Chapter 155: Countermeasures and Deliberations

In front of the Imperial Ancestral Temple, Chen Mo bowed to Empress Xu and said, "Your Majesty, my foster father and General Lu have already led twenty-six thousand Imperial Guards here, and they have now arrived near the Capital."

"I hope Your Majesty can issue an imperial decree to allow these twenty-six thousand Imperial Guards to temporarily station outside the Capital, and have the General of the Central Army assist in coordinating provisions and fodder."

Although it is the Prince of Pingxi who wishes to usurp power, he has many loyal confidants under his command and can mobilize quite a few of the Border Army.

And the combat strength of the Border Army is far greater than that of the Imperial Court's Imperial Guards.

The Border Army, having survived battles against the Alien Races, are, if not all practitioners of the Martial Dao, certainly elite veterans who have seen blood.

There are currently about thirty thousand Border Army troops stationed near the Capital; even if the Prince of Pingxi can only mobilize half of them, it would be enough to cause immense destruction.

During this recent period, the Imperial Court's Imperial Guards should try their best to station more troops near the Capital.

"Very well, I shall issue the decree now." Empress Xu smiled and nodded.

Now that the Heavenly Son has passed away and the Crown Prince has not yet ascended the throne, the Empress can of course issue imperial decrees to command officials to act.

Naturally, Empress Xu also understands that the decrees she issues cannot force officials to carry out extremely difficult tasks.

Otherwise, given the current situation, those high-ranking officials of the Imperial Court might not accept the decree, and might even be forced to stand on the side of the Prince of Pingxi.

Fortunately, this is merely about dispatching provisions and transporting supplies; even if he did not say it, the General of the Central Army would take the initiative to do so.

With twenty-six thousand Imperial Guards, they would never let themselves go hungry; if the Imperial Court does not provide grain, they will find a way themselves.

After giving instructions to Empress Xu, Chen Mo arranged for someone to send a message to his foster father, telling him to find an opportunity to enter the Capital quietly.

The situation within the city is complex now, so Chen Mo can only have him enter the city in secret to discuss the situation with him.

"General Chen, a staffer sent by the Prince of Pingxi says he wishes to meet with you." Zhao Wen hurried to Chen Mo's side, bowed, and knelt.

"Oh!" Chen Mo's expression was slightly surprised; it seems the Prince of Pingxi could not hold back after all and sent someone to lobby him.

"General, will you see this person?" Zhao Wen lowered his voice and asked again.

"No." Chen Mo shook his head without hesitation.

He could even guess that if the Prince of Pingxi's staffer came to lobby him, he would surely promise high official positions and generous salaries, perhaps even directly conferring the title of Duke or Marquis.

But the problem is that once the Crown Prince ascends the throne, he can obtain these things himself; why should he conspire with him and bear the name of a treacherous official?

"This subordinate understands." Zhao Wen bowed and hurried away again.

Before long, he returned, holding a letter in his hand.

"My Lord, that staffer asked us to deliver this letter to you." Zhao Wen handed over the envelope with both hands.

Chen Mo opened the envelope; the information inside was exactly as he had imagined.

It was nothing more than attacking the current Empress and Crown Prince, and then boasting about the Third Prince.

It urged Chen Mo to abandon the light for the darkness and help the Third Prince ascend the throne.

As long as the Third Prince ascends the throne, he would confer upon Chen Mo the title of Duke, and within or outside the Imperial Court, excluding the position of General of the Central Army, Chen Mo could choose any official post he wished.

Furthermore, Chen Mo could choose anything he wanted from the Emperor's Secret Treasury; besides, if he had any other requests, he could state them now, and the Prince of Pingxi would satisfy them by any means possible.

It must be said that these terms were quite good.

Chen Mo could also roughly guess the Prince of Pingxi's current thinking; it was nothing more than painting a pie in the sky.

In any case, the power of the Imperial Court is not in his hands right now, so he feels no pain in making any promises.

As long as he can win over Chen Mo, he dares to offer any conditions.

Chen Mo glanced through it roughly; other than the attempt to win him over, there was no other information in the letter.

There was no need to burn this letter; it could be kept for now and used later as evidence that the Prince of Pingxi intended to usurp power and colluded with him, a military general.

Of course, such evidence only serves as the icing on the cake; as long as Chen Mo can execute the Prince of Pingxi, even if he takes a piece of soap and claims it is a poison prepared by the Prince of Pingxi to secretly harm the Empress and the ladies, it could still serve as evidence.

