General has always been proud. For him to lose to this Great Tang youth must be very difficult for him to accept.
Underneath the starry sky, the White Braves were thinking about the battle, a variety of expressions on their faces. However, none of them dared to voice their thoughts.
They had come very prepared for this operation, bringing with them battering rams from the Great Snow Mountain Sacred Ground, and grappling hooks for scaling the walls. They had wrapped the hooves of their horses, brought Metal element warriors, infiltrated the city beforehand… Using all these methods on a city still in the middle of construction was like using a sledgehammer to swat a fly.
But no one had expected their opponent to be so formidable.
And even their commander Dayan Mangban had lost to them.
In Ü-Tsang, Dayan Mangban might not have led troops in battle very often, but he had an extremely high prestige within the White Braves, no less than that of renowned generals like Huoshu Huicang.
In truth, Dayan Mangban had used his conquest of several small kingdoms to prove himself. In those countries, Dayan Mangban was even more famous than the other Great Generals of the empire.
That he would fail in this mission was completely unexpected. Even the personal involvement of their general had failed to kill that brat!
"Heheheh, that brat is even smarter than I thought. I underestimated him!"
A delighted voice rang in everyone's ears. Dayan Mangban was smacking his lips and grinning. His face showed no dejection whatsoever at the loss. On the contrary, it was bursting with the will to battle.
"Milord…"
In a flash, everyone was stupefied. They had predicted all sorts of reactions from Dayan Mangban, how he would express his dejection and dismay, but they had never expected this.
"Heheheh!"
Dayan Mangban continued to chuckle to himself, his mind on the just-concluded battle rather than his subordinates.
His mind was abuzz with thoughts. It had been ages since he had encountered such an interesting foe. Dayan Mangban could sense that his opponent was clearly weaker than him. Normally, his first strike from his hiding spot would have settled things.
But this fellow had been extremely sensitive, and the blow had missed. This had never happened before.
Dayan Mangban had originally wanted to prevent Wang Chong from hiding himself in the crowd, using the more than one hundred thousand craftsmen as a shield to avoid battle, or even abandoning the city as a whole and fleeing. Such actions would make the operation meaningless. Thus, a Brigadier General like Dayan Mangban had not used his strength to kill his way into the city, but chosen to silently hide nearby for the right moment to strike.
Dayan Mangban had used sneak attacks like this many times to deal with small kingdoms in Ü-Tsang's periphery like Little Balur. The enemy commanders would often die before they were even able to see who their opponent was. But Dayan Mangban's plans had encountered an unexpected roadblock. Everything had been going smoothly, and Wang Chong had had his attention drawn away by the soldiers in the city as planned, but then… the operation failed!
Not since Dayan Mangban had left the Great Snow Mountain Holy Temple had he encountered such a strategic and tactical genius!
"…But this was just an accident. You won't get such a good chance next time," Dayan Mangban said, his eyes cold and bright, his expression like that of a savage beast.
The White Braves were skilled in fighting on an open field. In charging down the enemy, the White Braves could proudly look down upon the entire world, could contend against five, even ten times their number in enemy cavalry. But Wang Chong's City of Steel was tough and lofty. Even a full-strength blow from a Brigadier General like Dayan Mangban had failed to knock over those walls that had been hastily built in a single month. This had also caught him by surprise.
Dayan Mangban had two to three thousand subordinates outside the walls, but they could never get in and help him fight Wang Chong. On the other hand, Wang Chong could call over two-hundred-some of his subordinates, divide them into squads and formations, and organize them to launch a constant stream of attacks, consuming his Stellar Energy. He had never encountered such a thing before.
It could be said that Dayan Mangban had never encountered an opponent with this kind of ability.
But this only further aroused Dayan Mangban's killing intent. Right now, not even the Tsenpo's order would make him put down this mission.
"There's no need to worry about the Tsenpo and Lord Mangpoje. I'll explain things to them."
Dayan Mangban gave a sinister smile as he looked profoundly into the distance.
