"Don't throw the bowl over here! There's soup in it. I'm wearing an embroidered spring blade right now, and if it gets dirty, it's an act of deceiving the Emperor."
Li Miao said.
In Li Miao's previous life, many people had the impression that Jinyiwei (Imperial Guards) should wear embroidered spring blade and carry embroidered spring blades.
This was not actually the case.
Under the productivity conditions of the feudal era, it was impossible to issue embroidered uniforms to groups other than officials.
In reality, the Jinyiwei (Imperial Guards)'s uniform was just an ordinary official uniform, and their combat attire for missions would change according to the Ministry of War's regulations at the time.
The embroidered spring blade was actually one of the rewards specially bestowed by the Emperor upon meritorious subjects and subordinate officials. Whether one could wear it depended on whether the Emperor granted it.
There are records of Jinyiwei (Imperial Guards) officials being granted four types of ceremonial robes: python robes, embroidered spring blades, bull-fighting robes, and qilin robes. The embroidered spring blade that Li Miao was wearing was personally bestowed by the current Emperor. Let alone getting it dirty, even washing it would be a sin.
Such imperial-bestowed clothing was rarely worn on a daily basis.
Wang Hai putting this set directly on Li Miao was because he had anticipated that Zhu Zai would try this with Li Miao, so he took precautions beforehand.
Sure enough, Zhu Zai, choked by Li Miao's words, put down the bowl he had raised.
However, he still glared fiercely at Li Miao, breathing heavily.
After a long while, Zhu Zai finally cursed angrily, "Look at you! You're useless!"
Li Miao replied without lifting his head or opening his eyes, "Lord, I've been serving under you for twenty years. I've long known I'm useless, so why do you keep trying to help me?"
"You keep forcing it, and it makes me uncomfortable, and then you get angry. Why don't you just let me go like a fart, what do you say?"
"Son of a—"
Zhu Zai, in his fifties and from the imperial relatives, was an old man with a big temper but still quite a dignified demeanor. At this moment, however, he was so infuriated by Li Miao's stubborn and unyielding attitude that he cursed.
The hand holding the bowl, which had just been put down, lifted again, about to throw the bowl at Li Miao's face.
"Hey, hey—" Li Miao puffed out his chest, revealing the embroidered spring blade on his chest, and pointed at it with his hand. The meaning was to remind Zhu Zai that it was an imperial-bestowed garment.
Smack!
Zhu Zai furiously smashed the bowl on the ground and pointed at Li Miao's nose, scolding him loudly.
"Why can't you just get your act together and do something! How long have you been a Baihu? Fifteen years, right!"
"You were a Baihu under me in the jiajing (era) seventh year! In the jiajing (era) twenty-third year, you're still a Baihu! Are you going to be a Baihu your whole life!?"
"How many times, how many opportunities have I given you? I haven't even spent this much effort on my son's career! Can't you just move your lazy bones and come up to share some of the burden with me!?"
Zhu Zai looked at Li Miao, who was leaning back in his chair with an indifferent expression, an expression of exasperation.
"Why didn't you come back to report last night!?"
Li Miao replied, "I was tired. Wang Hai already brought a few petty thieves back, so I went back to sleep."
"Who cares about those scoundrels!? I'm asking you why you let Yan Xiaosheng go!?" Zhu Zai said. The few martial artists brought back from Yan Xiaosheng's place last night, some of whom had made a name for themselves in the martial world, became "scoundrels" in his mouth.
"This matter with Yan Xiaosheng is very lucrative, everyone wants to snatch it up. Why did I insist on you going? You can't not understand, can you?"
"I understand, I understand," Li Miao said.
"Isn't it because Tongzhi Qian is about to retire, and Yan Xiaosheng has the Ministry of War behind him? You want me to bring him back and hand him over to the Ministry of War to gain their favor. So they'll lend a hand and let me take Tongzhi Qian's position, right?"
When the Great Shuo's founding Emperor established the Jinyiwei (Imperial Guards), he intended to leave an intelligence organization independent of the imperial court for future Emperors, with personnel promotions and emolument decided solely by the Emperor. Only this way could the loyalty and reliability of this intelligence organization be ensured.
