Where Immortals Once Walked

He set that suspicion aside for the moment and went out to receive the visitor.

Lord Wang of the Court of State Ceremonial had come to see He Lingchuan and convey the royal will.

The Royal Court of Yuan proposed adding thirty years of tax revenue from the Hongya Trade Route as supplementary collateral for the loan. In other words, if the Royal Court of Yuan proved unable to repay the debt, all tariff revenue from the Hongya Trade Route for the next thirty years would belong to Rongshan.

Moreover, to safeguard its interests, Rongshan would be permitted to station personnel there and collect the revenue directly.

As He Lingchuan understood it, this was effectively permission to station troops. If you wanted people to hand over money willingly, you needed a complete local setup of force to ensure compliance.

Ordinarily, no sovereign state would tolerate another power stationing troops on its own territory, but the Hongya Route possessed two special characteristics:

First, it lay on Yuan’s western frontier rather than in the heartland and therefore posed no threat to Yuan’s central or southern regions. It was also far from Rongshan itself, which meant the Rongshan Sect could not provide it with immediate support or reinforcements.

Second, the King of Yuan’s private calculation—one He Lingchuan might never have noticed had he not understood the Hongya Route so well:

The Panlong Desert was both one of the chief causes of western Yuan’s poverty, yet it was also its protective barrier. With the disappearance of the season of mad sand and the normalization of the desert, the greatest threat preventing foreigners from entering western Yuan had also vanished.

If powers beyond the border began making moves, then Yuan, exhausted by civil war, might be powerless to resist foreign invasion. Once the Rongshan Sect took control of the Hongya Trade Route, it would naturally also have to protect it.

In other words, the Rongshan Sect would effectively guard Yuan’s western gate on Yuan’s behalf.

That was the same responsibility He Chunhua had once borne as Commandery Administrator of Qiansong Commandery.

It seemed that after He Chunhua left Heishui City, his successor had not done a particularly good job.

In any case, the King of Yuan’s willingness to approve He Chunhua’s proposal also showed that He Chunhua’s influence over the Royal Court of Yuan was growing steadily.

This was something father and son had already discussed, so He Lingchuan had no objection. He merely nodded to Grand Herald Wang.

“I still need Rongshan’s people to calculate the value, but in my view, the proposal should be workable.”

He sighed inwardly. If Yuan had possessed even the slightest alternative, it would never have been forced to pledge such a high-quality asset.

The Yuan capital did not understand its true worth, but He Lingchuan did. All he could do was secure a fair valuation for the Hongya Trade Route.

* * *

The next day, through procedures everyone already understood, the Hongya Trade Route passed its assessment without difficulty.

The He father and son, together with the Minister of Finance, arrived at Fenglong Money House. He Lingchuan presented the documents, his special envoy token, and the official papers, then signed off on the first installment of the Rongshan Sect’s aid to Yuan.

The Minister of Finance received 1.9 million taels in actual silver. The remaining 1.8 million taels consisted of military supplies. He Lingchuan had previously sent a secret flying message, so part of the shipment had already been entrusted to officially licensed merchants for transport across the border. Yuan would receive those urgently needed supplies ahead of schedule.

When the King of Yuan learned the news, he summoned He Lingchuan into the palace again, praised him lavishly, and granted him several rewards.

With military aid on the way, the entire capital breathed a long sigh of relief.

Calling cards and invitations poured into the He Residence like snowflakes, addressed to either He Chunhua or He Lingchuan.

Yes, the “Rongshan special envoy” had now formally entered the sight of officials great and small throughout the Yuan capital. Not only did he possess the authority to approve the release of funds, but he would also supervise how the loan was used.

In Yuan, at this delicate moment, even the Royal Court of Yuan had to watch He Lingchuan’s expression and wait for him to nod before money could be released.

How could the officials possibly refrain from enthusiastically seeking his acquaintance?

He Chunhua simply brought He Lingchuan along with him. They either held grand banquets for guests at taverns or invited official friends to the residence to watch performances and admire the garden, as though they had abandoned themselves entirely to wine, women, music, and pleasure.

He even appeared to ignore military and political affairs. On one occasion, he attended a military council reeking of alcohol.

He Chunhua’s sudden change in behavior stirred endless discussion throughout the Yuan capital.

All this kept Madame Ying terribly busy. At dinner, in front of both her sons, she complained that the household had recently been spending money like water.

He Lingchuan happened to be home that day. With one leg crossed over the other, he stuffed bright red strawberries into his mouth. “No matter how much we spend on social obligations and gifts, it will all come back later with a little extra added as interest. Mother, you lack perspective.”

Madame Ying glared fiercely at him. “Who lacks perspective? Put your leg down! Sit properly. What kind of disgraceful posture is that?”

He Yue also picked up a strawberry. “The military supplies coming from the eastern border will arrive soon. Father is making the most of the time available.”

Rongshan’s people had begun evaluating the other collateral, so He Lingchuan finally had two rare days of leisure. “How have things been at court these past two days?”

The powerful and wealthy people of the Yuan capital had shown him boundless enthusiasm. Pretty girls in the first bloom of youth either twisted their ankles beside him or happened to fall into the water directly in front of him.

Quite a few noblewomen and young ladies had also made overtures to Zhu Xiu’er, hoping to gather information about him.

Even He Yue, who was already engaged, encountered girls casting flirtatious glances his way.

Everyone could see that the old He Family was preparing to rise with the wind.

He Lingchuan found it unbearably tiresome. After attending two banquets, he hid himself at home. When Madame Ying asked why, he merely said that wielding a saber and killing people was far easier than dealing with women.

“The court has been arguing fiercely over how the military supplies should be used.” He Yue was already very well informed. “His Majesty wants to send most of them to the northwestern front, since the troops there have lacked food and clothing for a long time. But one faction of senior officials insists that the southern rebellions must be crushed with overwhelming force. Only by ending them quickly can Yuan concentrate the strength of the entire state against Dong Haoming, so logistical support for the southern front must be sufficient. The war in the northwest cannot be finished in a day or two anyway, and these three million or so taels are only the first installment. Another three million or more will follow, so General Ke will not remain short of supplies for long.”

He Lingchuan was somewhat surprised. “Are all those senior officials supporting Father?”

How long had He Chunhua even been in the capital? How had he already gained supporters?

Most likely, he had begun planning and cultivating connections while still in Xia Province. This father of his possessed long vision and extraordinary ambition.

He had set his objective long ago.

“Not all of them. However, State Preceptor Yan supports Father.”

He Lingchuan drew out a long “Oh.” Of course. His father’s relationship with State Preceptor Yan Lixin was anything but ordinary. This was evidently the result of mutual support.

No one could survive alone in officialdom.

“There are also many ministers strongly supporting General Ke and demanding that the northwestern front receive priority.” He Yue shook his head. “Others argue that the official granaries in the various provinces have been empty for a long time and that government offices at every level can no longer pay salaries. Officials need to eat too, so they say a portion should be distributed to cover wages first.”

The official granaries were primarily used to supply officials’ stipends—in other words, to pay salaries at every level of government. This included, but was not limited to, silver, cloth, silk, fuel, and charcoal.

Hearing this, He Lingchuan looked down at the vivid red strawberries on the table.

Even in the Yuan capital, families of minor officials could not afford such fruit.

In truth, it was only after arriving in the capital as Rongshan’s special envoy and dealing with officials at every level that He Lingchuan truly understood how destitute the state had become.

At this moment, Yuan was like a dried-out sponge.

No matter how hard one squeezed, not another drop of water would come out.