"In addition, everyone should prepare themselves. We'll be putting aside the City of Steel for the time being. We'll return to the plateau in a little. Right now, follow me to the camp of the Qixi Protectorate army! Heheh! Since we can't deal with that boy from the Wang Clan, we'll collect a little interest first!"
"!!!"
The soldiers around him were at first dumbstruck, but they quickly began to cheer.
"Yes, Milord!"
The thunderous hooves of two-thousand-some White Braves suddenly changed direction, no longer on the road back to the Tibetan Plateau.
This night was bound to be a restless one!
……
Flapflap!
Not long after Dayan Mangban's elite cavalry left, a messenger bird took off. This bird of pitch-black body and golden eyes flew through the air and into the main hall of the Qixi Protectorate headquarters. Buzz! At this moment, even time seemed to stop. A deathly stillness had settled over the Qixi Protectorate, as if all the air in a radius of several hundred li had been sucked out.
But then, the earth began to tremble, the Qixi Protectorate began to shudder, and a roar of unrestrained fury tore through the sky.
"Bastard!
"Useless thing! You couldn't even do something as small as this!
"This one has made all that effort in vain! Fucking shit!"
An energy as vast as the mountains and seas exploded like a storm, alarming everything in a radius of a hundred li. Fumeng Lingcha was like a berserk beast, his hurricane of energy causing everyone to tremble in fear.
Qixi bordered the Tibetan Plateau, and Fumeng Lingcha had taken a great risk to create an opening for the Tibetan soldiers to come through. Dusong Mangpoje was a smart man, so he should have known what he wanted.
But Fumeng Lingcha had never expected that after all the risks he took, the Tibetans would still fail.
Chapter 741: Dayan Mangban's Counterattack
Translated by: Hypersheep325
Edited by: Michyrr
"Has Dusong Mangpoje gone senile?! Useless thing, completely wasting the chance I gave him. He only dispatched two thousand people to attack a city!
"And this Dayan Mangban—I thought that he was someone of reputation on the steppe. I didn't think… that he was really just trash!
"Does the Tibetan Plateau have no one else except We Tadra Khonglo and Dalon Trinling?"
In the protectorate headquarters, Fumeng Lingcha had spent a restless night on his throne. Ever since his meeting with Wang Chong, he had ordered his spies to report back to him on the City of Steel both day and night. No movement there could evade his gaze. As a result, Fumeng Lingcha almost immediately knew of Dayan Mangban's defeat.
At this very moment, Fumeng Lingcha's veins were bulging out of his forehead like earthworms and his face was red from rage, his hands trembling in both anger and disappointment. 'Colluding' with foreign powers, inviting a wolf into the house—he had taken unimaginable risks, as the consequences of these charges if sent to the Imperial Court would be unthinkable.
But even after he had taken these enormous risks, the Tibetans had still failed. Fumeng Lingcha's rage was easy to imagine.
Wushang was so close that it was like a fishbone in Fumeng Lingcha's throat that he wanted to spit out as quickly as possible.
"Reporting!"
Before one
wave had settled, another was rising. At this moment, a panicked voice came from outside the hall. "Milord, it's bad! The Tibet-Vanquishing Camp was attacked! More than five thousand of our warriors have been killed, as has General Pulan!"
"What?"
Stunned, Fumeng Lingcha immediately stood up.
There was only one General Pulan in the Qixi Protectorate, and that was Pulan He, one of his trusted aides. Just like him, General Pulan was also a Hu.
Pulan He was a powerful warrior and a veteran of many years in the Western Regions. He was incredibly experienced and had contributed many times to the efforts against the Tibetans. He could be considered one of Fumeng Lingcha's most reliable subordinates.
"Impossible! Are you sure you have the right person?!"
Fumeng Lingcha's first reaction was denial.
"Reporting!"
Fumeng Lingcha had just finished speaking when another panicked voice came from outside, followed by the galloping of a horse.
