荔枝影院

Edited by: Michyrr

“Your Highness!!”

Uniting the entire continent?!

Wang Chong had never mentioned this ‘ambition’ to his subordinates before. And let alone his subordinates, not even Wang Zhongsi or Zhangchou Jianqiong had ever had such delusions of grandeur, not even daring to ponder the thought. This sort of idea could not be considered as simple audacity.

The five Great Generals instantly stared at Wang Chong like they were looking at a different person.

“What’s wrong? Since the Arabs can attack the east to conquer it, can we not attack the west to conquer them and subdue the entire continent? A gift should be reciprocated. War exists in this world because there are differences. If we conquer the entire world, won’t there be no more wars? Then we will have realized a true eternal peace!” Wang Chong nonchalantly said, as if he was speaking the most obvious of truths.

The hall was deathly still, everyone visibly moved by this youth’s words.

Uniting the continent did not mean conquering the realm or just the territory of the Great Tang, but conquering all the other countries besides the Great Tang—not just in the eastern world, but in the western world. All of the civilized world would have to be brought under the Great Tang’s rule.

This idea, this prospect, this grand undertaking, was something that not even the revered and ambitious Heavenly Khagan, Emperor Taizong, had imagined, nor had the revered Emperor Wu of Han or the mighty First Qin Emperor.

The Sage Emperor had also not even had such ideas, but Wang Chong stated it like it was a fact, as if it was only natural.

If someone else had said it, even Zhangchou Jianqiong, they would have been laughed at.

The continent... how many Great Tangs was this? How many people even knew how vast the continent was, or what its general shape was, let alone thought of conquering it? But bizarrely, when Wang Chong made this claim, everyone’s first reaction was not doubt. Rather... they felt that there was a chance!

The mere thought of it seemed absurd.

“Hahaha, Wang Chong, this king truly had you right! It’s true! The Great Tang was appointed by the Mandate of Heaven. If it is possible to unite the world so that there are no more wars, then why don’t we fight them and unite the entire continent!?”

King Song loudly laughed as he walked out from the back.

In terms of cultivation, King Song was actually on par with Zhangchou Jianqiong and the others, but he knew that he was not an expert in military strategy, so he had decided to stay in the back and not take part. But as they were discussing the general strategic objective, King Song didn’t feel that there was a need to hold back.

Everyone bitterly smiled at this comment. It was well-known that King Song was firmly in the war faction, and there was no surprise that he would say such a thing. But conquering the world was easier said than done.

“Your Highness, our first priority is to deal with Arabia. We can talk about conquering the entire world later. Moreover, we Han are an agricultural people. Even if we take the territory of all the other countries, it has no meaning for us. And besides, this sort of feat is something that future generations should think about.”

Zhangchou Jianqiong bitterly smiled.

Zhangchou Jianqiong, as the Minister of War, had worked with King Song the most, and he was the only person who could speak to him in this way.

“Zhangchou, Gao Xianzhi, Junior Guardian, if that’s what you think, then you’re gravely mistaken!”

To Zhangchou Jianqiong’s surprise, King Song remained firm.

“If you had said this before the Battle of Khorasan, you would have been right. Not even the Sage Emperor has ever thought about occupying the foreign countries. After all, whether it’s Ü-Tsang, the Western and Eastern Turks, or even Arabia, the lands of other countries are too infertile for us to grow crops, so taking their lands would be pointless. That’s true even for Goguryeo. While its soil is similar to ours, it’s still far from the soil of the Central Plains. It was not for no reason that we’ve rarely expanded since ancient times.

“But everything has changed now. If you were amongst the people, you would have already realized that they have changed. After Arabia was defeated at Khorasan, they paid hundreds of millions of taels of gold in compensation to the Great Tang. This immense wealth eventually flowed down to the people and was used to build schools, construct roads and bridges, feed the poor, build canals, buy livestock and horses... and this has changed everything.

“In previous wars, the harm inflicted on the people meant that victories in battle were pointless and would only burden the common people with heavy taxes and labor. This was why the people so fiercely resisted war. But now, the people have obtained real benefits from war. For example, in this one war, the Imperial Court has paid for all the weapons and supplies. The grain was even bought from the common people at higher than market price. And they are no longer being forced into cooperating. The common people can benefit from this war, and they are paid for their labor, so they are willing.

