From Genesis Supreme’s words, he could tell that the reports from the Imperial Palace had not been wrong. He truly had been ‘killed’ by Wang Chong, but somehow, he had not died.
For him, it seemed to merely be a matter of changing his body.
The death of a human was a light going out! This was a principle that all of them understood.
He had never heard about a situation like Genesis Supreme’s. It was beyond the realm of human understanding.
From a certain perspective, he really did seem like an immortal god.
“This god was listening to your conversation. There is no need for you to worry about the Great Tang’s million-man army, or that fortress in the northeast. This god has already made arrangements. In addition, I have already ordered my subordinates to send over the third batch of Yeluohe. This time, it is not eight thousand, but twenty thousand!
“When the time comes, send someone to receive them!” Genesis Supreme sternly said.
“What?!”
The generals glanced at each other in excitement.
Twenty thousand Yeluohe?
Together with the first two batches, didn’t that mean that Youzhou now had thirty-six thousand Yeluohe warriors?!
The Yeluohe were special soldiers created by the Youzhou group and Genesis Supreme. Each one was extremely powerful, capable of contending against one hundred– no, one thousand!
More importantly, Yeluohe warriors were extremely sturdy, seemingly able to survive even the most dire of injuries.
If they had thirty-six thousand Yeluohe warriors, what was there to fear about the Great Tang’s army of one million?
“Wonderful! If that’s true, we won’t even need to wait for the agreed four months and can just attack immediately!” Tian Chengsi excitedly said.
An additional twenty thousand Yeluohe was like four hundred thousand ordinary soldiers.
The boost this gave to Youzhou was inestimable.
“Very good! This was exactly what this god wanted to say! I do not give this batch of Yeluohe for free. This god has only one condition! You must attack early!
“This god cannot wait for even one additional moment. I want that brat crushed into powder!”
Genesis Supreme’s voice was suffused with immense hatred.
Wang Chong hadn’t even reached the Grotto Heaven realm, but he had almost died to such a puny ant, his soul nearly scattered. Genesis Supreme could not endure this sort of disgrace!
He had gotten in touch with An Yaluoshan this time precisely so that he could borrow An Yaluoshan’s strength to sow chaos in the realm and have Wang Chong killed early.
“So that’s what it was about! If you want to kill that brat, we have no objection. Once those twenty thousand Yeluohe arrive, we’ll immediately set out, crush their armies, and take the Central Plains!”
An Yaluoshan heartily laughed, agreeing without a second thought.
What sort of burden was this?
This was being gifted a pillow when feeling drowsy. They had just been talking about the fortress and the recruitment of soldiers, and now, Genesis Supreme had delivered twenty thousand of the supreme Yeluohe to them.
This was the most pleasant of surprises!
If this was the power of the ‘Child of the World’, then one could say that Wang Chong had helped him out.
“Very good. I will send those soldiers over soon. I hope that you will not disappoint this god.”
Genesis Supreme nodded, and with a thump, the phantom exploded into black smoke.
“I will wait for the good news.”
Genesis Supreme’s voice in the black flute dwindled away, after which the flute ceased to ripple with energy and returned to normal.
Once Genesis Supreme’s presence had faded, the mountaintop fell silent.
An Yaluoshan and his subordinates glanced at each other, their smiles quickly fading. An Yaluoshan twitched his wrist, placing a barrier of energy around the black flute that cut off all sound.
“This Genesis Supreme can’t be trusted, but we need those twenty thousand Yeluohe!”
An Yaluoshan’s face darkened as he turned to Gao Shang.
“Gao Shang, time is short. Write two letters asking Ü-Tsang and the Western Turks if they’ve made up their mind yet!”
“Yes!”
Gao Shang hastily lowered his head.
An Yaluoshan turned to Cui Qianyou.
“Cui Qianyou, Tian Qianzhen, if we’re beginning our attack early, we need to discuss the details of deployment with our allies.”
