Martial Cultivator

Outside the Imperial Study, Chen Chao sat on the steps while His Highness the Crown Prince, wearing only an outer robe, hurried over. The young eunuch Li Shou, who was carrying the lantern, kept pace without slowing. Several times he wanted to remind His Highness to walk more slowly, but in the end, the words never left his mouth.

He knew very well that, aside from the one in the rear palace, the person His Highness cared about most could only be that young Lord Warden Commander. As such, he did not dare say anything.

Having hurried all the way to the Imperial Study, the Crown Prince was breathing heavily as he dropped down beside Chen Chao. When there were no outsiders present, these two brothers paid little heed to the distinction between ruler and subject.

Chen Chao glanced at the Crown Prince and teased, "Do you feel the urge to have this subject executed for dragging you out here at this hour?"

The Crown Prince rolled his eyes and said somewhat unhappily, "If Elder Brother says that, then you're looking down on this imperial too much."

"I know Elder Brother wouldn't have entered the palace in such a hurry unless it was something important."

Chen Chao glanced at the Crown Prince and nodded. "It's not especially urgent. There'll still be some activity in the Divine Capital tonight. Some informants from the foreign lands will be completely rooted out tonight. There are some inside the Imperial City as well. Your situation isn't entirely secure, so I came to see you personally, and also to chat for a while."

The Crown Prince immediately stood up as if about to leave, but Chen Chao grabbed his sleeve. Knowing what he was thinking, he said softly, "The Crown Princess Consort is a Nepenthe Realm cultivator. No one can silently kill her within the Imperial City."

In other words, no one could silently kill a Nepenthe Realm Crown Princess Consort right under Chen Chao's nose.

Hearing his elder brother say this, the Crown Prince was greatly reassured. Sitting back down, he sighed with emotion. "That's true. With Elder Brother in the Divine Capital, even if the Demon Emperor comes again, he'll still have to retreat."

Chen Chao shook his head. "Don't say that. If he comes again, I'll have to shed another layer of skin."

The Crown Prince smiled faintly.

Chen Chao continued on his own, "There are a few things. I'll only mention the important ones. First, the Lu Family and the Xie Family are taking the lead, and those great families will contribute silver to replenish the national treasury. But we mustn't take that as something they're simply supposed to do. We have to remember what they've done for us. Over the next few days, do something for them when appropriate." "Remember, the Ministry of Revenue and the Ministry of War are the ones who should decide how this silver is spent. The Minister of Revenue is trustworthy. Don't doubt him." "As for the court, not everyone shares the same view regarding the war in the north. Some people only want to endure the initial stage of the conflict. After that, whether it's negotiating for peace or paying tribute, anything is acceptable to them. In short, as long as spending money can avert disaster, they're willing to do it. We can't accept that. His Majesty and I both refuse to accept it."

The Crown Prince said, "I won't accept it either."

Chen Chao nodded. "Also, as for when the newly trained armies from the various prefectures are to be dispatched to the northern frontier, that's for the Ministry of War to decide. But whenever they can't make up their minds, you should also give it careful thought."

At this point, Chen Chao looked at the Crown Prince and let out a long breath before saying, "I'll be leaving the Divine Capital shortly. I'll first make a trip to the Infatuation Daoist Temple, and then head straight to the Northern Frontier. After that, I probably won't return to the Divine Capital for a very long time. So a great many matters will have to depend on you. With His Majesty absent, you are the Emperor." "This war will be difficult. There's a very good chance we'll lose, but we will never admit defeat. At the front, there's Great General Ning, there's me, and there are countless soldiers. We won't give up. In the rear, your greater responsibility is to reassure both the people and the officials. Don't let the rear fall into chaos."

The Crown Prince frowned. "What if the cultivators from the foreign lands cause trouble at a time like this?"

"My trip to the Infatuation Daoist Temple this time is to tell them the answer."

Chen Chao smiled at the Crown Prince and said, "You must be a good emperor for them. Great Liang needs a good Emperor."

By this point, the eastern horizon had already begun to glow with the pale light of dawn.

Someone appeared in the distance and gave Chen Chao a slight nod.

After Chen Chao returned the nod, that person slowly departed.

Chen Chao rubbed his brow, stood up, and said, "There are many things I'd like to say, but in truth, whether I say them or not makes little difference. You already understand them all. This subject should be leaving now."

The Crown Prince suddenly reached out and grabbed Chen Chao's sleeve. Looking up at him, he hesitated for a moment before asking, "Elder Brother, you'll come back, yes?"

Chen Chao looked at this younger brother as well.

After a moment of silence, the young Lord Warden Commander nodded, "This subject will do my utmost not to become a man wrapped in horsehide."

Although he said so, if the Northern Frontier ultimately could not be held and the Great Liang Dynasty was on the verge of collapse, then as the Lord Warden Commander, he would die before everyone else.

"Not 'do your utmost.'"

The Crown Prince said softly, "Elder Brother must come back."

......

......

A purge that seemed to have shown no prior signs suddenly began in the Divine Capital that night. Officials from the Left and Right Guard Offices were deployed in full force, accurately locating one stronghold after another belonging to spies from the foreign lands, then eradicating them without the slightest mercy.

Throughout the night, they did not disturb the ordinary citizens, but by dawn, the Divine Capital had become much cleaner.

The spies within the Great Liang Dynasty had existed for a very long time. Some had even been in the Divine Capital since before the founding of Great Liang. Successive emperors had mostly turned a blind eye to them, for at the time, the Great Liang Dynasty simply lacked the strength to contend with the foreign lands.

The true purge did not begin until more than a decade into the Tianjian era. It was only before the Great Liang Emperor departed the capital that the greatest hidden threat, the Wei Family, was eliminated.

That night, the Divine Capital had been washed once with blood, but in truth, it had not been cleansed completely. After the Great Liang Emperor left the capital, he entrusted the Hundred Streams Pavilion to Chen Chao. Although Chen Chao had spent the past several years constantly traveling from place to place, the Hundred Streams Pavilion had never ceased its work. After several years, they had finally identified every spy from the foreign lands within the Divine Capital and handed the complete list to Chen Chao. Thus, when Chen Chao returned to the Divine Capital this time, aside from dealing with the Lu Family's affairs, the other thing he had come to do was to eradicate these spies from the foreign lands once and for all.

This was done to create a stable rear for the north, and also to warn certain people in the Divine Capital that Chen Chao was still alive and still at work.

The current Great Liang needed to be united from top to bottom. Even if it was not truly united, it at least had to appear that way.

Having finished all this, the young Lord Warden Commander left the Divine Capital before dawn, without even having time to see his few disciples.

He was heading to Qingshan Prefecture, to the Infatuation Daoist Temple, to make one more point clear to the foreign lands.

As for whether that would put Yun Jianyue in a difficult position, Chen Chao could no longer afford to consider everything so thoroughly.

Before leaving the Divine Capital, the young Lord Warden Commander turned to glance toward the depths of the Imperial City, smiled faintly, and only then rose into the air, transforming into a streak of light that sped into the distance.

——

The Infatuation Daoist Temple was as picturesque as ever, seemingly unchanged.

At this moment, the setting sun hung low in the west while the morning glow was just right.

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