Under Great Zhou's system, civil and military authority were separated at the provincial, commandery, and county levels. Taking a commandery as an example, its chief administrative official was the Commandery Governor, while its chief military official was the Commandery Commandant. Yet in terms of official rank, the military commander, the Commandery Commandant, stood half a rank below the administrative chief, the Commandery Governor. Under normal circumstances, the Commandery Governor took precedence, while the Commandery Commandant served beneath him.
However, that was only under normal circumstances. In Great Zhou's border commanderies, or commanderies like North Sea Commandery that suffered greatly from water demons and devil incursions, the chief military official, the Commandery Commandant, often stood above the Commandery Governor.
Many times, the Commandery Governor had to cooperate with the Commandery Commandant to defend the borders and protect the people. Great Zhou tacitly permitted such arrangements.
North Sea Commandery was precisely such a place. Moreover, because it suffered from both water demon and devil incursions, it was practically a commandery under military centralization. The Commandery Commandant's authority was extremely great.
To a certain extent, the Commandery Commandant of a place like North Sea Commandery was virtually a local emperor.
Naturally, Commandery Commandant Tang Ao of North Sea Commandery was deeply displeased by an airborne Viscount like Ye Zhen.
No local emperor would be happy to suddenly find another lord placed over his head. But displeasure was one thing; Great Zhou's laws were strict, especially where nobles were concerned. Nobles wielded enormous authority over officials in their fiefs. One wrong move, and losing one's office would be the lightest punishment.
Under normal circumstances, no matter how dissatisfied Commandery Commandant Tang Ao was, he would have had to obediently come and pay Ye Zhen his respects with full ceremony. But a mysterious visitor several