The Human Emperor c1-2382

by Huangfu Qi (皇甫奇)

  “…In addition, pass on my order. Have the horses drawing the transport carriages be switched out and the army pick up the pace!” Wang Chong said.

  “Yes, Lord Marquis!”

  Zhang Que bowed and quickly rode away.

  Once Zhang Que left, Wang Chong’s eyes turned back to the vast army before him. While he had been forced to set off for the war of the southwest in a great rush, he had time to amply prepare himself for this war. An army of more than one hundred thousand soldiers of various types, with all the necessary supplies, was traveling along the cement road between Anxi and Qixi like water along a river.

  But the marching speed was still too slow. The speed of the infantry, craftsmen, axemen, and spearmen was much slower than cavalry. Moreover, Wang Chong also had many ballistae in his army, which were also known as ‘bed crossbows’. Each of them was massive and constructed of the best steel, making them extremely heavy. Each one of the transport carriages could only hold two or three ballistae, and this point alone limited the speed at which Wang Chong’s army could march.

  But Wang Chong had strenuously worked to speed up his army. Both the small sails on the carriages and the switching out of the horses used by cavalry and carriages, so that they could rest and maintain their energy levels, were for the sake of reaching Talas as quickly as possible.

  As the days went by and the army marched farther into the northwest, the atmosphere of war thickened, and all the cities they passed became even grimmer and drearier.

  After around three days, amidst blustery and sandy winds and low-hanging dark clouds, a grandiose fortress of a city appeared before the army. This city was different from others. On the walls, signal beacons were spaced every ten zhang, mixed in with observation towers. Only the military would have use for such things.

  This is one of the Four Garrisons of Anxi? Wang Chong quietly said to himself.

  In the Western Regions, the Great Tang’s forces were most prominent in the Four Garrisons of Anxi: Suiye, Kucha, Khotan, and Shule. These four places were the bases of the Anxi Protectorate. To travel from Qixi to Talas, one had to pass through Anxi. Although Wang Chong had heard of the Four Garrisons in his last life, he had never had a chance to visit.

  “Hyah!”

  Wang Chong suddenly urged his horse forward, riding from the end of the train to the front. Behind him, Xu Keyi and the others glanced at each other before hurrying to catch up.

  The buildings of Anxi were nothing like as refined as those of the Central Plains, and one could see crudeness and simplicity throughout. As Wang Chong led his subordinates forward, he was finally able to get a clear look at the appearance of this garrison. This massive city was incredibly crude, with ancient walls constructed of massive rocks covered in multiple layers of mortar.

  In the many years since the establishment of Anxi, the surfaces of the walls had been covered in countless scars and scorch marks, and there were even some places that had clearly been struck by catapults. In fact, so beleaguered by war was this city that the walls had been dyed with a blackish-red luster.

  ‘Suiye City’!

  Wang Chong raised his head and saw these two mottled words written over the city gate, and the sight of them caused his mind to buzz.

  I didn’t think that this would be the city!

  Of the Four Garrisons of Anxi, Wang Chong felt the most intimacy and familiarity with this legendary city of Suiye. The reason was simple: in another time and space, this place had been the hometown of the immortal of poetry1, and it had also been home to many famous border generals. The Great Tang’s most distant fortification was Suiye.

  The army slowly marched toward Suiye. With Gao Xianzhi and his thirty thousand soldiers gone, this vital and heavily-guarded fortress had become a defenseless city. The gates were wide open, and no garrison could be seen.

  Several dozen zhang from the gates, Zhang Que suddenly pointed at the side of the road. “Lord Marquis, there’s a stone stele here!”

  Wang Chong suddenly stopped. This was a large stone stele, worn down by time and weather. At a glance, it merely looked like some rock higher than two men looming at the side of the road. But when Wang Chong beheld it, he couldn’t help but widen his eyes.

  Patrolling for the Emperor!

  Wang Chong had immediately recognized this stele.

