The Human Emperor

Scenes from the Youzhou war flashed through Zhang Shougui’s mind in a rapid slideshow.

Zhang Shougui began to think back to that battle.

Yeon Gaesomun had personally taken part in the battle, and when the battle was at its most dire, the group of hastily recruited Hu had charged into the battlefield like a pack of wolves. They were courageous and strong, expert horse archers. With an almost sacrificial attitude, they exchanged their lives one for one, tearing a hole in Yeon Gaesomun’s center defense line and reversing the battle.

But now that he thought about it, they had entered the battlefield in orderly ranks and acted with incredible cohesion, rather than rushing up like a bunch of bees. This was not at all some motley crew of undisciplined soldiers.

Later on, An Yaluoshan ‘unintentionally’ mentioned that the people of Youzhou were of a doughty stock, and as the Andong Protectorate was the strongest faction in the region, all of the Hu on its borders inadvertently studied the Andong Protectorate army’s tactics and formations.

But Zhang Shougui had presided over the border for many years. How could he not know what the Hu of Youzhou were like?

Those Hu that wandered the border were Hu from the steppe, and they were simply useless. It was impossible to teach them Han tactics and formations. The Andong Protectorate army was ruled with an iron fist, and it was only through an exceptionally cruel system of punishment that Zhang Shougui had managed to train the unruly Hu into the renowned Andong Protectorate army.

If all the Hu possessed this level of comprehension and cohesion, how could Zhang Shougui have possibly oppressed Youzhou for several decades, making all the surrounding countries tremble in fear?!

In truth, he had noticed these things some time ago, but at that time, the war had just ended, his Hu son had achieved a tremendous feat, and Zhang Shougui did not suspect him, so he put his concerns aside.

Not only that, as he thought more and more about it, the number of suspicious points began to increase.

In the Youzhou war, though he had been ill in bed from the flaring of his old injuries, he had not been known as an undefeated general for no good reason. His grasp of the art of war was only second to War God Wang Zhongsi, and though he was ill, Zhang Shougui still had his intellect.

When Yeon Gaesomun’s army arrived and the two armies clashed, he almost immediately put into motion the proper strategy, issuing a string of orders that reorganized the army, laid down defenses, and began attacks. This was as easy for him as breathing, and not even his injuries could affect this.

When it came to the art of war, he and Yeon Gaesomun weren’t on the same level.

But while there was nothing wrong with the tactics Zhang Shougui had ordered, something had gone wrong with the execution. For some reason, while everything went as ordered, the army seemed to be just a little slower than normal, and in some areas, the defense collapsed for no good reason. In the end, the Andong Protectorate army was pushed back on various fronts and fell into an extremely dire position.

He didn’t sense anything at first, but how could he not understand in hindsight?!

It wasn’t anything wrong with his commands, nor was it because the army was slow. Someone had been meddling with the orders and planning to ensnare him from the very start!

“Bastard!”

When Zhang Shougui realized this, anger assailed his heart, a piercing pain striking through it.

He had believed that An Yaluoshan was devoted to him, was an honest, simple, and amusing son. Little did he know that this inconspicuous son had been fooling him from the very beginning.

He had spent his entire life forging the Andong Protectorate into its current state, but his life’s efforts had been brought to ruin by An Yaluoshan.

And even more hateful was that he had been deceived by An Yaluoshan for so long and so badly that he even ended up recommending An Yaluoshan for the post of temporary Andong Protector-General!

“Curses! Curses! Curse him!”

Agitated, Zhang Shougui cried out three times, and then he let out a wail as a gout of blood shot three feet into the air.

“Lord Protector-General!”

Wang Chong was alarmed at this sight and hurriedly ran over to support Zhang Shougui, pouring Stellar Energy into his body.

“Bastard! Bastard! Bastard! You Hu beast, this old man will have your head!”

Zhang Shougui’s lips were scarlet and his breathing was shaky, his entire body shaking in rage.

Zhang Shougui had always considered himself above the common herd, never thinking that when he went out hunting eagles, the eagle would peck back. The Hu, who he had always viewed with scorn and contempt, had played him for such a fool!

He could accept his defeat in Youzhou, the loss of the Roaring Tiger Army, and even his demotion and the jeers of his enemies in the capital. But what he could not accept was being played for a fool by some Hu under his command!

There was no greater humiliation!

“Lord Protector-General, please, calm your anger,” Wang Chong soothed. “He was scheming for a long time to squeeze out Milord and obtain his current status. Now, he has achieved his aims, and the Imperial Court has already issued its decree. Anything we do now is too late.

