Chapter 1214 - Shock! Stripping of Military Authority!
Chapter 1214: Shock! Stripping of Military Authority!
Translated by: Hypersheep325
Edited by: Michyrr
King of Foreign Lands!
No one had expected the Sage Emperor to show such favor to Wang Chong, not merely making him a Duke or adding some minor title, but making him the King of Foreign Lands! Such a reward was simply unprecedented and surpassed everyone’s expectations.
“King of Foreign Lands, King of Foreign Lands! The Imperial Court has made Lord Marquis a King!”
“Hahaha, wonderful! In the future, we can call our lord His Highness!”
Wang Chong’s subordinates all began to raise their heads, their eyes shining bright and their expressions excited. King! King! This was even higher than Duke, a title that none of them had ever dared to imagine. From this moment, Wang Chong was a true King, on equal level with King Qi and King Song.
The Great Tang had been established more than two hundred years ago, but there had never been any King outside the imperial family. Wang Chong’s unmatched achievements and record had allowed for a break in this precedent so that he could become the King of Foreign Lands!
At this moment, Bahram, the Sassanid Princess, the rebel leaders, Banahan, the Gangke King, and even the surrounding Anxi Protectorate army soldiers had faces red with happiness for Wang Chong.
Service had its rewards, and Wang Chong was a friend of the Sassanid Dynasty and leader of the coalition army. All of them felt sincere happiness over the fact that he was able to gain the high regard of the Great Tang Empire.
At this moment, the only person who remained calm was Wang Chong.
His gaze flitted past that silk-robed eunuch of some status and to that civil official who was waiting on the side with closed eyes and those inflexible and solemn emissaries behind him. His brows almost imperceptibly creased. It was truly worth being happy about this new title, but it didn’t seem like these people before him were in the mood to celebrate.
And the eunuch had still not finished reading from the imperial decree.
As expected, the eunuch’s sharp voice rang out once more.
“In addition, through discussion amongst the Six Bureaus, the Young Marquis is made Advisor-in-Waiting, and is to take part in the government and immediately return to the capital to be debriefed. As for his military authority and all the matters concerning Khorasan, they are to be transferred to Wen Changqing, Tang Chengyu, and Li Fanming. In addition, Wang Yan is granted the title of Barbarian-Pacifying General, Wang Fu the title of Tiger Roar General, and both are to be transferred to the northeast…”
Boom!
Upon hearing this, everyone was struck dumb. Gao Xianzhi, Feng Changqing, Xi Yuanqing, Banahan, the Gangke King, Bahram, and the rebel leaders all had expressions of extreme shock on their faces.
“What’s going on? Being made an Advisor-in-Waiting and taking part in the government? Does His Divine Majesty plan to transfer the Young Marquis away?”
“Transfer of military authority? Why does there have to be a transfer of military authority? All of us trust in the Young Marquis, and it is only because of him that we are able to resist the Arabs. If the Young Marquis is transferred away, who will deal with the Arabs!”
“This is wrong! Why is he only an advisor? Isn’t he the King of Foreign Lands? Why does he have such a minor official position?”
The surrounding crowd was in an uproar. If they had not heard it for themselves, they would have all believed the listener to be going deaf. The nearby Feng Changqing stared at Wang Chong’s back, his mind tossing and turning with great waves.
Wang Chong had been made King of Foreign Lands, placing him far above the Dukes and Prefectural Dukes, a truly most noble status. But without any actual power, even the highest of Kings was just an empty title. The Great Tang’s imperial household was home to so many Imperial Princes, but only King Song and King Qi wielded any actual power. The Imperial Court had stripped Wang Chong of his military authority and taken away his position as Qixi Protector-General, but all they had given him in return was the title of Advisor-in-Waiting and the ability to participate in court sessions. This was a classical example of apparent promotion but real demotion!
How could it be like this? Just what happened?
Feng Changqing’s eyes went round, his lips trembled, and his heart was in turmoil. After handing so many administrative tasks, Feng Changqing had believed that he had a firm grasp of the shifts and policies of the Imperial Court, but he had never expected to encounter something like this in his lifetime!
Extremely noble status and extremely lowly authority had gathered together on the same person.
Next to him, Gao Xianzhi’s face was stricken with shock, and his gaze slowly turned from the eunuch to Wang Chong. After several major victories, this was definitely not the award ceremony that all of them had expected.
Almost instinctively, Gao Xianzhi felt that there was a problem in the Imperial Court.
The shrill voice was still echoing in everyone’s ears as Su Hanshan, Banahan, the Gangke King, and the others all received their rewards. Finally, Wang Chong raised his head and stepped forward to receive the decree.
“Subject, receive the decree!”
Silence!
The governor’s mansion fell silent. The air of jubilation had vanished long ago. Even those ordinary Khorasani soldiers who knew nothing of the Great Tang’s government had sensed something strange.
