Wang Chong got down on one knee and solemnly bowed.
“May the Emperor live ten thousand years!”
A resounding cry echoed through the palace. Not a single person opposed the Sage Emperor’s decree. Even the Confucian Sect’s staunchest supporters in the militarist-Confucian conflict had bowed their heads.
Bang!
With the Sage Emperor’s decrees, all of the Nine Provinces began to move, the entire Central Plains coming to life like a massive war machine.
Countless soldiers began to gather, and the furnaces of the weapon shops and smiths began belching black smoke. The ringing of steel could be heard throughout the land.
As the Bureau of Military Personnel and Bureau of Works issued orders, an endless stream of military supplies began to flow toward the northwest.
Although Wang Chong had harnessed the power of the Nine Provinces in his previous wars, this time was different. The Sage Emperor’s order had galvanized the entirety of the Great Tang’s industrial strength. All the craftsmen worked day and night to forge. Wang Chong’s previous efforts weren’t even in the same league.
……
Deep within the Imperial Palace, in a dark underground cell…
Creeeak!
As the cell door opened, a slender Hu man slowly walked out.
I’m finally out!
The sunlight caused the man to cast a long shadow on the ground.
“Great General has had it hard! The Sage Emperor has ordered me to come and pick you up!”
A voice came from in front of him. Gao Lishi, wearing his silk robe, held his horsetail whisk in his left hand and a folded Great General’s robe in his right. Standing at the stairs leading to the exit, he smiled.
“Eunuch Gao, thank you for your concern!”
An Sishun smiled and bowed. There was no surprise on his face, and this development had apparently been completely within his expectations.
After the Setting Sun Villa incident, the First Prince had charged An Sishun with dereliction of duty and had him imprisoned. This matter had caused quite the uproar, and many people had been worried about him, yet the man himself had been unperturbed.
He had always known that as long as that man still remained enthroned in Taiji Palace, all this would be as transient as a fleeting cloud.
“Great General, the Sage Emperor has issued a decree. We must trouble General again with a war in the northwest!”
“This lowly subject obeys the decree!”
……
To the south of the Imperial Palace, at the Minister of War Residence…
After reading through the decree, Zhangchou Jianqiong sighed, unable to speak for some time.
“The day is finally here!”
As Zhangchou Jianqiong muttered to himself, his mind was swept up in a great turmoil. Zhangchou Jianqiong had not stepped onto the battlefield once since taking command of the Bureau of Military Personnel.
And when he went further back in time, the three-way standoff in the southwest between the Great Tang, Mengshe Zhao, and Ü-Tsang meant that it had been many years since Zhangchou Jianqiong had participated in such a large-scale war.
King of Foreign Lands Wang Chong, Crown Prince’s Junior Guardian Wang Zhongsi, Wall of the Empire Gao Xianzhi, Beiting Protector-General An Sishun, and himself—they would all be fighting alongside each other. Zhangchou Jianqiong had imagined such a scene many times, but he had never believed that it would ever happen.
The Great Tang simply had too many enemies surrounding it, and its six hundred thousand soldiers were forced to be distributed in every direction. But now, everything had changed.
This time, the Great Tang was truly mobilizing all its power, gathering all of its Great Generals. Just the thought of it had his blood boiling.
Clang!
Suddenly, Zhangchou Jianqiong clenched his fingers and pulled out the sword that had served him his entire life.
As the sword left its sheath, a cold light flashed through the air. At the same time, Zhangchou Jianqiong’s voice resounded through the hall.
“Tell Xianyu Zhongtong to mobilize the full strength of the Annan army and march to the northwest!”
……
On a winding mountain road leading to the capital, a powerful figure mounted on a snow-white steed was riding toward the capital, the sound of galloping hooves bouncing off the rock walls. Behind him were ten-some elite horsemen.
Neeeigh!
As if sensing something, that immensely powerful figure pulled on the reins of his horse.
“Milord, we can finally fight together again!”
