The Human Emperor c1-2382
Page 1194
Wang Chong could not help but emotionally sigh.
As expected… even Eunuch Gao isn’t here.
Wang Chong looked around the Sage Emperor, but he saw no sign of the Sage Emperor’s trusted confidant who had served him for decades. Eunuch Gao truly had disappeared.
Though Wang Chong had known about this for some time and had predicted this sight, he still felt a mixture of indescribable emotions.
As Wang Chong inspected the ‘Sage Emperor’, a pair of eyes was staring at Wang Chong from the throne.
“Bastard thing!”
The ‘Sage Emperor’ was fuming. He had opened this court session precisely so that he could call on Wang Chong.
The relationship between the sovereign and his subjects was that the sovereign was the heaven above while all the people of the realm were subjects who were to yield. Thus, if a sovereign demanded a subject’s death, the subject could only die.
But now, when he wanted to build his Peace Pavilion, Wang Chong had cut down all the trees that were to be used for construction.
It wasn’t like he had denuded Lingnan of trees, but there was no guarantee that other trees were of the right quality and maturity to be used for construction. Secondly, even if there were such trees, the majority of them were very far from the capital and would be much more troublesome to transport than those from Lingnan. This would delay the construction.
But what incensed him the most was Wang Chong’s attitude. Was there any subject who would so flagrantly defy their sovereign?
Just how had all those valued officials whose power had frightened the sovereign died? Did he really think that he was invincible just because of all the achievements he had?!
In this world, no one could defy him!
“The Sage Emperor has decreed that any concerns should be presented as quickly as possible. If there are no concerns, court is dismissed!”
This loud announcement opened the court session.
“Wang Chong, such audacity! You even dared to cut down Our forest!”
Before any official could speak, the Sage Emperor lost his patience and exploded in rage.
Everyone was stunned. Court sessions were meant to deal with the discussion and handling of government affairs, but when this court session had only just begun and had not discussed a thing, the Sage Emperor had started making trouble for Wang Chong.
An official instinctively walked out and tried to defend Wang Chong. “Your Majesty, the King of Foreign Lands…”
“Silence!”
The ‘Sage Emperor’ thundered as he glared at the official. The official immediately froze and walked back.
The hall fell silent in fear. To their shock, even trying to speak up in Wang Chong’s defense was enough to incur the ‘Sage Emperor”s rage.
Given past precedent, continuing to argue would just result in demotion. In the past, they would have still tried to argue, but now, if they were all demoted and a lot of incompetents were promoted, who would be left to handle the affairs of the realm?
Wouldn’t it be the common people who suffered in the end?
This was something they had all previously discussed. No matter what, they could not let their emotions influence the operation of the government.
“Wang Chong! We ask you! With your military achievements, do you not even have Us in your eyes now?” the ‘Sage Emperor’ coldly asked.
The air in the hall was at maximum tension. Everyone stared worriedly at Wang Chong.
Wang Chong tidied his clothes, stepped forward, and calmly said, “Your Majesty, this subject has no such intention. This lowly subject cut down the timber in Lingnan on imperial decree.”
All the officials were struck dumb, and the Sage Emperor was even more incensed.
“Bastard! You are saying that We had you cut the trees?”
The ‘Sage Emperor”s eyes could almost kill at this point. It was clear that if Wang Chong could not give him a satisfying answer, Wang Chong would not meet a good end, no matter how much all the other officials protested.
“Did Your Majesty forget? Your Majesty agreed to allow me to establish a navy, leaving all other matters, including the materials needed for its construction, up to me to decide,” Wang Chong continued.
“You dare deceive the sovereign? When did We ever say such a thing?!”
The ‘Sage Emperor’ narrowed his eyes alarmingly.
When did he ever say such words? And how could he have allowed Wang Chong to chop down the trees needed for his Peace Pavilion? Wang Chong hadn’t even attended court recently, so how could he have agreed to anything? This was a blatant lie.
The officials and generals were tense and worried. If this continued and Wang Chong failed to give a good explanation, he would end up demoted and banished just like those imperial censors.
