Chapter 576
Chapter 576
The Hidden Yuan Society's branch in the State of Yue's capital was called Enji Tower. Standing a full seven stories tall, it was considered one of the taller buildings in the capital. From the top of Enji Tower, one could look down upon the entire city. Shu Baidu, an elder of the Hidden Yuan Society, and his son Shu Tingyu stood on the seventh floor, watching the procession of golden carts pass along Xuanwu Avenue. Although both men had seen mountains of gold and silver coins before, the sight before them now made them dizzy. They had never imagined that insignificant son-in-law could pull off something this grand.
The Hidden Yuan Society had originally planned to use the loan as leverage to pressure and control the king. After all, no one other than the Hidden Yuan Society could have lent Ning Yuanxian such a vast sum. Yet, in a mere fortnight, Shen Lang had managed to earn so much money.
"That vile scoundrel truly knows no bounds."
Shu Baidu sighed. Wasn't it true? The scoundrel wasn't afraid or concerned about offending anyone. And the methods he used were truly astonishing. No business in the world could possibly earn three million gold coins in half a month. Not even with glass mirrors. But Shen Lang had ultimately earned five million, a fact that sent a chill down the spines of powerful merchants like Shu Baidu.
"A great deal of money will soon be circulating in the capital. Our society's business will plummet by several tenths this year. That scoundrel swept through too fiercely. Robbing the rich to help the poor—it's a violation of the natural order. Giving money to the poor is a heinous act against the will of Heaven."
It was true. Shen Lang's frenzied scooping of wealth from the rich nobles was no different from robbing them to aid the poor. What would the king do once he got his hands on these gold coins? First, he would pay the soldiers' wages and provide subsidies for the great war, putting at least a small sum into the hands of over a hundred thousand soldiers.
The soldiers were, in essence, the poor. For the eighty-thousand-strong army to march south, vast quantities of food, military equipment, clothing, and medicine had to be transported, requiring at least a hundred thousand civilian laborers. Even the ox- and donkey-drawn carts of these laborers had to be requisitioned, all of which cost money. Of course, a shameless monarch could forcibly conscript the laborers, but while Ning Yuanxian was a king who had squandered his fortune and was harsh on his officials, he was a decent ruler to his people. He couldn't bring himself to forcibly conscript his people, taking their money, labor, and sweat. Thus, a significant portion of the gold he now possessed would go to the more than one hundred thousand civilian laborers. And large quantities of goods like food and cloth would also need to be purchased. In any case, this astronomical amount of wealth would ultimately return to the common folk.
However, that business would no longer involve the Hidden Yuan Society. Because since they had changed their attitude toward the king, he would certainly not entrust the procurement of such supplies to them. What a devastatingly huge loss this was. The Heavenly Dao Society was poised to make another fortune.
"How much do you think we'll lose this time?"
Shu Baidu asked, and Shu Tingyu answered.
"Just from the procurement of food, cloth, and medicine, our losses will exceed a million gold coins. On top of that, we will lose the most profit from converting the gold into coins."
*Shen Lang, that vile scoundrel, brought such a great loss to the Hidden Yuan Society?*
They had been defeated twice in the battles for Raging Tide City, lost out on the glass mirror business, and now suffered a huge loss over the war funds. Every great war resulted in the loss of life through casualties, but some became fabulously wealthy because of it. For the Hidden Yuan Society, war was the ultimate opportunity to make money. The most powerful organizations invested directly in wars. If not for this reason, why would the Hidden Yuan Society have been so eager to lend war funds? The funds they lent would find their way back into their pockets through various means. But now, the business to be had from the upcoming large-scale war would have little to do with the Hidden Yuan Society.
Below, Shen Lang's procession of carts was just passing the Hidden Yuan Society's branch. As if he had seen Shu Baidu, Shen Lang suddenly stopped and raised both his middle fingers toward the father and son on top of Enji Tower. Then, he made a slapping motion in the air, as if striking their cheeks. Despite the distance, Shu Baidu and Shu Tingyu felt as if Shen Lang's slaps were landing sharply on their own faces.
*This beast is so vulgar! How is someone so crass still alive?*
"Father, we must have our revenge!"
Watching Shen Lang on Xuanwu Avenue from several hundred meters away, the dazed look in Shu Baidu's eyes gradually sharpened like ice.
*Yes, we must have our revenge! A revenge so bone-deep it will tear his heart to pieces.*
How could they inflict a fatal revenge upon Shen Lang, one that would leave him utterly devastated? It depended on what Shen Lang valued most.
"Is it true that Shen Lang is scouring the entire country for special simpletons?"
"Yes. No matter how secretly he acts, the scale of his movements is too large to escape our notice. Not only are we watching his secret movements, but so are the Crown Prince and the Third Prince."
"He's probably trying to create a second Nirvana Army, isn't he?"
"Yes!"
"That scoundrel acts without restraint and unpredictably, but when it comes to the succession struggle, he handles matters with remarkable stability and propriety."
That was indeed the case. Previously, to help the Jin Clan escape the crisis of the new government and to take revenge on the Su Clan, Shen Lang had stopped at nothing, causing all sorts of major incidents without hesitation. This time, as he helped Ning Zheng in the succession struggle, everyone had expected Shen Lang to continue his boundless, unrestrained actions, creating a tense atmosphere. They thought he would surely fight the Crown Prince and the Third Prince without any regard for the rules.
