"Is it very hard to understand?"
An Sishun grinned and walked down from his throne. His expression was relaxed, his bearing exuding the aura of a strategist and brimming with energy.
"There is no such thing as a pure enemy or a pure friend. Whether it was Fomonlința of the past or the Young Marquis of the Tang Dynasty, regardless of whether the tone in their letters is good or bad, if it's beneficial to us, we should naturally accept it. No matter how bad the tone, we don't care. If it's disadvantageous to us, we should naturally swiftly reject it. No matter how pleasant or tactful it is, we should still pretend that we didn't hear it.
"I've always underestimated that boy from Qixi. I always believed that he was just an ordinary man who only knew how to stir up trouble. This sort of person, no matter how dazzling or how quickly he rose, would never be able to enter the eyes of me or Geshu Han. I didn't think that he would so quickly comprehend the rules of the game of the Great General level just a few days after taking the position of Qixi Protector-General! I now admit that this boy truly does have the right to enter the elite game of the empire on the same level as me, Geshu Han, and Zhang Shougui! "
An Sishun's gaze pierced through the hall into the distance, a thoughtful smile on his lips.
On the side, the scar-faced Vice Protector-General was dumbstruck, his entire body frozen in shock.
'The elite game of the empire'! In all his years of following An Sishun, this was the first time he had learned of the secrets of the Great General level!
"Don't think about it! Send a reply. Tell our new Qixi Protector-General that the Beiting Protectorate is short on manpower due to the frequent battles and truly does need reinforcements. Thus, I will be taking over his Hu soldiers! "
With these last words, An Sishun's eyes exploded with an unprecedented and intimidating light.
"Yes, Milord!"
… …
Several days later, in the Qixi Protectorate headquarters …
"Marquis, the Beiting Protector-General has sent a letter saying that he will take as many of the Hu soldiers as we wish to deal with, no matter how many there are."
Xu Keyi excitedly rushed into Wang Chong's hall, the letter in his hand still in disbelief.
An Imperial Protector-General like An Sishun, one who had a grudge with his Marquis, was actually willing to help!
"Really?"
Wang Chong sat high above him. He raised his head slightly, and there was no surprise in his eyes.
"Write a reply to An Sishun and say that you got it. In addition, tell him that the people the Qixi Protectorate doesn't want will be sent to him very soon. "
Wang Chong's tone was light and breezy, as if he had dealt with a trivial matter, or as if An Sishun had done what he should have done a long time ago. Xu Keyi was stunned. In the end, he couldn't help but admire him from the bottom of his heart. Perhaps only their own Marquis could do such a thing.
Wang Chong just smiled faintly and lowered his head again. He continued to read the letter that Yang Hongchang had sent from the Western Regions and said without raising his head,
"You'll understand in the future. For now, let's talk to Heba Ye first."
The Great Generals and Protector-Generals of the empire were rarely swayed by their personal emotions. Everything was based on the interests and the overall situation. This was the basic requirement of a general. If one couldn't do this, one couldn't be considered a qualified Great General. However, this was only for Great Generals and Protector-Generals of the same level. Without reaching this level, one had no right to participate in this game!
In his last life, Wang Chong had been the Grand Marshal of the world and was honored as the War Saint, so he naturally knew all of this.
"Yes, Marquis."
Xu Keyi only half-understood and quickly left.
Once Xu Keyi left, Wang Chong continued to read the letter in his hand. In the Western Regions, the Tang Dynasty had always been short on soldiers because of the long distances. The soldiers of the Western Regions were far more elite than those of the other protectorates, so they had no other choice but to use a purely elite army.
Just the soldiers of Qixi and Anxi were far from enough to resolve the future crisis.
But the Western Regions had a unique advantage: it had a large number of soldiers that could be hired. As long as one had enough money, one could quickly gather a large number of soldiers. Wang Chong's letter was a request for Yang Hongchang's assistance in investigating the mercenary tribes of the Western Regions.
… …
Heba Ye and Xu Keyi were far more efficient than expected. That very night, the tens of thousands of soldiers of Qixi began to reorganize. Those who were willing to stay could remain in the Qixi Protectorate, and those who were unwilling to follow the Han could submit to Heba Ye's subordinates. And those who were unwilling to stay could go to the Beiting Protectorate and submit to An Sishun.
Although Heba Ye tried his best to stop this scene, he couldn't do anything about it. A melon that was forcefully picked would not be sweet. If they were unwilling to stay, then there was no point in forcing them to stay, and it would only lead to more unrest.
Time slowly passed, and Wang Chong's change of blood in the Qixi Protectorate caused a massive upheaval in Qixi. This upheaval of 'leave or stay' only began to subside at the Zi Period. Deep into the night, all was quiet.
"We can't stay any longer …"
A low whisper could be heard in the darkness. It was not Hu, nor was it Chinese, but an even more complicated language. It was not even a common language in the Western Regions.
