The Human Emperor c1-2382

by Huangfu Qi (皇甫奇)

  "It really is the Ksitigarbha Vajra Guardian. He actually hid it so well!"

  Wang Chong roared with laughter. A renowned general like Batunlu really did have some valuable items on him. He had just hidden them very well. If he hadn't noticed that his boots had been a little thicker than normal, he would have never considered that place a potential hiding spot.

  "That's right, there's still another boot!"

  With gusto, Wang Chong took up his Wootz Steel sword and began to cut away at the bottom of Batunlu's remaining boot. Just as he suspected, the Ksitigarbha Secret Art that Batunlu used to stimulate his potential had been hidden in the lower layer of his left boot. Unlike the Ksitigarbha Vajra Guardian technique, Batunlu's Ksitigarbha Secret Art was written on a thin and square sheet of paper, densely covered in squiggly Tibetan words.

  Thankfully, I learned Tibetan in my last life, otherwise these two techniques would be useless to me.

  Wang Chong rejoiced as he glanced over the paper.

  These two techniques had both been written in Tibetan, a writing system completely different from that of the Central Plains. If he didn't understand this language, his owning these two manuals would be like a hero without a place to display their talents.

  "Old Eagle!"

  After putting away these two manuals, Wang Chong stood up and called for Old Eagle, upon which he suddenly heard a boom in his mind.

  "Warning! Important event: The Annan Protectorate army has suffered large losses and Lion City is about to fall, counting down from three days. If user is not within five hundred li of Lion City three days from now, user will fail the mission and be completely obliterated!"

  The icy and mechanical voice of the Stone of Destiny spoke.

  Wang Chong's body shivered as that frigid voice rang through his mind, and all the blood seemed to recede from his face.

  How can it be?

  Wang Chong's face was ghastly pale. This hadn't been his first time hearing a warning from the Stone of Destiny in the last few days. This warning voice didn't normally appear, but when it did, it meant that something big was about to happen.

  Lion City was built by Zhang Shouzhi. It's a nigh impregnable fortress and has eighty thousand soldiers standing guard. How could it be broken?

  Wang Chong didn't dare to believe his ears.

  He had expended a vast sum of gold on this city. The outer walls were plated with iron and inscribed with countless toughening inscriptions. The walls were also smooth and steep, making them impossible to climb. Wang Chong had built it for the express purpose of war, to provide a fortress for the Annan Protectorate army.

  In reality, this city had been effective.

  In this period of time, the only reason Wang Chong had been able to leisurely spend a great deal of time training his soldiers through actual combat was that Wang Chong firmly believed that Lion City wouldn't be broken for some time. But everything appeared to have changed.

  What exactly happened in the south? Wang Chong wondered, his complexion still not having recovered.

  The joy that came from defeating Batunlu and his three thousand Tibetans had vanished. At this moment, a terrible sense of danger had dropped down from the heavens and enveloped Wang Chong. Wang Chong looked into the distance, and though he couldn't see anything from where he was, he could feel that dark clouds were sweeping in from the south.

  The southwest campaign was progressing faster than he had imagined.

  That Xianyu Zhongtong had been defeated was already an incontrovertible fact. No matter what sort of plans he had for this war and the empire's future, if he didn't get to the Erhai plains in three days, he would be dead.

  Something must have happened in the south that he was not aware of, but Wang Chong couldn't understand what it could be. What could inflict so many losses on Lion City?

  "Young Master, what's wrong?"

  A concerned voice came from behind him. Old Eagle was walking over, a worried look on his face.

  He had been paying attention to Wang Chong for a little while and noticed that Wang Chong had been standing motionless, his face deathly pale. There was no way this condition was normal, and it wasn't strange for it to make Old Eagle concerned.

  "It's nothing!"

  Wang Chong placed Batunlu's golden gauntlets in Old Eagle's hands.

  "These gauntlets are for you!"

  With these words, he strode forward and flipped onto his horse, after which he raised his arm.

