Chapter 426
Chapter 426
Within the borders of the Qiang State.
It had already been seven days since the Su Clan fled. They were currently passing through a place about eighteen hundred li from the Marquis of Zhenyuan's estate. For the past seven days, the Su Clan had not stopped, pressing onward day and night. During that time, the men may not have eaten their fill, but the horses were always fed well. The men may not have rested, but the horses, needing to run, were given rest. By the eighth day, they were two thousand li away from the Marquis of Zhenyuan's estate.
The Western Regions were still thirteen hundred li away. Su Nan had sent scouts in all four directions—front, back, left, and right—to investigate any movement within a two-hundred-li radius. He sent the scouts especially far to the rear. If an enemy were in pursuit, the scouts would immediately gallop back to report. Even if the enemy was four or five hundred li away, Su Nan would know at once.
"My lord, there are no enemies to the front, left, or right."
"My lord, there are no enemies within four or five hundred li to the rear either!"
Hearing these reports, Su Nan could finally breathe a sigh of relief. The Su Clan was finally safe. Having come this far, neither Zheng Ta nor Shen Lang could catch up to them. Most of the Qiang State's main cavalry had died at the Great Calamity Palace, and the remaining portion was in Shen Lang's hands, likely still within the borders of the State of Yue. In a few more days, the Su Clan would enter the Western Regions and be completely safe at last.
Thanks to Su Nan's decisive action upon hearing of the main army's defeat, they had delayed for only a single night before immediately leading their clan to flee. Otherwise, the Su Clan might now be surrounded by tens of thousands of troops, facing the disaster of annihilation.
"My lord, the army's morale is extremely low! Having come so far from home, their spirits have fallen even further. Many of the private soldiers have already realized we are fleeing. The warriors who do not wish to leave their homeland are secretly resentful of you, my lord."
This was inevitable. These thousands of soldiers initially thought they were being mobilized for an ordinary battle. But now, they were moving farther and farther from the State of Yue, constantly heading west. Even a fool would have realized that the Su Clan was fleeing from the State of Yue. Moreover, they were not fleeing to the State of Chu. If they were fleeing to Chu, they would have headed north, but they were consistently heading west.
It was clear they were fleeing to the Western Regions. If they fled to the State of Chu, the Su Clan's private soldiers could be accepted there. It was a civilized nation, and their lord could be immediately enfeoffed as a marquis. But if they fled to the Western Regions, a chaotic and barbaric place, they might have to fight new enemies and build a foundation from scratch upon arrival.
Su Nan had foresight, but his army did not. They wanted a comfortable life and sturdy city walls. They didn't want to go to a godforsaken place like the Western Regions, full of foreign peoples.
Su Nan said calmly.
"Do you see? This is human nature. But do not worry. Once we reach the Western Regions, they will have no other choice but to stay with us, and they will become even more loyal to me. Even if they harbor resentment now, they will be helpless in that distant land."
Su Jian said.
"Then let us bestow gold coins to boost their morale."
Gold coins were useful in any situation, but Su Yong shook his head at the suggestion.
"We do not have many gold coins left."
"How much do we have?"
Su Yong replied to Su Nan's question.
"At most, about four hundred thousand taels."
Inwardly surprised, Su Nan narrowed his eyes.
'So little?'
In truth, four hundred thousand taels of gold was by no means a small sum. But to wage this war, Su Nan had spent far too much. He had hired the monk soldiers of the Great Calamity Temple and mercenaries from the Western Regions, and bribed the Qiang King. Furthermore, when Su Nan's grand army attacked the main fortress of the White Night Army, they consumed an astronomical amount of gold each day. Moreover, provisions were paramount for waging war, so Su Nan had poured a massive amount of gold into buying food supplies, which he had stockpiled within the Marquis of Zhenyuan's estate. However, he had been unable to bring most of those provisions with him.
Now, with only five thousand men under his command, Su Nan could not establish a foundation in the Western Regions by force alone; he had to use gold. The people of the Western Regions were even more avaricious than those of the East. With only four hundred thousand taels of gold, he would soon face financial hardship. If he had a large amount of gold, Su Nan could overcome the difficult situation in the Western Regions in a short time and lay a foundation for the Su Clan. Besides, he still had marital ties with the State of Zhun in the Western Regions, so they would offer him some convenience.
Su Yong suddenly spoke up as if he had just remembered something.
"My lord, isn't there a vast amount of gold in the Qiang King's Palace? Arugan spent decades melting down all the gold he plundered to decorate his palace. The roof is gold, the floor is gold—if converted to coin, it would be at least two million taels!"
Hearing this, Su Nan narrowed his eyes. He knew better than Su Yong just how much gold was in the Qiang King's Palace. Arugan, that madman, didn't spend the gold he plundered but used all of it to decorate his palace. The palace built by a mere barbarian king was more resplendent than the palaces of the kings of Yue and Chu. However, his aesthetic sense was so shockingly crude that the palace had no artistic merit whatsoever; he simply melted gold and slathered it on the walls, roof, and floor. Thus, the entire surface of his palace was coated in a layer of gold. For the past few days, Su Nan had deliberately tried not to think about the gold in the Qiang King's Palace. He knew his own weakness—he was too greedy, and once desire took hold, he found it impossible to suppress.
