In a lounge inside Great Shun's Tianyuantang Administration Court, Ren Xinshan and Vice Minister Guo had still not departed.
While reviewing documents, the two made orderly arrangements for various departmental matters via their boundary credentials.
At this critical juncture, especially with no definitive news yet from the frontline, everyone went about their duties in silence, and no one raised any objections.
The Conservative Faction was also cooperating well; at least for the moment, they had not tried to trip anyone up anywhere.
Yet as members of the Enterprising Faction, both men knew full well that this was only temporary. Those people were watching the frontline developments just as intently.
The moment unfavorable news arrived from the war, their attitude was bound to shift. Some would find ways to stall and pass the buck on various matters, inventing all manner of excuses—anything to prevent the war from proceeding so smoothly.
If you could lead everyone to victory, no one had any room to complain; but once you failed, all manner of unexpected resistance would swarm in.
Vice Minister Guo finished another brief meeting on his platform, took two files handed over by his secretary, rubbed the bridge of his nose, and glanced outside.
"It should be near dawn over in the Confluence, right?"
Ren Xinshan had been keeping an eye on the time. "A little over an hour left."
Vice Minister Guo patted the armrest of the sofa. "Then an outcome should be coming soon."
Nearly an hour ago, the operations room had received word from the frontline stating that forces at Xianglan Pass had engaged the combat team dispatched by the Former Imperial House.
Yet up to now, no word of the outcome had arrived.
Only those in the upper echelons knew the exact combat strength deployed by both sides in this engagement, but it was precisely because they knew that many felt deeply uneasy.
Their side had only three combatants, while the Former Imperial House had deployed at least twice that number. Could they hold them off?
On the surface, during the battle at Tianji Peak, Chen Chuan had defeated the entire Federation team single-handedly, and the high-level forces dispatched by the Former Imperial House this time were comparable in scale to the Federation's back then, so a victory seemed well within reach.
However, based on the intelligence at hand, the strategic analysis team had conducted a detailed evaluation and concluded that the Federation group had merely been an ad hoc assembly. In terms of overall coordination and combat power, they were simply incomparable to this team fielded by the Former Imperial House.
Ren Xinshan had confidence in Chen Chuan, but others did not share that optimism.
Meanwhile, the upper echelons representing the Conservative Faction were not at ease either.
On the contrary, they believed Chen Chuan was more likely to win, which forced them to prepare for numerous downstream repercussions.
After another ten minutes of waiting, a secretary entered accompanied by two internal affairs officers, bowed slightly, and said, "Gentlemen, Vice Administrator Qiao requests your presence at a meeting."
Ren and Guo exchanged a glance, realizing news must have arrived. They promptly rose, gathered their belongings, and briskly walked toward the War Operations Conference Hall.
Upon entering the War Operations Conference Hall, they found Qiao Dingguo already waiting. He nodded at their arrival, and the two took their seats. Before long, heads of various departments filed in one after another.
Everyone knew the outcome was likely in, yet nothing could be gleaned from Qiao Dingguo's grave expression.
Once everyone had assembled, the doors to the conference room were shut.
Qiao Dingguo swept a commanding gaze across the attendees. "It has been confirmed: the battle at Xianglan Pass has reached its conclusion."
Here, he paused, taking in the eyes and expressions of everyone present, before declaring in a ringing voice, "A resounding victory for our side! The invading enemy has been completely wiped out!"
A brief hush fell over the room, followed immediately by thunderous applause that reverberated through the hall. Elation and excitement flushed the faces of the Enterprising Faction, and even the Conservative members had no choice but to put on smiles.
Once the applause died down, Qiao Dingguo signaled his secretary to distribute the printed documents at hand.
Upon receiving them, everyone quickly opened and began scanning the pages.
The file outlined only an overview of the engagement. The detailed course of the battle was noted to be in the supplementary archives, accessible to department heads upon request afterward.
This report, however, had undergone a bit of polishing.
In the telegram Chen Chuan had sent, he had specifically noted that an individual from the Xuan Religion among the Former Imperial House's forces had not engaged directly and ultimately chose an early retreat.
Yet acknowledging that would mean it wasn't a total annihilation of the enemy host. Since this victory was paramount for raising military morale and brooked no imperfections, the written report omitted this person entirely and referred only to combatants.
In any case, since he had not participated in the fighting from start to finish, calling it a complete wipeout was justifiable.
Qiao Dingguo addressed the room: "With Xianglan Pass secured, our army can reach Youdu in a single day. Strategically speaking, our forces need only mobilize sufficient military might to eradicate the old dynasty.
"Nearly a century has passed since the founding of our Republic of Great Shun. Ever since those remnants of the old dynasty were driven into the Confluence, our mopping-up and resistance against them have never ceased. Now our internal lines are secure and an external breakthrough has been achieved; conditions are fully ripe for our final mopping-up campaign.
"At this juncture, all departments must unite in purpose and press our advantage, thereby fulfilling the long-cherished wish of our forebears and restoring clarity to our land!"
The attendees listened in solemn silence. At this moment, whether Enterprising or Conservative, everyone clearly understood that the day when the old dynasty was settled once and for all was indeed at hand.
