The arrival of Wang Bei was like a trigger, as soon after, countless soldiers began to pour in from every direction. First it was the people from Deflecting Blade Manor: Su Hanshan, Sun Zhiming, Fang Xuanling, Xu Gan, Chen Burang, Zhuang Zhengping, Chi Weisi… all of them had come.
These future ‘general stars’ of Deflecting Blade Manor had been dispatched by Wang Chong to the southwest, Beiting, and other areas to be trained. After tempering themselves through battle, each of them had greatly matured.
After that, Wang Chong’s requests were swiftly passed, and his father Wang Yan and big brother Wang Fu immediately set off for the Qixi Protectorate. Beforehand, Wang Chong had prepared many military carriages so that their twenty thousand soldiers could arrive as quickly as possible.
Elsewhere, Annan Protector-General Xianyu Zhongtong had received Wang Chong’s request. In gratitude for Wang Chong’s past actions, he had selected eight thousand elites and sent them to Wushang.
Of these, four thousand were elite cavalry. If not for the particular standards required of the protectorates, Xianyu Zhongtong would have sent Wang Chong even more soldiers.
Xianyu Zhongtong and Wang Chong had a friendship that had been forged through blood and fire, tempered through life-or-death struggles.
In addition, even though the Imperial Court was dearly lacking in troops, it had still managed to gather an extra ten thousand soldiers that would accompany Wang Chong’s father and big brother, and the soldiers from the Annan Protectorate army. But the greatest aid the Imperial Court could give to Wang Chong was in money.
A total of ten million taels of gold had been allotted for Wang Chong, with five million consisting of ‘gold yuan certificates1′. This money was enough for Wang Chong to hire a large number of mercenaries.
As time went by, more and more soldiers arrived at the City of Steel each day, and Wang Chong did his utmost in his race against time. Every day, countless carrier pigeons and rock eagles were sent to Talas to observe the situation. At the same time, Wang Chong was using the ten million taels of gold given to him to recruit mercenaries en masse and strengthen his forces.
He had even used some of the gold to recruit twelve thousand regular soldiers from Greater and Lesser Balur.
Now, I’m only missing the Meteoric Metal!
In Wang Chong’s residence within the City of Steel, Wang Chong looked out the window at the plum flowers on the verge of blossoming and mentally sighed. He had done all he could to prepare the Qixi Protectorate army. Soldiers, money, supplies, Wootz Steel weapons… he had done everything in his power.
But deep within his heart, he still felt a deep regret: the Meteoric Metal.
Even though he had so many memories from his past life, some things still remained beyond his control, with the Meteoric Metal being one of these. His cousin had been searching the islands for the Meteoric Metal for a very long time now, and he should have returned already, but there had still been no news of him.
I wonder how he’s doing right now? Wang Chong quietly said to himself.
But Wang Chong had no idea that on the shores of the Great Tang, by the Eastern Sea, a fleet of unprecedented size was arriving.
“Out of the way, out of the way! The fleet is about to enter the harbor!”
“Heavens, which family owns this fleet? How could these ships be so low in the water? Just how many goods are on them!”
“Can’t you see? Do you not even recognize the flag of the capital’s Wang Clan? You must be a complete newbie!”
“Ah! The Young Marquis…”
The workers on the pier were all stunned, stepping back as they stared at those massive ships.
Clap!
Meanwhile, as the first ship approached the shore, a long rope ladder was thrown from the deck, and sailor after tanned sailor descended. As they took in the familiar world of the Central Plains, they opened their arms and heartily laughed.
“I’ve finally returned!”
After these sailors descended, gears turned and a long steel plank was raised high over the deck, then swung down. After a few moments of silence, a thin but energetic figure appeared at the end of this steel bridge.
He was dressed in a tattered silk garment, his aura still that of a scion from a noble clan. The long voyage at sea had tanned his skin, and his face seemed hardened from many trials and storms, but those eyes of his shone with unprecedented sharpness, vigor, and dignity.
