Translator: Henyee Translations Editor: Henyee Translations
The General-in-chief, Pang Ning, had served three emperors so far. Gu Shenwei had even heard of his name when he was little. At that time, Pang Ning wasn't as prominent in the Imperial Court of the Central Plains, but he had already held a reasonably high position. Gu Lun had mentioned this person often, but his tone was not particularly friendly.
Gu Shenwei still remembered what Wei Song had said. He and Gu Lun were favored ministers of the late emperor and were seriously opposed to another group of old ministers. When the late emperor died, Gu Lun had gone to the Western Regions, but Wei Song had chosen to give in to his political opponent. Now, when Gu Shenwei thought about it, Wei Song's political enemy was probably this Pang Ning.
The factions and political struggles in the Imperial Court of the Central Plains were much more complicated than those in the Norland. Gu Shenwei knew very little about them, and Fang Wens.h.i.+ could similarly find out nothing in great detail. He was only able to sketch out a very simple, generalized summary. "The ministers of the Central Plains can be divided into two factions, one of which is supported by the Empress Dowager. That faction currently consists of Pang Ning, Wei Song, and some other people. The other faction has taken shelter under the wings of the little emperor. The two sides fight fiercely both overtly and covertly, and dispute each other over almost every aspect, especially in their stance towards the Norland and the Western Regions."
Fang Wens.h.i.+'s eyes swept over the face of the Dragon King and Dugu Xian, hoping that they would understand what he was trying to say as soon as possible. "The Empress Dowager's faction hopes to gain power through the war while the ministers on the other side oppose it on the grounds that it's a waste of manpower and money. The two factions are thus engaged in a heated argument. The Khan's death and the Norland's schism initially gave the upper hand to the Empress Dowager's faction. Even the little emperor thinks this is the best time for a decisive battle. So, Prince Xiao has come secretly to the Western Regions to stop the war."
Gu Shenwei did not say anything in response. Wei Song had a really slippery personality. When he had tried to persuade the Dragon King to a.s.sa.s.sinate the Khan, he didn't mention anything about the disputes between the factions of the Imperial Court of the Central Plains.
Dugu Xian, who wasn't interested in the Imperial Court of the Central Plains at all, chuckled and said, "This Prince Xiao sounds like a treacherous court official."
Fang Wens.h.i.+ shook his head with a serious look. "It's not that simple. It's hard to tell who's loyal or treacherous just based off of whether one is belligerent or not. Besides, at its core, it is a matter of the Central Plains. No matter how loyal or treacherous he is, it is good as long as it's beneficial for the Dragon King. At present, Prince Xiao is the one who wants to befriend with the Dragon King. Wei Song can barely wait to wipe out the Dragon King tomorrow."
"Have you met Prince Xiao?" asked Gu Shenwei.
"No. Time was too limited, but I've gained the authorization to see him at any time now."
"Then how do you know that Prince Xiao wants to befriend with me?"
"I wanted to come back and tell the Dragon King about Wei Song, and on the way back, I met that short old woman called Tu Pianpian or something. She recognized me and gabbled on for a while. She didn't know much, but I understood it all right away so I rushed back. Fortunately, I arrived in time."
Gu Shenwei nodded to Dugu Xian and said, "That's it for now. General Dugu will continue preparing for tomorrow's siege battle."
"Yes." Dugu Xian knew that the meeting was over so he bowed and retreated.
Fang Wens.h.i.+ looked at Dugu Xian's back until the other side had lowered the tent flap, and then he quickly turned around to ask, "The Dragon King still wants revenge even at the risk of going to war with the Central Plains, right? Do you still remember what you said?"
On his first day as Gu Shenwei's counselor, Fang Wens.h.i.+ had asked the Dragon King to promise to fight for supremacy before settling any personal vendetta.
"Of course," Gu Shenwei replied. "The siege of Thousand Hors.e.m.e.n Pa.s.s is related to my personal revenge, but I have good reasons for doing it. No matter how much the Central Plains threatens us, their main force won't be able to catch up until this winter. If we take Jade City, then the Dragon Army will have a whole winter to prepare themselves, and Shulitu can also take that chance to unify the gra.s.slands and bring back more hors.e.m.e.n next year. I don't think that the Central Plains Army is invincible."
