Chapter 49: Master Meng Yangming's Journey West: Three Conditions
In the end, Meng Yangming passed away peacefully, and the Meng family held an exceptionally grand funeral for him.
Xu Ning personally participated in the entire procession, and Emperor Xia Yun also attended to pay his respects to the last Grandmaster.
Watching the funeral procession disappear into the distance, Xu Ning's gaze was filled with complex emotions.
Was this the pain of immortality? He was increasingly experiencing it. His master, Zhao Datou; his teacher, Qiao Hexuan; his predecessor, Meng Yangming. One by one, they left.
Throughout it all, he could only watch helplessly, unable to do anything. It was a burden he had to carry.
"Minister Xu, would you like to have a drink with me?" Xia Yun approached and asked, his voice gentle.
Xu Ning nodded, pulling himself from his thoughts. "Please, Your Majesty, move to my humble residence. We can speak there."
A group of attendants then escorted Xia Yun and Xu Ning to the Prime Minister's residence.
Xu Ning was generous, bringing out a jar of fine wine that had been brewing for over thirty years. It was a special vintage.
This wine was brewed when Xu Ning was still practicing medicine. It was originally intended as a medicinal wine but had never been used. It was quite good to drink it now, aged to perfection.
Xia Yun took only one sip, and his eyes lit up. "Excellent wine! Minister Xu, have you embezzled it? How can you have such aged wine? I've never seen you bring it out to drink before!"
Xu Ning rolled his eyes. "Your Majesty, my house is bare. Do I look like I'm embezzling? I wasn't in the right mood before. Why would I bring it out to waste such a precious thing on unhappy occasions?"
Xia Yun was just joking. He knew Xu Ning's background perfectly well. The man was incorruptible.
However, Xu Ning was now genuinely interested in asking for something, so he spoke again. "Your Majesty, I'm not actually that short of money right now, but I need a large amount of pig iron and a large amount of cloth. More than I can reasonably buy myself without raising suspicion."
During this period, after careful calculation, Xu Ning realized that he was far from having enough pig iron and cloth for his upgrade plans. If he relied on collecting them slowly as usual, he might not even be able to upgrade many items to the mortal-grade divine quality by the time Xia Yun passed away.
And once Xu Ning left his position and was no longer the prime minister, collecting these things discreetly would be much more troublesome.
Xia Yun readily agreed to Xu Ning's request. "I thought you wanted something else! Tell me, how much do you need?"
Xu Ning stated the numbers. "Four million catties of pig iron and two million catties of cloth."
Xia Yun spat out the mouthful of wine he had just drunk, coughing. Then he asked again, "How much? Say that again."
Xu Ning repeated the numbers, then sighed dramatically. "If Your Majesty can't provide it, then forget it. I'll find a way myself. I know it's a lot."
Xia Yun was speechless. "With Minister Xu's salary over the years, it should be about right for you to buy it yourself."
After all, although the quantity of these items seemed large, if converted to silver, it would only amount to a little over ten thousand taels, less than twenty thousand taels. The cost was not the issue.
Xu Ning's salary in Da Xuan was the highest among officials, with various benefits amounting to over a thousand taels annually.
Ten years had passed since Xu Ning took office, which would amount to about ten thousand taels, plus Xia Yun's continuous rewards over the past ten years. Coming up with thirty thousand taels would be easy for him.
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Xu Ning explained, "Your Majesty, my money is useful for other things. I can't spend it all on this."
Xia Yun immediately objected. "Then my money is useless? Do you know that my private stash might not even be as much as yours? I'm not made of money either."
The emperor couldn't just take money directly from the national treasury for personal whims, so Xia Yun also had his own private stash. It was limited.
Xu Ning countered, "The whole world belongs to Your Majesty. You don't need to come here to complain about being poor. You have resources I could only dream of."
Xia Yun waved his hand directly. "Let me think about it first. This is not a small request."
Xu Ning took a sip of wine, unconcerned. "Your Majesty, take your time. No rush."
After a long while, Xia Yun finally spoke, his tone businesslike. "I have two conditions. Meet them, and you'll get your materials."
Xu Ning sat up. "Your Majesty, please speak freely."
Xia Yun asked, "You should be able to forge equipment of a higher level than the Iron Cavalry equipment, right? Something better than what the troops have?"
