"Heh, let them do as they please!"
Wang Chong lightly waved his sleeve and faintly smiled, completely unconcerned.
As a person who had lived two lives, he was used to the fickleness of human nature. Wang Chong no longer cared much about such things, and this was within his expectations.
"How many people are left?"
Wang Chong calmly asked.
"Seven hundred and thirty-eight clans!"
The Eagle said.
"These are all great clans that have worked with us for a very long time!"
"Oh?"
Wang Chong was rather surprised at this number. It was much more than he had imagined.
"Why haven't they left? “
"I also asked them, and they replied that everyone in the world can see the King of Foreign Lands' abilities. Even a momentary setback is nothing. Everyone believes that there will come a day when His Highness will rise again and ascend to an even higher position."
The Eagle bowed.
"Heh, it's probably all for the sake of profit!"
Wang Chong chuckled. Although he said this, he felt a warmth in his heart.
Those who were at his side at a time like this were all true allies.
"Pass down my orders. Tell them that each family will send a representative who is at the level of an elder or above to come to my mansion after midnight. We have something new to cooperate on."
Wang Chong said.
"Yes! Your Highness! "
The Eagle hurriedly said.
"Zhang Que, get ready. We've been preparing for the hybrid rice for so long, and we can finally put it into practice! But this matter requires the help of the great clans. Inform Xu Keyi and the others to prepare a contract and have each clan head sign a confidentiality agreement. This matter cannot be leaked. In addition, tell all the clans working with us to prepare several large warehouses to store grain. Once we introduce the hybrid rice to the world, we should immediately buy large quantities and store them. It's not just the Tang dynasty. We also need to buy cattle, sheep, and all kinds of food from the surrounding countries. In the future, these things will be able to save all of our lives. "
"Buzz!"
The Eagle and Zhang Que felt their hearts tremble, almost instinctively sensing a hidden danger.
Wang Chong said that these things could save all of our fates in the future. No one knew what he meant, but both of them could feel that Wang Chong was preparing something. Moreover, it was an extremely important matter. Otherwise, it wouldn't require the cooperation of so many aristocratic families.
He also needed to build secret warehouses deep in the mountains.
But even though they didn't understand, neither of them asked. No matter when or how excessive Wang Chong's orders were, they would never doubt them.
"Also, are Su Hanshan and Li Siye at the triangular gap?"
Wang Chong asked.
"Yes!"
"General Su and General Li have already replied. They are preparing to return to the Qixi Protectorate soon."
The Eagle said.
"Change of plans. Tell them that there's no need to return to Qixi. Have them take all the Wushang Cavalry and remain at the triangular gap to train with Bahram. Tell Bahram to recruit soldiers from Khorasan to fill in the triangular gap. We'll take care of the training."
"Tell Great General Gao Xianzhi and the King Gangke to think of a way to select elites from the Anxi Protectorate army and the tribes of the Western Regions to train the new Mo Saber Unit at the triangular gap."
Wang Chong sternly said.
A gust of wind blew past, and Wang Chong's robes fluttered in the wind. As he gazed at the gloomy sky, his eyes became extremely profound.
"Yes!"
The Eagle and Zhang Que replied in unison.
The Tang Dynasty could no longer tolerate him. From the moment the First Prince had rejected the proposal to send troops to Khorasan, Wang Chong had known that the Holy Emperor had retired and that his ambitions could no longer be realized through the Imperial Court.
When Li Junxian had impeached him in court and removed the fish talisman, it had been a victory for Li Junxian, but it had also been a release for Wang Chong.
In order to save the entire Divine Prefecture and the world, the Imperial Court had never been the only option.
Thus, even without the support of the Imperial Court, Wang Chong had still dared to lead several thousand soldiers to the southwest. With ten million taels of gold and no other support from the Imperial Court, he had dared to recruit one hundred thousand soldiers from the Western Regions and rush to Talas.
There had never been only one path to save the Tang Dynasty and the Divine Prefecture.
Since the Imperial Court could not work, he could only think of another method, a roundabout way to save the country.
The triangular gap was overseas, not within the borders of the Divine Prefecture. No matter how many soldiers appeared there, they were not under the jurisdiction of the Imperial Court, and not even Li Junxian could interfere.
Since the Imperial Court wanted to reduce the army and Wang Chong could not stop it, the only thing he could do was train soldiers overseas and build a final line of defense for the Tang Dynasty.
