The Human Emperor c1-2382

by Huangfu Qi (皇甫奇)

  As he and Gudu Li had a complete difference of opinion, he had not gone into the hall.

  “Wang Chong…. is not as easy to deal with as you think he is!”

  Heba Ye thought back to the triangular gap and the sight of Wang Chong leading his Wushang Cavalry sweeping unstoppably through the Tibetan force and ultimately even killing Dayan Mangban, and his heart went cold. That youth within the City of Steel was a most dreadful opponent on the battlefield. He would rather have him as a friend than foe.

  “Let’s go!”

  Heba Ye turned his horse around and swiftly disappeared in the direction of the Tibetan Plateau.

  ……

  Meanwhile, carrier pigeons were flying to the other border protectorates, delivering the news that Wang Chong had been made the new Qixi Protector-General. In contrast to the complicated effects this news had within the Qixi Protectorate, the reactions were much simpler.

  “What? Wang Chong of the City of Steel was actually made Qixi Protector-General?”

  Within the Anxi Protectorate, Gao Xianzhi’s eyes flew open, and he didn’t dare to believe his ears.

  “How could that be? How could those old officials in the court agree to this? And putting aside everything else, his martial arts shouldn’t be at the peak of the Saint Martial realm yet, right? And there are so many extremely experienced generals in the military with long records of service. Were they all rejected?”

  “The old officials in the court truly did not agree. It was King Song who silenced them all and wholeheartedly recommended him. In addition, his martial arts truly are lacking, so he is only serving as temporary Protector-General, not as the true Protector-General. In addition, I’ve investigated this matter…”

  Feng Changqing was standing near Gao Xianzhi, and he looked up at his commander in hesitation before continuing.

  “Just before the Imperial Court issued its decree, he ambushed the Black Wolf Yabgu at Qixi Armory. Agudu Lan was killed and his five thousand Turkic elites were almost wiped out.”

  Buzz!

  Gao Xianzhi’s entire body trembled, and he instantly calmed down. Not long ago, Wang Chong had killed Tibetan Brigadier General Dayan Mangban at the battle of the triangular gap, and exterminated the White Braves who had awed and intimidated all of the Western Regions. This had taken place around a month ago, and now, Wang Chong had even killed Agudu Lan.

  These were the two most famous enemy commanders of Qixi, but in the space of two months, both had died to Wang Chong. Even Gao Xianzhi was speechless at this moment.

  “When an awl is in a bag, its point will immediately poke through. It seems like nothing can hide the radiance coming off this youngest son of the Wang Clan!”

  Gao Xianzhi sighed, his heart filled with emotion.

  He was no Han, and his background was completely different from other Han commanders. To work his way up from an ordinary foot soldier to Anxi Protector-General, Gao Xianzhi didn’t even know how much of a price he had had to pay, how much sweat and blood he had to put in. Just breaking free of Fumeng Lingcha’s control had been extremely risky for him, a journey fraught with barriers that had him teetering on the brink of death.

  In complete contrast was Wang Chong’s smooth and rapid ascension, reaching the post of temporary Protector-General in the space of a year. Even Gao Xianzhi had to admit that he was a little envious. It felt like the younger generation was overtaking the old, like the new waves of a river pushing down the old.

  But even so, Gao Xianzhi also had to admit that Wang Chong’s current accomplishments had not been made by relying on his luck and background. The talent for command he had revealed on his campaigns had been stupendous and outstanding. Even as an Imperial Great General, Gao Xianzhi was stunned and dazzled.

  Wang Chong’s abilities were truly far above those of his peers. At the age of seventeen, Gao Xianzhi would have found it impossible to compare himself to Wang Chong.

  “But that’s not the only thing. Milord, if Wang Chong really does assume the post of Qixi Protector-General, many of our plans will have to change. We can’t simply attempt to suppress or contend against him anymore. Qixi controls the transportation of our supplies and soldiers. In the future, we will be dependent on them for many things and will have to interact with them,” Feng Changqing said, a worried look in his eyes.