Xu Ning nodded. "Yes, I can. But I can only forge one full set for Your Majesty. It's extremely time-consuming."
Xia Yun nodded. "Alright, just forge one set for me, along with the corresponding horse armor. I want to personally lead the next expedition. I want to be on the front lines."
Xu Ning glared, concerned. "Your Majesty, this is unacceptable! It's too dangerous."
Xia Yun waved his hand dismissively. "Stop talking nonsense. The second condition is that the palace is currently without a Grandmaster. You need to think of a way to handle that. If a Grandmaster suddenly appears in the capital with hostile intent, it will be difficult to deal with."
Although the Grandmaster in the palace had initially chosen to stay and serve, he had passed away five years ago.
Meng Yangming, who had succeeded him in the role of protector, had also passed away today. The matter of guarding the palace against Grandmasters was now Xia Yun's most pressing concern.
Xu Ning considered, then offered, "Didn't someone break through to Grandmaster a few days ago? Your Majesty, just invite him here to serve. Problem solved."
Xia Yun glared at him. "How would I know who it is? The breakthrough happened, but no one has stepped forward. They're hiding."
Xu Ning smiled mysteriously. "This humble subject knows him, but he doesn't like to reveal his identity. How about this, this humble subject tells him that if any Grandmaster attacks the palace, he will intervene. He'll protect the throne in secret."
Xia Yun leaned forward eagerly. "You know him? Who is it? One of your contacts?"
Xu Ning shook his head. "This humble subject already said the other party doesn't want to reveal his identity. That's all I can say."
Xia Yun could only nod helplessly in the end. "Alright, as long as the matter can be resolved, that's fine. I trust you."
He then added, "Also, go and see my imperial sister. She asks about you often. That's important."
Xu Ning glared. "Your Majesty, this is the third condition! You said two."
Xia Yun grinned. "This is the most important one. The materials are yours, but you have to visit her."
Xu Ning finally agreed helplessly. "Fine. I'll go."
Afterwards, the emperor and his minister drank in comfortable silence for a while.
It was only with Xu Ning that Xia Yun could drink freely and speak openly. He always ended up getting completely drunk.
In Xia Yun's words, since becoming emperor, only with Xu Ning could he truly relax and be himself.
And every time he got drunk, he would complain to Xu Ning about various things that no one else could hear.
"My dear minister, do you know? When I favor a concubine, there's a whole bunch of people guarding outside the door. They're practically ready to come in and push me from behind if I take too long!"
"When the time is up according to the schedule, they yell outside. Sometimes I haven't even finished, and they have to pull up my pants! It's humiliating."
"And everything I do is recorded in detail by the court historians. Sometimes even using my hands, it's all recorded. It's driving me crazy! I have no privacy."
Xu Ning listened the whole time, his face showing a strange expression, but he dared not voice his opinion. What if the other man remembered it when he sobered up? He'd find a reason to punish Xu Ning for hearing too much, making him suffer too!
Finally, after Xia Yun was completely unconscious, Xu Ning called out, "His Majesty is drunk. Escort His Majesty back to the palace. See to his comfort."
Then, a large group of guards rushed in and carefully took Xia Yun away.
Everything was done smoothly. After all, this wasn't the first time Xia Yun had been taken back to the palace like this in recent years. Especially in the last two years, it had become particularly frequent.
In Xu Ning's words, it was a case of "both good and bad." He could understand why Xia Yun was feeling increasingly pressured and repressed by the weight of the crown.
The next day, Xia Yun found a pretext to bestow upon Xu Ning the pig iron and cloth he had requested, citing a reward for services rendered.
The other ministers were speechless. "Asking for so much at once? Are you planning a rebellion?" they thought. But they could only murmur these thoughts to themselves, afraid to voice them.
After all, the Prime Minister and His Majesty had such a close relationship that they sometimes discussed important decisions without including the others. Only after the final result was announced to the world would the other ministers realize what had happened.
What impressed them most was the grand scheme a few years ago to annex the surrounding countries through economic warfare. They had only learned of this plan at the very end. No one had realized it was happening along the way.
At one point, some had even voiced their opposition loudly, since trading grain for clothing at a loss seemed foolish. Buying high and selling low was a huge loss on paper!
When the final result was announced—the conquered territories, the expanded empire—the entire court was shocked into silence. The Prime Minister's methods were beyond their understanding.