A gust of wind blew in as a travel-worn officer strode in and kneeled.
"The Tibet-Vanquishing Army has sent an urgent report. Their camp was attacked and General Pulan has been killed!"
The officer had a scarlet messenger banner extending from his back. This banner was only used in the army for extremely important news.
Buzz! At the sight of this banner, Fumeng Lingcha's body began to tremble, and he could no longer suppress his bellow of fury.
"Dusong Mangpojeeeee!"
This roar thundered into the heavens and echoed over all of Qixi.
……
The City of Steel was brightly lit and a hive of activity.
"Lord Marquis! We've finished the investigation. Yesterday, a convoy was attacked on the road to Wushang. We sent guards to assist, but because the merchants were uninjured and the goods unharmed, everyone didn't mind and the incident was not reported."
In his newly-built residence, built in an ancient style with carved beams and painted rafters, Wang Chong was seated cross-legged on the ground, several officers in front of him.
A tall and thin officer was currently perusing a daily register.
Wang Chong raised an eyebrow and asked, "Did you find the people who transported the steel?"
"Reporting to Lord Marquis: since the incident was only yesterday, they are still within the city. They were planning to leave tomorrow. I have already called them over and they are waiting outside," Chen Bin said.
Wang Chong nodded, and a few somewhat frightened merchants were brought in. They were closely questioned, and all their answers were as he expected.
The ones who had ambushed them had covered their faces with cloth, leaving only their eyes exposed. The members of the convoy had believed that they were some nearby group of bandits. However, since none of them had been injured and none of the goods had been damaged, they hadn't paid too much attention to the raid.
At the time, for fear of their reputation, the merchants had persuaded the guards to suppress the matter.
But the situation now had clearly left them very uneasy.
As expected!
Wang Chong half-closed his eyes, his body slightly leaning back against his sandalwood chair, the index finger of his right hand lightly tapping against the armrest.
These people had no experience, so they had no idea. However, Wang Chong had taken part in a bandit extermination, so he was well aware that bandits and brigands all had weapons stained in blood, were straightforward acolytes of death. Robbing and raiding were as essential to their lives as eating and drinking.
Thus, if these were actual bandits, they would have never taken that extra step of covering their faces.
It was obvious that the Tibetans had been concealing their identity.
Dayan Mangban is truly quite difficult to deal with!
Wang Chong continued to unwittingly drum his fingers on the armrest as he thought.
Even as an opponent, Wang Chong had to praise Dayan Mangban for thinking of this plan to infiltrate the city. This was truly the only flaw in the entire City of Steel.
Wushang was a barren and deserted land, so all its steel was imported from the capital and the other provinces of the Great Tang. A long journey meant a long supply train, allowing many variables to appear during the process.
Dayan Mangban had exploited this point.
"If we had been able to discover this before the Tibetan assault, it would have been a good thing, not a bad one. Pass on my order that all goods have to be opened for inspection when entering the city. In addition, any incident, no matter how small, must be reported and recorded, even if it wasn't near the City of Steel!" Wang Chong said.
"Yes, Lord Marquis!"
The gathered officers all bowed.
"Reporting!"
A set of hurried footsteps came from outside. A soldier hurried in, causing the room to fall silent and everyone to turn to him.
"Lord Marquis, an urgent report has come from the front. A camp of the Qixi Protectorate army on the Tibetan border was attacked. The protectorate army suffered more than five thousand casualties and General Pulan He was killed in battle!"
Everyone in the room reeled in shock at these words.
"Was it Dusong Mangpoje?" an officer next to Wang Chong asked.
"No, it was Dayan Mangban!" the soldier replied.
"!!!"
All the officers showed expressions of disbelief, and even Wang Chong couldn't help but frown.
Dayan Mangban had just been defeated, had lost two to three hundred men to Wang Chong. That he would suddenly change directions and attack a camp of the Qixi Protectorate army was something that no one had expected.
"Has this news been confirmed?"
