Chapter 1231: The Supreme Sage Emperor (I)
Translated by: Hypersheep325
Edited by: Michyrr
The Imperial Palace was a strange and unfathomable place, and there was no such thing as an impervious wall, no such thing as an eternal secret. The War of the Princes had always been extremely dangerous, which was why people regarded it with such apprehension. w.a.n.g Chong’s relations.h.i.+p with Fifth Prince Li Heng would have been exposed one day, but this was much faster than he had expected.
It seems like there are already many spies around the Fifth Prince!
w.a.n.g Chong raised his eyes, a light flas.h.i.+ng through them.
A large tree would attract wind, and Fifth Prince Li Heng was now different from what he was in the past. He was beginning to gather many advisors around him, but as he gathered more people, many others could mix their way in. This was unavoidable. These thoughts only briefly occupied w.a.n.g Chong’s mind, and he quickly regained his composure.
“Let’s go!”
With a wave of his sleeve, w.a.n.g Chong returned to the sedan chair and seated himself back down.
“Raise the chair!”
The silver-robed eunuch and the Golden Guards all exhaled. It was for the best that the talks between w.a.n.g Chong and the First Prince had fallen through. After all, it could now be treated as if nothing had happened. Otherwise, the Great Tang’s eldest prince would be colluding with the King of Foreign Lands favored by the Sage Emperor, which would bring calamity down on the rest of them.
The sedan chair began to proceed forward once more. Around it, the vanished Imperial Army soldiers once more appeared, acting as if nothing had happened.
Inside the sedan chair, however, w.a.n.g Chong had a heavy heart.
Has the situation in the place gotten this serious?
For w.a.n.g Chong, the appearance of the First Prince had been a minor interlude. What he was really worried about was about what this situation implied.
A prince privately meeting an important subject was forbidden, and the First Prince would only dare to do such a thing if the situation in the palace was sufficiently chaotic.
It all depends on the Sage Emperor!
w.a.n.g Chong took in a deep breath and calmed back down.
In this storm at the heart of the empire, the most important thing was always the Sage Emperor’s stance. Moreover, after such a long time, w.a.n.g Chong dearly wanted to know just what the Sage Emperor’s condition was.
The sedan chair rapidly proceeded through the various layers of the palace, getting closer and closer to the political core of the empire.
A few moments later, it stopped in front of a staircase consisting of thousands of steps carved from white jade. w.a.n.g Chong emerged from the sedan chair and was greeted by a vast mult.i.tude of Golden Guards, lining the white jade staircase from the bottom all the way to the top.
And in front of that dazzling and golden hall, countless experts stood arrayed, their energies soaring into the sky in a dreadful display.
Thump!
At this moment, the crack of a whip came from high above.
“Reporting! Young Marquis w.a.n.g Chong has arrived for his audience!”
The firm and shrill voice echoed ceaselessly above the palace.
w.a.n.g Chong tidied his robes and began to ascend the steps of white jade. This was not his first time climbing this stairway, but it gave him a different feeling from any time before. There were no spectating officials, no music or rituals. All this indicated that this audience was different from normal.
w.a.n.g Chong quickly arrived in front of the great hall.
“Young Marquis, enter. His Majesty is waiting for you within,” the directing eunuch holding the whip softly said, his att.i.tude toward w.a.n.g Chong one of respect. At this point, there was no one who did not know the reputation of w.a.n.g Chong, the new War G.o.d of the Great Tang. Even these eunuchs within the palace had heard of his thunderous reputation.
“Many thanks, Sir Eunuch!”
w.a.n.g Chong bowed and pa.s.sed the eunuch to enter the palace.
Bzzz! w.a.n.g Chong stopped in front of the open doors into the palace, gazing into its dazzling interior with his mind in great turmoil. He had countless questions, countless grievances, but as he stood in front of this enormous palace, all these thoughts began to slowly fade away, and suddenly, w.a.n.g Chong became incredibly calm.
At this moment, a mellow, genial, and rich voice came from within. “w.a.n.g Chong, enter!” w.a.n.g Chong instantly recognized this as the voice of Gao Lis.h.i.+.
w.a.n.g Chong stepped over the threshold, and the moment he did, he seemed to enter an entirely different world. All other sound vanished, and familiar streams of energy washed over him like a vast sea of fog.
This was not the first time w.a.n.g Chong had entered this hall to have an audience with the Sage Emperor. On his last audience, w.a.n.g Chong had felt like an insignificant ant before the Sage Emperor.
But after half a year, w.a.n.g Chong had a completely different sensation. He was now on the verge of entering the Subtle realm, and he could now even look upon this mysterious realm. He had even managed to kill Qutaybah. Great Generals that were supreme existences to ordinary people weren’t even worth thinking about in his eyes.
Upon entering the hall this time, w.a.n.g Chong had not expected to still feel that deep awe and respect in his heart, like a child before a giant, meek and insignificant.
If w.a.n.g Chong was a giant standing at the peak of a mountain, then the supreme and revered figure in the upper reaches of this hall was a G.o.d looking down upon the world from the heavens.
The higher his cultivation level became, the more w.a.n.g Chong realized just how terrifyingly powerful the Sage Emperor was.
Divine Martial realm!
This thought suddenly emerged in w.a.n.g Chong’s mind. The Subtle realm was already a mysterious existence, and w.a.n.g Chong knew just how powerful the energy of that realm was. But the Divine Martial realm was even further above the Subtle realm. The Sage Emperor from back then was an existence who was infinitesimally close to reaching the Divine Martial realm, and w.a.n.g Chong had never imagined that the Sage Emperor had been this powerful back then.
