Chapter 018: Will You Take It or Not?

There's a saying: a wolf travels a thousand miles to eat meat, a dog travels a thousand miles to eat... ahem, no, that's not it.

It's 'once you taste the marrow, you know the flavor.' Yes, that's it.

As a man who already knew how wonderful women were, Wang Bo naturally didn't want to live like an ascetic monk. Having barely managed to transmigrate into An Lushan, why shouldn't he allow himself to enjoy life properly?

So, taking a concubine was a must.

Although An Lushan's two wives were fine, one was old and fading, and the other Wang Bo looked down upon, so Wang Bo had to take a concubine.

But this matter couldn't be rushed; even if he wanted a concubine, he had to find the right one.

Not just suitable, but also beautiful, with good character, dignified bearing, and elegant manners. As a military governor of three circuits, Wang Bo felt he had the ability to find such a beautiful woman to spend his life with.

Therefore, although Wang Bo prioritized this matter, he wasn't in a hurry.

After all, he wasn't some lecherous glutton who couldn't live without women.

Besides taking a concubine, Wang Bo also had to organize military affairs, but he was truly unfamiliar with this area. After all, he was just an ordinary person who had never led troops or fought battles.

When it came to military matters, Wang Bo was like a man with seven orifices open but eight blocked—completely ignorant.

But that didn't matter; Wang Bo had many brainwashed subordinates who would assist him in organizing military affairs, or he could even entrust all military matters to them entirely.

Since military affairs could be handled this way, other matters could be too.

Thus, it seemed Wang Bo had nothing to do but eat, drink, and enjoy himself.

As for leading troops, expanding territory, and so on, Wang Bo had no interest at all. Although with his strength and mechanical soldiers he could conquer the entire world,

that would mean casualties.

If Wang Bo really conquered the whole world, tens of millions would die, no doubt about it.

Therefore, Wang Bo refused to lead troops into battle, and had no ambition to unify the earth and become a supreme emperor.

Leading troops was far less enjoyable than eating, drinking, and having fun. Yes, he was just such an ordinary man with no great aspirations.

So for the next period, Wang Bo began his life of leisure like a salted fish.

In fact, during these days, the talk of An Lushan's rebellion had already spread across the land. Everyone was watching, and many were even hoping An Lushan would rebel soon.

Even Yang Guozhong thought so.

As long as An Lushan dared to rebel, he would immediately advise Li Longji to send a large army to wipe him out.

But who would have thought that after more than ten days, An Lushan, having returned to his lair, was like a salted fish, living a leisurely life every day, with no sign of rebellion.

Now everyone was dumbfounded.

An Lushan, An Lushan, what's wrong with you? Why aren't you rebelling?

Many people felt An Lushan's behavior was utterly inexplicable.

Yang Guozhong cursed eight times a day in his mansion, smashed countless precious vases and antiques, but An Lushan simply wouldn't rebel.

"How strange, what's going on?"

Yang Guozhong couldn't understand. Could it be that the fellow wasn't ready yet?

Impossible. His spies reported that An Lushan had long been prepared for rebellion, with both provisions and troops assembled, ready to rebel at any time.

But An Lushan kept stalling, refusing to make a move. This was very unusual.

A few days later, Yang Guozhong received information from his spies.

An Lushan had disbanded the assembled army and sent the provisions back. This move completely baffled Yang Guozhong.

He simply couldn't understand An Lushan's every move.

What kind of character was this guy?

Yang Guozhong was utterly puzzled by An Lushan's behavior, but there was actually someone even more baffled than him.

That was An Lushan's second son.

An Qingxu!

This fellow was skilled in horseback archery and was favored by An Lushan. Before he was even twenty, he obtained the official rank of Honglu Qing and concurrently served as the governor of Guangyang. His original name was Ren Zhi, but Emperor Xuanzong bestowed the name Qingxu, and he was appointed as the commander of the capital troops under An Lushan.

His father's intention to rebel could be hidden from others, but never from his own son.

So An Qingxu had been waiting.

He waited for his father to raise an army, rebel, march into Chang'an, and become emperor. Then maybe he could become the crown prince. As for his older brother, An Qingxu completely ignored him.

First, he was more favored than his brother.

Second, he was more capable than his brother.

More importantly, in his eyes, his brother An Qingzong was synonymous with incompetence. Although he held the status of eldest son, he was no match for him.

Want to compete with him for the position of crown prince?

Heh, not that An Qingxu wanted to laugh, but he had a hundred ways to kill his brother without anyone knowing.

So in An Qingxu's eyes, the crown prince position was his for the taking.

But just as An Qingxu was looking forward to becoming crown prince and emperor, he suddenly saw that his father was no longer rebelling. Unable to sit still, he hurriedly ran to his father's study.

Then, with a bang, he pushed open the door and burst in aggressively.

"Father, what is going on?"

At this moment, Wang Bo was communicating across worlds with Lady Gremory of Hell through their contract. Such a thing was not difficult for a demon lord of Hell.

In fact, many deities could do this.

If they couldn't even manage such a small trick, how could gods hear the prayers of their believers?

Not to mention that Wang Bo had a contract with Lady Gremory, making their communication easier than imagined, like making a phone call, even across worlds.

But demon lords were just that awesome—they could communicate across worlds.

In fact, just a few minutes ago, Lady Gremory had suddenly contacted Wang Bo, telling him that the demons he wanted were ready and could be sent over at any time, asking him to prepare to receive them.

Wang Bo was about to agree when An Qingxu suddenly burst in and questioned him aggressively.

Wang Bo was startled and asked blankly, "What's going on?"

An Qingxu said, "Father, why are you retreating? Now is the time for you to realize your grand ambitions. As long as you capture Chang'an, you will be the supreme ruler, the lord of all under heaven. Please forgive your son for not understanding: why do you hesitate and retreat when the moment has come?"

Wang Bo looked at An Qingxu, who was excited and impassioned, and was silent for a moment. Then he suddenly said to Lady Gremory through the contract, "I have a historical soul here. Will you take it or not?"

"An Qingxu, An Lushan's son."

Lady Gremory was silent for a moment, seeming somewhat surprised, then said, "A thousand demons."

"Deal!"