Now that Wang Chong had reincarnated, he naturally would not permit this to happen again. Moreover, with the Battle of Talas imminent, Wang Chong needed a powerful and fierce ally that also would not betray him.
Tap! Tap! Tap!
That Gangke man returned as quickly as he had left, leaving behind a trail of dust.
“Our deepest apologies. Our leader has said that we Gangke cannot be of help to you. This food… you should take it back.”
______________1. The Karluks were a Turkic people that lived in Central Asia as a vassal state of the Tang Dynasty. They are probably most famous for the fact that during the Battle of Talas, the 20,000 Karluk mercenaries that Gao Xianzhi had hired chose to defect to the Arabs, resulting in a major defeat for the Tang.↩
Chapter 856 - Sworn Enemies, the Saka!
Chapter 856: Sworn Enemies, the Saka!
Translated by: Hypersheep325
Edited by: Michyrr
“Ah?!”
Yuan Shusong’s face was frozen in shock. Never had he imagined that the Gangke leader would not even show them a little face and at least give them a meeting, instead choosing to flatly reject them.
“This…”
Yuan Shusong turned to Wang Chong, momentarily at a loss for words. If the other party refused even a meeting, all their persuasive methods would be useless. Wang Chong’s brows were slightly raised, but he was not too surprised.
As expected of the proud King of Mercenaries.
Wang Chong inwardly chuckled. The Gangke King had been quite famous for his pride in his last life. Although the Gangke were mercenaries of the Western Regions, they did not accept mercenary contracts from just anyone. At present, the Gangke were interacting with these Han for the first time, so it would be quite strange indeed if they had agreed to a meeting.
“It’s fine. This food is a gift. Sir Yuan, let’s go.”
Wang Chong gave a faint smile and waved his hand, turning and beginning to leave as Yuan Shusong looked on in astonishment. The five thousand soldiers of the Qixi Protectorate army also began to slowly move, leaving the territory of the Gangke Tribe.
When the army had traveled around one thousand zhang, Yuan Shusong turned to Wang Chong with an embarrassed expression, his heart unable to accept this. “Lord Marquis, are we really leaving?”
When he received Wang Chong’s summons, he had believed that he would be able to offer some help. The Young Marquis was known throughout the world, and though Yuan Shusong was much older than he was, he deeply admired this descendant of Duke Jiu.
But on this first outing, he had to return in failure.
“Relax—the Gangke will definitely agree. But going faster might not get us closer to our goal. We’ve communicated our good intentions in this first meeting, and that’s enough. As for what comes next… let’s just watch and see how the situation changes.”
Wang Chong’s lips curved into a profound smile.
“Reporting!”
The moment Wang Chong said these words, a mounted Qixi scout arrived.
“Milord! We’ve found the target ahead! Around two thousand people, currently riding toward Gangke territory.”
“Target?”
Yuan Shusong was left dazed by these words as he subconsciously looked to Wang Chong. It appeared that Wang Chong had made more plans than he had imagined.
“Haha, Sir Yuan, there’s no need to worry. Let’s quietly watch how things develop.”
Wang Chong waved his hand, and the five thousand soldiers came to a stop several thousand zhang from the borders of the Gangke territory. After a few seconds, they could all hear the rumbling of hooves. A group of more than two thousand natives of the Western Regions appeared, all with deep eyes, high noses, and loose hair. They flailed sabers, spears, and cudgels, yowling and shouting as they charged toward the Gangke Tribe’s territory.
Halfway through their charge, these two thousand people clearly noticed Wang Chong’s men, but they only heartily laughed and continued to brashly charge toward the Gangke.
“The Saka!”
Yuan Shusong’s eyes widened in recognition. The Saka1 were an extremely powerful nomadic people of the Western Regions, divided into many tribes. Their most defining traits were their tall bodies, powerful bones, and aggressive natures. These people had a habit of using lime to draw an ‘X’ on the right sides of their horses.
The Saka enjoyed bullying the weaker tribes, and countless such tribes of the Western Regions had been extinguished under their hooves.
