“Is that true?”
Alia raised her head.
“Of course!”
Wang Chong stepped forward.
“But after all that he’s done, emerging completely unscathed is also impossible!”
Wang Chong placed a hand on Mutasim III’s body.
Bang!
As Wang Chong spoke, he sent a surge of Stellar Energy into Mutasim III’s body, shattering his meridians and dantian.
While Mutasim III was no weakling, he was far inferior to the Subtle-realm Wang Chong.
With Mutasim III’s cultivation crippled, he immediately crumpled to the ground, but Alia breathed a sigh of relief. If Wang Chong was willing to cripple her father’s cultivation, it also meant that her father was really allowed to live.
“Mutasim III, my emperor has decreed that you are to be King of Arabia, but I still must offend you for a while!”
With a wave of his hand, Wang Chong had several experts come forward and escort Mutasim III away.
Wang Chong was not a cruel and unreasonable man, but he was also not soft and merciful. The Arabian Empire had yet to be pacified, and Mutasim III was still the reigning sovereign. Killing him might stir up a new wave of unrest, and if he wasn’t killed, others could use him. He needed to be under the Great Tang’s control.
“Princess Alia, if you are still uneasy, you may accompany your Imperial Father. If you would!”
After taking care of Mutasim III, Wang Chong ordered his army of more than one million soldiers to finally enter the illustrious capital of the Arabian Empire.
Upon seeing the Tang coalition army, all the Arab nobles lowered their heads in fear and respect.
This was the first time a foreign army had ever conquered Arabia and marched into Baghdad!
This was undoubtedly the darkest day in the history of Arabia, but the brightest for the Great Tang!
After passing through more than half of the city, Wang Chong entered the resplendent royal quarter, and when he seated himself on the Caliph’s throne, the entire Tang army erupted with cheers.
At this moment, they had finally achieved true victory in this western expedition.
This was an unprecedented campaign, the first time in the history of the Central Plains that an army had gone past the Western Regions, marched over the Cong Mountains, passed through Samarkand and Khorasan, and conquered the western world.
Not even the Qin Emperor or Wu of Han had ever accomplished such a feat.
This was a massive victory that was more than worthy of entry into the annals!
“Pass on my order! Distribute rewards to the army!”
Bang!
The thunderous cheers of the army could be heard throughout Baghdad.
……
The next day, as all the surrounding countries were still shocked by Arabia’s surrender and as the Tang army was still celebrating its occupation of Baghdad, a surprising piece of news arrived.
In the Imperial Palace of Baghdad, Wang Chong, Wang Zhongsi, and Zhangchou Jianqiong were examining a map of Arabia and discussing how the empire was to be administered and where soldiers should be deployed. It was at this time that Zhang Que rushed in with excitement on his face.
“Milord, we’ve found the Arabian treasury!”
Buzz!
The hall fell silent as everyone turned toward Zhang Que.
“Where is it?” Wang Chong suddenly asked, not trying to hide anything from the others.
The war of the northwest and the following western expedition had been extremely taxing on the Great Tang. The money and supplies needed for the war effort, put together with the compensation paid out to the families of the bereaved, totaled together into an enormous sum.
While the Great Tang was prosperous, fighting a powerful empire like Arabia had still been extremely exhausting on its finances.
Moreover, Wang Chong had always followed the principle of using war to pay for war. After paying such a great price and obtaining such great success, he could not permit himself to return empty-handed.
Arabia was a powerful country known for its ferocity in battle, but Wang Chong also knew it to be a country of immense wealth.
In its ascendancy, Arabia had conquered countless countries and taken their wealth as its own. Fortunes that had been built up over the centuries had all fallen into Arabia’s hands.
This was an unimaginable wealth. After the Battle of Khorasan, when Wang Chong had demanded one billion taels of gold, it had been swiftly delivered.
It was only then that Wang Chong had realized that Arabia was even wealthier than he had imagined.
If he obtained this wealth, it would be an unimaginable boon for the Great Tang. Not only would it cover the losses suffered in the war, there was enough that it could be used on the populace to increase the national power of the Great Tang.
Thus, Wang Chong’s first mission upon occupying Baghdad was to find Arabia’s hidden treasury.
But everyone in Arabia flatly denied its existence, saying that Wang Chong had already plundered everything they had. If Wang Chong insisted, they might be able to scrape together five hundred million taels of gold to compensate the Great Tang.
Others might have been fooled, but not Wang Chong.
Wang Chong could also understand what they were thinking. Nobody could just stand and watch as the wealth of nearly one thousand years was plundered by another.
If they could keep it hidden, Arabia might be able to experience a revival.
But Wang Chong would not permit them this chance!
Zhang Que bowed and said, “Milord, it’s beneath the Imperial Palace, around sixty meters beneath the earth. There’s a seal there that prevents Psychic Energy from finding it. We needed to go to great lengths to finally find it!”
“Let’s go!”
Wang Chong quickly got to his feet.
Bang!
The golden gate to the treasury opened, but when everyone went inside the legendary treasury located beneath the palace, even the perpetually unperturbed Wang Zhongsi was startled.
