The Human Emperor c1-2382

by Huangfu Qi (皇甫奇)

  Xu Keyi stood erect in the middle of the Public Order Squad cavalry, his eyes like cold beads of ice.

  “Yes, Milord!” the cavalry thunderously replied.

  As Xu Keyi gazed at the turmoil and listened to the crying and shouting Hu, his face turned cold.

  When he had followed Wang Chong on campaigns, chasing down Hu soldiers and killing a million, the corpses had stretched to the horizon.

  All the Hu before them had been stricken with fear and fright. But now, some nonsensical peace accord had made the Hu start acting recklessly, even going so far as to use their numbers to block the gates of the palace.

  Bang!

  The earth rumbled as Xu Keyi’s Public Order Cavalry joined the rest in charging into the crowd of Hu.

  Neeeigh!

  And this was still far from over.

  Not long after Xu Keyi’s forces had arrived, another force came riding out of the western part of the city.

  In order to make its peace treaties, the Confucian Sect had disbanded many soldiers, and Wang Chong had used these disbanded soldiers to form his Public Order Squads, using the name of the Bureau of Military Personnel to recruit them. At this moment, the number of Public Order Squad cavalry outside the palace gates had reached nearly ten thousand.

  “What’s going on? Why hasn’t Young Master come out yet?”

  On the edge of the crowd, the Confucian Sect experts could only watch in rage.

  This was an extremely sensitive moment, and Wang Chong was their greatest foe. At this crucial time, how could they not be observing the movements of Wang Chong’s Public Order Squads and the Hu? In truth, they had known the moment the Hu had begun to gather that an incident would occur.

  But though they had predicted this, they had never expected Wang Chong’s reaction to be so swift and intense.

  “There’s a court session right now, and Young Master is the Secretariat Advisor, so he can’t leave,” said the member of the Confucian Sect in charge of intelligence, Bamboo Mirror, his eyes filled with concern.

  “Do we just have to watch this happen?” Sword Ghost said with great unwillingness. They were at a critical point in the peace talks, but it was all about to be ruined by a bunch of boorish warriors. This left him fuming in anger.

  At this moment, Elder Song finally spoke, his eyes wise and perpetually calm.

  “Calm yourself. Now is not the time to decide things with emotions. They are regular soldiers under the Bureau of Military Personnel. If we strike now, what will be our excuse? Defying the Imperial Court? We have no valid justification at this time, and can the members of our Confucian Sect really deal with nearly ten thousand people?”

  He had been the only one to maintain his calm amidst the crowd of Confucian Sect disciples, the only one able to restrain them.

  “Look at that!”

  Just when the red-faced disciples were arguing and hesitating, boom! Turmoil appeared in the crowd. All the spectating commoners suddenly turned in a single direction.

  The Confucian Sect disciples had also noticed this new development.

  “It’s him!”

  Following the gazes of the crowd to the west, they saw a young man wearing a golden crown and a dragon robe, riding upon a horse with pure-white hooves. Thronged by the crowd, he rode forward like the morning sun rising from the east.

  Although this man was young, his every movement exuded extraordinary dignity and grace, but what left the greatest impression of all was his aura of invincibility.

  “The King of Foreign Lands! It’s the King of Foreign Lands!” someone shouted out, and the spectating crowd in front of the palace gates immediately exploded with cries of alarm.

  A man’s name was like the shade of a tree!

  Even though Wang Chong’s ‘Might Makes Right’ had been criticized by Master Zhu and taken as heresy, few officials in the court could match his influence.

  Li Junxian, with his eloquent tongue, had become famed throughout the realm for his ability to make the various countries disband millions of soldiers.

  But even then, the influence of the King of Foreign Lands was not far behind.

  As a scion of a clan of ministers and generals, and the grandson of Duke Jiu, Wang Chong had led an army of several thousand into a situation where an army of hundreds of thousands would have been defeated.

  With just a hundred-thousand-some soldiers, he had stabilized the Western Regions and killed more than one million Arab soldiers, ending the pride and ambition of that western power.

  And Wang Chong was also the Son of Heaven’s disciple, a King who had been personally crowned by the Sage Emperor.

