Atlas of Heaven and Man.

Chapter 1446 One Shot Settles the Border
After Ren Xinshan and Vice Minister Guo entered the operations conference room, they glanced around and saw that senior leaders from various departments were coming in one after another, which further confirmed their guess.

Although the command center has been calling them to meetings from time to time these past few days, most of the time it's just discussions or coordination with a single department. The gathering of high-level officials from multiple departments means that something big must have happened.

They sat down in their seats, and soon most of the senior officials from the relevant departments had arrived.

At this moment, Deputy Chief of the General Political Department Qiao Dingguo walked in. His steps were a little faster than usual, but more forceful.

Upon taking the seat of honor, he looked ahead, put down the prepared manuscript, and spoke in a loud and powerful voice:
"Gentlemen, a telegram just arrived from the front..."

He paused briefly, then raised his voice slightly: "Under Commander Chen's leadership, our Great Shun army captured Youdu at 3:15 PM yesterday!"

Upon hearing this, everyone was momentarily stunned, seemingly unable to process the news they had just heard.

After a while, one person in the conference room clapped first, and then one after another, thunderous applause rang out in the conference room, so loud that it almost shook the chandelier above to fall.

Most of those present were deeply moved, even the conservatives were filled with emotion.

In fact, they had anticipated this outcome as early as when the war was progressing steadily, but they did not expect it to happen so quickly.

Qiao Dingguo did not interfere with the joy of the crowd. He waited until the applause subsided and everyone's emotions calmed before speaking again:
"Our comrades at the front have worked very hard. It is because of their efforts and sacrifices that we have won this war."

Of course, all of this is inseparable from the efforts of everyone present.

Upon receiving the message from the front lines, I immediately decided to share it with everyone. You've all worked very hard, but starting today, you can finally sleep peacefully.

Many people in the room smiled.

"We will compile a detailed report on the conquest of Youdu and distribute it to everyone. What we still need to consider is how to eliminate the remaining forces of the old dynasty."

As Qiao Dingguo was speaking, a combat staff officer came up, pressed the lower realm token, and a map of Youdu appeared on the field screen in front of everyone.

"This is a map of the entire territory of the old imperial family sent from the front lines, and it is more detailed than what we currently have."

The area highlighted in red is the region we currently control. As you can see, the only remaining threat to us is Prince Yi of the old imperial family.

Prince Yi is a local lord of the former dynasty. Long before Emperor Wenguang ascended the throne, he had already gained a semi-independent status with the support of the Chan sect. He is currently entrenched on Tiger Tooth Island.

Because it has long been isolated at sea and has been deliberately isolated and suppressed by the old imperial family, its prestige within the old dynasty system is not high. Even with the support of the remnants of the old dynasty, it is impossible to gather much power again in the short term.

Our next task is very clear: to wipe out this local separatist force of the old dynasty, to eliminate the local warlord armies of the former imperial family, and to completely and utterly destroy the old imperial family!

The operations command center erupted in enthusiastic applause once again.

After Qiao Dingguo explained the strategic goals for the next stage, the meeting discussed the topic and began to coordinate and assign tasks to various departments.

The meeting lasted until the afternoon. When it ended, the progressives left the meeting room in high spirits, while the conservatives had mixed feelings.

Although Qiao Dingguo didn't mention anything specific during the meeting, only repeatedly emphasizing the role of the frontline troops, everyone knew that the focus was actually on Chen Chuan. Although he didn't mention him in every sentence, he did mention him in every sentence.

From the start of the formal attack on Youdu until now, it has only been seven days. In just seven days, the old regime that had been entangled with the Great Shun for nearly a hundred years has been destroyed.

Without Chen Chuan, the army would never have been able to advance so smoothly.

While the various departments of Da Shun did provide comprehensive support from the rear, replacing the commander would undoubtedly prolong the war and incur greater costs.

With the destruction of the old imperial family, the internal and external environment of the Great Shun Dynasty will be greatly changed. Putting aside everything else, once the power guarding the fusion land is released, they will have more power to invest in the world ring, which will be extremely beneficial to consolidating the entire direction.

Conservatives felt that everything happened too fast, so fast that they hadn't had time to process it, and even now, the news still feels very unreal.

The front lines are now almost entirely comprised of progressive individuals, so they can only exert their efforts in various peripheral areas.

Upon receiving this news, the faction's senior management had to convene another meeting at the headquarters of the Fusion Faction.

"We might be able to get our people involved in eliminating Prince Yi. Could we find a way to bring that person back?"

"Impossible. Perhaps the higher-ups won't refuse our participation in the final battle for the sake of balance, but before all the battles are over, even for the purpose of stabilizing morale, there is absolutely no way they will recall this person."

