My Cultivation Starting from Archery-Chapter 376 - 168: The Emperor’s Personal Visit, The Grand Ancestor’s Treasure_4

Cui Congyi also followed up, saying, "Your Highness, before General Sha left, he indeed mentioned that Chen Sansi might hold a grudge and use it as an excuse. At that time, he even suggested to General Fan that someone else should be sent instead."

"Enough."

The Crown Prince interrupted, "This palace is aware."

"Your Highness."

The black-robed monk said, "If this humble monk’s predictions are correct, the Xuanjia Army will also be arranged to go to Ziwei Mountain next. The three thousand Black Armor soldiers may not have a Martial Saint or Mysterious Phenomenon among them, but they are still a force to be reckoned with."

"..."

The Crown Prince pinched the teacup in one hand, "Old Yao, is there a possibility of winning him over?"

"The likelihood is not great."

The black-robed monk analyzed, "This man was raised by the Emperor himself, and Yan Liang’s son has always been under his command. Additionally, there’s the connection with Sun Xiangzong... Of course, if it’s possible to win him over, we should try our utmost. Even if we can’t, we should avoid harming such a capable individual. After the success of our plans, he will naturally still be Your Highness’s servant."

"Father!"

Cao Fan pleaded, "Chen Sansi, he..."

"You are the Princely Heir, how would he dare?"

The Crown Prince sighed, "That’s enough, Cui Congyi. You and Cao Fan should act together in the following matters, including handling the situation with Zhang Lai. Remember, it’s better to resolve enmities than to create them. At this critical moment, don’t stir up any trouble!"

...

Kunlun Mountain.

"Your Majesty!"

The Chief Eunuch Huang Hong presented the battle report, "Congratulations are in order, congratulations indeed!"

"Heh~ three thousand against a hundred thousand."

After personally reviewing the report, Emperor Longqing’s expression was no longer just one of shock and joy. It also contained wariness, "Huang Hong, tell me, do you think Sun Xiangzong could have achieved this?"

"I fear not."

Huang Hong lowered his head and said, "That was an army of a hundred thousand men, and more crucially, the three thousand under General Chen’s command had just been integrated for less than two months. Yet, in this great battle, they suffered only three to five hundred casualties."

"Does this mean he is stronger than Sun Xiangzong?"

The Old Emperor’s mouth curved into an ambiguous, faint smile, "My splendid great land is indeed full of talents."

"In my humble opinion, it is primarily due to the Heavenly Book."

Huang Hong slowly said, "The formations detailed within, when deployed by them, yield effects unlike those practicable within the Capital City, oh, this servant is blabbering on..."

Emperor Longqing huffed, "I knew it, Fang Qingyun and the others were hiding things. Let them be. I’m not a narrow-minded person. As long as they are beneficial to the Great Sheng Dynasty, they all count as meritorious servants."

"Whatever the case, reclaiming the three states and restoring the Temple this time is a cause for great celebration,"

"Huang Hong, instruct the Ritual Supervision to draft an imperial decree."

"The Ministry of Rites also needs to start preparing."

"At the enfeoffment ceremony at Ziwei Mountain, all the civil and military officials from the Capital City, as well as the meritorious subjects from these recent battles, will all have to wait in Taihu Prefecture."

"I, too, will descend to the southeast in person."

...

Taihu Prefecture.

This place is an ancient capital from three dynasties, already the most prosperous prefecture city in the Eastern Territory, second to none. Further, since the main chaos in Lingzhou was concentrated around Hu Lao, luckily, most residents elsewhere were spared direct impact.

But it was only that they had not been directly affected.

The entire Eastern Border Three States had had poor harvests in recent years, and with the great battle, plus the incursion of Nan Xu’s hundred-thousand-strong army conscripting forcefully, a significant portion of the civilians’ grain was consumed in just a few months.

And it happened to be spring, naturally the hardest time of the year. Many places were experiencing famine, and if this continued, people would start dying of hunger soon.

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Chen Sansi originally planned to proceed as before, by executing a few notoriously corrupt officials and sect members, then opening the granaries for relief. However, he was refused by the higher-ups who claimed these people had already surrendered to Dasheng and would be relied upon for long-term stability in the regions. Thus, they couldn’t rashly kill the "innocent."

Even the request to allocate a small amount of military rations was politely declined by Meng Dashuai, who stated that the army’s supply must always be ensured plentifully; civilians could die, but the soldiers must not starve.

As for transferring food from other state capitals...

That was even more impossible.

Chen Sansi had neither the authority nor the capability.

However.

Day after day, there were people seeking him, either to lodge complaints or to beg for food.

Unable to execute the corrupt officials, all Chen Sansi could do was to spend his own money to buy some grain and distribute congee outside his residence daily. Almost every day at around 5 a.m to 7 a.m., there would be a long queue forming in front of his residence.

For him now, money was sufficient.

As one advanced in Martial Arts Realm, the resources needed were not things money could buy, so he helped as much as he could.

Fang Qing also contributed silver, and so did Wang Zhi, but they both insisted on keeping this low-profile, warning that making a big fuss might negatively impact the court and bring trouble to themselves.

Chen Sansi thus left the matter to his subordinates to handle.

"A letter from home!"

Days later, letters from various places arrived.

The Cavalry delivered the missives from door to door.

With the warfare ending, communication naturally became unobstructed.

The majority of the soldiers were able to make contact with their families, though it took a long time.

Chen Sansi’s letter, sent urgently by Hai Dongqing from the Governor Mansion, arrived much faster.

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He set down his long spear and opened the envelope.

The letter was roughly about how everything was fine at home and there was no need to worry, half a year had flown by without notice, and Chen Duhe was even starting to babble; half a year more and he’d start to speak.

Sun Buqi had broken through to Refining Internal, and Sun Li had reached Hua Jin.

And so on and so forth...

Essentially, it was mostly mundane family small talk.

After all, it’s good as long as everyone is safe.

"The incense has run out again."

Chen Sansi held the Xuanzhu, sensing the inventory within.

This incense, truly doesn’t last.