Bang!
Everyone in the study trembled at Wang Chong’s words, not daring to utter a word!
There was no subordinate relationship between Wang Chong and Protector-General An Sishun. For Wang Chong to say such things despite this lack of status could only mean that his rage had reached an extreme. The Beiting Protectorate was responsible for the border, but even though this incident had taken place right under An Sishun’s eyes, the Beiting Protectorate showed no signs of activity. This was what infuriated Wang Chong the most.
“And what has the Imperial Court said? After what’s happened, can the Imperial Court act like nothing has happened?” Wang Chong coldly said.
Su Shixuan bowed and respectfully reported, “In the Imperial Court, although the Confucian Sect has expressed anger, with Li Junxian writing a letter in the court’s name to Ishbara Khagan harshly denouncing him for this act, the Imperial Court is doing all it can to suppress this matter for the sake of the Great Tang’s relationship with the Western Turks. Thus, this news has yet to spread through the capital.”
“Hmph, can he suppress it?”
Wang Chong’s eyes turned cold, his body seething with killing intent.
While the Great Tang and the Western Turks were nominally at peace, four-hundred-some people of the Tang had been killed, but Li Junxian’s reaction was to send a letter of ‘harsh denouncement’ and then suppress the news for all he was worth for the sake of the overall situation. This was why Wang Chong could never agree with his views and could never compromise with him.
Blood could only be repaid with blood!
Only a pain that bored into their bones could properly discipline these brash and ruthless Western Turks and teach any other potential invader what the consequences would be.
“Pass on my order! Spread all the information regarding this incident throughout the capital! And also bring the surviving widow to the capital. Tell her that I already know of this matter, and that before she arrives at the capital, I will give her and all the massacred villagers a proper response. The Confucian Sect can’t dominate the Great Tang just yet. I’d like to see who would dare oppose me on this matter!”
With these last words, Wang Chong’s eyes exploded with killing intent.
“Yes!”
Everyone in the study seemed to come to life as they replied in unison.
Boom!
Wang Chong’s scouts began to spread the news, and when the capital learned of the tragedy in the north, it exploded. The effects of this incident far exceeded even the expectations of Wang Chong and Li Junxian.
Whoosh!
A carrier pigeon flew into the Secretariat Advisor Residence. In the hall, Li Junxian was holding a jade brush as he checked over a document. Upon opening the message, he instantly paled.
Within the capital, the storm stirred by this incident was still building strength.
“These beasts! To think that they would dare to do such a thing!”
“Where’s the Imperial Court? Why hasn’t the Imperial Court done anything yet?”
“Settle down. I’m confident that the Imperial Court will act.”
“Haaa, is this a sign of another war between the Great Tang and the Western Turks?”
“Bastard, you’re still saying stuff like that at a time like this?”
In the streets and alleys, tea houses and taverns, conversations and quarrels were ever-present. The people of the Great Tang had received an immense mental blow.
All the people of the capital had begun to doubt the ‘Harmonious World’ promoted by Li Junxian and the Confucian Sect.
Before this, the majority of the Great Tang’s people had supported Li Junxian. It was for this reason that Wang Chong’s ‘Might Makes Right’ had ended up being put on the banned book list during the militarist-Confucian conflict.
They had all believed that since the Great Tang had signed peace treaties with all the foreign countries, there would be no more wars in the future.
With the threat on the borders of the Great Tang removed, the Great Tang naturally no longer needed to expend its treasury, foodstuffs, and soldiers on war.
The Great Tang had existed for many years and had lost innumerable soldiers. This was why the people had longed for peace and opposed war.
But the incident on the border had torn a bloody wound in their dreams, letting all of them see the truth.
That peace treaty could not protect the people of the Great Tang. This had been the blood-drenched lesson paid for with the lives of four hundred people.
“Let’s go! To the Secretariat Advisor! Hasn’t he always been talking about his Harmonious World? Everyone, come with me! No matter what, we have to get an answer for those killed on the border!”
In a restaurant in the western part of the capital, a denizen of the capital was getting angrier and angrier. With a wave of his hand, he led countless others who were deeply disappointed by the Confucian Sect toward the Secretariat Advisor Residence.
In the capital, those who felt the most conflicted were none other than the Hu. Before this, the Hu had taken advantage of the Great Tang’s tolerant policies to act as they pleased within the capital, but after this incident, the mood had turned strange, and many Hu decided to become more reserved.
“Wang Chong!”
Within the Secretariat Advisor Residence, Li Junxian threw a memorial to the side. As he listened to the uproar coming from outside, he closed his eyes.
This report was even more detailed than the one he had seen in the court. Only Wang Chong was capable of such a thing. He had to admit that Wang Chong’s move had completely upset his tempo, and for the first time, he felt deeply troubled.
How could he not be angry over the border incident, and how could he not empathize with the people of the Great Tang?
But the Great Tang had no evidence on this matter, and the Imperial Court couldn’t just declare war on the Western Turks based on the hoofprints left in the village. What if someone had been trying to frame them?
