The Human Emperor

Let alone An Lushan, even Tian Chengsi and Cui Qianyou, who had long ago decided to make the Great Tang their enemy, couldn’t help but feel deeply envious.

Any general would feel envious over the rewards Wang Chong had been given.

But this was not all. They still remembered Wang Chong leading his army through the thunderstorm, forcing his way through so that he could take all of their heads without any questions asked.

Of the four An brothers, Wang Chong had ignored the more conspicuous An Xiaojie and An Wenzhen, and targeted the most restrained brother.

During that trip, An Yaluoshan had been at his weakest, his wings not fully mature. This was why he had been as inconspicuous as possible, not doing anything at all that could make him stand out. But Wang Chong, this scion of a clan of ministers and generals, seemed to carry some deep-seated grudge against him, to be intent on killing him as quickly as possible.

Even now, An Yaluoshan and his subordinates did not understand the reason. Except the King of Foreign Lands, there was probably no one that knew the answer to this riddle.

But what An Yaluoshan and his Youzhou subordinates found most unacceptable was that this was not even the end of things for Wang Chong. If matters had ended there, they could have treated the matter as a hedonistic scion acting recklessly, but afterward, Wang Chong continued to climb up the ranks, not only being made a Marquis, but then the King of Foreign Lands, and now, he was the Empire Guardian Great General with an Imperial Dragon Bracelet and his portrait enshrined in Lingyan Pavilion. His authority in the Great Tang was almost equal to that of the heavens.

Thus, the Central Plains had suddenly become a forbidden ground for An Yaluoshan. He did not dare to take a single step into the capital.

The greater Wang Chong’s authority, the more the Youzhou group felt the dagger pressing up against their backs.

“Your Excellency, there is no need to worry.” At this moment, an elegant and refined voice came from behind the trio. “The Great Tang cannot last for too long. Before Your Excellency’s arrival, I already divined the phenomena taking place over the Central Plains. These are omens that the master of the realm is about to change, and that the true dragon arises from Youzhou.

“…The dragon veins of the realm replace themselves every one thousand years, with minor shifts every several hundred years. This is represented by the changing of dynasties. The blessings on a country can be long or short. Long is the eight-hundred-year Great Zhou, and short are those minor kingdoms that float about like duckweed. If we count from the time of the Great Han Dynasty, exactly one thousand years have passed. This is a sign that a true hegemon will appear in the realm and establish an even greater empire. Your Excellency, you are the Son of Heaven chosen by destiny!”

A few seconds later, a middle-aged scholar wearing an azure robe and holding a folding fan slowly came forward.

“Your Excellency, you are the hidden dragon, the future master of the realm, the Son of Heaven revered by all. What does a puny Lingyan Pavilion matter to you? When the time comes, Your Excellency can build another and enshrine anyone you want within it, purely based on your own will. What need is there to care about some King of Foreign Lands!?”

Gao Shang shook his head and smiled.

If Wang Chong had been here, he would have certainly been stunned. This unremarkable, middle-aged scholar was a man that he had expended a vast amount of manpower to find, but he had still failed.

In the end, after many twists and turns, he had still come to Youzhou and become An Yaluoshan’s advisor.

While An Yaluoshan was ambitious, he had lived in the northeast almost his entire life, so he did not understand the situation in the Central Plains. The same was true for Cui Qianyou and Tian Chengsi.

But Gao Shang was different. He was a true native of the interior, and he had wandered through many parts of the land. He knew the Central Plains like the back of his hand.

Although he was so weak that he couldn’t even truss a chicken, his heart was burning with resentment after failing to accomplish his dreams, and he had focused this resentment on the Great Tang.

With his support, An Yaluoshan became a tiger with wings. Only then did he truly have the ability to pull off his betrayal.

An Yaluoshan’s mood, originally one of envy and anger, appeared to improve after hearing Gao Shang’s words.

“Haha, good, excellent words! Gao Shang, you have the talent of a minister in you, and it is not your fate to be an impoverished scholar. In the future, when I possess the realm, I will grant you a high official post!”

An Yaluoshan heartily laughed.

“Many thanks, Your Excellency!”

Gao Shang’s face went red as he bowed.

A woman would be accepting of one who found them pleasing, and a gentleman would die for one who understood them. He had lived his entire life disappointed and dejected, and only this man had seen his talents for what they were. This was why Gao Shang was willing to die for this man.

“But there is still one problem.”

An Yaluoshan’s laughter stopped as a dark cloud of worry flitted across his brow.

