Chapter 93
Chapter 93
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Translator: uly
Chapter: 93
Chapter Title: Part 18: Emergency Order
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When the Elder Council Leader headed to the Elder Council,
at dawn.
Luoyang Sword Clan.
Supreme Operations Conference, Administrative Pavilion.
The Administrative Pavilion, which had entered emergency duty mode since last night, was filled with a quiet tension.
In the Administrative Pavilion Lord's office staff room, the personnel were drinking tea, conversing in low voices with those beside them, or pacing around the room.
What they all had in common was that they kept glancing toward the door of the Administrative Pavilion Lord's office.
Soon, the door opened, and those responsible for each department of the Administrative Pavilion began pouring out after finishing their meeting in the office.
As the department heads hurried back to their sections without looking behind, the Administrative Pavilion Lord finally appeared.
"Be advised that, as of this moment, an Emergency Order has been issued in accordance with the resolution of the Supreme Operations Conference."
The clerical staff moved in unison according to protocol.
Drawers opened, revealing armbands boldly stamped with the word "Emergency."
The clerks donned the armbands and followed behind the Administrative Pavilion Lord to activate and operate the situation room.
* * *
One of the Administrative Pavilion's department heads descended several floors and opened a door, revealing a vast space.
There, over fifty scribes sat at their desks, brushes and ink at the ready.
"It's an Emergency Order from the Supreme Operations Conference!"
They began transcribing the various command documents, cooperation notices, and dispatches handed to them without hesitation.
Clerks continuously delivered fresh stacks of paper, collected the completed transcriptions, and passed them to the inspectors.
After inspection, the papers underwent final review by the department head, received an official seal, and became formal documents.
The clerks sealed the official notices, placed them in silk pouches marked with destinations, and tied them securely once more.
The silk pouches were immediately sent to the first floor, where over two hundred couriers, urgently dispatched by the Communications Bureau, awaited.
The couriers placed the pouches into leather tubes strapped firmly to their backs.
They tucked their receipts into their bosoms and raced like the wind along the main roads toward every corner of the Luoyang Sword Clan.
Red flags reading "Emergency" fluttered wildly from their backs.
* * *
Luoyang Sword Clan, Steward's Department.
The wide inner courtyard of the Steward's Department was already filling with people even before official business hours began.
"Emergency! Clear the way!"
The Communications Bureau courier, bearing a red flag on his back, crossed the courtyard straight through without any hindrance.
Guided by a startled servant, the courier was promptly led to the Steward's Department Head's office.
The Department Head, who had pulled an all-nighter in his office, welcomed the courier with a faint smile.
After stamping the receipt, the Department Head tore open the seal with trembling hands.
Reading the official notice stamped clearly with the Supreme Operations Conference Administrative Pavilion's seal, he burst into loud, mad laughter.
"Is anyone there?!"
At his shout, a maid rushed in from outside.
"Summon the on-duty staff immediately! And send a call to the Type-A Special Unit Training Officer at once!"
"Yes, Department Head!"
Knowing his temperament, the maid replied and dashed out.
"Finally...!"
His face alight with ecstasy, he picked up his brush.
* * *
Luoyang Sword Clan, Business Group affiliate,
Sword Clan Construction Division.
Luoyang Sword Clan Headquarters.
The on-duty officer's office door flew open, just as he was leisurely wrapping up the night shift without incident.
"W-What?!"
There stood a panting courier and the clerk who had escorted him.
Seeing the red flag, he didn't even wipe up his spilled tea. He signed off, then hastily broke the seal.
"Huh? Wh-What?!"
Frantically rifling through the night-duty manual on his desk, he shouted.
"Request Communications Bureau assistance and summon all senior executives working at headquarters!"
One of the gathering crowd, wondering what was happening, asked in bewilderment.
"E-Everyone...?"
"Yes! Everyone! It's an emergency muster!"
He found the section on emergency contact protocols.
"Summon all headquarters couriers to my office! And you lot, start transcribing this notice! It has to go to the executives!"
* * *
Luoyang Sword Clan, Outer Courtyard.
Yeon Ha-eung, the legged rumor in his signature flashy silk robes, stepped out of his office.
Gone was the usual leisurely, refined atmosphere of the Outer Courtyard; it was now a chaotic bustle of people rushing about.
Upon arriving at the Foreign Affairs Hall, an elder spotted him amid the frenzy and waved.
"Oh! Perfect timing. I was just about to call for the advisor."
Yeon Ha-eung rubbed his hands together with his characteristically lighthearted smile.
"I saw a red-flagged courier pass by and thought I might offer some help."
"Excellent! I've sent out all the servants and maids, young and old, to summon personnel from the main compound."
He personally poured Yeon Ha-eung some freshly cooled tea.
"You might already know, but..."
