荔枝影院

Looking down from the sky, one would see tens of thousands of black dots spread out over the vast landscape. Each of these black dots was a tent, and around these tents, sparks were shooting out, furnaces spitting flames into the sky. Next to these furnaces were bare-chested and sweaty Tibetan blacksmiths, their skin bronze in the light of the furnaces as they put their all into hammering pieces of plate armor.

Neeeeigh! A muscular Tibetan highland steed stirred up clouds of dust as it approached, its fierce rider shouting something.

Gallop! Following this single warhorse were thousands more Tibetan cavalry, but unlike regular Tibetan cavalry, these soldiers were wearing clearly incomplete armor. Moreover, the armor was not the usual black, but green.

In the Tibetan Plateau, only one kind of soldier would wear green armor: new recruits!

If one surveyed this land, one’s eyes would immediately lock onto the very center of this region, where a black banner, twenty-some zhang tall, flapped in the air. On this black banner was the striking image of a rearing white elephant intersected with a scimitar!

This place was Tsongkha’s ’Zhangzhung Recruit Training Center’, the most famous training camp in all of the Ü-Tsang Empire, and the largest of its Three Great Training Camps.

Tsongkha trained recruits for the entirety of the empire, constantly providing it with new blood, so it received the favor and attention of all four Royal Lineages.

Imperial Great Generals Huoshu Huicang and Dusong Mangpoje drew a significant portion of their troops from Tsongkha.

Each year, this camp would train twenty to thirty thousand recruits.

Flap flap!

A black messenger bird flew into the largest tent, in the center of the camp. Within, a hand shrouded in black armor swiftly received the bird.

"General, it’s a letter from Lord Dayan Mangban!" A young Tibetan guard dressed in black armor spoke, his head turning to the stalwart and looming figure behind him.

The tent was silent, the only sound that of the edge of a blade scraping against bone.

It took some time for a voice to finally rise from the tent. Coupled with a clattering of armor pieces, a dignified Tibetan general of thirty to forty years old slowly raised his head. "Read it!"

This general had the red blush typical of the plateau, and he was fully dressed in armor. He was enthroned on a chair made of yak bone and was currently holding a scimitar in one hand, using it to smoothen a two-meter-long yak horn in the other.

Interrupted, the dignified Tibetan general adjusted his posture, putting down his scimitar and yak horn and turning to the guard. His gaze was cold and biting, and he seemed to be cast from iron and bronze, like an extremely fierce and powerful Vajra Guardian, his very appearance inspiring dread.

"Yes!"

The guard shot him a secretive glance before hurriedly lowering his head and beginning to read the letter.

"’Let these words express my sincerity. The situation in Qixi is urgent. Fumeng Lingcha’s army is pressing against the border, endangering the north. Soldiers are urgently needed. I request five thousand Qinghai soldiers for use!’"

The guard could feel the sense of danger communicated in these words, and his face turned grim as he subconsciously turned to the general behind him.

"Haha, it’s this trick again."

To the guard’s surprise, the dignified Tibetan general behind him not only remained unperturbed, he even sneered.

"Only my cousin would do something like this! If you want soldiers, just ask for them. Why mention Qixi? Our Tibetan Plateau is easy to defend and hard to attack. If we really did encounter some powerful foe, just have the herdsmen retreat into the interior. And when did the north become endangered? And if I remember correctly, Fumeng Lingcha is only furious because he led the White Braves to raid their forces and killed Pulan He and five thousand Tang soldiers, right? Did he think that an infuriated Fumeng Lingcha would do nothing in response to his raid?

"In the end, he just wants my several thousand Qinghai Soldiers!"

The young Tibetan guard was already stunned, his jaw agape and his eyes wide open. He had been serving at the general’s side for some time now, and he had seen various letters from the Four Royal Lineages and the various Great Ministers requesting soldiers. All of these letters had been by the book and truthful. None of them had ever lied about the situation, much less tried to solicit bribes or satisfy a personal desire.

"Then... General, should we refuse?" the guard hesitantly said.

"There’s no need," the dignified general said. "Given that fellow’s personality, he won’t rest until he gets what he wants. We’ll be receiving an endless stream of letters soon, and he might even make a personal visit to Tsongkha, and then we’ll have a real problem on our hands. No one understands his personality more than me, and I know that he’s capable of anything."

"!!!"

The guard was utterly flabbergasted, and he had no idea whether he should send the soldiers or not.

"Ha, but this time, he’s played a lowly person in vain. The Tsenpo’s letter has already arrived. Even without his request, I would have still transferred soldiers to him. Send a letter for me. Tell him that he doesn’t need to worry about the soldiers. In three months, the first wave of eight thousand freshly-trained cavalry will be sent to the northern border. In addition, the Qinghai Soldiers he wants will be sent with them, but... only two thousand at most!

