The Human Emperor c1-2382
Page 560
Ten thousand elite Mamelukes were also bolstered by other heavy cavalry. Given Wang Chong’s understanding of the Arabs and the forces they had currently mobilized, the Arabs had at least two hundred thousand soldiers, a number that would only get larger. The soldiers of Qixi were far from enough. This was a problem that had vexed Wang Chong for some time.
He simply had too few chips!
When he thought about this, he couldn’t help but give a long sigh, but then he heard giggling at his ear. Raising his head in astonishment, he saw that Xu Qiqin was covering her mouth and laughing so hard that her petite body was shaking, her face red.
“I thought that you were worried about something serious, but this is all it was. Leave it to me. I’ll help you handle this. I can guarantee that within a month, I can get you six thousand Wushang Cavalry,” Xu Qiqin confidently said.
“!!!”
Wang Chong trembled in shock as he stared at Xu Qiqin.
No one understood Wushang Village more than he did. These people were extremely xenophobic and did not permit ordinary outsiders entry. Even with the memories from his past life, he had needed to expend a great deal of energy to recruit five thousand Wushang Cavalry. In addition, Wushang Village did not have that many people, and getting five thousand had been so difficult that Wang Chong had not dared to ask for any more.
But now, Xu Qiqin was confidently declaring that she could guarantee him six thousand more Wushang Cavalry in just one month.
“What, don’t believe me?”
Xu Qiqin gave a beautiful smile.
“This matter wasn’t difficult in the first place, but you men are too clumsy to know how to do it the right way.”
Wang Chong stared speechlessly at Xu Qiqin.
If anyone else had said this to him, Wang Chong would have treated it as a joke, but if it was Xu Qiqin… This was the Great Tang’s Queen of Logistics, and her words held a completely different weight.
“Okay! Qiqin, I leave this to you!”
……
In the northern region of the Tibetan Plateau, the sparsely-inhabited northeast corner…
Rumble!
Winds howled as thundering hooves shattered the calm of the plateau. The earth rumbled as a flood of steel mounted the plateau in a cloud of dust.
“Everyone, keep up! Don’t fall behind!
“Keep up your guard!”
Shouts rang out over the plateau. Li Siye led these soldiers, equipped in heavy armor that made his massive body seem like a heavy mountain while exuding an oppressive aura.
Wootz Steel swords were of utmost importance to Wang Chong, so Li Siye had been the first of Wang Chong’s subordinates to depart. That Wang Chong had dispatched his number one general for this task was proof enough of the priority Wang Chong had placed on this matter.
“Is everyone here? Make a count! In addition, check your equipment. We might have to battle at any moment.”
Li Siye’s voice sounded like a bell over the plateau.
“Yes, General!”
The two thousand Wushang Cavalry quickly assembled and began to check their equipment.
“Kong Zi-an, I will give you one thousand men. From here, go through Greater and Lesser Balur to get to Sindhu to receive the ore convoy. There’s no need to say any more about the importance Lord Marquis places on this matter. No mistakes can be permitted. Do you understand?”
Li Siye’s sharp eyes turned to a deputy at his side.
Kong Zi-an was a talented soldier that Li Siye had discovered while leading the troops. He was calm, persistent, decisive, and had the impressive ability to judge the situation and choose the most appropriate plan. Recognizing his talent, Li Siye had made him one of his subordinates and taught him, giving him strategy texts to study.
After several battles, Kong Zi-an was now Li Siye’s most powerful deputy, which was why Li Siye was giving him this task.
“General, be at ease. This officer swears on his life that this mission will be completed!”
Kong Zi-an dismounted and kneeled on the ground, determination on his face.
Li Siye waved his hand and said, “There’s no need to say any more. Go!”
Kong Zi-an immediately mounted his horse and led the one thousand Wushang Cavalry away in the direction of Greater and Lessur Balur. Li Siye remained with the other one thousand soldiers to stand sentinel on the plateau. He watched Kong Zi-an’s forces leave, and only after a long while did he return to his senses.
