Xuanqing Guard

Just kneel down and apologize lightly, and you think you can get away with it?

The price the Emperor previously set for Pang Ban was to "explain with your head"—that could have cost Pang Ban his life. And when it’s your civil servants’ turn, it’s this easy?

Of course not.

The Emperor didn’t hesitate to have his own Personal Guard, the Xuanqing Guard, pay with their heads. The civil officials must put forward a corresponding price for failure as well. Since they can’t be charged with a crime, at least they needn’t fear for their lives, but in other respects, they still need to make compensation.

Compensate to the Xuanqing Guard? Of course not. Didn’t you hear when the Emperor Yang Jian mentioned "Wuliangye" earlier? Did you really think the Emperor was just speaking off the cuff? On the one hand, he could use it as an example for the civil servants, shutting down excuses like "Qin Wenhe rendered great service to the Dynasty" as grounds for exoneration; after all, would the Qin Family’s business really dare to be put openly on the table like Wuliangye? Surely not, right?

Moreover, when Pang Ban declared, "The Xuanqing Guard belongs to Your Majesty," that gesture of loyalty comes into play at this moment of compensation: compensation given to the Xuanqing Guard is compensation given to the Emperor, because the Xuanqing Guard belongs to the Emperor.

Isn’t this reasonable and fair?

So, the Emperor extended his hand, and mentioned the name Zhao Kai.

First there was Yang Yansi, suppressed for nurturing bandits to build his personal power, and Xu Hong, Vice Minister of the Ministry of War, was directly executed with his entire clan, with Wen Mingju—present here—taking his place. Now, even though Wen Mingju leads the Ministry of War, it’s actually under the Emperor’s control, very different from the old days where "the Emperor controls the Minister, and the Minister controls the Six Ministries."

The Minister is loyal to the Emperor, but first of all, the Minister is not necessarily a diehard loyalist like Wen Mingju—private selfishness tends to twist behavior. Just as Yang Yansi’s nurturing of bandits to strengthen himself was a result of personal motives.

Now, with Vice Minister of the Ministry of Justice Zhao Kai being named by the Emperor in this context, the intention is obvious: You wanted to use the Xuanqing Guard to attack My authority in court, didn’t you? Now that you’ve lost, you must pay a matching price!

Once Zhao Kai presides over sentencing the Qin Family, such a major reputation will mostly fall on his head; afterward, the Emperor can easily have someone submit a petition for recognition, give him a push, and turning the Vice Minister into the Executive Vice Minister will become logical. Then, at least thirty to forty percent of the Ministry of Justice’s authority will fall into Zhao Kai’s hands, which indirectly weakens Ma Xuanlin’s influence.

This counts as the price, but it’s by no means all of it.

There’s also Qin Wenhe, whom everyone is now silently ignoring. This Vice Minister of the Ministry of Revenue now languishes in Purgatory, tormented in body and mind, awaiting the approach of death. But once Qin Wenhe comes to ruin, who will replace the vacant post? Still up to Minister of Revenue Bai Changqing? Of course not.

The Qin Family is now finished; the Vice Minister post at the Ministry of Revenue is also part of the price, and in fact, has long since been taken away.

Ma Xuanlin feels bitter, but Bai Changqing does too. In the Ministry of Revenue, the Emperor’s voice is the weakest, and both Vice Ministers have always belonged to the Civil Servant Group. But with Qin Wenhe killed, appointing someone new will certainly disrupt the status quo in the Ministry, just thinking about it makes Bai Changqing feel stifled and frustrated.

"Very well, whether you are civil officials or the Xuanqing Guard, you must get along, supervise each other and also support each other. Pang Ban, do you have any trouble handing them over from your side?" Yang Jian finally addressed Pang Ban, but in fact, he was simply following protocol now. In his eyes, the Xuanqing Guard and the civil officials were fundamentally different. Personal Guard versus Foreign Minister.

"Rest assured, Your Majesty, the Xuanqing Guard always abides by your orders." Pang Ban’s face was still emotionless. He’d already heard the Emperor address this matter earlier. In fact, he never expected compensation from the civil servants: just seeing those people try to gain and end up with nothing already pleased him.

Each time you take a little, after enough times, sooner or later you’ll have stripped those guys to the bone.

But this time, Pang Ban’s thinking wasn’t entirely accurate; the Emperor did not squeeze everything dry and then ignore the Xuanqing Guard’s feelings but instead took another approach.

"Furthermore, compared to the Xuanqing Guard’s overstepping the law in office being widely criticized, it seems the civil servants are even more lacking in oversight. They love to stick together, and this has become increasingly common in the past two years. Apparently, the ability to self-inspect is also lacking. In My view, outside intervention is necessary if anything is to improve."

Everyone thought the Emperor’s invitation to the banquet was over, but with this statement, the room was stunned silent once again.

What does this mean?

But sharp-minded people like Pang Ban and Ye Lansheng immediately turned to look at Wen Mingju, who from the start had been sitting "ignorantly" in his seat, enjoying the show.

Wen Mingju keenly sensed several piercing gazes aimed at him one after another, making his heart tremble: Wha...what’s going on? Why are they looking at me?

At the same time, Wen Mingju quickly realized: Could what His Majesty just said have something to do with me?!

"These days, the Dynasty faces strains within and without. Internally, we can still maintain control, but outside, all must work together. Zuo Yuliang from the South has sent in three consecutive pre-war reports describing the worrying situation outside the border. He used the phrase, ’We must strive with all our might to destroy the invading enemy,’ but frankly, I believe his efforts are still hampered by outside factors.

Recently, we established the Military Supervisor post in the army, with vast authority over high-ranking decisions, movements, and personnel—it’s an enormous power."

The Emperor mentioned the South and the army, and more directly highlighted the "Military Supervisor" role—the implications making everyone’s heart race.

He waved off Ye Lansheng and the others, who intended to speak, and continued: "Given the chronic illnesses in the civil service, relying on self-discipline is no longer possible. The situation in the South is urgent, and if something goes wrong, a military defeat could snowball into disaster. Therefore, I believe the Military Supervisors must check the army—and the Military Supervisors themselves must be supervised as well."

Saying this, the Emperor glanced at Pang Ban: "Pang Ban, doesn’t your Xuanqing Guard already have Inspectors in the army? Recently, I hear they’ve carried out some discipline in the South with good results. However, I’ve also heard that these Inspectors are just figureheads. Do you dare take on this new responsibility I mentioned?"

Pang Ban did not hesitate at all. He rose, bowed deeply, and declared in a loud voice, "I will never betray Your Majesty’s trust!"

It is indeed a weighty trust. The army needs restraint from Military Supervisors; this was fully proven in the earlier incident where Yang Yansi fostered bandits and amassed personal power. But the Military Supervisors themselves require oversight; not only to avert "problems," but also because it concerns the shifting of authority.

"Your Majesty, this must not be allowed!"

"Not allowed? Ye Aiqing, you think it must not be? Then who will supervise the Military Supervisors in the South? Or will we rely on the civil servants’ self-discipline? Heh."

The Emperor’s final, soft sound carried undisguised sarcasm—his meaning plain: If your civil servants were at all dependable, this court wouldn’t have unearthed so much filth from you these past two years. It’s not that I don’t trust you, but that you truly aren’t worthy of my trust. Supervision is necessary and cannot be omitted.