The Human Emperor c1-2382

by Huangfu Qi (皇甫奇)

  "Young Master, just give the word and I'll go!…"

  One, two, three… spring after spring was cleaved open out of the rocky surface, the cold and clear water flowing out of the cracks. As this water began to flow, the entire army rumbled to life.

  Horses and soldiers began to happily drink. After all the time that had passed, this was the happiest and most exciting of all days. They even began to light the cooking fires early to make rice in celebration.

  The warhorses neighed, the joy and excitement evident in their cries.

  "Chong-er, how long can this water last us?"

  On the summit of the mountain, under the fluttering banner, Wang Yan, Xianyu Zhongtong and Wang Chong stood side by side.

  Below them, the men and horses of the entire army were gulping down water. Many people were even using their helmets to carry water, and all of them were so elated and excited that their faces had gone red.

  One could describe this as the happiest sight Wang Yan and Xianyu Zhongtong had seen throughout this campaign.

  "I also don't know."

  Wang Chong gave a faint smile, but his answer took Xianyu Zhongtong and Wang Yan by surprise. Just how much water this mountain could hold and how long it could keep flowing was something that no one could predict.

  Wang Chong had nothing to say about this point.

  "…However, it definitely won't be able to last for long," Wang Chong said. The surface layer of water was limited. Although it was impossible to estimate, one could make the rough judgment that it wouldn't be able to last for very long.

  "But Young Master is still letting everyone rashly drink the water, cook with it, and water the horses?"

  Xianyu Zhongtong turned his head, his complexion slightly paling.

  A general's duty was on the battlefield, in arranging his forces and defeating the enemy. As for logistics, excavating water on mountains, geography, and forging steel walls, these were simply not Xianyu Zhongtong's expertise.

  Xianyu Zhongtong had originally believed that Wang Chong dared to allow such reckless use of water because there was enough to go around. He had never imagined that Wang Chong would give such an answer.

  On the mountain, everyone was gulping this water down, the horses drinking until their bellies were swollen. There was no attempt to store any of this water, and it was being splashed all over the mountain.

  This was already a great waste!

  "Young Master, the water problem concerns the fate of the army. It's still not too late to implement rationing!" Xianyu Zhongtong sternly said, his expression grave.

  Wang Yan said nothing, but his brow began to slowly crease. It was clear that he tended toward Xianyu Zhongtong's view. If these springs of water were limited, water rationing was a must.

  This was a concept any general had to understand.

  "No! There's no need for rationing!"

  Wang Chong shook his head and smiled, his expression composed and easygoing. He gave off a feeling like everything was within his grasp.

  "Father, Lord Xianyu, in the current situation, not only should we not be rationing, we should be releasing any constraints and allowing the army to enjoy and waste as much water as they want!"

  Both Wang Yan and Xianyu Zhongtong were stupefied. As the two highest-ranked commanders of the southwest battlefield, this pair had experienced countless battles. Yet Wang Chong's answer had still perplexed them.

  "Why is this?" Wang Yan asked with a frown. Both of them stared at Wang Chong. In the current circumstances, wasting water was no wise decision, but the two of them believed that Wang Chong had a good explanation.

  "Father, Lord Xianyu, given how the southwest war has gone, do you think it's best if we quickly resolve things or continue to delay?" Wang Chong said.

  "This…"

  These two commanders both fell quiet.

  In the past, the pair would definitely have wanted to delay, the more the better. This would give enough time for the Imperial Court to dispatch reinforcements.

  But now, neither Wang Yan nor Xianyu Zhongtong dared to make such claims.

  No one knew when any reinforcements would come. If no reinforcements were coming, then if the army was lacking water, any further delay would be very disadvantageous to the army. After all, people could go three days without a meal, but not without water.

  Dalun Ruozan only needed to put up with it and continue his siege to completely topple the Annan Protectorate army. And when that time came, the Mengshe–Ü-Tsang army wouldn't need to sacrifice a single soldier to wipe out the Annan Protectorate army!

  This made it the worst of all plans.

  "Young Master Wang, I understand your meaning," Xianyu Zhongtong suddenly said.

  "We'll do as you say!"

