The Human Emperor c1-2382

by Huangfu Qi (皇甫奇)

  All thirty thousand Yeluohe had been mobilized. With this solid advantage on his side, how could An Lushan give up so easily?!

  But just as this thought passed through An Lushan’s mind…

  Creee!

  With a piercing whistle, giant kerosene bombs plummeted from the skies and crashed down in front of the Yeluohe. A fire arrow shot out from the distance, and a moment later, a raging sea of flames appeared on the battlefield, some of the flames rising more than one hundred feet into the air. Several dozen Yeluohe were even struck by kerosene bombs and instantly set ablaze.

  Neigh!

  The warhorses of the Yeluohe instantly backed away, and even their riders showed a rare tinge of fear.

  “As expected, they really are afraid of fire!”

  From the walls, Chen Burang slowly relaxed the grip on his bow, a look of pleasant surprise in his eyes.

  Launching the kerosene bombs had been an idea he had thought up on the spur of the moment. The Yeluohe had an extremely cold nature, and when one fought with them, a pure cold energy would penetrate one’s body. Seizing this point, Chen Burang had called upon the catapults.

  It had just been a random idea, but it seemed much more effective than he had anticipated.

  Chapter 2214 - Victory in the First Battle!

  Chapter 2214: Victory in the First Battle!

  Translated by: Hypersheep325

  Edited by: Michyrr

  “Enough! Let them go!”

  Just when an unwilling An Lushan was going to push the issue, a majestic voice came from overhead. Looking up in shock, he saw Genesis Supreme, wearing his divine armor, slowly descending from the heavens.

  He didn’t appear injured, but his aura was lacking in ferocity and dominance, and his eyes were no longer as bright or sharp. It was clear that the battle against Wang Chong had been very taxing on Genesis Supreme.

  Bang!

  With the pressure off for a brief moment, the Tang army finished retreating, creating distance between it and the Yeluohe. A few moments later, the massive metal gate slammed down, shutting off access to the steel fortress.

  Bwoooom!

  Though An Lushan was extremely unwilling, he had no other option than to sound the horn for retreat. Corpses were piled up on the battlefield, together with abandoned weapons and standards, and the rivers of blood that flowed freely across the earth quickly froze solid.

  “Let them struggle on for a little longer. Come with me. I have something to discuss with you!”

  With these words, Genesis Supreme headed off to the north.

  Behind him, the alliance began to clean up the battlefield.

  On the other end, at the top of the steel fortress, Wang Chong watched. Behind him, Abusi, Zhang Shougui, and Zhangchou Jianqiong gathered.

  Zhangchou Jianqiong broke the silence. “Wang Chong, what’s our next step?”

  This battle was far fiercer than envisioned. They had suffered shocking losses, and even Great Generals like them were sporting injuries. However, their greatest concern was what Wang Chong’s next order would be.

  In this unprecedented war of empires, Wang Chong was the spiritual leader of the Great Tang, the heart of the empire. Regardless of how bad their losses were, so long as Wang Chong stood before them, they would never lose direction, and the Great Tang would never be defeated!

  “We’ll end the battle for now. They shouldn’t have the strength to attack in the short term. In this period, strengthen the defenses and reinforce the formation underground. We can’t allow any mistakes!” Wang Chong sternly ordered without turning his head.

  Everyone was energized by his words.

  “Have that taken care of at once!” Zhangchou Jianqiong turned around and called over a messenger, who soon departed with the orders.

  After saying this, Wang Chong proceeded to ignore them, and slowly raised his head to the sky, his dark eyes flashing with concern.

  The battle was over, but Wang Chong knew that the war was just beginning. If he recalled correctly, that unprecedented blizzard from his memories was about to descend.

  The Turkic steppe to the north had been completely sealed in ice, and both the Western and Eastern Turkic Khaganates had been driven out of their homes. This was not some coincidence, nor was the Great Tang the sole survivor. The great blizzard to come—or perhaps one could call it the Great Ice Age—would be even more frightening than the war.

