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

A bluish-gray smoke slowly rose between the two of them.

"Professor Gao, there's a motto hanging on your office wall that says, 'The law does not favor the powerful, and a rope does not bend.'" Lin Yang exhaled a smoke ring, his voice carrying a sharp edge.

"Every day you stand on the podium and tell your students that the rule of law is the cornerstone of the country and rules are the standard of society. You criticize Zhao Lichun for being lawless, and you feel sorry for the people of Handong who are being forcibly evicted and oppressed."

Lin Yang stood up, walked to the calligraphy work, and turned his back to Gao Yuliang.

"But when the country truly needed you to stand up and turn the theories you wrote in books into real social realities, you backed down. You used the excuse of being a 'mere scholar' to hide in this warm office and continue your studies on peace."

Lin Yang suddenly turned around, his sharp eyes radiating an astonishing majesty.

"If everyone who understands the law only dares to complain on paper like you, and doesn't dare to get involved in the filth of officialdom, then this world will ultimately still be controlled by thugs and corrupt officials! Your students, when they enter society, will also be completely assimilated by this dark torrent!"

"The rise and fall of the nation is the responsibility of every citizen. This saying is not just something to be written on paper; it is something to be lived out with one's life!"

These words struck Gao Yuliang's heart like a series of heavy hammer blows.

An unnatural flush rose on his refined face. His hands gripped the sofa armrests tightly, his knuckles turning white.

He was an intellectual with ideals. Deep down, didn't he also yearn for a peaceful and prosperous world? He was just afraid of failure, afraid that his theories would be shattered in the face of harsh reality.

"President Lin..." Gao Yuliang's voice trembled as he looked up and met Lin Yang's penetrating gaze.

"When I went to take charge of Handong, I had no troops and no money. Those cadres promoted by Zhao Lichun, those village bullies and thugs who ran rampant at the grassroots level—they wouldn't talk to me about the law; they only knew how to use their fists. What could I possibly use to fight them?"

Gao Yuliang asked the most fundamental question.

Lin Yang looked at him, a hint of arrogant domineering glint in his eyes.

"You don't need soldiers, and you don't need money."

Lin Yang walked up to Gao Yuliang and looked down at him.

"Because the National Development and Reform Commission's sword is hanging over your head."

Lin Yang's fingers tapped heavily on the coffee table in front of him, making a dull sound.

"You've gone to Handong. Your first step is to take over the Provincial Political and Legal Affairs Commission and concurrently serve as the head of the Provincial Security Bureau. I want you to use your students and your legal expertise to thoroughly cleanse the criminal security forces left behind by Zhao Lichun, according to the law!"

"The second step is to assume the position of Executive Deputy Governor of Handong Province. All historical issues concerning the coal chemical base and infrastructure demolition will be thoroughly clarified and compensation standards will be determined in accordance with the explicit laws of the state. Those who should be arrested will be arrested, and those who should be compensated will be compensated. We will use ironclad legal provisions to quell the public grievances in Handong!"

Lin Yang took a deep drag of his cigarette, his tone becoming incredibly cold.

"No one in the local area dares to obstruct your law enforcement, or dares to outwardly comply with your demands while inwardly defying you. You don't need to reason with them."

"Just give the list to Shen Yan. The Special Operations Division of the Central Security Bureau will knock on their door tonight. My promise to you is that in Handong, even if the Emperor himself breaks the law, you, Gao Yuliang, have the power to handcuff him directly. In the event of any political turmoil, I, Lin Yang, will take full responsibility in Beijing!"

What a terrifying political endorsement this is!

This is tantamount to lending Gao Yuliang the highest level of national coercive apparatus and economic sanctions as a backing for promoting the rule of law.

With Lin Yang, this great figure, backing them up, who in the entire Handong region would dare to utter a single word of dissent?

Gao Yuliang was completely shocked.

His ambition, which had been sealed away by books for many years, was completely ignited at this moment by Lin Yang's domineering spirit and sincerity.

He stood up abruptly, his body trembling slightly with excitement.

He looked at Lin Yang, and in his eyes, which were hidden behind black-rimmed glasses, burst forth a kind of intellectual fervor that seemed to say, "Who else but me?"

"President Lin! With your words, if I, Gao Yuliang, still hesitate and cower, then I would be nothing but a hypocrite who deceives the world and steals fame!"

Gao Yuliang gritted his teeth and clasped his hands tightly in front of him.

"I'll take the blame for Handong's problems! I guarantee that within two years, I will use the laws of the country to transform this quagmire of Handong into a well-ordered steel hub with an absolutely transparent business environment!"

Lin Yang looked at the "Shield of the Civil Official" that he had finally polished into shape and nodded in satisfaction.

"very good."

Lin Yang stubbed out the cigarette butt in his hand and put it in the ashtray on the coffee table.

"Shen Yan, bring out the prepared appointment documents and have Professor Gao sign them," Lin Yang instructed, turning his head.

Shen Yan immediately opened his briefcase, took out a document with an official red header and a pen, and respectfully handed them to Gao Yuliang.

Gao Yuliang did not hesitate at all and removed the pen cap.

He took a deep breath, bent down, and in the blank space at the end of the document, he signed the three characters "Gao Yuliang" with vigorous strokes.

The handwriting is powerful and penetrating, as if it carries the sharp edge of Legalism that is about to cut through all the chaos in Handong.

Lin Yang did not check the document again.

He turned around, picked up the black jacket hanging on the back of the chair, and casually draped it over his arm.

"Chief Steward Gao, hand over the school's work tonight. Report to the Provincial Party Committee compound first thing tomorrow morning. A chair there has already been reserved for you."

After saying that, Lin Yang strode towards the office door.

He Yuzhu immediately stepped forward, opened the wooden door, and stepped aside.

Lin Yang stepped out of the gate.

In the dappled sunlight of the corridor, Lin Yang stopped but did not turn around.

He simply raised his right hand slowly, bringing his well-defined index and middle fingers together.

At the collar of his black jacket,

With a clean, decisive flick, he brushed away a tiny speck of dust that had settled on the old sofa.

He then strode downstairs, leaving only the office, imbued with an atmosphere of legal principles, behind.

A cold, hard silhouette, as insurmountable as a solitary peak.

··········

A week later.

The building of the National Commission for Modernization and Development in Beijing.

The morning sunlight had just shone through the glass curtain wall of the tall building across the street, illuminating the spacious president's office.

Lin Yang sat behind the huge mahogany desk, holding a "Summary of Approvals for Key Sino-Foreign Joint Venture Projects" that had just been submitted from several coastal provinces in the south.

The office was so quiet you could hear a pin drop, with only the rustling of papers turning.

Shen Yan stood ramrod straight in front of the desk, holding several more stacks of documents awaiting approval. He keenly sensed that as Lin Yang's pace of flipping through the documents slowed, the atmosphere in the office was dropping at an alarming rate.

Snapped!