  Wang Yan solemnly nodded.

  ……

  On the other side, while the Tang soldiers were delighting in the water and drinking their fill, the Mengshe–Ü-Tsang army below was struck dumb.

  Several horsemen galloped off, quickly delivering this news to the ears of Dalun Ruozan and Geluofeng.

  "Even this sort of thing is possible?"

  In the tent, when Geluofeng heard this news, he almost immediately stood up and rushed out. But by the time Geluofeng arrived on the scene, two stalwart figures had already arrived, observing the mountain.

  "This is impossible!"

  As he saw the water gushing out of the mountain and heard it gurgling down the slopes, Dalun Ruozan's face went ghastly white. The massive impact caused his entire body to tremble.

  "…How could there be such a thing? This is impossible! Absolutely impossible!"

  Dalun Ruozan's eyes were opened as wide as they could. Let alone Geluofeng, even his longtime partner Huoshu Huicang had never seen him reveal this sort of expression.

  Dalun Ruozan was known as a 'cultured minister', a 'wise minister', and he gave off the impression that he would remain unruffled even if Mount Tai collapsed in front of him. Even in their fiercest battle with Zhangchou Jianqiong, Huoshu Huicang had never seen him show this sort of complexion.

  This scene taking place before him had clearly given him an enormous shock.

  Transforming air into water, digging water out of a mountain? Such matters exceeded the bounds of imagination. After all, these were stones! Stones!

  For a moment, Dalun Ruozan's body was as cold as a block of ice.

  Before the battle of Erhai had even broken out, Wang Chong had seemingly predicted it and erected Lion City on the Erhai plains; Dalun Ruozan could accept that. Wang Chong had broken through all the defenses set up in the north and smoothly reached Erhai; Dalun Ruozan could also accept that. Even the fact that Wang Chong was a seventeen-year-old boy who possessed such a masterful grasp of the art of war that he could use one hundred thousand soldiers to stop five hundred thousand was something that Dalun Ruozan could accept.

  But Dalun Ruozan could not accept the fact that Wang Chong had managed to dig out fresh water from this bare hunk of rock that didn't even have a tree growing from it!

  Dalun Ruozan had memorized the Book of Songs by heart when he was just a child, and he had studied all the classics of the Central Plains, whether they concerned astronomy, divination, geography, or anything else. But in no book had he ever read about someone digging water out of a mountain!

  If he were not seeing with his own eyes the water flowing freely down the slopes, completely wasted, Dalun Ruozan would have never believed this fact.

  "Great Minister, what do we do now?" Geluofeng asked from next to Dalun Ruozan. He was fully informed of Dalun Ruozan's plan, but the situation was different now.

  Wang Chong had managed to conjure water out of thin air, completely altering the water situation for the Annan Protectorate army. Thus, the prerequisite for the Mengshe–Ü-Tsang army's plan had ceased to exist.

  If they continued, the Tibetans would only suffer even worse bouts of diarrhea and grow weaker and weaker. Meanwhile, the Annan Protectorate army would slowly be regaining
strength.

  The balance was inexplicably tilting toward the Annan Protectorate army.

  "We no longer have any other choices, only to begin! The! Battle! Early!"

  Dalun Ruozan's face was one of excruciating suffering, pausing between each of the last four words as he shouted them out between clenched teeth. He had never imagined that he would be forced into such desperate straits when he clearly held the advantage in numbers!

  "Great Minister, perhaps the situation is not as serious as we imagine. The Great Tang has sixty thousand troops. How long can that water on the mountain last them?" Geluofeng consolingly said.

  Chapter 620: The Decisive Battle! The Final Negotiation!

  Translated by: Hypersheep325

  Edited by: Michyrr

  "Your Majesty, I understand what you're saying. The mountain springs will run out one day, but when will that day come? Ten days from now? A month? Maybe longer? What if it is ten days or a month?"

  Dalun Ruozan appeared calm, but even the nearby messenger could hear the shaking in his voice.

  Geluofeng had nothing to say.

  What a frightening youth!

  As Geluofeng looked up at the gushing water, he suddenly understood something. This was a show of power, a silent pressure. And he had to admit that Wang Chong had truly succeeded.

