Tibetans also had an understanding of the Western Regions. The temperature would normally only begin to drop in advance of snowfall, but there was still at least two months until that time.
Dalun Ruozan said nothing, his eyes flashing. He had a vague idea of what was going on, but he was not able to fully grasp it just yet.
“Look at that!”
As he was thinking, he was interrupted by yet another alarmed shout. At the start, no one had noticed in all the chaos, but gradually, more and more cries of alarm could be heard as more and more soldiers looked up.
“Great Minister, look at the sky!” Huoshu Huicang blurted out, having finally looked up at the sky.
With a slight jolt, Dalun Ruozan raised his head upward. When he saw the source of the alarm, even Dalun Ruozan couldn’t help but be deeply astonished.
“This is… the black corrosion of the sun!”
A dim red sun hung up high in the sky, and in the center of the sun, several large black spots could be seen, as if those pieces had been corroded away.
“The oracle!” someone exclaimed—not Dalun Ruozan, but Dusong Mangpoje and Huoshu Huicang in unison. The two stared at the black spots on the sun, wearing expressions of unprecedented shock.
“How could this be? The Holy Temple’s prediction came true!” Dusong Mangpoje muttered to himself. At this moment, the same thought occurred in all three of their minds.
‘The black corrosion of the sun! The three-eyed golden crow! The horse riding upon white frost!’
This was the prophecy issued by the highest oracle of the Ü-Tsang Empire. When the oracle had issued the prophecy of ‘danger rises in the east’ three times in a row, the Tsenpo had conducted a shamanic offering at enormous price to finally obtain more specific information from the oracle. Every six thousand years, the Tibetan Plateau would experience a massive upheaval. All civilizations of the plateau would be wiped away and everything would return to the primal state.
This calamity would be preceded by three phenomena. The black corrosion of the sun would be the beginning of it all.
Based on what the oracle had said, if all three of these phenomena occurred, the entire Ü-Tsang Empire and the civilization it represented would be utterly extinguished.
At this moment, Dalun Ruozan, Huoshu Huicang, and Dusong Mangpoje, these three supreme figures of the Ü-Tsang Empire, felt their hearts sink.
“Great Minister, will the oracle’s words really come true?” Dusong Mangpoje gravely asked Dalun Ruozan.
Dalun Ruozan raised his head and said, “Whether they come to pass or not, we won’t let it happen. Isn’t that exactly why we appeared here?”
Dusong Mangpoje silently nodded his head.
The sun was a bright and resplendent existence of limitless energy. Its purity could never be corrupted. No one had ever seen anything as abnormal as the black corrosion of the sun. There had been a time where everyone believed that the time the oracle spoke of was very far away, but now that they had witnessed that black corrosion in the sky, they all felt a threat that cut deep into their bodies.
If you don’t die, I will die. The danger rises from the east, and all our threats arise from the Great Tang. If we want to avoid the disaster predicted by the oracle, we must exterminate the Great Tang. No matter what, we must win this battle! Dusong Mangpoje said to himself as he cast his gaze at Dalun Ruozan and Huoshu Huicang. Dusong Mangpoje knew that at this moment, these two were thinking the same thing.
The omens had already appeared. If they wanted to avoid the fate that the Zhangzhung Dynasty had experienced thousands of years ago, Ü-Tsang would have to defeat the Great Tang, and Talas would be the location of this most crucial of battles.
Whoosh!
Clouds gathered in from all directions, swiftly drowning out that dim red sun. The world became much colder and more sinister. Neither Dalun Ruozan nor Dusong Mangpoje knew that this would be the last time they would see the sun this winter.
Hssst! Streams of churning white wind swiftly engulfed the Tibetan camp. At the same time, the Western Turk camp several dozen li away, the city of Talas, and all of the north were swallowed by this white and chilling fog.
“It’s already about to begin?”
In the northern training ground of Talas, Wang Chong stood beneath the flapping banner of the Great Tang, staring at the white fog around him and looking up to the sky as he muttered to himself. At this moment, no one except himself knew what he was thinking.
