The Human Emperor c1-2382

by Huangfu Qi (皇甫奇)

  "Their provisions ran out!" a Mengshe Zhao general suddenly said, his words immediately getting to the heart of the matter.

  "Correct! The Annan Protectorate army left Lion City back then because their provisions were about to run out. The provisions to feed nearly one hundred thousand soldiers is not a trifling number."

  Fengjiayi's eyes seemed to glow, his gaze turning sharper and sharper.

  "No matter how formidable that brat is, could he possibly produce enough supplies to feed one hundred thousand soldiers? The southwest war has only lasted for a bit more than a month. Rations and fodder have to move before the troops can mobilize. I stayed in the Great Tang for some time, so I was lucky enough to understand somewhat how it works.

  "The Great Tang isn't like our territory. Its territory is vast and expansive. In order to gather the resources to feed one hundred thousand soldiers, they would need to collect it from all the counties and prefectures. The entire process is extremely time-consuming and requires a long time to complete.

  "I studied in the Great Tang capital for a time, and I had the opportunity to inspect the historical records of the Great Tang. The empires of the Central Plains need to gather provisions for at least three years to fight a war of three months. Moreover, their lands grow less fertile and less productive the farther north one goes. While our Mengshe Zhao also grows rice, we have plentiful sunlight and fertile lands, so we produce much more than they do.

  "So I am certain that the Great Tang cannot prepare the provisions for one hundred thousand soldiers in a short time. Even if we gave that brat wings, he still wouldn't be able to conjure the provisions for one hundred thousand soldiers out of thin air.

  "Even if they guard the mountain so tightly that not even a drop of water can leak in, as long as we simply besiege them and refuse to attack, their deaths are assured. When the time comes, it won't be on us to attack them, but on them to think about ways to break out and leave this place."

  With these final words, Fengjiayi clenched his fists, his eyes blazing.

  Putting aside his status as Crown Prince of Mengshe Zhao, Fengjiayi had never encountered someone like Wang Chong, who had completely outshone him in terms of reputation. Although Fengjiayi did not show it on the outside, he internally regarded Wang Chong as a thorn in his side.

  A Mengshe Zhao general immediately voiced his agreement. "Your Highness Crown Prince is correct. Even if we do nothing, as long as we don't let the Annan Protectorate army escape, then without sufficient provisions, they're sure to quickly crumble. No matter what happens in this war, isn't their defeat assured?"

  Geluofeng slightly frowned, but he remained quiet.

  Dalun Ruozan suddenly spoke, a faint smile on his lips. "Haha, Your Highness Crown Prince happens to be thinking along the same lines as this humble one. But right now, there is still a small problem."

  "Oh?"

  Fengjiayi raised his brows, but he quickly lowered his head. "I humbly ask to hear the Great Minister's wisdom!"

  "Heh, Your Highness Crown Prince is a dragon among men, so it's already rather decent for you to have noticed all this. Provisions are truly the lifeblood of the Tang, but this war is somewhat different from the ones of the past… Why does Your Highness Crown Prince believe that we can stand here and attack the Great Tang without worrying about being attacked from anywhere else?"

  "This…"

  A hint of doubt appeared in Fengjiayi's eyes. "What has Great Minister noticed?"

  "Just like that Wang Chong said, the Great Tang has the four protectorates of Annan, Andong, Anbei, and Anxi as well as Longxi's Big Dipper Army, making a total of five armies. Right now, the reason the other four armies can't come down and deal with us is because we've reached a consensus with the Abbasid Caliphate, Charax Spasinu, the Eastern and Western Turkic Khaganates, the Goguryeo Empire, the Xi, and the Khitans. A tree that stands out from the forest is bound to be knocked down by the wind. It's not just us that wants to deal with the Great Tang. They wish to as well, so they are willing to help us by holding down the Great Tang's armies.

  "But if we draw things out for too long and fail to conquer the southwest, the situation will change. The moment they realize that the Great Tang is still the invincible Great Tang of the past, they'll retreat. When that time comes, all of you should know what we'll be facing!"