  In his last life, until his clan fell into troubles, Wang Chong never left the capital, much less journeyed to the Western Regions. Not even in his later wandering days did he go to the Western Regions. In the Western Regions, the reputation of the Four Garrisons of Anxi thundered in the heavens, but there was also one thing even more famous than these four fortresses: the Stele of Patrolling for the Emperor!

  When Wang Chong was still learning how to read and write, he had heard of this stele. In truth, not many people in the capital didn’t know of this stele, because it had been set up by an extremely famous person.

  Ban Chao!

  The first true Anxi Protector-General in the history of the Central Plains!

  Historically, the first person in the history of the Central Plains to open a path to the Western Regions was Zhang Qian, but true dominance and influence only came several centuries later with Ban Chao! The history of the Central Plains dynasties in the Western Regions was one of constant gain and loss, and even several centuries of lost contact. Countless Protector-Generals of the Western Regions had been dispatched to handle the region, but if one looked back, the first Protector-General of the Western Regions was that man of the Great Han Dynasty more than one thousand years ago who cast aside his scholar’s brush to take up the sword, Ban Chao2.

  ‘Although the Western Regions is far, it still belongs to the culture of the Central Plains. The Son of Heaven finds it difficult to attend to, so this subject of the Son of Heaven will patrol the lands in his place! To stand sentinel forever at the gate of the empire!!!’

  These words that Ban Chao had said during his tenure in the Western Regions had continued to ring in the ears of generations to come, urging them forward to open up the Western Regions, resulting in the Great Tang’s dominance today! And Ban Chao had set up this stele in the farthest place Zhang Qian had ever reached on his journeys!

  This stele had always been protected by the generations of Protector-Generals.

  But after the defeat of the Great Tang in the Battle of Talas and the almost complete annihilation of Gao Xianzhi’s thirty thousand elites, the Arab soldiers advanced east, crossing the Cong Mountains and entering the Four Garrisons of Anxi. The first thing to be destroyed was this ‘evil’ Stele of Patrolling for the Emperor. They had even taken the remains back to Arabia to be tossed into the sea.

  This news caused no small amount of heartache back in the Central Plains, and Wang Chong was also deeply overcome, regarding it as a lifelong regret!

  In this expedition to Talas, Wang Chong had not expected that he would have his wish fulfilled and set eyes upon this stele.

  As these thoughts flew through his mind, Wang Chong suddenly dismounted before his stunned subordinates.

  Relax! This time, the Arabs won’t get a chance to step through the borders of the Great Tang!!

  Wang Chong’s heart turned solemn as he bowed and silently vowed. This stele bore the passion and dreams of countless loyal subjects of the Central Plains. Those had been their dreams, and also the dreams of all the Central Plains. Wang Chong could not allow this dream to be sullied.

  “Let’s go!”

  Wang Chong took in a deep breath, mounted his horse, and with a shout, he galloped into Suiye.

  ______________1. The ‘immortal of poetry’ refers to Li Bai, one of the most famous Chinese poets, who was born in Suiye.↩2. Zhang Qian was a military officer of the Han Dynasty who was dispatched by Emperor Wu of Han to explore the Western Regions in the late 2nd century BC in order to build an alliance with the Yuezhi against the Xiongnu. He eventually returned with many reports of the kingdoms in Central Asia at the time. Ban Chao was a Han general wh
o lived from 32-102 AD and was the general who eventually brought the Tarim Basin under the control of the Han Dynasty. His father, brother, and sister were well-known historians.↩

  Chapter 870 - The Twin Walls of the Empire, Feng Changqing!

  Chapter 870: The Twin Walls of the Empire, Feng Changqing!

  Translated by: Hypersheep325

  Edited by: Michyrr

  Dried and withered leaves were drifting through Suiye, carpeting the ground.

  This city was more similar to those in the interior of the Great Tang. The ground was paved with gray bricks and the air was humid. In addition, there were more buildings built in the Tang style lining the roads than in other cities. Most importantly, there were finally people here. The city was not a near–ghost town, and there were even some Hu merchants in the crowd.

  But the stench of war here was thicker than in any other place they had passed through.

  Clangclang!

