The Human Emperor c1-2382

by Huangfu Qi (皇甫奇)

  As was said many times, removing an Imperial Great General like Fumeng Lingcha was no simple task.

  “Li Siye, write a letter to King Song with a drawing of the target. Let him handle what comes next.”

  “Yes! This general will go!”

  That vigorous voice came from behind him, and then Li Siye left, his armor clattering.

  Flapflap!

  A few moments later, a carrier pigeon flew off toward the capital.

  With everything taken care of, Wang Chong felt like he had been relieved of a great burden.

  “Reporting!”

  Another scout strode into the room, bringing with him a gust of wind. “Lord Marquis, a lady called Xu Qiqin outside has requested a meeting with you. She says that she is your friend.”

  “What? So fast?!”

  Wang Chong’s eyes brightened in joy. As the scout looked on in astonishment, he flew out the door.

  Buildings stood tall in the City of Steel, and the place was bustling with activity. This barren land was gradually taking shape into a proper city, undergoing a complete transformation.

  Although Fumeng Lingcha had taken the credit for the battle of the triangular gap, those scions who mingled with Wang Chong understood what had really happened.

  This major victory had provided a massive boost to construction within the city. Many of the great clans now had incredible faith in the safety and defenses of the City of Steel.

  If not even this army that could slaughter the brave and fierce Tibetans was strong enough, then there was probably no force in the world that would ever be strong enough.

  Many clans in the capital had increased their investment, putting in seven or eight times the initial amount, some of them even ten times.

  This massive amount of capital bolstered the construction speed of the City of Steel to new heights, and the difference from before was like that between night and day.

  Wang Chong strode past ornate buildings, gardens, ponds, and transplanted flowers. Finally, at the open city gates, he saw that familiar figure.

  She was wearing a white dress, her pitch-black hair falling like a waterfall down to her waist. She had her side facing him as she stood by the gate, her exquisite curves clear. Next to her, an orderly stream of carriages loaded with goods was flowing through the gate. As she oversaw the process, her every movement was calm and confident, and she seemed like a beautiful fairy who had descended to the mortal world. The barren and remote land of Wushang seemed to become fresher and more beautiful at her presence, as if it had transformed into a garden of blooming flowers.

  “Xu Qiqin!”

  Wang Chong inwardly rejoiced, his excited voice ringing through the City of Steel.

  That figure in the distance seemed just a tiny bit strange, but also wholly familiar. After three months, Xu Qiqin had become even more moving, and Wang Chong couldn’t help but smile at the thought.

  Xu Qiqin’s body trembled as she heard the voice, and she subconsciously turned her head. At that moment, the picturesque landscape of her face seemed to be illuminated by the light of the spring sun, bathed in the cool breeze.

  This smile was so dazzlingly beautiful that Wang Chong stopped in a daze.

  “Wang Chong!”

  Xu Qiqin strode forward, the joy on her face evident.

  “This is the City of Steel you spoke of? It’s even grander than you described in your letters!”

  Xu Qiqin had a smile on her lips, and she acted like she had already spent some time in the City of Steel. Her eyes glimmered with admiration as she looked around at the city towering around her. Although she had imagined what this city would look like, seeing it for herself made Xu Qiqin realize that it was far more stunning than she had expected.

  When she thought about how all this was Wang Chong’s handiwork, she couldn’t help but admire him even more. That youth who had defeated her in chess within Deflecting Blade Manor was becoming more and more dazzling, more and more handsome. Nothing was impossible in his hands, and everything was easy. There seemed to be nothing in the world that he couldn’t do.

  “It truly is grand, but there’s still some grandeur that only you can bring to reality. Let’s go. I’ll take you on a tour. In addition, you must be tired from your long journey. In a while, I’ll have someone arrange your living quarters,” Wang Chong said. He had brought Xu Qiqin from the capital to Wushang for the sake of handling the affairs of the Western Regions.

