Translated by: Hypersheep325
Edited by: Michyrr
The Tibetans had been defeated, thoroughly defeated!
Mengshe Zhao had also lost!
There was no more suspense in the war of the southwest. As the Great Tang pursued and cut the Mengshe–Ü-Tsang army down from around 190,000 to around 90,000, the Mengshe Zhao soldiers finally understood something and began to flee in every direction.
Although the war was not completely over, there was no mystery over its conclusion.
Dalun Ruozan and Huoshu Huicang were already fleeing with the Tibetan army in the direction of the plateau while Duan Gequan had extracted the unconscious Geluofeng and was fleeing in the direction of Erhai. The Erhai Great General of Mengshe Zhao had completely forgotten about the battle behind him. He only cared about Geluofeng"s safety.
Duan Gequan did not dare to stop. He did not want to give the Great Tang any chance to create a result that could not be reversed.
Without the Great Generals of Mengshe Zhao and Ü-Tsang, the remainder were just weeds, fleeing in every direction, their courage shattered.
An hour later, the battle was over. w.a.n.g Chong, Li Siye, Elder Ye, Elder Hu, Old Eagle, w.a.n.g Yan, and Xianyu Zhongtong once more convened on the mountain.
"Boohoohoo…"
Before even reaching the mountain, w.a.n.g Chong could already hear the sounds of weeping. It was a very young and familiar voice.
"Just a little girl—who told you to come over!
"Just how old are you? And you want to learn how to fight on the battlefield? What were you thinking!
"Who gave you these metal hammers! In the future, you are forbidden from using them."
……
From a distance, w.a.n.g Chong could hear the harsh discipline of his father w.a.n.g Yan. Raising his head, w.a.n.g Chong saw a girl of twelve or thirteen dressed in armor, her hair made up into two braids. She was currently wiping tears from her eyes as she wept in front of w.a.n.g Yan and his older brother w.a.n.g Fu.
On the side, w.a.n.g Fu advised with great solemnity, "Little Sister, listen to your big brother. You shouldn"t have come to this place."
Only his little sister w.a.n.g Xiaoyao could achieve the feat of being scolded simultaneously by both w.a.n.g Yan and w.a.n.g Fu.
"Daddy, Big Brother, I just wanted to help… and I"m also very strong. Even Master praised me about it."
w.a.n.g Xiaoyao pursed her lips as she whined.
"You still dare to mouth off!"
w.a.n.g Yan"s face had gone white from rage.
Seeing that her father was truly enraged, w.a.n.g Xiaoyao finally shut her mouth.
"…You still keep running off. I"ll have to let you suffer a little hards.h.i.+p this time."
w.a.n.g Chong couldn"t help but mentally chuckle at his little sister"s submissive state as he slowly rode the White-hoofed Shadow up the mountain. This stubborn girl would immediately begin to run over to him as soon as she saw him. Even without his father and big brother present, w.a.n.g Chong would still have given her a harsh lesson.
Now was an even better time. Such a willful girl needed to suffer some hards.h.i.+p.
"Young Lady!"
Although w.a.n.g Chong had succeeded in suppressing himself, Old Eagle couldn"t help but yell out upon seeing the scolded w.a.n.g Xiaoyao. w.a.n.g Xiaoyao"s entire body trembled at this voice and she immediately turned around.
The tearful w.a.n.g Xiaoyao seemed to find her spine upon seeing w.a.n.g Chong. She ran over and hugged the White-hoofed Shadow as she tearfully implored, "Third Brother, Daddy and Big Brother are scolding me! Hurry and help me…"
"Seeking help from your third brother is useless! Today, no one is permitted to speak on your behalf!"
w.a.n.g Yan"s rage was exposed for all to see. w.a.n.g Xiaoyao had clearly stoked the flames of anger in his heart to an impressive level.
