Xuanqing Guard

Chapter 320: Chapter 320: Short on Manpower

Right now, Shen Hao is not lacking for money. The Black Banner Battalion has its own funding sources, and all the funds allocated by the Governor’s Office go directly into the Black Banner Battalion’s private accounts, never passing through the Fengri City Thousand Households Station’s books.

This way of moving funds eliminates the worry of the Thousand Households taking a cut, and avoids letting anyone deduce the Black Banner Battalion’s movements based on their expenditures.

Of course, this practice doesn’t come without drawbacks—namely, that the Battalion’s accounts have completely lost any internal regulation or oversight; how much money is spent where is entirely up to Shen Hao’s word alone.

But naturally, Shen Hao has long passed the stage of pinching pennies for the sake of silver. He now holds shares in the Zhang Family’s Wine Shop—maybe not enough to rival kingdoms, but definitely one of the richest men in Fengri City, able to walk tall. There’s no need for petty tricks.

Still, giving a bit of benefit to his brothers under him is no problem at all.

The bulk of the withheld funds are used on "welfare compensation." Whenever a Black Banner Battalion brother is wounded or dies, Shen Hao always adds something on top of the standard Xuanqing Guard compensation. For many families of fallen soldiers whose homes are not well off, this money is enough for them to stay clothed and fed.

As for the other uses of withheld funds, they’re few and far between. Because most of the expenditures are under categories Shen Hao himself created, like "field subsidy," "labor protection," "food allowance," "carriage and horse stipend," and so on, the monthly pay for soldiers in the Battalion is nearly double the norm. Of course, everyone in the Battalion has been warned by higher-ups to keep quiet about the money—they can take it, just don’t show off. So far, there hasn’t been any noise about this within Xuanqing Guard.

But manpower remains short. It’s not just about not having enough high-tier cultivators—the ranks also lack plenty of scouts at the bottom. Still, Shen Hao is confident he can gradually fill in those gaps.

But when something urgent pops up right in front of you, all you can do is pick the tallest among the dwarves.

Tan Bin. The guy isn’t a cultivator, but he’s literate and has studied; he’s worked as a secretary in Xuanqing Guard, done fieldwork as a street scout; his martial skills aren’t bad, his head is sharp, and most importantly, he doesn’t have that "official" air about him.

The first time Shen Hao sent people to test the waters with Ma San at the Carriage and Horse Shop, Tan Bin was among them. And the most crucial piece of intel then was brought back by Tan Bin himself. Shen Hao has a very good impression of him, so he chose Tan Bin again this time without hesitation.

Alongside Tan Bin are three others, all much like him—ordinary men who are adept with fists, swords, and blades, yet not cultivators. They’re also smart and already have experience in the secret agent trade.

After gathering these men, Shen Hao met with them in person, clearly explaining their next mission objectives.

"Your mission is to enter the southeast hinterland of the Barbarians disguised as slave traders. I don’t expect you to get your hands on any top-secret information, but I need you to figure out what’s truly going on with the Barbarians in the southeast. Are the Wolf Race, Snake Race, and the others about to establish a Royal Court...?"

But in order to infiltrate the Barbarians, Tan Bin’s group still needs to use some free time to learn a few things. Such as the geography and climate there, and to cram as much of the Barbarians’ language as they can.

Only a few of the Barbarian clans speak a language similar to the Human Race’s; the others are all mutually unintelligible. Still, whenever the Barbarians establish a Royal Court, the languages gradually become unified.

This downtime is also the period Shen Hao set aside for Zhu Shou to pull strings and secure identities for Tan Bin and the rest. He believes that with a reasonable enough excuse and sufficient silver, the shopkeeper from Hongli Trading Company will gladly turn a blind eye to Zhu Shou’s request.

But three days later, what arrived wasn’t the news of Zhu Shou’s arrangements, but an official Order from the Governor’s Office.

The signature on the Order was Jiang Cheng’s, and the message was simple: Shen Hao was to proceed at once to the Imperial City—Jiang Cheng had something to tell him face-to-face.

When he arrived at the Governor’s Office, Shen Hao thought it might be about his recent proposal to further support the Fengri City Black Banner Battalion. But what he actually got was something way beyond anything he’d imagined.

Jiang Cheng still wore his usual smiling face. But this time, Jiang Cheng himself poured Shen Hao a cup of tea and brought it over. Shen Hao was so flustered by this that he didn’t even dare to take it.

"Hahaha, take it! What, you want me to hold it there all day?" Jiang Cheng burst out laughing. Shen Hao’s reaction pleased him greatly; he could clearly feel Shen Hao’s respect and regard. That, at least, hadn’t changed—and that’s a good thing.

"Thank you, my Lord! Haha, I’m just a little overwhelmed by the honor," Shen Hao replied with a smile, accepting the teacup. At the same time, his mind was spinning—Jiang Cheng is usually pretty casual in private, so why the show of courtesy today?

Jiang Cheng motioned for Shen Hao to sit, then settled back in his seat himself and laughed, "I heard you made a trip to Chang Baifeng recently for their centennial celebration?"

Shen Hao nodded. "Yes, my Lord. Nie Yun from the Gui Mountain Cultivation Institute is a close friend of mine. He invited me, and I wanted to broaden my horizons, so I went along."

"I didn’t expect your friendship with Nie Yun to be so strong. But I also heard you gained a great opportunity at Chang Baifeng—what was that about?"

When Jiang Cheng mentioned Chang Baifeng, Shen Hao had already guessed what was coming, so he wasn’t surprised. He recounted in detail everything he’d experienced on Chang Baifeng, honestly and completely.

"The status I carried was casually arranged by Nie Yun, even back when we entered the Sword Emperor’s Tomb together."

"I’ve also heard about your status. It’s fine—the Gui Mountain Cultivation Institute didn’t try to formally recruit you. The named disciple label you carry was only arranged by Nie Yun for convenience. But about your epiphany—so that’s all true?"

"Yes, my Lord. While at the Sword Washing Pool on Chang Baifeng, I happened to have an epiphany by sheer luck. As for what I gained from it, it’s hard to put into words."

Jiang Cheng’s smile grew even broader. "Haha, it’s nothing! Epiphanies really are about individual fortune. Just having one is fortune from Heaven—understanding is enough, not being able to explain it is perfectly normal."

After a pause, Jiang Cheng continued, "The main reason I called you today was to confirm your breakthrough. I just heard about it at the Lord Commander’s place yesterday, and he asked me to confirm it with you."

"Haha, good boy! You make me proud!"

"My Lord praises me too much. I am unworthy."

"Hahaha, what do you mean unworthy! Your talent always seemed decent, but the barrier between Gathering Spirit and Primordial Pill Realm is a major leap—no one knew if you could make it. Now you’ve had this epiphany, it basically guarantees you’ll reach Primordial Pill Realm. With this as your foundation, your future promotions just got a lot easier."

Jiang Cheng truly was happy. He came from a military background, but his former connections faded after he and Liao Chengfeng parted ways. That’s why he risked everything to back Commander Pang Ban—without it, his position would be unstable.

Now, what Jiang Cheng needed most was someone of his own he could push forward, someone useful. Before, Shen Hao was good enough, but his cultivation was a hard setback—it wasn’t a problem that could be solved overnight. But now, things were different.