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

After the court session ended, the county seat did not immediately quiet down.

When the registrar returned to the back hall, it was still daylight.

The case files on the table were not taken away, and the document for "assisting in the investigation" was still on top.

No one spoke.

Until one of the subordinates whispered:

"The situation in the hall... cannot be settled."

The registrar removed his official hat, placed it on the corner of the desk, and after a long while, said:

"Then let's not make the decision in the main hall."

Upon hearing this, several people in the room looked up simultaneously.

"The court has made its decision; record it in the case file."

"If they try to hold us accountable later, no one will be able to escape."

He looked up at the group of people.

"It's different outside the hall."

⸻

That night, several orders were quietly issued throughout the county.

It's not an official document.

It wasn't an explicit order.

It's just a "routine".

—Inspecting rural areas and verifying tenant household registrations.

—The clerk accompanied the group to re-examine the land registers and grain quantities.

—Investigate unregistered tenants, absconded tenants, and tenants who have crossed boundaries.

The Shen family wasn't mentioned at all.

But every single one of them was heading towards the Shen family.

⸻

a few days later.

A few more people appeared outside Shenjiazhuang.

Not a soldier.

It's an inspection.

They were dressed in full armor and wore talismans.

They didn't enter the village.

He stopped at the edge of the field and casually called out to a tenant farmer.

"Which village are you from?"

The tenant was taken aback and subconsciously gave the name of the village.

The inspector flipped through the booklet.

"Were you there last year?"

"exist."

"Why wasn't it recorded this year?"

The tenant opened his mouth, but could not utter a word.

The inspector closed the booklet.

"Come with us first."

It's quiet.

No fuss.

They don't tie people up.

They were simply "taken away for questioning."

This scene was witnessed by many people.

The hoe slowly came to a stop.

⸻

By noon, three people had been taken away.

The manager started to get restless.

When he entered the inner courtyard, Shen Shao was standing under the eaves, looking at the field.

"Master of the family."

The manager lowered his voice, "The inspector is checking the tenant register."

Shen Shao nodded.

"What did you check?"

"I checked those passages in the New Testament first."

Shen Shao remained silent for a while before saying:

"They're doing this for show."

Whether the person could return after being called away became a concern for everyone.

Once questioned, the name is entered into the register.

Once you're associated with terms like "Vietnamese" or "floating household," you can never shake them off.

These things have always existed. It's just that no one bothered to look at them before. Now they have.

The new tenancy agreement began to weigh heavily.

Those who signed up suddenly realized—they were standing at the very front.

⸻

Meanwhile, in Lüjiazhuang...

Lü Ding did not go out.

He sat at the desk, while Xun You stood beside him.

"The patrol has already been mobilized," Xun You said.

"Just check those few passages in the New Testament."

Lü Ding looked up.

"They still don't dare to touch me in court."

Xun You nodded.

"That's why they targeted the Shen family's tenants first."

He paused for a moment after saying this.

"This is forcing you to back down."

Lü Ding did not deny it.

"What if I back out?"

Xun You did not answer immediately.

After a long while, he said:

"Then all of this will be written as—"

"The Shen family knew they were not in accordance with the rules, so they took the initiative to restore the old ways."

"It's none of your business."

Lü Ding smiled.

It's very light.

"What if I don't back down?"

Xun You raised his eyes and looked at him.

"Then they'll keep pressing."

"The pressure will eventually break someone's back."

"It's not you."

"It's the Shen family."

The room fell silent.

"Call Xu Huang here for me."

the next day.

It was before dawn.

The sound of drums began in the open space outside Shenjiazhuang.

Not urgent.

But it is stable.

The Yi Cong Battalion conducted routine drills.

The column of soldiers stood like a wall, their steps perfectly synchronized, each landing kicking up a light cloud of dust.

The spearhead was pointing outwards.

Not towards Zhuang.

And not to anyone.

They simply followed the rules.

The people in the village were awakened by the sound of drums.

Pushing open the door, I saw rows of armored soldiers standing like a wall.

No one dared to speak.

⸻

The inspection team arrived at the right time.

They walked along the same path they had followed yesterday.

When I saw the open space in the distance, my pace slowed down.

The volunteer battalion was still training, and their formation remained unchanged.

The inspector stood by the edge of the field and watched for a while.

One of them whispered:

"Just practice."

He raised his chin.

"We still need to bring the people with us."

The inspectors continued walking forward.

They didn't go into the training ground; they simply walked along the edge and, as usual, stopped a tenant farmer.

"you."

"come over."

The tenant instinctively took a step forward.

Just as this step was taken—

The drumming suddenly stopped.

It's not a stop.

It's a change of pace.

In the ranks of the righteous soldiers, a row of armored warriors turned around at the same time.

The butt of the gun slammed to the ground.

The sound wasn't loud.

But it was too neat.

A soldier in armor stepped out from the ranks and stood between the two sides.

There was no drawing of a sword, nor was there any shout to stop them.

He simply raised his hand, signaling the tenants to stop.

"This is where the military is conducting drills."

"No unauthorized persons are permitted to approach."

The inspector frowned.

"We are conducting a routine household registration check."

The soldier nodded.

"I know."

"But here, the army has already formed ranks."

The inspector gave a cold laugh.

"You all continue with your training."

"We'll bring our people."

After he finished speaking, he reached out to pull the tenant.

My hand just touched the sleeve.

The armored soldier's voice suddenly lowered.

"Take one more step forward."

The inspector looked up.

The soldier looked at him, his tone flat.

Military law is here.

"Unauthorized entry into the army's formation is considered a disruption of military orders."

"It can be dealt with on the spot."

He spoke these words very slowly.

It carried the murderous aura that only a military formation could possess.

Silence fell over the front lines.

The inspector's hand froze in mid-air.

He glanced at the armored soldiers.

He glanced again at the armored soldiers in the formation who hadn't moved.

No one raised an army.

No one drank it.

But everyone knows—

They're really daring.

The wind blew past the front of the battle.

The spearhead swayed slightly.

The inspector slowly withdrew his hand.

After a while, he closed the booklet.

"today--"

That's all for now.

This sentence was said very softly.

It's like he's trying to save face.

The soldier nodded.

No delivery was made.

I didn't look at it either.

The drums sounded again.

The drills continued.

It was as if nothing had happened.

this day.

No one else was called away.

The people who were taken away returned to the village one after another in the afternoon.

I won't go into the details.

They simply said, "I've found out."

⸻

The sound of hoes striking the soil echoed through the fields once more.

However, it was slower than in the previous days.

It's also more stable than in the past few days.

The new tenancy agreement still stands.

No one mentioned taking it back anymore.

The rear hall of the prefectural government.

After hearing the report, the clerk's face gradually darkened.

"What did you say?"

The subordinate official kept his head down.

"The militia... are training outside Shenjiazhuang."

"routine."

The room fell silent for a moment after those two words were uttered.

The clerk's hand slowly tightened its grip.

"routine?"

He suddenly raised his hand and swept the booklet off the table.

The pages scattered and fell to the ground.

"Who gave them permission to train there?"

The official's throat tightened.

"Military drill manuals... already include rotational training."

"Rotational training?"

The registrar sneered, "It's Shen Family Village's turn?"

He stood up and paced back and forth in the room, his voice low but filled with anger.

"Who is he trying to impress?"

No one dared to speak.

The registrar stopped and turned around abruptly.

"Lu Ding is too bold."

"Now they even dare to display their soldiers."

"Do you really think I wouldn't dare to touch him?"