A thick layer of dust had accumulated in the courtyard. With a creak, the gate opened. Seeing this, Xu Lin led Xu Qing to the well.
"Qing'er, the Duke of Wu came with great force today, and he also has an imperial edict. I estimate that my Xu family is probably doomed. Even if we are not completely wiped out, we will suffer considerable losses. We will probably lose our status as a prefecture-level aristocratic family." Xu Lin said with some sorrow.
"Why? If we can't beat them, we can just surrender," Xu Qing asked, puzzled.
"To wipe us out directly would not only bring numerous benefits but also establish our authority, and the cost wouldn't be too high. If you were the Duke of Wu, what would you choose? Of course, this is only the worst-case scenario."
"Next, I'll tell you the last secret of our Xu family. Our Xu family's blessed land is... Remember that?!" Xu Lin suddenly said sternly.
"I've remembered. It's in a mountain range three hundred li to the right of Kuaiji County. Then, in the forest, find a large tree that's ten zhang tall and one zhang wide, with leaves the size of a palm. Then circle it three times to the left and three times to the right, and you can enter directly," Xu Qing said urgently.
"Also, remember this: if something happens to the Xu family, you will live in the secret room at the bottom of the well for at least seven days. After seven days, when things have calmed down, you can leave through the secret passage connected to the well."
Seeing the hatred in Xu Qing's eyes, Xu Lin was furious. He slapped her hard across the face.
"You beast, do you want to wipe out my entire Xu family? Remember this: after this, if you are still alive, you must live in anonymity, forget your hatred, and live a good life. Even if you want revenge, you must wait until you have a son and continue the Xu family line, do you hear me?"
"Yes, I understand," Xu Qing said dejectedly.
Then, together with Xu Lin, they jumped into the well. With a snap, a door appeared in the bricks in front of them. Opening the door revealed a secret chamber that was one zhang high, two zhang long, and one zhang wide.
Inside the sealed room, there was rice, flour, and plenty of cured meat; surviving for ten days or half a month was no problem at all.
After Xu Qing entered, Xu Lin immediately sealed the mechanism. He shook his head and left.
"That's enough. Qing'er is safe now. The next step is to fight to the death and cover for Qing'er," Xu Lin said unwillingly.
For the sake of the Xu family's legacy and its continuation, Xu Lin was risking everything. If he didn't die, Lin Yang would definitely search high and low to find him. At that point, all the traps and secret passages would be useless.
If he, the head of the Xu family, dies and most of the Xu family's wealth is found, then who would care about the life or death of a mere remnant of the Xu family?
As they walked, they arrived at the ancestral hall. Accompanied by knocking and the sounds of mechanisms being activated, squads of ghostly soldiers appeared.
These ghostly soldiers, in reality, are quite powerful at night. They can all fly, but at this moment, they're just cannon fodder. After all, Lin Yang has an imperial decree.
But there's no other way. Even if all the ghost soldiers die, as long as we can successfully break through, that's enough.
Now, it's no longer time to consider how much we've lost; what we need to think about is how many of us can escape.
"In a moment, the Yin soldiers and the Grand Elder will lead thirty elite members of the family from the south. I will lead the family's private army from the front. The rest of you, stay where you are and prepare to surrender."
At Xu Lin's command, the Xu residence sprang into action. Seeing this, and looking at the hundreds of private soldiers about to appear, Lin Yang couldn't help but smile.
"They're hoarding weapons and armor—this is tantamount to rebellion! I trusted the Xu family so much, giving them a chance to defend themselves; they've truly betrayed my trust!" Lin Yang said coldly. Then, with a wave of his right hand, the army was mobilized.
"Draw the bow"
"Nocking the arrow"
"aim"
"shoot"
With each command given, rows of archers appeared in neat formation. And, more importantly, they were using fire arrows.
With a deafening roar, hundreds of rockets appeared in the sky, standing out starkly against the dark night sky. In an instant, they illuminated the entire Xu residence.
"This is terrible! This is the government army! They're killing and burning without any regard for consequences! Charge! Charge outwards as a group! There's still a glimmer of hope!" Xu Lin shouted the order.
At this moment, they couldn't panic or lose their composure; if they did, they would be finished. The family's private soldiers, who had initially been somewhat flustered, calmed down upon hearing their patriarch's usual powerful voice.
Seeing this, Taishi Ci said, "Prepare the ballistae."
No sooner had he finished speaking than dozens of enormous ballistae appeared. These ballistae were ten feet long, two meters wide, and weighed several thousand kilograms.
The specially made arrows alone are forged from refined iron, measuring ten feet in length and weighing several hundred kilograms. Numerous talismans are also drawn on the arrows, granting them various effects such as armor penetration and the ability to pierce true qi.
Each arrow was enough to pose a threat to a third-tier expert. It was only because Lin Yang was of extraordinary status that he could not have purchased such equipment, even if he had the money.
Dozens of ballistae were now strapped to the carriage, each with a ten-man squad specifically responsible for it.
With a click-clack sound, the crossbow string was slowly pulled back. Countless units of energy were gradually accumulating.
With a whoosh, a specially made arrow, ten feet long, was launched. The simultaneous firing of dozens of crossbow bolts created a small storm simply by generating the force of the wind.
The hundreds of private soldiers, who had been charging forward, were suddenly stunned, as if they had been slapped in the face.
That's true. These private soldiers are, after all, just private soldiers. Generally speaking, family private soldiers are mostly tenant farmers in their families. Because they are reliable and trustworthy.
Therefore, although their equipment was comparable to that of the government troops, they had not seen much bloodshed and had no experience in large-scale warfare.
(Family private armies exist in a gray area between legality and illegality; every aristocratic family has them, but they cannot emerge openly. Therefore, they naturally lack sufficient training and combat experience.)
"Utter dregs, no wonder powerful lords look down on aristocratic families. They're all superficially impressive but incompetent," Lin Yang said disdainfully.
At the same time, he took out the imperial edict in his hand, and streams of imperial dragon energy flowed continuously into the edict, emitting a golden light.
Bathed in light, the Xu residence was as bright as day. Countless ghost soldiers vanished instantly, unable to withstand even a single round before being annihilated.
Countless streams of literary energy, true energy, and magical techniques were directly enveloped by the dragon aura and vanished instantly. This is the true domineering power of the dragon aura!
Immediately afterwards, the five hundred Imperial Guards also made their move. Like chopping melons and vegetables, the guest elders of the Xu family, the family elders, and even Xu Lin, the head of the Xu family, were all wiped out.
"Lin Yang, you've gone against the tide, daring to attack a powerful family! You won't have a good end! Haha, I'll be waiting for you in hell!" With that, Xu Lin committed suicide.
Upon hearing this, Lin Yang remained expressionless. A mere aristocratic family at the county level was nothing more than the first step in his grand undertaking.
------------