The generals dispatched by the Former Imperial House this time likely represented all the mobile combat strength they could muster.
To be completely wiped out in this battle was not merely a tactical defeat, but a strategic catastrophe.
It could be said that in every direction away from Youdu, the Former Imperial House no longer possessed any capacity to strike or intimidate.
This was fatal to their rule.
One had to realize that for an extended period, the Former Imperial House had relied on the absolute martial might of its Central Court to cow the realm, thereby restraining and extorting the various feudal lords and tributary regions.
Now that force had suffered two successive defeats. The General of Agile Cavalry, General of Chariots and Cavalry, and General of the Guard had all met their demise, to say nothing of two powerful imperial clan members who had been the staunchest supporters of the Former Imperial House.
The core martial pillars upholding the imperial house had suffered a devastating blow. At this very moment, morale within their ranks was bound to be unmoored and their strength fractured—making this the optimal opportunity to eradicate them.
Even so, none of them assumed the ensuing battle would be a simple affair.
Youdu had been fortified and expanded across multiple dynasties. After the final dynasty's imperial house occupied the region, they spent another century reinforcing it. It was truly impregnable, not an easy fortress to crack.
The chief task of the Operations Command now was to draft the master operational plan for the assault on Youdu.
Qiao Dingguo invited the attendees to voice their views.
Minister Guan of the Army Department gave it some thought and spoke first: "In my view, we must not linger too long at Xianglan Pass. We should launch an offensive as soon as possible, even if our forces are stretched thin."
He made a forceful forward-thrusting gesture. "We must first push the front line right up to Youdu's gates!"
Ren Xinshan concurred: "I agree with Minister Guan. At this moment, Youdu has just learned of the defeat. From top to bottom, panic must be rampant and their defenses unprepared.
"Seeing our army approach, and driven by differing interests, they will inevitably prioritize the imperial family's interests over those of their state as a whole, which may very well compel them to make irrational decisions."
Everyone present possessed ample intelligence; even the Conservatives had to acknowledge the truth in those words.
The regional lords of the old dynasty had long been alienated from the Former Imperial House. Once Great Shun's army appeared before Youdu, every faction would recognize that the Former Imperial House was on the verge of ruin.
When the alpha beast had lost its fangs and claws, how many would still be willing to follow in its wake?
Apart from a handful of diehards, the vast majority would refuse to be buried alongside it.
Following Ren Xinshan, heads and representatives from the various departments offered their opinions, with the majority favoring a swift advance.
This was easy to understand: capturing Youdu a day sooner meant stabilizing the situation a day sooner, while easing resource consumption and the burden on every department.
Thus, a general framework was drawn up before noon. However, they had only outlined the broad direction; the specifics of how the battle would be waged depended on the commanders on the frontline—chiefly taking into account Chen Chuan's views. Only after both sides coordinated could the final plan be settled.
After the meeting adjourned, since they judged that no major fighting would occur in the near future unless their own side launched an attack, the department heads returned to their respective offices to manage affairs.
High-ranking officials from the Refined Practice School and Convergence faction briefed their respective factions on the current state of affairs.
Yet the focus of these two factions was not the impending assault on Youdu, but centered squarely on Chen Chuan himself.
Inside the headquarters of the Convergence faction, shadowy black figures gathered in the hall.
"The strategic goal of invading Youdu and eradicating the old dynasty has been set and cannot be overturned.
"What we must watch closely is that the battle of Xianglan Pass has added yet another weighty achievement to that man's record. Given his prowess and combat capability, it is foreseeable that he will rack up further merits in the assault on Youdu. We need to settle the matter of the advisory group without delay."
Someone remarked, "The war will not end before the close of the year. So long as we proceed according to the original plan, we can keep him blocked out of the advisory group."
Just then, another voice warned, "We cannot let down our guard. The Nature faction... might be wavering."
This caused the others to turn their attention toward him.
"What happened? Didn't the Nature faction already decide to nominate their own candidate?"
"It's because of this." The man tapped his boundary credential, and a pinball game appeared on the field screen.
The Convergence faction members stared at it, bewildered.
"A game?"
"The game itself is nothing," the man explained, "but right now it has spread widely within the Nature faction. Crucially, that man was the one who brought it.
"Because of this, his renown and goodwill within the Nature faction have been growing day by day. Coupled with the illustrious deeds he has just achieved, it means the Nature faction may well overturn their previous decision."
His words were no exaggeration. The people of the Nature faction had always acted on whim and impulse.
As it stood, some who had previously opposed recommending Chen Chuan now felt regretful and wished to reconvene the meeting. Others believed their own candidate stood no chance of winning anyway, and that doing a favor for the Purist Faction would yield tangible benefits—and the more they pondered it, the more they felt they were missing out, prompting them to undo the conclusion.
Still others were purely stirring up trouble, never thinking a spectacle could be too chaotic.
Hearing this, many among the Convergence faction fell speechless.
After a brief silence, someone spoke: "Then we must accelerate our push on this matter. Find a way to stall the Nature faction. Everyone, there are only a few days left before the year ends. Once the results are sealed, we won't have to worry anymore."
Chapter 1413