"This new Han Protector-General is too formidable. With just a simple interrogation, our identities will be exposed."
Another low whisper could be heard.
At the edge of the Qixi Protectorate's barracks, beneath the high fences, several figures were creeping on the ground, slowly moving through the darkness. They moved in a different direction from all the Han soldiers, as well as the Hu soldiers who were deployed to Beiting, because they were moving in the northwest direction.
"Hurry! We won't be able to leave once the sun rises. We have to report this to the governor and have him raise his guard against this young Han Protector-General. His cavalry is too powerful. In the future, they will definitely become a thorn in our side. "
"Mm, I truly didn't think that there would be such a powerful army in the distant east! The governor will definitely treat this discovery with great importance. "
…
As the few of them spoke softly, they swiftly used their scimitars to open up a passageway that could only allow one person to pass through, out of the line of sight of the sentries. The figures of these people shuttled, and with a strange posture, like swaying loaches, they drilled out of the passageway, sticking close to the ground.
"Alright, let's go!"
Once they were out of the barracks, the few of them heaved a sigh of relief. They immediately shrunk their bodies and dashed toward the northwest. However, before they could get far, a sudden change occurred. A loud shout suddenly came from the front, "Kill them all!"
"Halt! Where are you going! "
"There's a spy! Don't let them get away! "
"Capture them!"
…
Pu pu pu! With a flash of fire, a flurry of arrows streaked across the sky and landed not too far away from the few of them. Following which, several torches were thrown over. In the dark night, one silhouette after another roared. Like wolves and tigers, they rushed out from various hidden places in the surroundings.
Di da da!
The war horses neighed, the heavy hoofbeats were as dense as rain, as heavy as thunder, whistling as a flock of bees. In the blink of an eye, thirty to fifty Wushang Cavalry had charged out, all of them holding up torches that illuminated the area as bright as day, as well as those 'deserters' who were trying to sneak out of the camp under the cover of darkness.
In the bright light of the torches, everyone could clearly see that these people had high noses, deep eyes, and prominent cheekbones. They looked very similar to the Hu, but they had deep green eyes that were completely different.
Not just the Hu, but no one in the Western Regions had these eyes.
The Arabs!
Standing at the very front of the Wushang cavalry, Xu Keyi was struck dumb. Behind him, the Wushang Cavalry had the same expression on their faces. There were only two kinds of people in the Qixi Protectorate: the Hu and the Han. They had received Wang Chong's order to patrol the perimeter and guard against scouts and spies from other factions. They had never imagined that they would catch a few Arabs who shouldn't even be here.
And they were wearing the armor of the Qixi Protectorate!
All was quiet in the light of the torches.
The sight of the Wushang Cavalry and the other Qixi soldiers instantly made the Arabs turn ghastly pale.
… …
"What?!"
At daybreak, in the main hall of the Qixi Protectorate, Wang Chong finally revealed a look of shock upon hearing Xu Keyi's report.
"Arab spies have been discovered in the Qixi Protectorate, and they're disguised as Hu soldiers?!"
"Replying to Marquis, this is indeed the case. I sent someone to investigate, and all of them are recorded as Hu in the roster of the Qixi Protectorate. And based on the chronology, they began more than six months ago. "
Xu Keyi bowed, his face serious. As he spoke, he waved a hand behind him.
"Bring them in."
Bang! Bang!
Xu Keyi had barely spoken when several heavily armored Wushang cavalry stepped over the threshold, each of them carrying a bound Arab soldier and throwing him to the ground.
Wang Chong gazed at these bulky Arab soldiers, his eyes finally turning grave.
Wang Chong had seen Arab merchants before. In his past, when he was stubborn and incompetent, Wang Chong had interacted with them many times. Those Arab merchants were just as many people remembered them to be: chubby, smiling, and adorned in gold and silver. Their fingers were covered in rings of agate and jade, making them look like clowns.
But these Arabs were different. Their bodies were tall, well-proportioned, and sturdy, as if they had been cast from steel, brimming with explosive strength. Moreover, the thick calluses on their hands indicated their status. These were not traveling merchants or merchants, but regular soldiers of the Arab army.
Wang Chong had never imagined that he would meet a true soldier of the Arab army in this sort of situation.
The Arabian Empire had always been an extremely powerful foe in Wang Chong's mind. Once he finished reorganizing the Qixi Protectorate and taking care of everything, Wang Chong would point his sword at the Arabs. Even if they didn't come, Wang Chong would definitely go and find them. But Wang Chong had never imagined that they had already extended their claws into the Qixi Protectorate, and had even disguised themselves as Hu to infiltrate the army.
You've already exceeded your reading limit for today. If you want to read more, please log in.
Login
Select text and click 'Report' to let us know about any bad translation.
