The Human Emperor c1-2382

by Huangfu Qi (皇甫奇)

  When he saw the bird fly into his study, Wang Chong's eyes widened.

  "Hulayeg!"

  Wang Chong instantly recognized the black band on the bird's right leg. This was a bird Wang Chong had given to Hulayeg so that they could communicate with each other at any time.

  "So fast!"

  A look of surprise appeared in Wang Chong's eyes as he quickly moved to take the letter off the bird's leg. Hulayeg's writing was twisted and sloppy, but his letter contained exactly the news that Wang Chong wanted to see.

  'To Your Excellency the Young Marquis Wang Chong, the first batch of ten thousand horses has been prepared. The exchange will take place in two days, with delivery of the goods upon reception of payment. I will personally send the warhorses to Your Excellency's City of Steel!'

  Although Hulayeg had done his utmost to imitate the official language of the Great Tang, his language was still quite off. But none of that was important. It was far more important that Hulayeg had truly managed to prepare ten thousand high-quality Turkic warhorses.

  "I truly didn't make the wrong choice! This Hulayeg truly does have some tricks. It was worth the risk of going to the Western Regions and seeking him out!"

  Wang Chong's eyes were shining with joy as he gripped the letter. Hulayeg had truly given him a pleasant surprise.

  Ten thousand warhorses, and high-quality Turkic horses at that, was no small number, tantamount to a blazing fire in the dark night. It was difficult for such a large herd to avoid the attention of others, especially the Western Turkic Khagan. If he were to discover it, the transaction would immediately be put to a stop.

  But Hulayeg was apparently a master strategist. He had not only managed to gather so many fine Turkic warhorses, he was even going to personally deliver them to the City of Steel.

  This was a wonderful surprise!

  "Is it Hulayeg?"

  Li Siye's voice came from behind him. In these last few days after returning to the city, he had learned from Wang Chong about Hulayeg.

  "Mm!" Wang Chong nodded.

  "I'll leave this matter to you. Bring a few people and meet up with him."

  "This general understands." Li Siye gave a nod. Warhorses were of utmost importance to cavalry. Wang Chong didn't need to explain that to him. Li Siye might have even cared more about this transaction than Wang Chong.

  "Mm, this transaction involves one million taels of gold. Hulayeg will probably want part of the payment in advance. The gold is with Senior Zhang Shouzhi. Take some people with you to get it. I leave all the matters regarding Hulayeg in these early stages to you, and you can make any decision as you see fit.

  "If you discover that Hulayeg is up to no good, you should know what to do," Wang Chong said.

  Although Hulayeg's reputation as the number one Turkic horse merchant rang out through the world, Wang Chong did not completely trust in him.

  If Hulayeg encountered some mishap or was up to some scheme, Li Siye was completely capable of handling the situation.

  "Yes!"

  Li Siye quickly left. When he left, Wang Chong pushed aside the desk and slowly walked to the window. As his eyes peered up at the sky, his heart was in turmoil.

  Chapter 744: Ten Thousand High-Quality Turkic Warhorses!

  Translated by: Hypersheep325

  Edited by: Michyrr

  Wang Chong viewed this first transaction with Hulayeg with extreme importance. If there were no hidden schemes in this transaction and everything proceeded smoothly, his own plans could finally be realized.

  If Hulayeg could bring him one batch of Turkic warhorses, he could definitely bring a second, a third, and even more. Perhaps with the assistance of this number one horse merchant, the Great Tang could obtain an endless stream of high-quality warhorses from the Turkic steppe, filling in the Great Tang's largest weakness.

  "It's really exciting! Hulayeg, I hope that you won't disappoint me…" Wang Chong muttered.

  Outside the window, a wind began to blow!

  No one knew that a storm was stirring in the distant Wushang that would gradually sweep across all of the Western Regions.

  ……

  Hulayeg was truly as cautious as Wang Chong had predicted. Not long after the first letter, Wang Chong received a second letter from Hulayeg. He had even sent a servant disguised as a Hu jewel merchant to enter the City of Steel.

