The Astra Militarum colonel had been holding a wineglass and speaking with another merchant.
When he heard Li Qinwu's greeting and turned around, he froze on the spot.
The Rosette on Li Qinwu's chest triggered his bureaucratic instincts, and he immediately saluted Li Qinwu.
"Lord Inquisitor! I had no idea such a noble Inquisitor was here!"
Li Qinwu smiled and waved his hand.
"This is my home. Since you've come here, you're my guests. No need for all that official nonsense."
The Astra Militarum colonel appeared to relax, but he was actually still extremely nervous.
The Imperium's institutions of power followed two separate systems.
One was the visible hierarchy of official ranks: corporal, sergeant, staff sergeant; major, lieutenant colonel, colonel. Whoever had the higher rank and position held the advantage in social situations.
The other system was actual power.
For example, an ordinary Astra Militarum colonel probably commanded an infantry regiment of three thousand men.
But if another colonel came from a noble world, ruled that noble world, commanded ten thousand troops, and could assign every one of them a tank—
Then that colonel's actual strength would put him on equal footing with an Astra Militarum general.
In short, when the Imperium's powerful officials and bureaucrats dealt with one another, they first had to assess the other party's actual strength, then evaluate their office and position within the bureaucratic system.
An Inquisitor like Li Qinwu, someone entitled to carry a Rosette, held an official rank roughly comparable to a naval admiral, after all, he could possess his own fleet.
And a naval admiral's position outranked that of an Astra Militarum general, since the Astra Militarum depended on warships to operate.
The hierarchy was roughly Inquisitor > naval rear admiral > Astra Militarum marshal.
That was why the Astra Militarum colonel