Chapter 259: Pulling and Taking Sides

Then it was He Lingchuan's turn.

He Chunhua stood in front, his expression and tone stagnant: "Kowtow to your great-grandfather."

"Kowtow to your grandfather."

"Kowtow to your grandmother."

"Kowtow to your second grand-uncle."

He Lingchuan also kowtowed thirty-six times, feeling a bit dizzy when he stood up. The last kowtow was for the ninth uncle, who was He Chunhua's own younger brother, only six years old when he was waist-chopped and abandoned in the market.

One hundred and twenty-seven members of the He family main branch, from eighty-year-old men to six-year-old children, were not spared, except for He Chunhua who managed to survive.

It was He Yue's turn.

The brothers brushed past each other, and He Lingchuan silently mouthed to him: "Take it easy!"

Like him, who was thick-skinned, his forehead was red and swollen after kowtowing; He Yue had delicate skin and tender flesh, and for the first few years after the family memorial, the steward had to apply medicine to his wounds.

He Yue looked back, expressionless.

When he knelt down to kowtow, the sound wasn't lighter than He Lingchuan's.

He Chunhua looked at him, but his gaze had no focus, actually somewhat distracted.

He Lingchuan looked at his old man, but felt his expression was empty and somewhat ferocious.

No matter how gentle he looked on the outside, the hatred and unwillingness in this man's heart had never faded by half.

After kowtowing thirty-six times, He Yue squatted for a while to recover before standing up to offer incense.

Sure enough, blood flowed from his forehead again.

"Good, the He family has gone through a great catastrophe, and it should welcome a chance for rebirth." He Chunhua took a long breath. "How did I teach you in the past? For the sake of clearing the He family's grievances and revitalizing the family gate—"

The He brothers looked at each other and said in unison: "We will be shattered to pieces, ten thousand deaths without

The people who framed the He family back then were already dead, but the He family still bore the stigma of being "accomplices" to the end. Because of the royal family's pride and dignity, this deep injustice remained unredressed to this day.

For these twenty years, He Chunhua had brooded over it, never daring to forget.

"Good, you are all good children!" His expression was agitated, and he even closed his eyes slightly; a glimmer of tears seemed to flicker at the corners of his eyes. "You must all remember and live up to the vows you made today!"

The brothers naturally answered, "Yes."

The steward, Old Mo, had long since prepared the ointment and treated He Yue's external injuries in a flash.

When the incense burned out, the family burned paper money.

The first ancestral sacrifice ceremony held in a foreign land had now come to an end. He Lingchuan remembered that he really had to be cautious in his words and actions today; he could not laugh loudly, could not drink alcohol, and could not go out to find amusement.

But He Chunhua seemed to have dissipated all his irritability during the ceremony just now, and the low pressure around him had vanished. He patted the brothers on the shoulders and said gently, "Alright, you must all be hungry, right? It's time to eat."

On the day of the family sacrifice, they ate vegetarian food.

But the atmosphere at the dinner table had already softened. Lady Ying was saying to her two sons, "I will call the tailor to come to the house tomorrow to take your measurements; each of you will order at least three new sets of clothes." Both sons had grown taller, and their old clothes no longer fit. "Also, in another ten days or so, it will be the Third Day of the Third Month, the Shangsi Festival. There will be a temple fair in the west of the city, and all the young men and women will go."

The brothers both replied with an "Oh."

He Chunhua ate a few mouthfuls and then set down his chopsticks, taking out two letters and lining them up on the table: "These two are both letters from Minister Li. The first one arrived five days ago, and the second one arrived this morning. Yue'er has already looked at them; Chuan'er, you take a look."

The Li family's great backer had finally written to the new Grand Coordinator of Xiazhou.

The Li family had suffered so many grievances under He Chunhua; it would be strange if they didn't go crying to Minister Li. He Lingchuan knew that one of the reasons his father hadn't gone all out in Dunyu was, to some extent, out of fear of Minister Li's reaction.

After all, the man was of high rank and great power, and had direct influence over the Emperor.

Just by looking at He Chunhua's relaxed expression, He Lingchuan knew that Minister Li's attitude shouldn't be bad.

The first letter Minister Li wrote was several hundred words long, rambling on. The gist was that the Li family's descendants were mediocre and foolish, and had actually sought trouble with the Zhan family without any evidence. "Grand Coordinator He, you have disciplined them well on behalf of my Li family—"

However, Li Zhao had recently died, and his family was so grief-stricken that their words and actions were improper, leading to a grave mistake. Wasn't that, perhaps, understandable?

Afterwards, Minister Li would coordinate with various ministries during the court session, raising a total of twenty thousand shi of grain to be transported to the northern frontier.

He Chunhua added, "Judging by the time, this batch of military supplies will arrive in Dunyu in at most two days. At that time, they will rest here briefly before being sent to the front line."

"The wording is extremely cautious." He Lingchuan shook the letter paper and said deliberately, "I thought Minister Li would use his influence to pressure people and order Dad to release Li Yu."

"He dares?" He Chunhua sneered. "A local official is more effective than a distant superior. Xiazhou is my territory now, and it is also one of the two major front lines that the Wang Ting is most concerned about. If he dares to bully people with his influence at this time, I can directly hand his letter to the capital for the King to read. So, at this time, he has to be polite and well-behaved; he cannot let me catch him in a mistake."

Rather than saying Xiazhou was the center of attention, it would be better to say this place was a quagmire, and the Wang Ting was already overwhelmed by fighting on two fronts. If he were to just quit, no one else could even pick up the pieces.

Could Minister Li dare to guarantee that the new Grand Coordinator he recommended for Xiazhou could do a better job than He Chunhua? So, at a time like this, He Chunhua was not afraid of him.

