Yicheng took a deep breath. “Fine, you win this round. We’ll see how this plays out!”
With that, he stormed off with Wu Tong and the others.
Lin Yun turned to Huo Zhen. “Huo Zhen, head to the Commandery Office now and take over his duties. Also, spread my order: tomorrow evening, all generals—except those stationed at outposts—must come to the prefect’s palace. I’ll host a banquet to get acquainted with everyone.”
Lin Yun knew his top priority was identifying any demon clan spies among Dongyuan Prefecture’s generals. Summoning them all would give him a chance to investigate.
“Got it, Big Brother!” Huo Zhen replied before hurrying off.
Liang Yuan also took Lin Yun’s instructions to begin recruiting talent and forming a guard unit.
…
Lin Yun stayed in the prefect’s palace, asking Steward Sun to bring personnel records and historical documents about Dongyuan Prefecture.
He needed to familiarize himself with the prefecture’s basics and keep them firmly in mind.
Soon, Steward Sun returned with a group of servants, carrying stacks of records and documents into the study.
“Sir, all the important records and documents are here,” Steward Sun said.
“Good. Thank you all. You may leave now,” Lin Yun said to Sun and the servants.
“This old servant takes his leave.”
Steward Sun led the servants out, closing the study door behind them.
“Our new prefect is so young! To become prefect of Dongyuan Prefecture at such an age—it’s unbelievable,” one servant remarked.
“And he’s so kind and polite to us servants. He seems like a good master,” another added.
The servants murmured their impressions.
Creak.
The study door suddenly swung open.
Steward Sun and the servants turned quickly, startled to see Lin Yun stepping out.
“Sir!” The servants saluted nervously.
“Sir, these servants dared to gossip about you. It’s my failure to discipline them. Please forgive us,” Steward Sun said, bowing in a panic.
He assumed Lin Yun had overheard their chatter and come out to reprimand them. After all, servants gossiping about their master broke household rules.
Lin Yun smiled and shook his head. “Steward Sun, no need to overreact. I came out only to ask you to join me inside. I have some matters to discuss.”
Relief washed over Steward Sun and the servants.
“Yes, yes, yes!” Sun nodded repeatedly.
“Oh, and here’s 500,000 Spirit Crystals. Distribute them among all the palace servants later as a small welcome gift from me,” Lin Yun said, handing Sun a storage ring.
With so many servants in the palace, 500,000 Spirit Crystals might seem substantial, but divided among them, it wasn’t an enormous sum per person. Still, for these servants, it was a fortune.
“Thank you, Sir!” Steward Sun accepted the ring with both hands.
The surrounding servants couldn’t hide their joy—what a generous prefect!
“Come, follow me inside,” Lin Yun said, heading back into the study. Steward Sun hurried after him.
Inside the study…
“Steward Sun, I just found the records of all Dongyuan Prefecture’s generals. Make me a list: who’s in the Dongguo Party and who isn’t,” Lin Yun instructed.
“This… Sir, I wouldn’t dare!” Steward Sun looked alarmed.
“It’s fine. Just do as I say. You’ve nothing to worry about,” Lin Yun reassured him.
“This old servant obeys,” Sun reluctantly agreed.
He then began compiling the list for Lin Yun.
Soon, a clear table emerged, distinguishing which generals were Dongguo Party members and which weren’t.
“So many key positions are held by the Dongguo Party?” Lin Yun frowned.
“Sir, the Dongguo Party is powerful. Generals who refuse to join them get sidelined and relegated to minor roles,” Steward Sun explained.
Lin Yun nodded.
The list showed that while most generals had joined the Dongguo Party, about thirty percent hadn’t.
Clearly, some still refused to collude with the Dongguo Party, though it came at the cost of being marginalized with bleak prospects.
“Alright, you can go now,” Lin Yun waved him off.
“This old servant takes his leave.” Steward Sun saluted and exited.
After Sun left, Lin Yun moved the towering stacks of books and records into his Mind-Clearing Tower space, planning to review them there.
He then entered the tower himself and began reading.
Though the documents were numerous, Lin Yun’s reading speed was remarkable—a single volume took mere moments.
Through these records, he quickly gained a basic understanding of Dongyuan Prefecture’s military strength.
The prefecture was governed by three offices, collectively called the Three Departments: the Administrative Office, the Judicial Office, and the Commandery Office.
The Administrative Office handled finances, land, registries, provisions, general oversight, and coordination with subordinate counties.
The Judicial Office, as its name suggested, dealt with investigations and legal matters.
The Commandery Office managed all military affairs.
In this martial world, strength was paramount, making the Commandery Office the most influential of the three.
Within it, the Commander-in-Chief—previously Wu Tong, now replaced by Huo Zhen—held the highest authority.
Above all three offices stood the prefect, the undisputed ruler of the prefecture.
Dongyuan Prefecture maintained a standing city guard of three million, managed by the Commandery Office.
For a population of ten billion, three million guards wasn’t a large number.
Their primary role was maintaining security and order throughout the prefecture.
As a border region next to the Demon Beast Mountain Range, Dongyuan Prefecture also hosted an imperial army stationed at the range’s base—a feature unique to border prefectures.
When Lin Yun had emerged from the mountains, he’d encountered this imperial force. Though not part of the prefecture’s own troops, they fell under the prefect’s temporary command while stationed there. However, they didn’t always obey the prefect in frontline matters.
In short, the city guard was typically firmly under the prefect’s control, while the imperial army wasn’t fully beholden to him. They focused solely on guarding the mountains against demon clan incursions and stayed out of internal prefecture affairs.
Normally, the city guard was the prefect’s iron grip.
But in Lin Yun’s current situation, even that wasn’t guaranteed—thanks to the Dongguo Party’s interference…
