Chapter 795

"Look at Yuan's past suppression of rebellions; it's like pressing a gourd and having a ladle jump up. Some places that were just recaptured rebelled again in less than half a month." He said slowly, "Just fighting is not enough. Zhao Pan and Ke Jihai are already first-class generals of Yuan, but they are still constrained by various things in the rear, making it difficult to display their ambitions." These two were indeed loyal; the Monarch told them to fight, and they went to the front line.

But after fighting for so long, the lost territory still couldn't be recovered.

The more they fought, the bigger the financial hole became.

The more the logistics couldn't keep up, the more impossible it was to fight the war at the front.

Repeating this, a vicious cycle.

He was complaining here, but He Lingchuan smiled: "It seems Father has made up his mind. Whether being a person or leading an army, one cannot wait, rely, or ask."

He Chunhua's sorrow vanished: "Cannot wait, rely, or ask? That's well said!"

"So—" he changed the subject, "I asked the Monarch for the position of Yizhou Superintendent and to lead the military affairs of the three prefectures."

He Lingchuan was surprised: "Father has great spirit!"

He Chunhua was originally the Xiazhou Superintendent, and now he wanted to ask for the position of Yizhou Superintendent. It sounded like both were "Superintendents," but the geographical location, material output, and strategic status of Yizhou were far from what Xiazhou could compare to.

Not to mention, he also wanted to lead the military affairs of the three prefectures.

With military power, wouldn't these three prefectures be under his control?

That was effectively a hegemon of one side.

His father's ambition was finally exposed. No wonder the Yuan Monarch wouldn't agree; this was driving a tiger to swallow a wolf.

"This is also a last resort." He Chunhua shook the apricot branch beside him casually; apricot blossoms and leaves fell into the water, attracting the fish to compete for food.

Without rice grains, they competed just as fiercely. "Without political harmony, there is no wealth, military strength, or power."

"The Monarch scolded me when I first mentioned it, and he is still angry these past few days. So—" he looked at He Lingchuan, "Chuan'er, you are truly my lucky general. For the sake of the Rongshan loan, the Monarch will definitely consider it carefully again."

He Lingchuan splashed the water: "Won't the Monarch send someone else to suppress the rebellion?"

"He already sent someone." He Chunhua said lightly, "It was a transfer from nearby. I think, in a few days, there will be battle results, just helping me test the quality of the rebel army."

"What if they win?" Did his father still have chips in his hand? "Don't worry." He Chunhua seemed very optimistic, "As long as the Grand Marshal doesn't die, I will have a place to use my skills."

At this time, Steward Wu ran in from the south to report: "Master, Lord Wang sent someone to invite the eldest young master, uh, the Rongshan envoy!"

The Rongshan envoy's party originally stayed in the post house, but He Lingchuan moved the entire team into the He mansion.

This matter, of course, would be reported to the Chief of Protocol.

He Lingchuan also had the surname He, and now he had entered the He mansion; Lord Wang would have some associations.

He Chunhua immediately stood straight: "Go, I'll go with you to see Lord Wang."

The father and son went to change clothes first, and He Lingchuan called Qiu Hu, Hu Qin, and two Rongshan disciples to go out by carriage.

The function of the Chief of Protocol was external communication, and the office was also built very grandly.

The carriage arrived, and Lord Wang personally greeted them at the door; seeing the He father and son get off the carriage together, his expression was strange.

He didn't feel it yesterday, but now the two people with the surname He stood together, their facial contours somewhat similar.

At a glance, there was a blood relationship.

Oh my, this, this, this?

But he was also someone who had seen big scenes, and in the blink of an eye, he switched to a warm face: "How did the Rongshan envoy rest last night? Why did Lord He come too?"

He Lingchuan looked at this Lord Wang, round face and round nose, like a soft white bun; it was a pleasing face.

"Good, slept very well." He coughed lightly and pointed to He Chunhua, "To tell you the truth, this is my father."

Even with psychological preparation, Lord Wang was momentarily speechless.

He Chunhua immediately said: "The Rongshan Sect instructed him to put public matters before private ones upon arriving in Yuan, so I only learned this morning that Chuan'er had actually become a Rongshan envoy."

Lord Wang muttered the three words "He Lingchuan" in his mouth, then said: "The envoy is... the eldest son of Lord He who fell into the water?"

He Chunhua returned to the capital from Xiazhou, wearing the halo of successive victories; the Yuan court officials knew his basic information, knew he had two sons, and that his eldest son had fallen into the water during the Hanhe Battle last year and unfortunately died; his second son had gone to the Minister of Agriculture.

But He Lingchuan's position was very low; although the Yuan court added a pension, no one really remembered He Lingchuan's name.

Lord Wang heard his name yesterday and felt vaguely familiar, but didn't think carefully.

Now that he finally matched the person, he only felt it was outrageous! "Yes." He Chunhua said with emotion, "This kid has a big life; he didn't die after falling into the water, but drifted to the Rongshan Sect, and finally returned with the status of an envoy."

Although he sighed, he couldn't hide the smile in his eyes.

Lord Wang immediately cupped his hands, smiling: "Congratulations, Lord He!"

This General He was already famous and dared to bargain with the Monarch; now his son had returned to the country with a huge sum of life-saving money, which was like adding wings to a tiger; it was incredible.

This news had to be reported immediately.

He Lingchuan coughed lightly: "Lord Wang, business is important."

Lord Wang smiled: "Rongshan envoy, please; Lord He..."

Before he finished speaking, He Lingchuan snatched the lead: "Lord He is busy with official business today and can only meet again at home at dinner time."

He Chunhua wanted to stay and watch the two sides negotiate, but since his eldest son said so, he had to say: "Hmm, then I'll trouble Lord Wang to take care of things; I'll go first." After saying this, he nodded to Lord Wang and boarded the carriage to leave.

After sitting in the carriage, the corner of He Chunhua's mouth bloomed with a cold smile.

This kid was too decisive in driving him away; was he afraid he would point fingers while reviewing the mortgage?

Lord Wang breathed a sigh of relief.

If He Chunhua stayed, he would inevitably exert influence on the scene. With this old fox in the officialdom, it would be hard for him to display his skills.

Now that only a seventeen or eighteen-year-old teenage envoy was left, his pressure was greatly reduced.

Work hard, maybe the agreement could be signed in these two days?

He gave a wink to the attendant on the side, who understood and retreated quietly to report the true identity of the Rongshan envoy.

He Lingchuan didn't care at all, taking Qiu Hu and Hu Qin, and followed Lord Wang into the office.

Sitting down at the long table for tea, Lord Wang immediately said: "According to the terms proposed by our country to the Rongshan Sect recently, the loan totals seven million taels of silver, at two percent interest, calculated as simple interest. The interest is settled annually, and the principal is settled within five years. If not, the thirty-year operation rights of the Yongshan Mine, Taihe Mine, and the western grassland of Haozhou, and the thirty-year transport rights of Wusong Port on the Xunyang River and Baixun Bay on the Hanhe River will be used as collateral!"

The polite words were finished yesterday, and today they entered the formal process.

He Lingchuan could recite the content of the agreement by heart long ago. The Rongshan Sect could be considered kind; Yuan proposed two percent simple interest, and they didn't object. Calculated this way, it was 1.68 million in interest annually.

(End of chapter)