"Let's talk inside."
After speaking, Liao San led Chen Cheng through the main gate of the City Guard Department.
The Ruyi Square Sub-Office of the South City District City Guard Department looked quite old from the outside, with a sense of history about it.
Beyond the main gate, the grounds were expansive. The buildings were orderly, and the area was dotted with rockeries and gardens, revealing a world of its own.
Liao San took Chen Cheng to one of the gardens and explained the whole situation in detail.
To join the City Guard Department, one had to start as a Preparatory Constable.
Periodically, official constables would retire due to old age, injury, illness, or death.
Only when these retirements created vacancies would an assessment be held among the Preparatory Constables to select the most outstanding candidates for promotion to official constable.
Both Preparatory and official constable positions had a fixed number of slots. It was a one-in, one-out system.
Chen Cheng was lucky this time. He had arrived just as a batch of official constables were retiring and Preparatory Constables were being promoted, opening up more than ten slots.
With over ten Preparatory Constable slots open, new recruits were naturally needed to fill them.
When recruiting new Preparatory Constables, priority had to be given to the children and relatives of retired constables. Only if slots remained would new people from the outside be recruited.
According to Great Yu Law, the City Guard Department had to recruit newcomers through an assessment, selecting the best candidates. Any commoner with a clean background and no criminal record could sign up.
But in the Great Yu of today, the bureaucracy was corrupt. This registration and assessment system existed in name only. To even sign up for the assessment, one had to find connections and pull strings behind the scenes.
Through Liao San, Chen Cheng was using the connections of Chief Constable Liu Yunfeng.
Liu Yunfeng had always valued Liao San, relying on him as his right-hand man. Coupled with his good impression of Chen Cheng from before, he had done his best to help.
Chen Cheng was already a Prison Guard and was registered with the Government Office. Therefore, Liu Yunfeng registered him for a slot equivalent to those for the families of retired constables—a priority Preparatory Constable slot.
Although he still had to go through the assessment, it was just a formality. Anyone who was able-bodied and in good health could easily pass.
The number of Preparatory Constable slots was already limited, and priority slots took up the majority. The few that remained were all for people recommended by various Chief Constables.
Since Chen Cheng took a priority slot, one of the people using connections with other Chief Constables would be pushed out.
When they learned that Chen Cheng was transferring from his post as a Prison Guard, they raised objections. Although a Prison Guard was registered with the Government Office, he was not, after all, a family member of an official constable of the City Guard Department. Taking a priority slot was improper and unjustifiable.
"If Prison Guards start stealing jobs from City Guard Department constables, and City Guard Department constables start stealing jobs from Prison Guards, wouldn't that just create chaos?" Liao San said, relaying their exact words.
Later, the matter was brought before the Branch Chief Constable of the Ruyi Square Sub-Department. The Branch Chief Constable couldn't be bothered with it and simply stripped Chen Cheng of his priority slot, forcing him to compete fairly with the people recommended by the other Chief Constables.
Fair competition meant that, aside from those with priority slots, the remaining candidates would all participate in an assessment, and one person would be eliminated.
The elimination rule was simple: a Martial Dao competition. The one with the weakest Martial Arts Power would be out.
"Brother Ah Cheng, this situation has alerted the Branch Chief Constable, so even Mr. Liu can't help. If you get eliminated, don't lose heart. Mr. Liu said that if you don't pass this assessment, he'll do everything in his power to get you a slot next time," Liao San said apologetically.
Chen Cheng hadn't expected so many twists and turns in just trying to secure a job as a Preparatory Constable. It was honestly quite frustrating.
After a moment of thought, he asked, "How many people are in this assessment?"
'After all, this is just a competition for a Preparatory Constable slot. The people who want this job can't have much Martial Arts Power.'
'In a Martial Dao competition, I shouldn't be any worse than the others. If only one person is being eliminated, I might just have a chance.'
"Excluding those with priority slots, there are six people, including you, participating in the assessment."
Seeing Chen Cheng's casual, even confident expression, Liao San shook his head and sighed softly. "Although only one of the six will be eliminated, the other five have all trained at a Martial Arts Hall. Their skills are quite formidable. Competing against them... I'm afraid it will be difficult. Well, once you see them in a bit, I'll explain more."
After he finished speaking, Liao San led Chen Cheng out of the garden, down a bluestone-paved corridor, and to a large square.
Many people were already in the square. A few men in constable uniforms were practicing their Saber Technique, while most of the others were gathered in small groups, talking in low voices.
"This is the main training ground of the Ruyi Square Sub-Department. It's for constables to use for Cultivating Martial Dao in their spare time."
Liao San gave a brief introduction, then turned to look at a group of five young men gathered not far away. "Those are the five who are competing with you for the Preparatory Constable slot."
Chen Cheng followed his gaze. The five men all appeared to be in their twenties, dressed in the attire of a Martial Arts Hall, with Long Sabers at their waists. They were tall and looked strong and powerful.
"They're disciples from a Martial Arts Hall? They must come from wealthy families. Why would they want to be Preparatory Constables?" Chen Cheng frowned.
He was very surprised to see disciples from a Martial Arts Hall competing for a Preparatory Constable slot.
After all, to enter a Martial Arts Hall for Cultivating Martial Dao, the monthly tuition fee alone was ten taels of silver. To achieve anything significant in Cultivation, one would need to train for at least a year or two, which was a huge expense.
Only the children of wealthy families could afford such an expense.
Since they were children of wealthy families who had spent a fortune Cultivating Martial Dao, why would they bother becoming lowly Preparatory Constables just to earn a meager monthly salary of 800 cents?
Liao San explained, "Although the five of them are from wealthy families, they are either sons of concubines or are not valued by their families. They want to join the City Guard Department simply to try and make a name for themselves.
They've been Cultivating Martial Dao in Martial Arts Halls since they were young, so their skills are formidable. After serving as Preparatory Constables for a while, they're certain to be promoted to official constables, and maybe they could even become a Chief Constable in the future.
At that point, not only would they bring honor to their family name, but they could also protect their family's interests."
"There are only a few Chief Constable positions. It won't be easy for them to become one. As for being an official constable, that doesn't seem to pay much either," Chen Cheng said, still confused.
In his view, it was unwise for these people, who had the support of their family's resources, to neglect their training at the Martial Arts Hall and instead come here to become Preparatory Constables.
A mocking glint flashed in Liao San's eyes. He nodded and said, "You're right. To become a Chief Constable, you need more than just Martial Arts Power; you also have to build up seniority. How could it be that easy?
But every year, there are always plenty of arrogant young masters from wealthy families who come to try their luck.
Most of them don't last long. But for them, even if they resign after just a few days, it's no great loss. They just treat it as a bit of fun."
An unhappy expression crossed Chen Cheng's face. "These guys... by causing trouble like this, aren't they cutting off the path for many commoners' children to advance?"
Liao San thought Chen Cheng was talking about his own path being blocked and feeling dejected about not being able to become a Preparatory Constable. He quickly patted his shoulder and comforted him, "Ah Cheng, don't be disheartened. The next time you come for the assessment, you probably won't run into people like this."
"Third Brother, there won't be a next time," Chen Cheng said, his expression calm and serious.
'So what if they're disciples from a Martial Arts Hall? Since it's a Martial Dao competition, the outcome will only be decided after we fight.'