Is this NPC even playable if it's not nerfed?

Chapter 184 Public Opinion Pressure? The world may be vast, but my fist is the biggest!

"The Zhang family? Offering apologies with thorns on their backs? Interesting."

"I didn't expect people from Beijing to enjoy playing this kind of game."

Lu Yuan smiled when he heard what the Chen family was saying.

He killed his brother yesterday, and today at noon he came dressed in mourning clothes and offered his apologies.

However, there was one thing that puzzled Lu Yuan.

If the younger brother dies, does the older brother need to wear mourning clothes?
Could this be a unique custom in the capital?

"Uncle Yuan, should we let him in?"

"He has been kneeling outside the door for an hour."

Chen Yu held the child and asked Lu Yuan for his opinion.

"So what if you kneel? If you offend someone, is saying sorry enough?"

"In my opinion, Uncle Yuan, you should fly over there and kill the entire Zhang family."

"Anyway, they're no match for Uncle Yuan."

Chen Dong was stirring things up from the side.

He really doesn't shy away from making things worse.

"Pah, pah, Chen Dong, can't you be a little kinder? All you do is fight and kill. It's Zhang Laosan who offended Uncle Yuan, not the Zhang family."

“If the Zhang family comes to cause trouble, it would be perfectly reasonable for Uncle Yuan to exterminate their entire family.”

“The eldest son of the Zhang family came in person to apologize, and you still want to stir up trouble and ask Uncle Yuan to wipe out the entire Zhang family? You brat, do you really think Uncle Yuan is some kind of demon?”

"My Uncle Yuan is a very reasonable person, okay?"

Chen Yu said with dissatisfaction.

"Yes, Xiaoyu is right. What you said makes a lot of sense. I know that people's perception of me is somewhat biased. In fact, I am still very reasonable."

"I will not do things like indiscriminately killing innocent people."

"I'm not a born killer, after all."

Lu Yuan revealed a pleased expression. Sure enough, only my family truly understands me in this world.

"what?"

Uncle Yuan, are you really not a born killer?
When you killed Zhang Laosan, your expression didn't seem fake.

I thought you were born with a bloodthirsty nature.

Chen Dong was at a loss for words.

"So, Uncle Yuan, are you going to let him in or not?"

Chen Yu asked another question.

"Okay, let him in."

"I'd like to see what the Zhang family is up to."

"I go."

Chen Dong said something and then walked out.

A moment later, Zhang Shou, dressed in mourning clothes and carrying a wooden box, came to Lu Yuan.

Zhang Shou's face showed sorrow. The moment he saw Lu Yuan, he did not hesitate for a moment. He quickly stepped forward, knelt down in front of Lu Yuan, and presented the wooden box with both hands.

“Zhang Shou of the Zhang family, on behalf of my father and third brother, has come to apologize.”

"This is the Zhang family's sincerity. We hope Mr. Lu will let the Zhang family go."

Zhang Shou's attitude was sincere, without a trace of falsehood.

Lu Yuan looked at Zhang Shou, his expression turning serious.

Zhang Shou showed him no ill will whatsoever.

He sensed not a trace of malice from Zhang Shou.

All that remains is sadness.

"The smell of blood."

There was a faint smell of blood in the wooden box that Zhang Shou brought.

The moment Lu Yuan touched the wooden box, he turned to look at Chen Yu, who was watching from the side.

"Xiaoyu, take the child back."

"what?"

"quick."

"Ok."

Chen Yu left reluctantly, holding the child in his arms.

Chen Dong, on the other hand, had no such reservations and came closer to curiously examine the wooden box that Zhang Shoufeng had presented.

He was already starting to wonder what treasure was inside the wooden box.

Zhang Changgong is the Minister of Rites; how could his apology gift be anything less than excellent?
Lu Yuan opened the wooden box, and what came into view was a head, with a letter next to it.

"Fuck."

“Zhang Changgong, this is Zhang Changgong’s head. Zhang Shou, you really dare to commit patricide!”

Chen Dong was so frightened that his face turned pale and he sat down on the ground with a thud. He looked at Zhang Shou kneeling in front of him with his eyes full of terror.

He never imagined that Zhang Shou would dare to do such a treasonous thing.

It's too scary.

Is this how the Zhang family apologizes?
He offered his own father's head as an apology.

This sincerity is truly remarkable.

“It was not my father’s intention to scheme against Mr. Lu.”

“But my father knew the enormity of his sins and specifically instructed me to take his head to apologize to Mr. Lu, hoping that Mr. Lu would spare the Zhang family and give them a way out.”

Zhang Shou's voice was filled with sorrow, but this was his father's decision and his father's last wish. As his son, he was powerless to stop it and could only follow his father's instructions to offer his head to Lu Yuan in order to beg for Lu Yuan's forgiveness.

"You plotted against me?"

Lu Yuan was puzzled, but the letter in the wooden box seemed to have been left by Zhang Changgong himself. Lu Yuan tore open the envelope, took out the letter, and after reading it, a red light flashed in his eyes.

The sheer killing intent sent a shiver down Chen Dong's spine.

"Okay, okay, I see."

