Chapter 158
Chapter 158
Viscount Zhu Nanzheng no longer had time to think about flooding the Count of Xuanwu's Estate. While ruining his enemy's grand plan would have been satisfying, protecting his own family's legacy was far more important. Without a second thought, he mounted his warhorse and led his family's warriors in a mad dash toward the Zhu Clan's domain.
“This can’t be happening. It absolutely cannot be happening!”
As he galloped frantically, Viscount Zhu Nanzheng prayed.
*‘Please, don’t let anything terrible have happened. It must be that the dam at the Gosu Reservoir collapsed, lowering the water level. The terrain there is the lowest, so the water pressure would be greatest there. Shen Lang isn't a god. How could he possibly know that I planned to destroy the Jinshu Grand Dam to flood the Count of Xuanwu's Estate? Besides, he's still at the Norgang Hunting Grounds. He can't be in two places at once, so it’s impossible for him to harm my family. I must be overthinking this. Our family’s hundred-year legacy will surely be fine. Surely!’*
Viscount Zhu Nanzheng continuously reassured himself, whipping his horse to go faster.
*‘Faster, faster, faster!’*
The party from the Count of Xuanwu's Estate departed from the Norgang Hunting Grounds in grand fashion, returning to Xuanwu City. Shen Lang, Count Jin Zhuo, and Mulan rode together in a large carriage. The portly Jin Mucong rode alone in another carriage, as sharing one with him would have exceeded the weight limit. Shen Lang was about to begin another performance—the most crucial one yet. It was time to lay out the plan that would end the Jin Clan’s troubles and ensure their long-term stability.
His father-in-law asked him.
“Do you think the Count of Jinhai will hand over Gold Mountain Island to us so willingly?”
“I don’t think so. In fact, I very much hope he doesn’t hand it over to us willingly.”
“Why is that?”
“In the dispute over Gold Mountain Island, our most important goal was to secure ownership of the island. We’ve succeeded in that. But even after we get the island back, it will take at least a year or two before we can see any profit from it.”
Jin Zhuo agreed with Shen Lang. Developing the mines on Gold Mountain Island would require building new smelting facilities, which would take time, manpower, and money. The Tang Clan would certainly not hand over the smelting facilities they had already built on the island.
“Prefect Zhang Chong is a very, very formidable man. His greatest strength is his decisiveness. The moment the tide turns against him, he immediately abandons the fight and moves on to his next gambit. He is willing to sacrifice short-term gains to ensure he always holds the initiative.”
Jin Zhuo had sensed this as well. When he met Zhang Chong that morning, the man showed no signs of being affected by his defeat. Instead, he was like a sword whose cold glint shone with a terrifying light, his sharpness concealed within. In the Gold Mountain Island dispute, Shen Lang should have fought Zhang Chong to a draw, but luck had been on Shen Lang’s side, leading to Zhang Chong’s defeat. Without that luck, Zhang Chong would have been the victor.
The Prefect lacked nothing in vision, methods, resolve, or boldness. The key point was that when he looked at Shen Lang and the Count of Xuanwu, he showed no hostility. Truly, he seemed to harbor no ill will, unlike the Counts of Jinhai and Jing'an, who saw Shen Lang as an irreconcilable enemy. An enemy like that was the most frightening to face. A foe consumed by enmity loses their reason, but a calm enemy is constantly searching for their opponent's weakness, waiting for the critical moment to deliver a fatal blow.
“We won the Gold Mountain Island dispute. If I were Prefect Zhang Chong, how would I seek to destroy the Count of Xuanwu's Estate?”
Shen Lang once again put himself in his opponent’s shoes.
“First, I would advise the Count of Jinhai to hand Gold Mountain Island over to our Jin Clan without any delay.”
The Count of Xuanwu was taken aback.
“What? Why would he do that?”
“To turn Gold Mountain Island into a slaughterhouse, to drain every last drop of our blood.”
“Lang'er, explain in detail.”
“Imagine the Tang Clan hands over Gold Mountain Island to us completely, especially if they leave the smelting facilities and mines intact and undamaged. We would then send men to immediately begin mining ore and producing iron. How would our Jin Clan react?”
“We would surely be ecstatic. We would send the numerous miners and smelters from Mang'ai Island to Gold Mountain Island to start producing iron ore as quickly as possible. Not only that, but we would also send a portion of our army to guard the mines on the island.”
“Exactly. But the moment our family does that, we will fall right into Zhang Chong’s vicious trap.”
“I would like to hear more.”