"Pass on my order. If the soldiers that have been reduced don't want to go home, have them gather at the triangular gap with light carriages. In addition, I've already discussed this matter with the rulers of Greater and Lesser Balur. We will establish a military base in their capitals. We will be happy to help them resist the Ouzan and also train soldiers to avoid the Imperial Court's spies. If too many soldiers are gathered at the triangular gap and they stay there all year round, they will attract too much attention. "
The Eagle and Zhang Que were stunned. Wang Chong had silently negotiated a large military base with Greater and Lesser Balur. Not even they had known about this matter.
Wang Chong had his back to the pair and did not explain. Money could make even the devil turn the millstone, and the rulers of Greater and Lesser Balur had their own concerns. Their greatest concern was the nearby Ouzan Empire.
In the history of the two countries, they had been attacked and ruled by Ouzan countless times. Relying on the promise of protection, their good cooperation, and the passage of gold, the two countries had carved out a large region on their border to serve as Wang Chong's military base.
Moreover, the two countries had promised that, under certain circumstances, Wang Chong could mobilize the soldiers of the two countries at will.
"In addition, inform all the shipbuilding clans of the south that I will provide them with two hundred million taels of gold. I need them to build at least thirteen hundred large keelbone fortress ships. I have already provided them with the blueprints, and all of this must be completed as quickly as possible. The clans that finish first will receive an additional ten million taels of gold. "
Wang Chong calmly said.
Old Eagle and Zhang Que glanced at each other, both master and disciple seeing the same shock in each other's eyes.
Two hundred million taels of gold was an enormous sum that would make all the shipbuilding clans of the southeast go crazy.
An enormous clan would only be able to earn one hundred thousand years' worth of gold in a year, and no clan would be able to resist the enormous wealth that Wang Chong was offering.
"But, Your Highness, wouldn't two hundred million taels of gold be too much?"
Zhang Que hesitated for a moment.
In the Battle of Khorasan, Wang Chong had obtained a large amount of gold from Arab Emperor Mutasim III, and a portion of it had been kept by Wang Chong. But even so, two hundred million taels of gold was no small sum to Wang Chong's faction.
"There's no need to worry about that. Money is only useful if it is spent. In the future, we will need a large number of fortress ships. These ships are worth more than two hundred million taels of gold.
Wang Chong said.
These ships and his other plans were the last hope that Wang Chong had prepared for this world. Moreover, he needed a large number of fortress ships to transport the Sindhi.
"Yes!"
The Eagle and Zhang Que replied in unison.
Wang Chong issued one order after another. Only after half an incense stick of time had passed did Old Eagle and Zhang Que finally leave Wang Chong's room. Flapflap! Flapflap! Soon after, countless messenger pigeons took off from the Wang Family Residence. One by one, they flapped their wings and flew off in every direction.
Time slowly passed, and everything proceeded in an orderly fashion.
And among the people, with Wang Chong's impeachment, the conflict between the two ideals had not only not been resolved, but had only intensified. In particular, when the news that Wang Chong had privately recruited soldiers and that he had opened the armory without the Holy Emperor's orders got out, all sorts of slander began to spread.
"Did you see the Imperial Court's proclamation? Did you? According to the laws of the Tang Dynasty, the great clans cannot recruit more than one thousand soldiers, but the King of Foreign Lands has already recruited more than ten thousand soldiers. Who knows how many soldiers he has in private that have yet to be discovered? The Tang Dynasty is in a period of peace and prosperity, so why would he recruit so many soldiers? Do you now understand why he wrote 'Might Makes Right'?
"Ruler, subject, father, father, son — this is the law of the world. Without the Holy Emperor's orders, the King of Foreign Lands actually dared to open the armory of the Tang Dynasty and empty out the armory that the Holy Emperor spent thirty years building. Does the King of Foreign Lands still care about the Holy Emperor? If he doesn't even care about the Holy Emperor, does he care about the people of the world?
"Privately recruiting soldiers, disobeying military orders, and opening the armory — what sort of hero is this? He's an ambitious demon king of slaughter plotting a rebellion! The King of Foreign Lands wants war, wants to bring the entire world into the flames of war. He doesn't want us to live in peace! "
… …
In the western part of the capital, a crowd had gathered near a restaurant, all sorts of slander directed at Wang Chong.
"Don't speak nonsense. The King of Foreign Lands isn't that sort of person. If not for the King of Foreign Lands, the southwest would have already been occupied by Mengshe Zhao and Ouzan, and countless people would have died in the fires of war!"
A voice of reason would occasionally appear in the crowd, but it was quickly drowned out. Several figures pushed and shoved, quickly pushing these people out of the crowd.
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