Xuanqing Guard-Chapter 45: Subordination

Shen Hao spoke rough, but never perfunctory—just a few words were always enough to make people sit up and take notice.

Especially his talk about "cutting out tumors" from within—it made the three in the Thousand Households Station twitch their eyelids several times. Everyone knew just how ruthless this phrase was.

Just the Li Family of Li City—highest rank only General Flag, highest noble at home only Viscount—such a simple case ended up dragging out over two hundred heads. And this was after Jiang Cheng had smoothed things over.

If this type of internal purge became a regular, nationwide push by the Court...well, the ones familiar with Xuanqing Guard’s internal climate all shivered inside.

"Not bad, but still a bit too general. Keep at it, practice more, and if you have any conclusions just let me know. I’m really interested in your ideas."

Jiang Cheng was enjoying himself, continuing to show his support for Shen Hao—friendly and gentle, completely different from his reputation as a "hot-tempered" Households Officer.

"Don’t worry, sir. If I come up with anything new, I’ll be sure to report to you."

"Good, just don’t forget." Jiang Cheng smiled and nodded, then gestured with his right hand, pointing at Chen Yiyun sitting to his right. He introduced Shen Hao: "This is Chen Yiyun, Hundred Households Chen, the newly appointed Black Banner Battalion Hundred Households Officer at Fengri City Thousand Households Station. You could say he’s another boss of yours."

Another boss?!

Shen Hao knew there was a Black Banner Battalion Hundred Households rank in Fengri City, but he’d always treated it as a half-idle Internal Affairs Officer—because basic affairs couldn’t skip the Hundred Households of the Guard. So in terms of subordination, Shen Hao never saw himself as subordinate to the Black Banner Battalion in Fengri City, but rather as a Flag Officer under Li City Xuanqing Guard Garrison.

But now, Jiang Cheng was introducing Chen Yiyun in front of Tang Qingyuan and Shen Hao, in this very pointed tone—there was something to this.

Sounded like Jiang Cheng was backing Chen Yiyun up to hold the fort.

Shen Hao quickly stood up, bowed, and cupped his hands, not daring to slack off in etiquette, calling out, "Greetings, sir!"—all the while thinking: which one am I supposed to listen to from now on?

Jiang Cheng didn’t keep them in suspense; he took out an Order, opened it, and let Shen Hao and Tang Qingyuan—whose face was not looking great—read it.

The Order was a notice from Xuanqing Guard Commander’s Office—not confidential, but with a limited access. It could be circulated "within limits."

Only after reading did Shen Hao understand why Jiang Cheng was putting on this show today—it all had reasons, all from above.

The gist of the notice from Xuanqing Guard Commander’s Office was: Based on reports from local Garrisons, the Black Banner Battalion at grassroots faces heavy resistance and difficulty carrying out affairs, so to give them more backbone and reduce obstacles, the Battalion’s rank would be raised half a step, becoming Trial Hundred Households in structure.

And the Black Banner Battalion’s subordination was changed from only taking orders from Xuanqing Guard Hundred Households Station to dual jurisdiction: both managed by Hundred Households Station and commanded by the Thousand Households Station Black Banner Battalion.

One kid, two dads?

It seemed absurd at first glance, but remember—even Hundred Households Stations are managed by Thousand Households Stations, and the Black Banner Battalion under Thousand Households Station is on equal footing with local Hundred Households Stations in terms of structure. Previously, the so-called "Internal Affairs Officers" under Thousand Households weren’t valued by Out-of-Town Officials, because Internal Affairs couldn’t meddle in local affairs.

Now, the situation had shifted subtly.

For now, it looked like Chen Yiyun, also Hundred Households rank, had direct authority to meddle in affairs of all those below him—and the power was hefty!

Because one Fengri City Thousand Households Station alone had three Hundred Households Stations under it, covering forty-three cities!

This way, in both scope and numbers, Chen Yiyun suddenly had far more clout than Tang Qingyuan, the local stalwart—even though their ranks hadn’t changed.

The changes from the power shift up top were something Shen Hao thought he’d need time to absorb. But for his own situation, the impact was mixed.

The upside: he’d only been a Flag Officer for half a month, but thanks to the Black Banner Battalion’s rise, he might leapfrog over what many could never reach in a lifetime—becoming Trial Hundred Households and holding Junior Sixth Grade rank.

Even Shen Hao felt himself that this promotion speed was a bit excessive.

The downside: from now on he’d be a sandwich—Tang Qingyuan on the left, Chen Yiyun on the right. If their opinions matched, fine; if they disagreed, trouble all around no matter whom he listened to.

But it looked like even Xuanqing Guard Commander’s Office wasn’t fully clear in their thinking on Black Banner Battalion’s setup. That’s normal—it’s a brand-new power organ, and constant adjustments make sense at this stage.

What the Black Banner Battalion would eventually become, Shen Hao had no answer.

Jiang Cheng put the Order away once they’d finished reading. Then said: "The formal paperwork will be issued at month’s end or early next month. But you three can start coordinating beforehand.

My meaning is: Hundred Households Chen is mainly in charge of overall direction within the Black Banner Battalion; Hundred Households Tang handles external coordination for the Battalion. Shen Hao, you need to be clear too—don’t make trouble for the two Hundred Households officers by bringing unrelated issues."

Inside and outside—Jiang Cheng temporarily split affairs in two, and warned Shen Hao that he needed to know his place, not stir up unnecessary headaches for the two Hundred Households.

With Jiang Cheng saying this, things became much more harmonious, at least on the surface. Tang Qingyuan cheerfully promised to provide solid external support for the Black Banner Battalion, while Chen Yiyun agreed that all future Battalion actions would be coordinated with Tang Qingyuan. 𝙧𝙚𝙚𝔀𝒆𝓫𝓷𝙤𝓿𝒆𝙡.𝒄𝙤𝓶

Only Shen Hao was left grinning, afraid to say a word.

At night they held a banquet—Jiang Cheng and the other two were in high spirits, and Shen Hao too offered plenty of toasts, drinking even more himself. Deep into the night, Jiang Cheng arranged for the three to sleep in Brocade Pavilion.

...

He made his way home. It was Shen Hao’s first time back in more than half a month.

Entering his bedroom, he found a pair of small feet sticking out from the covers.

Xia Nu—that silly girl—had fallen asleep in his bed again!

No need for politeness with a dumb slave like this. Shen Hao grabbed Xia Nu’s pointy ear and twisted it halfway around with some force.

"Ow! Ow!"

"What the hell are you hollering for?"

"Huh? Master?! You’re back?"

"I can’t come home? Stop yapping. Get up and fetch water for my bath, then cook up a bowl of hand-pulled noodles. Move it, I’m starving."

"Oh, oh, right away!"

Fox Woman jolted awake from sleep, not daring to talk back—rolled off the bed and ran to get water.