The Human Emperor c1-2382

by Huangfu Qi (皇甫奇)

  Within the capital, the vast influence the Confucian school had built up over more than one thousand years caused ‘Might Makes Right’ to be recalled from the marketplaces within a single day. This withdrawal was so clean that not a single copy could be seen throughout the entirety of the city.

  Efforts to destroy Wang Chong’s reputation also began.

  A memorial jointly signed by more than ten thousand illustrious Confucians was sent straight to the Secretariat. It demanded that Wang Chong be stripped of all his positions and that the printing and distribution of ‘Might Makes Right’ be banned.

  A few days later, the voices supporting Wang Chong and ‘Might Makes Right’ amongst the people dwindled to almost nothing. The Confucian school’s ‘Benevolence and Righteousness’ immediately began to make a clamor, occupying the absolute advantage.

  The situation changed so quickly that everyone was caught off guard.

  Clap!

  A thick book was thrown out a window and onto the street.

  “Father, give me back my book!”

  A cry of alarm came from within, the voice exceptionally young.

  “Bastard thing, you’re banned from reading such heresy in the future! Didn’t you hear what the village elder and Master Zhu said? This is nothing but a pile of twisted words that aren’t even worth considering. Don’t you know who Master Zhu is? Do you think that some King of Foreign Lands could possibly be more formidable than Master Zhu?” came the furious rebuke of the father.

  The name of Master Zhu caused the youth’s voice to become much quieter.

  “That’s that! If you don’t want you, your sons, and your son’s sons to be rejected by all schools and teachers, you’ll stop messing around with these things! Master Zhu has already spoken! Do you still think that this is some trivial matter?!”

  The father’s rage was palpable.

  Similar events took place all throughout the realm, catching everyone by surprise.

  “Your Highness, it’s bad!”

  Hurried footsteps resounded through the Wang Family Residence as a pale-faced Su Shixuan rushed in.

  “Your Highness, we just received news that the people have begun to throw away their copies of ‘Might Makes Right’, even beginning to pile them up and burn them!”

  Su Shixuan had just finished speaking when he looked around the study and froze. Cheng Sanyuan, Xue Qianjun, Xu Keyi—everyone was here. The atmosphere was solemn, and all of them had unsightly complexions.

  Su Shixuan was immediately rendered speechless. It was obvious that Su Shixuan was not the first to receive the bad news, and when all this news was gathered together, the situation looked extremely bad for Wang Chong.

  None of them had imagined that the Confucian Sect would play a card like Master Zhu. In truth, if they hadn’t seen it for themselves, they would have found it very difficult to imagine that a Confucian of one hundred and twenty years of age was still living in this world. People like Su Shixuan didn’t even know that Master Zhu had ever existed.

  But wave came after wave. Flapflap! A messenger bird flew in through the window.

  “A letter from King Song!”

  Everyone only needed a glance to recognize that the golden hoop on the bird’s leg belonged to King Song. As they were both residing in the capital, King Song would never use this means to send news unless the matter was of utmost importance.

  The people in the room grew even paler.

  Swoosh!

  Wang Chong’s expression was calm as he waved his hand. The letter tied to the bird’s leg immediately flew through the air and into his hand. Upon glancing at it, Wang Chong felt his heart sink. The Confucian Sect had finally made its move.

  When it rained, it poured. One day later, a piece of news began to sweep through the world. The Imperial Court had formally begun an impeachment investigation of the King of Foreign Lands, Wang Chong. The crimes he was accused of included ‘raising a private army with thoughts of rebellion’, ‘defying the Sage Emperor’s decree and opening the imperial household’s Qixi armory without permission, removing fifty thousand ballistae and nearly one million ballista bolts without the Sage Emperor’s approval’. There were also crimes like ‘cultivating henchmen and engaging in nepotism’, but the first two crimes alone were enough to doom Wang Chong.