“Milord…”
“Just watch.”
Wang Chong smiled, already knowing what Yuan Shusong wanted to say.
In the distance, the two thousand Saka had already traveled deep into Gangke territory. The Gangke had gathered and formed a stalemate with the Saka. It was not possible to hear what was being said at this distance, but the Gangke appeared very agitated, flailing their arms as they spoke. Their actions only seemed to elicit laughter from the Saka.
“Lord Marquis, the Saka have always been powerful, and they enjoy enslaving these small and weak tribes, often plundering sheep, cattle, and horses from them. The Gangke were already lacking in food. I’m afraid…”
Yuan Shusong had turned to Wang Chong and was still speaking when screams suddenly filled the air. Trembling, Yuan Shusong turned back around and saw that several Gangke had been run through by halberds. The laughing Saka had suddenly begun a brazen slaughter on Gangke lands.
Thwishthwishthwish!
The Saka had clearly come prepared, and a volley of arrows was immediately launched at the Gangke. Meanwhile, other Saka began to charge, their sabers, spears, and cudgels hacking here and there. The Gangke were unarmed and defenseless, not to mention malnourished, so they were simply no match for the Saka. Their wretched screams rang through the air.
“Lord Marquis!”
“Wait for my order,” Wang Chong indifferently said.
Roooar! At this moment, a furious bellow thundered over the land, and a seething wave of energy exploded from the tent in the center of the Gangke lands. Such was the strength of this aura that ten-some Saka who weren’t even close were immediately sent flying along with their horses. So abundant was this energy that even the horses of Wang Chong’s army, several thousand zhang away, neighed in alarm.
“So powerful!”
“What sort of person is this? How formidable!”
“This person is at least of the Saint Martial realm. I didn’t think the Gangke had such a terrifying expert!”
The Qixi Protectorate army commanders around Wang Chong were all shocked, their eyes wide open. These Gangke had seemed like beggars on their first meeting, filthy and smelly, and these officers had paid them no regard. But none of them had predicted that the Gangke would be hiding this sort of expert.
The Gangke King has finally come out!
Wang Chong squinted, his eyes bursting with anticipation.
Wang Chong was not completely clueless as to the relationship between the Gangke and the Saka. Just as Yuan Shusong had said, the two tribes had a relationship of master and slave. As one of the Saka’s vassal tribes, the Gangke owed tribute of cows, sheep, and horses to the Saka, and the Saka used this method to hamper the growth of the Gangke.
But even though the Gangke had no capacity to fight, their leader, the Gangke King, was the largest variable, an extremely terrifying and concealed Saint Martial expert.
In the distance, with that explosion of energy, a tall and thin Gangke man, clothed in animal skins and exuding a heroic aura, walked out of the tattered tent. His gaze was frosty and suffused with a vicious killing intent, and those brash and unstoppable Saka were instantly reduced to tiny ants.
“Qie-ke-pa, jie-xiang-si, mo-qi-fa…”
The Gangke King’s eyes shone like lightning as his furious voice thundered over a radius of several li, causing warhorses to whinny in fright. Even Wang Chong, with his understanding of the Gangke King, couldn’t help but mentally reel in shock at
this frightening demeanor.
This was a true lion!
“What did he say?”
Wang Chong turned to Yuan Shusong.
“The leader of the Gangke is angry and has told them to immediately withdraw,” Yuan Shusong said as he looked into the distance, this conflict completely absorbing his focus. In his early years, Yuan Shusong had wandered the Western Regions, interacting with the Gangke Tribe, but he had never known them to be hiding such a formidable individual. The Stellar Energy around the Gangke King was like destructive lightning, making him appear like a god.
“Ah-sa-li-lu, ka-li-ye-si-li-la…”
On the other side, the Saka seemed to care little about the powerful Gangke King. Several formidable Saka leaders surrounded the Gangke King and began to berate him.
