Without money, what is the point of being a traitor?

Chapter 145: Keep a respectful distance

Pei Yuan didn't dare to think about the cause and effect involved for the time being, and asked calmly, "What about the other arrangements?"

"Once we get to Yangzhou, we can use the Grand Canal to transport the silver north. If they want to lay their hands on the silver, they will directly offend the governor of the canal."

"The Governor of the Grand Canal directly controls the trade between the north and the south. Those people are busy trying to please him, so who dares to provoke him easily?"

"When the time comes, when the time comes..."

Sikong Sui talked for a long time but didn't say what came next.

Pei Yuan had the answer in his mind, but he still deliberately asked Sikong Sui, "What will happen then?"

Sikong Sui hesitated for a long time and said awkwardly, "If nothing happens to the silver, then something will happen to the people. They dare not offend the governor of the grain transport and directly destroy the ship or rob it, so they can only kill the people who are responsible for escorting the tax silver."

"This method can also achieve their goal, and it doesn't require much noise."

"When the time comes, Captain Pei, you will be in danger."

Pei Yuan nodded, thinking calmly, this old guy sees it very clearly.

It seems that I have to find someone else to think about it.

The group traveled quickly until almost midnight, when they finally found an inn to stay in.

Early the next morning, the group continued on their journey in a hurry.

After a period of comfort, it is finally time to get back into combat mode.

I don’t know whether the Jiangnan gentry really had no follow-up plan, or whether Zhai De’an’s delay was effective, or whether Lu Dahua’s previous intelligence gave those people a glimmer of hope.

Pei Yuan and his group did not encounter any trouble until they reached Zhenjiang.

Of course, ordinary tricks can't do anything to this team.

The waterway from Zhenjiang to Yangzhou is so important that naturally there are boat stations.

A pre-arranged Jinyiwei spy came to lead the way and took them to a large ship. "Captain, this is the official ship we will use to cross the river. It had a small problem before and has been under maintenance."

Well, if the Jinyiwei want to cause trouble, there is really nothing they can't do unless they meet someone as unreasonable as Pei Yuan.

The postmaster in charge of this waterway saw the whole thing but did not say anything. He seemed very indifferent. After checking Pei Yuan's documents, he allowed them to load the goods onto the ship.

The journey is not long.

When Zhu Di launched a surprise attack on Nanjing, he rushed all the way, crossed the river from Guazhou, and approached Nanjing directly.

Not long after Pei Yuan boarded the ship, passengers began to board.

Those who could board the official ship were either officials in the court or had made great achievements. Pei Yuan guessed which one was Wang Shouren, but he did not dare to ask openly.

For Captain Pei, it is better to stay away from such people.

Wang Shouren's father was the Minister of Rites of Nanjing. Wang Shouren himself was proficient in both civil and military affairs. In addition, he had great honors in the imperial examination.

Pei Yuan couldn't afford to offend such a person.

It would be a bit of a stretch to try to get in on the act just based on that remote relationship with Yan Song.

As for the study of the mind, it was something that Pei Yuan had no time to avoid.

For the Ming Dynasty, which "rules the world with scholars and officials", it is not possible to have such powerful academic cliques.

The Ming Dynasty did not need a living god.

Moreover, not to mention when he was alive, even before Wang Shouren's death, the civil servants in power in the court stripped him of his title on the grounds that he "did not follow the ancients in his work, did not mention his teacher in his words, and wanted to be innovative in his own way, which was not in line with Zhu Xi's theory of investigating things to acquire knowledge."

——"Rescuing the earldom is a sign of great trust, and prohibiting heresy is a sign of correcting people's hearts."

That was the title of Earl that Wang Shouren obtained after working hard to put down the "Ning Wang Rebellion"!
Fortunately, Wang Shouren had some military merits, otherwise, looking at the attitude of the civil officials, they would have opened Wang Shouren's coffin and shot him ten times.

Therefore, Pei Yuan cannot step into the pit of Xinxue now.

If Pei Qianhu's children and grandchildren come to live together, perhaps they can still talk about the friendship between their fathers and grandfathers and Saint Wang when they once shared a boat at the Zhenjiang wharf.

As for now.

Captain Pei is the most handsome guy from now on.

The journey didn't last long when it started snowing on the road.

Perhaps because he had a boat to sit on and a cabin to shelter from the wind, Captain Pei's mentality was very different.

Pei Yuan went up to the deck with his sleeves tucked in to look at the snow, and saw someone standing alone at the bow.

Pei Yuan glanced at the man from the side a few times, looked at his temperament, and estimated his age. He knew that he was probably the Saint Wang who proposed the Confucian methodology.

The saint was at the bow and Pei Yuan went to the stern.

While some people are thinking about providing a way of life for the world, others are trying to find their own way of living.

