Chapter 129: Refusing to Profit from National Calamity

"The student dares not!"

Xue Rui bowed slightly, refraining from saying anything further. Yet, Shi Heng understood perfectly; this tone was clearly one of defiance. However, in the presence of Yu Qian, he had no desire to argue with a mere stripling. He simply shot Xue Rui a piercing glare before turning away with a cold face.

Yu Qian looked at Xue Rui thoughtfully, then stared at the position of Zijing Pass on the map for a long moment before addressing Shi Heng: "Lord Bo, how about this? Does the capital garrison not have a new army currently undergoing training? What if you order the Assistant Commander in charge of their training, Liu Xinshu, to lead the troops to reinforce Zijing Pass? What do you think?"

Shi Heng felt a sense of relief upon hearing this. He had been responsible for the training of the capital's troops, and Liu Xinshu was his subordinate. This newly recruited force of three thousand had been training for little more than a month; while their combat effectiveness was naturally not high, they were perfectly suited for reinforcing Zijing Pass, serving at the very least as a reserve force for the garrison there.

As a Regional Commander, Shi Heng’s primary duty was the defense of the capital. Although the capital still held an army of two hundred thousand, they were stretched thin across the nine city gates. If he were to divert more troops elsewhere, the capital itself could face danger. As for what Xue Rui had said—that if Zijing Pass fell, the Oirat would slaughter the populace and plunder wealth—Shi Heng felt those were matters for the civil officials to consider; they had little to do with him. He only needed to focus on one thing: meeting the Oirat army at the capital, defeating them, and securing eternal glory for himself!

Hearing that Yu Qian would not touch the two hundred thousand garrison troops, but would only send three thousand new recruits to reinforce the pass, Shi Heng was indifferent. He said, "The Minister may make the decision; I have nothing more to say. I only ask that the Minister put some effort into the army's provisions and weapons and have them issued as soon as possible to boost morale."

"Rest assured, Lord Bo. I have already ordered it to be done. By tomorrow at the latest, all provisions and materials will be issued," Yu Qian nodded.

"In that case, I shall take my leave."

Although Shi Heng had not achieved his primary objective, he had secured Yu Qian's promise to issue the military supplies on time, so he did not leave empty-handed. His mood was considerably lighter. Before leaving, he looked at Xue Rui twice more, thinking to himself that this youth appeared unremarkable, yet he could influence Yu Qian’s decisions. It was clear he possessed extraordinary qualities and would have to be treated with importance in the future.

After the visitors departed, Yu Qian hand-wrote a transfer order and sent it to the capital garrison, instructing Liu Xinshu to lead his troops to Zijing Pass immediately for reinforcements. Seeing this, Xue Rui felt a bit more at ease. With three thousand more defenders at Zijing Pass, perhaps they could hold Esen outside the gate. If they could force him to retreat, the siege of the capital might be averted. Of course, the probability was slim; the Oirat were coming with fierce momentum, and without dealing them a real blow, it would be difficult to make them turn back.

With nothing left to do at the Ministry of War, Xue Rui bid Yu Qian farewell when the workday ended. Outside the Imperial Observatory, Xue Yuanhao was sitting in a carriage, waiting for his son to go home. Seeing Xue Rui approach, he beckoned him in, lowered the carriage curtain, and mysteriously produced a piece of paper, handing it to his son.

Xue Rui took it and saw, to his surprise, a two-hundred-tael silver note.

"Father, where did this come from? You didn't embezzle public funds, did you?" Xue Rui asked, stunned.

"Bite your... nonsense! Am I that kind of man?" Xue Yuanhao was so angry he nearly cursed, but remembering his wife, he quickly changed his tune, afraid his son might report his indiscretion.

"Then where did it come from?" Xue Rui was full of curiosity, thinking his father had learned to fish for side income just after taking office—much sooner than his master had anticipated.

