Chapter 1931: The Venomous Snake Called Envy!
Translated by: Hypersheep325
Edited by: Michyrr
“Yes, Milord!” said Zhang Que, bowing.
Wang Chong nodded, his expression relaxing.
“Xue Qianjun, what’s the status of the group I had you prepare?”
Wang Chong turned his gaze to Xue Qianjun.
After the campaign in the Ten Eastern Islands and the war in the northwest, Xue Qianjun had been remolded into a superb commander who was completely capable of holding his own.
Xue Qianjun lowered his head and respectfully said, “Your Highness, following your orders, I have selected three hundred of the best scouts and divided them into thirty teams, each team led by an experienced commander. They are ready and waiting for your orders.”
“Very good! Starting now, I want you to send them deep into the north, past the Turkic steppe to the lands even farther north than the Eastern and Western Turkic Khaganates. I need to know how the climate is changing to the north of the Turkic steppe and a detailed map of the area. All the tundra and forests need to be carefully marked!” Wang Chong sternly said.
The blizzard that took place during the Battle of Khorasan was only the first of many omens. Wang Chong needed to know just what stage the ice age had reached.
The ice age had yet to begin, but Wang Chong sensed that it wasn’t too far off. He needed to know all the relevant information, and this was information he would have to rely on his own forces to gather.
“Understood!”
Although he was rather surprised, Xue Qianjun still replied without hesitation.
Arabia had been pacified, and none of the countries was any match for the Great Tang. No one knew why Wang Chong was sending soldiers to such a distant place to gather this kind of information, but after following him and believing in him for so long, they all understood that Wang Chong’s foresight was something that none of them could match.
Wang Chong naturally had his reasons. This had been proven again and again!
“There’s one last matter!”
Wang Chong took in a breath, his expression turning grave. Everyone immediately focused on him.
They had just defeated Arabia, and morale should have been at its highest. None of them understood what could make Wang Chong so cautious.
“Guo Ziyi, I am now granting you full responsibility over everything in the Youzhou area. Everyone else, including Zhang Que, is to assist you as much as possible!”
Wang Chong was grim.
“I need all of you to investigate a man, and gather as much information as possible without missing a single detail!”
Everyone in the study was shocked. With the current power of the Great Tang and the status of their liege, who in Youzhou was worth such a large-scale investigation?
Guo Ziyi raised his head and asked, “Who is Your Highness referring to?” His expression was calm, but deep in his eyes, there was a faint hint of shock.
“An Yaluoshan!” Wang Chong declared.
After pacifying Arabia, they had found a white jade roller in Mutasim III’s treasury, which had caused Wang Chong to once more turn his attention to the greatest foe from his last life, now lurking in Youzhou to the northeast.
While Wang Chong had been running around to resolve the various threats to the Great Tang, that man had been silently working on his own ‘grand project’.
The words ‘future master of the Central Plains’ on that thin scrap of paper had exposed that man’s ambition.
While the cold wave brought by the ice age was dangerous, this was a natural disaster, not a human one. Wang Chong would never forget this traitorous Hu general who enjoyed playing the pig so that he could eat tigers and who would one day commit all sorts of offenses against the Great Tang. And he would never forget the vital role he would play in that calamity!
An Yaluoshan, no matter what you’re planning, I’ll never let you succeed! In this life, as long as I’m around, you won’t even be able to dream about getting your way!
Wang Chong’s eyes flashed with a sharp light that seemed to pierce through space and stare all the way to Youzhou.
At this time, in the faraway land of Youzhou…
While the Central Plains was celebrating and Wang Chong was holding a meeting with his elite subordinates, discussing a way to deal with An Yaluoshan, on a remote mountain in Youzhou, several figures stood and looked toward the southwest as daybreak approached.
There were many mountains like this in Youzhou, and there wasn’t anything special about it, but for these people, this mountain was the only mountain in Youzhou that they could see the entirety of the Central Plains from.
One of the men suddenly spoke. “What a pile of trash! Even with an army of millions, they still lost to the Great Tang!”
It was a slightly plump figure with bright eyes, his hands held behind his back, his face covered in anger and resentment.
