The Human Emperor c1-2382
Page 1279
All of Wang Chong’s subordinates were smoothly carrying out their plans, and each report had a specific person tasked with delivering it. Rarely would a bird fly into the hall to deliver a message directly.
Whoosh! In a rush of air, a bird with a golden thread tied around its neck and a copper hoop on its claw flew inside.
“It’s Xue Qianjun!”
Xu Keyi grimaced upon spotting the identifiers on the bird.
Each of Wang Chong’s subordinates had a different method of sending reports. This messenger bird was only used by Xue Qianjun, the deputy of the north.
However, Xu Keyi’s shock was not because Xue Qianjun had sent a report, but because neither the golden thread nor the copper hoop was frequently used.
For both to be used at once meant only one thing:
Extreme emergency!
Not since the war of the northwest had this level of report appeared!
Whoosh!
Wang Chong’s heart sank, and he grimly stood up and extended his hand. The messenger bird seemed to be pulled by an invisible thread and shot into his hand in a white streak.
The hall was utterly still, Xu Keyi holding his breath as he stared at Wang Chong.
Wang Chong removed the letter from the bird, but upon glancing at it, he trembled in shock.
Xue Qianjun’s letter contained only a few words, but each one had been written with all the strength he could muster, and it had been written so hastily that one could sense the panic within it.
‘Extreme emergency! Cold wave moving south!’
Bang!
Almost the moment Wang Chong read those words, a sound like a bell boomed in his mind, and the Stone of Destiny began to speak.
“Special Event! The ‘Great Ice Age Era’ begins!”
As this voice boomed, countless images appeared before Wang Chong. With a groaning rumble, a wall of ice suddenly poured down.
At the same time, the continent visibly shrank as the white wave turned into a thick layer of ice that crawled across the continent with a life of its own. The winds howled, hailstones rained down, and all living creatures howled as they were frozen to death.
In just a few moments, a snowstorm had engulfed the world, and Wang Chong’s Central Plains swiftly turned into a silent world, sealed in ice!
“To be born, grow old, get ill, and die is the fate of all living creatures, all beings thriving and then declining. With every several thousand years comes a new cycle. When this cold wave sweeps down from the north, all creatures in the world will go extinct. No civilization or dynasty will survive. This is the prelude to the apocalypse.
“User has fifteen days to prepare, after which the entire world will enter an ice-sealed era. If user finds the reason for the cold wave, user can obtain 10,000,000 points of Destiny Energy as a reward. Otherwise, all things in the world will meet their end, the world will die, and user’s mission will fail!
“This mission does not have its own time limit, nor will user have a punishment for failure!
“In the Prelude of the Apocalypse, failure means death!”
The cold voice of warning slowly faded away, all falling silent.
Wang Chong stood in a daze, his heart in turmoil.
All this time, he had ordered Xue Qianjun and his garrison to remain in the north and watch for any signs of activity.
Based on the previous speed of the great cold wave, he should have had a long time until the Great Ice Age. This was far too soon!
The Stone of Destiny said that the mission didn’t have a time limit or punishment for failure, but for Wang Chong, this was the worst punishment of all.
Only fifteen days… Is that the final deadline? Wang Chong inwardly muttered to himself.
The ‘Little Ice Age’ from before had only been a blizzard, but this had been enough to kill nearly one million elite cavalry of the Arabian Empire. The damage that would be done by this ‘Great Ice Age’ would be simply unimaginable.
More importantly, Wang Chong also knew that this cold wave would thoroughly damage the foundation of this world.
The massive shifts wrought by this weather phenomenon would rapidly shrink the food production of the world. Many livestock would freeze to death, with some herds nurtured by the nomadic tribes being completely wiped out.
This world would face an unprecedented crisis, both for the nomadic tribes and sedentary societies.
This great cold wave had played a major role in the ultimate defeat of Wang Chong’s campaign in his last life.
Before the power of nature, all empires and civilizations were insignificant.
Once the great cold wave unleashed all of its power, countless people would die.
