That fellow Ke had truly taken them to the cleaners.
Yet no one had any choice but to follow along—who knew whether this was the will of the royal palace?
All gloom vanished from Ke Jihai's brow. Cupping his hands toward the guests on all sides, he bowed deeply. "On behalf of the soldiers on the front lines, Ke thanks you lords for your generous contributions!"
Once these several hundred thousand dan of grain and military supplies arrived, the government troops could hold out for quite a while longer.
The crowd naturally offered polite deflections, saying it was nothing. Little did they expect Ke Jihai to turn immediately to the subordinate officer behind him and bark, "Record every donation of military provisions from these lords! If there is even one discrepancy, your head will answer for it."
The He brothers exchanged a glance, each catching the amusement in the other's eyes. Ke Jihai was clearly worried that the nobles present were talking big and might renege later—a testament to his unyielding determination to secure food.
He Chunhua spoke up as well. "Since we are fortunate enough to be present, my He family will also donate—"
Before he could finish, Ke Jihai cut him off. "What are you donating for! Once you reach Xiazhou, you'll need to recruit soldiers and buy horses yourself. How could you possibly have money to spare? Don't forget your old rival, Nian Zanli, is up north! By my reckoning, the fighting there won't be any easier than in Wuzhou." No matter what, he refused to accept his grain.
He Chunhua could only let the matter drop and lead his two sons back to their seats.
Next, the host smoothed things over, quickly glossing past this unexpected interlude. The lilting strains of pipes and strings rose anew, and singing and dancing courtesans took the stage, quickly drawing everyone's attention away.
It was truly worthy of being the foot of the throne. The figures of these dancing girls were far more graceful and supple than those in Blackwater City, their singing far softer and more melodic, and even their gazes brimmed with tender affection.
He Lingchuan watched without blinking, but He Yue nudged him with an elbow. "Hey, look over at General Ke."
Ke Jihai had just downed a few cups of wine when a young man approached from behind to pay his respects, and the two began conversing.
Though it was called a conversation, it was more like the youth was talking incessantly while Ke Jihai listened with cup in hand, occasionally furrowing his brow to ask a few questions.
After the time it took to drink a cup of tea, Ke Jihai ordered his attendants to pour the young man a cup of wine.
The youth took one sip and choked, coughing for quite a while.
Because women were present at the banquet, the wine provided was gentle and slightly sweet, suitable for everyone. But Ke Jihai was accustomed to strong spirits and had long since had the servants swap his out.
Seeing the youth choke on the wine, Ke Jihai laughed and said a few words. Reading his lips, He Lingchuan made out: "Wet behind the ears."
The youth was in his early twenties, with slightly dark skin, a square jaw, and an honest, sturdy look, yet his eyes were round and exceptionally bright. Unlike the guests at the feast, who were draped in silks and satins, his robe—though made of decent fabric—was faded from frequent washing. He Lingchuan even spotted an inconspicuous patch on his lower hem.
This fellow was thoroughly out of place in Luming Garden.
Afterward, the young man handed Ke Jihai a booklet, bowed, and withdrew.
Ke Jihai didn't even open it, casually passing it to the subordinate officer behind him.
Another half an hour or so passed, and he stood up, toasted Zhu Xiyan with a cup of wine, and walked toward the exit.
It seemed he was ready to depart.
He Lingchuan was once again convinced that General Ke's primary reason for attending the feast at Luming Garden tonight was simply to fleece money and provisions for the front-line imperial troops. Now that his goal had been met, he was making his exit.
Right at that moment, Madam Ying clutched her stomach and whispered to her husband, "My belly aches a little."
"Do you need to go to the washroom?"
"No need, it's just a dull ache. It's been bothering me for a while." Madam Ying felt embarrassed. "I suppose I'm just not used to such rich delicacies."
This banquet placed great emphasis on grandeur: creatures that flew in the sky, swam in the water, and ran on the ground were all heaped onto the plates. But Ying Hongchan had grown accustomed to the simple, home-cooked fare of the frontier, and tasting such a cacophony of rich flavors proved too much for her stomach to handle.