  Dalun Ruozan's voice cast a silence over his surroundings.

  In truth, this was not some profoundly deep problem. It was just that, as generals, they had subconsciously placed their thoughts on the battle at hand and not on the overall situation.

  Given the state of the southwest war, there was no time to delay, and they certainly couldn't wait for the Annan Protectorate army to fall apart on its own. If the Annan Protectorate army could be defeated a day earlier, they could settle the southwest a day earlier, strengthening the resolve of the Eastern and Western Turkic Khaganates, Goguryeo, the Xi, the Khitans, and the other foreign powers, and having them enter the war.

  Time flew by quickly, and the longer they delayed, the more unfavorable the situation would become for the Mengshe–Ü-Tsang army. No one was more worried about this than Geluofeng. After all, the Tibetans had the ability to retreat, but Mengshe Zhao did not.

  At this point, he was actually willing to pay any cost. Thus, despite the great losses Mengshe Zhao had suffered in the last two days, including the heavy damage to the Whitestone Corps, Geluofeng had not mentioned it once.

  Geluofeng was undoubtedly qualified to be a ruthless man of ambition.

  But it was clear that Fengjiayi was not that sensitive to his father's worries.

  "The question of the Great Tang's provisions can be a problem for the future!"

  Geluofeng abruptly inserted himself into the conversation.

  "Great Minister, do you have any wisdom to share with regards to the current situation?"

  "There are currently no other methods!"

  Dalun Ruozan shook his head and firmly declared, "If we want to deal with the Annan Protectorate army, we must remove the steel walls. If we cannot do this, it will be just like before, and we will pay a massive price!"

  "But that Qilin son of the Wang Clan isn't a simple person. If my guess is right, he probably has a group of craftsmen with him that are ready to repair those steel walls at any time. If we attack and they repair, we'll never be able to make any progress. It might even be that if we attempt to force the issue, we might pay a price even larger than we expected."

  "If Great Minister is worried about those steel walls, then leave it to us. Duan Yangyan, I'll leave it up to you!"

  Geluofeng turned his head to a fair-skinned and refined general at his side.

  Chapter 592: The Decisive Battle! The White Elephant Corps!

  Chapter 592: The Decisive Battle! The White Elephant Corps!

  Translated by: Hypersheep325

  Edited by: Michyrr

  "Your Majesty, be at ease. Your subordinate will definitely complete this mission!"

  The general called Duan Yangyan immediately turned around and left, his armor clattering.

  "Since Your Majesty already has plans, then Dalun Ruozan will wait for the good news. If Your Majesty requires anything, please inform us, and Ü-Tsang will do it all it can to assist," Dalun Ruozan quickly said.

  "Mm, I have troubled Great Minister. It should be our turn to put forth a little effort."

  Geluofeng only nodded his head before leaving Dalun Ruozan and heading back to his own army.

  ……

  As they left the meeting area, Huoshu Huicang abruptly asked, "Do you really believe what His Highness the Crown Prince said? That the Tang will collapse without any need to attack?"

  While Geluofeng and Dalun Ruozan talked, he had kept quiet, not stepping into the conversation. But he couldn't hold back his question now.

  "Hah, there are some things that shouldn't be said in front of His Highness the Crown Prince," Dalun Ruozan said with a leisurely wave of his feather fan. "Think abou
t it: since that brat has already come with a plan in mind, preparing all those steel walls, do you think that he wouldn't prepare sufficient provisions?"

  Buzz!

  Huoshu Huicang's face froze as he immediately halted. But he very quickly caught back up with the Great Minister.

  "But, the foodstuff of the Tang is completely different from ours. We can drink horse milk and goat milk, and eat meat without rice, but they cannot. And in this short period of time, could they really manage to pull it off? They prepared Lion City for so long, but didn't it take only a month to consume all their provisions?"

  "For this matter, I'm also not sure."

  Dalun Ruozan stopped for a moment upon hearing this question.

  "But haven't you already seen the results from this battle? That fellow can't be judged with common sense. Although I don't believe that he could gather so many provisions using the old practices of the Central Plains dynasties, I also don't think that he would have come completely unprepared.

