He Lingchuan added at just the right moment, "The good news is that the first batch of military provisions has already reached the border. If this shortfall is made up quickly, I can consult with Assistant Hu to finalize the mortgage for Taihe Mine first. That way, the Yuan capital can immediately receive supplies worth 3.7 million taels, including hard silver!"
The implication of his words was clear: the collateral's value was appraised by Mount Rong, not decided unilaterally by He Lingchuan. Even if the King of Yuan pressed him, it would be useless.
And right behind that came a sweet incentive.
The King of Yuan's face had been as dark as impending rain, but hearing this, his expression softened slightly. "Mount Rong Sect's sincerity is evident. Very good, very good. As for supplementing the collateral, I will summon my ministers to deliberate further."
Military provisions worth 3.7 million taels could relieve his burning, immediate crisis.
After exchanging a few more polite pleasantries, He Lingchuan took his leave.
Once he was gone, the King of Yuan suddenly seized the teacup on his desk and hurled it to the floor with a loud crash, smashing it to pieces.
The attending servants and officials dropped to their knees in terror. The King of Yuan did not spare them a glance, his cheeks flushed red with rage.
"Outrageous!"
...
The moment He Lingchuan stepped out of the palace, he muttered, "It's over."
The soul-snatching mirror jumped. "What's over?"
With palace attendants moving in and out around them, He Lingchuan did not answer aloud, thinking only to himself:
The Kingdom of Yuan is finished.
Though he had been mentally prepared, speaking with the monarch of Yuan today had still stirred deep feelings in him.
The heart was willing, but the strength was lacking; the ambition was there, but the ability was absent.
In an era of peace, the current monarch of Yuan might have served well enough as a custodian ruler, preserving the realm for future generations; but given the kingdom's recent plight, a mediocre sovereign could hardly keep things under control.
He was inexplicably reminded of Du Shan's words: "To drag the common people down through one's own stubbornness—what is the point?"
That verdict was perhaps a bit arbitrary, but...
Before he could finish the thought, He Lingchuan spotted his father walking toward him with hurried steps.
He Chunhua looked up, saw He Lingchuan, and seemed slightly surprised. "Chuan'er, the sovereign summoned you?"
"Yes, didn't I just finish meeting him?"
With too many eyes and ears around, He Chunhua took his arm and said, "I have to enter the palace this afternoon, but there's still time now. Come with me."
He led He Lingchuan to a teahouse a few hundred yards away, went up to a private room on the second floor, and sat down before saying, "The sovereign seeing you shows how utterly impatient he has become."
Then he asked his eldest son for the full account of the audience.
The private room was well insulated against sound, with virtually no noise audible from outside. He Lingchuan hid nothing from him, cracking melon seeds as he told the unvarnished truth.
He Chunhua's brow relaxed one moment and furrowed the next, but he did not interrupt. Only when He Lingchuan finished did he say, "Answering like that barely passes muster. Before your next audience with the sovereign, you must rehearse with me first."
He Lingchuan took a sip of tea. "Was something amiss?"
"Once those 3.7 million worth of military provisions arrive, the sovereign will be pleased for a while. But later, when he remembers you demanding he supplement the collateral, he will certainly hold a grudge in his heart," He Chunhua said, shaking his head. "In his eyes, you are a subject of Yuan after all; how could you seek profit for an outside sect?"
He Lingchuan let out a scoff. "The power of appraisal isn't in my hands! The valuation of those mines, pastures, and docks is handled entirely by Mount Rong's people. What does it have to do with me?"
Seek profit? If he hadn't traded on personal favors, Mount Rong Sect wouldn't have loaned money to the Kingdom of Yuan in the first place!
"Do you think the sovereign doesn't understand such simple reasoning?" He Chunhua sighed. "I fear he just gets irritated at the sight of you. Especially with the disbursement of funds requiring your review and approval—ah, back when the sovereign first heard that, he declared it outrageous and was displeased for a long time."
