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

Chapter 148 The World in the Palm of Your Hand
Pei Yuan's heartbeat quickened.

This may be a place that has been inadvertently overlooked by the whole world.

That is Liu Jin’s political legacy!

From the perspective of later generations, there is a phrase that is particularly vivid, which is "When a whale dies, all things come to life."

For Liu Jin, who had just formed a huge eunuch party and was then cut into pieces, he was undoubtedly the political giant that had just fallen.

Pei Yuan recalled the vultures that frantically grabbed at the corpse and made a fortune when the Russian bear disintegrated in his previous life.

Pei Yuan even swallowed subconsciously.

Judging from Wang Chang’s reaction, this political group that was about to collapse and be liquidated was almost in a state of waiting to die.

Even someone like Wang Chang, who had some background, wanted to resign from his official position as soon as possible, go home, and spend all his family wealth to help younger scholars, so that he could have a good end and not implicate future generations.

Many of the others were in constant fear.

Those who were not implicated in Liu Jin's remnants were like sharks smelling blood. Once the court launched a purge, they would rush in and replace them.

This kind of blatant political exclusion even reached the point where a mere magistrate of Liyang County dared to leave the dignified Minister of War of Nanjing hanging in a suburban post station.

However, no matter how they exclude them and how they wait for liquidation, haven't the remnants of Liu Jin been liquidated yet?

The power in their hands is still backed by the Ming Dynasty court.

If we take the demise of the Bazhou rebels as a reference point, it will take at least half a year to completely settle the accounts.

At least the impeached former Grand Secretary Jiao Fang has not pleaded guilty yet.

So Pei Yuan became more and more interested in Wang Chang.

He thought for a moment, skipped the matter of the Bazhou rebels, and casually said, "Now that Eunuch Liu has fallen, will the lives of others also be difficult?"

Wang Chang remained silent in response to Pei Yuan's question.

This silence was different from the resistance just now, and it fully expressed the dissatisfaction with Pei Yuan's deliberate questioning.

Seeing this, Pei Yuan didn't beat around the bush and said directly, "I have a way to help you. Are you interested?"

Wang Chang has been accustomed to hearing all kinds of rhetoric these days. There are many people who want to engage in political speculation and try to gain wealth and fame by taking risks, but the increasingly clear situation has scared them away.

Wang Chang no longer had the enthusiasm he had at the beginning to save himself, and began to resign and give up.

However, when Pei Yuan proposed to get involved, Wang Chang's mood of waiting for death did fluctuate slightly.

This unscrupulous guy who doesn't play by the rules might actually be able to come up with some plan.

He asked tentatively, "How do you say that?"

Pei Yuan said, "There is a way. Even if I can't completely help you change your fate, at least I can greatly delay the time of your political death. As long as you have enough time to deal with it, you will always have a chance, right?"

Wang Chang looked at Pei Yuan and waited for him to continue.

Pei Yuan stretched out five fingers and clenched them into a fist.

"When Liu Jin was powerful, many people joined him, and many of them controlled key departments in the court. As the saying goes, when divided, we are weak, but when united, we are strong. Why don't you try to unite, support each other, and jointly deal with the current situation?"

When Wang Chang heard this, he felt very disappointed.

He had lost hope, and his tone became indifferent, "If you want to accomplish something, you need someone to take charge. In this situation, even the retired Jiao Fang is being pursued relentlessly, who would dare to take the initiative to show up?"

"Now, when the whole court mentions Liu Jin's eunuch party, they try to avoid it as much as possible, fearing that they will end up in disgrace."

"This method is simply not feasible."

Pei Yuan looked at Wang Chang and said with a confident smile, "Liu Jin's remnants don't have a leader. Can't you nominate someone?"

"What do you mean?" Wang Chang subconsciously thought that Pei Yuan was going to push him into the fire pit.

After all, after the death of Minister of Personnel Zhang Cai, he may be the highest-ranking person in the eunuch party at the moment.

Wang Chang quickly said unhappily, "I am old and have submitted my resignation to the court many times. Don't count on me for this kind of thing."

Pei Yuan looked at Wang Chang and said meaningfully, "How could I possibly cheat the Grand Marshal? Think about it again, is there someone more suitable?"

Wang Chang was a little confused when he heard this.

Not yourself?

What's the point of Pei Yuan telling me this?
And who else could it be if not myself?

Pei Yuan, however, patiently persuaded Wang Chang, who was in a blind spot, "Grand Marshal, think about this. Eunuch Liu Jin has been dead for more than a year. Why didn't the court liquidate his remaining followers until a few days ago, and then tried to take action against the retired Jiao Fang?"

Wang Chang subconsciously said, "That's because..."

