Cultivation Begins with Caring for Sister-in-law-Chapter 474: Liang Ji: He’s Like Half an Emperor

Chapter 474: Chapter 474: Liang Ji: He’s Like Half an Emperor

Under Lu Sheng’s indication, the Emperor decreed to announce the great victory in Gaozhou to the entire nation.

This move seemed to be promoting Chen Mo’s achievements to the world, but Lu Sheng had his own intentions as well.

In this decree, Lu Sheng emphasized that Chen Mo acted according to the Court’s orders to dispatch troops against Jin Xia.

While this may appear as an attempt to glorify the Court, indirectly, the Court could use this to boost its presence and prestige.

At least in the eyes of the uninformed populace, it seemed that Chen Mo was following the Court’s command.

Secondly, with the new Emperor ascending the throne, there had been much talk in the nation. Leveraging the great victory in Gaozhou, it could be shown to the world that the Yong’an era name was auspicious, and it was under the new Emperor’s blessing that Chen Mo could win this battle.

In short, his promotion of Chen Mo was also aimed at enhancing the Court’s influence.

After the court assembly, Lu Sheng summoned all his trusted confidants to his manor for discussions.

Hui Cheng, impatient long ago, immediately asked, "Prime Minister, as far as I know, Chen Mo needs to guard against Prince Huai and Longyou. The forces he could mobilize to resist Jin Xia were not many, while Jin Xia came with great momentum, with numerous troops and cavalry. How did he manage to drive away the Jin Xia Army on the plains?"

This point puzzled Lu Sheng as well. The victory report submitted by Chen Mo only mentioned the number of Jin Xia troops killed and which generals were slain, but it did not detail how the battle was won, such as the strategies used.

"The victory report sent by Chen Mo only contains the results, with no mention of the process, not even the size of his own force." Lu Sheng sat down, sipped some tea, but his brows had not relaxed since the end of the court assembly.

"It has long been heard that the Marquis of Pingting County is ambitious, unwilling to stay beneath others. First, he broke away from the Celestial Master Army and set up his own sect. He later seized Linzhou without the Court’s decree, and ultimately took over Huai State. This spring, he even dispatched troops to Jiangnan. All these actions are of great intent. Now that he has seriously damaged the Jin Xia Army, if he truly drives these barbarians out of the North, by then, half the nation would be in his hands. Prime Minister, we cannot ignore this threat."

Lu Sheng’s confidant, Luo Qingyang, said in a deep voice.

Luo Qingyang was someone Lu Sheng trusted most and had always been advising and assisting him. The previous military coup was also devised by Luo Qingyang.

And what Luo Qingyang pointed out was precisely the reason why Lu Sheng had been frowning.

If Chen Mo truly expelled Jin Xia from the North, Chen Mo’s forces could take advantage to control the entire North. By then, the whole territory north of the Huai River would be under Chen Mo’s influence.

That would be nearly half of the Great Song’s territory.

The most critical part is, Chen Mo could legitimately gain control.

Because initially, Lu Sheng, under the Emperor’s name, granted Chen Mo the authority to act as he saw fit in the North.

And the reason Lu Sheng did so was that he believed Chen Mo was not capable of challenging Jin Xia, at most just keeping Jin Xia’s forces at bay outside Qingzhou.

After all, at that time, Chen Mo had few troops and generals, with no help from others, and the likelihood of victory seemed slim.

Lu Sheng even thought that with Jin Xia’s invasion, he could take the opportunity to weaken Chen Mo’s forces, reducing the future threat in his pursuit of dominance across the realm.

But he never expected that Chen Mo would not only win but also severely damage the enemy forces.

According to the victory report, more than twenty thousand of Jin Xia’s infantry and cavalry were killed.

This was simply unbelievable; had Chen Mo grown to such an extent?

What worried Lu Sheng most was his ignorance of the method Chen Mo used to defeat the Jin Xia Army.

Without knowing, there’s no way to guard against it. If one day he confronts Chen Mo head-on, it would be difficult to resist.

"Luonan is thousands of miles from Qingzhou, it’s too early to talk about defense, and it’s impossible to defend. The urgent task is to seize Xiliang quickly and expand our territory." Lu Sheng said with a furrowed brow.

Luo Qingyang sighed helplessly. With Chen Mo’s wings now fully spread, it was indeed difficult to guard against him. The only method was to expand their own power.

Luo Qingyang said: "Half of King Chong’s forces are in Longyou, King Anping is timid as a mouse. Yang Xian, though close to us, has his own matters to attend to, and Prince Huai himself is hard-pressed. Chen Mo can’t reach to Gaozhou; launching troops to Xiliang now is a divinely granted opportunity."

Lu Sheng nodded and immediately ordered, "Hui Cheng."

"I am here," Hui Cheng responded respectfully.

"Immediately dispatch people to gather provisions from Qing County and Dongping City and begin assembling the troops to set off for Xiliang as soon as possible."

"Yes."

...

In the Empress Dowager’s bedroom.

Liang Ji, draped in a palace skirt stitched with plum blossoms on a blue background, graceful and well-rounded, was reclining on a soft couch, supporting her cheek with one hand, taking a nap, a gentle and rich demeanor lightly flowing around her.

Suddenly, the sound of a bell ringing outside interrupted her nap.

The skin on her plump face twitched; if she remembered correctly, this bell was the sound of triumph, which had not been heard for quite some time.

She quickly called for the Palace Maid serving her, asking her to find out what was happening.

Soon, the Palace Maid came back in jubilation: "Your Majesty, good news, good news, a victory in the North! The Grand Commandant won his first battle and has severed the enemy general’s head to present it to Your Majesty."

Upon hearing this, Liang Ji was stunned, descended from the soft couch, and quickly asked: "Quickly tell me what happened?"

The Palace Maid recounted what she had discovered to Liang Ji.

However, just as she finished, the sound of triumph resounded outside again.

"Another victory report?" Liang Ji was startled, so she asked the Palace Maid to inquire again.

Before long, the Palace Maid returned and said: "Your Majesty, they said that after the Grand Commandant won the first battle by repulsing the Jin Xia barbarians, he crippled them again at Yao’er City the next day, killing more than twenty thousand enemy infantry and cavalry. The Grand Commandant also shot and killed a prominent figure on the enemy side, reportedly the personal nephew of the enemy commander, whose head was cut off and presented in a box to Your Majesty."

Upon hearing this, a flush of excitement uncontrollably colored Liang Ji’s face, as she too was a subject of the Great Song, once the Empress governing all. Such news of severely defeating foreign enemies naturally delighted her.

However, thinking of Liang Xuan’s matter, Liang Ji promptly suppressed her excitement, her lips quivering slightly, as she said: "This Marquis of Pingting County has quite the capability."

Indeed.

In just a few short years, from a common man of humble origins, he became first a rebel in the Celestial Master Army, then rose to the rank of General Xuanwei within less than a year, then to General of the Western Expedition, and finally to County Marquis, ultimately appointed as Grand Commandant.

It could be said that this is the pinnacle that a minister hopes to reach in a lifetime.

Yet, Chen Mo achieved this at the youthful age still nearing twenty.

A young Marquis, with formidable power.

If she remembered correctly, the Court had granted Chen Mo the authority to act as he saw fit in the North.

Now, after the initial victory and then severely damaging the enemy again, should he finally drive the Jin Xia barbarians out of the Great Song, he might even be conferred the title of Duke.

No, perhaps not just Duke.

But half an Emperor.