  Before conducting this first transaction, Hulayeg hoped that he could receive an advance payment of a hundred thousand taels. This aroused quite the quarrel amongst Wang Chong's subordinates, but in the end, Wang Chong overruled them all and gave the hundred thousand taels to the servant.

  One needed the proper demeanor to make big deals, and it was impossible to conduct such deals risk-free. In comparison to the benefits the Great Tang stood to gain in the future, one hundred thousand taels was nothing at all.

  With this advance payment, the details of the transaction were quickly worked out. The time was set for two days later, at night. Once the Zi Period1 had passed, they would meet at a location one hundred li northwest of the City of Steel to make the exchange.

  But Hulayeg had made an additional request. He hoped that Wang Chong would be there in person.

  Time flew by, and two days quickly passed. It was time for the business transaction.

  It was a moonless and windy night, the dim starlight serving as the only illumination.

  Neat rows of soldiers stood beneath the stars, silently waiting.

  After waiting for four hours, Cheng Sanyuan could no longer hold back a question. "Lord Marquis, so much time has passed, so why haven't the Turks shown up yet? Perhaps they aren't coming?"

  "That's right! The Turks can't be trusted. He knows that our Great Tang is at war with the Western Turks, so it's really suspicious that he's still selling horses to us. Maybe he just did it for the hundred thousand taels of gold. If he really wanted to do the deal, he would have already arrived." Su Shixuan agreed with his fellow officer.

  The appointed time for the deal was the end of the Zi Period, but now it was almost daybreak and Hulayeg had yet to appear. This made all of Wang Chong's officers very uneasy.

  "Haha, relax. It's just a hundred thousand taels. Compared to the total value of our contract, it's like a single hair from nine bulls. It's not even worth looking at in Hulayeg's eyes."

  Wang Chong stood erect, his hands held behind him as his hair was buffeted by the wind. Wang Chong was much more composed than his subordinates. He had been waiting for four hours now, but there was no hint of annoyance in his bearing.

  "The Turks are different from we Tang. They don't have a strong sense for time. That the appointed time was the Zi Period but they still haven't shown up is completely in line with their style. You'll get used to it after a few times," Wang Chong indifferently said.

  When he was just lazing around in the capital, he had made acquaintances with many Hu. The Hu had rather relaxed personalities and didn't really have a concept of time. They would often just drink themselves silly until daybreak and then continue drinking into the next day. One would often have to wait two or three days past an appointment for them to arrive.

  Moreover, the steppe was vast and endless. One could traverse it freely, and the scenery looked the same wherever one looked. Once one began to live a free and unconstrained life there, it would be far stranger to have a concept of time.

  On the contrary, if Hulayeg had been right on time, Wang Chong would have begun to suspect that he was planning something.

  Gallop!

  While they were speaking, the thundering of hooves could be heard in the darkness, immediately attracting everyone's notice.

  "Lord Marquis, look over there!" somebody shouted.

  The crowd turned in the direction of the noise and saw a small figure rapidly approaching. As it got closer, they could tell that it was a spirited warhorse, its mane flapping in the wind.

  Through the posture, movements, and speed of this warhorse, even someone who didn't understa
nd warhorses would be able to tell that this was a high-quality warhorse.

  The warhorse quickly galloped in the direction of the Tang soldiers, but this only made them confused.

  Wushang was a barren and remote place. No masterless warhorse should have appeared here. And on this quiet night, what did it mean that only one warhorse was galloping toward them?

  "Haha, Hulayeg truly is a trustworthy person. I didn't make the wrong choice!"

  While everyone else was confused and puzzled, Wang Chong had broken into a smile, his ears seeming to hear something.

  "Xu Keyi, get ready. In a few moments, we'll need to carry out the transaction."

  "Yes, Lord Marquis!"

  Xu Keyi glanced at the many wooden chests of gold next to him and nodded. Although he didn't understand what had happened, it was a soldier's duty to follow orders.

  No matter what Wang Chong requested, he would absolutely carry it out.

  Rumble!

  As they were talking, the grass beneath them began to tremble and a low rumbling could be heard. While barely audible at first, it quickly transformed into an earth-shaking shudder.

  "Over there! Look! So many warhorses!" Someone began to shout, and everyone quickly realized that a massive herd of warhorses was approaching from the northwest.

