Li Junxian’s expression was firm as he sternly replied.
“But if you fail? Do you know how great the price will be? For your ideals and aspirations, do you know how many people will have to be sacrificed? More than four hundred thousand people lost their lives in the war of the southwest, but only a hundred-thousand-some were Tang soldiers. In the Battle of Talas and Battle of Khorasan, more than one million soldiers died, but the Tang army lost only two-hundred-thousand-some in that number, and this was already unbearable for you. But if your plan fails, do you understand just how many people of the Central Plains will die? Several hundred thousand? Several million? That number will be something that none of you will ever be able to imagine! Something that you have not even thought about before!” Wang Chong harshly rebuked.
This time, Li Junxian said nothing more. He slowly closed his eyes as if sinking into deep thought. After a long while, his voice resounded through the restaurant once more.
“Everything has its price to pay. In the war between Qin and Zhao, both sides lost more than four hundred thousand soldiers while dragging in countless common people. In the Battle of the Fei River, an army of more than eight hundred thousand soldiers was wiped out. And when the former Sui went to war against the Goguryeo Empire, casualties reached one million while more than five million peasants were affected, and in the end, the war led to the end of the Great Sui1. Such examples throughout history are too numerous to mention.
“If war is not brought to an end, such losses will also never come to an end. Ever since ancient times, the number of people lost because people could not share the same thoughts and warred against each other could number in the tens of millions. If the Harmonious World can be realized and all wars brought to an end, any price is worth it,” Li Junxian sternly said, his voice extremely calm. It was so emotionless that it seemed like he was discussing some daily trifle.
“Ridiculous! You are treating the fate of the country like a child’s game!”
Wang Chong instantly grimaced, his mouth spitting out a swift rebuke. These people were true madmen. For the sake of their ideals and righteousness, they were treating all the people of the world like pieces on a chess board. They said it was for the world, but they cared little for the actual fates of the common people. With the calamity imminent, the Great Tang could not endure their troublemaking.
No matter what, Wang Chong could not allow them to succeed.
“Just put an end to such thoughts. The people of the Great Tang are not tools to be used to realize your goal. I don’t care if you’re doing it for the sake of a Harmonious World, nor do I care how noble you think your goal is, and I certainly don’t care what sort of flag you fly. If I can live for one more day, that is one more day that your plans will never succeed!”
Wang Chong’s words were the hammer to the nail, exuding his enormous resolve. Wang Chong had gone through tremendous effort to pacify the southwest and Talas precisely so that he could prevent the Great Tang’s ruin and save its people. And while these people seemed to share the same goal with him on the surface, in reality, their aims were exactly opposite. The Central Plains and the millions living within it had become the chips for their gamble, the tools for their plans.
Even if he hadn’t been reincarnated, Wang Chong would never permit these people to succeed.
Buzz!
All the Confucians left in the restaurant paled at Wang Chong’s words. Wang Chong was the Great Tang’s War God of the new generation, the first King of a different surname in the last few centuries. Whether it was in the Imperial Court, the people, or the army, Wang Chong possessed enormous influence. If Wang Chong was determined to oppose them, their plans would be impeded every step of the way. Moreover, the Wang Clan was a clan of ministers and generals that had spent three generations serving as loyal subjects. It had an illustrious status, and when this faction gathered its power, it represented a significant strength.
“King of Foreign Lands, with these words, you have decided to become our enemy!”
Across the table, Li Junxian’s expression slightly chilled, the first shift in his calm expression.
From start to finish, he had always wanted to recruit Wang Chong. If he had the help of the King of Foreign Lands, he would face much less pressure. But reality differed from his wishes. Wang Chong seemed to have his mind set on opposing them—the last thing Li Junxian wanted to see.
