Atlas of Heaven and Man.

Chapter 1395 Momentum Now

After Chen Chuan and Ren Xinshan got out of the car, they walked up the wide steps in front of the State Council’s main hall, their footsteps echoing steadily and powerfully.

Some government officials passing by would stop and watch them, waiting for them to pass before continuing on their way.

Upon arriving at Tianyuan Hall, one can see the national emblem of the Great Shun Dynasty hanging in the center directly above, with two extremely imposing rows of armed guards standing solemnly on both sides of the passage.

This place is filled with a solemn and powerful aura of authority, and those who come here will subconsciously feel a sense of awe.

Secretary Pei was standing right behind the two of them. Even though he had been here with Ren Xinshan many times before, he still couldn't help but feel a sense of tension and awe.

After standing there for a moment, Chen Chuan and Ren Xinshan passed through security and entered through the main gate. Upon arriving at the outer hall, internal staff immediately came forward to lead the way.

The three of them walked through the spacious and brightly lit reception hall and headed east along the corridor decorated with various calligraphy and painting ornaments.

At this moment, Chen Chuan noticed a piece of calligraphy and painting with the four large characters "Tian Yuan Wei Zheng" written on it.

Ren Xinshan saw his gaze and said, "This was written by Zhen Yong, a famous minister of the Sheng Dynasty. Legend has it that he was extremely skilled at discerning the qi and observing the phenomena."

Chiqiu has been the center of the world since ancient times, and all the palaces and temples built throughout history have been located on its summit. When Tianyuan Hall was established, it was built on a separate site in order to separate it from the old era.

However, during construction, a stone tablet inscribed with these four characters was unearthed, which many considered an auspicious omen. This is a copy; the original tablet is now in the Dachen Palace Museum.

Chen Chuan glanced at it a few more times. It seemed that the Da Chen Palace Museum had a lot of antiques on display. Since arriving in Zhongjing, he had spent most of his time cultivating and rarely went anywhere else. He could go there to take a look when he had time.

As they spoke, the three arrived at the end of the corridor, where the staff pressed the elevator button for them. After the three entered in order, they went straight up to the sixth floor.

After exiting, there was another carpeted corridor. After passing a stone landscape screen with the four characters "治道顺民" (meaning "governing the people in accordance with the law"), we arrived at the reception room for this meeting.

The staff at the gate checked the name cards of the two people and then had the active consciousnesses check their field of vision before saluting and letting them pass.

Chen Chuan walked in and saw that it was a large hall with a circular layout. The carpet on the floor was clean and elegant, the lighting inside was soft, and the surroundings became much quieter and the atmosphere was very solemn.

Guards and simply dressed female housekeepers stood on either side of the chair.

Vice Chairman Jin was standing at the front. He looked to be in his sixties, well-maintained, and showed signs of regular exercise. He had his hair neatly combed back and wore black-rimmed glasses, giving him a dignified appearance, but his voice was gentle: "Vice Minister Ren, Secretary Chen, hello."

The two men stepped forward and shook hands with him in turn. When Vice Chairman Jin shook hands with Chen Chuan, he looked him over carefully for a few moments, smiled and said, "Please sit down, both of you."

The three of them sat down in their respective seats.

Vice Chairman Jin said, "The reason I invited Manager Chen here is to consult with you and learn about some things. These are just some routine inquiries and do not involve anything else."

The secretary standing next to him said, "Manager Chen, all our conversations are recorded, and we will ask Manager Chen to review them at the end."

Vice Chairman Jin smiled and said, "If Secretary Chen feels there are no problems, then shall we begin our discussion?"

Chen Chuan had no objections and nodded, saying, "Okay."

Vice Chairman Jin said, "I have read the two articles you wrote, Secretary Chen. They are clear in their stance, well-reasoned, and insightful. You have also put your ideas into practice."

I have seen the report on the fighting in the border area of ​​Anbei Province, but as a key participant, there are some situations I need your confirmation, Commander Chen.”

The secretary immediately took out a report and handed it to Chen Chuan with both hands.

Chen Chuan took it and looked at it, then looked up and said, "It's basically true, except for a slight omission in the part about the battle. But that's probably because they couldn't see the specific details clearly, so they wrote it rather vaguely."

Vice Chairman Jin nodded slowly. The gap between fighters is quite large, sometimes even greater than the gap between ordinary people and fighters. As someone in this position, he naturally understands this.

He said, "Secretary Chen, you put the skyline and the old imperial family together in your article, and you expressed your point of view very clearly."

"Then, I would like to ask you, do you believe that the conditions are ripe for us to attack the old imperial family?"

As soon as the question was asked, everyone present unconsciously lowered their breathing, clearly aware of the weight of the question.