The population of the world would rapidly dwindle.
And there was no retreat for Wang Chong!
Chapter 2118 - World in Crisis!
Chapter 2118:
World in Crisis!
Translated by: Hypersheep325
Edited by: Michyrr
“Attend me! Prepare my carriage! I’m going to see the Emperor!” Wang Chong grimly said.
Whoosh!
A few moments later, Wang Chong strode out of the main gates, a gust of wind striking him in the face. It had gotten dark, and as Wang Chong raised his head, he could sense an unusual chill in the wind blowing from north to south.
“Hyah!”
Time was short, so Wang Chong quickly composed himself and boarded his carriage. The driver set the horses into motion, driving the carriage toward the Imperial Palace.
Wang Chong alone did not have the strength to resist the cold wave. He needed the full support of Li Heng and the Imperial Court.
It was a calm day in the empire, but it was a day that would forever be remembered in the history of the empire.
When Wang Chong entered the palace and divulged the truth of the great cold wave, Emperor Li Heng felt an unprecedented shock.
One hour later, countless eunuchs were dispatched to summon all the officials of the capital into the palace: King Song, Zhangchou Jianqiong, the Grand Preceptor, the Grand Tutor, the Six Ministers and their assistant ministers, the director of the Imperial Academy, the director of the Board of Astronomy, all the palace historians, and also the Yan Clan.
This was an unprecedented court session. For the period of a day and a night, all the officials were so busy that their feet hardly touched the ground and they barely had time to even eat or drink.
Only on the evening of the second day did they solemnly leave the Imperial Palace.
After this special court session, the entire empire was put into motion. Countless decrees and commands were sent to officials across the empire.
The tens of millions of tons of coal Wang Chong had extracted from Hengan, Yangquan, and the Shuo Province were placed under the escort of countless soldiers and distributed to the eleven circuits, three hundred and sixty provinces, and fifteen thousand, five hundred and fourteen counties of the Great Tang.
Besides the officials of the court, the power of the people, the great clans, and the merchants was also put into action.
Under the direction of the court, Arabian Kerosene and the clothes made from the wool and cotton Wang Chong had purchased were distributed by nearly ten million caravans to areas they were needed.
For this unprecedented cold wave, heat preservation was far and away the first priority.
Meanwhile, beyond the bustling cities, in the more remote circuits of Jiangnan East, Jiangnan West, Jiannan, Lingnan East, and Lingnan West, Wang Chong ordered all the large granaries he had constructed in these places to open their doors, mobilizing the various local garrisons to deliver grain to the various counties.
This was an operation of unprecedented scale, all of the resources of the Great Tang being mobilized. It was like the entire empire had been put on springs.
“Wang Chong, do you think that we can really weather this cold wave and continue the previous Emperor’s wish of ensuring the empire’s peace for many gener
ations?”
On the high walls of the palace, Li Heng and Wang Chong stood side by side, looking down worriedly at the capital.
After reading all the information regarding the cold wave, Li Heng found himself incapable of sleeping.
Everyone wanted to be Emperor for the supreme authority the position granted, with First Prince Li Ying even rebelling for it. Only someone upon the throne would understand that this power came with the heavy burden of responsibility.
“We will! We definitely will!” Wang Chong said, his eyes gleaming with determination.
The chill winds were getting colder.
Whoosh!
As the Great Tang busied away, doing all it could to deal with the imminent Great Ice Age, the terrifying cold wave began to make itself felt across the world, in Goguryeo and the Turkic Khaganates in the north, in Ü-Tsang, the Cong Mountains, from the western world to the northern regions.
The Goguryeo Empire.
The Hochon, Changjin, and Chasong Rivers were the three great rivers of Goguryeo, and they were known by Goguryeons as the mother rivers.
Cold winds howled out of the north, carrying flecks of ice and hailstones that carpeted the world in white.
The hailstones pinged and cracked loudly against the walls of Hwando.