  The Great Tang strictly controlled the number of soldiers the great clans and noble houses could keep. They would normally have only a few squads, and absolutely could not exceed one thousand soldiers. But Wang Chong, in recruiting the Wushang Cavalry, had built up an army of more than ten thousand, and Wang Chong had even equipped them with identical suits of Meteoric Metal armor and sharp Wootz Steel swords. This force was enough to engage in a large-scale war and even resolve it.

  And it far exceeded what was allowable for a private army.

  In the Great Tang, just possessing this number and quality of soldiers was enough to be accused of fomenting rebellion. Even more importantly, none of these soldiers were in the military system of the Great Tang.

  The second crime seemed to be much lighter by comparison, but it was actually far more serious. The crime of deceiving the sovereign would always be a most severe crime, and once it was exposed, there was practically no room for maneuver. Even a great luminary of the Tang army like Zhang Shougui, who had rendered enormous service and was favored by the Sage Emperor, would have been stripped of his position and demoted to the south to die in depression if Wang Chong had not assisted him in the Youzhou Incident.

  For this sort of crime, even if the sovereign wished to issue a pardon, they would still encounter the strenuous protests of their ministers. No matter how great the service one had rendered or how illustrious one’s status had been, if one committed this sort of crime, one could say goodbye to any future advancement.

  Just one of these crimes would be enough to finish off one’s career, but Wang Chong was being accused of both.

  And even more disastrous was that the initial investigation already indicated that both these accusations were true, that no one had unjustly accused Wang Chong.

  This news caused the entire world to quake!

  ……

  “Honored gentlemen, is there anything more that you have to say on this matter?”

  Taihe Palace was solemn, majestic, grandiose, and divine. First Prince Li Ying was enthroned above, his cold gaze slowly scanning the officials down below. The censures and discussions targeted against Wang Chong had reached their peak. No matter what, a judgment had to be made today. If he did not give an explanation to the entire empire today, he would be weakening his own majesty as the regent.

  Minister of Rites Zhang Lianchong stepped forward and bowed as he loudly declared, “Your Highness, the evidence on the crimes of the King of Foreign Lands, ‘raising private armies’ and ‘opening the armory in defiance of imperial decree’ is clear! This loyal subject believes that he should be heavily punished! He cannot be forgiven!”

  A general immediately stepped forward and furiously argued, “Your Highness, this cannot be allowed! It is true that the King of Foreign Lands privately recruited the Wushang Cavalry, and it is true that he opened the armory in defiance of imperial decree, but all this was for the sake of the Great Tang! If not for this, there would have been a defeat at Talas, and Anxi and Qixi would have fallen into enemy hands. If a heavy punishment is levied in this matter, it will chill the hearts of all the soldiers in the world!”

  The Battle of Talas was long past, but why had these crimes only been brought up now? Everyone clearly understood why. The Confucian Sect wished to use the government to execute its private revenge, using this impeachment to gain victory in this ideological clash between militarists and Confucians.

  All the generals believed this to be a great injustice!

  “Hmph! So one can raise private soldiers for the sake of the empire, can deceive the sovereign and disregard the Sage Emperor for the sake of the empire? If we go along with your argument, do we still even nee
d the laws of the Great Tang?”

  King Qi suddenly stepped forward. This was an extremely rare opportunity, and more importantly, he had not made up Wang Chong’s crimes. This opportunity had been dropped on his doorstep.

  “There are so many generals on the border, and all of them have at least some fame. Can they now all use this reason to do what they wish in the Great Tang? Even the Son of Heaven must be punished the same as a commoner if he commits a crime, and the King of Foreign Lands is only a King. Should he be treated even better than the Son of Heaven?”

  These words immediately plunged the hall into a deathly stillness. These were not words that could be hastily responded to. King Qi’s words were truly damning.

  King Qi smugly smiled as he scanned the crowd, and then he turned back to the First Prince and spoke in a righteous tone.

  “Your Highness! The laws have no mercy. Since the King of Foreign Lands has committed a crime, he must bear the punishment! This lowly subject proposes that Wang Chong immediately be jailed to await execution! And he should be stripped of all his titles! Let this serve as a warning to all!”

