Chapter 244: Borrowing to Get By in the Prefectural Government

Meng Shan needed to recuperate, but He Lingchuan had no shortage of opponents at the Martial Arts Hall. There were all kinds of fighters: tall and short, fat and thin, nimble and cunning.

Seeing him there every day, others itching for a fight would challenge him. He even encountered two soldiers from the Great Wind Army.

Fortunately, unlike Meng Shan, others didn't fight to kill, so whether He Lingchuan won or lost, he could face six or seven people in a single dream.

His strength, skill, and agility rapidly improved through actual combat.

Another person who benefited greatly was Skinny. Since He Lingchuan arrived at the Martial Arts Hall, Skinny's income had soared. It was said that in just a few days, he had almost saved enough for his nephew's tuition.

He was rolling in money.

The sun was high in the sky.

He Chunhua passed by his home and decided to go back for an item. As soon as he entered the side hall, he saw his wife and eldest son sitting at a table, eating pastries.

They were enjoying pastries and tea, chatting and laughing cheerfully.

Since when had their relationship become so harmonious?

Lady Ying also saw her husband, stood up, and exclaimed in surprise, "Oh, you're back?"

"I came to retrieve two documents. I left them in the study last night." He Chunhua looked at the table, which was covered with an array of charmingly shaped small pastries. "What are these?"

"Lotus crisp pastries, mint-scented cakes, and these pretzel crisps are the best," Lady Ying said, clearly in a good mood. "Your son brought them from our family's restaurant; they're specialties there."

He Lingchuan handed a pretzel crisp to his father. "Otherwise, why would it be called 'Hesulou'?"

He Chunhua casually ate it. "Hmm, it tastes good." Seeing his son slouching, he couldn't help but say, "Are you still idle today?" He and He Yue were so busy they were practically falling over themselves.

In the past, if their eldest son were this lazy, his wife would usually scold him, unlike now, when she just sat smiling.

"Ah, I'm waiting for someone."

He Chunhua didn't bother to ask who he was waiting for. The boy had been surrounded by people coming and going recently.

"You haven't handled what I told you to do the day before yesterday, have you?" he reminded his son. "The records clerk reminded me again today that the bailiff of Xin Township, surnamed Zhou, has been waiting for your esteemed presence."

"I'll go."

He Chunhua wasn't so easily fooled. "When?"

If all his subordinates weren't swamped and truly unable to spare anyone, he wouldn't have assigned the boy this task.

"Dad, the mess your officials made, they can't sort it out themselves, that's why they want me to do it," He Lingchuan said lazily. "Don't I need to make some preparations?"

"Control the situation, don't let it escalate," He Chunhua instructed him. "Xin Township has the best soldiers around Dunyu, and there are many meritorious families there. We are currently recruiting soldiers, so don't antagonize them."

He Lingchuan frowned. "If that's the case, why not put the dispute aside and deal with it after the war?"

"This war won't be over anytime soon."

When He Chunhua said this, Lady Ying couldn't help but sigh. Indeed, Xia State was still a very long way from peace.

"Spring is approaching. If the ownership of those fields isn't settled, it will be even more difficult to manage after crops are planted," He Chunhua said gravely. "Xin Township isn't an isolated case; others are watching closely to see how we handle this."

He Lingchuan took a sip of tea. "Understood. I'll take care of it as soon as possible."

Lady Ying asked, "I heard that before we arrived, the treasury was so empty you couldn't find two strings of copper coins. How is it that recently there's so much grain and military supplies being transported to the front lines?"

She greatly admired her husband. Taking over such a dilapidated prefecture, he had managed to make it so prosperous.

He Chunhua smiled. "Thanks to the nobles, big and small, from all around."

He Lingchuan answered for him. "A few days ago, when rumors were rampant, even the Four Great Clans were wavering, believing that the Xunzhou army was unstoppable and would soon reach Dunyu. Dad must have used that opportunity to do something."

In fact, Ding Zuodong had already informed him of the unusual goings-on in the city.

"At that time, everyone was on edge," He Chunhua said with a slight smile. "I persuaded these prominent families and gentry that we were all in the same boat. If Xia State ran out of resources, Yan Zanli would surely slaughter them like fat pigs, so they shouldn't harbor any illusions of escaping. They found this very reasonable and therefore voluntarily lent money and supplied grain to the prefecture to defend against the enemy."

He emphasized the word "supplied."

He spoke lightly, but Lady Ying knew well that her husband had been leaving early and returning late, losing weight from exhaustion. These matters must have been incredibly difficult to manage, involving countless arguments, evasions, protracted struggles, and power plays.

He Lingchuan was also puzzled. "What do you mean by 'supplied'?"

"Do you remember the chaotic accounts that accumulated in the prefecture's granary before I took office?"

"With the Four Great Clans leading the way, exchanging grain at the granary and running up empty debts? Yes, I remember."

"I had Yue'er roughly sort out the accounts, and then I asked these wealthy gentry to deliver grain to the granary to fill the deficit," He Chunhua explained. "The deficit was huge and couldn't be fully covered at once, but the grain delivered was enough for the short term."

He Lingchuan slapped the table. "Dad, you're really something! You even made them vomit out what they'd already eaten!"

This description was terrible, and He Chunhua and his wife both showed disdain.

"Why didn't they just move away?"

"Without an official government seal on the household registration certificate, commoners moving privately is considered evasion and a serious crime." Household registration management was, in principle, very strict; commoners needed a certificate from their original place of residence to relocate.