“It is not me deciding to become your enemy, but you deciding to become my enemy! The world is not your chess board, and the people are not your toys. I will give you one last chance. It is not too late to draw back your hand now. Otherwise, I will pull you up from your roots. Zhang Chaoshu was only the beginning. If I can pull out one Zhang Chaoshu, I can pull out countless like him. I will remove all the chess pieces you’ve placed in the Imperial Court!” Wang Chong coldly said.
Wang Chong had not come to Drunken Moon Pavilion simply to meet with Li Junxian. The simplemindedness and naivety of this group had already damaged the Great Tang, and he could not allow it to continue and inflict even greater damage!
Bang!
Wang Chong’s threat sent shockwaves through the restaurant, causing everyone to pale.
“Impudent!”
“Arrogant!”
The Confucians lashed out, and the room was immediately brimming with enormous auras of energy, erupting from their bodies and locking onto Wang Chong. But a moment later, a small motion from Li Junxian immediately suppressed all of them.
“Wang Chong.”
With a sweep of his snow-white sleeves, Li Junxian stood up from his seat. His face had no more smile, and his expression was extremely solemn. He no longer called Wang Chong ‘King of Foreign Lands’ but directly addressed him by name.
“The Harmonious World is the irresistible trend, that which all things are flowing to. The will of a single person cannot change this. Even if you are a general, minister, or King, you are insignificant before this momentum. A praying mantis trying to stop a carriage fails to know its own strength. Not only will you fail to stop the wheels of history, you will bring a scourge upon yourself, your body crushed into powder!
“Whether it was in the southwest or northwest, I always believed that we were the same kind of people. This was why I tolerated you once, twice, thrice. Thus, even though you refused me the last time, even though I knew there was a high chance that you would not agree, I still waited for you in this restaurant to try and convince you one last time. Alas, you are far more foolish than I had imagined. You are not threatening us, only seeking your own destruction. In the end, you and the Wang Clan behind you will have to pay the price… Any stumbling block that dares to try and stop the wheel of history will in the end become crushed into powder and dust.”
As Li Junxian spoke, he slowly straightened his body, and his snow-white robes began to flap and snap around him. At this same moment, a tyrannical and boundless aura erupted from his body, not one bit inferior to Wang Chong’s.
Wang Chong’s pupils constricted and his face became a sheet of ice.
“It seems that we do not share the same path and cannot deal with each other. This being the case, farewell!”
With these words, Wang Chong drained his cup, and left with a sweep of his sleeve.
In this meeting, both Wang Chong and Li Junxian had failed to persuade their counterpart. Their experiences were different, as were their ideals, dooming them to walk different paths. As Wang Chong rose and left the restaurant, all was deathly still and silent.
“Wait a moment.”
As Wang Chong reached the stairwell, a voice came from behind him. Li Junxian stood in front of the table, staring at Wang Chong’s back with a cold and aloof expression.
“If you leave this place, we will be eternal foes!”
“We already are!”
Wang Chong’s steps paused for a moment, and then he continued onward.
“King of Foreign Lands, I will leave you with these words. You did not kill Boren
, but Boren died because of you2! Ever since Khorasan, your subordinates are not out of reach!”
Li Junxian’s voice carried a menacing tone.
Buzz!
Wang Chong’s steps came to a sudden halt, and his body trembled. For the first time, Wang Chong paled.
“Many thanks!”
After just a moment, Wang Chong regained his senses and continued down the stairs.
“I have accepted the good intentions of the Confucian Sect! In the future, I will be certain to pay a visit!”
The words ‘Confucian Sect’ caused all the Confucians on the second floor, including the young man who had performed the sword dance, to instantly grimace. Even the elegant and graceful Li Junxian finally lost his composure. But before he could speak, thump, thump, thump! Wang Chong had already left Drunken Moon Pavilion.
……
“Your Highness, how did it go?”
Wang Chong had barely left Drunken Moon Pavilion when a group of people went up to meet him.
“Let’s get on the carriage first, and then we’ll talk!” Wang Chong grimly said.
