Chapter 1454: Li Junxian's Gift!
Translated by: Hypersheep325
Edited by: Michyrr
"It's not right!"
Wang Chong shook his head and looked at his hands. His own hands were fair and slender, and he could clearly make out each of the creases. Through his fingertips, Wang Chong could also feel the slight chill in the room and the air blowing across his hand.
It was simply too real, too detailed. These were not things a dream could possess.
And as he looked over his fingernails, he saw that they were reflecting the dim light in the room, just as real and detailed as everything else.
"How could this be?"
Wang Chong's mind was completely blank.
There was no sense of touch in dreams, much less details as meticulous as a sense of warmth. Wang Chong's mind was in disarray.
Truth and fiction, the past and present, were all mixed together. He had originally firmly believed in his experiences in the northwest.
But this conviction had been given a severe shock.
Wang Chong suddenly no longer dared to be so certain.
What also made him rather uneasy was that his aching body and the chaotic state of his meridians were symptoms extremely similar to those his body had exhibited after he had fallen unconscious in his study. Did that mean that his entire journey to the northwest had actually just been an illusion he had experienced after his flare-up? That after falling unconscious in his study, his master had not forcibly taken him to the northwest?
That it had all been an illusion, a dream?
As these thoughts flitted through his mind, Wang Chong was at a complete loss.
Everything he had just experienced made it impossible for him to distinguish the true from the false.
"You just woke up, so you should just rest. Aunt, Your Highness, let us withdraw so he can relax," Xu Qiqin said in an understanding tone.
The crowd quickly left the room.
The room was soon quiet, and Wang Chong was left alone to sit on his bed with his restless thoughts.
Just what is going on here? Wang Chong inwardly muttered to himself.
He could feel the sensation of black sandalwood under him and could smell its fragrance. If this was a dream, none of this should have been possible.
"Could I really have been unconscious for seven days and seven nights?"
Wang Chong walked up to the window, where the rays of sunlight poured in. The warmth he felt as they struck his body left him speechless.
Opening the door, Wang Chong walked out into the familiar gardens and buildings of the Wang Family Residence.
Wang Chong could even see the designs on the ceramic tiles and a chirping bird on one of the eaves.
As Wang Chong thought back to his experiences in the northwest, he discovered that the clear memories had suddenly begun to blur like those of a dream.
"Maybe it really was a dream!"
With this thought, Wang Chong slowly began to accept his circumstances.
Bangbangbang!
As he was thinking, there was a sudden and intense knocking, and Wang Chong soon heard the furious voices of Xu Keyi and the others.
"Bastard! Who told you to come!? Leave at once!"
Another voice, brimming with derision, came from outside. "Heh, a visitor is a guest. After hearing that the King of Foreign Lands had fallen ill and had not awoken, our Young Master decided to come and deliver a gift. The mighty King of Foreign Lands would not be so petty, I presume!"
The tone made one feel that the owner of the voice did not harbor good intentions.
"Scram! Don't think that just because your Confucian Sect has the upper hand, you can act however you want! If not for His Highness, do you think your Confucian Sect would have even had a chance to show itself?
"Our Highness does not welcome your people!"
The furious voice this time had belonged to Chen Bin.
The servants and maids also began to join, and a great clamor took place at the gate to the estate.
"Stop!"
A voice suddenly cut through the noise.
Xu Keyi, Chen Bin, and the many Wang Clan guards had gathered at the entrance, their eyes fixed on a figure outside and burning with righteous indignation.
The crowd turned their heads and were struck dumb by the sight of a familiar figure.
"Milord!"
Everyone lowered their heads. They had failed to notice Wang Chong coming up behind them.
"All of you, withdraw!" Wang Chong ordered. His face was slightly pale, giving him a rather weak appearance.
Everyone bowed and complied with Wang Chong's order, opening a path for him.
"Heh, Your Highness, long time no see!"
That mocking and ill-intentioned voice spoke once more.
"Everyone says that Your Highness has been unconscious for seven days and nights, your mind stricken with deep depression, but it seems like the rumors were false. Your Highness is already awake!"
"It's you!"
Wang Chong followed the voice and saw several figures standing outside. Their leader was a man dressed in a black robe, his hair worn loose. This man was staring at Wang Chong like some untamed beast, his eyes burning with challenge.
Wang Chong had no impression of this man, but he clearly remembered this man's aura as belonging to the sword-dancing 'Sword Ghost' from Drunken Moon Pavilion.
Behind him were a man and woman, two experts of the Confucian Sect. They held a silk box between them, clearly the present that had been spoken of.