But in the end, Shen Lang did no such thing. He only helped expand Ning Zheng's forces to increase his power, making no attempt to harm the Crown Prince or the Third Prince. It was practically a fair competition, and because Shen Lang acted this way, King Ning Yuanxian was able to trust him even more.
"We cannot let Shen Lang train a second Nirvana Army. If we do, Ning Zheng's power will grow by leaps and bounds, and he will eventually rise up!"
"Then we must crush his hopes at the root!"
***
Inside the royal palace, the king heard the news and was so astonished his hair stood on end.
"How much did you say?"
"Four million, nine hundred and thirty thousand gold coins. We were told Huang Dong of the Heavenly Dao Society is obsessive and added another seventy thousand to make it a round number!"
The king was so shocked he gasped. He knew Shen Lang would succeed, but he never expected such an insane result.
*Five million gold coins? Shen Lang, you not only completed a mission more difficult than scaling the heavens, but you exceeded the original goal by sixty percent. Is there anything in this world you cannot do? Five million gold coins? That's more than enough for this year's military expenses. Not only are the funds for the war with Jin secured, but there's even enough for a war with the State of Chu! Incredible, truly incredible!*
"I hear he harvested all the powerful, decorated families in the State of Yue, did he not?"
Li Jun nodded in response to Ning Yuanxian's question.
"In about ten days or so, some of them will likely realize they've been tricked."
"Hahaha! That rascal, what a fine harvest it was!"
The king was overjoyed!
***
A full two hours passed before the astronomical sum of gold was escorted into the imperial palace. Why did it take so long? Because Shen Lang had ordered the procession to take a lap around the city.
*The people of the capital have lived in poverty for generations, so I, Shen Lang, shall broaden everyone's horizons. You may never earn this much money yourselves, but I will at least let you see it once.*
Huang Dong criticized him.
*Young Master Shen, aren't you just showing off?*
*When one accomplishes something great, a world-shaking miracle, must one hide it? That is not my style. I must show off to the absolute limit, engraving my magnificent presence deep into your souls. My show is only over when you're spitting blood from envy and trembling so hard your bones rattle from shock.*
The marshal of the Imperial Guard didn't even have the energy to be sarcastic. Finally, unable to bear it any longer, he said to Shen Lang.
"Young Master Shen, that's enough. Everyone who needs to know, knows. Everyone who needs to see, has seen."
Shen Lang replied immediately.
"Some of the ladies in the pleasure quarters don't wake up until noon. Let's go around one more time to broaden their horizons. They work hard all night, don't they?"
"No, absolutely not! Young Master Shen, if we go around again, not just the men but the horses carrying the gold won't be able to take it."
"Alright then. Let's enter the royal palace. Let's go surprise His Majesty and the royal consorts!"
***
Ning Yuanxian was certainly shocked. Even though he had been briefed on the amount of gold beforehand, seeing it with his own eyes was a far more powerful shock. An astronomical amount of gold had passed through his hands before, and he was still over five million gold coins in debt. But this was the first time he had ever seen so much gold in one place. It couldn't be helped. He was a king who had squandered his fortune, so the taxes collected each year were never enough, always resulting in a deficit. Thus, there was little money stored in the inner treasury. Now, all this gold would go into his inner treasury.
*I, Ning Yuanxian, have never felt so rich.*
Not only Ning Yuanxian came out to see it; all the consorts in the palace, except for the queen, also came out to gaze at the gold. After everyone had feasted their eyes, Ning Yuanxian ordered the gold to be moved to the palace's inner treasury. Starting tomorrow, this gold would rapidly diminish. This was because large quantities of food, cloth, and medicine had already been purchased with only the payments remaining, and the conscripted laborers also needed to be paid.
***
"Shen Lang, magnificent, magnificent! I will not go back on my promise to ennoble Ning Zheng as the Duke of Yue! However, in ten days or so, the people who bought the Golden Dragon's blood will realize they've been tricked. How do you plan to deal with that?"
Shen Lang replied.
"Your Majesty, let's be clear on a few things between us. First, I never once claimed that the Golden Dragon's blood could alter one's innate bloodline. They were the ones who thought so. Furthermore, I never offered to sell the Golden Dragon's blood in the first place. They all came to my door, begging and pleading, so I had no choice but to sell it to them.
Second, I repeatedly warned them not to touch women after consuming the Golden Dragon's blood. In the end, they didn't heed my advice and lost all the power of the Golden Dragon's blood. You can't blame me for that.
Third, I didn't keep a single tael of the money earned from selling the Golden Dragon's blood. In fact, I even added several hundred gold coins of my own. The losses incurred from melting down the gold were all covered out of my own pocket."
The first two reasons were little more than excuses, but the third was certainly legitimate. No matter how much he sold, Shen Lang hadn't taken a single tael. Parading the gold-laden carts around the capital just now was to show everyone clearly.
*Even when I, Shen Lang, swindle money, I do it for the country. If you've got a problem, go take it up with His Majesty the King. Don't come to me.*