Return of The Mount Hua – Chapter 1449. What Should I Do? (4)
Editor: Hoamzz
Co-Translator: Xoxo
“Then by any chance, how much would you be paying per month?”
“...Please, just shut up.”
“Stop it, you punk!”
Five Swords grabbed Chung Myung with an exhausted face. It was becoming more tiring to restrain this guy than to break through the death lines from Hainan Island.
"I apologize, Gaju-nim..."
"No... You've nothing to apologize for."
Tang Gun-ak smiled bitterly at Baek Cheon's apologetic tone. Then he looked at Chung Myung and said.
"It's true Tang Family has money. And it's also true that the amount is likely far more than you imagine."
"Keueuh. Look at that dignified face. You look like a different person."
...Ahem, Tang Gun-ak coughed in vain and opened his mouth again.
"But the Sichuan Tang Family will not be giving that money to Mount Hua."
Chung Myung's eyes suddenly overturned.
“What? Are you trying to fool around with me right now...! Mmph! Mmph!”
Baek Cheon sighed deeply as he watched Chung Myung being dragged away again and turned to Tang Gun-ak.
"Please don't mind him. Mount Hua is not such an ill-mannered sect that would demand money from the Sichuan Tang Family in difficult circumstances. Rather, we should..."
“That’s not what I meant.”
"Excuse me?"
“Money only has meaning when it's used. Just… not in that way."
Tang Gun-ak turned his head and looked at Hyun Jong with his eyes, as if he had something he must say.
"The time has come for us to move beyond this makeshift, hand-to-mouth existence."
His eyes sank deeply.
At Tang Gun-ak's solemn words, Hyun Jong's eyes widened.
“...What did you just say?”
“Exactly what I said.”
“No.... But, Gaju-nim. That’s a little....”
“It must be done, Maengju-nim.”
Tang Gun-ak was firm.
“Of course, I understand Maengju-nim’s hesitation. Heavenly Comrade Alliance is simply an alliance formed based on the camaraderie of each sect, so nothing else should interfere. But the current situation is vastly different from when Heavenly Comrade Alliance was first formed."
"...That's true, but..."
"We now need clearer, more concrete methods. Our current loose structure cannot withstand the turmoil to come."
Hyun Jong's face grew serious. Of course, what Tang Gun-ak said wasn't wrong. But that method...
At that moment, perhaps sensing something, Chung Myung suddenly popped his head through the human barrier Five Swords had formed.
"Oh, so..."
"Get back in!"
Baek Cheon grabbed Chung Myung’s face and tried to shove him back in, but Chung Myung resisted stubbornly and eventually managed to force his words out.
"Since Tang Family's moving to Shaanxi anyway, you want to establish Heavenly Comrade Alliance's main headquarters near Huayin?"
“That’s right.”
"And gather all the alliance members currently scattered in all directions there?"
“That’s correct.”
Up to this point, it wasn't a particularly appealing proposal. At least not to Chung Myung.
In truth, if the alliance headquarters were located in Shaanxi, it could be reassuring for Mount Hua.... but looked at another way, it would make Shaanxi the sole target for anyone aiming at the alliance.
However, Chung Myung could not escape the bait thrown by Tang Gun-ak. The reason was....
"And in return, receive tributes?"
"...We should say membership fees. Not tributes."
"Ah, right! Membership fees, membership fees! Hehe. I misspoke."
Chung Myung smiled bashfully as if embarrassed, but everyone watching him twisted their faces in disgust.
'Did that bastard's eyes just turn into coin shapes?'
'He absolutely meant every word.'
Pushing past the Five Swords, Chung Myung stepped forward and cleared his throat loudly before continuing.
"Hmm... Not that money is particularly important, but..."
"It absolutely is."
“Probably more important than anything in the world?”
"That bastard would sell Mount Hua too if it were for money."
“Oh, shut up there.”
After delivering a solid fist to Five Swords' head, Chung Myung turned to Tang Gun-ak and opened his mouth again.
"Is it really necessary to go that far?"
At those direct words that cut straight to the point, Tang Gun-ak couldn't help but chuckle.
“Yes.”
“That’s....”
“Through this incident, I have come to realize deep to my bones that, compared to Evil Tyrant Alliance we must face, the critical weakness of Heavenly Comrade Alliance is that there are too many places to protect.”
“...Hmm.”
Chung Myung nodded as if acknowledging the point.
"Had the Dang family not suffered this attack, I might never have considered this. But after experiencing it, I understood."
"So others shouldn't suffer the same fate as Tang Family?"
"Think about it. What if Tang Family hadn’t been attacked? Suppose we were lucky and arrived just in time to drive out Myriad Man Manor?"
“....”
"Even then, if I were to mobilize forces to support you, could I really bring the same number of elites as before?"
It would be absolutely impossible. Having realized that their home base could be attacked, they would naturally keep some forces behind to guard it.
"If I want to leave behind enough forces to endure for a few days regardless of what Evil Tyrant Alliance throws at us, I’d have to keep at least half the elite martial artists stationed at the family. Do you understand what that means?”
"I know, of course."
Tang Gun-ak nodded. There was no way Chung Myung was ignorant of this.
"So what we need to do first is reduce the number of places we have to protect. Before things really break out, we need to gather all the sects affiliated with Heavenly Comrade Alliance scattered throughout the world to Shaanxi."
"...Not just the martial artists?"
“That’s right.”
Tang Gun-ak nodded.
"If we leave them behind, Jang Ilso will of course target them. Then we'll be manipulated by Jang Ilso again. Even if... the parties involved strongly try to prevent it, that's what will happen."
