The Human Emperor c1-2382

by Huangfu Qi (皇甫奇)

  On top of that, he thought that after a long imprisonment, Wang Chong would surely miss his family members a lot. Thus, he decided to grant Wang Chong some time to catch up with them before paying a visit.

  Eventually, when he thought that it was about time, he went over to the Wang Family Residence. But to his surprise, Wang Chong wasn’t around, and not even his family members knew where he went.

  Initially, King Song didn’t pay the matter any heed, thinking that Wang Chong should return by sunset. However, when the moon rose and the stars appeared, and Wang Chong still hadn’t returned yet, he decided to instruct Lu Ting to find him.

  After listening to Lu Ting’s explanation, Wang Chong knew that he couldn’t really blame him for this matter. Having been locked up for three months, he was excited to meet Su Zhengchen again and so he ended up playing for a little longer than usual. He didn’t think that this sudden whim of his would bring Lu Ting here.

  Perhaps, it was just as Su Zhengchen had put it. Their fates had simply come to an end. Their months of games were destined to end here today.

  “Lu Ting, how did you know that I’m in the Ghost Tree District?”

  Wang Chong frowned.

  “Hehe, isn’t that easy? I just have to liaise with the gangsters in the capital. With almost a thousand person scouring through the capital for you, how could I not find you?”

  Lu Ting smiled. However, he seemed to have realised something toward the end of his sentence, and his expression to change.

  “It seems like you finally understand. The reason why Su gong has kept a low profile throughout these years is because he doesn’t want anyone to learn of his existence. Given the number of gangsters you’ve mobilised for this matter, perhaps by tomorrow, news of Su gong being alive would spread throughout the capital. Countless people will pay the Su Residence a visit.”

  Wang Chong said calmly.

  Looking at the numerous figures in the surroundings, Lu Ting’s face paled.

  Su gong had always been a figure of respect for him, his father, as well as those of the previous generation. Back then, during Taizong’s era, the other party was a deity-like figure in the entire Central Plains. All those who had either lived through that era or heard of his exploits would definitely have a special place for him in their hearts.

  Their heartfelt respect for him impelled them to want the best for him. Thus, none of them wished for his peace to be disturbed.

  “Wait a moment!”

  Amidst the night, Lu Ting suddenly turned around and walked toward the gangsters with a grim expression on his face. Wang Chong knew what he was going to do and he had no intentions of stopping him.

  Even so, it was probably already too late.

  As expected, a moment later, Lu Ting returned with a defeated look. He got into the carriage along with Wang Chong, and both of them tacitly chose not to mention Su Zhengchen.

  “Hahaha, Wang Chong, welcome back!”

  Wang Chong met King Song in the Wang Family Residence. He seemed to have been seated here for quite some time and upon seeing Wang Chong, he spread open his arms and gave him a big hug.

  King Song’s admiration and fondness for Wang Chong came from the depths of his heart. Wang Chong’s spirits lifted significantly as he accepted King Song’s passionate welcome.

  “Your Highness, congratulations on your reinstatement to the royal court!”

  Clasping his fist, Wang Chong chuckled.

  At King Song’s position, there was no further room for promotion. The position of a king was already the highest one could reach, any further promotion would necessitate a coup d’état

  Thus, being reinstated was a joyous occasion in itself, equivalent of an ordinary civilian rising to the position of a noble or minister.

  “Hahaha, if not for you, how could I have possibly returned to the royal court, lest be said, be reinstated in both the Bureau of Military Personnel and the Bureau of Punishments?”

  King Song didn’t bother hiding the fondness and admiration in his gaze. If not for Wang Chong’s timely warning allowing him to notice the peculiarity in Consort Taizhen’s matter, he, along with many officials of the royal court, would have most likely been demoted and exiled.

  Wang Chong might only be fifteen, but he was the true meritorious subject behind King Song as to his escape from this crisis and his reinstatement.

  And toward meritorious subjects, King Song would never be stingy in his bestowments.

