Chapter 1000: Will You Come With Us?

Pan Yun watched them disappear into the distance; when she turned back, the Embroidered Uniform Guard assigned to follow Xue Shao had arrived.

The Embroidered Uniform Guard's primary area of operation remained Jingcheng, and their main targets were officials in the capital; they only left the capital on specific assignments.

Not every Censor had a Embroidered Uniform Guard trailing them.

At least, when Pan Hong served as Censor, he never had one—whether he was in Jingcheng or inspecting the northern borders, no Embroidered Uniform Guard accompanied him.

Xue Shao was the exception—not because of anything about him personally, but because of the special nature of the region he inspected.

Jiangnan.

A region that had been treated differently since the founding by Emperor Taizu.

Jiangnan was wealthy, and its people were cunning, so Emperor Taizu imposed heavy taxes to break its power and ease the burden on the state treasury.

It worked at first, but Jiangnan's scholar-gentry and merchants were extremely clever; within just a few years, only Jiangnan's farmers bore the brunt of the heavy taxes.

Worse, they even dared to pull Emperor Taizu's beard—while the founding emperor was still alive, they orchestrated a massive cheating scandal in the imperial examinations of Zhejiang, Jiangxi, and Fujian.

Even though that probe ended in failure, their efforts never ceased.

Land consolidation in Jiangnan and parts of Fujian had always been the most severe; no matter how upright an official arrived in this region, he left stained with ink—black and slick, oily all over.

Those who held firm usually couldn't last three months—either they died, or they resigned, or were imprisoned for various reasons.

Not to mention the Jiangnan Inspection Censor.

Before Xue Shao, this post had always been held by Wang Zhen's men.

Each year, a trip to Jiangnan would bring Wang Zhen back a vast haul of gold, silver, and jewels, and so both sides coexisted peacefully for another year.

Thus, when Wang Zhen initially pushed Xue Shao into the role of Jiangnan Inspection Censor, he was essentially sending him to his death.

But no one expected Xue Shao's extraordinary luck.

Not only did he evade repeated assassination attempts, but he also used his position as Inspection Censor to accomplish much—removing numerous corrupt officials, even uncovering corruption among the scholar-gentry.

Among them were the spies Wang Zhen had painstakingly planted, some of whom even served the former emperor.

That was why the former emperor assigned Embroidered Uniform Guard to watch Xue Shao—not to protect his safety, but to make him understand his limits: some people must not be touched;

and to gather intelligence on Jiangnan along the way.

Thus, when the new emperor ascended the throne and Xue Shao was once again appointed Jiangnan Inspection Censor—with his jurisdiction expanded to include Fujian and Guangdong—the new emperor sent additional Embroidered Uniform Guard.

This time, the Embroidered Uniform Guard served a different purpose.

The emperor knew Xue Shao had talent and would one day become a pillar of the state, so he sent Embroidered Uniform Guard to him—to protect him, and also to gather intelligence on Jiangnan.

As Jiangnan Inspection Censor, Xue Shao had long intended to reform Jiangnan: alleviate the crushing tax burden on farmers and restructure the regional bureaucracy, turning Jiangnan into Great Ming's true treasury.

After learning of this ambition, the emperor valued him even more.

Thus, the Embroidered Uniform Guard accompanying Xue Shao now had An Chen as their captain, with a full Embroidered Uniform Guard squad at his disposal.

An Chen had previously been ordered to escort the Prefect of Jiujiang to Jingcheng; he had only just arrived in Chaozhou this morning.

Because he was on the road and communication was difficult, he only learned upon arrival that the State Preceptor was with Xue Shao.

Before he could even breathe a sigh of relief, he heard Xue Shao was involved in military reforms.

Excellent—this time he wasn't targeting some Prefect, but a Thousand-Household Commander, even the Commandant-General's Office.

This involved military authority.

But An Chen felt no difficulty; instead, he grew excited. Military authority? Which Embroidered Uniform Guard hadn't dreamed of wielding it?

The vast majority of Embroidered Uniform Guard came from the military—men with battlefield merit or sons of noble families.

Whether capable or not, with their status, who hadn't dreamed of commanding troops?

So he hurried as fast as he could, arriving just before Xue Shao and Pan Yun set off for their next destination; he blocked their path, staring intently at them: "Are you two heading to Guangzhou?"

Xue Shao frowned; he had always gotten along well with the Embroidered Uniform Guard—he investigated his cases, occasionally asked them for help, and was always generous, sharing roughly half the credit from every case he solved, so the Embroidered Uniform Guard never interfered with his investigations.

Always, Xue Shao operated in the open, the Embroidered Uniform Guard in the shadows, and the team had always followed Xue Shao's lead.

This was the first time An Chen had intervened mid-investigation.

Xue Shao was displeased: "Yes. Is there a problem?"

"No problem, but I'd like to join you." An Chen's gaze swept over the ornament hanging from Pan Yun's waist.

There hung a tripod the size of a fist—he knew it was a treasure capable of traveling a thousand li in a single day.

Xue Shao said: "We've always operated separately. You can go on your own."

"I'm here to protect you, my lord."

Xue Shao pointed to Pan Yun: "With the State Preceptor here, I am perfectly safe."

o

After a moment's silence, An Chen said: "My lord, you're heading to Guangzhou to target the Guangdong Commandant-General, aren't you?"

Xue Shao's gaze lightly settled on him.

An Chen said: "My lord, warriors differ from scholars. Push a warrior too far, and he'll do anything. The saying goes: scholars rebel and fail in three years; but if a general rebels, it takes only a thought. We all come from the military—we understand armies and soldiers better than you or the State Preceptor. If Guangzhou erupts, we can step in."

The other Embroidered Uniform Guard immediately stepped forward two paces, watching the two with hopeful eyes.

Xue Shao fell silent in thought; Pan Yun had already softened.

She was hard with strangers, but soft with those she knew.

She knew these Embroidered Uniform Guard well; their puppy-dog eyes were impossible to resist.

And besides—they were Embroidered Uniform Guard.

The first requirement of Great Ming's Embroidered Uniform Guard was good looks: both appearance and physique had to be presentable.

Of the five Embroidered Uniform Guard present, only An Chen looked rough—though that was due to age and a scar across his face; before the scar, he had been quite presentable.

Pan Yun cleared her throat, her gaze shifting: "So many people… it's a bit crowded."

The Embroidered Uniform Guard exchanged glances, ready to fight—until their leader spoke calmly: "We don't mind crowding, and we won't bump into the State Preceptor or my lord."

The Embroidered Uniform Guard instantly turned from foes to allies, once again brothers-in-arms, all gazing at Pan Yun with shining eyes.

Pan Yun hesitated.

Anchen said, "Only heaven and earth know of this matter. We absolutely won't spread it word. The Dao Registry and the Celestial Master Mansion will never learn that the National Preceptor carried mortals into the sky."

"It's a deal!" Pan Yun agreed in one breath.

Half a quarter-hour later, the Three Treasures Cauldron was packed full of people. Three Embroidered Uniform Guard and Xi Jin squatted at the bottom of the pot, eyes wide, staring at one another, while Anchen and another Embroidered Uniform Guard stood together, eyes wide open, looking down at the gradually receding earth and the cities that grew ever smaller.

Pan Yun glanced at them, admiring their courage—how they dared to look straight down without fearing dizziness.

The three squatting Embroidered Uniform Guard kept tugging at the trouser legs of the two standing ones. It was about time, wasn't it their turn to stand up and look?

The two standing ones, one hand pressing the rim of the pot, the other tightly clutching their trousers, stood stock-still, admiring the magnificent rivers and mountains of Great Ming from top to bottom.