He raised his head to look at the ceiling of his study, but his consciousness was not there.
Warhorses were far too attractive!
In the previous crisis, the Big Dipper Army had lost many warhorses in its battle with We Tadra Khonglo and Dusong Mangpoje. Afterward, Geshu Han had made a request to the Imperial Court's Imperial Steward, hoping to obtain more warhorses.
But warhorses had always been a shortcoming of the Imperial Court. Geshu Han had requested for them for so long, but he had still not seen any warhorses.
But Geshu Han had never expected that in the distant Wushang, he would see what the Big Dipper Army needed the most.
The best warhorses — this was an allure that not even Geshu Han could resist!
Geshu Han suddenly realized that he had been underestimating Wang Chong's usefulness. He had something on him that all Protector-Generals urgently needed.
"Ten thousand warhorses isn't something a tiny Wushang can digest. Qing Ze, write a letter to the Imperial Court for me. Have the Imperial Steward give us a portion of the warhorses. In addition, send a letter to that youngest son of the Wang Clan … "
Geshu Han said.
"This … Milord, do we have to admit defeat to that brat?"
One of Geshu Han's subordinates, Qing Ze, exclaimed in shock.
He clearly remembered that the Great General had given him an order to deal with that youngest son of the Wang Clan, but in the blink of an eye, the Great General's attitude had undergone a complete reversal.
Moreover, for a Great General like him to admit defeat and admit defeat to a junior who was far beneath him in age, experience, and status, it would be far too shameful. The entire Big Dipper Army would probably lose all face.
"Haha, who said we were going to admit defeat? We still have to take the warhorses for the sake of the public. As for our relationship with that brat, it's a private matter. If that brat can't even handle this little pressure, we should have him withdraw as soon as possible. In the end, that will be for his own good. "
Geshu Han stroked his beard and indifferently said.
… …
To the west of the Western Regions, in the distant Four Garrisons of Anxi, there were also people paying attention to the activity in the City of Steel. Whoosh! A messenger pigeon flew down from the sky. However, this messenger pigeon did not fly into the hands of Gao Xianzhi or Feng Changqing, the two Twin Paragons of the Empire. Instead, it fell into the hands of a black-faced general with a full beard.
All the extremely important news sent to Anxi had to pass through this trusted general of Gao Xianzhi's, and only then would it be delivered to Gao Xianzhi.
"More than eleven thousand of the best Turkic warhorses? How can there be such absurd news? What are those scouts and spies at the front thinking? "
"More than eleven thousand of the best Turkic warhorses — do they know how much it costs? Furthermore, this was not something that could be achieved with money alone. Last time, the Protector-General wanted to trade for a better batch of warhorses with the Turks, but he was immediately rejected. Not even the Lord Protector-General could do it, so how could a brat still wet behind the ears? "
"Moreover, with Fomonlința here, how could he allow so many warhorses to pass?"
… …
The black-faced general snorted as he disdainfully tossed out the letter, which shattered into pieces in the air.
"The Protector-General and the others are already troublesome enough. There's no need to send this letter to them."
"Yes, General!"
With these words, the surroundings quickly fell silent.
… …
In the distant Beiting Protector-General An Sishun, the news had also reached the ears of the Beiting Protector-General. But unlike in other places, when An Sishun received the news, the entire Beiting Protectorate army began an investigation along the border of Qixi.
At the same time, a messenger bird flew over mountains and rivers, flying toward the distant capital.
… …
"Interesting! Geshu Han, Fomonlința, An Sishun, and the other Hu generals have jointly submitted a memorial to the Imperial Court, requesting soldiers from us. "
In the City of Steel, Wang Chong put down the letter from the Imperial Court and chuckled.
The mighty Protector-Generals and Great Generals of the Empire had actually jointly requested a warhorse from a nobody like him, a newly established and powerless nobody. Just the thought of it was inconceivable.
"Marquis, they want a piece of the pie this time!"
"Marquis spent so much effort and one million taels of gold, but they want to take advantage of the situation without paying anything. Aren't they going too far?"
… …
The people in the room were all indignant. Wang Chong had personally gone to the Western Regions and taken care of all the obstacles. He had also spent a great deal of gold to obtain more than eleven thousand of the best Turkic warhorses.
These warhorses had only just arrived at the City of Steel, and these people already wanted to ask for benefits. How could there be such a good thing in the world?
"Marquis, this matter is not easy to deal with. Warhorses are goods controlled by the Imperial Court. We have more than ten thousand warhorses here, which is already a violation of the law. If the Protector-Generals want to make a fuss about this, Marquis will find it very difficult to get anything out of it. "
Behind him, Li Siye, who was more than two meters tall like a huge mountain, suddenly spoke.
Before being transferred here by Wang Chong, he had served in the Beiting Protectorate for a period of time, so he knew a few of the Imperial Court's regulations regarding warhorses.
Moreover, Beiting bordered the Eastern and Western Turkic Khaganates, and its regulations regarding warhorses were particularly strict.
Thus, the transaction between Wang Chong and Hulayeg was strictly speaking in violation of the Imperial Court's warhorse regulations. If Fomonlința and the other Protector-Generals were to use this matter to make a fuss, Wang Chong would truly find it impossible to defend himself.
"Haha, if they want to do this, they need to have the ability."
Wang Chong smiled, his right hand lightly tapping on the table. His expression was calm and composed, devoid of any panic.