  “Your Highness, this cannot be allowed!”

  King Song finally could not help but step forward.

  “All the people of the realm have witnessed the capabilities of the King of Foreign Lands, and even the surrounding foreigners regard him with dread. If we kill the King of Foreign Lands over this matter, the Great Tang will accomplish nothing more than cutting off its own hands and feet! In the future, if the foreigners once more raise their armies and attack, just which one of you will be able to bear the responsibility!?”

  King Song was greatly concerned, as the situation boded extremely ill for Wang Chong and was proceeding in a completely unpredictable direction.

  After a long period of silence, the First Prince finally spoke. “Imperial Uncle, I have an understanding of this matter now!”

  A hint of hesitation and difficulty could be seen on his brow.

  At any other time, the First Prince would not have minded hitting Wang Chong while he was down, but this situation was different. All the details would be made known to the world, and countless people were watching him. Even if the First Prince had his own selfish desires, he would have to act justly in this matter.

  Moreover, Wang Chong had been made King by the Sage Emperor himself and was also the Son of Heaven’s disciple. Executing him might not only generate discontent across the realm but could even heavily damage his own prestige once he finally assumed the throne.

  “Wang Chong, do you have anything to say?”

  The First Prince turned to the back of the hall, where Wang Chong was standing. At that moment, everyone turned to look with him.

  Wang Chong looked back at the First Prince and calmly said, “This subject only wishes to say that I feel no regrets over what I have done!”

  These words caused King Qi, Prime Minister Li Linfu, the Grand Preceptor, and the First Prince to all slightly grimace.

  Chapter 1309 - Predicament!

  Chapter 1309: Predicament!

  Translated by: Hypersheep325

  Edited by: Michyrr

  “I understand!”

  The First Prince took in a deep breath and fell quiet for a few moments.

  “Wang Chong, this prince knows that all you did was for the sake of the country and people, but the country has its laws and the clans have their rules. Since the Imperial Court issued this law, everyone must comply with it. Even the Son of Heaven will suffer the same punishment as a commoner if he breaks the law.”

  The intense court debate came to an end.

  “Respectfully sending off Your Highness!”

  Everyone bowed and watched the First Prince leave.

  In this entire process, Wang Chong was abnormally cold and calm, even excessively so.

  As everyone was leaving the hall, Wang Chong coldly chuckled and said, “Secretariat Advisor!”

  This was so abrupt that everyone stopped. King Qi, the Grand Preceptor, and Li Linfu all turned to look and see what was happening.

  “The King of Foreign Lands has something else to say?”

  Li Junxian paused for a moment, but he quickly regained his composure and walked out from the crowd. Whoosh! All the other officials yielded, leaving Wang Chong and Li Junxian a large space to talk.

  Everyone understood what was going on with this court debate. This was truthfully a struggle between Wang Chong and Li Junxian, and for Wang Chong to suddenly call out Li Junxian now despite remaining quiet for the entire court debate made everyone feel an extreme sense of danger.

  “Heheh, come here!”

  Wang Chong waved a hand at a Golden Guard standing at the side of the hall. The Golden Guard walked up in a daze, and then, clink! Wang Chong dropped the silver fish token that symbolized his status as Advisor-in-Waiting into the hands of the guard.

  At the same time, he lightly pulled at his chinstrap, taking off the purple-gold cap and handing it over, allowing his black hair to pour down his shoulders, several strands hanging down his temples.

  “Li Junxian, I overestimated you!”

  At Wang Chong’s words, Li Junxian’s ears reddened.

  On the surface, the Confucian Sect had won this round, but both Wang Chong and Li Junxian knew that the moment he invited Master Zhu to step forward, the Confucian Sect had conceded the round.

  “Do you think that you can win just by removing me from my Advisor-in-Waiting post and making me take off the royal robes of the King of Foreign Lands?”

  Wang Chong sneered, derision in his eyes.

  “King of Foreign Lands, what do you mean?”

  Li Junxian’s eyes narrowed as he stared at Wang Chong.

