"Oh?"
Wang Chong's eyes flashed, a hint of surprise finally appearing on his face.
"What do you mean?"
Although he was somewhat dissatisfied with the Huang Clan, Wang Chong still had a great deal of trust in Zhang Shouzhi.
"If Young Master carefully thinks about it, you will definitely realize that the Huang Clan actually built a significant portion of the steel walls. But later on, when the clan ran out of refined iron and the Huang Clan went to the market to buy more, they discovered that they had run out of ore. "
Zhang Shouzhi said.
"How could that be!"
Wang Chong immediately refuted Zhang Shouzhi's words.
"Everywhere in the Tang Dynasty, there is an endless supply of refined iron and ore to the capital. In the last several hundred years, the supply has always exceeded the demand, and there has never been a shortage of refined iron and ore on the market. How could the Huang Clan suddenly run out of supplies?"
Wang Chong had a look of disbelief on his face. It wasn't that he didn't believe Zhang Shouzhi, but that the Huang Clan's excuse was very hard to believe. He had lived in the capital for many years, and he had been stubborn and dissolute, mingling with the scions of various clans. Thus, he had some understanding of the situation in the capital.
The Huang Clan's argument was simply untenable. Let alone him, no one else would so easily believe them.
"In normal circumstances, this would truly be impossible, but something happened at that time. For some reason, the Arab merchants in the capital suddenly changed their behavior. After selling off the pearls and agate, they stopped buying silk, tea, and ceramics, and instead went to buy refined iron and ore. It was precisely because of their interference that the Huang Clan ran out of iron and refined iron. "
"Buzz!"
Before Zhang Shouzhi could finish speaking, Wang Chong's body trembled and he raised his head to stare in shock across from him.
"Sir Zhang, what did you just say? The Arabs? "
"Young Master Chong, what's wrong?"
Zhang Shouzhi was given a fright by Wang Chong's expression. Other than during the southwestern war, Zhang Shouzhi had never seen Wang Chong look like this.
"Sir Zhang, you just said that the Arab merchants are buying up refined iron and ore in the capital?"
Wang Chong ignored Zhang Shouzhi's words. He stretched out his arm and grabbed Zhang Shouzhi's arm tightly. After seeing Zhang Shouzhi nod in confusion, Wang Chong's mind buzzed and exploded.
"Hu!"
The carriage was silent, but Wang Chong's heart was in turmoil.
Three years of war, ten years of preparation!
Refined iron and iron ore had always been inextricably linked to battle and death. The fact that the Arabs were buying up refined iron and iron ore in the Central Plains meant only one thing: the Arabs were preparing for a new war!
And an opponent worthy of the Arabs fighting …
In Wang Chong's memories, to the far west of the Western Regions, where the Arabian Empire was located, while the Tang Dynasty was slowly halting its expansion and becoming more conservative, the distant Arabian Empire had already completed its conquest of all the surrounding powers.
Even Charax Spasinu had become its vassal state.
The impression that the Tang Dynasty had of the Arabs was still this:
They looked no different from the Hu and only knew how to buy and sell spices, gems, and camels. Their country was extremely small, about the size of Mengshe Zhao or Goguryeo, but they had no idea that the Arabian Empire had already completed its most important expansion and was ushering in its golden age.
This was an empire with more than twenty-eight million people and an area of 12.6 million square kilometers. It was even larger than the Tang Dynasty. In this era, there were only two great empires that could truly stand shoulder to shoulder with it.
One was' Tang ', and the other was Arabia.
However, in this era, none of the great empires acknowledged the existence of the other.
And if the Arabian Empire wanted to wage war, it could only attack the Tang Dynasty and Sindhu in the east.
"Young Master, Young Master …"
An anxious voice came from afar, and an old face with a face full of hardships slowly became clear in his eyes.
Zhang Shouzhi looked worriedly at Wang Chong. He had just been discussing the matter of the Huang Clan and the Arabs, but for some reason, Wang Chong had become motionless and inaudible.
"Ah! I'm fine. "
Wang Chong shook his head as he came back to his senses.
"I know about the Huang Clan. Tell them that they can forget about the southwest. As long as they complete the contract we agreed on, I can treat it as if nothing happened. But if it happens again, I won't let them off. "
With the Wang Clan's current status and influence, even if the Huang Clan was a renowned sword-smithing clan of the capital with a legacy of several hundred years, it could still easily crush them into dust.
This was definitely not just a threat.
"Definitely! Definitely! "
Zhang Shouzhi rejoiced at Wang Chong's words.
"With such a major oversight, even if they were as bold as the heavens, they would never dare to commit such a crime again."