“I have told Milord all this in the hopes that Milord can understand the entire incident and will no longer be in the dark. But to deal with him, we must think of another way. From the intelligence reports I’ve gathered, I have learned that he has secretly constructed nineteen armories in Youzhou and privately recruited at least two hundred thousand soldiers. He’s also secretly trained a force of eight thousand men known as the Yeluohe. Moreover, he is also colluding with the Khitans, the Xi, the Eastern Turkic Khaganate, and the Goguryeo Empire. An extremely powerful faction has formed in the northeast, and it’s not an easy task to overturn it.

“Though I found the letters the Eastern Turks and Goguryeons sent to him, I could never find the letters he sent to Yeon Gaesomun and the Eastern Turks. Moreover, things get complicated if we take things to the court. Regardless of what we say, we’ll probably find it hard to change the Sage Emperor’s mind!” Wang Chong said.

Silence!

Absolute silence!

Zhang Shougui’s face was pale and his robes were trembling. Countless thoughts were passing through his mind, and all manner of emotions: hatred, reluctance, and indescribable humiliation. When he understood the cause behind all that had occurred, he wanted to immediately rush to Youzhou, drag that beast out from the protectorate headquarters, and cleave him in half with his palm.

But Zhang Shougui was still a legendary existence with a battle record spanning decades. Once his anger passed, Zhang Shougui displayed the caliber of a hegemon of the Great Tang and quickly calmed himself down.

“Your Highness, this old man is unworthy of you. If not for you, this old man would still be fooled, believing that beast to be of the same mind as this old man, on the same side. Just the thought of it fills this old man with shame.”

Zhang Shougui looked at Wang Chong, all sorts of emotions clashing in his mind.

“Lord Protector-General’s words are too much.”

Wang Chong shook his head, also filled with emotion.

Zhang Shougui originally had a chance, and things didn’t need to get this bad. Alas, even though he had repeatedly warned Zhang Shougui, he was completely ignored. Zhang Shougui had been too confident, too arrogant, leading him to raise a tiger in his own home to the point that it could no longer be controlled.

Zhang Shougui was a renowned general, yet he had still been fooled by An Yaluoshan. But saying anything now was too little, too late.

“Your Highness, Zhang Shougui will engrave the kindness you showed on his heart, and this old man will repay it one day. As for that Hu beast, once this old man gets to Kuo Province, he will patiently bide his time and recover from his injuries, and in the future, tear him to pieces!” Zhang Shougui hatefully spat, his eyes erupting with killing intent.

That Hu beast had utterly humiliated him. If Zhang Shougui did not find a way to kill that fiend, he would never be able to show his face to the world.

Wang Chong said nothing. Zhang Shougui’s reaction was within his expectations, but Wang Chong had not invited him to his estate only to tell him the truth.

“If Lord Protector-General wishes to deal with An Yaluoshan, you might not need that much time to recover,” Wang Chong said.

Zhang Shougui raised his head in shock.

“Heh, Wang Chong happens to understand a little of the medical arts, which might prove beneficial for Lord Protector-General’s injuries.”

Wang Chong faintly smiled.

He had been inspecting Zhang Shougui’s condition this entire time. When he vomited blood, his disorderly energy flows had actually smoothed out significantly, enough for Wang Chong to use the Stone of Destiny’s Blood Reformation ability.

Without the slightest hesitation or explanation, Wang Chong activated the Blood Reformation ability.

“……”

“Congratulations to user! Blood Reformation successful!”

After some time, as the Stone of Destiny spoke, Zhang Shougui let out a long sigh. When he raised his head, a hint of blood had returned to his pale face.

As the night deepened, Wang Chong left the hall so that Zhang Shougui could continue his recovery.

Just as Wang Chong left, there was a gust of wind, and at the same time, the Stone of Destiny spoke into his mind.

“Congratulations to user! For completing the side mission of saving the important Great Tang character Zhang Shougui, changing the course of history, you have been rewarded 10,000 points of Destiny Energy!”

“Finally succeeded!”

Wang Chong mentally sighed in relief.

In the original timeline, Zhang Shougui had died of depression. The twin blows of defeat at Youzhou and demotion to governor had been too much for someone as proud as Zhang Shougui. He was unable to untie the emotional knot in his heart, and together with his old wounds, the titan of an era passed.

This was a major loss to the Great Tang.

Now, though, Zhang Shougui knew the truth, knew the crux behind all his failures. Although he had still been demoted to the Kuo Province and was still recovering, Wang Chong had applied the Blood Reformation to heal him, given him an objective, and the anger and hatred to achieve it.

Wang Chong would never have been able to sit back and watch as such a powerful Great General was lost.

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