Chapter 803

This was his first time entering the Great Yuan Wang Gong. A year ago, when passing through Shi Huan City, only He Chunhua had the honor of being summoned by the Yuan King. He Lingchuan had not even been to the capital city before.

The Yuan Wang Gong was still quite imposing; the architecture was thick and sturdy, with black tiles and gray walls, and when arranged in rows, the varying heights gave it a strong sense of momentum.

This was a relic of the old dynasty, and after the founding monarch of Great Yuan took it over, it was renovated for over a decade, so its architectural style did not resemble the auxiliary city of Shi Huan City very much.

The layout of the royal palace was symmetrical along a central axis, and walking on the main thoroughfare, He Lingchuan's feeling was one of solemnity and reverence.

He secretly sighed, thinking that the Yuan Nation had indeed had its good old days.

The Yuan King met him in the Wenxuan Pavilion.

This was a small hall where the Yuan Monarch met with his ministers, usually used for small meetings of four or five people.

Outside, the weather was fine and sunny, but inside the hall, only two windows were open, and with dragon saliva incense burning, it was somewhat dim.

The Yuan Monarch sat behind a long table made of golden nanmu wood. Seeing He Lingchuan bow as he introduced himself, he waved his hands repeatedly: "No need for formalities, no need for formalities, rise!" He then said to the side, "Come, grant him a seat."

He Lingchuan looked up and saw that this young monarch was not even thirty years old, slightly plump, and even in this light, one could see his complexion was a bit pale, there were dark circles under his eyes, and there was a deep vertical line between his brows, the result of long-term frowning.

He Lingchuan thanked him and sat upright.

Basic etiquette still had to be observed.

The Yuan Monarch was amiable: "I heard you are not only the Rongshan Special Envoy but also General He's eldest son?"

"Yes."

Sure enough, the news of General He's eldest son transforming into the Rongshan Special Envoy had already spread throughout the Yuan capital.

"How did this come about?" The Yuan Monarch was full of curiosity, "Tell me about it?"

He Lingchuan then repeated the set of rhetoric he had told at home, selecting the main points.

A blatant deception of the monarch.

Yet the Yuan King clapped and laughed upon hearing it: "Truly a lucky general, just as Minister He said."

He Lingchuan knew that, in fact, he did not care about his own experiences at all, only about his identity.

The Yuan King added: "You have merit in lobbying Rongshan; once this matter is settled, I will appoint you as a Martial Training Commandant."

He Lingchuan could only thank him, knowing that the conversation was about to shift.

The title of Martial Training Commandant sounded good, but it was just an empty title with no real power. He knew the Yuan King dared not grant power again, otherwise, if the He father and son duo gained a foothold, they would be hard to suppress.

Even if he did not covet this bit of official position in the Yuan Nation, seeing the Yuan King's way of rewarding him, he was still somewhat disappointed.

Lacking in courage.

But the Yuan King immediately began to cough, coughing several times in succession, and the palace attendants on the side hurriedly brought water.

The Yuan King drank two sips to catch his breath, and when He Lingchuan asked at the right moment, he waved his hand and said: "Just a random cold, it's nothing."

"Take care of yourself, Your Majesty."

From this small situation, He Lingchuan knew that the decline of the Yuan Nation was even more severe than he had imagined. A monarch of a nation, nourished by Yuan power, should logically be strong and healthy, with no minor illnesses or disasters able to get near him.

When a monarch falls ill, it is either due to physical decline from old age, which is a natural law that Yuan power can only delay but not prevent; or it is because the national fortune is weak, to the point that even the monarch cannot enjoy abundant Yuan power. There are few other reasons.

The Yuan Nation was undoubtedly the latter.

"Great Yuan has been unlucky these past few years, with constant internal and external wars, Dong Haoming in the northwest, Nian Zanli in the north, and the rebellion in the south; there is no end to the suppressing," the Yuan Monarch sighed, "At least the northern military disaster is temporarily resolved, and we can free our hands to deal with Dong Haoming with all our might."

