The Human Emperor c1-2382

by Huangfu Qi (皇甫奇)

  The map of the Great Tang Jiudu Fuluo held had come at an immense price.

  Jiudu Fuluo’s eyes scanned the map and quickly found a major road within the Great Tang.

  This was a road that had to be used to enter the Great Tang. No matter how many teams that force of four hundred Tang split into, they would all have to pass through that area to reach the Great Tang’s capital.

  The only problem was that this area was within the Great Tang’s border. Even though the Great Tang and the Western Turks were on ‘friendly terms’, it was still a major offense for someone of Jiudu Fuluo’s status to enter Tang territory. But he cared little about this.

  “Hmph, this general will get there first and wait for all of you to enter the trap. Since you dared to invade the territory of the Western Turks, you should have been prepared to be completely wiped out!”

  Jiudu Fuluo sneered as he put the map away and rode off.

  Several hundred li went by in the blink of an eye. But just when Jiudu Fuluo was about to cross the Great Tang border, a resounding cry entered his ears.

  “Jiudu Fuluo, I hope that you are doing well! Beiting Protector-General An Sishun has been waiting for quite some time!”

  At the border between the territory of the Western Turks and the Great Tang, an imposing Great Tang general mounted upon a great stallion was slowly making his way toward Jiudu Fuluo.

  Jiudu Fuluo instantly scowled upon seeing this man.

  “An Sishun!”

  Across all of the north, only An Sishun would dare to appear before him in such a fashion.

  In the vastness of the steppe, Jiudu Fuluo had never imagined that he would run into An Sishun. It was as if An Sishun had predicted the route he would take.

  Chapter 1603 - Interception and Counter-Interception!

  Chapter 1603: Interception and Counter-Interception!

  Translated by: Hypersheep325

  Edited by: Michyrr

  “An Sishun, why are you here?”

  Jiudu Fuluo had a nasty expression on his face.

  “The Sanmi Great General no longer needs to pursue. This is the Great Tang border. Great General, please return!”

  As he spoke in his rumbling tone, An Sishun rode forward on his bluish-gray steed. He was now only a few hundred feet from Jiudu Fuluo.

  “Was it the King of Foreign Lands who sent you?” Jiudu Fuluo sternly said.

  “There’s no need for you to concern yourself with that,” An Sishun calmly replied, at the same time flourishing his spear. “Great General has been riding at full speed, but this is the end. Please go back.”

  “An Sishun, it was your side that broke the treaty first this time. Soldiers of your Great Tang crossed the border and attacked the vanguard of the Western Turks, killing six thousand of our people, even capturing two. No matter what, the Great Tang must give an explanation!” Jiudu Fuluo sternly said.

  “Since you have brought this up, you would have to ask why it was only those two who were captured. Six thousand were killed, so why were only these two spared? And they even caused Great General to come across a thousand li to come and save them!”

  An Sishun softly chuckled.

  “You!”

  All of the Great Tang’s capital was in a great stir over the massacre of those four hundred villagers, so how could those countries watching the Great Tang not know of this incident?

  “This is just a delusion of that King of Foreign Lands, but there’s no evidence, right?”

  “Ah, but then the four hundred men who Great General said attacked the Western Turkic vanguard is also nothing more than a false rumor, yes?” An Sishun countered, immediately rendering Jiudu Fuluo speechless.

  An Sishun had used his own argument. Truly, if he had captured the Great Tang soldiers with the hostages, he would have had the evidence, but right now, it was just a one-sided accusation from the Western Turks.

  “An Sishun, it seems like we have nothing more to talk about!”

  Jiudu Fuluo’s expression turned cold, and then he shot from his horse like a cannonball.

  A fierce wind howled toward the heavens, and a massive image of Mount Sanmi appeared behind Jiudu Fuluo, appearing even more grandiose and solid than it had in their last meeting.

  Jiudu Fuluo had clearly gotten stronger in the time that had passed, learning from his lessons and improving himself.