Feng Changqing was waiting at the top of the mountain, wearing a simple cloth robe and holding a suit of armor for a Great General.
On the mountain, Gao Xianzhi slowly began to smile.
……
Whoosh!
The news of the war between the Great Tang and Arabia rapidly spread to all the other countries like an engulfing storm. For the first time, the Great Tang was sending all its soldiers to the northwest, only leaving the garrisons in the northeast untouched.
King of Foreign Lands Wang Chong, Tongluo Great General Abusi, Crown Prince’s Junior Guardian Wang Zhongsi, Wall of the Empire Gao Xianzhi, Tiger of the Empire Zhangchou Jianqiong… any one of these names was enough to alarm the surrounding countries.
These names had all been gathered together, and a vast army was being placed under their command and being sent to the northwest. This was a force that could make anyone shiver.
The news coming from the Great Tang made the other countries think back to thirty years ago, when the Great Tang was sweeping over all the other countries.
This time, all the countries surprisingly chose to remain quiet. None of them chose to exploit this opportunity to deploy their armies and hold down the Great Tang’s soldiers.
All of Wang Chong’s subordinates had gathered in the King of Foreign Lands Residence.
Whoosh!
Wang Chong pulled aside a large silk cloth, revealing the massive model beneath.
This model perfectly replicated the topography of the continent and the distribution of soldiers. Even the marching routes of the Arab army and the layout of their defenses had been drawn out in detail. All of this had been established on the reports from the Western Regions that numerous scouts had sent back.
Tang and Arabs looked far too different from each other, and Tang scouts couldn’t even get close to the Western Regions. Fortunately, Wang Chong had previously hired many Hu to serve as scouts, and he was still receiving reports from them.
“What has Su Hanshan said?” Wang Chong asked, still staring at the giant model.
The garrison in the Western Regions had been completely wiped out, leaving only the soldiers at Qixi and in the triangular gap. But after the mess the Confucian Sect had caused in Qixi, it was no longer as formidable a force.
However, the elite force Wang Chong had at the triangular gap was still capable of posing an enormous threat to the Arabs.
“Ü-Tsang has retreated on its own, and not a single soldier of theirs can be seen for one thousand li. Even their shepherds seem to have drawn back. For the moment, Su Hanshan doesn’t have to worry about any attacks from the rear.
“However, there aren’t that many soldiers stationed at the triangular gap. At present, there are around thirty thousand soldiers garrisoned there. But we also have fifty thousand soldiers at the base between Greater and Lesser Balur, as well as Great General Bahram’s twenty thousand elite cavalry. In total, we have about one hundred thousand men, enough for a good battle!
“But as Milord has yet to arrive, Su Hanshan does not dare to order an attack!” Li Siye said.
He had fought alongside Su Hanshan for a long time now, and even though he had entered the capital to pacify the Rebellion of the Three Princes, he was still keeping in touch with Su Hanshan through letters. Thus, he knew the situation there like the back of his hand.
“How many soldiers does Arabia have in the
Western Regions?” Wang Chong said.
Zhang Que bowed and reported, “The Arab vanguard does not have too many soldiers. The force that they used to ambush the Anxi Protectorate army was about twelve thousand soldiers, but they were all heavy cavalry!
“Great General Gao Xianzhi was not there to hold down the Western Regions, and the Confucian Sect commander who took over was not good in battle, so the losses were serious.”
He had been keeping a close eye on the Western Regions from the moment he had received the news of the assault. Even though he had called back almost all his spies and scouts for the Rebellion of the Three Princes, Wang Chong had ordered him to leave some men behind in the Western Regions.
“We’ve also learned that the remnants of the Shi Kingdom also took part in this operation. The Prince of the Shi Kingdom that escaped gathered an army of fifty thousand men and also hired the service of several tribes. This force joined the Arab vanguard, and the Anxi Protectorate army was simply no match.”
Zhang Que’s words had everyone in the hall frowning.
