Chapter 599: Chapter 595-596: Chen Mo’s Fury, Dispatching Troops to Support the King

"Dongyou Kingdom has already been annihilated by Jin Xia, and its Western Army hasn’t completely withdrawn from Longyou. It might have left troops behind, seeing Yu State’s weak defense, they could take the opportunity to advance. Unless it’s absolutely necessary, Yu State’s troops cannot be moved." Chen Mo waved his hand as he spoke.

"Then shall I go with you to Huai State?" Yue Ruyan asked in surprise.

"Take the Personal Guard Battalion with you. Leave the Brave Cavalry Guard in Linzhou." Chen Mo thought for a moment and said.

"I want to go too." Xia Zhining suddenly spoke up.

"Then take the Vermilion Bird Guard with us. Before departure, Zhining, have the Vermilion Bird Guard bring the Red Coat Cannon, along with all the Flower Bullets made recently."

A glint of ruthlessness flashed in Chen Mo’s eyes. This time, protecting Huai State was just the basics; he intended to break the enemy’s legs, hurt them enough so they wouldn’t dare to interfere again.

"Duke An, the most pressing issue, in my opinion, is not immediately rushing to aid Huai State but first issuing a public proclamation to the world, explaining the situation in Huai State, thus seizing the moral high ground." Geng Songfu suddenly thought of something, cupped his hands, and said.

Chen Mo raised an eyebrow, prompting Geng Songfu to elaborate.

"Since Lu Sheng has already allied with King Chong, any move against us will certainly lead to a decree from His Majesty that will work against you, Duke An, misleading the populace. Given that the imperial examination is a critical period now, we must be cautious.

The reason they didn’t have the court issue a notice during the surprise attack on He County was, without a doubt, to prevent the plan from being exposed prematurely. However, now that the surprise plan has failed, they have no reason to keep it hidden and will certainly have the court issue a notice, so we must seize the initiative before them." Geng Songfu said slowly.

In simpler terms, it means preempting public opinion to take the moral high ground.

After all, the thoughts of the common people are very important too.

"Brilliant." Zuo Lianglun’s eyes also lit up. He cupped his hands and said, "What Lord Geng said is very true."

"How do we issue this proclamation?" Xia Zhining curiously asked.

Geng Songfu cupped his hands again towards Chen Mo and said, "Duke An, isn’t Princess Zhaoqing and the former Empress in our hands? We can accuse Lu Sheng of holding the Emperor captive, causing chaos in the court, colluding with treacherous ministers, and invading Huai State in their names..."

"Mr. Geng, are you suggesting that I deploy troops in support of the King?" Chen Mo understood Geng Songfu’s intention and was somewhat surprised.

The last time someone deployed troops under the guise of supporting the King was when Prince Huai used the Emperor’s Blood Letter to attack Xu.

Now it’s his turn to use the former Empress and Princess against Lu.

Zuo Lianglun, showing a pleased expression, said, "Prince Huai and King Chong have long been branded as treacherous ministers by the court, and when they were branded as such, Xu Guozhong was still around. As long as we issue a proclamation to support the King, the populace will definitely believe us, because in Lu Sheng’s time, he also branded those two as treacherous ministers."

Geng Songfu nodded, "Moreover, if Lu Sheng dares to legitimize Prince Huai and King Chong, it further demonstrates to the world that he is holding the Emperor captive and causing chaos, leading to frequent changes in decrees."

"Good." Chen Mo thought this idea excellent and said to Chen Ming, "This task is yours. Draft a proclamation denouncing the traitors for me before sunset."

"Yes."

...

The crisis in Huai State quickly became known in the inner residence, and Chen Mo’s wives were immediately thrown into a panic.

They felt this was more serious than the Jin Xia invasion.

The Jin Xia invasion was aimed at the Great Song, which could be avoided.

For instance, if Chen Mo surrendered to Jin Xia, not only would he not die, but he could continue to enjoy wealth and honor.

However, King Chong and Lu Sheng were specifically targeting Chen Mo, to take his life, something surrendering could not resolve.

Moreover, as an outsider, Jin Xia wouldn’t know the Song insiders as well as their own people.

When Chen Mo returned to the inner residence, he hadn’t even sat down when everyone surrounded him directly.

