Chapter 396: Foundation Test

The gloom over Black Mountain County, Hejian Prefecture had not yet dissipated when an urgent report from the south arrived like another heavy stone, smashing into the Great Chen imperial court, which had just begun to show a faint ripple.

Your Majesty! Urgent military situation!

The Minister of War clutched a report, hurried into the hall, his voice tinged with a barely perceptible tremor.

In the western Huainan Circuit, at the border of Guang and Huang Prefectures, a massive refugee uprising has erupted! The rebels have seized several forts, looted official granaries, gathered over ten thousand, their momentum fierce; local prefectural troops cannot suppress them!

An uproar erupted in the court.

Heavenly calamity not yet quelled, human disaster arises again, and it is the most troublesome internal civilian revolt!

The new emperor, Chen Hong, gripped the armrests of the throne, his knuckles whitening from the force.

He forced himself to calm, his gaze sweeping over the officials below, each with different expressions.

Guang and Huang Prefectures are the hardest-hit areas of this earthquake; the court has already allocated relief funds, so why has such a massive refugee uprising arisen?

His voice was not loud, yet it carried an indisputable authority, gradually quieting the noisy court.

The Minister of Revenue hurried forward, sweat beading on his forehead.

Your Majesty, relief has indeed been allocated, but… the Huainan West Circuit Transport Commissioner reports that due to severe road damage, grain and funds transport is delayed, and local clerks may have… may have withheld and delayed, causing resentment to accumulate.

Withholding and delay?

Chen Hong repeated those four words, his tone calm, yet the temperature in the hall seemed to drop several degrees.

I recall, the prefect of Guang Prefecture, is named Zheng Yuan, right?

Upon these words, several senior ministers who knew the matter felt a chill in their hearts.

Your Majesty actually remembers the name of a prefect so clearly?

More importantly, this Zheng Yuan, a few months ago, showed wavering in the loyalty trial triggered by the 'Bone-corroding' incident; though he did not make a major mistake, his character has been called into question.

And now, precisely in his jurisdiction, such an incident has occurred……

Exactly.

The Minister of Personnel steeled himself and replied.

Chen Hong did not erupt immediately, but turned his gaze to the Minister of War.

Who is the rebel leader? Can we ascertain their demands?

Your Majesty, according to reports, the rebel leader calls himself 'Fan Tian Ying' (Overturn Heaven Hawk), originally an army deserter, fierce and cunning. His demands… the banner he raises reads 'Equalize wealth and poverty, purge the court's side', claiming the court is misgoverned, officials corrupt, causing the people to be displaced; he wishes… to purge the wicked and treacherous around Your Majesty…

Purge the court's side?

A cold smile curled at the corner of Chen Hong's mouth.

What a noble-sounding pretext!

His gaze flashed like lightning, sweeping over the entire assembly.

Heavenly disaster stems from my own moral failing; I bear it alone! Yet, if petty villains exploit this disaster to bring calamity upon the state and chaos among the people, lining their own pockets, inflaming public resentment, even colluding with foreign enemies, shaking the foundations of the nation…

His voice suddenly rose.

I will show no leniency!

Issue my orders!

Chen Hong rose abruptly.

Promote the Commander of the Palace Guard, Li Jixun, to Pacification Commissioner of Huainan West Circuit, leading five thousand imperial troops, rush south to quell the rebellion!

Order the Censorate, Ministry of Justice, and Supreme Court to immediately select capable officials to form an inspection team, accompany the army, thoroughly investigate the relief distribution and administration in Guang and Huang Prefectures; any officials found corrupt, derelict, or withholding disaster grain, regardless of rank, shall be executed on the spot without pardon!

Furthermore, proclaim to the people of Guang and Huang Prefectures and surrounding prefectures: the imperial army comes only to eradicate the chief culprits and pacify the good. Any civilians coerced into joining, if they lay down their weapons and return home to pursue livelihood, the court will hold no blame and will immediately reissue relief, ensuring food supplies!

