Atlas of Heaven and Man.

Chapter 1422 Rescuing the Leader from the Crisis

At the same moment the headless general appeared, on the Youdu side, the ceremonial official in charge of observation immediately noticed the movement, left the master of ceremonies to continue the observation, and hurriedly entered the palace.

Upon arriving at the Yunzhi Pavilion, he found the five Grand Secretaries waiting for news. He stepped forward to greet them and reported, "The inner demon has been spotted, and the false court camp is ablaze with flames; it must be the suppression of the inner demon."

Upon hearing this report, Grand Secretary Fang asked, "Could the enemy forces cause chaos?"

The official in charge of the ritual dared not speak carelessly, and only said, "I only observed that the inner demonic energy was extremely strong. This is a sign that the seal of the suppressing force has been broken and the demonic flames are difficult to suppress..."

Grand Secretary Fang looked at the head of the table, "Grand Secretary Hong, should we lead our troops out to attack now?"

According to their established strategy, once the internal demons cause trouble in Da Shun's camp, they should immediately send a strong force to press on. Even if they cannot achieve significant results, they can at least restrain the enemy's forces and make it difficult for them to attend to both ends.

Grand Secretary Hong sat there holding his teacup, seemingly deep in thought, and remained silent for a long time.

After a while, a military officer walked in and bowed to the five elders seated on the throne.

Grand Secretary Hong put down his cup and asked in a deep voice, "How is it?"

The general replied, "Reporting to the Grand Secretary, the battle ahead is fierce, with soldiers clashing and fighting. The enemy's defenses are tight, and we have no way to get close or even see what's going on in their camp."

Grand Secretary Hong thought for a moment, then said in a deep voice, "All troops... shall not move for now!"

"Yes!"

Without any hesitation, the general, seeing that Grand Secretary Hong had no further regard for him, clasped his hands, took a few steps back, and then turned and left.

The other senior ministers exchanged glances but did not raise any objections.

Grand Secretary Hong was the chief minister and enjoyed the emperor's deep trust, so once he made a decision, no one else would object.

Furthermore, the military force that can support the imperial court is indeed very small now; it is the last military force led by General Yuchi Bin.

If this force ceases to exist, then Youdu will be unable to defend itself no matter what, so we must be extremely cautious.

As the general left, Grand Secretary Hong saw a young official waiting in the outer hall and called out, "Zuoming, come in."

The young official entered and bowed to the Grand Secretaries.

Grand Secretary Hong asked, "Did His Majesty give any instructions?"

The young official replied, "Prince Yi has again requested permission to come to the capital to defend the emperor, and His Majesty has asked the cabinet to make a decision."

Grand Secretary Hong said in a deep voice, "No!"

The young official was not surprised at all. He bowed and said, "This subordinate will return to report."

Grand Secretary Hong nodded, and after he left, he said to the four other grand secretaries, "The outcome of the war will be clear tomorrow. Why don't you all return first?"

None of the four elders made a move.

Seeing this, Grand Secretary Hong said nothing more and picked up a memorial from the table to read.

In the Da Shun army camp, after the headless general emerged, its domain expanded wildly outwards. However, the metal-like secret instruments remained firmly in place, only the vibrations on them intensified.

The collision between the two caused the headless general's body to become increasingly ethereal and uncertain.

Upon seeing this, the entire secret team was invigorated, which meant that their arrangements had worked.

However, they immediately stabilized and suppressed their emotional fluctuations, because intense emotions could also affect the cohesive field, which must be avoided.

Chen Chuan was also on guard, with the outline of the huge phantom behind him appearing and disappearing. If this thing broke free of its restraints, he would immediately step forward to fight it.

However, the fighters from Dongxuan Temple around him were all shocked when they saw the unusually large phantom behind him.

While outward appearance doesn't represent absolute strength, it undoubtedly reflects a fighter's foundation and inner strength. This is especially true for fighters with the Human Form, whose outward appearance is incredibly direct and can be used to judge their combat power.

With such a towering appearance, reaching hundreds of meters in height, Chen Chuan's previous achievements seem particularly reasonable.

Wen Mingzhong stared at the enormous anomaly. They had already made the necessary arrangements; now it was up to them to see if they could be put to good use.

The headless figure remained motionless, while the only sounds in the night sky were the roar of gunfire and the clashes of fighters exchanging blows.

All the fighters present were focused on this anomaly. The moment it appeared, the eerie feeling made everyone sense its threat, and no one dared to underestimate it.

After about seven or eight minutes, the huge figure slowly dimmed, turned into wisps of smoke, and finally disappeared. The bloody smell that had been spreading with the blood also disappeared.

Wen Mingzhong stepped forward, closed the lid of the double-eared urn, and breathed a sigh of relief after doing so.

He wiped the sweat from his brow and walked up to Chen Chuan. "Commander Chen, the 'headless' has been successfully captured. I have fulfilled my mission."

Chen Chuan nodded and said, "Mr. Wen, thank you for your hard work."

He observed the entire process, and the final capture of the anomaly seemed effortless, but in reality, all the hard work had been done beforehand; there was absolutely no room for error.

Wen Mingzhong said earnestly, "Commander Chen, thank you for your trust."

He knew very well that no one else would have given him this opportunity. The successful capture not only changed his personal fate and future, but also gave the country another powerful weapon against foreign aggression.

Chen Chuan said, "Mr. Wen, that's because you are capable enough to do it."

After he finished speaking, he heard the distant roar of artillery fire gradually weakening. This must mean that the enemy had noticed the anomaly disappearing and, seeing that things were not going well, had retreated in advance.

However, they will continue to advance tomorrow until they reach Youdu City, at which point the former imperial family will have nowhere to retreat.

