The Human Emperor

Translated by: Hypersheep325
Edited by: Michyrr
In a flash, everyone turned to look at Kim U-Seok, including those young and brilliant scions from the great clans, and the mood instantly changed. They were at the most important juncture, and everyone knew that the First Prince’s most feared and greatest opponent was the eighteen-year-old King of Foreign Lands.
But Kim U-Seok was composed and confident in the face of these gazes.
Almost the entire capital was under his control, and with the support of the First Prince, he had more than one thousand scouts and spies under his command. He was no longer restricted to the capital, and even had men in the surrounding countries. Even Wang Chong would find it hard to completely escape his eyes and ears.
Although he was a Goguryeon, Kim U-Seok had used his abilities to occupy an extremely important place at the First Prince’s side.
“Hmph, just as this prince expected!”
The First Prince broke the silence, slowly rising from his seat and walking down the steps. Given that Zhao Fengchen was on good terms with Wang Chong, it would have been far stranger if he hadn’t gone to find Wang Chong.
“A meager Zhao Fengchen isn’t even worth thinking about. It’s just unfortunate what happened with Fumeng Lingcha. I thought that he could hold Wang Chong for a few days, but he still failed.”
The First Prince had a hint of regret in his voice.
Besides taking control of the Big Dipper Army, Fumeng Lingcha had one other important mission, which was to try every method possible to delay Wang Chong. But Wang Chong had been too wary and had only spent a few hours in Big Dipper City before returning. There was nothing the First Prince could do about that.
Meng Tu took a few steps forward and declared, “Your Highness, there is no need to be concerned. The King of Foreign Lands won’t be able to stir up any big waves!”
“Concerned? Hmph, at this stage, what does this prince need to be concerned about?”
Surprisingly, the First Prince chuckled at Meng Tu’s words, but he quickly regained his composure.
He turned to the Ghost King and said, “Ghost King, I leave tomorrow’s martial exhibition to you.”
The Ghost King merely smiled, and the entire hall fell silent.
……
Deep in the night, a red candle as thick as a child’s arm burned on its holder. Next to the red candle was a model six feet long on each side. The resplendent buildings depicted on this model were clearly those of the inner court of the Imperial Palace.
A red mark had been stamped on the edge of the model: ‘Only For Use by the Emperor’s Servants’.
Creating a model of the Imperial Palace was a major taboo, but things were different for the Imperial Army. Each division of the Imperial Army within the inner court possessed this kind of model so that they could better defend the palace.
At this time, Wang Chong, his uncle-in-law Li Lin, his little uncle Wang Mi, and Xu Keyi were gathered here.
“What has the reaction of the three Grand Marshals been to this martial exhibition?”
Wang Chong’s voice resounded in the candlelit room.
“They’re also rather surprised by this. Being a Grand Marshal of the Imperial Army already requires extraordinary martial arts, so this requirement won’t do much to shake the three Grand Marshals from their current position. Thus, the First Prince also added the requirement of the art of war. The Imperial Army guards the capital throughout the year, and when it comes to battle experience, all of the divisions except Zhao Fengchen’s Xuanwu Army are lacking. This is probably the Imperial Army’s greatest shortcoming!” Li Lin said.
The mood in the room turned grave. Time was short, and the Eastern Palace had already seized the time Wang Chong took to go to Big Dipper City to make the windows as small as possible. Everyone understood at this time that this martial exhibition had the fate of the empire on the line and could not be taken lightly.
Li Lin paused a moment before continuing.
“The Eastern Palace also recognized this, so they had the martial exhibition include a competition of military strategy. Chong-er, if what you say is correct and the mysterious man at the First Prince’s side really is the Army-Shattering War God Hou Junji of Taizong’s era, then the art of war is his field of expertise!
“The one hundred thousand soldiers of the Imperial Army are divided into the Feather Forest, Imperial Forest, Soaring Dragon, Sea Dragon, Black Turtle, and Xuanwu Armies, all of them under the command of Grand Marshals Li, Bai, and Huang. These three men have been in charge for ten-some years, and all of them have been tempered on the battlefield and have extremely refined and steady battle styles.
“Of them, Great General Li Xuanyi is the most loyal to the Sage Emperor. It’s said that when the Sage Emperor was still campaigning, Li Xuanyi was one of his personal guards, so there is no questioning his loyalty!
“Huang Tianzhao has the most seniority amongst the three Grand Marshals and has held the post for the longest. Almost all the descendants of the Huang clan in the capital have been under his care. In normal circumstances, he shouldn’t be thinking about rebellion, but the Sage Emperor right now… Of the three Grand Marshals, he’s the only one that the First Prince has a chance of recruiting.