“After more than half a year, I’ve finally returned to the Central Plains…”
Wang Liang stood at the end of the plank bridge, his hands held behind him and his hair buffeted by the sea winds as he took in the sight. He gave off the composure and steadiness of an old sailor with decades’ worth of experience on the sea. One would find it very difficult to believe that he was really just a youth of twenty-one.
“All the Wang Clan experience glories and losses as one. Cousin, I hope that I haven’t delayed you.”
The tempering of life, the trials of the ocean, and the tests of life and death had long ago made Wang Liang understand many of the principles he had failed to comprehend in his youth, allowed him to grasp the true essence of a massive behemoth like the Wang Clan. The great clans had the duties of the great clans, and each member of a clan had their own duties. All of them were necessary to keep this behemoth working, and failure would cause it to collapse and crumble.
In the Wang Clan, the spear tip was currently Wang Chong. He was the most dazzling existence in this generation of the Wang Clan, the crucial factor in maintaining the glory of the Wang Clan that no one else could replace. Wang Liang himself was the end of the spear, the handle. But even though each person had a different use, all of them were necessary.
Wang Liang didn’t understand military affairs, nor did he understand Wang Chong’s plans and aspirations. Thus, he could only support Wang Chong, support his cousin, support the entire Wang Clan, through his own methods.
These thoughts passed very quickly through Wang Liang’s mind, and he quickly regained his composure. Gradually, he began to seem like an unsheathed sword, his aura turning sharp and fierce, brimming with awesome majesty.
Turning around, Wang Liang waved his hand and sharply ordered, “Begin unloading the goods!”
In the next moment, the ship began to shake as small iron carts loaded with Meteoric Metal began to come down the plank bridge so that they could be unloaded on the pier!
______________1. ‘Gold yuan certificates’ were a type of paper money, which had various names throughout Chinese history. For some reason, the author chose to use the name for paper as it was used by the Nationalist Chinese government in 1948.↩
Chapter 865 - The Fate of the Anxi Protectorate Army!
Chapter 865: The Fate of the Anxi Protectorate Army!
Translated by: Hypersheep325
Edited by: Michyrr
Wang Chong’s foresight was truly astounding!
Wang Liang still had no idea how Wang Chong, without even stepping out of the house or ever taking a voyage overseas, could have known that tens of thousands of li across the ocean were islands with so much exposed Meteoric Metal. This was truly too mysterious, too miraculous.
But there was one thing that Wang Liang could be sure of.
Those exposed deposits of Meteoric Metal on those islands were far too precious, so precious that even the mere thought of setting off on a return journey with so much of this treasure left behind made Wang Liang’s heart ache. And this Meteoric Metal could be snatched away at any time by those conniving great clans.
Thus, after careful calculation, Wang Liang had adjusted the waterline of the fleet, greatly increasing the amount each ship could hold, so the ore that would normally take two journeys to transport could be done in one.
This was the true reason for the fleet’s delayed arrival in the Central Plains.
“Heave! Ho!”
The sailors began to call out signals, and very soon, the ore began to be unloaded!
&n
bsp; ……
Bang!
When the news of Wang Liang’s arrival with the Meteoric Metal arrived at Wushang via messenger bird, the City of Steel turned jubilant. The last step in Wang Chong’s plan was complete. With the Meteoric Metal, Wang Chong could forge many suits of sturdy armor and fill up the last shortcoming of the Wushang Cavalry.
“Pass on my order! All the great clans of the capital should work together to transport the Meteoric Metal to the City of Steel as quickly as possible. Time is short, and there’s no need for the forging of the Meteoric Metal to be done at the capital. It can all be done in the City of Steel!”
Wang Chong was invigorated to hear the news. An eagle flew out the window like an arrow, headed for the capital.
With Wang Chong’s order, countless specially-constructed carriages suddenly appeared on the cement road to Wushang, all of them loaded with small mountains of Meteoric Metal as they were driven day and night to the City of Steel. Countless cavalry escorted them, and the bandits and brigands of the Silk Road not only did not try to rob them, but also worked to escort the Meteoric Metal.