“If I were Zhang Chong, I would tell the Count of Jinhai that he must hand Gold Mountain Island over to two factions: our family, and Qiu Tianwei, the Lord of Raging Tide City. Father-in-law, do you think Qiu Tianwei would stand by and let such a fertile piece of land slip through his fingers?”
“He would not. The Pirate King, Qiu Tianwei, is the greediest man in the world. He has plenty of money, but he lacks iron and weapons, as the islands he controls in Leizhou do not produce iron ore. The weapons and iron he uses are primarily obtained through trade with the Tang Clan.”
“When that time comes, the Pirate King Qiu Tianwei will send a large army to fight us over Gold Mountain Island. We will be locked in a bloody, life-or-death struggle with Qiu Tianwei on that island. Do you think the King will send his army to help us kill the pirates?”
Of course not. The King would likely wish for the Pirate King Qiu Tianwei’s help in destroying the Count of Xuanwu's Estate.
“Father-in-law, how large is Qiu Tianwei’s army?”
“Around twenty thousand men.”
If one included all the pirates under his command, the number would far exceed twenty thousand. The previous Count of Xuanwu had hired three thousand soldiers, bought a warship, and combined them with the estate's private army to attack Qiu Tianwei's pirate fleet, only to be completely annihilated. Now, twenty years later, Qiu Tianwei’s forces would have only grown stronger.
He controlled several dozen islands in the eastern sea, and the island where Raging Tide City was located, Leizhou Island, spanned five thousand square kilometers. A massive, sturdy fortress stood on Leizhou Island, and including the surrounding islands, his territory covered tens of thousands of square kilometers. Thus, while Qiu Tianwei was merely a pirate, his power and influence far surpassed that of the Count of Xuanwu's Estate. Otherwise, he would not have been able to control the maritime trade routes in the eastern seas of the State of Yue.
Shen Lang asked the Count of Xuanwu.
“Gold Mountain Island is not our home base. It is an island that the Tang Clan has managed for decades. If, as they wish, the Tang Clan and Qiu Tianwei join forces and a war breaks out on Gold Mountain Island, can we win?”
The Count of Xuanwu shook his head.
“We cannot.”
“Therefore, if we take over and administer Gold Mountain Island, our family will shed every last drop of blood on that island. In the end, we will lose Gold Mountain Island, and at that point, the Hidden Yuan Society will once again demand we repay an unpayable debt. If we invest all our resources and strength into Gold Mountain Island only to lose it, the King will rule that Mang'ai Island be handed over to the Hidden Yuan Society. We will have gained nothing at all.”
The Count of Xuanwu shuddered just imagining that outcome. With countless soldiers of the Count of Xuanwu's Estate dying on Gold Mountain Island and then losing Mang'ai Island as well, the Jin Clan would be completely ruined.
“My lord, does this mean our victory in the Gold Mountain Island dispute was not a gain, but a burden?”
Shen Lang answered Mulan’s question with excitement.
“No, of course there were gains. First and foremost, ownership of Gold Mountain Island is now permanently ours. This is a matter concerning our hundred-year legacy. Next, I will use Gold Mountain Island as bait to lure in the Pirate King Qiu Tianwei and have him station his numerous soldiers there. Then, we will achieve an explosive success with our Mang'ai Island strategy and send shockwaves through the world!”
“On Mang'ai Island, we will earn an astronomical sum of gold. Not only will we repay the debt to the Hidden Yuan Society, but we will also generate a massive profit. Mang'ai Island will surely become famous, known throughout the world as an island that produces gold, astonishing everyone. Once Mang'ai Island is known as the island that lays golden eggs and the world begins to covet it, we will then kill the Pirate King Qiu Tianwei’s son, Qiu Xiao, in the most brutal way possible. Do you know what will happen then?”
The Count of Xuanwu answered.
“Qiu Tianwei will lead his grand army to attack us for revenge. But his pirate army will be reluctant to venture deep inland to wage war, so they will soon attack our Mang'ai Island to seize the island that lays golden eggs.”
“Correct! He once sent a portion of his army to seize Gold Mountain Island (when Count Jinzhou was alive, Qiu Tianwei had taken Gold Mountain Island from the Tang Clan). This time, when he attacks Mang'ai Island, he will send an army several times larger than ours. At that moment, we will completely abandon Mang'ai Island, turning it into poisoned bait.”
