Xuanqing Guard Chapter 239: Epilogue

In late August, the officialdom of Jingxi was startled by the "Jingxi Purge" operation that was launched out of Fengri City. Especially the local officials of Fengri City—so were dragged into the dungeons in the middle of the night to await death, while others awoke to find that half their colleagues in the Governnt Office had disappeared.

The official circles have always been a bellwether for any region; any tremor among officials quickly ripples out to the streets, directly affecting prominent rchants.

There were reversals thereafter. After bloody arrests within Fengri City’s jurisdiction, a subtle stalemate developed in other parts of Jingxi: the Xuanqing Guard adopted an ambiguous stance, wanting to make arrests but not pushing too forcefully, while the Local Governnt Offices were fighting desperately to protect their own.

Many witnessing this were quietly relieved, feeling that the Xuanqing Guard had reached so tacit understanding with the Local Governnt Offices; only Fengri City was to be sacrificed, and large-scale unrest elsewhere in Jingxi would likely not occur.

But that relief lasted only a few days before the situation in Jingxi shifted dramatically yet again.

The once-ambiguous Xuanqing Guard seed transford—one after another, they began arresting people with ruthless determination, completely abandoning their previous hesitancy and procrastination. In the na of expedience, several dawdling subordinate General Flags of the Xuanqing Guard were imdiately dismissed and investigated. The Local Governnt Offices tried to stand up and protect their own as before, but this ti they lost quite a few people themselves in the process.

Many appeals were submitted, but the unified and chilling answer from above was: The Xuanqing Guard has been ordered to investigate a series of smuggling cases. Local Governnt Offices in all regions are forbidden to interfere, or else will be punished as accomplices.

At this, many hearts turned cold—it was too late to run. In less than five days, every official, noble, and rchant implicated in smuggling cases within the Jingxi Territory was seized and thrown into the Xuanqing Guard’s prison; few slipped through the net, and for those at large with sea arrest warrants, it was only a matter of ti before they were caught.

By mid-September, did you think the storm was over?

It was not.

On the contrary, it only intensified.

First, still in Jingxi, none of those previously arrested could withstand the thods of the Xuanqing Guard—everyone who had sothing to confess had confessed thoroughly. This, in turn, stirred up another bloodbath across Jingxi, whose few days of calm were brutally upended. This ti, the primary targets were officials within the Governnt Offices’ formal ranks.

In just the major cities, three Chief Officers were arrested; in subordinate towns, the number of officials taken was beyond count. The emptying of half a Governnt Office was no idle exaggeration but a stark reality.

No matter how frightened and anxious the officials below were, the only gesture from above was to quickly appoint new officials, or promote locals on the spot, barely maintaining the basic operations of various institutions across the land.

Also in mid-September, what had begun as a limited operation in Jingxi Territory suddenly spread, with Xuan Su deploynts appearing across the entire Dynasty. The only difference was that the investigative authority had shifted from the Xuanqing Guard to the Ministry of Justice.

Yet in terms of investigative force, it was little inferior to the Xuanqing Guard, albeit with gentler thods: those dragged off to prison were mostly hopelessly corrupt, while others able to defend themselves were let off with re censure, demotion, or pay cuts. Compared to Jingxi, it was a far lighter touch.

The greatest impact, apart from the localities, was felt atop the Temple Hall.

Thousands of officials were imprisoned, censured, or dismissed—an overwhelming blow to the Civil Servant Group, which once held crushing dominance in the Temple Hall.

Particularly in matters of prestige and in the leadership abilities of their most senior bosses, the damage was severe.

If the leaders were so capable, would things have rotted beneath them to this degree without their knowledge? Instead, the Xuanqing Guard got hold of their tail and gave them a savage beating.

So clear-minded officials also realized an issue: Civil Servants loved to weave networks of relationships. While collective action indeed made many things easier, such networks were also breeding grounds for corruption and rot—hardly beneficial for the Dynasty.

On closer reflection, once such connections were applied to misdeeds, were they not all the more dangerous?

Moreover, everyone knew that such clique-forming behavior was little different from "factionalism and private collusion."

Quite a few were reflecting in this way.

Another segnt, chilled to the bone, dared not voice their anger at the leading bosses who had lost out in the Temple Hall’s struggle. Each had their own sources of information, and this ti, many of them had nearly been dragged in as well.

Later, they heard rumors from all departnts in the Imperial City: Jingxi’s investigation was directly authorized by the Emperor to the Xuanqing Guard, so nothing could be done about that. But across the rest of the Dynasty, those purged by the Ministry of Justice had been pushed forward by their superiors—each boss offering up one or another to take the fall, even drawing up na lists themselves before the investigation began.

It sounded like a joke—as if, in the eyes of those higher-ups, the toiling ranks below were nothing but goods to be weighed out and sold by the catty.

There was resentnt, and the reverence and awe previously held for those above was gone.

Don’t put too much trust in those at the top. Better to act cautiously; if you make a wrong move, they’ll use it as a pretext to beat you bloody, and those above may not be able to shield you.

For a ti, the disciplinary campaign was startlingly effective. At least, none of the newly appointed officials dared step out of line—each treading gingerly, just waiting for the storm to pass.

Not until the end of September did things gradually settle down. There were a few isolated incidents, but none could affect the overall situation anymore.

Fengri City was the first to restore order. Many on the official scene were now unfamiliar faces, and all now instinctively dreaded those Xuanqing Guard in black brocade robes—all but traumatized at the sight.

What’s more, within Fengri City, one na was spoken with extre wariness: Shen Hao, Hundred Households Officer of the Black Banner Battalion of the Xuanqing Guard.

The newcors were warned by veterans: this Shen Hao had always borne the na of Evil Star, protected by powerful patrons, untouchable even by Households Officers in Fengri City, having offended a great many yet still rising in rank and wealth. And what he claid were not just lives but fortunes—this "Jingxi Purge" was stirred up by the Evil Star himself!

Such words spread unchecked, quickly circulating throughout Fengri City’s Domain, and Shen Hao’s reputation as an Evil Star was cented. Though now but a re Hundred Households Officer, none dared look down on him in the slightest. Even glimpsing him would instinctively put people on guard.

Even Wu Changhe no longer maintained his forr lofty bearing toward Shen Hao, finding sothing wicked about this man surnad Shen.

Yet Shen Hao paid no heed to outside gossip. After the purge in Fengri City wound down, he simply threw himself into his next endeavors, now with not a mont to spare.

With nearly half the officials in Fengri City dismissed and investigated, so many vacancies were filled not just by internal promotion but also by transfers from elsewhere. These outsiders brought perhaps a few personal servants and families, but for all other servants and Nursing Ho staff, they had to hire locally.

This was heaven-sent for Shen Hao’s Black Water Plan.