  "But regardless, we should first think of a way to overcome the Annan Protectorate army. As for provisions… we'll quickly find out how many provisions they have stocked up."

  Dalun Ruozan quickly began to stride forward once more.

  ……

  "Has it all been prepared?"

  On the summit, beneath the fluttering banner of the Great Tang, Wang Chong and Zhang Shouzhi were standing together. Zhang Shouzhi's face was covered in sweat and he seemed extremely tired. Starting from the construction of Lion City until now, it had been a long time since he had had a good rest.

  Wang Chong also found it somewhat difficult to bear Zhang Shouzhi's exhausted appearance.

  But with the fate of the Great Tang and the soldiers of the southwest tied to this battle, Wang Chong had no time for such feelings. He couldn't even bring himself to say 'rest a little'.

  "Young Master's modu… modular walls are truly exquisite. Although they seemed to have been battered very badly, many of them were still reusable after just a little repair. And the damage inflicted on them wasn't very bad.

  "Working according to Young Master's plans, we've already repaired ninety percent of the walls," Zhang Shouzhi said.

  "It's fine. Ninety percent is enough."

  Wang Chong nodded.

  The rain of massive fireballs used by the Tibetans had still been somewhat effective. Nearly ten percent of the walls had suffered significant damage. But this was no longer important to Wang Chong. Losses were inevitable in war, and his opponents were prestigious figures like Dalun Ruozan and Huoshu Huicang.

  A ten percent loss was completely normal. Moreover, ninety percent of the steel walls was still perfectly sufficient to defend the Annan Protectorate army, and the loss would have no effect on the battle.

  "In addition…"

  Zhang Shouzhi smiled as he opened his mouth, but before he could say any more, his body began to totter and he almost fell to the floor.

  "Sir, are you okay!"

  Wang Chong's heart tightened as he hurriedly went to support Zhang Shouzhi.

  "Master! Master!"

  Several of Zhang Shouzhi's disciples also hurried over to help Zhang Shouzhi. These were Zhang Shouzhi's closest disciples who had been with him for seven or eight years. They all regarded Zhang Shouzhi as their father.

  "It's fine, I'm fine. I'm just a little tired and didn't rest very well."

  Zhang Shouzhi waved his hand, a smile on his face. It was only now that Wang Chong realized that beneath all the grime and dust, Zhang Shouzhi's complexion was actually a ghastly white.

  Wang Chong's heart ached as he called someone over from the rear.

  "Pour Sir some water… Sir, I've troubled you. Rest for a while."

  Wang Chong helped him sit down.

  Now that Wang Chong carefully thought about it, from the time he had become acquainted with Zhang Shouzhi until now, Zhang Shouzhi had either been building Lion City or erecting these steel walls. All of these things required a great deal of work and Zhang Shouzhi's constant supervision.

  Anyone else could rest during this process except Zhang Shouzhi. And when the war in the southwest broke out, Zhang Shouzhi had invested all his energy into these projects.

  Wang Chong came to the startling realization that he had forgotten something. Zhang Shouzhi was different from himself, even different from the soldiers. He was just an ordinary person.

  Zhang Shouzhi didn't know martial arts!

  So for the sake of erecting these steel walls, he hadn't had any rest since last night.

  "Haha, Young Master has no need to worry about me. For Zhang Shouzhi to follow at Young Master's side and do a little for the Great Tang, for the army, and for the people of the southwest, is my greatest pride and happiness. Not even when this old man was constructing the Imperial Palace was he this happy. It is enough for my life to have this sort of experience."

  Zhang Shouzhi waved his hands, a free and easy expression on his face, suffused with an indescribable satisfaction.

  "Young Master, if there's anything you need, inform me as quickly as possible. As long as this old man can be of use, Young Master should call me."

  "Mm."

  Wang Chong nodded. Seeing the look in Zhang Shouzhi's eyes, Wang Chong knew that saying anything more at this point was meaningless.

  Buzz!

  A finger suddenly struck an acupuncture point on Zhang Shouzhi's back, sending him into unconsciousness. It was not Wang Chong, but Chen Shusun, who had done the deed.

