Chapter 544
Chapter 544
“After King Arotai of Jiang died suddenly, not only did no one investigate the cause of his death, but they didn't even bother with his body, leaving it to rot on a table. I even scoffed at the matter back then, but now it seems my own situation is no better.”
Yue Jun remained silent at Ning Yuanxian's cynical words. Just then, a person came to the king's mind: the Fifth Prince, Ning Zheng.
*'This son is upright and benevolent. Perhaps he is better than the others.'*
As if even the heavens took pity on Ning Zheng, Ning Yuanxian finally, for the first time, truly considered him in his heart.
“Your Majesty, Lord Yan E has arrived.”
The voice of Eunuch Yue Yin came from outside. A moment later, Yan E, the Grand Commander of the Blackwater Terrace, entered and knelt on one knee.
“Your Majesty, this servant… has failed again.”
What had he failed at? Assassinating Lord Gong, of course. King Ning Yuanxian had tried almost every method to stop Lord Gong from unifying the Southern Barbarian Tribes. Sowing discord, bribery, assassination—he had used every means at his disposal. But the Blackwater Terrace had little power in the territory of the Southern Barbarians. Who would be foolish enough to go and lie in wait in such a bizarre place? Thus, none of their methods had been very effective.
The Blackwater Terrace must have attempted to assassinate Lord Gong not a hundred, but at least eighty times. Yet, every single attempt had failed. Even when Grandmaster Yan Nanfei went himself, he failed. Lord Gong's own martial skill was formidable, and he was surrounded by a host of masters from the Southern Barbarian Tribes and the Great Calamity Temple, who stood guard. Nearly all the assassins sent by the Blackwater Terrace were killed. In the end, it was truly difficult to change the tide of events by assassinating Lord Gong.
There had also been several assassination attempts around Shen Lang. He had tried to assassinate Su Nan through Sword King Li Qianqiu, but that had failed. The only time an assassination might have succeeded was when Gao Duhuan attempted to kill Jin Zhuo, but now Jin Zhuo was under the protection of the Old Demon of the Snowy Mountains, making his assassination impossible. The Old Demon of the Snowy Mountains had decided to move the Snowy Mountain Palace to Raging Tide City. This was because in Raging Tide City, he didn't have to worry about food or clothing and could flaunt his martial prowess and authority, making it a more comfortable place to do nothing. Of course, one might ask what would become of the Snowy Mountain Palace if it wasn't located on a snowy mountain, but such a minor detail was of no concern. Wherever the Old Demon of the Snowy Mountains was, even a mountain of flames could be called the Snowy Mountain Palace.
“Your Majesty, you must prepare for war. We have reached a point where unconventional methods can no longer stop Lord Gong.”
At the words of Yan E, the Grand Commander of the Blackwater Terrace, Ning Yuanxian closed his eyes and began to think of Lord Gong. He had never imagined this adopted son would become so formidable. How meek and gentle he had been just a few years ago when he lived in the capital. To think he was, in fact, a titan capable of overturning the world.
*'Prepare for war! Two months ago, Zhang Chong said we needed to reinforce the Southern Gull Kingdom, that we needed to send one hundred and fifty thousand men at once.'*
At the time, he had thought Zhang Chong was deliberately exaggerating to shock him, but now he saw it was no exaggeration at all. But where was Ning Yuanxian to find a hundred and fifty thousand troops? Even if he scraped together all the forces of the State of Yue, he could send at most eighty thousand to the Southern Gull front. Moreover, deploying eighty thousand troops would leave only Duke Bian Wu's army on the northern defense line; the armies of the Marquis of Zhenbei, Nangong Ao, and the tens of thousands of troops under the Third Prince, Ning Qi, would all have to move south. Not only would the northern defenses be empty, but the forces defending the capital would also be depleted. In that situation, Duke Bian Wu's hundred thousand men would have to face the hundreds of thousands of troops from the State of Wu.
