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

Chapter 149: When we, the Great Sima Wang and Captain Pei join forces, we are invincible!

Wang Chang shuddered and looked at Pei Yuan with some strangeness.

Pei Yuan said nothing more and stared at Wang Chang seriously.

In just a moment, Wang Chang's mind, which had already been persuaded, became more active.

Yes, no matter what the result is, good, medium or bad, it is all under his control.

He saw everything so clearly.

Even if you get the best answer, what good will it do?

Wang Chang thought for a while, then asked with some difficulty, "What do you mean?"

Pei Yuan raised his chin and indicated the third finger that was about to be pressed down, "Are you still listening?"

Wang Chang looked at the finger and struggled briefly again.

He felt like he was being pulled back and forth constantly tonight, and his brain was almost being pulled apart.

He subconsciously wanted to choose to be conservative.

The average result has already made him very satisfied. With the best result, wouldn’t he be able to take off directly?
But at this moment, inspired by Pei Yuan’s words just now, Wang Chang suddenly felt that his realm had reached a higher level.

From his original perspective, looking at these three possibilities was as if he were looking at three different future lives of his own.

What about now?
Wang Chang felt that his perspective was rising and changing, and finally he was in a peculiar position, looking down at those choices from a high position.

This perspective...

He was standing next to Pei Yuan.

Then he quickly understood.

If you can stand beside Pei Yuan, why stand in Pei Yuan's palm? Even if the palm is the best result.

He made up his mind, took a deep breath, and said decisively, "I won't listen anymore."

Pei Yuan looked at Wang Chang, "Are you really not going to listen?"

Wang Chang felt tired from being pulled so many times before. He said as if relieved, "I don't want to hear it anymore. Captain Pei said before that there is a chance for us to achieve success together. I would like to hear the details of this matter."

Pei Yuan heaved a sigh of relief when he heard this, although his expression remained unchanged.

Being able to convince Wang Chang, I really made a fortune this time!

He didn't care how reliable Wang Chang's position was. As long as he could be used now, Pei Yuan was willing to go with him for a while.

After this period is over, Pei Yuan is confident that he will fear himself like a tiger and regard himself as a god.

After Wang Chang finished expressing his opinion, Pei Yuan said with satisfaction, "Very good, there is no point in saying too much now. I will give you a sweet treat first, and in a few days, I will help you get the Right Censor-in-Chief."

When Wang Chang heard Pei Yuan's words, he didn't react at first. But when he understood what he heard, he was completely confused.

"You, you mean the Right Censor-in-Chief?"

No wonder Wang Chang was shocked.

He had previously thought that Pei Yuan, a master of planning, was going to give him some pointers and provide him with a better way out. As a second-rank official, he still had to figure out what to do specifically.

I didn’t expect this guy to actually threaten to help me get the position of Right Censor-in-Chief in a few days?
No.

If I remember correctly, the Captain of the Embroidered Uniform Guard seems to be only a fifth-rank official?
Pei Yuan acted very generous, "Yes, it's free, I give it to you."

Thinking of how Lu Dahua had come to show off to him, he immediately imitated him, "First, let me show you Pei's strength."

After saying that, he remembered something else and instructed Wang Chang, "However, there is a problem that you need to solve as quickly as possible."

Wang Chang recovered from his shock and said quickly, "Please enlighten me, Master."

Pei Yuan said seriously, "This is a fatal flaw in you. It must be fixed in time, otherwise it may ruin my plan."

When Wang Chang heard that it was related to him, his attitude also became serious.

Pei Yuan said, "I heard some time ago that you submitted seven memorials in a row, saying that you wanted to resign from the position of Minister of War in Nanjing, is that right?"

When Wang Chang heard what Pei Yuan said, he immediately realized what Pei Yuan was talking about and broke out in a cold sweat.

Pei Yuan asked, "Did the court respond to your seven memorials?"

Wang Chang began to panic, "Not yet."

Originally, Wang Chang saw no future for himself, so he naturally took an indifferent attitude towards this official position.

But now that he has met a tough guy like Pei Yuan who can lead him, it will be troublesome if he is kicked out directly because of these resignations.

Pei Yuan thought for a moment and said, "Don't panic. Submit a petition to the court immediately. Say that you believe the rebels in Bazhou may attack Nanzhili. You plan to train soldiers in Yangzhou and check the status of soldiers in various garrisons. If there is an alarm in the north, you can attack the rebels from the south at any time."

Seeing that Wang Chang was listening attentively, Pei Yuan helped him analyze the situation, saying, "This is your job. Regardless of whether you have submitted your resignation or not, as long as you are in this position, this is what you should do, and no one can say anything about it."

"Although the Bazhou rebels have repeatedly attacked Shandong's defenses, I believe they may suddenly move south at any time. Lu Wan drove the Bazhou rebels south, and the court must have known about it. Your request to inspect the garrison is not a bad thing for the court, which knows the inside story."

"Besides, the current emperor has already shifted his focus to seizing military power. Your move will cater to his ideas. Even if there is no threat from the Bazhou rebels, the emperor might want you to try out these southern garrisons."

"So, as long as you submit a petition like this, the court will certainly agree. Since the court is employing you, they will certainly reject your resignation. The court still values ​​​​decency."

Wang Chang's expression relaxed at first, but then his face wrinkled as if he had eaten bitter melon.

"Qian Hu, you don't know something."

Wang Chang hesitated to speak, smiled bitterly, shook his head and sighed, "Other matters are fine, but the matter of checking the troops is very complicated."