Chen Chuan replied, "Excuse my frankness, but I personally think it's not mature enough."

"Oh?"

Vice Chairman Jin was slightly surprised by the answer, but he could easily guess that Chen Chuan had more to say, so he didn't rush to speak.

Chen Chuanchuan said: "The time is never ripe to attack the old imperial family."

He paused for a moment, "After my visit to the Federation, I spent some time with the Celestial Mystery Sect. In the sect's scriptures, I saw many records about deities from the old era. Many of those ancient deities should still reside in the old imperial court and be worshipped by it."

Historically, old dynasties have sought refuge in this land of fusion. Although previous dynasties may be driven out and destroyed by later dynasties, the Eastern Continent has always continued uninterrupted. The number of deities worshipped since ancient times may not have decreased; on the contrary, it may have increased.

I've checked some of the documents and files from the Affairs Department, as well as some past battle plans. It can be seen that we currently do not know exactly how many gods support the Old Imperial Family, nor how many of them are colluding with the opposing force.

But one thing is certain: while their strength may not match ours, our past estimates were far too conservative.

He looked at Vice Chairman Jin and said, "That means we need to mobilize more forces to destroy the old imperial family. The forces originally reserved for the decisive battle with them may be insufficient."

From a national defense perspective, in order to ensure that there are no problems in the World Ring and in all directions, it will undoubtedly take some time to gather a certain number of powerful fighters. Even if everything goes smoothly, it may take about a year and a half.

However, I believe that the best window of opportunity may only be these next few months. If we don't try to overthrow the old imperial family now, we may not have such a good opportunity again.

Vice Chairman Kim should also know that we should have about a year left before the Big Bang, and at that time no one knows where the first collision point will be.

If we were in the Great Shun Dynasty, the affairs of the old imperial family would likely not be easily resolved, and we would be attacked from both sides.

Vice Chairman Jin listened attentively and said with emotion, "Secretary Chen, you are right. The world is dynamic. Under the pressure of the Great Collision, our strength is growing, while the enemy has not declined as a result, but has also become stronger. We can never achieve the ideal state."

Now that we have certain conditions for attacking, if we don't seize this opportunity, we may never have another chance.

His expression turned serious. "So, Steward Chen, if you were to guard Yaolan Pass, could you hold it?"

Chen Chuan also gave a clear answer to this question.

"If I were to go there in person now, I think I could hold out, but if it's delayed for a few days, then it's hard to say."

The capture of Yaolan Pass happened last night, but if the old imperial family reacts quickly and decisively enough, they could reach it within a day.

Vice Chairman Jin remained silent. He glanced at his secretary, who understood and asked, "Secretary Chen, if I may ask, the checkpoint doesn't seem to impose many restrictions on you. Even if it's taken away, can't you take it back?"

Chen Chuan glanced at him and said, "It is indeed possible, but we need to consider that the old imperial family may use some ritualistic means to make up for the deficiencies. The extra price we would have to pay to take it back would be very unworthy, even without considering the political impact and other factors."

In addition, I predict that the old imperial family will likely use a considerable amount of their forces to retake the pass, but after the retake, not all the participating generals will necessarily stay there, which would reduce the chance of annihilating this force in one fell swoop.

It's better to resolve this all at once than to deal with them one by one later, making the subsequent battles less difficult.

His voice was clear and powerful, and everyone present could feel the strong confidence in his words.

Vice Chairman Jin nodded, and his secretary immediately handed the notebook to Chen Chuan.

"Chen, please check if there are any problems."

Chen Chuan took it, flipped through it, and said, "No problem." He then handed it back to the secretary.

Vice Chairman Jin then stood up and extended his hand to Chen Chuan, "Thank you, Manager Chen. These are the questions we have for you. Thank you for coming here to answer our questions."

Chen Chuan also stood up, shook hands with him, and said, "Vice Chairman Jin, it's nothing. As the Director of the National Security Affairs Department, this is my duty."

Vice Chairman Jin's serious expression vanished, replaced by a smile. He took a sealed bag from his secretary and handed it to Chen Chuan. "Secretary Chen, this is something someone asked us to give to you. Please keep it safe."

Chen Chuan thanked him and accepted the item.

Vice Chairman Jin was busy, so he only said a few words before they left.

Vice Chairman Jin returned to his office, picked up the record, looked at it, checked it, signed it, and said, "I'm going to see the Chief of the General Political Department."

After Chen Chuan returned to his car, he took the sealed bag, opened it, and found that it contained several items, including a letter.

He took it out and looked at the signature. The letter was from Meteora, the head of the international investigation team.

At that moment, a slight stirring occurred to him, because the instant he took it in his hand, he suddenly felt a spiritual tremor.

This feeling... is like some kind of higher power I've encountered before.

……

……

(End of this chapter)