He pulled out a transcribed copy of the notice from the Supreme Operations Conference, but Yeon Ha-eung waved it off.
"Ah, if it's that matter, I'm already aware."
The elder burst into hearty laughter.
"Haha! As expected of our Outer Courtyard's walking Intelligence Bureau, the advisor!"
"Oh, you're too kind."
True to the Outer Courtyard's role in handling the Luoyang Sword Clan's external affairs.
Even in the rush, the elder exchanged a few words before getting to the point.
"Then, without further ado, Advisor, I'd like you to visit the elders from the families on this list."
Yeon Ha-eung took the document and checked the names.
"Oh...! Aren't these the retired high officials residing in Luoyang?"
The elder smiled at his excitement.
"With an advisor close to the Eldest Young Master, even those prickly folks will look favorably. Right?"
Tucking the document into his bosom, Yeon Ha-eung nodded repeatedly.
"Leave it to me! I already have ties with some of them, so no need to worry."
"Haha! I trust you, Advisor!"
* * *
From the Communications Bureau's rooftop, messenger pigeons ceaselessly scattered in all directions.
Red-flagged mounted couriers departed the Luoyang Sword Clan headquarters at tremendous speed.
They were followed by mounted warriors and cavalry from the Guard Pavilion.
Their destinations were the Luoyang Sword Clan's business offices, vassal families, and branch families across the Central Plains.
* * *
Early morning,
Luoyang Sword Clan warehouse district.
A warehouse hand, nearing the end of his night shift and longing desperately for the shift change, widened his eyes.
"Huh?!"
Was it drowsiness?
He rubbed his eyes, but the scene before him didn't change.
His eyes bulged.
"What the hell is all this? Where's it coming from?"
Carts, wagons, and porters were pouring in endlessly.
"Hey! Careful! You'll crash!"
"Line up! Line up, I said!"
It was an unprecedented number arriving all at once.
Even as their procession clogged the paths, shift-change workers trickled in.
Strangely, it wasn't just their shift's hands—servants from other shifts were there too.
"Hey! What's going on?!"
A shift worker spotted him and approached amid the din.
"Ah, you wouldn't know! An Emergency Order came down at dawn!"
"Emergency Order?!"
Surrounded by noise, they had to shout.
"Yeah! Emergency Order! Straight from the Supreme Operations Conference!"
"Supreme Operations Conference?!"
He jumped in shock.
In all his time working at the Luoyang Sword Clan, this was the first top-level order he'd ever received.
A mere warehouse hand like him—when had he ever gotten a command from the Supreme Operations Conference?
"W-What's the order?!"
"I don't know the details!"
Even as they talked, porters of all sorts kept flooding in, claiming spots in the vast open areas by each warehouse.
"Just how many from Sword Clan Construction's Materials Transport Unit got mobilized?"
"Even combat transport wagons!"
"Even food transport wagons..."
It felt like every available transport hand from every organization in the Luoyang Sword Clan was converging.
Then, someone bellowed at them in a thunderous voice.
"Hey! You lazy bastards! What are you doing standing around?! Get your asses moving!"
It was their warehouse foreman.
The foreman, who usually sauntered in only near the end of morning hours, had appeared at this ungodly hour.
"Y-Yes, sir!"
Just yesterday, he'd been bundled in layers of padded clothes, but today his upper body was bare.
A black whip, usually reserved for special occasions, was coiled around his shoulder.
"Run! You little shits! Run!"
They scurried into line behind their fellows.
Facing what was practically a full assembly, the foreman spat white breath as he began roll call.
"Night shift, you're on two extra hours!"
Not a single complaint from the night crew.
No matter how uneducated they were, they weren't clueless.
"With the Emergency Order in effect as of this morning's start, we will unconditionally cooperate with all related departments!"
He swept a sharp gaze over the group.
"I know you lot don't get along with the transport hands usually! But not today!"
The foreman thumped his fat chest.
"Until the Emergency Order ends, no cooperation means you're all dead meat! Got it?!"
"Yes, sir!"
Such a resounding reply would normally earn applause from their foreman.
"This is no joke!"
Today, his eyes blazed instead.
"Until the Emergency Order lifts, not just supervisors, but Steward's Department guides, and even higher-ups you'd never see will inspect us unannounced!"
Everyone swallowed dryly in tension.
"So, no slacking in discipline! Got it?!"
"Yes, sir!"
The response echoed twice as loud.
Such roars resounded from every warehouse in the district.
Then, a veteran hand raised his.
"Foreman! Where are all these guys headed?!"
The foreman answered in one word.
"Main Pavilions!"
* * *
As more people began moving about the Luoyang Sword Clan, couriers posted notices everywhere.
‘The seclusion order on the main family's Eldest Young Master Yeon So-hyeon is hereby lifted.’
It was a notice stamped clearly with the Supreme Operations Conference Administrative Pavilion's seal.