“Your Highness…”
A major official closest to Wang Chong whispered, nudging the hem of Wang Chong’s clothes, trying to tell him to lower himself a little and admit his errors, thus cooling the ‘Sage Emperor”s rage.
But Wang Chong feigned ignorance.
Chapter 1970 - Imperial Visit to Yuzhen Palace!
Chapter 1970: Imperial Visit to Yuzhen Palace!
Translated by: Hypersheep325
Edited by: Michyrr
“Your Majesty, this subject is not speaking recklessly. There truly is such a matter, and this lowly subject has kept the memorial, which even has Your Majesty’s jade seal,” Wang Chong confidently said, reaching into his sleeve and removing the memorial. Whoosh! The memorial unfolded, revealing several lines of black characters.
‘It is hereby agreed that the King of Foreign Lands is granted full authority to build a navy, to use the power of the Six Bureaus as he sees fit…’
And it really was true that the large red seal of the Sage Emperor could be found at the very end.
Wang Chong began to speak once more. “…Earlier, when Your Majesty attended court, you declared to all the officials that the Prime Minister, King Song, and the other major officials of the court were to jointly rule on government affairs. It was at that time that your lowly subject’s memorial was passed.
“If there are details of this matter that Your Majesty is unaware of, Your Majesty may ask the Lord Prime Minister. The Lord Prime Minister knows every detail of the matter.”
At the very front of the ranks, Li Linfu had had a bad feeling from the moment Wang Chong took out the memorial, though he hadn’t expected Wang Chong to dump the responsibility on him at the very end.
He naturally had some recollection of this memorial. When Wang Chong had come with this memorial, he claimed that the Sage Emperor had already agreed. Li Linfu hadn’t carefully inspected it at the time, and he felt that there was simply no problem. After all, Wang Chong was the Nine Provinces Protector-General and the Supreme Marshal of the realm. The navy was under the scope of the military, and for Wang Chong to set one up was not a problem.
He had never expected Wang Chong to take this memorial, run off to Lingnan, and cut down the trees the Emperor needed for his Peace Pavilion.
Though Li Linfu was incredibly reluctant, he still spoke up.
“Your Majesty, this truly is the case!”
Silence!
A deathly silence!
No one had expected this sort of twist in the court session the ‘Sage Emperor’ had called out of rage.
The ‘Sage Emperor’ was stunned, and then, after glaring at Li Linfu, he turned to Wang Chong, his body trembling in anger.
“Bastard!”
If looks could kill, Wang Chong would have died one thousand times by now.
When Wang Chong mentioned the matter of Li Linfu ruling jointly with King Song and the other major officials, he had intentionally left out that he had been one of the named major officials.
This was clearly Wang Chong writing and approving his own memorial! It was utterly absurd!
And what made the ‘Sage Emperor’ even more furious was that this decree
was one that he had made. In other words, there was nothing wrong with saying that Wang Chong had his approval.
Thus, even if he wanted to execute Wang Chong, he had no good excuse.
But the more this was the case, the angrier he became.
“Wang Chong, you still dare to lie in front of Us!”
The eyes of the ‘Sage Emperor’ glinted with cold light as he bolted up from the throne.
“Ever since your return from the northwestern campaign, you have truly become more and more lawless. You would even dare to interfere with Our Peace Pavilion! Do you have designs on the entire court?”
“Your lowly subject would not dare!”
“Wang Chong, while you might have achievements and prestige, do not forget that We are the master of this country, and We granted you everything you have! We can give, and We can take back!”
The ‘Sage Emperor’ angrily grunted, and with a wave of his sleeve, he angrily stomped back into the rear hall.
“Court is dismissed!”
The voice was overcome with wrath.
The officials glanced at each other, but none of them dared to say otherwise.
“Our decree is thus!” Just when he was about to step into the rear hall, the ‘Sage Emperor’ stopped and suddenly declared, “King of Foreign Lands Wang Chong, for opposing the Son of Heaven, you are placed under house arrest for three months and fined three years of official salary! Without Our decree, you are forbidden from stepping out of your estate!