There was a natural connection between master architects and sword-smithing clans. Moreover, as one of the largest sword-smithing clans of the Tang Dynasty, the Huang Clan played an extremely important role. If Wang Chong wanted to do something in the future, the Huang Clan would definitely be able to play an important role.
This was also why Zhang Shouzhi was willing to plead on the Huang Clan's behalf.
Only those with the best smithing skills could forge sabers, swords, and all sorts of other weapons. The Cheng, Zhang, Huang, and Lu Great Clans did not just know how to forge sabers and swords.
Zhang Shouzhi quickly opened the carriage door and left.
But Wang Chong sat in the carriage, his mind in turmoil, unable to calm down for a long time.
Outside the carriage window, the sky over the capital was clear and cloudless, but Wang Chong could clearly smell the scent of war in the air.
The Battle of Talas!
This thought flitted through Wang Chong's mind. This was the first and largest war between the Great Tang and the Abbasid Caliphate, the two greatest empires of the east and west.
And in Wang Chong's plans, this was a war that he had to reverse, a war that he had to win!
"Buzz!"
Time slowly passed, and as Wang Chong was lost in thought, a strange feeling suddenly welled up in his mind. Without the slightest warning, an intense sense of danger surged out of his mind, so intense that Wang Chong felt his scalp go numb.
Wang Chong's eyes widened.
Bang!
With no time to think, Wang Chong suddenly broke through the carriage wall and flew out. As he flew out, Wang Chong clapped his hands together, sending a thick stream of Stellar Energy through the carriage and jolting Coachman out.
"Boom!"
The moment Wang Chong flew out, a massive boom came from behind him, sending shockwaves of energy flying in all directions. At the same time, cries of alarm rang out in the crowd, causing them to retreat in fright as if they were avoiding the plague.
Ten-some zhang away, Wang Chong turned his head, and when he saw the scene behind him, his face twisted into a nasty grimace.
Behind him, the ground had caved in, and in the center of this caved in was the bronze carriage that Wang Chong had ridden in. Its shafts, frame, and windows were scattered all over the place.
And in the center of these fragments was a bronze bell as heavy as a mountain. If not for Wang Chong's quick reaction, he and his carriage would have been smashed into meat paste by that bell.
"This … just where did this bronze bell come from?"
Coachman sat on the ground. His face was covered in blood, and his eyes were filled with deep fear. A fragment of the carriage pierced through his thigh, and blood was gushing out, but he didn't seem to feel it at all. If Wang Chong hadn't sent him flying in time, he would have been crushed into pieces like the carriage in front of him.
"Hurry up, hurry up …"
"Grandma, grandma, I'm so scared!"
…
The surroundings were in chaos. Many people were so frightened by this sudden change that they sat on the ground. Some little girls screamed, and white-haired old women were so scared that their faces turned pale.
Many people were injured by the fragments of the carriage, and their bodies were stained with blood. However, most of them were still frightened by what they saw.
Bo Lang Bell!
Wang Chong looked at the huge bell behind him with an ashen expression and an awful expression.
More than a thousand years ago, in the Pre-Qin Era, someone used this assassination method in Gu Bo Lang to deal with the first emperor. Wang Chong didn't expect that someone would use the same method to deal with him.
Weng!
Wang Chong scanned the surroundings and quickly looked at the sky. Unlike others, Wang Chong was very sure that this bronze bell had fallen from the sky, and from a very high place at that. But when Wang Chong raised his head, the sky was empty. There was nothing there.
Where did this bronze bell come from?
"Someone, clean up this place and arrange for the injured to receive treatment."
"Yes, young master."
The moment Wang Chong gave the order, figures immediately came out from hidden places in the surroundings. These were the guards of the Wang Clan. Wang Chong had been conferred the title of Marquis, and the entire Wang Clan viewed him with great importance. Even if Wang Chong wasn't willing, Wang Chong's Big Uncle Wang Gen, Uncle Li Lin, and Little Uncle Wang Mi would never agree.
"Please follow me."
"Young lady, how are you?"
… …
The guards of the Wang Clan had just arrived when everyone was at their most relaxed. Boom! A bluestone wall closest to Wang Chong suddenly shattered. Behind the wall, a figure clad in massive armor, standing on a brilliant Halo of Thorns, charged out.
"Sivadala, Sausa, Riwala! … "
The giant man spoke in a strange language, and before he finished speaking, his golden saber flashed. Boom! A majestic saber energy shot through the air, instantly enveloping Wang Chong's body.
Even the air was cleaved in two by the saber energy. Like a wave of water, two clear spatial scars more than ten zhang tall appeared.
"Ah! — — "
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