Relationships between nations were different from those between private individuals. Evidence was absolutely necessary. Moreover, the ones behind this massacre were several dozen Turkic cavalry who had defied their orders and launched a raid over the border. But the actions of this small squad could not be taken to represent all of the Western Turks!
For the sake of four-hundred-some people, would they start a war that would result in the deaths of four thousand, forty thousand, four hundred thousand?
Once the relationships between the two countries worsened and both sides regarrisoned the border, even more raids would occur, and the raids would strike deeper into the heartland. Ten, one hundred, or even more massacres would take place.
Was he not promoting the Harmonious World precisely to avoid such disastrous consequences?
It was fine if others did not understand, but did the King of Foreign Lands not understand this principle?
Li Junxian felt his heart burning with rage.
Putting aside Li Junxian’s reaction, from the moment he had decided to announce this news, Wang Chong had made up his mind. He would teach the Western Turks a harsh lesson, engraving into their hearts the consequences of such conduct.
At this moment, Wang Chong had gathered all his subordinates in his study.
“Milord, we’ve found the location of the cavalry.”
Zhang Que unfurled a map of the north on the table and then pinned a small flag to it.
Influenced by Wang Chong, all his subordinates had a habit of carrying this sort of map and not the traditional models. There was even a division under Wang Chong that was solely tasked with creating maps of different countries.
“There’s been a small development. The Western Turks have received the news and know the effects the incident has had on the capital, so the force of eight thousand has been bolstered to twelve thousand.
“In addition, the Turkic border armies have exploded in activity, with Hu cavalry appearing around the Beitin
g Protectorate day and night. They’re probably worried that the Beiting Protectorate might attack. Not only that, we’ve also discovered people disguised as Hu merchants around Qixi Protectorate who are constantly sending messenger birds in the direction of the Western Turks. At this time, the soldiers on both sides are keeping a close watch on each other. If we move our army, we’ll immediately be noticed.
“That Turkic army has also noticed the danger and greatly increased their patrols. Even if we get past the lookouts, if we even try to get close, they’ll probably immediately retreat.”
“The situation right now is extremely problematic,” Su Shixuan suddenly added, his eyes tinged with worry. “That group of forty-some cavalry never goes out, and hides like a turtle in its shell within that camp of twelve thousand soldiers. If we want to deal with twelve thousand Turkic cavalry, we will need at least seven thousand soldiers. But such a large target would be spotted from hundreds of li away.”
The room instantly fell into silence.
With all the countries watching and the Western Turks increasing their guard, dealing with the Western Turks was far more difficult than they had imagined.
“However, our only opportunity right now is because the Western Turks refuse to admit anything, so they can’t withdraw their soldiers immediately, because this will be tantamount to admitting that it really was their fault. Thus, we still have a chance right now, but this chance won’t last forever. The Western Turks will probably use the excuse of a normal change of shifts to transfer that army away,” Zhang Que said. That the opportunity was still in their grasp was the only good piece of news.
But the twelve thousand regular soldiers and the even larger Western Turkic garrison behind them were clearly problems that needed to be dealt with. If they didn’t solve them, they would never be able to punish the Western Turks.
Everyone turned to Wang Chong, awaiting his order.
After a long period of silence, Wang Chong finally opened his eyes and spoke.
“Pass on my order!”
Chapter 1598 - Punish No Matter How Far! (I)
Chapter 1598: Punish No Matter How Far! (I)
Translated by: Hypersheep325
Edited by: Michyrr
“Find four hundred volunteers from the triangular gap. Tell them all the dangers and let them make the choice for themselves. Provide them with the finest weapons. In addition, mobilize all our power. I don’t care what difficulties you face, whether it’s surveillance in the air, scouts from the various countries, or Turkic sentries on the steppe. Within ten days, I want to see the result. No one can recklessly slaughter the people of the Great Tang without paying a price. Those who commit crimes against the Tang will be punished no matter how far they are!”
Wang Chong’s voice was ice-cold, his words resounding through the room.
“Yes!”
The subordinates in the room shouted in unison and then left.
Following Wang Chong’s order, the entire northwest region began to shake, and storms began to build up on the border.
……
To the north, past the Beiting Protectorate, and seven hundred li into the deserted Turkic steppe, numerous people had gathered together, their tents rising from the earth, banners of black wolves representing the Western Turks standing between them.
The Turkic war banners snapped in the howling winds.
While the people of the Great Tang’s capital and north were grieving and raging, this Western Turkic camp abounded in cheers and laughter, bonfires brightly burning while wine cups clinked together.
“Hahaha, come! Drink as much wine as you want, eat as much as you want!
“This is the dried meat the southerners went through so much trouble to cook! The quality is exquisite! I hear that they need to smoke the meat for seven days and nights to make this.
“How is it? Not bad, right?”
At this moment, in the northernmost part of the camp, a Turkic man with long and messy hair, a scar on his face, and a bare chest was raising a large bowl of alcohol. He was seated around a bonfire with several other Turkic soldiers, all of them loudly cheering and drinking.
The large bowls they used to drink alcohol were not the ones commonly used by the Turks. These were made of white porcelain and had a ring of green flower designs. And if one looked carefully, one would see that these bowls also had dried blood stains.
