knife

Chapter 656 Relentless Pursuit
The person who knows you best is either your friend or your enemy.

In the State of Chu, setting aside the royal Xiong clan, the Xiang clan was undoubtedly at the top of the food chain.
The Zhu family, on the other hand, was a first-rate aristocratic family that had existed since the Dayong era. They naturally contributed to the founding of the Chu state.

The successors of powerful and influential families, as long as they have a little ambition, naturally want to go further. The Zhu family is no exception. However, the Zhu family is not lucky and often chooses the wrong side. Over the past few hundred years, they have experienced ups and downs. In Jiang Qian's era, they once again chose the wrong side and almost faced annihilation.

And now, they have encountered another excellent opportunity.

They overthrew the Xiang family.

As long as the Xiang family falls, they, as the instigators, will naturally get the biggest slice of the pie. Even if they don't replace the Xiang family's position, they can at least restore themselves to their former glory.

The strikes against the Xiang family were precise and effective.

In just over ten days, the power of the Xiang clan in Danyang and its surrounding areas was completely eradicated. At least 60% of the Xiang clan's wealth was concentrated in this region.

Every day, a string of members of the Xiang family, their relatives, students, and even close friends were arrested and imprisoned by the new forces led by Zhu Chi. Meanwhile, the confiscated wealth from these families was transported into the palace in cartloads.

Zhu Chi once told Na Wei that the Xiang family owned millions of acres of land, and even Zhu Chi couldn't say for sure how much wealth they had. In just the past ten days, the gold, silver, antiques, paintings, and precious medicinal herbs transported into the palace alone were estimated to be worth more than three million taels of silver.

This made Na Wei's eyes red.

He knew very well that what he copied was definitely not worth that much, because the person who did it also wanted a share of the profits.

Even after skimming off the top layer by layer, there was still this much left, which shows just how astonishing the Xiang family's wealth was.

This made Na Wei feel that he was on a moral high ground, able to condescendingly rebuke the Xiang family and their ilk as parasites of the Great Chu.

"Look, look!" Na Wei reached into the box and grabbed a handful of pearl necklaces, each one of the finest quality in color and size. He said to Xiong Yi and Zhou Zheng beside him, "How much money does the Great Chu treasury have? Hmm, is it as much as our General Xiang's family? When we sent troops to attack Jiang Qian, Xiang Ying said he had no money and made everyone in Danyang donate silver to pay the soldiers. The poor Southwest Wolf Soldiers only had a few cold, hard, dark steamed buns with them when they set off!"

The pearl fell into the box with a crisp sound. Xiong Yi was speechless, while Zhou Zheng turned his head to look elsewhere.

"I'll investigate, I'll confiscate! I want to see just how much the Xiang family has undermined our Great Chu!" Na Wei took a thick stack of account books from Zhu Chi's hands and said, "Lord Xiong, now in addition to the trial of Xiang Ying for losing his army and disgracing the country, there's another charge of corruption. Take these account books and look at them slowly! See how your so-called loyal ministers and patriotic veterans have been lining their own pockets with the court's money!"

Na Wei turned and left.

Xiong Yi stared at Zhu Chi below, and Zhu Chi returned Xiong Yi's gaze without showing any weakness.

"Zhu Chi, you know that General Xiang never needed to be greedy. The Xiang family has been a prominent family for a thousand years. These assets are nothing to them!" Xiong Yi clenched his fists and said angrily, "General Xiang is already dead. Do you still want to kill him and destroy his spirit?"

"Lord Xiong!" Zhu Chi said calmly, "You should know the current state of Chu. It's surrounded by wolves, and internal strife is rampant. The Xiong clan is the royal family, so we can't criticize them, but the Xiang clan is different. They are too powerful, so powerful that they are constantly draining Chu's blood for their own use. If Chu wants to recover, this behemoth must fall. If General Xiang lives, he can certainly be a pillar of strength, but if he dies, who else in the Xiang clan can fulfill his role? Since they are gone, they must be used to nourish the weakened Chu. A whale falls, and all things thrive! Lord Xiong, if you want Chu to quickly recover its strength, this is the only thing that can be done!"

"So, according to you, the downfall of the Xiang family is actually a good thing for Great Chu?" Xiong Yi roared. "That's what I think!" Zhu Chi pointed to the gold and silver treasures and said, "These things were all piled up in their warehouses. Now that we've seized them, we can use them to pay the soldiers' salaries and to build weapons and warships. To raise money for Chen Yan to rebuild the navy, Prefect Zhou embezzled all the cash in the national treasury and allocated it to hundreds of shipbuilding-related industries, making it impossible for us to trace back. We could only grit our teeth and accept this debt. Now that we've seized the Xiang family's property, we realize that this amount of money is really nothing. Prefect Zhou, what do you say?"

Zhou Zheng remained silent.

"Moreover, as far as I know, the Xiang family owns millions of acres of prime farmland throughout the country. Selling this land would bring in a large sum of money, which could be used to reward merit and ensure that soldiers fight bravely and never retreat. Lord Xiong, General Xiang is already dead, so this is all the contribution the Xiang family can make to the Great Chu!" Zhu Chi bowed to Xiong Yi and said, "If Lord Xiong has no other instructions, then I will take my leave."

Inside the Five Tigers Severing the Gate of the Mountain, the old sect leader Hu Tianying leaned back in his recliner, his eyes slightly closed, listening to the deputy sect leader Wang Li recount the turbulent events that had been unfolding down the mountain recently.

Just a few months after the Danyang coup, the State of Chu once again underwent earth-shattering changes, and this time the shock to the State of Chu was far more profound than that of Jiang Qian's downfall.

After all, Jiang Qian had only been in power for a short time. Although she was excellent in terms of skill, magnanimity, and shrewdness, she was still not as influential as the Xiang family, who had been in power for thousands of years, in the Chu Kingdom.

This is also why Xiang Ying was able to successfully stage a coup once Jiang Qian left Danyang.

"Tell me, how much of Zhu Chi's relentless pursuit is for Da Chui's grand plan, and how much is for his own sake?" Hu Tianying tapped his fingers lightly on the armrest of his chair.

"Sect Leader, in my opinion, this guy is definitely acting in his own self-interest right now!" Wang Li laughed. "Otherwise, after eliminating the Xiang family's influence in Danyang and the surrounding areas, he should have shown mercy and given Xiang Zhuang a chance to organize his forces and launch a counterattack. But now it seems that Zhu Chi's plan is extremely meticulous, and Xiang Zhuang is a bit overwhelmed! Moreover, Sect Leader, Jiang Chong has also made his move. If Xiang Zhuang is also killed by Jiang Chong, then they will be completely finished!"

“That makes sense, so Xiang Zhuang has to live!” Hu Tianying nodded and said, “That old bastard Jiang Chong has suffered such a great loss, yet he still won’t settle down. Wang Li, take me to see this Jiang Chong!”

"Sect Leader, what about your health?"

Do you really think Jiang Chongzhen would attack me?

"not sure!"

"Don't worry, I'm willing to risk my life, do you think he'd dare?" Hu Tianying laughed heartily. "Besides, the disciples in our sect who haven't gone down the mountain yet should also head out!"

"Go help Xiang Zhuang?" Wang Li asked.

"Helping the weak and needy has always been a tradition of our Five Tigers Severing the Gate Knife!"

"How did you explain that to Na Wei?"

"What's there to explain?" Hu Tianying said, "The Five Tigers Severing the Gate Saber has never been involved in politics. Once the disciples have mastered the martial arts, they can do whatever they want and help whomever they want. It has always been like this over the years. He Nawei can also recruit disciples from our sect!"

(End of this chapter)