Although they didn't have many troops when they came this time, it was absolutely impossible for them to let Su Qi'an do whatever he wanted.
As a family with close ties to the royal family, just the words "royal family" are enough to make everyone fear them.
Not to mention, the three of them control at least half of Xizhou's economic lifeline. Once something happens to them, Xizhou's economy will absolutely collapse.
The accumulation of so many years of development, the connections of the three hidden families cannot be compared to even the three giants in the past.
It is no exaggeration to say that if Su Qi'an dared to attack them and kill them directly, he would be the next one to be killed.
Compared with other ordinary families, the hidden family has a very special right. They can have direct access to Tianting without going through any local officials.
This power can often only be used when the family's survival is at stake. The communication channels established with the royal family have been perfected long ago. Even if Su Qian wanted to check, he could not find out at all.
The reason why such privileges were given to the hidden families was mainly because of the turmoil in various states a hundred years ago, which caused some hidden families to be exterminated. Emperor Renzong, who was in power at that time, could not bear it, so he specially gave this privilege to other hidden families in Daliang.
It is this privilege that is the important reason why the three old patriarchs do not have many people around them, and there are not even many private soldiers in the family mansion.
Once they were in danger, Su Qi'an would never be able to escape. Based on the years of experience of the three old patriarchs, Su Qi'an would not dare to do anything to them even if they had hundreds of courages.
This is also the reason why Patriarch Liu dared to speak.
With Patriarch Liu taking the lead, Patriarch Chen followed closely.
"Dongshan Marquis, you defeated Tang Feng and captured Xizhou. This is your strength. I admire you. But as a Marquis, you are so disrespectful to our reclusive family and insulted and abused us repeatedly. It’s not too much.”
"To put it bluntly, the war breaks out in Xizhou. If I wait for the Hidden Family to take action, do you think you have a chance to defeat Tang Feng and take Xizhou?"
"Don't let your recklessness fool you."
Patriarch Chen's words were very threatening, and the atmosphere in the room became depressing again.
Supported by two old patriarchs, the younger generation standing behind them did not have the same fear as before, with a look of pride on their faces, looking at Su Qi'an with disdain.
Su Qi'an ignored these people. He looked at the two aggressive old patriarchs, then looked at the third, silent Wang Tianfang, and said coldly.
"If the three old patriarchs are here to quarrel, then I will accompany you. But after talking so much and going around in so many circles, do you find it interesting?"
"Patriarch Wang, don't you plan to say anything at this time?"
Wang Tianfang, who was named by Su Qi'an, opened his slightly closed eyes, looked at Su Qi'an, and said with a bit of a sneer on his face.
"Hmph, since Marquis Dongshan wants to solve the problem, I won't be embarrassed. He agrees to the conditions of the three tribes and me. As long as we hand over 80% of Xizhou's business to me, the matter will be over."
"We and the other three tribes will continue to live in seclusion, and you, Lord Marquis, will be your lord of Xizhou. We will not interfere with the river. Even if the Marquis encounters any difficulties in the future, our three tribes will be able to help you. This deal is still a good deal. "
Su Qi'an just remained silent for a while and said to Wang Tianfang, "This matter is of great importance. I can't give you an answer at the moment. Let's do this. In three days, we will still be here. I will definitely give you a satisfactory answer."
Su Qi'an did not argue with them, but instead seemed to be submissive. This behavior really surprised the three of them.
Originally, they planned to continue to have a good fight with Dongshan Hou, but now it seems that Dongshan Hou is also aware of current affairs.
Although this matter has not been determined yet and will have to wait for three days, overall, they still have the upper hand.
It was only three days. Since they dared to come, they were not afraid of spending three days.
The three old patriarchs didn't believe what the Dongshan Marquis could do in the next three days.
Now that the goal has been achieved, with Su Qian's words, there is no need for the three of them to stay any longer.
Just as he was about to get up, leave the county government, and return to the inn run by three companies in the county to rest, Su Qi'an, who was standing in the middle, suddenly spoke.
"You three, please wait."
The three of them hesitated, frowned slightly, and looked at Su Qi'an with confused expressions, "Dongshan Hou, what else can I do?"
Su Qi'an smiled and said softly, "Haha, it's not a big deal. I just want to resolve some matters concerning the three descendants of the family."
"The descendants of the family?" The three of them looked at each other, their eyes flashed, and their expressions changed a little, as they seemed to think of something.
In my ears, Su Qian'an's voice came, "According to the laws of Daliang, what crime should be committed by someone who insults the Marquis of Daliang?"
Zhou Qi, who was sitting above, reacted quickly and took over the words immediately, saying in a cold voice.
"Insults and ridicules, the Marquis of Daliang, whoever commits the following offences will be punished with fifty sticks."
Su Qi'an nodded, looked at the three old patriarchs with ugly faces, and said with a smile, "Three of you, you have also seen that I only act in accordance with the laws of Great Liang, so..."
The old patriarchs of the three families had ugly expressions on their faces. They opened their mouths and wanted to say something, but the words reached their throats and they couldn't come out.