  Even though he had made many plans, he still didn’t know if they would be effective.

  “Pass on my order! Prepare to execute the Hibernation Plan!” Wang Chong suddenly said.

  “In addition, write a letter to the capital informing His Majesty and the Imperial Court that the event I spoke to them about will be taking place soon. Ten-some days at most!”

  “Yes!”

  Zhang Que immediately jumped down from the top of the fortress and vanished into the distance.

  Whoosh!

  A gust of cold wind blew past, and Wang Chong disappeared.

  A bloody scent permeated through the air.

  At night, Crown Prince’s Junior Guardian Wang Zhongsi returned with a force of cavalry, detouring through the Eastern Turkic steppe to arrive at the gate on the other side of the fortress. With this, the first battle of this war of empires came to an end.

  But for those officials and common folk who had been waiting for news all day, the period of time before they received it was one of long suffering.

  Once the first battle was over and the news was brought to the capital, all of society was elated.

  Countless announcements were posted on the streets and alleys to soothe the hearts of the people.

  “Wonderful!”

  Within Taiji Palace, Li Heng had a ruddy complexion as he excitedly slapped the arms of his throne.

  With the first battle over, Li Heng finally relaxed.

  Though he knew that Wang Chong wouldn’t disappoint him, deep down, Li Heng still couldn’t help but feel worried and restless.

  Even though the Great Tang had emerged victorious in all of its recent wars, it had always been against a foe that outnumbered them by many times, with the Great Tang surrounded by perils on all sides.

  Moreover, the countries of the northeast had mobilized all of their power in this assault on the Great Tang, carrying a do-or-die attitude. Such a thing had never happened before in the history of the Great Tang.

  Li Jingzhong saw Li Heng’s entire body relax, and he immediately issued orders to a palace attendant.

  “Serve the meal, serve the meal! Hurry and serve His Majesty’s dinner!”

  With the Great Tang’s fate on the line in the northeast, Li Heng had been unable to sleep or eat. He had grown much thinner, as Li Jingzhong was well aware, and he could not help but be worried.

  “Yes!”

  The palace attendant quickly departed. Meanwhile, the officials in the hall all tactfully lowered their heads, pretending not to hear.

  Taiji Palace was the political center of the empire and had a hallowed status. But that was then and this was now. All of the officials were worried over Li Heng’s gradually thinning figure.

  The Grand Preceptor stepped forward and said, “Your Majesty, it’s not time to relax just yet. Only the first battle has ended, not the entire war. Moreover, those thirty thousand Yeluohe of Youzhou remain a threat!”

  To pour a bucket of cold water on their heads when everyone was getting complacent was his duty.

  At least in his view, it was not time to relax.

  As the Grand Preceptor spoke, the atmosphere turned oppressive once more.

  All of the Great Tang’s armies had supervisors, and the reports of what was going on in the northeast had come from the army supervisors.

  Dealing a heavy blow to enemy morale and inflicting massive losses on them was truly invigorating news, but the reports from the northeast had also brought up the mysterious Yeluohe.

  Wang Chong’s Wushang Cavalry were one of the strongest forces in
the world, but their losses in this battle had been as much as eight thousand.

  Moreover, the army supervisor had written, ‘The traitor’s forces were powerful. If the Wushang Cavalry had not arrived at the last moment, a defeat might have taken place in the northeast on this day.’

  The situation in the northeast was still grim, and this truly wasn’t the time to relax.

  Li Heng turned to Minister of War Cao Yanqiu. “Minister Cao, what is the situation in the northeast? How about the supply lines?”

  Cao Yanqiu lowered his head and respectfully replied, “Your Majesty, as planned, all the weapons, supplies, and warm clothes have been delivered to the fortress in the northeast!”

  After a few moments of silence, Li Heng suddenly frowned.

  “It’s not enough!

  “Inform the palace to halve the expenses again and use the savings to support the front line. In addition, send half of the money from the palace treasury to the front line.”

