Dugong

Chapter 104 The Three Supervisors
The young heroes stared at the gleaming silver, but intimidated by Eunuch An's fearsome reputation and their own chivalrous pride, none of them stepped forward to take it.

Li Ping'an smiled slightly as he looked at everyone.

The way to tame is not only to use both kindness and severity, but also to break down the so-called "chivalrous" mentality.

From loyal officials to henchmen, from chivalrous knights to bureaucrats, only when they are assimilated into the court can they be considered completely tamed.

Xiao Yuanqiu was the first to stand up, took out several handfuls of silver ingots from the box, knelt on one knee and saluted: "Thank you for your reward, Commander!"

Li Ping'an asked with a smile, "How's the bandit suppression going?"

Xiao Yuanqiu replied, "With the help of the local government troops, we have wiped out the Yellow River bandits and recovered 50,000 taels of stolen silver. They have been escorted to the capital along with the suspects."

"very good."

Li Ping'an said, "At that time, I will personally ask His Majesty for credit. There happens to be a vacancy for the position of Commander of the Capital Guard, and I am very likely to be promoted."

Xiao Yuanqiu knelt down and touched his head to the ground: "Thank you for your guidance, sir."

Li Ping'an instructed, "After you are promoted, remember to thank Commander Du. Don't look down on the local soldiers. The officialdom is unpredictable, and you never know when you might need their help."

Xiao Yuanqiu said, "Don't worry, sir, my father has personally come to express his gratitude."

Previously, when his father Xiao Ying met the county magistrate, he had to send a letter and wait. Now, all those who come and go are high-ranking officials from the prefecture. The territory of the Heavenly Sword Sect has expanded again and again, and now includes several mountain peaks.

Xiao Yuanqiu knew the reason for the change and felt a little regretful that he was not a eunuch and could not ask Eunuch An to be his godfather.

Seeing this, the other young heroes stepped forward, each carrying silver, and knelt before Eunuch An to report on the bandit suppression efforts.

Unlike most mountain bandits and river bandits who are part of the Yellow River Gang, most of them are small groups of three to five people, making them easy to surround and annihilate.

Of course, Li Ping'an would exaggerate his achievements a little when reporting them.

Otherwise, how could a mere highway robber have seized ten thousand taels of silver?
Li Ping'an instructed, "The suppression of bandits and the recovery of stolen goods must be swift. The national treasury is currently empty, and His Majesty is turning a blind eye. In a few years, we may not have the chance to do so again."

The crowd bowed in agreement, their orderly ranks a stark contrast to the previous chaos.

The officialdom is indeed a great place to train people!
It's approaching evening.

The banquet had just ended this month, and everyone reluctantly bid farewell to Eunuch An. There were no urgent matters to attend to, and they would have the opportunity to visit him again next month when their pay was issued.

The longer they stayed in the capital, the more they understood the weight of the name "Eunuch An".

The accompanying eunuch, Xiao Yuzi, knelt on the ground. Li Ping'an stepped on his shoulders, flipped himself onto the horse, shook the reins, and galloped northward.

Officials had already cleared the way along the route, not daring to let troublemakers disrupt Eunuch An's journey.

Arrived outside Donghua Gate.

Li Ping'an dismounted at the dismounting monument a hundred feet away, as per the rules, handed the reins to Xiao Yuzi, and led his eunuchs into the palace.

"Stop whoever comes!"

The old eunuch on duty at the gate asked in a shrill voice, "Who dares to trespass?"

Li Ping'an frowned slightly. Without saying a word, Eunuch Fei flashed and slapped the old eunuch on duty to the ground.

"You blind fool, daring to block my godfather's way!"

The old eunuch covered his swollen face, his eyes filled with resentment: "I don't know your godfather, I only know the rules of the palace. Anyone entering or leaving must have a token or waist tag."

"When did our godfather ever need a waist token? You're even more nosy than the Directorate of Ceremonial Affairs?"

Eunuch Fei's eyebrows furrowed, and his palms turned bluish-purple. He was about to finish the old eunuch off with a slap.

Li Ping'an said, "If he wants the waist token, just give it to him. There's no need to argue with him; it would only make you lose your status."

The fact that a high-ranking official like himself, who was returning to the palace, was entangled with the gatekeeper eunuchs, made him a laughingstock regardless of whether he actually got in or not.

Eunuch Fei returned to his godfather's side, his face full of bitterness, and said, "Godfather, please forgive me. I was in such a hurry today that I didn't have time to go to the Directorate of Ceremonial to get my waist token."

Li Ping'an nodded slightly. This matter was not Fei Gonggong's fault. Firstly, it was not his duty, and secondly, after being promoted to Admiral, he had never used his waist token again when leaving the palace.

