Chapter 1382: Curze Likes Reading Law Books

Gaiwusi laughed.

"Lord Tailesi, you hold the Xiuluo Holy Star Alliance in high regard."

Tailesi looked at him.

"This is a fact; we must learn from their strengths rather than envy their power."

Xiuluo Holy Star, Yingzhou's study.

Yingzhou sat before the desk, a new document spread out in front of him.

It was the deployment plan for the Grey Knight Space Marines and the allocation plan for the improved version of the Dreadnought mechs.

Selina's holographic projection appeared in the corner of the room.

"Your Majesty, the delegation from the Canaan Star Alliance will arrive in three days."

Yingzhou nodded.

"The size of their fleet?"

Selina.

"Three capital ships, six auxiliary ships."

Yingzhou.

"Are the security personnel carrying weapons?"

Selina.

"They are, but not many; only light personal weapons. They have already declared them in advance."

Yingzhou thought for a moment.

"Just have Angron send people to keep an eye on them; no need to be too nervous."

Selina said.

"The Canaan Star Alliance delegation departing early is indeed to privately contact you before the celebration and test the possibility of joining the Xiuluo Holy Star Alliance."

The corners of Yingzhou's mouth lifted slightly.

"Join? They don't have the qualifications."

"Does Your Majesty intend to engage with them?"

"Wait until the celebration is over. Let them first see the state of the Xiuluo Holy Star, see our people, see our military, and then tell them our conditions."

"Understood."

Yingzhou lowered his head to look at the Grey Knight deployment plan.

Selina spoke again.

"Do you need to prepare a base for them?"

Yingzhou thought for a moment.

"There is a military restricted zone in the north of the Xiuluo Holy Star with perfect infrastructure and good confidentiality; allocate that place to the Grey Knights."

"Understood."

Afterward, Yingzhou opened the second document, which was the second draft of the Civil Law Revision Draft sent over by Guilliman overnight.

The margins were marked with dense annotations in red ink.

Yingzhou read a few pages, put down the document, and pressed the communication device on the desk.

"Guilliman, come here for a moment."

A moment later, the door was knocked on gently.

Guilliman pushed the door open and entered, holding a data pad in his hand.

"Father, did you call for me?"

Yingzhou gestured for him to sit down and pushed the draft in front of him.

"The Civil Law Revision Draft, I have read the second draft, and I have seen all the clauses you added. It is written very well, but I feel it still needs more meticulous deliberation. I am very clear about your understanding of the laws of the Xiuluo Holy Star; you have been the one building the legal system of the Xiuluo Holy Star for these past few years.

It is just that we have too many cases on our hands right now, and I cannot handle them all alone. Now that the celebration is imminent, I need more manpower to assist in handling daily affairs."

Guilliman looked down at the draft, then raised his head to look at Yingzhou.

"Father, I have a candidate I can recommend to you. Curze has been reading a large number of legal classics of the Xiuluo Holy Star recently; from codes to precedents to academic works, he has been reading books for several months in a row."

Yingzhou's eyebrows raised slightly.

"Curze, he is interested in law?"

Guilliman nodded.

"It is not just ordinary interest; he has almost finished reading all the laws and regulations promulgated since the establishment of the Xiuluo Holy Star Alliance and has also taken a large number of notes. I occasionally see him in the reading room with thick codes and collections of precedents piled on the table, and a notebook filled with annotations placed beside them."

The corners of Yingzhou's mouth lifted slightly.

"Then where is he now?"

Guilliman said.

"He should be in the reading room; he goes there to read every morning, rain or shine."

"Guilliman, go and bring Curze here."

Guilliman stood up.

"Yes, Father."

The reading room was located on the east side of the Primarch Residential Area; it was a spacious, circular room with bookshelves covering all four walls, extending from the floor all the way to the ceiling.

Sunlight spilled in through the glass of the dome, casting mottled light and shadows between the bookshelves.

When Guilliman pushed the door open and entered, the reading room was very quiet.

There was only the sound of turning pages and the occasional chirping of birds from the garden in the distance.

Curze sat by the window with a thick code spread out in front of him, and four or five equally heavy legal documents stacked beside him.

His notebook lay open beside the codex, its black cover filled with dense, handwritten text.

Guilliman walked over and stood beside him.

Curze looked up.

"Guilliman?"

Guilliman looked at him.

"Curze, Father is looking for you."

Curze's fingers paused on the page.

"Father is looking for me? What for?"

Guilliman said.

"You'll know when you get there, let's go."

Curze closed the codex, tucked the notebook inside, and stood up.

He was wearing a thin black sweater, black trousers, and black shoes, his whole person like a silent shadow.

He followed Guilliman out of the reading room, through the corridor, and toward the Emperor's study.

Curze stopped at the doorway, head bowed.

Guilliman pushed open the door.

"Father, Curze is here."

The two walked into the study.

Yingzhou sat before the desk, looking at Curze.

Curze stood at the doorway, his body slightly stiff, both hands hanging at his sides, fingers curled slightly.

He did not look into Yingzhou's eyes, his gaze falling on a corner of the desk.

Yingzhou's voice was very calm.

"Curze, come over and sit."

Curze walked over slowly and sat down in the chair opposite the desk.

Yingzhou looked at Curze.

"Guilliman says you have been reading the codex during this time."

Curze bowed his head.

"Yes."

Yingzhou asked.

"Which ones have you read?"

Curze said.

"All the laws and regulations promulgated since the establishment of the Xiuluo Holy Star Alliance. Civil, criminal, administrative, and economic—there are nearly a hundred of them, and I am still reading the case collections."

Yingzhou raised an eyebrow slightly.

"Case collections?"

Curze said.

"Compilations of trial cases, issued last month, twelve volumes in total; I have reached the seventh volume."

Yingzhou leaned back against the chair.

"Do you like reading them?"

Curze's fingers rubbed gently against his knees, and after a moment of Silence, he said.

"Yes, I like them. Law is rule, it is order; it tells people what they can do and what they cannot do. It tells them what consequences follow if they do what they should not, and the law protects those who should be protected and punishes those who should be punished. Setting the ugly truths out in advance is always better than trying to remedy things after the fact."