Conversely, if he cannot deal with the Prince of Pingxi, then even with ironclad proof, he would still be helpless.

This world speaks of reason, but reason is only established on the basis of equality between two parties.

If the two parties are not equal, whether the strong speak of reason depends entirely on the thoughts of the strong themselves.

Great merit can bully reason; as long as one's strength is sufficient, one possesses the power to disregard reason.

Putting the letter away, Chen Mo continued to cultivate by the Imperial Ancestral Temple as he did every day.

Time quickly reached the evening, and Sun Shouren and Lu Chuan arrived quietly within the Palace City.

"You have broken through to the Innate Realm?" Sun Shouren asked urgently upon seeing Chen Mo.

During this time, it was being spread throughout the Capital that Chen Mo was an Innate Martial Artist.

As for this news, Chen Mo had taken the initiative to release it; besides, even if he hadn't, it could not have been concealed, as too many people had seen him act that day.

Rather than being secretive, it was better to admit it openly, which might instead make the Prince of Pingxi wary.

As Sun Shouren walked into the Capital, many acquaintances naturally revealed news to him, letting him know the current situation.

The Prince of Pingxi is usurping power, wishing to bypass the Crown Prince and push the Third Prince onto the throne.

What he thinks in his heart is already known to everyone.

Sun Shouren was naturally furious about this; as a confidant of the Heavenly Son, he could not let this happen under any circumstances.

However, the situation was stronger than the man; his original plan was to try his best to protect the Crown Prince as he left the Capital, then issue a wide-ranging manifesto to summon loyal officials from all over to save the King.

After all, he is not an Innate Expert, nor does he know other Innate Experts, so this was the only method he could think of.

Yet, the second piece of news brought him an even greater shock: that Chen Mo had broken through to the Innate Realm.

The first piece of news made him angry, while this one made him unable to comprehend.

Sun Shouren had known from the beginning that Chen Mo had great talent, being able to go from having barely touched the Martial Dao to the Postnatal Realm in less than two years.

However, he had not expected that after cultivating to the Postnatal Realm, Chen Mo could break through to the Innate Realm so quickly; this did not conform to common sense at all.

Logically speaking, the further one goes in Martial Dao cultivation, the harder it becomes.

Even if Chen Mo had gone from having no contact with Martial Dao to Acquired Perfection in two years, breaking through barriers like the Internal Breath and the meridians one after another.

Breaking through to the Innate Realm should never have been that easy; at the very least, it would require a considerable amount of bitter cultivation.

Yet none of that happened; the further Chen Mo went in his cultivation, the faster he seemed to become.

This made him somewhat unable to accept it; in fact, through the information gathered over these days, he had already determined that Chen Mo must possess Innate Realm strength.

Otherwise, with him guarding the Palace City alone, even with the Tiger Tally to control part of the Palace City's Array, he likely could not have stopped the Prince of Pingxi from moving against the Empress and the Crown Prince.

Only if he were also of Innate Realm cultivation—even if there were some gap compared to the Prince of Pingxi, a veteran Innate Expert—would the gap definitely not be large.

Coupled with the advantage of the Array while situated in the Palace City, even the Prince of Pingxi would not dare to act easily.

This was absolutely a good thing; upon learning of this, beyond shock, Sun Shouren could not hide his joy and excitement.

An Innate Expert is a top-tier figure among Martial Artists; with this level of cultivation, even without any family background or credentials, Chen Mo...

Even relying solely on his cultivation, it would be enough for the Imperial Court to bestow upon him high office and generous salary.

What's more, Chen Mo had also established the merit of protecting the sovereign and supporting the new ruler this time; it could be said that as long as the Crown Prince could ascend the throne, Chen Mo would inevitably reach the pinnacle of officialdom in the future.

Furthermore, having an Innate Realm foster son—even though saying this aloud made Sun Shouren feel as if he were talking in his sleep.

Relying solely on this status, even though he was currently only a Fourth Rank Official, even the General of the Central Army, a Second Rank official, would have to show him respect.

It was just that Chen Mo's speed in breaking through to the Innate Realm was too fast, and for a moment, he found it somewhat hard to accept.

"That is correct. Some time ago, this child indeed gained some insight, and my cultivation has had a breakthrough," Chen Mo said with a smile.

"This is a good thing, this is a good thing!" Even though he had already known the news, hearing Chen Mo personally recount it now, Sun Shouren was still quite happy.