  Although Wang Chong might have been Duke Jiu’s grandson, a scion from a clan of ministers and generals, the Son of Heaven’s disciple, and the Young Marquis, this was the western border, where the heavens were high and the Emperor was far away. The statuses of Gao Xianzhi and Feng Changqing meant that they could disregard many things. But now that Wang Chong was the Qixi Protector-General and had seized the vital thoroughfare of Qixi, everything was different.

  It had to be said that the Imperial Court’s decree had caught both of them completely off guard.

  Gao Xianzhi said nothing, but one could see from the furrowing of his thick and straight brows that he shared the same opinion as Feng Changqing.

  “But Milord should also not be too worried. Qixi has quite a lot of Hu, and if the Young Marquis wants to truly sit upon the Protector-General’s seat, he still has a long way to go. If he truly manages to get through that pass, we can reconsider how we should interact with him,” Feng Changqing said.

  “Aaah, that’s all we can do.”

  Gao Xianzhi gave a long sigh.

  ……

  At the same time, in the distant Longxi, Big Dipper City’s shock at the news that Wang Chong was being made Qixi Protector-General was no less than Anxi’s.

  “A seventeen-year-old Imperial Protector-General? How could there be something like this? The court approved this, and His Majesty even passed the proposal!”

  Geshu Han gripped the message from the capital in his hands, his mind still reeling from shock. Not even the appearance of the Ü-Tsang King of Generals, the White Lion Great General We Tadra Khonglo, had given him as much of a shock. This news was simply too unrealistic.

  He had been keeping a close watch on the court debates. After seeing all those officials recommending so many experienced and long-serving generals, Geshu Han had never expected them to ultimately pick Wang Chong.

  It wasn’t just Geshu Han. All the Big Dipper Army commanders around him were also in a stunned daze.

  The news from the capital had been like a reef hidden deep in the water, catching them by surprise and dealing them a massive shock.

  “It’s absurd! In a single year, he reached the post of Qixi Protector-General!”

  “Qixi also has that Qixi Armory set up by the imperial household. Our Big Dipper Army receives armaments and supplies from that place every year. If this really is the case, then our Big Dipper Army will be under his control!”

  “Am I going deaf? Protector-General! Just this achievement alone is enough to leave his name on the history books to be revered for centuries after he’s gone!”

  “But isn’t he too young? Why did the court let it through? There’s no way the masses would accept this!”

  “The acceptance of the masses? Do you still think he’s some ordinary youth? In the war of the southwest, he killed more than four hundred thousand soldiers of the Mengshe–Ü-Tsang army, and now he’s killed Dayan Mangban and Agudu Lan, burying countless Tibetan and Turkic warriors with them. This is a god of slaughter! Do you think the court would recommend him for no reason? His current achievements are simply not something the court can ignore!”

  The Big Dipper Army commanders were still struggling to come to grips with the idea. When Wang Chong had first arrived at Wushang and begun constructing the City of Steel, everyone had treated him as an outsider. Even though he had achieved enormous feats in the southwest, he was still just a teenager in their eyes. A one-time achievement wasn’t proof of anything. It was luck, coincidence, not a guarantee of transcendent strength or a sign that it would last for very long.

  But to their surprise, Wang Chong had succeeded in building that grandiose
City of Steel, firming up his foundation, and had also begun to achieve feat after feat: defeating the Tibetans, defeating the Turks, killing Dayan Mangban and Agudu Lan. Finally, he had ascended to the post of Qixi Protector-General.

  And all this had taken place in only a few months since Wang Chong’s arrival at Wushang. This advancement speed was like he was climbing a ladder to the heavens, leaving everyone slack-jawed and wide-eyed!

  Chapter 837 - Earthquake! Winds Stir, Clouds Gather! (II)

  Chapter 837: Earthquake! Winds Stir, Clouds Gather! (II)

  Translated by: Hypersheep325

  Edited by: Michyrr

  “Milord, should we continue working against Wang Chong? Qing Ze has already gone to connect with all two hundred and forty thousand bandits and brigands on the Silk Road. In addition, we still have that ban on vegetable, grain, and fruit merchants going to Wushang. Should this ban be continued?” a cautious voice in the room probed, breaking the atmosphere of shock. The speaker was a bearded Hu general of apparently rather high status standing at Geshu Han’s side.