"Zhang Shou, your father is quite a ruthless man."

Lu Yuan's gaze toward Zhang Shou carried a hint of murderous intent, but this intent quickly vanished.

As he himself said, he is a very reasonable person.

Zhang Changgong was very sensible. He understood Lu Yuan's style of doing things, knew that Lu Yuan was responsive to gentle persuasion but not to force, and also knew Lu Yuan's principles.

For the sake of the Zhang family's continuation, he was even willing to cut off his own head and send it to Lu Yuan in order to gain forgiveness.

Most importantly, in order to increase his own leverage and sincerity, Zhang Changgong also exposed the Kong family's entire plan. Although betraying his teammates is despicable, it is the only way for the family to continue.

Zhang Changgong was willing to pay the price for the sake of his descendants, let alone the Kong family.

Clearly, Zhang Changgong made the right bet.

His sensibility allowed the Zhang family to survive.

"Yes."

Zhang Shou remained kneeling, not daring to raise his head.

As long as he has no malicious intent, the Zhang family is safe.

……

"What a ridiculous conspiracy."

"Are all Confucian scholars this strange-minded?"

"You think you can use public pressure to beat me just because you can't win?"

"Do the Confucianists really think I'm a fool? Do I look like an idiot?"

Lu Yuan wondered if these Confucian scholars had all lost their minds.
He thought he had fallen into some grand conspiracy, but in the end he found out that the Confucius family's so-called grand conspiracy was actually just to incite the students and put pressure on him.

what?
The Kong family's actions truly made him laugh.

To incite students across the country to put pressure on Lu Yuan?
Am I right?
Are you guys inciting a bunch of noobs to put pressure on me?

Public opinion, insults, protests?

what?
Aren't you afraid of dying?

Are your nine clans members sold wholesale?

Don't you know my name is Bloodhand Butcher?

If you insult the emperor, he may forgive you because of public opinion and the advice of his officials, but I will not.

I'll just shove my fist into your mouth and tear you in two.

Reasonable?
Please, I'm very good at reasoning.

Because my fists speak for themselves.

……

A conspiracy? Or a matter of responding to each move?
Are you crazy?

My fists are bigger than yours, why should I play these pointless intellectual games with you?

Difficult?

Then let's not do it.

……

"Let me see."

Chen Dong came over, took the letter from Lu Yuan, and was shocked after reading it.

"Damn, it's that trick again."

"Does the Kong family have no other tricks up their sleeve?" "They just use the same old routine over and over again."

"But Uncle Yuan, the Kong family thinks highly of you. In the past, their routine was to find any beggar or commoner to use as a pawn. This time, they actually used Zhang Laosan as their pawn. They really went all out."

Chen Dong remarked with emotion.

This tactic is an old trick of the Confucian school, and the Confucius family is the most adept at it. After all, the Confucius family is a god in the hearts of Confucian scholars, and their status in the hearts of Confucian scholars is unparalleled. Even the emperor has to step aside.

Throughout history, whenever the Kong family has spoken out, students from the surrounding areas of the capital have joined in, becoming their supporters.

There was once an official who impeached the Duke Yansheng of the Kong family in court. On his way home after court, he accidentally knocked down a commoner, injuring him. Although he paid a lot of compensation, the Kong family still publicized the incident afterward.

Students from the capital gathered outside the imperial city, writing in blood to enumerate the faults of the remonstrating officials. Among them were some hot-tempered students who went to the homes of the remonstrating officials, smashing stones and throwing excrement, behaving horribly and acting recklessly because they had the support of the Confucius family.

The uproar lasted for more than half a month until the remonstrating official could not withstand the pressure of public opinion and chose to hang himself.

After this incident, it was propagated by the Confucian school as a suicide out of fear of punishment, and his reputation was further ruined after his death.

His family also met a bad end; they were all destroyed.

This tactic is very effective. As long as you want a reputation and want to survive in officialdom, you cannot ignore the threat posed by Confucianism.

Of course, the noble lineage was not afraid of this move, because the reputation of nobles was already bad. Who would care about a few missing tiles in a leaky house?

Furthermore, nobles really do beat people.

And it's the kind of brutal, all-out attack.

The students dared to surround them, and the nobles dared to fight back.

……

"Oh? There are actually people who fall for this."

Lu Yuan was somewhat surprised; he hadn't expected that anyone would fall for this kind of thing these days.

“Eat, those civil officials value their reputation the most.”

"Uncle Yuan, don't worry. We nobles don't fall for that. Anyway, we have no reputation to speak of. If they dare to cause trouble, I'll take my men and beat them to death."

Chen Dong patted his chest, indicating that he could handle it.

"Just because nobles don't buy into this doesn't mean I should."

"Let them surround us if they want; I can kill them if I want."

"Do we need to choose a date to kill them?"

Lu Yuan gave a cold laugh.

A hint of excitement flickered in his eyes.

"I think the Kong family can't be allowed to stay either."

"If you dare to scheme against me, you'll have to bear the consequences."

Lu Yuan's words made Zhang Shou, who was kneeling below, tremble.

What did I hear?
Is Lu Yuan planning to destroy the Kong family?

