The Human Emperor c1-2382

by Huangfu Qi (皇甫奇)

  “This matter isn’t that simple!”

  Wang Chong’s reaction was much calmer and more cool-headed.

  “The arrival of King Qi, the First Prince, and the Prime Minister is entirely linked to the arrest of Zhao Qianqiu and the development in the Three Great Training Camps. They arrived soon after I came to the Penal Court, which can’t be a coincidence. It seems more like the result of someone’s meticulous plan. King Qi doesn’t have this sort of ability, while the Prime Minister is smooth and furtive and would never so easily reveal his abilities. He does have the power, but it definitely can’t be him this time. As for the First Prince, that’s even more impossible!”

  Wang Chong’s eyes shone with a profound light, and he seemed to be able to stare into the depths of spacetime.

  “So, Wang Chong, you’re saying that this was the work of the Confucian Sect and that young man called Li Junxian?”

  King Song immediately understood what Wang Chong was saying.

  “Mm. He’s the only possibility!”

  Wang Chong firmly nodded. Only this could explain everything. Although his adversary was still young, he was the strongest opponent Wang Chong had ever encountered. His attacks came in wave after wave, giving him no chance to breathe.

  Buzz!

  King Song and Zhangchou Jianqiong exchanged a glance, their hearts sinking.

  After bidding farewell to King Song and Zhangchou Jianqiong, Wang Chong disembarked from the carriage and returned home.

  ……

  Flap flap!

  As Wang Chong was making his way back to his home, a carrier pigeon flew through the sky and landed in a restaurant in the western part of the capital.

  All three floors of this restaurant were quiet and secluded. West Wind Pavilion valued the elegance and refreshment one felt when admiring the landscape. Here, one could enjoy the view of the plum blossom trees planted along the river.

  Every day, many scholars and literati would gather here to drink wine while admiring the plum blossoms.

  But at this moment, West Wind Pavilion was deserted, utterly silent. From the main gate hung a placard that only said ‘Closed’. But at this moment, a white-robed young man was sitting on the third floor, drinking wine and enjoying the plum blossoms alone.

  All of West Wind Pavilion had been closed for today precisely to serve this honored guest.

  Flapflap! The carrier pigeon landed on the table. A hand that had been waiting for some time now took the letter and sent the pigeon on its way.

  “Young Master, we failed at the Penal Court. Wang Chong returned safe and sound!”

  A voice came from the bowed figure at the side. This man respectfully offered the letter with both hands.

  “Is that so?”

  Li Junxian grinned and lightly sipped a cup of fragrant wine, his expression exuding indescribable grace and ease.

  “As expected, we still can’t get a grip on him.”

  “This isn’t the only problem. We just learned that the King of Foreign Lands has just sent a memorial to the Imperial Court formally gifting Deflecting Blade Manor to Kunwu Training Camp. However, he also appointed the manager for Deflecting Blade Manor. As expected, it was a member of Deflecting Blade Manor. In addition, we have also learned that the King of Foreign Lands has apparently written letters to all the Great Generals on the border and the Bureau of Military Personnel. In the name of the border protectorates, they plan to jointly form with the Bureau of Military Personnel a commander base that will be independent of the Three Great Training Camps.

  “We were only able to intervene in the Three Great Training Camps through our connection with the First Prince and the imperial household. If this commander base is established, it will be a faction entirely under the control of the militarists, and we will have no hope of intervening in it! Moreover, those Protector-Generals on the border all have enormous influence. This commander base will probably have a reputation equal to the Three Great Training Camps. If this is allowed to take place, all our efforts will have been for nothing!” the Confucian Sect expert sternly said, his voice suffused with worry.

  It had been centuries since the Confucian Sect had last encountered such a troublesome opponent. This was clearly a teenager, but his way of doing things was like that of a seasoned veteran. He was able to counter every move the Confucian Sect made and minimize its effects.

