Great Shun State Administration Council, Grand Assembly Hall, 2:00 AM.
The meeting, which had lasted from the afternoon until now, had only just concluded. Ren Xinshan stepped outside. Coming to a sofa in an adjacent lounge, he sat down, and service staff immediately brought refreshments and poured him an invigorating drink.
Yet, as a martial artist of the third limit, his mental state remained exceptionally sharp.
A figure strode in from outside. Vice Minister Guo of the Defense Department sat down on the sofa opposite him, greeted him, and gulped down several mouthfuls of tea from the table. He then asked the staff for a blanket, draped it over himself, pulled out a document, and began reading it there.
After a moment, another official from the Government Affairs Department walked over and bowed to them both.
"Vice Minister Ren, Vice Minister Guo, there is another meeting shortly. You both have forty minutes to rest."
Ren Xinshan acknowledged with a nod, while Vice Minister Guo simply waved a hand to show he understood.
The official bowed again and pulled the lounge door shut on his way out.
The room fell quiet, save for the sound of Vice Minister Guo turning pages. Five minutes later, he looked up and asked, "Old Ren, how are the preparations in your department coming along?"
Ren Xinshan said, "Almost ready. There won't be any problems domestically; no one would dare jump out at a time like this. But as for your side, I expect you'll be facing a tough battle."
"Well said. But that's fine too. Let certain people see for themselves, rather than merely spouting statistics and reading paper reports all day long."
After exchanging a few words, he checked his watch and said, "I'll get a bit of sleep." He spoke a word to the staff, and soon fell into a deep slumber.
Ren Xinshan leaned back as well, closing his eyes to rest his mind. There was still no word on how things stood in the convergence zone.
Chen Chuan was capable of transmitting news back, but he had seemingly chosen not to do so. This was likely out of consideration that certain individuals within the ministries might leak the current situation to the former imperial household, so he simply maintained radio silence.
Viewed from this angle, no news was good news. The longer time dragged on, the more advantageous it would be for them.
Half an hour passed quickly. The staff member entered, glanced at Ren Xinshan, and then gently woke Vice Minister Guo. After stirring, Guo washed his face, and together with Ren Xinshan, followed the staff member to a war operations room.
Quite a few people had already gathered inside, and after they took their seats, personnel from various other departments trickled in one after another.
Among them were representatives from the Great Shun General Staff, the Army Department, Wuyi Academy, the General Bureau of Esoteric Cult Examination, the Transportation Bureau, the General Affairs Bureau, and the National Provisional Special Operations Committee. Virtually all high-ranking officials and delegates from bodies handling military force, intelligence, transportation, and logistics were present.
He also spotted another individual: Counselor Commissioner Liu Changlin of the Supreme Security Advisory Group. His presence here represented the will of the highest authorities.
Several minutes later, a dignified, broad-foreheaded middle-aged man walked in. Standing over 1.9 meters tall, he carried himself with an imposing aura, possessing the unmistakable foundation of a martial artist.
This was Deputy Chief Executive Qiao Dingguo—an absolute hardliner, and one of the primary figureheads of the Enterprising Faction in the eyes of the conservatives.
Moreover, he was very likely to become the next Chief Executive.
Everything depended on whether the Enterprising Faction's operation succeeded. If they managed to completely annihilate the former imperial household, nothing would stand in the way of his ascent to the post of Chief Executive.
As of now, some still viewed this outcome as uncertain. Yet without question, the forthcoming battle at Xianglan Pass would prove decisive. The fates of countless people hung in the balance.
Upon entering, Qiao Dingguo stood before the head seat and cast an authoritative gaze across everyone in attendance.
When he spoke, his voice was resonant and powerful, ringing clear as a heavy brass bell throughout the war operations room.
"The prior session has resolved to launch a war of total subjugation aimed at thoroughly wiping out the forces of the former imperial household. In the course of execution, the will of the state must be carried out without compromise. Dissenting voices will no longer be tolerated."
He paused, taking in the solemn expressions on every face.
He then continued, "The General Staff has submitted a comprehensive plan, reviewed and amended by 'Yuanzhen.' Please examine it first."
He signaled his secretary to distribute the files.
Ren Xinshan received his copy and looked through it. The previous meeting had set the strategic direction and unified their thinking; this meeting was about concrete execution.
Going forward, multiple departments would need to coordinate closely. At the same time, the garrisons stationed in the convergence zones of the various central cities facing off against the former imperial household would be deployed under unified command. They would steadily bear down upon the fortresses scattered across the former imperial territory, exerting pressure from multiple angles to force them to disperse their defenses, thereby leaving their core territory hollowed out.
This plan would mobilize over a hundred martial artists of varying tiers, the majority drawn from the Ring of the World.
At present, Great Shun's primary strength was concentrated in three areas. The first was external defense: there was virtually no threat along the western border, a formidable force was maintained in the east to guard against the Linax Federation, and the south was tasked with watching the Chiluojiaduo Confederation. This portion would remain untouched for now.
The second part was the forces in the convergence zones. Dozens of cities had been built within the zones, conducting massive daily resource trades, nearly a third of which were entangled with the former imperial household.
