With the rise of my family, I can summon the Daoist Soldiers' Nest.

However, as soon as they stepped into the Liu residence area, the team leaders sensed something was wrong.

There were no other guards waiting outside the mansion, and the surroundings were eerily quiet; not even a patrol could be seen.

Although the gate was half-open, there was not even a basic defensive formation, let alone the expected resistance.

"This isn't right..." a third-rate captain frowned. "If the Liu family was truly on guard, how could they have remained completely silent?"

Zhao Sanpao turned around and smiled, "They suffered a loss at the city gate just now, and they must be so scared that they are hiding inside and dare not come out."

Now that we're here, we can't give them a chance to breathe; we must eradicate evil completely!

Having said all that, the three of them had their doubts, but the die was cast.

They had already led their troops to this place, and in front of all the guards, they called for action under the pretext of "following military orders." If they stopped now, they would not only lose the trust of their subordinates, but they might also be seen as retreating in the face of battle.

"In that case, let's charge in and take control of the Liu family!" the three captains shouted in unison.

Three third-rate captains, accompanied by their guards, charged straight in, following Guo Sanpao's footsteps.

As soon as they stepped into the front courtyard, several guards from the Liu family appeared hastily from behind the side rooms and pillars, weapons in hand, but they could not hide the panic in their eyes.

"Kill!" a third-rate captain shouted, thrusting his spear forward, the tip piercing a guard's chest like lightning.

The guards followed closely behind, their blades flashing, forcing the few low-level martial artists who tried to form a defensive formation to retreat repeatedly.

However, just as they were clearing the front yard, a burly figure rushed out wielding a short axe.

It was the only third-rate martial artist left in the Liu family.

He was accompanied by seven or eight second-rate martial artists, also armed with knives, who were clearly reinforcements brought by the commotion in the front yard.

"Why is the Lin family attacking my Liu family?" the third-rate martial artist said, slashing his axe at the captain who was charging at the front.

The captain dodged to the side and swung his sword at the man's shoulder, but the man blocked it with his axe, sparks flying.

Seeing this, the other two third-rate captains immediately split up their forces to surround the enemy.

A captain and several guards engaged the seven or eight second-rate martial artists, wielding both swords and spears, forcing them into a retreat.

The other captain joined forces with the leading captain to attack the third-rate martial artist from both sides.

Although the third-rate martial artist from the Liu family was brave, he was soon beheaded by a single blow when faced with the tacit cooperation of three third-rate captains and the encirclement of the guards.

The remaining seven or eight second-rate martial artists, seeing their leader dead, lost their morale and either surrendered or fell in pools of blood under a hail of blows.

In this round of fighting, the guard team also paid a heavy price. Several members were injured by the axe wind, suffering fractures and tendon injuries; one person was slashed in the abdomen by a knife, bleeding profusely; and two others were hit in the shoulder by a short axe while protecting their companions, temporarily losing their fighting ability.

The three captains also had bloodstains on their bodies, their armor was ripped open in several places, and they were breathing heavily, but they still stood tall.

Once it was confirmed that no one else could organize resistance, the captains ordered all the stewards, accountants, servants, children, and others in Liu's mansion who had not participated in the fighting to be subdued.

Including Liu Li, the head of the Liu family, who was bound with ropes and taken to the courtyard, intending to be taken back to Lin Tie for interrogation and processing.

But just then, a great commotion suddenly broke out outside the mansion.

Startled by the shouts of killing and the clash of weapons, the townspeople, carrying hoes, sticks, and torches, surged toward Liu's residence like a tidal wave.

The guards hurriedly sent men to stop them, but the crowd was too large to be contained.

Someone recognized the bound people as members of the Liu family who usually bullied the townspeople, and their anger was instantly ignited.

"It's them! They're the ones who made us starve and be beaten to death!"

"Kill! Avenge the town!"

It's unclear who struck first, but an old man picked up a stone and threw it at a bound servant. Then, enraged townspeople broke through the blockade and rushed into the courtyard. Knives flashed, sticks flew, and fists and feet rained down.

Those once high and mighty members of the Liu family were beaten to death, some were pushed into wells, and even several terrified female relatives were not spared.

The three captains and the guards tried to stop it, but the situation was out of control. The townspeople's hatred was like a flood that had burst its banks, and if they tried to suppress it by force, it would only cause even greater chaos.

In the end, they could only watch helplessly as everyone in the Liu family, regardless of age or gender, perished in this sudden act of revenge.