  “Your Majesty, this…”

  The others said nothing, but Li Jingzhong appeared concerned.

  The imperial treasury was divided into a national treasury and a palace treasury. The so-called palace treasury was really the Emperor’s personal treasury.

  An Emperor needed the presence of an Emperor. The rear palace had many eunuchs, maids, and consorts, and the expenses for them were taken from the palace treasury, not the national treasury.

  Moreover, the various silk robes and precious utensils of gold and silver that the Emperor awarded to officials were also paid for by the palace treasury.

  All of these had a reason for existence.

  In addition, half of the treasury didn’t seem like much, but in reality, the palace had already provided seventy percent of its treasury in the earlier preparations. There was not much money left, and the palace was barely keeping up with its day-to-day expenses already. If this amount were halved again…

  “Do as I say!” Li Heng firmly declared, seeming to know what Li Jingzhong was thinking.

  “Yes, Your Majesty!”

  Li Jingzhong internally sighed as he replied.

  A voice came from outside. “Reporting! Your Majesty, the King of Foreign Lands has sent an urgent letter!”

  A moment later, a Golden Guard rushed inside.

  Everyone in the hall instantly turned to look.

  “Bring it up!”

  Li Heng’s eyes brightened as he stood up and began to walk over to the Golden Guard.

  Taking the letter from the Golden Guard, he glanced at the familiar seal and opened the letter, but upon glancing at its contents, his face sank.

  “The Great Ice Age… so soon!”

  Li Heng’s heart sank, his expression turning grim.

  ……

  In the distant northeast, in a large military tent, the Khitan King, Ozmish Khagan, Yeon Gaesomun, An Lushan, and his various Youzhou generals had gathered. At the center of the tent stood Genesis Supreme and his attending Divine Lords.

  The other countries didn’t know much about Genesis Supreme, but this wasn’t much of a problem. Genesis Supreme had simply killed a few people to quickly earn the obedience of the sovereigns.

  “Milord, what should we do now?”

  In the giant tent, An Lushan was the first to break the silence, and everyone stared at Genesis Supreme.

  Genesis Supreme waved his hand and sternly said, “There’s no rush! We will put a pause on the war for now.”

  Chapter 2215 - Genesis Supreme’s Strategy!

  Chapter 2215: Genesis Supreme’s Strategy!

  Translated by: Hypersheep325

  Edited by: Michyrr

  “But won’t this be giving up a great opportunity?!”

  An Lushan frowned, and the other Youzhou generals fell silent.

  An Lushan meant that the enemy was right in front of them, so it would naturally be best to destroy them as quickly as possible.

  In truth, if Genesis Supreme hadn’t stopped him, he would have long ago ordered the Yeluohe to pursue.

  While part of this was because he was somewhat apprehensive of Wang Chong’s strength, in truth, An Lushan still didn’t know the details of Genesis Supreme’s strategy.

  And while the Khitan King and the other sovereigns said nothing, their eyes communicated the same meaning.

  “Relax. They can’t run!”

  Seeming to know what everyone was thinking, Genesis Supreme placed his hands behind his back, his expression becoming even more proud and arrogant.

  “I don’t care about the others, but that brat must die!”

  Genesis Supreme’s body radiated concentrated killing intent that made the sovereigns tremble in fear and back away.

  But An Lushan was delighted. So long as Genesis Supreme wanted to kill Wang Chong, then they shared the same goal.

  Genesis Supreme paused before saying, “But before this, there is no harm in waiting a while. This god has already taken care of everything. In another ten-some days, the cold wave will descend. That will be our best opportunity.”

  Whoosh!

  The mention of the cold wave had everyone besides An Lushan’s group paling. Ozmish Khagan, the Khitan King, and the Xi Queen became particularly restless.

  They had witnessed the power of the cold wave, and they had been driven from their homes by it.

  If the cold wave moved southward and the other countries had nowhere to hide, many of their subjects would freeze to death.

