Overthrowing Wei: Starting with Cao Cao's "I'd rather betray the world than surrender

Before dawn, Lü Ding had already sent a very short note.

He didn't look up.

There were no official, bureaucratic documents.

Only one line was written:

"Please, Patriarch Shen, come to the manor. I have important matters to discuss."

⸻

The Shen family arrived very quickly.

It was faster than expected.

In the afternoon, Shen Shao was already standing outside the Lü Family Village.

He didn't bring many people with him, only one personal steward.

Lu Ding did not see him inside the manor.

But it was outside the city.

Right next to the grain carts that hadn't been completely evacuated yet.

When Shen Shao dismounted, the first thing he saw was not people, but fields, row upon row.

"Young Master Lü," Shen Shao bowed first.

"You flatter me," Lü Ding returned the greeting. "I invited Patriarch Shen here today because there is something I would like to discuss with you."

Shen Shao nodded.

"Please speak."

Lü Ding did not go around it.

"I want to try something out on the Shen family's land."

Shen Shao's eyes flickered slightly, but he did not interrupt.

"Tenants will no longer pay 60%."

"Thirty percent."

"The rest is theirs to keep."

As soon as those words were spoken, the wind seemed to stop for a moment.

Shen Shao's fingers tightened slightly inside his sleeve.

"Thirty percent?" he repeated.

"Yes." Lü Ding nodded.

"The land still belongs to the Shen family."

"The taxes will be paid by the Shen family to the prefecture as usual."

Shen Shao looked up.

"Then what will my Shen family get in return?"

Lü Ding looked at him.

"You have people."

These two words were spoken very softly.

But it was surprisingly heavy.

"The tenants will no longer flee."

"No more gambling on years of disaster."

"We will no longer wait for the next batch of grain."

"They will know—"

"As long as the land can be planted within a year, 70% of what is harvested will belong to them."

Shen Shao fell silent.

He wasn't unaware of the costs.

%.

What does it mean?

This means that in the short term, the Shen family's actual income will plummet.

But at the same time, it also means—

The land will not be left barren.

People won't drift apart.

"What if something goes wrong?" Shen Shao finally asked.

What if the tenants are lazy?

"What if someone is selling grain privately?"

"What if someone instigates this?"

Lü Ding listened to each of the points one by one.

Then he only replied with one sentence.

"That's my business."

Shen Shao looked up.

"I will establish rules."

"Whoever violates this rule, I will be punished."

This time, Shen Shao was truly moved.

Because he finally understood—

Lü Ding did not intend to borrow the Shen family's land.

Rather, the goal is to make the Shen family a model.

Shen Shao suddenly spoke.

Have you ever thought about it?

"You're putting the Shen family at the forefront."

Lü Ding did not deny it.

"That's why I contacted you first."

"Because the Shen family doesn't rely on this year's harvest for a living."

"But this path cannot be taken without starting with someone who can withstand the losses—"

He looked at the distant field ridges.

"You'll never get out."

The silence stretched on and on.

Lu Ding thought Shen Shao would refuse.

Shen Shao simply lowered his eyes and looked at the furrow that had been plowed into the field at his feet.

After a moment, he raised his head, his tone slightly softer than before:

"Yunzhong."

This was the first time he had addressed someone by their given name.

"You won't be walking this road in a day."

"The Shen family isn't someone you've only been testing for a year."

Lü Ding did not interrupt.

"If it were just a trial production, the Shen family wouldn't need to be standing so far ahead."

"But your push—"

Shen Shao gently tapped the ridge under his feet.

"It's about binding the Shen family to you."

He paused for a moment before continuing:

"I, Shen Shao, can nod in agreement."

"But I need to know one thing."

Lü Ding looked up.

"How far are you prepared to go on this path?"

This question is not about the system.

It's a question for people.

Lü Ding did not hesitate.

"Until it can stand firm."

Shen Shao stared at him for a long time.