Within Hwando, the majority of the soldiers that should have been vigilantly standing guard had retreated into the city, and the world was still.
Kaclack!
A soft crack came from the river. At some point, the surging flow of the river had begun to slow. A thin layer of ice had formed, and as the cold air continued to surge past, the layer of ice rapidly thickened and spread.
The Eastern Turkic Khaganate.
Twenty-some li east from the Shilka River was Chita.
This area on the northern border of the Eastern Turkic Khaganate was an extremely important pasture area. From a distance, one could see the numerous cows and sheep the shepherds had let out to pasture across the plains.
The livestock here were packed together. There were nearly one million cows and sheep, along with numerous herds of horses.
Once the mounted shepherds had finished pasturing their livestock, they would return to the nearby Shilka River to drink its waters. They would drive their livestock in the morning and return at dusk, a practice that had endured for centuries.
The plains were quiet and peaceful.
Rumble!
Suddenly, the ground shuddered, and a great turmoil arose from the distant north.
An old shepherd with a wrinkled forehead and wearing a cotton jacket, holding a long pole that he used to drive livestock, turned to a youth behind him and shouted.
“Wuluhache! Guhama!” (“What happened? Go and take a look!”)
The youth of twenty-some years of age hesitated a moment before urging his horse into a gallop. Suddenly—
Whoosh!
With a howl like the wailing of ten thousand ghosts, a storm erupted from the northern horizon and began to rush toward Chita.
The storm came with all the sound and fury of a stampede, the earth shuddering more and more as it approached.
The livestock seemed to sense something, and raised their heads to the north.
“Suolalu! Sayema!” (“A demon storm! Run!”)
The old shepherd turned ghastly pale, his lips trembling.
The other shepherds also turned pale, and they began to ride forward and try to herd the livestock and horses to the south. But how could moving such a large herd away from the storm be an easy task?
A few moments later, with a great rumble and deafening howl, the storm arrived. All the herds of Chita were engulfed in snow and hail.
The only thing that could be heard was the howling of the wind, and the vast whiteness robbed even the most experienced shepherds of their sense of direction, causing them to panic.
Baaa!
Mooo!
The sheep and cows cried out in the raging snowstorm as the temperature on the plains rapidly plunged to minus thirty degrees.
Hailstones as tough as rocks pelted down from the clouds.
The smallest of the hailstones was the size of a thumb, and the larger ones were the size of fists. One of the hailstones struck a horse, instantly caving in its skull.
Meanwhile, the fierce winds swept up several dozen sheep and hurled them into the sky!
After some time, the cold winds finally passed, moving farther south. Calm was finally restored to Chita, leaving only the bodies of livestock and an unending field of white.
At the same time…
On the Tibetan Plateau, tens of thousands of tents were flattened and buried by a blizzard.
In Arabia, crystalline sculptures of people in movement lined the streets, the bodies of those frozen to death.
And in the Western Turkic Khaganate…
From east to west, north to south, the entire continent was engulfed in ice and snow.
Meanwhile, in Youzhou…
Atop a high mountain post, thin flakes drifted down from the sky like goose feathers. Atop the mountain, a chubby figure extended a hand and watched as a thin snowflake drifted onto their palm. Crack! The fingers closed together, and a sinister smile slowly appeared on that seemingly kind and plump face.
“Congratulations, Your Excellency! Congratulations! The men in black have finally begun to move, and the cold wave has come early.”
Baizhen Tuoluo, his long eyebrows trembling, suddenly stepped forward and bowed to An Yaluoshan.
Zhao Kan bowed and excitedly said, “The cold wave has already moved south, and now, ice can be seen from Whitehead Mountain all the way to Ü-Tsang, and the temperature has plunged. In the Eastern Turkic Khaganate, several million livestock have already frozen to death! To deal with this cold wave, Ozmish Khagan has been in council with his advisors for five days straight!
“The opportunity Your Excellency has been waiting for has finally arrived.”
There was no faction that was not alarmed by this frozen calamity. At this moment, the only ones excited about all this were the people of Youzhou.