  Chapter 810 - Clan Alliance!

  Chapter 810: Clan Alliance!

  Translated by: Hypersheep325

  Edited by: Michyrr

  Any city that was built up from nothing had a thousand things that needed to be done, and the many facets of building up a fief were not something that Wang Chong could handle alone. Of those at Wang Chong’s side, only Xu Qiqin had this kind of ability. She was capable of handling a diverse array of tasks in an orderly and appropriate fashion. More importantly, battles were not simply contests of soldiers, but also logistics.

  For the future Battle of Talas, Wang Chong couldn’t possibly divide his attention on so many tasks. He needed someone to help him bear some of the burden and handle the logistics.

  “Mm.”

  Xu Qiqin gave a faint smile as she followed Wang Chong.

  The two standing side by side were a young and beautiful couple, attracting countless gazes in the City of Steel. Xu Qiqin followed Wang Chong, a smile on her face as she curiously viewed her surroundings, completely unaware that she and Wang Chong had become the center of attention.

  ……

  Time slowly passed, and while Wang Chong was handling the affairs of his City of Steel, on another battlefront, Zhao Jingdian was handling the matters related to the cement road.

  “Hey! Ha!”

  As signals were called out, an unprecedented gray-white road of cement was being built from the capital to the Western Regions, like an awakening dragon extending its body along the vast earth.

  Countless great clans were pouring an endless flood of manpower and resources into the ‘cement road’.

  On the road to the Western Regions, several dozen li of roads were built every day, sometimes even several hundred. This flat, smooth, and tough road made everyone sigh in praise.

  The sight of this unprecedented road system taking shape and rapidly extending under their efforts filled all the participants with joy and excitement.

  The Silk Road was the Road of Gold, the most famous road in the world. The people who traveled east and west along this road were the most famous and wealthiest of merchants, trading jewels, agate, spices…

  If this road were completed, all of them could expect to see an enormous profit.

  Rumble!

  Rolling wheels could be heard. While the thousands of workers were at work, a special carriage draped in blue-green curtains traveled along the cement road, extremely eye-catching and obvious.

  But none of the workers paid this any attention. After all the time they had labored over this road, these workers were all used to the presence of this carriage.

  It would set out from the capital every morning, traveling along the newly-built road. At noon, it would start its journey back.

  This routine had repeated day after day.

  Within the spacious carriage, a fawning voice cautiously asked, “Lord Zhao, how is it? Are you satisfied?”

  While all the laborers were busy with their duties, there were few people to notice a corner of the curtains being raised and two pairs of eyes silently gazing out.

  “Mm.”

  Zhao Jingdian gave a small grunt of approval as he continued to watch those workers pour water again and again on the new cement road.

  The cement road could not simply be built and then just left to its own devices. After construction, it needed to be watered. Wang Chong had repeatedly emphasized this point in his letters, so Zhao Jingdian had viewed it with similar importance.

  “Haha, it’s fine as long as Milord is satisfied! Our
alliance is currently managing everything and will do its utmost to assist Lord Marquis in extending the cement road from the capital to Wushang. In addition, our clans also have stock in Wushang’s City of Steel… did I use the word ‘stock’ right? It’s so strange… in short, we’re in the same boat as Lord Marquis, all on the same side. Lord Marquis’s problems are our problems, yes indeed…”

  Next to Zhao Jingdian was a somewhat sleazy-looking clan expert. He paused here, and then continued with a flattering expression.

  “With regards to the construction of the road, can you try and change Lord Marquis’s mind so that we can use the existing road to the Western Regions? This will save time and energy and be of benefit to everyone. Does Milord not agree?”

  Zhao Jingdian’s brow furrowed, and when he turned to this clan expert, his expression had chilled.

  “Do I need to give you Lord Marquis’s message again? ‘No’ is ‘no’. This condition is not up for negotiation. Anyone who violates this point will be withdrawing themselves from the alliance. Everything regarding the Western Regions, including the cement road, will cease to have anything to do with that clan.”