In that moment, Su Nan was torn, facing a difficult choice.
'No. I must not go to the Qiang King's Palace. I must not be greedy. Wasn't the lesson from the last battle brutal enough? But our clan is so short on gold right now. With the gold from the Qiang King's Palace, I could shorten the time needed to establish ourselves in the Western Regions by two or three years. How precious is a period of two or three years? I am already over sixty. How many more two or three years do I have left?
My heir, Su Jianting, might be dead, and my most outstanding son to succeed him, Su Jianzhang, is only eighteen this year. I need to lay the clan's foundation within the next few years, and then spend several more years grooming Su Jianzhang as my successor. I don't have much time left, so I need that gold. In addition to what the Qiang King Arugan accumulated over decades, there's also the gold the Qiang State plundered and hoarded for hundreds of years. It must be worth two million taels. That's more than the entire tax revenue of the State of Yue from the previous year. Must I really give it up?'
For a moment, Su Nan was mired in conflict. His reason told him he should focus on fleeing to the Western Regions. It said he must not delay for any reason, not even for two million taels of gold right before his eyes. But his impulsive emotions urged him to take the gold. The Qiang King's Palace was less than two hundred li from here; the gold was practically within his grasp. It was like a fat piece of meat right at his lips. Was he not to eat it?
This was like a man with strong desires being chased by ruffians; he wouldn't stop for a naked beauty on the roadside. But what if, after days of fleeing, he had finally shaken off the ruffians, and a drunk, peerless beauty appeared and constantly flirted with him? Could he resist? He absolutely could not.
"The scouts? Are there enemies pursuing us from behind?"
"My lord, there are no enemies within five hundred li to our rear!"
Su Jian said in a trembling voice.
"Brother, let's go take it! If we get that gold, the men won't harbor resentment or cause trouble."
Su Yong also said.
"My lord, if we get that gold, we can make a great name for ourselves in the Western Regions. We can turn the situation around in a short time. With enough gold, the great king of the State of Zhun might even immediately appoint you as a provincial governor."
That was true. In the various nations of the Western Regions, anything could be bought with money. Even official positions. Su Nan gritted his teeth and said.
"No, we will not go to the Qiang King's Palace. We cannot afford to delay even for a moment. The priority now is to get to the Western Regions! We've rested enough, so let's press on. Continue west!"
Su Nan commanded loudly. Perhaps because the lesson from before was etched so deeply in his mind, Su Nan made the firm decision to head west and not covet the gold of the Qiang King's Palace. Only the heavens knew that he had summoned almost all his strength to issue that command. More than anyone, Su Nan coveted the astronomical sum of gold in the Qiang King's Palace. But he had already given the order, and no matter how displeased Su Jian, Su Yong, and the others were, they had no choice but to carry it out.
* * *
Despite Su Nan's command, the Su Clan's army refused to go west any further. Su Nan said angrily.
"It's only been a few days, and you refuse to move? Are you defying my orders now?"
Su Yong said.
"Many of the men have learned there is gold in the Qiang King's Palace. They wish to get the gold before advancing again."
The moment Su Nan stepped outside, thousands of the Su Clan's private soldiers knelt in unison.
"My lord, there are no pursuing soldiers for hundreds of li behind us, and the Qiang King's Palace is less than two hundred li from here."
"My lord, we know we are going to the Western Regions. But the men have nothing, so it's natural for them to feel uneasy. With gold, the men will be able to eat and drink their fill even in the Western Regions."
"My lord, the Qiang King's Palace is two hundred li away. Millions of taels of gold are right before our eyes. Will you really not take it?"
"My lord, even if we seize the gold, the men say they will take only a tenth and offer the rest to you, my lord, so that you may achieve your great work. My lord, please grant us this favor."
"My lord, please grant us this favor!"
Over four thousand private soldiers knelt in unison, asking Su Nan to grant them this favor. With an astronomical amount of gold before them, no one could resist the temptation. Su Nan's heart had already been leaning toward taking the gold, but with the situation like this, the scales tipped completely. His entire army was demanding the gold; now, he had no choice but to go.
Su Nan angrily gave the command.
"You... you rascals! Fine! The entire army will head south. We will go to the Qiang King's Palace at top speed, seize the gold, and then immediately march west."
"Yes, sir!"
"Long live our lord!"
"Long live our lord!"
The thousands of Su Clan soldiers, whose morale had been low, were now fired up. They swiftly headed south, rushing toward the Qiang King's Palace to seize the gold.
In truth, many outcomes are inevitable, especially when it comes to human nature. As expected, the situation did not deviate from Shen Lang's predictions. Even though Su Nan had escaped his predicament, he was about to walk into hell once more.
There was a vast amount of gold in the Qiang King's Palace, but for the Su Clan, it would be a hell.
A hell where Shen Lang had laid an inescapable net.