“In this war, the people have almost completely mobilized, and there are no objections or complaints. The journey to the City of Steel from the interior is long, but so many people have come forward to transport supplies. Have none of you noticed any of this?”

As he spoke, King Song was looking at Wang Chong, the architect behind all of this.

For dynasty after dynasty, the wars fought by the rulers of the Central Plain were purely defensive, and they had only been a burden to the people. But Wang Chong had changed everything. With his concept of using the war to support the war effort, uniting the continent was not an empty dream. Wang Chong had obtained the unprecedented support of the people.

Everyone turned thoughtful at King Song’s words. Now that they thought about it, it was true. Despite the scale of the war, there was nary a complaint from the people.

Everyone turned to Wang Chong with respect in their eyes.

For a general, obtaining the large-scale support of the people was very difficult, but Wang Chong had done it, and all of them had benefited. This was a new way of fighting a war.

“Everyone, this war depends on all of you. If we can defeat Arabia, we might be able to open up a new age for our descendants and bring them a true blessing!!!” King Song solemnly declared.

This was not a defensive war. For any venture, danger coexisted with opportunity. Though the others in the hall might not have noticed yet, King Song’s political intuition honed through many years in the court had already sensed a few things.

The Great Tang had mobilized all its strength in this war. If it failed, everything would naturally be lost, and all its territory would become the enemy’s. The Great Tang would become a slave to a foreign country and suffer an unprecedented humiliation.

But if the Great Tang won, then it would be just as Wang Chong had said. The war would not stop at the Western Regions.

The Great Tang had mobilized all its power, and so had Arabia. If Arabia lost, its emptied interior would be completely unguarded. As the saying went, one who refused the blessings of the heavens was certain to suffer. The Great Tang could not let this chance go. Since they had dared to attack the Central Plains, they had to be ready to pay the price.

This was why he, as an Imperial Prince, had come to this battlefield.

This kind of war, this kind of major event, whether it resulted in victory or defeat, was something that he could never experience again in his life!

The mood in the hall slowly became heavier. The conversations died away as everyone focused on the model. The six hundred thousand soldiers were divided up according to Wang Chong’s instructions.

Wang Chong would personally command a force of two hundred thousand. Half of these soldiers would remain in the rear to serve as reinforcements. From the remaining four hundred thousand, Tongluo Great General Abusi was not given additional soldiers. He had always only commanded the Tongluo Cavalry, so he continued to command them in this fight. This allowed him to be more flexible and intercede at any place and time on the battlefield.

As for Wang Zhongsi, Zhangchou Jianqiong, Gao Xianzhi, and An Sishun, these were true Great Generals, and the more soldiers they had under their command, the better. Thus, Wang Chong gave them each one hundred thousand soldiers. Wang Chong himself made up for any lacking soldiers by shifting them from his own men.

With one hundred thousand men each, these four Great Generals could fully display their abilities. Wang Chong had decided on this course from the very beginning.

“For the southwest region, including Mengshe Zhao and Big Dipper City, I’ve placed men to set up steel fortifications and defend the area. I’ve also informed the Sage Emperor and had him send over the prefectural armies. They should have enough strength to hold the ground for some time, but there will be a problem if this drags on for too long. Moreover, we can’t place any hope on the self-awareness of the other countries. Thus, we have to finish this war as quickly as possible!” Wang Chong sternly warned as the council drew to a close.

The Great Generals firmly nodded in agreement. This war had to be finished swiftly, and only by completely crushing Arabia could the Great Tang instill a long-lasting fear in the other countries. Dragging things out would only make the situation worse and worse for the Great Tang.

After all, this was a war closer to the borders of the Great Tang!

After a little more discussion, everyone dispersed. As everyone left, Wang Chong looked through the crowd and called over a familiar figure.

“Senior, thank you for coming. This time, I have a few other matters with which I need to trouble Senior.”

As Wang Chong spoke, he took out a diagram from his sleeve and passed it over.

“This is...”

The Formation Elder immediately unrolled the diagram and then furrowed his brow.

This diagram’s contents were completely different from what he had imagined. The Formation Elder thought that Wang Chong would have him do something linked to the coming battle.

But what Wang Chong was having him do had nothing at all to do with the Arabs.