The Human Emperor c1-2382

by Huangfu Qi (皇甫奇)

  Wang Chong's words were finally working.

  "Your Highness, you have nowhere left to retreat. Only by pressing forward and giving it your all will you have a sliver of hope! This will be your only chance," Wang Chong said.

  "But if he does this, His Highness really will become everyone's target!" Li Jingzhong said nervously. "His Highness has no backer in the palace, so it's impossible for him to defend against the other princes. If his performance is too dazzling, the other princes will want to get rid of him even more."

  Chapter 411: The First Prince of ü-Tsang

  Chapter 411: The First Prince of Ü-Tsang

  Translated by: Hypersheep325

  Edited by: Michyrr

  Wang Chong couldn't help but shoot another glance at Li Jingzhong. Although this fellow was sinister and crafty, his words here were not completely unreasonable.

  "For this matter, I can find some way to get you in touch with Consort Taizhen. With her help, the other princes won't dare touch you for a while. But all this will have to wait until you get through this trial," Wang Chong said.

  The name 'Consort Taizhen' energized both Li Heng and Li Jingzhong, and neither looked as worried.

  In the Regional Commanders incident, the Wang Clan and Consort Taizhen were sworn enemies. They had known that the relationship between them had somewhat recovered, but they had never expected that Wang Chong would have means of mobilizing Consort Taizhen.

  Li Jingzhong intently asked, "Young Master Chong, can you have Consort Taizhen appear…"

  Wang Chong shook his head, interrupting Li Jingzhong's question. He was acquainted with Consort Taizhen, but they were only acquaintances. With Consort Taizhen's status, he could not randomly decide what she did.

  Especially now!

  Time was short and there was not much time to think. Wang Chong talked with Li Heng for a little longer, and then Li Heng and Li Jingzhong left.

  I hope that they can succeed.

  As he watched Li Heng and his servant ride away, a hint of concern glimmered in Wang Chong's eyes. He had done everything he could. He had too little time to do anything else.

  Whether or not Li Heng could succeed was a complete unknown.

  "That person… is a prince of the imperial clan?"

  Someone spoke from the side. At some point, Huang Qian-er had walked over.

  "How did you find out?"

  Wang Chong blinked. Huang Qian-er was still at the True Martial realm. She shouldn't have been able to hear anything at that distance.

  "Hmph, you think I was eavesdropping?"

  Huang Qian-er only needed to see the look in Wang Chong's eyes to know what he was thinking. She unhappily snorted and coldly turned away.

  "…It's how he walks! Although you didn't tell me, do you think I couldn't see it? Only the princes and princesses in the palace walk like that!"

  The atmosphere suddenly became a little stiff. A gentle breeze blew over, causing Wang Chong to shiver, and an indescribable awkwardness hung in the air. This woman was truly far more intelligent than he had imagined!

  Wang Chong coughed once or twice before being interrupted by Huang Qian-er.

  "There's no need to explain. Speak—where are we going next?"

  Huang Qian-er spoke dispassionately, her face a sheet of ice.

  This was the first time Huang Qian-er had adopted an aggressive posture in front of Wang Chong. She was clearly dissatisfied at Wang Chong's evasive demeanor just now.

  Wang Chong scratched his nose, knowing that he was wrong. He inwardly gave a bitter laugh, but he didn't argue with her. But Huang Qian-er's words had reminded him of something.

  "Given the time that has passed, it should be done by now."

  Wang Chong raised his head, his eyes scanning the sky. This sudden action attracted Huang Qian-er's notice and she raised her head as well, viewing the sky with surprise.

  It was only a few moments before a large eagle flapped over from the western horizon.

  Wang Chong raised his right hand to receive the eagle and then took the letter from the eagle's leg.

  "As expected!"

  Wang Chong nodded, a satisfied look on his face. After reading the letter, Wang Chong crushed the letter into bits that spilled from his fingers.

  "Let's go, to the capital!" Wang Chong said as he mounted his horse.

  "Not to Deflecting Blade Manor?"

