Loser System and Berserker Me

Chapter 205: The Tang Court’s Bewilderment

I get it now.

Tsenpo Ling gritted her teeth.

That explains why the Tang army suddenly ran off from the Western Regions to Transoxania. There was an insider leading the way indeed!

Shortly after, a Beiting military logistics report further ignited Tsenpo Ling’s anger.

It was indicated on the report that Weryomahners had taken Beiting’s weapons and armor, ordering for them to be transported into a mountain valley.

Who could those weapons and armor be for? Is it the Tangs?

Tsenpo Ling thought about how ridiculously fast Weryomahners had lost two strategic cities, Great and Little Patola, and the answer became evident to her.

That conniving little bitch! Traitors are worse than enemies!

If not for her, how could the Tangs expand so quickly?

“Yes, Your Majesty!”

Her aide rushed out to relay the orders, but Tsenpo Ling suddenly stopped her.

“Wait.”

A peculiar gleam flashed across Tsenpo Ling.

It suddenly struck her that Weryomahners might defect for good if she sent mages after the latter. The Tibetan Empire would be put in an even worse position if Weryomahners officially joined the Tangs.

The Tibetan army was currently mired in a terrible battle.

Tsenpo Ling was only able to squeeze money and rations out of the high nobles and slave owners because the Tangs killed everyone who stood in their way, taking no prisoners.

If these high nobles and slave owners learned that there was a chance that the Tangs might spare them if they surrendered, the troops’ morale on the frontlines might crumble right away.

So, she had no choice but to…

“Send her a letter. Tell her that our master is infuriated, and she’s demanding that useless woman return right away to work.”

Tsenpo Ling wrote a letter to Weryomahners, saying that she was struggling to collect taxes and wanted Weryomahners to quickly return to aid her.

She also grumbled about her master recently spending more money on her research, even resorting to taking their fellow disciples’ slaves, fields, livestock, mage towers, and resources… She subtly relayed that she had tried her best to hold onto Weryomahners’ assets, but she was unable to stop her master.

“Hu!” Tsenpo Ling exhaled deeply after the envoy left. “The only silver lining is that the Tang emperor is willing to negotiate with us. We should be able to enter an alliance soon. That should provide me with the perfect tool to quell the undead’s tenacity. I can only pray that it works.”

She rubbed her eyes.

I hope I can get a good sleep tonight. It has been a while.

…

In Great Tang’s capital, Chang’an…

The Tibetan envoys sensed that something was amiss.

Their team had been warmly welcomed in the past few months, which wasn’t surprising since the Tangs could catch a rare breather if they could secure a ceasefire from the Tibetan Empire. Thus, their talks had been proceeding smoothly so far.

But in recent days, their treatment suddenly worsened rapidly.

The scale and frequency of banquets had gone down. The quality and quantity of resources they were provided with took a dip. The Tang emperor’s attitude toward them had also turned much colder.

Some of the envoys wanted to stir trouble, but the chief envoy stopped them.

Something huge must have happened to give rise to this anomaly. It would be unwise to make a rash move.

While it looked like Great Tang was getting a highly beneficial deal, the truth was that the Tibetan Empire was the more desperate one here. If they kicked a fuss here and the negotiation went down the drain…

Just then, a creaking sound echoed outside.

The chief envoy opened the door—it was a spy the Tibetan Empire had planted in Chang’an.

“Come in.” The chief envoy invited the spy in. “Did you find anything?”

“I found out why the Tang emperor is giving us the cold shoulder.” The spy took a sip of tea to quench his thirst as he reported. “It seems like the Tang court is preparing to welcome a holy monk who has traveled from afar.”

“Oh?” The chief envoy was confused.

No, what in the world are they doing? Is welcoming a monk more important than an alliance with our Tibetan Empire?!

…

A monk, who looked weary from his long journey but had exceptionally bright eyes, entered the Palace of Great Enlightenment under the escort of the imperial guards. He passed through the eastern gate of the Palace of State Affairs and entered the Palace of Purple Roof.

This was where the Tang emperor listened to the state affairs and met envoys.

The palace was filled with officials, whose eyes reflected their incredulity and excitement.

Emperor Xianzong of Tang, Li Chun, tightly gripped the handles of his throne, his intense feelings clear for all to see.

At last, the person they were expecting appeared.

Reverend Palkyi stepped into the palace with eyes filled with tears. He bowed with his trembling body before speaking with a hoarse voice that sounded as if he had mustered all of his strength to voice out, “Your Majesty, the predecessors of the Anxi and the other Western Regions’ races wish to announce that they have restored Anxi’s three cities.”

Reverend Palkyi proceeded to fill in the details.

