"A bunch of corrupt scholars."
Daniel Davis looked down at the three renowned Confucian scholars, then at the still-chanting so-called "students" below the city wall, and felt nothing but disgust. He had thoroughly investigated these men over the past few days. Aside from well-known figures like Cai Jing and Gao Qiu—who were obviously corrupt—the rest, those Daniel could investigate, were all rotten to the core.
He didn't believe in indiscriminate killing. More importantly, he had hoped to find some real talent among them—because a country could not be run by one man alone. But after his investigations, he discovered nearly everything was already decayed.
After reflecting on it, he understood why. In this era, if you weren't corrupt, you couldn't rise to a high position. The so-called scholars held too much power.
Think of Lin Chong or Zhuge Zhengwo—supposedly drill instructors of the imperial army with command over "800,000 troops," but in truth, they held little authority. Since that was the case, it was time to clean house completely.
As for whether he would be branded a tyrant by future generations? Impossible. Qin Shi Huang was only vilified because the Qin Dynasty fell in the second generation. Look at how the Qin Empire is portrayed in Qin's Moon—does the First Emperor still seem like a tyrant?
These three men, paragons of virtue in public, lived in luxury at home—luxury that even some modern tycoons couldn't afford. Meals, baths, and bedtime were all attended by servants. Some of the things Daniel discovered were unheard of, even for him.
That official surnamed Dong had over thirty concubines. Just days before his arrest, he had taken a new one, proudly calling it "a union of talent and beauty." Laughable.
And the students were no better. Far from being devoted to scholarship, they spent their days in brothels, boasting about statecraft. If these people were made officials, the results were predictable.
"Letting scholars and the emperor jointly rule the world" and "no punishment for officials" were their mantras. To protect their privileges, these corrupted Confucians stooped to every possible tactic.
That's also why someone like Emotionless had her entire family assassinated by order of the emperor. In simple terms, vendettas in the martial world were acceptable, but if you wanted to act officially—especially targeting scholars—even the emperor's hands were tied.
"Ready—fire!"
As the incense burned out, the surrounding Imperial Guards raised their crossbows. This time, Daniel didn't use the Tiangang Five Thunder weapons—it would have been too terrifying. But crossbows were more than enough.
"How dare you?!"
Seeing the cold glint of bolts in the guards' hands, the students finally panicked. But it was already too late. A storm of bolts rained down and engulfed them.
"Stop!"
Three figures suddenly leapt into the fray. The leader waved his hands and twisted many bolts midair.
"Taiji... Zhuge Zhengwo's cultivation is impressive. Emotionless's telekinesis is especially effective against projectiles."
The three were none other than Zhuge Zhengwo, Emotionless, and Iron Hands. Among the onlookers, only they dared act. The Six Doors officers just stood there and watched.
By this era's standards, Daniel's actions clearly made him a tyrant and usurper. For Zhuge Zhengwo, loyal to the throne, Daniel was the top threat. His emergence had even overshadowed the serial murders and counterfeiting cases in the suburbs.
"Room—Slaughterhouse."
Though Zhuge's Taiji and Emotionless's telekinesis had protected a few, there were multiple waves of bolts. Just as they prepared to intervene again, Daniel acted—left hand raised. His Op-Op Fruit powers swapped their positions, placing them on the wall beside him.
With their protectors gone, the rescued students were immediately mowed down by the next wave of bolts. Over a hundred so-called academy students fell in a pool of blood. The onlookers were stunned—like the students, they hadn't believed the guards would actually kill.
"Zhuge Zhengwo, is the Divine Constabulary rebelling now?"
Standing on the wall and staring down at the bloody scene, Zhuge was momentarily speechless. He didn't need to say anything—Daniel had no intention of letting this go quietly.
Yes, this scene was brutal. But Daniel couldn't forget the humiliation of the Jingkang Incident. Compared to that, these people got off easy.
The nobles and officials who suffered then might have deserved it. But what about the countless innocent citizens? Who ever spoke up for them?
"Lord Daniel, do you know what you're doing?" Zhuge Zhengwo took a deep breath and composed himself.
"Of course. Attacking the imperial prison is treason—it's written in the law. If a group of commoners came to riot here today, would you have been so worked up?"
This wasn't baseless—it was true. But to the scholar-officials, laws were meant to govern the lower classes. They were "noble scholars," above punishment.
Zhuge was speechless. As head of the Divine Constabulary, he knew the prison laws well. The prison held serious criminals. Rioting, interfering, or even lurking near it was forbidden.
On paper, those students were indeed rioting. If it had been commoners instead, you could bet the three terrified "great scholars" clinging to the wall would have condemned them. "How can mere commoners compare to the noble students of the Imperial Academy?"
"Master Zhuge, how is the counterfeiting case going? This is a matter of national welfare—don't be negligent."
Daniel motioned for the guards to take the three scholars back to the prison. For people so used to luxury, an instant execution would be too kind. Let them experience what the bottom rung of society lived like.
This was also to buy time. Daniel didn't want to rush the investigation and accidentally punish innocent people.
