Chapter 255: Nerve
Translator: Transn Editor: Transn
The main reason Gu Shenwei had sent Xu Xiaoyi to Shu-lik two years ago was that Shu-lik was one of the few kingdoms in Western Region which could resist the Golden Roc Fort. There were not many killers in this country.
Gu Shenwei had never been to Shu-lik City during the past two years, but Xu Xiaoyi had been working there all this while to collect intelligence for him.
The Golden Roc Fort owned a security agency in Shu-lik city, which had more than 100 armed escorts and was engaged in ordinary business activities. However, it was rumored that there were many killers hiding inside the security agency. Xu Xiaoyi had already found the truth about this matter for the Dragon King. He raised a hand with all the five fingers extended and said, "Five, there are only five killers in the security agency. A minister told me this. It can't be wrong. Those five killers aren't ordinary ones. One of them is a blademaster from the Stone Castle. His name is Xiang Kai. Although he doesn't show up in the security agency very often, he's the agency's actual controller. The chief of the armed escorts is just a boss in name."
Xu Xiaoyi believed that the two assassins who had sneaked into the manor just now were sent out by Blademaster Xiang Kai. "Xiang Kai has an intelligence team. They've kept a close watch on me recently. I'm afraid that they didn't come here for you, but for me," said Xu Xiaoyi.
In Gu Shenwei's eyes, no matter who the assassins' target was, their appearance indicated that this manor was not a safe place anymore. All their enemies had to do would be to ask around in the neighborhood and they would soon discover that a group of strangers were staying inside this manor. Given that, Gu Shenwei decided to leave this place with his team as soon as possible.
As this manor was just a rental, Xu Xiaoyi did not mind giving it up. That night, he took the ten children away to a secret base, whose location was only known to himself and the Dragon King. They would train these children to be killers at that base. Gu Shenwei and the remaining team members split into several groups and went to check in at an inn in the suburbs in turns, pretending that they did not know one another.
Fang Wenshi had hardly recovered from the shock after witnessing the Dragon King slay an intruder. This incident made him fear the Dragon King even more, but it did not increase his respect for the young lord. In his eyes, a good killer was not necessarily a capable leader. He thought that it still remained to be seen if this young man was a wise lord.
When the Dragon King asked him about the political situation in Shu-lik, he simply replied, "The King of Shu-lik prefers enjoying his life to dealing with governmental affairs, so he gives most of his job to his brother Shi Xian, the current Prime Minister. To achieve our goal, we can only bribe the greedy Prime Minister. If we don't give the 10,000 taels of gold to him, he won't introduce us to the king, not to mention persuading the king to help us attack the Golden Roc Fort."
"Are you certain that you can persuade him to help us?" asked Gu Shenwei. He had some doubt as to whether the counselor could get the outcome he expected to get. Since Shangguan Tian was living inside the Prime Minister's mansion now, Gu Shenwei assumed that the Prime Minister was probably a close friend of the Golden Roc Fort. "Although it only has a small number of killers in Shu-lik, as a main power in Western Region, the Golden Roc Fort must have an extensive network in this country. Otherwise, when Lady Meng murdered the eldest young master a few years ago, the other young masters of the Golden Roc Fort would've never fled to this country to seek protection," thought Gu Shenwei.
Fang Wenshi thought that the Dragon King was questioning his ability, so he immediately lifted his right hand, doing an affirmative gesture. "If I tell you that I'm 100-percent sure, you'll think that I'm bragging. I can promise you now that I'm 90-percent sure since I'm well-prepared. Besides, as the military counselor of the Great Snowmountain, I'd be killed if I fail to win Prime Minister Shi's support. Do you still think that I won't take this thing seriously?"
Gu Shenwei lowered his head apologetically and said, "You're right, Mr. Fang. I look forward to hearing good news from you soon."
The next morning, when Gu Shenwei entered Shu-lik city, he discovered that the atmosphere in the city had changed.
In recent months, Shu-lik had been at war with the Great Snowmountain, but it was just a small-scale war which did not affect the lives of the ordinary citizens much. However, all of a sudden, the officers and soldiers of Shu-lik city were acting in a paranoid manner. They were heavily armed and patrolled everywhere in the city. Guests of inns and hotels had to show their travel documents to the officers and told the officers their purpose of travel and length of stay in the city.
Fortunately, Xu Xiaoyi had prepared everything for the Dragon King's team members beforehand, which included endorsed travel documents and several packages of goods which they were supposedly selling. He had asked them to tell the officers that they were merchants when being questioned.
As it was easy to identify those swordsmen from the Great Snowmountain by their rugged faces, they could only hide inside their rooms to avoid meeting the officers and let Fang Wenshi handle everything for them. The counselor successfully completed this task, as he had mastered various tricks of dealing with officers when he was travelling to different kingdoms of Western Region in the past. During that time, he had made countless attempts to bribe the guards and officers at the residences of many influential people, in the hope that he would get to meet them. That was how he had gotten broke.