Furthermore, the matter of the Supreme Advisory Council is not yet settled. Bringing this person back at this time, without immediately acknowledging his contributions, would trigger political turmoil. Those people would definitely seize this opportunity to push him into power. I don't think it's worth paying that price.

These words immediately caused several high-ranking members of the integration faction to abandon their original plans.

Someone then said in a low voice, "After today's meeting, I'm a little worried that there might be problems with the Natural Faction."

"Today is the 22nd. There are still three days before the final recommendation quota is submitted. We just need to make sure there are no problems in these three days. We can't afford to delay for more than three days, can we?"

The man said, "It's hard to say. Things of nature can never be judged by common sense."

Someone else suggested, "How about this? We can try to get the Natural Faction to hold another meeting. We can choose an issue that they care about. This will definitely entice many people to follow. The Natural Faction will have to deal with their internal problems first before worrying about other things. Three days will pass quickly."

"Alright, let's do it this way." In front of Youdu City, at the temporary fortress garrison.

Chen Chuan looked at the object in his hand. It was a white, soft, greasy substance with fine textures on it.

If I had to use an analogy, it would be like a piece of freshly steamed, tender white crab meat.

This thing was emitting an extremely strong fragrance, looking incredibly tempting. The mutated tissue within my body was stirring restlessly, reminding me that I needed it.

He didn't rush to absorb it, but observed it for a while.

This was the first time he had found a precious material that was very suitable for his use. Unfortunately, he didn't know what it was or where Emperor Wen Guang had found it. At first, it was wrapped in a layer of black powder. Was it to deliberately conceal it?
He felt that someone like Emperor Wenguang was unlikely to do such a thing, especially since he was about to ascend to immortality, so why would he care about such things?

After thinking about it for a while, he thought he could ask Ming Chengzi later, maybe that person would know something.

He first carefully put the item away, and then sorted out the rest of Emperor Wenguang's belongings.

Besides the two Level 1 relics, there is one Level 2 and three Level 3 relics here. However, none of them are for combat; they are all for assisting in cultivation.

For example, that level-two lost item can enhance the effectiveness of meditation during seated practice.

It may look ordinary, but it's actually extremely valuable because even a fighter of his caliber could achieve the same effect using it.

That would be very effective.

Besides the lost items, there was another object whose purpose was unclear at first glance. It was a black jade talisman. Upon closer inspection, it had yin and yang teeth on it, so it seemed to be a pair with the other one.

After observing for a while, he couldn't help but think that this might be the key to open the rift.

If that's the case, then there's no need to use the Snow Lord's Blade when going there.

While taking stock of our spoils today, we discovered that some rather important items were missing.

That was Emperor Wenguang's private treasury.

Those medicines and elixirs were nothing to Emperor Wenguang, who was about to ascend to immortality. The most precious things must have been arranged in advance, such as the Celestial Map which has not yet been found.

Throughout history, imperial families have had a tradition of keeping secret treasures, and these items may have already been placed in those treasures in advance.

Could it be inside that crack?
It should be noted that the route Emperor Wenguang took towards Haixi Road represented his imperial title, and his actions had to be consistent with his status as a monarch, so the possibility is extremely high.

After thinking it over, he decided to go there first thing tomorrow morning.

At that moment, a voice came from inside the gate: "Commander Chen, this is Fan Zhentong. I want to ask you something. Do you have time?"

Chen Chuan said, "Mr. Fan, I have time."

"Then I'll come over."

A few minutes later, Fan Zhentong arrived at his temporary residence. Chen Chuan invited him in and, after he sat down, poured him a cup of tea.

"I've heard that Emperor Wenguang collected fine teas, but he probably didn't drink them much. Mr. Fan, please have a taste."

Fan Zhentong took it and said, "The quota for the Supreme Advisory Council will be submitted the day after tomorrow. Commander Chen, what are your thoughts?"

Chen Chuan said, "The faction is currently working on it for me. I have done everything I can personally. If this succeeds, great; if it fails, it's no big deal."

Fan Zhentong looked at him, knowing he had higher goals, and asked again, "Are you confident?"

Chen Chuan said, "Just do your best."

Fan Zhentong said, "My report has been submitted, and it basically describes the course of the war truthfully. After the old regime finishes dealing with it, we will face the difficulties that follow."

Chen Chuan nodded slightly, knowing he was referring to the Great Crash. He looked up and said, "I'll be leaving tomorrow."

"Haixi Road?"

Chen Chuan nodded slowly.

Fan Zhentong said, "I'll handle the communication with the command center. Is three days enough?"

Chen Chuan said, "That's enough."

……

……

(End of this chapter)