  "All troops, heed my orders! Put down everything and prepare to advance at full speed!"

  Everyone was flabbergasted at this order. These corpses hadn't even been buried yet, so why were they so suddenly moving out? But even though they were confused, they still immediately began to mount their horses and move out.

  Li Siye rode his horse over and asked, "What's happened?" He similarly felt that something was off about Wang Chong.

  "Something's happened up ahead. We have to move out immediately. Old Eagle, have you found out where Commandant Xu is?" Wang Chong asked.

  "Mm." Old Eagle nodded.

  "Let's go!"

  ……

  Here was a tall mountain, the forest growing thick around it.

  A tanned man with a black mustache, dressed in the armor of a Great Tang Commandant, stood at the summit of the mountain, letting the howling winds blow around him. There were actually very few mountain ranges of significant height in the southwest, and this mountain was unquestionably the tallest of them. By standing here, he could see any movement in the surrounding area.

  This was also why he had chosen to set up his camp here.

  "Strange?"

  Xu Shiping stood on the summit, attended by two guards. He looked into the distance, squinting in confusion.

  "Have you figured out what's going on?"

  "Yes sir. It's not a trap. Batunlu really has withdrawn, but we do not know why."

  "You didn't follow to see where they were going?"

  "This… We were worried that it was a trick, so we didn't follow them very far. We only carefully inspected the surroundings to determine that there was no ambush. After confirming this, we came back," the captain of the scouts said respectfully, bowing.

  "I understand. You're dismissed!"

  Xu Shiping frowned and quickly ordered the scout captain to leave.

  Batunlu had clearly been about to attack, but he inexplicably disappeared. There was clearly something bizarre going on, but this wasn't Xu Shiping's greatest concern… As his gaze swept over the lush forest and his vigilant army, a hint of deep worry flashed through his eyes.

  These people were those he had gathered from all over in this period of time and now totaled five thousand. But the increase in numbers was of no relief to Xu Shiping. On the contrary, it only made him more confused and uneasy.

  General Li was already dead!

  The most brilliant rising star of the empire had died on the journey south. Even though he had warned the general, he had still not been able to stop the 60,000 soldiers of the army from being crushed by the Tibetans. And there was an even greater danger to the southwest.

  In his twenty years in the army, he had participated in all kinds of battles, big and small, and experienced all sorts of dangers. But Xu Shiping would never dare to claim that he had encountered a danger as enormous as this one!

  The 300,000 troops of Mengshe Zhao had joined with the 200,000 cavalry of the Ü-Tsang Ngari Royal Lineage and defeated the 180,000 soldiers of the Annan Protectorate army on the Erhai plains. This was a peril that the empire had never experienced in all its history. The door to the southwest was open, and the hundreds of thousands of civilians were exposed to the horse hooves of foreign kingdoms.

  The Great Tang's several centuries of peace was about to suffer its first heavy blow!

  As for him and the Great Tang soldiers he had gathered here, they were faced with a dilemma. Death faced them both ahead and behind. If they advanced, what awaited them was a 500,000 man army. Five thousand
soldiers trying to stop the combined army of Mengshe Zhao and Ü-Tsang was like a grasshopper trying to stop a carriage, only seeking its own destruction.

  As for retreating… military orders were as weighty as a mountain! Their purpose had been to reinforce the Annan Protectorate army, and their mission was not complete, their objective not even reached. How could they retreat? Moreover, uncountable numbers of Tibetan cavalry were waiting for them.

  "Reporting! Enemies sighted!"

  A whistle suddenly came from a lookout post that had been set up halfway up the mountain.

  This voice immediately stirred Xu Shiping from his stupor. At the same time, the more than five thousand Great Tang soldiers began to move. With squeaks and crunches, they aimed all their weaponry toward their surroundings as the atmosphere instantly became tense.

  Gallop!

  Their opponents had come even faster than imagined. A great plume of dust could be seen in the distance, a flood of steel approaching with a shocking momentum.

