The Human Emperor c1-2382

by Huangfu Qi (皇甫奇)

  Wang Chong did not give too much explanation.

  “Wang Chong, I trust in you.”

  Gao Xianzhi’s eyes flashed, and he asked no more. No matter what Wang Chong had done or how he had done it, everything was fine as long as Duwu Sili did not obtain the true formation phenomena. This was the only thing he was concerned about.

  “Qianli, Yuanqing, strength the defenses. Ensure that Abu Muslim and Dalun Ruozan don’t join together and try to stage a comeback. In addition, have the soldiers take a good rest.”

  “Yes, Milord!” the pair deferentially affirmed.

  ……

  As the meeting concluded and everyone left, Wang Chong himself prepared to stand up when a familiar voice rang out in his mind.

  “Congratulations to user! For obtaining victory in this phase of the Battle of Talas, you have been rewarded 8000 points of Destiny Energy.”

  A golden light flitted into his mind, and Wang Chong instantly felt his body change. His body seemed to get stronger, his cells more bursting with vitality.

  At the same time, scenes began to flit through his mind. The entirety of the Battle of Talas, from the moment of his arrival to the final retreat, all the scenes of carnage and fighting, flashed through his mind at astonishing speed.

  The final picture was that of spinning numbers floating over an enormous map of the continent, finally stopping at four golden numbers of ‘8000’.

  “The first phase of the battle has ended. The second phase of battle is about to begin!

  “Warning! User has an extremely high chance of defeat!

  “Warning! User’s circumstances are growing increasingly complicated. The true opponent is far from just the Arabs. Mission failure will result in user’s obliteration! User must utilize every method available to survive.

  “For the second phase, user will be rewarded with 20000 Destiny Energy upon success and deducted 80000 Destiny Energy upon failure. User has an extremely low chance of survival. Additional warning! Until the final victory is achieved in the Battle of Talas, user cannot retreat. Retreat is death! A mountain cannot hold two tigers, and the two empires must decide a victor between the two of them!”

  Almost immediately after being rewarded for the first phase of the mission, Wang Chong was deluged by messages. His expression momentarily froze in shock. He already found it rather strange that the Stone of Destiny had only announced victory in the first phase after he had rescued Chen Bin, but strangest of all was the information the Stone of Destiny had revealed in its messages.

  This battle hasn’t been won yet?

  Wang Chong’s mind was in turmoil. He had taken control over the Behemoths, killed more than half of the Skyquaking Army, and also halved the elite Arab army. Abu Muslim and Ziyad had retreated more than a dozen li and had none of their former advantages. Wang Chong had believed that in this state, the siege had been lifted and the battle could be considered over.

  He had never expected the Stone of Destiny to say that this battle was only just beginning.

  My circumstances are getting more and more complicated, and my true opponent is far more than just the Arabs… What does this mean? Could it be that the Arabs have more allies? But the Arabian Empire is the strongest power west of the Cong Mountains, and they’ve already conquered all the nearby countries. What other allies could they have?

  This was the most confusing piece of information the Stone of Destiny had divulged. Wang Chong sensed that the Battle of Talas had yet again changed because of his interference, that there was something important that he knew nothing about.

  But what could it be?

  As his mind whirred with thought, Wang Chong left the reception hall.

  ……

  Putting aside the matter of the Stone of Destiny for the moment, news of the victory at Talas was quickly sent back to the rear. At this moment, east of the Cong Mountains, in the city of the Western Regions closest to Talas, Suiye…

  “Wonderful!”

  “The Arabs have retreated! The Tang have defeated the Arabs!”

  “I knew that the Great Tang would win! Protector-General Gao! Protector-General Gao!!”

  The disorderly Suiye was now filled with cheers, countless merchants filling the streets. Moreover, the bandits who had been plundering and stealing, as well as the powers that had hoped to use this opportunity to advance their own plans, began to retreat. Order was slowly restored to the entire city.

