This meant the Cheng Family occupied all of West City, with no need to share the profits with anyone.

Meanwhile, the three families in East, North, and South City had to fight and compete for their shares. This was hardly good news for them, and their expressions soured.

’Their families had conquered this territory, only for a local power to end up with the lion’s share?’

Thus, all six of them shot Cheng Zongyang hostile glances. The most resentful among them were Lu Yan and He Shujun of the He Family.

The latter regretted letting the Lu Family join the fight for North City. But the thought that he could reclaim his losses from Lu Yan in the future helped him feel a bit more balanced.

Lu Yan was equally vexed. ’If I had known this was how things would be, I never would have conceded that night!’ Suppressing his anger, he rose, stepped forward, and cupped his hands in a salute to Li Mingxin.

"Steward Li, according to the Li Family’s past customs, isn’t this how the territories are usually managed? Shouldn’t the Li Family be in charge of unified management? Why are we being allowed to govern autonomously this time?"

Li Mingxin glanced at Lu Yan. He knew exactly what the man was thinking. "It seems," he said coolly, "that I’ve delegated power, allowed you to make greater profits, and given you more rights and autonomy, and yet you are unwilling."

"Lord Steward, that’s not it at all." Lu Yan’s expression changed, and he quickly added, "I am merely a bit confused."

Li Mingxin chuckled. "I am a man who dislikes trouble, so I’ve granted your wishes and handed everything over for you to manage. As long as you provide me with sufficient tribute at the end of each year, I don’t care how you run things. However, you must ensure the County Town remains stable and everything continues to function normally. Do you understand what I mean?"

At this, Xu Tieshan also rose, stepped forward, and saluted. "I understand your meaning, my lord. As long as we don’t violate the terms of the agreement, anything goes, is that right? Even if we were to wipe out another family?"

Instantly, everyone, including Cheng Zongyang, turned to look at Xu Tieshan.

’What is this guy up to?’

Hearing Xu Tieshan’s question, Li Mingxin knew exactly what he was thinking. A sudden smile touched his lips as his gaze swept over everyone present.

"The rules of the Li Family cannot be broken. However, within the Da Liang Territory, special circumstances are handled as such, and the final say belongs to the local Steward.

My requirements are laid out in the agreement. First, tribute. Second, the stability of the County Town!

This is my style. If you have the capability, you can pay the tribute for two families, or even all eight families for all I care.

Furthermore, whoever makes trouble for me, I will make trouble for them. Any other questions?"

From his last sentence, everyone could tell that Li Mingxin was growing impatient. But they also now completely understood his attitude and requirements.

When Cheng Zongyang heard Li Mingxin say that a single family could dominate, an idea sparked in his mind, but he quickly suppressed it.

At this, everyone saluted and stated they had no further questions.

Li Mingxin’s logic was simple: he couldn’t be bothered with the details. As long as the County Town operated normally and remained stable, he didn’t care how they fought or what they did.

They never would have imagined that Li Mingxin would adopt such an unexpected method to manage the County Town.

It was completely at odds with the Li Family’s traditional model for managing their county towns.

Take the shops and residences, for instance. Normally, all property would belong to the Li Family. If the other families wanted to live in the town, they would have to spend their own money to buy land and houses. Their businesses would be taxed as well.

All tax revenue would go to the Li Family, and their annual tribute would be a separate matter.

But now, Li Mingxin had distributed everything to the various powers. Although the tribute demanded in the agreement was not small, the potential profits were massive in comparison.

If managed well, each family’s territory would be a gold mine.

As for trying to feign compliance while secretly defying the Li Family... that was wishful thinking.

The entire clans of those who tried to pull schemes behind the scenes each year had their ashes turned into fertilizer for the soil!

Now, as they all looked at one another, their gazes held a new, hostile edge.

In the end, the six families all turned their sights on Cheng Zongyang and Li Lu!

’Compared to the rest of us, the Cheng Family and the Celestial Break Gang are the outsiders. Naturally, they should be cleaned up first.’

Cheng Zongyang naturally noticed the hostile gazes from the six families. But he just gave a cold sneer and, without another word, saluted Li Mingxin.

"I shall take my leave now. The year-end tribute will be paid in full. I will not cause any trouble for Steward Li."

Li Mingxin nodded slightly, very satisfied.

Seeing this, the other six families also took their leave.

After they had left, the middle-aged man at his side frowned. "Young Master, by using a management style so different from other places, won’t you just make the eight families fight endlessly? Won’t that affect the County Town’s development? Will it throw the town into chaos? Also, in three years, I’m afraid your successor will be quite displeased, won’t they?"

He knew very well that once power was delegated, it was incredibly difficult to reclaim, which would inevitably lead to problems.

Upon hearing this, especially the last sentence, Li Mingxin sneered. "As the saying goes, ’new emperor, new court.’ During my term, everything will be done my way. Why should I care about my successor? What they do is none of my business.

The family only has two requirements: tribute resources and the stability of the County Town. Both points were heavily emphasized in the agreement. If their squabbling throws the town into chaos, I will personally deal with whoever caused the problem! What is there to worry about?"

"Yes. I understand," the man said with a salute.

Seeing this, Li Mingxin’s tone softened, and he explained in a thoughtful voice:

"Uncle Tonghua, the Li Family governs so many territories, it’s impossible to micromanage everything. As long as we ensure those two requirements are continuously met, it means an uninterrupted flow of resources for the family. That is a contribution, not a fault."