Let Me Explain, Fairy
Chapter 866 - 543: Demand

Chapter 866: Chapter 543: Demand

Making money wasn’t actually difficult for Xu Yuan, but raising such a large sum of silver in a short period of time still presented quite a challenge, one that was indeed significant.

As Xu Yuan surveyed the antique hall around him, he rubbed his brow and tentatively asked Hua Hong,

"Elder Hua... If someone wanted to purchase, could the payment for this sum of silver be deferred?"

"No," Hua Hong chuckled in response, then countered, "Didn’t you just say you had a little money on hand?"

After a moment’s silence, Xu Yuan shamelessly grinned and said,

"It’s precisely because it’s a little money, I thought to discuss it with you, Elder."

"Small businesses don’t offer credit," Hua Hong seemed to realize this young man probably didn’t have enough to cover even a fraction of the military supplies, "Old Man Hua will take care of the Huizhou County matter for you, but as for these military supplies... come to Old Man Hua when you have gathered enough silver."

With that, Hua Hong crisply rose to his feet.

Xu Yuan, upon seeing this, quickly took two steps forward and caught the corner of his sleeve, lowering his voice and said hastily,

"Elder Hua, you should know the plan I’m setting up is a big deal, can’t you make an exception?"

"A big deal? Heh... Young man, do you really want Old Man Hua to spell it out for you?"

Hua Hong gave Xu Yuan, who stood blocking his path, a sidelong glance, his voice teasing,

"The Prime Minister’s Mansion currently has no intention of sending troops to interfere with Japan. Why have you decided that the Prime Minister’s Mansion should foot the bill for your decision? If you really need the Prime Minister’s Mansion’s help, go find Xu Yinhè, your father. The moment he gives the word, Old Man Hua will immediately coordinate the delivery of the military equipment for you."

"...."

After a brief silence, Xu Yuan cleared his throat and continued to speak,

"Elder Hua, it’s not like I won’t pay you, with my credibility and status I can’t even exchange for the equipment of two battalions? Besides, we have already settled on the settlement location for the Earth Palace Remnants, can they still run away?"

Hua Hong surveyed Xu Yuan from top to bottom, huffed lightly, and uttered two words:

"No way."

Xu Yuan smacked his lips and asked,

"Then, as the Chairman of the Tian’an Commerce Assembly, you should be able to help with this favor, right?"

Hua Hong didn’t deny it and replied as if conducting official business,

"It’s possible, but Old Man Hua is unwilling to help. In light of the affair on the island of Japan, Old Man Hua shares the same stance as your father. In terms of the interests of the Prime Minister’s Mansion, there is no need to follow the lead of the royal family."

With that, Hua Hong looked deeply at Xu Yuan,

"You should be able to understand the reason why."

"...."

Xu Yuan remained silent.

Di’an City nearly went up in flames, and although the Prime Minister’s Mansion was responsible, it humiliated the surname Li royal family.

Li Yaoxuan was caught in a bind.

If he did nothing or merely sent symbolic troops, such a weak stance would incite restlessness among many within Dayan Territory. So, to maintain the royal family’s dignity, he had to forcefully send troops to teach a lesson.

And this was precisely what the Prime Minister’s Mansion wanted to see.

Although the royal family and the Prime Minister’s Mansion were currently on the same side, their cooperation already harbored concealed weapons. Li Yaoxuan would not leave the Prime Minister’s Mansion, this behemoth, for his successor.

Once the royal family sent troops to Japan, their strength within Dayan Territory would undoubtedly be weakened to some extent.

Waging war was an expenditure of national strength, let alone an overseas expedition.

Gently patting Xu Yuan on the shoulder, Hua Hong glanced at Bai Muxi, who had been listening with her head bowed, and said softly,

"Changtian, Old Man Hua doesn’t want, and can’t, interfere with what you’re doing with your private troops, but as long as it concerns the Prime Minister’s Mansion’s interests, Old Man Hua will follow your father’s orders.

"Of course,

"If you can proceed through the normal purchase channels, Old Man Hua can also offer you some support."

"...."

Xu Yuan’s eyelids slightly drooped as he said softly,

"Alright... I understand."

Hua Hong exhaled softly:

"Given these circumstances, let’s proceed according to my earlier suggestion. The arms for six battalions will be delivered to you by next year’s summer solstice...."

"Wait a moment, I didn’t say I don’t have the silver to pay for the arms."

"...." Hua Hong.