It was fortunate that Shen Lang had eliminated Su Nan early on. Otherwise, the rebel army of Su Nan, the army of the State of Jiang, the army of the State of Wu, the army of the State of Chu, and the army of Lord Gong—these five powerful enemies would have surrounded the State of Yue, and the nation would have truly faced a crisis of annihilation. In the end, after all was said and done, the State of Yue was left with only two powerful enemies, Lord Gong and the State of Chu, with the possibility of the State of Wu being added to the list later. Su Nan's timing had been truly unfortunate. He had originally planned to rebel after Lord Gong had unified the Southern Barbarian Tribes, retaken the Southern Gull Kingdom, and swept through the southern part of Yue. But Shen Lang had pressured him, forcing him to move ahead of schedule, resulting in the complete annihilation of his army and the extermination of the Su Clan.
“If I pull all the troops from the northern defense line, won't the King of Wu's army march south?”
Yan E fell silent for a moment at Ning Yuanxian's question before answering.
“Not at present. However, when Lord Gong unifies the Southern Barbarian Tribes, retakes the Southern Gull Kingdom, and marches his army north, the King of Wu will not miss such a golden opportunity. The King of Wu has currently rejected the State of Chu's request for an alliance, but his reason for maintaining trust with our country is not out of loyalty, but simply because the time is not yet right to turn his back on us.”
“If I entrust the entire northern defense line to Duke Bian Wu, can he hold it?”
Yan E was silent for a long time before speaking.
“This servant does not know for certain, but Duke Bian Wu is skilled in offense, not defense.”
Ning Yuanxian seemed to be facing a great dilemma. Once Nangong Ao's fifty thousand troops were deployed, who would be left to garrison and defend Tianbei Province?
“Once Nangong Ao's army enters the Southern Gull Kingdom, who do you think would be best to take charge of the Zhenbei General's Headquarters? Yan E, who do you think is suitable?”
The current Governor-General of Tianbei Province was a civil official and a member of the royal family. Ning Gang, a legendary figure in his own right and older than Ning Yuanxian, had been stationed in Tianbei Province for a decade already. If you entrusted him with administrative duties, his civil governance would be first-rate. But he was truly terrible at defending a city. As the Grand Commander of the Blackwater Terrace, Yan E had no authority to recommend someone for the position of Zhenbei General, but Ning Yuanxian, as always, casually asked about matters beyond his authority.
Ning Yuanxian asked him again.
“Between Zhong E, Xue Che, and Ning Qi, who do you think would be suitable?”
All three were from the same faction. Yan E did not speak, but he believed none of the three were suitable.
“Have the Privy Council, the Ministry of War, and the Ministry of Revenue finished their calculations? If we deploy eighty thousand troops to the Southern Gull front, what will be the specific cost of the campaign?”
The Grand Eunuch Yue Jun immediately found the relevant memorial and handed it to Ning Yuanxian. The moment he glanced at it, his hands trembled. To send eighty thousand troops into the Southern Gull Kingdom, the cost of provisions, weapons, and warhorses, when converted to military funds, plus the salaries for Zhu Lin's tens of thousands of troops, amounted to over three and a half million gold coins. This sum far exceeded the annual tax revenue of the State of Yue. Of course, the end of the year was approaching, and taxes collected from all over the country would soon be gathered, but that money was already allocated for other purposes. So, should he borrow from the Hidden Yuan Society again? To borrow such a huge sum before even repaying the last loan?
“Your Majesty, the Grand Princess Ning Jue requests an audience.”
Hearing the voice of a young eunuch from outside, the king gestured for Yan E to withdraw, and Ning Jue soon entered the study. Ning Yuanxian asked her directly.
“How much did the Hidden Yuan Society say they would lend?”
Each time he borrowed money, Ning Yuanxian would first send a confidant to negotiate with them, and once a general agreement was reached, he would send the Grand Secretariat and the Ministry of Revenue to finalize the contract. The person he had sent to discuss the loan with the Hidden Yuan Society this time was the Grand Princess Ning Jue.
