Catching Them All In One Net

Behind Yunmeng Academy.

In the clearing within the small grove, bursts of wails could be heard intermittently.

Song Yu and the others had long lost their earlier bravado. They scrambled about, covering their heads and howling incessantly.

The small rolling pin, seemingly an ordinary and unremarkable object, truly hurt when it landed on their bodies!

Song Yu shielded his head, dodging around trees, filled with regret. He shouldn't have listened to his brother-in-law!

And that guy selling rolling pins, was his brain faulty? How could he do business, selling rolling pins right next to the academy?

He had thought it would be a fair fight. Who knew that as soon as they charged forward, Zhou Yu, Zhou Tao, and the others would pull out the rolling pins they had prepared behind the trees, catching them completely off guard.

They were evenly matched in strength, but one group was unarmed while the other was armed. The outcome was predictable.

Song Yu and his group collapsed at the first contact.

While dodging, Song Yu scanned his surroundings, his eyes filled with hope. Wang Hua had already broken through to the Internal Breath Realm, capable of protecting himself with internal energy. He wouldn't fear these mere rolling pins and could handle everyone on the other side alone.

At this moment, in another part of the clearing, a sturdy young man's fist collided with another's, emitting a dull thud before they both retreated.

He shook his numb fist, looking at the figure opposite him, and exclaimed in surprise, "Chen Qing, you broke through too?"

The young man twitched his lips and retorted, "What, only you are allowed to break through?"

Song Yu happened to see this scene and inwardly thought, This is bad. The Zhou brothers had actually invited experts. With this, not only would he be unable to get revenge, but he would also be beaten again. After today, he would likely become the laughingstock of the academy!

Distracted, Song Yu took two more blows to his back.

He also stumbled, losing his balance and falling to the ground.

"Weren't you very arrogant? Try being arrogant again..."

Seeing the disheveled Song Yu, Zhou Yu was filled with pride. He continued to swing the rolling pin at Song Yu. In his excitement, he carelessly swung a stick that was about to land on Song Yu's head.

He was startled and wanted to retract the blow.

Fighting was one thing, but seriously injuring or killing Song Yu was something he couldn't bear the consequences of.

He thought this, but it was too late. Just as the heavy blow was about to land on Song Yu's head, Zhou Yu suddenly felt as if the rolling pin in his hand had encountered an obstacle, unable to move even a millimeter further, stopping a half-inch above Song Yu's head.

At this moment, outside the grove, a group of people ran over quickly.

Their voices arrived before they did.

"In broad daylight, under the clear sky, you dare to engage in armed brawls within Chang'an City! Lay down your weapons and surrender!"

Hearing the robust voice, Song Yu's heart leaped with joy. Brother-in-law is reliable after all. The Imperial Guard arrived at just the right time.

He turned his head, only to find that it wasn't the Imperial Guard.

Judging by their uniforms, they seemed to be constables from the County Office.

This place was not close to the County Office. What were these constables doing here?

Never mind why they were here, at least they wouldn't have to endure any more beatings.

After Lieutenant Wang arrived with a group of constables, everyone stopped fighting. Zhou Tao stepped forward, cupped his hands towards the man in official attire, and asked, "May I ask who this Lord is...?"

From the man's official uniform, he could tell that his rank was seventh grade. A seventh-grade official was like the emperor in the provinces, but in Chang'an, he was as insignificant as could be. His tone was polite, but not overly so.

Lieutenant Wang snorted coldly and said, "I am the County Lieutenant of Chang'an. How dare you gather here to brawl? Do you still have any regard for the law? Guards, take them all away!"

Zhou Yu dropped the rolling pin in his hand and quickly stepped forward, smiling at Lieutenant Wang. "My Lord, there has been a misunderstanding. We are students from Yunmeng Academy. After classes, we were practicing tactics here, not brawling..."

Yunmeng Academy was the cradle of the Military School, and military strategy was the most important part of the curriculum. Although his excuse was clumsy, it was also legitimate.

If it were any other time, Lieutenant Wang would have let it slide. No, if it were any other time, he wouldn't have gotten involved in the first place. These academy students were either wealthy or noble, and any one of them might be someone he couldn't afford to offend.

But today was different. Today, he was on a mission and wouldn't let them off so easily.

He twitched his lips and snorted, "Practicing tactics? You say you were practicing tactics, so you were? Stop quibbling. I saw it clearly just now, this was an armed brawl!"