"Impudent! Don't go too far!"
Xu Keyi and Chen Bin fumed at Sword Ghost's words and were on the verge of resorting to arms.
What present? They were just trying to find out the real situation and intentionally provoking Wang Chong. And if not for them, how could Wang Chong have ever vomited blood?
"Enough!" Wang Chong suddenly said, waving a hand to stop his subordinates as he turned to Sword Ghost.
"Tell your young master that this king accepts his gift and that this king thanks him for his kind intentions!"
Wang Chong was calm and apparently unmoved. Sword Ghost and his companions were dumbfounded by these words.
Wang Chong's reaction was clearly completely at odds with their expectations, but Sword Ghost soon composed himself.
"Heh, Your Highness is truly graceful. It seems that Your Highness has truly accepted the matter regarding the prefectural armies. Since that is the case, this one bids farewell!"
Sword Ghost gave a slight bow.
"The prefectural armies?"
Wang Chong raised an eyebrow at these words.
"What? Your Highness does not know?"
Sword Ghost had already prepared to turn and leave, but when he heard this, he stopped and shot a glance at Xu Keyi.
"What? They still haven't told Your Highness?"
Wang Chong understood and turned to look at Xu Keyi and his other subordinates. All of them paled and lowered their heads.
Upon seeing this, Sword Ghost understood what was going on.
"It seems like they were hiding the matter from Your Highness. As this is the case, it is not appropriate for this one to speak any more. Farewell!"
With a bizarre smile on his lips, Sword Ghost and his colleagues left.
Just what is going on here?
In the study, Wang Chong looked at his subordinates.
"This…"
Xu Keyi and Chen Bin glanced at each other in hesitation, but Wang Chong's pressure compelled them to speak.
"In truth, many things happened while Your Highness was unconscious. Without Your Highness to resist them, the Confucian Sect and the First Prince took complete control over the Imperial Court. Moreover, as Your Highness had vomited blood and was unconscious for so long, King Song and the others became extremely worried over Your Highness's condition.
"Without Your Highness's plans, the Confucian Sect succeeded in colluding with the First Prince to finally pass the decree to dissolve the prefectural armies. Just a few days ago, the Imperial Court finished dissolving all the prefectural armies and destroying the registers. In the future, even calling back the disbanded soldiers will be impossible.
"In addition, the Confucian Sect, the First Prince, the Prime Minister, and King Qi joined together to strip King Song of his military authority and his power over the Bureau of Military Personnel.
"In addition, the Confucian Sect has also dispatched many supervisors to inspect the armies. The entire military is at its weakest point, with almost everyone under the Confucian Sect's control."
Wang Chong slowly came to learn what had happened while he was unconscious.
Although the guidance from his seniors in that underground stone chamber had made him much more open-minded, Wang Chong still felt a stabbing pain with each piece of news.
Although he had already let go, how could he not feel unwilling after seeing everything he had worked for, what all the soldiers had sacrificed their lives for, being destroyed in a single night?
Moreover, the conflict between the militarists and the Confucians was linked to the longevity of the Central Plains and the survival of all the people of the realm.
"All of you, leave! I need to think."
Wang Chong suddenly waved his hand.
"Yes! Milord!"
A hint of reluctance appeared in the eyes of his subordinates, but they quickly withdrew.
Wang Chong stood motionless in his study for a long, long time. Finally, Wang Chong heaved a sigh.
Leaving his study, he strolled through the garden and out the front gate. Even though the servants and maids spotted him, no one dared to stop him.
In this confused state where he was thinking of both everything and nothing, he walked into the capital. By the time Wang Chong returned to his senses, he was already in the middle of the thronging crowd.
He could see peddlers selling cosmetic powder and perfume, merchants calling out to and embracing each other, and butchers loudly hawking their wares.
But amidst the crowd, Wang Chong also saw many rather unique silhouettes. They had thick beards, wore long cloth robes, had hawkish noses and deep-set eyes, and spoke with thick accents.
The Hu!
These imposing Hu with their awkward grasp of the Tang language were going in and out of various places, and many of them radiated savage and fierce auras.
Chapter 1455: Gao Xianzhi's Situation!
Translated by: Hypersheep325
Edited by: Michyrr
Wang Chong had grown up in the capital, and for there to be so many Hu in this place was usually not worth causing a ruckus. But as he looked around, Wang Chong realized that there were even more Hu in the capital now.
Goguryeons, Tibetans, Turks, Arabs… they could all be spotted in the crowd.
