Let Me Explain, Fairy
Chapter 864 - 542: Expenses_2

Chapter 864: Chapter 542: Expenses_2

The Earth Palace Remnants indeed have significant military potential, but that is merely potential.

Zeal and belief might make you stronger in a one-on-one melee, but in large-scale military formation clashes, these qualities untempered could instead become burdens.

Every single soldier of the Black Scale Army has undergone years, or even decades, of tempering; otherwise, even if they could form a military formation, just enduring the battlefields against Dayan’s elite armored warriors would become a unilateral slaughter, not to mention a city siege.

Moreover, the time left for the Earth Palace Remnants to train into an army might not be abundant; after all, the remaining lifespan of His Majesty within the palace is likely only a year or two.

As for this issue, Xu Yuan’s response was very straightforward,

"This depends on their own capabilities. If they fail, then it is their own fate."

"...."

Upon hearing this, Hua Hong gently smiled.

He had already understood the implications of the young man’s actions.

The Prime Minister’s Mansion’s top brass had been forcefully suppressed by the absolute authority of Xu Yinhè regarding the handling of the Earth Palace Remnants, but suppression did not mean elimination.

Xu Yuan was using this method to give an explanation to these high-ranking officials in the Prime Minister’s Mansion.

Should the situation truly develop to that extent,

if the Earth Palace Remnants could indeed seize those two important strongholds and hold off the three hundred thousand Northern Border Army for the Prime Minister’s Mansion, it would create a time window for the coup d’état in Di’an City.

That would be a favor of enormous merit.

Moreover, after this war, the population of the Earth Palace Remnants would certainly be greatly diminished, and the future that the high-ranking officials of the Prime Minister’s Mansion had been worried about would be indefinitely postponed.

Should they fail, the Earth Palace Remnants would still be able to use their large base of cultivators to buy some time, creating a time window. By that time, the Earth Palace Remnants would likely be exterminated, and the concerns of the Prime Minister’s Mansion’s officials would cease to exist.

Thinking of this,

Hua Hong looked at Xu Yuan with a hint of unfamiliarity in his eyes, but also with relief.

Such decisive tactics; the little brat had grown up...

As this thought flashed by, Hua Hong’s expression became a bit more serious,

"In that case, it’s best not to take on the Huizhou County’s civil engineering projects in the name of Tian’an Commerce Assembly."

"Is there a difficulty?" Xu Yuan asked.

Hua Hong smiled slightly,

"Just a matter of using some covert operatives, a simple task."

Apart from the official front, the Prime Minister’s Mansion had planted covert operatives in many places, and Hua Hong held in his hands some small to medium-sized commerce assemblies that officially belonged to the Sects or the Imperial Family.

Xu Yuan’s eyes flickered, probing as he asked,

"What about the final payment for Huizhou County..."

"Figure out the finances yourself." Hua Hong snorted coldly.

"Why?" Xu Yuan argued righteously, "I’m doing this for the Prime Minister’s Mansion."

"Changtian."

Hua Hong gently called out to interrupt, speaking word by word,

"By nature, these Earth Palace Remnants are your private army, not the Prime Minister’s Mansion’s."

"...."

Xu Yuan furrowed his brow slightly, pondering the meaning of these words without responding.

Seeing this, Hua Hong continued with a serious voice,

"In this life, I have followed the Miss, and for me, your private army is the same as the Prime Minister’s Mansion’s, but it’s different for Zong Qingsheng’s Black Scale Army.

"Just as our group of old fellows follows behind your father, Zong Qingsheng also has his own faction of martial generals.

"You’re aware, because of your previous actions, the Black Scale Army holds suspicion and even a rejecting attitude towards you, and now that you’ve suddenly gathered such a group of Earth Palace Remnants around you, what will they think?

"Over the past decades, the internal system of the Prime Minister’s Mansion has essentially been set in stone, and the sudden emergence of a direct-lineage military force around the successor will certainly threaten their positions.

"This is also one of the reasons behind the Black Scale Army’s strong stance in the secret meeting earlier this year; after all, there’s only so much money, provisions, and supplies. If allocated to the Earth Palace Remnants, the share originally for the Black Scale Army would decrease.

"Thus, if you can manage on your own, it’s best not to utilize the Prime Minister’s Mansion’s influence for Earth Palace Remnants’ affairs, at least not until your plan bears fruit and secures the merit."

Speaking thus, Hua Hong’s aged face revealed a wry smile as he sighed softly,

"Ah... Xu Yinhè probably wanted you to cultivate a young faction within the Black Scale Army as your direct lineage. You don’t need to deny it; that commander Yuan Hao was your father’s first Black Scale direct lineage given to you, and yet, you went out and found your own group of seeds to nurture, somewhat ruining the path he laid out for you."

"But you don’t need to worry. If truly you cannot procure silver, I can provide you with some privately, but definitely don’t go through the official channels of the Prime Minister’s Mansion."

"..."

After listening carefully, Xu Yuan fell silent.

The earnest words made Hua Hong’s wrinkled visage look a bit older as he gazed at the youth before him, feeling a spread of complexity within.

Brought out by the Miss from that small pawnshop in Chang’an, and having now almost reached the age of seventy, Hua Hong had devoted his life’s loyalty.

If possible, he truly wished to see the embodiment of the Miss’s offspring ascending to the throne...

But even these thoughts were kept in the deepest recesses of Hua Hong’s heart.

After a prolonged silence unfolded,

Xu Yuan suddenly chuckled lightly, refusing Hua Hong’s offer, saying,

"I understand, but it shouldn’t be necessary."

"Oh?" Hua Hong raised an eyebrow at the response.

Xu Yuan smiled faintly, half-jokingly saying,

"However, since you, the miserly old man, rarely offer generously, if you insist on giving it to me, I could accept."

Hua Hong was momentarily stunned, then couldn’t help but smile wryly at the response.