Oh My God.

That's the Kong family, after all.

Zhang Shou suddenly remembered the Yan family, who had been wiped out by Lu Yuan last year, and his emotions instantly calmed down.

Of the four holy families, Lu Yuan has already destroyed the Yan family, so it seems not impossible for him to destroy the Kong family as well.

After all, Lu Yuan has the ability.

……

"Don't worry, you don't need to be afraid. I won't kill you. Let's consider this matter over, as long as your Zhang family doesn't do anything reckless."

Lu Yuan said calmly.

"Yes, my Zhang family will never be an enemy of Mr. Lu."

"Okay, remember what you said."

"Zhang Shou will remember this."

"By the way, besides the Kong family, were the other two of the Four Sage Families involved?"

Lu Yuan suddenly thought of something: were the other two families involved in this matter?
If there were any, he would take them all out with him.

"No."

"It seems that the two families have fallen out with the Kong family."

Zhang Shou suddenly said in a low voice.

"They had a falling out? Because of what?"

"Because of the Yan family's matter."

"Oh, it's alright. You can go back now, and you can take your father's head back with you."

Lu Yuan pointed to the wooden box.

Upon hearing this, Zhang Shou suddenly raised his head, gratefully kowtowed to Lu Yuan several times, and then left with Zhang Changgong's head in his arms.

After Zhang Shou left, Lu Yuan stood up, intending to warm up before dealing with the Kong family.

Suddenly, a hurried voice sounded from outside the door.

It's Chen Yu.

"It's terrible! Uncle Yuan, something terrible has happened! There's a group of scholars outside who want to curse you. They've gone to the Imperial City Gate to stage a sit-in and are holding up banners. They're saying that you've indiscriminately killed innocent people, that you've tortured innocent people in public, that you're despicable and hateful, that you've disregarded the laws of the Great Yong Dynasty, and that you're a traitor without a ruler or father. Uncle Yuan, someone is trying to get you."

Chen Yu was so angry that he trembled all over.

Who did Uncle Yuan offend? Why is he suffering like this for no reason?

Various slanders and accusations.

This is going to ruin Uncle Yuan's reputation! If it's not stopped, Uncle Yuan's reputation will be ruined.

Grass.

These bastards are bullying us too much.

If this were in Wangyou County, he would definitely let these scholars experience the joy of striking six blows in one second.

"Holy crap, that was fast!"

How many people are gathered outside?

Chen Dong asked, his eyes wide.

"I don't know, it's pitch black outside, there must be at least two or three thousand people."

Chen Yu was very unhappy.

"Holy crap, two or three thousand people? Those old schemers from the Kong family have been plotting this for a long time."

"No, the Chen family can't be bullied like this. Get reinforcements! Chen Yu, go to the backyard and get reinforcements. Have everyone in the clan over fifteen years old grab weapons and go out to fight!"

Chen Dong has a very volatile temper.

"do not move."

"Leave the physical tasks to the elders."

"It's not good for kids to fight and kill each other."

Lu Yuan shrugged, seemingly sensing the impending slaughter; his blood was boiling.

"Ha ha ha ha."

Lu Yuan suddenly laughed loudly, and then, with a loud bang, the floor beneath his feet was instantly crushed into powder. Lu Yuan soared into the sky and quickly disappeared from their sight.

"Uncle Yuan is going to go on a killing spree."

"I'll go see the show first, or there won't be any left if I'm late."

Chen Yu suddenly shouted and then ran outside in a flash.

"Wait for me."

"Save me a spot."

Chen Dong followed closely behind.

……

Outside the imperial city gate.

A large crowd surged forward. The students who usually only knew how to frequent brothels suddenly appeared as if they had been injected with adrenaline, rushing to the gates of the imperial city, holding up the banner, and shouting at the Divine Martial Army guarding the gates.

Some of the older students were much quieter; they didn't speak, but sat quietly in the front seats, closing their eyes to rest.

This group of people was the most troublesome in the eyes of the Divine Martial Army.

Because these old men had been unsuccessful in the imperial examinations for many years, they harbored a lot of resentment. However, they were of very high age and seniority, and had many connections. Their senior brothers, junior brothers, and even their disciples and grand-disciples all held positions in the imperial court, and they enjoyed great prestige.

And he's old.

The slightest mistake could result in instant death.

If they die, things will get complicated.

……

royal palace.

"What the hell are those idiots from the Kong family up to?"

"Are they crazy? Of all people to scheme against, why would they scheme against Lu Yuan?"

"Go ahead and do your own scheming, why the hell are you dragging the imperial court into this?"

"I'm the Crown Prince, not some damn Heavenly King! You're inciting trouble and trying to force me to arrest Lu Yuan?"

"If you miss, don't drag me into it."

"You're crazy, you're crazy."

The crown prince was shouting and yelling in the palace, his mouth full of foul language, cursing the ancestors of the Kong family for eighteen generations.

He completely lacked the composure expected of a crown prince.

However, this cannot be blamed on him. After all, the Kong family was really too stupid. Even his father, the emperor, would not have shown any mercy when faced with such a matter.

……

(End of this chapter)