“Eunuch, please forgive Gao Xianzhi for speaking out of turn, but just what has happened? Since His Divine Majesty has granted Wang Chong the title of King of Foreign Lands and transferred him to the capital, why was he only granted the position of Advisor-in-Waiting? And why must his position of Qixi Protector-General be removed and his military authority transferred?”
Now that the reading of the decree was finished, Gao Xianzhi had to stride forward and voice everyone’s questions. Gao Xianzhi had the most seniority amongst all the people present, and he was a top-class Great General, so he had the most right to ask questions.
Wang Chong was the savior of the Anxi Protectorate army, and whether it was in his capacity as a friend, ally, guide, or senior, Gao Xianzhi hoped that Wang Chong would truly be valued by the Imperial Court, not suffer this mess of apparent promotion and real demotion that stripped him of his military authority.
“Lord Gao, this is the decision of His Divine Majesty and the Six Bureaus. Are appointments and how they are made something that Milord should be concerned about?”
The eunuch shot Gao Xianzhi an indifferent glance.
Gao Xianzhi immediately frowned, and everyone else grimaced. Gao Xianzhi was an important subject of the empire and the Anxi War God. Other than Bian Lingcheng, no eunuch would dare to speak to Gao Xianzhi with such a tone.
The ‘Lord Wen’ that had remained silent throughout the reading of the decree finally spoke. “Lord Gao, do not ask any further questions. If there is something that you should know, the Imperial Court will naturally inform Milord. If you should not know, then no matter how many questions you ask, we will still know nothing!” His expression was hard and inflexible, and no part of his body except his lips moved as he spoke.
This attitude alone caused Feng Changqing, Wang Yan, Cheng Qianli, and the others to widen their eyes. Just the fact that he could intervene in this conversation with a eunuch was proof that this Lord Wen had much higher status than they had imagined.
“I would just like to ask a question…”
At this moment, a young voice spoke up. Wang Chong, who had remained silent throughout the entire process, had finally spoken.
“Might I ask, are Milords Lord Wen, Lord Tang, and Lord Li?”
Wang Chong’s voice was calm and unperturbed, but his words instantly made the place fall silent. Everyone, including that Lord Wen, turned to Wang Chong.
“These are them!”
Finally, the official with the surname Wen turned his head and gestured behind him at several figures. Wang Chong’s gaze followed the gesture, and he immediately saw three figures exuding powerful energy. These people were all dressed as Confucian scholars, and their expressions were serene, their energies restrained. However, the energy contained within their bodies was even greater than that of Cheng Qianli in his Supreme Desolation God avatar.
Wang Chong was an important subject of the military, and everyone in the world knew of his reputation.
Yet despite how strong these three were, Wang Chong had no impression of them, even though someone of his position should have known at least something.
Wang Chong had viewed every piece of information available in the military, but if the decree had not mentioned their names, Wang Chong wouldn’t have even known the names of these people. For someone of Wang Chong’s status, this was simply inconceivable.
It was as if they had emerged from thin air.
But a moment later, Wang Chong’s eyes inadvertently swept past one of their wrists, and his eyes twitched. On that wrist, he had clearly spotted an inked insignia. At almost the same moment, that man seemed to sense Wang Chong’s gaze. With a shake of his wrist, the sleeve of his robe dropped down and subtly covered that insignia.
At this moment, the official with the surname Wen trotted forward on his horse and said, “Lord Wang, according to the will of the Imperial Court, upon receiving the decree, please immediately hand over your military authority and make haste to return to the capital. This is a rule of the Imperial Court and also His Majesty’s will. Lord Wang, please cooperate!”
His expression was inflexible and his voice was similarly devoid of emotion. This was clearly someone who always acted according to the rules.
“Wait a moment! Please be reasonable!”
“Milord has only just received the decree, and now you’re already telling him to move out! Just what is the meaning of this!”
“Just who are you? It seems like you haven’t come here to announce a decree, but to strip our lord of military authority!”
All of Wang Chong’s subordinates became agitated, and even the Khorasani soldiers, noticing something strange, began to agitatedly argue for Wang Chong’s case.
“Lord Wang, don’t leave! Khorasan needs you!”
The rebel leaders were also anxious. The results of these last few battles appeared to be due to the joint collaboration between the Khorasani, rebel armies, and Tang soldiers, but everyone knew that they only had the confidence to oppose Arabia because of the Great Tang’s Young Marquis.
Although he was only seventeen, he had already become the backbone of all of Khorasan.
It was precisely because he was so self-assured and foresighted, always ready for any development, that he had gained their deep trust that the enemy could be overcome no matter how strong they were. Without Wang Chong to oversee Khorasan, no one even dared to imagine how they would deal with the ferocious assaults of the Arabian Empire.