The Human Emperor c1-2382

by Huangfu Qi (皇甫奇)

  "Understood! Lord Marquis, be at ease! This lowly one will definitely fulfill his mission."

  Zhang Que was itching to go, his face brimming with excitement. After giving a bow, Zhang Que took off. Wang Chong was regarding him with more and more importance, and gentlemen were willing to die for their bosom friends. Thus, Zhang Que was more proactive toward a mission from Wang Chong than any other person.

  ……

  Time slowly passed, and the entire City of Steel once more fell into peace and quiet. A few short conflicts occurred on the Ü-Tsang border with Qixi, but after that, everything returned to its usual serenity.

  In the northwest region, everyone was keeping their eye on Ü-Tsang, Qixi, and Wushang, but meanwhile, in the northeast corner of the plateau, the place closest to Wushang upon descending the plateau, several figures had appeared and were silently measuring up the area.

  "Team Leader, is this the place Lord Marquis asked us to survey?"

  A member of the eagle team looked up at the plateau. Frankly speaking, there was nothing here besides steep cliffs. They couldn't even see any Tibetan cavalry.

  "Mm." Zhang Que nodded.

  "But what's so special about this place? I can't even see any Tibetan cavalry, so what are we here to look at?" another member of the eagle team asked.

  "Hey."

  Upon hearing these words, Zhang Que finally turned his head and glared at his companion.

  "In the entire world, there's not a single person who dares to doubt Lord Marquis like this. The last people who did this were Huoshu Huicang and Dalun Ruozan, and you saw how they ended up. Not long ago, there was also Dayan Mangban, but in the end, Lord Marquis killed his cousin Dayan Pugyal and even destroyed Zhangzhung Training Camp.

  "In the entire northwest of the empire, even one of the Lord Marquis's farts would probably cause the empire's Protector-Generals and Great Generals, as well as the Tibetan Great Generals, to research its meaning for half a day. No one can keep up with Lord Marquis's train of thought. At the very least, I would not dare to question Lord Marquis's decisions."

  Zhang Que's words embarrassed the team member behind him, who immediately shut up.

  A somewhat more quick-witted eagle team member nudged Zhang Que's arm and fawningly said, "Team Leader, you're the closest to Lord Marquis, almost like brothers with him. What have we come here to do?"

  Whether it was in the Great Tang's capital or in the empire's northwest, everyone knew of the Young Marquis's incredible intelligence and extremely farsighted plans.

  While his actions seemed very ordinary at first, future events would prove that they all had clear goals, and were decisions made after long and careful thought.

  It was such that within the City of Steel, many people would speculate on what the Lord Marquis would do next on their breaks.

  "This…"

  Zhang Que immediately began to hesitate.

  "Team Leader, just tell us."

  "Right, hurry and tell us."

  Seeing the situation, the other members of the eagle team quickly began to urge him on.

  "This–whatever. This is just my speculation, so you better not tell anyone else."

  Zhang Que hesitated for a long time, but he was ultimately unable to resist the exhortations.

  "Carefully look at this area. Doesn't it seem like a large triangle? When Lord Marquis fights a battle, he never makes a meaningless decision. If you dispatch some people to the top of that triangle, they'll be in an easily defensible position. The Tibetans can attack us through here at any time, and if they can't beat us, they'll just retreat, but we'll find it very hard to attack them up there. This is the steep cliffs all of you are talking about."

  Zhang Que was no chick. He had spent many years at Old Eagle's side and listened to many of the stories about Wang Chong. He understood many things about the battlefield, and after joining Wang Chong on an expedition, he had an even greater understanding of military affairs.

  If Wang Chong had heard Zhang Que's words, he would definitely be stupefied, because this was exactly what he had been thinking.

  "But even that will be useless. If Lord Marquis occupies this place, he won't be able to hold it. Or is Lord Marquis planning to build a fort here?" one of the members said.

  "Precisely—even occupying this place will be useless. And besides, it's flat ground up there, perfect for Tibetan warhorses to charge, while our backs would be to a cliff. Wouldn't that be certain death?" another member of the eagle team asked.