So long that the whispers of the wind had circled between the two of them.

Finally, he slowly said:

"Then the Shen family can't just lend you land once."

What I want is—

He didn't speak too bluntly.

He simply said softly:

"Regardless of future success or failure, our two families will stand together."

After he finished speaking, he didn't look at Lü Ding again.

Instead, they looked towards the city.

It's as if it's making decisions for some people who haven't even appeared yet.

a long time.

Lü Dingcai nodded slowly.

"it is good."

This "good" lacked any sense of grandeur.

Only decisiveness matters.

"Then the Shen family is willing to give it a try."

⸻

Xun You stood not far away.

He didn't say a single word from beginning to end.

Until Shen Shao left.

He then whispered:

"You gave the Shen family a way out."

"And they were given a fire."

Lü Ding nodded.

Xun You looked at him.

"Are you ready?"

"What are you preparing?"

"The first backlash."

Lü Ding did not answer.

⸻

After making his decision, Shen Shao acted swiftly.

Not many days later.

Inside Shenjiazhuang, the first new contract was posted.

It's not a land title deed.

It was a tenancy agreement.

There aren't many terms.

30% rent.

They are responsible for their own profits and losses.

Subletting is not allowed.

No one is allowed to flee their registered residence.

Once the notice was posted, the village was quiet for half a day.

Then--

Blasted.

It's not a joke.

It's chaotic.

The tenant farmers did not believe it.

Meanwhile, the Shen family knelt outside the ancestral hall, weeping and begging the clan elders to tear up the tenancy agreement.

"It's not a matter of 30% or 60%, it's about whether the Shen family can keep this door open once it's opened."

"This is killing us!"

Meanwhile.

The news has already spread beyond the Shen family.

The news reached the ears of other aristocratic families.

The news reached the prefectural government.

It has been transmitted—

In the eyes of those who had been keeping a close eye on Lü Ding.

That night.

A document was quietly sent out from the county.

It wasn't for Lü Ding.

Instead, it was given to Shen Shao.

There is only one sentence above:

"Shen, be cautious in your actions."

No signature.

⸻

late at night.

Lüjiazhuang.

Xun You placed the document in front of Lü Ding's desk.

"They started to intervene."

Lu Ding glanced at it but didn't touch it.

"I know."

"Do you want to continue?" Xun You asked.

"It's not too late to back out now."

Lü Ding shook his head.

"Once the arrow is released, there's no turning back."

Xun You remained silent.

he knows--

This is no longer a question of whether the system can be established or not.

The question is whether the first people to step forward will survive.

outside the window.

The wind blows across the fields.

It's very light.

But the wind already carried a scent that no one could ignore.

This is the atmosphere of a new order, just beginning to take hold.

It was also the silence before the first drop of blood was about to fall.

It was just getting dark.

Inside Shenjiazhuang, a lamp has been lit.

It is not an ancestral hall.

It's not the main house either.

Instead, it was in a small, secluded study in the most remote part of the village.

Shen Shao sat at his desk, with the new tenancy agreement spread out in front of him, the candlelight casting a slightly yellowish glow on the paper.

He didn't look at the terms again.

I just kept looking at the last line of the signature.

a long time.

He raised his hand and gently closed the tenancy agreement.

"Please come here, Miss."

The manager was taken aback.

"Now?"

Soon after, footsteps echoed in the corridor.

The footsteps were very light, and the door was pushed open.

A woman stood outside the door, dressed in simple white clothes, with clear and bright eyes.

She walked up to her father, glanced at the tenancy agreement on the table, and didn't ask what it was.

He only shouted one sentence:

"Father."

Shen Shao looked at her.

At that moment, he suddenly realized—

Once this path is embarked on, it is Wan'er's generation that truly has to walk it to the end.

The candlelight flickered gently.

Shen Shao slowly opened his mouth:

"Wan'er."

"Tomorrow, you will come with me to Lü Family Village."