However, in the current State of Yuan, household registration management was chaotic in some areas, and permanent residents weren't monitored as closely.

Large clans like the Zhan family had already obtained relocation certificates from the prefecture before He Chunhua took office, allowing them to move elsewhere. Other fleeing commoners could not have such certificates; they were essentially tagging along at the end of the Zhan family's entourage, hoping the Zhan family would be benevolent enough to take them in at a new location.

"Besides, their foundations are all here; moving would be like dislocating bones and tearing tendons," He Chunhua said. "They can't leave unless absolutely necessary. Look at the Zhan family; they left too early and made the wrong move. Their businesses, built over thirty or forty years, had to be sold off cheaply to new owners. This severely damaged their vitality. Without a lucky break in the next ten to fifteen years, the Zhan family might not recover."

Speaking of which, He Lingchuan was also quite satisfied. Through Ding Zuodong's operations, he had also reaped profits from the Zhan family's dispersion of wealth.

And what he gained was just a small portion; the biggest beneficiary should have been the prefecture! Yes, He Chunhua used the money from the treasury—the silver he borrowed from nobles, big and small—to personally sweep up property at extremely low prices when the entire city was in a panic and the Zhan family was retreating in a hurry the day before yesterday! These assets immediately transformed from private ownership to state or, rather, prefectural ownership.

One Zhan family bled out and fell, while other players got half-full.

He Lingchuan smiled. "The prefecture must have issued a lot more IOUs, right?"

"Yes, what can I do?" He Chunhua uncharacteristically scratched his head. "It took a lot of effort for the Li family to waive 150,000 taels of silver in debt, and the Shu family also waived 30,000. Others followed suit. But then, in a blink of an eye, we borrowed even more."

For years, Xia Prefecture had been operating at a deficit, living on borrowed money. It had borrowed money and issued IOUs to nobles, big and small, in Dunyu, with the cumulative amount exceeding 900,000 taels.

Simply put, all four Great Clans were He Chunhua's creditors!

If it weren't for the impending war and his leverage over the Li family, it would likely have been very difficult to extract money from these misers.

"Alas, it's a case of borrowing new to pay old debts."

He Lingchuan understood him and knew that if he said "even more," the borrowed amount must be quite astonishing. But since He Chunhua didn't specify the exact figure, he found it awkward to press further.

"Dad, you disbanded all their private armies, yet they still lent money. That's very generous of them."

After the incident where the Li family deployed troops to assault the Zhan family, He Chunhua seized the opportunity to issue an order strictly prohibiting private armed forces. Those who already had private armies were to disband them on the spot, and each family could hire a maximum of one hundred guards. Violators would be severely punished.

The Zhan family, one of the Four Great Clans, was even beaten badly by the Li family's private soldiers. If this unhealthy trend wasn't stopped in time, everyone in Dunyu would soon feel insecure, and with the looming war, the practice of maintaining private armies would likely become even more prevalent.

If all able-bodied young men were recruited by the nobles, who would join the army to fight?

Clearly, this went against He Chunhua's objectives.

"The Li family was very cooperative," He Chunhua said calmly. "With them setting an example, other families didn't stubbornly resist."

He Lingchuan couldn't help but laugh. "Old man Li Zhao, his timing for dying was truly excellent."

If Li Zhao hadn't died, he would undoubtedly have been the most formidable obstacle for He Chunhua.

Without Li Zhao, the Li family was as soft as a sponge cake to He Chunhua, utterly unable to withstand his tactics.

Lady Ying tapped his forehead with a finger. "You child."

He Chunhua's brief respite didn't last long. He had just settled down to drink his second cup of tea and eat his second crisp pastry when someone from the prefecture arrived to urge him:

"Chief Administrator, a high-ranking individual from Chuan Yun Pavilion requests an audience at the prefecture office."

"Chuan Yun Pavilion?" He Chunhua was slightly startled. He put down his tea cake, patted his clothes, and stood up. "I'm off to handle some affairs. I'll be home for dinner tonight."

Lady Ying smiled, assented, and saw her husband out.

He Lingchuan scratched his head. "Chuan Yun Pavilion" sounded very familiar.

Thinking harder, it seemed to be the name of a certain Taoist sect with considerable influence in Xia State. He Yue had even suggested that he apprentice himself to Chuan Yun Pavilion, but his father had effectively vetoed it by procrastinating.

Since it was a major local sect, He Chunhua, as the newly appointed Chief Administrator, would inevitably need to interact with them more. Future dealings would be frequent.

At this moment, the butler, Old Mo, announced that Ding Zuodong had arrived, entering through the back door.

This person had been frequenting the He residence recently, and everyone there was used to it. As soon as he arrived, He Lingchuan pulled them inside and closed the door.

Lady Ying watched, shaking her head. They closed the door every day, whispering about who knows what—like father, like son.

Half an hour later, someone from the prefecture surprisingly arrived again, rushing in to relay a message:

"Chief Administrator requires Young Master He to immediately proceed to Xin Township for official business, immediately! It must be completed before sunset, no delays!"

The message was relayed verbatim, not a single word omitted.

He Lingchuan was also startled out. "What happened?"

"This humble one does not know."

He Lingchuan wasn't so easily dismissed. "What was the situation at the time?"

"The Administrator was engaged in a pleasant conversation with Elder Liang of Chuan Yun Pavilion," the messenger explained, "and came out midway to change clothes. He then quickly dispatched this humble one to deliver the message. The Administrator also said he would host a grand luncheon for Elder Liang to buy you a little more time."