"Oh, you." He Chunhua had no choice. He stood to take his leave of the Zhu family and departed early with his wife and sons.
Stepping out into the outer courtyard, they found Fixer Liu lounging with his legs crossed, sipping wine with a couple of side dishes.
A minor figure like him naturally had no standing to enter the banquet hall.
Seeing the He family emerge, he greeted them and hurried out to prepare the carriage.
The night was deep. Most of the myriad lights down below the mountain had already gone out, and snow began fluttering down from the sky.
The carriage wheels crunched softly over the fresh snow.
Seeing the scenery beneath the mountain again, He Lingchuan no longer marveled at it. Instead, he recalled that while Shihuan City's nighttime vista had seemed wonderful earlier, the areas surrounding the city were pitch-black; the farther out one looked, the sparser the lights became, hardly resembling the surroundings of the imperial throne.
He asked Fixer Liu, "Are there not many residents around Shihuan?"
"Many! How could there not be?" Fixer Liu explained. "Five counties and thirteen townships—everyone is either farming or scraping a living off Shihuan City."
Shihuan City was such a prosperous place that the inhabitants of the surrounding counties and towns mostly relied on diligently serving it to earn their livelihoods.
"Then why are the lights so sparse?"
"After toiling all day, what is there to do once you get home but drop into bed and sleep?" Fixer Liu chuckled. "Besides, candles have gotten expensive. What's the point of lighting a lamp?"
He Lingchuan immediately recalled what Zhu Xiyan had said earlier.
He Yue whispered, "Compared to what we saw along the way, the villagers around Shihuan are already having a much better time. At least they have food to eat and can stay alive."
Traveling here from Blackwater City, they had truly witnessed how hard the common people's lives were. Seven or eight years of reading ten thousand volumes had taught He Yue less than what he had seen and heard in the past twenty or thirty days—sights that were bizarre, baffling, and deeply harrowing.
This young boy had finally come to understand what it meant that in rise or fall, the people suffer all the same.
At those words, even the smile on Fixer Liu's face faltered. He swallowed nervously. "Ten days ago, the royal court issued a decree raising taxes again. That's the second time this year, so now everything is expensive."
Short on money, short on grain, short on army pay—they had to squeeze it out of the common folk.
Squeeze the people too hard, and someone would raise the banner of rebellion again, giving rise to a second or third Hong Xiangqian.
The conversation could go no further on this topic.
As the wheels rumbled forward, He Lingchuan lifted the curtain and looked ahead. "General Ke's carriage is just up front, not far from us." Only fifty or sixty feet away, veiled behind swirling snowflakes.
The snow seemed to be falling heavier and heavier.
He Yue remarked, "General Ke came this time to requisition funds from the Shihuan City nobility. Did Lord Zhu know in advance, or was he playing along on the spot?"
He Lingchuan scoffed. "These Shihuan City nobles are bursting with grease. They can toss out tens of thousands or even over a hundred thousand dan of grain as a token gesture without batting an eye."
He Chunhua nodded. "General Ke didn't manage to get much grain or pay from the royal court. I suspect someone gave him an idea, pointing him toward Shihuan City to raise it."
He Yue murmured, "Driven to the point where a front-line general has to rush back to the capital to beg for pay—quite a spectacle under heaven." A trace of sullen indignation inevitably crept into his tone.
He had known the country's affairs were in ruins, but witnessing it with his own eyes still left a bitter taste in his mouth.
He Lingchuan patted him on the head. "You, kid, are still too young."
He Chunhua shook his head. "Demanding pay is merely a pretext. I believe General Ke had another purpose in returning to the capital."
He Yue's expression changed. "Y-You mean he has disloy—"
Before the word could leave his lips, He Chunhua cut him off with a reprimand: "Nonsense!"
"I suspect he rushed back to plead for Lord Fu Ju."
