By that time, the dust would have already settled. It would be too late to say anything.
"Big Uncle, take me out of this place…" Wang Chong suddenly asked.
……
Bongbongbong!
Over countless mountains and rivers, in the distant lands of the southwest, dark clouds had gathered and the beating of drums thundered into the sky. This beating of drums alarmed the earth and startled the entirety of the southwest.
The southwest had not heard the beating of drums for many years. And the last time it had resounded with this thunderous tempo had been ten-some years ago.
"By the orders of the Imperial Court, we are to punish Mengshe Zhao and spread the heavenly might of my Great Tang!"
In front of the main hall of the massive Annan Protectorate headquarters, a harsh, solemn, and also extremely majestic voice resounded through the sky.
The fully-armored figure of the newly appointed Annan Protector-General, Xianyu Zhongtong, stood on an imposing platform, his entire body exuding a chilling aura of power.
Atop the platform, banners fluttered in the wind, all of them soaring into the sky like pillars supporting the heavens.
And below the platform stood the 180,000 elites of the Annan Protectorate, all of them armed and armored. In their serried ranks, they were gathered before the Annan Protectorate headquarters like dark clouds.
"Fight! Fight! Fight!"
The Great Tang elites waved their halberds and roared. A vital energy exploded out of their bodies and surged into the dark clouds like rainbows.
The thundering of the drums shook the earth, and the mountains shuddered as a somber air filled the world.
"Move out!"
Without any further words, Xianyu Zhongtong gave the order. Warhorses neighed as the 180,000 Great Tang elites set forth like a storm of black clouds, howling and rushing toward Mengshe Zhao.
For the first time in ten-some years, the 180,000 elites of the Annan Protectorate were leaving their garrison, engaging in a war against a foreign country!
And only a teenager in the distant capital understood what exactly this war truly meant.
Not even the participants of this war understood!
Whoosh!
Right when Xianyu Zhongtong was issuing his order for the army to move out, carrier pigeons were taking flight from the city walls.
None of these carrier pigeons were destined for the Great Tang's capital. Instead, they were crossing the borders of the Great Tang, to the northeast, northwest, the north, the southwest, and the west.
Goguryeo, the Turkic Khaganates, Ü-Tsang, the Abbasid Caliphate, Charax Spasinu… many powers were paying close attention to this war between the Great Tang and Mengshe Zhao!
The southwest had always been peaceful.
This was the Great Tang's first large-scale mobilization, one that far exceeded any mobilization carried out in Longxi, the northeast, or the northwest!
And though various countries had fought with the Great Tang before, this was Mengshe Zhao's first time!
______________
1. Li Genu, more commonly known as Li Linfu, one of Emperor Xuanzong's Prime Ministers, was historically known for his political acumen and his skill in removing any potential challengers. He was also in favor of promotion for non-Han generals.
Chapter 472: Grievous News from the Southwest!
Chapter 472: Grievous News from the Southwest!
Translated by: Hypersheep325
Edited by: Michyrr
Over vast tracts of land, over Erhai in the southwest and a vast and thick forest, not long after Xianyu Zhongtong led his 180,000 elites…
"Move out!"
A massive shout tore through the sky. A stalwart, middle-aged man with a black mustache, seemingly endowed with both strength and wisdom, stood on the lands of the southwest. He wore a flatheaded crown and an imperial robe, and his hand held a golden sword. Meanwhile, an aura as vigorous as the mountains or ocean surged from his body and into the sky.
Rumble!
The earth seemed to have awakened from a long sleep. It began to fiercely quake and shudder.
"Kill!"
"Kill!"
"Kill!"
……
A killing aura so majestic that it seemed to take on physical form soared into the sky, sweeping through the clouds like a wave. The great earth was covered by the elite warriors of Mengshe Zhao, all of them armed for battle, wrapped in war halos of white or black. This mighty flood of steel was advancing relentlessly toward the distant Great Tang Annan Protectorate.
The thunderous beating of drums resounded through the heavens. In the sky, the dark clouds were in turmoil. After ten-some years of peace, war was finally about to rise in the southwest.
