Chapter 187

Chapter 187

Han Zhang's hundred-day banquet invitation was naturally something that local magnates like Lord Su had no desire to attend.

But Han Zhang was not one to follow convention. Without even a preliminary exchange of probing or confrontation, he directly had Old General Shao bring troops to surround their mansions.

Armored soldiers stood solemnly outside the gates, their spears gleaming coldly. The fierce killing intent from the battlefield seeped through the heavy doors and high walls.

It was utterly terrifying.

Under such circumstances, no matter how much anger or scheming the guests harbored, faced with drawn blades, they could only temporarily stand down.

After all, there was a saying: brute force beats a hundred clever moves. Talk of long-term plans or united resistance became empty words in the face of absolute power!

With no other choice, they could only swallow their pride and, under the soldiers' "courteous escort," make their way to the Han residence for the banquet.

Upon arrival, the local gentry and family heads were led directly to the front hall, while their husbands, wives, and female relatives were politely but firmly ushered into the rear courtyard.

Han Zhang and Shen Qinglan each took one group to give these people a talking-to, winning people over and tightening their grip on power.

In truth, winning people over was not complicated—the most fundamental method was the carrot and the stick: rewards and threats.

If you don't hit them hard enough, they won't listen;

if you don't feed the horses enough hay, they won't have the strength to work.

The fate of Tongpan Yang and his kind was the stick meant to scare these people; this banquet was the carrot.

So, after everyone had taken their seats with mixed feelings, Han Zhang emerged with a perfectly warm smile.

Without small talk or beating around the bush, his gaze swept over the faces—some stiff, some anxious, some forcing calm. He clasped his hands in a salute, then waved his sleeve and declared loudly:

"I, Han, thank you all for coming to my son's hundred-day banquet. Your presence here today is an honor to my humble home."

"We can catch up on old matters later—at a feast, it's not the time to talk business. You've all come a long way, so I've prepared a small token of appreciation. Please, have a look."

As soon as he finished speaking,

a line of maidservants and page boys filed in, heads bowed, carrying trays, setting them one by one on the tables in front of each family head, then hurrying out.

The trays were tightly covered with red cloth, hiding whatever lay beneath.

No one could guess what was underneath, and no one dared lift the cloth right away. Finally, after exchanging uneasy glances, everyone turned to look at Lord Su and Lord Chen at the front.

Everyone knew the Su, Chen, and Xu families were the three most powerful, deeply rooted clans in Yunyang Prefecture.

Now that the Xu family had fallen along with Secretary Xu, their followers had scattered like rats from a sinking ship. The rest naturally looked to these two families to see which way the wind blew. Their eyes practically screamed:

Brother Su, Brother Chen—it's your turn! Time to step up and lead, stand up for the rest of us!

Lord Su: "..."

Lord Chen: "..."

Both cursed inwardly, for the first time regretting how hard they'd worked over the years. They were already rich and respected—why had they bothered making their families so powerful?

Now they were being used as human shields by their underlings, weren't they?

But with everyone watching, if they backed down now, they'd lose a lot of face with the smaller families.

They glanced around at the soldiers, who were radiating murderous intent.

Finally, the two exchanged a knowing look, let out identical dry laughs, and steeled themselves to lift the red cloth: "Since Lord Han has been so generous with his gifts, it would be rude to refuse..."

Under the tense, almost frozen gaze of everyone present, the red cloth was slowly lifted.

The traps or threatening objects they'd expected didn't appear—no bloody severed hands or fingers.

All that lay before them was a small pile of white powder in an exquisite porcelain dish—fine as sand, resting on a red velvet lining.

What was this? Poison? Arsenic?

No way—who would go to all this trouble to host a grand banquet, then openly put poison on the table and force guests to eat it?

The crowd had no idea what to make of it.

Lord Su and Lord Chen were just as puzzled. They clasped their hands in salute again and asked cautiously: "This... forgive our ignorance, but we can't tell what this thing in the dish is. Would Lord Han enlighten us?"

Han Zhang didn't explain right away. He just tapped his fingertips twice on the table beside him and said: "As for what this is—gentlemen, just taste it, and you'll know."

"...T-taste it?"

This was a trap banquet—who would casually put something from it in their mouth?

The crowd was dumbfounded, their faces twisting with reluctance.

Sure, Han Zhang had gone to all this trouble to invite them, so he probably wouldn't openly poison them—but what if he did?

They only had one life to live—if they guessed wrong, there'd be no taking it back!

In this day and age, counting on someone else's conscience to stay alive was just asking for death.

For a moment, the hall was so silent you could hear a pin drop. No one said a word, and no one dared touch the mysterious powder.

