The Human Emperor c1-2382

by Huangfu Qi (皇甫奇)

  It had only been a short time since the Hyderabad ores had appeared.

  In such a short time, he would be able to construct probably the highest number of Wootz Steel swords in all the country, even the world.

  Before that powerful Mameluke army from his previous life had appeared, he had already taken the initiative. He already had the ability to create a small-scale Wootz Steel army of one thousand soldiers.

  If these one thousand soldiers were put in an army of tens of thousands, a hundred thousand, or hundreds of thousands, they would not pose much of a threat.

  But Wang Chong knew that if he gave these one thousand Wootz Steel weapons to an elite unit of cavalry, they could fully utilize the power of the Wootz Steel weapons and even alter the course of a battle.

  All the hard work he had put in since meeting Ablonodan and Arloja was finally about to bear fruit.

  "What's wrong?" Huang Qian-er asked Wang Chong.

  "It's nothing."

  Wang Chong gave a brilliant smile as he crumpled the letter in his hand. Yes, the Wang Clan and the Huang Clan's relationship was not the same as it was before. They were no longer so hostile, and the Huang Clan had even expressed its servitude.

  But there were still a few matters that Wang Chong did not want to tell Huang Qian-er. Until she truly gained his trust or she began to trust him, Wang Chong would still keep some secrets from her.

  Huang Qian-er's expression chilled. She snorted and unhappily turned around with a sweep of her sleeve, continuing her cultivation.

  Wang Chong had set aside a special area in the spirit vein for her to cultivate. By following Wang Chong, Huang Qian-er had also invisibly gained an extremely large benefit.

  Wang Chong smiled as he watched Huang Qian-er slowly vanish into the mists. He then turned around and went to another cultivation area.

  For Wang Chong, cultivating to Tier 1 of the True Martial realm was only the beginning. Now, borrowing the dense spiritual energy of the spirit vein, he could begin his other plan for the True Martial realm.

  Wang Chong's figure quickly vanished into the surging mists of the spirit vein.

  ……

  Flapflap!

  While Wang Chong was heading back to his cultivation in the spirit vein, in the capital, a black falcon was flapping its wings, shooting like an arrow into the Yao Residence.

  After a short while, an experienced steward dressed in black and carrying a letter hurried deep into the Yao Residence.

  There, the head of the Yao Clan, Yao Guangyi, was sitting still and upright. At his side sat a small and haughty old man with a goatee. He appeared to be some sort of strategist.

  When the steward walked in, Yao Guangyi was accompanying this old man in drinking tea.

  The steward froze for a moment before quickly lowering his head and walking up to Yao Guangyi's side. He whispered a few words in his ear and passed over the letter.

  Yao Guangyi took the letter. Just a glance was enough to cause his expression to instantly change.

  "What's wrong?"

  The elder had raised his head, an unhurried expression on his face.

  "Sir, there's news from the west. Apparently, that boy from the Wang Clan is having something transported!"

  Yao Guangyi quickly calmed himself down and promptly passed the letter over. When he spoke, his attitude was very respectful and he viewed this goateed old man with extreme reverence.

  As the head of the Yao Clan with the backing of Old Master Yao, Yao Guangyi's position could be described as extremely stable. In the capital, the number of people he treated with such respect was extremely small.

  Only the people from King Qi's side could make him show such respect.

  This was exactly the case here.

  This petite and ordinary-looking elder was precisely someone sent over by King Qi.

  In this period of time, whether in the Bureau of Military Personnel, the Bureau of Punishments, or the Imperial Court, King Qi's side had been suppressed by King Song and the Wang Clan. The people on his side had been banished from court or crowded out, and he was losing out in every area.

  King Qi was also beginning to wantonly recruit soldiers, snatching up talented individuals in preparation for a counterattack. And this goateed old man was an expert in King Qi's network, and one of the most important ones.

  Although the Yao Clan had an illustrious talent, Yao Guangyi knew that King Qi's ambitions had no limit. His ambition could never be satisfied with only the Yao Clan.