“The Hidden Yuan Society says they will lend three and a half million gold coins.”
Hearing the Grand Princess Ning Jue's words, Ning Yuanxian couldn't believe it.
*'Impossible. The Hidden Yuan Society is offering such a huge sum so readily?'*
He had already borrowed an astronomical sum from the Hidden Yuan Society in the past, and just a few months ago, he had borrowed over two million gold coins which he had yet to repay. Not only that, but during the battle where the State of Wu tried to seize Raging Tide City, the Hidden Yuan Society had advanced over a million gold coins in military funds to Wu, money that was now completely lost. Facing the relentless pressure of the Sky-Sea Pavilion, the Hidden Yuan Society had been going through difficult times recently.
The Grand Princess Ning Jue continued.
“However, Elder Shu Baidao of the Hidden Yuan Society said he must discuss it with Your Majesty directly.”
Ning Yuanxian frowned but eventually nodded.
Half a *shichen* later, Shu Baidao, the head of the Hidden Yuan Society in the State of Yue, entered the royal palace.
“Greetings, Your Majesty.”
Shu Baidao knelt respectfully and paid his respects. This man was over seventy years old, yet he still managed the Yue branch of the Hidden Yuan Society, a position he had held for some twenty years. One could say that the unjust death of Count Jin Yu, who was betrayed in the past, was directly because of this man.
King Ning Yuanxian's hand trembled slightly as he raised it to bid him rise.
“Elder Shu, please rise. You are more than ten years my senior; I cannot accept such formalities.”
When he had to ask a favor of someone, the king would not use the royal 'We' but referred to himself as 'I'. Shu Baidao, however, did not neglect his etiquette in the slightest and remained kneeling. Even after paying his respects, he did not presume to sit, but stood humbly.
“I heard that the Hidden Yuan Society is willing to lend our State of Yue another three and a half million gold coins. I am truly moved.”
“Although I am not a citizen of Yue, I have resided here for so long that I consider myself a subject of Yue. It is only natural for a subject to offer his loyalty to Your Majesty.”
“Then what specific condition does the Hidden Yuan Society have for lending this money?”
“The secret formula for the glass mirror.”
Shu Baidao was incredibly direct. Hearing his words, Ning Yuanxian's eyebrow twitched.
“Your Majesty, Shen Lang is utterly loyal to you, and his fate is in your hands. If you but say the word, he will surely hand over the secret formula for the glass mirror. If we obtain that formula, not only will our Hidden Yuan Society lend you three and a half million gold coins without interest, but we will also forgive the previous debt of two million gold coins.”
The sum he mentioned was truly enormous. King Ning Yuanxian closed his eyes.
“In doing this, neither the State of Yue nor Your Majesty has to pay any price. Why do you hesitate?”
The king sneered inwardly. On the surface, it seemed as if there was no price to pay, but things that appear free often end up costing the most. The price he would be paying was the trust between him and Shen Lang. In King Ning Yuanxian's eyes, the trust between him and Shen Lang was worth far more than three million gold coins.
The king's face instantly turned cold as he spoke calmly.
“That will be all. Thank you, Elder Shu. Attendants, see our guest out.”
Shu Baidao said no more, bowed, and took his leave. After he was gone, King Ning Yuanxian let out a desolate, cynical laugh.
“Everyone must think I'm old and finished. For anyone to come and torment me like this. Go and tell Shen Lang he must win the decisive battle and vent my anger. Only then will the two of us not be looked down upon by others.”
Hearing this, the young eunuch immediately moved to go to Shen Lang, but Ning Yuanxian stopped him again.
“Never mind. There's no need to go and tell him deliberately. That rascal will know best. Yue Jun, issue a royal decree. Nangong Ao is to assemble his fifty thousand troops and prepare to march south to the Southern Gull front at any moment!”
“Yes, Your Majesty!”
*'Shen Lang. Ning Zheng. I will wait for you to astonish the world. Then, I shall once again roar from my mountain forest.'*