Wu Mi understood the gravity of the situation and said nothing to stop him, gently asking, "Is the situation in Huai State very serious?"

"It’s not serious for the moment, but the enemy is aggressive. If it drags on, it will be very serious." Chen Mo sat down and said.

Han Anniang stepped forward to pour Chen Mo a cup of tea. She didn’t understand military affairs, so she asked, "How many enemy troops are there?"

"It’s still unclear, but since the troops of King Chong and the Lu Army could silently pass through Yan State and surprise attack He County, it indicates that King Anping is also involved. With the three parties joining forces, gathering an army of a hundred thousand is no problem." Chen Mo picked up the tea and drank it in one gulp.

"A hundred thousand!"

Hearing this number, Han Anniang’s face turned pale, and her eyes reddened as she trembled, "I remember Lu Sheng was with Erlang, how come he’s now colluding with King Chong, attacking you?"

"Sigh." Chen Mo sighed, holding Han Anniang’s small hand, and gently said, "In this world, there are no eternal friends, only eternal interests. And by recovering the North and holding the imperial examinations, I touched their interests."

"But wasn’t the order to send troops to the North given by the court? The court also agreed to resume the imperial examinations." Han Anniang didn’t quite understand.

"That was then, this is now. Anniang, now all you need to know is that the court is our enemy." Chen Mo said.

"Then, Erlang, are you confident?" Han Anniang asked.

Chen Mo initially wanted to say he wasn’t sure yet.

After all, he’s still unclear about how many enemy troops have come.

Also, whether Lu Sheng is a Second-Grade Martial Artist whose power is stronger or weaker than his, is also uncertain.

But seeing Han Anniang’s reddened eyes, Chen Mo patted her cheek and smiled, "Don’t worry, Anniang, it’s nothing. How many times have I weathered storms and waves, this time is no different."

Han Anniang also held Chen Mo’s hand.

Wu Mi said, "Husband, let Sister Ruyan go with you."

Chen Mo nodded, "Ruyan is a Divine Power Realm Martial Artist and can be of great help to me."

"That’s good." Wu Mi stepped forward, holding Yue Ruyan’s hand and instructing, "Sister Ruyan, you must take good care of your husband."

Yue Ruyan nodded solemnly.

"Sister, I’ll go too." After thinking, Xia Zhining felt she should first tell Xia Zhiqing, then said, "Moreover, I’m about to reach the Middle Grade, urgently needing some training."

Xia Zhiqing didn’t stop her. Her sister, after all, was a Seventh-Grade Martial Artist, and besides General Sun, none of her husband’s Personal Soldiers were stronger than her sister. She also understood military strategy, so going to Huai State could indeed help.

She held her sister’s hand softly, "Be extra careful."

"Husband, when are you leaving?" The usually lively Xiaolu was now uncharacteristically silent, only speaking up now.

"Tomorrow." Chen Mo said, this couldn’t be delayed.

"So soon?" Xiao Ya was a bit surprised, she hadn’t yet consummated her relationship with Brother Mo.

Chen Mo nodded, "There’s no choice, I can wait, but Huai State cannot."

"Husband, ... is Father also in He County?" Chu Juan hesitated for a long time before asking.

"No news of him yet, but..."

Before Chen Mo finished speaking, a maid came over urgently, "Master, General Sun has urgent news to report, saying something’s happened in Fengzhou."

"What?"

Chen Mo’s expression changed, and he quickly went to see Sun Meng.

...

As soon as he left the inner residence, he saw Sun Meng, who was holding a wooden box, its edges stained with blood. Chen Mo immediately felt something amiss and asked, trembling, "Wha...what happened?"

"My Lord, Deng Tian is dead, killed by Prince Huai. This box contains the head of Deng Tian, sent back to us by Prince Huai." Sun Meng said solemnly.

Hearing this, Chen Mo trembled as he opened the box. A cold, foul stench immediately rushed out. Inside the box lay a head, blood already drained, eyes wide open in death—it was Deng Tian’s.

At that moment, Chen Mo’s mouth opened and closed, as if fermenting emotions. After a while, in a cold voice, he said, "I want him dead."

PS: In the previous Chapter, a correction was made. Li Yunzhang is in Yu State, and the garrison commander in Huai State is Zhao Liang.