When the words came to Wang Chang's lips, an idea suddenly occurred to him and a name came out of his mouth.

"Lu Wan!"

Yes, it was precisely because Lu Wan, a guy suspected of being a member of Liu Jin's eunuch party, held the military power of the army to suppress the rebellion that the court had been slow to take action against the remnants of Liu Jin.

What they were worried about was that Lu Wan would misjudge the situation and trigger an extremely unfavorable chain reaction.

The situation in the world is now becoming increasingly clear.

The Bazhou rebels declined from their peak, and the threat to the court was no longer that great. The court also gave Lu Wan an extraordinary title and adopted a strategy of winning him over to stabilize his mind.

That’s why the imperial court brought up the old matter again and continued to launch a political persecution against Liu Jin’s remnants.

Wang Chang shook his head repeatedly, "It's useless. Lu Wan won't get involved in this mess."

Judging from the current situation, Lu Wan has landed safely.

With the merit of suppressing the rebellion, he would have enough to live on for the rest of his life. Why would he still seek trouble and get involved in the affairs of Liu Jin's remnants?
Pei Yuan reminded maliciously, "It doesn't matter whether he is elected or not, you can 'nominate' him."

"After Lu Wan pacified the Bazhou rebels, he must have been highly respected and powerful. You just need to promote Lu Wan and make him the leader of your Liu Jin eunuch party. Do you think Yang Yiqing in the court and the Seven Tigers among the eunuchs will regard Lu Wan, who is on the rise, as a thorn in their eyes? Will they have the leisure to care about you guys?"

Wang Chang was almost dumbfounded.

What is this operation?
Wait, my impression is that Lu Wan was “elected” as the first anti-eunuch hero by those who took action just because he didn’t dare to fight the eunuchs!

So, isn't it the same recipe, same taste?
Wang Chang subconsciously asked, "Lu Wan is not a fool, how could he suffer such a loss?"

Pei Yuan smiled and said, "People's hearts are hidden. Even if you speak out your political stance, no one will believe it. Besides, three people can make a tiger, let alone a thousand people pointing fingers at you."

"The court is very determined to clean up the remnants of Liu Jin. Now only Lu Wan, who has made great contributions, can resist. As long as you all work together to kill Lu Wan, Lu Wan will have to struggle desperately to protect himself." Pei Yuan paused and decided to reveal a little secret. "Besides, your enemies are not as powerful as you think."

"Among the eight tigers in the inner palace, only Liu Jin was capable of standing on his own. After Liu Jin's death, the others, though called the Seven Tigers, were actually just a mob."

"When Liu Jin was in power, he was able to suppress everyone inside and outside the palace. Now that Liu Jin is dead, Zhang Yong, who had no opinion of his own, has become a mouthpiece for Yang Yiqing. As for Gu Dayong, he is just a mediocre person. This has led to the rise of another force in the palace."

When Wang Chang heard that Pei Yuan had begun to talk about the secrets of the imperial palace, he opened his mouth wide.

He directly questioned, "Is Captain Pei talking nonsense?"

Pei Yuan took out his ivory waist badge without any guilt and threw it to Wang Chang.

An official of Wang Chang's level would naturally recognize such high-quality goods.

After taking a closer look, I saw that it was a name badge and had some guesses in my mind.

Pei Yuan said shamelessly, "Except for the civil and military officials on duty or on the pilgrimage, there were originally only two ivory waist badges that could enter the palace at any time. One was with the commander of the Jinyiwei, and the other was with the captain of the evil-suppressing thousand-household unit. This is the third one. Naturally, I know some of the secrets of the palace."

Wang Chang returned the ivory waist badge to Pei Yuan and calmly asked him, "Who is the other force you are talking about?"

Pei Yuan was naturally referring to the eunuchs represented by Lu Ting and Zhang Zhong.

However, Wang Chang’s position is unclear now, and Lu Ting has not had time to make arrangements, so Pei Yuan naturally cannot expose him in advance.

So he said vaguely, "Those people outside the Seven Tigers are from another group."

Fearing that Wang Chang would be hard to fool, Pei Yuan went into more depth and said, "They are currently planning a big event. If they succeed, they will be able to compete with the Seven Tigers, but at least they will be a very important force in the inner palace."

Pei Yuan's words were vague, but Wang Chang understood.

Planning major political events is basically equivalent to a small coup, which often leads to fierce political games.

And this understanding is more in line with the facts.

In a sense, Lu Ting wanted to replace Gu Dayong with a quick and decisive move, which was to deprive Qihu of his military power. This could indeed be called a coup.

Pei Yuan said in a low-key and reserved manner, "It just so happens that I have a good relationship with the inner palace. When the time comes, I will take action to facilitate an alliance between the two sides."

