Chapter 1179 - Omen, Little Ice Age!
Chapter 1179: Omen, Little Ice Age!
Translated by: Hypersheep325
Edited by: Michyrr
The door opened, and Zhang Shouzhi, dressed in gray, walked in from outside.
“Lord Marquis, the appointed time has come. Your order is needed.”
After a few moments of silence, Wang Chong nodded. “Do everything according to the plan.”
Whether or not that event took place on schedule, Wang Chong had to completely prepare himself. And the time was nigh. If that incident really took place and he was not adequately prepared, a mishap might occur.
“Understood. This old man will go and handle it.”
Zhang Shouzhi nodded and quickly withdrew. A few moments later, a clamor shattered the calm of Khorasan.
……
At this moment, the several hundred thousand Arab soldiers encamped on the other side of the river did not make a single noise. In this chilly night, the warhorses snorted out white breaths of air. The weather continued to get colder. This winter was far colder than previous winters, but to the Arab soldiers, well-trained and versed in martial arts, it was still bearable.
Although the chilly air hung heavy, the fury of the hundreds of thousands of Arab soldiers hung even heavier. At the very front of the Arab camp, all the Arab commanders were gathered, staring at the mighty walls of Khorasan. To the army, nothing was important except breaching the city and killing every Tang, Khorasani, and rebel.
Bang!
A clamor suddenly erupted from Khorasan, attracting everyone’s attention.
“What’s going on?”
The Head of Black Radiance, Fadi, raised his head and looked toward Khorasan.
“Milord, could the Tang be about to attack?” a deputy next to him said.
“Impossible!”
Before the deputy could finish, Firas, the Blood of Black Radiance, shook his head and rejected the notion.
“These Tang and Khorasani simply don’t have the numbers to launch an offensive. Moreover, if they attack, this Tigris River will become an enormous barrier. Forcing an attack would be suicidal.”
“But, what are they doing, then?” the Empire’s White Corpse, Hular, said, his expression perturbed.
The activity within Khorasan was far too bizarre. From their standpoint, the city was brightly lit by torches and lanterns, and yet the city gates remained shut, showing no signs of opening.
Time slowly passed. All the soldiers were on guard, prepared to deal with any sudden situation. And other than being brightly lit, Khorasan remained unchanged. Even that clamor swiftly faded away.
“Just what are they up to?” an Arab general muttered to himself, his words voicing the thought on everyone else’s mind.
Even powerful governors like Fadi, Firas, and Hular were confused as to what exactly the Tang were scheming. If the Tang were not preparing an attack, then what had all that clamor been for?
“Pass on my order! Strengthen the guards, but have the other soldiers rest. Prepare for battle at first light!”
Fadi’s order was quickly delivered to the entire army.
……
Within Khorasan, everything had calmed down.
Wang Chong remained motionless in his room. Hours passed, but the event Wang Chong was waiting for had still not taken place. Other than the plunging temperature, there was nothing strange in Khorasan.
In the midnight hour, Wang Chong’s brow began to crease.
Impossible! Did I miscalculate? Might that event not be taking place?!
Wang Chong’s face was calm, but his mind was gradually turning uneasy. If all had gone as expected, that anticipated event should have already occurred, but Wang Chong could see no sign of it.
His reincarnation had caused many events in the world to massively shift. King Song had not been demoted, the southwest had not been lost, and not only had the Battle of Talas not been a defeat, but a massive victory. All these things were different from his memories. Had that incident also been completely changed because of his interference?
Wang Chong’s brow furrowed tighter and tighter. If that event disappeared because of his interference, then at daybreak, the Tang would have to face the hundreds of thousands of soldiers on the other side of the Tigris River, the numerous governors and generals, and the reinforcements coming up in the rear. Just as Bahram had said, opposing an entire empire with only a regional force would result in a battle of unprecedented ferocity with a very small chance of victory.
As these thoughts flitted through his mind, Wang Chong became unwittingly vexed and worried. He almost subconsciously took a cup of tea from the table and prepared to take a sip.
But he had barely brought it to his lips when he heard an almost inaudible crackling. Yet in his ears, it was like a clap of thunder.