By the time he finished hearing Reverend Palkyi’s words, tears were already streaming down Emperor Xianzong’s cheeks.

“Their honor lives on even after death!”

The officials in the Palace of Purple Roof were also crying.

After they lost Hexi, the thousands of Anxi soldiers stationed in the Western Regions found themselves encircled by enemies, with no backing whatsoever.

These Anxi soldiers had sent communication to them once or twice, but more often than not, their attempts at communication failed as the Tang court didn’t have the channels to acquire intelligence from the Western Regions.

And around 30 years ago, they completely lost contact with the Anxi army.

Thinking about it, the young lads from back then must be buried in the dirt by now. The Tang court could only lament their deaths with sighs.

They would have never thought that the Anxi army would return.

Despite being reduced to white-haired skeletons, they still returned from the River of Forgetfulness to raise the Tang flag in the Western Regions.

Most of the officials were left feeling wistful after hearing about Shu Yichao’s affairs.

“A lineage of loyal generals indeed!”

The Shu Clan had been working to restore Great Tang’s land from three generations ago, fighting for the Tangs to their dying breath. Even when their male heirs died out, they sent their daughter onto the battlefield.

Their sacrifices hadn’t been in vain, as they finally managed to reclaim Tang land.

“Hail our Great Tang soldiers!”

Emperor Xianzong first promoted the soldiers of the Anxi army by multiple ranks.

As for Shu Yichao, as the sole survivor of a lineage of loyal generals, he was conferred titles like the King of Righteousness, Institution Rivaling the Three Ducal Ministers, Vice Minister, Imperial Censor, Anxi Protectorate-General, and Anxi, Beiting, and Transoxania Regional Commander…

Even the predecessors of the Shu Clan were granted posthumous conferment.

“It’s not enough, it’s not enough…”

But these weren’t enough to satisfy Emperor Xianzong. How could these honorary titles appease the fiercely loyal soldiers of the Western Regions?

He knew how much prestige this matter had brought him.

Let me see…

The deceased souls of Great Tang have returned from hell to continue battling for Great Tang alongside the other races of the Western Regions; doesn’t that prove that Great Tang is the one chosen by heaven?

And this matter happened while I was emperor.

Doesn’t this mean that heaven has recognized my virtue, which is why our ancestors’ souls returned to aid me?

Those defiant fellows will have to think twice about their current arrogance after hearing this news, or else they might be spanked by their ancestors in the afterlife.

What?! You’re saying that a necromancer is controlling the undead?

How dare you doubt the identity of our noble Anxi predecessors who put their lives on the line to guard our empire?

Check that guy’s identity right now! He must be a spy or a traitor! Or better still, let’s throw him straight into the imperial prison and torture him until he finally speaks the truth!

Regardless of the truth, Emperor Xianzong was going to insist that the soldiers in the Western Regions were their Anxi predecessors, not to mention that appeared to be the truth…

So, it wouldn’t do to just confer them empty titles. He had to offer them something tangible.

What the soldiers of the Western Regions lacked now were money, rations, armor, weapons, and artifacts. Better yet, they should send in reinforcements to help out!

Coincidentally, Emperor Xianzong had the means to provide all that…

They were no longer in the era of Emperor Dezong of Tang. The Tang court was plagued by internal and external conflict and didn’t have the means to offer aid to the Anxi army.

But now…

Thanks to Emperor Xianzong’s careful management, he managed to place the regional commanders under imperial command once more, so that they would heed imperial orders and regularly pay taxes to the imperial court.

The most arrogant Hebei’s three cities remained unruly, but they feared the imperial court now.

So, Emperor Xianzong thought that he could deploy soldiers to Hexi to reinforce the Western Regions’ Anxi army.

According to Reverend Palkyi, the Anxi army had restored Anxi’s three cities and was besieging the Tibetan Empire’s Iron Gate Pass at the moment.

So far, the Tibetan Empire had suffered consecutive defeats to them and was in a tight position. Even the Archmage of Holysnow, who had gone into seclusion, had to step forward to offer his help, lest the situation spiral out of control.

That was also why the Tibetan Empire was seeking an alliance with Great Tang to alleviate the pressure on them.

No wonder our scouts have reported a lower troop count of Tibetan soldiers in Hexi.

They thought that the Tibetans were scheming something, but it turned out the Tibetan Empire was drawing troops from other regions because their main base was struggling under the Anxi army’s assault.

Now that they thought about it, the Tibetan Empire’s offer of an alliance reeked of a ploy to stall them.

If they are this desperate, it’d be a waste not to take this chance to plunge a dagger into them.

“I have decided!” Emperor Xianzong declared. “I shall deploy troops to Hexi to reinforce the heroic souls of Great Tang!”