“In addition, for the failure to construct even a little Peace Pavilion, the Minister, Assistant Minister, and Auxiliary Assistant Minister of the Bureau of Works are all removed!”
With this said, he vanished from sight.
Wang Chong and the other officials were all startled. No one had expected this act from the ‘Sage Emperor’ right when he was about to leave.
A sliver of deep concern appeared in Wang Chong’s eyes.
But the major officials around him sighed in relief. They had predicted a storm from this court session, and for it to end this way was actually not that bad.
The court session ended very quickly. Meanwhile, in the rear hall…
“All of you, get out!” the ‘Sage Emperor’ declared, upon which all the eunuchs, guards, and palace ladies withdrew.
The moment they were all gone, the ‘Sage Emperor”s face turned extremely dark and grim.
“Wang Chong, Wang Chong… Li Taiyi, it was one thing for you to suppress me for thirty-some years, but now, the person you raised is also planning to suppress me. I’ll tear him into ten thousand pieces!
“You destroyed my life, so I will destroy everyone close to you, everything you value! We will destroy it all! This is the price you must pay!”
The ‘Sage Emperor’ raised his head, a savage and frightening look on his face.
“Someone! Prepare my carriage to Yuzhen Palace!” the ‘Sage Emperor’ suddenly cried out.
“I’ll start with your most beloved woman first!”
His eyes bursting with venom and loathing, the ‘Sage Emperor’ called his carriage and headed toward Consort Taizhen’s residence, Yuzhen Palace.
A few moments later, in Yuzhen Palace…
“Your Majesty, His Majesty is coming!”
In Yuzhen Palace, a clever palace maid of sixteen or seventeen excitedly ran toward Consort Taizhen with the news.
“Really?”
Consort Taizhen’s eyes flashed.
“Mist Rain, Lotus Scent, help me with my clothes!”
Consort Taizhen stood up, a smile flowering on her lips.
A few moments later, the gate to Yuzhen Palace was opened. Consort Taizhen had finished bathing and was clothed in a white palace gown, appearing like an ethereal fairy who had stepped out of a painting as she waited.
At this moment, Consort Taizhen was so dazzlingly beautiful that even her attending palace maids were stunned.
At the same time, in his carriage headed toward the inner court, the face of the ‘Sage Emperor’ was overflowing with hatred.
“Li Taiyi, today, I’ll seize your woman! Let’s see what you can do to stop me!
“You brought her into the palace but did not even touch her! Did you think you could hide her from me? Today, I’ll make you regret this decision for the rest of your life!”
The face of the ‘Sage Emperor’ was so twisted that it looked nothing like its usual self.
Bang!
Suddenly, when the ‘Sage Emperor’ was still several hundred meters from Yuzhen Palace, boom! The ‘Sage Emperor’ in the carriage seemed to crash into an invisible barrier with such force that the carriage was pushed backward a distance.
“Your Majesty!”
Cries of alarm came from all around, and several Golden Guards rushed up with panicked expressions.
“Your Majesty, are you okay?”
In the carriage, the ‘Sage Emperor’ was also dumbfounded. He had never predicted this.
“What happened?” the ‘Sage Emperor’ asked in alarm.
“Your Majesty, nothing happened!”
“This lowly subject does not know!”
Outside the carriage, the panicked Golden Guards kneeled.
No one understood what had happened, only that the carriage had seemed to crash into some vast energy, and it seemed that this energy had come from inside the carriage.
“Forward! Forward! Forward!”
In consternation, the ‘Sage Emperor’ repeated the same word three times.
But a moment later, the carriage seemed to crash into an invisible barrier again, and the strength this time was so great that a crack appeared on the carriage.
Drip!
Moreover, a liquid trickled down. The ‘Sage Emperor’ reached out to feel his face and came away with blood.
“Li Taiyi! You bastard!”
The ‘Sage Emperor’ finally realized what was going on.
