Martial Cultivator

Chen Chao knew what Song Lian was worried about and smiled as he said, “It’s like doing business. When you hire workers and open a new shop, you have to treat them well if you want them to be loyal and follow the owner wholeheartedly. But if that ends up making the old-timers feel wronged, then that really wouldn’t make sense.”

Song Lian frowned and said, “I don’t feel wronged.”

Chen Chao clicked his tongue. “You think I’m doing this for your sake? Do you think I don’t know what kind of temperament you have, Elder Brother Song?” “But when it comes to doing things, it’s never enough for only the person involved to be satisfied. Others have to be satisfied too. If I wronged you and you yourself don’t feel wronged, that’s fine. But others will feel wronged on your behalf. What then? Can’t very well have you, Song Lian, go around explaining to everyone one by one, saying that you don’t feel wronged and that the Lord Warden Commander did nothing wrong, can you?”

Song Lian frowned slightly. After Chen Chao pointed it out like that, he could be said to have understood.

As a result, he fell into a situation where he had nothing to say. Asking this Nepenthe martial artist to admit fault to Chen Chao was not exactly a likely thing.

Chen Chao said with a smile, “Elder Brother Song, you can admit fault. It’s private anyway, I won’t tell anyone else.”

Song Lian let out a cold laugh and said nothing.

Chen Chao did not mind. He quickly changed the subject and said, “I plan to establish the position of Inspector Censor in the prefectures and commanderies later on. That way, first, we can add a batch of official posts so these fellows who have thrown in their lot with Great Liang have offices to hold. The second reason is more important - we should still be conducting oversight of our warden faction from the inside out. When the warden faction was established, it was already different from the hundred officials. That naturally placed us outside the rest of the bureaucracy. But precisely because of that, over these two hundred years, quite a few problems have emerged here. If no changes are made, sooner or later something major will happen.”

This was inspiration Chen Chao had drawn from himself over these days. Coupled with the fact that among the hundred officials there already existed posts like Imperial Inspector Censors, the warden faction should likewise have such officials.

Song Lian thought for a moment, then nodded. “From this angle, I don’t think there’s a problem. The only issue is whether adding so many official posts within the warden faction will make the court and the countryside think you’re deliberately cultivating your own power base.”

Chen Chao nodded and smiled. “That’s why I didn’t bring this up at first - because it would drag in matters beyond what I intended. But there’s no helping it. When martial artists throw in their lot with the court, more than half of them are coming for me. Naturally, they also want to enter the warden faction, and only here can they gain a stronger sense of belonging.”

Song Lian did not speak. It was not because he opposed it, but precisely because he knew that everything Chen Chao had said was correct.

“This matter definitely has to be pushed forward. The two words ‘rules’ must take root in people’s hearts. That’s the tone I’ve set for the warden faction. Of course, at present, the one who least follows the rules is me, the Lord Warden Commander.”

Chen Chao laughed at himself, then continued, “This is an extraordinary time, so there’s no choice but to act this way. I hope that when peaceful times arrive later, whether it’s me or anyone else, we’ll all be people who follow the rules. Only then can Great Liang truly endure without end, truly flourish for the long term.”

The word ‘rules’ had to exist both inside and out. On the outside, those cultivators from foreign lands had to abide by them. On the inside, Great Liang’s own officials had to do the same.

Only then would the Great Liang that the Great Liang Emperor and Chen Chao desired truly come into being.

Song Lian looked at Chen Chao and said with some emotion, “There’s never been a powerful official in history who did things the way you do, constantly adding shackles to himself. In the future, unless you truly don’t want to follow the rules yourself and don’t care about the reputation you leave in the historical record, you’re bound to have far less freedom.”

Chen Chao raised his brows and laughed. ”Do you think Your Father plans to be Lord Warden Commander for my entire life?”

Uncle was emperor for only a dozen or so years before he found it troublesome and tiring and dumped the burden on me. You want me to do it for a lifetime? Is that even possible?

Song Lian was left speechless, then broke into laughter. He really had not considered that angle.

Still, a powerful official of the present age who could say he did not care about power was truly rare.

There were likewise very few such figures to be found in the historical records, but among those few, the most famous was the Duke of Zhou, whom the common people nowadays jokingly refer to as Saint Zhou for his love of sleep.

This meeting with Song Lian had been arranged precisely for these two matters. Once they were discussed, Chen Chao had no desire to waste words. After thinking for a moment, he said, “On the twenty-ninth day of the twelfth month, brother and sister-in-law, plus that simpleton Weng Quan, all come over to the bamboo lodge for the New Year’s Eve meal.”

Song Lian nodded first, then frowned. “Who’s cooking? Don’t tell me Lord Warden Commander is also proficient in the culinary arts?!”

Chen Chao was momentarily at a loss for words. Recently, he had only been thinking about putting together a gathering so that all his friends in the Divine Capital could properly get together, but he had not considered this issue at all. Slapping his forehead, Chen Chao gave a bitter smile.

Song Lian laughed and said, “Then let your sister-in-law cook a meal, and you prepare the ingredients yourself?”

Chen Chao shook his head. “It’s not like I’m tasting sister-in-law’s cooking for the first time. We should still do something different. As for who cooks, I’ll think about it some more.”

Song Lian did not really mind. When it came to eating together, what mattered was never the quality of the dishes anyway.

Still, he could not help asking an extra question. “Then according to your thinking, who do you plan to invite?”

There was no intention to hide it. Since Song Lian asked, Chen Chao answered frankly, “The three of you, plus Jiang Xiao’an’s family of three, that fellow Yu Xiyi, Chen Wannian’s whole family, and finally His Highness the Crown Prince and my future sister-in-law.”

Adding in his own three disciples, the number was actually not small.

Song Lian gave a bitter smile. “If His Highness the Crown Prince comes, can people like us still be at ease?”

A Crown Prince, and a future Crown Princess - these were hardly ordinary people.

Chen Chao burst out laughing. “Then forget it. Let him stay in the palace and eat some cold dishes.”

After parting with Song Lian, Chen Chao spent the next few days racking his brains over one matter: who would take charge of cooking that New Year’s Eve meal. He himself and his few disciples were definitely not an option. As for Yu Xiyi, just listening to his mouth one could tell he only knew how to eat, there was no way to count on him.

As for anyone else, he was even less familiar with them.

Fortunately, later on, when Chen Chao was still pondering this, the young girl Jiang Xiao’an heard about it and volunteered, saying that her mother was very good at cooking and could help.

However, the little girl put forward one condition at the time: when she later came to possess her own lifeblood flying sword, could Chen Chao speak to Sword Qi Mountain for her, so that when she went up the mountain to take a sword, she could choose a good one?

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