  "Milord, the Tibetans are already here. What should we do next?"

  A group of subordinates looked toward Xu Shiping. Their opponent had earlier withdrawn without a battle, so they must have made some preparations before coming again. Things seemed ominous for the Great Tang soldiers.

  Chapter 506: Meeting! Commandant Xu!

  Chapter 506: Meeting! Commandant Xu!

  Translated by: Hypersheep325

  Edited by: Michyrr

  "Milord, give the order! We're willing to be suicide soldiers!"

  The various vice-commandants and officers of the army voiced their agreement.

  Based on the plans they had made beforehand, only by forming a squad of suicide soldiers and throwing it into a frenzied assault would this army be able to stop the Tibetan offensive. This was the only strategy that offered any possibility of survival, but all the members of the suicide squad would be sacrificed and never be able to return. There was no doubt about that.

  But now, everyone was asking to join the suicide squad.

  "Wait a moment!"

  Xu Shiping looked into the distance, continuing to hold off on the order. These were all brothers who he had struggled on the battlefield together with. How could he be willing to send them to their deaths?

  "Milord, the situation can change if we're slow to react! Quickly!" the group of vice-commandants and officers anxiously said.

  Xu Shiping continued to look silently into the distance.

  "Ah! He who is indecisive when a decision is needed is certain to meet disaster. Brothers, let's go!"

  The officers began to move, resolved to no longer wait for Xu Shiping's order. They began to form a suicide squad to charge into the Tibetan army before it began to charge.

  "Wait a moment!"

  "Milord, since you're not willing, we'll make the decision for you…!"

  "I said 'wait'! These aren't Tibetans, they're on our side!" Xu Shiping exclaimed.

  His words instantly plunged the surroundings into silence. Everyone stared at Xu Shiping, dumbfounded.

  On our side?

  Where could people from our side have come from at this time? From all that dust being stirred up and that surging momentum, a rather significant force is approaching. Where did the Great Tang get a reinforcing army like that?

  But they realized very quickly that their judgments had been wrong.

  "Look over there! It's our flag! They really are on our side!" one of the soldiers shouted, and the rest quickly turned to that tide of steel. What they saw was the black war banner of the Great Tang extending out of that army, fluttering in the wind.

  "They really are on our side!"

  As the cavalry got closer and closer, the soldiers were able to more clearly make them out. They began to cheer, all the tension from a moment ago disappearing in a puff of smoke.

  ……

  The cavalry galloped forward toward Xu Shiping's camp, Wang Chong at the front, Li Siye on his left and Old Eagle on his right.

  Upon seeing how heavily that mountain had been fortified, Wang Chong couldn't help but sigh in praise. He finally understood why that Commandant Xu had inspired such trust in the reinforcement army. He also understood why Batunlu had decided to first deal with him instead of exterminating this camp.

  It wasn't merely because the force on this mountain was larger, numbering five to six thousand, but because Commandant Xu had an astounding ability to organize his forces that left a very deep impression. His fortification of the mountain was extremely sturdy and tight. Not even Batunlu would be able to find any weaknesses to exploit.

  So many supply wagons and weapons, and he even dug out a moat around the mountain! Even I would have to think carefully before making an attack!

  Wang Chong gazed at that distant camp, mentally sighing in praise.

  In his journey southward, he had only accumulated a few of those heavy and lethal ballistae. But on that hill, he could see numerous gleams of cold light aimed in the direction of his forces. On second look, there were dozens of ballistae, perhaps exceeding one hundred? These defensive weapons were sufficient to deal a heavy blow to any cavalry force.

  This alone was enough, but Wang Chong had also seen a large moat dug out at the base of the mountain, five to six zhang wide and two to three zhang deep.

  This moat nearly surrounded the entire the mountain.

  The Tibetan army consisted almost exclusively of cavalry, so they might have been able to disregard those lethal ballistae. But even the best steed wouldn't be able to cross that moat in a single leap. Moreover, Wang Chong also noticed that a forest of spears had been planted at the bottom of the moat.