"The Qinghai Soldiers were specially selected from each army, and they all have extraordinary talent. Moreover, they cultivate the secret techniques passed down by the Great Snow Mountain Holy Temple. This technique is extremely powerful but equally difficult to cultivate. They need at least two years to finish their training. We only have seven thousand in total here, and he alone wants five thousand. I might be the commanding general of the Tsongkha Zhangzhung Camp, but does he really treat this as part of our Dayan Clan?"

The dignified general’s face was filled with derision, and his words had exposed his relationship to Dayan Mangban.

In the Ü-Tsang Empire, other than the Tsenpo, his Great Minister, and the other four Great Ministers, the greatest factions were the Dayan, Dusong, and the other two of the Four Great Clans. The Dusong Clan’s Dusong Mangpoje was one of Ü-Tsang’s Great Generals, and while the Dayan Clan had still not produced anyone of the Great General level, it had many brilliant individuals of the Brigadier General level.

’Dayan Pugyal’ was one of them.

Although he did not possess as fierce a reputation as his cousin Dayan Mangban, able to uproot entire cities or countries and vanquish all the small kingdoms on Ü-Tsang’s border, within the plateau, Dayan Pugyal’s status was at times even greater than Dayan Mangban’s.

Dayan Pugyal had sent countless soldiers to the Four Royal Lineages of Ü-Tsang, and the Four Kings and the Four Great Ministers all treated him with extreme courtesy and humility.

"Yes, your subordinate will do so!" the young guard hastily said, and prepared to leave.

"Wait!"

As if remembering something, Dayan Pugyal stopped the guard.

"Investigate that Great Tang youth called Wang Chong for me... Gather all the information about him, including his clan and background."

The guard was frozen for a moment before he responded, "Yes, General!" and left.

In the tent, Dayan Pugyal absent-mindedly watched the guard leave for a few moments, then he lowered his head, his eyes falling upon a map. This was a detailed map of the Ü-Tsang Empire, and it also included the surrounding countries, including Sindhu, the Western Regions, the Abbasid Caliphate, the Turks, and even the entirety of the Great Tang.

Dayan Pugyal scanned the map, and his gaze quickly fell upon a red dot near the northeast corner of Ü-Tsang.

Wushang!

This was where that Great Tang youth that was the focus of all Ü-Tsang was located. Dayan Pugyal had overseen Tsongkha for many years, but he had never seen a Tang attract the attention of so many people.

Dusong Mangpoje and Dayan Mangban had already gone to that place.

The Tsenpo had even broken with custom and sent a letter to Zhangzhung Training Camp requesting more soldiers for the northern border. Such a situation had never happened in Dayan Pugyal’s life.

And all this was because of that youth called Wang Chong.

I really want to know... This Tang—just what sort of person is he?

Once this thought flitted through his mind, Dayan Pugyal quickly calmed down.

......

Crack!

A scimitar flashed through the air, slicing through thorns and tree branches. Whoosh! A green snake with a triangular head suddenly shot out of a nearby shrub.

But it was only able to make it three feet before a hand snatched it out of the air. A muscular thumb pressed down, and squish!Liquid splashed everywhere as the green snake’s head splattered.

"Up!"

"Pay attention to the thorns on the side!"

"Vanguard, remember to clear away the stray stones on the ground for the warhorses."

"Keep up, keep up! Make sure to stay hidden! Don’t get exposed!"

As the sky brightened in the east, nobody noticed that a force of five thousand cavalry was currently traveling through a lush mountain forest, advancing toward the plateau. This was an extremely narrow and winding path, a ribbon that extended from Longxi all the way to the towering Tibetan Plateau.

"Lord Marquis, how much longer do we have to climb?" Cheng Sanyuan whispered.

"For another hour, until about daybreak," Wang Chong said.

Sitting on his horse, he continually scanned the area. The surroundings were familiar, but not completely the same as he remembered. This was not his first time in this area, not his first time traveling this meandering path.

But it was clear that he was the first to discover this concealed path. In other words, this place was still unexplored, so it was covered in thorns and shrubs, and the trees on both sides had extended their gnarled branches. There was even the occasional venomous snake.

They had already killed several hundred such snakes. Another set of soldiers would have found it difficult to advance even an inch. But to the Wushang, who lived amongst lofty mountains and steep cliffs, this was child’s play.

Not a single snake had been able to get close, much less get a chance to strike. In addition, the Wushang were extremely fast and efficient in cutting down and clearing away the thorns and brambles obstructing the path.

Normal soldiers were not capable of such feats.