Wang Chong had spotted ten-some Hu spies in the crowd, but the ordinary people around them all had kind faces and seemed completely unaware.
"Haha, the world is in harmony, so there's no need to be strangers! Take it!"
Nearby, the owner of a store smiled as he placed a bolt of cloth in the hands of a Hu who had clearly undergone martial arts training.
"Heh, we're all family, so why so distant? I know that you don't have much money, so I'll give this to you at half price!" a nearby store owner said.
"Take care, and remember to come back! Just like the Secretariat Advisor says, everyone in the world is part of the same family. You don't have to be polite around me."
Enthusiastic voices were ringing in Wang Chong's ears, and everywhere he looked, he saw genial faces completely oblivious to the danger around them.
Wang Chong felt the stabbing pain in his heart only get worse, and he hastened his pace as he pressed forward.
Everywhere he looked, the capital had undergone a thorough transformation in mood. The capital of the Great Tang was like an unguarded city, everyone completely opening themselves up.
As he pressed forward, he suddenly heard a familiar voice. "Eh? Isn't that the King of Foreign Lands?"
Wang Chong still pressed on for a few moments, but a moment later, he remembered the voice and trembled in shock.
"Cheng Qianli?!"
He had fought alongside Cheng Qianli in the Battle of Talas and could not possibly mistake his voice.
But Wang Chong remembered that Cheng Qianli and the Anxi Protectorate army were standing guard in the Western Regions. They couldn't leave their post without a military decree, so why had he appeared in the faraway capital?
Wang Chong suddenly raised his head, and sure enough, Wang Chong spotted that familiar figure in the crowd.
His posture was straight and his head held high. His body exuded a fierce flame that had been tempered through thousands of battles. It was none other than Vice Protector-General Cheng Qianli of the Anxi Protectorate. And in front of him was yet another unexpected figure.
Gao Xianzhi!
"How?!"
Wang Chong's body trembled in shock, and his mind was in utter disarray.
Cheng Qianli's appearance here was surprising enough, but for him to appear with Gao Xianzhi was abnormal to the extreme.
A Protector-General was a Great General existence. Their movements could set the entire world into motion.
Their prestige and status were linked to the safety of the border regions. In normal circumstances, unless specifically summoned by the sovereign, they would spend thirty to forty years without seeing the capital.
"Protector-General Gao, General Cheng, why are you here?"
Wang Chong rushed over to the pair, and at almost the same time, Gao Xianzhi and Cheng Qianli parted the crowd and walked over to Wang Chong.
"Wang Chong, you're finally awake!"
A sincere look of joy appeared on the faces of the pair when they saw Wang Chong.
"Qianli and I paid a visit to your residence, but you were still unconscious then. We happened to hear that you had gotten better and were on our way to see how you were doing, but to think that we would run into you!"
A thousand cups of wine were not too much when friends met. As a Great General, Gao Xianzhi normally kept up a dignified and steady appearance. It was only in front of Wang Chong, the youngest King of the Great Tang, that Gao Xianzhi would show this sort of warmth.
But Wang Chong was in no mood to chat.
Wang Chong stared at them and asked, "Lord Gao, General Cheng, what's going on here? Why aren't you garrisoned in Anxi, instead showing up in the capital?"
Buzz!
Their smiles instantly vanished, their expressions turning somber.
"This…" After a few moments of silence, Gao Xianzhi revealed the truth. "Wang Chong, I won't hide it from you. I'm actually no longer a Protector-General. The Imperial Court stripped me of my military authority. The Anxi Protectorate army is now under the command of several supervisors from the Confucian Sect."
On the side, Cheng Qianli had become taciturn.
Boom!
Wang Chong's eyes flew open in disbelief.
"In truth, we weren't the only ones to be called back. Almost all the generals on the borders have been recalled. The fate of the military is set," Cheng Qianli grimly said.
Wang Chong said nothing, but his heart was heavy and he felt like he couldn't breathe.
"Your Highness, the Confucian Sect holds the Imperial Court and the entire empire. We've lost the ability to contend against them," Cheng Qianli sorrowfully said.
As a general who had fought all his life, he was naturally unwilling to accept this conclusion, but the First Prince was serving as regent and was colluding with the immensely powerful faction that was the Confucian Sect. With this faction in control of the Imperial Court, no one could stop it.
Wang Chong felt extreme grief stabbing at his heart like a sharp needle. Although the pair had kept their words brief, he could naturally understand what they were feeling.
They had fought for Anxi for more than half their lives, but the turtledove had seized the nest of the magpie, driving them out.