“The rest of you, listen up! Without my order, no one is allowed to move on their own! We will wait until they return! Be ready to receive them at any time!”
“Yes!” the army bellowed, their cries reaching into the heavens and resounding over the plateau.
Chapter 853 - Scouring the Turkic Steppe
Chapter 853: Scouring the Turkic Steppe
Translated by: Hypersheep325
Edited by: Michyrr
“General.”
At this moment, a low voice rang out at Li Siye’s ear.
“Tibetan vultures have been sighted. They’ve noticed us.”
Li Siye’s eyes flashed as he turned to follow the scout’s gaze. To the southwest, a massive black vulture had appeared in the sky, circling in the air as it clearly observed them. Even farther off, he could see a black silhouette mounted on a warhorse peeking out over the horizon, watching them from a distance.
From his dress, he was clearly a Tibetan horseman.
“There’s no need to worry. Let them do what they want.”
Li Siye quickly turned back around.
“There’s no one left in Ü-Tsang’s north that can threaten us.”
With this, Li Siye turned his gaze back to the north, transforming into an unmoving war god, silently waiting and watching.
……
Northwest of Qixi, across the long arc of the border and deep into the Turkic steppe…
Rumble!
Soon after Li Siye had departed, Cheng Sanyuan had left with three thousand Wushang Cavalry, traveling through the Turkic steppe along its most lush and fertile regions. The Wushang Cavalry rarely ventured this deeply into the steppe, so Cheng Sanyuan had brought three guides.
A thin Hu mounted on a warhorse pointed ahead and said, “Milord, another ten-some li ahead is an oasis. The Gu-er-ri Tribe’s people often water their cows and sheep there.”
“All soldiers, move out!”
A cold light in his eyes, Cheng Sanyuan held aloft his sword and thrust it forward. Instantly, thousands of cavalry surged past him, charging toward that area. Thirty minutes later, the three thousand Wushang Cavalry had arrived. What they were greeted with was not the sight of a clear oasis, but thousands upon thousands of cows and sheep, as well as Turkic shepherds dressed in lambskin.
“Shit, it’s the Han!”
“How did their soldiers appear here? Run away!”
At the sight of Cheng Sanyuan’s forces, the Turkic shepherds panicked. Some of the shepherds rapidly assembled a small defensive force that galloped forward to intercept Cheng Sanyuan.
“Kill!”
Without the slightest hesitation, Cheng Sanyuan and his three thousand Wushang Cavalry swept forward like a storm. Turks had fierce personalities, and while these shepherds appeared innocent, were they to put on some armor, they would all become regular Turkic warriors that would follow the army into the underbelly of the Central Plains to wreak havoc amongst the common folk.
This principle was obvious to everyone. There was no emotion or mercy in this battle, and when it was over, the earth around the oasis was stained with blood and covered with the corpses of livestock and shepherds.
“Let’s go! To the next one!”
Cheng Sanyuan’s sharp eyes turned to the north as he swung down his arm. Like black clouds, the three thousand cavalry swept toward their next destination.
One after the other, Cheng Sanyuan continued to follow Wang Chong’s order, scouring the water sources of the Turkic steppe of shepherds and tr
ibes. His movements were fast and brutal. In just one day, several dozen water sources had been cleared.
Countless shepherds and tribes fled in panic, and this incident quickly bore fruit.
……
“Bastard!”
Upon receiving the urgent news from the shepherds, the Turkic deputy general stationed on the western border of the Khaganate slammed his hand against the table and got to his feet.
“These Han are acting too brashly! Do they really think that we Turks have no one else?”
With the death of the Black Wolf Yabgu, all his soldiers had fallen under the command of this deputy general. Until Ishbara Khagan appointed a new Yabgu, the thirty-thousand-some cavalry of the west were under his control.
“What have you found? Only three thousand? No sign of that Young Marquis?”
Nalou Lubu propped his hands against the metal table and leaned over it, his expression savage.