  And King Qi's personality would never allow him to treat the Yao Clan any differently.

  His grandfather had told him once that when dealing with King Qi, one could not feel the slightest bit arrogant. No matter what King Qi decided, who he sent, or what he suggested, the Yao Clan only needed to follow.

  Or else they would be heading on the path to disaster!

  Yao Guangyi had engraved these words into his mind.

  "Hyderabad ore?!!"

  The elder had only glanced at this letter before his calm expression vanished into smoke, a hint of shock appearing in his cold and sinister eyes.

  In the capital, King Song and King Qi were sworn enemies, and the Wang Clan was naturally involved in this fight.

  Wang Chong's Wootz Steel swords had been a secret at the start, and no one knew what they had been made from.

  But more than half a year had passed since then, and King Qi and the Yao Clan had spent a great deal of energy and money. Wang Chong's Wootz Steel weapons had long since ceased to be a secret.

  One Wootz Steel weapon could be sold for seventy to eighty thousand taels of gold, perhaps even a hundred thousand or two hundred thousand. This sort of enormous wealth was a terrible temptation, even to an Imperial Prince like King Qi, who had never cared much about money.

  The sudden revival of the Wang Clan was an enormous threat to King Qi, and the contributions from the Wootz Steel weapons and the enormous wealth they brought could not go unnoticed.

  Right now, practically everyone in the Imperial Army, from top to bottom, had a good opinion of the Wang Clan. Even hostile factions did not dare to offend the Wang Clan.

  The reason was those Wootz Steel weapons.

  "It's not that simple. This time, more than a thousand jun of Hyderabad ore is being transported!" Yao Guangyi sternly said.

  Although he had only glanced at the letter, Yao Guangyi had already seen with absolute clarity the critical information in the letter. This was practically an instinct that all strategic experts and powerful generals possessed.

  The goateed elder said nothing, but his heart was fiercely beating. After a long while, he gave a long sigh.

  "What a great fortune!"

  "Yes! A great fortune!" Yao Guangyi agreed.

  The two people in the room fell into a sudden silence. More than a thousand jun of ore… If one supposed that one jun could be exchanged for more than a hundred thousand taels of gold, this was an absolutely enormous sum.

  Let alone the elder, even Yao Guangyi was almost scared out of his wits when he saw the news.

  This was a hundred million taels of gold! This business being carried out by that boy from the Wang Clan deeply shocked even an experienced official of the Imperial Court like him.

  The Yao Clan was no poor, humble family, but they were truly inferior to this boy.

  After a long time, the elder broke the silence and said with an emotional expression, "We cannot miss out on such a great fortune!" It would go against the laws of heaven if they just let this fortune go.

  And besides, the Wang Clan was a sworn enemy of King Qi.

  "Yes!"

  Yao Guangyi gave a rare echo of support.

  The current Wang Clan was already hard enough to deal with, but if they received this massive fortune, even the Yao Clan would find it hard to compete.

  No matter what, they had to sabotage this venture of the Wang Clan's. They could not allow the ore to reach them.

  "We should quickly inform His Highness Ki
ng Qi…"

  Yao Guangyi gave a sideways look at the elder as he probed.

  Without even thinking, the goateed elder said, "There's no need. His Highness has numerous matters to deal with every day, and he is currently deeply vexed. We should not bother him with this matter. Otherwise, he might doubt our ability as subordinates. What say you, Lord Yao?"

  When receiving money from someone else, one had to help them take care of disasters. As subordinates, they had not currently achieved anything of merit. If they did not grasp this excellent opportunity, it would be too late to feel regret once it slipped away.

  Chapter 401: Framing!

  Chapter 401: Framing!

  Translated by: Hypersheep325

  Edited by: Michyrr

  There was no way that that the goateed elder could not understand what Yao Guangyi was thinking, so he had ultimately decided to work together with Yao Guangyi. If something really did happen that would result in a rebuke from King Qi, they would take the blame together.

  A strange look flashed through Yao Guangyi's eyes, but he very quickly calmed down.

  "Sir is correct."