  When Wang Chong had just arrived at Wushang, Geshu Han had given his subordinate Qing Ze a test by ordering him to deal with Wang Chong and prevent Wushang from establishing any roots. The most obvious and most practical method was to ban any fruits, grains, or vegetables, these necessities of life, from reaching Wushang. After all, the nearest supply point for Wushang in the Central Plains was Longxi.

  ‘The world is rich and prosperous, but nowhere surpasses Longxi’ was a saying that referred to the fact that Longxi was the most prosperous region in the Central Plains. The earth there was fertile, the lands spacious, so it was the easiest place to get supplies from. Back in the capital, Wang Chong had promised that he would develop Wushang into a unique commercial and transportation hub of the Silk Road, providing caravans a place to rest, resupply, and seek shelter and protection.

  The vast amount needed to supply all these people as well as the garrison could only be obtained from Longxi. As for Qixi, the meaning of the word ‘Qi’1 was enough to dispel that idea. That such a barren and near-desert region was able to sustain such a large garrison was already quite impressive.

  It was absolutely impossible for Wang Chong to receive sufficient logistical support from Qixi.

  Thus, when the time came, Wang Chong would have no other option than to get his supplies from the capital. The road between the capital and Wushang was long, and if one added into the mix the two hundred and forty thousand bandits and brigands on the road… one could easily imagine the result. But now, Wang Chong was Qixi Protector-General, and everything was different.

  If Geshu Han dared to continue on this course of action, it would no longer be a test, but a direct confrontation with Wang Chong!

  The Protector-Generals and Great Generals of the empire all held influential status and power, and a clash between two such figures was no laughing matter. Even Geshu Han would have to seriously consider the pros and cons.

  Geshu Han said nothing, raising his head to look at the slightly blackened roof of the hall that had been repaired several times over the course of Big Dipper City’s battles, a complicated look in his eyes.

  The Great Tang of the Central Plains had experienced many years of peace, and the upper levels of the power structure had solidified ages ago, with the candidates for high-ranking positions like Protector-General and Great General already set in stone. Wang Chong’s appearance and his rapid promotion had broken all the rules.

  With a sharpness that left everyone surprised and uncomfortable, he had rapidly left the southwest and entered the northwest, all the way until he was sitting on the post of Qixi Protector-General!

  In Geshu Han’s life of ups and downs, trials and tribulations, successes and failures, he had never encountered a situation like this.

  “Dalun Ruozan, Huoshu Huicang, Duan Gequan, Dusong Mangpoje, Dayan Mangban, Agudu Lan… Although I still feel the Imperial Court’s promoting a seventeen-year-old so quickly to the post of Protector-General is a decision made too hastily, he truly did achieve his current state by proving his strength every step of the way. Tell Qing Ze to return! Have those bandits and brigands disperse, and cancel all the plans we decided on. The times have changed, and we cannot challenge a Protector-General!”

  Geshu Han gave a long sigh.

  “Yes!”

  A Big Dipper commander quickly left with the order.

  ……

  The news of Wang Chong’s promotion arrived in Beiting and Andong as well, and the entire political system of the empire was dealt a massive shock. But in the distant Ü-Tsang Empire, the mood was completely different.

  In the massive royal capital, all was eerily silent. In the royal palace at its very heart, smoke spiraled out of incense burners, but nobody within the hall spoke. Everyone was focused on a metal fretwork table, around four feet high and covered with mysterious inscriptions.

  On the table, a black pigeon with golden eyes was cooing, freely looking around as if unaware of the nervous tension that filled the hall to the bursting. But everyone knew that this hall was weighed down by this strange pressure precisely because of the news this pigeon had delivered.

  “Your Majesty, although Fumeng Lingcha is gone, he’s been replaced by the even more formidable Wang Chong, with Wang Chong even taking Fumeng Lingcha’s former post. This is extremely ill news for our Ü-Tsang Empire!” A worried and anxious voice echoed within the hall.