Rumble! The carriage quickly departed Drunken Moon Pavilion toward the Wang Family Residence. As Wang Chong sat within, thick clouds of worry covered his brow.
“Old Eagle, immediately write a letter to Su Hanshan and Li Siye in the northwest to gather up all their subordinates. Without my order, they are forbidden to oppose the commanders sent by the Confucian school! I want the letter sent out today!”
______________
1. The war between Qin and Zhao refers to the Battle of Changping during the Warring States Period. Qin lost 250,000 soldiers in this battle, but it more infamously buried 400,000 soldiers of the state of Zhao alive. The Battle of the Fei River was a battle between the Eastern Jin Dynasty and the Former Qin Dynasty. Due to the poor training of the vast Former Qin army, the Jin army was able to fool the soldiers into a rout and dealt the Former Qin army a crushing defeat, resulting in more than 700,000 soldiers being killed. This battle allowed the Eastern Jin Dynasty to maintain its hold over southern China while northern China collapsed into the chaos of the Sixteen Kingdoms Period. The Sui Dynasty attempted several invasions of Goguryeo, one during the time of its first Emperor and three during the reign of its second Emperor. The invasions were so disastrous that they are seen as one of the primary causes for the collapse of the Sui.↩
2. ‘You did not kill Boren, but Boren died because of you’ refers to an incident during the Eastern Jin Dynasty. Wang Dao was an assistant to Emperor Yuan of the Eastern Jin. Wang Dao’s cousin, Wang Dun, rebelled against the Emperor and began to encroach on the capital. Wang Dao, fearing that he and his family would be executed, went to beg at the Emperor’s doorstep, but the Emperor refused to see him. Wang Dao asked Zhou Yi, whose courtesy name was Boren, to intercede on his behalf, which Zhou Yi did. However, he hid his involvement by cursing at Wang Dao, causing Wang Dao to believe that Zhou Yi hated him. Later on, when Wang Dun took the capital, he asked Wang Dao what he thought of Zhou Yi. Wang Dao said nothing, so Wang Dun had Zhou Yi executed. It was only later on that Wang Dao found out what Zhou Yi had done for him, causing him to lament, “I did not kill Boren, but Boren died because of me.”↩
Chapter 1257 - Fearful of Each Other!
Chapter 1257: Fearful of Each Other!
Translated by: Hypersheep325
Edited by: Michyrr
“Yes, Your Highness!”
Old Eagle’s voice came from outside the carriage. Although he didn’t know what had happened, Old Eagle instinctively followed Wang Chong’s orders. No matter the occasion, Wang Chong’s orders would never be wrong. This had been proved countless times.
“Wang Chong, did something happen in the northwest?”
A gentle voice came from next to him. Xu Qiqin examined Wang Chong’s profile. She had known Wang Chong for a long time, but she had never seen him so grave.
Wang Chong said nothing, only gave a slight nod, his mind recalling Li Junxian’s parting remarks.
Su Hanshan! Li Siye!
A thought flashed through his mind. Wang Chong’s mind turned to his two subordinates in the northwest. He had been so busy handling matters in the capital that he had forgotten about the situation at the border. Wang Chong had not been the one most angered by the stripping of his military authority and the wholesale suppression of the military. Rather, it was the Qixi Protectorate army that had withdrawn from the northwest and the subordinates Wang Chong had left there.
The Confucians were now supervising the army and had even become commanders. This was simply unprecedented. Wang Chong didn’t need to think too much to understand that there were many people in the army disgruntled about this. Once they began to conflict with the Confucians in the army, the Confucians would definitely use them. And from the resolve Li Junxian had displayed, he would not be merciful.
Rumble! The carriage quickly departed.
Flapflap! A few moments later, a hawk shot into the air, carrying a letter to the northwest. As Wang Chong watched the hawk leave through the window, he softly exhaled. At least with this letter, the conflicts in the army would not get too out of hand.
As long as Su Hanshan and Li Siye were not too rash, they would leave nothing that their opponents could exploit.