“Earlier, when I sent an emissary to the Arabian Emperor, one of the gifts was a painting on a white jade roller from the Han Dynasty that I had collected. There was also a slip of paper within. I heard that Mutasim III’s treasury was seized by the Tang army not too long ago, and I worry that this slip of paper has fallen into that man’s hands!”

The mood instantly turned grim, and even Gao Shang couldn’t help but frown.

Everyone knew exactly who An Yaluoshan was talking about.

They had been extremely cautious in contacting Arabia, with all their letters to Mutasim III written in Arabic. But alas, the King of Foreign Lands was also an extremely erudite scholar and a master of several languages, even knowing how to speak and read Arabic.

The consequences of their letter to the Caliph falling into his hands were unimaginable.

“…In addition, I left the words ‘master of the Central Plains’ on that slip of paper,” An Yaluoshan sternly said.

Wang Chong’s name was like a massive mountain pressing down on his head, so heavy that he could barely breathe.

‘Master of the Central Plains’ was not a title anyone could claim to have. In the hands of someone of Wang Chong’s status, this was a time bomb.

In truth, An Yaluoshan had felt intensely uneasy ever since the Sage Emperor had ordered Wang Chong to return to the capital.

Cui Qianyou, Tian Chengsi, and Gao Shang all frowned in silence.

All three of them knew of this. Leaving a clue like ‘future master of the Central Plains’ before they had succeeded in their plans had not been a wise decision and could cause them many problems in the future.

But none of them could voice their criticism.

Their liege had gone a bit overboard, but who could have imagined that an army of 2.6 million Arab soldiers commanded by Hierophant Khatabah and assisted by the Behemoth Army would still lose to the Great Tang, with even the entire empire being conquered?

Moreover, while their liege had been somewhat reckless, he had still written those damning words in Arabic, leaving behind no firm evidence.

After a few moments of silence, Gao Shang finally spoke. “Your Excellency does not need to worry. Mutasim III’s treasury contains countless treasures, as numberless as the sands. Your Excellency’s gift amongst them will be like a pearl in a sea of stars. It is not guaranteed to have been noticed.

“In addition, without definite evidence, the title of ‘Master of the Central Plains’ does not mean anything. While the King of Foreign Lands might have his speculations, could even link to Your Excellency, he cannot act on them.”

“But that white jade roller also had my Youzhou mark.” An Yaluoshan finally voiced his true concern.

Mutasim III wouldn’t recognize the insignia of Youzhou, but the major commanders of the Great Tang did. An Yaluoshan was worried that more than just Wang Chong knew about those words.

The white jade roller was no ordinary object, and anyone who could send it from Youzhou had to be someone extraordinary who could easily be investigated.

“Your Excellency does not need to be too worried,” Gao Shang said after some thought. “If you are truly concerned about this matter, Your Excellency only needs to spread out your soldiers all across the northeast. If the King of Foreign Lands really has his doubts and begins to investigate Your Excellency, he will definitely send spies and scouts to investigate Your Excellency, and Your Excellency will then have time to take countermeasures.”

If Wang Chong had been listening to this conversation, he would have inwardly trembled. This proposal alone proved that Gao Shang was an extremely difficult individual to deal with.

“Mm, we’ll do as you propose.”

An Yaluoshan nodded, his mind much more composed.

“Alright, you’re dismissed.”

“Yes!”

The three of them bowed and prepared to leave. They all knew that their liege loved to climb this mountain and look over the Central Plains by himself.

“Wait! Gao Shang, stay a while,” An Yaluoshan suddenly said.

“Yes, Milord.”

Taken aback, Gao Shang hastily lowered his head.

A few moments later, Cui Qianyou and Tian Chengsi left, leaving behind An Yaluoshan with Gao Shang.

The sun had yet to rise, but the eastern horizon was already brightening up. On the silent mountain top, Gao Shang was pensive and confused. Why had An Yaluoshan asked him to remain?

“Gao Shang!” After some time, An Yaluoshan finally broke the silence, his back facing Gao Shang.

“I ask you: do you really think I’m the future Son of Heaven of the Central Plains, the true dragon?”

These words were spoken with such great weight and force that the surrounding darkness seemed to ripple.

“Of course! Your subordinate has no doubt!”

Gao Shang was shaken by this question, but he replied without hesitation.

“More than one year ago, when this one found Your Excellency, this one already declared to all the other generals that Your Excellency was the future master of the Central Plains. Your subordinate knows a little of the ways to divine the heavens. More than one year ago, your subordinate sensed danger and fled, and based on what happened afterward, it seems that the King of Foreign Lands really did send people to capture me. From this incident, we can see that your subordinate’s divinations were not wrong.