Chapter 1715: The Imperial Armys Grand Ceremony! (1/2)
Translated by: Hypersheep325
Edited by: Michyrr
In the Battle of Talas, Wang Chong had led various armies in pushing all the way to Khorasan. Although the Confucian Sect ended up making a mess of everything, Wang Chong still had some harvests from the battle, with the city of Talas being one of the important fruits.
Yang Hongchang and his Yang Clan had rendered great service in this battle. Without the information they had supplied and their cooperation within Talas beforehand, Wang Chong would have had a much harder task for himself in that battle.
Gao Xianzhi would also not have been able to so easily occupy Talas at the outset of the battle, and it was this important fortress that had allowed him to last until Wang Chong's army arrived.
Thus, after the battle, while the Imperial Court was still not paying much attention to what was happening to the west of the Cong Mountains, Wang Chong recommended that Yang Hongchang be made the Lord of Talas, taking control of this vital artery between the east and west.
This was the greatest reward for the Yang Clan's loyalty to the Great Tang, and it was the last hidden weapon Wang Chong had planted before leaving Anxi.
With a single letter, Wang Chong could cut off the fortune of the Guanxi Weis.
”Kill the chicken to awe the monkeys—this is the only way to subdue the other great clans. No matter what, we can't let this situation continue to ferment!” Wang Chong said.
”Mm!”
Li Lin nodded. The Guanxi Weis had become too ambitious, and they had brought this on themselves.
The carriage quickly reached the western drilling ground, which was already packed with people.
”Sea Dragon Army, you can do it!”
”The Feather Forest Army will win for sure!”
”Hahaha, thank goodness I pleaded so hard to have Father take me! This competition is going to be great!”
”Place your bets! Place your bets! Ten-to-one odds! Who will win the competition!?”
Wang Chong heard an almost deafening clamor from the crowd.
Wang Chong emerged from the carriage and looked around. He saw many young sons and daughters of the great clans standing at the distant edge of the drilling ground, shouting for all they were worth in support of the army they favored. They clearly knew nothing about the true nature of this competition.
Nearby, the patriarchs and nobles had grim expressions. Around the drilling ground, the orderly ranks of the Feather Forest, Imperial Forest, Soaring Dragon, Sea Dragon, and Black Turtle Armies were almost oppressively quiet.
The news that two Grand Marshals had been attacked had clearly already spread through the ranks, and even the slowest of the Imperial Army soldiers could smell the danger in the air. At this time, no one dared to speak a word.
Wang Chong walked out from the carriage, and for a moment, a spell seemed to be cast on the drilling ground, and it instantly fell quiet. Everyone looked to that corner of the drilling ground in which Wang Chong stood, respect in their eyes. Every one of them knew that while today's contest was extremely important, that young figure standing there was the true center of the empire.
”Look! It's the King of Foreign Lands!”
A young scion of a great clan standing in the southeast corner of the drilling ground couldn't help but cry out in agitation. But he only got halfway through before a harsh voice shouted him to silence.
”Vile spawn, shut up now!”
The clan patriarch's face was in a pale scowl.
This beast! If they hadn't been forced to come because they had been invited by the First Prince, and if this beast hadn't been his eldest son, he would have beaten him to death right here. While today's competition seemed like a lively affair and blindly cheering was fine, recklessly discussing the King of Foreign Lands or the First Prince, even mentioning their names, might send the wrong signals and bring down the death penalty on their clan!
”Starting from now, if you say another word, I'll break your leg, toss you to the ancestral home in the Jiangnan Circuit, and strip you of your place as successor!” the patriarch loathsomely spat.
The young scion instantly trembled in fear, his face turning a ghastly shade of white.
The distant Wang Chong paid no attention to this scene. His eyes swept over the western drilling ground. The various divisions of the Imperial Army were clearly distinct and stood on the edges of the ground, their officers brimming with vigor as they waited to enter.
Wang Chong looked around and suddenly asked, ”Where's Zhao Fengchen? Why don't I see him?”
”There's still some time until the actual fight, so he should be in the barracks,” Li Lin replied as he looked around.
”He's probably making preparations before battle!”
Li Lin was also a member of the Imperial Army, so he had more understanding of its inner workings.
Wang Chong slightly frowned, thoughts flashing in the depths of his eyes. But a moment later, there was a deafening boom from the distance.
Boom!