Chapter 242: Chapter 156: Middle Tier Crystal Stone; Royal Family Intelligence
’With Martial Artists of this caliber going to war, and Da Liang already needing to defend against the northern Jin Kingdom, how could they possibly hold them off? No wonder they have to conscript Martial Artists from the populace!’
Cheng Zongyang realized this "Number Two" was quite knowledgeable, so he continued to question him further.
Gradually, Cheng Zongyang learned from the captives about the Thirteen Royal Families and the rules their vassal families were expected to follow.
Most of this intelligence ca from Number Two.
For example, if the annual tribute wasn’t paid, the following year’s tribute would be increased by one-third. If a family failed to pay for a third consecutive year, they would no longer have a reason to exist.
These were the rules of the Royal Family. Even when it ca to the annexation of lower-level families by one another, the Royal Family would only intervene on a case-by-case basis. They had long since established a grading system for their vassal families.
The higher a family’s Grade, the more tribute they had to pay. In return, they would gain the Royal Family’s attention and protection. They might even gain the right to trade for or purchase precious resources, and they were less likely to be casually annexed by other forces.
The Thirteen Royal Families graded their vassal families in the sa way as Martial Arts: a family’s Grade was determined by the Cultivation of its strongest Martial Artist.
Generally, the Royal Family wouldn’t concern themselves with the affairs of Lower Three Grade Families, taking a hands-off approach. However, these families were still required to pay their tribute.
Only families of the Middle Third Grades or higher were worthy of the Royal Family’s notice, and they would not allow such families to be annexed at will. This was a realm where they could choose to intervene.
But "not allowing it at will" didn’t an they would actually step in. Once an annexation was complete, as long as the reasoning, thods, and subsequent tribute paynts were all in order, the Royal Family still wouldn’t get involved. However, if a family sought help from the Royal Family *before* being destroyed, they wouldn’t just stand by and watch it happen.
Families of the Upper Three Grades and above were considered vassals of the Royal Family, part of their outer sphere of influence. The Royal Family would not permit these families to engage in private wars or annexations.
Only families with an Innate expert at their head were designated as great clans, considered core powers under the Royal Family’s rule.
Of course, a family might try to hide its true strength, but such a deception wouldn’t last long, as the Royal Family would conduct its own investigations. If discovered, there were only two outcos: either the Royal Family would help them beco a family truly worthy of their new Grade, or they would disappear.
Only by climbing higher could a family’s foundation beco truly secure.
The six n he had captured belonged to two different vassal families, an Eighth Grade and a Seventh Grade Family, both classified within the Lower Three Grades. They were the kind of families that weren’t even on the Royal Family’s radar.
These Lower Three Grade Families were basically assigned to logistics or enlisted as soldiers. As for carving up the spoils of a County Town, only Middle Third Grade Families were qualified for that. Commandery Cities belonged to the Upper Three Grades, and Prefecture Cities belonged to the Royal Family themselves!
Lower Three Grade Families like theirs could, at best, carve up the resources of a few towns. If they were lucky, they might get to scavenge the scraps left over from a County Town. Their purpose here was rely the drudgery of requisitioning grain and fodder.
The force that had previously captured Jade Peak County was a contingent from the direction of Linchuan, belonging to a Middle Third Grade Family. They had also coordinated with other families to avoid conflict.
In the future, if Da Liang truly abandoned Xiangyang, then Jade Peak County would beco the territory of families below the Middle Third Grades. Specifically, it would fall to the sa families that had captured it before.
His own family could now be considered a Middle Third Grade Family, as he was its strongest mber. However, the Cheng Family’s foundation was too shallow; they couldn’t possibly act with a high profile in the County Town. ’In fact,’ he thought, ’it wouldn’t be an exaggeration to call us a Lower Three Grade Family.’
Therefore, even when his family eventually sent people to establish a presence in the County Town, they would have to start by dealing with the Lower Three Grade Families. That way, even if they annexed other families of that level, it wouldn’t cause a stir.
The Cheng Family Village would beco the power behind the scenes, with the County Town and the family in the mountains forming a system of resource exchange and talent transfer.
Lower Three Grades Martial Artists who signed contracts would be sent down the mountain, while promising prospects from the County Town would be sent up into the mountains, creating a sustainable cycle of developnt.
With this information, Cheng Zongyang now had a solid grasp of the overall situation, and he felt a renewed sense of confidence in his plans for the future.
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