"Ah?!"
Even someone as experienced and knowledgeable as Bahram was momentarily stunned by Wang Chong's words, not understanding where Wang Chong could be so confident.
Wang Chong only faintly smiled, his eyes glancing up at the sky with an unfathomable expression.
"In addition, if Great General is still worried, I can reveal another matter to Great General. I've already mobilized a large number of ballistae and heavy ballistae from the rear, and the Tang Dynasty is also sending more soldiers from the capital. The first batch is already on the way. I believe that it will only take a few months at most to reach Khorasan. There is no harm in General telling this matter to the leaders of the rebel army. This will at least dispel some of their doubts and make them believe in the resolve of the Tang Dynasty! "
Wang Chong sternly said.
Bahram's expression froze at Wang Chong's words, and then he gave a long sigh.
"General's words are enough! I will personally go and pacify them. "
Bahram quickly took his leave.
The winds howled over Khorasan, howling like ghosts. Compared to before, the weather was even colder. Other than Wang Chong, no one knew that an unprecedented crisis was silently approaching, one that would be even more ferocious than many people imagined.
"Heh."
Wang Chong faintly smiled and quickly descended the walls.
… …
In Khorasan, upon learning that the Tang Dynasty was conscripting soldiers, the unease in the hearts of the rebel army quickly faded away. Half a day later, a brief but intense conflict erupted in Shandar, which was across the Tigris River from Khorasan. Cheng Qianli's army had captured Shandar, and after destroying the Arab garrison and several dozen buildings, it had swiftly retreated to Khorasan.
This was a demonstration against the Arabs. The Tang Dynasty was using this method to express its will. If the Arabs did not agree to the Tang Dynasty's conditions, this probing attack would become a complete annihilation.
Several days later, when the news reached Baghdad, it unsurprisingly enraged all the Arabs.
"Bastard!"
In his own palace, the Caliph even accidentally strangled his favorite hunting falcon to death. But even so, Wang Chong's strategy worked. The Arab gold was transported out of Baghdad overnight, carried by more than one thousand warhorses toward Khorasan. A much softer letter was swiftly sent to Khorasan.
But at the same time, the Arabs were mobilizing their soldiers with greater frequency. Hundreds of thousands of soldiers were marching day and night from various Arab war zones to Khorasan. Nearly half of the Arab governors had been driven by the furious Caliph to Khorasan. This was an unprecedented march. The Tang dynasty's repeated actions had thoroughly infuriated the supreme ruler of Arabia.
…
The Arab gold arrived much faster than expected. When the thousands of warhorses carrying mountains of gold crossed the Tigris River and were delivered into Khorasan, the army was immediately thrown into a frenzy.
On the same day, Cheng Qianli wrote a memorial to the Imperial Court in the name of Wang Chong and Gao Xianzhi.
Seven or eight days later, when the news reached the Tang Dynasty's capital, it caused a massive uproar.
"How, how could this be?! The Qixi Protector-General and Anxi Protector-General actually obtained one billion taels of gold from Arabia?! "
Even the Grand Preceptor, who had opposed Wang Chong the most, could no longer sit still upon hearing this news. War had always been a burden on the empire, each time resulting in grievous casualties and the expenditure of the nation's crossbows. But he had never imagined that at the final moments of the war, Wang Chong and the others would repay the Imperial Court with one billion taels of gold.
Even the Grand Preceptor, who was never one to show his joy, couldn't help but be dumbstruck.
"One billion taels! And it's in gold! How could this be! Not even ten years of my Tang Dynasty's taxes were this high! "
Everyone in the Bureau of Revenue, from the Minister to the secretary, was stunned by this news. In every war, the Bureau of Revenue was always strapped for cash and racked its brains for a solution. For this reason, of the Six Departments, the Bureau of Revenue was the most opposed to the army.
But one billion taels of gold …
Heavens!
This was an astronomical sum. With this sum, the Bureau of Revenue would not need to worry about wars for a very long time.
"This tiny country is actually this rich?!"
King Qi was also stunned when he heard the news from Khorasan. In his mind, Arabia had always been an insignificant country, not even worth mentioning. Thus, when he heard that Wang Chong and the others had obtained one billion taels of gold as reparations, he was dumbstruck.
As a member of the imperial family, King Qi had never lacked for money, and he would always throw out large amounts of gold and silver to win over the civil and military officials. But no matter how proud he was of his wealth, he did not have one billion taels of gold.
In the face of this astronomical sum of treasures, even King Qi paled in comparison, becoming insignificant.
In the imperial court, the imperial censors, who had always been the most demanding, were also speechless at this moment. None of them could say a word. Putting aside the matter of the capital, in the distant Khorasan …
"Opening the seal on 'Power' requires user to expend 10000 points of Destiny Energy. Asking again, does user confirm?"