  "Bring Master Zhang down. Until the master wakes up on his own, no one is allowed to rouse him," Chen Shusun said.

  "Is Young Master okay?"

  "Mm."

  Wang Chong nodded.

  "Sir Shouzhi has consumed far too much energy, and I heard from his disciples that he has not rested once these last few days," Chen Shusun said. "We can't let him work too hard. In truth, in past wars, we rarely allowed craftsmen to participate. No one in the Great Tang has ever done what Young Master has, though I don't know if this is good or bad."

  "Perhaps it wasn't done in the past, but it will be a certainty in the future. The shape of war will undergo a transformation," Wang Chong said.

  "That's right, the Lord Protector-General wanted to ask me something. What are Young Master's thoughts on the next phase of this battle?" Chen Shusun said.

  Xianyu Zhongtong currently viewed Wang Chong with a great deal of respect, evident through his sending of someone to inquire as to Wang Chong's stance.

  "I don't know for the moment."

  Wang Chong shook his head.

  "In the current circumstances, the Mengshe–Ü-Tsang army far outnumbers us. It's easy for us to defend, but not to attack. Positional and defensive warfare are to our advantage, but offense isn't guaranteed to gain us any sort of advantage. At least in this phase, we're the side with the advantage," Wang Chong said.

  Wang Chong had already modified the surface of this mountain into a fortress. Although it seemed very fragmentary, with many gaps, in truth, the Tibetan cavalry were even more hindered here than they would have been in Lion City. At least in Lion City, the Tibetan army would not have had their speeds so limited.

  And the siege ladders that the Tibetans had wasted so much time and energy constructing were completely useless here.

  The walls existed, but there was no point in mounting them.

  And unlike the defenses under the command of Xianyu Zhongtong in Lion City, Wang Chong utilized a proactive defense. These fragmentary walls were meant for the Tibetan and Mengshe Zhao troops to charge in.

  At this stage of the battle, the Great Tang could no longer retreat!

  The empire had already lost the respect of the surrounding countries. The only method that remained was to win back that respect through a proper battle, majestically defeating and overcoming them.

  In Wang Chong's view, there was no other choice. In order to prevent the empire from miring itself hopelessly in a swamp of disasters and decline, in orde
r to change the empire's miserable fate, his only choice was to utterly defeat the Mengshe–Ü-Tsang army.

  No matter what sort of price he had to pay.

  Biaaaah!

  At this moment, the rear of the Mengshe Zhao army suddenly fell into turmoil as the cries of massive beasts rose into the skies. The Mengshe Zhao soldiers seemed to be scattering as if they had run into the plague.

  Behind Wang Chong, Old Eagle suddenly took two steps forward and asked, "Young Master, what is that?"

  Wang Chong said nothing, but his eyes widened in surprise. He had heard this sound before, but it was not a sound that belonged to this world.

  "Elephants!" Wang Chong blurted out as he thought.

  "What?" Old Eagle exclaimed, but he was quickly drowned out by the thunderous roars from down below. Rumble! The entire earth began to shake as some massive beast began to walk out from the rear.

  In just a few seconds, many more of these small mountains began to approach, slowly entering their fields of vision. These black silhouettes seemed extremely heavy, their bodies containing a boundless strength.

  Just looking at them from a distance made one feel a powerful pressure. When one noticed that the Mengshe Zhao seemed like ants next to these massive behemoths, this pressure only increased.

  Boom!

  The silent mountain was suddenly buzzing with chatter that was tinged with panic. Any of the 180,000 Annan Protectorate army soldiers who had survived up to this point were the elite of the elite, with the most powerful of wills.

  But the sight of these black silhouettes was enough to cause their morale to sway. These were no normal circumstances.

  "The White Elephant Corps!"

  On the summit, Chen Shusun's usually-relaxed expression suddenly turned extremely solemn as he slowly intoned those four words.

  Chapter 593: The Decisive Battle! Besieged by Elephants!

  Chapter 593: The Decisive Battle! Besieged by Elephants!