Chapter 522: Military Resources
Translator: Transn Editor: Transn
Wei Song had never doubted the true ident.i.ty of Slave Huan back in Biyu City. However, when Gu Shenwei went against Golden Roc Fort by claiming to be the son of Yang Zheng (a servant of Gu family), Wei Song suddenly realized who Slave Huan really was.
Wei Song’s relations.h.i.+p with Gu Lun had been closer than Gu Shenwei had imagined. He was only a child at the time and had rarely partic.i.p.ated the affairs of adults, so he had never witnessed the frequent exchanges and mutual support between Wei Song and Gu Lun in the Court.
Wei Song also knew Yang Zheng — so well so that he knew the old servant had never married nor had any children. He also knew that Gu Shenwei’s nickname was Huan’er.
Wei Song explained why he had not said anything since realizing the truth.
“I was afraid. You were full of hatred at the time, razing people down like weeds, and never compromising. I thought you’d see me as another object of your revenge. And… And I also hated you for killing my son,” he explained.
Gu Shenwei listened to Wei Song’s story calmly. ” This is not a bad thing ,” he thought. Since Wei Song knew his true ident.i.ty, both of them could do away with unnecessary tricks and talk more directly. “You’re still a suspect. And I know you still hate me,” Gu Shenwei said.
Wei Song’s lips quivered. Barely squeezing out a smile, he said, “I know. Lingmiao did such a heinous thing. I understand your suspicion, but I swear to G.o.d I didn’t know that Golden Roc Fort might have allowed him to take part in it because of me. No one ever told me anything,” said Wei Song.
Wei Song said a lot more. He said that he had conducted a thorough investigation over the years, and confirmed that it was the Royal Families of Norland that had hired Golden Roc Fort to exterminate the entire Gu family.
Gu Shenwei did not say whether he believed it or not. He had been watching the changes in Wei Song’s facial expressions. This was a sophisticated man who had spent many years in the Central Plain’s Court. In terms of putting on a show, the conspirators in the Western Region were rookies compared to him.
However, there was a fatal flaw in Wei Song’s story. Gu Shenwei quickly noticed that Wei Song had avoided one thing in his story. Waiting until Wei Song finished talking, Gu Shenwei pointed it out, saying, “It seems that in Mr. Wei’s opinion, the relations.h.i.+p between the Wei family and the Gu family was never broken, and the two families are still close.”
“If that wasn’t true, our two familes wouldn’t have intermarried . Alas, I didn’t know Lingmiao…” said Wei Song.
“I’ve been curious about one thing: when my father decided to send my sister and me away back then, why did the honorable Governor ask Yang Zheng to take us to Marshal Yang in Shu-lik City?” asked Gu Shenwei.
Wei Song was like a dumb, but over-confident brute who tried to crack a stone with a sword. Exhausted and sweating as he was, the rock would not move. Having tried with all his might, but still failing to crack the Dragon King, Wei Song could only explain, “Mr. Gu didn’t ask you to come to Jade City to find me? He knew that I was going to be the Governor.”
“Hum, my father never mentioned you. During the first two years in Jade City, I didn’t even know the Governor was an old acquaintance of my family,” said Gu Shenwei.
Wei Song turned pale. He lowered his head to avoid Gu Shenwei’s eyes. All of a sudden he looked much older. “It seems that Mr. Gu had not forgiven me,” he admitted.
“Here come the old stories again,” Gu Shenwei said to himself.
But this time, there seemed to be more truth in Wei Song’s story.
“Mr. Gu and I were both old ministers promoted by the late Emperor. We had been in serious opposition to the other faction of old ministers. When the late Emperor pa.s.sed away unexpectedly, Mr. Gu wanted to stay away from the Central Plain rather than collude with the former enemies… but I — The Wei family was a large one in the Central Plain — and I couldn’t abandon it, so I surrendered. Yes, I surrendered. I pledged loyalty to the Empress Dowager and bowed my head to my former political enemies. Mr. Gu didn’t like that. Before he left the Central Plain, we had an argument…” he said.