  “The war of the southwest, the destruction of Zhangzhung Training Camp, the grievous losses at the triangular gap… in total, we’ve already lost more than four hundred thousand elite cavalry to that Great Tang youth, and the plague has still not been brought under complete control—the dead cows and sheep are piling up into mountains! That he’s now become Qixi Protector-General is a great disaster for our Ü-Tsang Empire! And besides that, he’s also built that fortress on our Tibetan Plateau! This is completely unprecedented!” Another voice rang out in agreement.

  In the past, the people the Ü-Tsang Empire feared were Zhangchou Jianqiong, Geshu Han, Fumeng Lingcha, and Gao Xianzhi, these four Imperial Great Generals of the Great Tang, but now, another name had rapidly superseded these names, becoming the most feared existence in the entire Ü-Tsang Empire. This name was ‘Wang Chong’. It wasn’t like the Tibetans had never lost to the Great Tang before, and the strongest of their Great Generals had even pushed all the way to the royal capital. But those had all been regular wars, where it was easy tell where they had lost, where they were weak.

  There had never been anyone like Wang Chong who had resorted to methods beyond the battlefield, spreading plague across the plateau. Moreover, his grasp of tactics and his ability to command troops in battle had far surpassed any of the famed Tang generals Ü-Tsang had encountered. Not only that, Wang Chong had managed to avoid all eyes and ears in his attack on Zhangzhung, penetrating deep into the Tibetan interior to annihilate the entire training camp and eight thousand Qinghai Soldiers.

  This matter left the entire Ü-Tsang Empire trembling in fear and unease, because there was no doubt that Wang Chong had found some secret path up to the plateau. If they did not find this path, Wang Chong would be able to enter the plateau at any time without being noticed and leave whenever he pleased.

  This was like a knife that could be pressed against one’s neck at any moment, and in a situation where one had no idea where the knife was coming from or how it could be avoided.

  “Your Majesty, no matter what, we must think of a way to kill Wang Chong. Otherwise, not only will we be unable to freely leave through the northeast, but will find ourselves completely locked off from the north.”

  All the famed generals in the hall turned to that figure seated above.

  The Tsenpo said nothing. He only listened to the opinions of his subjects, his thick brows creased and the flames of irritation raging in his heart.

  War, war… kill Wang Chong!

  How could he not know that this Great Ta
ng youth needed to be killed as soon as possible? But Dalun Ruozan had lost, Huoshu Huicang had lost, Dayan Pugyal had lost, Dayan Mangban had lost, and Dusong Mangpoje had also lost. Two of the empire’s most formidable Great Generals and one of its Great Ministers had lost to that Wang Chong, and they had paid the two-hundred-thousand-some cavalry that the Ngari Royal Lineage had taken ten-some years to accumulate, as well as countless cows and sheep.

  That brat from the Great Tang wasn’t dead, but the Ü-Tsang Empire was fast approaching its breaking point.

  “Enough!”

  Suddenly, a voice rang out through the hall, not at all sharp, but mellow and rich. Yet this voice silenced the hall, everyone quickly shutting their mouths.

  “All armies are ordered to keep their distance from the northern border. All hostilities in the northern region are henceforth forbidden!” the voice commanded, neither too loud nor too soft.

  Only the Imperial Great Minister, Dalon Trinling, had the authority to speak and issue decrees on the Tsenpo’s behalf. As expected, Dalon Trinling’s words immediately made all the officials and generals in the hall turn docile, all their ruthlessness dissipating. Even the Tsenpo appeared much more relaxed.

  “The empire has lost enough soldiers in the north. Even Dayan Mangban died there, and Dusong Mangpoje returned with heavy injuries, making him incapable of going into battle for the short term. Patriarch Dusong, do you know where Dusong Mangpoje is? And how are his injuries doing?”

  Dalon Trinling held his hands behind his back, his narrow eyes bursting with intelligence turning to a muscular and bulky figure within the hall.

  “Many thanks for Great Minister’s concern. Upon returning from his defeat, Mangpoje immediately went to the Great Snow Mountain Holy Temple to prostrate on the ground. He has still not returned, nor has he sent us any message,” Dusong Gonjo said with a bow.