When Lin Qiang arrived after receiving the news, the Liu residence was already deathly silent, with corpses lying haphazardly in the courtyard.

The entire Liu family has been wiped out.

Many people were kneeling and kowtowing, saying things like "The Lin family avenged us" and "The Lin family is our savior," their gratitude overflowing.

Lin Qiang and Lin Tie stood in front of the mansion gate, looking at the corpses scattered on the ground and the expressions of the townspeople watching, but could only smile bitterly.

"Arrest Zhao Sanpao and his two audacious henchmen, and take them back to Linjiawu tomorrow morning for the young master to deal with."

Lin Qiang stood in the blood-stained courtyard of the Liu residence, looking at the three third-rate captains covered in blood, and gave them orders, word by word.

Upon hearing this, the three captains glared fiercely at Zhao Sanpao.

They strode forward and ruthlessly pinned Zhao Sanpao, who was still trying to maintain his composure, to the ground, binding him tightly. His two henchmen were also subdued and forced to kneel aside.

Lin Tie stood aside, watching this scene, and sighed softly.

That's not entirely wrong. During the search just now, we discovered that the Liu family was already packing their valuables, seemingly preparing to escape. They'll probably leave once the guards continue clearing the river tomorrow.

Luckily, he made the decision on his own, otherwise they really would have gotten away. Now... I'm the one who benefited.

He paused, his gaze sweeping over the still-shaken townspeople in the courtyard before returning to Zhao Sanpao, who was being held captive.

"With his meddling, Shitie Town is no longer hampered by the Liu family, and my Lin family has vented the anger of the townspeople. This will actually be very beneficial to my management going forward."

Lin Qiang said, "Let's leave this to the young master to handle. Although his intentions were good, he forged orders, but the rules cannot be broken. Merit is merit, and demerit is demerit; he must be severely punished to appease the public."

The group began to inventory the Liu family's property. The chests and trunks were mostly filled with gold, silver, valuables, bags of grain, and some silk fabrics, but there were no spiritual plants or high-level cultivation resources.

After all, he was just a local gentry with limited resources, and most of his wealth was obtained by exploiting the townspeople.

Lin Tie stood in front of the cleared storeroom of the Liu family mansion, watching as boxes of gold and silver and piles of grain were moved into the courtyard.

He reached out and loosened the seal on a bag of new grain; the golden grains gleamed warmly in the firelight. He then weighed a box full of silver ingots in his hand; it was quite heavy.

All of this was the blood and sweat that the Liu family had squeezed from the townspeople over the years. Now that it belonged to the Lin family, he wanted to use it for the most important thing: to rebuild Shitie Town and set up a blacksmith shop.

"Farming alone can't save this town," Lin Tie muttered to himself. "The original name of Shitie Town is 'stone' and 'iron.' In the past, the townspeople made a living by quarrying and mining. Now that the river channels are gradually being opened up, we can transport ore out and bring in the supplies we need."

He raised his head, his gaze sweeping over the townspeople who were still watching, their faces pale and thin.

Looking at the mountains of gold, silver, and grain, the townspeople no longer possessed the ferocity they had shown when they were killing the Liu family members, and dared not harbor the slightest greed for these supplies.

After all, they were just ordinary townspeople. If they really had the guts, they wouldn't have been forced into this situation by the Liu family in the first place. Although the Liu family had martial artists, their numbers were far from enough to make so many townspeople surrender.

"I plan to reopen the old blacksmith shop in town. There are at least two or three hundred able-bodied men in town who can work, making farm tools, repairing equipment, and building transport vehicles. In the future, they can also produce swords, spears, and arrowheads for the territory."

"Moreover, I will use this money and grain to rebuild the town. The dilapidated houses will be torn down and rebuilt, and the city walls will be raised. All of this requires manpower."

"With livelihoods secured, the townspeople will no longer be driven to starvation or freezing to death, and their hearts will be at peace."

Lin Qiang nodded: "This is also the young master's intention. Shitie Town is not only to be restored, but also to become a major smelting and forging town in the west of the territory. We opened up the waterway so that raw materials and finished products could be transported out to support the defense and construction in various places."

Lin Tie turned around and addressed the townspeople, who still looked on with awe and anticipation, in a loud voice:

"My name is Lin Tie, and I am the steward of Shitie Town, personally appointed by Lord Lin Ye of Xiang County. Starting tomorrow, Shitie Town will be rebuilt! Those with skills, come back to work; those with strength, come and find jobs. The Lin family will not let anyone go hungry again!"