MLMD -Chapter 296 Visitors from Xuanda

Silver-white moonlight bathed the quiet courtyard, giving it an unusually serene air. In the center of the courtyard stood a gate-shaped object that shimmered with a silvery glow. Around this glowing portal, boxes—some packed in cardboard, others in wooden crates—were already stacked in a large circle, looking like an impressive amount. More boxes continued to pour out of the portal, until finally nothing more emerged. After a moment, a figure slowly stepped out of the portal and appeared in the courtyard.

“Phew… finally back. I’ve been gone a week—my wives at home must be missing me.”

Yue Yang, standing in the courtyard, looked at the stacks of boxes filling it to the brim. Glancing down at his designer suit, he bent over to pick up the jade pendant from the water basin and hung it properly, muttering to himself, “Dawn’s almost here. I should call someone to move these things inside. If I hurry, I might even have time for lunch and a short nap afterward.”

By near-noon, Yue Yang had finally led a group of men to move all the supplies to the storage warehouse on the outskirts of the city. Exhausted, he returned to the Hou Mansion.

As soon as he stepped into the front courtyard, he saw the steward, Cao Youqian, hurrying along the small path, his face drawn with worry. When Cao Youqian saw Yue Yang, his expression immediately lit up with unrestrained joy. He rushed over like someone seeing a savior, grabbing Yue Yang’s sleeve tightly as if afraid he would run off.

“Ah! My lord, you’ve finally returned! If you’d been any later, I swear I’d have jumped into the river!”

Seeing Cao Youqian so flustered, Yue Yang frowned in confusion. “Old Cao, what’s going on? I’ve only been gone a week. Is it really worth getting this worked up?”

Cao Youqian grimaced. “Lord, you don’t know… a few days ago, a group of officials came, specifically asking for you. I told them you weren’t here, but they didn’t believe me. They’ve been coming to the mansion every day waiting for you, and I didn’t dare turn them away. I was beside myself with worry.”

“And what about the lady? Did you inform her?”

“Of course, my lady knows. But she said there’s nothing she can do about it, and to wait until you returned.”

“Wait… there’s more?”

Yue Yang’s curiosity was immediately piqued. Who in this day and age would dare to harass him at the Hou Mansion? Could someone really have lost their patience?

Curiosity winning out, Yue Yang waved his hand. “Come on, take me to meet them. I want to see who has the guts to stir trouble for the Hou Lord.”

Following Cao Youqian to the main hall in the front courtyard, Yue Yang was met with a surprising sight. The hall was filled with over a dozen military officers in bright crimson robes, all of whom he recognized. These were all old acquaintances. Yue Yang could not help but call out in astonishment:

“Yang Zongbing, Wang Zongbing, Hu Zongbing… you… all of you are here?”

It turned out the hall was filled with Xuanda generals—Hu Dawei, Yang Guozhu, Wang Pu, Cao Tong, and others—almost all the senior officers from Xuanda had gathered.

Upon seeing Yue Yang, the men did something entirely unexpected: they all knelt on one knee in unison and said in unison, “Your servant greets the Hou Lord, wishing you health and prosperity!”

“Hah…”

Yue Yang could not help but chuckle at their gesture. Stepping forward, he slapped Wang Pu on the shoulder, jokingly scolding him, “You lot are mocking me, aren’t you? Hurry up and stand!”

“Not at all!” Wang Pu stood up with a grin. “As they say, etiquette must not be neglected. Now that you are a Hou Lord sharing in the country’s fortunes, even rough men like us must pay respect. Even Governor Lu would have to salute you first.”

“You really haven’t changed,” Yue Yang shook his head at Wang Pu’s carefree attitude.

Ignoring Wang Pu, Yue Yang turned to Hu Dawei and Yang Guozhu. “Old brothers, what brings you here today?”

“We…”

Hu Dawei hesitated, but Wang Pu interjected: “Nothing much. We just missed you, brother. We came to see you and have a drink together. But after several days of looking, we couldn’t find you—we’ve been waiting!”

“Uh… yes, yes, we came to drink and catch up,” Hu Dawei quickly agreed, a bit embarrassed.

“Drink and catch up?” Yue Yang raised an eyebrow, then smiled. “Very well, then. I shall have a banquet prepared and invite you all to drink. If any of you leave the table sober today, I won’t let you go. Come on, gentlemen, this way!”

As Yue Yang gestured to lead them to a side hall, the men were momentarily stunned. Wang Pu quickly stopped him. “Hold on, little brother. Drinking can wait—we need to discuss something first!”

Yue Yang turned, smiling to himself, but feigning confusion. “Oh? Weren’t you all here to drink with me? Now you have other matters?”

The men exchanged awkward glances. Wang Pu, usually thick-skinned, seemed embarrassed. “Little brother Yue, you’ve guessed correctly. We do have a matter to discuss and need your help.”

“Ha ha ha… that’s better! We’re comrades who fought against the barbarians together. Why skirt around it? Just speak plainly!”

Though Yue Yang didn’t yet know the details, he understood this wasn’t a social visit. Handing the generals some courtesy was only right. “Well, since you’ve come to my place, I’ll play host. If you don’t mind, come with me to the side hall for a meal. We can eat and talk—does that work?”

The men exchanged looks before Yang Guozhu nodded. “Very well, brother Yue. If we refuse, it would be insincere. Gentlemen, let us trouble brother Yue for a meal!”

Yue Yang laughed and led them to the side hall. The Hou Mansion had chefs at the ready, and in no time, the table was filled with a lavish spread.

