Chapter 676: Leisure

Chapter 676: Chapter 676: Leisure

Within the Imperial City, aside from the Imperial Guard in the Imperial Palace and Fenghong Manor on the outskirts of the Dynasty, the only other armed forces are the four gate garrisons of the Imperial City Guard and the governmental officials within the local Government Office.

Ordinarily, these forces are not worth mentioning. Not to speak of anything else, just the twenty thousand strong Imperial Guard could easily smash the four gate garrisons to pieces, not to mention the governmental officials in the Government Office—are they there for killing and fighting?

But weak as they are, there are still different moments.

Whether the Imperial Guard acts or not depends on the Emperor’s will, and now that the Emperor is silent, the Imperial Guard is like a dead sea, unmoved by any outside stir. Naturally, no one dares to make a move against the Imperial Guard—that would be true self-destruction and sheer stupidity.

Excluding the Imperial Guard, then the closest armed forces in the Imperial City are only the four gate garrisons and the governmental officials within the city.

Throughout the generations, the "Major Examination" has not only been soaked with blood, but has also provided many lessons and experiences for those who followed, even some rather mysterious patterns.

For example, in the end, those who prevail in the "Major Examination" have almost always been those who seized control of the "knife master" in the Imperial City ahead of time. These armed forces are exactly the "knife handle."

Because by the final stages of the "Major Examination," things are highly likely to reach an extreme. At that time, being unarmed almost certainly spells certain death; on the contrary, the chances of victory increase greatly.

The struggle entered a fever pitch the moment it began.

First, among the four main Commanders of the gate guards, two, seeing that the situation was bad, directly submitted requests to the Ministry of War to retire on grounds of illness, saying their health no longer permitted them to garrison the Imperial City for Your Majesty, and they hoped to return home to live out their remaining years.

The Ministry of War has always handled such requests for retirement with utmost caution, all the more so when it comes to the Imperial City guards. Usually, only after repeated deliberation comes a reply. Before the Ministry responds, if you dare to resign and leave, that’s dereliction of duty and you might lose your head.

But this time, the Ministry responded quickly. The requests of the two gate Commanders were signed off in less than five days; the approval process was nothing more than a formality, with no serious cross-checking as per the usual practice.

Once the two retiring officers breathed a sigh of relief, they hurried to the Ministry of War for the handover, then left the Imperial City without delay and headed straight back to their hometowns, as though fleeing for their lives.

With two retirements, replacements quickly filled the vacancies. The appointments seemed pre-arranged—there was no delay, no need for transfers, they followed one after the other, leaving no "vacuum of command" at the four gates of the Imperial City at any time.

Then things got interesting.

Every two or three days, all kinds of scandals about the Imperial City guards and Government Office Stewards were exposed. Even affairs at home were spread around the city with vivid detail by persons unknown. Within a month, five posts were completely turned over in succession!

As for those removed? Some ended up in the Ministry of Justice Prison, others committed suicide at home out of fear. In any case, none found peace—their fate was pitiful indeed.

Shen Hao has kept a close eye on all this, not out of idle curiosity, but because the Black Water under his command had been ordered by Jiang Cheng to monitor all the winds and movements in the Imperial City closely.

Indeed, it was the fierce struggle for the four gates that set the Royal Family’s "Major Examination" ablaze.

This flood of news was like a "novel" that filled Shen Hao’s "leisure" hours outside the battle array. Here there were no Flower Houses, no soft songstresses, not even wine to drink in peace. Day after day, a group of energetic men either honed their martial arts or gathered to boast, and their bragging could really "reach the heavens." Sometimes, even a man with Shen Hao’s outlook was left stunned and had to admit, impressive indeed.

And Black Water’s intelligence always gave Shen Hao new opportunities to exercise his mind, and made him all the more grateful that, presently stationed in the army, he was far from the storms within the Dynasty—however the situation changed, it seemed it wouldn’t touch his side. He could simply watch from the sidelines.

According to the timeline pieced together by Black Water, the "Major Examination" of the Royal Family kicked off from the moment the Seventh Prince, Yang Shu, received from the Emperor the main charge over the austerity plan for money and provisions. Between that moment and the "Major Examination" entering the fever pitch, the transition time was very brief and did not proceed step-by-step in order. Rather, it was directly swayed by the war situation in the South.

Therefore, on the timeline mapped out by Black Water, the fever pitch was triggered right after Jianchuan completely broke through the Barbarian Race’s confrontation line.

In Black Water’s analysis, they believe the root cause for the "Major Examination" advancing so abruptly into its fever pitch is "timing." As the pace of war accelerates, so does the pace of the "Major Examination," perhaps to the point where both conclude simultaneously.

This is not to say that the end of the war equates to the Princes having decided a definitive victor, but rather that the time limit for the "Major Examination" will be exhausted. When that happens, the Emperor will directly name the winner and declare the end of the "Major Examination." Therefore, to avoid this unpredictable variable—the Emperor—for the seven Princes, the safest way is clearly to eliminate all other contenders, leaving only oneself. Then victory would be certain.

Shen Hao had an idea, or rather a suspicion: Is it possible that, due to the Southern war, the Ministry of War or the Emperor is now taking control over the pace of this "Major Examination" in turn?

For Shen Hao had pored over many histories of the Jingjiu Dynasty, and in fact, the Royal Family’s "Major Examination" was a term coined by historians many years ago, later adopted by posterity.

According to the records, every Royal Family "Major Examination" in the past lasted a substantial period. The longest over five years, the shortest also two. The feverish phase—like the struggle for the "knife master" of the Imperial City—usually came in the latter half of the "Major Examination," quite unlike the present. In fact, never before in the Jingjiu Dynasty’s history has the "Major Examination" coincided with a great war.

And recently, stationed in the army, Shen Hao received firsthand news of changes in the Southern military situation. The thirty thousand troops previously rotated out would be redeployed to White Head Gorge, while Jianchuan’s salient was also adjusting its troop focus—merging the forces of the lower and central Military Camps to station them in the Lower Part, while the emptied space in the Central Region would be directly contracted as a supply base.

This would sharply reduce Jianchuan’s offensive strength, but its functionality would double. It would become a pipeline thrust deep into the Barbarian Race, continuously transporting soldiers and supplies toward White Head Gorge.

With the manpower on both fronts now exceeding one hundred and fifty thousand, the direct pressure on the Barbarian Race is obvious.

This gave the Barbarian Race no room to catch their breath and felt so rushed that even Shen Hao sensed they were racing against time. Whether this was Zuo Yuliang’s strategy or because the Emperor had imposed a deadline forcing him to act as such, Shen Hao could not tell.

Shen Hao felt that, if his suspicion was correct, should a breakthrough occur again at White Head Gorge, the "Major Examination" in the Imperial City would likely erupt in even greater turmoil.