In the afternoon, Xu Xiaoyi secretly met with Gu Shenwei and brought him an intelligence report: it was the Prime Minister who ordered the officers to launch a citywide search for swordsmen from the Great Snowmountain, as his guests from the Golden Roc Fort told him that the Great Snowmountain had already sent some people to Shu-lik City.
Upon hearing this news, Gu Shenwei wanted to know more about this Prime Minister Shi, so he asked Xu Xiaoyi for his opinion on the Prime Minister.
Compared to Fang Wenshi, Xu Xiaoyi seemed to think much better of Prime Minister Shi. Although he had never met the Prime Minister, he had good personal relationships with some other ministers in Shu-lik. Given that, Gu Shenwei had more faith in his words. "The Prime Minister is a little bit greedy for money, but he's also very benevolent to people in need. He always quickly exhausts the money he collects. Every time when there's a diaster, he'll offer relief food assistance to refugees. Usually, the Prime Minister's mansion will react even faster than the government under such circumstances. I bet every resident of this city has once received help from the Prime Minister. As to his lechery, that's not a big deal. After all, every man is... oh no, you're not lustful, but he's the Prime Minister. It's not a strange thing for such a high-ranked official to have dozens of concubines," said Xu Xiaoyi.
"Are you suggesting that Prime Minister Shi is a person of impeccable character?" asked Gu Shenwei.
"No, he's not," said Xu Xiaoyi. After a moment's thought, he added, "Prime Minister Shi has a strange habit. He's very approachable to ordinary people, but quite arrogant to the privileged ones. Given that, ordinary people like him but the other ministers... You know, he's the Prime Minister, so no official dares to criticize him. Mr. Fang was right about one thing. Prime Minister Shi does have a say in most of the governmental affairs."
"Prime Minister Shi seems to be an ambitious politician. Such a person won't randomly betray his ally. Now that the Golden Roc Fort is his ally, he probably won't accept bribery from the Great Snowmountain." With this thought in his mind, Gu Shenwei sighed, "It looks like he won't be moved by the 10,000 taels of gold."
"That's what I'm worried about," said Xu Xiaoyi, his eyes brightened. He did not want to waste the money and thus offered another suggestion. "I can bribe a counselor of the General to get the army of the Great Snowmountain into Shu-lik, and I need only 5,000 taels of gold."
Gu Shenwei shook his head without saying a word. This matter was not as easy as Xu Xiaoyi thought. If the army of the Great Snowmountain sneaked into Shu-lik without the kingdom's authorization, it would probably be caught in a squeeze between the Golden Roc Fort and Shu-lik and would be under attack from both sides. Gu Shenwei agreed to Fang Wenshi's plan to win Shu-lik's support before sending troops out to attack the Golden Roc Fort. However he doubted that Fang Wenshi could successfully persuade the Prime Minister, an ally of the Golden Roc Fort, with only 10,000 taels of gold.
"Does Prime Minister Shi... have enough nerve?" asked Gu Shenwei.
Xu Xiaoyi was not sure what his Brother Huan was asking about. He scratched his head, revealing a confused expression. At this moment, even the mustache could not disguise his childish look. After thinking for a while, he replied, 'I'm not sure if Prime Minister Shi is a brave man, but every time he goes out, he's accompanied by lots of people. He hires many guards. It's said that Blademaster Xiang Kai often works as his body guard."
Upon hearing that, Gu Shenwei had some idea about how to achieve his goal. After that, he asked Xu Xiaoyi a question that he had asked the boy yesterday. "Did Zhang Ji come here together with Shangguan Tian?"
"No. Is this Zhang Ji hard to deal with?" asked Xu Xiaoyi, while handing a hand-written name list to his Brother Huan. Gu Shenwei received the list and gave it a glance. There were more than 30 names on it, but Zhang Ji was not here.
"It's hard to say," Gu Shenwei replied briefly. In his eyes, Zhang Ji was a better counselor than Fang Wenshi. If he had a chance, he would like to hire Zhang Ji as his military counselor.
Unfortunately, he did not have such an opportunity. At this moment, he had no choice but to trust Fang Wenshi, a boastful scholar, who had claimed that he had a way to persuade Prime Minister Shi to cooperate with the Great Snowmountain. Gu Shenwei had to lead his army out of the mountain. Otherwise, he would never be able to avenge his family's death or contend for hegemony.
Fang Wenshi grew increasingly anxious in his room at the inn. He had been in Shu-lik city for three days but still did not get the gold. To make matters worse, the Dragon King had been absent since telling him to wait here for a message three days ago.
"The Dragon King didn't tell me what kind of message he would deliver to me or when he would send the message back. That's probably because he still can't fully trust me, but it's not a big deal. No counselor can win his lord's trust before attaining outstanding success. When I succeed in persuading Prime Minister Shi to help us, both the Dragon King and the swordsmen from the Great Snowmountain will be deeply impressed."