……
Flap flap! Following the black corrosion of the sun, the arrival of eagles brought Dalun Ruozan some unexpected developments. These eagles that arrived at dusk carried news from the Tibetan Plateau.
The last two of the Ü-Tsang Empire’s three training camps, the Yarlung Royal Lineage, the great clans of the plateau, and the many valiant Tibetan generals had all written letters expressing their support of Dalun Ruozan.
The appearance of the black corrosion of the sun had threatened and worried these ancient clans and factions of the plateau. Even though the plateau was currently experiencing a severe shortage of soldiers, these ancient clans and factions were doing all they could to assist Dalun Ruozan.
A force of around forty thousand elite cavalry was setting out from the plateau to reinforce Dalun Ruozan at Talas.
……
While Dalun Ruozan, Duwu Sili, Wang Chong, and everyone in the north were experiencing a cold snap, down south in Khorasan, all was hot and torrid, with waves of heat reaching into the skies.
“Ho!”
“Ha!”
In the lordly estate at the center of Khorasan, fires burned and smoke roiled. The muscular and bare-chested Arab smiths stood in circles, wielding heavy hammers that they raised high into the air and brought swinging down in explosions of sparks. Boomboomboom! The ringing of the metal hammers resounded through the skies in a never-ending din.
Through the endless hammering of the Arab smiths, suits of armor slowly began to take shape.
Nearby, Aybak looked at the industrious scene in the courtyard and gave a satisfied nod.
“Not bad! In one month, all ten thousand suits of armor should be ready. When the time comes, we will make the Mamelukes the strongest existence in history!”
Aybak’s eyes exploded with ambition. The Mamelukes had always been the strongest force of the Arabian Empire, and now, with the metal of these Meteoric Stars gifted by the High Priest, an even stronger force of Mamelukes would appear under his command. The suits of Meteoric Star armor coupled with the superb fighting power of the Mamelukes would make it so that no force in the continent could compare to the Mamelukes, not even those Wushang Cavalry.
High upon the steps of the courtyard, Aybak asked, “Faisal, have the Sindhi sent over that Hyderabad ore yet?”
“Milord, it is still on the road. In three more days, it will arrive at Khorasan, and we can begin forging it into weapons at any time! Ghassan is personally leading the escort party, so there should be no mishaps.”
The speaker was an eagle-eyed and high-nosed Mameluke officer behind Aybak. A black crescent earring hung from his left ear. This man had an extremely sharp gaze, and he exuded an extremely dangerous aura.
Faisal was the deputy commander of the Mamelukes, the number two individual of the army.
It was rumored that once, when the Arabian Empire was conquering a powerful country in the north, Faisal had accidentally ended up separated from the main army and surrounded by the enemy. When the Mamelukes went to find him, he had been fighting the enemy for seven days and seven nights. Mountains of corpses had been piled up around him, including those of several renowned generals. The blood that had gushed from those corpses had painted all the streets of the city a deep red.
From this battle, Faisal gained the title of ‘Eagle of the Death God’!”
“Very good!”
Aybak’s eyes glimmered with a bright light. Ghassan was the number three individual of the Mamelukes, a peak Brigadier General with enoug
h fighting power to threaten even a Great General. With him escorting the convoy, no problems would occur. Even if those remaining rebels wanted to try something, they would never succeed.
“Tell Ghassan that if he encounters any rebels while escorting the Hyderabad ore, he has the right to kill on sight!”
“Yes, Milord!” Faisal sincerely said.
Chapter 1034 - Troublemakers at Court! (I)
Chapter 1034: Troublemakers at Court! (I)
Translated by: Hypersheep325
Edited by: Michyrr
Hyderabad ore was extremely rare, its production rate extremely low. These unique traits made it the target of the various remnant armies of the dynasties that the Arabs had conquered. The Arabs were still not able to use Hyderabad ore like the Great Tang could, but after many trials, they had gradually managed to create a method of smelting the Hyderabad ore and mixing it with other metals, greatly increasing the sharpness of their weapons.
