The Human Emperor (200-400)

C284: Probing Zhang Wentuo!

Zhang Wentuo was tall and brawny, but he had a square and upright face that suggested that he was an honest person.

Wang Chong could feel the rigid discipline belonging to that of a military from him; it was somewhat similar to the aura he felt from his father.

Looking at the figure before him, Wang Chong still found it hard to believe that the other party had lusted over the wife and daughter of Mengshe Zhao's sovereign, Geluo Feng, and lured them into the City Lord Residence to rape and kill them. Out of rage, Geluo Feng rallied all of the forces of Mengshe Zhao to attack Great Tang in revenge for his wife and daughter, and this eventually blew up into a massive war that would shake Great Tang's core.

Geluo Feng was an ambitious person, but if not for the provocation from the defilement and deaths of his wife and daughter, he might not have the guts to rally all of the forces of his country to wage war on Great Tang.

More importantly, Zhang Wentuo was the Jiannan Commander, but his actions were disgraceful.

As such, Great Tang lost its moral high ground, as well as a reason to deal with Erhai Mengshe Zhao in the future. In fact, even after the deaths of the 180,000 soldiers, most, especially those from Jiannan who were suffered the most from the war, were still sympathetic to Geluo Feng's plight.

Such ridiculous actions had never happened in the history of Great Tang before.

And as the one who caused all of these, Zhang Wentuo became the greatest criminal of Great Tang, a figure of hate to the entire population.

These thoughts flashed across Wang Chong's mind swiftly, and he soon regained his calm.

"Lord, please!" Suppressing his thoughts, Wang Chong stretched a hand forward and led Zhang Wentuo to his seat.

"Wang gongzi, thank you for your courtesy. May I know the reason behind your invitation?" Zhang Wentuo had a candid character as befitting of a military man, so he disliked beating around the bush. Just a few seconds after meeting Wang Chong, he immediately dove into the main topic at hand.

"Haha. May I know how the progress of Lord Zhangchou's promotion is getting along?"

Instead of revealing his motive behind inviting Zhang Wentuo, Wang Chong began asking about the latter's meeting with the Sage Emperor. As he spoke, he lifted the teapot placed on the table by the side and poured himself a steaming cup of tea.

"It's still fine. His Majesty didn't say anything much, but everything seems to be going well. I should be returning to Jiannan a few days from now." Zhang Wentuo frowned, but he didn't say anything more.

"So fast?" Wang Chong was surprised. It had just been a couple of days since Zhang Wentuo arrived at the capital, so it was rather surprising that he would be leaving so soon.

“The main reason why I am at the capital is to support the Protector-General. Since everything is going along as planned, I'll need to return soon to take care of my responsibilities back at Jiannan," Zhang Wentuo explained patiently.

He had never been good at socializing. Even back at Jiannan, he didn't have a particularly good relationship with Zhangchou Jianqiong or Xianyu Zhongtong, needless to say Wang Chong, whom he had just met.

"The southwestern region isn't as prosperous as the capital. Since it's rare for Lord Zhang to come to the capital, why don't you stay for a while longer? At the western part of the city, there's a Plum Blossom Hall which all gentlemen should visit at least once in their lifetime. Why don't you allow me to play host and bring you over?" While saying those words, Wang Chong carefully examined Zhang Wentuo's expression, taking into sight the slightest variations in his expression.