Shen Hao opened his eyes in surprise at Xia Nu's words and asked doubtfully, "That can't be, right? The brokerage may not be a virtuous place, but surely it's not so cruel?"
Shen Hao knew about the brokerage: it was a government-run slave-trading institution, and the only place legally permitted to trade humans. The main ones sold there were alien race slaves or the families of sinful officials.
When the Court raised armies against foreign powers, alien slaves would flood in; but in recent years, with the Court in a period of recuperation and refraining from war, the alien slaves sold were mostly captured by slave traders' raiding parties, operating on the lands of alien races beyond the borders.
The families of sinful officials referred to those unlucky souls whose entire households were confiscated for grave offenses. The Jingjiu Dynasty's laws included dozens of clauses prescribing "confiscation of family assets and sale to the brokerage" as punishment.
The most valuable were precisely these sinful officials' families, especially the young women among them. As for alien races, there were further distinctions. According to what Shen Hao knew, young Fox Race girls like Xia Nu sold briskly in the brokerage.
Seeing Shen Hao's disbelief, Xia Nu grew anxious and stammered in a whisper, "It's r-really true. I saw it with my own eyes—a girl, because…because she didn't wash the clothes properly, was whipped. She was whipped to death."
Whipped to death? Such a way to die was indeed horrifying. Shen Hao hadn't expected those in the brokerage to be so ruthless. He'd never gotten that impression when dealing with them before.
"Were you also whipped?"
"Yes, I was whipped once when I first arrived, but after that, no more."
"Because you were clever, you stopped getting beaten?"
"N-not that! Lin Xin'Er is much cleverer than me, but she got beaten every day and couldn't even get up off the ground."
This was the first time Shen Hao had heard of the life inside the brokerage. He continued chatting with Xia Nu half-absently: "Lin Xin'Er? She has a surname? Must be from a sinful official's family, right? If she's cleverer than you, why was she still beaten?"
"She wasn't beaten because of what she did while learning. It's because she's always, always making a fuss."
"What kind of fuss?"
"She cries out injustice, says her family was wronged. Every time she shouts like that, she gets a terrible beating."
Family of a sinful official? Pleading injustice?
Shen Hao didn't care much; he'd met plenty who still shouted grievances on their way to the execution ground. Often, words couldn't be trusted—especially when it came to the affairs of the brokerage. It was none of his concern anyway.
They soaked a while longer, until their bodies grew limp and relaxed.
"That's enough, I'm done soaking. You may leave, I need to rest now."
"Ah? Oh! Yes, master, I'll come clean up tomorrow."
...
The next day, as soon as Shen Hao stepped through the Guard Station gates, he was told Tang Qingyuan was looking for him; he hurried over at a trot.
As soon as he entered Tang Qingyuan's public office, Tang Qingyuan got straight to the point: "How soon can the Black Banner Battalion officially begin duty?"
Hadn't they said within half a month? From Tang Qingyuan's tone today, he seemed anxious.
"Sir, the Black Banner Battalion already has a full team assembled and its internal structure is nearly complete. If urgency demands it, we can begin official duty today."
Shen Hao's original plan was to come and report the Black Banner Battalion's establishment progress to Tang Qingyuan today, intending to begin duties while continuing to summarize and improve the organization—wasn't that how all new institutions began?
"Hm? There's no joking in the military."
"Sir, your subordinate speaks not a word of falsehood—the Black Banner Battalion truly can begin official duty."
Seeing Tang Qingyuan's skepticism, Shen Hao quickly detailed everything he'd arranged these days as well as his plan for organizing the battalion, point by point. But as he spoke, he noticed Tang Qingyuan's gaze growing ever more curious, almost as if seeing some rare thing.
"To think a newly appointed General Flag like you has such foresight—very good!"
After Shen Hao finished, Tang Qingyuan was clearly pleased with how swiftly he'd constructed the Black Banner Battalion's framework. As he spoke, he took an order from the drawer and placed it before Shen Hao.
"Take a look. This is an urgent order sent last night from the Thousand Households Station."
He opened it. The message wasn't long, but it made Shen Hao's eyes light up.
Urgent Order: "Li City Hundred Households Station is to immediately report the progress of the Black Banner Battalion's formation and at once begin internal investigation and intelligence gathering. The scope of intelligence covers, but is not limited to: accounts, cases, officials' integrity, warehouse inventory and transactions, etc. Investigating and handling internal affairs cases as needed is also permitted.
Furthermore, the Black Banner Battalion is a classified body of Xuanqing Guard; all matters are to be handled according to confidentiality protocols. All Hundred Households Stations must fully support without reservation."
The signature was Jiang Cheng, Households Officer of Fengri City Thousand Households Station.
"To think an order personally signed by the Households Officer himself!" Shen Hao was inwardly astonished, as this was his first time seeing such a command from above.
Reading the order, it was no wonder Tang Qingyuan regarded him so highly. While everyone else was still uncertain about the Black Banner Battalion's powers and scope, Shen Hao was already a step ahead, and by coincidence lined up perfectly with the Thousand Households Station's intentions.
"You have good instincts, even guessing what the Thousand Households Station had planned—excellent. Proceed as you see fit, but move quickly and be sure the Black Banner Battalion has real investigative capability.
We're now ahead of all other Hundred Households Stations. If you can manage to investigate and prosecute a notable case as an example… you understand my meaning?"
Shen Hao paused, then replied: "Understood, sir. However, as you know, there are many taboos in the garrison. The Black Banner Battalion is investigating under your guidance—how far should the scope of inquiry reach?"
Tang Qingyuan snorted lightly, drumming his fingers on the table: "Opportunities wait for no man. Just investigate as you see fit—as long as the evidence is solid, no matter how great the matter, I will back you."
With this, Shen Hao felt secure.
...
Back in his own public office, Shen Hao sat in his chair, eyes closed in contemplation. Before acting, he had to make sure everything was clear in his mind.
From what he could see, the Thousand Households Station's attitude was currently quite firm—a posture of determined internal investigation.
From past experience, such things were like a wind: whoever rode the wind earliest could gain the most benefit. As long as one set the example, perhaps even winning acclaim from the bosses above, future prospects would smooth out considerably.
This was obviously Tang Qingyuan's thinking as well—his reaction was prompt, to say the least.
But Tang Qingyuan's words couldn't be trusted completely. After so many years of rumors swirling inside Li City Guard Station, if a real investigation began, a great many people would be swept up—too many for Tang Qingyuan or anyone else to shield.
Which meant he couldn't bite off more than he could chew. He needed to pick a target that would draw attention yet not ensnare himself in trouble—a good entry point to open the situation.
For this reason, those unspoken but widely-known fiddling-with-accounts affairs were out of bounds; going after those would set him against all of the Xuanqing Guard.
Likewise, the area of "integrity" was best left untouched. Tug at that root and you never knew how deep the rot went; it was easy to stumble onto a landmine—unwise.
Thus, Shen Hao finally fixed his sights on specific case investigations. By picking faults in individual cases, he could keep matters within a controllable scope. But if he wanted to draw attention from above, be set up as an example, that would depend on his skill alone.