"That kid has become the Khan?" Fang Wens.h.i.+ casually asked, trying to sort out his thoughts and ease the harshness of the Dragon King.
"Mmm."
"Very good." Although he said this, Fang Wens.h.i.+ shook his head out of habit. "What if Shulitu can't unify the prairie? What if he can't bring back enough hors.e.m.e.n next year? Maybe everything will go well, but what if the Norland people conclude that it's not a good time to take a decisive battle and they instead persuade the new Khan to not go to war? It is still easy to control Shulitu at the moment because the new 'Royal Court' has not formed around him. However, this kind of situation won't last long. As long as the Dragon King lets go of him…"
"There are too many 'ifs' in your thoughts. And should I give up the great opportunity in my hand because of them? Counselor Fang, I respect your opinion, but you should know that as long as I can block the offensive of the Central Plains Army next year, Pang Ning and Wei Song will still lose power in the Imperial Court, and Prince Xiao will still choose to ally with me. I believe that the Emperor of the Central Plains is not a reckless grudge keeper. The more firmly the Dragon Army has a grasp of Jade City, the more favorable it will be for us in the negotiations."
"That's true but it's too risky. If the Dragon King fails at any point, there will be no turning back."
"Haven't I been taking risks this whole time?"
"It's different. There was no alternative before, but, this time, the Dragon King has multiple choices between different risks."
Gu Shenwei thought for a while and decided that he should be more open-minded so he told Fang Wens.h.i.+ the terms that Luo Ningcha had brought, which were more detailed than Tu Pianpian's statement. Finally, he said, "See, that's it. Prince Xiao is also not a friend of ours. He said that he would give me the position of Lord of Jade City, but if the kung fu masters he sends to a.s.sist me become a bit 'careless,' I'll actually end up with nothing."
"The Dragon King has no confidence in defeating the kung fu experts of the Central Plains and the Unique King?" Fang Wens.h.i.+ asked puzzledly. He had always believed that the Dragon King had the best martial arts skills in the world.
"I once only killed a man from the Central Plains with someone's help. I can a.s.sure you that I'm no match for him if I fought alone. It's also said that that man wasn't the most powerful kung fu master in the Central Plains. As for the Unique King, I met him not too long ago and I was defeated in one blow."
Fang Wens.h.i.+ gasped as this was the first time he had heard of the Dragon King suffering any kind of defeat. "Well… That's why… Who helped the Dragon King defeat the man of the Central Plains? You can ask him for help again…"
"Lotus. It was a special occasion, and we had no choice but to join hands."
Fang Wens.h.i.+ was stunned yet again. He knew that the Waning Moon Hall was a sworn enemy of the Dragon King now and that there was no possibility of cooperating with them again. "Even if we lose Jade City, the Dragon King will still have the Xiaoyao Lake and the Land of Fragrance. Also, we can even occupy the Shule Kingdom before the Central Plains reacts. We still have a chance. As I said before, it'll take ten years, a decade or so, to struggle for hegemony. As long as the Central Plains Army retreats from the Western Regions, we can still find a way to take Jade City back. But if we go to war with the Central Plains now, we may win a great victory, but we may also lose everything. Dragon King, please think it through twice as there's no turning back if we attack Thousand Hors.e.m.e.n Pa.s.s tomorrow."
"I understand."
Fang Wens.h.i.+ let out a long sigh and said, "In this case, I'll stay because it'd be meaningless to try and negotiate with the Central Plains again."
"Mmm. I need you too. After conquering Thousand Hors.e.m.e.n Pa.s.s, Shulitu will go and pacify the Naihang Tribe. Go with him and do not let the new Khan's 'Royal Court' rise too fast."
"It shall be done." Fang Wens.h.i.+, who liked significant a.s.signments, immediately became interested, his disappointment vanis.h.i.+ng right away. "Yes, someone has to stay right by Shulitu's side. The Dragon King is going to fight against Jade City next, right?"