“Those Saka are threatening the Gangke leader. If he dares to do anything, they will kill all the Gangke,” Yuan Shusong immediately translated.
The Saka’s threats were clearly effective. The Gangke King appeared extremely apprehensive, his majestic aura shrinking as if out of fear that innocents would be harmed if he attacked.
“Pass on my order. We can move now.”
Wang Chong faintly smiled and swung down his arm.
Rumble!
The world instantly began to quake as the five thousand Qixi Protectorate army soldiers began to mobilize. Clangclangclang!Thousands of war halos burst from under their feet like dazzling flames, and this army began to charge into Gangke territory like a mighty flood.
The killing intent of five thousand soldiers charging at once seemed to take physical form, immediately drawing the intention of the stalemated parties.
“It’s the Qixi Protectorate army!”
“What are they planning? Have the Tang forgotten the rules? What do our dealings with the Gangke have to do with them?”
“Send a few people to talk with them. We’ve worked together with the Tang before!”
Several Saka shouted and immediately turned to head the Qixi Protectorate army off, but what awaited them was cold steel. Swish! Cold light flashed and blood spurted. Several Saka, their mouths open as if wanting to speak, were immediately beheaded, their corpses gushing blood as they fell from their horses.
“!!!”
All the Saka were left stunned by this sight. They had never imagined that the Great Tang soldiers would dare to attack them, and this was to help these ‘filthy pigs’ of the Western Regions!
“This lot of bastards! They actually dare to attack us!”
“They dare to break the rules! Kill them!”
The eyes of the Saka turned red, as even the slowest of them now realized that these Tang were aiming for them. In a flash, the blood surged to the tops of their heads, and they began to roar and flail their weapons as they charged at the five thousand Qixi soldiers.
Although the Tang ruled the Western Regions, as the fierce Saka saw it, these formidable Tang only had some tens of thousands of people living in the region, with the bulk of the long-term population being made up of the various tribes of the Western Regions. The Tang only ruled the Western Regions on the surface, with the Saka serving as the true leaders behind the curtains.
______________1.The Saka, also known as the Scythians, were a nomadic people of the steppe. However, they were eventually forced south, out of the steppe, due to conflict with other steppe nomads such as the Xiongnu, settling in both India as well as the Tarim Basin, with some of the Saka settling in cities like Khotan and Kashgar.↩
Chapter 857 - Intimidation! Kill the Chicken to Warn the Monkeys1!
Chapter 857: Intimidation! Kill the Chicken to Warn the Monkeys1!
Translated by: Hypersheep325
Edited by: Michyrr
Bang!
The Gangke watched on in awe as the two thousand Saka clashed with the five thousand soldiers of the Qixi Protectorate army in a massive boom, two black waves colliding against each other. “Ah!” Wretched cries filled the air, and the Saka fell into chaos as they were knocked from their horses.
The Saka might have been the strongest of the mercenary tribes in the Western Regions, but they were still no match for a fully-equipped Tang army. Wang Chong had not even needed to exert any of his own strength, just have his soldiers charge, immediately scattering the two thousand Saka. By the end, only several dozen had survived.
The ground was carpeted in corpses.
The strength of the Qixi Protectorate army could not compare to Wang Chong’s Wushang Cavalry, but they were still well-trained and tempered through battle. Dealing with mercenaries was a simple task for them.
“Run! Report to the leader!”
“You Tang will regret this!”
The surviving Saka scattered.
“Don’t chase a hard-pressed foe! Everyone, come back!” Wang Chong lightly said.
“Lord Marquis! The Gangke leader is coming over!” a Qixi scout suddenly whispered into Wang Chong’s ears.
Wang Chong turned his head in response and saw that the Gangke territory was quiet and still, countless pairs of eyes staring at Wang Chong and his soldiers.
Meanwhile, a middle-aged man with a searing pair of eyes was currently walking toward Wang Chong.
“Why did you help us?”
These were the first words the Gangke King spoke to Wang Chong as his eyes cautiously inspected the youth. From his expression, he was apparently not as happy as one would expect.