“Yes!” the generals called out, and lowered their heads.
An Yaluoshan nodded and said no more, immediately heading off for the Andong Protectorate headquarters.
In the main hall of the headquarters was a model that he had ordered to be made, detailing the geography of the Central Plains and the distribution of soldiers.
A very long discussion was ahead of them.
The group quickly dispersed, and a few moments later, messenger birds took flight to Ü-Tsang and the Western Turkic Khaganate.
As the snowstorm continued to wreak havoc, the temperature continued to drop, and the cold wave continued its ceaseless advance to the south.
At this time, high atop the Tibetan Plateau, tiny snowflakes drifted down from the sky and blanketed the region.
In the royal palace of Ü-Tsang, the Tibetan commanders had gathered, Dalon Trinling seated above them all.
In the center of the hall, upon that throne that had been passed down for hundreds of years, sat the Tsenpo, his expression grave.
Ü-Tsang’s Imperial Ministers usually handled daily affairs, even more so during Dalon Trinling’s tenure, and the Tsenpo rarely took part in court sessions.
This was because Dalon Trinling was more than capable of handling the empire’s daily affairs, and if Dalon Trinling couldn’t handle it, the Tsenpo probably couldn’t handle it either.
But this time was different. The terrifying calamity the Holy Temple had prophesied several thousand years ago was imminent.
For many years, the Ü-Tsang Empire had relied on the unique terran of the plateau to avoid disaster after disaster, but not even the lofty altitude could protect Ü-Tsang from this cold wave.
Many cows and sheep had frozen to death, and the cold wave showed no signs of stopping. If this went on, the empire’s destruction was not far off.
The royal palace was fraught with tension.
“Your Majesty, Imperial Minister, this cold wave cannot be underestimated. We have already sent men to investigate, and we have found that Goguryeo, Youzhou, the Eastern and Western Turkic Khaganates, the Western Regions, and our own Ü-Tsang are all feeling the effects of this snowstorm. Extreme cold and ice storms have pervaded the world from east to west. Such cold climate is unheard of, and even the Central Plains are showing signs of freezing,” a thick-bearded and hairy Tibetan general reported.
“If this trend continues, if nothing changes, the entire plateau will be covered in ice and snow in another one or two months, and countless people will have frozen to death.”
Another Tibetan general stood up and said, “It might not even be just one month. Already, tens of thousands of people in the empire have frozen to death, and one million head of livestock have died. We’ll be running into food shortages soon. The situation doesn’t look good.”
Ü-Tsang’s altitude made its situation somewhat better for now, but not by much.
“Can we really not endure this cold wave?” the Tsenpo suddenly blurted out, his brow furrowed in unease.
He had also received the reports on the snowstorm, and some places were probably in far worse condition than his generals reported. No one had ever encountered a situation like this, and nobody knew how to deal with it.
The hall was silent, and everyone began to turn to Dalon Trinling.
“It’s very difficult. It’s not showing any signs of stopping so far!”
Dalon Trinling shook his head and spoke calmly.
“Namri Songtian, have you done what I asked?”
“Imperial Minister, Tsenpo, everything has been taken care of. All of the shepherds are beginning to make their way south, and it should buy us a little more time. But this does not address the root of the problem!” Namri Songtian sternly said.
The snowstorm was moving from north to south. While the northern parts had been turned into a land of ice and snow, with countless livestock frozen to death or pelted to death by hail, the lands on the southern face of the Tibetan Plateau, those of the Ngari Royal Lineage, had not been as harshly affected, giving the Ü-Tsang Empire a chance to catch its breath.
For the lands of the Ngari Royal Lineage, rendered deserted by Wang Chong’s sheep plague during the Great Tang’s war of the southwest, to play such an important role during this calamity was truly surprising.
But all of them knew that if the snowstorm continued to advance, they would still not be able to escape.
Chapter 2122 - The Countries Move!