……
Clang!
A massive hammer smashed down on a bright-red iron. As sparks exploded, the screech was so grating that it could almost tear apart eardrums.
Dang! Dang! Dang! The massive hammer continued to slam down, once, twice, thrice… thousands of times. And the hammerers went from one to thousands as well!
On the massive Tibetan Plateau, fires blazed and smoke roiled. Thousands upon thousands of short and powerful Ü-Tsang blacksmiths were swinging their hammers. On this plateau more than 4,000 kilometers above sea level, they worked night and day in the outdoors to forge armor, sabers, swords, U-shaped horseshoes, arrow tips, and all sorts of other weapons.
Sweat poured out in buckets as these Ü-Tsang blacksmiths produced a stream of countless weapons and armor.
Ü-Tsang did not have as developed a weapons industry as the Central Plains, nor was it as efficient. But no one would dare view with contempt the weapons produced on this plateau, because the blacksmiths here used that most primitive and most straightforward of methods: a thousand hammerings and one hundred temperings!
There was nothing aesthetically pleasing about the armor of Ü-Tsang, and there certainly wasn't much skill put into its creation, but this armor was truly the toughest in the world, and also the thickest and longest-lasting.
The armor of one Ü-Tsang horseman far outweighed the armors of the horsemen of the Great Tang, the Eastern and Western Turks, Goguryeo, or even the Abbasid Caliphate and Charax Spasinu.
This also made it so that ordinary weapons and attacks would find it very difficult to harm the Ü-Tsang cavalry!
Ü-Tsang armor took a great deal of time and energy to forge, but it also meant that among all ordinary armors, Ü-Tsang armor lasted the longest.
This long armor-forging process had been started a long time ago. By this point, mountains of weapons and armors had been piled up on this vast plateau, creating a most magnificent sight!
Flapflap!
Wings flapped through the sky as a pure white carrier pigeon flew through the smoke and sparks. A white-clothed and old-styled middle-aged Confucian scholar raised his head and allowed the carrier pigeon to land on his hand.
"Hahaha, Huoshu, it's finally time to start!"
Dalun Ruozan gave a faint smile and sent the letter flying with a flick of his finger. The thin page in his hands was like a knife, shooting forward like a bolt of lightning.
Nearby, Great General Huoshu Huicang of the Ü-Tsang Empire's Ngari Royal Lineage was standing in front of a small mountain of Tibetan weaponry. Seeing the letter, he cast away the weapon in his hand and dexterously snatched the letter.
"Geluofeng is asking for troops again…" Huoshu Huicang said in surprise upon reading the letter.
"Hahahah, this is the third letter!" Dalun Ruozan said with a derisive smile. Ever since Mengshe Zhao had retreated, Geluofeng had been sending letter after letter requesting Ü-Tsang to send troops and for the two kingdoms to becomes allies. However, these attempts had all been stopped by Dalun Ruozan.
Huoshu Huicang turned his head and emotionlessly asked, "Do you want to reply?"
"There's no need!"
Dalun Ruozan waved his hands and sneered, "Everything that needs to be sai
d has already been said. If Mengshe Zhao wants to win our Ü-Tsang's support, then it needs to prove itself!
"The world has been peaceful for decades now. Is the Great Tang still as powerful as it once was… Mengshe Zhao is the best test! If the Great Tang wins and easily crushes Mengshe Zhao, it means that the time isn't ripe and we need to delay our plans.
"But if the Great Tang loses…
"Then that means… that this is Ü-Tsang's era!"
With these final words, Dalun Ruozan slowly raised his head, his gaze piercing through the mountains and rivers to rest on the distant southwest region of the Great Tang.
From the towering Tibetan Plateau, one could faintly see two trails of dust, two steely armies surging toward each other.
Perhaps now should be our Ü-Tsang's era!
As this thought flashed through his mind, Dalun Ruozan's gaze cooled.
Whether it was Mengshe Zhao or the Great Tang, they would all be Ü-Tsang's opponents in the end. In this southwestern war, the Ü-Tsang Empire would be the final winner!