It's a pity that there was no eyewitness to record this legend.

Pei Yuan hugged his sleeves, moved by himself for a moment.

Guazhou Ferry is already in sight ahead.

When the boat arrived at the ferry, Pei Yuan saw from afar dozens of Jinyiwei wearing large armor, standing in the wind and snow with high spirits.

Although the wind and snow were strong, the Jinyiwei stood still as if they were unaware of anything.

Pei Yuan watched with his sleeves folded, his mind calm.

Now that his camp has changed, the Northern Pacification Office will no longer make things difficult for him.

No matter which side these Jinyiwei people belong to, it’s not a bad thing.

After a while, the ferry docked and lowered the long plank.

Pei Yuan’s mission was important, so he didn’t bother to consider other people’s opinions. He simply asked someone to guard the cabin door with a knife and let his people get off the boat first.

He was not sure about the purpose of the Jinyiwei, but he did not dare to be careless. He asked Tan Tai Fangtu to lead a group of people off the boat first and be on guard.

Unexpectedly, when Tan Tai Fang Tu saw those Jin Yi Wei cavalrymen clearly, he immediately raised his hand and swung it vigorously.

I saw a large piece of mud on the ground in front of the team of Jinyiwei in the distance, rolling up and splashing towards those Jinyiwei.

Tan Tai Fang Tu controlled his power very skillfully, and all the rubble and mud that were stirred up were controlled to flow towards the person in front of him.

The knight on the horse reacted quickly. He reached back and grabbed the long cloak, shook it quickly in his hand, and spun it forward to cover the front.

The rubble and mud stirred up by Tan Tai Fang Tu looked fierce and menacing, but they were all covered by the cloak.

Pei Yuan knew that Tan Tai Fang's throw of the soil was not just a simple scattering of earth, rocks, and sand on people, but also contained considerable force.

However, the person in front of him seemed to be able to do it with ease despite being covered with a cloak.

This man has so much strength.

Perhaps after confirming the identities of the people here, the knight whispered a few words, and the group of Jinyiwei wearing heavy armor standing in the wind and snow quickly rode their horses towards the ferry.

Tan Tai Fang Tu laughed and turned around, shouting to Pei Yuan, "Captain, we are one of you."

Pei Yuan heaved a sigh of relief when he heard this. The cavalry came very quickly and soon reached the ferry.

Then, the leading knight jumped off his horse, had a brief conversation with Tan Tai Fang Tu, and immediately turned around to signal the Jinyiwei in armor to dismount.

He quickly stepped forward, saluted in front of the boat, and said loudly, "Jinyiwei Captain Cui Bohou, greetings to the captain."

Pei Yuan looked at him on the boat and did not respond immediately.

Another hundred households!
Moreover, unlike the seniority-driven attitude of Tan Tai Fang Tu and Si Kong Sui when they first met, this Cui Bo Hou's attitude was very respectful and serious.

Pei Yuanlue waited for a while and saw that Cui Bohou was still waiting respectfully under the boat, which was completely different from his previous state of being unruly in the wind and snow. Only then did he realize this man's attitude towards him.

He immediately softened his tone, "Very good. I am Pei Yuan. Did Captain Han ask you to work with me?"

Upon hearing this, Cui Bohou immediately answered loudly, "It's not just me, there are also 73 officers and soldiers under my command, all of whom are here to serve."

After saying this, Cui Bohou waved back.

The armored guards all let go of their horses and stepped forward, bowing to Pei Yuan in unison and saying, "Your humble servants greet the Master Qian Hu."

Pei Yuan glanced at these Jinyiwei, and then at the war horses that remained in place without moving at all.

The shock in my heart was quite big.

What elite soldiers!
It turns out that this is the power that Han Qianhu has always held in his hands.

Thinking of this, Pei Yuan glanced again inconspicuously at Tan Tai Fang Tu below and Si Kong Sui who had just walked onto the deck.

What the hell is this that was given to me at the beginning?

If Captain Han had given Cui Bohou and his elite troops to himself in the first wave, he might have been able to defeat Lu Ting long ago.

Pei Yuan looked at the Jinyiwei with satisfaction and said, "Very good, no need to be so polite."

The two groups of Jinyiwei sent by Han Qianhu suffered heavy casualties, and now there are only more than 50 left.

Pei Yuan thought that the road ahead would be difficult, but he didn't expect that just after crossing the river, Han Qianhu gave him an epic enhancement.

With these elite soldiers as a foundation, plus the hundreds of small martial arts scum, the number of troops that Pei Yuan can directly control is already a considerable number.

Pei Yuan believed that those Jiangnan gentry should not have any intention of challenging him head-on.