Han Zhang scanned the crowd, his smile warm but carrying an unyielding, oppressive pressure:

"Why aren't you moving? Do you find this 'modest gift' I carefully prepared too shabby for your eyes?"

"Or do you think that as a newly appointed official, I have no standing in Yunyang Prefecture, that my words don't matter, and so you look down on me... to the point of refusing me even this small courtesy?"

"No, no—Lord Han misunderstands! We just... we just..."

The crowd stammered and played the coward, but still refused to move.

In the middle of this standoff, Squire Zhang, who was seated among the guests, finally couldn't hold himself back. He slammed his wine cup on the ground and shot to his feet in anger:

"Lord Han! What's the meaning of this? You say eat, and we have to eat? We're all respectable people in Yunyang—how dare you humiliate us like this!"

It wasn't surprising that Squire Zhang had jumped up to be the first to stick his neck out.

The truth was, he'd had considerable dealings with Secretary Xu, the man Han Zhang had taken down. Though he'd narrowly escaped disaster this time, he'd still taken a big hit.

Fuming with resentment and frustration, and with Han Zhang now putting on airs, his hot temper got the better of him—so he jumped up.

In truth, the moment the words left his mouth, Squire Zhang regretted his impulsiveness. But the words were out, and there was no taking them back, so he could only square his shoulders and stand his ground.

Lord Su and the others, however, breathed a collective sigh of relief.

With someone willing to be the sacrificial lamb and test Han Zhang's mettle, they could hang back and watch. They promptly chimed in to back him up:

"Indeed, Lord Han, if you have instructions, why not speak plainly instead of being so cryptic with us?"

"Who'd dare put something so dubious in their mouths? If we taste it just because you say so, wouldn't word spread that the local gentry of Yunyang are nothing but puppets?"

"Exactly! Speak your mind!"

"With all this beating around the bush, Lord Han, you're hardly being upfront..."

"Though you're the Prefect of Yunyang, wielding authority over this region, we're not dough for you to mold however you please!"

The crowd's confidence swelled with every word.

So what if Han Zhang had Old General Shao backing him? He'd already toppled the Xu family and thrown Yunyang into turmoil—surely he wouldn't dare slaughter every remaining rich clan outright?

This was likely just a bluff to scare them into line. It's kill or be killed—if they gave an inch today, they'd be pushed back a mile from now on!

But the bravado they'd talked themselves into was punctured in the next instant, deflating like a pricked balloon.

"Very well."

Han Zhang chuckled softly, setting down his wine cup. His voice was low, yet it cut through the noise, clear as a bell. "Since you gentlemen dislike these formalities and think I'm not being straight with you, fine—I'll drop the act."

Before the words had even faded, he rose from his seat at the head of the hall and strode down the steps.

Then, before anyone could react, he walked straight to the guard by the hall's entrance and whipped the saber from the man's waist.

The blade slid free, flashing coldly, and before Squire Zhang could react, one stroke lopped the man's head clean off.

—The head came off with terrifying ease!

The hall went dead silent—you could hear a pin drop.

Those who had been shouting the loudest moments ago now stood with mouths agape, their teeth chattering, not a word coming out.

Squire Ma, standing closest to Squire Zhang, got sprayed with blood. His trousers soaked through on the spot, the stench of urine filling the air. He stood frozen, shaking so hard he didn't even dare wipe his face.

Han Zhang, however, casually tossed the still-dripping blade back to the nearby soldier, as if he'd just killed a fly.

Then he drew out a snow-white silk handkerchief, taking his sweet time wiping at imaginary stains on his fingers, his gaze sweeping calmly over the pale-as-ghosts crowd as he said in a flat voice:

"Now, will you gentlemen care to taste it?"

"Y-yes! We're honored, Lord Han! Truly honored!"

Lord Su nearly lunged at the table, trembling as he grabbed the contents of the dish, stuffing it into his mouth without a second glance, not even caring about the blood on it.

Lord Chen and the others came to their senses and followed suit, their faces pale, bodies shaking all over, cold sweat pouring down their faces.

Good God!

This Han guy plays dirty!

Everyone was terrified by Han Zhang's cold-blooded efficiency.

As the saying goes, you can't reason with a brute. They weren't afraid of playing mind games, but they dreaded dealing with someone like Han Zhang who simply wouldn't play by the rules.

Yet, as they chewed...

Their trembling bodies gradually stilled.

Lord Su and Lord Chen nearly stopped chewing at the same moment, savoring the clean, savory saltiness that dissolved rapidly on their tongues—with no bitter aftertaste or grit...

Their eyes widened in disbelief, and they cried out in shock, their voices sharp and distorted with astonishment:

"Salt? This—this is salt?!"

So pure, so fine, so clean... salt that could rival the imperial tribute?!