Chapter 248
Chapter 248
Count Xuanwu, Jin Zhuo, arrived at the docks of Raging Tide City, leading a fleet in great haste. He had sailed with all possible speed, but it was still much slower than when Qiu Tianwei had commanded the ships. The Jin Clan's sailors were unfamiliar with the pirate vessels, so it couldn't be helped. Before the fleet even drew close to the harbor, the two sides exchanged the clan's secret codes. A moment later, Count Xuanwu could finally relax, letting out a sigh of relief.
‘What a relief! Heaven has truly protected Shen Lang, he is safe. Not only that, but the boy actually managed to take Raging Tide City.’
Beside him, Count Jinhai, Tang Lun, was practically dying of envy.
‘Damn it, the Jin Clan actually took Raging Tide City. Heavens above! This is the heart of the eastern sea trade. It's a river of gold, and now it belongs to the Count of Xuanwu's Estate! The Jin Clan's power will multiply several times over, and their achievements will rival those of the legendary Count of Jinzhou.’
Of course, the Count of Jinzhou had fought countless campaigns for the King of Yue, earning immense merit, so a direct comparison was impossible. Still, Jin Zhuo had succeeded in expanding his clan's influence just as his ancestor had.
‘Jin Zhuo, aren't you a man of ordinary talent? How did you become so formidable? Just a short while ago, your clan was on the brink of collapse, and now you've leaped to heights I can't even dare to look at. Is this all because you got a good son-in-law? Why is this world so unfair?!’
Shen Lang immediately rose from his bed and went to the docks to greet his father-in-law. The Daoist An Zaitian went out even faster than Shen Lang, unable to hide his overwhelming emotions. Over the past decade, he had made contact with the Count of Xuanwu's Estate a few times, but he had never met the Count himself. Jin Zhuo looked at Shen Lang with eyes that seemed to burn with intensity. He then stepped forward and embraced Shen Lang tightly. The gesture was so unexpected that Shen Lang nearly jumped in surprise.
‘Father-in-law, you were never like this before. You always acted so stern and distant; I've never seen you be this affectionate. Your sudden warmth is making me feel awkward.’
Jin Zhuo said to Shen Lang.
“My son, you've worked hard…!”
“Ugh, not at all. It wasn't hard in the slightest.”
Shen Lang really hadn't struggled. Qiu Yao'er had done all the fighting. He and the Jin Clan warriors had merely watched from the sidelines, taking Raging Tide City without a single battle. Beside them, Count Jinhai, Tang Lun, suddenly spoke up.
“Ah! Shen Lang, I have daughters, you know. Several of them, in fact.”
Having lost everything and fallen into despair, Tang Lun had become rather endearing. Shen Lang stared at Count Jinhai for a long moment before speaking.
“Count Jinhai, do you no longer bear a grudge against my clan?”
“I've reached my limit and given up. But I can't just die in vain, so I might as well pretend to let it go…”
It wasn't that Tang Lun had truly let go of his resentment. But didn't the old Ottoman Empire hold a grudge against the British Empire? Yet modern-day Turkey now tries to curry favor with Britain and the United States. When your enemy is stronger than you, you have no choice.
“Your attitude is quite admirable, Count Jinhai. Very much so… But it's a bit of a shame.”
Tang Lun sensed a hidden meaning in Shen Lang's words.
“Young Master Shen, you might as well speak more plainly.”
“Count Tang Lun, you should return to your estate at once. Go back, sort out your family's assets, dismiss the servants who need to be dismissed, keep those who should be kept, and then arrange for your succession.”
Hearing this, Tang Lun's face changed drastically. He trembled as he asked.
“Must I? Must I really…!”
Shen Lang nodded.
“Go back at once!”
In an instant, all the color drained from Tang Lun's face, and his eyes became lifeless. What is the most tragic thing in the world? It's when you think your stock has hit rock bottom, only to find yourself in an even worse situation. Tang Lun had thought losing Jinshan Island and all his private soldiers was tragic enough. But something even more devastating awaited him.