“General, we’ve already scouted things out,” the kneeling Turkic scout subserviently said. “That Wang Chong of the Great Tang is not present. The one commanding this force is some nameless officer, and he only has three thousand soldiers. We’ve confirmed this report multiple times.”
“Pass on my order! Assemble the army and get ready to leave! We’ll crush these Han until nothing is left.”
Nalou Lubu’s voice echoed through the tent, but he had already leapt over the table and walked out.
In the battle of Qixi Armory, Agudu Lan and his five thousand elites had been wiped out, dealing a massive blow to the Western Turkic Khaganate’s forces around Qixi. However, despite all that, the Khaganate still had a formidable force in the area.
Nalou Lubu was perhaps not as famous as Agudu Lan, but he was still a general of some renown amongst the Western Turks, and a veteran of many battles. Together with his thirty thousand soldiers, he presented a powerful force.
Rumble!
With Nalou Lubu’s order, all the soldiers that the Western Turkic Khaganate had around Qixi were gathered. Thousands upon thousands of warhorses transformed into an enormous wave that rumbled toward Cheng Sanyuan and his three thousand Wushang Cavalry.
……
Almost the moment the Western Turks began to move, on the Qixi border, Zhang Que received a descending eagle and turned to Cheng Sanyuan. “Milord, they’ve begun to mobilize.”
“Heh, it’s just as our lord predicted. As long as we occupy the water sources and prevent those Turkic shepherds from watering their livestock and horses, the Turkic army will be forced to attack.”
Cheng Sanyuan grinned from atop his gray horse.
Lush grass could be found all over the steppe, so the Turks could move wherever they wished and have their animals graze, but no matter where they grazed, they couldn’t stray far from the water. By seizing the water sources, they had seized the weak point of the Turks. For this, Cheng Sanyuan was full of admiration for Wang Chong.
Although he had only given a few short orders, he had seized the life source of the Turks.
Flapflap!
Without another word, Cheng Sanyuan opened his hands, allowing a golden-eyed pigeon to take off, flying in the direction of Qixi. After doing this, Cheng Sanyuan gave a faint smile and turned to the disciplined ranks of the Wushang Cavalry behind him.
“All soldiers, hear my order! Prepare for battle!”
Around two hours later, the earth suddenly began to rumble, and a cloud of dust could be seen rising over the horizon, soon followed by a creeping line of black that began to rapidly charge toward their position.
Awooo!
Wolves howled as a massive war banner was thrust into the air. Upon this black banner was the image of a blue wolf.
The Turkic army!
This great threat to the Great Tang, the Turkic army garrisoned on the Qixi border, had finally arrived.
“All soldiers, get ready! Chaaaaarge!”
While the thirty-thousand-some Turks were still far away, their formation still loose and disorderly, Cheng Sanyuan smiled and swung down his arm. Though his meager force was like a rock in the face of a mighty wave, he fearlessly charged forward.
Clangclangclang!
War halos began to erupt from beneath the feet of Cheng Sanyuan and his men, and in the blink of an eye, these halos had melded together, transforming the three thousand men into a small fortress.
“Bastard!”
Nalou Lubu’s eyes flew open at this sight, and his blood rushed to his head in fury. He had more than thirty thousand men, ten times their number, and yet this obscure officer of the Great Tang dared to take the initiative and charge at him.
“Kill them all! Leave no one alive!”
At Nalou Lubu’s order, not only did his army not slow, it picked up speed, and the two sides rapidly closed the gap…
Boom!
The earth shuddered as the three thousand Wushang Cavalry in Arrow Formation savagely smashed into the thirty thousand Turkic soldiers.
Neigh!
“Aaaaah!”
“Kill them all!”
The two armies clashed, and everything fell into chaos. Countless soldiers were knocked into the air, and when they crashed back down, their blood quickly seeped into the earth. To the consternation of the Turks, the three thousand Wushang Cavalry had displayed a crushing strength that immediately pierced through the vast Turkic army.
