This was the first time he had ever stepped foot inside the royal palace of Great Yuan.
A year ago, when passing through Shihuan City, He Chunhua had been the only member of the He family fortunate enough to be granted an audience with the King of Yuan. He Lingchuan had not even set foot in the capital.
The royal palace of Yuan remained quite magnificent. Its architecture was stout and imposing, with black tiles and gray walls arrayed in staggered rows of rising and falling eaves that imparted an impressive majesty.
It was a remnant jewel of the previous dynasty, renovated for more than a decade after the founding monarch of Great Yuan took over, so its architectural style differed noticeably from that of the auxiliary city, Shihuan.
The palace layout followed a central axis of symmetry. Walking along the wide imperial avenue, He Lingchuan felt a solemn, austere gravity.
He sighed silently to himself. The Kingdom of Yuan had indeed enjoyed glorious days in the past.
The King of Yuan received him in Wenxuan Pavilion.
This was an intimate hall where the monarch of Yuan met with ministers, typically used for convening small discussions of four or five people.
Outside, the weather was gentle and sunny, yet only two windows were cracked open in the hall. Ambergris incense burned within, casting a dim, subdued gloom over the room.
The monarch of Yuan sat behind a long table of golden-thread nanmu. Seeing He Lingchuan bow as he announced his identity, the king waved his hand repeatedly. "No need for ceremony, rise!" He then addressed the attendant beside him, "Come, grant him a seat."
He Lingchuan looked up to see that this young monarch was not yet thirty years old and somewhat plump. Even in this lighting, one could see his complexion was pale and dark circles hung beneath his eyes. A deep vertical furrow was carved between his brows, the mark of someone who had spent long years frowning.
He Lingchuan voiced his gratitude and sat upright with proper decorum.
Basic etiquette still had to be observed.
The monarch of Yuan adopted an amiable expression. "I hear that you are not only the Mount Rong emissary, but also General He's eldest son?"
"Yes."
As expected, word that the He family's eldest son had become Mount Rong's special envoy had already spread like wildfire through the Yuan capital.
"How did all this come about?" The monarch of Yuan was genuinely curious. "Tell Us."
He Lingchuan then chose the key points from the story he had told his family and recounted it once more.
It was blatant deception of the sovereign.
Yet the King of Yuan clapped his hands and laughed heartily upon hearing it. "A truly blessed officer, just as Beloved Minister He said!"
He Lingchuan knew the king did not actually care about what he had gone through; he only cared about his identity.
The King of Yuan added, "You have rendered great service by winning over Mount Rong. Once this matter is settled, I shall appoint you Commandant of Martial Drill."
He Lingchuan could only offer his thanks, knowing that the conversation was about to turn.
Commandant of Martial Drill was a prestigious title, but it was purely honorary, carrying no real power. He knew the King of Yuan dared not bestow more authority; otherwise, once the He father and son established an entrenched base of power, they would become impossible to keep in check.
Even though he did not covet petty offices in the Kingdom of Yuan, seeing the king confer rewards in such a manner still left him somewhat disappointed.
A lack of boldness.
Immediately afterward, however, the King of Yuan began to cough. He hacked repeatedly without stopping, prompting an attendant beside him to hurry forward with a cup of water.
The King of Yuan took two sips to catch his breath. When He Lingchuan inquired with timely concern, the king waved his hand. "Just a passing chill, nothing to worry about."
"May Your Majesty take care."
From just this slight ailment, He Lingchuan could tell that the decline of Great Yuan was even worse than he had imagined. A ruler of a nation was bathed in the nourishment of origin power, and by all rights, his body should be robust and healthy, impervious to minor illnesses or afflictions.
When a monarch fell ill, it was either due to the physical frailty of old age—a natural law that origin power could only delay, not prevent—or because the nation's fortunes were so depleted that even the monarch could not enjoy an abundant share of origin power. Any other cause was exceedingly rare.
Great Yuan was undoubtedly the latter.
"Great Yuan has fallen on hard times in recent years, beset by ceaseless warfare within and without. Dong Haoming in the northwest, Nian Zanli in the north, and the rebellions in the south—there are too many to suppress them all." The monarch of Yuan sighed. "At least the military threat in the north is temporarily resolved, allowing us to free our hands and concentrate all our efforts on Dong Haoming."