The Shi Kingdom was one of the Nine Clans of Zhaowu and had also been one of the wealthiest kingdoms west of the Cong Mountains.
When Gao Xianzhi launched an assault and destroyed the Shi Kingdom, one of the Princes managed to escape. This Prince had now returned to give the Great Tang a massive problem.
“In addition, the Arabs came extremely well prepared. This was evident from the fact that they managed to avoid all our spies and detour completely around Talas.
“After the Western Regions fell, the Arab armies in the rear rapidly advanced, working with their infiltrators to occupy Talas and then the rest of the Western Regions.
“As for the army of one hundred thousand soldiers consisting of the remnants of the Shi Kingdom and the tribes they hired, it is the reason General Su has remained on standby for now.
“Meanwhile, the Arab army is marching very quickly. They’ve already gathered an army of two to three hundred thousand and have begun to set up fortifications in the Western Regions!”
“Set up fortifications?”
Everyone was shocked to hear this. The Western Regions already had many cities, and even the headquarters of the Anxi Protectorate. For what reason did the Arabs need to build their own fortifications?
Chapter 1822 - The Confucian Sect’s Self-Redemption!
Chapter 1822: The Confucian Sect’s Self-Redemption!
Translated by: Hypersheep325
Edited by: Michyrr
“The Arabs seem to have a complete plan. Not long after occupying the Western Regions, they began to follow their plan and erect a massive fortress. They even brought all the craftsmen with them from Arabia. In addition, the Arabs have too many soldiers coming, and the cities and forts of the Western Regions are too crude. They might not be very comfortable with using them,” Zhang Que explained.
Wang Chong had been listening this entire time, and at this moment, he frowned.
An ambush, craftsmen, building fortifications—all of this formed a neat, orderly, and intricate plan.
Even though he had yet to see the commander, Wang Chong sensed that it was an extremely troublesome person.
“Order Su Hanshan to gather all the soldiers at the triangular pass. He simply needs to menace the Arabs for now. There’s no need for him to attack,” Wang Chong sternly said.
The Arab soldiers were increasing by the minute, and meanwhile, the Great Tang suffered a great disadvantage in terms of distance.
Moreover, three hundred thousand soldiers was of little consequence to the army of millions the Arabs were sending.
In contrast, if the soldiers at the triangular gap were lost, it would have major ramifications for Wang Chong’s next plans.
“How is Zhang Shouzhi doing?” Wang Chong asked.
“Following Your Highness’s orders, the diagrams have already been sent to Senior Zhang. He is currently in the middle of establishing the defensive line in Qixi, but not enough time has passed. The great clans need time to transport steel modules to the City of Steel, and there is currently a severe shortage of steel!” Xu Keyi reported.
He was the one in charge of this particular matter. Wang Chong had begun to prepare against Arabia a long time ago. Although there was no war going on, Wang Chong had been sending steel modules to the west this whole time. Each module had been packed in a wooden crate and secretly moved into the City of Steel, but even so, his preparations had been greatly lacking.
The Arabs had come with an army far vaster than imagined. Wang Chong’s initial arrangements could not hold against an army of 3.8 million.
Wang Chong lightly tapped on the edge of the model and firmly said, “Don’t worry about it. Start dismantling the steel fortresses at the triangular gap. You can dismantle them all, except the walls on the northern side, and use their parts for the defensive line!”
Wang Chong’s firm order shocked everyone, and then they suddenly had a realization.
When Wang Chong first set up the steel fortresses at the triangular gap and at Wushang, everyone had believed that he had gone through such great efforts to deal with Ü-Tsang and the Western Turks, but now, it seemed that they had all been prepared for a situation like this.
The two steel fortresses set up at the triangular gap and the outer city of the City of Steel had been built on a particularly large scale, and people had found it strange as to why Wang Chong needed so much land. But now, everyone understood. With the steel modules from the two steel fortresses, there was enough to set up a basic large-scale defense line, even if it still wasn’t quite enough to realize the entirety of the fortifications.