  “Wang Chong, you’ve done me a great favor this time. Tell me, what kind of rewards do you want? No matter your request, I’ll accede to it.’

  In a happy mood, King Song spoke magnanimously.

  “Your Highness, thank you for your generosity. However, I’ve nothing that I desire at the moment.”

  Wang Chong shook his head. It was not in his character to demand rewards for his contribution.

  “Hahaha. Even though you don’t want it, I insist on the matter. Men, bring me the ‘White-hoofed Shadow’!”

  King Song suddenly shouted.

  “White-hoofed Shadow?”

  Before Wang Chong could register what was said, he heard the faint neighing of a horse from the stable near the courtyard. It sounded a little immature, and there was a slight metallic edge to it. Just through its call, Wang Chong could already tell that it was different from ordinary horses.

  “A colt!”

  Wang Chong was both surprised and delighted. He immediately understood what King Song wanted to gift him. It was probably a colt, and it seemed to be a breed of war steed at that.

  The importance of a good steed on the battlefield wouldn’t pale to that of a Wootz steel sword.

  Neighhhh!

  A huge cloud of dust rose in the courtyard. Amidst the dust, a dashing colt with lush indigo fur galloped over.

  As it galloped over, the first thing that instantaneously caught Wang Chong’s eye was its white hoofs. They made it look as though the colt was galloping in the air, granting it an air of nobility.

  Wang Chong immediately fell in love with this colt.

  The young colt stopped inside the courtyard. It was led by a stableman whose body was completely concealed from head to toe in a manner such that only his eyes were visible.

  “This is an imperial steed raised in the palace. It’s a crossbreed between the Snow Steed of the great snowy mountains and the White-hoofed Shadow of the Central Plains. There is a very limited number of them, and the experts of the royal palace have been grooming them carefully. It takes a lot of effort for even a single colt to be successfully groomed.”

  “This kind of imperial steed is different from regular horses in the sense that it possesses intelligence. It’ll acknowledge anyone who feeds it for an entire month as its owner, and it would, in turn, serve him loyally for life. Thus, when the stablemen in the palace fed them, their bodies and faces had to be carefully concealed to prevent the colts from seeing their appearances.”

  King Song explained.

  “Once the White-hoofed Shadow grows up, it’ll gain incomparable strength along with having lightning quick movements. However, this steed isn’t just an ordinary White-hoofed Shadow. Men!”

  King Song beckoned to the men outside.

  Soon, two guards of the King Song Residence carried a massive metal bowl over. The metal plate was filled with a chi deep of water.

  Clearly, they had prepared this tool beforehand.

  The stableman led the colt to the massive bowl of water, and in the very next instant, right before Wang Chong’s shocked gaze, the colt stepped forward and stood on the surface of the water.

  Tiny, round ripples formed around its hooves, adding a stroke of gallantry to it.

  “How is this possible?”

  Wang Chong was dumbstruck.

  The onlooking Wang family members were also equally shocked. This colt was definitely of high quality, but no one expected it to be able to stand on water as though it was solid land.

  This was completely in
conceivable.

  “This is the White-hoofed Steed that the royal palace raised. It’s capable of treading water to cross rivers. It only gained this ability after several generations of cross-breeding by the experts within the royal palace. Perhaps, you might discover even more incredible feats it is capable of in the future. How about it, do you like my present?”

  King Song flung his sleeves gleefully.

  “I like it, I really do!”

  Wang Chong hurriedly nodded his head. You must be jesting! He would be a fool if he rejected such a top-quality steed! Such a good steed definitely numbered in only a handful throughout the entire world.

  Back then, when Wang Chong became the Grand Marshal of the Central Plains, all of these gallant steeds had already died out.

  Thus, despite his noble position, Wang Chong remained unfated with this kind of top-quality steeds.

  As such, Wang Chong was truly overjoyed by his gift.

  A colt is a young horse.