  The rumbling that they heard was the sound of all these warhorses galloping together.

  "Hahaha, Young Master Wang, we finally meet…"

  A crude laughter rang out from behind the warhorses. Phweeet!A shrill whistle came from the distance, and the massive wave of galloping warhorses began to slow and even split to the left and right.

  In the middle of this dividing herd, several figures on warhorses rode toward Wang Chong. The one leading them was a slightly plump man with two fist-sized objects jostling on his shoulders. As the wind blew through them, they made a sharp sound that sounded much like the crying of ghosts.

  Wang Chong immediately recognized this man as the number one Turkic horse merchant, Hulayeg.

  "Hahaha, I truly made the right choice!"

  His eyes brightening and his mind rejoicing, Wang Chong grabbed the reins of a warhorse and mounted it, galloping to greet Hulayeg.

  "Lord Marquis, be careful!" His subordinates anxiously pursued.

  In the distance, two warhorses met as Wang Chong and Hulayeg dismounted.

  "Hahaha, Young Master Wang, thank you! I truly can't thank you enough!"

  Unexpectedly, the first thing Hulayeg did upon dismounting was to give Wang Chong a warm embrace.

  "Lord Marquis!"

  Before Wang Chong could say anything, his subordinates panicked at the Turk's sudden action. Chen Bin, Guan Yu, and the other officers subconsciously reached for their weapons.

  "Don't panic. He doesn't have bad intentions."

  Wang Chong extended a hand to stop them, then turned to the overly enthusiastic Hulayeg and chuckled.

  "Sir Hulayeg, just what has happened that has made you thank me so suddenly?"

  "It was necessary, necessary. Young Master Wang is truly a god. If not for your reminder, I would truly have been deceived by a lowly person. That bastard. I trusted him so much, let him manage all my property, and this was how he treated me."

  Hulayeg was in a state of agitation.

  Although confused at the start, Wang Chong quickly realized what was going on. Hulayeg was probably talking about his steward, Yalug. On his visit to the Western Regions, before leaving, Wang Chong had cautioned Hulayeg to keep an eye on this particular steward. It appeared that this move had been effective.

  "Young Master, can you tell me? Just how did you know?"

  Hulayeg raised his head in agitation to Wang Chong.

  After Hulayeg signed the contract with Wang Chong, he had run all over the steppe gathering ten thousand of the best quality warhorses to complete his transaction with Wang Chong. He had even set up a time to make the transaction.

  But unexpectedly, right when he was preparing to leave to conduct the deal yesterday, his extremely trusted steward Yalug had tried to avail himself of the opportunity to run off with Hulayeg's concubine and much of his wealth.

  It had to be said that Yalug was by now managing eighty percent of Hulayeg's fortune. This was a fortune that had been built on decades of work and all sorts of risks.

  If he had not heeded Wang Chong's warning and dispatched people to keep a constant eye on Yalug, thus discovering his plan beforehand, the consequences would have been simply unthinkable.

  This matter was also partially responsible for Hulayeg's tardiness of more than four hours.

  Right now, Hulayeg felt that he was truly fortunate to have treated Wang Chong's warning seriously. But when the incident occurred, Hulayeg suddenly had a question that he found impossible to suppress.

  Not even he had been able to predict that his own steward was about to betray him, so how did Wang Chong, a Han, know?

  "Heheh, I naturally have my own methods. In addition, Sir Hulayeg doesn't think that only the Western Regions and the steppe have Hu, right? And how did Sir Hulayeg think I managed to find you?"

  Wang Chong glanced at Hulayeg, a profound smile on his lips.

  He naturally couldn't tell Hulayeg the truth about Yalug, but the effects of his words were evident. Wang Chong could sense that Hulayeg's attitude in comparison to their first meeting was like night and day. Not even a deal of tens of thousands of taels of gold could have achieved such an effect.

  As long as Hulayeg had a good impression of him, Wang Chong had a chance of using him to obtain an endless stream of high-quality warhorses from the Turkic steppe.

  Chapter 745: Shock!

