Xuanqing Guard-Chapter 41: Operation

In just three days, the Li Family members in the dungeon were no longer quite human nor truly ghosts. In a world so used to crudity and brutality, violent institutions always had the most direct method of prying open a person’s mouth. The result: what I want you to say, you will say, but you yourself are broken.

Shen Hao visited Li Bing and Li Longcheng on the first day of the interrogation. At first, he watched with relish, a deep satisfaction from vengeance fulfilled, but as the cruelty of the punishments intensified, Shen Hao could no longer bear to look.

It wasn’t that Shen Hao was soft-hearted, but those punishments were simply too nauseating and vicious—someone with normal sensibilities like him couldn’t help but abhor them instinctively.

After that, Shen Hao put these thoughts to rest; the enmity between him and the Li Family had been settled in his heart.

The next three days, Shen Hao worked and slept at the Garrison, personally overseeing those under him as they compiled the case dossiers.

Treason was already a settled charge; ever since the Li Family attempted to assassinate Shen Hao and Tang Qingyuan, this greatest crime was irrefutable. The rest of the charges were mere formalities, because everyone in the Li Family was doomed, and would die horribly.

According to Li Longcheng’s confession, the Li Family had actually bet everything on a desperate gambit.

The initial plan was to strike first at Shen Hao, the official directly handling their case. As long as Shen Hao was dead, the investigation would definitely stall, buying the Li Family more time to maneuver.

At that time, the Li Family did not intend to move on Tang Qingyuan right away; they only wanted to keep him at bay, planning to promise great rewards so Tang Qingyuan wouldn’t pursue Shen Hao’s death too tenaciously. They would stage the scene as a revenge killing by Evil Cultivators, allowing Tang Qingyuan to deliver a perfunctory report.

But no one expected that five Qi Refining Fifth Layer assassins, armed with repeating crossbows, breaking arrows, and a coordinated battle array, would still fail in their assassination!

When the five killers died, the Li Family immediately received news via the soul jade each killer carried, and realized the mission had likely failed. Only then did they proceed to target Tang Qingyuan.

By killing Tang Qingyuan, and then exploiting the leaderless chaos at the Li City Guard Station, they could scatter as many people as possible. As for the future, the Li Family believed hope for resurgence still existed.

But the Li Family miscalculated yet again. Not only did Shen Hao survive and kill the assassins, he had already acquired the Commanding Order from Tang Qingyuan in advance. His reaction far surpassed the ordinary, and he completely sealed off Li City and saved Tang Qingyuan.

In Li Longcheng’s words, it was not that the Li Family’s methods were too clumsy, but that the Black Banner Battalion was simply too swift. From the moment they realized they were being targeted to the drop of the net, only a few days had passed; the Li Family lost most of their chances for survival and had no choice but to take desperate risks.

This wasn’t just empty talk. Shen Hao had read Li Longcheng’s confession—if the Li Family had really escaped Li City, it wouldn’t be so easy to catch them later. After all, the Li Family was connected to the Wen Family of White Deer Mountain; if the Wen Family shielded them, even a Xuanqing Guard major case would not guarantee Wen Family would hand the fugitives over.

Unlike the Li Family, the Wen Family of Bai Dang Mountain was not only of noble status but also a vassal to a sect. Their standing could not be measured by mundane standards alone.

Shen Hao had never dealt with a sect vassal clan before—those people were much too distant from him—but he hadn’t expected to cross their path now.

However, Shen Hao did not care. No matter how powerful the sect, it still had to consider the Court, and the Court was not easily bullied. As a vassal clan, the Wen Family naturally wouldn’t dare meddle openly in a Court case.

In short, as long as the Li Family failed to escape, there was nothing left for them to capitalize on.

By the time the dossiers were completed, it was already the fifth day.

There were thirty-four thick case files in all, meticulously outlining seventeen charges against the Li Family, ranging from treason, to colluding in factions for personal benefit, to fabricating cases, embezzling, perverting the law, amassing illicit wealth, and murder.

