Chapter 561: Meeting! Dalun Ruozan’s Probe!
Translated by: Hypersheep325
Edited by: Michyrr
Crack!
With a flash of light, a spear imbued with destructive energy lightly touched the stone stele. The stele toppled as cracks began to crawl across it. With a thud, it crashed to the ground in pieces.
“Hmph! The Stele of Wu of Han Opening Dian! It was fine as long as I didn’t know about it, but now that I know, why should I let it remain?”
A general bursting with explosive power slowly rode his horse out of the rear, his eyes gleaming with a sharp light.
“In the future, the Tang will no longer be able to step past the Erhai. The southwest will become our world.”
The general’s gaze was filled with pain and loathing as it swept over those shards of stone by the road. Only the generals of Mengshe Zhao could feel such hatred toward this stele commemorating Emperor Wu of Han’s edict to open Dian.
“Haha, an excellent strike, General. The Han treated the people of Mengshe Zhao like slaves, so you should have smashed it. However, our Ü-Tsang is different. Ü-Tsang is Mengshe Zhao’s ally, so we should naturally deal with the Tang together.”
Dalun Ruozan waved his fan as he slowly walked out. A faint smile hung over his face and he exuded an air of grace and elegance.
“Hmph, it better be!”
The general snorted before standing to the side.
“Great Minister, do not blame him. Generals are all rough people, as is their way of speaking.”
The King of Mengshe Zhao, Geluofeng walked out from the rear, bringing with him Crown Prince Fengjiayi, Great General Duan Gequan, and a group of generals from Mengshe Zhao.
“Hahaha, it’s fine, it’s fine. I take no offense, no offense!”
Dalun Ruozan heartily laughed as he waved his hand, but a strange gleam flashed through his eyes.
“We Tibetans are the same!”
The two smiled at each other and put the matter aside, their gazes turning as one toward the mountain. They were now fifty zhang from the base of the mountain, where a massive wall of steel now stood.
These steel walls were made of extremely heavy and thick chunks of metal. Thousands of them, section by section, layer by layer, row by row, extended all the way to the summit.
And thousands of Great Tang infantry were hiding behind these walls, standing at the ready. Like hungry wolves, they stared down at the Mengshe–Ü-Tsang army below.
Although the battle of Erhai had inflicted massive casualties on the Annan Protectorate army, and less than seventy thousand remained, each one of these survivors was an elite who had only gotten stronger from their experiences, not weaker.
In terms of fighting power, the Tang soldiers actually ranked above the soldiers of the Mengshe–Ü-Tsang army. In terms of soldier quality, not even the Tibetans could compare.
This isn’t good!
Dalun Ruozan’s eyebrows rose. Even though he wasn’t skilled in the art of war, he could tell at a glance that the Tang had succeeded in establishing a series of incredibly troublesome fortifications.
This was certainly not good news for the Tibetans, whose expertise lay in cavalry charges.
Dalun Ruozan suddenly raised his head toward the summit.
“Wang Yan, Xianyu Zhongtong, come out and speak with me!”
Kakakakaka!
The creaking of mechanisms responded to Dalun Ruozan’s words. Countless ballistae probed out from behind the steel walls, their bolts gleaming with cold light. All of them were aimed at Dalun Ruozan.
“Protect the Tibetan Great Minister!”
With a burst of shouts and bangs, several dozen Mengshe Zhao soldiers wielding large shields charged out of the army and quickly stood in front of Dalun Ruozan.
The fate of Mengshe Zhao was currently tied to Ü-Tsang, so Geluofeng had long ago given the order that the important figures from Ü-Tsang needed to be protected no matter what.
“That’s enough!”
Dalun Ruozan waved his hands. Just when he was about to say more, a voice came from the summit.
“Dalun Ruozan, there’s no need for all the trouble. Just say what you need to say. We’ll listen from here!”
Despite the distance, Xianyu Zhongtong’s forceful and articulate voice could still be clearly heard. The troops on the summit parted as two mighty figures emerged: Wang Yan and Xianyu Zhongtong.
In the fierce winds, these two commanders of the Great Tang were fully equipped for battle. Standing on the summit, their towering figures seemed like gods, inspiring awe and respect.
“Hahahaha, Brother Wang, Brother Xianyu, we meet again. The two of you are truly skillful, establishing these walls in such a short time. If my guess is correct, this should be the handiwork of that little brother Wang Chong, who last night managed to defeat us?
“As they say, we can’t get to know each other unless we fight. Before the battle, can I meet that little brother of yours who managed to defeat us twice?”
A harsh light flashed through Dalun Ruozan’s eyes with these last words. And behind Dalun Ruozan, Jiaosiluo, Fengjiayi, Duan Gequan, and Geluofeng also began to look up. The army of the five hundred thousand instantly became much quieter.
Although Wang Chong’s identity had been determined long ago, not even Fengjiayi or Jiaosiluo had ever gotten a very clear view of him before.
Inexplicably, the two began to hold a completely different attitude toward Wang Chong.
These people…
On the summit, Wang Yan and Xianyu Zhongtong’s minds were in turmoil at Dalun Ruozan’s words. For Ü-Tsang and Mengshe Zhao to realize Wang Chong’s existence was not difficult. After all, they had clashed last night. But for them to even know his name and status was far too surprising.
Even Wang Chong, standing behind Wang Yan and Xianyu Zhongtong, felt rather agitated.
I didn’t think that I would be exposed so quickly!
Wang Chong took in a deep breath as he looked down with deep apprehension at that figure standing at the base of the mountain.
I knew that fellow was hard to deal with, but this is far more troublesome than I imagined.
In any generation, Dalun Ruozan would always be extremely hard to deal with.
And Wang Chong had never interacted with Dalun Ruozan before.
This fellow has never even seen me, but he managed to expose my identity with a single sentence. This is truly too frightening. If possible, I have to kill him as quickly as possible. Otherwise, he’s bound to be a powerful foe for the Great Tang.
“Father, Lord Xianyu Zhongtong, Dalun Ruozan is probing to see if his guess is right. It’s fine. He won’t be able to turn up anything about me. See what he wants to say,” Wang Chong suddenly said.
If one discarded their completely opposing standpoints, Wang Chong was actually quite curious about this Ü-Tsang Great Minister who had singlehandedly caused the southwestern war.
Speaking from a general’s standpoint, even dying in battle against such a foe was still a great honor!
Wang Yan and Xianyu Zhongtong didn’t know what Wang Chong was thinking. As they looked down the mountain at the generals of Mengshe Zhao and Ü-Tsang, their entire bodies were fraught with tension.
“Great Minister, say whatever it is you want to say. My humble son is still too young to receive Great Minister’s praise,” Wang Yan suddenly said, his voice as sonorous as a great bell.
At the base of the mountain, the eyes of the Mengshe–Ü-Tsang army gleamed for a moment. Wang Yan’s words had clearly once more affirmed Dalun Ruozan’s abilities.
“Hahahaha, Brother Wang, a straightforward person does not make implications. The Great Tang Imperial Court won’t be sending reinforcements. The forces you have at your disposal are simply no match for us. This being the case, why not surrender? Perhaps there would still be a chance for you to survive.”
Dalun Ruozan waved his fan and faintly smiled at the summit.