“This lowly subject pays respects to the Sage Emperor! May the Sage Emperor live ten thousand years!”
w.a.n.g Chong quickly raised his robe, got down on his knees, and lowered his head.
The hall was absolutely silent as those majestic waves of energy continued to surge through the hall. After a long while, that dignified and divine voice finally spoke.
“Rise!”
The entire hall seemed to tremble.
“Thank you, Your Majesty!”
w.a.n.g Chong bowed his head again and stood up.
w.a.n.g Chong stood around seventy meters away from the upper reaches of the hall, as the regulations of the Imperial Palace strictly forbade him from stepping any farther without explicit orders. w.a.n.g Chong stood there and shot a glance above. Unlike the outside, the palace was rather empty and not heavily guarded at all. There was only the supreme figure of the ruler of the world and the silk-robed Eunuch Gao. There were not even any maids or guards inside this hall.
w.a.n.g Chong couldn’t help but find this strange. But w.a.n.g Chong quickly turned his gaze once more to the legendary sovereign of the Great Tang.
Whether then or now, that person would always be the person that w.a.n.g Chong respected and admired the most. This was not because of his supreme status and power, but because he had led the empire from chaos into order, bringing it to unprecedented levels of power.
This was the true Sage Emperor!
Buzz!
w.a.n.g Chong’s mind was in turmoil. In the upper reaches of the hall, the Sage Emperor, dressed in his dragon robe and seated on the enormous dragon throne, lightly moved the index finger of his right hand, which was resting on a carved dragon armrest. Gao Lis.h.i.+ understood, opened the imperial decree, and stepped forward.
“w.a.n.g Chong, hear the decree!”
“Subject w.a.n.g Chong hears the decree!”
w.a.n.g Chong quickly lowered his head and bowed.
“Acceding to the will of the heavens, the Emperor declares!
“Young Marquis w.a.n.g Chong has protected the country. Young and full of potential, in the battles of Talas and Khorasan, he rendered great service and achieved incredible feats, raising the prestige of my Great Tang. Thus, with the Sage Emperor’s approval, the Six Bureaus have agreed to confer upon Young Marquis w.a.n.g Chong the t.i.tle of the Great Tang’s King of Foreign Lands! This rank enjoys the salary of a King and has the same status as a member of the imperial household. In addition, the Bureau of Rites and Bureau of Personnel have drafted doc.u.ments to announce this matter to the world so that all subjects may learn by example! Thus is the Emperor’s decision!”
Gao Lis.h.i.+ put away the imperial decree and gave a gratified look to w.a.n.g Chong. He had watched as this child matured. During the Regional Commanders Incident, when w.a.n.g Chong was censured by all the Hu and jailed within the imperial prison, Gao Lis.h.i.+ had come personally to see him and had even sent him medicine. From that moment, Gao Lis.h.i.+ had known that the Sage Emperor had high regard and favor for this youth.
And w.a.n.g Chong had not let down the Sage Emperor’s trust. In a little more than half a year, he had used a string of dazzling and astounding achievements to prove that the Sage Emperor was correct.
“w.a.n.g Chong, come forward and receive the decree!”
The hall was quiet, and surprisingly, w.a.n.g Chong stood there and did not move. It was like someone had frozen him in place. If it had only been a moment, Gao Lis.h.i.+ might have believed that w.a.n.g Chong had not heard him clearly. But w.a.n.g Chong was standing there clearly without any intent to come up.
“Young Marquis!”
Gao Lis.h.i.+’s face grimaced and his voice became somewhat louder.
“Your Majesty! This subject would like to speak on a matter!”
w.a.n.g Chong bowed, his loud voice resounding through the hall.
“w.a.n.g Chong, you dare!”
Gao Lis.h.i.+ paled at this sight. The Sage Emperor had already announced w.a.n.g Chong’s new t.i.tle, and yet w.a.n.g Chong dared to refuse to receive the decree and even wanted to speak on a matter. He was clearly using this chance to arouse the Sage Emperor’s doubts and suspicions. This was a major crime!
“Subject w.a.n.g Chong has a matter he wishes to speak on with His Majesty!”
To Gao Lis.h.i.+’s surprise, w.a.n.g Chong acted like he did not hear. He spoke once more, his voice even louder than before.
This time, Gao Lis.h.i.+’s face was in a full grimace. It was obvious that w.a.n.g Chong was set on this course of action and no longer cared for the consequences.
“Speak!” the Sage Emperor said in his dignified voice, indifferent and aloof. It was flat and emotionless; apparently, he had long ago predicted this request from w.a.n.g Chong.
“Arabia is a country of tigers and wolves, an eternal calamity for the Great Tang. The size of this threat is greater than that of any of the other foreign countries bordering the Great Tang. Khorasan is of extreme importance in opposing Arabia. This subject implores Your Majesty to retract the decree.”
After saying this, w.a.n.g Chong got down on both knees and prostrated.
More than a year of planning and more than half a year of campaigning, a ma.s.sive investment of wealth, and the sacrifice of tens of thousands had finally resulted in the victory at Khorasan. No matter what, w.a.n.g Chong could not allow these sacrifices to be made in vain, nor could he give the Arabs a chance to rise again and once more bring calamity down on the Central Plains.
The Tang army had withdrawn, the coalition with the Khorasani had collapsed, and the entire military was being reduced. In this world, the only person who could change all this was the Sage Emperor.
As long as the Sage Emperor gave the word, there was still a chance to salvage everything!