"Prefect Lu, congratulations! Your 60th birthday Honshu Mu comes to join in the fun."

Yuan Shu looked at the white-haired, dark-colored and serene old man in front of him with a smile on his face.

Unexpectedly, such a seemingly kind and harmless old man turned out to be an old fox with unfathomable scheming.

"Haha, Mr. Zhou Mu can come. The humble abode is really full of splendor. The seats are ready. Mr. Zhou Mu, please come in."

Lu Kang invited Yuan Shu into the lobby with a flattered look.

The head of the Lu family celebrated his birthday, and all the wealthy gentry from Jiangdong families with some status came to congratulate him.

After all, the Lu family is the head of the Jiangdong family, and has always had a very good style of doing things.

Hundreds of celebrities and elegant people in the courtyard sat together, watching Yuan Shu's arrival, and all looked at him with fear and respect.

As the last and most distinguished guest, Yuan Shu was naturally placed in the most distinguished position in the first row by Lu Kang.

After sitting down with Guo Jia, Yuan Shu began to look at the other people around him.

The head of the Gu family, the head of the Zhu family, the head of the Fan family, etc.

The people sitting in the hall are basically the helmsmen of various aristocratic families, at least direct descendants.

Just as Yuan Shu glanced at it, the two people next to him came up to him.

"Lord Zhou Mu!"

Yuan Shu took a look and saw that it was Gu Ming, the father of Gu Yong, the head of the Gu family, and Zhu Lang, the father of Zhu Heng, the head of the Zhu family. He smiled and said, "How good you two are!"

"Thank you, Mr. Zhou Mu, for your appreciation of the dog. I, the Gu family (Zhu family), can't thank you enough."

"The two heads of the family have met. Gu Yong and Zhu Heng are both great talents. I am lucky to be able to help me. I should be grateful to you two."

"Don't dare, don't dare, the state pastor has given me a prize."

...

The three of them exchanged pleasantries and expressed their good impressions of each other.

Yuan Shu needed these two aristocratic families to stabilize the situation in Jiangdong and suppress other aristocratic families.

The Gu and Zhu families needed Yuan Shu to strengthen their family.

Yuan Shu said a few words and then got down to the topic: "I heard that there has been some unrest in Lujiang recently. I wonder if you two have heard of these things."

Yuan Shu's tone was calm and calm, just like chatting before, but Gu Ming and Zhu Lang were suddenly shocked.

"The state pastor is overly worried. How can some small-time gangsters disrupt the overall situation?"

Gu Ming also replied calmly on the surface, and Zhu Lang nodded in agreement.

"But although these little kids can't cause much harm, it's not a big deal if they always make trouble here!"

Yuan Shu frowned and said with some worry.

"I've been busy recently and don't have much energy to deal with these trivial matters. I wonder if someone can help me deal with it?"

Gu Ming and Zhu Lang looked at each other intently, and it seemed they still couldn't escape.

First he looked at Yuan Shu, who seemed to be looking at Lu Kang, the head of the Lu family unconsciously, and then the two looked at each other. Gu Ming gritted his teeth and said, "Since the lord has no time, how about we share the worries between the two of us?"

Yuan Shu turned his head and grinned softly: "That's the best, Fengxiao."

Guo Jia then walked over and handed the two lists to their hands.

Yuan Shu said calmly: "Honzhou Mu is not a cruel person. These people have made some mistakes, but the crime does not lead to death. Small punishments and large punishments are enough. You two can control it yourself!"

Gu Ming and Zhu Lang felt cold in their hearts, and said with trembling voices: "Yes."

They were not stupid, and they immediately heard Yuan Shu's subtext. Yuan Shu said this on the surface to show his kindness, but in fact he obviously wanted them to severely punish these people and incite hatred.

During the entire banquet, other people had been secretly paying attention to Yuan Shu.

Although the conversation between Yuan Shu and the three people was not loud, it could not be hidden from the ears of these interested people.

Seeing the list in the hands of the Gu family and the Zhu family again, half of the people's hearts went cold.

It seems that I really underestimated Yuan Shu's courage and methods, and I have to pay for my mistake this time.

The entire birthday banquet suddenly fell silent, and many people's expressions changed from their original enthusiasm and carefreeness to serious expressions.

The heads of the Zhu family and the Gu family also looked ugly. They were really forced into a corner this time.

When Yuan Shu saw this scene, he smiled softly and drank the wine on the table in front of him.

The best way to deal with aristocratic families is to use the aristocratic families themselves to deal with them.

Yuan Shu's killing a month ago successfully established his authority and prestige.

Now some people are unwilling to give in and dare to jump. They just think that they just pushed a little and did not participate directly. There is no evidence that Yuan Shu wants to mess with them.

If Yuan Shu really wants to pursue the case, then on the one hand there is no way to deal with them openly, otherwise it will cause panic; on the other hand, even if he secretly wants to mess with them, other aristocratic families will secretly help and protect him.

After all, now Yuan Shu is strong and the aristocratic families are weak. Although they all know that they want to take refuge with Yuan Shu, the aristocratic families still have a sense of crisis lingering around them. They secretly set two obstacles for Yuan Shu to show their sense of existence. The aristocratic families are still willing to do so.

of.

The aristocratic family will never completely surrender, but will only temporarily compromise and tolerate.

Yuan Shu himself really has no good solution to these aristocratic families now. After all, he can't provide any evidence. The other party can completely say that it is his own unintentional mistake or coincidence.

And if they are suppressed secretly, other aristocratic families are not vegetarians and may cause a backlash. After all, most of the managers in Yangzhou are still from aristocratic families.

So Yuan Shu chose an extremely clever method. I can't punish you, but I can let one of you punish you.

This time Yuan Shu came to attend the birthday banquet of the head of the Lu family. One of his purposes was to show that the Lu family had leaned on him and that he was very optimistic about the Lu family.

At the birthday banquet, in order to "compete for favor", the Gu family and the Zhu family naturally had to show their obedience and kindness by leaning on each other.

Yuan Shu took advantage of the situation and said what he said before, in order to force the Gu family and the Zhu family to take sides.

Either he will grit his teeth and get in according to the trap he set up, completely stand on his own side and draw a clear line with other aristocratic families, and help Yuan Shu punish them severely, and create hatred with other aristocratic families.

Either refuse him politely, then he will naturally lose his goodwill, and Yuan Shu will choose to join his Lu family.

Of course, Yuan Shu is not stupid, so he will not propose this choice to the Lu family, lest these three aristocratic families be on the same starting line.

Even if the two refuse, the most Yuan Shu can do is give up their interests to the Lu family.

The other two families also knew this, but they still had no choice for the sake of their own families.

So what if the entire Yangzhou aristocratic family group is strengthened? If you are weakened because of this, wouldn't this be the worst situation for you?

Yuan Shu simply gave them a choice, or continue to follow Yuan Shu, separate from other aristocratic families, strengthen himself, and weaken the entire Jiangdong aristocratic family group.

Either give up your own family's interests and preserve the interests of the entire Jiangdong family.

Anyway, Yuan Shu has nothing to lose, the only difference is whether he benefits or not.

Yuan Shu used this interest, the mutually opposing interests of the aristocratic families, to cause discord and even antagonism between these aristocratic families.

After all, Yuan Shu is the one who holds the initiative now. Although the benefits must be given to the large group of aristocratic families, Yuan Shu can decide which aristocratic family to give them to.
Chapter completed!