Besides, even if they did not respect the soldiers under Pei Qianhu's command, they had to respect the Portuguese cannons that Pei Qianhu had worked so hard to transport from Jiangnan!
After Cui Bohou and other officers and soldiers finished their greetings, they said to Pei Yuan in a serious manner, "I am a new official. If there is any assignment, please let the captain know."

Pei Yuan was even more satisfied with Cui Bohou's wise behavior.

Sometimes, Pei Yuan feels more comfortable with this kind of impartiality than Cheng Leixiang's ability to handle things.

Pei Yuan felt that subordinates like Cheng Leixiang were somewhat like human-like hunting dogs, who could accurately understand his thoughts and sometimes even give him little surprises.

However, Pei Yuan felt that a person like Cui Bohou was a handy tool.

Although he is very rigid, he can accurately achieve his goals. He does not have a clear sense of right and wrong. In some scenarios, he is even more useful than Cheng Leixiang, who has a very low threshold.

Pei Yuan made the arrangements directly, "Take your people to be on guard first."

At this point, Captain Pei no longer had only a few kittens in his hands, and he was no longer interested in deliberately conducting any obedience tests.

Now he has a lot of bad cards in his hand, and Pei Yuan can put them to use as long as they can be used.

Don't care what they think.

At the same time, the three general flags, who had been repeatedly PUAed and subjected to obedience tests by Pei Yuan, had become increasingly special in Pei Yuan's heart.

After hearing Pei Yuan's words, Cui Bohou immediately clasped his fists and said, "I obey your orders."

He then arranged his subordinates to guard the key points around the port.

Sikong Sui stood beside Pei Yuan, curling his lips imperceptibly.

Tan Tai Fang Tu and Cui Bo Hou should have a good relationship. He was very happy at the moment. "Now that this kid is here, there is no need for an old man like me to charge into battle."

Next, it took a lot of time to transport the supplies off the ship.

Although the weight of the silver was not light, the silver-transporting carts were even more important.

The thick wooden boards of the silver transport carts were made almost according to the specifications of coffins, so their weight was naturally astonishing.

In addition, there is the falconet cannon.

Only after all the things were sent off the boat did Pei Yuan feel completely at ease.

Of all the routes for transporting silver northward, the most dangerous section is the one that crosses the river.

As long as those Jiangnan nobles did something to the boat, even if Pei Yuan managed to survive, those heavy silver carriages would definitely not be saved.

Fortunately, Han Qianhu, the assistant, was very helpful. Not only did he make arrangements in advance, but he also provided himself with a wave of supplies.

Thinking of this, Pei Yuan even had a bold idea.

If the "men are in charge of external affairs and women are in charge of internal affairs", and everyone manages the Qianhu Suo together, it will be a good story.

Maybe it’s because we crossed the river.

Although the days are moving towards spring, the cold is getting more intense.

In the cold wind of Jiangbei, Pei Yuan, who was lost in fantasy, quickly woke up.

He looked at the sky. It was too grey to tell the time, but it should be almost evening.

So he told everyone, "It looks like the snow won't stop for a while, let's take a rest at the Guazhou Ferry post station."

Everyone below was very happy to hear this, and hurriedly drove their carriages towards the post station at the ferry.

Pei Yuan said to Sikong Sui beside him, "I didn't expect that just across the river, it feels like returning to winter again."

Sikong Sui responded with a sigh, "Yes, the winters have been getting colder these years. Spring is almost here, but it's still not warm in the north."

Hearing this, Pei Yuan couldn't help but think of the Little Ice Age in the late Ming Dynasty.

Then his heart skipped a beat and he asked Sikong Sui, "By the way, what is the water volume of the Huai River like in recent years? I mean in winter."

"Huaihe River..." Sikong stroked his beard and said slowly, "That's something to talk about."

"Four hundred years ago, during the great war between Song and Jin, Song general Du Chong had the Yellow River dike dug up in order to delay the Jin cavalry. As a result, the rushing Yellow River water did not flow northwards, nor eastwards into the sea, but instead flowed southwards and invaded the Huai River."

"The Huai River's tributaries, big and small, were taken over by the rushing Yellow River. Some dams were washed away, some riverbanks were soaked, the larger rivers were filled with silt, raising the riverbed, and the very small rivers simply disappeared."

"The entire Huaihe River basin has been devastated."

This guy is really old and wise, and knows a lot of things.

"Later, the Huaihe River basin was under the control of the Jin and Yuan dynasties and was never properly managed. To this day, only the Grand Canal has been dredged."

When Pei Yuan heard this, the idea in his mind became clearer.

Sure enough, Sikong Sui said, "That's why many rivers in the Huaihe River Basin have shallow riverbeds and can't hold water in the summer. Some places even dry up easily in the winter. If the weather is cold, maybe many larger rivers will freeze."

(End of this chapter)