Mount Rong's aid was like timely rain. Even before the initial tranche of 3.7 million taels of silver had fully arrived, various factions could hardly wait to dip into it for some moisture.
Of course, the destination of the funds remained subject to Mount Rong's oversight.
As the creditor, it held the right to monitor the flow of the money. This was set down in black and white in the agreement; if the Yuan royal court wished to receive the subsequent tranches of aid, it could not breach the contract.
None of this struck He Lingchuan as unusual. A withered tree does not rot merely at its core; in a country so vast, the demands for funds were countless.
The closer one stood to the money, the greater the harvest.
Ordinary folk had nothing to do with this 3.7 million, or indeed with the full seven million taels.
He Lingchuan thought for a moment and asked He Yue, "With the court debates raging so fiercely, what did the old man say?"
"Father didn't say a word. When the Sovereign asked about the allocation of military funds, Father only said everything was entirely at His Majesty's discretion."
He Lingchuan could not help chuckling. "Advancing by retreating."
He Chunhua had something he wanted to fight for, but the King of Yuan was unwilling to give it; the two sides were locked in a tug-of-war.
Thus He Chunhua's stance was also crystal clear: if you don't give me what I want, this war cannot be fought properly.
"Still, it makes his intentions all too obvious," He Yue murmured, seeing as He Chunhua was not around. "With Father cornering the Sovereign like this, I fear estrangement between ruler and subject down the road."
He Lingchuan thought little of it. "The way of ruler and subject is also the way of offense and defense."
Offense and defense meant tides turned, and the strong and weak traded places.
Madam Ying shushed him. "You brat, mind your tongue!"
He Lingchuan grinned and gave a dutiful "Yes." His mother was looking out for him after all—walls had ears, especially given the delicate position the He family occupied right now.
Deep down, the old man held very little genuine reverence for the current monarch. He was certain He Yue had seen through it long ago and knew the reason full well.
Estrangement between ruler and subject? Hah, it would be strange if they weren't estranged.
Things as they stood now were merely keeping up appearances while harboring separate thoughts.
The remnants of the meal had not yet been cleared away when He Chunhua abruptly returned.
A spring breeze seemed to beam from his face as he strode through the courtyard. He Lingchuan even saw peach blossoms falling from the trees swept aside by the gust of wind his father kicked up in passing.
"Madam, Chuan'er, Yue'er." He Chunhua stood proudly in place, brimming with martial vigor and with gleaming eyes. "Standing before you now is the Chief Administrator of Yazhou, placed in command of military affairs across three prefectures!"
Madam Ying gasped with a hand over her mouth. She stepped forward instinctively to throw herself into his arms, but took only two steps before remembering her sons were watching from behind, and held back in bashful hesitation.
The He brothers sprang to their feet, speaking in unison:
"Congratulations, Father!"
The position of Chief Administrator of Yazhou, the military command he had yearned for day and night—they were finally in his hands!
Shrewd and guarded as He Chunhua was, upon returning home he could no longer conceal his delight, throwing back his head with a hearty laugh!
His plans were coming to fruition, step by step.
Madam Ying pressed a hand to her chest and said gleefully, "I'll go tell the kitchen to add more dishes!"
The He family finished the meal amidst cheerful banter and laughter.
He Yue asked his father, "Will you be setting out on campaign soon?"
"Soon." It had been a long time since He Chunhua felt this unburdened. "The military supplies will all be assembled within three days. The army will finish reorganization within six days, and then we march south to quell the rebellion!"
With funds and authority in hand, everything fell into place smoothly.
……
After the meal, He Chunhua pulled He Lingchuan along to his study.
The He family had not been living in the Yuan capital long, and He Chunhua's study was only half-organized, with most of the shelves still bare.
While his father wasn't paying attention, He Lingchuan patted his chest to remind the mirror to get to work.
The soul-snatching mirror replied in haste, "I know, I know, I'm keeping an eye out!"