  Li Junxian could not compare in any of these aspects.

  Even though he had been missing for more than a month, even though he had been defeated in the militarist-Confucian conflict, now that he had reappeared, he once more became the most dazzling existence in the capital, the center of attention.

  Even though the Confucian Sect had tried to brand him as a ‘Demon King of Slaughter’, this had only added to his prestige and reputation.

  The Confucian Sect had done the exact opposite of what they had desired!

  “Damn it! He’s here!”

  Sword Ghost, Bamboo Mirror, and the white-robed girl all paled at the sight of this familiar figure, as did Elder Song.

  Their hearts sank and they felt an immense pressure on their shoulders, but there was also a deep fear and hatred!

  This man’s edge was simply too sharp. Even after his previous setback, Wang Chong did not seem at all dejected. On the contrary, he seemed to have become even more mature after his trials.

  Even Elder Song was alarmed to see Wang Chong’s bearing!

  This man was far more difficult to deal with than they had imagined!

  “Wang Chong!”

  Just when all the spectating commoners, the Confucian Sect, and even the Imperial Army soldiers on the gate were looking at Wang Chong, someone loudly shouted, drawing the attention of the crowd.

  Several young and sumptuously dressed Hu were emerging from the center of the Hu crowd to meet Wang Chong.

  When all the other Hu were fearful and panicked, these noble Hu showed no fear or evasiveness. Their confident demeanor as they approached Wang Chong made them stand out from the crowd.

  “Not good! It’s the foreign Princes! This is a problem! Pusan Tuoye is a newcomer and has no idea how formidable Wang Chong is! There might be an incident!”

  Elder Song’s composure finally broke.

  Pusan Tuoye and another one with the surname ‘Ashina’ were Turkic royalty.

  Other than inviting the Hu of various countries to the Great Tang so they could understand the Great Tang’s policies and kindness, the Confucian Sect had also placed a priority on inviting foreign Princes and Princesses so that they could experience the culture of the Great Tang, hoping that they might adopt a friendly view of the Great Tang so that they would favor a long-term peace.

  Of these foreign royals, the most outstanding of them was Pusan Tuoye. He had arrived at the capital the latest, but he was the leader that all the other royals trusted and looked to.

  And unlike the other foreign royals, Pusan Tuoye was actually ranked rather highly when it came to inheriting the throne. Thus, the Confucian Sect had always taken great care of him. But Elder Song and Sword Ghost had never expected Pusan Tuoye to appear amidst the protesting Hu at a crucial time like this.

  “Who’s there?”

  Wang Chong slowly turned his horse around. Everything had been going exactly as expected.

  But Wang Chong quickly spotted a group of unique Hu.

  The young Hu leading the group suddenly said, “This one is Pusan Tuoye, the seventh son of the Eastern Turkic Khaganate. Do I have the right to pay respects to the King of Foreign Lands?”

  At the same time, he looked around at the members of the Public Order Squad blocking his path. He had a proud expression and clearly had a high opinion of his status.

  “L
et them come over!”

  Wang Chong grinned. As he led his horse over, he made a gesture, upon which the Public Order Squad members opened a path for Pusan Tuoye.

  Pusan Tuoye had a fearless expression on his face as he led the foreign royals and several emissaries to Wang Chong. His head was held high, not even backing down in front of the ‘Demon King of Slaughter’.

  Pusan Tuoye looked at Wang Chong and loudly asked, “I have heard that Your Highness is both intelligent and experienced, one of the wisest people in the Great Tang. Your Highness, in the Great Tang, is it the rivers or the sea that is larger?”

  “Ha!”

  Wang Chong grinned. He knew what was happening, but he decided to play along anyway.

  “It’s naturally the seas that are larger!” Wang Chong immediately replied.

  Pusan Tuoye raised an eyebrow. “Then can I ask Your Highness: in the Great Tang, is it the sun and moon or the stars that are larger?”

  “Naturally the sun and moon!” Wang Chong answered, a smirk on his lips.

  “Then can I ask Your Highness, in the Great Tang, is Your Highness greater or the sovereign greater?” Pusan Tuoye finally asked, revealing his true motive.

