The Human Emperor

Chapter 1596: Massacre on the Border! Rage!

Translated by: Hypersheep325

Edited by: Michyrr

“Lord Marquis, do you remember when you had me send men to watch the movements of the other countries, particularly of the soldiers that had retreated?” Zhang Que asked, his tone hesitant.

“Of course!”

Wang Chong’s brow furrowed, a hint of displeasure in his eyes.

In the previous militarist-Confucian conflict, the Confucian Sect had negotiated with the other countries and eventually had the Great Tang and the other countries jointly withdraw their armies, but Wang Chong had never believed this. Thus, he had organized a well-trained group of soldiers to gather information on these countries and watch to see if they were actually complying with the treaty.

But this was not what Wang Chong was worried about. He had always been a stern taskmaster, and he had long ago ordered Zhang Que and the others that when it came to official business, they needed to be straightforward and resolute, not hesitant and stammering.

“What in the world happened? Talk!”

“Yes! Your Highness!”

Zhang Que’s heart froze and he hastily gave his report.

“I just received word from our scouts that a few days ago, when our men were watching the movements of the Eastern and Western Turks, they came upon a village while passing through an area of the border guarded by the Beiting Protectorate. But when they arrived, they discovered that the four hundred inhabitants of the village had all been massacred and all the buildings burned down. They discovered the hoofprints of Turkic horses on the scene.”

Zhang Que sneaked a glance at Wang Chong and then hesitantly continued.

“In addition… our men looked through the site and found the massacre unbearable. Even the corpses of women and children were burned black.”

Bang! Wang Chong’s body shivered as he raised his head, a dreadful light in his eyes.

“What did you say?”

“Your Highness, if my guess is right, the Turks have probably broken the peace treaty and crossed the border to strike with the autumn wind.”

Zhang Que lowered his head even further.

The room fell silent, but even Zhang Que could sense that a terrifying storm had arisen from Wang Chong’s body. Zhang Que was extremely familiar with this omen, an omen that preceded Wang Chong’s fury.

‘Strike with the autumn wind!’

Wang Chong was familiar with this phrase. The Turkic people raised nothing besides their herds, and in times of plenty, this was enough. However, when they lacked food, they would ride south to kill and plunder food.

This was called striking with the autumn wind.

In the eyes of the Turks, the people of the Central Plains to their south were a large and plump sheep, one they began to think about the moment they started getting hungry. Later on, it became a case where they raided and plundered regardless of whether they were hungry.

This was also why the dynasties of the Central Plains would always invade the north once they were strong enough to subjugate the Turks.

With the Confucian Sect signing so many peace treaties, Wang Chong had believed that everyone would not do anything too excessive, even if they were plotting something beneath the surface.

But to Wang Chong’s great surprise, the Turks, even with their peace treaty with the Great Tang, had still chosen to do something like this.

The Great Tang and the other parties had all withdrawn their soldiers several hundred li and reduced their armies to show their sincerity. In reality, many small skirmishes and raids had occurred in secret, but none of them had resulted in large losses of life.

“Our men were also astonished when they discovered it.”

Zhang Que’s voice was quiet.

The study continued to remain eerily quiet, an uneasy mood in the air.

After serving Wang Chong for so long, Zhang Que knew that Wang Chong loathed those Hu who raided across the border, and he even more hated those Hu who slaughtered the people living on the border after their raids.

Of course, no general of the Great Tang could tolerate such a thing.

Kaclack!

A cracking sound could be heard, and when Zhang Que looked up in shock, he saw that Wang Chong was clenching his fists so hard that his joints were going white.

Wang Chong’s head was slightly raised and his eyes were shut, but Zhang Que could still sense the stifling and frightening energy billowing off his body.

“Investigate! Within three days! I want all the details of this incident!” Wang Chong sternly said, each of his words seeming to thud against the floor.