  Surprised, Huang Qian-er subconsciously glanced at the nearby Deflecting Blade Manor. This place was only a few kilometers from there.

  "No, I have other things that I need to do."

  Wang Chong smiled. In his mind, he recalled that Arab he had captured several months ago during the training camp mission, and also that group of mysterious Tibetans Li Cangqi had mentioned who had encouraged the bandits to actively and flagrantly plunder.

  After such a long time, it was only proper that he had some understanding.

  "Ride!"

  Wang Chong's legs gripped the flanks of his horse, urging the horse to turn toward the capital.

  ……

  "Is the investigation done?"

  Near the city gate, Wang Chong looked down at Old Eagle and several Wang Clan guards.

  "It's all done."

  Old Eagle lowered his head, his expression respectful.

  "All the clues point to the Ü-Tsang diplomatic mission in the capital. Also, I secretly brought Li Cangqi near their hostel to confirm. Li Cangqi was able to recognize several of the Tibetan guards as those mysterious Tibetan experts that appeared at their mountain stronghold…"

  Li Cangqi had been the bandit chieftain who had first informed Wang Chong about the Iron Cloak Bandits.

  "In addition, based on our investigation, the leader of this diplomatic mission is the Ü-Tsang First Prince. He's already spent three months in the capital," Li Cangqi added.

  "The Ü-Tsang First Prince?"

  Wang Chong frowned, a pensive look in his eyes. After a while, he suddenly smiled.

  He knew who this Ü-Tsang First Prince was!

  Of the several princes in the Tibetan Empire, this prince was the most hostile toward the Great Tang. Practically all of the decisions Ü-Tsang made regarding the Great Tang showed signs of the First Prince's involvement.

  Ironically, however, the next Tsenpo of the Tibetan Empire would not be the ardent First Prince who put his all into defending his empire and who felt that it was only right that the throne be passed to him!

  Moreover, if Wang Chong was right, this ardent and active First Prince who arrogantly thought himself to be a big deal had probably stirred up another incident in the capital.

  "Where is that First Prince now?" Wang Chong asked.

  "The north of the city!" Old Eagle immediately replied.

  "Move out!" Wang Chong turned his horse and left.

  Leaving the city gate, they traveled through many streets and blocks to finally arrive at the northern region of the Great Tang capital. At the intersection of the Imperial City and the Court of Judicial Review, Wang Chong finally found the Ü-Tsang diplomatic mission.

  This was a large practice ground in the northern region of the city. It was set aside specifically for the Imperial Army, the nobles, the descendants of the great clans, and the young geniuses of the capital to exchange pointers. It had been constructed in His Majesty's youth.

  When this practice ground was first constructed, it was bustling. The descendants of great clans and the scions of nobility flocked here, training for the sake of the Great Tang. Many talents of the empire had been brought up here.

  But after several decades of peace, the martial path had lost its allure. Only a scant few princelings or scions could be found here now.

  In Wang Chong's memories, this place should have been rather deserted.

  But after arriving, Wang Chong realized that he was utterly off the mark. The practice ground before him was completely packed, and there were even many soldiers of the Imperial Army keeping order.

  The banners repres
enting the various squads of the Imperial Army were planted in the surroundings.

  Within the practice ground, many descendants from great clans and noble scions were exchanging fists and palms, moving around here and there with furious expressions.

  Rumble!

  Wang Chong brought Huang Qian-er and the others to the edge of the ground, but he couldn't see what was happening inside. All he could hear was rumbling and quaking from within.

  "Aaahh!"

  An intense boom came from within, like two mountains crashing into each other. After that came a blood-curdling scream, and then absolute silence.

  "Damn it!"

  "Bastard! This isn't fair!"

  "That damn Chamberlain of Dependencies! They only know how to threaten their own side. They really should all go and die!"

  ……

  Reluctant cries rose from the crowd.