He Lingchuan strolled about the study, casually picking up a few books to flip through.
He Chunhua laughed when he saw this. "You used to detest reading the most, yawning the instant your fingers touched a book. Who would have thought that between my two sons, you'd turn out to be the more capable one now?"
He Lingchuan waved a hand. "What are you talking about, Father? Second Brother's brilliance is kept within; he is clearly cut out to assist in governing the realm."
"Quite true," He Chunhua said wistfully. "Your eye for people has sharpened as well."
He Lingchuan scratched his chin. "You're praising me out of nowhere, Father. Did something happen?"
He Chunhua chuckled and chided him, "Can't I praise you if nothing happened?"
After these past few days of dining, drinking, and clinking glasses together, the father-and-son relationship had softened considerably, returning to a delicate balance.
In He Lingchuan's understanding, it was mainly because he had been cooperative during the collateral assessment, making things smooth sailing for He Chunhua.
Yet he had simply followed standard procedure; since He Chunhua, the King of Yuan, and the Mount Rong Sect all wished to resolve the supply shortage promptly, the funds were naturally disbursed without delay.
Of course, how the subsequent tranches would be approved and spent would still have to go through He Lingchuan, which was another major reason He Chunhua was all smiles toward him again.
The current He Lingchuan was no longer his original self, who could be easily swayed by a smile and a few kind words from his father.
Just then, the soul-snatching mirror whispered to He Lingchuan, "Can't find it. Looks like that book isn't here."
He Lingchuan's eyes flickered slightly.
Before stepping into He Chunhua's study, he had instructed the mirror to search thoroughly for Collected Annotations on Jade Blossoms.
This was the book Sun Hongye had asked Zhu Xiu'er to pass to him, and it served as the cipher key.
Without this book, He Lingchuan had no way of knowing what Sun Hongye wanted to tell him.
He had harbored a sliver of hope that the book might be hidden in He Chunhua's study.
Yet it was not.
He Chunhua walked into an inner room of the study, where a sand table sat.
"You've got a sharp eye. Come take a look with me and tell me how best to fight these battles."
He adjusted a few parts, and the sand table began to show mountains and waterways.
He Lingchuan took a few looks, his pupils narrowing.
Lakes appeared on the sand table one after another, dotted like stars, resembling a scattered string of pearls across the ground.
Though the size, position, and distances between the lakes varied slightly, He Lingchuan still recognized the place at a glance—
Longchuan!
This was the map he faced every day in the Panlong World; there was no way he could mistake it!
The destination of He Chunhua's southern pacification campaign was actually Longchuan?
Of course. The territory that belonged to Xiji over a century ago was now part of Great Yuan's domain.
The former location of Longchuan and the southern trade route lay precisely in southern Yuan, within the borders of Yazhou!
Back then, it was Yuheng City suppressing bandits; now, it was He Chunhua quelling rebels.
Time interlaced, as if another cycle was turning.
He still had to put on a puzzled face. "This is your target, Father? The terrain looks awfully complex."
"Indeed." He Chunhua pointed to the sand table. "There are two main rebel forces. One is in the southeast, around ten thousand strong. I haven't heard of any particularly troublesome figures among them, and they were defeated by government troops not long ago."
"This band shouldn't be too hard to deal with."
"The trouble lies with the other rebel force in the south. And the crux of quelling them lies in Longchuan." He Chunhua pointed at that chain of lakes. "They've claimed Longchuan as their stronghold, numbering fifty thousand men. They've already repelled government forces three times and earned a formidable reputation locally, prompting many nearby villagers to join them at the mere rumor of their approach."
He Lingchuan nodded.
He had seen the true colors of Yuan's bureaucracy. When the state was rotten to the core, conflicts between officials and commoners multiplied and deepened. That was precisely why rebellions flared up, and why a rebel army swelled rapidly with just a few victories under its belt.
Chapter 791