898 The Tenth Son (1/2)
Zhang Ji, who had been in charge of imparting the knowledge recorded in ancient books in this ancient castle, had had plenty of time to formulate a specific career plan for himself. The Unique King, the owner of the Golden Roc Castle, was his superior who delegated power to him. The Norland and the Central Plains were his pawns who eliminated his enemies and paved the way forward for him. And Shangguan Yun, his favorite student, was his companion walking side by side with him on this journey. He had never cared about the mediocre or failed ones behind him.
On this path, Servant Huan had merely been a passer-by who was of even less importance than Shangguan Hong, a person who he had once used during a certain period.
As a result, when faced with the Dragon King, Zhang Ji couldn't help himself from feeling mixed emotions. Surprisingly, instead of dying, that Servant Huan had become someone whose status was far higher than his, which he found so humiliating that he even felt a touch uneasy about it.
But he wouldn't show any of this on his face. Zhang Ji was Zhang Ji after all. Even if he were overwhelmed by emotion, he could always push it all down. His career plan had been thoroughly ruined, but he hadn't failed yet. He still had a chance to defeat the Dragon King.
”You're my enemy,” said Zhang Ji simply.
Only those who knew this teacher very well could detect a hint of compliment in this remark, and Gu Shenwei was one of them. So he briefly nodded and saluted him. ”I'm honored to be in this position.”
”If you want my advice, then you'll have to answer my question first. And you must be completely honest. Don't keep anything back.”
Zhang Ji still couldn't get rid himself of his habit of being a teacher. In his eyes, the Dragon King would always be that student who had brought him good wine on a regular basis and who would occasionally consult him in a modest manner.
”I tell lies more often than I tell the truth. But in this conversation with Mr. Zhang, I'll make an exception.”
”Um. Rest assured. I won't ask you anything about the future. I just want to know how you managed to maneuver to the rear of Luoluo's army in the battle of Thousand Horsemen Pass and then make it to the center of the Middle Regiment's camp. That movement required an extremely complex and meticulous plan as well as a leader who had a panoramic view of the battleground. I don't believe – no offence – that anyone in the Dragon Army is capable of this.”
The most simple and direct answer would be that, ”It was a miracle.”
The battle of Thousand Horsemen Pass had been full of accidents from start to finish. Gu Shenwei had once spent a lot of time researching all of these mysteries and conflicts that had taken place in various areas of the battleground back then. However, he hadn't found anything except for who had obviously betrayed him. With regards to what kind of impact these traitors had had on the battle, he had never figured it out either.
Zhang Ji had raised a question that was very difficult to answer. Gu Shenwei didn't want to lie, and neither did he want to give him a simple, seemingly perfunctory answer. After mulling it over for a while, he said, ”My generals and I formulated a plan, but we failed to carry out every single part of it. Originally, I merely wanted to defend against Luoluo's attack and prove that he was not invincible so as to boost the morale of my troops, and then wait for winter to come. Maneuvering to the rear of Luoluo's army and charging into the Middle Regiment's camp was not in the original plan. The truth was that I was lost.”
Upon hearing this unbelievable answer, Zhang Ji grabbed the teacup on the table and gulped down the tea as if it were wine. And then he let out a few laughs, a relieved look on his face. ”I see. I see… ”
Zhang Ji had finally freed himself from that burden. ”I thought that… never mind. Thank you for being honest with me, Dragon King. I'll repay the favor. Tell me about your confusion. Try to be specific and don't hide any details, because that would only make me more perplexed and in that case, I might not be able to offer you the advice you want.”
What Zhang Ji was most proud of was his wisdom and discernment. When he heard that the crushing defeat that he suffered in the battle of Thousand Horsemen Pass had nothing to do with his tactics, he regained his confidence.
Gu Shenwei believed that he was telling the truth, but he didn't talk about what decisions he had made during that battle. Saying that he had gotten lost was an answer just as overly simple as saying that it was a miracle. Without the Dragon Army troops who were willing to risk life and limb to follow him, or Dugu Xian and the others' unshakable determination to keep attacking, or even Liman and the Second Consort who had commanded the left wing troops to hold the ground, by no means could Shulitu's army have possibly won.
If Gu Shenwei had tried to tell him all this, it would have been too complicated, so he had ultimately chosen to skip these details. Instead, he told Zhan Ji about the intelligence that he had gotten from Madam Meng. ”I don't trust her, but I've been wondering how and why Madam would frame me. She has already lost all favor with the Unique King, and she also betrayed the Central Plains by supporting me. And now she's trying to played me off of Wei Song – she has offended almost every potential backer she could have. Exactly what kind of benefit can she get?”
”Do you think that I'll help you just because Madam Meng and I are enemies?”
”I do.” There was no need for Gu Shenwei to explain. Everybody in the castle knew about Madam Meng's means of dealing with enemies. Nominally, she had lost favor with her husband because of the exposure of the adulterous relationship. But actually, Zhang Ji was the true mastermind behind this. This teacher had by no means not taken any precautions.
”I once tried to persuade the King Lord to kill this woman and put an end to the trouble once and for all, but he disagreed. Originally, I thought that my words would matter more if I managed to use Luoluo's army to take back the Western Regions, and that it would naturally be easier to eliminate Madam Meng then. I didn't expect that… you would be the one to save her.”
”Um. I did that by accident, so she won't be grateful to me.”
”Wei Song wants to kill you?” asked Zhang Ji next. He had already started thinking about potential plots. Even if it was his enemy that he was offering help to, he still wanted to do it wholeheartedly, which was his preference.
”This is a personal matter.”
”You suspect that he was the one who hired killers to kill the Gu family?”
”He might have been the one, but Wei Song doesn't seem to be very close to the Unique King, so I suspect that he's merely an insider. No matter what, I killed his son. Thus, he wants to take revenge.”
”Vengeance yet again,” Zhang Ji said scornfully. His view of vengeance was the same as that of Fang Wenshi. They both believed that vengeance was a burden for those who vied for supremacy. ”Madam Meng admitted that her subordinate assassinated the envoy of the Central Plains, but then she shifted the responsibility onto Wei Song?”