  "This… I don't know. Lord Marquis definitely has a reason for his actions. How could we possibly guess at them?" Zhang Que said.

  "We should quickly surveil the area and report back to Lord Marquis. If we delay Lord Marquis's plans, none of us will be able to bear the responsibility."

  At these words, all the members tensed up and ceased any thoughts of playing around.

  Creee!

  In a few moments, various birds took off from their shoulders and arms, into the skies.

  ……

  Boom!

  Hammer after hammer smashed down on the red-hot iron, sending sparks flying and smoke billowing. If one looked around, one would see blacksmiths with bare arms and sweat dripping down their backs smashing down their hammers.

  "Hurry!

  "Everyone, put your backs into it! The people in the capital have already asked us to hurry up three times.

  "This is a big customer here, the Son of Heaven's disciple. If we mess this up, Lady Xu in the capital won't forgive us! She won't be looking for us in the future."

  The Great Tang's Jiangnan West Circuit, Hong Province. A supervisor holding a whip was walking past the furnaces, admonishing his subordinates.

  (TN: The Tang Dynasty divided its administration into three levels: the circuit, the province/prefecture, and the county.)

  Flap flap!

  A messenger bird suddenly descended, drawing the supervisor's attention. Taking the letter from the bamboo tube, he glanced at it and immediately paled.

  "Everyone, faster! Lady Xu has now sent a fourth letter asking us to hurry up. If we don't produce twenty steel boards today, none of you should think about sleeping!"

  The supervisor snapped his whip in the air. After making a few more rounds of the sword shop, he strode out.

  After leaving the sword shop, he walked to the main gate. Two stone lions stood sentinel there, and in front of the lions, rows of carriages were parked, apparently waiting for something.

  The supervisor rushed up to the team leader seated on the first carriage and asked, "Have all the modules been loaded?"

  "They're all loaded. We can leave at any time," the middle-aged and aloof leader sternly said.

  A few months ago, no one would have known what this 'module' was or what it meant. Now, however, everyone related to forging and smithing in the Jiangnan West Circuit knew of it and commonly used it.

  There was probably no sword shop, sword smith, or sword-smithing clan that didn't know of the word.

  "Okay, then set off. We definitely don't want to cause any delay to the Young Marquis. If something happens, we won't be able to take the consequences," the supervisor grimly said. "We rarely get such big customers, and the clan is regarding this matter with utmost importance. We can't allow any mistakes."

  "Steward, be at ease. The clan has already dispatched sixty good people. There won't be a problem."

  The stern team leader quickly gave the order to set off. "Hyah!" With a shout and the crack of a whip, the convoy rumbled off.

  Neigh!

  The cries of horses echoed through the sky. As the convoy from the Zhang Clan set off, others quickly followed. If one looked down from the sky, one would see that all of Hong Province was sending numerous convoys of steel for Wang Chong.

  If one looked across the Jiangnan West Circuit, across all the provinces and prefectures of the Great Tang, there were countless convoys like the one from the Zhang Clan, gathering together into a mighty flood and flowing along th
e Silk Road toward the distant Wushang.

  Like a massive and slow-moving machine, each of Wang Chong's plans had the countless great clans and provinces of the Great Tang transporting 'blood' to him, supporting him.

  ……

  Yang Hongchang was much more efficient than expected. At dawn, only a few days after Wang Chong had given the order, when everyone was still sleeping, a convoy arrived with two tightly-sealed chests and a group of guards.

  In a sumptuously decorated building of flying eaves within the City of Steel, the old steward bowed and sincerely said, "Lord Marquis, we did not fail you. According to Lord Marquis's instructions, we have acquired a few chests of roseroot. Our patriarch has said that Lord Marquis must have a deeper meaning behind his actions, so only Lord Marquis can identify whether this is the roseroot being sought. Once Lord Marquis has confirmed, we can begin to buy them on a large scale and transport them."

  "Mm."