“The Mang'ai Island strategy will earn us millions of gold coins and astound the world. We must make everyone believe that Mang'ai Island is our most important enterprise, so much so that we would sooner give up our fief than Mang'ai Island. We must maintain this disguise without anyone knowing. We will gather all our forces on Mang'ai Island, making it seem as though we are protecting it with all our might because it is our most vital asset.”
“However, when Qiu Tianwei comes to attack Mang'ai Island with an army several times larger than ours, we will immediately abandon it. Even if that island has earned us millions of gold coins, we must give it up completely. In advance, we will turn the entire island into a poisoned trap, ensuring that Qiu Tianwei’s grand army falls into it and is completely annihilated.”
“By then, Raging Tide City will be empty, so we can feint east and strike west, attacking it. Our ultimate goal is to capture Raging Tide City and take Leizhou Island. We will become kings across the sea! Does the State of Yue have a large navy? No! Will the State of Yue send an army to attack Raging Tide City, hundreds of miles across the sea? They will not be able to!”
“Furthermore, the islands of Leizhou are close to the State of Wu. If we seize the Leizhou islands, the State of Wu to the north will desperately try to curry favor with us, frantically trying to win us over. They might even offer us the title of Marquis, just as the State of Yue once did with Duke Bianmu. At that point, Father-in-law, you can submit a memorial to the King, stating that you have seized Leizhou Island for the State of Yue and expanded its territory. How will the King react then?”
The Count of Xuanwu answered Shen Lang’s question.
“He would enfeoff me as a Marquis, and all past grievances would melt away like snow. The raging fires of the New Governance would never fall upon us again. The blade aimed at our Jin Clan would be forever turned away, not only preserving our hundred-year legacy but allowing it to flourish even more.”
“Exactly! This is my perfect plan. One hardship to permanently resolve our family’s crisis. Whether it’s Gold Mountain Island or Mang'ai Island, they are too small. We cannot build a large-scale city, we cannot farm, and they are too close to the mainland. No matter how much money we earn from those two islands, it is useless. If we cannot escape the crisis of the New Governance, then no matter how much money we have, we are nothing but sheep or pigs waiting to be slaughtered. That is why, be it Gold Mountain Island or Mang'ai Island, we must first be willing to give everything up to dig a poisoned trap. Moreover, if we succeed in our strategy to become kings across the sea, both Mang'ai Island and Gold Mountain Island will still remain in our possession!”
The Count of Xuanwu and Mulan were stunned, completely captivated. They never imagined Shen Lang was painting such a grand picture. They had never conceived that he had devised such an unpredictable plan to resolve the family's crisis with the New Governance. This wasn't thinking one or two moves ahead in a game of Go; it was planning three or four moves in advance. Mang'ai Island was a crucial asset for the Jin Clan, and Gold Mountain Island was even more so.
But now, Shen Lang was willing to forsake all the profits from those two islands, turning everything into bait to hook the Leizhou islands controlled by Qiu Tianwei. He was using two islands to trade for the tens of thousands of square kilometers of land in Leizhou. What grand ambition, what a grand vision. A strategy to become kings across the sea! Just hearing it sent a shiver down their spines. The Count of Xuanwu’s entire body grew hot, his blood boiling at the mere thought. If this strategy succeeded, Jin Zhuo would achieve a feat surpassing his ancestor, Jinzhou, and become the greatest Count of Xuanwu in the Jin Clan’s history, would he not?
Shen Lang continued.
“The strategy to become kings across the sea will not only permanently resolve our family’s crisis but will also allow us to kill all of the Jin Clan’s enemies! Therefore, we must use every move, every resource, to capture Raging Tide City and seize the islands of Leizhou.”
“Our army is much smaller than Qiu Tianwei’s, but our advantage lies in our foresight. We can see further ahead and arrange everything in advance, leading Qiu Tianwei step by step into the trap we have set.”
“My lord, was it for the sake of capturing Raging Tide City that you had Xu Qianqian lie in wait by Qiu Yao'er’s side?”
“I have high hopes for Xu Qianqian. She will be a very important piece in our plan. But we cannot rely on her alone and do nothing!”
He didn't rely on it, but he planted the seed so that it might sprout. This was not the first or second time Shen Lang had done such a thing. Now that he had achieved a great victory in the Gold Mountain Island dispute, Xu Qianqian, as per their previous agreement, would follow Shen Lang’s words and go to seek refuge with the young lady of Raging Tide City, Qiu Yao'er. That is, if she kept her promise. If she didn't, would this Shen Lang have to serve her in bed and resort to a honey trap?
*‘My dear ex-wife, you must not break your promise and disappoint your ex-husband!’*