Once I enter the pass, great Confucian scholars will surely debate the classics for me.

Upon hearing this, Zhou Qingfeng pondered for a moment and said, "Master, could it be that you intend to... use this opportunity to elevate me to a higher position?"

Qiu Chengde smiled and patted Zhou Qingfeng on the shoulder: "Conghui, taking advantage of this great opportunity, I can authorize you to temporarily lead the various departments of the Censorate. If you make this contribution, you will establish your prestige among the departments, and those arrogant soldiers, fierce generals, and talented people will respect you. You must seize this opportunity, make good use of it, and concentrate on doing this job well."

Zhou Qingfeng looked admiringly at him and clasped his hands in a salute: "Master is wise and powerful, with a far-reaching plan. My respect for you is like a surging river that never ends. This time, Si Lang will definitely go all out and will not let Master down."

Upon hearing this, Qiu Chengde stroked his beard and smiled, feeling quite satisfied. He had gained considerable emotional value from Zhou Qingfeng. Everyone has moments when they like to teach others, but having an outstanding disciple can be quite troublesome at times. It's rather difficult to show off in front of your disciple.

The carriage slowly came to a stop, and Qiu Chengde took out a token and threw it over.

Zhou Qingfeng asked, "Master, what is this?"

Qiu Chengde said, "The Plum Blossom Secret Agents only obey the orders of the Madam. If you want to mobilize the Plum Blossom Secret Agents, besides the Madam, you can only do so by holding the Plum Blossom Commander's Token. Seeing this token is like seeing the Madam. You can take this token to the seven places and mobilize the Plum Blossom Secret Agents."

Zhou Qingfeng was taken aback: "Master, is this something you can give to me?"

The Plum Blossom Spy Team is an absolutely mysterious entity, the true core of the Sword Tower's secret force. No one in the entire Censorate except Qiu Chengde can mobilize the Plum Blossom Spy Team. Not to mention mobilizing them, you can't even see a shadow of them, not even the Deputy Commander.

The Censorate has seven departments, but the Secret Intelligence Department only has office space and no staff.

The Plum Blossom Spy is like the love story that everyone talks about; many people have heard of it, but few have actually witnessed it.

Even the deputy commander has no right to investigate any intelligence information related to the Plum Blossom Spy.

Because the Plum Blossom Secret Agents are the city lord's tentacles of power, and if the city lord doesn't grant them access, anyone who touches them will die.

Qiu Chengde said, "Don't overthink it. It's not for you, just a loan for you to play with. After all, you have important things to do, and your teacher has to lend you some leverage."

Zhou Qingfeng licked his lips, intending to clasp his hands in thanks, but Qiu Chengde reached out and stopped him first.

"Alright, no need to say more. I've always trusted you with your work. Once you're done using it, return the command token to me."

"Yes, Master."

"No need to see me off, go back and get on with your business."

Qiu Chengde stepped down from the carriage and walked alone towards the city lord's mansion with his hands behind his back. Zhou Qingfeng also got off the carriage, stood beside it, held the Plum Blossom Commander's Order, clasped his hands in a salute, and watched his master enter the city lord's mansion before returning to the carriage and instructing the coachman to drive back to the Censorate.

Back at the Plum Blossom Division of the Fifth Bureau of the Censorate, Zhou Qingfeng sat in the main hall's tea room, sipping tea and pondering his plan. This was his usual way of doing things; unless the situation was so urgent that there was no time to prepare, he would always be well-prepared and act only after careful planning, so that he could win every battle.

To put it simply, when Zhou Qingfeng was making preparations...

Jiang Xuanling and Mao Anshi, the two heads of the Censorate, each summoned their subordinates in the main hall and instructed them one by one to cooperate fully and consider the overall situation. They warned that anyone who hindered them, caused trouble, or made things difficult at a critical moment would face their wrath.

The two of them were each in charge of two departments.

Mao Anshi was in charge of the First Inspection Division and the Second Advisory Division.

