Shen Hao had already guessed some of the original intent behind the establishment of the Black Banner Battalion based on its functions, but he hadn’t expected it to be something forced.

"You should’ve heard about the factions in the Court. There are four major factions: Military, Pure Noble Series, Cultivation Race, and Nobles. Pure Noble Series and Cultivation Race, though not lacking in power, have the fewest people; for a long time, they’ve been navigating between the greater numbers of the military and Noble Group, attaching themselves to whoever is strongest.

But now, after years without war and a focus on recuperation, the military’s voice has become weaker by the day. On the Temple Hall, the only military leader who can still hold his ground is National Pillar General Yang Yansi. Sigh."

At this point, Jiang Cheng slapped the gunwale, his expression a bit desolate.

Shen Hao took it all in. He understood that Jiang Cheng came from the military faction, and his lineage was military through and through. He must feel stifled watching the decline of his faction.

After a long silence, Jiang Cheng continued: "Nowadays, the Pure Noble Series is attached to the Military Group, but it isn’t very stable. With the military waning, many radicals in Pure Noble Series are showing signs of breaking away. Meanwhile, the Cultivation Race has aligned itself under the Noble Group—their collusion grows ever tighter, and both have been on the rise these past years.

With one waxing and the other waning, the military faction is already pushed to the edge of a cliff.

We Xuanqing Guard are directly subordinate to Your Majesty, and Lord Pang himself is a Royal Golden Sword Cultivator; he doesn’t have deep ties with any faction in the Temple Hall. Originally, the scraps between those factions didn’t concern us much. But two years ago, Your Majesty withheld the Petition for Crown Prince submitted by all officials and ministers, stirring up an undercurrent. Not only are the seven Princes left uncertain, even the factions within the Court are boiling with anger.

The military, already weak, got hit even harder in this wave of turmoil. Have you ever heard of the role of Military Supervisor before? The military used to be monitored solely by our Xuanqing Guard—that was enough. But now, a deadly blade has been forced upon us, and who knows what disasters it will bring in the future.

But though the military took a beating, they still have General Yang Yansi holding the line, so no one dares to go all-out against them yet. They’re just left hanging to preserve a shred of dignity. The rest of the struggle only grows fiercer, and everyone, seeking greater power, can’t help but focus their eyes on our Xuanqing Guard.

Heh, who could’ve imagined the day when our Xuanqing Guard, once something everyone avoided like the plague, would become ’prime meat’ in others’ eyes? Truly, impermanence rules the world!"

Shen Hao was dumbfounded. He never expected that the Jingjiu Dynasty—which seemed peaceful to him—was actually so turbulent and teeming with hidden currents beyond his sight. And it even involved the struggle for imperial power?!

Jiang Cheng went on: "Lord Pang managed to hold out for more than a year, but Your Majesty chooses to ignore the covert battling, and hasn’t summoned Lord Pang even once in almost half a year. This led to rumors running wild in the Temple Hall, making Lord Pang’s position ever more precarious.

Then Prime Minister Pan Chang submitted a memorial at the Great Court Assembly, saying, ’The world is monitored by the Xuanqing Guard Station—so who will straighten out the Xuanqing Guard?’ He also proposed establishing a role in the Xuanqing Guard analogous to the Military Supervisor in the military. Though Your Majesty rejected it, he still handed down punishment for Lord Pang to reflect on his errors.

The Black Banner Battalion was created in this very context. My understanding is, Lord Pang established the Black Banner Battalion partly to silence Pan Chang’s criticism of the Xuanqing Guard’s supervision, and partly to prepare for counterattacking later. Originally, this process should’ve taken one to two years. But nobody expected that, from the moment the Black Banner Battalion was founded, someone like you—a total anomaly—would break open the bottleneck and create a turning point."

Jiang Cheng smiled happily. Shen Hao’s arrival was indeed a genuine surprise for the upper ranks of the Xuanqing Guard—startling some, delighting others.

"First, you handled a case of abuse of power within the Xuanqing Guard, and barely brought it under the scope of rebellion. Frankly, it was only a cancer in the Xuanqing Guard’s internal workings, but now it’s been spread throughout the Dynasty. Do you know why they made you a model? Partly to warn the idiots within Xuanqing Guard, partly to show outsiders that the Xuanqing Guard has the ability and confidence to manage its own internal problems. That’s also why you got such a generous reward back then.

Then, you unexpectedly cracked a long-standing cold case. Regardless of your original intent, the result can be interpreted as: Local Government Office is powerless against threats to the people, only the Xuanqing Guard can get the job done when it gets tough."

Shen Hao was stunned. He never imagined his schemes to ’stand out’ would be interpreted this way. Hearing Jiang Cheng’s analysis, he himself began to feel dazed—could it be he’d unwittingly accomplished something huge? 𝘧𝓇𝑒𝑒𝑤ℯ𝑏𝓃𝘰𝑣ℯ𝘭.𝘤ℴ𝘮

Seeing Shen Hao’s shocked face, Jiang Cheng patted him on the shoulder and laughed, "This is called going with the flow. Your appearance is the great trend! Hahaha..."

Shen Hao wasn’t sure he should laugh along. He felt a strange discomfort, as if he suddenly realized he was bound by countless ropes—all stretching far away, utterly out of sight.

"Those two cases brought the Xuanqing Guard’s situation in the Court to a much smoother state. But tit for tat is only proper; those people, in their fighting, dared to provoke our Xuanqing Guard again and again. Lord Pang naturally won’t sit idly by. The official gazette recently published an article directly declaring Lord Pang’s position.

Hmph. That article was a last ultimatum for choosing sides. Every discordant noise inside will be wiped out by Lord Pang. Ridiculously, some people are still trying to play both sides and muddle through—their prospects look grim."

Shen Hao could tell who Jiang Cheng meant with that last sentence. Wasn’t it the Governor Liao Chengfeng?

"Shen Hao, you’re a man blessed with luck! Fresh from a confrontational article on the gazette, you immediately caught the Wen Family’s weakness.

The Wen Family may be close with the Jingbei Army, but at its core it belongs to the Cultivation Race, and is even a top Great Family among them, with an uncommon status. The Wen Family is also closely tied to several influential officials in the Court—even forming marriage alliances—making their connections deeply intertwined. All this makes them the perfect breakthrough point for the Xuanqing Guard’s counterattack: high enough profile, but not impossible to bite.

That’s why the Wen Family is hesitant, not daring to come at your Li City Guard Station head-on. If they try to move against you, it’d be a public challenge to Xuanqing Guard’s limits. Just the Wen Family alone—against Xuanqing Guard’s fury—they’re nothing.

As for what happens next, you should have an idea, right?"

Jiang Cheng had said so much, yet stopped short at the end. Was he waiting for Shen Hao to figure it out himself? Or maybe...

"Your subordinate understands. The Wen Family’s entanglements are exceedingly complex, and I may not grasp everything. But I do know that the Xuanqing Guard handles cases strictly according to the law. In the Wen Renhai case, I will be fair and not show favoritism."

"Mm, you really are a smart man. If you handle this well, it’ll bring you immense benefit."

"Your subordinate will not let you down, sir!"

At that, the night’s conversation finally came to an end.

As the saying goes, everyone is but an ant in the tide of the times. Shen Hao had never felt this before, but now he seemed to finally grasp a bit of its meaning.