Chapter 569: Opportunity

Chapter 569: Chapter 569: Opportunity

On the fifth day after Shen Hao arrived at Beach Stone, the first case occurred: a Military Supervisor refused to implement the new requirements from the Inspector, would not accept the Inspector’s revisions or suggestions, and insisted on making "amendments" to a military document for which there was clearly no need. Consequently, the Inspector ordered his arrest on charges of "disrupting discipline." The deputy Thousand Households Officer, Zhang Ye, carried out the arrest on behalf of the Inspector.

With the first case as a precedent, a second quickly followed. In just half a day, a report came from Li Jiang as well: a Military Supervisor who refused to cooperate with the Inspector’s new duties was killed. The reason: when the Inspector tried to arrest him, the man reacted too violently, and his conduct was deemed a threat, so the Inspector and his men surrounded him and killed him.

The appearance of these two cases instantly made the already tense situation in the South even more worrying, and brought an additional chill over the atmosphere.

Who doesn’t want to live, if they can? Besides, everyone knew in their hearts that they were in the wrong. The Military Supervisors had become accustomed to bullying the Inspectors and forgotten their real status. Now, the bloody corpses served as silent, implicit reminders: Inspectors were also Xuanqing Guard—definitely not people to provoke.

Suddenly, everything quieted down—at least, on the surface. Throughout the Southern Border Army, a new order quickly took shape: the army was responsible for combat, the Military Supervisors oversaw the army, and the Inspectors monitored the Military Supervisors.

The links in the chain seemed to form a new equilibrium. But only those inside the situation knew that, behind the scenes, both sides were still vying for dominance.

"So, the rule barring carriage companies from entering the core region of the Border Army south of Beach Stone—this was not Zuo Yuliang’s idea?"

"No, sir. Two months ago, the Daoxing Chief’s Office sought to coordinate civilian transportation to operate along the Beach Stone–Zhuo Huo Pass line, substituting the Supply Battalion’s work so the Supply Battalion could cope with the ever-complicated situation outside the border. However, the Military Supervisor ultimately insisted on rejecting this plan. The Daoxing Chief’s Office is still submitting reports to the Ministry of War and the Left Minister’s Office, but as yet there’s been no result."

Two months ago? And still no conclusion?

"Isn’t it routine for civilian transportation to handle logistics within the pass, replacing the Supply Battalion? On what grounds did the Military Supervisor reject such a standard military strategy?"

"They claimed civilian transportation is too unstable, and can’t be allowed into critical border areas unless thoroughly vetted. So, they’re still vetting the civilian companies."

Zhang Ye also had no choice but to come seek Shen Hao’s instructions. Previously, he and Li Jiang suffered a bitter rebuke, regaining the Xuanqing Guard’s diligent style, and have since responded to the Military Supervisors’ noncooperation with force. Wielding the authority bestowed by the Emperor, the formerly overbearing Supervisors now had no choice but to retreat step by step.

But there was another main reason for this: the army’s tendency to take sides.

Here, among the Border Army, the greatest strength naturally lay with the army itself. Whatever changes were made to the Inspector’s authority only benefited the Border Army, so previous scorn for "Black Skins" was replaced by smiling pledges to "assist the Inspector in carrying out official duties"... Hence, even when some Supervisors contemplated open resistance, faced with the army’s readiness to "help out at any time," they could only swallow their pride and suppress their resentment.

However, this situation left Zhang Ye somewhat uncertain this time.

On the one hand, the army was hinting that the Outer Barbarian Race was about to complete their final preparations for war, yet the frontlines lacked enough Supply Battalion capacity to construct roadside supply depots. Inside the pass, manpower was wasted on logistics. Such a zero-sum exchange was intolerable and wholly incompatible with the standard rules of the Imperial Army.

On the other hand, the Military Supervisors had their own argument. Previously, some civilian carriage companies were deeply involved in smuggling, with questionable connections—most notably toward the Southern Barbarians, effectively aiding the enemy. Wasn’t this the very cause of the recent Jingxi Action and the nationwide purge? So, at such a juncture, it was understandable for Military Supervisors to impose harsh standards.

Hearing all this from Zhang Ye, Shen Hao was momentarily taken aback. He hadn’t expected Zhang Ye to bring the matter to him for decision.

Wasn’t this like dozing off and someone handing you a pillow?

"As this is a matter of military strategy, what is the Inspectorate’s conclusion?"

"The Inspectorate’s view is that logistics within the pass can rely on civilian transportation, whilst Supply Battalion capacity should be concentrated on the most critical areas outside the border. We mustn’t overreact, but we can’t be careless either: loosen restrictions internally while tightening the vetting of companies allowed into key border regions."

Shen Hao nodded after hearing this. "The Inspectorate’s analysis is sound. Proceed according to their judgement. Also—didn’t the Xuanqing Guard compile a list of carriage companies earlier? Use those on the list as a priority; it’ll save a great deal of vetting time."

What Shen Hao referred to was the list compiled after the Jingxi Action—a thorough purge led by the Xuanqing Guard, aimed specifically at carriage companies in the Dynasty. All companies on this list had been confirmed by the Guard to be free of any suspicion or signs of collusion with the enemy—in other words, they were "exemplary."

Implementation of this "list" varied by region; it was most strictly enforced in Jingxi, while elsewhere enforcement ranged from loose to tight.

Zhang Ye, having heard of the list, nodded without further thought. Based on the Inspectorate’s conclusion and Shen Hao’s suggestion to use the "list," the decision was undeniably reasonable.

Once he had Shen Hao’s explicit instructions, Zhang Ye hurried off. But Shen Hao’s estimation of the man dropped even lower. Here was someone clever but gutless—full of schemes and ideas, yet when push came to shove, utterly lacking the courage to act. To hesitate so much over a mere logistics issue, even after the newly-formed Inspectorate had issued a verdict? Such a person could never achieve anything significant, let alone be trusted with critical responsibilities.

Thinking of Wang Jian and Wang Yiming still in Fengri City, Shen Hao felt, for the first time, a sense of relief: if all his subordinates were like Zhang Ye, he’d die of frustration.

That same day, the South Military Affairs and Road Supervision Office officially issued an order: the Supply Battalion responsible for the Beach Stone–Zhuo Huo Pass line was to gradually transfer its transport capacity outside the border for deployment. The resulting logistics gap would be filled by private carriage companies, as determined using the "exemplary certificate" from the South Military Affairs and Road Supervision Office.

This was another act of erasing and discarding the Military Supervisors’ decisions, further agitating the Supervisors who had once strutted around in their arrogance. But apart from flooding the Left Minister’s Office with more fluttering complaints, they had no effective recourse—just sullen frustration.

A few days later, the first three carriage companies selected to fill the gap left by the Supply Battalion were decided. One was from the Jingxi Territory, called Hengshun Carriage and Horse Company.

As a company repeatedly purged and vetted during the Jingxi Action, Hengshun Carriage and Horse Company was considered more trustworthy than the rest. This was exactly the point of Shen Hao’s earlier proposal to use the list. As Hengshun began to take over more of the supply burden left by the withdrawing Supply Battalion, it would also, in turn, start sending Black Water Plan scouts into every part of the Southern Border Army...