But these Turkic soldiers didn’t care about this.
“What a pity! In order to not leave behind clues, we had to kill all those southern women. Otherwise, we could have taken them back to camp to have some fun with them.”
One of the Turkic soldiers regretfully sighed. Taking a dagger, he cut a piece off the meat that was roasting over the fire, put the piece in his mouth, and slowly chewed.
His words caused the other soldiers to go quiet, all of them with looks of yearning. All of them knew of how tender and soft the skin of southern women was, and their soft and supple bodies had a quality that Turkic women didn’t possess.
Unfortunately, the influence of the Great Tang had made all southern women exceptionally fierce. The women of that village had struggled mightily, and the soldiers were also somewhat fearful of the consequences of their deeds, so it had been decided to kill them all.
“But Milord, are we really being transferred away in a few days?” one of the Turkic soldiers suddenly said, his face brimming with reluctance. “We barely got a taste and now we’re being ordered to withdraw. It’s really hard to accept this!”
“There’s nothing to be done about that. I heard that our massacre of that village has been discovered. We were still too careless and left behind some footprints, allowing them to conjecture that it was us. I hear that this incident has caused a great stir in the capital of the Great Tang, and even the King of Foreign Lands has taken notice of us. Our superiors are preparing to send us farther north until this storm blows over,” the bare-chested Turkic captain said.
The other soldiers fell quiet. They were none other than members of the squad who had massacred four-hundred-some Tang and burned down an entire village, sending great quakes through the Great Tang and its surrounding countries.
They had also heard of the impact this incident had had on the Great Tang’s capital and the northern region. They cared little about the anger in the Beiting Protectorate and in the capital. What they truly feared was the King of Foreign Lands.
This was a man who had killed one million of the Arabian Empire’s soldiers, killed the Black Wolf Yabgu, Agudu Lan, and even defeated the Celestial Wolf Great General, Duwu Sili. Even one of the three great cavalry forces of the Western Turks, the Celestial Wolf Cavalry, had almost been wiped out in the Battle of Talas. Even though this individual was very far away, they still felt an immense pressure.
“Milord, I hear that the Great Tang wants to deal with us, that the King of Foreign Lands is investigating us. I even heard that people managed to find this place and were noticed by the patrolling scouts. Is all this true?” a Turkic soldier worriedly asked, voicing the question on everyone’s mind. Everyone turned to look at their captain.
It had been their captain who had led them to the village, and in their moment of panic, they looked to him for guidance.
“Haha, look at how scared you are. The Great Tang empire is far, far away, and the King of Foreign Lands is all the way in the capital of the Great Tang. Is he going to come and deal with us personally? And even if he wants to, does he even know who we are? And do they have evidence? Who said that it was us who killed them?
“…True, we’re drinking and feasting on the wine and meat of southerners, but can’t we have bought these things? Hasn’t the Great Tang always liked to trade? If they can sell, we can naturally buy.”
The captain patted his belly and laughed. As he looked at his subordinates, his eyes brimmed with derision.
“Relax! With the Turkic eagles watching the skies, the Beiting Protectorate can’t make a move. A single move would set off
a major war, and the southerners hate the idea of war at the moment. As for the Qixi Protectorate, even if only a single fly flies out of it, we would still be able to notice it.”
“But I heard that soldiers are gathering in the Qixi Protectorate and at the triangular gap. Doesn’t it seem like they’re going to attack us?” someone softly whispered.
This rumor had been spreading through the camp for some time, apparently unintentionally revealed by a Hu merchant from the Western Regions. Apparently, the King of Foreign Lands was gathering a group of special soldiers to capture them. There was no evidence as to the rumor’s veracity, but this news had spread through the Western Turks and made all the soldiers nervous.
“Jincha’er, look at you! You would believe a rumor like that? Just think about it! Our superiors are even more worried about this incident than us, and we’ve set up checkpoints from here all the way to Qixi. Four to five hundred soldiers have been placed on patrol, and we also have eagles in the air. If they truly send people, how would we not know? And don’t forget that we have more than ten thousand men in this camp. If they come at us with too few people, they won’t do any good, and if they have too many, won’t we notice? So relax! Nothing will happen!”
The Turkic captain raised an oily sheep leg and took a large bite from it.
“You know, while the southerners also raise pigs and cattle, it’s still their sheep that taste the best. Southern sheep meat is soft and tender, completely unlike the sheep raised by us Turks. With some cumin and a few other seasonings, it truly has a unique flavor.”
Hearing their captain’s words and seeing him chewing happily away and even patting his belly, everyone relaxed.
A Turkic soldier seemed to think of something, and burst into laughter as he looked around. “Hahaha, that’s right! What’s there to be afraid of? There’s a solution for every problem, and no matter who comes, they’ll first have to ask the more than ten thousand soldiers and the general and see if they’ll agree.”
Around him, the sounds of feasting and cheering were endless. The entire camp seemed to be in the midst of a celebration, and all of them were using the large southerner bowls and eating the dried meats, fruits, steamed buns, and roasted fish of the southerners.
The Human Emperor c1-2382 Page 987
