The Imperial Palace was a treacherous place. There were no walls that could keep the wind out, no secrets that would last forever. This was why the War of the Princes had always been so dangerous and feared. His relationship with Fifth Prince Li Heng would one day be exposed, but it was happening much faster than Wang Chong had expected.
It seems like the Fifth Prince has already placed many spies at his side!
Wang Chong raised his head, a glimmer of light in his eyes.
A tall tree attracted the wind, and Fifth Prince Li Heng was no longer the same as he was in the past. He had gathered many advisors to his side, but the more people he recruited, the more people there would be mixed in. This was unavoidable. As these thoughts flew through his mind, Wang Chong quickly returned to normal.
"Let's go!"
With a wave of his sleeve, Wang Chong quickly returned to the palanquin and sat down.
"Raise the palanquin!"
The silver-robed eunuch and the surrounding Golden Guards breathed a deep sigh of relief. The collapse of negotiations between Wang Chong and the First Prince was undoubtedly a good thing for them. After all, nothing had happened. Otherwise, if a prince of the Tang Dynasty and the King of Foreign Lands, favored by the Holy Emperor, were colluding with each other, a calamity would descend upon them.
The palanquin quickly began to move forward. In the surroundings, the vanished Imperial Forest and Imperial Forest suddenly reappeared. Everything returned to normal, as if nothing had happened.
But within the palanquin, Wang Chong's heart was heavy.
Has the situation in the palace already gotten this serious?!
To Wang Chong, the First Prince's appearance was just a minor interlude. What truly worried him was the message behind this matter.
It was a taboo for a prince to privately meet with an important minister. If not for the fact that the palace was in such chaos, the First Prince would never have dared to do such a thing.
Everything depends on the Holy Emperor!
Wang Chong took a deep breath and quickly calmed down.
In the eye of the storm in the Empire, the most important thing would always be the Holy Emperor's attitude. Moreover, after such a long time, what Wang Chong wanted to know the most now was how the Holy Emperor's condition was.
The palanquin moved forward quickly, passing through layers of palace walls and getting closer to the center of power of the entire Tang dynasty.
A moment later, they stopped in front of a white jade stairway that had thousands of steps. Parting the curtain of the sedan, Wang Chong walked out. The security in front of him was extremely tight. Countless Chamberlains of Imperial Insignia donned in golden battle armor stretched from the bottom of the Imperial Stairway all the way to the very top.
Right in front of the golden palace, there were countless experts standing there. Waves of essence energy soared into the sky, causing people to feel intimidated at the sight of them.
Pa!
At this moment, the sound of a whip came from far away in front of the great hall.
"Declare! The Young Marquis, Wang Chong, requests an audience! "
His firm voice lingered in the air, echoing throughout the hall.
Wang Chong tidied up his clothes and quickly began to ascend the white jade stairway. This was not the first time Wang Chong had set foot on this stairway, but it felt very different this time. There were no observing ministers, no ceremonial music. All of this indicated that this audience was completely different from the past.
After ascending the stairway, Wang Chong quickly arrived in front of the palace.
"Young Marquis, go. His Majesty is waiting for you in the hall."
The chief eunuch holding the whip softly said, his expression respectful to Wang Chong. There was no one in the entire Tang dynasty who did not know of the new War God of the Tang dynasty, Wang Chong. Even these eunuchs deep in the palace had heard of his name.
"Many thanks, Gonggong!"
Wang Chong bowed and brushed past the chief eunuch, quickly making his way toward the palace.
Bzzz! Wang Chong stopped in front of the pitch-black palace gate. As he gazed at the dazzling palace, Wang Chong's mind was in turmoil. When he had first arrived, his mind had been filled with countless questions and resentment, but as he stood in front of this massive palace, all these distracting thoughts were swept away, and Wang Chong's mind suddenly became tranquil.
"Wang Chong, come in!"
Right at this moment, a mellow, warm, and smooth voice suddenly sounded out from within the hall. Wang Chong immediately recognized the voice of Eunuch Gao, Gao Lishi.
Wang Chong quickly stepped over the threshold and into the palace. Boom! The instant he took a step forward, it was as if he had entered another world from one world. All sounds disappeared, and at the same time, that familiar aura once again swept over him.
This was not the first time Wang Chong had entered this palace to have an audience with the Holy Emperor. The last time he had stood before the Holy Emperor, Wang Chong had felt like he was as insignificant as an ant.
But after half a year, Wang Chong felt completely different. He was already close to the Subtle realm, able to peer into that unfathomable realm. Even Qutaybah had died at his hand, and the lofty Great Generals in the eyes of ordinary martial artists were no longer intimidating in his eyes.
But the moment he stepped into the palace, Wang Chong had never imagined that he would still feel a deep sense of reverence from the depths of his heart. He felt like a child standing before a giant, humble and insignificant.
If one said that Wang Chong was a giant standing on the summit of a mountain, then that incomparably noble figure in the hall was a god standing high in the clouds, looking down on the world.
The higher his cultivation level, the more Wang Chong understood just how terrifying and powerful the Holy Emperor was.
Divine Martial realm!
This thought flitted through Wang Chong's mind. The Subtle realm was already an unfathomable existence. Wang Chong had experienced this power before and knew just how enormous it was, and the Divine Martial realm was above the Subtle realm. The Holy Emperor of the past had been infinitely close to the Divine Martial realm, and Wang Chong found it very difficult to imagine just how terrifyingly powerful the Holy Emperor had become.