  "Kunusi… Qilinaluo… Xiyanahu…"

  With the clopping of horse hooves came an arrogant voice speaking in a tongue that was clearly not of the Central Plains. Even if one did not understand Tibetan, one would still be able to hear the ridicule, disdain, and smugness in those words.

  The crowd instantly grew even angrier.

  "Kill him! Kill this pack of barbarians!"

  "Bastard! Could it be that despite all the experts in the Great Tang capital, there's no one who can deal with these barbarians?"

  "This is the thirty-third one. Damn, whoever can kill this bastard will get one thousand taels from this old man. Gold ones!"

  "This old man will give two thousand taels!"

  "I'll put up five thousand taels! As long as you can kill him!"

  ……

  The crowd was once more infuriated. All the noble scions and descendants from great clans standing around the practice ground began to curse, and the crowd began to grow restless.

  Just when the crowd's rage had reached its peak, someone gave a shout.

  "Impudent!"

  At the edge of the practice ground, an expert dressed in the uniform of the Chamberlain of Dependencies stuck his head out of a building and said with the sternest of looks, "In competitions of martial arts, injuries are inevitable, and death is also difficult to avoid. And this is the First Prince of the Tibetan Empire, a member of their diplomatic mission. If a visitor is injured, if the First Prince of Ü-Tsang is injured, leading the two countries into war, can all of you bear the consequences?

  "Everyone, listen well. The First Prince of Ü-Tsang can only be captured alive, not harmed. Otherwise, the law will punish you severely!" he reprimanded harshly.

  The furious and raucous crowd fell silent. Everyone looked toward that expert of the Chamberlain of Dependencies with fear in their eyes.

  "These fellows are going overboard! Only capture alive and without a single injury! How can one fight when one's hands and feet are tied?"

  Although Huang Qian-er had only just arrived and wasn't clear on what was happening in the practice ground, she still showed a hint of anger upon hearing these words.

  Huang Qian-er knew nothing about any Ü-Tsang diplomatic mission, as she normally did not involve herself in such matters, but she had a very deep understanding of fighting.

  If two people were to fight and one of them was fearless and could use any move they wished while the other was only allowed to capture alive and not injure their opponent, there was no way such a fight could happen.

  Even if one was 100% more powerful than the opponent, one would not even be able to use 30% of their power because of the fear that they might injure their opponent.

  There was simply nothing fair about this type of fight!

  "Haha, what's strange about the Chamberlain of Dependencies appearing here?" Wang Chong jeered.

  Chapter 412: The Hearts of the People

  Chapter 412: The Hearts of the People

  Translated by: Hypersheep325

  Edited by: Michyrr

  In the empire, the reputation of the Chamberlain of Dependencies had long since soured.

  The Chamberlain of Dependencies was responsible for receiving visitors from other kingdoms and concerned itself with matters of etiquette. It only had to report to the Son of Heaven and did not interact much with the aristocracy, the great clans, or the common people.

  Thus, the Chamberlain of Dependencies was rather biased to foreign countries.

  Wang Chong did not find it at all strange for the Chamberlain of Dependencies to appear here.

  Right when Huang Qian-er was speaking, the crowd grew restless. The dense ranks suddenly parted like a wave as several guards of the practice ground dragged the blood-spattered corpses of a man and horse from inside.

  They left a long and gory streak of blood in their wake.

  The bloody scent, that person's wide-open eyes, open mouth, and the large hole running through his chest made the sight somewhat unbearable for Huang Qian-er, and she quickly averted her gaze.

  "It's an Imperial soldier!"

  Next to her, Wang Chong also had a rather dark expression.

  In his last life, he had actually heard of this incident in the northern region of the capital, but hearing about it and seeing it with one's own eyes were two completely different things.

  This young Imperial soldier had died at the hands of a Tibetan, but it was actually the Chamberlain of Dependencies that had blood on its hands.

  "Those bastards of the Chamberlain of Dependencies—they really should be dragged out and fed to dogs!"

  "They protect these foreigners wherever they go; they must be being paid off!"

  "Hmph, the spies in the Great Tang are probably all in the Chamberlain of Dependencies!"