The weapons forged through this method were still not at the level of the Great Tang’s Wootz Steel swords, which could even cut through the dark green God Armor of the Skyquaking Army. But they had already surpassed all the other precious swords and sabers of Arabia in terms of sharpness.
These weapons forged from a mixture of refined Hyderabad ore and Meteoric Star metal might not be as good as Wootz Steel swords, but they were not too far behind!
At the very least, this was what Aybak and Faisal believed.
Gallop!
With everything taken care of, Aybak prepared to leave. Suddenly, a horseman galloped toward the courtyard.
“Stop!”
The air screeched as roaring Mamelukes surged in from all sides, their fierce energies instantly locking onto this intruder. On the outermost perimeter of the courtyard, ten-some Mamelukes stood in this horseman’s way. The other Mamelukes quickly converged on the intruder, surrounding him.
As sabers clamored and gleamed, it appeared that this intruder would soon be executed. But then, Aybak noticed the golden robes this person wore and his expression immediately morphed.
“Halt!”
Time seemed to stop for a moment as the ten-some Mamelukes halted their scimitars in mid-swing. Meanwhile, Aybak had lunged down the stairs toward the intruder.
The Caliph’s emissary!
This rider wearing robes of gold covered in intricate designs was the emissary of the Arab Caliph. Each of these emissaries was selected from a group of elites and was an extremely loyal expert. The Caliph would only send them out for missions of utmost importance.
“Aybak!”
The rider’s golden robes blew in the wind as he sat upon his horse and called out Aybak’s name. His face was concealed by a silver mask covered in tiny little holes, and his voice was ice-cold.
“The Caliph has decreed that the Tang at Talas must be destroyed. Once this mission is completed, the Mamelukes will work with Governors Qutaybah, Abu Muslim, and Osman to advance eastward. Once the eastern world is conquered, the Mamelukes will be rewarded with their promised land to serve as their eternal fief!”
The emissary’s words were simple and concise, cutting straight to the purpose of his visit.
Whoosh!
In a flash, the mood in the courtyard changed. Before Aybak had time to say anything, his deputy Faisal and the surrounding Mamelukes all took a step back in shock.
A promised land!
This was the great obsession of the many generations of Mamelukes, but one that they could never fulfill. The Mamelukes were hailed as the strongest and most loyal warriors of Arabia, and they had rendered great service for the empire. Any other army or general would have long ago obtained their own fief in the Arabian Empire, but because of an ancient law from when the Mamelukes were first established, the Mamelukes were restricted from this honor.
Thus, even though the Mamelukes had a reputation as high as the noon sun and a fighting power that none could match, they were constantly rushing about to fight battles, never having a place to put down their roots.
If they had a ‘promised land’, the Mamelukes could recruit troops, make homes, train men, collect taxes, start businesses… they could even have children and create an enormous city of Mamelukes. If the Mamelukes could break the restriction of ten thousand men, they would enter an unprecedented golden age!
This was precisely the dream of all Mameluke warriors!
“Milord!”
In a flash, the eyes of all the Mamelukes began to burn with a fervent light. Even Faisal found it hard to keep himself calm, stepping forward from the rear as his breathing grew hurried and ragged. No one had expected that the Caliph would regard the east with such importance, much less that the Caliph was willing to make an exception and offer up such a reward for its conquest.
“Aybak, this is His Majesty’s token of faith. If you wield this token, the Caliph will keep true to his promise. Take it!”
The golden-robed emissary took out a black crescent token embellished with metal filigree and tossed it over.
“However, the Caliph has yet another decree. This conquest of the east is the only chance for the Mamelukes to obtain their promised land. If Talas cannot be conquered, if the east cannot be pacified, the Mamelukes will be slaves for eternity and will never obtain any promised land!”
Buzz!
Aybak and Faisal both shuddered, their expressions turning grim. Both of them lowered their heads and proclaimed, “Your subordinate receives the decree!”
……
Time slowly passed. In Khorasan, the Arab smiths continued to work night and day to forge the Mamelukes their suits of Meteoric Star armor. On the front lines in the Black Forest, Abu Muslim restrained his army so that all conflict with the Great Tang could be avoided as he awaited the arrival of the two governors and the Mamelukes from the rear.
