Le Xiaopang froze.
"Who?"
"Sixth Gentleman Xiao from Jiankang. If you know him, Young Master, I can announce you."
Le Xiaopang looked at Wang Yang and Yu Yuling. Both shook their heads, having no idea who this was.
Puzzled, Le Xiaopang asked:
"Which Sixth Gentleman Xiao from Jiankang?"
The County Commandant replied:
"The sixth son of Yin Xiao's family."
Though Le Xiaopang knew nothing about any sixth son, nor who this so-called "Yin Xiao" actually was, the title of Capital Governor alone silenced him.
Among the local administrators throughout the realm, the head of a commandery was called a "Governor," and the head of a princely fief a "Chancellor." Only the administrator of the capital's territory could be called a "Yin," the highest-ranking of them all.
The Western Han had its capital at Chang'an, where the office was called "Jingzhao Yin"; the Eastern Han had its capital at Luoyang, where it was called "Henan Yin." The capital of the Southern Dynasties was Jiankang, which belonged to Danyang Commandery. Its administrator was called the "Danyang Yin"-in other words, the mayor of the Capital Region.
The Capital Region encompassed a vast territory, nearly a thousand li across. The Danyang Yin commanded its garrisons and oversaw criminal justice and civil administration. A third-rank official wielding real power, he held the same rank as the heads of every ministry except the Ministry of Personnel-a genuinely high-ranking ministerial official.
And his surname was Xiao. He might even belong to the imperial clan...
Though Le Xiaopang was something of a spoiled young scion, he still had his head screwed on straight. He knew that while he could throw his weight around in Jingzhou, that would not work elsewhere, especially against someone this formidable. When it was time to back down, he had to back down. At