That wasn't about Tang Gun-ak himself, but a pointed remark about Chung Myung.
It meant that if Ice Palace was attacked and Ice Palace warriors died at Jang Ilso's hands, Chung Myung would definitely head there even if Ice Palace tried to dissuade him.
Chung Myung couldn’t refute that.
"But if they, the core members of each sect, are all gathered in Shaanxi centered around Huayin, we only need to defend Shaanxi. The number of places Jang Ilso can strike will shrink drastically, and so will the tricks he can pull."
“Hmm.”
Chung Myung couldn't refute this and gave a slight nod.
It wasn’t that he hadn’t considered this. Jang Ilso held countless cards in his hand. Responding to each of them individually would be overwhelming even for Chung Myung.
A fight between someone with nothing to lose and someone who must protect everything was tilted from the start. It might as well be said the outcome is predetermined.
What matters was reducing the number of cards Jang Ilsso could play. In that sense, this strategy was undoubtedly meaningful.
However, there was only one reason why Chung Myung knew of this, and that was that he couldn't bring himself to propose it.
Money.
Gathering people means taking responsibility for them. But in a situation where no one knows how long the war might last, if they launch operations without a plan, supply issues could make matters even more serious.
Just providing places for all those people to stay and supplying adequate food would require the full mobilization of the Eunha Merchant Guild, setting aside all other matters.
Mount Hua alone could never handle such an enormous expense.
"I know what you’re worried about. But that’s not something you need to be concerned with."
"It’s nice to talk big, but it’s not something so simple. You know that while Tang and Namgung might be different, Mount Hua, Ice Palace, and Yasugung aren't exactly well-off."
“Mount Hua?”
“....”
Chung Myung averted his gaze at Tang Gun-ak's blatant gaze, questioning why Mount Hua, who was sweeping up all the gold in Jungwon, was sneaking in between the sects in the border.
"Well, um... yeah. It's like pouring water into a bottomless jar."
"...Let's say that's true."
“Ahem. Anyway!”
Tang Gun-ak nodded.
"You needn't worry about that. I also don’t think the tributes, no, the membership fees from each sect will solve all of that. That would be merely a formality. All the money required will be covered by Tang Family and Namgung."
“....”
“It’s not just about building the headquarters of Heavenly Comrade Alliance and sustaining those who come there. We will also cover the expenses of the upcoming war with Evil Tyrant Alliance."
"A- Are you sure about that?"
War is like a money-eating ghost. Of course, wars between martial artists cost less than those involving soldiers, but war was still war.
Yet Tang Family, having lost seventy percent of its wealth, is proposing to dedicate all remaining funds to war preparations.
"Haven't we already proven that hoarded wealth is meaningless?"
“...That’s true, but.”
There used to be a lot of money in the old Mount Hua. It all burned down, that's all....
“If we don’t learn from this mistake, we will just repeat the same mistake. Now’s not the time to guard what little we have. Rather, it's time to actively create where we need to be."
“....”
When Chung Myung looked at him with admiration, Tang Gun-ak smiled faintly. Then he turned his gaze to Hyun Jong.
"This is what we must do, Ryeonju-nim."
"But Gaju-nim. While your words are correct... that persuasion..."
Hyun Jong's face turned troubled.
At that time, Jo-Gol, who was watching the situation, asked Yoon Jong.
“That, Sahyung.”
"What?"
"...That... it sounds good, but isn't he basically threatening them?"
“Threats? What do you mean?”
"No, think about it. They claim they'll contribute thirty percent of their remaining wealth, but realistically... won't most of that just go toward sustaining Tang Family anyway?"
“...Huh?”
Yoon Jong tilted his head for a moment. Now that he heard it... um...
"But now they’re framing it as something under the name of Heavenly Comrade Alliance and, in return, planning to squeeze every last coin out of the other sects, aren’t they? Like, ‘Even we paid in this situation, and you won’t?’"
"...Come on, surely not..."
"No, think about it. Which sects in Heavenly Comrade Alliance have money right now?"
“Namgung and....”
Yun Jong suddenly turned his head toward Tang Gun-ak as if he'd realized something.
“No…krim....”
“Right?”
Nokrim had made a lot of money. They weren’t exactly poor to begin with, but by handling the middleman trade for Plum Blossom Island, they raked in a huge profit.
"We couldn't extort money from those bastards because we lacked justification, but isn't Gaju-nim laying down that justification right now?"
“No, but I think you’re overthinking things because you come from a merchant family....”
"Really? You can still say that after watching that?"
“...Huh?”
Yoon Jong turned his gaze towards the place where Jo-Gol had gestured with his chin.
"Let's do it, Grand Sect Leader."
“Yes?”
“If Gaju-nim makes such a firm proposal, it wouldn’t be polite to turn him down, would it?"
“...N- No, that’s....”
“Let’s do it.”
“That....”
"Do it."
Chung Myung, who perfectly understood the situation, was wearing the most gentle expression in the world.
“It’s for Jungwon. Hm? For Jungwon. This isn’t about my greed, but for the sake of Jungwon, we have to extort... I mean, gain cooperation from Namgung and Nokrim. It's all for the common people!"
"Well said, Ryeonju-nim."
“....”
"Now things will be a bit easier. Huehehehehet!"
Yoon Jong, who had been silently observing, turned exhausted eyes toward Jo-Gol.
"...By the way."
"Yes?"
"Do people just change after their home burns down?"
"...I’m not sure about that..."
Yoon Jong finally shook his head as he watched Tang Gun-ak and Chung Myung pressuring Hyun Jong from both sides.
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