“Since you've let go of your grudge against our clan, Count Jinhai, I will offer you a piece of advice. Voluntarily humble yourself to preserve the life of your heir.”
Tears streamed down Tang Lun's face as he asked in a trembling voice.
“Can our clan not be saved?”
“It cannot.”
Tang Lun let out a wretched, loud wail.
“Hahahaha. The world is truly amusing, truly amusing! The one who kills me is not my enemy! Not my nemesis!”
Then, he bowed his head to Shen Lang.
“Young Master Shen, thank you for telling me. If… if the Tang Clan can avoid annihilation this time, we will surely be grateful for your kindness.”
Count Jin Zhuo then provided a ship for Tang Lun to return. Tang Lun boarded the ship, then turned back, bowed deeply to Shen Lang, and said.
“By any chance… will I not survive either?”
“You will not.”
“What about my family?”
“Tang Yan is in a better position. Still, tell him to go to the Ends of the Earth Sea Pavilion immediately to seek refuge. From your many other sons, you must choose one and save his life. Have him publicly sever ties with the clan beforehand, and then have him personally expose your collusion with the pirate Qiu Tianwei. After that, he should immediately seek shelter under a prince or flee to another country entirely.”
Count Tang Lun bowed deeply to Shen Lang.
“Young Master Shen, thank you for the grace of saving the Tang Clan's heir.”
He returned to his ship, and the vessel set sail for the docks of Jinhai City. Tang Lun had reason to be grateful. If he followed Shen Lang's advice, he could save the Tang Clan's heir and ensure its lineage continued. After this upheaval—the Jin Clan's acquisition of Raging Tide City—some noble houses were bound to fall. Someone had to take responsibility.
The reason Shen Lang advised him was not simply out of pity for the Tang Clan, but to create an ally. He might have a use for him in the future. Count Jin Zhuo couldn't help but turn and look back at Count Tang Lun one last time. This would be the last time he saw him. The distance between heaven and hell was so very small. It could have easily been the Jin Clan that fell into hell.
* * *
Inside the main fortress of Raging Tide City.
Count Jin Zhuo still couldn't believe it. This city now belonged to the Jin Clan? This fortress was his…! It all felt like a dream.
“When Lang'er explained the four steps of his plan to me, I thought it was brilliant but had a very low chance of success and would be difficult to achieve. I never imagined it would actually work. Incredible, truly incredible! Lang'er, having you in our clan feels like a waste of your talent.”
“Father-in-law, I never get tired of hearing praise. Feel free to say a few more words.”
Then, Shen Lang sighed and walked over to a map.
“Father-in-law, the strategy of becoming a king across the sea is not yet a complete success.”
Shen Lang pointed to the map.
“We've taken the most crucial locations, Raging Tide City and Leizhou Island, but the Leizhou Archipelago has dozens of islands, large and small. The second-largest, Tianfeng Island, has fallen into the hands of Prefect Zhang Chong. The remaining islands have been taken by Qiu Hu.”
Shen Lang lacked a fleet, so he couldn't seize those islands. Qiu Yao'er could have taken them, but she had no reason to fight for Shen Lang. And if Shen Lang were to ask Qiu Yao'er to capture the islands for him, it would be a self-inflicted humiliation, so he couldn't do that either.
“Zhang Chong is incredible. Truly incredible.”
Since yesterday, Shen Lang had been repeating those words endlessly. Zhang Chong had planned to attack Shen Lang from behind, and after Zhang Chunhua failed to become Qiu Yao'er's strategist, she immediately sought out Qiu Hu. On the surface, at least, Zhang Jin had a nine-out-of-ten chance of taking Raging Tide City.
