Silence filled the Ministry of Armaments.
After Qin Siyang removed Lin Dexing, the most senior and capable of them, in one fell swoop, everyone seemed to have become a different person.
The once-arrogant He Feifei had become subdued.
The once-fiery Ma Liangcai had fallen silent.
Wang Jilai, who had never had much of a presence to begin with, tried even harder to erase it.
If Ma Liangcai had not constantly mocked He Feifei before, every remark hitting a sore spot, she would not even have bothered kicking him while he was down.
"Tap-tap-"
Brisk footsteps sounded in the corridor, the kind that clearly belonged to someone full of vigor.
All three tensed, knowing their minister, Qin Siyang, had arrived.
Lin Dexing's whereabouts were unknown, Ma Liangcai's younger brother Ma Liangdong had been killed, He Feifei's patron Zhong Dingming had fled, and Wang Jilai's Wang Family had now submitted to Qin Siyang.
The tangled web of competing interests within the Ministry of Armaments had been swept clean less than a month after Qin Siyang took office.
With the minister here, none of the three dared act out.
Qin Siyang entered the room and asked directly, "Have you taken care of distributing military supplies to the various legions?"
He Feifei immediately stood to answer. "Minister, the supplies you ordered distributed during your last visit have already been sent out. We've also finished inventorying this month's military supplies. The handovers to the Han, Zhao, and Wei legions will all be completed tomorrow!"
Qin Siyang glanced at He Feifei. He had anticipated her change in attitude and nodded. "Good. Thank you for your work, Director He. Issue half of the Han Character Legion's supplies first. Conduct spot checks on the remaining half."
"Half?" He Feifei did not understand what Qin Siyang meant.
"Yes."
Although