  Wang Chong was dressed in leisure clothes. He remained seated, saying nothing and only waving his hand. To the side, a muscular warrior of the City of Steel strode over and thrust his sword into the chink under the lid. With a heave, the chest was opened, revealing countless little red flowers densely packed within.

  ______________

  1.'Everything else is ready; the only thing lacking is the east wind' is a quote from 'Romance of the Three Kingdoms', said by Zhuge Liang to Zhou Yu in their discussion on the upcoming Battle of Red Cliffs. Having made ready to attack Cao Cao's fleet with fire, Zhou Yu has realized that the only thing lacking for his plan to succeed is that the east wind must blow. The quote nowadays is used to mean that a plan is only lacking one crucial thing to be complete.

  Chapter 760: A Letter Flying to Anxi!

  Translated by: Hypersheep325

  Edited by: Michyrr

  Wang Chong squinted and suddenly rose from his armchair, striding over to reach into the chest and snatch a handful of the little red flowers. The color and shape were exactly as he recalled, though not even in his last life had he brought troops to attack the plateau.

  Moreover, in that last life, he hadn't regarded them with much importance, so his memories about them were rather fuzzy.

  Sniff!

  Wang Chong brought a flower up to his nose and smelled it. Yes! It was exactly this sort of scent: faint, but with the fresh odor of the plateau soil, exactly as he remembered.

  Wang Chong suddenly summoned the guards in the reception hall. "Come! Take these chests and have the flowers boiled in pots of water to make a broth. In addition, add in a little for every meal served to the army."

  "Yes, your subordinate will do so."

  The guards swiftly strode over and took the chests away.

  "Mm."

  Wang Chong nodded and turned to the old steward standing to his left.

  "Tell your patriarch that I am very satisfied and that he can begin purchasing on a large scale now."

  "Yes!"

  The steward was elated. There was no doubt that they had found the right thing. Only someone who truly began to buy roseroot would understand that it was exactly as Wang Chong had said. It was a common wildflower of the plateau, and when their patriarch had spread the news that he wanted to buy some, many herdsmen had set about gathering them and sending them over.

  Moreover, since they had said that the roseroot was horse fodder to help with bowel movements, the price had been unimaginably low. A few taels of silver was enough to buy a large bundle. Since it was so easy and could win them the good favor of the Young Marquis, they were happy to do it.

  "Besides that, has there been any sign of activity in Talas?" Wang Chong asked.

  "Replying to Lord Marquis: there has not been any activity for the time being. The Arabs are acting as normal. Lord Marquis, be at ease. Patriarch has said that since Lord Marquis gave this order, our Yang Clan will carry out this duty to the very end, even to the death. Any activity from the Arabs, even just a little fly flying past, will definitely be reported to Lord Marquis."

  The old steward had a solemn expression, bowing as he deferentially answered.

  "Mm. Tell him to prepare himself to receive my orders at any moment," Wang Chong gravely replied. The matter of Ü-Tsang and the Turks was important, but even more important were Talas and the Abbasid Caliphate. These two were the true focus of Wang Chong's attention. The steward left shortly after, and Wang Chong soon fell into a contemplative silence. Up to now, the Arabs had still not shown any strange movements, and it didn't seem like the Arabs had infiltrated Talas yet.

  The cicadas would sense the coming of autumn before the first chill wind, and it wasn't possible for the Arabs to engage in any strange activities without showing any signs. In other words, he still had time.

  …This can be considered the best news I could receive right now. I hope that the events of Talas won't take an unexpected turn because of my appearance, Wang Chong quietly said to himself.

  Many things had changed since his reincarnation: the fate of the Wang Clan, the fate of King Song, the fate of the southwest… Wang Chong's greatest concern was that the butterfly effect would cause everything to change, particularly with regards to time. But from what he could see, the Battle of Talas had not undergone any serious transformation.

  To oppose outside forces, he needed to pacify internal ones first, and it seemed like he would at least have time to settle down Qixi and take care of the Tibetans and the Turks.

  In all things, preparation leads to success while unpreparedness leads to ruin. Although the Abbasid Caliphate hasn't shown any signs of activity, I should still take some precautions.