A series of orders, clear and decisive, embodying an iron fist to suppress, yet also a policy of appeasement, and directly pointing to the possible root of administrative corruption.

The officials' hearts were shaken; they all bowed.

Your Majesty is sagacious!

They could sense that this young new emperor, under immense pressure, was growing at an unprecedented speed, displaying ever more mature imperial statecraft and decisiveness.

Almost at the same time the news of the southern uprising arrived, Chen Wen within the hidden manor learned the details through Qian Gui's channel.

Guang Prefecture…… Zheng Yuan……

Chen Wen's finger tapped that spot on the map, a flash of realization crossing his eyes.

The Iron Crow Army's methods are indeed all-encompassing: exploiting the livelihood hardship caused by the disaster, magnifying existing minor flaws in administration, then using the 'Bone-corroding' influence to subtly affect minds, finally fostering bandits to rise up…… a fine set of combined punches.

He looked at the five elderly ministers standing solemnly before him.

The court has already sent Li Jixun to lead troops to suppress the rebellion, and dispatched an inspection team. The surface response is fine. But what we must do is dig deeper, cut off the Iron Crow Army's tendrils reaching here.

After a moment's thought, he gave a decisive order.

Qian Gui, have your people in Huainan fully cooperate with the inspection team, focusing on verifying whether Zheng Yuan and his surrounding officials have shown abnormal behavior or contacted suspicious persons. Note, it is 'cooperation', not leadership; do not expose our presence.

Old Master Zhao, how progresses your research on that low-tier 'Pure Heart Formation' which amplifies the righteous aura of Fortune Momentum and strongly repels yin-evil energy?

Could you rush-produce a few simple sets to stabilize local popular sentiment?

Zhang Cheng, Wang Ru, you shall guide public opinion, directing the root of the uprising toward official corruption and bandit incitement, downplaying sensitive terms like 'heavenly punishment' and 'court's side', to steady the hearts of court and populace.

Shi Dun, within the southern garrison system, you should have your former troops.

Have them covertly watch, during the suppression, whether any unofficial, well-trained force is secretly aiding the rebels; that would likely be the Iron Crow Army's infiltrated 'Nether Shade'.

The five received the orders and immediately sprang into action.

Chen Wen then once again devoted himself to 'effective effort'.

He no longer limited himself to land reclamation within the manor, but began extensively reading and analyzing the dossiers Qian Gui had gathered on Huainan West Circuit's geography, populace, garrisons, and even past administrative evaluations.

Lv. 1 (2x) Thought Doubling activated, his speed in processing information, seeking connections, and inferring possibilities greatly increased.

The deep-consciousness 【Growth Progress Bar】 also grew, at a speed faster than mere physical labor, steadily and continuously.

The Growth Progress Bar deep in consciousness also grew alongside it at a speed faster than pure physical labor, steadily and continuously increasing.

Ten days later, the Huainan front.

Commander-in-Chief Li Jixun employed troops with veteran skill, the elite forbidden army's combat strength was formidable, and furthermore Chen Wen, through Zhang Cheng and Wang Ru's covert guidance of public opinion,

And the several simplified versions of the 'Pure Heart Formation' hastily produced by Zhao Lao Nian, deployed in key towns, effectively dispelled some of the gloom brought by the 'Bone-Corroding' influence, stabilizing part of the panicked populace.

Within the rebel forces, divisions began to appear; the coerced populace, under the court's promise of 'only punish the ringleaders, not inquire into the followers,' fled in droves.

The 'Heaven-Overturning Hawk' and its core followers were gradually compressed and encircled in a valley called 'Wild Wolf Ravine'.

However, on the eve when the government forces were about to launch their general assault, an anomaly suddenly arose.

Several black shadows, ghost-like, under the cover of night, silently infiltrated the vanguard camp of the government forces.

Their movements were elusive, their strikes vicious and crafty, specifically targeting officers and scouts.

They wielded a short blade imbued with a yin-cold aura; those struck not only suffered bodily injury but also had their spirit impacted, losing combat effectiveness in a short time.