Xu Yuan chuckled softly:

"Old Man Hua, please expedite the assembly of the arms for these two battalions. I can settle the silver within half a year."

Gathering money wasn’t difficult for Xu Yuan; the challenge lay in amassing such a large sum of silver in a short period. However, his grandfather had just revealed to him the information about Feng Family’s hidden treasures on the first day of the month, and together with other various secret caches along the way, arming two battalions of soldiers was well within reach.

Observing Xu Yuan’s confident demeanor, Hua Hong suppressed his impatience and quickly said:

"If you want to prepare for war, merely Patterned Helm Spiritual Blades won’t suffice; you’ll also need battlefield steeds, war chariots, military birds, and other indispensable supplies like shade covers and dazzle flares for auxiliary military equipment."

"I am aware of all that. The arms should be purchased following the specifications of the Divine Will Battalion within the Black Scale Army."

"The Divine Will Battalion?"

Hua Hong narrowed his eyes slightly: "Are you sure you can afford it?"

"I’m sure," Xu Yuan answered without any hesitation.

Each battalion within the Black Scale Army had its own name, such as Death Squad, Sharpened Edge, Vanguard, but ’Divine Will’ was not a fixed designation for any battalion. Instead, it represented a type of military system, one where the proportion of heavy cavalry and military birds far exceeded that of the average battalion, representing the elite of the elite.

Hua Hong furrowed his brow and paced back and forth twice in the spacious hall before turning back to speak:

"According to the Divine Will Battalion’s military system, it requires equipping three heavy cavalry companies, two crossbowman companies, and one heavy arms company, with each cavalryman having two horses, so that’s three thousand steeds and heavy beasts in armor, a crossbowman with two crossbows, a hundred spiritual arrows...."

"Enough, I know all this," Xu Yuan interrupted Hua Hong’s speech, forthright:

"Just make the preparations, and you won’t be shorted on the silver."

"Squeak—"

Hua Hong dropped back into his chair by the tea table, pressing his temples without speaking further, his gaze still occasionally sweeping over Xu Yuan and Bai Muxi.

For a moment, the vast waiting hall fell into silence.

Hua Hong was deliberating.

He was weighing the credibility of Xu Yuan’s words.

Based on the scale of the Tian’an Commerce Assembly, the arms for two Divine Will Battalions constituted a pretty large transaction, involving nearly every type of military equipment.

Due to the war at the Northern Frontier, the weapon workshops operated by the Tian’an Commerce Assembly over the decades had begun to unlock their production capacity. Yet even so, the arms for two Divine Will Battalions would occupy one-third of the entire commerce assembly’s production capacity for half a year.

If Xu Yuan could indeed deliver the payment on time, everything would be fine since the current release of military production could support the Northern Frontier’s war effort with some margin to spare.

The existing arms inventory could fill the gap without affecting the supply to the soldiers at the frontline of the Northern Frontier.

However, if Xu Yuan failed to pay, the financial chains of many small firms under the Tian’an Commerce Assembly would be directly cut off, causing a series of unfortunate events to unfold. If such ripple effects spread too far, even if he could control the aftermath, his old bones couldn’t shield Xu Yuan. If this caused upper echelon dissatisfaction with the young man...

After long contemplation,

Hua Hong slowly lifted his eyelids and let out a breath, his voice devoid of emotion:

"I can agree to this matter, but there is something I must clarify with you beforehand."

Xu Yuan arched an eyebrow and nodded slightly:

"Go ahead."

Hua Hong gently tapped the back of the chair, his expression more serious than ever:

"Although the Tian’an Commerce Assembly belongs to the Prime Minister’s Mansion, many of the medium and small-sized firms under it belong to local sects.

"Our military equipment production depends on them for many things; we need them to supply raw materials, their metallurgical workshops to refine metals, and even their Formation Masters to engrave Formation Patterns on the weapons.

"So these decades, even if our relationship was one of subordination, we would ensure they got a piece of the pie, for only then would they serve us loyally."

At this point, Hua Hong paused and said:

"Do you understand this, Changtian?"

After a moment’s silence, Xu Yuan suddenly chuckled and asked:

"Are you afraid I’ll provoke this group by trying to gain something for nothing, Old Man Hua?"

Hua Hong watched him for several breaths, his voice soft:

"I just want to tell you that for the past few decades, they have been trying to unite and form a power that could influence the upper-level decisions. Now that the war has begun, do not give them any grounds for complaint because we cannot afford another large-scale purge of them until this all ends.

"If you’ve understood, I can then proceed with arranging for your procurement needs today."