  The Great Tang had operated in the Western Regions for many years, so it still had some prestige. The Great Tang had defeated a combined army of Arabs, Western Turks, and Tibetans, which meant that the Western Regions was once more under the rule of the Great Tang. To continue making trouble at a time like this, making an enemy of the Great Tang, was an extremely unwise course of action.

  “Damn it! The Arabs had several hundred thousand soldiers, far more than those bastards of the Anxi Protectorate army and Qixi, but they still lost. What sort of nonsense is this? Truly a pile of trash!”

  In the northwest corner of Suiye, on the road leading out of the city, a one-eyed and bearded Hu sat mounted on a stalwart horse, with a long and strangely-shaped blade in his hand and a hateful expression on his face.

  The Tang had ruled the Western Regions for many years now, and this had been a rare opportunity to finally wreak some havoc. But after such a short amount of time, the godlike Governor of Iron and Blood, Abu Muslim, had somehow been forced into retreat.

  “Boss, what do we do? The Arabs gave us gold and silver to make trouble in the rear. We have to keep it up for at least three months, but it’s still not time yet,” a thin and quick-witted Hu whispered as he bowed his body.

  The Arabs had spent a great deal of money to bribe the various tribes into making trouble in the rear. It wasn’t every day that one could be paid to steal and plunder, so all the tribes had immediately agreed.

  “There’s nothing to be done! Feng Changqing isn’t an easy fellow to deal with. He managed to escape from all the people the Celestial Wolf Great General Duwu Sili dispatched to kill him. Moreover, he’s managed to bring some people to his side. It’s not to our advantage to make an enemy of him now. After all, Gao Xianzhi himself isn’t easy to deal with. Retreat! As for the Arabs… they only have themselves to blame,” the one-eyed man spat out.

  After taking one more glance at the Anxi Protectorate headquarters and the banner flying above, the man waved his hand and led his men out of Suiye.

  With the Great Tang’s power still extant, they had no other choice than to reluctantly retreat.

  “Wonderful!”

  In the very center of Suiye, countless buildings towered into the sky, and in the very center of this collection of buildings was an estate with sharp and angled eaves, spectacular and magnificent, built in an ancient and refined style.

  ‘Anxi Protectorate’!

  These words, painted in gold on black, indicated that this place was where the highest authority of the Western Regions was based.

  At this moment, Feng Changqing was seated within this lofty building, his fists tightly clenched in excitement.

  “Young Marquis, I just knew that you could do it!”

  Feng Changqing’s eyes were red and bloodshot, his expression agitated. Ever since Wang Chong had led his army out of Suiye and over the Cong Mountains, he had kept a constant watch over the area. After enduring such extreme torment, he had finally heard the news he had waited so long to hear.

  Although Abu Muslim and the Arabs had not fully retreated, Feng Changqing still regarded this victory as the best news he had heard in a while. At the very least, the Anxi Protectorate army now had the initiative and was no longer besieged and on the brink of being totally wiped out.

  “Wang Chong, thank you!”

  Feng Changqing’s heart was bursting with gratitude.

  Chapter 1014 - News of Victory Arrives at Court!

  Chapter 1014: News of Victory Arrives at Court!

  Translated by: Hypersheep325
>
  Edited by: Michyrr

  Flap flap!

  Several hours later, an eagle flew into Qixi.

  “Lord Marquis! Lord Marquis! Lord Marquis!”

  All of Qixi roared with cheers, and excited crowds were gathered outside the protectorate headquarters. Wang Bei and Su Hanshan both seemed very relieved. They had heard nothing of the army ever since it had crossed the Cong Mountains, but now, they could finally breathe a sigh of relief.

  “Bring this news to Lady Xu!”

  Su Hanshan, riding upon a tall Turkic steed, quickly passed this news to a waiting rider, who galloped back into the headquarters.

  Within the headquarters, several maids stood nervously beside a wooden door. They were holding cups of tea and bowls of food, and each one of them had a worried expression on their face. Someone attempted to peer through the cracks in the door, but these efforts were in vain.

  Cough, cough!

