Chapter 2255 - Victory in the Northeast! The Realm Rejoices! (1/2)
Chapter 2255: Victory in the Northeast! The Realm Rejoices!
Translated by: Hypersheep325
Edited by: Michyrr
Several days later…
The capital of the Great Tang was covered in a blanket of silver, and the roofs of the homes were piled high with thick snow, thick icicles hanging from the eaves. The capital had been transformed into a completely different world.
The crisscrossing streets of the capital were all empty.
Heaven and earth were still, all things quiet. This was an empty and abandoned world!
In this frozen world, the nearly one million inhabitants of the capital were huddled in the cellars they had dug out beneath their homes, quietly waiting. Never had this sort of thing happened in the capital of an empire.
But in the southeast corner of the capital, amidst the snowstorm, a figure stood in a pavilion and silently looked toward the northeast.
Whoosh!
A snow eagle flew out of the snowstorm. The Tang horseman raised his head in shock, extending his arm in disbelief to receive the eagle.
“This is a report from the northeast!”
The horseman was flabbergasted.
He had been waiting here for several days. In this ice-covered world, he was perhaps the only person standing outside in the entire capital, quietly waiting for the news.
In this sort of endless waiting, each second felt like an epoch.
There was nothing here besides snow and wind, and the same scene of blinding whiteness could be seen wherever one looked.
He was used to this sort of waiting, used to day after day without a result. He had never expected news to arrive from the northeast at this time.
“The northeast… Victory?” the horseman softly muttered, and then he shouted in glee. “Victory in the northeast!”
He mounted his horse and made for the Imperial Palace like a madman.
“Victory in the northeast!
“Victory in the northeast!”
The hooves stirred up snow as the horseman galloped through the city, his excited bellows resounding through the streets.
The white capital was at first quiet, the only sound the howling of the wind, but chattering voices soon began to emerge from the buildings lining the road.
“What? Victory in the northeast? The Great Tang won?”
“The King of Foreign Lands really did succeed!”
Windows were pushed open, and heads large and small peeked into the snowstorm. In this frigid weather, their brows, hair, and beards were all covered in white layers of frost, and not even the children were spared, but their faces were flushed red with excitement.
Bang!
Soon, the conversation on both sides turned into heaven-shaking cheers.
Matters regarding the war and the northeast normally only needed to be reported to the Imperial Court so that the officials could know. But Li Heng had pushed for this pavilion to be built in the southeast corner of the capital so that everyone in the capital would know about any reports from Youzhou before they arrived at the Imperial Palace.
Li Heng had explained that with the empire in crisis, it was necessary that all of society be united and of one mind, that this news should not be hidden from the common folk.
Only when everyone worked together toward a common goal would the empire be able to weather this crisis and any future crises to come.
Only with this mentality could the Great Tang truly achieve a long and prosperous peace.
Gallop!
Amidst the cheering, the horseman rode into the lofty Imperial Palace.
Within Taihe Palace, square cauldrons burned. Li Heng sat upon his throne, his expression tired, and many officials were assembled before him.
There was no sound besides the crackling of the coal fires.
The entire world had been sealed in ice, and the enormous machine that was the Great Tang had stopped. There was nothing to discuss in Taihe Palace, but Li Heng had still summoned all his officials.
This had been the case since the beginning of the war in the northeast.
The empire’s fate had already come to rest entirely on this war. If the Great Tang were victorious, its peace and prosperity would continue, but if it were defeated… everything would cease to exist.
Suddenly, the doors flew open, and a horseman covered in snow rushed in.
“Your Majesty, victory in the northeast!”
Whoooah!
At the messenger’s voice, all the officials instantly opened their eyes with excitement on their faces.
“Victory in the northeast? Truly?”
All of them were overcome with excitement. They had waited for what seemed like countless days and nights precisely for this news.
“Bring it up. Let Us see!” A voice came from above. Li Heng had bolted up from his throne, his expression just as brimming with excitement.
“Wonderful! Wonderful!
“King of Foreign Lands, We truly did not misjudge you!”