Chapter 1 Jiang Zuo King Flees

Unlike Jiang Chen, who began to rectify the court, Jiang Zuo King, after narrowly escaping from the palace, fled like a stray dog. Although assassins often sacrificed themselves to block his pursuers, it was still impossible to delay the troops behind him.

"Jiang Chen is truly ruthless. Why must he pursue me to the bitter end?"

Thinking that the teams he had left outside the city to respond had been discovered by Jiang Chen, Jiang Zuo King felt a surge of anger. This matter was most likely leaked by Consort Lü.

Although he had not mentioned these related matters to Consort Lü, she was always able to glean some information from his fragmented words.

Because of this, Jiang Zuo King blamed all his failures on Consort Lü. Thinking of how she had blocked that inevitable knife for Jiang Chen, Jiang Zuo King felt a pang of heartache.

He clearly loved her more than Jiang Chen, but why did Consort Lü choose to protect Jiang Chen instead of supporting him?

Seeing the number of assassins following him dwindle, Jiang Zuo King gritted his teeth and led his men towards the nearest mountain range.

Now, resisting Jiang Chen seemed to be a luxury. If he wanted to achieve his goals in the future, he could only shake off the pursuers in the mountains as quickly as possible and then plan slowly. Jiang Chen's current methods had already made many families dissatisfied. As long as he raised his banner, the men he had lost would soon be replenished by the various families.

"You are truly ruthless."

Thinking of Jiang Chen's unwavering expression just now, Jiang Zuo King only wanted to retreat.

When the news of Jiang Zuo King entering the mountains reached Jiang Chen, Jiang Chen immediately ordered the pursuers to halt. His goal had now been achieved. Next, he needed to gather information on the families supporting Jiang Zuo King from behind. As long as he could obtain concrete evidence, it would be time to show these families his butcher's knife.

Now, relying on Jiang Zuo King's rebellion, he had only removed a few of the wings that these people had been laying out for many years. This was completely painless for those large families with sprawling branches.

"This is just my first step. I hope you people can withstand my torment."

After all the officials returned to their homes, the events that had occurred in the imperial city quickly spread throughout the streets and alleys.

After all, the sight of Jiang Zuo King and the others galloping away on horseback had been seen by many.

Because of this, everyone was discussing what had happened in the imperial city.

While many avoided the topic, some storytellers began to spread stories in the streets and alleys about the rebellious things Jiang Chen had done in the palace.

Such rebellious actions naturally made many people subconsciously stay away from these storytellers.

No one could accurately predict Jiang Chen's tyrannical nature. If they got too close to these people, they might be implicated. However, what they found strange was that Jiang Chen's former mouthpieces seemed to have completely lost their effectiveness and were indifferent to these people.

When the many large families saw that the outside world was resisting Jiang Chen, they couldn't help but have a thought.

If they could make good use of such an opportunity, dealing with Jiang Chen next would not seem so difficult.

"Patriarch, Jiang Chen's reputation outside is deteriorating every day. Why don't we contact Jiang Zuo King more often? When Jiang Zuo King succeeds, we can also get a share of the benefits?"

Hearing this suggestion, many family heads were tempted. Although they did not know why those poor scholars they had supported for many years had died in the court, they could feel that Jiang Chen's next target was likely to be them.

Because of this, they did not plan to continue hiding as before. Jiang Chen could be so ruthless even to someone like Jiang Zuo King, let alone those who had no blood relationship with him.

Soon, batches of fast horses quickly set off from their respective mansions, their destination being the mountains where Jiang Zuo King was now hiding. After learning of this situation, Jiang Chen simply had someone silently record it, not taking it too seriously.

Before he and these large families completely broke face, they would definitely not dare to act blatantly.

Jiang Zuo King was the best means to exhaust them. In order to support Jiang Zuo King in killing him, these people would spare no effort to give Jiang Zuo King all kinds of support. As time passed, their financial and material resources would also be greatly reduced as a result.

"Now is also the time to introduce some people to balance their power in the court."

Thinking of the full of opposition whenever he mentioned plans that were unfavorable to these large families, Jiang Chen always harbored a trace of anger in his heart. It could be said that the current court had even become theirs.

Just when everyone was sneering at Jiang Chen's actions against Jiang Zuo King, Jiang Chen suddenly announced a piece of news that no one had ever imagined.

"One year from now, talents will be selected from all over the country to enter the court as officials. First and foremost, all participants must not be children of large families."

"Only those who have been expelled from the family tree for more than three seasons can participate."

The moment this news came out, many people were extremely astonished. No one could understand what Jiang Chen was selling in his gourd.

After all, apart from the children of those large families, it seemed that no one else had the opportunity to study, let alone be called a talent.

"It seems that our Emperor is really completely昏庸无能 (hūn yōng wú néng - muddle-headed and incompetent). This is just a smokescreen to confuse people. When the time comes, the large families only need to expel their younger generations from the family, and they will have the opportunity to participate in the selection in a justified manner?"

"People like us can only be a foil and cannot play any role at all."

Speaking of this, many people's hearts were filled with resentment, while some who had been living in seclusion in the deep mountains sensed an unusual aura. Being able to make such a decision at this juncture was enough to show that Jiang Chen was probably already planning to take action against those large families.

While the outside world was full of discussions about Jiang Chen, the Consort Shu looked at Jiang Chen with a confused expression.

At this time, he suddenly realized that he seemed to have completely lost sight of the man in front of him.