The Human Emperor (200-400)

C298: Dusong Mangpoje!

An endless meandering mountain range reminiscent of the stormy waves of an ocean extended far across the vast plateau. The elevated altitude here allowed one to overlook any land and any empire.

From here, one could see the entire world!

In Great Tang, this place was known as Ü-Tsang.

"We have arrived at the blazing tree. As long as we scale across these mountains, we will be at Great Tang!"

A powerful gale blew, and at the highest point of the mountain range, nearing the edge of the high plateau, a middle-aged man dressed in silk stood against the wind. With a fan made of goose feathers, he pointed majestically at the horizon.

The middle-aged man had a scholarly appearance, and wisdom was reflected in his eyes. Even though he resembled a citizen of the Central Plains, the coarse and brownish skin tone beneath his sleeves betrayed his identity.

There was no doubt that he was a true-blue Tibetan.

"Lord, we can see it!"

Standing beside the middle-aged man was a valiant general with a long saber placed on his waist. He stood perfectly upright with his legs apart, creating the sensation reminiscent of an immovable mountain.

Despite his relatively short stature, the aura he exuded was towering and overwhelming.

It felt as if even if a mountain stood in his path, he would still be able to slice it apart with his saber.

"But so what if we can see it? That plot of land isn't suited for herding livestock. I don't understand why lord harbors such grand ambitions regarding it," Huoshu Guicang spoke impassively.

He knew the great ambitions his lord harbored, but as a general, he was unable to relate to them.

"Hahaha, Huoshu, you aren't seeing far enough," Dalun Ruozan chuckled on hearing the words of his aide, and retracted his goose feather fan.

"Even though Great Tang is unsuited for herding livestock, it produces the most beautiful silk and the greatest amount of rations in this world. On top of that, they have the largest number of cities, as well. Those standing on a higher ground should naturally govern those beneath them, don't you agree, Huoshu?"

"Lord, I am merely a soldier, all I know is to fight," Huoshu Guicang replied nonchalantly. His expression was extremely firm, and even his eyebrows didn't move at all.

"... Furthermore, Great Tang might not be as easy to deal with as lord expects," Huoshu Guicang said.

As an Ü-Tsang general, Huoshu Guicang would never put down himself. But at the same time, he wouldn't underestimate his opponents, either.

If Ü-Tsang wanted to expand, Great Tang was the direction to go. But Ü-Tsang had never succeeded before.

The Ü-Tsang empire operated on a feudal system, where the various regions were governed by powers chosen by the royal family. In the capital Luosuo, power was centered in the hands of Me Agtsom, and he distributed the power of governance via the Four King Lineages, which were ruled by his four younger brothers. Me Agtsom lorded over the Four Imperial Factions governed by his four younger brothers, namely Ngari Faction, Lhasa Faction, Yatse Faction, and Yarlung Faction.

Huoshu Guicang and Dalun Ruozan belonged to the Ngari Faction, which ruled over the southeast.

The area bordered with Great Tang's Jiannan, and it wasn't too far from Erhai's Mengshe Zhao, either. In this region, their main enemies were Great Tang's Southern Protector-General Zhangchou Jianqiong, and Mengshe Zhao's sovereign Geluo Feng.