But rules are dead, people are alive. After several Emperors and imperial court struggles, the current Jinyiwei (Imperial Guards) is no longer purely the Emperor's private army. The two Tongzhi under the Commander are now recommended by the Ministry of War. This is equivalent to the imperial court planting nails within the Jinyiwei (Imperial Guards).
Zhu Zai's intention was to have Li Miao use the pretext of purging the capital to arrest Yan Xiaosheng, the Ministry of War's frontman, and make an exchange with the Ministry of War, so that Li Miao could be justifiably promoted to the Tongzhi position.
The hierarchy of the Jinyiwei (Imperial Guards) from top to bottom is: Commander, Commander Tongzhi, Commander Qian Shi, Lord Commissioner, Baihu, and Baihu. Li Miao's Baihu rank is a fifth-grade official, while Commander Tongzhi is a third-grade official. This is a significant leap and a very rare cross-level promotion, which only occurs in special yamen like the Jinyiwei (Imperial Guards).
Such an opportunity, if put outside, would likely cause people to fight tooth and nail for it.
But Li Miao just beat the man half to death, then let him go, telling Yan Xiaosheng to deal with it himself. He even chatted a bunch of nonsense with Yan Xiaosheng.
A handle must be in hand to have a basis for negotiation. By letting Yan Xiaosheng go, it would only turn this matter into an unspoken exchange of interests.
Presumably, the Ministry of War would send a large sum of silver in a few days, but Zhu Zai's plan to have the Ministry of War propose Li Miao's promotion to Tongzhi would be out of the question.
How could this not make Zhu Zai, who had painstakingly found such an opportunity, angry and furious?
He said, exasperated, "You're not a brute whose mind is only on martial arts; you understand this matter very well! Why do you always have to go against me!"
"How many years has it been, how many times! Every time I want to promote you, you have to cause trouble. You don't show up for roll call, you don't go on guard duty. When others claim credit, you sleep; when others get promoted, you cheer them on!"
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"Others work from sunrise to sunset, but you, like a young master, only work four hours a day. Fine, you're capable, your martial arts are high, I tolerate you. But what does getting promoted have to do with you!? Do you love being that fifth-grade Baihu that much!?"
Zhu Zai's face turned red with anger, pacing back and forth in the room, cursing with every step, until his beard was disheveled, his clothes wrinkled, and he had lost all the demeanor of a high-ranking official, looking exactly like an old man scolding his good-for-nothing son.
Seeing Zhu Zai's genuine anger, Li Miao finally took his hand away from his face, sat up straight, and pulled out a yellowed piece of paper from his Arms.
As soon as Zhu Zai saw the paper, his imposing manner weakened, and he impatiently waved his hand: "Stop bringing up that useless thing!"
Li Miao ignored him and unfolded the paper, which he had taken from under the paperweight on Zhu Zai's desk, on the table.
The paper vaguely had words like "Li Miao" and "four hours a day" written on it, while other parts were stained black by dried blood. Only a handprint could be clearly seen at the bottom, resembling someone's signature.
"This was something your subordinate risked his life for back then. The handprint you pressed on this was even pressed with my blood," Li Miao said.
This was when Li Miao was twenty years old, still a Baihu.
At that time, he did a life-threatening task for Zhu Zai and almost didn't make it. Zhu Zai rescued him then, and holding the blood-soaked Li Miao, asked him what he wanted.
As a result, Li Miao pulled out a piece of paper from his pocket, a "labor contract" copied from his previous life, and tricked Zhu Zai into pressing his handprint on it.
Zhu Zai at the time only thought it was a joke by Li Miao, who knew that from then on, he really only worked four hours a day. Every time Zhu Zai scolded him for being lazy, he would use this paper to shut Zhu Zai up.
And every time Zhu Zai saw this paper, recalling the bruised and battered Li Miao lying in his arms back then, he would no longer make things difficult for him.
However, this time was different.
Zhu Zai was silent for a moment, then finally spoke, "Li Miao, this is not a joke this time."
"In recent years, His Majesty has shown signs of old age. He is already building his mausoleum and has plans to pass away and abdicate the throne to the Crown Prince."
"I, this Commander, won't be in this position for long."