An Yaluoshan faintly smiled and asked, “What has Yeon Gaesomun said?”
“The three rivers of Goguryeo have all frozen. Earlier, Your Excellency told him that the end of days was coming and that a cold wave was imminent, and though he nodded along, in truth, he did not believe you. But now, he has no other choice but to believe. Never in the history of Goguryeo has the Hochon River frozen!
“Yeon Gaesomun has already sent a letter asking about an alliance and when our soldiers will deploy.”
Zhao Kan sniggered as he spoke.
Chapter 2119 - Youzhou! The Clouds of War Stir!
Chapter 2119: Youzhou! The Clouds of War Stir!
Translated by: Hypersheep325
Edited by: Michyrr
“Is that so?”
An Yaluoshan scoffed. Yeon Gaesomun was born rebellious and would never have yielded so easily to him. But now, he no longer had a choice.
Youzhou had discovered more than once that Yeon Gaesomun had sent soldiers far into the north to investigate the situation.
The ears disbelieved while the eyes saw the truth. The information Yeon Gaesomun found on his own would be far more detailed than the sparse words An Yaluoshan could offer, and only through these reports could he understand what the ‘great cold wave’ truly meant.
Thus, Yeon Gaesomun had no other choice.
“What about Ozmish Khagan? Is that old fox the same as always, not willing to relent?” An Yaluoshan said.
An Yaluoshan wasn’t worried about the Xi, the Khitans, or Goguryeo. His true concern was the nearby Ozmish and the Eastern Turkic Khaganate.
Youzhou and Goguryeo were adjacent to the Eastern Turkic Khaganate, but Ozmish Khagan had yet to give his agreement. An Yaluoshan needed the support of the Eastern Turkic Khaganate, as only then could An Yaluoshan form an iron triangle for Youzhou.
“Your Excellency, be at ease. Ozmish Khagan has already
agreed!” an extremely confident voice declared.
In a flash, everyone fell silent. Baizhen Tuoluo, Zhao Kan, the nearby Cui Qianyou, Tian Chengsi, Tian Qianzhen, and even An Yaluoshan himself turned to Gao Shang.
Ozmish Khagan had already agreed?
If they remembered correctly, none of them had yet seen a firm reply from Ozmish Khagan.
Youzhou and the Eastern Turkic Khaganate were so close that it would take only one day by horse to reach the tents of the Eastern Turks. This time would be even shorter for a messenger bird.
Given this distance, they should have known long ago if Ozmish Khagan had made a decision.
In truth, Ozmish Khagan’s stance had already been problematic during the Youzhou war.
At the time, An Yaluoshan had tried a variety of methods to get Ozmish Khagan to join Yeon Gaesomun in attacking the Andong Protectorate, but Ozmish Khagan refused to move. At the time, An Yaluoshan had also been wary of battle and been extremely uneasy, his only fear that Ozmish Khagan would suddenly strike at his rear.
And this ambiguous stance from Ozmish Khagan brought An Yaluoshan a lot of trouble during the Youzhou war.
Wang Chong had obtained much of his incriminating evidence from the Eastern Turkic Khaganate, and if An Yaluoshan had not been so cautious, he probably would have been done for.
Most importantly, even though An Yaluoshan knew that Wang Chong had his cunning methods to extract this information from Turkic nobility, he could not be sure if Ozmish Khagan had leaked any of this information.
It was easy to see just how difficult it was to deal with this man.
But now, Gao Shang was saying that Ozmish Khagan had agreed!
“Heh, Your Excellency, rest easy. This matter is within my calculations, and there will be no mistakes.”
Gao Shang seemed to know what they were all thinking, and he confidently chuckled, a wise light in his eyes.
It was a strategist’s duty to consider all possibilities and decide on victory from one thousand li away. While Ozmish Khagan was formidable, he was still a sovereign of a country. The circumstances of the Eastern Turkic Khaganate foreordained that he would not have much room to maneuver.