The three of them did not expect that with half a lifetime of officialdom experience, they would capsize here.
This Su Qi'an has been waiting for them here from the beginning. Knowing that he can't do anything to the three of them, he will do something to the younger members of the family.
Having been in the officialdom for half their lives, they knew very well that what Su Qian'an said was reasonable and well-founded. Even if the three of them wanted to plead for mercy, they didn't know how to say it.
Originally, when they came this time, the three of them did not bring the mainstays of the family, but some juniors.
I just want to take them out to see the world while they are still there, so that they can understand the situation in Xizhou.
Who knew that due to this carelessness, Su Qi'an accidentally caught a loophole and gave the three of them a beautiful counterattack.
The expressions of the three people changed, and their open mouths moved, but they couldn't speak.
They had been aggressive towards Su Qi'an before, but now they had to lower their faces and beg Su Qi'an to spare them. This was not a slap in their faces.
If word of this spreads, how can they still hang out in Xizhou?
During the hesitation of the three of them, the family's younger generation was directly dragged down by Su Qi'an's soldiers.
Although the younger members of the family struggled and shouted for help, the three old patriarchs remained unmoved.
Waves of gloom flashed across his old face.
After a while, there were wailing sounds one after another outside the door, painful wailings one after another. The three old clan leaders who heard this couldn't help but clench their palms.
As time passed, the fifty battles of punishment were also over. The three old clan leaders looked at Su Qi'an with gloomy expressions, held their hands, and said coldly.
"If nothing happens to Marquis Dongshan, I will go back. I hope Marquis Dongshan can abide by his promise. I will come to your door in three days and have a good explanation. Otherwise, hum!"
After dropping a meaningful threat, the three of them turned and left without stopping at all.
After a while, the three old clan leaders left the county with their family descendants.
As the three people left, Zhou Qi from above quickly ran down, came to Su Qi'an, and said quickly.
"Sir, this is something my subordinate did not do well, which distracted him. I am willing to be punished here."
Su Qi'an waved his hand and said in relief, "You are not to blame for this. Who would have thought that these shameless hidden families would show up at this time. It would be difficult for anyone to deal with them."
"I can only say that these guys can't stop eating shit. The so-called hidden family has inherited the business nature of their ancestors and only pursues profit."
Zhou Qi nodded, but his face was filled with deep concern, and he said softly, "Sir, after three days, do we really have to agree to their request? Hand over 80% of Xizhou's business to them? If this is the case, then we will Passive."
Su Qi'an was quite calm about Zhou Qi's worries, and even had a bit of a smile on his face.
Just when Su Qian was about to say something, an old voice sounded outside the door.
"Hey, Zhou Qiwa, don't worry, Qi An will give them a surprise."
Zhou Qi looked around and saw Lin Yuanzhi slowly walking in outside the door.
Zhou Qi was not surprised by Lin Yuanzhi's appearance. He had known that Su Qi'an had been staying with Lin Yuanzhi these past few days, and that the two of them had left Xizhou City and went to Tiannan Mountain due to certain matters.
It was precisely because he knew that Su Qi'an had gone to Tiannan Mountain that Zhou Qi sent a distress letter to Su Qi'an.
Now seeing the appearance of the two of them, Zhou Qi felt somewhat relieved.
Zhou Qi quickly stepped forward, saluted Lin Yuanzhi respectfully, and said, "I'll leave this to Mr. Lin."
Hearing this, Lin Yuanzhi laughed loudly, patted Zhou Qi on the shoulder and said, "Haha, Zhou Qi, you guessed wrong this time. I am not that capable of dealing with those three stubborn old men."
Zhou Qi raised his head with a puzzled look on his face. In his opinion, who else in Xizhou could deal with those three people besides Lin Yuanzhi?
Seeing Zhou Qi's confused look, Lin Yuanzhi waved his hand, motioning for Zhou Qi to step forward.
Zhou Qi quickly came over and Lin Yuanzhi whispered something in his ear.
Zhou Qi's expression suddenly changed to something wonderful. His expression was changing, his eyes were full of disbelief, and he didn't come back to his senses for a long time.
Lin Yuanzhi patted Zhou Qi on the shoulder and said, "Okay, I'll tell you everything I need to tell you. I'll leave the pick-up matter to you. Make sure it's done well."
"Please rest assured, Mr. Lin, Zhou Qi will definitely fulfill his mission and will definitely take that person down from the mountain."
Zhou Qi, Su Qi'an, and Lin Yuanzhi bowed their hands and left quickly, preparing to pick up people.
After watching Zhou Qi leave, Su Qi'an said, "It seems that Zhou Qi has a strong appetite for Mr. Lin. Give him such an opportunity."
Lin Yuanzhi touched his beard, nodded and said, "There are not many officials in Xizhou who can stick to their true intentions. I think Old Luo Tou also has some interest in him."
"Now that Old Luo Tou has come out of the army, he needs some manpower around him. People like Zhou Qi are the best candidates."
"With Lao Luotou's training, you will at least feel at ease when you leave Xizhou."