Wang Bei’s subjugation of the many bandits on his journey west was proving its worth.
Wang Chong’s plans had finally matured, and it seemed like an invisible vortex had appeared in the City of Steel, sucking in copious amounts of resources, steel, and soldiers.
“Heave! Ho!”
The training of the army continued day and night, the shouts of the soldiers rising to the heavens. With the City of Steel at the center, a vast number of soldiers had gathered in Qixi: sixty thousand mercenaries from the Western Regions, eight thousand Gangke soldiers, and twelve thousand regular soldiers from Greater and Lesser Balur. On the Great Tang side, there were the twenty thousand soldiers of the Qixi Protectorate army, five thousand fully-equipped Wushang Cavalry, the twenty thousand mixed infantry and cavalry led by Wang Yan and Wang Fu, the eight thousand elites of the Annan Protectorate army, and the ten thousand additional regular soldiers sent by the Imperial Court. In total, an army of 143,000 soldiers gathered around the City of Steel.
In addition, Wang Chong had also used part of the gold the court had given him to buy many cows and sheep that could be used as part of his supply train.
Besides all this, vast mountains of foodstuffs, armaments, and steel modules had piled up within the City of Steel!
The City of Steel had become a veritable war machine. At this moment, even the distant Tibetans could feel the thick aura of war hanging about the City of Steel.
A great war was imminent!
The time of departure for the army grew closer and closer. Meanwhile, if one turned away from Qixi, their gaze flitting past Anxi, across the Cong Mountains, and on for another seven or eight hundred li to look upon the faraway city of Talas, one would see that this famous stronghold of the Silk Road was currently surrounded by a vast army of cavalry and infantry.
The cavalry and infantry had formed an endless tide of steel that wrapped Talas in countless airtight layers.
The army made not a single noise, merely exuded a stifling and oppressive aura.
“Milord, the Arabs have already attacked us seven times today. It’s been nearly two months, yet their soldiers have not only failed to decrease, but even increased. We can’t kill them all! The soldiers can’t hold on for much longer!”
The grandiose walls of Talas were famed throughout the Western Regions, but at this moment, they were scorched by the fires of war. At this time, a tall and sturdy general stood next to Gao Xianzhi, his brow fraught with deep worry and unease.
“I know,” Gao Xianzhi said indifferently, his hair drifting in the wind. His expression was aloof as he coldly regarded the sea of Arab soldiers below. After nearly two months, Gao Xianzhi’s face was so battered by the hardships he had endured that no one would believe that this was that handsome and refined war god of the Western Regions.
As the most famous Great General of the Great Tang Empire’s northwestern border and also as one of the Central Plains’ supreme peak Saint Martial experts, Gao Xianzhi had slain countless experts. After a fierce battle, Gao Xianzhi would emerge without even a drop of blood on his clothes.
In this world, the number of people that could threaten an Imperial Great General like Gao Xianzhi could be counted with one’s fingers.
But now, not only were Gao Xianzhi’s hair and clothes stained in blood, the round armor piece on his chest had been shattered. The almost indestructible ‘Cloud-Swallowing Divine Armor’ gifted to him by the Sage Emperor had been covered in countless cracks by an even sharper weapon, and dark red blood was seeping through these cracks!
If even their commander Gao Xianzhi was in this state, one could only imagine the ferocity and cruelty of the battles the Anxi Protectorate army had experienced in these last two months.
In his ten-some years of military service and his toppling of countless opponents, Gao Xianzhi had never imagined that here, west of the Cong Mountains, he would encounter the most formidable opponent of his life: Abu Muslim and his Arab army!
“What were today’s casualties?”
Gao Xianzhi’s voice resounded over the wall, but no one could hear any emotion within it.
“Much of our equipment is damaged beyond repair, and our ballista bolts and arrows are on the verge of running out. In addition, the Ferghanans lost eight thousand men, the Karluks six thousand, and our own troops suffered six thousand losses. Right now, not even thirty thousand of our initial seventy thousand soldiers remain. In addition, many of them are wounded. Milord, we can’t hold on for much longer. We need reinforcements!!” the general anxiously said.