Jiang Xuanling was in charge of the Fourth Bureau of Grain Supply and the Third Bureau of Drum Inspection.

The Sixth Demon Suppression Division and the Seventh Secret Intelligence Division do not have deputy commanders in charge; instead, they are directly under the jurisdiction of Qiu Chengde. There was originally a Fifth Plum Blossom Division, but it has now been taken over by Zhou Qingfeng.

The power may seem no different from Zhou Qingfeng's, except that he has to manage one more department, but the difference is huge.

On the one hand, both of them are veterans, and the core positions in the departments they are in charge of were basically promoted by them. Mao and Jiang have been operating in the Censorate for many years, and their influence has reached every corner of the Censorate. Moreover, they both have powerful backers.

On the other hand, the Censorate is a group of vicious and cruel officials who will bite anyone they encounter. With the city lord's special permission, the officials of the Censorate can report on any matter they hear, impeach any official, and supervise any official. They are ruthless and fearful of anyone they meet. All civil and military officials have to go around them. After all, these guys are always submitting memorials to the city lord and criticizing anyone for their mistakes. Who the hell can stand them? They can scare someone to death.

Furthermore, the two advisory offices are dedicated to deliberating on state affairs, offering suggestions and criticisms on the city lord's decisions, advising the city lord to correct erroneous decisions, preventing the city lord from being misled by treacherous people, and expressing opinions on major matters of the Sword Tower. The advisors express their views through petitions and other forms, aiming to assist the city lord in making wiser decisions.

To put it bluntly, the officials in the second division were a bunch of stubborn guys. They stopped criticizing their colleagues and started criticizing the city lord. The key was that the city lord was driven to the edge by their criticism, but he couldn't kill them. Otherwise, if he killed them until no one told the truth, the city lord would be completely blinded and would only hear what he wanted to hear.

Finally, the four departments oversee the Ever-Normal Granary, which is the richest and most lucrative government office. There's no way around it; the real estate business alone is controlled by the four departments. Countless high-ranking officials, wealthy merchants, and celebrities have to grovel before the four departments, which shows how powerful they are.

The Three Bureaus of the Drum Inspection Office also wielded considerable power. As the core node for receiving reports from civil and military officials and the common people, the Three Bureaus possessed a wealth of first-hand information from various regions, which was crucial for decision-making. By screening, organizing, and reporting this information, the Three Bureaus could even directly influence the formulation and adjustment of policies, as they could determine which issues should attract the attention of higher authorities.

Zhou Qingfeng was only in charge of the Fifth Division, which was responsible for handling major cases. He had the power to arrest officials directly if he had evidence, which was quite a lot of power and could bring him a lot of benefits. However, he was somewhat powerless to fight against the two deputy commanders, Mao Jiang and Zhou Qingfeng.

Fortunately, with Qiu Chengde's help and assistance, there is currently no real core conflict of interest between Deputy Commanders Mao Anshi and Jiang Xuanling and Zhou Qingfeng. However, if Zhou Qingfeng wants to completely control the Censorate in the future, then a power struggle with these two giants is inevitable.

Even if Zhou Qingfeng and the others don't completely control the Censorate, they can't possibly be safe and sound. The pie is only so big, and those two old guys, Mao Anshi and Jiang Xuanling, have taken too much of it, taking up too much of their share.

Zhou Qingfeng was starving and wanted to seize more power, which would inevitably lead him to encroach on their sphere of influence.

Mao Anshi and Jiang Xuanling are not to be trifled with; if Zhou Qingfeng shows any sign of doing so, they will definitely take action against him.

Now, in order to defuse the minefield, under Qiu Chengde's manipulation, Mao Anshi and Jiang Xuanling have to support Zhou Qingfeng at least once.

"Listen carefully, no one is allowed to cause trouble for Zhou Qingfeng."

"Follow my orders and don't cause any trouble, or you'll face the consequences!"