Raising his cup, Yue Yang said, “Old brothers, it’s been months since we parted in the capital. To gather here together is no small feat. Come… a toast to you all!”

“To reunions!”

“To our bond!”

Three cups were down in succession. As Yue Yang lifted his cup again, Wang Pu hurriedly waved him off: “Brother Yue, please spare us. We’ll drink properly after we discuss matters.”

“Of course,” Yue Yang laughed, setting the cup down. Honestly, after a night of work and a morning of directing the unloading of supplies, he was exhausted. He had barely managed to drink the three cups.

The generals hesitated, then Yang Guozhu, as the senior-most, spoke first.

“Brother Yue, we won’t hide it. We’ve come with a matter needing your help. If you don’t assist, we can’t hold on much longer.”

“Oh? What is it?” Seeing Yang Guozhu’s serious expression, Yue Yang’s own smile faded. “Take your time. There’s no problem we can’t face together.”

Yang Guozhu sighed. “You’re aware of the current state of affairs. In recent years, Yingzhou and Hunyuan in the north have thrived under your administration—resettling refugees, distributing seeds and tools, cultivating wasteland, even training soldiers. Meanwhile, our days in Xuanda have become increasingly difficult. We’re barely getting by.”

“Oh? Explain in detail!” Yue Yang’s curiosity spiked. He couldn’t understand why these well-commanded generals would claim they couldn’t survive.

“It’s… the food supply!” Yang Guozhu finally admitted.

“Food?”

“Yes. Our troops at Xuanda Town and Xuanda Fort are running out of rations!” Yang Guozhu looked at Yue Yang apologetically.

“Impossible!” Yue Yang exclaimed. He looked at Wang Pu and the others, who all wore worried expressions.

“What do you mean? Aren’t you receiving imperial rations? How could you run out?”

“It’s a long story,” Yang Guozhu said, then carefully explained.

Yue Yang listened, mouth agape. At the end, he could hardly believe it—the situation even involved him.

Xuanda’s military rations came from two sources: imperial allocation and local collection. In theory, Xuanda had military farms since the early Ming. But over two hundred years, these lands had been appropriated by various officers. By the Wanli era, Xuanda could no longer produce enough, surviving solely on imperial supplies.

As a strategic stronghold against the Mongols and Manchus, the imperial court grudgingly continued annual allocations. The governor-general of Xuanda traditionally handled the logistics. But this year, there was a problem: Lu Xiangsheng had been transferred to suppress bandits in Hubei and Henan, and the new governor, Chen Xinjia, had been sent back to Beijing after Yue Yang cut off his ear. Suddenly, Xuanda lacked a supervising governor-general. Without someone overseeing logistics, the food situation deteriorated.

Yang Guozhu and the others were desperate—they knew the soldiers needed food, and without rations, even the best-disciplined troops could revolt. Seeing the supplies run low, they immediately thought of Yue Yang, known as the “God of Wealth.” In this urgent moment, they disregarded all caution and came to Hunyuan for help.

Upon hearing this, Yue Yang frowned, holding his cup in silence.

Yang Guozhu quickly added, “Of course, brother, we will pay you back once the court sends the next allocation.”

“And with interest!” Hu Dawei chimed in.

“Brother Yue, you can’t just watch us suffer!” Wang Pu pleaded.

One by one, they urged Yue Yang.

“I understand your meaning,” Yue Yang said calmly, waving his hand. “You simply want to borrow some rations. But have you considered how the court will view it? How will the emperor see it? How will I explain it? Have you forgotten what happened to Shen Wansan after helping the founder build the city walls?”

The room fell silent. In early Ming history, Shen Wansan, extremely wealthy, had been punished despite his contributions. Yue Yang’s position was similar—financing the army for the court could invite imperial wrath.

After a long pause, Yang Guozhu sighed. “Brother Yue, we were reckless. But we had no choice—without food, tens of thousands of Xuanda troops could collapse.”

“That’s the court’s problem, not mine,” Yue Yang replied firmly. He knew that his past actions had already angered the Chongzhen Emperor; giving away more resources would risk further backlash.

“Then there’s really no way?” Yang Guozhu muttered in despair.

“No… you do have a solution,” Yue Yang said, shaking his head. “The question is whether you have the resolve to implement it. For example, your military farms.”

“Military farms?” The generals paused, then laughed bitterly. Xuanda still had military farms, enough to feed tens of thousands of troops. But over two centuries, these lands had become private property of the officers. Reclaiming them to feed the army was like asking them to cut off their own flesh.

Seeing their hesitation, Yue Yang was exasperated. These men weren’t even willing to take a little loss—truly greedy to the last.

“Very well, if you’re determined, I’ll pretend I said nothing. Let’s continue drinking!” Yue Yang raised his cup despite his irritation.

“Don’t… don’t do that!” Wang Pu quickly blocked him. “Brother Yue, we know you’re upset, but please understand our difficulty! As officers, our military farms are largely divided among subordinates. Forcing them to hand over yields could provoke rebellion. Unlike you, brother, with your wealth, we can’t just take it. The first to revolt would be the people under us.”

“Those people are hard to manage—am I supposed to be easy?” Yue Yang’s face darkened. “Their grain is their lifeline, mine is just a pile of trash!”

His voice echoed through the side hall. The generals dared not respond—they understood Yue Yang’s frustration.

“Brother Yue, tell us! How can we borrow the grain? Whatever you have, we won’t refuse!” Yang Guozhu, red-faced with urgency, pounded his chest.

“Really?” Yue Yang gave him a cold look.

“Of course!” Yang Guozhu shouted, throwing caution aside.