Crown Prince of the Empire, I quit!

At the same time, the storm of the empire's new policies was sweeping through the officialdom with unprecedented intensity.

The Audit Department is like a sword hanging over the lifeline of the empire's finances. Under the absolute authority granted by Qin Ming and the powerful deterrence of Tingfengwei, it is chilling from the moment it shows its edge.

The first case to break out was the granary deficit case in the three Jiangnan prefectures! Using their exceptional mathematical prowess and meticulous investigations, officials from the Audit Department uncovered a long-standing conspiracy between prefectural officials and grain merchants, using tactics like "trading old for new" and "falsely reporting losses" to steal and sell a staggering one million dan of government grain! The case was serious, implicating nearly a hundred individuals, from prefectural judges and granary envoys to household clerks! Upon reporting the case to the court, the imperial decree contained a single word: "Behead!" Immediately, the long-awaited Black Armored Imperial Guards stormed the prefectural government gates, apprehended the ringleader, seized the account books, and sealed the warehouses with lightning speed! Jiangnan's officialdom was shaken, and the once-entwined web of interests collapsed in an instant.

Almost simultaneously, the Hedong military equipment counterfeiting case surfaced. While verifying the garrison inventory, the Audit Department discovered that over 70% of the bows, crossbows, and armor issued to the border troops were shoddy and unusable. An investigation uncovered a chain of corruption stretching from the head of the Ministry of Works' Dushuiqingli Division to the garrison commander. Ministry of Works officials took massive kickbacks, while military officers falsely reported losses and colluded with blacksmiths to pass off inferior equipment as superior. Border troops fought bloody battles, their equipment becoming a fatal weapon. This case sparked widespread public outrage and widespread military outrage. Dozens of heads, from officials in the Ministry of Works down to corrupt garrison commanders, were buried in the red earth at Caishikou and displayed for a month.

The case of embezzlement and loss of grain during the Grand Canal transport followed closely behind. While grain loss along the way was common, the Audit Department meticulously calculated the loss ratio and transportation costs over the years, combined with close interviews with boatmen and inspections of lost grain, uncovered corrupt officials in numerous prefectures and counties who had falsely reported losses and embezzled grain. Several prominent officials and magistrates of the Grand Canal Transport Governor's Office were executed, and countless local officials were implicated.

The three cases, like three consecutive thunderclaps, shattered the imperial bureaucracy to its core! For a time, the court and the people were hushed, and everyone felt insecure. The newly established Audit Department, a government office headed by humble officials with direct access to the emperor, instantly became a death warrant hanging over the heads of all officials! Its sharp edge and ruthless methods terrified everyone.

The iron-fisted rotation of officials also advanced simultaneously. Qin Ming's list of the first few hundred officials for rotation was like a cold decree, brooking no room for negotiation. Those who failed to take up their posts within the deadline would be dismissed and investigated! Those who resisted and delayed would be imprisoned! Even the sons of powerful officials and relatives from wealthy families dared not defy the emperor's will. A massive power shakeup swept across the court and the land, severing the foundations of countless long-held interests. Despite turbulent undercurrents and simmering resentment, the emperor's iron fist and the sharp edge of the Audit Department unstoppable force overcame the initial chaos and wailing.

The new performance evaluation system was quietly rolled out. The Censorate dispatched a large number of carefully screened "secret censors" to patrol incognito, walking the streets, exploring the fields, and visiting workshops. They no longer simply focused on cold tax figures and backlogged case files; they also paid attention to whether farmers were doing well in their fields, whether merchants were being harassed, what was being said in the streets, and whether officials were diligent and pragmatic. A more sophisticated performance evaluation system, more reflective of the people's sentiments, was quietly being woven. Several county magistrates outside the capital, whose reputations were extremely poor due to their harsh treatment of farmers, were dismissed from their posts on the spot due to their poor "public opinion" scores before the new policy was fully implemented. This sent a chill through the local area.

However, just as the new policy began to show results and the attention of the government and the public was focused on the domestic storm, the coldest blade in the North had quietly been unsheathed!

In Beiting Protectorate, the blizzard has just stopped.

On the training grounds, the newly appointed Protector General Meng Zhi braved the wind and snow, personally supervising the training of the newly reorganized frontier troops. Suddenly, the sound of rapid horse hooves tore through the cold wind!

"Report!" A scout, covered in blood, practically fell off his horse, his voice hoarse at the top of his lungs, "General! Urgent military information! The Hunxie tribe... has rebelled! The Xiutu, Baiyang, and six other tribes have responded! They've assembled over 80,000 cavalrymen! They're storming Yuquan Pass! The defending commander... the defending commander, General Wei... has been killed in action! The pass... has been lost!"

"What?!" Meng Zhi's eyes widened instantly, and he grabbed the scout's collar. "Eighty thousand? Nonsense! Where on earth could the Hunxie Tribe get eighty thousand archers?!"

The scout coughed up blood foam and spoke intermittently, "General... the enemy... the enemy's banners are disorganized... but among them... there are thousands of cavalrymen, well-armored... I... I think I've seen them in my Daqian arsenal... Their... their powerful bows have a longer range than ours... and their arrows have far greater penetrating power..."

Excellent armor? Powerful bows and crossbows?!

A chill instantly shot up from Meng Zhi's feet to his head! The Audit Department had just uncovered a massive case of military equipment embezzlement in Hedong... those sophisticated weapons that were supposed to be equipped for the border troops... could it be?!

"The enemy's vanguard... has... broken through Yuquan Pass... is... rushing towards Ningyuan Town... and their spearhead... is heading straight for the heart of our Beiting!" The scout said this with his last bit of strength and then fainted.

"Hun-xie-old-dog--!!!" Meng Zhi's roar, like a wounded beast, exploded in the wind and snow! He finally understood the meaning of the Hunxie tribe's generous tribute and large delegation! It was paralysis! It was spying! It was a signal for internal and external cooperation!

"Beat the drums! Gather the troops! Prepare for battle!" Meng Zhi's eyes were bloodshot as he drew his sword and cut through the hitching post. "Eight hundred miles! No! One thousand six hundred miles! Report to His Majesty! There's a change in the northern border! Ningyuan is in danger! Requesting the Xuanjia Army on the western front to come back for assistance immediately!"

The deafening drumbeats of the rallying cry shattered the deathly silence of the northern border. Even more alarming, however, was the scout's description of the enemy's sophisticated equipment—the very weaponry that should have been essential for defending the Daqian border! The Audit Department's drastic measures had yet to fully manifest, but the temporary chaos and gaps in border defenses it had created were seen by scheming jackals as the perfect opportunity to gnaw at the empire's throat!

……

Inside the west warm room.

Qin Ming had just finished approving a memorial regarding the establishment of additional post stations in the northwest and the strengthening of Yumen's defenses. As he was about to pick up the final list of candidates for the post of Governor of the Grand Canal, a dusty messenger, his armor frozen by ice and snow, his lips chapped and purple, was practically dragged into the warm room by four sturdy imperial guards.

"Your Majesty..." The messenger's throat was like a worn-out bellows as he struggled to utter a single word: "...Urgent...Urgent news...Beiting..."

Qin Ming's heart sank suddenly and he stood up suddenly!

An imperial guard quickly took out a sealed copper cylinder from the messenger's arms, opened the frozen oil paper and silk cloth layer by layer, took out the blood-stained silk book, held it high above his head and presented it.