Apart from the principal Li Family offenders, those implicated also included three former Small Banner Officers from Jia Flag, six School Commanders, thirty-seven Warriors, and a hundred and two Soldiers, each convicted to varying degrees. Only members of Jia Flag Group C faced minimal involvement.

According to Shen Hao’s principle of "internal investigation, strictest penalties," he showed no mercy towards these former Xuanqing Guard men—each suffered under the Torture Department for a full two days, howling in pain, and finally would meet their end in the public execution square.

The only distinction was some would be executed cleanly by beheading, while others faced waist slash, death by a thousand cuts, or dismemberment into five parts.

However, the day of execution was still far off. The dossiers had to be submitted first to the Thousand Households Station; only after Households Commander Jiang Cheng reviewed and finalized the files, then sent them back, could the sentences be formalized.

Firstly, this would allow the Thousand Households Station to gain credit and prestige from a case sure to become the seminal model among all Xuanqing Guard internal investigations in the Dynasty.

Secondly, the scope of the case was too wide; even focusing on just the "colluding in factions" charge, strictly enforced, more than half the Fengri City officials would have to be removed and imprisoned. Li City’s modest Hundred Households Station could neither bear that burden nor dared to assume it—the responsibility would naturally be shifted upward.

Finally, it was also a gesture of loyalty to Jiang Cheng. After all, the dossiers, when it came to matters involving him, were clean of any mention at all.

Meanwhile, Zhang Kui and the Zhang Family from distant Yunyang had already been escorted back to Li City by Zhang Liao and Han Xin five days prior. The entire household—twenty-three souls, not including servants and menials—would also face death by a thousand cuts, as they had bribed the Xuanqing Guard and plotted to murder a Court official. Their crime was deemed treason.

News from Fengri City arrived swiftly; by the very next evening, a detailed guidance order personally signed by Jiang Cheng listed precisely what must be removed from those thirty-four dossiers. In the end, the seventeen charges were reduced to eleven, and the whole cluster of "colluding in factions for personal gain" charges was eliminated entirely.

Tang Qingyuan handed the Thousand Households Station order to Shen Hao with an unchanged expression. After reading it, Shen Hao’s expression was similarly undisturbed.

Both of them had already anticipated that the Thousand Households Station would do just that. Controlling the scope of the fallout was necessary; after all, the Li Family would die regardless, and roping in too many others would only provoke panic—maybe even backlash so severe it would set them on fire themselves.

"Store this order... with the Black Banner Battalion. Together with the original dossiers from this case." Tang Qingyuan said suddenly.

Hearing this, Shen Hao was stunned for a moment, then nodded silently, carefully putting away the Thousand Households Station order that was marked plainly ’to be burned after reading’ at the end.

Just like the original case files, these would be secretly stored at the Black Banner Battalion’s headquarters—all of which, Tang Qingyuan knew well enough.

Always leave a way out; never harm others needlessly, but never allow oneself to be sold out by someone else, either. 𝗳𝚛𝚎𝚎𝘄𝕖𝕓𝕟𝕠𝚟𝚎𝕝.𝗰𝕠𝐦

In this, Tang Qingyuan and Shen Hao shared deep mutual understanding.

"The case can be declared closed as early as tomorrow morning. By custom, public executions are only carried out once each month—on the fifteenth. There’s still six days. Make arrangements in advance; I expect Households Commander Jiang will come in person with his men."

"Understood, I’ll start making preparations. Also, once this case is closed, what should be done about those previous miscarriages of justice?"

"Follow protocol; don’t give mouths cause to gossip."

"Understood. Then, this subordinate will take my leave."

"Mm. Go ahead. Endure a few more days, and after the public executions are done, you’ll be given several rest days as compensation. Also, this time the rewards have already been reported up and will be richer than those you received for cracking the Evil Cultivator case last time."

"Thank you, my lord."