"Fu Ju..." He Lingchuan activated his blissfully ignorant persona. "Who's that?"
He Yue knew. "Lord Fu, the Cavalier Attendant-in-Ordinary. He once served as General of Agile Cavalry. If I recall correctly, he fought several campaigns in the south and west before retiring home due to chronic injuries, illness, and old age. His sons and nephews also hold official posts in court, but none have achieved great distinction."
He Lingchuan said, "Already retired? What grave crime did the old man commit that General Ke had to rush back to plead for him?"
He Yue was puzzled as well.
"I only heard of it after arriving in Shihuan," He Chunhua said. "Someone secretly blew the whistle, alleging that Fu Ju was on close terms with the former Grand Marshal, Dong Haoming, and had even been exchanging money and goods privately with Wuzhou." In the past few days of dealing with officials high and low, He Chunhua had gathered a great deal of intelligence and gossip.
The He brothers looked at each other, a chill creeping up their spines.
Being accused of colluding with Dong Haoming at a time like this meant certain death.
"Did the King believe it?"
"If he didn't, why would General Ke rush back in such a frantic hurry? Fu Ju fought alongside him on the battlefield in the past and saved his life more than once; the two are on exceptionally good terms." He Chunhua looked at his two sons and sighed. "Do you know that although the Fu family holds no prominent offices, their family fortune is astonishingly vast? In the entire capital, they rank among the top six.
"The Fu family once produced a famed general who fought alongside Yuan Gaozu to build the dynasty, receiving lavish rewards. Although his descendants lacked martial prowess and never shone as officials, their business acumen was remarkable. They branched into a dozen different trades, growing their fortune larger and larger. When Fu Ju served as General of Agile Cavalry, officials were forbidden from engaging in trade, but he placed his commercial operations under the names of close relatives. I hear nearly thirty percent of the apothecary shops in the capital belong to his family, and six entire streets in the western capital are Fu family property. In a place where every inch of land is worth an inch of gold—heh! Just think, how rich must the Fu family be?"
He Lingchuan rested his head on his hand. "Could they be richer than the King?"
He Chunhua smiled without answering.
If you were richer than anyone else, they would look upon you with envious eyes; if you were richer than the monarch, well then...
He Yue's eyes flickered slightly. Why had his father suddenly brought up the Fu family's money?
He Chunhua continued, "The late emperor once confiscated a massive portion of their property because the Fu clan scions used their wealth to act uncharitably and bully commoners. Everyone thought their vitality had been crippled, yet who would have guessed they recovered in just a few years? Ever since then, however, they kept a low profile."
He Yue tilted his head. "With the Fu family's astonishing wealth, could they fund a war until we defeat Dong Haoming?"
He Chunhua murmured softly, "Who can say?"
This was his catchphrase. Both brothers knew the next line was: *Why not give it a try?*
Fixer Liu was also sitting in the carriage, so things could not be spoken too plainly, but both brothers understood.
The Fu family was excessively wealthy, yet had produced no influential ministers at court, while the country was crying out desperately for funds to wage war. So...
So whether Fu Ju had actually committed treason and colluded with rebels was of little consequence in itself. The Fu family thought keeping a low profile could avert disaster, but unfortunately, the ancient truth that possessing great wealth makes one a target was inescapable.
He Lingchuan chuckled. "Isn't there an old saying back in our Qiansong Commandery? 'Rich without might, penned like fat pigs.'"
What if one possessed immense wealth? When power honed its blade, did they not still have to stretch out their necks submissively for the slaughter?
He Chunhua lowered his voice: "When the Grand Marshal failed to assassinate the King and fled back to Wuzhou, he got away scot-free, but countless court officials and merchants were implicated. It is said the executioner's blades at the vegetable market square were hacked blunt, and the confiscated estates were so vast there was no place to store them all. They were piled into several massive warehouses behind Pinghe Temple, and it took more than two months just to sort through it all."
Chapter 174