“And Gu Lun still wanted to marry his daughter to the Wei family,” Gu Shenwei said to himself. He could not help but want to pull out the Five Peaks Saber and dig out Wei Song’s heart while it was still beating to see what it contained.
“Mr. Wei, have you ever suspected that the Golden Roc killer was hired by the Central Plain?” asked Gu Shenwei.
“Child — please allow me to call you that — if you had any knowledge of the Court of the Central Plain, you would understand that the ministers would never think of hiring killers to a.s.sasinate political opponents and their families. Besides, Mr. Gu had already left the Central Plain by that time and had no influence on the power of the Court. No, no one would take such a risk. Court disputes were more political disagreements than personal grudges. Otherwise, I would not have been promoted after having changed my political position,” said Wei Song.
“In fact, after returning to the Central Plain from Jade City, I carried out a thorough investigation. Mr. Gu’s murder caused great repercussions in the Central Plain. Many ministers, including former political opponents, urged the King to send troops to punish Golden Roc Fort to at least to teach the Supreme King a lesson. But later, another faction believed that the Central Plain was not strong enough in the Western Region at that time. They were afraid that starting a war rashly would offend Norland, so the matter was left unsettled. Anyway, I didn’t discover any ministers connected with the Golden Roc Fort. Now that the Golden Roc Fort has basically turned against the Central Plain openly, I have no reason to cover for the ministers,” continued Wei Song.
“So, Mr. Wei, you are sure that Norland is the enemy of the Gu family?” asked Gu Shenwei.
Wei Song had been avoiding the Dragon King’s eyes . Upon hearing this question, however, he suddenly looked up and answered loudly, “Child, I can understand if you don’t believe me after Lingmiao did such an evil thing that would incur the wrath of all G.o.ds and men. You can investigate and collect evidence yourself, and I will provide you the clues. If there is even one bit of a lie in my words, may heaven strike me dead,” answered Wei Song.
He paused for a moment, and then continued in an eased tone, “Dragon King, please inquire a little about the Norland King Rizhu. Then you will see that he has been supporting Golden Roc Fort with all his strength, and that his support started just after Mr. Gu’s death. You can also inquire about the causes and consequences of his feud with Mr. Gu. Many people in Norland know about it,” he continued.
Wei Song changed the name he’d been using for Gu Shenwei from “child” to “Dragon King”, then closed his mouth to indicate that he had finished talking, and it was the Dragon King’s decision whether to believe it or not.
Gu Shenwei still didn’t believe him. His father might have really had a vendetta against the n.o.bles in Norland, and King Rizhu might have really been behind the ma.s.sacre, but Gu Shenwei did not believe that Wei Song was innocent of any involvement.
Why was the young son of a senior officer from the Central Plain involved in an a.s.sa.s.sination ordered by Norland?
Still, he suppressed his feelings. Wei Song was not like Wei Lingmiao. To get the truth from the old fox’s mouth, swords were not enough.
“I will investigate it. But Mr. Gu, you’ve come a long way to get to Xiaoyao Lake and have taken a lot of risks along the way to pa.s.s through the area occupied by enemy. I believe you did not come all this way just to tell me these things,” said Gu Shenwei.
Wei Song had to admit that his attempt to move the Dragon King with family ties and secrets was a complete failure. He had underestimated the Dragon King by a.s.suming that he was just a young man who was full of hatred and relis.h.i.+ng in a great victory. In reality, he saw a killer more profound than an emperor and calmer than a general.
Gu Shenwei was still a killer. He would never make a move until he found the best attack position.
Norland had learned the art of war through the frequent hunting of game, while Gu Shenwei had sought dominance using killers’ principles.
“I will say it again: I can’t put personal affairs above affairs of the Court,” Gu Shenwei said.
“Then let’s talk about the Court first,” said Wei Song.
Wei Song finally learned his lesson and stopped beating around the bush. “The Central Plain hopes to realign with the Dragon King,” he said.
“What’s the benefit for the Central Plain? What’s the benefit for me?” Gu Shenwei asked, also cutting to the chase, as if the prior emotional drama had never happened.