“Yes, your subordinate will go and inform Senior Zhang.” Xu Keyi solemnly said.
“Has there been any news from Xue Qianjun?”
Wang Chong quickly turned to Guo Ziyi.
Unlike the others, Guo Ziyi had earlier been sent overseas, so he had the greatest understanding of what was going on in the islands.
“Your Highness, the Eastern Islands have been completely conquered. We also recruited a few natives and supported a Queen Sami, placing the area under her control.
“Upon learning that the Arabs had invaded, Xue Qianjun started his way back to the Central Plains with his one hundred and fifty thousand soldiers. In addition, he also has an army of eighty thousand made up from local elites of the Eastern Islands. Although it can’t compare to the Wushang Cavalry, it is still an extremely impressive fighting force,” Guo Ziyi said.
Miyasame Ayaka had come from the Eastern Islands, and though it was not as strong as the Central Plains, it was still home to many formidable warriors. It was these warriors that had given Xue Qianjun quite a lot of trouble in the conquest.
But while the soldiers of the Eastern Islands were formidable, they had no skill in battle formations. Xue Qianjun had needed only the Cutting Formation to topple their armies.
In the face of effective formations, not even the bravest of the Eastern Islands’ warriors could do anything to stop Xue Qianjun’s progress.
Miyasame Ayaka remained calm and emotionless as she listened to Guo Ziyi’s report, as if its contents had nothing to do with her.
The people of the Ten Eastern Islands didn’t have an intense attachment to their homeland, and that place was still not united. Its warriors were more concerned about their own strength and glory.
Wang Chong gave a slight nod upon hearing this.
Xue Qianjun had been recruiting soldiers throughout his campaign in the Eastern Islands. With his one hundred and fifty thousand soldiers and eighty thousand Eastern Island elites, he had an immense force of two hundred and thirty thousand. This additional force of soldiers would be a great boost to the Great Tang’s power.
Wang Chong took one last glance at the model before giving his order.
“It’s enough. Pass on my order! All soldiers should march to Qixi at full speed!”
Speed was paramount in war. Before daybreak of the next day, Wang
Chong had gathered his men to set off for Qixi.
As Wang Chong and his men were mounting up, a crisp voice spoke into his ear.
“King of Foreign Lands, you’ll definitely defeat the Arabs and drive them out of the Western Regions, right?”
Wang Chong stopped and saw a small boy of seven or eight standing in front of a house. The boy was thinly dressed but had bright eyes. He held a small wooden sword in his hand and was looking at Wang Chong with admiration and anticipation.
“Mm!”
Wang Chong’s heart warmed as he nodded at the boy.
“Wonderful!”
The boy was so delighted it was like he had already heard the news that Wang Chong had won.
At this moment, the doors and windows over the houses on both sides opened, and countless people flowed into the empty street.
“King of Foreign Lands, you have to give those invading dogs a good beating!”
“Right! Beat them so hard that they piss themselves! Let the Arabs experience the power of our Great Tang!”
The people of the capital were filled with righteous fury. The Arab assault had clearly stimulated their anger and pride.
“Relax. I will definitely defeat the Arabs and drive them out!”
Wang Chong felt an even greater surge of warmth as he looked around at the excited and trusting faces.
War was a matter for soldiers. He had chosen to set off before daybreak because he did not want the mood of war to influence the people. But seeing this ‘prepared’ scene, Wang Chong knew that the people of the capital had probably stayed up the entire night waiting for him here so that they could send him off.
Behind Wang Chong, Xu Keyi, Zhang Que, and the others were filled with emotion. The militarists had been suppressed for too long, and their reputation had fallen into the gutter. It was very rare now for them to see a sight like this where the people of the capital came out to cheer them on.
At this moment, Zhang Que’s sharp eyes spotted several figures in Confucian robes making their way through the crowd. Grimacing, he whispered to Wang Chong, “Your Highness! It’s them!”
“Mm.”
Wang Chong nodded, his smile fading.
The Human Emperor c1-2382 Page 1114