  He could take the risk, but Ü-Tsang and Mengshe Zhao could not wait.

  "Great Minister is correct. We cannot wait!"

  A voice came from the side. Duan Gequan's voice had decided things once and for all.

  Bwoooom!

  The blaring of a yak horn sounded across the skies. After three days, thick smoke once more began to rise from the base of the mountain as the entirety of the Mengshe–Ü-Tsang army gathered.

  The dark clouds of war once more clamored over the earth!

  This was yet another battle between the Great Tang and Mengshe–Ü-Tsang forces, and it was certain to be the last. This time, no one could retreat. They would fight until death or victory, until the final soldier, until they bled the last drop of blood… the decisive battle!

  ……

  Bongbongbong!

  The thundering of a drum rose up from the mountain, followed by a second, a third, a fourth… The sounds of drumming gradually spread over the mountain like drops of rain, spreading as far as one hundred li.

  The dark clouds of war began to writhe and roil.

  The remaining sixty thousand soldiers of the Great Tang's southwest whirred to life like some massive war machine.

  This war of the southwest had left all sides, whether Tang, Mengshe Zhao, or Ü-Tsang, extremely fatigued. Their strength was far from what it had been at the start.

  The Great Tang had experienced a severe water shortage.

  The Tibetans had experienced a severe food shortage and then been troubled by diarrhea.

  But even so, the air was even tenser than it had been on the first day. Whether it was Ü-Tsang, Mengshe Zhao, or the Great Tang, all sides were well aware that this conflict over the southwest involving three countries had finally come to an end.

  There would be no more probes or battles. This would be the! Final! Battle!

  "Young Master Wang, before we begin the battle, can I ask you a question?"

  In front of the dense ranks of the Mengshe–Ü-Tsang army, two ornate golden chariots stood. Dalun Ruozan and Huoshu Huicang stood in one of them, while in the other stood Geluofeng and Duan Gequan.

  Dalun Ruozan and Huoshu Huicang stood slightly in front, Geluofeng and Duan Gequan slightly behind!

  Unlike their first meeting, Dalun Ruozan had put down his feather fan. He was no longer as easygoing as he was on that first day, and he was now even more sincere and calm. Both sides had used every method at their disposal, and Dalun Ruozan had nothing more to say.

  Wang Chong was a suitable opponent!

  And he was a powerful foe, one who could sit on the same level.

  In his heart, Dalun Ruozan had already put aside his age and was treating him as an existence similar to himself!

  "Great Minister, please speak!"

  On the summit, Wang Yan stood calmly in front of the banner, Wang Yan and Xianyu Zhongtong standing to his left and right, and the rest of the Great Tang generals behind them.

  With this last and decisive battle, all the commanders and high-ranking generals of the Great Tang stood together, in a distant standoff with the high-ranking generals of the Mengshe–Ü-Tsang army.

  At this stage of the battle, all of them had understood something.

  This would be the final such conversation held between the two sides!

  "At seventeen years of age, no one can reach the level of military strategy that Young Master has achieved. The resolve, breadth of mind, daring, foresight… these are all not things someone of this age should have. Dalun Ruozan believes himself to be well-read in all the classics of the Central Plains, knowing all of them by heart. In this aspect, few can compare. But Dalun Ruozan has never seen anything like Young Master's art of war.

  "Before the decisive battle, does Young Master mind saying where Young Master learned this art of war from?"

  Dalun Ruozan looked up to the summit, his voice resounding through the sky.

  Wang Chong's appearance was like a comet streaking across the sky, appearing out of nowhere and completely altering the course of the war. He had dragged the Mengshe–Ü-Tsang army away from its certain victory and brought it to this point.

  And the art of war he utilized was itself an enigma. No one could match the strategies and insights he had revealed, and they served to wrap his body in a befuddling fog.

  Just what sort of person could raise this sort of disciple? Where had this understanding of military thought come from?

  All these questions formed a fog that had lain thick over Dalun Ruozan's heart from the start of this battle until the very end.

  Dalun Ruozan had no hope of hearing an answer, but he was surprised.