Inside the Yunzhi Pavilion, after receiving the news, Grand Secretary Hong summoned the Secret Service Officer. Facing the five Grand Secretaries, the latter bowed deeply, cold sweat pouring down his face.

"The inner demon suddenly dissipated? What was the reason?"

The official in charge of the secret rites answered tremblingly, "Your Excellency, perhaps the false dynasty has sealed off this inner demon." Grand Secretary Hong asked, "Was there any prior leak about the inner demon?"

The official in charge of rituals thought for a moment and said in a low voice, "The sealing of the rituals was originally imposed by the Fulong Sect, but this sect has been destroyed by His Majesty, and all its scriptures have been burned. It is impossible for them to know about it."

In fact, he himself also suspected that information about the inner demon might have been leaked. He believed that his skills were second to none and he absolutely did not believe that any peer in the world could do such a thing and break the anomaly in just a few minutes.

But he couldn't say it outright, because the secret rituals within the palace were also carried out by the Fulong faction. If saying this was inappropriate, then the entire secret rituals for maintaining the palace would also be inappropriate, and this was something he absolutely couldn't say.

Grand Secretary Hong remained silent, merely waving his sleeve. The official in charge of the secret ceremonies, as if granted a pardon, bowed and withdrew.

Grand Secretary Fang sighed with worry, saying, "The enemy's forces are strong, and even internal troubles can be easily resolved. The nation is in grave danger."

Grand Secretary Shi said, "Fortunately, we still have the Grand Secretary. The Grand Secretary has a far-sighted vision and can see the signs of things in advance, so that the generals will not advance rashly."

Grand Secretary Hong said, "There's no need to say such things. The enemy will surely arrive at the city tomorrow. Gentlemen, let's first discuss a strategy to preserve our city and make a comeback."

Grand Secretary Fang said, "As for His Majesty..."

Grand Secretary Hong shook his head. “It is our duty to share the burdens of the emperor. There is no need to disturb His Majesty.”

After their emperor's defeat at Yaolan Pass, he stopped paying attention to outside affairs. He approved everything that the cabinet ministers agreed to, and no one knew what he was thinking.

Inside the Changlun Pavilion of Yunmeng Garden, Emperor Wenguang, Yuan Xin, dressed in a white-gray Xuan Shi robe with his hair loose, leaned against a large couch.

He held a scroll of scriptures in his hand, leisurely flipping through it, without showing any anxiety or worry on his face.

An old eunuch approached and whispered, "Prince Yong has arrived."

"Let him in."

A short while later, a dashing young man walked in; it was none other than Prince Yong, Yuan Conghua.

His eyes were very special, like gemstones, shining brightly. He knelt down before the bed and said, "Father."

Emperor Wenguang put down the book in his hand and said, "Prince Yong has arrived. Hmm, get up."

"Thank you, Father."

Emperor Wenguang then casually asked, "You're willing to deal with that Xuanji General of the false dynasty?"

Prince Yong answered without hesitation: "If Father Emperor commands me to go, then I will go!"

"Oh?"

Emperor Wenguang seemed to have discovered something on the scroll, picked up a brush and wrote a few words before putting it down.

He looked up and said, "You are filial, I can see that you are sincere, since that's the case..."

He looked at Prince Yong kneeling there, then suddenly smiled, waved his sleeve, and said, "Forget it, that man is so powerful, how could I let you, Prince Yong, go and risk your life?"

“Father!” Prince Yong clasped his hands in a solemn gesture and said in a firm voice, “Although that person is powerful, I am not afraid in a one-on-one fight!”

"Confused!"

Emperor Wenguang shook his head, "Only by preserving one's life can one achieve great things."

When Prince Yong heard this, his heart stirred, but he bowed even lower.

Emperor Wen Guang said, "I ordered your elder brother to go to the northern pass to scout the way yesterday, and he has just returned."

Prince Yong's heart skipped a beat. The northern pass? To scout the way? He suddenly realized something.

Emperor Wen Guang said leisurely, "Youdu cannot be defended."

Prince Yong's body trembled, "Father..."

Emperor Wen Guang added, "It's time to think about a way out."

Prince Yong took a half step forward and said urgently, "Father, aren't there still gods and demons? If we exert our power at Xuanhuan..."

Emperor Wen Guang revealed a mocking expression.

“Those gods and demons cannot be trusted. Until the external calamity arrives, how much power can they exert? Now that the false dynasty is determined to overthrow me, I have decided to go north.”

"This……"

Emperor Wen Guang's gaze fell upon him. "What are you worried about?"
"Are you worried that if we leave, this vast and beautiful land will be handed over to others, making me a ruler of a fallen kingdom, and you a subject of a fallen kingdom?"

Prince Yong immediately knelt down, kowtowed to the ground, and said, "Your subject dares not!"

Emperor Wenguang glanced at him a few times and slowly said, "My retreat this time is only a temporary expedient. In another half year, when the external calamity comes, I can still come back and restore my country."

This retreat is for the sake of future advancement.

He spread out his sleeves, his eyes gleaming sharply, "When the time comes, I will surely transform from a cocoon into a butterfly and usher in a new era!"

Prince Yong's face showed excitement, and he said loudly, "Your subject is willing to follow Father Emperor, to quell the rebellious, and to expand the territory!"

Emperor Wenguang glanced at his expression, smiled, and said, "It's good that you have this intention." He beckoned, "Come up here."

Prince Yong hesitated for a moment, then knelt and stepped forward. Once beneath the table, Emperor Wenguang reached out and grabbed his wrist, leaning forward and gazing intently at him. He picked up a tiger tally, slowly placed it in Prince Yong's hand, and then pressed his fingers down.
"The palace guards are under your command. This matter cannot be delayed; we must depart tomorrow night."

……

……

(End of this chapter)