Dropping the Act?

"Quite a few parties have already hurried over." He Chunhua pondered for a good while before shaking his head. "With the wild sand season gone, I'm afraid western Yuan is in for trouble." Others treated such rumors as mere amusement, but having once been a border prefect, his first thought went immediately to the security of the realm. "Isn't that the truth?" Housekeeper Wu agreed, equally fraught with worry. "The western border of Yuan was secure originally because of the Panlong Desert, the wild sand season, and the Three Corpse Worms. Now that anyone can pass through the Panlong Desert at will, then... then..." "Leave tomorrow's worries for tomorrow." He Chunhua waved a hand. "Enough. For now, trouble like that doesn't even make the priority list. If any further news comes from Blackwater City and the Panlong Desert, report it to me immediately!" Housekeeper Wu took his leave. ... He Chunhua stood where he was, lost in thought for a long time before his mind drifted back to He Lingchuan. He had always known his eldest son was alive; he had simply been ignorant of his whereabouts. He Lingchuan had returned without warning, sharper, more confident, and even more... inscrutable. Why had he returned, really? While the loan from Mount Rong was a wonderful boon, it was his eldest son who had brokered it, and his eldest son who handled it as special envoy. To some degree, matters had slipped beyond his control as a father. Whether for public affairs or private reasons, He Chunhua disliked such changes. He intended to return to his quarters to change clothes, but as he crossed the courtyard, he caught sight of He Lingchuan half-sitting on the stone rim of the fish pond, tossing grains of cooked rice to feed the fish. When the fish swam close, he flicked the rice grains far away; when the fish swam far, he dropped them near. Koi large and small were run ragged by his antics, churning the pond water into a boiling froth in a lively, splashing frenzy. He Chunhua instinctively lightened his footsteps, yet before he had taken two steps, He Lingchuan—his back still turned—chuckled and said, "Dad, the variety in your pond is far too plain. Just a few fat koi, and their colors aren't even vibrant. Why not fetch some finer fish to bring a smile to Mother's face?" "Oh?" He Chunhua asked casually. "What varieties would be good?" "Flowered Lance, Rolling Embroidered Pearl, White Dragon Halberd, Seven-Colored Fairy, Mottled Prawn," He Lingchuan rattled off a string of names off the top of his head. "They all grow quite large and gorgeous." Beijia's leisure industries were well-developed, with massive markets devoted just to flowers, birds, and ornamental fish. Ordinary fish like koi could never make their way into the residences of dignitaries on the Floating Isle. "Is that so? Never heard of them." He Chunhua also stood by the pond watching the fish. "Did our family ever keep them before?" "No." "Are they found in the Yuan capital?" He Lingchuan gave a hearty laugh, still affecting the demeanor of an idle scion. "This is my first time here—how would I know?" He Chunhua looked at him with a slight smile. "Then... what about Shabutou in Xuluo Kingdom? Are they found there?" "The fish sold there are meant for the table, not for keeping in garden ponds." He Lingchuan tossed in a few more grains of rice. "Of course, our carp are fat enough already. If push comes to shove, they could always be sacrificed." He Chunhua paused in his stride and halted by the pool. One more step and he would have stepped into the water. "These fish have done nothing wrong. Why eat them?" "Whether they get eaten has nothing to do with doing right or wrong. It depends entirely on our mood." With every word that followed, He Lingchuan dropped another grain of rice. "What fault could playthings kept for viewing ever commit?" He Chunhua remained silent for a few breaths, then suddenly asked, "Are you still my Chuan'er?" The question came abruptly, yet He Lingchuan showed no reaction at all. He kept tossing food, his hand steady while the fish churned in frantic hunger. He Chunhua spoke in an easy tone, as if joking. "Why is it like you're a completely different person?" "Now that I've made something of myself, shouldn't Dad be happy? Shouldn't you be proud?" He Lingchuan turned his head to look at him. "I even secured a loan for the Yuan Kingdom!" This massive sum, so