Pacification Office

Biodata

Feature	Information
Name	Pacification Office (镇抚司)
Alias(es)	Great Xia Pacification Office; Capital Pacification Office
Affiliation	Great Xia imperial court 319
Occupation/Role	Imperial agency specializing in tracking and apprehending targets; monitors the jianghu and suppresses threats to court authority 6 658
Status	Active 699
First Appearance	Chapter 3

Mandate and Reach

• The Office trains recruits in the Wind Severing Saber Technique and Bone Dislocation Hand, two introductory martial arts taught by dedicated instructors. Both were originally created to establish soldiers’ foundations and later acquired by the Office through exchange. 3
• Its authority is reinforced by imperial backing and Black Guard support from the thirty-six commanderies of the Nine Provinces, allowing it to sustain cross-regional manhunts. 64
• The Office can seal city gates, mobilize garrisons, issue bounties, deploy constables and Black Guards, and coordinate encirclements across major routes. 5 6 9 13
• Though it historically monitored the jianghu, its influence has weakened in regions where gangs and sects establish their own towns or control territory beyond court authority. 13 24 348
• Its facilities include fortified branch compounds, dungeons, intelligence offices such as Tian Shu Pavilion, and carrier-pigeon communications. 303 304 664

Organization

Central Command

Position	Known details
Commander	The Capital Pacification Office is led by Commander Qu Yunzhen, who answers directly to the Emperor. 339
Four Assistant Commanders	The Four Symbols—Azure Dragon, White Tiger, Vermillion Bird, and Black Tortoise—form the Office’s principal combat foundation. 319 339
Recorders	Each Assistant Commander leads four Recorders. Recorders represent the Office’s authority and are second only to the Four Assistant Commanders in rank. 339
Candidates for the Four Symbols	Envoys such as the Vermillion Bird Envoy and Azure Dragon Envoy are cultivated as key personnel and possible successors. 339

Regional Personnel

• Pacification Commissioners oversee regional or prefectural branches, including Qu Qingyang in Dong Commandery, Lu Yuanwang in the Northwest, Ding Shouyi in Qingyang, and Li Ting in Nan County. 13 304 369 664
• Envoys and Deputy Envoys command major operations and branch personnel. 306 308
• Trial Commanders are expected to possess at least Acquired Realm strength; Centurions are elite Black Cloaks above first-rate. 36
• Centurions, Squad Leaders, chiliarchs, Black Guards/Black Cloaks, captains, constables, and stewards form the organization’s operational ranks. 9 304 305 664

History

A century before the present story, the Witch God Sect plunged the Southern Domain into chaos. The Xia Emperor enlisted Sanghai Academy’s Master, twelve Sages, three thousand Confucian disciples, and a major Pacification Office force—including the four Assistant Commissioners, eight Recorders, and numerous elites—to suppress the rebellion. 384

After the Sage killed twelve Great Grandmaster protectors and forced the Witch God Sect into the Ten Thousand Mountains, Great Xia established a Pacification Office detachment there to monitor and eradicate the surviving sect members. 385

The mountain detachment received no replacements or instructions from the capital. After years without contact, its members realized that the secret deployment had been forgotten amid upheaval and purges within the wider Office. Some died, deserted, or raised families in the mountains; those who remained became known as the Pacification Guard, passing their mission down through generations. 385

The court’s neglect ultimately left this isolated branch vulnerable. Nearly all of its remaining members were killed in a Witch God Sect surprise attack, leaving Li Shiping and his grandson Shitou among the survivors. 385

Institutional Conduct and Reputation

• The Office inspires widespread fear because challenging even a local Black Guard can trigger escalating reinforcements from commandery and capital branches. 64
• It is capable of decisive, ruthless enforcement: during Shen Yi’s escape, a Black Guard killed a young gate soldier for allowing the wanted man through. 6
• Its early pursuit of Shen Yi focused on protecting institutional reputation rather than investigating the circumstances behind the deaths of Niu Ben, Xu Ping, and Liu Fang. 5 13
• Regional officials have exploited Office authority for personal gain; Qu Qingyang was concerned that gang-controlled territory was reducing the “gray income” he extracted through the Office’s influence. 13
• Wealthy local patrons can influence the scale of an investigation. Patriarch Zhao received an Innate Realm Centurion-led response because he regularly paid tribute to the local Office. 366

Internal Politics and Reform

The Office is not politically unified. White Tiger sought Shen Yi’s capture and execution, while Vermillion Bird protected him; Azure Dragon and Black Tortoise remained neutral, and Qu Yunzhen’s position was initially unclear. 373