Wang Chong rested his hands against the armrest and slowly got out of his chair.
"Yes, Lord Marquis! The news has probably already reached both Qixi and the Imperial Court," the kneeling soldier deferentially said.
"So this can also happen!"
Wang Chong raised his head and closed his eyes once more, a deep confusion on his face.
This was yet another event that had not occurred in Wang Chong's memories. If he had not appeared in Wushang, Dayan Mangban would not have come down from the plateau to deal with him.
If he had not failed in the assault and been forced to return in defeat, Dayan Mangban would not have attacked the Qixi Protectorate army to vent his spleen and Pulan He would not have died in this battle.
All of these events were interconnected.
"Lord Marquis, this is a good chance!"
Cheng Sanyuan's eyes were bright as he began to speak.
"Today's incident was only because Fumeng Lingcha let the Tibetans in for his own selfish gain. We can use this to report to the Imperial Court and get rid of Fumeng Lingcha."
Cheng Sanyuan's words immediately found support amongst the other officers.
"That's right. Fumeng Lingcha brought his army to the City of Steel and threatened Lord Marquis, so this time, Lord Marquis can bite back."
"He gave up the public good for private gain this time. Let's see how he explains himself to the Imperial Court."
"Five to six thousand losses isn't a minor matter. Fumeng Lingcha probably never imagined that he would one day also have to learn what the phrase 'to try and steal a chicken and lose the rice used to lure it' means."
"Lord Marquis, we can't let him go this time."
The officers voiced their opinions.
They could easily imagine the pressure Fumeng Lingcha was under after making such a huge mistake.
"Enough!"
Wang Chong raised a hand and silenced the officers.
The room instantly became deathly still. All of the officers lowered their heads in silence, respectful looks on their faces.
In the City of Steel, there was only one voice, and that was Wang Chong's. When Wang Chong decided on something, there would never be a second voice.
"This incident can't topple Fumeng Lingcha," Wang Chong said.<
br />
Although he didn't have any good opinion of Fumeng Lingcha, and had even been personally threatened by him, Wang Chong couldn't feel the slightest joy or excitement at this time.
Those five thousand soldiers of the Qixi Protectorate army might have been Fumeng Lingcha's subordinates, but they were still soldiers of the Great Tang. In this way, the losses of the Qixi Protectorate army were the losses of the Great Tang.
Thus, Wang Chong truly found it difficult to feel happy.
But this matter firmed up Wang Chong's conviction that Fumeng Lingcha was no longer the right person for Qixi Protector-General. If he had not been obsessed with his own selfish aims and allowed Dayan Mangban to enter, this never would have happened.
Wang Chong was sure that when the Qixi Protectorate army had allowed Dayan Mangban in, it had never expected Dayan Mangban to bite back.
There was no denying the connection between this and Pulan He's death.
It was impermissible for a Protector-General wielding enormous influence to end up in this situation.
Wang Chong quickly regained his composure, pushing these thoughts aside.
"…But letting him off is making things too easy for him. If he remains in this position, who know how many soldiers will die? I will submit a memorial to the court on this matter. Regardless, he is no longer suitable for the seat of Qixi Protector-General."
Wang Chong's words were instantly greeted with a chorus of cheers. Fumeng Lingcha was too famous, his status too high. When he had come with his soldiers to threaten Wang Chong, everyone had felt so oppressed that they felt it difficult to breathe.
Now, they could finally give him a lesson.
"Lord Marquis is wise. Fumeng Lingcha is truly not very suitable for the seat of Qixi Protector-General."
"Dayan Mangban and his more than two thousand soldiers put their all into attacking our City of Steel, using schemes, feints, battering rams, and even Metal element warriors, but he still had to leave in defeat. Lord Marquis even killed more than two hundred of his men. Fumeng Lingcha has so many soldiers, but he lost more than five thousand to Dayan Mangban. The difference is noticeable at a glance."
The Human Emperor c1-2382 Page 494