And yet, this very loan had been secured by He Lingchuan himself.
Crack. He Lingchuan split another melon seed. "Oh?"
The King of Yuan had been that furious? He certainly hadn't shown it just now. It seemed this ruler wasn't entirely as guileless as outsiders claimed.
Yet the Kingdom of Yuan had accepted the terms in the end, far more readily than he had expected.
This showed the monarch was well aware of the Yuan court's maladies, and had simply used the Mount Rong emissary's oversight authority to fend off many memorial petitions that gave him headaches.
Otherwise, when it came to how the loan should be spent, plenty of people in court deliberations would have babbled on incessantly.
"Over the past year, my correspondence with the palace has been countless times more frequent than before; in the half month since arriving at the capital, I've entered the palace six times. Attending closely upon a sovereign brings countless realizations." He patted He Lingchuan's shoulder, speaking with deep earnestness: "You are too young to understand how fickle the human heart can be."
"Father speaks the truth." Fickle human hearts? Heh, heh.
He Lingchuan grabbed a green plum-flavored soft candy to eat. The tea at this teahouse was quite ordinary, but the snacks were remarkably impressive.
Mhm, he wanted to bring some back for the squirrel.
"Do you still plan to stall for a few more days before marching south?"
He Chunhua shook his head. "No need to stall anymore. With the government army suffering a crushing defeat and the rebel forces winning a major victory, I believe the time to march south is ripe."
He Lingchuan looked at him sideways, somewhat surprised.
Why had He Chunhua suddenly changed his mind, shifting from relentless stalling to actively preparing to march south?
What had happened in the interim?
Was it merely because the tide on the southern front had turned and he saw an opportunity?
He Chunhua then asked, "Taihe Mine's collateral is insufficient, so as long as the royal court doesn't make up the difference, Mount Rong won't disburse the military supplies, right?"
"From what I saw, the sovereign seems quite motivated." The Kingdom of Yuan was desperate enough to climb the walls just to get loans for the war; how much collateral was pledged was, in the end, merely a matter of principal and interest. Having already mortgaged so many mines and pastures, would they really care about adding one more?
With 3.7 million taels dangled in front of them, he felt the Yuan court should be able to make up its mind quickly.
"After all, supplementing collateral requires an on-site appraisal on the spot, which will inevitably eat up a lot of time back and forth," He Lingchuan said intentionally. "Unless the asset to be supplemented is nearby so we can rush over immediately, or it's already universally recognized as high quality—only then could I give Mount Rong's people a firm guarantee."
"Universally recognized as high quality?" He Chunhua pondered for a moment. "The specialty of eastern Xiazhou is brown sugar. Sales have rebounded over the past two years, and it sells very well. What if we mortgage the monopoly rights for sugar?"
Once his attitude shifted, he immediately began actively planning the collateral. This behavior was very He Chunhua.
Pragmatic, sometimes not even caring if he slapped his own face.
He Lingchuan smiled. "Things grown from the ground depend on the weather, the seasons, and product quality. They aren't very stable. I'm afraid Old Hu would shoot it down right off the bat."
Instability meant unpredictable returns.
When appraising an asset, wasn't expected return the most crucial factor? Past performance was merely a reference.
He added, seemingly offhand, "It would be best if Mount Rong's assistants could go there and see the reality with their own eyes. The past accounts also need to be crystal clear, and definitely not a mess of rotten accounts like these few mines, which take endless time and effort to audit."
This was his second subtle rejection.
Clear, simple, and seeing is believing, so the funds could be disbursed as soon as possible? He Chunhua pondered for a few breaths, and his eyes suddenly lit up. There truly was such a good place!
"Right, how about the Red Cliff Trade Route?"
"The Red Cliff Trade Route in the Panlong Desert?" He Lingchuan feigned surprise. "Father, are you saying we supplement it with the trade route's tax revenue?"
After waiting all this time, this was the exact line he had been waiting for—and He Chunhua had finally said it himself!
Chapter 786