They had prepared themselves somewhat for the wealth within, but they were still profoundly shaken when they saw the mountains of jewels and gold piled up within.
“Incredible! Truly an empire’s fortune!”
“If I didn’t see it with my own eyes, I would have never dared to believe that the Arabs had such immense wealth!”
“Wang Chong, I finally understand why you insisted on taking Baghdad!”
This world of wealth left all of them with unprecedented shock.
The Tang Empire also had many pearls, agates, corals, and jades, but the number of such treasures in this place was uncountable.
There were also many sparkling instruments, crowns, trees, goblets, and scepters forged from gold, many of them with ancient characters carved into them.
As they went farther inside, they saw golden chests stacked on top of each other, precious gems embedded into them.
Even more gems were liberally scattered throughout the treasury like they were grains of rice.
It felt as if they were walking through a desert of jewels.
Even Wang Chong, who was the most prepared of all, had to admit that the treasury of Arabia was still wealthier than he had imagined.
Suddenly, as his eyes glanced over a corner of the treasury, he opened his hand. An ancient bronze wine cup immediately flew into his hand.
“It’s a Sassanid treasure!”
Wang Chong had immediately recognized the familiar Sassanid writing on the cup.
Several decades ago, the Arabs had defeated the Sassanid Dynasty and taken their capital. When the army sacked the city, it had also taken away many of the Sassanid Dynasty’s treasures.
It was clear that all those treasures had been stored here by Mutasim III.
The Sassanid Dynasty was far from the only dynasty to have been plundered. Many kingdoms of varying sizes had been completely wiped out, even their traces of existence wiped away. The
ir treasures were also to be found here.
Buzz!
A moment later, Wang Chong sent a vast wave of Psychic Energy throughout the entire treasury.
His eyes closed, and after a few moments, they opened again.
“The total value of this treasure is probably between two and three trillion taels of gold. Although the pearls, agates, coral, jade, and ancient treasures can’t be valued, the gold items and ingots alone can be valued at around five billion taels.”
Buzz!
Wang Zhongsi and the others were all ecstatic to hear this. Agates and coral weren’t very useful, and there was probably no one in the world who could use up all of it. But gold could be directly used to fill the treasury.
Five billion taels of gold!
This was several times what the Great Tang had paid.
Even those Confucians and people who were always critical of reckless military campaigns would have no objections about this one.
“Wonderful! Wang Chong, with this campaign, not only have we removed a major enemy of the Central Plains and ensured our entry into the annals of history, we can use all that we’ve gained to truly benefit the people so that future generations can sing our praises! Wang Chong, after joining you on this campaign, we can truly die without regrets!”
Gao Xianzhi’s face was so red with excitement that he seemed intoxicated.
Everything before him was truly an achievement that he had never even dreamed of achieving in his lifetime!
But by following Wang Chong, he had really managed to do it.
Wang Chong smiled and quickly began to issue orders.
“Zhang Que, prepare a letter reporting everything to the Sage Emperor. In addition, have the army begin transporting all this back to the Great Tang to fill the treasury!”
Last time, when the First Prince was presiding over the government, Wang Chong had kept a large amount of the gold for himself. But now that the three Princes had been subdued and the Sage Emperor reigned once more, there was no need to keep this wealth for himself.
Moreover, with the threat of Arabia removed, Wang Chong did not need to keep so much money to prepare for war.
At this moment, Wang Chong felt like giving a long sigh of relief.
“Mm?”
Suddenly, Wang Chong turned his head to the back of the treasury, where a certain object had been tucked away in a corner.
Chapter 1916 - Future Master of the Central Plains?!
Chapter 1916: Future Master of the Central Plains?!
Translated by: Hypersheep325
Edited by: Michyrr
The treasure Wang Chong had noticed was unremarkable compared to all the other treasures in the treasury, but Wang Chong had noticed it because it was a treasure of the Central Plains, completely different in style from the others.
Whoosh!
Wang Chong reached out with his hand, summoning that treasure into it.
“What’s wrong?”
The others noticed what Wang Chong was doing and gathered around him.
Wang Chong held a roller made of white jade. Wrapped around it was an ancient painting from the Western Han Dynasty.
This sort of painting was priceless, and it was impossible for an ordinary person to possess it. Moreover, given the difference in the cultures of the Arabian Empire and the Central Plains, Wang Chong would never believe that someone as proud as Mutasim III would have a hobby of collecting the art of the Central Plains.
Wang Zhongsi walked up from the back and slightly frowned when he spotted a teardrop symbol on the white jade roller.
“Why would something from Youzhou appear here?”
The collecting world of the Central Plains had regional divisions. Some major collectors had developed methods for establishing the authenticity and lineage of precious paintings and other articles, placing small marks on them.
At the same time, this method would also make them identifiable if they were stolen.
Before Wang Zhongsi’s retirement, he had visited Youzhou and been the guest of several major and wealthy collectors, so he recognized the mark.
Everyone felt their hearts thump in dismay, and the mood in the treasury instantly turned strange.
Abusi walked up and asked, “Is it Protector-General Zhang Shougui?”