"Let's go! For this rare meeting, we should have some drinks until we're good and drunk!"
Gao Xianzhi put his arm around Wang Chong's shoulders and the three of them made their way to the closest tavern.
This gathering lasted from noon to nightfall and beyond. Wang Chong returned to the estate very late in the night.
Day after day went by, during which Wang Chong finally linked together the events that had taken place while he was unconscious.
At the same time, the news from the border was sent to his estate.
Whoosh!
This news came in the form of various messenger birds flying in.
'The latest news from Ü-Tsang is that the Tsenpo is recruiting soldiers in Bariba Canyon and is secretly training them. Our estimates place these soldiers at six hundred thousand, and this number is only getting larger. Your Highness, please make a decision!'
'On the seventeenth, we learned that the new king of Mengshe Zhao, Fengjiayi, has begun to recruit the Man tribes and is also training a large number of wild elephants to reestablish his military corps. Our scouts say that Mengshe Zhao has trained around fifty thousand elephants, ten times the size of the original White Elephant Corps. Your Highness, please give your instructions!'
'On the fifteenth, the scouts sent a report. A group of scouts disguised as a Goguryeon merchant caravan managed to smoothly infiltrate the eleven southern cities of Goguryeo. After paying with the lives of ten scouts, they finally learned that Yeon Gaesomun's southern navy is engaging in large-scale construction of warships and training of marines. More than four hundred thousand marines have been gathered and are preparing to attack the Great Tang by sea.'
'We received a report from the northern border on the nineteenth. There have been no battles for several months, but not long ago, one of our supply caravans was ambushed by an unknown assailant. Two thousand peasants were killed and the escort force of one thousand cavalry was completely wiped out. All the weapons and foodstuffs with the caravan were plundered and have not been tracked down yet. Although there is no firm evidence, we are basically sure that it was the work of the Western Turkic Khaganate. Based on the information we've gathered, the various Hu have begun to adjust their tactics to work from the shadows, continuing to pose a major threat to us!
'All the border armies have been strictly forbidden by the various army supervisors from investigating the attack, and the soldiers are extremely unhappy!'
The letters came flying into Wang Chong's hand in a veritable snowstorm, and each piece of news jabbed at Wang Chong's heart and made him even more worried. The Great Tang was surrounded by danger, but no one seemed aware.
Although Wang Chong had gathered all this information, with the Imperial Court under the control of the First Prince and Li Junxian, any countermeasure he took was meaningless.
No matter what, this can't be allowed to continue! Wang Chong said to himself, his mind made up.
But at this moment, another matter completely upset Wang Chong's plan.
"Chong-er, your mother has something to discuss with you."
Three days later, Wang Chong's mother appeared in his room, her expression unprecedentedly solemn.
"You're no longer that young, and based on the customs of the capital's nobility, you're at the age where you can get married and start a family. Your mother was truly frightened over your recent spell of unconsciousness, and after a great deal of thought, your mother has decided that it's time for you to start a family.
"Your mother sees that you have already developed feelings for the young lady of the Xu Clan, and while you were unconscious, she was taking care of you the entire time, staying by your side day and night, even losing weight. Of all the women of the capital, this child is the one your mother has taken the greatest liking to.
"Thus, while you were unconscious, your mother has decided if you woke up, I would let this child become the daughter-in-law of our Wang Family."
"What?!"
Wang Chong was stunned by these words, completely caught off guard.
"What? Are you not willing?"
Madam Wang scowled, her voice tinged with displeasure.
"This… child would not dare."
Wang Chong hastily lowered his head. He had always regarded his mother with extreme respect and did not dare to speak a word of argument. Madam Wang's eyes softened.
"Thus, after you woke up, your mother went to the Xu Residence. The Xu Clan Patriarch has already agreed and Lady Xu has also given the nod of approval. This child is probably smitten with you.
"The start of the next month is an auspicious time to get married. Your mother has already invited a famous matchmaker of the capital and prepared for the ceremony, so the two of you can get married on that day. In this way, your mother can hold her grandson a little earlier. Your mother does not want to suffer such a fright again," Madam Wang sternly said.
Wang Chong stood in a daze, and it took some time for him to break out of the stupor. This was far too surprising. Wang Chong had never imagined that his mother would mention this matter to him. He was still too young and could still fight for a few more years.
But when he saw his mother's expression, he knew that his bout of unconsciousness had had a major effect on his mother, resulting in this proposal. It was evident that his mother was extremely serious.
Chapter end
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