Chapter 171: The Sage Emperor’s Intentions (1/2)

“Let him go!”

Glancing at the group coldly, Wang Chong ordered.

For that instant, the entire area fell silent. All of the prison guards stared at Wang Chong fearfully.

“Stinky brat, this isn’t a matter for you to interfere in!”

The leader of the group cursed loudly, but nonetheless, he lowered his head to avoid Wang Chong’s gaze.

“Let’s go! Old fellow, we’ll spare you this time!”

He bellowed as he pushed the elder furiously, as if to vent his anger upon him.

Wang Chong might be young, everyone in this ‘imperial prison’ knew that he was a figure that couldn’t be offended. And so, none of the prison guards dared to disrespect him.

For such a trifling matter, it wasn’t worth offending him at all!

Disregarding the prison guards, Wang Chong turned to look at the grubby, bruised official curiously.

“You’re Zhang Munian?”

Wang Chong assessed the prisoner with a bizarre look.

“Indeed! Gongzi, thank you for your help!”

The prisoner seemed to be a refined person, and despite his bad state, he still bowed deeply in gratitude. He looked like he was just skin and bones, and his face was scruffy as well. But even so, there was still spirit in his eyes.

“Zhang from the characters of bow and long, Mu from adoration, and Nian from age?”

(Dissection of the characters in Zhang Munian’s name)

Wang Chong’s gaze grew more and more peculiar.

“You’re from Nanling, and you used to be an agriculture official?”

“Indeed!”

Zhang Munian was intrigued, but he still replied politely with his hand clasped. At the same time, he began to assess Wang Chong subconsciously.

A peculiar light slowly crept into Wang Chong’s eyes.

“You were arrested because you embezzled twenty thousand gold taels?”

Staring at Zhang Munian, Wang Chong suddenly asked.

“How did you know?”

Words immediately shot out from Zhang Munian’s mouth as his expression warped in shock.

Weng!

Wang Chong’s heart jolted, and towering waves gushed through Wang Chong’s mind.

“It’s really him!”

Wang Chong widened his eyes in shock and disbelief. He could have never imagined that Zhang Munian whom he had requested King Song to save, would be in the very same prison, right next to him.

Zhang Munian’s matter should have been under the jurisdiction of the Bureau of Military Personnel, so why would he appear in the imperial prison of the royal palace? Could it be that he wasn’t in the imperial prison but in the cells of the Bureau of Military Personnel instead?

But how could that be?

Intrigue slowly appeared in Wang Chong’s eyes. He couldn’t have imagined that the person he wanted to meet would be in here. This was too much of a coincidence.

“Gongzi, who are you?”

Zhang Munian asked gravely. No matter how slow he could be, it was very clear that Wang Chong knew a lot about his affairs.

“Do you wish to get out?”

Instead of replying, Wang Chong posed a question of his own in return.

“Sigh, how can it be that easy?”

Zhang Munian sighed.

“This is the imperial prison! The only way for one to get out is to be carried out; no one has ever been able to walk out of here on their own two feet. However, if gongzi really does have a way, then please do bring me out.”

“Hehe, don’t worry. I’ll definitely find a way to get you out.”

Noticing the curious gazes of the others converging on him, Wang Chong decided to stop there.

He turned his head back and continued cultivating his ‘Little Yinyang Art’. He could feel that he was about to clear another pathway between his acupoints.

…

The moon set and the sun rose. In the blink of an eye, it was already the third day since Wang Chong was locked in the ‘imperial prison’. Yet, the Sage Emperor hadn’t declared his stand on the matter.

Innumerable memorials flew like knives into the royal palace, and the Sage Emperor didn’t refuse any of them. Even so, he still chose to continue remaining silent on the matter, and his lack of response left all of the officials bewildered.

The voices clamoring for Wang Chong’s execution didn’t die down; on the contrary, they grew louder and louder. All of the Hu generals, as well as the Han officials who harbored goodwill toward them were unwilling to compromise on this matter.

Similarly, the Han generals protecting Wang Chong were determined as well. On top of expressing their support for Wang Chong, the Han generals had also started gathering together to discuss the issues regarding the Hu border forces that Wang Chong mentioned in his memorial.

Most of the soldiers by the borders were Han, and the Han generals chose to promote Hu as a show of meritocracy and equality. However, the Hu chose to only promote and protect other Hu. This caused an exponential rise in the number of Hu commanders by the border.

With the lack of opportunities to take on leadership roles, it was impossible for the new generation of Han soldiers to mature.

As such, the number of Han generals had been steadily on the decline.

This was no longer a foresight, but a truth. What Wang Chong had said was the current reality of Great Tang, and there were many examples of so. A group of Han soldiers might have pitted their lives on the battlefield to triumph over their enemies, but if their leader was a Hu, the greatest credit would be attributed to the Hu.

On the other hand, the Han soldiers were only bestowed with a few slices of meat and a few cups of wine. As this cycle repeated again and again, the soldiers would lose their motivation, causing their performance to plummet.

In other words, they were doomed to remain at the bottommost tier.

This was no longer a hypothetical situation anymore.

No one knew the current situation better than the Han generals of Great Tang.

As Great Tang’s Beiting and Western Protectorate Manor often fought in wars, a steady stream of fresh Han blood was constantly injected into those camps.

The entire Great Tang was giving in its blood and flesh to fight against the Hu. Yet, the leadership of those armies consisted nearly entirely of only Hu. This was something extremely unnatural and worrying.

Toward the dissatisfaction of the Han, the Hu also held their own ground.

The Hu were more courageous and ferocious in battle. Wasn’t it natural for the stronger side to take on leadership positions?