Wang Chong’s eyes widened as he turned down to look, and what he saw was simply mind-blowing. A thin layer of ice was rapidly creeping across the surface of the tea, and it was rapidly thickening.
Hwooom! A gust of cold wind blew in through the slightly ajar door, and wherever the wind touched, white frost began to form. Even the tea cup in Wang Chong’s hand was covered in delicate specks of ice.
“Ah!”
Cries of alarm could be heard in the darkness, but they quickly faded away.
“It’s here!”
Wang Chong’s mind jolted in understanding, and he suddenly strode to the door and pushed it open.
Boom!
At that moment, he felt like he was walking into an entirely different world, a world of endless wind and snow. Wang Chong’s body was immediately cloaked in a layer of snow, even his hair and nose. Outside, flames seethed and burned. Earlier, Wang Chong had requested Zhang Shouzhi, Banahan, and all the craftsmen that had followed the army to light many flames throughout Khorasan. Furnaces across the city were currently spewing thick smoke into the sky.
The heat exuded by these furnaces and bonfires had raised the nighttime temperature of Khorasan, but now, all of these flames seemed to be suppressed. Even the flames in the furnaces had dimmed.
Whooosh! Another gust of icy wind blew past, and ten-some steps away from Wang Chong, a furnace went out and froze. The scorching metal furnace rapidly cooled, and then a white layer of snow built up on it. One furnace, two furnaces, three furnaces… At the moment Wang Chong stepped out of his room, several furnaces were immediately extinguished.
It took only a few moments for the temperature to plunge ten-some degrees, and it continued to fall with astonishing speed. Everywhere Wang Chong looked, a layer of white ice was enveloping the world, and howling winds blinded the eyes.
Neigh!
At this moment, Wang Chong suddenly heard the neighing of horses and yelling of soldiers. Across the Tigris River, the Arab camp was in chaos.
“Wang Chong, over here!”
A familiar voice resounded in his ear, and Gao Xianzhi strode out of the snowstorm.
“The weather’s gone strange. The temperature is rapidly dropping! This sort of weather is extremely bad for us!”
Cheng Qianli, Xi Yuanqing, and Lou Shiyi followed behind him.
“What a large blizzard! While coming over, we saw that ice had already formed on the walls. Lord Protector-General, what should we do?” Cheng Qianli asked.
This blizzard had come too abruptly; the temperature had dropped rapidly, and was continuing to drop. Even Cheng Qianli had sensed something wrong, let alone the others.
The temperature had plunged too quickly, and not just one or two degrees, but ten-some degrees. If this continued, ordinary soldiers would not be able to endure it.
“Haha, there’s no need to worry. I’ve already prepared for this. This plunge in temperature is a blessing, not a disaster!”
To their surprise, Wang Chong showed little concern, and was in fact happy to hear this news. He suddenly looked into the darkness, a profound expression in his eyes. Gao Xianzhi, Cheng Qianli, and the others were surprised at first, and subconsciously followed his gaze. When they saw what Wang Chong was looking at, all of them shivered in understanding.
A blizzard!
This was admittedly a problem for the Tang, Sassanids, and rebels in the city, but to the exposed Arab army, it was simply a disaster.
At this moment, everyone finally understood.
“…So, Wang Chong, this was the chance you were referring to?”
Gao Xianzhi stood next to Wang Chong, watching as the mantle of snow thickened and the blizzard ravaged the earth.
“Mm.”
Wang Chong nodded. The blizzard that he had been waiting for was finally here, so there was no need to keep it concealed.
Little Ice Age!
This thought suddenly appeared in Wang Chong’s mind as he stared at the vast blizzard. Other than himself, no one, not even Gao Xianzhi or Bahram, understood what this blizzard symbolized.
This was no ordinary blizzard, nor was this any ordinary winter. ‘There is always an evildoer behind the death of a country.’ There would always be omens and phenomena that heralded a coming calamity. The black corrosion of the sun that he had witnessed over the skies of Talas had been the beginning of this calamity.
And this large-scale blizzard was the first probe before this calamity finally exploded onto the scene.