Translated by: Hypersheep325
Edited by: Michyrr
Wang Chong had seized Cui Qianyou’s saber and used it to kill one of the Hu soldiers from Youzhou.
With so many people watching, no one had expected Wang Chong to actually attack and kill someone. Even Li Linfu was alarmed.
“King of Foreign Lands, you…”
Li Linfu was frozen to the spot, not knowing what to say.
Meanwhile, An Yaluoshan looked at Wang Chong, his face ghastly pale.
While others might not have noticed, An Yaluoshan knew that the saber had originally been aimed at him, and it had passed only a few centimeters from the hair on his temples.
“I’ll give you a small lesson this time. Do not believe that there is anyone in the capital who can protect you. No one can protect someone I mean to kill!” Wang Chong coldly said.
With these words, he turned around and left.
Li Linfu deeply frowned as he watched Wang Chong leave. Those last words had clearly been aimed at him.
Meanwhile, An Yaluoshan’s plump face was alternating between green and white, and hidden in his sleeves, his hands were clenching and unclenching. But in the end, he could give no retort to Wang Chong.
After a few moments of thought, Li Linfu began to make his way over to An Yaluoshan.
“Lord Prime Minister!”
Seeing Li Linfu, An Yaluoshan quickly got ahold of himself and led his men in a bow.
“Milord, you heard it. The King of Foreign Lands has gone too far! And with so many people watching, he dared to kill someone at the city gate! Given the strictness of the Great Tang’s laws, is His Highness allowed to kill anyone he wants? I will have this matter reported to the Imperial Court and make sure he doesn’t get away with this!” Tian Chengsi angrily said, his eyes red.
The dead Youzhou soldier had been one of his men, and the disgrace and anger he felt from seeing him killed right in front of his eyes was simply unbearable!
But Li Linfu waved his hand. “Forget it!
“In the past, I would have helped you, demanding a life for a life and not objecting to causing a great stir, but the times have changed. You should give up,” Li Linfu coldly said.
He could understand what Tian Chengsi and the others were thinking, and it wasn’t that he didn’t want to help An Yaluoshan, but all the imperial censors had been demoted, and with no one to issue criticisms, who was left to be used against Wang Chong?
And the Sage Emperor’s personality had massively changed. Putting aside his absurd deeds, it had even been said that the Sage Emperor had killed quite a few servants in his own palace.
If even the Sage Emperor could kill people without consequence, how could one criticize Wang Chong for doing the same thing?
Would the Sage Emperor not be slapping himself in the face?
“But…”
Tian Chengsi was indignant and wanted to say more, but he was quickly stopped.
“Enough! Obey the Lord Prime Minister!”
An Yaluoshan ordered Tian Chengsi to stop.
“Milord, thank you for your assistance! An Yaluoshan will return the favor many times over in the future!”
An Yaluoshan deeply bowed.
Unlike with others, An Yaluoshan did not pretend his meekness or feign stupidity. It was true sincerity on his face.
“Forget it. We’ll talk about it once you’re capable of toppling the Wang Clan!” Li Linfu said, shooting him an indifferent glance.
“By helping you, I have completely offended Wang Chong and the Wang Clan. I had planned to retain some courtesy and not push things to this state, but now, it seems that it will be open hostilities when we next meet.”
Li Linfu stood tall and straight, his hands hidden in his sleeves, his entire body naturally exuding the aura of a high official.
Though there had always been some ‘rifts’ between Li Linfu and Wang Chong, and there had privately been quarrels and clashes that the ordinary people could not see, this was purely due to instinct. Li Linfu actually had no desire to break into open hostilities with Wang Chong.
But what had to be done had to be done!
“Thank you, Milord, for your assistance!” An Yaluoshan gratefully said.
“This is all I can help you with. You should be ready. In the future, you should try to avoid any conflicts with him inside the city. His Majesty is still waiting for you. Do not disappoint me,” Li Linfu coldly said.
“Yes, Milord!”
An Yaluoshan, Tian Chengsi, and Cui Qianyou lowered their heads and bowed.
Without another word, Li Linfu turned around and left.
An Yaluoshan, Tian Chengsi, and Cui Qianyou remained bowed until Li Linfu was far in the distance
Tian Chengsi focused his energy into a bundle and transmitted his voice directly into An Yaluoshan’s ears. “Your Excellency, this Li Linfu is just a civil official. We were even able to unseat the Lord Protector-General. Do we really need to be so polite to him? And once we leave the capital, we won’t be working with him again.”
An Yaluoshan’s attitude toward Li Linfu had gone beyond respect. In Tian Chengsi’s view, it was completely unnecessary.
Moreover, they would have to oppose the Great Tang eventually. Li Linfu was the Great Tang’s Prime Minister, so was there any need to be so polite?