Compared to the excited Sun Shouren, Lu Chuan was clearly much more reserved.

Now, in terms of cultivation, strength, and status, Chen Mo was far above him by more than a notch.

His relationship with Chen Mo was also far less close than that of Sun Shouren, so he could not help but be reserved.

"Foster father, the reason I asked you to enter the city quietly this time is mainly for two things: first, to mobilize your Imperial Guards to station themselves near that group of Border Army troops and observe them carefully.

Once the Border Army makes a move, the Imperial Guards should try their best to counter them; at the very least, they must put up some resistance and absolutely cannot let the Border Army enter the city.

Second, if the Prince of Pingxi truly starts a rebellion, tell them immediately that the Imperial Court only punishes the ringleader.

As for those soldiers who were deceived by the Prince of Pingxi, as long as they lay down their weapons, the Imperial Court will absolutely not pursue any responsibility."

Chen Mo's expression was solemn as he gave his instructions earnestly and carefully.

The Prince of Pingxi had many confidants in the Border Army, but that did not mean all the Border Army troops were willing to accompany him in this act of treason and rebellion.

If the Imperial Court stated that it would only punish the ringleader and not pursue others, then the number of Border Army troops willing to act alongside the Prince of Pingxi would definitely be much smaller.

Every single Border Army soldier was an elite of Great Gan; it would be truly too unworthy to lose them in internal strife.

Furthermore, having the Imperial Guards watch the Border Army closely was also to prevent them from taking the opportunity to slaughter their way into the city and cause greater destruction and loss to the Capital City.

To say nothing else, even if they only set a few fires, it would be enough to leave countless commoners displaced.

"Good, I will find a way to do these things secretly when I return." Sun Shouren nodded decisively without the slightest hesitation.

He was a loyalist to the Son of Heaven; his ability might not be the strongest, but his loyalty was absolutely sufficient.

Lu Chuan did not say much at this moment, only nodding silently on the side.

"This time, the grain and supplies for our Imperial Guards were arranged by the General of the Central Army. He also quietly had someone deliver a letter, not for me, but for you."

Sun Shouren habitually glanced at the doors and windows, confirmed there were no eavesdroppers, lowered his voice, and handed over a letter.

Chen Mo put away the letter and nodded gently. Sun Shouren did not stay in the Palace City for long; it was already evening, and he had to return outside the city before the curfew.

After they left, Chen Mo opened the envelope alone.

The information stated in the letter was not much, mainly three points.

First, the General of the Central Army stated that he remained loyal to the Son of Heaven and the Imperial Court.

The reason he had not entered the palace to pay respects to the Empress and the Emperor during this time was to avoid attracting too much attention from the Prince of Pingxi.

Second, because Chen Mo, an Innate Expert, had appeared and clearly expressed his support for the Crown Prince and the Empress.

Many court officials who originally supported the Son of Heaven had now gathered together; they had been unable to accomplish anything before because there was no Innate Expert to preside over the big picture.

But now that they had Chen Mo, this Innate Expert, the situation was different.

If the Prince of Pingxi truly wanted to depose the Crown Prince and install the Third Prince, they would stand up and oppose it.

Third, the Prince of Pingxi had been networking with the civil and military officials of the Imperial Court during this time; in three days at most, when the next court session arrived, he might propose deposing the Crown Prince and having the Third Prince succeed to the throne.

This letter was quite valuable; knowing these things in advance and preparing early meant that when the Prince of Pingxi made his move, they would not be too flustered.

It must be said that the General of the Central Army was indeed a loyal subject of the Son of Heaven.

Although the Prince of Pingxi kept a close watch on him, he still risked danger to first find a way to send the Empress and the Crown Prince out of the city.

Upon discovering that Chen Mo had brought the Empress and the Crown Prince back, and that his side had an Innate Expert, he immediately took action and began to network with the loyal officials in the Imperial Court.

By doing this, he was truly worthy of the trust the Son of Heaven placed in him.

Chen Mo read the letter carefully, then returned to the Imperial Ancestral Temple to find Empress Xu to discuss countermeasures.

While it was called a discussion, it was actually more about informing her of the matter; the specific decisions would still be made by Chen Mo.

For the next few days, the Capital City appeared calm on the surface, but in reality, undercurrents were surging, and waves were constant.

Until three days later, when the officials attended court.

(End of chapter)