desperately needed by the Yuan Kingdom, was part of his capital for self-preservation—the high card in his hand as he returned to Yuan to maneuver around his father. Without him, there would be no funds. If he was gone, the funds were gone too. "You did well." He Chunhua nodded firmly. "You did well. Otherwise, I wouldn't have known how to fight the battles ahead." Even the cleverest cook cannot make a meal without rice; how could a general fight without troops? "Now that the money will soon arrive, what does Dad plan to do next?" He Chunhua asked, "Does Chuan'er want to take part?" His eldest son had deliberately steered the topic away, and he followed suit. "What real man wouldn't want to make a name for himself, earn merit, and be granted titles of nobility and high office? Still..." He Lingchuan said softly, "putting down the southern rebellions is one thing, but the Grand Marshal in the northwest will not be an easy opponent." Peasant uprisings generally lacked the discipline and combat effectiveness of a regular army. Of course, the Yuan Kingdom's central army was not much better these days. "The Yuan Kingdom's civil war is a bottomless pit. Never mind a mere three million taels of silver—even if five or ten million taels were dumped in, you might not last long enough to hear a splash," He Lingchuan sighed. "What do you intend to do? Though I was appointed special envoy, I don't wish to see my homeland unable to repay the debt, resulting in precious resources flowing out for nothing." He Chunhua asked, "What advice does Chuan'er have?" In the past, He Chunhua would never have consulted his eldest son on military strategy. He Lingchuan threw the last handful of rice grains into the pool, sending the school of fish into a frenzy. "Dad had better seek a swift resolution. The rebels have marched north all the way, and the flames of war are about to engulf Yazhou. Win or lose, the three surrounding prefectures are Great Yuan's granary, key agricultural regions. The rebellion of Hong Xiangqian, which was only suppressed last year, already caused grain yields in the south to plummet to less than half of normal years. If this year's fields are left fallow because of warfare, the autumn harvest will yield nothing at all. When that time comes..." Great Yuan was already desperately short of grain; when that time came, it would become an even worse vicious cycle. He Chunhua nodded. "Your concerns are identical to those of the Monarch and the court officials." His eldest son's analysis was remarkably sound. Done pretending? "Then what is Dad's stance?" "I know everything you've said." He Chunhua let out a soft sigh. "Our army must fight whenever deployed and must win every battle—only then is there any purpose in marching south. Otherwise, traveling thousands of li only to suffer defeat would crush the morale of soldiers and civilians while merely stoking the enemy's arrogance." He paused. "In the past, when the royal court campaigned against Hong Xiangqian, that scoundrel Hong only grew stronger the more they fought him. When he first rose in revolt, he had barely a hundred men, but by the time of the great battle at Woling Pass, his forces numbered tens of thousands. Wasn't that precisely because as one side waned, the other waxed?" He Lingchuan gave an understanding "Oh." Official army incompetence was by no means the only reason Hong Xiangqian had grown so powerful. He Lingchuan did not point this out, merely asking He Chunhua, "What does Father intend to do?" No matter how He Chunhua stalled, the monarch of Yuan had limited patience; capable as He Chunhua might be, if the monarch could not rely on him, he would not treat him leniently either. Therefore, He Chunhua had to grasp the proper balance. "Grain, fodder, and supplies must keep pace; otherwise, my soldiers will have to endure cold and starvation at the front lines. Even if we initially had a seventy-to-eighty percent chance of victory, that would dwindle to thirty or forty percent." He Chunhua spoke with exasperation at such sheer ineptitude. "Yet as you well know, Great Yuan's logistics... sigh. Even if a hundred thousand dan of grain were allocated to support me, at most less than thirty to forty thousand dan would actually reach the front lines. "Furthermore, even if I retake rebel-occupied territory, if I fail to win over the hearts of the people, how can we be sure they won't rebel again?"