  But while An Sishun’s smile faded, he showed no fear against this fierce assault. In a flash of light, An Sishun vanished, and then a boundless energy that was as hot as the sun collided with Jiudu Fuluo.

  Boom! Boom!

  The steppe quaked as a brief yet fierce battle took place between the Sanmi Great General and the Beiting Protector-General.

  A few moments later, boom! Jiudu Fuluo shot into the distance like a shooting star.

  “An Sishun, this isn’t over between us! One day, your Beiting Protectorate and the Great Tang will pay the price!”

  Jiudu Fuluo’s voice rumbled like thunder, but the man himself was gone.

  An Sishun stood his ground and did not pursue. Gazing in the direction Jiudu Fuluo had gone, he muttered, “King of Foreign Lands, this is all I can do. The rest is up to you.”

  It was the north where the uproar over this incident had started, not the capital, and as the commander of the Beiting Protectorate, An Sishun was the one with primary responsibility. Thus, he had been roundly criticized, and he had even received a letter of harsh criticism from Wang Chong not too long ago.

  As they were both Great Generals, An Sishun was not bound to serve Wang Chong, and the King of Foreign Lands had no authority to meddle in the affairs of Beiting. But An Sishun knew his errors and couldn’t even muster a word in his own defense.

  It was his responsibility as Beiting Protector-General to oversee the northern lands and guard the people on the border. For four hundred people to be massacred while he remained completely unaware was clearly a dereliction of duty.

  Even though he did not share the same political views as Wang Chong and had even quarreled with him, An Sishun was forced to admit that he had gravely sinned in this incident.

  But An Sishun was also the only one who could possibly understand just how much pressure he was under. The militarist-Confucian conflict had placed immense pressure on the entire military, including the Beiting Protectorate.

  After the incident, An Sishun had considered an assault on the Western Turks, but the Imperial Court had fiercely resisted. Li Junxian had sent six or seven decrees through the Imperial Court banning the use of the Beiting Protectorate soldiers against the Western Turks so as to avoid an even greater conflict.

  Even though An Sishun was the Beiting Protector-General, he was not able to defy these decrees, so this was all he could do.

  Neigh!

  An Sishun turned his horse around and vanished into the steppe.

  ……

  With Jiudu Fuluo being intercepted by An Sishun and forced to return in defeat, the news of the Great Tang’s raid grew wings and spread to the surrounding countries, setting off great shocks.

  “What? A force of four hundred defeated a force of twelve thousand?! And they took away the army’s general and an officer!?”

  Flapflap! Countless messenger birds had arrived in the Eastern Turkic Khaganate. Within his tent, Ozmish Khagan was stunned.

  Not even Ozmish Khagan believed that he could take a force of four hundred and come out the victor against a foe thirty times his size, but not only had this army succeeded, they had even captured the two ‘ringleaders’ they had sought.

  The other countries had all believed that the Great Tang’s army had been greatly reduced through the militarist-Confucian conflict, but through these four hundred soldiers, they once more witnessed its terrifying strength and resources.

  “Where are they now?” Ozmish Khagan suddenly asked.

  “They’ve already crossed the border and are traveling day and night for the capital,” the kneeling scout reported.

&nbs
p; “Pass on my order. Mobilize all our men in the Great Tang to intercept those soldiers. No matter what, we can’t let those two reach the Great Tang capital alive,” Ozmish Khagan ordered.

  Whoosh!

  Amidst flapping wings, the news from the steppe was also being sent to the kingdoms of the Western Regions, Goguryeo, Mengshe Zhao, Ü-Tsang, and even Arabia and Charax Spasinu. That unbelievable battle that had taken place on the steppe stunned all the countries.

  “Pass on my order! Mobilize all our experts in the Great Tang! No matter what, we can’t let those two reach the Great Tang capital alive!”

  These countries all gave the same order as the Eastern Turkic Khaganate.