Chapter 2122: The Countries Move!
Translated by: Hypersheep325
Edited by: Michyrr
“And what of the Great Tang?” the Tsenpo suddenly asked. “Is the Great Tang really not affected at all? We recall that they still have several steel fortresses at the triangular gap, yes?
“And what of the Western Regions? What are all those little kingdoms doing right now?”
The steel fortresses Wang Chong had erected on the northeast corner of the Tibetan Plateau had been a constant problem for Ü-Tsang. They should have been in the first area to suffer from this disaster.
Although Ü-Tsang had suffered heavy losses, if the Tang army at the triangular gap was completely wiped out, the losses would be somewhat more acceptable.
A Tibetan general in charge of gathering intelligence reported, “Your Majesty, long before the ice storm, the Great Tang withdrew all its soldiers from the triangular gap. The triangular gap is currently an abandoned city, and they have completely given up on it!
“We’ve sent men to investigate and found not a single Tang there!
“As for the kingdoms of the Western Regions, they’re divided into two groups. One crossed the Cong Mountains into Arabia while the other retreated into the interior of the Great Tang!”
“What?!”
The Tsenpo instantly scowled.
Under Wang Chong’s command, the Great Tang had gone through great lengths to invade and occupy the triangular gap, even erecting a steel fortress there.
Ever since then, the steel fortress in the triangular gap had been the greatest of threats to Ü-Tsang.
But to everyone’s surprise, the Great Tang had so easily abandoned the triangular gap it had worked so hard to take.
“This bastard!”
The Tsenpo clenched his fists, his expression nasty.
The generals in the hall lowered their heads.
Compared to Ü-Tsang, the Great Tang was clearly much more prepared.
Dalon Trinling seemed to realize something and turned to another general. “Manggele, several days ago, I had you investigate how the Great Tang was dealing with this disaster. Do you have any news?”
With a strange expression on his face, the Tibetan general bowed and said, “Imperial Minister, Tsenpo, we have found that as the Great Tang is positioned more to the south than us, and because they have the Turks in the north to buffer them, they have not suffered any severe damage from this disaster as of yet.
“But we have also discovered something strange. Long before the great cold wave began to move south, the Great Tang’s King of Foreign Lands began to purchase large quantities of kerosene from Arabia. At the time, we believed that this was for military purposes, but now, the matter no longer appears as simple.
“Besides kerosene, the Great Tang has also accumulated large quantities of coal, cotton, and wool. It has also bought large quantities of grain which it has recently distributed to all its provinces. It appears that they were prepared for the cold front several months before it arrived.
Bang!
The hall exploded into an uproar.
“How could this be? Two months ago, there was no sign of a cold wave anywhere in the continent. How could they have been ready so early?”
“Could it be a coincidence?”
“Impossible! Kerosene, cotton, coal, wool… these items are all used to resist cold. If they didn’t know about it beforehand, how could they have started preparing two months ahead of time, and how could they have accumulated so much?!”
“If that’s true, then the Great Tang’s King of Foreign Lands is far too frightening!”
All of the people in the hall had incredulous looks on their faces, like they had seen a ghost.
Dalon Trinling said nothing, his head lowered and his eyes twitching.
As the Imperial Minister revered by all Tibetans, Dalon Trinling was renowned throughout the world for his intelligence.
But not even Dalon Trinling could see through many of the actions of that youth of the Great Tang.
All the other countries had been left in disarray by the great cold wave.
But long before anyone else, Wang Chong had begun to buy food, cotton, and other such items. It had all seemed very normal at the time, and who could have imagined that these things would be connected to the great cold wave?
Truly unfathomable!
As these thoughts flashed through Dalon Trinling’s mind, his heart was filled with fear.
Only this young War Saint could exert such immense pressure on him!
“There’s not much time left…” Dalon Trinling muttered so softly that only he could hear.
Ü-Tsang couldn’t last for long. A solution needed to be found before that cold wave fully descended.