  Upon hearing these last words, Li Junxian’s right hand, gripping the white porcelain cup, slightly paused, and his brow finally creased.

  The Penal Court incident had not been important. It would have been fine if they could imprison Wang Chong, but if they didn’t, it wouldn’t have too much effect. But if this commander base was established, everything would be completely different. The militarists and Confucians were irreconcilable. One was pro-war while the other was anti-war. At the very least, in the current situation, he could not allow the militarists to expand any further.

  “There’s no need to worry! I have a plan to deal with this matter!”

  Li Junxian’s brow quickly relaxed and he soon calmed down. Those clear and limpid eyes looked forward, apparently imbued with boundless intelligence.

  “Since the King of Foreign Lands has taken countermeasures, we’ll set him aside for now. When the time comes, I will personally deal with him. Let me ask, are the preparations for that matter ready?”

  “Young Master, everything is ready and awaiting your orders! As long as we complete this phase, we will take a large stride forward in our objectives, and Young Master’s reputation is certain to shake the world. Young Master will become a meritorious contributor to our Confucian Sect!”

  The expert’s voice was brimming with admiration for Li Junxian.

  An endless stream of Confucians had attempted to realize the true Harmonious World, but in the end, they could only die with regret. Only under Li Junxian’s command had they taken great strides forward and gotten much closer to their goal.

  “Get ready. In a few days, I will make a journey to the Western Turks to complete the final phase,” Li Junxian said.

  “Yes, Young Master!” the Confucian Sect expert said.

  Ding! Li Junxian placed the white porcelain cup on the table. As he gazed at the cup, Li Junxian appeared to realize something, a hint of sorrow appearing in his eyes, but it quickly faded away. Hwoosh! A gust of wind blew through, and when it was gone, the two figures in West Wind Pavilion had vanished with it.

  ……

  Whoosh!

  A carrier pigeon flew into the Wang Family Residence. The capital appeared calm on the surface, but a silent battle was taking place in the shadows. Wang Chong received the carrier pigeon and slowly removed the letter from its leg.

  Wang Chong glanced at the letter and immediately sighed in relief.

  This letter was from the northwest and had the personal seal of Anxi Protector-General Gao Xianzhi. Wang Chong’s earlier letter had proved useful. Upon learning that Su Hanshan and Li Siye had been arrested, Gao Xianzhi had taken Cheng Qianli and the other high-ranking officers of the Anxi Protectorate army and had personally gone to Qixi to find out what was going on. Li Siye and Su Hanshan had fought together with the Anxi Protectorate army at the Battle of Talas, and they were allies whose bonds had been forged in the peril of battle.

  One could say that if they had not risked their lives on the battlefield, the Anxi Protectorate army would already be gone. Moreover, the two of them had rendered enormous merit in the battle against the Arabs. It was absurd to the extreme that they had been arrested over such a trifling matter.

  This was the first time Gao Xianzhi had ever been so angry. Even without Wang Chong’s request, he would have still intervened.

  Not only that, while Gao Xianzhi was heading over to Qixi, Geshu Han had also sent a letter saying that he would arrive in Qixi in a few days. The two Great Generals of the Great Tang had come with a furious momentum, and their enormous prestige and influence in the army proved effective. Pressured by the two Grea
t Generals, the three Confucian commanders were forced to guarantee that no harm would be done to Li Siye and Su Hanshan.

  Moreover, in order to prove their sincerity, they agreed to have subordinates of Gao Xianzhi and Geshu Han stand as supervisors until the judgment from the Imperial Court arrived.

  “There’s simply no need for Su Hanshan and Li Siye to remain imprisoned. This is clearly a delaying tactic. Just what are these people up to?” Wang Chong muttered to himself after putting away the letter.

  Wang Chong was almost certain that while Li Junxian and the Confucian Sect appeared to be targeting Su Hanshan and Li Siye, they were actually targeting him. But no matter what sort of idea Li Junxian had, Wang Chong remained fearless, confident that he could counter.

  “Milord!”