  The Great Tang stood high above all the other countries, and it was one thing if Wang Chong had killed those two at the border, but it was another thing entirely for him to have them brought back alive.

  That man not only wanted to seek justice for those four hundred slain villagers, he also wanted to kill the chicken to cow the monkeys, using those two as an example to intimidate the other countries.

  The other countries could not possibly accept this. The wax of the Great Tang would mean the wane of the other countries. Those two needed to die.

  After receiving the orders from their respective countries, the hidden experts laid out all sorts of traps on the road to the capital, creating an invisible net that threatened to entrap that force of four hundred cavalry.

  At the same time, Wang Chong’s residence in the capital was brightly lit. Wang Chong was seated behind his desk, and almost all his subordinates were gathered here.

  “The news from the north has leaked, and the other countries have probably begun to move. I only have one order. No matter what, those two must reach the capital alive.”

  Wang Chong opened his eyes, which exuded an intimidating light.

  “Yes, Milord!” everyone replied in unison.

  With this order, another set of orders began to reach out of the capital and sweep over the north.

  The lands between the northern border and the capital were fraught with dangers. Countless disguised experts were converging on the four hundred cavalry, heedless of the consequences.

  At the same time, countless soldiers and experts, including the martial artists of the evil and righteous paths, were also converging on the north. In places out of sight, the two sides engaged in a fierce and bloody battle.

  Many of the foreign assassins were slain before they could even get close, dying in the mountains, forests, rivers, and shrubs. The Great Tang side also paid a price.

  In this unseen clash between the martial artists of the Central Plains and the experts of various countries, many people entered their eternal slumber in obscure and unknown places.

  The foreign countries suffered grievous casualties from the constant harassment of the Great Tang forces, and in the end, they were forced to give the order to retreat.

  Several days later, the four hundred cavalry went through the final pass. Unhindered by further attacks, they smoothly rode toward the capital.

  ……

  At the same time, it was not just the foreign countries who were keeping an eye on this incident.

  Flapflap! Within the Secretariat Advisor Residence, Li Junxian was receiving countless pieces of information.

  “Bastard! What is he trying to do?!”

  Li Junxian was infuriated by what he was seeing.

  That force of four hundred soldiers was not merely linked to that village on the border, but also to the millions of people living in the Great Tang and in all the other countries. The Confucian Sect had gone through herculean efforts to make these countries sign treaties that would end war forever, but Wang Chong’s four hundred men had destroyed it all with one attack.

  Taptaptap!

  A flurry of footsteps came from outside his door, and a few seconds later, a Confucian Sect expert came in, with a black eagle belonging to the Western Turks perched on his hand.

  Chapter 1604 - The Confucian Sect Moves Out (I)

  Chapter 1604: The Confucian Sect Moves Out (I)

  Translated by: Hypersheep325

  Edited by: Michyrr

  “Young Master, we’ve just received a letter from Ishbara Khagan of the Western Turks harshly criticizing us for the misdeed of our attack on the Western Turks. At the same time, he demands that Young Master resolve this situation, that we must bring those two Western Turkic soldiers back to their homeland.”

  The Confucian Sect expert offered a letter as he spoke.

  Li Junxian took the letter and glanced at it, and his eyes immediately went to the large square seal stamped upon it. This was the Seal of the Khagan, which was an imitation of the custom in the Central Plains.

  “Senior Brother, what do we do?” the white-clothed girl suddenly asked, her expression grave. Everyone else in the room had similarly grave expressions.

  “Young Master, it hasn’t been very long since the Public Order Squad incident, but the King of Foreign Lands is already causing trouble on the border. If this continues, our Confucian Sect’s thousand-year wish, the ideal that generation after generation of sect masters have sacrificed themselves for, will all be destroyed at his hands!” a Confucian Sect expert resentfully said.

  “But we don’t have any evidence,” Elder Song suddenly said, his face fraught with concern. “Everything right now is just a one-sided accusation from Ishbara Khagan. The King of Foreign Lands simply needs to flatly deny it and we’ll have no way of getting at him.”

