Chapter 522: Military Resources


    <strong>Trantor: </strong>Transn <i></i><strong>Editor: </strong>Transn


    Wei Song had never doubted the true identity of ve Huan back in Biyu City. However, when Gu Shenwei went against Golden Roc Fort by iming to be the son of Yang Zheng (a servant of Gu family), Wei Song suddenly realized who ve Huan really was.


    Wei Song’s rtionship with Gu Lun had been closer than Gu Shenwei had imagined. He was only a child at the time and had rarely participated 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 exined 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 neverpromising. I thought you’d see me as another object of your revenge. And… And I also hated you for killing my son,” he exined.


    Gu Shenwei listened to Wei Song’s story calmly. ” <em>This is not a bad thing </em>,” he thought. Since Wei Song knew his true identity, 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 God 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 Nond 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 in’s Court. In terms of putting on a show, the conspirators in the Western Region were rookiespared to him.


    However, there was a fatal w 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 rtionship 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 . s, 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 exin, “Mr. Gu didn’t ask you toe 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.


    <em>“Heree the old stories again,” </em>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 thete Emperor. We had been in serious opposition to the other faction of old ministers. When thete Emperor passed away unexpectedly, Mr. Gu wanted to stay away from the Central in rather than collude with the former enemies… but I — The Wei family was arge one in the Central in — 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 in, we had an argument…” he said.


    <em>“And Gu Lun still wanted to marry his daughter to the Wei family,” </em>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 in?” asked Gu Shenwei.


    “Child — please allow me to call you that — if you had any knowledge of the Court of the Central in, you would understand that the ministers would never think of hiring killers to assasinate political opponents and their families. Besides, Mr. Gu had already left the Central in 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 in from Jade City, I carried out a thorough investigation. Mr. Gu’s murder caused great repercussions in the Central in. 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. Butter, another faction believed that the Central in was not strong enough in the Western Region at that time. They were afraid that starting a war rashly would offend Nond, 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 in openly, I have no reason to cover for the ministers,” continued Wei Song.


    “So, Mr. Wei, you are sure that Nond 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 gods 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 Nond 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 Nond 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 nobles in Nond, and King Rizhu might have really been behind the massacre, 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 in involved in an assassination ordered by Nond?


    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’vee a long way to get to Xiaoyao Lake and have taken a lot of risks along the way to pass through the area upied by enemy. I believe you did note 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 aplete failure. He had underestimated the Dragon King by assuming that he was just a young man who was full of hatred and relishing 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.


    Nond 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 in hopes to realign with the Dragon King,” he said.


    “What’s the benefit for the Central in? 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 in hopes that the Western Region will remain stable and not pose a threat to its nks. 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 in will even openly acknowledge the title of ‘Dragon King’,” Wei Song replied.


    When it came to thisst sentence, Wei Song slightly lowered his voice.


    He was concerned that he had brought up a sensitive subject.


    Gu Shenwei’s title 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 be a real king — pureblood or acknowledgment by the leading powers. There were only two leading powers: Nond and the Central in. Even Shu-lik was not a leading power before it perished.


    Although Shangguan Yun married the Princess of the Xiaowan Kingdom and imed the title of King, he had only taken a half-step. He still had to win the acknowledgment of Nond.


    Likewise, Gu Shenwei had married the Princess of the Stone Kingdom without snatching 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’sst 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 Nond or the Central in. 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 secr 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 title. He immediately changed the subject, saying, “The Central in 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.


    “Nond has hundreds of thousands of cavalry. And itsmon 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 using the Nond 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 exin, “The Khan won’t live much longer. Once he dies, Nond 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 Nond. 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.