“Has there still been no news from Anxi?” Gao Xianzhi calmly said.
“Yes!” the rugged-faced general said through clenched teeth. “In these last two months, we’ve sent countless requests for reinforcements to Anxi, a veritable snowstorm. General Feng has replied that he’s doing all he can to get reinforcements from the Imperial Court, but reinforcements have yet to arrive. Milord, your subordinate will write General Feng another letter asking for any more news!”
“There’s no need.”
To the general’s surprise, Gao Xianzhi waved his hand and rejected the notion.
“Milord…”
The general was so stunned that his entire body froze.
“Hear my order. Starting from now, there is no more need to send any requests for reinforcements! Because… there are no soldiers available,” Gao Xianzhi indifferently said.
The general next to him was left speechless.
Gao Xianzhi said nothing more, but a complicated mixture of emotions flitted through his eyes. His eyes swept over the earth and to the horizon. Gao Xianzhi knew that he had made a mistake. He had actually already lost the battle. There was essentially no hope left for the Anxi Protectorate army.
His primary strategy had always been one of swift and decisive battles. Whether it was his attack on the Shi Kingdom or his lightning raid on Talas, Gao Xianzhi did not believe his strategies to be mistaken. His only error was in underestimating his opponent.
A mountain cannot hold two tigers. I didn’t think that this continent had a foe just as powerful as the Great Tang!
Gao Xianzhi’s mind was in turmoil.
The Great Tang was the strongest empire in the world. Goguryeo, the Turks, Ü-Tsang, the kingdoms of the Western Regions—none of them had been able to match it. This was an idea deeply rooted in Gao Xianzhi’s mind, an opinion that had never once changed in all his years battling in the Western Regions. As an Imperial Great General and Anxi Protector-General, Gao Xianzhi had once investigated the Arabs, and he knew that Arabia was far stronger than any of the other kingdoms of the Western Regions, his strongest adversary in the area.
Gao Xianzhi had never underestimated Arabia, but it was only when he clashed with its soldiers that he truly understood just how much of its power it had been hiding.
Two hundred thousand soldiers at the start had risen
to three hundred thousand, and this number was continuing to climb as if there was no upper limit… This opponent was far more terrifying and powerful than he had imagined. This was not just a little stronger than the other kingdoms of the Western Regions, or some foe on the same level as Ü-Tsang.
This was a terrifying ‘colossus’, just like the Great Tang!
The Anxi Protectorate could not possibly defeat such a powerful opponent alone.
The war had persisted for two months, At the start, Gao Xianzhi had hoped that he could rely on his excellent equipment and Talas’s sturdy defenses to resist the sea of Arabs until reinforcements from the court could arrive. But now, Gao Xianzhi was slowly beginning to understand that this plan was impossible.
The Great Tang currently had no soldiers available!
Longxi, Beiting, Annan, Anxi… As Anxi Protector-General, he understood more than most that these four areas had their own foes to deal with. The Arabs were far too lucky, because they simply didn’t have that many enemies. Meanwhile, the Great Tang was too unfortunate, because it was surrounded by enemies.
The Great Tang had hundreds of thousands of soldiers, but all the enemies around it made it difficult to move these soldiers around.
Feng Changqing truly had sent a letter saying that the Imperial Court had agreed to dispatch soldiers as quickly as possible, but Gao Xianzhi knew that this was an empty promise—the Imperial Court didn’t have any soldiers to send!
The fates of the thirty thousand soldiers of the Anxi Protectorate army and the forty thousand Ferghanans and Karluks had actually been decided the moment they entered Talas.
Chapter 866 - Warning, Fall of a Great General!
Chapter 866: Warning, Fall of a Great General!
Translated by: Hypersheep325
Edited by: Michyrr
“But, Milord, isn’t there still Qixi?”
The Human Emperor c1-2382 Page 567