That bastard had placed a seal over Consort Taizhen and all of Yuzhen Palace. If he approached, he would suffer a vicious backlash.
Just two attempts had left his face covered in blood.
He had no doubt that if he continued to try, that bastard would truly bring down the both of them.
“I won’t give up! We will never give up!”
The ‘Sage Emperor’ was wrathful, but in the end, he gave up on Yuzhen Palace for now and headed back to his own residence.
In Taiji Palace, the ‘Sage Emperor’ furiously called out, “Attend me! Now! At once!”
“Your Majesty, your slave…”
The eunuchs and palace ladies flooded into Taiji Palace, but before they could even stand straight, the ‘Sage Emperor’ turned around and slapped them, sending a eunuch and several palace ladies crashing into a wall.
“You damn slaves!
“Useless things!”
The ‘Sage Emperor”s furious roars resounded through the hall.
“Your Majesty, forgive us!”
The remaining guards, palace maids, and eunuchs turned ghastly pale and immediately prostrated on the ground.
But in response was an even more infuriated roar. Stellar Energy rumbled, and a shockwave spread outward and tossed up all the chairs, tables, pastries, decorations, wine cups, and foods in the hall, wreaking havoc and chaos.
The guards, palace maids, and eunuchs could only tremble in fear.
“Out!”
Upon hearing this angry bellow, all the servants felt they had been granted a pardon, and fled the hall.
Furious curses and the sounds of crashing and breaking persisted in the hall for several hours.
At some point, a voice shouted into the hall, “Your Majesty, a letter from Youzhou! Deputy General An Yaluoshan of the Andong Protectorate has prepared one hundred Hu beauties and offers them to Your Majesty, wishing Your Majesty a boundless longevity!”
“What?!”
All the chaos in the hall died away as the Sage Emperor turned toward the entrance.
……
“Your Highness, what do we do now? The Sage Emperor has placed Your Highness under house arrest for three months. This will make Your Highness unable to do many things and pose a great inconvenience,” Zhang Que said.
The missions to the far north and the northeast were done, and Zhang Que had returned several days ago.
All of Wang Chong’s subordinates knew about today’s court session.
Wang Chong’s three-month house arrest had left all of them uneasy.
Chapter 1971 - Genesis Supreme!
Chapter 1971: Genesis Supreme!
Translated by: Hypersheep325
Edited by: Michyrr
“It’s fine. The Great Tang no longer has any powerful enemies, and nothing in the court or society requires my personal involvement. All of you will be more than enough,” Wang Chong casually said.In truth, many matters could be easily resolved without Wang Chong taking one step out of his estate.“Young Master Qingyang!” Wang Chong suddenly said.“Young Master!”Young Master Qingyang immediately came forward.“There is something I need you to do for me as quickly as possible.”As Wang Chong spoke, he took a slip of paper from his sleeve and handed it over.“This is a kind of divine medicine that is exceptionally rare. I need you to head toward Mount Kunlun and try to find this medicine. It’s called the Rainbow Glass Divine Grass.”“Yes, Young Master!” Young Master Qingyang firmly said, taking the paper.Wang Chong had mobilized a great deal of manpower and resources to find information connected to the Divine Martial realm. Just a few days ago, Lu Ting had suddenly sent word that he finally found a clue in an extremely old book. It was called the Rainbow Glass Divine Grass.This plant was extremely rare, and it only appeared on the cloud-shrouded Mount Kunlun.Mount Kunlun was a legendary mountain said to be the home of gods.The entire mountain range spanned several thousand li, extending from the Great Tang to the Western Regions.And the Rainbow Glass Divine Grass appeared only in legends, could only be found by chance and not sought.But Wang Chong didn’t have many options. This was perhaps the only way to save the Sage Emperor.These thoughts flew through Wang Chong’s mind, and he quickly regained his composure.“In addition, starting from now, the Wind, Forest, Fire, and Mountain teams should place their focus on the northeast, including the Eastern Turkic Khaganate, the Xi, the Khitans, and Goguryeo.“Old Eagle, I’m giving you ten million taels of gold. Find a way to loosen the tongues of the nobles in the Eastern Turkic Khaganate, the Goguryeo Empire, and amongst the Khitans. In addition, hire many Hu spies. Our men are too obvious.