"The Seven Tigers have a grudge against Liu Jin, so they are naturally enemies of Liu Jin's remnants."

"And the fact that others want to get promoted is obviously not in the interests of the 'Zhang Yong-Yang Yiqing' alliance. This also means that those who want to get promoted have a strong desire to get people like you."

"When the time comes, you can change your team and return to the poker table."

After Wang Chang heard Pei Yuan's words, his expression changed from unwilling to resign, to hesitant, to timid. It took him a while to calm down. He shook his head and said, "Captain Pei's plan is too risky. I can't convince others, nor can I convince myself."

Pei Yuan nodded, but did not show any disappointment. "It's okay. We can talk about this later."

Wang Chang breathed a sigh of relief when he saw that Pei Yuan did not insist.

Pei Yuan stared at him and said slowly, "A smart man like Wang Da Sima would know what kind of person Liu Jin is. Do you think that with his ability, he could come up with so many new policies that would benefit the country?"

Wang Chang's heart tightened, but he stared at Pei Yuan without saying a word.

Pei Yuan smiled at Wang Chang with a hint of sarcasm, "What Liu Jin's New Deal? It's the Zhengde New Deal, right?"

Wang Chang wanted to scold Pei Yuan for being daring, but didn’t he feel resentful in his heart?
When Liu Jin, an old eunuch in his fifties, first came to power, Wang Chang once looked down on him.

But after this old eunuch began to promulgate new policies one by one, why did so many smart people, whether they were grand secretaries, ministers of various ministries, or censors-in-chief, rush to join the eunuch party?
The reason is very simple.

That was clearly Zhu Houzhao's new policy.

They were secretly trying to flatter Zhu Houzhao.

To put it bluntly, the so-called remnants of Liu Jin today are just the scattered embers after the failure of Zhu Houzhao's political recklessness.

Pei Yuan said calmly to Wang Chang, "We are all sensible people. The emperor saw that this road was not feasible and had already planned to change to another one. This is why the remnants of Liu Jin were completely abandoned. But the emperor's heart is unpredictable. Who knows what the emperor will think in the future."

"Just now, the emperor is obsessed with military affairs and is trying his best to control the military power. It's hard to say for others, but doesn't the Grand Marshal have a place to use his military power?"

Wang Chang's mind, which had just calmed down, was pulled up again by Pei Yuan.

He felt that his brain was no longer working according to his own rhythm, so he asked subconsciously, "What does Captain Pei mean?"

Pei Yuan asked with a smile, "Want to talk more?"

Wang Chang's lips moved a few times.

He was unwilling to give in after all!
He was promoted to the second-rank Minister of War when he was in his fifties. At the age of fifty, he could be considered a young man in the political arena.

Becoming the prime minister of the cabinet is almost something that can be achieved within reach.

However, it was a political misjudgment that almost ruined his future.

How could he be willing? !
Wang Chang felt his dead heart warm up again, and gritted his teeth and said, "Let's talk!"

Pei Yuan looked at Wang Chang, a smile appeared on his lips, and he continued with what he had just said.

"If you follow my plan, there will be three possible outcomes: good, medium, or bad."

Pei Yuan first extended three fingers, then pressed down one. "Work together to make Lu Wan the leader of Liu Jin's remnants, and use Lu Wan, a great contributor suspected of being a member of the eunuch party, to build a defense against political enemies. If the plan is advanced to this stage, it will produce a bad result. Lu Wan will be overthrown, and you people can live a few more years."

After hearing this, Wang Chang couldn't help but be moved.

For this part of the plan, they hardly have to pay any price. Regardless of whether they can protect themselves, at least they can hold on for a while longer.

The only loser was Lu Wan who was sacrificed.

Pei Yuan pressed down his second finger. "If the plan advances to the stage where Lu Wan wants to protect himself, and the forces in the palace are in urgent need of external assistance, then promoting the combination of the two sides will produce a moderate result. 'Lu Wan and the forces in the palace' and 'Qi Hu and Yang Yiqing' form a balance of power, and you can preserve your current power and successfully transition to the new eunuch party.

Wang Chang immediately realized that it seemed that the plan had advanced to the second stage without any losses on their part.

Before the winner is decided, the two opposing parties seem to be able to regain a place on the stage by changing sides.

I just don’t know what the worst consequence will be.

Pei Yuan pretended to press down the third finger, but paused.

Wang Changxin just raised his hand, then put it down again, looking at Pei Yuan in confusion.

Pei Yuan looked at Wang Chang for a long time without saying anything, then pointed to his hand and said seriously, "The world situation is in my hands, why don't you stand on my side?"

(End of this chapter)