The difference between quality and quantity was immediately made evident. At only the first clash, more than four thousand Turks had been killed.
“Bastard!”
Enraged, Nalou Lubu drew his saber and pointed it at Cheng Sanyuan.
“Nameless soldier, give me your life!”
Before he had even finished speaking, Nalou Lubu had already swung down his saber, charging together with his elite guards at Cheng Sanyuan. He could already see that though these Tang cavalry possessed astonishing strength, their commanding officer wasn’t that powerful. ‘To shoot a person, shoot the horse, and to catch thieves, first capture their leader.’ As long as he could kill this officer, the Tang cavalry would naturally crumble.
Rumble! Seeing Nalou Lubu’s movements, other Turkic soldiers immediately began to follow.
“Hmph, I was waiting for you!”
Cheng Sanyuan sneered, a harsh light in his eyes.
Rumble! Just as Nalou Lubu’s elites began to charge, the situation suddenly changed. Buzz! The three thousand Wushang Cavalry split up into hundred-man units, scattering apart and beginning to wreak havoc on the army.
The Turkic center was already in ruins, and now it fell into complete mayhem. Caught by surprise, Nalou Lubu subconsciously slowed down, but by the time he regained his composure, the three thousand Wushang Cavalry had suddenly turned around.
“Not good!”
Nalou Lubu paled as an intense sense of danger began to surge out of his heart and envelop his entire body. He wanted to fall back and flee, but it was already too late. The thousands of Wushang Cavalry were charging in from all sides.
Chapter 854 - Hiring the Gangke Tribe!
Chapter 854: Hiring the Gangke Tribe!
Translated by: Hypersheep325
Edited by: Michyrr
“Aaaaah!”
A scream tore through the air as the four-feet-thick barrier of Stellar Energy around Nalou Lubu rapidly extinguished. After a few moments of silence, Nalou Lubu’s mangled body toppled to the ground, blood spurting out from both him and his warhorse.
In death, Nalou Lubu’s eyes were still wide in seeming disbelief, stunned that he could die like this to these three thousand men.
Clang!
A Wushang cavalryman flew past, his sword sweeping down and immediately sending Nalou Lubu’s head flying several zhang. And with Nalou Lubu’s death, the Western Turks fell into complete chaos.
“Kill!”
Cheng Sanyuan immediately gave the order to strike while the iron was hot.
Nalou Lubu had still been too careless. Although Cheng Sanyuan wasn’t some
renowned general, the Wushang Cavalry behind him were the best in the world. Wang Chong had used this same technique in his attack on Zhangzhung Training Camp to kill the Saint Martial realm Dayan Pugyal, so how could Nalou Lubu contend against it?
“Aaaaah!”
Without the command of Nalou Lubu, even though the Western Turks still had twenty thousand soldiers, they no longer had the strength to organize an effective counter.
“Kill!”
When Heba Ye arrived with eight thousand soldiers from another direction, the battle was completely settled.
When the news of this defeat reached Mount Sanmi, the entirety of the Khagan’s court trembled!
……
To the south of Qixi, along the Silk Road leading to the capital, an expansive road of cement was extending to the Western Regions, several thousand kilometers in length and traversing many mountains. At the end of this road, thousands of workers were laboring like bees.
Zhao Jingdian, several nobles from the capital, and the elders of the great clans were supervising this entire process.
Flap flap!
A carrier pigeon descended from the sky, and Zhao Jingdian extended his right hand to receive it. With just a glance, Zhao Jingdian turned serious.
“It’s a letter from Lord Marquis!”
Zhao Jingdian opened the letter, scanned through it, and immediately put it away. He strode up to the front, stopping in front of an old man wearing close-fitting clothes.
“Sir Xu, how much farther is Wushang?” Zhao Jingdian asked.
“It’s not far,” the old man replied. “In truth, we could have reached Wushang some time ago, but according to Milord’s orders, we widened the road and strengthened the cement so that it could hold even more weight. But if things continue like this, we should reach Wushang in twenty days at most.”