Long ago, when Xue Yuanhao first took office, Hu Zhong had told Xue Rui a secret: even though the position of the Official of the Baozhang Bureau was only a low-ranking eighth-grade post, there was plenty of "grease" to be found. The vast family fortune of the Hu family had been built by Hu Zhong during his tenure. After Xue Rui humbly sought guidance, he learned the secrets. Whenever there was a war, generals would privately send people to ask Hu Zhong about their fortune to set their minds at ease. Hu Zhong would read the person and act accordingly. If they were kind-hearted, he would offer a few vague pointers based on his experience to help them avoid disaster. They would naturally bring gifts in return. If they were brutal, he would brush them off without taking their money to avoid trouble. If they returned safely, they would often bring more gifts. If they didn't return, they couldn't hold him accountable.

Because Xue Yuanhao had been in office for such a short time, Hu Zhong hadn't taught him these tricks yet. Xue Rui assumed his father had learned this on his own.

Unexpectedly, Xue Yuanhao whispered, "Liu An sent someone to deliver this."

"Liu An?" Xue Rui was stunned. Last time, Liu An had tried to barge into the Xue residence, and after being rejected, had slapped Xue Yuanba. To prevent him from harassing the Hu family, Xue Rui had reported him to Chen Yi, the Censor-in-Chief. The Emperor eventually had Liu An arrested and stripped of his title. However, when the "Venus enters the昴" celestial omen occurred, Zhu Qiyu had pardoned several disgraced officials, including Liu An, to fulfill the prophecy. Now, Liu An had been granted the rank of Commander and was stationed outside the Dongzhi Gate.

Xue Rui had been worried about retaliation, but it turned out the Emperor had kept his involvement secret. Liu An still believed the secret police had discovered his actions and had no idea Xue Rui was the one who had sent him to prison. Seeing the silver note, Xue Rui thought it was a warning.

"Father, did the messenger say anything else?"

"He said that I was 'godlike in my foresight' and that we should visit each other more often. This two hundred taels is an apology for his previous rudeness..."

"An apology?" Xue Rui realized then that he had once advised Liu An to return to Datong to avoid disaster. Liu An hadn't believed him then, but after being imprisoned, he realized Xue Rui’s words were true. This was clearly an attempt to curry favor.

When they returned home, Mother Liu was overjoyed by the money. She immediately began planning: "House prices in the capital have plummeted. We can buy a two-courtyard house for five or six hundred taels, spend three or four hundred on seventy mu of land, and save the rest for Rui'er’s future wedding. I've already scouted three families with daughters of suitable age..."

Xue Yuanhao was skeptical about marrying into high-ranking families, fearing their son might be bullied, but the candidates were quickly ruled out for various reasons—the daughter of the Minister was too high-status, and the daughter of the Official Ni had a jealous stepmother.

Xue Rui then jokingly suggested the daughter of Official Bu. "I heard she has blue eyes and silver hair like a fairy!"

Mother Liu was horrified. "That sounds like a Rakshasa ghost! We can't have that!"

After the three candidates were ruled out, Xue Rui felt relieved. "Mother, I'm still young. Let's not rush. After Father gets promoted, we can find someone even better."

Just as they sat down to eat, a maid reported that the maternal uncle had arrived. It was Liu Ren, Xue Rui's uncle. He looked panicked. "Have you heard? The price of grain in the city has risen by another twenty percent today!"

The family gasped. With the Oirat invasion, prices had already soared, and this new hike was driven by a cartel of grain merchants.

"That’s profiteering from a national disaster!" Xue Yuanhao slammed the table.

"My father doesn't know what to do," Liu Ren said. "Should we follow the price hike?"

Xue Rui looked at his uncle. "How much grain is left?"

"About 2,700 piculs."

"Don't do it," Xue Rui decided. "Sell it at the previous fifty percent increase to recoup our costs, but don't join in this extortion. If the others ostracize us, let them. There are plenty of other ways to make money. Tell Grandfather not to worry."

With that, the crisis was averted for the moment, though they could never have imagined the ripples this decision would later cause.