  Yao Guangyi nodded his head. Although he wanted to probe into the elder's thoughts, the elder was right. They truly should be taking on this burden on King Qi's behalf.

  Moreover, this matter of one thousand jun of Hyderabad ore was extremely important. If the convoy were allowed to smoothly reach the capital, the Wang Clan's power would be redoubled, and the only recipient of the calamity would be the Yao Clan.

  And no one was more concerned about this than Yao Guangyi.

  "We have to send experts to intercept these goods as quickly as possible. Our greatest advantage right now is that the Wang Clan still doesn't know that we've already found out their secret. As long as we move fast enough, we can still be on time. But the convoy also has no small number of experts. All of them are great monks from Sindhu. To snatch the Hyderabad ore from them will not be easy."

  As he spoke, Yao Guangyi looked at the old man, his meaning obvious.

  A thousand jun of Hyderabad ore was no minor matter. The Sindhu side also clearly treated this matter with great importance.

  From their intelligence reports, more than twenty powerful great monks from Sindhu were guarding the Hyderabad ore, and many masters were among them.

  To snatch food from the mouths of the tigers that were the Sindhi monks was no easy task. It would not be possible without sufficient top-notch experts.

  This was no problem to Yao Guangyi. In terms of experts, no matter how many the Yao Residence had, it couldn't have more than King Qi. King Qi had been recruiting soldiers all this time and had a habit of recruiting experts. His residence had long ago become a great gathering of experts and talents.

  And King Qi himself was a supreme expert!

  The Yao Residence's experts were just a drop in the bucket to the King Qi Residence and not even worth a mention.

  For this matter, it was clearly better for the people of King Qi's side to step forward.

  "Hahaha, if General Yao is worried about this matter, let me handle it. I can get this matter settled!"

  With no need for another word from Yao Guangyi, the goateed elder heartily laughed and took charge of the matter. He stroked his beard with a proud expression on his face.

  "But Sir, the strength of those Sindhi monks cannot be underestimated. There are many of them, and their strength is at least at True Martial Tier 7, 8, or 9. There's even a Profound Martial Tier 1 expert with them. If we send normal experts, I'm afraid that we'll just be sending them to their deaths," Yao Guangyi kindly warned. He was elated to see the elder take charge of this matter, but this matter was also tied up with the Yao Clan.

  Yao Guangyi felt like he had to warn the elder about a few things.

  "Hahaha, rest easy, General Yao, it's just some monks at Tier 7, 8, and 9 of the True Martial realm. Even a Profound Martial realm expert isn't too big of a deal. This old man is highly valued by King Qi, so I'm able to mobilize a few experts."

  The goateed elder fiddled with his beard, a conceited look on his face.

  Yao Guangyi nodded slightly, not daring to look down on the old man. Those people who could gain the trust of King Qi naturally had to possess extraordinary qualities.

  "Since Sir has said so, this lowly Yao can rest easy. If possible, I hope that Sir will refrain from mobilizing the experts of the residence. The ambush earlier attracted the notice and displeasure of the Wang Clan and King Song. If we leak out any more information, not even His Majesty will be able to give any explanation," Yao Guangyi cautioned.

  The ambush Wang Chong had encountered on the official road and narrowly escaped with his life had taken place not too long ago. If King Qi and the Yao Clan did something that left behind even more clues, even the Sage Emperor would begin to show his displeasure.

  As a longtime court official, Yao Guangyi well understood that the Sage Emperor cared little for trifling matters, and could spare none of his attention for them.

  But some things could be done only once, and if one acted too excessively, even His Majesty could no longer ignore them.

  His Majesty only chose to ignore some things, but he was not actually deaf and mute, completely unaware of what was going on. Anyone who believed that His Majesty was really bewildered was the true fool.

  "General Yao, relax, I won't attract the notice of the Wang Clan or King Song!" The elder proudly said, waving away his concerns without even thinking. He was a steward in the King Qi Residence, so if he couldn't even do something like that, he would be wasting King Qi's trust.

  "Oh?"