  At this moment, Old Eagle rushed inside.

  “We just received word. One of the clans that we work with, the Li Clan of Jing Prefecture, says that they found a trace of Wen Choushu.”

  Chapter 1271 - News on Wen Choushu!

  Chapter 1271: News on Wen Choushu!

  Translated by: Hypersheep325

  Edited by: Michyrr

  “What?!”

  Wang Chong trembled in surprise.

  Lu Ting had once said that even if Wen Choushu was still alive, he would be more than ninety years old. Moreover, he had a reclusive personality. In other words, even Lu Ting believed that there was an incredibly high chance that this person was no longer alive. To so quickly find Wen Choushu was truly surprising.

  Wang Chong quickly calmed down and asked, “What did the Li Clan of the Jing Prefecture say?”

  To find news on Wen Choushu truly was rather exciting, but he couldn’t get too happy until they actually confirmed his identity.

  “The Li Clan of Jing Prefecture sent a letter saying that they found a person extremely similar to the person Academic Lu Ting spoke of. They’re both people of more than ninety years with a reclusive personality and a fondness for collecting ancient books. Moreover, they both had a bean-sized mole on their left brow. In addition, the Li Clan also found that this person had the surname Wen and moved there twenty-some years ago. Although he called himself Wen Guxin, a villager saw a seal he carries around with him that said ‘Wen Choushu’.

  “In addition, the library in his home is astonishing. When he arrived, he bought several large courtyards and even hired people to build three more, all of which he used to store books. The Li Clan took note of this person when they went out to purchase herbs, asked for some water from this old gentleman’s estate, and noticed this incredible library,” Old Eagle said, his body bowed.

  “Wen Choushu…”

  Wang Chong was pensive.

  Collectors of ancient books usually had a certain inclination. They deeply cherished the books they collected and would not randomly scrawl on them. However, they would place a bookmark inside the book which had the name of the collector stamped onto it. If the collector died and the book fell into the hands of another collector, the collector would also stamp their name on the bookmark. In this way, they created a record of the people who had owned this book through the generations.

  This was a habit and custom held by ancient book collectors.

  If this person had the seal of ‘Wen Choushu’ on his person, there was at least a sixty percent chance that this person was the one he was looking for.

  “Old Eagle, take Academic Lu Ting over to see if this person is actually Wen Choushu. In addition, dispatch four experts to guard him and have a few scholars from some of the great clans assist Lu Ting. I want to know as soon as possible what that Bird Seal Script is and just what that ink symbol means!” Wang Chong sternly said, his eyes shining brightly. This development had come as a great surprise, and it seemed like there was finally going to be some progress with the Confucian Sect.

  Old Eagle quickly departed with Lu Ting and ten-some experts. For safety’s sake, King Song dispatched another twenty-some experts, all of them personally-selected elites. The conflict between the Confucians and militarists had not just affected the Imperial Court, but the entire empire.

  No one was clearer on this than King Song.

  Once something happened to the militarists, the more than ten million people of the Great Tang would be in danger. This was why King Song had given his full support to this matter.

  Meanwhile, the capital gradually entered a period of peace. After Wang Chong had neutralized the attacks in Qixi and the Three Great Training Camps, Li Junxian and the Confucian Sect had seemingly slowed their assault and had not made any further advances. As for Wang Chong, he was waiting for news from Lu Ting and King Song.

  Both sides had apparently made a temporary truce and made no hostile actions against each other. But both Wang Chong and Li Junxian understood that their adversary was just building up for a strike and could begin a new wave of assault at any time. At the same time, a new development took place in the capital, though this did not alarm very many people.

  Under the leadership of Zhangchou Jianqiong and the Bureau of Military Personnel, King of Foreign Lands Wang Chong, Gao Xianzhi, Geshu Han, Zhangchou Jianqiong, and Xianyu Zhongtong had joined together to set up a ‘commander base’ on the northwestern outskirts of the capital.

