The Human Emperor
chapter-1820

Khatabah had not come purely for revenge, nor was he planning to retreat once he had conquered the Tang Empire or spend only a few additional years conquering Ü-Tsang and the Western Turkic Khaganate.

Arabia had fully mobilized this time, and its true goal was to completely conquer the eastern world and bring it all under one rule.

“Has there been any movement from that Tang man?” Khatabah asked.

From the moment Khatabah left Hamuhad, all of the empire’s Governors, Deputy Governors, soldiers, militia, spies, and scouts had come under his command. If the Arabian Empire were compared to a web, then Khatabah was at the center of the web.

The Arab general bowed and said, “Your Holiness, from what we have learned, that Great Tang commander called Wang Chong has already been restored to power. If all goes as expected, he will quickly gather an army and head toward the Western Regions.

“But our spies also report that the Confucian Sect’s reduction of the army has done significant damage to the Great Tang. Their armies do not exceed three hundred thousand, and recruiting soldiers will take time.

“Moreover, the Tang Empire is farther from the Western Regions compared to our Baghdad. We estimate that it will be at least twenty-five days for the Great Tang to finish gathering its armies and reach the Western Regions!”

Long before this operation, Arabia’s spies had been gathering as much information as they could about the Great Tang. This was how they were able to reach such an exact estimate as twenty-five days.

“Taimamu, how long will our army need to reach the Western Regions?”

Khatabah continued to read his book as he questioned another Arab general.

The general called Taimamu bowed and deferentially reported, “The two million soldiers dispatched first will arrive in around eighteen days, but as the army overall is slowed down by supplies, catapults, and the Behemoths, twenty-one days will be needed for all our forces to arrive.

“However, if our initial army advances, we should be able to occupy Qixi before those eastern infidels are able to gather their army, threatening their Longxi and perhaps even their imperial capital!”

“There’s no need. Let them gather their army!”

Khatabah finally raised his head, his eyes cold and intimidating.

“Defeating them one by one will waste too much time. By letting them gather their army, we can wipe them out with a single strike!”

“Yes!”

All the generals in the tent got down on one knee and assented.

The High Priest had remained silent this entire time, his thoughts inscrutable behind his black robe.

……

War drums rumbled from east to west. As the Arab army marched to the Western Regions, a somber atmosphere gripped the eastern world.

On the Tibetan Plateau, countless messenger birds flew to and from the royal capital of Ü-Tsang.

At this moment, the royal capital was fraught with tension.

Though this war was between Arabia and the Great Tang, as one of the nearby empires, and one of those whose welfare was linked to the conflict, Ü-Tsang found it very difficult to remain unconcerned.

“Imperial Minister, are we really not joining with the Arabs in their offensive?”

Incense smoke curled in the main hall, where all the generals of Ü-Tsang had gathered. In front of all these generals was the Great General of the Yarlung Royal Lineage, Namri Songtian, who had been the one to break the silence.

The Great Tang was the Ü-Tsang Empire’s eternal foe. This empire of the plateau that had once intimidated enemies on all sides was now almost bereft of elites and forced to hide like a turtle in its shell. The Great Tang had played the most critical role in bringing them to this point.

An army of several hundred thousand soldiers, including the Mutri Great Cavalry, had been almost wiped out by the Tang.

In Namri Songtian’s view, now that Arabia was mobilizing all of its forces, advancing on the east with an army of 3.8 million, this was the best opportunity to deal with the Great Tang.

But to his surprise, Dalon Trinling, who had always wanted to deal with the Tang, had repeatedly refused the Arabs and had given up on this wonderful opportunity.

To tell the truth, even though Namri Songtian deeply respected Dalon Trinling, he found it hard to understand the decision.

“Is that what all of you think?”

Dalon Trinling was seated on a raised platform, his expression calm as his wise eyes slowly swept over the generals. The generals were silent in response to Dalon Trinling’s words, lowering their heads. Their thoughts on this matter were obvious.

The Great Tang was a mortal foe, and many Tibetan generals wished to mobilize.

Dalon Trinling only shook his head at this sight, completely expecting this reaction.

“All of you think about this too simply!” Dalon Trinling nonchalantly said. He understood and was unmoved by the desire of his generals to fight.

“Our plan to deal with the Great Tang has already completely failed. The moment Khatabah mobilized, the Confucian Sect’s influence in the Great Tang collapsed into nothing. No one can suppress the King of Foreign Lands now. Can any one of you defeat him on the battlefield?”

Dalon Trinling’s words immediately made the Tibetan generals shiver and fall silent. Even Namri Songtian frowned, hesitation in his eyes.