For that reason, resolving to destroy the former imperial household had always been difficult in the past, as the interests of numerous internal factions within Great Shun were deeply tied to it. Consequently, this component would also see minimal mobilization.
The final part was the detachment defending the Ring of the World. The bulk of the Purist Faction's strength was committed there, and this was the very force to be mobilized—nearly all of them being staunch advocates of war.
"We cannot allow this war of subjugation to drag on indefinitely," Qiao Dingguo said solemnly. "To shatter the former imperial household in the shortest possible timeframe, we must seize this opportunity to encircle and annihilate their main force.
"The capture of Xianglan Pass has opened a breach for us. The former imperial household will not surrender this vital strategic ground.
"In this battle, we will center our operations around the formidable combat strength possessed by Commissioner Chen of the Ministry of State Security, seeking to draw in and eliminate the invading enemies in one stroke. Should this tactical objective be achieved, it will prove immensely advantageous for our subsequent advance.
"All departments must cooperate fully with this operation to ensure the smooth execution of the plan.
"After reviewing the plan, if you have any questions or additional points to raise, do so without delay."
Since this battle primarily mobilized the strength of the Enterprising Faction while the other departments merely played supporting roles with minor skirmishes at most, the majority of the representatives present raised no objections.
Yet the Enterprising Faction stood to suffer considerable losses in this fight.
Even so, the Enterprising Faction was more than willing to pay the price. Destroying the former imperial household would not only yield their vast resources, but also produce a large crop of decorated military figures, allowing them to secure key posts across various military departments before the arrival of the Great Impact.
The representatives of the Conservative Faction voiced no objections either. Having already stated their position in the earlier assembly, they could hardly overturn national strategy once it was decided.
Even so, they could see that the Enterprising Faction was wagering everything on Chen Chuan's victory in this battle; all strategic movements revolved around him alone.
If this battle was won, the subsequent campaign to destroy the former imperial household would indeed become far easier.
And if they lost...
Yet regrettably, multiple internal evaluations had shown that Chen Chuan's chances of victory appeared higher.
What worried them now was that if Chen Chuan returned bearing such monumental military merits, it might disrupt the current nominations for the Supreme Advisory Council—an outcome they were equally loath to see.
Still, once the machinery of the Great Shun state was set in motion, none of them could halt it.
Thus, the only recourse they could envision was finding ways to slow the war's progress, dragging it past this year and beyond the nomination review period.
At present, that did not seem too difficult to accomplish.
Everything now hinged on the outcome of this impending battle. It would alter countless fortunes, and perhaps even the entire layout and trajectory of the nation.
***
At that very moment, heading from Youdu toward Xianglan Pass, more than ten colossal airships surged rapidly through the sky. Surrounding the airships were swirling banks of black clouds that seemed to propel the hulls forward, driving them to even greater speeds.
Within the main cabin of the lead vessel, nearly all the senior commanders of the former imperial household assigned to this operation were gathered, huddled around a three-dimensional terrain map of Xianglan Pass.
General of Agile Cavalry Yuan Congye sat upright in the seat of honor. To his left sat two members of the imperial clan, Yuan Rong and Yuan Zhao, alongside an unassuming old man with a goatee.
To his right sat General of the Guard Tie Rugan, Embroidered Uniform Envoy Chu Xianyun, and Mystic Mi Zhuzi of the Xuan Cult. Behind the two of them, however, an empty seat remained, its occupant nowhere to be seen.
As for General Guarding the East Yan Poling and General Guarding the North Cao Ping, both were commanders of the Longevity View. Their primary purpose was to confuse the enemy and stage rear ambushes during prolonged skirmishes, leaving them with little say in this campaign.
Yuan Congye said, "At our current speed, we will arrive before dawn. The usurper court has always been poor at nighttime warfare; this is our army's opportunity.
"We must overcome the enemy at the pass within an hour. If we hesitate and delay, enemy reinforcements will arrive, and the battle will become intractable."
In truth, had they pushed forward at full throttle regardless of cost, they could have arrived several hours earlier. To the Dongxuan View, such minimal energy consumption was nothing.
However, they had brought several xenogeneic beasts with them on this campaign, which slowed their pace. Yet these beasts were crucial to the coming battle, and bringing them along was unavoidable.
"Intelligence just received from their end indicates that only one person held the pass last night, but there should be around three at this hour."
General of the Guard Tie Rugan spoke coldly at this point. "The intelligence they transmit can rarely be trusted in full."
Embroidered Uniform Envoy Chu Xianyun remarked leisurely, "Yet the usurper court's troop movements have never escaped our notice. Their reinforcements will indeed find it difficult to march to the front in force."
He spoke with such certainty because, prior to departing, the imperial household had made contact with beings from the opposite world. They had informed the other side that Great Shun would be withdrawing personnel from the Ring of the World, and had agreed to certain concessions.
So long as those entities made the slightest stir, the bulk of Great Shun's forces would be tied down, inevitably slowing their troop redeployment. Thus, before daybreak at least, they would hold an overwhelming advantage in both numbers and martial strength.
Chapter 1399