If things had gone according to Zhang Chong's predictions, even if Shen Lang had killed Qiu Yao'er and taken the main fortress of Raging Tide City, he would have likely been unable to defend it against Zhang Jin's six-thousand-strong army that would follow, and would have been crushed. If Shen Lang had been defeated by Zhang Jin and lost Raging Tide City, Zhang Chong's plan would have succeeded, and Shen Lang's scheme would have ultimately failed. That was why Shen Lang had no choice but to take a risk and negotiate with Qiu Yao'er. If it hadn't been for Zhang Chong's scheme, Shen Lang might not have even considered negotiating with Qiu Yao'er and might have just killed her instead.
Was Qiu Yao'er's pregnancy perhaps the will of heaven? While that factor didn't drastically change the overall situation, the fact that Qiu Yao'er was carrying Shen Lang's child certainly had some influence on their relationship. Of course, the most crucial part was that Shen Lang discovered someone had tried to harm Qiu Yao'er with poison, and that the true culprit was Qiu Tianwei. This allowed Qiu Yao'er to abandon her loyalty to her adoptive father. That was the key to Shen Lang successfully persuading Qiu Yao'er and obtaining Raging Tide City with ease.
He also had to thank the Daoist An Zaitian. It seemed he had done nothing while undercover by Qiu Tianwei's side, but he had actually saved Shu Su and helped her give birth, ultimately ensuring she survived as a witness. An Zaitian had done his part with that act alone. In any case, the battle for Raging Tide City was decided in an instant.
Nevertheless, the most incredible person was Prefect Zhang Chong. Even when he believed Zhang Jin had a very high chance of taking Raging Tide City, he had prepared another plan in case of failure. He had mobilized the rear forces of Nu River Commandery, persuaded Qiu Hu to lend him his fleet, and then seized all the islands except for Raging Tide City. Securing Tianfeng Island, in particular, was not the best possible outcome, but it could be considered the next best thing.
Having Zhang Jin take Raging Tide City was the ideal result, but even if that failed, he had prepared an escape route so the Zhang Clan would not be completely destroyed. Before thinking of success, he first considered the possibility of failure. Even when aiming for a great victory, Zhang Chong was never complacent or carried away. He immediately devised countermeasures for failure to prevent the worst-case scenario.
Such talent, combined with that personality—Shen Lang couldn't help but be impressed. In the endless game of wits the two had played so far, Zhang Chong had only ever been half a step behind.
Shen Lang looked at the map of the Leizhou Archipelago, which spanned over ten thousand square kilometers. For now, the Jin Clan had only taken the largest island, Leizhou Island. They occupied half of it, five thousand square kilometers, while Zhang Chong and Qiu Hu had taken the other half. Of course, the other islands didn't have large fortresses, making them difficult to defend, and they lacked any strategic depth for defense.
“It's a shame we couldn't take it all… But this isn't our fault; our opponent was just too strong.”
Listening beside him, Count Xuanwu felt a chill run down his spine.
“We're lucky to have Lang'er. Otherwise, how could our Jin Clan have ever stood against Zhang Chong?”
That was the truth. If Shen Lang hadn't appeared to turn the tide, the Count of Xuanwu's Estate would have been destroyed months ago. Even without Zhang Chong lifting a finger, the greed of a few powerful families converging on the Count of Xuanwu's Estate from all sides would have been enough to bring down the Jin Clan. While it might not have been as easy as with the Count of Dongjiang's Estate, Zhang Chong might not have had to exert any effort at all.
“Fortunately, our battle with him is over. At least for a very, very long time, we won't be enemies.”
Playing a grand game against a master of his caliber was incredibly stimulating. However, Shen Lang didn't enjoy being on the defensive; he preferred to crush others. For instance, he enjoyed dealing with adversaries like Tian Heng, Xu Guangyun, Zhu Nanting, and Tang Lun. Crushing them in one go was the most satisfying. To play against an opponent like Zhang Chong, even with a brilliant mind, victory was not guaranteed. Even if one managed to gain the upper hand in the battle of wits, it ultimately took a stroke of luck to barely clinch a win.