  After thinking for a little longer, Wang Chong returned to his chair. Taking up a fine brush and dabbing it in ink, he began to write. This letter was written to someone he had never met, and he had no idea if this letter would be of any use, would succeed in persuading the receiver.

  But Wang Chong still had to do it, as it was of utmost importance. If he succeeded, perhaps that historic clash between the empires of the east and west could be avoided. Perhaps if there were no Battle of Talas, or if it could be delayed a little longer, he would have enough time to prepare himself even more.

  'The Great Tang Young Marquis of Wushang, Wang Chong, greets the Great General of the Right Imperial Guard, Prefectural Duke of Miyun…'

  As he set the first line down to paper, there was a rumbling of thunder outside, and dark clouds began to gather. At the same time, the long-unheard voice of the Stone of Destiny rang out in his mind. But unlike before, the Stone of Destiny's voice was much softer and a little less sharp.

  "Notice: User is currently skirting the laws. Starting from now, user will be deducted 10 points of Destiny Energy for each second, and in serious circumstances, user will be deducted additional points of Destiny Energy, even obliterated."

  As expected!

  As the voice rang out in his mind, Wang Chong immediately noticed the change in its wording. In the past, the Stone of Destiny would always use words like 'warning', but this time, although it had immediately begun to deduct Destiny Energy, and 10 points every second at that, the situation wasn't actually as serious as it seemed.

  The Stone of Destiny did not use the word 'warning', but 'notice', a word that clearly conveyed much less danger.

  …It's exactly what I speculated! Wang Chong said to himself.

  After such a long time, Wang Chong had gradually begun to feel out the rules and principles guiding the Stone of Destiny. For example, the Stone of Destiny had a set of grades on which it judged matters. At the highest grade, the consequence of mission failure was instant obliteration, and there was usually no reward, only consumption of Destiny Energy. An example of this was the 'World Constraint'.

  In the past, this had been Wang Chong's greatest concern, but now that he had enough Destiny Energy, he temporarily put the matter to the side.

  The second grade was missions that had a reward, but failure of which would result in obliteration, the example
being 'Empire's Dirge'.

  The third grade was missions that rewarded Destiny Energy for success and deducted Destiny Energy for failure, such as 'The Threat to Qixi' mission which had ordered him to kill Dayan Mangban.

  At the time, Wang Chong had already guessed that the Stone of Destiny had another grade, and there was no doubt that it was what he was experiencing right now. And just like he had expected, although it seemed serious, compared to the importance of the task at hand, 10 points of Destiny Energy every second was an extremely light punishment.

  And besides, the Stone of Destiny had called this a 'notice', not a 'warning'.

  Things like missions always have underlying systems and rules that can be exploited. It seems like the Stone of Destiny has a harsh ban on anything that has far-reaching effects on important historical events. You can do them, participate in them, and change them, but you can't reveal any information on them, and the punishment for breaking those rules is rather serious. But if one only discusses, leaks, or changes a small portion of the related event, using a non-urgent method to discuss them, you can skirt the line and avoid any major consequences.

  With these thoughts in mind, Wang Chong quickly returned to writing.

  In the end, the letter cost Wang Chong 600 points of Destiny Energy, but Wang Chong didn't care. Regardless of the cost, Wang Chong had confirmed his conjectures. If this method was feasible, he now had another method to change fate.

  Most importantly, if this letter proved useful, then any amount of Destiny Energy was worth it.

  I hope that person can be persuaded.

  Wang Chong walked to the window. Dark clouds covered the sky and it was still raining. On the walls, the craftsmen were taking a break. In the empire's northwest, in the desert region of Qixi, a large downpour like this was extremely rare.

  Hooloohoolooo! A pigeon answered Wang Chong's call. Wang Chong placed the letter into a thin bamboo tube and released the pigeon.

  Flapflap! The carrier pigeon seemed to sense something, its little eyes turning before it opened its wings and shot into the thunderstorm, quickly vanishing into the skies.