  Yao Guangyi blinked as he felt surprise for the first time.

  "If you will forgive this lowly Yao for speaking too much, might I know where Sir will be inviting experts from?"

  The escort for this Hyderabad ore shipment needed at least experts of the Profound Martial realm to deal with. Experts at this level were so important that not even the Yao Clan could easily mobilize one.

  "Haha, General Yao, I won't hide it from you. I've met a few people along the road. Does General still remember that Iron Cloak Li near Longxi?" the elder asked, stroking his beard.

  "The Iron Cloak Bandits?"

  Yao Guangyi's eyes flashed. Yao Guangyi had a very deep impression of those Iron Cloak Bandits who had almost killed Wang Chong's group.

  Alas, they had failed in the final push, or else he wouldn't have to go through all these troubles now.

  "Does Sir know an individual like him?"

  Yao Guangyi immediately caught on.

  "Haha, as expected, General Yao, you have a fast reaction. It's no wonder King Qi looks highly upon you. Correct, I truly do know someone like that, though this person is much more formidable than the leader of the Iron Cloak Bandits. On the road to the Western Regions, this person fully deserves to be called the king of bandits. His cultivation reached the Profound Martial realm a long time ago and he has countless experts at his command. If this person steps forward, neither King Song nor the Wang Clan will be able to associate us with them, no matter how formidable they are."

  The goateed elder continued to fiddle with his beard, a shrewd look in his eyes.

  Yao Guangyi was astonished by these words. He finally realized that he had underestimated this seemingly frail elder.

  If he really did know this sort of person, they were undoubtedly the best candidate. The plan would be flawless.

  "If Sir has such a candidate in mind, then nothing could be better. As long as we can seize this ore, the Wang Clan will be dealt a mighty blow!"

  Yao Guangyi nodded his head as he spoke, his mind much more at ease.

  "Hehehe, this is no small fortune. Once the storm has passed, we can have the ore transported to the capital. If His Highness King Qi gets the help of this Hyderabad ore, it would be like giving a tiger wings. He will definitely value us even more."

  The goateed elder nodded as he spoke. This was his true goal.

 
; Yao Guangyi was dumbstruck, and then he gave a bitter smile.

  "Sir's idea is rather good, but I fear that it is not too realistic!"

  "Oh, is General Yao not moved? This is a hundred million taels gold here!"

  The elder furrowed his brow.

  "Ah, Sir, you've misunderstood my meaning."

  Yao Guangyi somewhat helplessly explained, "It's not that I don't want to use this ore, but even if we did get our hands on the ore, it would be useless. In this entire world, I'm afraid it's only that boy who can run that Wootz Steel business. And this business is exclusively his."

  Although they had already expended much effort, it was clear that this man before him did not have a deep understanding of the opponent facing the Yao Clan and King Qi.

  "General Yao, what do you mean? Are you saying that this Hyderabad ore can only be theirs, not ours? When the time comes, we can just lie and say that we bought it from Sindhu."

  The elder was somewhat discontent.

  "It's useless. The Hyderabad ore is that boy's exclusive business."

  With a bitter smile, Yao Guangyi revealed the agreement they had found in the Court of Judicial Review between the Wang Clan and Sindhu that allowed the Wang Clan to monopolize all the Hyderabad ore business in the Great Tang.

  The goateed elder was so flabbergasted that he couldn't speak for a few moments.

  Yao Guangyi explained, "Although that boy is young, he doesn't leave a single gap when doing business. Sir has not been involved in this business for long, so it's normal for you to not understand him. In the future, Sir will understand. If we look over the entire Wang Clan, Wang Yan, Wang Gengzhi1, is not even worth mentioning, and Wang Gen is too inflexible. The only person that can truly threaten us is that boy. If this wasn't so, how could we have failed in our last venture?"

  The elder was once more frozen. His time in King Qi's service was still rather short, so there were many matters that he did not understand as thoroughly as Yao Guangyi.

  He had originally believed that his opponents were the Wang Clan and King Song, but it now seemed that reality was differing from his expectations.