He took out a silver ingot from his sleeve, casually kneaded it into the shape of a waist tag, and threw it at the old eunuch.

"This is our official badge! Get out of the way and open the gate!" The old eunuch knew of Eunuch An's fearsome reputation and was terrified. He gritted his teeth and forced back his fear, saying, "Eunuch An, the Directorate of Ceremonial Affairs does not have such a badge."

Li Ping'an said coldly, "This is how we've been instructed. If you think it's false, then bring the Director of the Directorate of Ceremonial Affairs here for a face-to-face confrontation."

The old eunuch was slightly taken aback, unsure how to refute the argument.

According to the original plan, they would get into a fight with Eunuch An outside the palace gates, embarrassing him. If they actually fought, all the better; they could pretend to be seriously injured and cough up blood, and then pin the crime of "disrespecting imperial authority and forcibly entering the palace."

He deliberately produced a fake waist token, intending to confront the Directorate of Ceremonial.

At this moment.

The door slowly opened a crack, and a familiar, piercing laugh came out: "Hehehe... How come I don't remember issuing waist tokens to Eunuch An?"

Upon hearing this, the old eunuch immediately perked up and scrambled to Hai Gonggong's side.

"Greetings, Your Excellency. This servant is routinely checking your waist token. When Eunuch An tried to force his way in, he even tried to forge a palace waist token."

Li Ping'an looked Hai up and down. Perhaps because the previous two admirals were fat, their crimson official robes were too big, making them look a bit comical on Eunuch Hai.

"Congratulations to Eunuch Hai on his promotion."

"Happy together."

Hai Gonggong, beaming with pride, said, "I'm going to the Imperial Horse Stables to deliver an imperial decree that Eunuch An has been credited with investigating the rebellion and will be concurrently appointed as the Supervisor of the Palace Guard."

"To be appointed as the Commander-in-Chief of the Three Supervisory Offices—such a great favor is unheard of!"

Li Ping'an narrowed his eyes slightly. All the previous directors of the Directorate of Ceremonial Affairs had served as the emperor's chief advisors. Since his own background was insufficient, he decided to seek a second choice and set his sights on the Imperial Seal Bureau.

Eunuch Lai was demoted to guard the imperial mausoleum, and the position of Director of the Imperial Seal Bureau was vacant. His duty was to manage important tokens such as the emperor's seals, tallies, and imperial edicts.

Their authority was controlled by the Grand Eunuch of the Directorate of Ceremonial, but they had access to the imperial seal and edicts, bringing them closer to His Majesty and imperial power.

Li Ping'an was confident that after taking over the Imperial Seal Bureau, he could sideline his superiors and effectively seize the power of the Grand Eunuch.

"This servant thanks Your Majesty for your divine grace!"

Kneeling outside the Donghua Gate, Li Ping'an bowed three times and nine times in the direction of the Imperial Study. Regardless of his true feelings, he appeared to be extremely grateful.

Hai Gonggong watched with a smile as An Gonggong kowtowed. In the end, our family was still the better one, and was promoted to the position of Director of the Directorate of Ceremonial, only half a step away from the position of "Ancestor".

"Eunuch An, let's let it go for today. But from now on, remember to get your waist token when you enter or leave the palace. Don't try to fool me with a fake one."

Li Ping'an stood up, bowed, and said, "Thank you for your guidance, Eunuch Hai."

"Jie Jie Jie..."

After being promoted today, Eunuch Hai received countless kowtows from eunuchs and had become somewhat numb and bored, but when he saw Eunuch An bowing, he still couldn't help but laugh out loud.

Li Ping'an took out a few silver notes and slipped them into Eunuch Hai's hand.

"We'll need Grandpa Hai to take good care of our family from now on."

Just as Hai Gong was about to agree, he suddenly felt a surge of powerful true energy flowing from his palm into the meridians and acupoints throughout his body.

The overwhelming and terrifying force was so great that even the little bit of true energy in his dantian couldn't withstand it for a single breath before it was dispersed.

Li Ping'an bowed, appearing to outsiders as if he were bowing and scraping, and spoke in a voice that only the two of them could hear.

"Little Haizi, keep one eye open when you sleep tonight!"

Hai Gonggong's face turned pale, as if he was recalling how he was bullied in the past, beaten by his fellow eunuchs in the middle of the night, and forced to kneel until dawn before they were spared.

Li Ping'an waved his hand and led his adopted sons and eunuchs into the palace in a grand manner, glancing at the old eunuch blocking his way at the end.

"Little Yu, investigate that fellow's clan."

If they're so arrogant inside the palace, who knows how rampant they are outside? We must rid the people of this scourge..."

(End of this chapter)