Seeing this, Zhou Yu could only reveal his identity. "Lord Wang, I am Zhou Yu. My father is the Director of the Department of Chariots. Seeing as we are both officials of the court, I ask that you give me some face."

The Department of Chariots was under the Ministry of War. The Director of the Department of Chariots held a fifth-grade official rank, four levels higher than Lieutenant Wang, and was of the same rank as Magistrate Pei.

Although the Department of Chariots didn't have jurisdiction over him, the Ministry of War was one of the Six Ministries, directly under the imperial court. The connections of the Director of the Department of Chariots were not something he could contend with. Officials of this rank and their families were usually someone Lieutenant Wang would never offend.

But times were different now.

He had Magistrate Pei behind him, and behind Magistrate Pei was the Minister of Justice.

Li Xuanjing, the Minister of Justice, wielded power unlike any Minister of Justice before him. Let alone a mere Director of the Department of Chariots, even his superior's superior, the Minister of War, would have to show some deference.

Having attached himself to this powerful figure, it wasn't just that he was enforcing the law impartially; even if he were corrupt, he could stand tall and act with righteous indignation.

Lieutenant Wang ignored Zhou Yu and simply waved his hand, saying, "Take them away!"

He had long disliked these spoiled brats who acted arrogantly because their families were in official positions.

The Zhou brothers were surprised that this Chang'an County Lieutenant was so resolute. Seeing the constables step forward, they did not resist. As sons of officials, they understood clearly that fighting was a minor offense, but defying the government was a major one.

Although the Chang'an County Office was small, it represented the imperial court.

Zhou Yu gave a signal to someone outside the crowd. A young servant in green immediately turned and ran into the distance.

Song Yu also got up from the ground, rubbing the sore spots on his body. He stepped forward and said to Lieutenant Wang, "My Lord, is there some misunderstanding? My father is the Supernumerary Official of the Ministry of Rites..."

Before he could finish speaking, Zhou Yu let out a cold snort and said sarcastically, "It's no use bringing up your father or your grandfather. This Lord is incorruptible and impartial..."

As expected, Lieutenant Wang didn't give face to anyone and was determined to take everyone back to the County Office.

However, considering their identities, he didn't resort to any forceful measures against them.

On the way to the County Office, Zhou Yu, Song Yu, and the others were all dejected. What was supposed to be a completely normal duel had unexpectedly escalated to this point.

At this moment, two figures slowly walked out of the tea house.

They were Li Nuo and Steward Wu.

This time, in addition to apprehending these young masters who were fighting in public, Li Nuo also conducted a small test of the Codex.

He had been deeply studying the Legalist texts these days and gradually realized that to cultivate the Legalist school, one couldn't be rigid. Sometimes, one truly had to be flexible.

During the cultivation process of the Legalist school, one had to deal with countless corrupt officials and treacherous ministers. These people were all cunning and none of them were easy to handle. Those straightforward and stubborn Legalist disciples would be played to death before they could even achieve success in their cultivation. Those who managed to cultivate to the higher realms of the Legalist school had hearts that were somewhat dark.

For them, entrapment was just a routine operation.

They not only set traps but sometimes even nurtured their prey.

When some officials were still minorly corrupt, they would turn a blind eye, secretly collecting evidence, and then net them in after they grew into majorly corrupt figures. This would not only eliminate the wicked but also help them break through bottlenecks, killing two birds with one stone...

Of course, there were times when things went awry.

The situation in the imperial court changed rapidly. Sometimes, a small fish would grow into a big fish, and before the net could be cast, the big fish would turn into a shark overnight. The roles of hunter and prey could change in an instant. Historically, there were not a few instances where Legalists attempted to eliminate traitors but were instead eliminated themselves.

Some even went so far as to allow their own offspring to commit crimes.

When the time was ripe, they would ruthlessly carry out the "righteous extermination of relatives," which was also a good way to break through bottlenecks.

Officials and nobles deeply detested the Legalist school, and even among the common people, their reputation was mixed.

There were not no selfish saints among the Legalists. Among them were upright individuals who could not tolerate the slightest impurity, but what most of them did, in the final analysis, was for their own strength. Punishing the wicked and upholding the law was merely the process to achieve this goal.

Li Nuo was not a saint either. The reason he chose to cultivate the Legalist school was primarily to survive.

If he could also do some good deeds recognized by the public, that would be even better.