  Translated by: Hypersheep325

  Edited by: Michyrr

  Hulayeg appeared convinced by Wang Chong's explanation. The Wang Clan was one of the great clans of the capital, a clan of ministers and generals. It had spread its roots to all levels of society, and he had also gotten Wang Chong's implication.

  The Hu didn't just live in the Western Regions and the Turkic steppe. The capital of the Great Tang also had many Hu, but this was a fact that many people easily forgot.

  Wang Chong's meaning was that amongst the Hu that he knew in the capital were some of Hulayeg's Hu friends, and one of these had also been the one to tell Wang Chong about Yalug.

  And these Hu had also told Wang Chong about Hulayeg's activities in the Western Regions.

  Looking at Wang Chong now, Hulayeg found this youth mysterious and unfathomable. It was true that the Wang Clan's power in the capital was immense, but to be able to know about one of his stewards and his concubine, this power was simply beyond belief.

  Hulayeg felt like he was standing in front of a bottomless abyss.

  But the Hu and Han had different priorities. Though overcome by this feeling of mystery at first, Hulayeg quickly brightened.

  "Hahaha, with a friend like Young Master Wang, what do I need to worry about? To express my gratitude to Young Master Wang, I've added one thousand extra Turkic warhorses of the best quality.

  "Young Master Wang, I have a feeling that we will be very good friends!"

  Hulayeg tapped Wang Chong's chest and heartily laughed.

  This display truly caught Wang Chong's group by surprise. Cheng Sanyuan, Su Shixuan, Chen Bin, Guan Yu, and the other officers all brightened up, and even Wang Chong was caught off-guard.

  One thousand warhorses had a value of ten thousand taels of gold, but this wasn't that important to Wang Chong right now. The crucial thing was the warhorses themselves.

  These Turkic warhorses were of such fine quality that they were essentially priceless.

  And they were just what Wang Chong needed the most.

  Hulayeg's forthrightness was truly unexpected. Wang Chong suddenly understood how Hulayeg could have so many connections, could have such a thorough understanding of the Western and Eastern Turkic Khaganates and become the number one horse merchant of the steppe.

  "Okay! Sir Hulayeg, I won't waste ti
me on pleasantries. I will take this great gift. In the future, if Sir Hulayeg needs anything, just say the word. As long as it's within my power, I will do my utmost to satisfy you," Wang Chong said.

  If this Hulayeg continued along his original course, he would die in at most three months. This was why Wang Chong had been in such a rush to make a deal with him.

  But seeing Hulayeg's straightforward attitude and how he knew to repay kindness, Wang Chong suddenly had a much better impression of this horse merchant.

  Although he didn't know if he could succeed, he still wanted to try and see if he could save the number one horse merchant from his fate.

  In the future, Hulayeg might play a very big role in the Great Tang.

  With the greetings exchanged, Wang Chong quickly went to the main subject. Wang Chong had Xu Keyi begin handing the payment of nine hundred thousand taels of gold to Hulayeg while sending Cheng Sanyuan and the others to inspect the warhorses. Hulayeg had brought eleven thousand warhorses with him, all of them muscular and with strong bones. Even someone who didn't understand horses could sense that the quality of these horses was very high, and Hulayeg truly had done his best.

  "Oh, that's right, Sir Hulayeg, I might as well give you a second word of advice."

  Right after the transaction was finished and both groups were about to leave, Wang Chong suddenly stopped and looked at Hulayeg, an enigmatic smile on his face. When Hulayeg saw this smile, his heart immediately began to ominously thump.

  This was not Hulayeg's first time seeing this kind of smile. The last time he saw this smile, his trusted steward Yalug had almost run off with more than half his fortune.

  "Whatever Young Master Wang has to say, Hulayeg will wash his ears and listen."

  Hulayeg was showing full respect this time, even following the etiquette of the Central Plains and clasping his hands as he bowed. The Turkic steppe did not have this sort of custom, so one could easily imagine just how much Hulayeg respected Wang Chong's advice after the Yalug incident.

  "Haha, if Sir Hulayeg believes in me, then for the next seven days, you shouldn't leave your house. In addition, if you must leave, wear a set of armor under your clothes. Finally… do your utmost to not go to the east."