The w.a.n.g Clan was a clan of ministers and generals. w.a.n.g Xiaoyao was a girl, a twelve-year-old at that. And she wanted to learn from boys and fight and kill on the battlefield? What sort of person was she aiming to become?
w.a.n.g Yan had always been a stickler for family traditions, so this sort of thing was absolutely unacceptable.
"Master told me to come. He said I could help you."
w.a.n.g Xiaoyao raised her head to her third brother, the look on her face conveying that she was innocent and being maligned.
"Still arguing!"
w.a.n.g Yan was fuming, but w.a.n.g Chong was moved by this explanation, a pensive look on his face. While others might not know, w.a.n.g Chong knew that the master his little sister spoke of was his own master, the Demonic Emperor Old Man.
w.a.n.g Chong"s brows rose as he asked his little sister, "You said that Master told you to come?"
"Yes! Do you think he would have let me go otherwise?"
w.a.n.g Xiaoyao continued to look at him with that aggrieved look.
w.a.n.g Chong glanced at her as he continued to think. His little sister didn"t seem to be lying, and given his master"s abilities, if he didn"t want her to leave, she wouldn"t be able to leave even if she flipped over the heavens.
w.a.n.g Chong turned his head and said to his father, "Father, let"s let this matter go. Little Sister is still young. In the future, I"ll watch her."
Strangely, the moment w.a.n.g Chong spoke, w.a.n.g Yan"s explosive rage suddenly subsided. His complexion twitched only a little before accepting the proposal.
It took mere moments for seventy to eighty percent of his anger to be extinguished.
"For the sake of your third brother, I"ll put aside this matter, but if there"s a next time, I"ll break your legs!"
w.a.n.g Yan"s face was as cold as sheet of frost.
At these words, w.a.n.g Xiaoyao raised her head, her stunned gaze shuttling between her father and her third brother.
She didn"t recall her father ever being so amenable or her third brother"s words ever being so effective.
"Little Sister, don"t do this again. Hurry and go."
w.a.n.g Fu also waved his hand, his expression also much better.
w.a.n.g Xiaoyao"s shock only increased. But this was not the time to think about such things. She had been scolded here for so long that the news that she could leave made her feel like a criminal would feel upon being pardoned. With a soft grunt, she took off.
After his little sister left, w.a.n.g Chong dismounted and hurried toward w.a.n.g Yan.
"Father, how are your injuries?"
"To shoot a person, first shoot the horse, and to capture the underlings, first capture their king." This ambush on Geluofeng had been according to w.a.n.g Chong"s plan and had succeeded, but both w.a.n.g Yan and Xianyu Zhongtong had paid a price.
Huoshu Huicang and Duan Gequan had each given their opponent one last blow.
"It"s fine. The most important thing is that we won the war of the southwest," w.a.n.g Yan said. His face was a little pale, but his overall complexion was still fine.
The Mighty Miracle G.o.d Formation gathered up the strength of many people, so when he was injured, a significant portion of the injury had been transferred to the other members of the formation. Thus, w.a.n.g Yan"s injuries were not as severe as imagined.
But a period of recovery was unavoidable.
Upon receiving this answer, w.a.n.g Chong gave a long sigh of relief.
"Old Eagle!"
w.a.n.g Yan"s gaze s.h.i.+fted from w.a.n.g Chong to Old Eagle behind him.
These words were so sudden that both w.a.n.g Chong and Old Eagle were caught by surprise. Old Eagle had been at w.a.n.g Chong"s side for so long, but this was the first time w.a.n.g Yan had called on him.
"Yes, Master."
After his initial daze, Old Eagle quickly stepped forward and gave a respectful bow to w.a.n.g Chong"s father.
"You are skilled in training eagles and other birds to send messages, correct?" w.a.n.g Yan somberly asked.
"Yes, Master. Does Master have some order?" Old Eagle deferentially said.
"The war of the southwest is already over. Mengshe Zhao and Ü-Tsang have lost. Without sufficient provisions, it will be very difficult for them to counterattack. The Imperial Court is still waiting for news from us. Send one of your birds to deliver this news to the capital. Those ministers are probably beside themselves with worry," w.a.n.g Yan sternly said.