The moment he said this, He Lingchuan understood: in the eyes of the monarch of Yuan, the Grand Marshal was the primary menace, while the southern rebellions were far lower in priority.
For now, this ranking was correct.
Over the past dozen years, no fewer than twenty rebellions of varying sizes had erupted across the Kingdom of Yuan. The largest and most severe had been the great southern uprising led by Hong Xiangqian, yet in the end, it too had been crushed.
Why would this time be an exception?
The only ones qualified to become a mortal threat to the monarch of Yuan were warlord regimes like that of the Grand Marshal, who had troops, provisions, disciplined organization, and strict order.
Understanding this, He Lingchuan realized why the monarch of Yuan had been incessantly urging He Chunhua to deploy his army.
Only by swiftly pacifying the southern rebellions could Great Yuan concentrate its full strength on dealing with the Grand Marshal.
This was not just a matter of primary versus secondary importance, but also one of difficulty.
Sure enough, the monarch of Yuan continued, "However, quelling the southern rebellions is the prerequisite, and time waits for no one. He Lingchuan, you must assist your father in suppressing the rebellion as quickly as possible and render another great service!"
He Lingchuan immediately responded with an affirmative.
His current identity was delicate: he was a Yuan subject, a general's son, and an emissary of Mount Rong.
Yet the monarch of Yuan consistently addressed him in his first identity, nudging him to release the funds as quickly as possible.
Since he had already stood up, He Lingchuan simply took the opportunity to say, "Your Majesty, the audit clerks dispatched by Mount Rong have been working overtime these past two days. However, the audited value of the mines shows a discrepancy—a shortfall of at least eight hundred thousand taels."
In plain terms, the collateral was insufficient.
The monarch of Yuan looked startled. "How could there be such a vast discrepancy?"
An official standing nearby promptly chimed in, "The ledger records for the mines and docks were submitted last year. This year's accounts have yet to be presented, so there may be minor variations."
Eight hundred thousand taels was hardly a "minor variation." Furthermore, the proven reserves of a mine would not change that drastically in a single year.
He Lingchuan knew this excuse was merely a fig leaf. Borrowing money to wage war was Great Yuan's top priority right now; how could they possibly fail to prepare the account records properly?
Seeing was believing. Great Yuan had inflated the documentation, which came as no surprise. Even when borrowing money, a debtor naturally hoped to pay less interest.
He Lingchuan continued, "Before entering the Yuan capital, the people from Mount Rong and I made a tour of the Taihe Mine. It contains two ore veins, one large and one small. One of the three mining pits suffered water seepage and a cave-in, and it has been completely blocked off. Now that pit is a colossal pit of deep water. We hired a monster to dive down and inspect it, finding the water is at least four to five zhang deep and impossible to pump dry. It is truly a pity, as the quality of ore produced there was originally excellent."
"Ah, what?" The King of Yuan froze.
He Lingchuan was politely stating that the Taihe Mine did not meet the standards!
The King of Yuan had personally overseen this loan collateral, but when he designated the Taihe Mine, no one had mentioned such an issue to him! The officials had only spoken of reserves, output, ore quality, and pit depth.
The King of Yuan had thought it was perfect and settled on it.
Who could have guessed that this mine could not withstand an on-site inspection?
This flaw was rather glaring. With Great Yuan's current methods, once mining breached a water-bearing stratum, that pit had to be abandoned.
A ruined pit, and they dared offer it to Mount Rong as collateral? Why not simply present Mount Rong with a plaque that read "Gullible Fools"?
At this thought, the King of Yuan pressed his hands against the desk until his fingertips turned pale. Steadying himself, he turned aside and commanded in a heavy voice, "Go find out what happened!"
The official beside him answered at once.
"The appraised value of the Taihe Mine falls short. I will do my best to mediate with Mount Rong, but I fear additional collateral must be provided." In other words, Great Yuan would have to supply another eight hundred thousand taels in collateral to make up the deficit.
Chapter 785