Yuan Shusong’s mouth opened and closed in hesitation.
“Do you know that by helping, you’ve made more problems for me?” the Gangke King continued. As he looked at Wang Chong, his mouth surprisingly spat out several lines of fluent Han. The Qixi officers around Wang Chong instantly reacted to these words.
“Impudent! We helped you, and you actually blame us.”
“Truly someone who returns favor with enmity!”
No one expected this sort of result from helping the Gangke kill the Saka.
Wang Chong smiled and raised an arm to silence his officers.
“Since this is the case, then why did Chief still strike back? Just let the Saka take away all your cows and sheep. Why try to resist?”
“This is our own problem. There is no need for your concern,” the Gangke King said in agitation.
“Chief has truthfully already made a choice, so why deceive yourself?” Wang Chong rested his hands on his saddle as he continued unperturbed, “The Tang are friends, not enemies, so why is Chief so nervous? And moreover, Chief speaks such fluent Han that you probably studied abroad in the capital in your early years. Chief should understand the style of us Tang. If the Gangke wish to take their fate in their own hands and throw off the yoke of the Saka, we are Chief’s best option.”
“!!!”
The Gangke King’s eyes widened at the mention of studying abroad, clearly surprised. He once more began to inspect Wang Chong, viewing this young Tang general in a new light.
Wang Chong only smiled. One of the reasons for his conclusion had been that the Gangke could not possibly produce such a heroic man, but the main reason was that token of translucent jade on his belt.
That was a typical Han jade token.
This was one of the primary reasons Wang Chong wanted the Gangke to be his allies.
“I don’t know what you’re talking about, but the affairs of the Western Regions are not as simple as you Tang imagine. The Saka have tens of thousands of soldiers. You really should not have let them go. They will bring even more people with them,” the Gangke King said.
“Hah, then I’ll just kill all the people they bring,” Wang Chong leisurely declared, his tone oozing with contempt.
The Gangke King trembled all over as he continued to take measure of this youth. This was an incredibly young person, sixteen, seventeen at most. It was extremely rare for a Tang to be a general at such a young age. The Gangke King truly had studied in the Great Tang capital for a spell, and he had gotten to meet many influential individuals, but very few of them
had been this young.
What attracted most of his notice were the eyes. They were deep and proud, confident that the entire situation was under control. This temperament, like that of an immovable mountain, was not something any ordinary general could possess.
“You can’t kill them all. The Saka will keep coming. They have enormous forces in this area…” the Gangke King said.
“Then just kill all the Saka and get it over with,” Wang Chong indifferently said.
His expression was relaxed, but the sharpness in his eyes was dreadful to behold.
“Just who are you?”
The Gangke King blinked, finally speechless. He was finally beginning to realize that the identity of this Great Tang youth was far more mysterious than he had imagined. In a few casual comments, he had declared that he would kill off a great tribe with centuries of history in the Western Regions. Anyone else would be taken for a madman.
But Wang Chong’s tone and expression indicated that he was not joking. In addition, those Qixi Protectorate army soldiers still reeking of blood from the battle all seemed to be treating Wang Chong’s words very seriously.
Xue Qianjun urged his horse forward and loudly proclaimed, “You Gangke are too ignorant and out of touch. You don’t even recognize our lord. He is the Qixi Protector-General, the Son of Heaven’s disciple, the Young Marquis of the Great Tang!”
“Qixi’s Protector-General!”
The Gangke King’s body trembled in shock. Even though he resided in the remote territory of the Gangke, he still knew that in the last few months, two of the most infamous figures of the Western Regions, the Turkic Black Wolf Yabgu Agudu Lan and the Tibetan Brigadier General Dayan Mangban, had been killed by a Tang youth called Wang Chong.
And this Wang Chong had also replaced the tough and domineering Fumeng Lingcha as Qixi Protector-General. It was rumored that Fumeng Lingcha had not ceded his post willingly so that better talent could ascend, but only after he had lost to Wang Chong in a struggle.
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