"Your humble servant kowtows to the Holy Emperor! Long live the Holy Emperor! Long live the Holy Emperor! "
Wang Chong lifted his robe, quickly lowered his head, and bowed respectfully.
It was so quiet in the palace that one could hear a pin drop. Only the majestic aura was left, surging in the palace like a tide. After a long time, an extremely majestic voice, like that of a god, finally sounded from the depths of the palace.
"Rise!"
At that moment, the entire palace was trembling slightly.
"Thank you, Your Majesty!"
Wang Chong bowed and stood up.
The palace was about 60 to 70 meters away, and the rules in the palace were strict. Without orders, no one was allowed to go forward. Wang Chong stood there and looked up slightly. The palace was empty, completely different from the heavily-guarded appearance outside. Apart from the most noble figure in the world at the top of the palace, and Eunuch Gao, who was dressed in embroidered clothes, there was no one else. There was not even a palace maid holding a circular fan and a mighty palace general with a giant axe standing at the back.
Wang Chong couldn't help but have a strange feeling about this. But soon, Wang Chong's eyes were focused on the most noble and legendary emperor in the world at the top of the palace.
Whether it was in the past or now, the figure in the palace would always be the most respected and admired existence in Wang Chong's heart. It was not because of his supreme status and power, but because he led the empire from chaos to order, reaching an unprecedented stage of prosperity.
This was the real Holy Emperor!
"Buzz!"
As Wang Chong's mind was in turmoil, the Holy Emperor, dressed in his dragon robes, was seated on his massive throne. His right hand was resting on the dragon armrest, his forefinger lightly moving. In the next moment, Gao Lishi understood Chen Xi's intentions, and his figure flashed as he opened an imperial edict and walked over.
"Wang Chong, hear the decree!"
"Subject Wang Chong, hear the decree!"
Wang Chong quickly lowered his head and bowed.
"By the will of the heavens, the Emperor declares!
"Young Marquis Wang Chong has protected the country and is young and promising. In the Battle of Talas and the Battle of Khorasan, he has rendered heroic service and raised the prestige of my Tang Dynasty. Thus, with the approval of the Holy Emperor, the Six Bureaus have agreed to confer upon Young Marquis Wang Chong the title of King of Foreign Lands of the Tang Dynasty! He will enjoy the title of King, and his status will be the same as that of a member of the Imperial Family. In addition, the Bureau of Rites and the Bureau of Personnel will draft an official announcement to the world.
Gao Lishi put away the imperial decree and gazed at Wang Chong, a gratified look on his face. He had almost single-handedly watched this youth grow up. During the Regional Commanders Incident, when Wang Chong had been impeached by the Hu and imprisoned in the imperial prison, Gao Lishi had personally led a group of people to visit him and deliver pills to him. From that moment on, Gao Lishi knew that the Sage Emperor regarded this youth highly and doted on him.
In truth, Wang Chong had not let down the Holy Emperor's favor. In just a little more than half a year, he had used a series of astonishing feats to prove that the Holy Emperor had not misjudged him.
"Wang Chong, come up and receive the decree!"
The hall was quiet, and to everyone's surprise, Wang Chong remained motionless, as if someone had used the Petrification Art on him. If it had only been a few moments, Gao Lishi would have believed that Wang Chong had not heard him clearly. But Wang Chong stood there with no intention of coming up.
"Young Marquis!"
Gao Lishi's expression changed slightly, and his voice suddenly rose a notch.
"Your Majesty! This subject has a memorial to make! "
At this moment, Wang Chong bowed to the hall, his loud voice echoing through the hall.
"Wang Chong, you dare!"
At the sight of this, Gao Lishi's expression changed drastically. The Holy Emperor had already announced Wang Chong's reward, but Wang Chong dared not to come forward and receive the decree, and he even had a memorial to make. He was clearly using this opportunity to blackmail the Holy Emperor. This was a major crime!
"This subject Wang Chong has a memorial to His Majesty!"
To Gao Lishi's surprise, Wang Chong acted like he hadn't heard, speaking even louder than before.
Gao Lishi's face completely paled. It was obvious that Wang Chong had steeled his heart and no longer cared about the consequences.
"Speak!"
The Holy Emperor's dignified voice came from the hall, aloof and emotionless. It was as if he had long ago predicted that Wang Chong would ask this question.
"Arabia is a country of tigers and wolves, an eternal calamity to the Tang Dynasty. The threat it poses is even greater than that of the barbarians bordering the Tang Dynasty. And Khorasan is extremely important to resisting Arabia. This subject earnestly requests that Your Majesty rescind this decree. "
As Wang Chong spoke, he respectfully kneeled once more, remaining motionless on the floor of the hall.
More than a year of planning, more than half a year of painstaking effort, an enormous investment of resources, and the sacrifice of tens of thousands of soldiers had finally won the battle of Khorasan. No matter what, Wang Chong could not let these sacrifices be in vain, and he certainly could not allow the Arabs to rise again and wreak havoc on the Central Plains.
The Tang Dynasty was withdrawing, the alliance at Khorasan had collapsed, and the entire army was withdrawing. In the entire world, only the Holy Emperor could change all this.
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