Chapter 172
Chapter 172
"My lord, we've arrived at Gold Mountain Island."
The docks of Gold Mountain Island were right before them. Normally, ships transporting iron ore frequented these docks. As the fleet of the Count of Xuanwu's Estate lined up to land on Gold Mountain Island, the Count gave an order.
"All master refiners and miners, prepare to disembark. We will now formally take possession of the mines and refineries of Gold Mountain Island."
Several large ships approached the docks first, and hundreds of warriors were the first to set foot on the island, establishing a simple defensive position. Following them, hundreds of miners and a hundred master refiners also landed, ready to take over the refinery near the docks. Tang Yun of the Count of Jinhai's Estate also took this opportunity to land on the island.
But just then, the sound of drums thundered violently, and from the island's refinery, a horde of pirate warriors poured out. There were thousands of them. In a short time, they completely surrounded the warriors, miners, and master refiners from the Count of Xuanwu's Estate who had already landed. And from among them, a general who appeared to be their leader charged forward.
A man with a massive, mountain-like physique, bare-chested, wielded a greatsword. He stormed toward the formation of the Count of Xuanwu's warriors and swung his blade down. In an instant, two warriors were cleaved in two. The two dead warriors were merely mercenaries the Count had hired a few months ago, but seeing them die before his eyes, his face twitched. The one who killed them was Qiu Hao, the adopted son of the Pirate King Qiu Tianwei and the fourth-in-command of Raging Tide City.
Shen Lang and the Count, still on their ship, looked completely stunned by the scene before them. In a shocked voice, Shen Lang asked Tang Yun.
"Brother Tang Yun, what is the meaning of this? Didn't your family promise to hand over Gold Mountain Island to our Count's Estate in its entirety? Why are pirates from Raging Tide City here?"
Tang Yun, who had already landed, replied with a face of complete ignorance.
"I don't know either. The men our family sent to hand over the island withdrew three days ago. I never imagined the Pirate King Qiu Tianwei would despicably seize the opportunity to occupy the island in secret."
Tang Yun shouted loudly.
"Pirates of Raging Tide City, listen well! This island was handed over by our Tang Clan to the Jin Clan. It now belongs to the Jin Clan, so you must leave at once."
The pirate king's adopted son, Qiu Hao, roared with laughter as if on the verge of collapse.
"Hahahahaha... Ridiculous. Our Qiu Clan never spits out what it has already taken!"
Count Xuanwu, Jin Zhuo, trembled with rage and said.
"Tell Qiu Tianwei to come out and speak with me."
Qiu Hao said to the Count.
"Count Xuanwu, over twenty years ago, your father, Count Jin Yu, was defeated by my adoptive father. Therefore, you are not even qualified to speak with him. The fact that I am speaking with you is already giving face to useless fools like you."
Shen Lang said to him.
"How dare you speak so brazenly. My father-in-law is the scion of a century-old noble house and the Count of Xuanwu of the State of Yue."
"Pah! Twenty years ago, your Jin Clan suffered a total annihilation at our hands. Do such useless fools expect our respect? Ah! Are you that Shen Lang who's been making a name for himself lately?"
"What if I am?"
Qiu Hao slapped his thigh and laughed heartily.
"Your Count of Xuanwu's Estate has been driven to a dead end! But Shen Lang, you're so fair and pretty. If you crawl between my legs, I'll take you as my male concubine and secure your future! How about it?"
"Qiu Hao, for mere pirates like you to seize Gold Mountain Island is an act of hostility against the State of Yue. Do you not fear the King's wrath?"
"Hahahaha. Your King is probably wishing for your deaths. Count Xuanwu, you want Gold Mountain Island? Fine. Lead your soldiers and defeat us in battle, and the island will be entirely yours."
The Count and Shen Lang saw that the island was densely packed with over five thousand pirate troops. They outnumbered their own forces by two or three times. Moreover, they had already set up defensive positions. The Count said in a hoarse voice.
"Qiu Hao, I will not fight you today. Release all our warriors, miners, and master refiners at once."
"Hahahahaha. You're dreaming. The hundreds of warriors, hundreds of miners, and the hundred master refiners sent by the Jin Clan—I will gladly accept them. Thank you, Count Xuanwu."
The Count pointed at him, his body trembling.
"You... you shameless bastard!"
Just then, the urgent sound of drums echoed from the sea. A fleet had appeared on the water. As a hundred warships began to approach the Count of Xuanwu's fleet with imposing momentum, Shen Lang cried out in alarm.
"It's the pirate fleet! This is an ambush, a trap! We have to escape, quickly! Now...!"
The fleet of the Count of Xuanwu's Estate began to flee for their lives. But their escape was slow, and it seemed they would soon be caught by the pirate fleet. Shen Lang shouted an order.
"Throw everything unnecessary into the sea!"
In an instant, countless provisions, supplies, ironware, and more were thrown into the sea. Thanks to this, the Count's fleet picked up speed and managed to escape being surrounded and annihilated by the Raging Tide City pirates. The Count stood on the pier, pointing at Gold Mountain Island, and roared.
"An injustice, a great injustice! Qiu Tianwei, just you wait! When I submit a memorial to the King, His Majesty will surely send a great army to vanquish you...!"
The hundreds of warriors, hundreds of miners, and hundred master refiners from the Count of Xuanwu's Estate who had already landed on Gold Mountain Island became prisoners of the pirates, forced to lay down their weapons and squat on the ground.
Qiu Hao laughed loudly.