  The clashing of iron could be heard in the distance, accompanied with shouts of fighting.

  Wang Chong frowned and called Zhang Que over. “Zhang Que, what’s going on? Why do I hear sounds of battle here?”

  With the Anxi Protectorate army away at the front lines and in fierce battle with the Arabs, there shouldn’t have been any fighting in the city.

  “Reporting to Lord Marquis: it’s the bandits in Suiye. When we noticed them, they were setting fires and looting the city. We’re currently fighting with them and will probably defeat them soon.”

  Wang Chong’s brow slightly furrowed as he sternly said, “Bandits? Isn’t this the territory of the Anxi Protectorate? Isn’t Feng Changqing still here? How could bandits show up?”

  Gao Xianzhi had left with nearly ninety percent of the Anxi Protectorate army, but ten percent had remained to hold the rear. With these Tang soldiers under the command of one of the Twin Walls of the Empire, Feng Changqing, this sort of situation should not have cropped up.

  “It’s not clear.” Zhang Que shook his head, confusion in his eyes. “Based on what our eagle team can see from the skies, this isn’t the only group of bandits in Suiye, and the situation has probably been like this for some time. General Kong Zi-an is currently leading a group of men to chase the bandits out of the city, so all of them should be cleared out quickly.”

  Wang Chong nodded. “I’ll just ask Feng Changqing about this matter.”

  As they were speaking, a messenger rode through his army.

  “Reporting! Lord Marquis, Anxi Vice Protector-General Feng Changqing is requesting a meeting!”

  “Oh?”

  Wang Chong’s eyes flashed in surprise. Speak of Cao Cao, and Cao Cao would arrive. Wang Chong immediately urged his horse forward.

  ……

  On the side of the road, next to an elegant government office, several figures were silently standing. The leader was an extremely ugly and dark-skinned man, but he carried himself with an erect posture and refined manner that exuded confidence. Behind him were four burly warriors of the Anxi Protectorate army, sabers slung at their waists.

  These four had been standing here for some time, and a hint of concern could be seen on their faces.

  “He’s here!”

  The sight of Wang Chong’s horse made Feng Changqing’s eyes light up in joy, and he hurried up with the four Anxi elites like he was going to greet his savior. After nearly two months, Feng Changqing’s eyes had almost worn themselves out from anxiety, and he had spent every day running around like an ant on a hot pan. Only he understood just how he had managed to endure it all.

  Now that Wang Chong had finally arrived at Suiye with a surging army of more than one hundred thousand, Feng Changqing could finally relax.

  In truth, Wang Chong’s constant delays had made him question several times whether Wang Chong was making excuses on purpose, but all his doubts were cleared away now. Most heartening for Feng Changqing was that Wang Chong’s reinforcements were far larger than he had imagined. He had only believed that Wang Chong would bring thirty thousand soldiers at most.

  “Lord Marquis, I’ve been waiting for you!”

  Feng Changqing quickly strode forward, bowing in front of Wang Chong’s White-hoofed Shadow and clasping his hands. As the words left his mouth, Feng Changqing could no longer stop his eyes from going moist. Talas was in a most perilous state. It had been three days since he had gotten any letter, and though he was beside himself with concern, he could not show any of it, because everyone else was looking to him.

  If even he panicked, then all of Anxi would be finished.

  But finally, after days and nights of waiting, Wang Chong had finally arrived.

  “Milord, there’s no need for such courtesy!”

  Wang Chong immediately dismounted and rushed to help Feng Changqing rise. Feng Changqing was a famous general of Anxi, one of the Twin Walls of the Empire. In terms of age and seniority, he ranked far above Wang Chong, but in terms of actual status, Wang Chong was actually the superior.

  When Gao Xianzhi departed and left Feng Changqing to hold the rear, he had bestowed upon Feng Changqing the title of Vice Protector-General, but Wang Chong was Qixi Protector-General as well as the Young Marquis, the title personally conferred by the Sage Emperor. These were not credentials that Feng Changqing could match. Thus, when Feng Changqing met Wang Chong, he needed to bow to him as a subordinate would to a superior.