Around him, the other people began to respond. Correct! The war of the southwest had been the start of everything, with countless people keeping watch on it.
At a special moment like this, news to calm the people was essential.
The news of victory in the southwest would be particularly useful against those foreign powers on the borders of the Great Tang who were now l.u.s.tfully looking toward it. This news would shake their ambitions.
"Correct! We should spread this news as quickly as possible. In addition, the army led by King Song should have already left the capital. If he were to receive this news, he would definitely be encouraged!"
"In order to reinforce the southwest, King Song has put great efforts in gaining support, taking many risks. This news will be a great boon to him."
……
Elder Ye and Elder Hu agreed, adding their own views into the mix.
"King Song?"
These words immediately attracted the notice of everyone else, even w.a.n.g Chong appearing surprised. He had not heard any of this from the two elders before.
"Young Master Chong, the southwest war has gone on for so long, you didn"t think that we could be reinforcements from the Imperial Court, right?"
Elder Ye gave w.a.n.g Chong a bitter smile.
"We in the capital learned that the empire"s southwest was in peril and decided to serve as the vanguard. Because we"re not proper soldiers, we aren"t bound by so many restrictions."
"Before leaving, we had already learned that King Song had managed to reach an agreement, so we left first to reinforce the southwest while King Song would lead the main army behind us," Elders Ye and Hu explained.
The war of the southwest involved three countries and nearly one million civilians. People both within and without the court were paying attention to this war, so it was impossible for there to not be any movement.
"But we didn"t think that Young Master was so formidable as to defeat the Mengshe–Ü-Tsang army before we even arrived."
The elders bitterly smiled.
With regards to this point, the pair still couldn"t believe it. It all seemed like a dream. The difference in numbers was so vast, and his opponents had been people like Dalun Ruozan and Huoshu Huicang, yet w.a.n.g Chong had succeeded in thoroughly defeating them.
If they hadn"t seen it for themselves, they wouldn"t have believed it even if they were beaten to death.
"Elder Ye, Elder Hu, you flatter me!"
Saying this, w.a.n.g Chong turned to look at Old Eagle.
"Old Eagle, did you hear?"
"Yes, Young Master," Old Eagle confirmed with a nod.
Flapflap!
A few moments later, the sound of flapping wings could heard from the summit. Carrier pigeons, eagles, and other birds took off for the capital, quickly vanis.h.i.+ng into the sky.
This day was certain to stun the entire world!
……
The war was over, but the matter of the southwest was far from settled. Many soldiers had been dispatched to sweep up the defeated Mengshe–Ü-Tsang army, and there were still many matters concerning the empire"s southwest that w.a.n.g Chong and the others needed to discuss.
"King Song still hasn"t arrived, so before he does, we need to remain in the southwest to guard against any desperate attacks from Ü-Tsang and Mengshe Zhao. The Annan Protectorate army has far fewer soldiers than it used to have."
"Impossible! The Tibetan Plateau is overrun with plague and the Mengshe Zhao granaries were already burned by Young Master. Without sufficient provisions, how could they counterattack?"
"Ü-Tsang still has the strength to fight. Don"t forget that Dalun Ruozan at the very minimum has more than ten thousand cavalry. Cavalry below ten thousand is insufficient, but it is invincible above ten thousand. If we run into them on flat terrain, what will we fight them with? Don"t forget that Dalun Ruozan is an individual on par with Zhangchou Jianqiong, the Tiger of the Empire."
"Did you forget that we have Young Master? Dalun Ruozan couldn"t beat Young Master with five hundred thousand soldiers, so how could he now?"
……
On the mountain, all the high-ranking generals of the Annan Protectorate army had gathered. Sun Liuyue, Luo Ji, Lin Wushou, Zhao Hong, and Zhao Wujiang were all present, and everyone was engaged in an intense and ceaseless debate.