  Gao Shang took a few steps forward, scanned the audience, and confidently said, “Everyone, be at ease. Since Venerable Genesis Supreme has said so, he has already made preparations!”

  Genesis Supreme slightly frowned as he shot a glance at Gao Shang, but he did not deny it.

  “Correct. Starting from now, and even after the cold wave descends, Youzhou will be the only place in the world unaffected by the cold wave.”

  Genesis Supreme raised his head and said, “All of you, restrain your soldiers. In addition, you can gather your people in this place. So long as they do not leave Youzhou, they will be perfectly fine!”

  The entirety of Youzhou?

  Everyone was deeply shaken by this news.

  The cold wave was so terrifying that none of them wanted to recall it. Moreover, when the nest overturned, no egg would escape unscathed. They had all believed that they would be confronting a new disaster, but Genesis Supreme had just added another twist to this tale.

  But how big was Youzhou?

  How could such a large region avoid disaster?

  They truly found it difficult to imagine just how this man called Genesis Supreme had managed to do it.

  In addition, Genesis Supreme seemed to have a deep understanding of the cold wave, and could even say when the cold wave would descend and have a plan to deal with it. It seemed indescribably bizarre.

  It felt as if Genesis Supreme was inextricably connected to the cold wave.

  And An Lushan had an extremely close relationship to Genesis Supreme.

  They didn’t dare to continue down this line of thought, but they all silently glanced at each other.

  “Many thanks, Milord!”

  Their many thoughts and conjectures condensed into a simple sentence. Within the hall, whether it was Ozmish Khagan or Yeon Gaesomun, these mighty sovereigns of the world chose to yield to reality and lower their heads.

  ……

  Northward past the frozen steppe, past Lake Baikal, and all the way to the extremities of the north, a snowstorm raged, the snow and ice so thick that everything from heaven to earth was a world of white.

  Howling winds that cut as sharply as blades tore through the land.

  This bitterly cold weather had been around for a very long time, ever since the descent of the cold wave.

  In front of the power of nature, no Ice Element expert could compare, no matter how formidable they were.

  At this time, even a Great General expert attempting to venture into the northern regions would meet death.

/>   It seemed like the snowstorm would continue for eternity.

  Rumble!

  Suddenly, the earth began to shudder, and far to the north, at the limits of the storm, thunder boomed, and even the fabric of space trembled.

  A point in spacetime seemed to collapse, and the winds howled with ten times their previous intensity. At the same time, a cold wave that was even colder than the previous cold wave crossed through spacetime.

  Whoosh!

  A violent wind blew through an arctic forest, and those skyscraping trees that had already been turned into ice statues snapped and burst into countless ice crystals.

  This new and heaven-engulfing cold wave moved as quickly as lightning, sweeping from north to south.

  Boom! Boom! Boom! It sounded as if a stampede of millions of horses was running across the earth.

  Crack! Crack! A thick layer of ice appeared on the white mantle of snow, rapidly spreading toward the south.

  A few moments later, the lands of the far north were turned into a land sealed in ice.

  Farther south, the former pastures of the Western and Eastern Turkic Khaganates were overrun by violent snowstorms. The cold wave stopped for a few moments before continuing to push southward.

  ……

  After Wang Chong’s letter arrived in the capital, all of the Central Plains was mobilized. Each day, officials of all ranks mobilized to organize local governments and families, digging cellars in which food and supplies to resist the cold could be stored.

  Even the prefectural armies and the Imperial Army joined the effort.

  Underground cellars!

  In the Battle of Khorasan, that unprecedented blizzard had proved that this method of resisting the cold was effective. While underground cellars would also suffer from cold, the difference compared to the buildings outside was one of several dozen degrees.

  This was the final hope!

  Under the direction of the Imperial Court, countless cellars of various sizes were excavated across the realm.

  In addition, though the weather was cold, the various households had begun preparing dried goods some time ago. The sight of dried pieces of meat hanging from the eaves had become commonplace across the Central Plains.