Wang Chong would have instantly recognized this man as the An Yaluoshan that he had so dearly wanted to kill back in the capital, the future archenemy of the Central Plains.
An Yaluoshan’s body had changed little in the intervening years, but his demeanor had undergone a complete transformation. Whenever he opened his eyes, they erupted with the light of his burning ambition.
At his side were Cui Qianyou and Tian Chengsi, his two Great General companions. They had also experienced a shift in demeanor, and Stellar Energy was gushing out of every pore. As their Stellar Energy flowed, it gave off a metallic resonance.
With this formidable level of cultivation, they were capable of holding their own on the battlefield and shaking the world with their strength. But just like An Yaluoshan, they had concealed their edge. Only late in the night in remote places like this would they reveal a little of their immense power.
“…I sent them all those gifts and tried to ally with them so that he could defeat the Great Tang, but this fool ignored me. This was what led to his defeat! What a useless piece of trash!”
An Yaluoshan gnashed his teeth. If not for the great distance and the fact that Arabia was already in Wang Chong’s hands, An Yaluoshan would have gone and killed Mutasim III himself.
Two million, six hundred thousand cavalry! Such a massive base of power! If it had fallen under his control, he would have conquered the entire world by now. But Mutasim III had wasted it all.
An Yaluoshan felt his heart ache at the mere thought of it.
“There’s nothing to be done. No one could have imagined that Wang Chong would have so many superb talents under his command. They even managed to conjure a sandstorm that turned the Arabs’ advantage in numbers to nothing. Moreover, Wang Zhongsi, Zhangchou Jianqiong, Gao Xianzhi, and An Sishun also took part in that battle. This sort of army is simply unprecedented!” Tian Chengsi said as he gripped his massive saber, which was as tall as an adult man.
Along with the surrounding kingdoms, they had also been paying attention to the war of the northwest. They had many spies in Qixi sending them a constant stream of information.
“What a pity that the Sage Emperor had us remain in Youzhou for this war. Otherwise, we could have defected in the middle of the battle and joined with the Arabs to crush the Great Tang!”
Cui Qianyou looked at the Central Plains as he spoke these chilling words, his eyes as sharp as blades.
As the Andong Protectorate army presided over Youzhou, the most distant of the garrisons, and had to deal with four major powers at once, it had been ordered to remain at its post during the war of the northwest. But in this way, a potential disaster had been avoided.
If An Yaluoshan and his soldiers had defected at the most critical moment and joined the Arabs, the consequences would have been unimaginable.
An Yaluoshan clenched his fists and fiercely declared, “He was just lucky! Even without the help of that idiot Mutasim III, I’ll still get what I want! I will!”
The two Great Generals flanking him said nothing. They had never doubted An Yaluoshan’s words.
Whoosh!
In the darkness, the flapping of wings could be heard. A few moments later, a nighthawk came flying toward them.
The three of them stared at the bird, and one of them quickly came forward to receive it.
Tian Chengsi glanced at the letter and reported to An Yaluoshan, “Your Excellency, news from the capital. Wang Chong has been made Empire Guardian Great General, has been granted an Imperial Dragon Bracelet, and his portrait is to be enshrined in Lingyan Pavilion!”
Buzz!
The mood instantly changed, An Yaluoshan and Cui Qianyou both scowling.
“Lingyan Pavilion! The Sage Emperor favors that scoundrel so much that he’s enshrining him in Lingyan Pavilion!”
An Yaluoshan’s voice was trembling in rage.
Although he knew that Wang Chong would be heavily rewarded for defeating Arabia, he had not expected the Son of Heaven to show this much favor.
Lingyan Pavilion!
It had been many years since the last person had been enshrined within. Countless fierce generals, including many formidable Great Generals and Protector-Generals, had been passed over.
Not even lifelong campaigners like Wang Zhongsi and Zhang Shougui had been able to obtain this extraordinary honor. But now, an exception had been made for the eighteen-year-old Wang Chong.
At this moment, An Yaluoshan felt like there was a venomous snake gnawing away at his heart.
This venomous snake was called ‘envy’!