With suspicions in his heart, Shen Hao immediately turned to the Library, where there was no shortage of information on the situation south of the Southern Barbarians.

The so-called Southern Barbarians are, in fact, an alliance of dozens of tribes across the vast region south of Zhuo Huo Pass and west of the Treasure Sea. They were once called the Black Stone Royal Court, but after being dismantled by the Jingjiu Dynasty, they no longer dare to reorganize, and are now just referred to as the Southern Barbarians.

Although the name contains the word "barbarian," this does not mean the people there are savages. On the contrary, the cultivation civilization of the Southern Barbarians is highly developed; what’s lacking is only the standard of living for ordinary people. For example, fur clothing is most common in the Southern Barbarian territory, but the workmanship is rough, merely sewing together pelts to make garments, with no sense of style to speak of.

In addition, pig iron is scarce throughout the Southern Barbarian region. Average folk there can’t even afford iron pots, so most of their cooking is done with earthenware. Knives are even rarer; they generally use axes for chopping. In some tribes, not every household has an axe—people have to borrow them, or they’re held in common.

So food over there is all of a rough and wild style. Even if you wanted refinement, there just aren’t the conditions for it.

Furthermore, there are many clans of the Barbarian Race in the Southern Barbarian territory: the Fox Race, Elephant Race, Wolf Race, Cat Race...

Looking at the illustrations in the materials, they are all humanoid but have obvious beast-like features. Shen Hao thought that "Beast Race" would be a more fitting name than "Southern Barbarians."

According to the documents, during the time the Southern Barbarians were united as the Black Stone Royal Court, they were quite powerful; but once broken apart, they became easy pickings for outsiders. Each tribe is scattered, but through nomadism, hunting, and farming, they manage to remain self-sufficient.

In other words, the Southern Barbarians generally aren’t short on food, unless they encounter a disaster.

So, have the Southern Barbarians suffered a disaster lately?

Shen Hao combed through all recent official bulletins, but found nothing about any disaster among the Southern Barbarians.

If there was no disaster, then wouldn’t those smugglers bringing large quantities of grain into Southern Barbarian lands be doomed to lose money?

The information is contradictory. This can only mean there are still key factors missing.

Smugglers don’t do foolish business—since they go to the trouble of transporting goods to the Southern Barbarians, it must be because they can sell them. And though there hasn’t been a disaster there, there must be some other reason those lands need large amounts of grain. Where there is demand, there will be supply, and only then does business arise.

Even though Shen Hao currently couldn’t figure out what was happening among the Southern Barbarians, anything in the Jingxi Territory related to the black market was well within his ability to uncover, should he wish to do so.

Thus, in the follow-up intelligence brought by the "Impermanence" division, the buyers and sellers in those previous major smuggling cases had already been identified. As Shen Hao expected, when it came to grain, pig iron, and general spirit stones, government-run establishments were behind all of them.

The grain is siphoned from the official granary, and the excuse is easy: something like "old grain loss," which provides an annual pretext to exchange large quantities for new grain.

As for pig iron and general spirit stones, these mineral resources are even simpler to embezzle—just underreport the actual yield, and the excess can be privately disposed of.

At the core, the methods of these government-run operations are the same as those of the Xuanqing Guard when they embezzle ill-gotten gains. If there’s any difference, perhaps it’s just that the Xuanqing Guard lines its own pockets, whereas these government people not only line their pockets but might also benefit the enemies of the state.

Pig iron can be used to forge kitchen knives and farm tools; naturally, it can also be made into weapons and armor.

General spirit stones are the driving force for middle and low-grade magical artifacts; they are what allow ordinary people to temporarily acquire a cultivator’s abilities using magical tools.

And as for grain, self-sufficient regions can usually weather small disasters, requiring no imported food unless faced with a great calamity. But there is one exception—stockpiling. Why stockpile? Perhaps to brace for major catastrophe, or perhaps to prepare for a large-scale military operation.

Put together, those three factors make the Southern Barbarians’ situation worthy of deeper investigation.

Shen Hao felt a vague agitation inside. It was a feeling he hadn’t experienced since that Wen Family case some time ago.

But in matters like this, the reach of a mere Black Banner Battalion Hundred Households Officer in Fengri City is too short. If he wanted to investigate—and keep matters within his control—he needed to shift his attention away from the Southern Barbarians and dig deeper into the officials at those government-run establishments involved in the smuggling cases.

Shen Hao considered for a while, then instructed the attendant outside the door: "Bring Wang Yiming to me." 𝐟𝕣𝕖𝐞𝐰𝕖𝚋𝐧𝗼𝚟𝐞𝕝.𝗰𝐨𝐦

Soon enough, Wang Yiming knocked and entered, standing obediently bowed before Shen Hao.

"What are your orders, sir?"

"Have there been any whistleblower reports in the Copper Cabinet recently concerning the Tu Kui City Official Granary, Tan City Rongshan Mine, or Li City Xiaoshan Tielu Manor?"

The Copper Cabinet has now become an essential channel for appeals in every city under Fengri City’s jurisdiction. It’s the only way ordinary citizens can make direct contact with the Xuanqing Guard. Since Shen Hao took charge as Black Banner Battalion Hundred Households Officer of Fengri City, this channel has gone from "mere ornamentation" to "truly functional." Now, just as it was first done in Li City, all cities have made the screening and investigation of reports from the Copper Cabinet part of routine tasks.

From when Chen Yiyun was still at the Thousand Households Station, Wang Yiming was already handling and managing Copper Cabinet business. Shen Hao hadn’t changed Wang Yiming’s role since taking over, so whenever Copper Cabinet reports from all over eventually reached the Black Banner Battalion at the Thousand Households Station, Wang Yiming always had final say.

Wang Yiming had even thought that Copper Cabinet business would have been the very first thing Shen Hao asked about upon taking office, but only now had this inquiry finally come.

Quick on the uptake, Wang Yiming didn’t hesitate long before nodding and reporting, "Sir, the three places you mentioned are all key government-run establishments within our Fengri City jurisdiction. Their authority may be limited, but the benefits are substantial. So every batch of Copper Cabinet reports always includes allegations about them.

The most recent was eight days ago."

Shen Hao nodded; it was just as he expected. The fatter the interests in a place, the more disputes there are. The more impoverished, the quieter things tend to be.

"Have these matters been investigated?"

"Yes. Only the Li City Black Banner Battalion investigated previously—I recall it was the case where the steward of Xiaoshan Tielu Manor was accused of repeatedly forcing his subordinates’ wives to serve him at night."

"What?!" Shen Hao thought he’d misheard.

Wang Yiming had no choice but to repeat himself. He too had found it bizarre at first, reacting just like Shen Hao.

"Tsk. Was this matter investigated thoroughly?"

"The investigation found it baseless. The details of the process are not mentioned in the case file."

"Who in Li City took the case?"

"Yi Flag."

"So, Zhang Liao, then? Send an order—have Zhang Liao and Chen Tianwen come see me tomorrow morning, and bring the case file for Xiaoshan Tielu Manor."

"Yes, I will notify them immediately." As soon as Wang Yiming left Shen Hao’s public office, he furrowed his brows tightly. He simply couldn’t fathom his superior’s thinking. Having just offended the whole local government office in Fengri City, is he now about to go after the government-run establishments as well? So blatant and unrestrained?