  One could easily imagine what would happen if a warhorse jumped into the moat.

  Wang Chong had been hearing about this Commandant Xu for some time now, but it now seemed that Commandant Xu was far more formidable than he had imagined.

  He's really got the style of a veteran officer!

  This thought flashed through Wang Chong's mind as he gazed at that bearded and tanned commandant standing at the peak of the mountain.

  There were many veteran officers in the army. They might not have been particularly strong martial artists, but they made up for it with their rich store of experience. They fought calmly and steadily, weren't impatient to advance, and demanded stability and composure. There was no question that Commandant Xu was one of these composed and steady veteran officers. Wang Chong didn't lack experts with potential, but what he did lack were reliable veteran officers who could lead troops into the battle and assist his own army.

  Wang Chong was feeling more and more certain that his decision had been correct.

  "Lower the drawbridge!"

  From the distance came a sonorous voice, like a giant bell, after which came a rumble as the massive trunk of a tree came crashing down, bridging the moat. Wang Chong immediately urged his horse over the trunk, bringing several of his followers with him to the peak.

  At the summit, Wang Chong finally met Commandant Xu.

  He was very tall and far burlier than Wang Chong had imagined. His face was covered in wrinkles and worn down from the hardships of many years. However, the part that left the deepest impression was his erect posture. His body seemed to be packed with an energy that soared straight into the heavens and was as weighty as a mountain. It was a strength that one could trust, could rely on. It was like as long as this person stood there, no matter how great the trial or how furious the storm, they would be able to grit their teeth and endure through it.

  "Might I ask Young Master's name?"

  Xu Shiping was also taking measure of Wang Chong. Given the mighty momentum with which this force had come, Xu Shiping had believed that their leader would be some famous general in the army, or maybe a veteran general or officer. But Xu Shiping discovered that what awaited him under that blood-speckled armor was a surprisingly young face.

  But despite the young face, Xu Shiping was able to sense the aura of a great general in t
his youth, a perseverance, courage, composure, and confidence that far surpassed his age. This aura often made one unconsciously disregard the youth of his face and treat him as someone beyond his years.

  Wang Chong looked down at Xu Shiping from his horse, silently taking a golden token from his belt and raising it high over his head.

  Xu Shiping squinted at it. "This is… His Highness King Song!" Upon seeing that dragon on the token, he paled and immediately bowed.

  "I didn't know that Young Master was His Highness King Song's subordinate. I did not go out to greet Young Master, and I hope that I can be forgiven!"

  "We request Young Master to forgive this offense!"

  The officers around Xu Shiping also nervously began to bow.

  In the military, no matter the region or faction, King Song of the Great Tang held an influential position, receiving the respect of all soldiers. In the Imperial Court, King Song had always been a staunch supporter of the army. In this aspect, none of the other Imperial Princes of the Great Tang could compare to King Song.

  Moreover, this was an Imperial Prince, with the blood of the true dragon running through his veins. This was not a status that anyone present could match.

  Old Eagle suddenly rode his horse forward and spoke. "My young master is Duke Jiu's grandson, a descendant of the Wang Clan. His birth name is Wang Chong. You should have heard of him through the Regional Commanders incident."

  Buzz!

  In an instant, everyone began to look differently at Wang Chong. Even Xu Shiping couldn't help but give him a second look, his face brimming with surprise.

  "So it was Young Master Wang! My apologies!" Xu Shiping gave a deep bow, his voice suffused with his hard-gained respect.

  His respect from before had been purely toward King Song's status, with Wang Chong serving as King Song's proxy, but the respect he gave now was utterly different. The Regional Commanders incident had caused such a stir that all of society knew of it. There was practically no soldier who wasn't aware of what had happened back then.

  In that incident, Wang Chong had both proved himself and won the respect of the world.

  Now that they knew that this youth was Wang Chong, everything was different. At the very least, there was no problem with his wielding King Song's token.