In the city of Khorasan, the Stone of Destiny's voice resounded in Wang Chong's mind.
Wang Chong was currently seated cross-legged in an empty room, but in front of him were five golden balls of light, displaying the words' Mind, Body, Energy, Technique, and 'Power'. Wang Chong's eyes were fixed on the final ball of light representing 'Power'.
"Force" represented luck, terrain, and … celestial phenomena!
Wang Chong had long ago learned from the Stone of Destiny that the final reward contained luck, terrain, weather, and many other complicated things. The right time, the right place, and the right people were all part of 'Power.' This was the ability of the Stone of Destiny's final reward.
Whether or not I can take advantage of 'Power' will depend on whether the Stone of Destiny's reward is as I imagine it to be.
Wang Chong quietly said to himself.
"Confirm!"
With a thought, Wang Chong chose to pay the Destiny Energy and open the seal on 'Power'.
Rumble!
The moment Wang Chong confirmed, the entire room with Wang Chong at the center began to rumble, and the entire world seemed to tremble. A moment later, the earth rumbled, and in Wang Chong's perception, the entire world began to churn. Everything vanished, and Wang Chong sensed a trembling shadow rapidly expanding. In the blink of an eye, it had transformed into a continent beneath his feet.
Bang!
An enormous energy exploded in Wang Chong's mind. In a flash, Wang Chong felt like time, space, and everything else had vanished. Even Wang Chong's body had completely vanished, leaving behind only his perception.
Beneath him, the shrunken piece of land rapidly expanded, becoming a hundred times, a thousand times, or even ten thousand times its original size. On this undulating piece of land, many things rapidly materialized. Whoosh! A river flowed across the continent, and Wang Chong could even see the spray of water rising and falling. Next to the river, even more changes were taking place.
"This is … Khorasan!"
Wang Chong immediately recognized it. On the western side of the continent, a small city had sprung up from the ground like bamboo shoots after a spring rain, bordering the river on the side.
Wang Chong was already extremely familiar with Khorasan, and Wang Chong saw more and more familiar things: fluttering banners, many barracks, and many domed buildings the size of ants. If this was Khorasan, then there was no question that the river next to it was the Tigris River.
As he traveled west, Wang Chong could see the entire continent. This was the first time Wang Chong had seen the Arabian Empire in this manner, and it gave Wang Chong an extremely strange feeling.
I wonder how the Arab soldiers are doing?
Wang Chong suddenly thought. A moment later, Wang Chong's eyes began to move westward, surveying Baghdad and the other war zones to the west. As if responding to Wang Chong's thoughts, he could hear the sounds of fighting and the cries of soldiers. On this projection of the continent, Wang Chong could clearly see tens of thousands of warhorses marching from various parts of the Arabian Empire to Khorasan.
It was unknown how many soldiers and horses were rushing over day and night. In comparison, the two hundred thousand soldiers in Khorasan paled in comparison.
"Seven hundred thousand, no, at least eight hundred thousand soldiers!"
Even though Wang Chong had mentally prepared himself and knew that the Caliph would be enraged by his threats, this number still left Wang Chong stunned. Over the course of the Battle of Talas, including the Arab militias they had eliminated, Wang Chong and Gao Xianzhi had killed nearly eight hundred thousand soldiers.
This was a number that any empire would find difficult to endure, and it had even surpassed the total number of soldiers the empire could muster. But even after suffering such a heavy blow, Arabia had still been able to gather seven to eight hundred thousand soldiers. This sort of mobilization ability and reserve of soldiers was enough to make any faction tremble in fear.
Even if a significant portion of these soldiers had been recruited militias, it was still an astonishing number. From this, one could see why Arabia was known as the Kingdom of War.
This time, the furious Caliph had mobilized almost all of his forces. The two hundred thousand rebel soldiers in Khorasan would find it very difficult to stop them.
But there was no need for Wang Chong to stop them, as he had never thought about using his two hundred thousand rebel soldiers to fight against all of Arabia.
History has already undergone a major change. I hope that that matter will not be affected by this.
As this thought flitted through Wang Chong's mind, he raised his head to the sky, but a few moments later, Wang Chong's eyes flashed, and he smiled.
Although the world had undergone a major change, and not only had he not lost Talas, he had even led an army to Khorasan and pointed his sword at Baghdad, the matter in his memories had not changed in the slightest.
The more of you come, the more will die. This time, all of you will pay the heaviest price!
With a thought, Wang Chong communicated with the Stone of Destiny's' Power 'reward.
"Is user certain that he wishes to spend ten thousand points of Destiny Energy to exchange for it?"
"Yes!"
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