He was about as strong as the deceased Dusong Mangpoje and Huoshu Huicang, perhaps only a little stronger than them at most, but even when Dusong Mangpoje and Huoshu Huicang had worked together, they had still been killed by Wang Chong. Namri Songtian did not dare to say that he could do what they could not.

“Moreover, the First Prince and the Confucian Sect were holding down the military before, but now that the Sage Emperor has returned, the Great Tang won’t just be sending Wang Chong. Crown Prince’s Junior Guardian Wang Zhongsi, Wall of the Empire Gao Xianzhi, Tongluo Great General Abusi, Tiger of the Empire Zhangchou Jianqiong, Beiting Protector-General An Sishun… there’s even a chance that Youzhou’s Zhang Shougui will be dispatched to take part in this war against the Arabs.”

Buzz!

Each one of these names had a thunderous reputation, and the generals in the hall grimaced again and again. By the end, even Namri Songtian’s face had turned into a nasty scowl.

Although the Great Tang had been through many internal struggles, one of which had even killed Big Dipper Great General Geshu Han, their losses were still extremely limited. Compared to the dimmed general stars of Ü-Tsang, the Great Tang Empire was a dazzling night sky.

Wang Zhongsi, Gao Xianzhi, Abusi… these were all titans who could hold their own, their reputations proved with battle after battle, established on mountains of corpses.

One of them being moved out was enough for Ü-Tsang to quail in fear, and all of them being deployed together was an unprecedented force that could make any country tremble.

Never in the history of the Great Tang had there been such a large-scale mobilization.

“…Arabia claims an army of three million, eight hundred thousand, but one million, eight hundred thousand of those are logistics and militia with little capacity to fight. Still, they do have two million elite cavalry, an army far greater than what any other country could muster.

“Not Ü-Tsang nor the Eastern and Western Turkic Khaganates can compare to such a massive army. If we ally with the Arabs, who do you think will be heading the vanguard in the clash against the Tang? Do you really think Khatabah would allow us to be spectators?”

Dalon Trinling slowly stood up, his eyes seeming to peer into infinity.

Namri Songtian’s face had turned extremely unsightly by now, and he had long ago been rendered speechless.

He had been so focused on dealing with the Great Tang that he had not thought that far. The Arab army was far too vast. If this demand were made, the Tibetans would be made into slaves. Once the battle began, just as the Imperial Minister had said, the Tibetan soldiers would serve as the vanguard.

The Tibetan army simply couldn’t stand against the full might of the Great Tang. In other words, Ü-Tsang would simply serve as cannon fodder for the Arabian Empire.

This thought made Namri Songtian break out in a cold sweat.

“Moreover, the Arabs have an army of two million elites. Do you think they would miss the paltry number of soldiers we can provide?

“My true concern right now is not the Great Tang, but Arabia. They’ve come from such a great distance with all the forces they could muster. Are they so bold simply because they want to defeat the Great Tang and wash away their humiliation?

“If the commander were Abu Muslim, I might believe it, but Khatabah… isn’t that simple.

“Once the Great Tang falls, it will be our turn next. I fear that the ambitions of Arabia are too great. They want not just the Great Tang, but the entire eastern world!”

Boom!

Dalon Trinling’s words caused the generals to shudder. Their desire for revenge had made them throw aside all other considerations.

But it was true. If the Great Tang were wiped out, Arabia’s ambition would make Ü-Tsang and the Western Turkic Khaganate its next targets. Without the lips, the teeth would feel the cold. While the Great Tang was Ü-Tsang’s mortal foe, the Arabian Empire was also not easy to deal with.

“Pass on my order! All soldiers are to withdraw! We are not taking part in this war!” Dalon Trinling sternly said.

“When the sandpiper and clam fight, it is the fisherman who benefits. Though the Great Tang and Arabia might both be fierce tigers, let these tigers wound each other. When the time comes, we will see if we have any opportunity!”

The hall was silent. There were no more objections.

Following Dalon Trinling’s order, all the soldiers retreated into the plateau.

……

As Arabia was marching its army of 3.8 million soldiers to the east, the Great Tang was engulfed in grim tension.

The Sage Emperor had issued two decrees in short order. The first was to restore the prefectural armies, and all the soldiers who had been relieved of duty were ordered to report to their local government offices as quickly as possible.

The second was to recruit soldiers en masse from the border regions and even the interior. All the regular soldiers who had been relieved of duty were ordered to return to their former positions within ten days.

There was also one more decree. The Sage Emperor had ordered for the veterans to be drafted.

In the Great Tang, veteran soldiers who had gone past a certain age would leave the army and retire. This was the first time in the Sage Emperor’s reign that these retired veterans were being called back to fight.

With these orders, all the marks the Confucian Sect had left on the Great Tang had been wiped away. In truth, the moment Arabia declared war, the Confucian Sect had totally lost.