What Have You Got to Fight Me With?

The Black Robe Guard of Great Zhou was divided into three branches.

The Adjudication Office was the most independent. Primarily responsible for rulings and trials, it was also the most mysterious and rarely appeared in public, much like a military court in later eras.

The Inspection Office handled a wider range of affairs and wielded the most power. Its main duties included providing guards and ceremonial escorts, conducting investigations, administering court floggings, gathering foreign intelligence, and carrying out reconnaissance, arrests, and interrogations.

Simply put, from arranging guards and ceremonial escorts for the emperor's outings to dealing with commoners spitting or dumping rubbish by the roadside, the Black Robe Guard could always find a reason to intervene if it wished.

As for the Enforcement Office, it was a dedicated killing organization, an institution of pure violence and slaughter that primarily targeted people of the martial world. Unless the higher-ups of the Inspection Office and Enforcement Office coordinated with each other, it generally would not intervene in specific cases on its own.

These three offices were relatively independent, each with its own structure. Without a suitable reason, they generally had little contact with one another.

The office Song Xuan had arrived at was formally named the Great Zhou Black Robe Guard Inspection Office's Jiangzhe Prefecture Thousand-Household Office, stationed in Mingzhou. It was a Thousand-Household Office established by the Inspection Office in Jiangzhe Prefecture.

Song Xuan reckoned that the thousand-household commander here probably did not belong to Zhao Dezhu's faction. At the very least, he was not of one mind with Zhao Dezhu.

Otherwise, Old Zhao would not have gone out of his way to send him here to straighten out this Thousand-Household Office.

Quite a few people had gathered inside the Thousand-Household Office. Five hundred-household commanders, ten deputy hundred-household commanders, and dozens of banner commanders stood on either side, discussing how to deal with the arrival of the hundred-household commander newly appointed by the court.

Thousand-household commander Fang Cheng sat squarely in the center of the main hall, legs planted wide, holding the thousand-household commander's official seal. His expression was rather gloomy.

Normally, as a thousand-household commander overseeing an entire prefecture for the Black Robe Guard's Inspection Office, he could submit a memorial recommending a replacement whenever a hundred-household commander's post under him fell vacant.

Yet the memorial he had submitted to the Black Robe Guard's Inspection Office had sunk like a stone into the sea, eliciting no response. Instead, the Imperial Capital had sent a hundred-household commander straight into his territory.

Clearly, the court had begun to doubt his competence as a thousand-household commander, perhaps even his loyalty.

This left him deeply dissatisfied, even if his loyalty really had become questionable.

I, Old Fang, have braved life and death here in Jiangzhe for all these years, worked hard for the court, and shed blood for the emperor. Just because I secretly killed one hundred-household commander, you start questioning my loyalty?

Is there any justice left in this world?

Had it merely been a hundred-household commander sent down from the Imperial Capital, Fang Cheng would not have been so furious as the thousand-household commander.

What truly angered him was how the Black Robe Guard Office had assigned the duties of the new hundred-household commander, Song Xuan.

Besides taking over Xu Chang'an's post as hundred-household commander, Song Xuan had also been appointed pacification commissioner of the Jiangzhe Prefecture Thousand-Household Office's Imperial Prison.

The Imperial Prison could be considered the core institution of the Black Robe Guard.

Every Thousand-Household Office of Great Zhou's Black Robe Guard had an Imperial Prison under it. Whether prisoners arrested by the Black Robe Guard were being interrogated or subjected to punishment, it all took place inside the Imperial Prison.

Normally, the thousand-household commander personally held the concurrent post of the Imperial Prison's pacification commissioner. If not, the position went to one of his trusted confidants.

Now, however, such an important position had been snatched away by an outsider sent down from the Imperial Capital. Not only did Fang Cheng feel aggrieved, but the other hundred-household commanders were also deeply dissatisfied.

With someone else controlling the Imperial Prison, would they not have to look to Song Xuan for permission whenever they arrested or questioned someone, used torture, or did something that could not bear the light of day?

"My lord, Song Xuan has reportedly arrived in Yangzhou. He'll probably take up his post within the next couple of days. How should we deal with him?"

Seeing that no one in the hall had spoken for some time, a rather plump hundred-household commander finally could not help breaking the silence.

He was a trusted confidant of Fang Cheng and had previously held the post of the Thousand-Household Office's Imperial Prison pacification commissioner. Now that someone had stolen his position, he was the most anxious of them all.

Without the pacification commissioner's official seal, he was no different from the other hundred-household commanders. In fact, he was worse off. At least the others still had some subordinates, while all of his men belonged to the Imperial Prison.

If the Imperial Prison slipped out of his control, he would become a commander without troops, with not a single man left at his disposal.

"How else can we deal with him?"

Fang Cheng snorted. "The commander-in-chief personally signed Song Xuan's appointment. Who could stop him? Surely we can't just kill him?"

At these words, several people in the hall actually looked tempted.

The plump hundred-household commander even ventured, "My lord, it's not as though we couldn't. Great Zhou is vast. It's perfectly understandable for bandits to turn up within its borders...

"If bandits won't do, he could always die from failing to acclimatize. We're all professionals in that regard."

"Nonsense!"

Fang Cheng's expression turned cold. "How dare you say such a thing? I will pretend you never said it, and the rest of you will pretend you never heard it. If you dare spout such nonsense again, don't blame me for throwing you into the Imperial Prison first."

"Yes, yes! Your subordinate spoke out of turn. Please forgive me, my lord!"

The hundred-household commander hurriedly rose to admit his mistake. He looked frightened and uneasy, but even a fool could see the smile on his face.

Everyone understood. Despite the thousand-household commander's stern words, he had already made his position clear. He did indeed hope that Song Xuan would suffer some accident, preferably one that left him no chance to take up his post.

Knock, knock, knock...

Just then, a sudden knocking came from outside the office.

The fat hundred-household commander immediately turned and bellowed toward the entrance, "Who's on duty outside? How are you doing your job? The commanders are discussing official business! Who let an outsider in?"

Boom!

One of the doors to the Thousand-Household Office suddenly burst apart. A moment later, a voice edged with coldness came from outside.

"My, my, aren't you an imposing official!"

As the words fell, several Black Robe Guard junior banner commanders were thrown in from outside, landing on the floor with a series of thuds.

Then Song Xuan strode in over the scattered wood splinters, dressed in the black robes of a Black Robe Guard hundred-household commander. Beside him, Song Qian cradled a sword in one arm and stared coldly at the fat bastard.

Under Song Qian's gaze, which regarded him as a dead man, the fat hundred-household commander instinctively swallowed. He had already guessed who the newcomers were.

Still, he asked, "And you two are?"

"Song Xuan!"

Song Xuan glanced at him, then ignored him and strode straight into the Thousand-Household Office's main hall.

"You got here rather quickly!"

Fang Cheng sat in the grand armchair at the very center of the hall, showing no intention of rising to welcome him. He merely spoke in an indifferent tone, fully displaying his lofty, superior stance.

This was the Thousand-Household Office. Here, he was the thousand-household commander, the true officer in charge.

So what if you control the Imperial Prison? This is my territory. More than half the men under me are brothers who have shared life-and-death trials with me, Old Fang.

You're just a green brat who's only just arrived, with neither men nor money. What have you got to fight me with?