Courtyard House: From Deputy Division Commander to Civilian, Progressing All the Way

Through the crack in the door, Lin Yang saw an office filled with all sorts of legal books and documents.

A man nearing fifty, dressed in a grey Zhongshan suit, sat behind a large, old desk. He wore black-rimmed glasses, and his hair was meticulously combed. Holding a red and blue pencil, he was diligently making annotations on a thick paper.

This was Gao Yuliang at that moment.

At fifty, he had not yet acquired the unfathomable shrewdness and hypocrisy often found in later officialdom. He was now simply a bookish intellectual, harboring idealism about the rule of law in the country.

Lin Yang didn't knock, but instead pushed open the slightly ajar wooden door.

With a creak.

The sound of the wooden door turning broke the silence in the office.

Gao Yuliang frowned slightly, put down the red and blue pencils in his hand, and looked up at the door.

As a meticulous scholar, he disliked being interrupted without knocking.

"Who are you looking for? If it's a student submitting a paper, please put it in the teaching assistant's room outside." Gao Yuliang's tone was cold and unapproachable.

Lin Yang strode into the office.

He did not answer Gao Yuliang's question, but instead scanned the four walls of the office with his deep gaze.

Several calligraphy and painting works hang on the wall, the most eye-catching of which is the eight large characters "The law does not favor the noble, and the rope does not bend." The characters are vigorous and powerful, exuding the unique solemnity of Legalism.

"Your handwriting is quite good. It has the sharp edge of Legalism."

Lin Yang walked to the desk and his gaze finally fell on Gao Yuliang's face.

Looking at the man in front of him, who was wearing an ordinary work jacket but exuded a suffocating aura of authority, Gao Yuliang felt a sense of vigilance rising in his heart.

He could sense that this person was definitely not a faculty member at the school, much less a student's parent. That kind of air of someone who had long held a high position, even carrying a faint scent of ruthless power, was only found in those powerful figures who controlled the lives of millions.

"Who exactly are you?" Gao Yuliang stood up, his tone becoming stern. "This is a restricted office area. If you don't explain your purpose, I'll call the school security department."

Shen Yan stepped forward, took out a dark gold-colored certificate from his briefcase, and gently placed it on Gao Yuliang's desk.

Gao Yuliang glanced down.

When he saw the bright red national emblem and the large, gold-embossed characters "National Commission for Modernization and Reform," his hand holding his glasses trembled violently.

As a top scholar in politics and law, how could he not know about this super-heart institution that had been established for less than a year but already held the economic lifeline of the entire country firmly in its hands?

He knew even better that the highest-ranking figure in this organization was the legendary, ruthless minister in Beijing, known for his merciless killings.

Gao Yuliang suddenly raised his head and looked at Lin Yang again, his eyes filled with undisguised shock.

"You...you are Chairman Lin?" Gao Yuliang's voice was a little hoarse.

Lin Yang didn't stand on ceremony and went straight to sit down on the old leather sofa next to him.

He pointed to the seat opposite him, gesturing for Gao Yuliang to sit down.

"Professor Gao, I apologize for disturbing you." Lin Yang's voice was deep and resonant. "I came to Handong today and took the opportunity to visit a leading figure in Handong's legal community. The scholarly atmosphere in this office is much more pleasant than the coal smoke outside."

Gao Yuliang suppressed the shock in his heart and sat down opposite Lin Yang.

"President Lin, you flatter me. I'm just a teacher in an ivory tower, not some kind of literary giant." Gao Yuliang pushed up his glasses, and although he was shocked inside, he still maintained the demeanor of a scholar.

"However, Chairman Lin is extremely busy, yet he has personally graced my humble abode with his presence today. May I ask what brings you here?"

Lin Yang didn't beat around the bush.

In the presence of intelligent people, any pretense or probing is superfluous.

"Zhao Lichun has been transferred by me."

Lin Yang uttered those words casually, as if dropping a depth charge into a pond.

Gao Yuliang's pupils contracted sharply, and his body leaned forward abruptly.

"Transferred? Where did he go?" Gao Yuliang blurted out almost immediately.

For the past six months, he had been relentlessly suppressed by Zhao Lichun's influence for criticizing Zhao Lichun's brutal forced demolitions in internal reports. He knew all too well how terrifying that man's power base was in Handong. And now, he'd been transferred away with just a casual remark from this man?

"He went to the local history compilation committee in Beijing to revise the history book." Lin Yang leaned back on the sofa, his eyes revealing a cold cruelty.

Gao Yuliang gasped.

To revise local chronicles? This is tantamount to being stripped of all real power and banished to oblivion! This "local tyrant" of Handong was uprooted overnight!

"Zhao Lichun is a capable person, but he treated Handong as his private testing ground. He used violence to push forward the project and used power to suppress public grievances. The coal chemical base was indeed built, but he also smashed the rule of law and the people's hearts in Handong to pieces."

Lin Yang looked at Gao Yuliang, his deep gaze seemingly able to pierce through his soul.

"The project is completed, but order is lost. A place without rules and laws, even if it is full of gold, will eventually become a playground for bandits and hooligans. This is not in line with the country's long-term economic strategy."

Lin Yang leaned forward slightly, exuding an undeniable sense of pressure.

"Professor Gao, this mess in Handong needs someone who understands the law and the rules to clean it up. I've checked your resume; you have enough prestige in the political science and law department, and your students are all over Handong. You have the comb to untangle this mess."

Lin Yang extended an olive branch, directly and domineeringly.

"I want you to come out of seclusion."

Gao Yuliang was completely stunned.

Although he was quite accomplished in academia and occasionally published articles on current affairs, at his core, he remained a scholar who believed he should stay away from the center of power.

To come out of seclusion? To take over the complicated political mess in Handong?

Gao Yuliang shook his head subconsciously, a bitter smile appearing on his face.

"President Lin, you overestimate me. I, Gao Yuliang, am merely a scholar. I'm good at theoretical discussions and explaining legal principles to students. But do you expect me to go into the officialdom and fight those cunning old foxes, or deal with the arrogant and unruly troops left behind by Zhao Lichun?"

Gao Yuliang took off his glasses and rubbed his tired brow.

"I'm afraid that with my physique, I won't be able to control them, and they'll devour me until there's not even a bone left. The waters of Handong are too deep; I, ​​a mere schoolteacher, can't wade through them."

Lin Yang looked at Gao Yuliang's retreating appearance and a mocking sneer appeared on his lips.

Instead of continuing to persuade him, he took out a pack of Daqianmen cigarettes from his pocket, lit one, and started to smoke it.