Chapter 686: Chapter Six Hundred Eighty-Two: Alliance Righteousness

The elders received the clearly imprinted intelligence detailing the power distribution in Lanshan City at the moment. This detailed report could only be accomplished through an intense amount of work, far beyond that which could be achieved through simple interrogation.

“It seems the clan leader has been well-prepared, but I wonder under what pretense the alliance will launch its attack on Lanshan City?” Tang Hongjun frowned after reading the report, “Though the west is in chaos, the powerful clans in each city and county have remained restrained, not extending their reach. Our abrupt annexation of Lanshan City might trigger a chain reaction across the entire west, wouldn’t it?”

In essence, the elders saw this annexation as baseless aggression. In Longzhou, where regional affiliations ran deep, people were accustomed to recognizing a family by its place of origin, like the Tang family in Xiling, the Cui family in Lanshan, or the Li Family in Fuling.

In the rough and tough western Longzhou, there was no major family able to rule over more than one large city. The root cause was that Longzhou was originally a wild and barren land. It only flourished because of the arrival of fallen aristocrats from Zhongzhou and impoverished rebel fighters who had come here to establish new cities. There were indeed many small families controlling multiple small cities, but hardly any ruling over a large city.

Once the Tang Clan set this precedent, no one knew what the future held. For the Tang Clan and the new alliance, which currently enjoyed promising prospects, Tang Zhi’s plotting seemed somewhat hasty.

“Rest assured, Second Elder, this war is not our clan attacking Lanshan City, but the new alliance aiding an allied city.” Tang Zhi certainly knew the importance of justification. If it was the Tang Clan attacking Lanshan City, that would be seen as blatant aggression. However, if it was the expelled Cui Family of Lanshan city leading reinforcements back to Aran Mountain, then it would be seen as the return of a rightful ruler.

“The left hall master has discussed with Cui Ying. This expedition is made in the name of the new alliance, with the goal of helping the displaced people of Lanshan City rebuild their homes and restore order. After the natural disaster, the people of the western region can bear no more man-made disasters. The top priority in the entire western region now is to recuperate. The mission of the new alliance is to swiftly restore peace on both banks of Lingjiang. If some clans wish to hinder these efforts out of their selfish desires, I believe that the clans and the people of each city will not agree. After all, Lanshan City is the Lanshan of the Aran people, not the Lanshan City of the Xue, Zhang, and Wang families. What do you gentlemen think?”

In a city, ordinary citizens make up 70%, middle to small clans account for 20%, and those at the very top, controlling all of the power, are only 10%.

This 10% control 80% of a city’s rights and resources. To them, ordinary citizens and clans are just objects of exploitation. Backed by their overwhelming military force, they know no restraint. The reason the disaster was so lethal was because, for these prominent clans, it was simply another opportunity to expand their power.

Turning ordinary people into slaves, using food to coerce clans into submission – these powerful clans committed these acts while presenting a smiling face, their backs bearing bloody knives. They awaited rebellion from smaller clans, as no amount of brutality in quelling such revolt would be seen as cruel, because they were merely defending themselves, after all.

There are more cunning minds in the world than just Tang Zhi. For many leaders, if they could use this disaster to fully control a large city, then, despite the current losses and sacrifices, it would all come back in the future.

Without significant outside interference, their plans would surely succeed. In a world where the strongest rule is the jungle law, this 10% of people represents absolute power, hence they will ultimately triumph.

But once the new alliance introduces a new set of rules, with a ‘majority rules’ approach to justice in Lanshan City, then the oppressed majority of Aran people will become a leading power.

What the new alliance needs to do now is simply to convince this oppressed group of Aran people that the alliance has the power to easily quell Lanshan City!

Looking at the data on the paper – 8000 Lanshan City defenders, 42 Fierce Realm fighters, 9 top Martial Ancestors – the elders felt confident. With the strength of the new alliance, they could easily crush this resistance.

“What about after the city has been taken? Who will govern Lanshan City?” The Great Elder Tang Siyuan frowned, “The Aran people have a long history on Aran Mountain, they are tough and extremely exclusive. They aren’t likely to accept a foreign clan ruling Lanshan City, right?”

Even the local tribes of Xue, Zhang, and Wang who wanted to unify Lanshan City faced fierce resistance. Let alone the Tang Clan. From a ruler’s perspective, it seemed that only Cui Ying was most suitable for the position of city lord of Lanshan. But the Tang Clan who planned to take over the new city would never agree to give it to a foreign clan, hence Tang Siyuan’s question.

“Lanshan City belongs to the Aran people, and it is only natural to let them govern. What we need is not rebellious and violent clansmen, but submissive warriors and gentlefolk.” Tang Zhi signaled to a nearby attendant, who distributed prepared materials to each of the elders.

“Put simply, the alliance will select several families from Aran Mountain to form a new town council. The council will be responsible for managing different parts of the city by division and mutual check and balance. The alliance will assign a commander to oversee the new city. The commander will only have two roles. One is to provide basic security for the refugees displaced by this disaster or those who are struggling locally. The second is to establish an alliance martial hall to cultivate warriors. As for the financial and resource costs of these two tasks, the council will be fully responsible.”

“If the town council finds the burden too heavy to bear, the new alliance will revoke their council rights and take over. What does the Great Elder think?”

In short, as long as the Tang Clan can firmly hold the alliance, no matter how many cities are captured and martial halls are established in the future, it will all be raising fighters for the Tang Clan. The Tang Clan, currently holding two Wancheng Treasure Ships, is the largest provider of benefits in the entire alliance. The elders present could scarcely imagine how the position of the alliance leader could be lost.

In that case, the Tang Clan will effectively gain another martial hall, at their disposal. Coupled with Principal Luo, who can discern the potential of warriors, everyone in the hall couldn’t help but laugh. If they could incorporate the six large cities along both banks of Lingjiang into their fold, they could attract all the refugees from the western region. And according to Luo, from a huge base population, excellent fighters are bound to emerge.

From this perspective, Tang Zhi’s plan is remarkably similar to what Luo once proposed at the clan meeting: abandon efforts to win over the allegiance of powerful clans, and instead focus on training warriors loyal to the Tang Clan from among the civilians.