I Can Control My Ancestors-Chapter 268 - 4: Should I Avoid His Sharp Edge First?

Chapter 268: Chapter 4: Should I Avoid His Sharp Edge First?

The news kept spreading.

For Gu Chen to once again defeat the Barbarians, the people of the world only saw it as ordinary.

——Gu Chen will not lose!

This has become the consensus of the entire world.

What truly concerns them, however, is Gu Chen’s body condition, which has nearly become a matter of universal interest.

When Gu Chen returned to Chengdu.

The people of Chengdu knelt at the city gates, with the three elders of highest renown announcing the people’s will.

Petitioning Gu Chen to return to Luoyang.

To no longer be torn across the land, fighting on the battlefields.

The people’s hearts are like water.

Now is the time for the Great Han to flourish, and all people are living good lives; no one does not wish for Gu Chen to live a longer life.

Yet precisely because of this, Gu Chen cannot stop his steps.

Man is destined to die.

Eventually, he will depart.

Rather than cling to life, it is better to, before his end, help the Great Han to thoroughly resolve all potential crises he can find.

This is Gu Chen’s most determined thought now.

....

Zhangwu year twelve, September;

Gu Chen left Yizhou State again, heading to Hanzhong.

Apart from routinely scouting the local governance, Gu Chen also gradually began to search for talent.

Though he is always away.

The internal development of the Great Han has never stopped.

The establishment of "Beginners" including the "Library Pavilion" is still ongoing.

Though its exact effects have yet to manifest.

But this was initially a very lengthy plan, and only when the national strength of the Great Han is fully restored can the changes therein be fully felt.

Gu Chen is now using his own renown to promote this.

Invisibly, he sows the seeds of this idea in the hearts of people everywhere.

Of course, Gu Chen also does not forget to cultivate the family’s younger generations.

The seventh generation of the Gu Clan has already blossomed and borne fruit.

In the past, he taught those in the clan who focused on martial arts, but now he teaches those excelling in internal governance.

November;

Gu Chen discovered in Hanzhong that some large clans hid private troops in the depths of the Han and Yi mountains—destroy them and they’re gone.

Then he abolished the large clans of Hanzhong.

Showing no mercy, he dealt with all families involved.

And subsequently punished nearly ten corrupt officials in Hanzhong.

If, at the beginning of the Great Han’s resurgence, Gu Chen conducted a massive purge.

This time, he conducted a more meticulous investigation.

Gu Chen stayed in Hanzhong for several months.

Until Zhangwu year thirteen, February;

——only then did he leave Hanzhong again, heading to Jiangdong.

Unlike other states and prefectures of the Great Han.

Now the situation of the Jiangdong clans is still extremely complex.

This was a primary reason why Gu Chen initially chose to have Guan Yu stationed in Jiangdong.

Even though it has undergone a purge by Gu Chen, the connections among the Jiangdong clans are still deep.

The environment and various factors have created this situation.

Though their power is not strong now, this community of interests is always a source of risk.

Previously, because the Great Han was newly arisen and the situation not fully stable, Gu Chen did not decisively solve all these issues.

Now the timing has come, and he naturally will not hold back.

.....

For Gu Chen’s arrival, the Jiangdong clans are naturally filled with fear.

Their fear of Gu Chen has been ingrained to the bone.

Gu Chen made no special moves.

He only had people, as usual, secretly investigate the governance in various parts of Jiangdong, including whether any large clans have violated the rules he established in the past.

Though the Jiangdong clans had already prepared quite a bit for this.

Under the overwhelming prestige of Gu Chen, some situations were still discovered.

Zhangwu year thirteen.

Gu Chen dismissed nearly twenty officials in Jiangdong, executed seven;

And dealt with three large clans that violated Gu Chen’s orders in attempting to reclaim their original lands.

Exiling them to open up wasteland in Jiangdong swamps, Minyue mountainous areas, and other places.

As the news spread, Jiangdong was shaken.

The fear of Gu Chen among the large clans reached its peak.

Subsequently, Gu Chen ordered that some large clans be relocated from their native places and further divided power to create conflicts.

Gradually dismantling the common interests of the Jiangdong clans from within;

Jiangdong plunged into chaos!

Gu Chen’s hardline methods exceeded everyone’s expectations.

But even if they could see through Gu Chen’s intentions, what could they do?

Throughout the world today, who dares to oppose Gu Chen?

No matter how unwilling they are, these Jiangdong clans can only pinch their noses and accept it.

But Gu Chen’s means are not just these.

Although he had already made judgments about the situation in Jiangdong, when he personally descended on this land again, he also detected the hidden currents beneath Jiangdong.

——Shanyue, too strong!

As one of the branches of the Baiyue during the Pre-Qin period.

Since the conquest of Nanyue and Minyue by Emperor Wu of Han, some Yue people retreated to the Jiangnan mountains, gradually forming today’s "Shanyue."

Through the years of development.

The strength of the Shanyue has indeed increased a bit.

But according to Gu Chen’s judgment, no matter how much they improve, they could not possibly have reached their current level.

Although Gu Chen is a fierce general on the battlefield, he is also very keen-minded.

From these anomalies, he immediately sensed something was off.

He promptly sent people to investigate.

The investigation revealed things even Gu Chen was somewhat angered by.

Before he entered Jiangdong, the old Jingzhou clans and many of the Jiangdong clans had made alliances with the leader of the Shanyue, sending their young members and private soldiers to the Shanyue.

Just to avoid Gu Chen’s reckoning.