“Your Highness…” After some time, Old Eagle’s hesitant voice came from outside.
Wang Chong closed his eyes and said, “Speak.”
“…Since we’ve already found our foe, why didn’t Your Highness deal with him there? At least, we should have captured him to minimize the damage to the Great Tang!” Old Eagle said.
When Wang Chong had entered Drunken Moon Pavilion, Old Eagle had remained outside while the members of his intelligence corps surrounded the place, observing the place so tightly that they would know if even a fly came out. Old Eagle had originally believed that after they had finally found the true danger behind the curtain after such herculean efforts, Wang Chong would definitely make his move and capture him so as to completely resolve the danger.
But after they waited outside for so long, other than a slight shaking of the restaurant at the beginning, the place had been calm, with nothing happening.
“Old Eagle, I understand what you’re thinking, but now is not the time!” Wang Chong calmly said, his eyes remaining shut. “And killing him wouldn’t solve the problem at all!”
Old Eagle and the others had no idea that they were not dealing with one person, but a faction of unprecedented power. A young man of twenty-six or twenty-seven would be incapable of controlling the Grand Preceptor, King Qi, the Prime Minister, and the First Prince through his own powers. An even greater power was hidden behind him.
Li Junxian was only the leader that they had chosen. Killing him would solve nothing, as that faction would simply choose a new leader.
Moreover, the people in that restaurant had not represented a martial sect, but a kind of spirit and ideal that had been passed down for one thousand years. They had suppressed the military and called him back from Khorasan not through martial arts, but through thought, spirit, and schemes.
And in this level of contention, martial arts were not very useful. Flesh could be tortured and destroyed, but spirits and ideals were not so easily extinguished. Moreover, even if he killed Li Junxian, the other party could still meddle in the Imperial Court, continue to suppress the Bureau of Military Personnel and the military. This was one reason Wang Chong had not done anything.
Another was that he had only managed with great difficulty to find their leader and discover some clues on his adversary. If he killed Li Junxian, the other side would just pick a new leader while Wang Chong would lose any further opportunity to find them and understand them. When this faction retreated back into the shadows, he would find it nigh impossible to seize them again.
Besides that, Old Eagle and the others had disregarded the most important thing: Li Junxian’s martial arts!
Wang Chong suddenly thought back
to the clash of wine cups he had with Li Junxian in the restaurant.
At present, Wang Chong’s cultivation was an extreme rarity in this world, infinitesimally close to reaching the Subtle realm. If he had not seen it for himself, he would have never imagined that there was someone in this world of the same generation whose cultivation was on par with his.
That white-robed youth in the restaurant had possessed an unfathomable strength, far above the Great General level. And in terms of Psychic Energy, he was even stronger than Masil!
Wang Chong had been able to attain his level of cultivation at the age of eighteen entirely because he had two lives’ worth of experience and because he had the miraculous art that was the Great Yinyang Heaven Creation Art, allowing him to absorb the energy of powerful foes. But this adversary was only twenty-six or twenty-seven, yet his cultivation was so formidable that he could sit on the same level as Wang Chong. This was not something that could be achieved merely through diligent effort.
Behind his adversary was an unimaginably powerful faction!
The Confucian Sect!
This thought floated to the surface of Wang Chong’s mind. Wang Chong had observed that many of the Confucians in Drunken Moon Pavilion had a mysterious black symbol on their wrists, the same symbol on the wrists of the three Confucian experts at Khorasan who had received his military authority. At the start, Wang Chong had vaguely sensed that he had seen this symbol before, but he couldn’t remember where.
But now, Wang Chong finally remembered. He had never seen that symbol in this life, but he had in his last. In the apocalyptic era, when the remaining experts of humanity had gathered together, there was a group of Confucian experts with this symbol on their wrists. They had run around loudly proclaiming their theories, making them extremely unique in that era.
The Human Emperor c1-2382 Page 791