  The White-hoofed Shadow is actually a real horse in history. (Taken from Baidu, though I don’t think it can float on water)

  There are Six Great Horses in China’s history, and it’s one of them.

  The White-hoofed Shadow was ridden on by Li Shimin (Taizong) and Xue Rengao.

  Generally, many people think that it’s called White-hoofed Shadow because of its white hoofs and black body. (I’m not too sure why the story described this steed as having purple fur, but it did state that it was a cross-breed.)

  Actually, there’s another interpretation to its name.

  In hanyupinyin, it’s is Baiti Wu.

  A scholar once analyzed the matter and felt that Baiti might be an adaptation of the word ‘bota’ from the Turk.

  Bota has the meaning of a young Khan in reference to the greatness of the steed.

  Thus, it could also be called Bota Shadow.

  Chapter 182: Iron Meteorites on the Islands Overseas!

  “Hahaha, good steed, truly a fine steed!”

  Wang Chong commented in delight.

  Since King Song had chosen to gift it to him, Wang Chong didn’t stand on ceremonies. He walked over and took the ‘White-hoofed Shadow’s’ reins from the stableman.

  Wang Chong had never raised a horse before, but he knew that good horses had to be raised from young, and they had to be treated with utmost care and concern.

  Only then would one be able to sync one’s thoughts with one’s own horse. This was a valuable trait in the battlefield, and it would help one slaughter enemies, as well as to escape from a difficult situation.

  Wang Chong led the colt down the bowl of water and stroked it. He could feel the water flowing down the White-hoofed Shadow’s coat. It felt as though not a single drop of water would stick to it, and with a sweep, all water would immediately slide off.

  “Gongzi, feed it these beans, and it’ll acknowledge you as its master.”

  The stableman said as he took out a bag of yellow beans from his waist. Wang Chong took it and fed the White-hoofed Shadow. As expected, after eating the beans, the gaze directed toward Wang Chong grew softer and more intimate. It even stroked Wang Chong’s chest with its head.

  Having bathed in blood for several decades, Wang Chong thought of his war steed as a part of him. Toward this colt, he instinctively felt intimate.

  Stroking its silky coat, Wang Chong felt as though he had found back the soul of a warrior within him from his previous life, and an urge to howl welled up in his chest.

  However, it was fortunate that Wang Chong held it in especially since King Song was still here.

  “Hehe, raising a good spirit steed isn’t easy. You’ll have to massage it well to loosen its bones and muscles constantly from now onward. Other than that, you must also use Origin Energy to open up its meridians. I’ve gotten a cultivation technique specially prepared for spirit steeds from the royal palace for you. It’ll help to raise its strength, speed, and endurance. Take it!”

  With a flick of his fingers, a piece of white paper around the size of a palm flew toward Wang Chong.

  “Thank you, Your Highness!”

  Wang Chong chuckled as he caught hold of the paper. Even though it was just a small piece of paper, he knew that its value wasn’t inferior to the White-hoofed Shadow in any way.

  “Right, Your Highness, I’ve something to give you.”

  Wang Chong suddenly remembered something and he said.

  “Oh? What is it?”

  King Song’s interest was piqued.

  Wang Chong didn’t say a thing. He led the colt into the study and took out the wooden box that Yang Zhao gave him earlier today.

  “This is… King Qi’s letters! So Consort Taizhen is really helping me!”

  Looking at the letters in the box, King Song fell into contemplation.

  It was due to Consort Taizhen that King Song ‘fell out of favor’ previously. Yet, the reason why he was reinstated was also because of her. This left King Song with a bizarre feeling inside.

  “Un, Yang Zhao gave these letters to me. This is probably the meaning behind those letters as well.”

  Wang Chong nodded gravely.

  In truth, Yang Zhao’s motive of giving these letters to Wang Chong was to have him pass them on to King Song.

  “Hehe, regardless of the truth, at least Consort Taizhen chose to side with us instead of with King Qi and the Yao Clan. This should be beneficial to us, right?”

  King Song chuckled as he folded the letters and kept them. At the same time, an idea appeared in his mind.