  Zhao Jingdian’s gaze was as sharp as a sword, and the clan expert hurriedly lowered his head before those threatening eyes.

  The two were discussing a clause in the contract Wang Chong had made with the alliance of clans. All the cement roads would have to be new and could not be built upon the pre-existing Silk Road. This meant that the clan alliance would, besides the expenditure on lime, clay, aluminum ore, sand, and stone, also have to spend a great deal of money on digging out new roads.

  From a commercial perspective, this was not beneficial to the clan alliance.

  Thus, wave after wave of representatives from the clan alliance had attempted to lobby Zhao Jingdian. There had been more than twenty attempts now, as Zhao Jingdian could not bother to keep count, and he had firmly refused each time. Zhao Jingdian had asked Wang Chong about this matter, and Wang Chong had been very frank as to the reason.

  The moment the cement road appeared, it would be a grandiose and unstoppable flood. Wang Chong fully expected that, with or without his approval, the cement roads would quickly become popular throughout the Great Tang, owing to the ease of traveling over them and the incredible weight they could bear.

  This meant that cement roads would appear all across the Great Tang, not just between the capital and the Western Regions.

  Wang Chong wanted to avoid having the clan alliance build cement roads over the original road network and then collect tolls from them. This would only incur the resentment of the common people and make this engineering project meant to benefit the entire country into one that only exploited the people.

  Such a result was contrary to Wang Chong’s intent.

  Thus, Wang Chong would never agree to this proposal, and he would repeat his refusal as many times as necessary.

  No matter how much the clan alliance tried to lobby him, Zhao Jingdian would never agree.

  “Lord Zhao, please forgive me. This one misspoke.” The clan expert quickly attempted to change the subject.

  Zhao Jingdian didn’t continue to needle the point, and moved on. “At the current speed, how long will it take until the road reaches Wushang?”

  “This… Around four or five months.”

  The expert’s response was no longer very energetic. It was clear that Zhao Jingdian’s reply was not the one he had hoped for, and his morale had been rather badly bruised.

  “We don’t have that long. This sort of progress is too slow.”

  Zhao Jingdian frowned. This number was far larger than he had predicted.

  “Tell the clan alliance that even though Young Master won’t agree to using the original official roads to build the cement roads, if the road to Wushang is completed in three months, Young Master can give an additional five percent of the profits from the tolls to the alliance. If the road is finished in two months, Young Master will give the alliance an additional ten percent.”

  The dejected expert’s eyes instantly brightened, and his face was quickly exuberant.

  “Lord Zhao is speaking the truth?” the expert asked with shining eyes.

  The contract between Wang Chong and the clan alliance was perpetual. All cement roads built in the Great Tang would be administered and bound according to the clauses of that contract. It might only be five or ten percent, but the amount of wealth behind these measly numbers was nigh unimaginable.

  And even decades, centuries, perhaps even millennia later, this contract would still be effective.

  This was the true allure of this agreement between Wang Chong and the clan alliance.

  If Wang Chong could relinquish ten percent of the profits for all time, the clan alliance would be chomping at the bit, willing to pay any price to extend the cement road to Wushang.

  In comparison to the massive profits they stood to gain, the losses they incurred would be vanishingly small.

  Rational analysis would make any great clan reach this same conclusion.

  “Our Young Master’s promises have always been worth their weight in gold. Has he ever gone back on his word?” Zhao Jingdian indifferently replied.

  “Wonderful! Milord, please wait a moment. I will return to the alliance to discuss this with the elders! …The elders will definitely agree!”

  The expert immediately pushed open the door to the carriage and jumped out, proceeding like a bolt of lightning to the headquarters of the clan alliance.

  Bang!