"If they want to use violating the Imperial Court's warhorse regulations to threaten me, then they've really made a mistake. The Imperial Court was the one in charge of this transaction, and I was just the middleman. After these ten thousand warhorses, ninety percent of the remaining warhorses will be handed over to the Imperial Court to be managed by the Imperial Horse Supervisor. "
If this transaction with Hulayeg went smoothly, it would reach an enormous number of three hundred to four hundred thousand warhorses, and under certain circumstances, this number could even double.
Such a massive number was not something that Wang Chong and his tens of thousands of Wushang soldiers could digest. In Wang Chong's plan, the other warhorses had originally been for him to act as the middleman and have the Imperial Court purchase them.
Fumeng Lingcha had truly made a mistake in trying to use this point to deal with him.
And Wang Chong still had the King of Song behind him!
"That's right, there's also a letter from Big Dipper Great General Geshu Han requesting warhorses. Marquis, should we give them to him?"
Xu Keyi suddenly said.
Other than the pressure from the Imperial Court, the City of Steel had also received a letter from Geshu Han in the name of the Big Dipper Army, hoping to obtain some warhorses from Wang Chong.
Of the Protector-Generals, he was the only one who had sent a private message to Wang Chong.
The study instantly fell silent. No one dared to speak on matters involving the Protector-Generals of the empire. Every move made by these titans would have far-reaching effects that would often involve countless people.
No one dared to make any rash comments on this matter.
Tap tap!
Wang Chong lightly tapped the table with the index and middle fingers of his right hand, a pensive look in his eyes. Geshu Han had actually sent him a private letter, and in this sort of situation, requesting warhorses.
To be honest, this was rather surprising to Wang Chong.
"Interesting. This Big Dipper Great General really doesn't play by the rules!"
Wang Chong muttered to himself, a faint smile on his lips.
"Give it to him!"
Wang Chong suddenly said. These two simple words were like a boulder crashing into the hall, causing a massive uproar in the hall.
"Marquis, Geshu Han is a Hu. He doesn't have any good intentions in doing this!"
"And Marquis, have you forgotten? He was the one who wanted to deal with Marquis after the Regional Commanders incident."
"Absolutely not! Geshu Han is still opposing Marquis, and the Big Dipper Army's scouts still haven't left. If Marquis gives him warhorses, wouldn't that be letting him off too easily?"
… …
Wang Chong's decision took everyone by surprise, and even Li Siye raised his eyebrows in surprise.
"Marquis, given Geshu Han's personality, what if he takes our benefits and then comes back to deal with us?"
Li Siye said.
"Hahaha, Geshu Han sent me a letter because he believed that I wouldn't give it to him. If I really did that, he would look down on me and think that I'm narrow-minded. "
"Moreover, business is business, and private is private. In the last battle, the Big Dipper Army lost many men to defend Longxi against the Ouzan. Men are easy to replenish, but warhorses are not. This is also the reason why he sent me a letter asking for warhorses! "
"I will definitely give him warhorses, but not because of Geshu Han, but for the sake of my Tang dynasty. Didn't he send a letter asking for one thousand warhorses? Give him two thousand. In addition, tell him that the extra one thousand are for the commoners of Longxi. "
… …
Wang Chong opened his eyes and rapped on the table.
Longxi was the Tang dynasty's barrier, and Geshu Han's Big Dipper Army was its only defense. Behind him were the millions of Longxi commoners.
If the Big Dipper Army was defeated, the southwest would repeat itself. This was also the main reason why Wang Chong was willing to give him two thousand warhorses. And there was one more thing that Wang Chong did not say.
In that battle in Longxi, the Ouzan had dispatched the long-dormant Great General We Tadra Khonglo. The effects of that battle on the Big Dipper Army were far more severe than imagined.
The biggest impact was that there were too many casualties and a severe shortage of warhorses. As a result, in Wang Chong's memories, a force of around two thousand Ouzan cavalry had broken through the Big Dipper Army's blockade and charged into the interior of Longxi.
At the time, it was precisely because the Big Dipper Army was severely lacking in cavalry that this force had slipped through the net.
Later on, this Ouzan cavalry went on a killing spree, resulting in the deaths of more than ten thousand people and the destruction of several dozen villages. This matter caused such a ruckus that it even alarmed the Imperial Court and came to be known as the 'Longxi Massacre'.
At the time, a painter who happened to be passing through Longxi had drawn this tragic scene and sent it to the capital, causing a huge uproar. Everyone who saw this painting wept and grieved.
In the end, Geshu Han was also implicated and forced to leave the Big Dipper Army and return to the capital to explain his position to the Imperial Court.
On the surface, Geshu Han's request for horses seemed to be a test, but in truth, it was because the Big Dipper Army's shortage of warhorses had reached an extremely severe level.
Wang Chong could disregard Geshu Han, but he could not ignore the Longxi Massacre in his memories.
Now that he could do it all over again, Wang Chong naturally would not allow it to happen again. Two thousand warhorses was enough to make up for the Big Dipper Army's lack of manpower. At the very least, it should be enough to deal with those two thousand Ouzan cavalry.
"Marquis is wise!"
"Your subordinate was foolish!"
Everyone in the room was completely convinced by Wang Chong's words. In terms of breadth of mind and boldness, Wang Chong far surpassed them. This was also one of the reasons they were willing to follow Wang Chong.
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