The Human Emperor

“Milord!”

“General!”

The orderly ranks of cavalry instantly fell into disarray. None of them knew what was happening.

Everyone in Ü-Tsang knew that Great General Namri Songtian was a composed and steady character. None of them had imagined that a mere letter could frighten him so badly.

“Run!”

But in response to their shock was Namri Songtian’s furious roar from the distance.

Namri Songtian had never imagined that Wang Chong would suddenly appear amongst the Western Turks and pacify all parties.

Even worse was that if Wang Chong had appeared there, it meant that he wasn’t far from Ü-Tsang.

No one in Ü-Tsang understood Wang Chong’s style more than Namri Songtian.

This man was already the evil god of the world. It was hard to say if he wouldn’t strike against Ü-Tsang. Even though he had tens of thousands of Tibetan cavalry backing him, Namri Songtian had no confidence in his ability to escape from the War Saint alive.

Rumble! Under Namri Songtian’s guidance, the Tibetan cavalry fell back like a routed army. This was truly a defeat before a battle had even begun.

But not long after Namri Songtian had disappeared, several figures on horseback appeared where Namri Songtian had been standing.

“What a quick reaction!”

Sun Zhiming dismounted, looked around, and broke out in laughter.

“Judging by the freshness of the hoofprints, they probably just withdrew, and it seems that they were in great disarray!

“This Namri Songtian had a rather fast reaction. Who in this continent is not afraid of our liege? For Namri Songtian to immediately retreat without hesitation is an indication that he is a proper general!”

Softly chuckling, Chen Burang dismounted as well. After inspecting the situation at a crouch, he quickly straightened up.

In the past, it would have been inconceivable for a minor general to joke about a renowned Great General, but that was then and this was now. After all, they served the mighty War Saint.

“But it’s thanks to his swift reaction that there are not tens of thousands more corpses on the Tibetan Plateau today,” Chen Burang coldly said.

In times of trouble, harsh laws were needed. He and Sun Zhiming had just come to scout the situation. If Namri Songtian had not withdrawn, then a great battle would have ensued.

The Great Tang’s war with Youzhou was imminent, and Ü-Tsang was harboring ill intentions. At this time, their liege was no longer too concerned about appearances.

“Let’s go!”

Chen Burang mounted his horse, and together with Sun Zhiming, left the Tibetan Plateau.

……

At the same time, far to the northeast, in Youzhou…

From the sky, one could see that the vast and grandiose Andong Protectorate headquarters, lurking like a crouching behemoth, had a new wall circling it. It was evident that this wall was newly built.

In Zhang Shougui’s era, the Andong Protectorate headquarters had never had a defensive wall around it. The Youzhou army had maintained an extremely aggressive strategy.

But An Yaluoshan was different. That steel fortress to the south exerted an immense pressure on him.

“Wang Chong, you won’t be able to stay cocky for too long! Once I settle things with the Western Turks, we’ll have our battle to the death!”

An Yaluoshan looked southward, and as he thought about what was happening in the Western Turkic Khaganate at this very moment, immense ambition swelled in his heart.

Everything else was ready. All he lacked was the east wind!

From the intelligence he had already gathered, it appeared that while Ishbara Khagan was reluctant to make a decision, in some cases, not making a decision was a decision in itself.

All of the world knew about Wang Chong’s famous letter about hunting on Mount Sanmi. How could someone as proud as Ishbara Khagan swallow his anger?

All An Yaluoshan had needed to do was add some fuel to the fire and assist Ishbara Khagan in realizing the decision that he had already made.

Irbis Shiyun, I’ve done all I can to assist you. The rest will depend on your plan! An Yaluoshan internally remarked, narrowing his eyes.

Probably not even Ishbara Khagan knew that he had been privately working with Irbis Shiyun for some time.

Looking back on it, the two of them had been working together since the feast of all countries. Once they both returned to their homes from the capital, they had secretly signed a treaty of alliance.

Not long ago, Irbis Shiyun had revealed all his plans. If all went as expected, Shamul should have attempted to assassinate Ishbara Khagan, forcing the Khagan to execute Barshad.

“Gao Shang, have you not found anything yet?” asked An Yaluoshan as he stared into the snowstorm.

The distance between the Western Turkic Khaganate and Youzhou was vast. Even the fastest bird would take several days. But divination did not have this sort of restriction. A powerful strategist and astrologer like Gao Shang would be able to notice any shift amongst the Western Turks.

In truth, ever since Supreme Divine and Meteor Divine had left, Gao Shang had been observing the heavenly phenomena of the Western Turks.