  The entire room fell silent. Yes, although the incident in the north had caused a great stir and was the focus of all sides, the Confucian Sect had no evidence with which to make trouble for Wang Chong.

  “That’s not all. Even if there was proof that this was the handiwork of the King of Foreign Lands, we still can’t do anything to him. The laws of the empire state that the great clans, including the noble houses, do not break the law as long as their number of private soldiers remains at one thousand or below. Those four hundred men are well below that limit, and the King of Foreign Lands only needs to claim that they are his private soldiers and we’ll immediately lose our authority over them. In addition, the laws of the Great Tang say nothing about killing the Hu or attacking the regular army of an enemy country, so it’s not breaking the law. In other words, even with evidence, we have no means of doing anything to him!” another Confucian Sect expert sternly said, great unwillingness in his voice. Wang Chong had sent only four hundred soldiers, placing the Confucian Sect in a very difficult position.

  In the silence, Li Junxian rubbed his forehead, his eyebrows twitching.

  Wang Chong! It was Wang Chong again! This name kept on popping up and causing problems for the Confucian Sect, far more than the rest of the militarists put together.

  “Senior Brother, we cannot ignore Ishbara Khagan’s letter. If we don’t handle this matter properly, our negotiations with the Western Turks before this will all have been for nothing!” the white-clothed girl sternly said.

  Everyone awaited Li Junxian’s order.

  “Forget the consequences! Pass on my order! Mobilize all the experts of the Confucian Sect! And inform King Qi and the First Prince to mobilize all the soldiers we can mobilize within the city. The cavalry who attacked the Western Turkic army are to be captured on sight!”

  Li Junxian raised his head, his eyes radiating sharp light.

  “No matter what, we cannot retreat again! We can no longer tolerate his actions. I will take responsibility for any consequences!”

  “Yes, Young Master!”

  The entire Confucian Sect moved in response to Li Junxian’s voice, swiftly spreading out from the Secretariat Advisor Residence to watch the roads leading west.

  ……

  At the same time, while Li Junxian and the Confucian Sect experts were spreading out over the capital, one hundred li from the outskirts of that city, a black-armored horseman rode up to the white-tasseled general.

  “Milord,
the capital is up ahead! Once we reach the capital, it will all be over!”

  The latter said nothing, only gazed at that imposing and grandiose city looming over the horizon. Even from this distance, one could hear the hubbub produced by its busting prosperity.

  “Don’t get careless. The safer it seems, the more dangerous it is. Until we deliver these two Hu to His Highness, we cannot get careless,” the white-tasseled general sternly said.

  “Yes, Milord!” his men roared in reply.

  On this journey, all of them had come to deeply comprehend the wisdom in these words. They had originally believed that the most dangerous part of this operation was advancing into the steppe and capturing alive the two culprits behind the massacre, but it was only on their way back that they realized where the real danger was.

  They had not lost a single person in the attack on the twelve thousand Turks, but once they reentered the Tang borders, they had lost quite a few men. The dangers they had encountered were too frightening to describe.

  “Let’s go! Keep an eye on those two criminals. No mishaps can be allowed until we get back to the capital!”

  With the order from their general, the cavalry hastened their pace and escorted Hulugan and Ashide toward the capital.

  Whoosh!

  But as they rode off, several carrier pigeons flapped their wings and reached the capital before them.

  As the carrier pigeons descended, a Confucian Sect expert hastily walked up to Li Junxian and bowed.

  “Young Master, we’ve found the cavalry. They’re less than sixty li from the capital. It will be at most two hours until they reach the western gate!”

  “Keep watching! I need you to keep your eyes fixed on that cavalry force. Tell the spies that I need to know their every movement! No mishaps can be permitted.”

  At the western gate, Li Junxian was wearing a white Confucian robe, exuding a transcendent air. His eyes were slightly closed as he motionlessly stood.