  "Let me answer this question for you."

  A thunderous voice came from beside Wang Chong. Xianyu Zhongtong had volunteered to speak.

  "Dalun Ruozan, you are a renowned minister of Ü-Tsang and a veteran general of the southwest, so you should have heard of this name, right?"

  "What?"

  Dalun Ruozan's heart sank as countless gazes accompanied him in turning to Xianyu Zhongtong.

  "The Great Tang's Su Zhengchen! That person is Young Master Wang's true master!"

  Boom!

  The name of Su Zhengchen was like a thunderclap exploding over everyone's heads. Dalun Ruozan, Huoshu Huicang, and Geluofeng, these three powerhouses of the south, all paled. Even Duan Gequan's face turned completely white, his body clearly beginning to tremble.

  "This is impossible!"

  Dalun Ruozan's eyes went wide as he looked incredulously up at the summit. This news was far more concerning to him than the war of the southwest.

  Su Zhengchen was a nightmarish existence for the people of the Tibetan Plateau. When Dalun Ruozan was just a child, he had heard of this name.

  If Wang Zhongsi was the Great Tang's War God who struck fear in the hearts of all the people of the Tibetan Plateau, someone who even made the Tsenpo restless and uneasy, then Su Zhengchen was an even more terrifying existence, the Demon King of the Central Plains!

  The terrifying legends of Su Zhengchen had been passed on through generation after generation of Ü-Tsang, growing only more dreadful with time.

  This person had left the deepest brands of terror on the Tibetan Plateau. His story could even be traced back to the Tsenpo of several generations ago.

  This was an existence that everyone would pale at when they spoke of him. Even the mere mention of his name would unsettle them.

  "Su Zhengchen died several decades ago, so how could he get a disciple?"

  Dalun Ruozan's instinctive reaction was disbelief, that Xianyu Zhongtong was lying.

  "That's right! I spent almost ten years in the capital, and I h
eard that the Su Estate went extinct long ago," a voice added in from the side. "Su Zhengchen had no descendants, and its gate hasn't opened in decades. Even the ministers of court say that Su Zhengchen is dead, so where would another Su Zhengchen come from?" The one who found this news most impossible was Fengjiayi. As a child, he had been a hostage in the capital, so he knew all the secrets of that place.

  Fengjiayi could never believe that Wang Chong was War God Su Zhengchen's successor.

  "Hahaha, Dalun Ruozan, I've given you the answer you wanted. As for whether you want to believe it, that's up to you. But there is one thing I have to tell you: Senior Su is still alive. The capital has already confirmed this fact without a doubt."

  Xianyu Zhongtong heartily laughed.

  After all the time he had spent in the southwest, he was well aware of how much Ü-Tsang feared Su Zhengchen, so how could he relinquish this chance to worsen the Tibetan morale?

  "…In addition, Dalun Ruozan, who else do you think besides Senior Su Zhengchen would be a suitable master for a student like Young Master Wang?"

  The base of the mountain was eerily quiet. Dalun Ruozan, Huoshu Huicang, Geluofeng, and Duan Gequan were all quiet.

  He was right!

  Wang Chong was only a seventeen-year-old boy, but his grasp of the art of war was enough for him to stand on the level of Dalun Ruozan, or perhaps even surpass him. No normal person could be his master.

  But with Su Zhengchen in the mix, if one claimed that Su Zhengchen was Wang Chong's master, then all the pieces would fit.

  "Young Master Wang has a renowned master, truly worthy of Dalun Ruozan's admiration. But I have a phrase that I wonder if Young Master is willing to hear?"

  Dalun Ruozan took two steps forward.

  "Great Minister can say whatever he wishes," Wang Chong said with a faint smile.

  Both sides had already used all their cards. No matter what sort of scheme Dalun Ruozan had now, it would be useless.

  "Young Master is truly a talented individual, and not even Dalun Ruozan can compare to your grasp of the art of war, and at such a young age. Alas, your heart is too vicious. I hear that the Great Tang rules with benevolence and filial piety, and that the Confucians propose ruling through ceremony. By doing such a thing, is Young Master not worried about retribution?"