“You’re wrong!”
An Yaluoshan squinted into the distance as he shook his head.
“Remember, in the Great Tang, you can offend anyone else, but not the Lord Prime Minister!”
An Yaluoshan did not explain. He quickly walked over to Gao Shang and Yan Zhuang, leaving Cui Qianyou and Tian Chengsi to ponder his words.
Meanwhile, as Wang Chong left the scene, two figures emerged from two restaurants lining the streets and began to follow Wang Chong.
The two men quickly began to walk alongside Wang Chong.
“Wang Chong, is this person really worth such a large-scale mobilization?” one of the men said. The speaker was dressed in an imperial robe and exuded a noble aura: King Song.
And while the man on the right wore casual clothes, his every movement radiated the aura of a Great General: Minister of War Zhangchou Jianqiong.
This meeting of the new Andong Protector-General and their old friend Wang Chong at the city gate was naturally something that these two could not fail to know about.
Moreover, Wang Chong had even brought out ballistae to ‘welcome’ An Yaluoshan, arranging them right behind the city gate in a clearly hostile display. It would have been far stranger if these two had been able to remain unconcerned within their estates.
But deep in their minds, the two believed that Wang Chong, the Nine Provinces Protector-General who struck fear into even the neighboring countries, was going a little overboard with such a large display of forces against a single An Yaluoshan.
“Lord Zhangchou, do you think the same?”
Wang Chong stopped and turned to Zhangchou Jianqiong.
“This…”
Zhangchou Jianqiong hesitated. Just like King Song, he thought that Wang Chong was making a mountain out of a molehill, thinking too highly of An Yaluoshan. But as Wang Chong was asking him, it was clear that he did not wish to hear this sort of simple answer.
“I have never interacted with or heard of this person before. However, his rapid rise in the war of the northeast makes him rather similar to you!”
Zhangchou Jianqiong glanced at Wang Chong, thinking back to the war of the southwest.
“As I know too little, I can’t say much. However, from how well-trained and disciplined his men are, it’s clear that he’s no average commander. In this aspect alone, this man has some extraordinary attributes, and is not as simple as he seems.
“Moreover, Zhang Shougui was the spiritual center of the Andong Protectorate army. But after Zhang Shougui left, this man was still able to maintain the peace in Youzhou and the morale and strength of the army. No ordinary person could do this!” Zhangchou Jianqiong said.
He found it hard to speak on other matters, but Zhangchou Jianqiong was an expert on military affairs.
After a few moments of silence, Wang Chong said, “King Song, Lord Zhangchou, do you trust me?”
The two shared a glance of surprise, but they quickly nodded.
“Naturally!”
The two had been through thick and thin with Wang Chong and the Wang Clan. Besides, Wang Chong’s judgment had never been wrong.
“If I wanted to kill An Yaluoshan, eliminate him regardless of the price, would you be willing to help me?” Wang Chong continued.
“Mm! Of course!”
The two replied with little hesitation.
They might have hesitated, or even refused, if someone else had asked. After all, at their level of status, promises were more valuable than gold, and their words could end up digging the holes of their demise. They might end up being exploited by someone and stirring up a disaster.
But for Wang Chong, these two would not have these concerns.
Wang Chong was probably the most selfless person in all of the Great Tang.
And as they had chosen to trust in Wang Chong and his judgment, helping him was an easy choice.
“Thank you!”
Wang Chong’s expression softened with gratitude.
In this realm, how many people were truly willing to trust another without hesitation and without any knowledge of the situation? With these words, King Song and Zhangchou Jianqiong had confirmed their positions as Wang Chong’s staunchest allies!
“Milords, I cannot tell you too much for now, but there is one thing you must believe me on. An Yaluoshan is a future enemy of the Great Tang, and no matter what, I must have him killed!
“The longer he lives, the greater the danger the Great Tang will be in. In certain ways, he will be even more dangerous than Arabia!” Wang Chong solemnly said.
Bang!
King Song and Zhangchou Jianqiong trembled in shock, their eyes flying open.
They knew that Wang Chong was extremely focused on An Yaluoshan, and also extremely hostile, even risking the censure of the court to kill one of An Yaluoshan’s soldiers in front of Li Linfu and the foreign emissaries. But the two of them had never imagined that Wang Chong had such a high opinion of this man, even placing his threat level above that of the Arabian Empire!
The two of them knew well the threat the Arabian Empire had posed to the Great Tang. If Wang Chong had not come forward, perhaps the entire empire would have already been crushed beneath Arabia’s iron hooves, its people turned to slaves.
If Wang Chong spoke the truth, then An Yaluoshan really was someone who needed to be killed.