  Wang Chong went straight to the point. “Might I dare ask Milord what the situation is in the Western Regions at the moment? How is Lord Gao Xianzhi faring? Moreover, when I entered the city just now, the place was overrun with bandits. Weren’t there Anxi soldiers left behind in Suiye? How did this situation still occur?”

  Wang Chong had long heard the name of Feng Changqing, and in his last life, the Twin Walls of the Empire had been the two most dazzling stars shining over the Western Regions. However, he had never had a chance to meet this famed general. Feng Changqing was an ugly man, and his status was inferior to his own, but Wang Chong did not show him the slightest contempt. On the contrary, he only felt deep respect for this man, which is why he had immediately dismounted to stop Feng Changqing from bowing.

  This was a loyal subject of the empire, one of the best in logistics and administration. Even the Queen of Logistics Xu Qiqin had expressed deep admiration for him in his last life. But it was precisely because of this reputation that Wang Chong found it so difficult to understand why Suiye was overrun with bandits.

  “Lord Marquis is unaware that Anxi is currently vexed by problems both internal and external. The Arabs did not just collude with the Shi Kingdom, but also dispatched many spies to bribe the Hu within Anxi, providing them with horses and weapons to cause trouble in the rear. In addition, since two months have passed since Lord Gao Xianzhi and the Anxi Protectorate army began battling the Arabs at Talas with no signs of the siege breaking, the people of the Western Regions have grown panicky, and many of the small states and tribes have availed themselves of the opportunity to launch raids, so Anxi is dearly lacking for soldiers. The total number of soldiers does not even surpass two thousand, which is far from enough.

  “What Lord Marquis saw just now is the result of my best efforts. Otherwise, Suiye would be in even more chaos,” Feng Changqing tiredly said.

  As one of the Twin Walls of the Empire, Feng Changqing was second only to Gao Xianzhi in terms of reputation. Feng Changqing could not escape the blame for the current state of Anxi, but only Feng Changqing understood just how challenging the situation was. When all thirty-six kingdoms and tribes of the Western Regions began to stir trouble, a garrison of two thousand was far from sufficient.

  While Feng Changqing still had to worry about the state of Gao Xianzhi and the thirty thousand soldiers of the Anxi Protectorate army, he also had to worry about maintaining order in the Western Regions. He was exhausted in both body and mind.

  “So this was the case!”

  Wang Chong was deeply moved. He knew that Gao Xianzhi had not left many soldie
rs in the Western Regions, but he had never imagined that it was a paltry two thousand. For such a small garrison to keep as large an area as the Western Regions safe was essentially impossible. In fact, that Suiye, the city closest to Talas, was still able to host so many merchants and still appear orderly on the surface was proof enough of Feng Changqing’s astonishing capabilities.

  “Chen Bin, pick two thousand people and give them to Lord Feng Changqing, along with the necessary bows, arrows, and shields. In addition, I will also give you ten ballista teams. No matter what, Suiye must be stabilized,” Wang Chong ordered without turning his head.

  Suiye was one of the bases of the Anxi Protectorate, the closest stronghold to Talas, and also the spiritual heart of the Western Regions. If even Suiye fell into chaos, so would the rest of the Western Regions. Thus, Suiye had to be stabilized and all the bandits killed.

  “Yes, Lord Marquis!”

  Chen Bin’s voice came from the rear, and he quickly galloped off.

  “Lord Marquis, I can still deal with the situation in Anxi, at least for the short term, but Lord Gao Xianzhi is already in dire peril,” Feng Changqing suddenly said, his eyes overflowing with worry and concern. “I’m afraid that he won’t be able to last for much longer. I hope that Lord Marquis can march as quickly as possible to Lord Protector-General’s aid!”

  “Lord Feng, don’t panic. What is the situation in Talas?” Wang Chong asked.

  Up until now, almost all the information regarding Talas had originated from the Anxi Protectorate and Feng Changqing, so no one could understand what was going on there more than him, not even Zhang Que.