Every day, news trickled in, and countless soldiers arrived at Khorasan from Cairo and Tarsus, joining with the Mamelukes in preparation to set off to the Black Forest to join with Abu Muslim.
At the same time, the distant Talas was also a city of fire and smoke. Tens of thousands of Tang soldiers spent every day and night training and drilling. Meanwhile, nearly ten thousand men had been selected from amongst the Anxi Protectorate army, Qixi Protectorate army, and the mercenaries to become the first ‘Mo Saber Army’, which was also in the middle of intense training.
Every day in Talas presented a new scene.
Under Wang Chong’s command, all the Tang soldiers were preparing for battle.
Some several dozen li away, Duwu Sili was spending day and night training in the formation phenomena, using the lightning created by the formation phenomena to train himself and increase his strength in an effort to reach an even higher level.
Twenty li away, the Tibetan camp was calm, and Dalun Ruozan was sipping tea in his tent. But all of them knew that across the Cong Mountains, past the Western Regions, on the Tibetan Plateau, forty thousand Tibetan soldiers were being gathered by the great clans and nobles of the plateau so that they could be sent to Talas.
Four great empires, three sides… Although the surface was calm, each side restraining the other, under the surface, the current was far more dangerous and unpredictable than before!
The war could break out at any moment.
As the clouds of war gathered thick over Talas, in the distant Central Plains, the capital of the Great Tang was in an entirely different mood. The debate over Talas had reached an intense stage. Gao Xianzhi and Wang Chong’s joint request for reinforcements had still not passed.
“Your Majesty, this subject objects!”
The graying Assistant Minister of Revenue Zheng Chengli held aloft his ceremonial tablet and strode out from the ranks.
“In ancient times, I have heard of reinforcing the army after a defeat, but never of reinforcing an army after victory. Moreover, the Imperial Court’s yearly expenditures on military are extravagantly vast. The year before last, the Bureau of Military Personnel expended eighty
million dan of grain, ten million head of livestock, and two million, four hundred thousand feet of cloth, and required one hundred and thirty-seven million taels as pay for the soldiers. Last year, the Bureau of Military Personnel consumed ninety-four million dan1 of grain, seventeen million head of livestock, and three million, six hundred thousand feet of cloth, and required one hundred and fifty-seven million taels as pay for the soldiers. It will only spend more this year, and these calculations do not even include the financial compensation for soldiers killed in battle.
“The Great Tang has six hundred thousand soldiers that are frequently engaged in battle with foreign enemies. They consume a great deal of the empire’s funds and are already a heavy burden on the Great Tang and its people!
“Not only that, the frequent battles result in severe casualties amongst the soldiers. Replenishing these lost soldiers can only be done by conscripting from the masses. This lowly subject happened to hear that in some places, because the people are innately suited for war, so many are conscripted that there are not enough people to work the fields!”
“That’s right!”
Zheng Chengli had barely finished speaking when the Minister of Ceremonies, Zhou Taiqin, stepped forward, tablet held aloft and expression grim.
“This lowly subject has just returned from an inspection of the Hedong Circuit. As this subject was passing through a town called Zhouzhuang in Luzhou, this subject saw nothing but the old, infirm, and the young, but not a single man. This subject was astounded and inquired as to what had happened. This subject then learned that all the able-bodied men of Zhouzhuang had been conscripted into the army. In the year before last, Beiting suffered a defeat in a battle against the Western Turkic Khaganate, resulting in over ninety percent of the men in the village dying in that battle. The remaining men were transferred to other regions, including the Anxi Protectorate.
“Although Zhouzhuang is just an example, it is the Great Tang in miniature. Every year, the Anxi Protectorate expends a great deal of the empire’s funds, and every year, the Central Plains sends over innumerable soldiers, and now, even more soldiers are needed at Talas. Must the plight of Luzhou be spread across the Great Tang so that even the boys are pulled onto the battlefield? This subject proposes that Anxi and Qixi recall all their soldiers to the interior!”
The Human Emperor c1-2382 Page 662