White Tiger’s faction used the Office’s authority alongside the Whale Gang to target the Raging Tide Gang and Shen Yi after the death of White Tiger’s Recorder Fan Wuji. Ling Wuxiang admitted that Vermillion Bird’s protection of Shen Yi was a major obstacle to White Tiger’s plans. 339 347

Following Shen Yi’s rise and the exposure of entrenched problems, Qu Yunzhen carried out major reforms that removed accumulated abuses. By the Longevity Sect operation, the remaining personnel were described as people with responsibility and concern for civilians. 617

After the Empress ascended the throne, Shen Yi’s name was cleared within the Office. Qu Yunzhen ordered all branches to treat him as though the Commander himself were present. 664

Major Operations

Pursuit of Shen Yi

Shen Yi was expelled after being accused of murdering fellow Office members Niu Ben, Xu Ping, and Liu Fang. The South City Garrison sealed the gates and launched a full-city manhunt. 5

Cui Kui, Squad Leader of the Southern District Garrison and Niu Ben’s uncle, later obtained authority to mobilize eighteen Black Guard captains and nearly one hundred constables to pursue Shen Yi. 9 After Cui Kui’s death, Commissioner Qu Qingyang placed a five-hundred-tael bounty on Shen Yi to preserve the Office’s reputation. 13

Northwest Dungeon Incident

The Northwest Prefecture Office secretly imprisoned Eastern Depot Supervisor Xiang Yeyu. Shen Yi and Li Xiaotian infiltrated the compound with help from Prince Qin’s mole, then broke out of the dungeon. 303 304

The Office mobilized Centurions, chiliarchs, crossbow formations, and reinforcements, but Shen Yi captured Deputy Envoy Cheng Bixian and later Pacification Envoy Lu Yuanwang. 304 306 308 Lu Yuanwang was exposed as the mastermind behind an ambush on Eastern Depot elites, motivated by the Loulan Treasure. 308

Longevity Sect Infiltration

Three Azure Dragon Recorders—Yazi, Chaofeng, and Suanni—led Black Cloaks infiltrating the Longevity Sect’s Ascension Gathering. The Office had mobilized personnel from three eastern commanderies and the Eastern Commandery maritime garrison, intending to encircle the sect after its hidden agents marked the route. 617

The operation failed when the Longevity Dao Lord revealed Heaven-Human Realm strength and seized control of the infiltrators’ Innate Qi. 617

Nan County Gu Crisis

During a city-wide Gu worm outbreak, Shen Yi used the Nan County Office’s Tian Shu Pavilion and carrier pigeons to distribute intelligence on the Southern Borderlands to branches across the realm and to Shangjing. 664

Gu worm control subsequently compromised the entire Office compound, turning Black Cloaks and stewards into puppets. Shen Yi suppressed them with his gravity field, though the branch was largely reduced to ruins in the ensuing crisis. 664 669

Relationships

• Great Xia imperial court — The Office is a core imperial institution and, alongside the Eastern Depot, has upheld imperial authority during the Emperor’s illness. 319
• Eastern Depot — A rival inner-court agency; the two organizations are openly hostile despite occasionally serving the same imperial missions. 418 427
• Shen Yi — A former constable turned wanted defector, later an exceptionally powerful figure whose name was officially cleared after the Empress’s accession. 5 664
• Qu Yunzhen — Commander and helmsman of the Capital Pacification Office; he answers directly to the Emperor and later reforms the institution. 339 617
• White Tiger — Assistant Commander whose faction persistently seeks to eliminate Shen Yi. 347 373
• Vermillion Bird — Assistant Commander who protects Shen Yi against White Tiger’s faction and leads Office forces in Northern Prefecture affairs. 373 514
• Pacification Guard — Descendants of the forgotten Ten Thousand Mountains detachment, continuing its original mission outside regular court support. 385

Trivia

• The Office’s standard Black Guard attire includes black uniforms and Embroidered Spring Blades. 47
• Its top four Assistant Commanders are named for the Four Symbols, while Azure Dragon’s Recorders use names associated with the dragon’s nine sons. 339 617
• At the Heaven-Human Assembly, Qu Yunzhen declared that all Pacification Office affairs would follow Little Mr. Chen’s command by imperial decree. 695
• The four Assistant Commanders, twelve Recorders, and three hundred sixty chiliarchs later formed a joint battle line at Heavenly Heart Temple. 699