  Intense coughing came from within the room, throwing the maids into even greater consternation.

  “What do we do! Young Lady hasn’t come out for an entire day, and the sound is even worse than it was yesterday! If something happens to Young Lady, I…”

  One maid’s eyes went red at the sound of this coughing, her eyes filled with heartache, but she did not dare to speak too loudly for fear of disturbing Xu Qiqin. Around her, the other maids said nothing, but their concern was clearly displayed on their faces.

  In the room were a dressing table, a desk, a bed, and not much else.

  Xu Qiqin sat in front of the desk, a mountain of documents in front of her. She was dressed in a thin white garment, her face pale and bloodless, but her eyes remained focused on the documents before her.

  “Inform the Zhang Clan to hurry up with the supplies being sent to Talas. The soldiers of the Central Plains have different habits from people of the Western Regions. Although they eat beef and lamb, they can’t do it for a long term without some rice.

  “What is the status of the two hundred thousand warhorses? Has the Imperial Court’s Director of Imperial Horses sent anyone to take them? Has the official reply arrived?

  “In addition, pass on my order to begin recruiting craftsmen in the name of the Qixi Protectorate. Senior Zhang Shouzhi took many craftsmen with him to Talas, and we still don’t know what losses they’ve suffered. However, the Tibetans or Western Turks could attack Qixi at any time, and we need to fortify the two small-scale steel fortresses as quickly as possible.

  “The inscription masters that I previously ordered to be recruited should be escorted to Wushang’s City of Steel. War not only requires craftsmen, but inscription masters as well. We will need their assistance in the future. In addition, supervise the great clans and have them hasten the forging of the weapons!”

  One order after another was issued, some spoken and others written. On the surface, Qixi was under the command of Su Hanshan and Wang Bei, but everyone understood that the soul of the Qixi Protectorate was this feeble-looking woman.

  Although she was a woman, it was Xu Qiqin’s existence that allowed order and discipline to be preserved in Qixi, so much so that it even had extra strength to assist Feng Changqing in Anxi. However, Xu Qiqin was only getting paler as she issued her orders, and she was clearly ill.

  Cough, cough!…

  After dealing with half of the documents, Xu Qiqin finally could no longer restrain herself and began to fiercely cough once more, her body trembling.

  “Young Lady, although the war is important, so is your health! If this continues, not only will your body collapse, but you won’t be able to even worry about the matters in the rear. Listen to me! Eat something and rest a while!” Little Zhu suddenly spoke from behind Xu Qiqin, pounding Xu Qiqin’s back to help with the coughing while tears of anxiety trickled down her cheeks.

  “Little Zhu, I don’t have time to rest. There are still one hundred thousand soldiers at Talas, and they are connected to the safety of the countless civilians in Qixi and Longxi. I must have everything taken care of and make sure that their supplies and reinforcements arrive on time. You don’t need to worry. I know the state of my body. I can still hold on!” Cough, cough cough…

  Xu Qiqin once more began to cough, this bout even more serious than the last.

  “Reporting!”

  At this moment, a messenger pushed open the door, rushed in, and kneeled on the ground.

  “A letter from Talas! Lord Marquis has defeated Abu Muslim and forced the Arab army to retreat from Talas!”

  “What!”

  At these words, master and servant both shivered in shock, joy and delight exploding out of their eyes.

  “Quickly, let me see!”

  Xu Qiqin swiftly got up from the desk and walked over to the messenger.

  Taking the letter, Xu Qiqin read through it several times before finally confirming that its contents were true.

  “We won at Talas! We really won!”

  A hint of blood finally returned to Xu Qiqin’s face in her excitement, and her entire condition seemed to improve.

  ……

  Turning away from Qixi, past Longxi, all the way to the flourishing and bustling capital of the empire…

  Boom!

  The news of the victory at Talas was like a giant boulder crashing into a lake, sending massive waves through the capital and throwing the court and the city into an uproar.

  “Hahaha! Victory! Victory!”