……
Day after day passed, Wang Chong spending his time calculating the state of the war in the southwest. In his previous life, although Wang Chong had not participated, he had been a witness. He clearly remembered everything that had happened.
"The future has already been changed. The war between the Great Tang and Mengshe Zhao has already been pushed forward half a year. I can only hope that the progress of this war changed as well," Wang Chong quietly said to himself, his heart burdened with worries.
Although his gloomy cell was cut off from the world and any outside news, Wang Chong could feel from the atmosphere that this war in the southwest had transfixed all of the Great Tang.
The air was filled to the bursting with worry!
And no one was more worried than Wang Chong. However, Wang Chong was still unable to leave. It appeared that the pressure from the Court of Judicial Review and Chamberlain of Dependencies was far stronger than he had imagined.
Several days later, right when Wang Chong was about to reach his breaking point, a figure appeared in his prison. It was not his big uncle, but King Song of the Great Tang.
"Your Highness!"
Wang Chong was startled and instantly had a very bad feeling.
"Wang Chong, I have some very bad news to tell you!"
Through the bars of the cell, Wang Chong could see that King Song had a very unpleasant expression.
"The Great Tang lost! Xianyu Zhongtong lost…"
"What?!!"
Wang Chong stood up from the ground like he had been struck by a bolt of lightning. His mouth was ajar, his entire body paralyzed.
How could this be possible!
Wang Chong's thoughts were in chaos as massive waves raged through his heart.
Chapter 473: Wang Chong Leaves the Prison!
Chapter 473: Wang Chong Leaves the Prison!
Translated by: Hypersheep325
Edited by: Michyrr
The battle in the southwest had been like a peal of thunder, stunning the entire capital!
Just when everyone was expecting to see the newly appointed Annan Protector-General Xianyu Zhongtong, leading the 180,000 Great Tang elites, topple Mengshe Zhao in a single blow and punish Geluofeng, the battle in the southwest dealt all of them a heavy blow.
King Geluofeng of Mengshe Zhao had mobilized his entire army, all 340,000 soldiers, and fought a decisive battle against the 180,000 elites of the Annan Protectorate on the western shores of Erhai!
The sheer difference in numbers led to the defeat of the Annan Protectorate army. The vast distance meant that there was no news on the most recent developments.
But these initial results were already extremely worrying.
In the northeast's Youzhou, Anxi's Suiye1, Longxi's Jishi, and the Yin Mountains of the north… the Great Tang had always held the advantage, at the very least in one aspect. But in the southwest, the Great Tang rarely ever engaged in mobilizations on as large a scale as 180,000 soldiers.
And such large-scale defeats were even more of a rarity!
Upon receiving this news, the Imperial Court immediately sent out a hundred of its most experienced scouts to find out what was happening in the southwest.
And the Imperial Court began to discuss the problem of reinforcements!
Whether it was Anxi, Andong, Anbei, or Longxi, the Great Tang was facing a powerful empire on every side. There was no easy way to withdraw troops to serve as reinforcements.
A rash action might lead to a flaw, leading to even greater danger. As a result, troops would have to be drawn from the interior.
"The Imperial Court's second wave of reinforcements was dispatched two days ago. The army is being led by the young rising star of the army. It consists of 60,000 troops and is heading to the southwest with many crossbows, ballistae, armaments, and supplies.
"You might not know who Li Zhengyi is. He's the leader of the younger generation of officers in the army and has participated in many large battles with sterling performance. Moreover, he made a name for himself very early. His reputation in the military probably even surpasses your older brother Wang Fu," King Song said.
King Song's expression had been very grave this entire time, and when he spoke of the defeat in the southwest, it was solemn to the extreme. However, when speaking of Li Zhengyi, King Song was clearly much more relaxed. It was clear that he regarded Li Zhengyi very highly!
Wang Chong's face contorted into a nasty grimace.
History is repeating itself! Wang Chong thought, his heart suffering from an indescribable pain.
How could he not know who Li Zhengyi was?
