The more powerful and influential a person, the easier it was for them to take wives and concubines, naturally leading to more descendants.
Their immense strength made it difficult for others to resist.
As time passed, great family clans were born.
These great families were like mountain strongholds, monopolizing various resources to solidify their positions.
Take Taiyuan Prefecture, for example.
The entire Prefecture City, along with its nearby counties and towns, had a combined population of over a million.
Yet, there were only two major families: the Zhou and the Nie.
Anyone who showed the potential to challenge them would be suppressed until they could never recover.
A million people supporting two families—that was the true foundation of their power.
Taiyuan Prefecture was not an isolated case, but the norm. Similar families existed everywhere.
Or,
powerful clans and gangs.