  "This lot of bastards only know how to use their connections to intimidate and bully the people of the capital. Since they love foreigners so much, just send them abroad!"

  ……

  The crowd grew agitated once more at the sight of this bloody corpse.

  "Hahaha, Prince, did you hear that? Did you hear? You haven't started fighting and these Great Tang people are already making a fuss."

  In the inner circle of the practice ground, the muscular figure of Tibetan Great General Dusong Mangpoje listened to the curses from the surrounding crowd with a smirk on his lips.

  This challenge activity had completely been the result of the First Prince's actions. This sort of competition, which was tantamount to a quarrel between children, was completely beneath Dusong Mangpoje.

  Though he didn't have any praise, he also had no objections. Now, however, Dusong Mangpoje found it rather amusing.

  They had clearly killed someone, someone from the Great Tang, but the result was that the Great Tang had split into two sides and begun arguing with itself.

  The First Prince, riding a light brown horse, proudly said, "Heheh, what do you think, Lord Dusong? My proposal isn't bad, right? I've been saying for a long time that our activity might be frightening, but harmless. I was wrong. It's not scary at all. The current Great Tang is not the Great Tang of the past… They no longer have the right to be our opponents!"

  These words were spoken completely in Tibetan.

  "First Prince, you shouldn't get too careless," Dusong Mangpoje cautioned. "There's a saying in the Central Plains that an emaciated camel is still larger than a horse, and a centipede can die, but it will never fall over. The Great Tang truly isn't what it once was, but it still can't be underestimated."

  He still took the prudent approach toward the Great Tang, but he had to admit that the Great Tang was not the one he had seen in his last two visits. It was no longer that powerful and valiant empire of war that inspired dread in all who looked upon it.

  It had already had lost that edge, that energetic drive!

  The First Prince chortled and said, "Great General, relax; I know what I should be doing. After today, we'll leave the Great Tang and return to the empire. After a little more than three months, we can report on the results of our mission!"

  Dusong Mangpoje nodded,
and then he turned to a Tibetan horseman at his side. The horseman patted the back of his horse and then galloped in a circuit around the practice ground.

  "Tang people of the Central Plains, listen well! The First Prince says that your experts of the Central Plains cannot take even a single blow! But do not say that we Tibetans are looking down on you. Is there still anyone else? Is there anyone amongst the younger generation of the Central Plains that can last a single fight? The First Prince will give all of you another chance! If no one responds, the First Prince will leave!"

  The Tibetan horseman did not speak in Tibetan this time, but shouted in the language of the Central Plains.

  Although his voice was somewhat stiff, his tone rather strange, everyone could understand his words.

  The fearless voice of this Tibetan once more provoked the crowd. It had always been the Great Tang suppressing others. Never had Tibetans bullied them in front of their doorstep, acted so brashly in the capital.

  A few people were already stamping their feet in rage.

  "Fight! Everybody go and fight!"

  "Is there any formidable expert around? Hurry up and bring him down!"

  ……

  The people in the crowd looked around. A few scions with extraordinary strength instantly found it hard to hold back, but just as they were about to step out, they were immediately pulled back by the people from their clans.

  "You're crazy! This is the First Prince of Ü-Tsang! What if you actually injure him! The Chamberlain of Dependencies is easy to handle, but if you injure that First Prince and cause a war between Ü-Tsang and the Great Tang, can you bear the results? Can the clan take them? Bastard, do you plan to bring calamity down on the clan for your personal desires?"

  This harsh voice instantly cooled the riotous mood. Those powerful scions in the crowd immediately came to a halt.

  Wang Chong stood at the edge of the crowd. His ears listened and his eyes watched, and a tinge of concern flashed through his eyes.

  A First Prince of Ü-Tsang could not shake the foundations of the Great Tang, and the death of an Imperial Army expert was no serious injury to the empire. To speak frankly, the Chamberlain of Dependencies' policy of 'flattering the enemy' was also not enough to affect the Great Tang in a war or change the outcome of a battle.