  Buzz!

  Wang Chong showed no reaction, but Su Shixuan, Cheng Sanyuan, Old Eagle, and the others instantly paled. This Turkic Prince had been leading up to this question.

  Pusan Tuoye clearly had ulterior motives with this question, implying that not even the Son of Heaven could control Wang Chong and casting suspicion on his actions.

  Chapter 1584 - The Shao Music Dance!

  Chapter 1584: The Shao Music Dance!

  Translated by: Hypersheep325

  Edited by: Michyrr

  “It’s naturally the Son of Heaven who is greater!”

  Wang Chong smiled and answered as if he didn’t know what was going on.

  “Good! Since Your Highness knows this, why have you done that which disregards the sovereign? We were all invited by the Great Tang’s Son of Heaven and are guests, but what has Your Highness done to these guests? Are you going to arrest us all? Is this how the Great Tang treats its guests? Or is it that the Son of Heaven’s words have no effect on your Highness?

  “Amongst the Eastern Turks, when a master has a guest, but a servant ignores the master’s orders, knocking over the guest’s cups, plates, and utensils, they are completely ignoring the master. The Eastern Turks execute servants like these. Your Highness, are you this kind of servant? Or are you like that other kind of servant, having no regard for the sovereign and striking against your superiors!?” Pusan Tuoye said harshly.

  The foreign Princes and Princesses behind him brightened at these words as they inwardly shouted out in glee.

  There were naturally reasons Pusan Tuoye had so quickly become the leader of the foreign royals in the capital. In terms of bearing and intelligence, none of them could compare to him.

  If not for so many Public Order Squad cavalry watching them, they would have cheered out loud.

  But just when Pusan Tuoye was feeling smug and satisfied, Wang Chong smiled and gave his reply.

  “As expected, nothing but barbaric countries!”

  Wang Chong’s response immediately made the face of the foreign royals freeze.

  “The Great Tang is a country of ‘courtesy’, and when a host treats a guest with courtesy, the guest must reciprocate. When a guest comes, the host treats them to fine wine and delicacies, then, once the guest eats and drinks their fill, the guest will thank the host for their generous hospitality and then leave in a refined and unhurried manner. Perhaps it is because Your Highness is inexperienced or this is the custom of the Eastern Turks, but when guests in the land of the Eastern Turks go to a host’s house, they don’t thank the host for their hospitality but instead cause a scene and block up the entrance to the host’s house?”

  Wang Chong raised his head and glanced at the magnificent Imperial Palace.

  Pusan Tuoye and the other foreign royals instantly understood, and their faces and ears went red. Wang Chong was clearly jeering at their complete lack of gratitude in blocking up the palace gates.

  This was the capital of the Great Tang, the heart of the empire, and the Imperial Palace was where the Emperor discussed matters of state with his officials, an extremely critical location. For more than forty thousand Hu to gather here and block the gates so tightly that not even a drop of water could get in was truly rather excessive.

  Although the Hu had also found it rather out of line, they believed in the protection of the crowds, that the Great Tang could not arrest all of them. Adding on the fact that they had the Confucian Sect’s support, they had believed that there would be no problems. But who would have expected a development like this?

  Not only that, they had even provoked the great demon, the King of Foreign Lands.

  “Seize them!”

  Wang Chong ended his conversation with Pusan Tuoye and waved his hand. Su Shixuan immediately dismounted and led a group of Public Order Squad members over to tie up Pusan Tuoye’s group.

  “Release me! Release me now! I’m a prince of the Eastern Turks! King of Foreign Lands, you even dare to arrest me?! This will cause a major incident!”

  Pusan Tuoye finally panicked and began to struggle.

  “Hmph, let’s wait until that happens first!”

  Wang Chong coldly sneered.

  After going through so many wars, why would he be afraid of the ‘major incident’ Pusan Tuoye spoke of?

  This Eastern Turkic Prince had no idea who he was talking to.

  “Milord, what do we do?”

  Seeing Wang Chong sending men to arrest Pusan Tuoye after only exchanging a few words, the foreign spy captains turned pale and broke out in cold sweat.