Whoosh!
The oppressive air was broken by the flapping of wings.
A few moments later, a Tibetan general received the messenger bird and said, “Tsenpo, Imperial Minister, a letter from Youzhou!”
“Again about the alliance?” Dalon Trinling said.
The general glanced at the contents of the letter before replying, “Yes!”
Dalon Trinling nodded, completely unsurprised.
He had already received several letters from An Yaluoshan asking him to make a decision on the alliance, but Dalon Trinling had still not made his stance clear.
He knew more than anyone else what An Yaluoshan wanted.
This new Andong Protector-General had an ambition far greater than his status, and a greed and daring that far exceeded those of the other countries. For these various countries, this sort of internal discord in the Great Tang was a gift delivered right to their doorsteps.
Dalon Trinling also had no objections to this Hu Protector-General.
But Dalon Trinling had always been cautious about this request of An Yaluoshan’s.
The past was an example for the future! Even the mighty Arabian Empire with its million invincible cavalry had been vanquished by the Great Tang, let alone a country like Ü-Tsang!
The Great Tang now was not the Great Tang of the past. Even though Dalon Trinling wanted revenge, he needed to be extremely cautious.
“But, Imperial Minister, this time is somewhat different. Besides An Yaluoshan in Youzhou, the leaders of Goguryeo, the Eastern Turkic Khaganate, the Khitans, and the Xi have also sent letters!” the general added.
“What?”
Dalon Trinling raised his head in surprise, his body trembling.
The general quickly offered up the letters.
Whoosh!
Dalon Trinling waved his hand, upon which the letters shot through the air and into his grip.
Dalon Trinling quickly read through the letters, and his face began to change.
The general was right. The letter this time was different, as An Yaluoshan had convinced the Queen of the Xi, the King of the Khitans, Yeon Gaesomun of Goguryeo, and Ozmish Khagan of the Eastern Turks to send letters as well.
All of these le
tters were trying to convince Dalon Trinling and Ü-Tsang to make their stance known as soon as possible, to join their alliance against the Great Tang.
“An Yaluoshan, you truly did not let me down. If you could so quickly persuade all these other countries, I really underestimated you before!” Dalon Trinling muttered.
Even he was forced to look at An Yaluoshan with new eyes now.
Getting all the other countries on the same page was no easy task. He had not expected An Yaluoshan to progress so quickly.
“Imperial Minister, what does it say?” the Tsenpo asked.
Dalon Trinling did not directly answer, simply passing the letters to him.
A few moments later, the Tsenpo finished reading, and with a solemn expression, he had the other generals in the hall read it.
Only by gathering ideas could one maximize benefit!
This was no simple war. The existence of Ü-Tsang was on the line.
When blizzards descended and ice sealed the world, even the vast Ü-Tsang Empire would face annihilation.
“Generals, what is your view?” the Tsenpo said a few moments later.
The generals fell silent, all of them turning in concert to Dalon Trinling.
At any time, there was only one person in the Ü-Tsang Empire who could truly decide.
The Imperial Minister!
“Imperial Minister, An Yaluoshan has settled everything.” A general broke the silence and voiced everyone’s thoughts. “The forces of Goguryeo, the Eastern Turkic Khaganate, the Xi, and the Khitans, combined with those of Youzhou, form an incredibly powerful faction. If we do not join now, then once An Yaluoshan succeeds, we will not be able to partake in any spoils, just close our eyes and wait for death atop the plateau!
“Moreover, the situation is already extremely unfavorable to us. Across the continent, the Great Tang has the best terrain. If we wish to avoid the blizzard, we must leave the plateau and enter the Central Plains. In addition, the Great Tang is clearly prepared, having stockpiled vast quantities of food, kerosene, coal, cotton, and wool… The resources of all the other countries added together probably do not even reach half of their stockpiles!
The Human Emperor c1-2382 Page 1281
