberately? Why would he do that?"
Seeing his father nod, Ran Chao felt his whole worldview turn upside down. The Prince of Northern Liang really had deliberately gone easy on them. What on earth was going on? Was the prince a fool?
"Hmph, there's a saying among the upper circles of Northern Liang. You need to remember it well!"
"What saying?"
"Whether Northern Liang is in chaos is for the Prince of Northern Liang to decide!"
Ran Zijin looked at his son and spoke meaningfully.
Gulp!
Ran Chao swallowed, suddenly feeling a chill run down his spine. If that was the case, didn't it mean the Prince of Northern Liang knew about everything he had done?
Holy shit, that's terrifying.
After a long while, he still couldn't help asking, "Father, why is that?"
"Simple. If Northern Liang is too stable, the emperor won't be at ease. If you were the Prince of Northern Liang, what would you do?" Ran Zijin took a sip of tea and smiled.
Ran Chao suddenly understood. So it involved the emperor. No wonder the Prince of Northern Liang had allowed the chaos in Northern Liang to continue.
If all was peaceful in Northern Liang, that would mean the Prince of Northern Liang had won the people's hearts. There was no way the emperor would be at ease with that. In that case, it really might have been the prince's doing.
That raised a question: what did Father mean when he said they should also wipe out the assassins?
"Could it be..."
What a chance! I've figured it out!
There were probably people working for the Prince of Northern Liang among these so-called gangs and factions too. That was why he dared let them stir up trouble.
Because he had his own people among them from the start, he knew the so-called chaos like the back of his hand.
Hiss!
What a terrifying man Lin Rusong, the Prince of Northern Liang, was. He was far too cunning. He had fooled everyone under heaven!
That old fellow had hidden himself deeply!
Ran Zijin nodded and sneered. "Isn't that brat Lin Yi cracking down on assassins? Then we'll give him a push and have him wipe out the forces under Lin Rusong as well. Let's see if that doesn't make Lin Rusong cough up blood in anger."
Ran Chao's eyes lit up.
If Lin Rusong learned that his own son had gone after his people, he would probably be furious enough to die. Nurturing those forces must have taken considerable effort.
His father's move was truly brilliant. This way, even the Prince of Northern Liang wouldn't be able to find a reason to retaliate against their Ran Clan.
"Father, I know what to do. I'll send people to make the arrangements right away!" he said excitedly.
Ran Zijin shook his head and said gravely, "You can't do this personally. Otherwise, we can't rule out the possibility that Lin Yi, with blood-red eyes from killing, will kill you too. He's seized on the matter of the assassins and refuses to let go. Even if he kills you, your death will be for nothing."
Their family's position in Northern Liang was sensitive to begin with. If his son went in person, he would certainly be discovered at once, and Lin Yi would probably go berserk.
Seeing that his son seemed to understand, he couldn't help nodding slightly. He hoped the boy would improve soon. Otherwise, he wouldn't be qualified to take over the Ran Clan.
The Ran Clan's existence was special to begin with. If his son wasn't capable enough, it would probably be replaced by a Zhang Clan or a Wang Clan.