  “If the royals are imprisoned, we’ll all be punished for failing in our duties. If there’s any mishap, we might even be executed!”

  They were filled with regret. If they had known that the King of Foreign Lands was so iron-fisted and vicious, they would have never listened to Mochi Xiangyang and invited the royals over.

  Mochi Xiangyang was more shocked than anyone else. He had only wanted to exert pressure on the Great Tang imperial household through protests, but the moment the Public Order Squads had intervened, he had completely lost control of the situation. Although he had heard of Wang Chong’s many deeds, only when actually exchanging blows with him did Mochi Xiangyang realize that he had deeply underestimated the eighteen-year-old Great Tang War God.

  There were no rules to his behavior, and Mochi Xiangyang’s conjectures and plans that would have worked on normal people were completely useless against him. Wang Chong was fearless and unbridled, not restrained by any apprehensions.

  No wonder the Great Minister told me to be cautious when I was leaving and to not provoke the King of Foreign Lands. I miscalculated!

  Mochi Xiangyang felt a bitterness in his heart.

  Any sort of argument felt weak and useless in the face of Wang Chong’s forceful seizures. Mochi Xiangyang’s face was pale and he began to wonder if he should retreat.

  “What do we do? Young Master still hasn’t appeared, and if this continues, Pusan Tuoye, the other foreign royals, and all the other Hu gathered around the gate will be arrested. Young Master might come too late.”

  Bamboo Mirror and the other Confucian Sect experts could only watch the Public Order Squad’s mass arrests and worry.

  Their young master had disbanded the prefectural armies and suppressed the militarists, upon which the King of Foreign Lands had set up his Public Order Squads and arrested the foreign royals and more than ten thousand Hu. Such a major incident would deal a massive blow to the Harmonious World that the Confucian Sect longed for.

  “There’s nothing to be done. We can’t deal with him. We have to wait until Young Master comes out.”

  Elder Song had a nasty scowl. He naturally understood the effects of this incident, but no matter how unbearable the situation was, they had to
bear it.

  “Everyone, listen to me. No matter what, you have to bear it! Don’t let your emotions make your decisions!”

  Elder Song’s greatest concern was that everyone would be provoked into a conflict with Wang Chong by this sight. That would be the true disaster. But just after Elder Song spoke, his worst fears were realized.

  “No, I can’t bear it! No matter what, we can’t let him take away Pusan Tuoye and the others!”

  Sword Ghost clenched his teeth and charged forward.

  Elder Song paled and instantly called out, “Sword Ghost, come back!” But Sword Ghost was too impulsive and had already shot into the crowd like a lightning bolt.

  “Wang Chong, stop right there!”

  A furious roar resounded over the Imperial Palace gates and Sword Ghost fearlessly charged at Wang Chong.

  “Stop him!”

  Xu Keyi and the others were in the middle of arresting Hu, and when they saw Sword Ghost charging over, they immediately moved to intercept. Bang! Bang! Bang! Before the Public Order Squad members could even get close, a shockwave of energy sent them flying away together with their horses.

  “Impudent!”

  Su Shixuan’s face darkened, and he immediately pulled out his Wootz Steel sword and went to stop Sword Ghost. However, Wang Chong soon stopped him.

  “Let him come over,” Wang Chong said in an unconcerned tone.

  Those Public Order Squad members immediately began to withdraw, but Sword Ghost didn’t care and charged straight to Wang Chong.

  “Wang Chong, just what are you thinking? Are you intentionally breaking the peace the Great Tang has with the other countries to take revenge against our Confucian Sect?”

  Sword Ghost stopped six feet away from Wang Chong, and his eyes were so burning with rage that it seemed like he wanted to swallow Wang Chong in one gulp.

  Sword Ghost had long ago grown sick of seeing Wang Chong. He had developed a poor opinion of him at their first meeting in Drunken Moon Pavilion and had proposed several times that they needed to be more vicious against this major obstacle for the plans of the Confucian Sect and end his fleshly existence. Alas, his young master and Elder Song had refused to listen, resulting in this disastrous consequence.