The countries around the Great Tang had weaker kingly energies, but the heavens encompassed all things, including the Western Turkic Khaganate. Though it took a little effort, he could still observe the heavenly phenomena of the Western Turks.

After a brief silence, Gao Shang said, “The heavens are ambiguous, appearing to be suffering from some heavy disruption. I can’t tell what’s going on yet!”

He was wearing his scholarly robes and a thick robe of fox fur. Seated cross-legged on the wall, he was constantly making motions with his fingers.

He had spent the last hour constantly calculating.

“Is the Great Tang’s divination group that powerful?”

An Yaluoshan’s heart sank, his brow slightly creasing.

Though Li Heng was young, he was extremely difficult to deal with. After learning of how Dragon Qi had been stolen during the feast of all countries, Li Heng had immediately summoned the world’s best sorcerers and formed them into a divination team who disrupted the heavenly phenomena and prevented Youzhou from learning of their actions.

Ever since then, An Yaluoshan had been forced to change his opinion of the new Emperor.

“After all, the Central Plains is currently the reigning sovereign, possessing the power of the world, so the astrologers there will be more efficient. However, the power of humans is nothing compared to the heavens. While they might be able to conceal or disturb minor movements in the heavens, larger movements are like an avalanche. No one can conceal them or stop them,” Gao Shang confidently declared.

In the end, the Central Plains was home to the reigning power, and considering Wang Chong’s existence, it would be far stranger if it only sat around and did nothing.

“In addition, Your Excellency should rest easy. Earlier, I saw that the kingly energy of the Western Turks was beginning to fuse with the energy of the other countries. This shows that Ishbara Khagan has already made his decision. All we are doing is pushing the boat along the current. With the assistance from Supreme Divine and Meteor Divine, the Western Turkic Khaganate should eventually join our alliance. There shouldn’t be any surprises that are too big,” Gao Shang said.

An Yaluoshan nodded, his eyes brightening.

Gao Shang was a superb diviner, and if he said that there wouldn’t be any major problems, then it had to be the case.

“Cui Qianyou, Tian Qianzhen, how are your preparations going?” An Yaluoshan suddenly said.

Cui Qianyou and Tian Qianzhen bowed and reported, “Your Excellency, all the recruits have finished training and the armories are complete. We can go into battle at any time!

“The discussions with the other countries are all done, and all the countries have agreed to the terms of the alliance. Once we begin the war against the Great Tang, Your Excellency will take the lead. Everyone will follow your orders!

“In addition, we have already finished planning out all the battle routes!”

“Good!”

An Yaluoshan couldn’t help but feel a little pride.

“All we need is the news from the Western Turks. Then, the army can set out and crush the Great Tang!”

An Yaluoshan looked toward the south as he spoke, but he kept one last comment to himself.

…And we can tear that brat to pieces!

“Reporting!”

Just then, a horseman galloped in from the western side of the Andong Protectorate headquarters. The rider had a panicked expression as he held a letter and rode frantically through the snowstorm.

This sudden movement drew the attention of the group gathered on the wall tower. An Yaluoshan, Cui Qianyou, Tian Qianzhen… they all turned to the rider.

“Cui Qianyou, go and see what’s going on. Such a frantic appearance is no good for morale!” An Yaluoshan coldly barked.

An Yaluoshan was growing stricter and stricter on his army. Youzhou now had an army of six hundred thousand soldiers, and when joined with the armies of the other countries, it was an army of millions. Nothing could get done without law and order, and if they ran around in this sort of panic with everything they did, the army would fall apart.

“Not good!”

Suddenly, Gao Shang cried out, his body trembling as if he had been struck by lightning, and his face went ghastly pale!

“A shift in the Western Turks! The Khagan has changed! It is not Irbis Shiyun, but Barshad!

“The Western Turks have gone over to the Great Tang!”

“What?!”

Gao Shang’s words exploded like a thunderclap in everyone’s ears. All of the Youzhou generals were left dumbfounded.

“Barshad was enthroned?”

“The Western Turks joined the Great Tang?”

“How could this be!?”

Two peerless experts in Supreme Divine and Meteor Divine had gone to assist, Irbis Shiyun was acting as their insider, and even Ishbara Khagan had favored the alliance. Was all this still not enough to get the Western Turkic Khaganate on their side?

How?!

Gao Shang had no time for their reactions, for his mind was reeling.

An Yaluoshan and his generals did not understand divination, so they couldn’t see, but in Gao Shang’s eyes, the heavens were in complete turmoil, the world tossing and turning as if swept up in a storm.