Become a king right from the start, beginning with receiving rewards from all the heavens.

Some of the lower-ranking guards, as well as some of the junior officers and captains in the headquarters, were now wearing fanatical expressions.

This part has no background; they were originally disappointed with their future official careers.

I plan to just go through the motions and at least get a decent salary and benefits.

But to everyone's surprise, His Majesty actually began to crack down on the Embroidered Uniform Guard.

These people believed that with the arrival of Lord Mao Xiang, the Embroidered Uniform Guard would surely be revitalized.

Those who lack ability but have connections will definitely be eliminated from the Embroidered Uniform Guard.

Those who are truly capable will have their day of reckoning.

...

Everything here is under the spotlight.

Among the previous imperial appointments, the ones that attracted the most attention were not Li Jing and Fang Xuanling.

It is neither the Underworld Emperor nor the Martial Emperor of the Jade Capital.

Because these people are too far away from them; they are all truly important figures in the imperial court.

But the Embroidered Uniform Guard is different; it is the largest organization in the Great Xia Dynasty in terms of manpower.

In every city of the Great Xia Dynasty, there was an office of the Embroidered Uniform Guard.

Moreover, people know what the Embroidered Uniform Guard is like now, which is why the outside world is paying so much attention to Mao Xiang's actions.

Inside the palace, Feng Bao reported in a low voice.

"Your Majesty, Lord Mao's methods are truly extraordinary."

"First, he killed a deputy commander, then appointed all his subordinates as mid- to high-ranking members of the Embroidered Uniform Guard."

"This is a completely separate team built from the top down!"

Feng Bao was certainly familiar with this "senior".

He was the founder of the Ming Dynasty's Embroidered Uniform Guard.

Xia Zhaoyan closed the memorial in his hand, a satisfied smile on his face.

"Not bad."

"The Embroidered Uniform Guard is rotten to the core; the best solution is to tear it down and rebuild it!"

"But that's such a waste of resources, manpower, and energy."

"Mao Xiang's approach is excellent!"

The Imperial Guards now number 80 million, which is frankly too many.

The Imperial Guards in the Great Xia Dynasty did not need so many people for their duties.

In Xia Zhaoyan's view, a city only needs about three hundred Imperial Guards.

Now, things have gotten really bad; a small city actually has several thousand people.

Moreover, most of them are people without any cultivation; how could such people join the Embroidered Uniform Guard?

He also knew that these people were all connected to the Embroidered Uniform Guard.

Xia Zhaoyan isn't a serial killer; he can't possibly kill all of these people.

Therefore, it would be too wasteful to tear it down and rebuild the Embroidered Uniform Guard.

"In my estimation, even if the Embroidered Uniform Guard is not as good as the Heavenly Punishment Division, it won't be much worse."

"Now, let's see how Mao Xiang implements the reforms!"

...

All the officials in the court were paying close attention to the situation of the Embroidered Uniform Guard.

Upon learning that a commander had been killed, and that Mao Xiang had brought five Shattered Realm cultivators, twenty Celestial Realm cultivators, and over seventy Dharma Aspect Realm cultivators, everyone's expression changed drastically.

Is another Heavenly Punishment Division about to rise?

...

"It seems His Majesty is determined to reform the Embroidered Uniform Guard. This initial setup is even more grand than when he took over the Heavenly Punishment Division!"

...

Inside a mansion, a dignified-looking middle-aged man was frowning with worry.

To his left and right were his sons.

"Alas... our men were unlucky; Mao Xiang killed them in front of everyone at the Embroidered Uniform Guard headquarters!"

"Without the Deputy Commander, life will probably be tough for those of us we've crammed into the Embroidered Uniform Guard!"

This person was one of the officials in the imperial court, and had his own small clique within the civil service system.

"Father, what should we do now?"

"We've invested so much, we can't just give up like this!"

To ensure their people could gain a foothold in the Embroidered Uniform Guard, they invested a great deal of resources and connections in the early stages.

Now it's been completely severed from the root by someone else.

"What more do you want if I don't give up!"

...

"How about we find a way to get in touch with Mao Xiang?"

Instantly, the eyes of the other sons lit up.

However, they were met with angry curses from middle-aged men.

"Are you all getting cocky or just plain stupid?"

"He even got involved with them; anyone with eyes can see that this guy is in charge of cracking down on the Embroidered Uniform Guard."

"Does someone at the Dragon Transformation Realm need your little bit of benefit?"

After scolding his sons, the middle-aged man was thinking to himself.

If I'm not mistaken, then the Commander-in-Chief is definitely a killing machine.

Who would want to become a Commander-in-Chief in the Embroidered Uniform Guard?

Thinking of this, he couldn't help but smile bitterly!

If you still can't understand His Majesty's meaning, then you might as well resign and go home to sell sweet potatoes.

...

At this moment, in the main hall of the Embroidered Uniform Guard headquarters.

Although there were over a hundred people here, there was no lively atmosphere at all.

Mao Xiang's seat at this moment was directly level with Han Tianye's.

The only difference was that Han Tianye was on the left, while he was on the right.

This scene made the former high-ranking officials' eyelids twitch.

Two suns on the same day—that's not a good omen.

Someone has to go down, but who it will be is so damn hard to guess!

At this moment, Han Tianye gripped the armrests of the seat tightly with both hands.

He had expected the other party to be arrogant, but he hadn't expected them to be this arrogant.

This is completely undisguised!

Mao Xiang ignored Han Tianye. If it weren't for the late emperor, this man would have been captured by His Majesty long ago!

"Ladies and gentlemen, I have a few things to announce next."

"First, from this moment forward, the Embroidered Uniform Guard shall expel all mortals!"

Han Tianye and the others suddenly looked up, staring at Mao Xiang in disbelief.

This first strike was aimed directly at those with connections!

Which family or clan doesn't have any mortals among its members?

Most of the so-called cultivation families are just ordinary people without any cultivation.

"Secondly, all positions will be re-evaluated, with performance based primarily on ability and character!"

This knife is even more ruthless!

The reason why the lower ranks of the Embroidered Uniform Guard were so corrupt was because capable people saw no hope of promotion.

Because all the good positions have been taken by people with connections.

No matter how well you do, if you see no hope of promotion, how can you not become decadent and stagnant?

Coincidentally, most of the lower- and middle-level positions, such as squad leader, deputy centurion, centurion, and even deputy chiliarch, were occupied by people with connections.

Their individual abilities are average, but their positions are important.

Take Han Tianye as an example. In his family alone, there are hundreds of clansmen who belong to the Zongqi (a branch of the imperial clan).

There are quite a few households with hundreds or thousands of members. Are these people capable?

Perhaps they are, but in terms of merit and ability, they certainly cannot compare to some of the people under them.

But what could be done? After all, the leader of the Embroidered Uniform Guard was Han Tianye.

"third..."

Han Tianye and the others were internally screaming, "Is this ever going to end? What are they trying to do?!"

"Third, reduce the number of Jinyiwei personnel. Look at the major institutions of the court, which one has such a bloated Jinyiwei?"

"Even though the Heavenly Punishment Division is so powerful, the entire organization doesn't have as many people as the Embroidered Uniform Guard."

"The most reasonable number is three hundred people per city!"

"The Embroidered Uniform Guard isn't an army; what's the point of having so many people? We need quality, not quantity!"

This strike was in no way weaker than the previous two.

The three strikes combined are all aimed at the old system!

From the root, dismantle the power of people like Han Tianye!