After Zhuge Liang introduced the concept of "seven days a week," the system of "working five days, resting two days" was widely accepted by various sectors of society.
Monday is when most of the families with supernatural abilities hold their family meetings to review and summarize the previous week's work, and the Shendu Cheng family is no exception.
Anyone eligible to attend the weekly family meeting is considered a core member of the family—although they don't necessarily have to attend.
Since the passing of the old clan leader, the members of the Clan Affairs Committee have dwindled to 10. The elders, led by the second and third uncles, have advocated for "giving the newcomers more opportunities for exercise," and basically don't involve themselves much in the affairs anymore.
So, apart from Cheng Jinyang himself, the weekly family meetings are attended mainly by Cheng Huaiyan and Cheng Yuexian, his two cousins.
In fact, most of the family's power now lies in the hands of these three young people. It's unclear how the old man Cheng Benhe, persuaded the former advisory elders to relinquish power and retire peacefully... Of course, the current situation of the family is extremely difficult, and everyone agrees that further infighting would be fatal.
On the other hand, although Cheng Jinyang came from a humble background and was only naturalized later, he has an astonishing network of connections, which is an undeniable fact within the family.
Royalty, princesses, and members of the Five Great Clans... all sorts of nobles gather around him. If anyone can lift the Cheng family out of its predicament, it's probably him.
After the family meeting, the strategic development of the Stonehead Mountain with the Hejian Xing family was also finalized.
Although discussing this during wartime might seem untimely, a closer look at the plummeting land and housing prices around Jiankang City reveals that it's actually a golden opportunity to invest in real estate—if this war can be won, that is.
Of course, if the war fails, all bets are off. With the loan provided by the Cui family, buying up all of Stonehead Mountain and converting as much money as possible into family assets is the way to go!
After the meeting, Cheng Jinyang left the newly built family council chamber and saw Cui Jinqi idly chasing butterflies outside.
The flowers in the garden had just been planted, attracting several butterflies fluttering around. Miss Cui, with a playful expression, tiptoed around, clumsily attempting to catch the butterflies with her hands.
"Don't you know there's a tool called a butterfly net?" Cheng Jinyang remarked.
"Oh, Jinyang, you're here!" She turned around as if just noticing him, surprised.
Hmm, so she already noticed me. Was that butterfly-catching just a show for my benefit? Cheng Jinyang thought to himself.
However, Cui Jinqi didn't give him a chance to ponder. She bounced over and enthusiastically dragged him to play games.
Unlike Yang Wangshu, who was addicted to online games, Miss Cui preferred single-player narrative games and wasn't really obsessed... It's probably similar to how most girls binge-watch TV dramas, purely to pass the time.
Cheng Jinyang was dragged away by her, bidding farewell to his cousins.
"This little gir Gao Yaoqiong seems quite lively," Cheng Yuexian observed as they watched the two leave, pondering.
"But that's not..." Cheng Huaiyan started to say, only to be corrected by Cheng Yuexian, "It's Gao Yaoqiong, Huaiyan."
"Ah, right," Cheng Huaiyan realized.
"Since she introduced herself as being from the Bohai Gao family, we, the Shendu Cheng family, naturally believe her," Cheng Yuexian said meaningfully, "Should we verify the authenticity of every guest's self-proclaimed identity?"
"What Yuexian said makes sense." Cheng Huaiyan expressed his admiration.
Previously, under the leadership of the eldest uncle, the Shendu Cheng family had connections with the Cui and Lu families of the Five Great Clans. Now that Cheng Jinyang gets along well with the Cui family's youngest daughter, it's a development the Cheng family is happy to see... Even if he can't marry into one of the Five Great Clans, it's still good to be on good terms with them.
After being forcefully dragged to her room by Cui Jinqi, Cheng Jinyang spent the evening playing games with her until late into the night when she finally began to feel sleepy.
Cui Jinqi kicked off her slippers and climbed into bed, ready to message her family. Meanwhile, Cheng Jinyang left the guest room and received a sudden call from Xing Yuanzhi on the corridor.
"Longxiang Army's Special Forces have infiltrated Jiankang City," Xing Yuanzhi said, "The court wants to deploy our Tianluo division to deal with these Special Forces."
"What?" Cheng Jinyang was speechless. The Tianluo division suffered heavy losses in the attack on Pukou District. How could they handle Longxiang Army's Special Forces? Is the court planning to use us until we're worn out? What about your Shenwu Army and Yulin Army?
"It's not just us," Xing Yuanzhi sighed, "Longxiang Army has launched a strong assault. Almost all the private guards of the noble families have been conscripted by the court."
"Strong assault?"
"Yes, are you indoors right now? Come out and look at the sky, you'll see."
Cheng Jinyang was about to ask more questions when his phone rang again.
This time it was Cheng Yuexian and Cheng Huaiyan calling simultaneously, confirming the same information:
About an hour ago, Longxiang Army, using the Jingwei-class mothership, launched a sustained assault on Jiankang City. This caused the spiritual shield covering the city to become unevenly distributed, with many areas becoming too thin and developing numerous breaches.
The shield base on Purple Mountain is rapidly repairing the breaches, but some of Longxiang Army's Special Forces managed to infiltrate before the breaches were fully patched.
The Shenwu Army and Yulin Army stationed in the city are currently engaged in combating these infiltrators, stretching their resources thin (considering the vast area of Jiankang City), forcing the court to conscript the private guards trained by aristocratic families, as well as private security companies and militia groups within the city.
As for the Tianluo division, despite suffering heavy losses in the recent attacks in Pukou District, they won't have any respite in this high-pressure situation. It's rumored that many fifth-grade families have even had their patriarchs conscripted, and the Five Great Families are fully cooperating, highlighting the severity of the situation.
Cheng Jinyang pondered for a moment and could only discuss with Cheng Huaiyan over the phone, allowing the Jinyiwei to conscript members of the Cheng family's Tianluo division... of course, not without conditions. They couldn't completely comply, or else the court might think they can exploit their manpower at will.
The negotiation, including the distribution of responsibilities and task selection, could involve Cheng Qingping, their uncle. In the earlier years, dealings between the Tianluo division and the court were his responsibility.
As for the logistical support for these deployed family members, Cheng Yuexian would handle that.
Although they were assisting the court, they weren't part of its official establishment. With limited resources, the court would prioritize supplying the Shenwu and Yulin Armies. Therefore, it's best for the family to handle resources like food, equipment, and medical supplies, while the court only needs to ensure adequate funding.
After a series of phone calls, all tasks were delegated to his cousins. Cheng Jinyang retained the decision-making power, with all decisions made by them needing his approval before execution.
All sorted. Being the head of the family is really tough, with more and more weight on his shoulders. But for the sake of the family, he could only manage to hold on.
Leaving the guest room, Cheng Jinyang saw the night sky overhead, streaked with dazzling meteor-like flashes.
No, that's wrong. It should be the saturation attack from the Jingwei-class mothership coming from the southwest, continuously bombarding the spiritual shield over Jiankang City.
The so-called meteor trails were just the traces left by missile exhaust or concentrated energy beams.