“But Huang Tianzhao is extremely shrewd, and he would never pledge his fealty unless he was absolutely confident.
“As for the last one, that would be the Bai Clan’s Bai Hanzhou. Bai Hanzhou is very young, only twenty-nine this year, but he possesses the most astonishing talent. When he was only sixteen, he obtained the Sage Emperor’s favor and was recruited into the Imperial Army, and only half a year later, he challenged the Marshal of the Feather Forest Army, defeated him, and took his spot.
“At the age of eighteen, he was promoted to Grand Marshal and became the youngest Grand Marshal in history. He was at the height of his fame back then and had been recognized as the number one expert of the younger generation.”
There was a slight pause, and then Wang Chong’s little uncle, Wang Mi, commented.
“But amongst the three Grand Marshals, Bai Hanzhou is the one we need to worry about the least!”
Wang Mi smiled at Wang Chong, and everyone understood and chuckled. Everyone in the residence knew about Wang Chong’s relationship with Bai Siling. That young miss had a very deep affection for their young master, and while she tried to hide it, just how couldn’t people see it?
Almost everyone in the capital now knew that the young lady had once declared from her chambers, “Other than Wang Chong, I can’t take any of the young men in the capital seriously!”
No one noticed Wang Chong’s brow slightly creasing at these words. But he quickly returned to normal.
“None of the three Grand Marshals is any easy person to control, so everyone probably understands why the First Prince is putting on this martial exhibition!”
Li Lin changed the topic and offered his conclusion.
“We can see from the last few incidents that the First Prince doesn’t do anything unless he’s confident, so we can’t be careless! Failure cannot be tolerated in this martial exhibition!”
The mood in the hall turned grim.
Wang Chong closed his eyes and said, “Zhang Que, give your report!”
“Yes, Your Highness!”
Zhang Que bowed and quickly turned to the others.
“The Imperial Army has three Grand Marshals and six Marshals, each one commanding a division. Only the six Marshals have the right to vie for the seat of Grand Marshal and alter the structure of the Imperial Army.
“According to the information we’ve gathered, two new faces have appeared amongst the six Marshals. When we investigated them, we found that the truth was different from what was publicly announced, and their credentials show strong signs of being forged!” Zhang Que said.
Everyone frowned at these words. Even a fool could see that those two were the First Prince’s men, and they were probably linked to the First Prince’s ambitions on the Imperial Army.
“These two alone are far from enough to change the structure of the Imperial Army. Several other Marshals must have joined the First Prince!”
Wang Chong suddenly opened his eyes and announced a shocking conclusion.
“Our true opponent is not the First Prince, but Hou Junji. Taizong’s era had two great War Gods. One was Senior Su, and the other was Hou Junji. These two new faces have probably already reached the peak of the Saint Martial realm, the Great General level. They could probably even compare to the current Grand Marshals!”
“Ah!”
Everyone was thrown into consternation by Wang Chong’s words. They knew that those two were strong, but they had never expected that they would already be at the Great General level.
“Your Highness, could this be…”
Xu Keyi raised his head and hesitated. Reaching the Great General level was no easy feat, and the vast majority of martial artists found it hard to even reach the threshold. How could two experts of this caliber have so suddenly appeared?
Even the deceased Geshu Han was only at the peak of the Saint Martial realm!
“This would be impossible with anyone else, but when it comes to the First Prince and Hou Junji, it must be the case!” Wang Chong indifferently said, leaving something unspoken. The First Prince and Hou Junji were still lacking, but they also had the aid of the mysterious organization of men in black.
From the moment the men in black intervened in this rebellion, everything had changed.
Their organization had too many secrets, and they even had numerous Subtle realm experts. What were a few Great Generals to them?
“This makes tomorrow’s martial exhibition a major problem!” Wang Mi hesitantly said. He had been called back from Imperial Heaven Pillar Mountain by Wang Chong, and he was also a member of the Imperial Army. This sudden development in the Imperial Army and its connection to the fate of the empire had made him restless.
“Chong-er, if everything is as you say, then the First Prince hasn’t merely found two Great General experts. They’ve probably also made arrangements in the soldiers taking part in the exhibition, and I worry that when the time comes, they’ll all work together and target Lord Zhao!”
“Two fists will find it hard to overcome four hands. Even the strongest expert can’t endure a battle of attrition. Marshal Zhao will find it difficult to hold on,” Li Lin worriedly added.
Zhao Fengchen was their closest connection to the Imperial Army and also the greatest barrier to the First Prince’s treasonous designs.
In tomorrow’s exhibition, Zhao Fengchen could not lose!
Everyone looked to Wang Chong.