Chapter 568: Military Rod

Chapter 568: Chapter 568: Military Rod

Speaking of Shen Hao, he bears little ill will toward the Civil Servant Group. Even though previous events involving the Qin Family dragged in the Civil Servant Group as a whole, Shen Hao always privately regarded it as a personal feud; elevating it to a "factional" conflict was merely a way to conveniently deal with the Qin Family.

Now it seems as though he holds the Knife Master, ready to swaggeringly swing it at the Military Supervisors under the civil bureaucratic system—but in reality, that’s absolutely out of the question.

The reasoning is straightforward, but precisely because it’s straightforward, it’s often overlooked.

Shen Hao had asked Jiang Cheng, who said that this adjustment to the Inspector’s authority didn’t actually originate from Pang Ban, but rather was a direct order handed down from the Emperor. It appears to be compensation for Xuanqing Guard and a means of counterbalancing the Civil Servants, but in fact, there are many nuances to be grasped. One misstep and it could easily backfire.

In more ordinary times, Shen Hao might not have considered so much, simply proceeding from Xuanqing Guard’s standpoint: issuing a series of regulations aimed at the Military Supervisors. Just as the Military Supervisors once colluded with the ranks to marginalize the Inspector, now turning the tables would let the Supervisors taste that same feeling of being sidelined.

But as things stand in the South, Shen Hao cannot afford to place "targeting the Military Supervisors" openly on the table.

Who benefits most from driving away the Supervisors? Naturally, it’s the military ranks—not Xuanqing Guard. And are Supervisors truly useless? Hardly. They serve a purpose, and after the recent Xu Hong incident, it’s clear Supervisors are not only useful, but utterly necessary.

So here’s the issue: with tensions high in the South, if the ranks lose the checks of the Supervisors, what will happen if those worms within the military crawl back out? Therefore, Supervisors must remain. But what if Supervisors are forever "pointing fingers," interfering with the normal strategies of the generals and officers? That’s why the Xuanqing Guard Inspector must step in to discipline these indulgent Supervisors who’ve gotten spoiled.

If Civil Servants resent interacting with anyone, it’s definitely the Xuanqing Guard. Because the Guard exists outside the written laws, acts with both wildness and force, and no matter how eloquent a Civil Servant, there’s no chance to perform. If things end up before the Emperor, even with the law on their side, the Emperor merely punishes Xuanqing Guard with family discipline, and Civil Servants never get to restore their dignity in the open.

So after Shen Hao had weighed it all, he felt he’d grasped the real purpose of those above in assigning him here. Perhaps others aren’t as steady-handed as he?

After two days poring over documents and scraping out regulations, Shen Hao felt he’d already highly controlled the "force." He could cordon off the Supervisors’ scope of activity without impinging on their essential function of balancing the ranks.

But it seems the Supervisors are quite precious; as soon as the regulations were circulated, within just half a day Shen Hao received word that a blizzard of complaint letters was flooding the Left Minister’s Office.

And it wasn’t just complaint letters; the resistance facing implementation was far greater than Shen Hao had anticipated.

Li Jiang and Zhang Ye came by at noon, saying they’d received word from the Chief Officers of Military Supervisors across every border region: none would acknowledge the Inspector’s "utterly unreasonable" regulations, much less allow the Inspector to supervise per those regulations.

"What did they say?"

"Reporting to Your Excellency, the Supervisors simply ignored our new regulations. Some even spoke disrespectfully; they tossed aside the copper rods we’d sent over."

"That’s not even all, sir. My two Hundred Households followed your orders to review the last six months of Supervisor-approved changes in the ranks, aiming to draft a list, but they couldn’t even get through the doors of the Document Library. Utterly contemptuous!"

Clearly, Li Jiang and Zhang Ye—who saw the adjustment of Inspector authority as their opportunity to "stand tall"—were filled with indignation. 𝑓𝑟ℯℴ𝓂

Apparently, they hadn’t expected the Supervisors would dare refuse to recognize the Inspector’s new authority, and would shamelessly concoct excuses to shirk responsibility.

Shen Hao’s smile vanished the instant he finished listening to these two Deputy Thousand Households. To be honest, he was surprised, and somewhat angry. But not at the obstinate Supervisors—rather, at his own Inspectors.

"Attend me."

Shen Hao called out loudly, and immediately a Personal Guard outside responded and pushed the door open. Whether it was Li Jiang and Zhang Ye sitting there, or the two Guards who entered, no one understood Shen Hao’s intention.

"Drag these two out, twenty strokes each. Remove their True Qi before you do it."

"Yes, sir!"

Li Jiang and Zhang Ye: "..."

The Guards were Personal Guards Shen Hao brought from Fengri City; his orders were their sole law. They had no need to understand his reasoning, only to execute it. As for Li Jiang and Zhang Ye’s level of Cultivation—it mattered not to the Guards. Did Li Jiang and Zhang Ye dare resist? This was the Inspector Chief Officer’s official residence, with dozens of Personal Guards outside, hardly a bunch of cowards.

It wasn’t until Li Jiang and Zhang Ye were bound and had talismans slapped on to suppress their True Qi that they snapped awake, opening their mouths to beg for mercy, yet clueless as to what they’d done wrong.

Dragged to the courtyard, plenty of onlookers got the news, though none dared approach. From afar, they saw the Inspector’s two Deputies being suppressed, pants yanked down, and forced to the ground for punishment by military batons.

The twenty sharp blows of the baton contained not a drop of leniency, striking so hard both men nearly shattered their molars.

Both men had decent Cultivation, at the Middle Stage of the God-Gathering Realm, so twenty baton strikes wouldn’t cripple them—but with their True Qi suppressed, every blow hurt like hell. Not to mention the feeling of being beaten for no reason at all. Besides, this incident obviously couldn’t be kept secret; by now it was surely all over the compound.

When the twenty strokes were done, the pair hurriedly pulled their pants up, enduring the burn of fabric against their bruised buttocks rather than further disgrace.

Beaten without knowing why, they were surely steamed inside; but facing the notoriously fierce Shen Shaxing, neither dared act out. Enduring the pain, limping back to Shen Hao’s Public Office, both kneeled to receive punishment.

"You think I was unreasonable just now—brutal, perhaps?"

"Your Excellency, we dare not!"

"Heh. ’Dare not?’ Of course you don’t dare. That’s because you’ve forgotten even the Xuanqing Guard’s most basic conduct and backbone—your courage is as laughable as a mouse. Beaten and you raise no objections; confronted on business, the only thing you do is slink back with complaints, afraid to stand your ground. It’s utterly ridiculous."

As Shen Hao said this, Li Jiang and Zhang Ye finally understood why they’d been beaten. Thinking back, their heads lowered, and their resentment faded at once.

This beating was, in truth, not unwarranted.

"We acknowledge our mistake, sir! It will not happen again!" Zhang Ye and Li Jiang now knelt in genuine submission. Upon reflection, they realized indeed that their time in the Inspector’s branch had dulled the imposing spirit of Xuanqing Guard.

The Inspector is merely a branch of Xuanqing Guard; its essence unchanged. When did Xuanqing Guard ever execute its own authority by asking permission? You don’t recognize us? What does your recognition have to do with whether we enforce our orders? If you’ve got the guts, try to resist!