The Song, Liao, and Western Xia dynasties had been hostile for many years, particularly with the prefectures of Lin and Feng situated near the borders of the three nations.
Under the constant warfare between the three, even ordinary citizens now harbored deep-seated hatred for the people of Western Xia and Liao, grinding their teeth in fury.
Naturally, the people of Western Xia detested this perpetual obstacle blocking their eastward expansion route even more.
"Uncle Liu, the Master requests the young master to come to the study!"
As they walked towards the manor, a servant hurried over and whispered into Liu Wu's ear.
"Ah?"
Liu Wu cast a confused glance at him. The servant quickly nodded again.
"Young master, the Master is waiting for you in the study. Shall I lead you there?"
Liu Wu smiled and turned to Han Mo.
"Then I shall trouble old uncle to lead the way!"
Han Mo was indifferent.
Before coming today, he had already considered that given his recent actions, Zhe Ke Cun would surely have some concerns.
After all, he had been getting too close to Prince Xin recently, and had even interacted with the Crown Prince, which somewhat contradicted his previous words.
"The Master is inside. Young master, please!"
Not long after, Han Mo followed Liu Wu to Zhe Ke Cun's study.
"Thank you, elder!"
Han Mo smiled, gave a meaningful look to Zhe You Rong, who was wearing a veil, and then turned to enter.
"Nephew Han Mo pays his respects to Uncle!"
Upon entering, Han Mo saw Zhe Ke Cun writing something at his desk in the study.
"Please have a seat. I'll be done shortly!"
Zhe Ke Cun did not even look up, directly telling Han Mo.
"No rush, Uncle. Please continue your work!"
Han Mo did not mind, simply taking a seat at a nearby table and pouring himself a cup of tea.
"You Rong is back?"
After a full quarter of an hour, Zhe Ke Cun finally stood up and asked with a frown.
"Yes!"
Han Mo then rose, cupped his hands towards Zhe Ke Cun, and replied concisely.
"This girl was spoiled by me since childhood. Her actions..."
Zhe Ke Cun trailed off, unsure of how to continue. After all, Zhe You Rong had been too reckless this time.
"Her actions? What actions? Uncle, wasn't You Rong at home all along?"
Han Mo smiled and asked with a look of confusion.
"Ah? That's right, she was at home all along!"
Zhe Ke Cun took a deep breath. When he looked at Han Mo again, his eyes were filled with deep admiration.
"That's correct. Uncle, please do not mention this matter to anyone again. How could Miss Zhe, who is so gentle and elegant, be a thief who sneaks into others' residences at night?"
Han Mo urged again.
"I am relieved to hear you say that!"
Zhe Ke Cun also secretly breathed a sigh of relief.
If this matter were to be exposed, it would be a disaster for the Zhe family.
"What was Uncle doing just now? If I may be so bold, Uncle, are you preparing to request a batch of military equipment from the Emperor?"
Han Mo asked with a smile.
"How can you tell?"
Zhe Ke Cun was taken aback and asked with interest.
"Since I entered, Uncle has been frowning. The entire court is now discussing the recovery of the Sixteen Prefectures of Yan Yun. With war imminent, the only things that would worry Uncle are provisions and military equipment!"
Han Mo said with a smile.
"Indeed, excellent planning! Tell me, do you think this proposal is feasible?"
Zhe Ke Cun then looked at Han Mo with interest.
"Not very. In my humble opinion, it would have been better not to submit this document. If it is submitted, I fear you will gain nothing and instead anger the esteemed members of the Privy Council!"
"Will I?"
Zhe Ke Cun was stunned and asked somewhat confusedly.
"This is inherently a matter for the Privy Council. If Uncle directly bypasses the Privy Council to handle such matters at this time, do you think those esteemed officials will feel comfortable?"
Han Mo smiled and said directly.
"Then how do you think these things can be obtained?"
As Zhe Ke Cun spoke, he handed Han Mo what he had just written.
Han Mo merely glanced at the contents and was stunned.
It was similar to what Zhe You Rong had proposed earlier, with only minor discrepancies in terms of money and provisions.
This truly made Han Mo sigh, realizing how wary the court was of the Zhe family.
For just over a thousand sets of armor, Zhe Ke Cun was prepared to directly petition the Emperor.
"Why don't I handle this matter? I will ensure Uncle's wish is granted!"
Han Mo's eyes flickered, and he looked at Zhe Ke Cun again.
"Oh?"
Zhe Ke Cun looked at Han Mo with some surprise.
"With war imminent, this matter cannot afford to be delayed!"
Zhe Ke Cun looked at Han Mo with concern, seemingly not fully trusting him.
"Within five days at most, this matter will have a result!"
Han Mo smiled and said earnestly.
"Truly?"
Zhe Ke Cun's pupils contracted, and he examined Han Mo carefully.
"Of course, it's true. This matter, consider it a gift from your nephew to Uncle!"
Han Mo smiled and said earnestly.
"If this matter can truly be accomplished, it would be a great relief to my urgent needs!"
Although Zhe Ke Cun was anxious, he understood that this matter was somewhat irregular.
After all, he was a military man and could not navigate the intricate machinations of civil officials.
"Uncle, we are not strangers. I have something I wish to ask, if Uncle would permit..."
"Feel free to ask whatever you wish!"
Zhe Ke Cun smiled self-deprecatingly and said directly.
"Then I will speak plainly. The practice of the army engaging in commerce is not uncommon nowadays. Is the Zhe family truly in such dire straits?"
Han Mo asked the question that was most on his mind.
Although the army engaging in commerce was not a good thing, given the current environment, Han Mo was truly puzzled.
When others were swimming in wealth, why were they so impoverished?
Logically, even after fighting for so many years, they should still have some assets.
"Don't mention it. A few years ago, we did have some assets. However, the new salt tickets introduced by that scoundrel Cai Jing nearly wiped out all our past savings! After that, nothing we did went smoothly, and business became increasingly difficult."
When Zhe Ke Cun mentioned this, Han Mo suddenly understood.
No wonder Zhe You Rong would take such risks. After all this, there was this entanglement in between!
Cai Jing's reform of salt tickets involved him personally reprinting them and exchanging old salt tickets for new ones at a 30% discount, with a time limit for redemption. Any unredeemed tickets would become void, which was essentially blatant robbery!
While buying and selling salt was highly profitable, it was for the state. For the intermediaries, the merchants' profit was only about ten to twenty percent.
With his actions, the Emperor truly made a fortune, but the merchants were ruined. Even many civil officials throughout the empire were outraged and impeached Cai Jing.
However, since the largest portion of the profits went directly to the Emperor, what could their impeachment achieve?
"Nephew understands. However, if there are profitable ventures in the future, would Uncle be willing to participate?"
Since the Zhe family was so short of money, wasn't this the best time to win them over?
If Han Mo wanted to establish himself in the upcoming chaotic times, he naturally needed to consolidate his own power.