They were precisely the 'Nether Shade' of the Iron Crow Army!

Their objective was clear: create chaos, assassinate the commander, and create an opportunity for the remnants of the 'Heaven-Overturning Hawk' to break through or counterattack.

The vanguard camp fell into chaos and panic for a moment.

Just as a 'Nether Shade' crept like a venomous snake to the vicinity of the commander's grand tent, about to throw the short blade tempered with nether energy in hand.

A low hum—

A deep, resonant vibration that did not originate from the eardrums but directly affected the spirit suddenly rang out.

Far away, in the hidden mountain manor hundreds of li away, Chen Wen, while analyzing the documents, felt a slight stir of thought, and as if blessed by fortune, he focused the full power of the Lv. 1 double-effect on Fortune Momentum perception.

Although he could not perceive it precisely, at that moment, through a faint connection with the Great Chen's Fortune Momentum in the dark, he vaguely sensed that in some place to the south, a rich and active yin-cold energy was gathering and stirring.

Almost simultaneously, a flash of inspiration crossed his mind, combining his prior analysis of the 'Bone-Corroding' energy field and his judgment of the Iron Crow Army's behavioral patterns.

'Wild Wolf Ravine... government forces vanguard... beware of assassination!'

He had no evidence, only a strong intuition.

This intuition came from the thought speed and instantaneous integration of massive information under a 2x boost.

He immediately, via a special channel, sent this information—without any explanation, merely a warning—to Qian Gui's subordinates who were covertly active on the front lines.

The information, at the utmost speed, reached the hands of an old subordinate of Shi Dun who happened to be near the vanguard camp and was preparing to coordinate with the inspection envoy's entourage.

Although that commander did not understand why, out of absolute trust in Shi Dun and a willingness to believe this strange warning, he immediately strengthened the central army's guard and sent a trusted squad to focus on patrolling the dark outskirts of the camp.

It was precisely this timely warning and response that caused the 'Nether Shade' attempting to assassinate the commander to have its whereabouts discovered at the last moment.

After a fierce, brief clash, that 'Nether Shade', having inflicted casualties on several government soldiers, fled wounded by means of its uncanny movement, but the assassination plot was declared a failure.

The next day, the leaderless and externally thwarted remnants of the 'Heaven-Overturning Hawk' collapsed under the government forces' general assault, and the 'Heaven-Overturning Hawk' himself was slain in battle.

The refugee uprisings in Guang and Huang prefectures were swiftly quelled under the court's overt military crackdown, administrative rectification, and the covert 'Guardians' targeting the masterminds behind them.

When the news reached Bianjing, the court and society were invigorated.

The prestige of the new emperor, Chen Hong, was greatly enhanced after this incident.

And within the hidden mountain manor, Chen Wen watched as the consciousness deep within surged forward a large leap, finally stopping at the thirty-percent mark of the 【Growth Progress Bar】, and he slowly exhaled a breath tinged with fatigue yet full of gain.

This time, he did not personally go to the dangerous site, but through long-distance information analysis, strategic judgment, and at the critical moment, based on his existing capabilities making a precise forecast that could possibly affect the battle situation…

The 'growth' brought by all this far surpassed any of his previous efforts.

He not only thwarted a crucial plot of the Iron Crow Army, safeguarded a senior commander of the court, and also verified a brand-new possibility for efficiently accumulating growth under the current conditions.

'Your Majesty.'

Qian Gui came again to report, his tone carrying a hint of ease.

'The south is settled; Zheng Yuan and a group of implicated officials have been apprehended by the inspection envoy, the evidence solid. On the False Song side, Zhao Guangyi seems to have, due to our swift suppression of internal unrest, temporarily reined in his border skirmishes.'

Chen Wen nodded, but his gaze turned toward a farther distance.

The test of the foundation has, for now, been passed.

But he knew that the Iron Crow Army's master's next move would not be long in coming.

And he, before that time, needs to become stronger.