“The Central Plain hopes that the Western Region will remain stable and not pose a threat to its flanks. In this way, we can employ all our strength to the war on the northern line. As for what we can offer the Dragon King, you can have silver, provisions, fodder, weapons, armor — almost anything, except troops. Additionally, the Central Plain will even openly acknowledge the t.i.tle of ‘Dragon King’,” Wei Song replied.
When it came to this last sentence, Wei Song slightly lowered his voice.
He was concerned that he had brought up a sensitive subject.
Gu Shenwei’s t.i.tle of “Dragon King” and the full name “Chief of the Dragons and Leader of the Five Peaks” were both bestowed upon him by the swordsmen from the Great Snowmountain. Strictly speaking, he was not a real king, just like the Supreme King of Golden Roc Fort. In the eyes of the leading powers, they were just jianghu nicknames.
In the Western Region, there were only two ways to become a real king — pureblood or acknowledgment by the leading powers. There were only two leading powers: Norland and the Central Plain. Even Shu-lik was not a leading power before it perished.
Although Shangguan Yun married the Princess of the Xiaowan Kingdom and claimed the t.i.tle of King, he had only taken a half-step. He still had to win the acknowledgment of Norland.
Likewise, Gu Shenwei had married the Princess of the Stone Kingdom without s.n.a.t.c.hing its throne. It was like he had lifted one foot in the air, but had not touched the ground yet.
To an ordinary person, Wei Song’s last promise would be priceless and more valuable than thousands of troops. But Gu Shenwei scoffed at it, because he did not need the acknowledgment of Norland or the Central Plain. He had already appointed five kings in Xiaoyao Lake and would appoint more in the future.
The people of the Great Snowmountain believed that the Dragon King was a gift from heaven. Gu Shenwei also believed that his power had originated from “divine will” and had had nothing to do with secular emperors.
“The Dragon Army indeed needs provisions, fodder, weapons and armor, but I want soldiers more than any of that,” Gu Shenwei said.
Gu Shenwei had sent his Right General, Shang Liao, to Shu-lik, because he currently could not afford too many soldiers. If he had enough provisions and fodder, he would prefer to own as many troops as possible, just like Dugu Xian.
Wei Song was a little surprised that Gu Shenwei was not interested in the t.i.tle. He immediately changed the subject, saying, “The Central Plain does not have many soldiers in the Western Region. I’m afraid I can’t help the Dragon King in that matter, but I can point out a way for you to expand your army. Countless soldiers are waiting there, depending on whether the Dragon King is willing to take the initiative.”
Gu Shenwei felt that Wei Song was finally getting to the point after stalling all night.
“Let me hear it. Maybe I’ll be interested,” said Gu Shewei.
“There are not many soldiers in the Western Region. Most of the people there are cowardly and afraid of war. Even if we forced them to join the army, it would take a lot of time to train them before they could be sent to the battlefield,” replied Wei Song.
The soldiers in the Dragon Army were mostly from the Western Region, more than half of them being recruits who had joined the army the year before. Gu Shenwei believed that they were excellent soldiers, but he did not refute Wei Song. Besides, the Western Region was short on people and could not provide many soldiers.
“Norland has hundreds of thousands of cavalry. And its common people are also good at riding and shooting, both the men and the women. They’re ready to fight at any time. They’re the best source of soldiers,” said Wei Song.
This idea sounded even more inconceivable than accusing the Norland King Rizhu of killing the entire Gu family. However, Wei Song was excited, as if he had just pulled this excellent scheme out of his hat. He nodded his head and began to explain, “The Khan won’t live much longer. Once he dies, Norland will be torn apart. And whoever controls those troops the soonest will have a slice of the pie.”
“No matter how they are torn apart, it is still an internal issue among the Royal Families of Norland. How can outsiders step in?” asked Gu Shenwei.
“If this ‘outsider’ can exert a little effort on the death of the Khan…” began Wei Song.
Gu Shenwei finally understood why Wei Song had risked his life to see him.