In late August, the officialdom of Jingxi was startled by the "Jingxi Purge" operation that was launched out of Fengri City. Especially the local officials of Fengri City—some were dragged into the dungeons in the middle of the night to await death, while others awoke to find that half their colleagues in the Government Office had disappeared.

The official circles have always been a bellwether for any region; any tremor among officials quickly ripples out to the streets, directly affecting prominent merchants.

There were reversals thereafter. After bloody arrests within Fengri City’s jurisdiction, a subtle stalemate developed in other parts of Jingxi: the Xuanqing Guard adopted an ambiguous stance, wanting to make arrests but not pushing too forcefully, while the Local Government Offices were fighting desperately to protect their own.

Many witnessing this were quietly relieved, feeling that the Xuanqing Guard had reached some tacit understanding with the Local Government Offices; only Fengri City was to be sacrificed, and large-scale unrest elsewhere in Jingxi would likely not occur.

But that relief lasted only a few days before the situation in Jingxi shifted dramatically yet again.

The once-ambiguous Xuanqing Guard seemed transformed—one after another, they began arresting people with ruthless determination, completely abandoning their previous hesitancy and procrastination. In the name of expedience, several dawdling subordinate General Flags of the Xuanqing Guard were immediately dismissed and investigated. The Local Government Offices tried to stand up and protect their own as before, but this time they lost quite a few people themselves in the process.

Many appeals were submitted, but the unified and chilling answer from above was: The Xuanqing Guard has been ordered to investigate a series of smuggling cases. Local Government Offices in all regions are forbidden to interfere, or else will be punished as accomplices.

At this, many hearts turned cold—it was too late to run. In less than five days, every official, noble, and merchant implicated in smuggling cases within the Jingxi Territory was seized and thrown into the Xuanqing Guard’s prison; few slipped through the net, and for those at large with sea arrest warrants, it was only a matter of time before they were caught.

By mid-September, did you think the storm was over?

It was not.

On the contrary, it only intensified.

First, still in Jingxi, none of those previously arrested could withstand the methods of the Xuanqing Guard—everyone who had something to confess had confessed thoroughly. This, in turn, stirred up another bloodbath across Jingxi, whose few days of calm were brutally upended. This time, the primary targets were officials within the Government Offices’ formal ranks.

In just the major cities, three Chief Officers were arrested; in subordinate towns, the number of officials taken was beyond count. The emptying of half a Government Office was no idle exaggeration but a stark reality.

No matter how frightened and anxious the officials below were, the only gesture from above was to quickly appoint new officials, or promote locals on the spot, barely maintaining the basic operations of various institutions across the land.

Also in mid-September, what had begun as a limited operation in Jingxi Territory suddenly spread, with Xuan Su deployments appearing across the entire Dynasty. The only difference was that the investigative authority had shifted from the Xuanqing Guard to the Ministry of Justice.

Yet in terms of investigative force, it was little inferior to the Xuanqing Guard, albeit with gentler methods: those dragged off to prison were mostly hopelessly corrupt, while others able to defend themselves were let off with mere censure, demotion, or pay cuts. Compared to Jingxi, it was a far lighter touch.

The greatest impact, apart from the localities, was felt atop the Temple Hall.

Thousands of officials were imprisoned, censured, or dismissed—an overwhelming blow to the Civil Servant Group, which once held crushing dominance in the Temple Hall.

Particularly in matters of prestige and in the leadership abilities of their most senior bosses, the damage was severe.

If the leaders were so capable, would things have rotted beneath them to this degree without their knowledge? Instead, the Xuanqing Guard got hold of their tail and gave them a savage beating.

Some clear-minded officials also realized an issue: Civil Servants loved to weave networks of relationships. While collective action indeed made many things easier, such networks were also breeding grounds for corruption and rot—hardly beneficial for the Dynasty.

On closer reflection, once such connections were applied to misdeeds, were they not all the more dangerous?

Moreover, everyone knew that such clique-forming behavior was little different from "factionalism and private collusion."

Quite a few were reflecting in this way.

Another segment, chilled to the bone, dared not voice their anger at the leading bosses who had lost out in the Temple Hall’s struggle. Each had their own sources of information, and this time, many of them had nearly been dragged in as well.

Later, they heard rumors from all departments in the Imperial City: Jingxi’s investigation was directly authorized by the Emperor to the Xuanqing Guard, so nothing could be done about that. But across the rest of the Dynasty, those purged by the Ministry of Justice had been pushed forward by their superiors—each boss offering up one or another to take the fall, even drawing up name lists themselves before the investigation began.

It sounded like a joke—as if, in the eyes of those higher-ups, the toiling ranks below were nothing but goods to be weighed out and sold by the catty.

There was resentment, and the reverence and awe previously held for those above was gone.

Don’t put too much trust in those at the top. Better to act cautiously; if you make a wrong move, they’ll use it as a pretext to beat you bloody, and those above may not be able to shield you.

For a time, the disciplinary campaign was startlingly effective. At least, none of the newly appointed officials dared step out of line—each treading gingerly, just waiting for the storm to pass. 𝒇𝙧𝙚𝓮𝔀𝓮𝒃𝙣𝓸𝒗𝒆𝒍.𝙘𝒐𝒎

Not until the end of September did things gradually settle down. There were a few isolated incidents, but none could affect the overall situation anymore.

Fengri City was the first to restore order. Many on the official scene were now unfamiliar faces, and all now instinctively dreaded those Xuanqing Guard in black brocade robes—all but traumatized at the sight.

What’s more, within Fengri City, one name was spoken with extreme wariness: Shen Hao, Hundred Households Officer of the Black Banner Battalion of the Xuanqing Guard.

The newcomers were warned by veterans: this Shen Hao had always borne the name of Evil Star, protected by powerful patrons, untouchable even by Households Officers in Fengri City, having offended a great many yet still rising in rank and wealth. And what he claimed were not just lives but fortunes—this "Jingxi Purge" was stirred up by the Evil Star himself!

Such words spread unchecked, quickly circulating throughout Fengri City’s Domain, and Shen Hao’s reputation as an Evil Star was cemented. Though now but a mere Hundred Households Officer, none dared look down on him in the slightest. Even glimpsing him would instinctively put people on guard.

Even Wu Changhe no longer maintained his former lofty bearing toward Shen Hao, finding something wicked about this man surnamed Shen.

Yet Shen Hao paid no heed to outside gossip. After the purge in Fengri City wound down, he simply threw himself into his next endeavors, now with not a moment to spare.

With nearly half the officials in Fengri City dismissed and investigated, so many vacancies were filled not just by internal promotion but also by transfers from elsewhere. These outsiders brought perhaps a few personal servants and families, but for all other servants and Nursing Home staff, they had to hire locally.

This was heaven-sent for Shen Hao’s Black Water Plan.