The Embroidered Uniform Guard Commander was the highest-ranking official of the Embroidered Uniform Guard in the Ming dynasty, holding the rank of Senior Third Grade. He was generally a trusted military officer of the emperor and answered directly to the emperor himself.
His duties included guarding and ceremonial escorts, arrests and criminal investigations, managing the Imperial Prison (the Northern Commandery), and supervising civil officials, military craftsmen, and related affairs (the Southern Commandery), among other things.
Under him were the positions of Assistant Commander, Commissioner, Regional Commander, and Battalion Commander. The organization was complex, combining the functions of a secret service, intelligence-gathering agency, and administrative office.
Since the founding of the Ming dynasty, in most cases, unless some exceptionally vicious martial-arts bandit committed heinous crimes with extremely serious consequences, the Embroidered Uniform Guard never interfered in affairs of the martial world.
However...
At some point, the Embroidered Uniform Guard had suddenly established a subordinate intelligence agency—the so-called "Jianghu Baixiaosheng" organization that had recently appeared out of nowhere in the martial world and begun publishing monthly reports of martial-world rumors at irregular intervals!
The organization answered directly to the Embroidered Uniform Guard Commander. Its main structure consisted of a Chief Manager and two Regional Managers, North and South, who oversaw the different regions along the Yangtze River Basin and Yellow River Basin.
In addition, every prefecture and county under its jurisdiction had a manager, and each manager had several assistants beneath him.
The Chief Manager of "Jianghu Baixiaosheng" was the "Chief Boss," codenamed "Storyteller." He could contact or meet directly with the Embroidered Uniform Guard Commander. The two Regional Managers, North and South, oversaw the Yangtze River Basin and Yellow River Basin respectively, serving as the Chief Manager's deputies.
As for the local structure, it was relatively simple. Each prefecture and county