"We were just short on miners and master refiners. Thank you for sending us such valuable manpower, Count Xuanwu."
As if he could bear it no longer, the Count spat out a mouthful of bright red blood, fell backward, and fainted completely. Throughout this entire ordeal, the Pirate King Qiu Tianwei never once appeared.
Triumphant, Qiu Tianwei's adopted son Qiu Hao entered the most lavish chamber on Gold Mountain Island and was immediately attended to by several handsome young men. Beside him, a beautiful shadow quietly approached—it was Zhang Chunhua.
"Miss Zhang, what brings you here? The Count of Xuanwu's Estate has completely crumbled with a single blow."
* * *
Inside a cabin, the Count was rinsing his mouth. To make his act of coughing up blood convincing just moments ago, he hadn't used pig's or duck's blood; he had actually bitten down hard on his own gums. Shen Lang said to him.
"You're quite the actor yourself, Father-in-law."
The Count shook his head as if he had no choice. He was a man who detested and avoided deceitful actions above all else.
"Lang'er, haven't we spent too much on this play? We hired a full three hundred warriors, seven hundred miners, and a hundred master refiners. And now they're all prisoners of Raging Tide City."
"To catch a wolf, one must offer bait. Besides, if our Jin Clan doesn't appear utterly devastated, how will they believe it's real? If they don't think we've suffered a miserable fate, we cannot proceed with the rest of our strategy. To take Raging Tide City, can this price truly be considered too high?"
Moreover, they were only prisoners. At worst, they would be captured and forced into hard labor for over a month, but their lives were not in any great danger.
"Father-in-law, now that you've coughed up blood from uncontrollable rage, you must continue by feigning illness. And you must continuously submit memorials to the King, pleading for him to dispatch troops to punish these lawless men and subjugate the pirates of Raging Tide City."
"Must we truly keep the truth of this matter from the Estate's confidants and military officers?"
"Of course not. The more people who know, the greater the risk of the secret leaking."
Shen Lang's second strategy was a great success, luring a quarter of the Pirate King Qiu Tianwei's forces to Gold Mountain Island. Now, the most crucial part was to make the next move.
* * *
It is said that good news stays home while bad news travels far. The news that the Pirate King Qiu Tianwei had marched on Gold Mountain Island, sent the private army of the Count of Xuanwu's Estate fleeing, taken a thousand prisoners, and that Count Jin Zhuo had even coughed up blood in public, spread throughout the State of Yue as if on wings, taking only a few days.
Some clenched their fists in anger at the news, while others, anticipating the fall of the Count's Estate, exchanged congratulations.
'So the Jin Clan's triumph lasted only a few days. Not even a month has passed since their victory in the Gold Mountain Island dispute, yet their majestic momentum is completely lost. It's true what they say: joy is followed by sorrow. The Count of Xuanwu's Estate has not only lost the island but has also had over a thousand men taken prisoner, suffering a fatal blow. The Jin Clan won the dispute but gained nothing in reality; instead, they suffered a tremendous loss. How utterly satisfying! How satisfying indeed!'
Upon returning to his estate, Count Jin Zhuo immediately took to his sickbed, where he wrote several successive memorials to the King. The content of the memorials grew increasingly pathetic and miserable with each one. His series of memorials were like the incessant cry of a cuckoo until it coughs up blood, earnestly petitioning the King to personally dispatch troops to annihilate the pirates and reclaim Gold Mountain Island.
The King grew furious and reprimanded the Pirate King Qiu Tianwei. Furthermore, he issued a royal decree ordering an immediate withdrawal from Gold Mountain Island, adding that failure to comply would have dire consequences. However, Qiu Tianwei paid no heed to the King's decree.
The King issued several decrees to console Count Jin Zhuo, sending skilled physicians and numerous restorative medicines. It was the first time in his life the King had ever shown such solicitous care for the Count.
However, regarding the matter of annihilating the Pirate King Qiu Tianwei, the King's attitude was different. He drew the line, stating that with the ongoing great war against the Southern Ou Kingdom, the national treasury was nearly empty, and they could not afford to fight two wars simultaneously. Instead, he merely offered consolation, promising that as soon as the war with the Southern Ou Kingdom ended, he would immediately dispatch troops to attack Qiu Tianwei and reclaim Gold Mountain Island, so the Count could rest assured.
The Count submitted several more memorials in succession, and in the end, even wrote one in his own blood, pleading with the King to send troops, but the King gave no reply. Before long, the Count of Xuanwu's Estate became the most pitiful noble house in the State of Yue, a tragic family tossed about by unstable times, like a candle in the wind that could be extinguished at any moment.
Everyone believed the Jin Clan's destruction was imminent. They felt that the victory in the Gold Mountain Island dispute had not provided them a path to survival but had, on the contrary, hastened the Jin Clan's demise. It was at this time that Shu Tingyu, an envoy from the Hidden Yuan Society, visited the Count of Xuanwu's Estate to formally demand repayment of the astronomical debt the estate had incurred twenty years ago.
The original debt was one million gold taels, but with twenty years of interest, the total debt amounted to one million seven hundred thousand gold taels. However, thanks to Count Jin Zhuo's steady repayments over twenty years, only seven hundred thousand taels remained.
Count Jin Zhuo had yet to leave his sickbed, his breathing faint and shallow. Now, the ones responsible for the affairs of the Count of Xuanwu's Estate were Jin Mulan and Shen Lang.
Mulan said in a sorrowful voice.