  …

  The night gradually grew deep, but the bustle in the Wang Clan didn’t die down. If anything, it seemed to be growing more and more lively. Other than Wang Chong’s little uncle who had to return to Mountain Tianzhu, and the old master and old madam in the Four Quarters Embassy, all Wang Clan members who could afford to be present were all here.

  The Song and Wang Clan had several generations of fellowship behind them. Since they had missed one another in the day, naturally, they couldn’t miss such a huge affair in the night.

  Together with King Song, Lu Ting, and the old butler, the whole group of people sat together around four large tables placed together. There were fifty to sixty dishes placed all over, and everyone was eating delightfully.

  For the past few months, this was the happiest meal Wang Chong had.

  “Your Highness, do you remember the matter you promised me before I was locked in the imperial prison?”

  When the night banquet came to an end and King Song was about to leave, Wang Chong suddenly asked.

  “Hehe, of course I do. Speak, I’ll agree to your request no matter what it is.”

  King Song chuckled heartily.

  Wang Chong was currently the most outstanding offspring of both the Song and Wang Clan, as well as the future ‘military advisor’ that King Song regarded highly. After the Consort Taizhen incident, King Song already possessed no doubts about Wang Chong’s capability.

  “I hope that Your Highness can send my big brother, Wang Fu, to the southwest of Great Tang. If possible, deploy my father along with him.”

  With a lowered head, Wang Chong asked gravely.

  Amidst the night, the surrounding suddenly grew silent, and even the call of the cicadas seemed to have vanished. Other than Wang Chong and King Song, there was no one else in the area.

  “Why?”

  Taken aback, King Song stared at Wang Chong in astonishment. He didn’t think that Wang Chong would bring up such a request.

  “Is this your big brother’s intention?”

  King Song’s first reaction was that Wang Fu might have made a request of Wang Chong to be dispatched to the southwest.

  “That’s not it!”

  Lamentation seemed to linger in the air as Wang Chong shook his head. “I hope that Your Highness can keep this matter a secret from my big brother.”

  Currently, the eyes of the empire were all fixated on the northern Yin Mountains, the Eastern and Western Tu
rkic Khaganate who were growing stronger by the day, Zhang Shougui and the Eastern Protectorate Manor, and Go Seonji and the Western Protectorate Manor.

  There were the main battlefronts of the empire under present circumstances.

  But Wang Chong knew that the place where the empire would suffer the most tragic defeat was in the southwest, not the north.

  That battle would shake the entire empire’s foundation! Its effects would continue to linger for the next few decades to come.

  Wang Chong did not know whether he could prevent this battle, so all he could do was to try his best to make preparations for it.

  Wang Chong felt regretful that he wasn’t able to participate in this war in his previous life and devote his albeit limited strength to protecting Great Tang.

  Thus, he was determined not to miss it in this life.

  “Wang Chong, you truly baffle me.”

  Seeing that Wang Chong was unwilling to speak any further, King Song could only shake his head. If it was anyone else who had raised such a bizarre request, he would have ignored it outright.

  But Wang Chong was different.

  In the past few months of interacting with him, what that had left the deepest impression on King Song was Wang Chong’s extraordinary line of thoughts and foresight. The very act of getting Consort Taizhen to speak up for him so that he could reinstate his official was not something anyone would have thought possible.

  Yet, Wang Chong thought of it, and even more incredibly, he succeeded in realizing it.

  King Song didn’t dare to use common sense to gauge Wang Chong’s requests anymore.

  “… Rest assured, I’ll do it for you. If I redeploy them using the name of the Bureau of Military Personnel, your big brother won’t get suspicious. However, your big brother has been wanting to fight in the battlefield. Aren’t you afraid of him getting angry when he learns that you’re the one who deployed him to the southwest?”

  King Song joked.

  To attempt to deploy his own big brother elsewhere, Wang Chong was truly bold.

  “There’s a war waiting for him in the southwest.”