  But Wang Chong said nothing more. With a wave of his sleeve, he strode out of the hall.

  “Chong-er, wait a moment!”

  Wang Chong’s big uncle Wang Gen rushed to catch up.

  Li Junxian stared speechlessly at Wang Chong’s back for a long time.

  ……

  The moment Wang Chong handed over his fish token and walked out of Taihe Palace…

  Flapflap!

  Countless birds took to the skies of the Great Tang capital, carrying with them the information on everything that had transpired in the capital, including Wang Chong’s impeachment, to all the surrounding countries.

  “Good!”

  In an Eastern Turkic tent, a bearded and muscular man loudly laughed as he held the letter in his hand.

  “This Confucian Sect truly is very formidable. With just a few words, they were actually able to cast the King of Foreign Lands into the abyss.”

  Ozmish Khagan was overjoyed by the news he had received from the Great Tang.

  Although the area the King of Foreign Lands was responsible for was not adjacent to the lands of the Eastern Turks, the teeth would feel the chill if the lips died. The amount of power he had shown was enough to threaten any empire.

  Moreover, once the Great Tang dealt with its opponents in the other directions, it would have the spare manpower to launch a campaign to Youzhou. At that moment, the Eastern Turkic Khaganate would undoubtedly suffer severe damage.

  “Forbidden from participating in government affairs, forbidden from participating in military affairs, haha! With these two restrictions alone, he’s nothing more than a tiger without claws and no longer much of a threat to us!”

  “It was all nothing but a false alarm! But regardless, we won this round!”

  The Goguryeo Empire, the Xi and Khitans, Mengshe Zhao, the Western Turkic Khaganate—the moment the upper echelons of these countries received the news, they all celebrated.

  This reversal had come too quickly and caught everyone by surprise. A moment ago, all of them had been worrying about whether or not the Great Tang would become even more bellicose than it had before, but a moment later, all the threats had been neutralized.

  “Master Zhu! I didn’t think that he was still alive! With this move, the Confucian Sect
has already won!”

  In the distant Ü-Tsang, Dalon Trinling received a similar intelligence report. But unlike the others, Dalon Trinling was more focused on the matter of ‘Master Zhu’s reemergence’. In his early years, when he was traveling through the Central Plains, he had heard of Master Zhu’s reputation. At the time, he had not been a Great Minister, and he had held great admiration for this esteemed scholar and only ‘Master’ of the Central Plains.

  But what he had heard at the time was that Master Zhu had already passed away. Clearly, this had not been the case.

  “Li Junxian is far from enough for this conflict between militarists and Confucians. Only by having this Confucian leader step forward can everything be changed. There is essentially no one in the Central Plains who could contend against someone of Master Zhu’s status!” Dalon Trinling indifferently said.

  At this moment, the Great General of the Yarlung Royal Lineage, Namri Songtian, suddenly spoke. “Imperial Minister, the impeachment of the King of Foreign Lands is admittedly a matter worth celebrating, but—and please forgive this subordinate for speaking too much—if the Confucian Sect can command someone like Master Zhu, then it is no simple faction! This Confucian Sect will likely pose a major threat to us in the future!”

  “Hah, even so, that’s a matter for the future!”

  Dalon Trinling waved a sleeve and carelessly chuckled.

  “Come! It is rare for Master Zhu to show himself. Prepare a gift and send it to Master Zhu in the name of the Imperial Minister of Ü-Tsang! I and all the other Great Ministers of Ü-Tsang have all traveled through the Central Plains and learned the teachings of the Confucian school, so we can be considered students of Master Zhu. Treat it as a gift from a disciple!”

  “This subordinate will deliver this order!”

  A Tibetan guard bowed and quickly left to deliver the order.

  “In addition…”

  Once the guard was gone, Dalon Trinling spoke again.

  “Songtian, it is rare for Li Junxian to send us a gift, and thus, we should reciprocate and send a gift back. Let us prepare something more for the King of Foreign Lands!”

  Namri Songtian remained standing like a massive and immovable rock, but his lips curled into a smile.