“Zhang Que, Xu Keyi, provide your utmost assistance. Take my token. All of the soldiers in the Great Tang Empire, the Wushang Cavalry, the Mo Saber Unit, the elites of the protectorate armies, the Divine Prison Army, the Azure Martial Army, the Iron Wall Army, and even Bahram’s Aswaran Cataphracts… are all available for your use. You can select men from any army unit, even the craftsmen!”Wang Chong issued a series of orders in rapid succession.Everyone in the hall was stunned. None of them were strangers to this Wang Chong. He had been the same way when they were dealing with Arabia.But this time, the focus had switched from Arabia to Youzhou.“Yes!” all the subordinates replied in unison.In Youzhou was some obscure officer known as An Yaluoshan. No one knew why Wang Chong placed so much importance on this Hu commander, but none of them had ever questioned Wang Chong’s judgment.Rumble!With Wang Chong’s order, the machinery of the Great Tang began to turn. Wang Chong’s immense influence in the army went to work, and countless elite scouts, a number several dozen times greater than those sent in the previous mission, swept toward the northeast.Vast quantities of manpower, wealth, and other resources were mobilized, all for the sake of a single An Yaluoshan.……In the Imperial Palace, the Sage Emperor’s transformation had drawn everyone’s attention, and beneath the surface, an undercurrent was surging around Youzhou as Wang Chong and An Yaluoshan engaged in an invisible war.At this moment, several li outside of the capital, a man with billowing robes suddenly appeared in the air.“Paying respects to the Genesis Supreme!”The man got down on one knee, a meek look of reverence on his face.Starlight flashed around the man, and seven stars dimly shone. If Wang Chong had been present, he would have immediately recognized this man as the survivor from the Rebellion of the Three Princes, the Tianfu Divine Lord.In the Celestial God Organization, the Tianfu Divine Lord had an extremely high status and authority. Never before had he appeared so humble and meek.Buzz!A few moments later, there was another flash of light, and then a divine figure with billowing robes manifested in front of the Tianfu Divine Lord.This man had a domineering gaze, and his tall and slender body was bursting with energy. Even though the Tianfu Divine Lord was a Subtle realm expert, to compare him to this man was to compare a child to an adult.The careful observer would notice that the energy exuded by this man was the same as that of the mysterious figure who had conversed with An Yaluoshan atop that mountain in Youzhou.Youzhou and capital were so far apart that it was hard to believe that this man would appear here.“How is that man doing?”The Genesis Supreme’s face was covered by a white mask, and where the eyes should have been, two wriggling tadpole shapes had been drawn in ink.“Honored one! All is proceeding according to Heaven’s plan.”The Tianfu Divine Lord did not even dare to raise his head, and his expression was so respectful that it could even be described as fearful.The hierarchy of the Celestial God Organization was extremely strict, and the Tianfu Divine Lord had almost had a heart attack when he heard that this higher being was coming to the capital.Although he was a Divine Lord, which was already a very high level in the organization, he was still some distance from a legendary character like the Genesis Supreme.Even the deceased True Lord Yellow Dragon had been considered beneath the Genesis Supreme.The difference between the two was comparable to the gap between the Tianfu Divine Lord and True Lord Yellow Dragon.“…That soul that Li Taiyi was suppressing has already come out, and all of the court affairs are being managed by him. If all went as expected, after being struck by Heaven’s palm, Li Taiyi is being suppressed by that soul. He is at his weakest state. Honored one, should we use this chance to kill Li Taiyi? We can finish off this hindrance once and for all!” the Tianfu Divine Lord respectfully said.The soul that had been suppressed by Li Taiyi thirty-some years ago had awoken and taken back control of its body. It was something that they had never even dared to think about.The Celestial God Organization finally had a chance to excise this problem once and for all.“There’s no need!”The Genesis Supreme waved his sleeve, his voice cold and aloof.