Xuanqing Guard-Chapter 51: Connections

Li City Black Banner Battalion needs to establish a new Little Banner Battalion. Previously, the group led by Wang Jian was Team A; now, the expansion creates Team B.

The backbone of Team B, needless to say, consists of veterans originally drafted from Team A, with Zhang Liao at the core assembling them, but fresh blood still needs to be newly recruited.

Both the new Yi Flag and the Jia Flag, which had part of their personnel drawn away, need to be replenished.

Thus, the gap in manpower for Black Banner Battalion this time is actually quite substantial. The position of Small Banner Officer can be dismissed, but below that, aren’t there still School Commander and Warrior Title positions? These are just as coveted by the vast majority of Xuanqing Guard reserve soldiers waiting for promotion, as well as by the numerous Noble Offspring eager to earn merit.

If it were at the time when the Black Banner Battalion was just established, absolutely no one would have wanted to squeeze into it at all costs, but now the Black Banner Battalion’s "market standing" is very different.

After the incident of the Li Family being branded as traitors and executed by death by a thousand cuts, everyone in the Li City jurisdiction who has even a bit of insight or connections knows that Black Banner Battalion has successfully asserted itself, and henceforth will undoubtedly be a force no one should underestimate.

Especially recently, the internal publications of Xuanqing Guard have featured this case twice in a row, with language so heavily imbued with the desire to set an example that only a fool would fail to see its implication.

Given this, those "clever people" who wish to ride the wave naturally find ways and means.

They seek connections, call in favors, and are even willing to throw money and elixirs at the problem without hesitation.

After all, in this world, if one wants to enjoy the bulk of resources in the Dynasty’s upper-tier circles for the long term, one absolutely must obtain a title of nobility. And right now, with the Dynasty not waging external wars, the most practical place for earning merit seems to be within Xuanqing Guard.

However, the issue lies in the fact that the chief officer of Black Banner Battalion is Shen Hao, an unrooted independent, so many Nobles hoping to secure a position for their offspring simply have no way in.

On the other hand, Shen Hao, the Black Banner Camp Commander, only held an internal banquet for his ennoblement—excessively humble. He’s famously "hard to reach," and coupled with his brutal stance during the Li Family execution, he makes the Nobles somewhat apprehensive.

Thus, the first person to be "harassed" in droves was Wang Jian, who found over a hundred notes stuffed directly into his hands. It’s solely because he’s part of Li City’s Noble circle and happens to be in the right place, so when people want to get things done, naturally, they think of him first.

As for whether it works out? Everyone knows Wang Jian’s influence probably doesn’t provide much hope, but little hope doesn’t mean no hope at all, does it?

The first two days, Wang Jian would still frown and explain a few things, but later he simply moved into the Black Banner Battalion garrison to sleep, overwhelmed by the nuisance. 𝕗𝗿𝕖𝐞𝐰𝗲𝕓𝐧𝕠𝕧𝗲𝐥.𝚌𝐨𝚖

Aside from Wang Jian, there are plenty of other channels, the most reliable being the high-ranking members of Li City Xuanqing Guard.

Several Flag Officers, two Trial Hundred Households, and Tang Qingyuan all received various requests.

Even some Warriors or School Commanders who have served for years with formal positions in Xuanqing Guard wish to transfer to Black Banner Battalion. One can’t help but marvel at how keen some people are.

Shen Hao knows well that these social intricacies are unavoidable. A person can live ruthlessly, despicably, or even virtuously, but must never live too "alone." His reputation for being "hard to reach" is deliberately cultivated; unnecessary social dealings are simply ignored.

Should he give face to several Flag Officers? He can extend some goodwill. His former superior, Chen Tianwen, deserves even more consideration.

And the two Trial Hundred Households? Of course, their faces must be respected.

As for Tang Qingyuan, a word from him—must Shen Hao comply?

Therefore, before the announcement was posted, Shen Hao had already taken a few key position quotas from Wang Jian, specifically to handle these inescapable social relationships.

Seven Warrior vacancies, one School Commander vacancy; it may not seem like much, but after the overall expansion, there aren’t many practical posts available in Black Banner Battalion. Shen Hao offering these eight is already the limit—because compared to those selected on merit, these relationship candidates are too unpredictable, and letting in too many risks harming his own interests.

Shen Hao handles these trivialities with ease, not letting them interfere in the slightest with his sorting of the ten Copper Cabinets’ recent haul.

And as expected, the Copper Cabinets at first received nothing, but soon began to fill with all manner of whistleblower letters thrown in, to the extent that an entire cabinet could be filled in a single day—can you believe it?

Yet these so-called "whistleblower letters" seemed insufficiently weighty to Shen Hao, and certainly weren’t the kind of content he wanted.

All of them are extravagantly worded, each piece outshining the ones written by him—a Flag Officer with years in officialdom. Could these possibly come from ordinary folk?

"Commander, please take a look—these messy letters are all cooked up by those bastard sons, treating our Copper Cabinet as a trash bin! Infuriating!"

Wang Jian, looking gloomy, handed Shen Hao a thick register, which clearly listed which whistleblower letter came from which family, all exclusively from Li City’s powerful elites—either officials or magnates.

And what do these people write about?

As Wang Jian puts it: "Dog eat dog, hair everywhere."

This letter accuses Zhang Family of so-and-so money in bribery, that one says Li Family has embezzled such-and-such, there are even reports about which big clan has committed manslaughter.

As for whistleblower letters about key officials in the government office, those are even more numerous, as if Li City harbors hundreds of major villains.

Of course, many of these letters have solid evidence, which Shen Hao keeps in the files, but for now does not intend to open investigations.

"Seal up this register and classify it as confidential. Hmm... Without my permission, no one may access it—no one at all, understand?"

"Understood."

"How’s the training of those vagrants going?"

"Commander, I was just about to report. Those vagrants are either idle or lazy, some aren’t quite right in the head. Having them simply keep watch on someone is acceptable, but specialized training to yield results is hopeless—they’re like mangy dogs, each one."

"Isn’t there a kind of ’Capture to Death’ pill in the Garrison? Give it to them, and I guarantee they’ll behave and learn the training tasks no matter how much they resemble mangy dogs."

"Ah? Capture to Death? That pill’s hard to obtain—usually only Torture Department people can get some from the Alchemy Room; other flags can’t get it."

"Go claim it under the name of Black Banner Battalion—Alchemy Room will certainly authorize it." Shen Hao smiled, reassuring Wang Jian. It’s a joke; now that Black Banner Battalion is the focus, can such medicines still get held up by regulations?

"Heh, with your word, I’m relieved. Once they have ’Capture to Death’ pills, I’d like to see those stubborn bastards try to be slippery."

"Keep this quiet; don’t reveal the pills’ purpose when you get them. I’ll explain specifics to Hundred Households Tang. Just hurry and get it done."