Youzhou was Zhang Shougui’s territory, and when a top-class painting from that region appeared here, it was very easy to link it with Zhang Shougui.
Zhang Shougui had a personality unlike the other Protector-Generals or Great Generals, and it was impossible to fathom his actions. Although the Great Tang had been at war with Arabia, no one would find it strange if Zhang Shougui was privately exchanging messages with Mutasim III.
“No, impossible!
“Youzhou is too far away from here. What could Zhang Shougui ever get from the Arabs?
“And the Arab army was pressing on our borders. No matter how unbridled Zhang Shougui is, even he would understand what exchanging messages with Mutasim III at a time like this meant. I don’t believe he would ever do such a thing,” Gao Xianzhi gravely said.
The best case for Zhang Shougui’s painting appearing in Mutasim III’s treasury was that it had been gifted long ago, before the war between the Great Tang and Arabia had started.
But the worst case was unpardonable treason!
If the Sage Emperor learned of this, demotion and imprisonment were completely possible.
But Gao Xianzhi would never believe that Zhang Shougui would do such a thing. Although the two of them had rarely interacted, and their regions were separated by the Central Plains, Gao Xianzhi was confident that someone as important and influential as Zhang Shougui would not be so rash.
Treason was no small matter. For a moment, nobody spoke.
Whoosh!
Suddenly, a small slip of paper about the width of two fingers slipped out of the jade roller.
This sudden change drew everyone’s attention.
Swoosh!
Wang Chong immediately extended his finger, and before the slip of paper could fall to the ground, it flew up into his hands.
A string of characters had been written on the two-foot-long slip of paper. Surprisingly, it was written in Arabic, not the language of the Central Plains.
“What does it say?”
Zhangchou Jianqiong slightly frowned.
He had no idea how to read Arabic.
After a moment of silence, a frowning Gao Xianzhi read the words.
“The future master of the Central Plains greets the master of the Arabian Empire!”
It was like a boulder had slammed into the ground, and the others shuddered, their faces flashing with anger.
‘Future master of the Central Plains’!
Just who was the master of the Central Plains of the east? Only the Sage Emperor!
“Bastard! What audacity!”
Zhangchou Jianqiong was ashen, his fists clenched in rage.
Everyone present was a Great General or Protector-General of the Central Plains, and here in front of them was a tribute offered in the name of ‘the future master of the Central Plains’ to Arabia! Such arrogance and boldness could not be forgiven!
This was rebellion!
“We must have this matter harshly investigated!” Zhangchou Jianqiong bellowed.
It had been many years since such a thing had last happened in the Central Plains. The Sage Emperor was the supreme sovereign revered by all its people. For someone to dare plot rebellion while he was still enthroned was utterly revolting!
“Wang Chong, did you notice something?” Someone suddenly interrupted Zhangchou Jianqiong.
Wang Zhongsi was staring at the nearby Wang Chong as he spoke.
Everyone immediately turned their attention to Wang Chong.
At this moment, they also realized that while Wang Chong had been the one to discover the painting, he had yet to say a single word.
His brow was creased and his head was lowered in thought.
“Prote
ctor-General An, do you recognize this seal at the end?” Wang Chong suddenly raised his head and asked a befuddling question.
An Sishun was taken aback, but he knew that Wang Chong had to have his reasons for asking this question. He quickly focused on the seal in question.
He hadn’t looked closely before, but he quickly noticed that there was a cinnabar seal at the end of the white slip of paper, about the size of a thumb. Upon close inspection, he saw that it was in the shape of a mountain.
After looking over it, he shook his head.
“I have not!”
Wang Chong closely examined An Sishun’s face, and only after determining that he was not lying did he put the slip of paper away.
“I see,” Wang Chong indifferently said.
Wang Chong’s face was completely unperturbed, but deep down, his mind was in absolute turmoil.
An Yaluoshan!
An Sishun might not have recognized it, but Wang Chong immediately knew it as ‘Mount Yaluo’, the mountain of a Hu god of war!
Later on, it would become An Yaluoshan’s most favored symbol.
An Yaluoshan had modified the shape of the mountain somewhat, but Wang Chong had still recognized it.
In this war between the Great Tang and Arabia, Wang Chong had never imagined that he would find this mark here.
While others might not have understood the meaning of the message, Wang Chong was keenly aware of its significance.
Wang Chong had never imagined that An Yaluoshan’s tentacles had reached so far. He had probably attempted to get in touch with the Arabian Empire long before the war, trying to make an alliance.
Wang Chong didn’t know the details, but from the final outcome, it appeared that the proud Mutasim III, with his millions of soldiers and numerous experts, had clearly not given much regard to the ‘future master of the Central Plains’, something that the man had probably not expected.
“I thought of something right now, but after thinking about it, I’m probably mistaken,” Wang Chong nonchalantly said, swiftly talking past his strange behavior.
“It’s not like we can’t investigate who this ‘future master of the Central Plains’ is. Zhang Que, take this treasure to Mutasim III and ask him where it came from. As it has nothing to do with Arabia, Mutasim III won’t have any reason to hide anything.”
The Human Emperor c1-2382 Page 1163