Li Zhengyi truly had made his name in the army earlier than his older brother Wang Fu, and he was publicly acknowledged to have formidable talents.
His earliest post had been an assignment in the distant Suiye of the Anxi Protectorate. His performance there had been so eye-catching that even Gao Xianzhi had profusely praised him.
Later on, he was transferred to Beiting, where he subdued the Turks many times. His performance was so remarkable that he even surpassed a few generals in the army.
Li Zhengyi was already acknowledged in the army to be a future candidate for Great General. He was regarding as the leader of the younger generation, a future pillar of the empire who would replace the likes of Wang Zhongsi and Zhang Shougui.
But no matter how formidable the Imperial Court or how talented Li Zhengyi was, they would have never expected that their true opponents were not the people from Mengshe Zhao, not Geluofeng or Fengjiayi2, but Huoshu Huicang and Dalun Ruozan of the Ü-Tsang Empire!
The former was the number one general of Ü-Tsang's Ngari Royal Lineage. He was both aggressive and brave, and had once been conferred the title of 'Invincible Great General' of Ü-Tsang, only inferior to top-notch Great Generals like Li Siye.
The latter was a famous and wise general of Ü-Tsang with an incredibly keen sense for seizing the opportunity at the right moment.
When the two worked together, even Zhangchou Jianqiong would still be in great peril if he were leading those 180,000 elites.
In his decades of service in the Annan Protectorate, Zhangchou Jianqiong had never once attacked the Tibetan Plateau. His concern was not betrayal by Mengshe Zhao. He simply wasn't confident that he could beat Huoshu Huicang and Dalun Ruozan once he left the south.
Li Zhengyi might be strong and talented, but he was simply no match for people like Huoshu Huicang and Dalun Ruozan.
And the troops mobilized from the interior were utterly incapable of dealing with the elite cavalry of Ü-Tsang.
Their strength was already insufficient in a direct confrontation, and coupled with their lack of mental preparation, it was easy to imagine Li Zhengyi's fate.
Wang Chong had not expected the tragedy from his last life to repeat itself once more.
"Your Highness…"
Right as Wang Chong opened his mouth, a voice erupted in his mind.
>
"The world shifts, a major event: Ü-Tsang has intervened in the Great Tang's war with Mengshe Zhao. The Great Tang has been routed and is left with only 80,000 soldiers. Starting from now, user is forbidden from revealing any information regarding Ü-Tsang.
"Starting from now, within two months, if the number of soldiers in the Annan Protectorate army drops below 10,000, user will fail the mission and be killed. If the Annan Protectorate army is completely wiped out, user will fail the mission and be killed.
"User will not leave behind a single trace in this world, not even in the memory of others!
"The countdown starts now!"
……
Buzz!
An electrical current traveled from the soles of his feet to the rest of his body, causing Wang Chong to shudder. Paralyzed, he couldn't say one word of what he had planned to say.
"Wang Chong, what's wrong?" King Song said with concern. Wang Chong currently had a rather awful complexion.
"It's nothing."
The pale-faced Wang Chong shook his head, but his mind was in absolute turmoil.
Xianyu Zhongtong had lost, and it hadn't been a simple loss, but a complete rout. Ü-Tsang had intervened in this war far earlier than he had predicted.
The 180,000 Great Tang elites had already been fighting the entire Mengshe Zhao army of 340,000, and now that they had to contend against the more than 200,000 heavy cavalry of the Ngari Royal Lineage, the fate of Xianyu Zhongtong and his army could be easily imagined.
I didn't expect that I was still too late…
Wang Chong's heart sank. Only 80,000 of the 180,000 elites were left, meaning that 100,000 had died in battle.
The Annan Protectorate had suffered its worst wound since the establishment of the protectorate!
If things continued like this, it would be the first protectorate of the Great Tang to be dissolved due to attacks by a foreign power.
"Wang Chong, your big uncle mentioned to me that you had already predicted all of this, which is why I've shrugged off all criticisms and had you released from this prison. You can leave now. In addition, I hope to hear your views on the southwest.
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