Fang Wenshi felt much consoled by that thought and then he silently recited the speech he had prepared one more time. "My logic is irrefutable. Who will continue to support the Golden Roc Fort after hearing my speech? No one else has such a deep insight into the political situation in Western Region like me."
"Hahaha!" Fang Wenshi felt thrilled and laughed. A moment later, picturing how surprised the Dragon King and the swordsmen would be when he succeeded, he began to sneer, "Hee-hee." When he turned around, he was astonished to find out that there was a swordsman standing at his door and looking at him in surprise. "The Dragon King wants to meet you," said the swordsman.
Fang Wenshi was greatly displeased. "These swordsmen just don't know how to behave themselves. They always speak coldly to me and enter my room without knocking on the door first."
Upon his return from the city, Gu Shenwei summoned his military counselor. "Mr. Fang. Are you a brave man?" asked Gu Shenwei the moment he met Fang Wenshi.
"Of course, I'm a counselor. We counselors are powerless, but we dare to argue with kings. Do you still think that I don't have enough nerve?" replied Fang Wenshi.
"That's good. I've prepared everything for you. Now, you can go to the Prime Minister's mansion. The moment you entered the city, someone will give you the gold."
Fang Wenshi cupped one of his hands in the other before his chest to accept this command and said, "Dragon King, please wait here for good news." In fact, he felt a little nervous about going to the Prime Minister's mansion at such short notice, but he did not want to appear hesitant since he had just boasted that he was a brave man. Besides, he believed that he could perform well since he had practiced for several days.
"Much obliged for your assistance, Mr. Fang," Gu Shenwei nodded and said.
Fang Wenshi and a swordsman, who worked as his guard and servant, mounted their horses and rode to the city. When they arrived at the city gate, they saw Xu Xiaoyi waiting there. Behind Xu Xiaoyi, stood 10 burly men who carried five large wooden boxes.
Although Fang Wenshi could not see the contents of the boxes, he still felt excited. "Those boxes must be filled with gold." Usually, a counselor could spend the money given to him as he wished and keep a portion of the money for himself. Nevertheless, Fang Wenshi did not get such a chance.
He comforted himself by thinking, "This is the first step. Just like doing business, I have to invest first and then I can make a profit,"
Toward evening, when they came to the gate of the Prime Minister's mansion, a butler immediately walked out to receive them. Xu Xiaoyi stopped at the door and did not follow the others into the mansion.
After the butler ushered them into a reception room, an eunuch-in-chief came out to receive them. Fang Wenshi could not help sighing in his heart, "That's the power of money." In the past, he had tried to bribe servants with five or ten taels of silver at the gates of some powerful people, but this could not earn him a chance to meet the powerful people, not even their butlers.
About half an hour later, Prime Minister Shi stepped into the room. He was a natural leader who had a commanding presence and an amiable tone of voice. Fang Wenshi had such a good time talking with him. The counselor always hoped to assist a leader like Prime Minister Shi in contending for hegemony in Western Region. "Unfortunately, I can only work for a former Golden Roc Fort killer now," Fang Wenshi sighed secretly.
However, things did not turn out as the counselor had planned. The Prime Minister subtly avoided talking about the Great Snowmountain during the conversation and concluded the meeting in less than 15 minutes, promising the counselor that he would find a proper time to introduce them to the King of Shu-lik. Throughout the meeting, Prime Minister Shi gave no clear indication of when he would introduce them to the king, but he still received their gold and ordered his servants to carry the boxes away. He did not even treat his visitors to a meal before sending them away.
When Fang Wenshi listlessly walked out of the reception room, he began to hate that hypocritical Prime Minister who had fooled him during the meeting. In the meantime, he was worried that he would not be able to give the Dragon King a reasonable explanation. He had heard numerous perfunctory promises like this one and was pretty sure that Prime Minster Shi would never introduce them to the King of Shu-lik.
Fang Wenshi walked toward the gate of the Prime Minister's mansion, deeply absorbed in thoughts. When he was about to walk out of the gate, someone shouted behind, "Stop him!"
Upon hearing that, a dozen guards at the gate simultaneously unsheathed their weapons. Fang Wenshi was startled, and his swordsman immediately stepped forward to protect the counselor. The swordsman had not brought his heavy sword with himself, so he could only fight with bare hands. It was obvious that he had no chance to defeat the guards.
The eunuch-in-chief hurriedly ran to the gate and spluttered, 'How dare you! Arrest them!"
When the guards surrounded them, Fang Wenshi plucked up his courage to ask, "Chief, is there anything wrong? As a common saying goes, 'When two countries are at war, the envoys are never executed.' Given that, you can't..."
"Who cares about some f*cking common saying!" the eunuch-in-chief cursed, his face flushed with anger. "Why is there half a human head inside the box? Who did this?"
The eunuch's words staggered Fang Wenshi. He was so shocked that he nearly fell to the ground. Now he finally understood what the Dragon King meant by asking whether he was a brave man.