Once he said this, He Lingchuan understood: in the Yuan Monarch's eyes, the Grand Marshal was the primary threat, and the southern rebellion was far secondary.

As far as the current situation goes, this ranking is correct.

Over the past decade, the Yuan Nation had experienced no fewer than twenty rebellions of various sizes, the largest and most serious of which was the great southern uprising led by Hong Xiangqian, but in the end, they were all suppressed.

Why should this time be an exception? Those qualified to become the Yuan Monarch's greatest threat are separatist regimes like the Grand Marshal's, having troops when they need troops, grain when they need grain, and being well-organized and disciplined.

Seeing this point clearly, He Lingchuan understood why the Yuan Monarch had been urging He Chunhua to send troops.

Only by quickly quelling the southern rebellion could the Yuan Nation concentrate its full strength to deal with the Grand Marshal.

This is not only a relationship of primary and secondary importance but also one of difficulty.

Sure enough, the Yuan Monarch immediately added: "However, quelling the southern rebellion is the prerequisite, and time waits for no one. He Lingchuan, you must assist your father in quelling the rebellion as soon as possible and achieve great merit again!"

He Lingchuan immediately replied "Yes."

His identity at this moment was subtle; he was a Yuan person, a general's son, and also the Rongshan Special Envoy.

And the Yuan Monarch always addressed him based on his first identity, urging him to allocate funds as soon as possible.

He had already stood up, so he simply continued: "Your Majesty, the special envoys sent by Rongshan have been working overtime these past two days, but there are some discrepancies in the calculated prices of the mines, with an error of at least 800,000 taels."

Simply put, the collateral is insufficient.

The Yuan Monarch was stunned: "How can there be such a big difference?"

An official on the side responded at the right moment: "The account data for the mine wharves were all submitted last year, and this year's have not yet been presented, so there may be slight discrepancies."

800,000 taels is not "slight." Besides, the proven reserves of the mines would not change that much in a year.

He Lingchuan understood that this explanation was just a fig leaf. Borrowing money to fight a war is the top priority for the Yuan Nation right now; how could the account data not be prepared?

Seeing is believing; the Yuan Nation had inflated the data, which is not surprising at all. Even when borrowing money, the borrower hopes to pay less interest.

He Lingchuan immediately added: "Before I and the Rongshan people entered the Yuan capital, I had already gone to the Taihe Mine for a tour. There are two large and small ore veins there, and one of the three mine pits has water seepage and collapse, which has been completely blocked off. Now the mine pit is just a giant deep-water pit. We hired monsters to dive and explore, and the water is at least four or five zhang deep; it can no longer be drained. It is truly a pity, as the quality of the ore produced here was originally very good."

"Ah, this?" The Yuan King was stunned.

He Lingchuan was saying very tactfully that the Taihe Mine was unqualified! The Yuan King had personally inquired about this loan collateral, but when he designated the Taihe Mine, no one had told him about this kind of problem! The officials only mentioned reserves, output, ore quality, and the depth of the mine pits.

Once the Yuan King heard it, it sounded perfect, so that was it.

Who knew that this mine could not withstand an on-site inspection by others at all!

This loophole is a bit big; with the Yuan Nation's existing means, once the water-permeable layer is damaged during mining, the pit can only be abandoned.

Just an abandoned pit, and they dared to take it as collateral for Rongshan? Why not just be more direct and send Rongshan a plaque that says "Sucker"?

Thinking of this, the Yuan King pressed on the table until his fingertips turned white. He steadied himself and ordered in a deep voice, turning his head: "Go and investigate what is going on!"

The official on the side immediately responded.

"The appraised value of the Taihe Mine is insufficient, and I will try my best to negotiate with Rongshan. However, I am afraid that additional collateral will have to be provided." That is to say, the Yuan Nation must provide an additional 800,000 taels of collateral to fill this gap.

(End of chapter)