Chapter 420
Chapter 420
Suddenly, Su Nan shouted loudly.
“Let’s go, we must leave at once! No one would expect our Su Clan to abandon the fortress and flee. We still have time. Once the enemy's main army arrives, we won't be able to escape even if we want to. So, hurry and get everything in order. Apart from a few direct blood relatives, leave all the other elderly, weak, women, and children behind. Furthermore, not a word of this to anyone. Don't even tell our own army that we're leaving; tell them we're marching out to battle as usual. Prepare immediately. We leave at dawn. Not a moment to be wasted!
You will all leave a few hours ahead of me, while I remain in the fortress. After half a day, I will depart in secret and rendezvous with you. In any case, no one, apart from the few of us here, must know about this mass retreat! Understood?”
Everyone was horrified. Abandoning all the elderly, weak, women, and children in the fortress was no different from leaving them to die. The enemy army would soon storm this place. With a garrison, this fortress was an iron bastion that could be held by just a few thousand defenders. But a thousand elderly, weak, women, and children could not possibly defend it. The patriarch was not only abandoning the fortress but was also callously forsaking a thousand members of the Su Clan who were not of direct lineage.
“Hurry, we must prepare with utmost speed! If I'm right, those two bastards, Zheng Tuo and Yang Yongnian, will take advantage of our misfortune and won't be able to resist leading their soldiers to attack immediately. And Shen Lang, having won a great victory, will be feeling incredibly smug right now. When a man achieves his goals, he tends to forget his circumstances. Therefore, Shen Lang will never imagine that we would abandon the fortress and retreat with our entire clan. He'll want to wait for us to fight Zheng Tuo's army until both sides are crippled, then show up to reap the benefits. But that scoundrel Shen Lang is so cunning, he might figure out our plan very quickly. So we must move fast!”
“My lord, are we really to hand over this fortress so easily?”
At Su Can's question, Su Nan closed his eyes. Thinking rationally and weighing the pros and cons, Su Nan knew he had to hand the fortress over to Zheng Tuo and Yang Yongnian. That way, those two thieves would take the Su Clan's place, subtly creating a separatist force that would be detrimental to the State of Yue. But Su Nan was truly unwilling. People often resent not their enemies, but their own side who kick them when they're down.
‘Zheng Tuo once put on a show with our army, acting like an ally even if he wasn't one. Yang Yongnian was a dog of our Su Clan. And now that our clan is facing misfortune, before Shen Lang even comes to bite, you two can't wait to sink your teeth in first? To think I must hand this fortress over to you so easily and let you have your way… I can't stomach it!’
Su Nan asked coldly.
“Do we still have the smallpox contagion we prepared?”
What was this smallpox contagion Su Nan spoke of? It was the pus and scabs collected from the bodies of smallpox victims. Since the State of Jiang had widely implemented cowpox vaccinations, the Su Clan had naturally followed suit to prevent smallpox. Once the risk of contracting the disease was gone, Su Nan immediately had a vicious idea. He sent his warriors to capture smallpox patients and collect a large amount of the contagion. Even now, in the fortress's dungeon, there were still numerous smallpox patients and the corpses of those who had died from it. He had originally intended to spread the smallpox contagion if the war turned against him. But before he had the chance to use it, the Su Clan's army was defeated. Now, he could just use that plan on Zheng Tuo and Yang Yongnian's armies. Those two armies had not had time to be vaccinated and would have no defense against smallpox.
Su Can replied.
“We do, a great deal of it!”
“Then put the smallpox contagion in the wells and the food supplies.”
“Yes!”
Su Nan said coldly.
“Before I leave, I shall unleash a great slaughter. I will give Zheng Tuo and Yang Yongnian a taste of what hell is!”
The next day, at the crack of dawn, the Su Clan’s remaining five thousand soldiers marched out in full force from the Marquisate of Zhenyuan. The soldiers, unaware of their destination, simply followed orders, appearing as if they were heading out for a normal military campaign. The remaining members of the Su Clan in the fortress were thrown into turmoil. With only five thousand soldiers left, and now they were gone, who would defend the fortress? But they soon felt reassured. The patriarch, Su Nan, was still in the fortress. As long as he was here, the Marquisate of Zhenyuan would not fall, and neither would the Su Clan.
However, a little over four hours later, Su Nan vanished from the fortress and secretly followed the Su Clan's five thousand soldiers. The entire direct lineage of the Su Clan and their army fled toward the Western Regions at top speed, unnoticed by the enemy. It was an incredibly bold and swift decision. No one had anticipated Su Nan's move; it was so sudden that it was impossible to guard against. And at that moment, Zheng Tuo and Yang Yongnian's twenty-five-thousand-strong army was marching murderously toward the Marquisate of Zhenyuan from hundreds of miles away.
* * *
Su Nan’s prediction was correct. Shen Lang was in an almost delirious state after achieving such a monumental victory. In terms of scale alone, this victory was even greater than the battle at Raging Tide City. Shen Lang was riding high on his success. Moreover, having successfully separated from Zheng Tuo and Yang Yongnian, he felt even more smug.