He Yue interjected, "The western front is also crying out for supplies; General Ke has even gone to the capital to beg for grain. Minister Li allocating twenty thousand shi of grain to the northern front at this time is just to show goodwill to Father, wanting Father to show mercy."

He Lingchuan scoffed, "Old fox, he can still get grain after all." Rations were the lifeline of the soldiers. "Twenty thousand shi of grain is enough for Zhao Pan's army to eat for a month."

This gift could not be called light, but what was infuriating was that He Chunhua still had to send it out, send it to the north.

"Once it's transported here, it won't be twenty thousand shi anymore." He Chunhua shook his head. "Forget it, it's a good thing after all."

He Lingchuan picked up the second letter and read it for a few moments, barely managing to keep from laughing.

"This was sent after our two great victories were reported to the capital, right?" Judging by the time, it was just right. This Minister Li's posture was truly very flexible.

There was also a hint of a smile in He Chunhua's eyes: "Yes."

Minister Li's second letter had a much warmer tone than the first. He first congratulated the new Grand Coordinator on his first victory since taking office, then encouraged him to keep up the good work, and afterwards, in a righteous tone, demanded that he severely punish those unfilial descendants of the Li family who had broken the law, saying there was no need to give him any face.

The finishing touch was left for the end: Minister Li was very gratified, saying that after the rebel Sun Fuping was executed, he had recommended the meritorious official He Chunhua to the King for the position of Grand Coordinator of Xiazhou, which seemed to be a move that benefited the common people of Great Yuan.

"He took all the credit for himself in one go." He Lingchuan said with an "Oh," "Dad, so it turns out he was the one who recommended you?"

"It's not that simple; he just participated in it." He Chunhua shook his head. "Greedily taking credit for oneself is their usual routine."

He Lingchuan felt a stir in his heart. It sounded like his father was very clear about the situation at the time. Did he have someone in the court? That's right, his father's social networking ability had always been excellent and could not be underestimated.

"Father, how do you plan to sentence the Li brothers, Li Zhi and Li Yu?"

"Sentence them as the law dictates." He Chunhua said indifferently, "It seems that Li Xiaoliu and Minister Li have already established a connection."

Li Zhao's two sons were considered finished. Minister Li might be thinking of cutting off his arms to survive, kicking away these two annoying cowards who only knew how to fight among themselves, and then supporting the third generation of the Li family, Li Shuang, to take control of the Li family.

From a global perspective, this was better for the Li family.

"This batch of military supplies sent by the Wang Ting cannot be delayed; it must be sent to the northern front as soon as possible." He Chunhua said to his eldest son, "Chuan'er, you come with me."

He Lingchuan was startled: "Dad, you want to escort the grain yourself?"

"Yes, I also want to take this opportunity to observe the civil situation in Xiazhou and meet with General Zhao Pan." Xiazhou was Zhao Pan's rear base and supply line. As the new Grand Coordinator, he needed to meet Zhao Pan as soon as possible to coordinate well. "Besides, Zhao Qinghe told me that the mobile cavalry of Xunzhou is still roaming in the central part of Xiazhou; perhaps there will be an opportunity to train troops this time."

After the meal, everyone returned to their rooms to rest, and He Chunhua entered the study.

Old Mo brought someone to find him: "Master, someone has come from the capital." After saying this, he retreated to stand guard and closed the study door behind him.

This person was travel-worn, looking more like an old farmer than a messenger. He took a letter and a silk pouch from his bosom and offered them with both hands: "Today is the He family's memorial day. My master ordered me to arrive in Dunyu within today to express his heartfelt wishes."

"Thank you for your hard work." He Chunhua took the letter, removed the wax seal on it, and opened it to read.

The signature at the end of the letter:

Yan Lixin.

He Chunhua read it hurriedly, the solemnity on his face eased slightly, and a smile bloomed: "Looking at it this way, the position of Imperial Preceptor is already in Mr. Yan's pocket."

Previously, Marquis Songyang had talked at length with him about the struggle for the vacancy of Imperial Preceptor left after Sun Fuping's death. He didn't expect that this Grand Coordinator He had actually already hooked up with one of the candidates.

The trip to Shi Huan was not in vain.

Politics was the biggest gamble; as long as you chose the right side, you would benefit for a lifetime.

"My master thanks you for your strong support."

￥￥￥￥￥

Hong Chenglue knew that since three bailiffs had died in his house, he would soon become a wanted criminal, so he didn't dare to poke his head out of the window when he left, for fear of being recognized. After all, there were few people in the town, and neighbors all knew each other.

He didn't know how Wu Qing and the others had managed it, or perhaps it was because the dead bodies in his courtyard hadn't been discovered yet, but the convoy drove out of Bai Lu Town very smoothly without being inspected at all.

Traveling further north, there were fewer and fewer people and horses on the main road.

After traveling another four li, there was an open-air drinking shed by the roadside.

Such sheds were mostly built by wells or rivers, where travelers could drink hot water, sometimes even hot tea, and horses exhausted from walking could also drink from the troughs, though of course, they all had to pay.

Except for the waiter pouring water, there were only three people in the drinking shed now. Just as Wu Qing's convoy arrived, they mounted their horses and left.

Hong Chenglue actually urged him: "Pour water quickly, we need to catch up with those three people in front."

Wu Qing nodded, went down to fill two waterskins with hot water, and then urged the driver to hurry, always hanging behind the three riders at a steady pace.

After walking another two li, there was no one else on the road.

Hong Chenglue untied a horse himself and rode after them.

Those three were discussing the matter of arresting wandering criminals. Hearing the rapid hoofbeats, they turned back. The leader was the one who had executed the boy who stole grain in the town earlier, surnamed Chen.

(End of chapter)