  “The Great Tang won! The Great Tang won! The youngest son of the Wang Clan really managed to lead the Tang army. Even though he was outnumbered, he managed to defeat the combined armies of the Arabs, the Western Turks, and the Tibetans!!!”

  “I was right! The youngest son of the Wang Clan truly is a pillar of the empire. The Great Tang is mighty! His Majesty is mighty! Hahaha!”

  All levels of society were rejoicing. When the news that the Tibetans and Western Turks had sent soldiers had arrived, the entire Imperial Court had been uneasy. Countless eyes had focused on that strategic fortress west of the Cong Mountains. Two Protector-Generals and their armies, four different powers participating in this battle… countless people were affected by this battle.

  From Qixi to Anxi to the Cong Mountains, all the soldiers the Great Tang could spare in the northwest had been mobilized for this battle. If Talas were lost, Anxi and Qixi would not be possible to hold, and then all of Longxi would be threatened by the Arabs.

  For a country west of the Cong Mountains to be able to have its soldiers threaten a place as nearby as Longxi was a humiliation the Great Tang had never experienced before!

  However, what worried the Imperial Court the most was the alliance between Arabia, Ü-Tsang, and the Western Turkic Khaganate! This was a powerful alliance that could make anyone lose sleep. But now, the Great Tang had won, and even if this was just a momentary victory, it was enough for everyone to celebrate.

  “Wonderful! Wang Chong, you didn’t let this king down!”

  At this moment, in the King Song Residence, King Song put down the report from Talas, his eyes glowing with irrepressible pride.

  King Song had done many things in his life, including supporting the military, doing all he could to back up the border generals, assisting in the expansion of the empire, and executing the empire’s strategies against the enemies on its border. In his life, he had also promoted many people and resolved many political crises. When there was war with Goguryeo and the Eastern Turkic Khaganate in the northeast, he had even spent many sleepless nights making preparations so that the crucial supplies could arrive, reviving the morale of the army and salvaging that war.

  But at this moment, there was no question that the proudest moment in King Song’s life was discovering Wang Chong and silently supporting him in the background.

  “‘I am willing to give my life for the good of the country, or is it that one should flee in the face of disaster and approach in times of blessing?’ Wang Chong, you truly are the proud son of a clan of ministers. Your presence is a
blessing for both the country and its people!”

  King Song stared at the couplet beside him, his heart awash with relief.

  ‘I am willing to give my life for the good of the country, or is it that one should flee in the face of disaster and approach in times of blessing?’ was a couplet that Wang Chong had hung up in his study. King Song had paid a visit to the Wang Clan estate while Wang Chong was gone and had entered his study. Upon seeing the couplet, he had taken it back to his own residence to store it. Whether it was in the war of the southwest or the Battle of Talas, Wang Chong had always been diligently practicing his ideals as well as the ideals expressed in this couplet.

  “Wang Chong, go! Open your wings and soar into the skies for the Great Tang! I will give you all the support I can from behind! No matter how many people try to stop you, I will prevent any of them from blocking your path!”

  King Song turned and looked through the open window. Dark clouds had gathered, within which lightning flashed and thunder rumbled. A storm was about to descend, but King Song’s eyes were even more dazzling than the lightning.

  ……

  Putting aside Anxi, Qixi, and the Great Tang Imperial Court, the first battle had come to a close, and the distant Talas to the west of the Cong Mountains now welcomed a rare moment of calm. The Tibetans, Turks, and Arabs had all retreated several dozen li. With this rare reprieve in hand, the Tang army and the Western Regions mercenaries began to work at hardening the defenses.

  The defense lines broken by the Behemoths were repaired and set up according to the terrain, no longer forming a simple straight line. Zhang Shouzhi and his craftsmen also worked to strengthen and complete the defenses of the city of Talas itself. At the same time, they also began to repair the ballistae and other equipment that had been damaged during the fighting.

  Everyone had their duties, and every day, there was progress.

  Talas seemed peaceful on the surface, but the undercurrent of war was always surging down below.