Like Dong's newly acquired concubine—she was just a brothel girl dragged into a powerful man's world. If he could, Daniel preferred to do things more cleanly.
Morality didn't belong to class. Some brothel girls had more honor than so-called scholars. For instance, Shui Tailiang's character—if not for poverty, who would choose the red-light life?
Daniel already had a plan for such people.
"Well, at least the executioner's job is easy this time."
At the execution ground, the guards didn't even need to act. A crowd of furious citizens broke through the lines and stormed the platform. Daniel just waved his hand to let them vent.
"Land reform, education reform—so much to do."
Daniel sighed, glancing at the mountain of work. Even in the Tang Dynasty, he hadn't been this busy. But in this world, with the power he now had, he had to make a difference.
As for the chaos outside, he ignored it. Like Qin Shi Huang, he now had the kind of life where people constantly plotted his death. Every night, waves of assassins tried to sneak in—but none had even broken the first layer of defense.
"Prince Eight, huh? Recommending Ji Yaohua to the Six Doors? Interesting. Is he clueless, or plotting something?"
Reading the latest intel, Daniel chuckled. This prince was intriguing. On one hand, he proposed creating the Divine Constabulary. On the other, he was inserting An Shigeng's people into the Six Doors.
"For the throne?"
Though the original Four Constables trilogy didn't spell it out, his actions clearly showed ambition. If the emperor died, Prince Eight would be the top contender. An Yunshan was too arrogant—he relied solely on martial power.
Sure, his skills were formidable—even Zhuge couldn't beat him—but not strong enough to ignore armies. In the end, it took a joint effort from the constables and Zhuge to defeat him. In this world, that wasn't "invincible." Daniel was.
"This dynasty really is rich. Just a few seizures, and I've got the funds to begin my reforms."
Land reform and education changes cost money. Thankfully, confiscating the fortunes of Gao Qiu, Dong, and others had filled the coffers.
Even better, Daniel made these seizures public. When the wealth of "righteous scholar" Dong was displayed, his former defenders instantly went silent. The capital turned on him with venom.
It's easy to fake words, but real gold and silver? Hard to argue against that. The evidence was displayed openly in the square.
Daniel was a professional at destroying reputations. Now he simply repeated the playbook—posters, public notices... and yes, even newspapers. The Song Dynasty's first newspaper was born.
Gone were the days of "keep the people ignorant." Now it was all about transparency.
It made the conservatives hate him more—but it also attracted many students from poor families. As for the stubborn ones? One word: kill.
Kill until the sky is clear. Kill to destroy and rebuild.
They bowed to foreign powers and hit hard only at their own. Daniel wanted to see who still dared speak out.
And he didn't rely on force alone. Morally, he had the upper hand.
With newspapers and books, he could destroy a family's name forever. Legacies once meant to last a thousand years now turned into eternal disgrace.
"Formation! Earth-Ze Twenty-Four!"
A loud roar signaled another fierce battle outside.
"Hmm, today's attackers sound like they've got some skill."
Daniel set aside his documents and walked outside. His guards here didn't carry Tiangang Five Thunder weapons—they were too destructive for a residential area and risky in close combat.
Still, his guards were powerful. Even Zhuge Zhengwo wouldn't get far. With elixirs like the True Human Pill and Gathering Immortal Pill, Daniel had rapidly created many experts trained in the Earth-Ze Formation.
"So it's that old bastard. Here to kill me because I ruined his plans?"
An Yunshan didn't even wear a mask. His followers, cloaked in black, kept their faces hidden.
With his level of martial prowess, regular soldiers couldn't stop him. But this wasn't a normal place. His elite killers were evenly matched by Daniel's guards. And An himself? Pinned down by four sword-wielding guards. Even absorbing others' power wasn't enough.
"Leave him to me. Go deal with the rest. Take some alive—I want to know who they are."
Assassins meant someone had sent them—and that someone was now in trouble. Daniel could seize more wealth and gain a righteous pretext.
"Who are you really?" An Yunshan asked, his voice uneasy now that his men were falling around him.
"The one who's going to kill you."
Daniel didn't waste words. His left hand twitched, and vines burst from the ground to bind An Yunshan tight.
"Western arcane arts... divine weapon technique... An icy version of Edo Tensei? That's ambitious. You've been planning this for decades."
An Yunshan was a long-time schemer. Using poison and wealth, he had bent many officials to his will. Cai Jing, officially his superior, was secretly his puppet.
Among the corrupt Confucians, violence spoke loudest—An was proof.
"Good plan. But now it's mine."
Beyond the court, An had built a martial network, gathering sects and families. One of the four great clans—the Hui family—was his. It was also his financial base.
Daniel valued not just their power or wealth—but their intelligence network.
"Next is An Shigeng. Then... the matter of Emotionless. Looks like the title 'Four Constables' might need revising."
Thanks to Daniel's interference, there were now only two constables left. Coldblood was still with the Six Doors. Life Snatcher still roamed the martial world.
Daniel wasn't too concerned with those two. But Iron Hands had potential—his engineering talent was rare. He had built Emotionless's wheelchair, after all.
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