  The commander base covered a vast area of several dozen mu. The construction expenses were divided between the Bureau of Military Personnel, Wang Chong, and the noble clans of the capital, with Wang Chong paying half. In another new development, these noble clans paying construction expenses were honored as ‘sponsors’.

  In this way, the commander base could be built as quickly as possible, circumventing the need to request an allocation of money from the Bureau of Revenue.

  In addition, the primary architect of the commander base was none other than the renowned master craftsman responsible for building the City of Steel at Wushang at the steel walls used on the northwestern battlefields, Zhang Shouzhi. The commander base would need several months to complete. When the time came, many students of the Three Great Training Camps and some officers in the army could enter this place to study. Unlike the Three Great Training Camps, however, the commander base would teach strategy and practical tactics for the battlefield.

  All the instructors were selected from amongst elite officers of the five protectorates, all of them with rich battlefield experience. This was one of the traits that differentiated the commander base from the Three Great Training Camps.

  And Wang Chong would teach an even higher level of strategic thought.

  Wang Chong’s reputation as the new War God and his renowned ability to command made this commander base an extremely attractive prospect.

  Wang Chong was also trying to track down Li Junxian, but Li Junxian had apparently vanished like a puff of steam. But even so, the Confucian school’s attack had still not stopped. More and more schools manned by Confucians lecturing on benevolence, righteousness, propriety, and wisdom were popping up in the capital to promote the idea of the Harmonious World, and the Confucians’ influence was getting stronger and stronger.

  Wang Chong could sense that the minds of the people were slowly changing. And the method the Confucians had chosen was impervious. Not even Wang Chong, the noble King of Foreign Lands, could stop the Confucians from lecturing their ideals.

  But just because he couldn’t stop them didn’t mean that Wang Chong had no way to counter.

  “Xu Keyi, Cheng Sanyuan, I have a task for you!”

  Several days later, Wang Chong summoned the two of them to his study.

  “I need you to immediately get in touch with the great clans of the capital to get this task done as soon as possible. In addition, I will give thirty million taels of gold for initial capital and provide even more capital later on so that this task can be completed.”

  “Ah!”

  “Milord!”

  The two of them dropped their jaws in shock as they stared at Wang Chong.

  Thirty million taels!

  And t
his was in gold, and even more would be coming!

  This number had completely exceeded their expectations. One had to realize that the Imperial Court had only given ten million taels of gold to Wang Chong for the Battle of Talas, and this had been enough for the Great Tang to eventually win in the war against Arabia.

  But now, Wang Chong was giving them thirty million taels, and this was only the initial sum. This was a wealth that many could use for the rest of their lives and still not spend it all.

  They found it very difficult to imagine just what sort of task would require this much gold.

  “I’ve written everything in this letter! Go!”

  “Yes, Milord!”

  Xu Keyi took the letter from the table and quickly left.

  ……

  Several days later, news from the Jing Prefecture arrived in the capital. A ‘body-strengthening school’ built by the Li Clan had been set up in the Jing Prefecture. It taught various martial arts and charged no fee. On the contrary, the school offered breakfast and dinner for free. There was only one student at the start, but this quickly expanded to seven, then ten, and then more.

  Jing Prefecture was only the beginning. These martial arts schools began to pop up like bamboo after rain, expanding from Jing Prefecture to the neighboring prefectures and commanderies and onward. In a single week, the number of body-strengthening schools had increased to several hundred, spread throughout the entire empire. After several weeks, there were several thousand such body-strengthening schools, and this number was still continuing to increase at an astonishing pace.

  These body-strengthening schools were all built in the same simple style and were established in serene environments. In addition, they all had experienced instructors. The common people were initially dubious about this venture, but when they learned that these body-strengthening schools were offering free meals, they rushed to participate. Not only that, these people soon realized that these body-strengthening schools had an additional policy. If one trained in martial arts in these body-strengthening schools for an entire week, they could obtain ten strings of copper cash.