“Li Taiyi is an incredibly crafty person. Although this is truly a rare chance to deal with him, that Third Prince Li Xuan has only temporarily taken control over the body. He has control over the body for the majority of the time, but once we attack, it’s hard to say if Li Taiyi might suddenly wake up and use this chance to attack us, just like with Yellow Dragon.”The mention of Yellow Dragon made the air freeze, and a look of terror appeared on the Tianfu Divine Lord’s face.True Lord Yellow Dragon was one of the twelve True Lords of their organization, having already reached the Grotto Heaven realm. With the wave of his hand, he could create his own small dimension, and his strength had been far above the Subtle realm.But in the Rebellion of the Three Princes, he had been lured into Taiji Palace by Li Taiyi, where one strike had dispersed his soul so that not even Heaven could save him. This was the reason the Genesis Supreme had appeared.The Tianfu Divine Lord’s nightmares would forever be haunted by that image of Li Taiyi’s sword cleaving apart the heavens.The members of the Celestial God Organization had always regarded themselves as gods, and even those bearing imperial authority in the mortal world were nothing but ants to them.But the powerful Subtle and Grotto Heaven realm experts of the Celestial God Organization, legendary existences who had lived for a thousand years, were incapable of resisting that sword from Li Taiyi, as easily slain as chickens or lambs.Never in the Tianfu Divine Lord’s life had he imagined this to be possible.The Tianfu Di
vine Lord had spent almost every moment since then haunted by that nightmarish scene.“But if we do this, if Li Taiyi seizes this chance to retake control, won’t all of our previous efforts have been for nothing?” the Tianfu Divine Lord hesitantly said.That soul that had been suppressed for thirty-some years simply wasn’t on the same level as Li Taiyi. If the Celestial God Organization was willing to take the risk, it had an extremely high chance of success. The Tianfu Divine Lord found it truly hard to imagine that the Genesis Supreme and those above had simply decided to sit back and waste the chance!“Hmph, you think too simply. Failure to reach the Divine Martial realm is not so easy to solve!”The Genesis Supreme looked toward the capital and coldly snorted.“The Divine Martial realm is Heaven. Anyone who can reach this realm is a god walking the earth. And if a mortal wishes to defy Heaven and become a god, how can they not pay an immense price for their failure?“It was just that he managed to use some heaven-defying techniques to suppress it all this time. In truth, he should have died ten-some years ago. That he could last until now and even force our hand is already quite impressive!“But the debts must be paid eventually. His soul was always an outsider, and how could an occupied body be considered a true body? And he was too soft. Thirty-some years ago, if he had just killed that Xuan, he would not be having this problem now. And now, as the original owner gets stronger and stronger, staying awake for longer periods of time, he will get weaker and weaker until he can hold on no longer.“As long as we don’t take action and maintain a passive stance, it won’t be long before he breaks,” the Genesis Supreme coldly said, his voice brimming with confidence.Mortals were mortals and ants were ants. No matter how powerful they were, they could not change their nature.Ants that opposed men and men that opposed gods would ultimately suffer the fate of annihilation.While Li Taiyi was still alive, all the arrangements to deal with him were already in place.He would not get a single chance.The Tianfu Divine Lord was startled at first, as the Genesis Supreme had divulged information that was unknown to him. But he quickly digested the information and said, “This… Honored one, what should we do next? Should we get in touch with that Third Prince Xuan? To help him.”“Heh, no rush!” the Genesis Supreme indifferently said, waving his hand.“I came this time precisely to confirm Li Taiyi’s condition, to see if Heaven’s plan has taken effect. As for that Third Prince Xuan, there’s no need to worry. Our Child of the World in Youzhou has already prepared a great gift, and the play will be starting soon. Just thinking about it makes one excited!”“Your subordinate understands!”The Tianfu Divine Lord deeply lowered his head and said no more.The air was quiet, and after some time, the two of them vanished in a gust of wind like ghosts, leaving behind no trace.