"Yes, and I hope that the war will be over by the end of the year. If everything goes well, the people of Jade City will not resist fiercely."
"The Dragon King is ready?" Fang Wens.h.i.+ understood the Dragon King's hint.
"I made a move, but I don't know the results yet."
"Haha, the residents of Jade City are the most sn.o.bbish people in the world. I believe that the preparations made by the Dragon King will surely be successful. It's funny that the city full of socialites created by the Unique Kings of the past generations will end up being destroyed through their own hands."
Fang Wens.h.i.+ took his leave. Before leaving, he reminded one last time, "Regarding safety and risk, the Dragon King has already heard it clearly explained, so I have nothing more to say. But no matter what the Dragon King's choice is, I will fully support him in it."
As he reconsidered the siege plan, Gu Shenwei had to admit that although this move would lay a foundation for obtaining the dominant position in one fell swoop, the characteristics of revenge were so obvious that he couldn't turn a blind eye to them. After his visit to the Norland, he had become more and more sure that the mastermind behind the Gu family's slaughter was from the Central Plains. Wei Song was the most suspect person; at the very least, that old fox was an insider who was heavily entangled in it.
He wanted revenge. Half of Golden Roc Castle was already in his hands, but his hatred burned even more fiercely than ever. He was even secretly glad that his vendetta still had more for him to accomplish.
Gu Shenwei needed the great power of hatred, but also hoped that he could keep it strictly in his hands, which made him even more confused.
"Nie Zeng." He called for his bodyguard. He needed to do something to distract himself.
Nie Zeng walked in from outside the tent, looking gloomy and not quite normal.
Gu Shenwei was not good at alleviating disputes among the people around him so he stared at the teenager for a while before asking, "What's the matter with you and Tie Linglong?"
"No, nothing." Nie Zeng blushed a little as he bashfully answered the Dragon King's question, his tone much more different from usual.
"You like her?"
Gu Shenwei subconsciously used his negotiation skills and launched a 'surprise attack'. This move was obviously inappropriate at resolving contradictions. Nie Zeng's face turned redder, and he didn't directly answer this time. "I also want to tell the Dragon King one thing."
"Oh?"
"I hope… I hope that the Dragon King will allow me to protect the Khan."
"Isn't that what you are doing now?"
Nominally, Nie Zeng was still the Dragon King's bodyguard even though he actually spent more than half of his time protecting Shulitu. That was why Gu Shenwei had asked him this question.
"What I mean is… I'll only protect the Khan. I'll follow him from now on like Silver Condor."
"Shulitu invited you to be his wing guard?" Gu Shenwei was a little surprised.
"He has this intention, but dares not mention it to the Dragon King, but I believe that the Dragon King won't mind."
"Of course not."
"But that's not the main reason why I decided to leave." Nie Zeng took a deep breath and looked at the Dragon King calmly. "I've avenged myself and no longer need to stay with the Dragon King."
"You've avenged yourself?"
"Mmm. When I went to Jade City, I did something personal."
Gu Shenwei remembered that Tie Linglong had once told him that Nie Zeng had disappeared for a while in Jade City. He had probably gone and dealt with his personal affairs. Gu Shenwei remained silent, waiting for the teenager to explain further.
"You and Tie Hanfeng were just hired to kill my uncle's family. I found the hirer."
"You killed him?" Gu Shenwei suddenly became a bit envious that the teenager's hatred was so simple.
"No." Nie Zeng's answer really surprised Gu Shenwei. "That man was just a small peddler who sold flower powder. Because of a small conflict, my uncle… broke his leg, and that was where the hatred had started. He said that he didn't want to kill my uncle's family. He just wanted a finger from him. I believed him. So I found the middleman at that time. He was almost dead and did not remember my uncle's family at all. He said, 'This is Jade City. Everyone comes for money and killing. You ask me why I killed your uncle, but I'd like to ask you why not. Didn't your uncle come all the way here to kill people?' That's it. My enemy isn't you, the peddler, or the middleman. It's the entire Jade City. From the moment my uncle entered that city and drew his saber, his death had become predestined. I have no more hatred nor any need for revenge."