Zheng Tuo and Yang Yongnian, to save their own skins, would have to attack the Marquisate of Zhenyuan with all their might. And sitting back to watch a dogfight is one of the most satisfying things in the world. The thought of waiting for Zheng Tuo and Su Nan to tear each other apart until both armies were irreparably damaged, then swooping in to clean up the mess, was incredibly pleasing.
But for some unknown reason, as Zheng Tuo and Yang Yongnian’s army began to move south, Shen Lang felt an inexplicable sense of unease, though he couldn't yet grasp its source. Zhang Chong invited Shen Lang for a game of Go. Shen Lang found his action suspicious.
‘We can play Go anytime. Sir Zhang, you are still extremely weak and your dizziness hasn't subsided. Why insist on playing now, as if you can't wait until you've recovered?’
Zhang Chong said.
“Your decision back then to abandon Jinshan Island and Wang'ai Island was incredibly bold. Was that not an act of sacrificing the small to save the greater?”
Shen Lang was taken aback and replied.
“Well… it was worth it to gain Raging Tide City. If we couldn't overcome the crisis in the capital, what use would Jinshan Island be to our Jin Clan? At that point, only by escaping the chessboard of the State of Yue and becoming a king across the sea could our Jin Clan be completely safe from the capital’s troubles…”
Shen Lang stopped mid-sentence, his expression changing dramatically.
“This is bad. Su Nan is going to flee. That old fox Su Nan is going to…! Sir Zhang, with things as they are, why didn't you just tell me directly? Why speak in riddles? I'm not His Majesty the King.”
“The thought had just occurred to me, but I wasn't certain. So I had to make you think of it yourself, to let you judge by instinct.”
Shen Lang, his face a little pale, quickly closed his eyes and put himself in Su Nan’s shoes.
‘If I were that old fox, Su Nan, what would I do? The Marquisate of Zhenyuan is an iron fortress; even an army of thirty thousand would be useless against it. But once I lose my fiefdom and the White Night Army, the Marquisate becomes nothing more than a magnificent prison. There is no impenetrable fortress in this world. If I were that old fox, Su Nan, I would definitely flee. Even I, Shen Lang, knew that my life-and-death gambit lay outside the State of Yue, so I shifted my focus to Raging Tide City to escape the crisis in the capital. How could a cunning man like Su Nan not see that? Su Nan’s flaw is his greed. He had a good hand, but his insatiable greed made him try to kill three birds with one stone, and things went wrong. But when he has no cards left to play, that man becomes utterly ruthless, decisive, and incredibly shrewd.’
Shen Lang had seen this side of Su Nan in the capital. When Su Nan orchestrated the Ha Wanwan incident to frame Shen Lang, he had the upper hand and the initiative, which made him careless and gave Shen Lang an opening to turn the tables. But when King Jiang died suddenly and the King ordered Su Nan’s capture, he pulled off another astonishing feat, displaying utter ruthlessness and decisiveness. Not only did he know when to advance and retreat, but before leaving the capital, he stirred up such chaos that it tore off the State of Yue's mask of a great power, precipitating the current crisis. Su Nan’s actions when cornered were truly astounding. And right now, Su Nan was cornered. Shen Lang smacked himself hard on the head.
‘I got carried away, so carried away! If Zhang Chong hadn't reminded me, I might have made a huge mistake and missed a golden opportunity! That old fox Su Nan is a master of martial arts, and his methods are cruel and vicious. If he escapes… right, he’ll flee to the Western Regions. He would never seek refuge in the State of Chu. If Su Nan escapes to the Western Regions, it would be like a fish returning to water. In a few years, he could raise an army of tens of thousands and invade the State of Yue again to stage a comeback. A man like that must be struck down in one blow, or he will become a great scourge.’
Shen Lang realized he had made the same mistake as Su Nan. He had been too greedy. He had wanted Zheng Tuo to fight Su Nan's army until both were decimated. How was that different from Su Nan's desire to kill three birds with one stone? A man must be cautious when things are going his way and never get carried away. Otherwise, it could lead to a fatal disaster in an instant.
Shen Lang shot to his feet and said.
“Sir Zhang, I must take my leave!”
Shen Lang hastily led ten thousand cavalry in pursuit of Su Nan.
‘I must not let that old fox Su Nan escape. I must not let the Su Clan get away.’
* * *
Raging Tide City.
The fierce battle at the great fortress had been raging for several days and nights. The fortress was as hard as a tortoise shell, incredibly difficult to conquer. Wu Mu now commanded an army of thirty thousand, six times the strength of the Jin Clan, and had far more fierce generals under his command.
However, despite launching frantic attacks for days and nights on end, he still could not take Raging Tide City. The fortress itself was massive, and its walls were incredibly thick and high. Wu Mu had no choice but to order Qiu Hao's army to land at Raging Tide City and join the assault. With that, his forces would swell to thirty-five thousand, seven times the strength of the Jin Clan's army.