  Just as expected, Wang Chong’s offer quickly stirred a massive wave within the clan alliance. No one had expected Wang Chong to relinquish such a large share of the profits, and none of them could resist the temptation. The clan alliance’s reply was swift.

  ‘Deal!!’

  With this new contract signed, the construction speed of the cement road accelerated, becoming almost frenzied. For the sake of those profits, the great clans sold off properties and businesses, pouring out all their money, even dispatching experts to oversee the work.

  In a flash, the construction speed shot up to several times the original speed.

  ……

  Time continued to fly by as the construction on the cement road continued. Meanwhile, in a place nearby, a tense atmosphere was slowly building up.

  “How is the investigation going?”

  As night began to fall, a luxurious carriage was parked on the side of the road, outside the southern gate of the capital. Next to the carriage was a man of some forty years, his hands held behind his back, his body exuding a noble aura as he silently waited. People passed by and around him, but just by standing there, the middle-aged man was like a crane standing amongst chickens.

  Such was the demeanor of this middle-aged man that even the nobles of the capital would appear like fireflies attempting to flaunt their light in front of the bright moon.

  “Replying to Your Highness: we have finished the investigation. On the Qixi side, a child called Zhang Que was following them, but when it came to this side, Old Eagle took over the responsibilities. In addition, it is said that the child Zhang Que is Old Eagle’s disciple.”

  To the left and right of King Song stood his old butler and Lu Ting. The old butler was bowed, his lips moving in an unhurried manner.

  “In addition, we have just received word that the trusted subordinate Fumeng Lingcha dispatched did not enter through the western gate, the gate most often used by the Hu merchants. Instead, he made a detour and entered through the southern gate.”

  Chapter 811 - King Song Moves!

  Chapter 811: King Song Moves!

  Translated by: Hypersheep325

  Edited by: Michyrr

  “Mm.”

  King Song gave a slight nod. Fumeng Lingcha was the Qixi Protector-General, and enjoyed a high status and great influence. In his early years, he had had a chance to meet this Great General. Though this most senior of the Imperial Great Generals appeared crude and boorish, he w
as actually an exceptionally shrewd man.

  The trusted aide that Fumeng Lingcha had dispatched from Qixi had been extremely careful, not taking the usual roads to the capital and traveling on many detours. Sometimes he would stop, sometimes he would turn around, and he would even occasionally make his way onto a completely different road. In short, trailing him was extremely troublesome. As he approached the capital, this subordinate became even more cautious, making a large detour so that he would enter through the southern gate instead of the western gate.

  Subordinates emulated their superiors, and King Song was completely capable of seeing the characteristics of Fumeng Lingcha on this man.

  “Bring out the drawing. Since that child Wang Chong views this matter with such importance and even entrusted me with it, I can’t allow any mistakes. So many people go through the gates that Old Eagle’s birds might not be able to keep up. Watch carefully. He can’t be allowed to sneak into the city without our knowledge,” King Song firmly said.

  “Yes!” The old butler and a black-clothed expert with an icy expression replied in unison.

  King Song was an Imperial Prince of the Great Tang, and after several generations, his house had built up a vast reserve of resources and many experts, not just the old butler. The black-clothed expert was one of them.

  Time slowly passed, and as the darkness deepened, King Song and his party melded into the shadows, their presence dwindling into nothing. None of them moved, transforming into sculptures on the side of the road. After some time, when the gates were almost about to close, the turbid eyes of the old butler suddenly began to shine with a sharp and hawkish light.

  At almost the same time, King Song’s eyes twitched and his body straightened. Though he remained motionless, his eyes had fixed upon a turbaned Hu merchant whose eyes seemed to be focused on the ground. Although this Hu merchant was doing his utmost to remain inconspicuous, he was quite obvious in this gate that was normally traversed by the Han.

  Both smart and dumb.

  King Song chuckled as he suddenly strode out, walking against the flow of the crowd. He stopped in front of the Hu merchant, stopping him from going any farther.