Pei Yuan could roughly guess what was going on, and said disapprovingly, "It's nothing more than a matter of eating up the empty payroll. It doesn't matter if there are fewer soldiers."

Wang Chang said, "I'm afraid that even though we think it's not a big deal, our subordinates may not feel reassured."

"I won't hide it from you. I have privately checked the troop register of the Nanjing Central Guard. Do you think how many troops are left in the Central Guard now?"

Pei Yuan didn't dare to guess too high, and replied, "30%?"

Wang Chang looked at Pei Yuan and said a number that made Pei Yuan lose his composure. "There are more than 5,000 people on the military list of the Nanjing garrison, but less than 100 can actually be found."

Pei Yuan simply didn't know how to describe his feelings at the moment.

A guard with 5,000 men now has less than a hundred?
Wang Chang sighed, "The fields in the guards have been divided up by the previous people, and have directly become private property. The commanders don't want to spend their own money, and they can't let the soldiers serve hungry, so they can only turn a blind eye. As for the officials in the guards, they don't care even more. If they share the annual rations and rewards from the court, won't they live comfortably?"

Wang Chang added, "In fact, the court also understands this, but one move could affect the entire body, so no one dares to touch this matter."

Seeing that the topic had been brought up, Wang Chang simply said, "I won't hide it from you. If we really do this, I'm afraid that I and we will become enemies of the entire Jiangnan Guard." After he said that, he observed Pei Yuan carefully, trying to use this incident to see whether the decision he made before was right.

Pei Yuan's expression was ugly for only a moment, and then he laughed wildly, "This is even better."

After that, he said to Wang Chang, "It's okay. I have a plan that will not only make them obey my orders, but also give them something to hold against them, so that they will be grateful to you and me."

Wang Chang was surprised when he heard this and asked quickly, "Captain, please speak."

Pei Yuan said, "After you submit the memorial, send your confidants to pass on the message to the commanders of the various garrisons. Tell them that the rebels in Bazhou are coming with great force, and you plan to lead the people to meet the enemy..."

Wang Chang groaned inwardly when he heard this.

There were already not many people in those garrisons who were collecting empty salaries, and now they were asked to lead people to die. I am afraid I can't say whether I can return to Nanjing alive.

Then Pei Yuan continued, "How powerful are the rebels in Bazhou? Even the hundreds of thousands of troops from the capital and the border can't do anything to them, let alone the southern garrisons that have been out of combat readiness for a long time."

"You can communicate with the commanders of those garrisons in advance. This time we don't seek victory, we only seek defeat!"

"In this case, it is reasonable that there are a large number of casualties after a fierce battle, right?"

"For example, for the Nanjing Central Guard, reporting that the entire army was annihilated is definitely not feasible, but reducing the number of soldiers by half should not be a big problem. As for the other guards that can come, we can also take the opportunity to appropriately clean up some of their soldiers."

"Of course, if they lose the battle, they will definitely be punished, and some people may even be demoted one or two levels. But as long as the problem of the number of troops is solved, I believe they will definitely compete to join Sima Wang's northern expedition team."

When Wang Chang heard this, he felt numb all over.

Damn it? !
What a weird logic this is?

There are people who actually organize war plans with the purpose of defeating the war.

It can also attract the Jiangnan guards that originally avoided it.

But think about it carefully, is Pei Yuan’s plan feasible?

Of course it is possible!
You have to know that the military positions in the Ming Dynasty were passed down from generation to generation. Even if the huge shortage of soldiers did not happen at the hands of these garrison commanders, it would most likely happen at the hands of their descendants.

Now that there is this God-given opportunity, and someone is willing to take the lead in organizing a settlement, only a fool would not come.

Not only will you have to come, you might even have to beg to come!

Those garrison commanders may not have the ability to win a battle, but what's so difficult about losing a battle?
Wang Chang quickly sorted out the logic behind this, and couldn't help but say to Pei Yuan in amazement, "I never thought that Qian Hu could disrupt the situation in the south with just a few moves. I really admire him."

Pei Yuan waved his hands carelessly, pretending to be Lu Dahua, "It's just a small matter. My original intention was just to protect you first. I only made a slight move, and I didn't even break a sweat."

Wang Chang was frightened by Pei Yuan's pressure. Even though he was a dignified second-rank Southern Marshal, he felt uneasy in front of Captain Pei.

Pei Yuan felt that he had said almost everything he wanted to say. It was getting late and he couldn't wait for Sun Keding for long.

It feels good to show off at this moment.

However, facing the financial sponsor, Pei Qianhu will have to stand up and toast later.

As a person who gets paid to do things, Captain Pei does have some quality.

Thinking of collecting money to do things, Captain Pei slapped his head suddenly.

I was careless, damn it!
He quickly ordered Wang Chang, "We can't let them come for nothing. Every commander who wants to join us must pay at least one thousand taels of silver. If he pays less than this, he is not worthy of losing to the Bazhou rebels."

When Wang Chang heard this, he felt that his three perspectives had been severely reshaped.

Before, he was still struggling with whether the measures he proposed in order to keep his position as the Great Sima of the South would seriously offend the Jiangnan military.

it's good now.

Those commanders who don't pay the money are not even worthy of coming out to keep their official positions.

Wang Chang was now deeply educated on what it meant to stand beside Pei Yuan and what it meant to stand in Pei Yuan's palm.

Just now, he still felt humiliated that a great Sima of the South had to serve as a dog for a small-time crook.

But now, when he thought about the wise decision he had just made, Wang Chang even wanted to put his hands on his waist proudly.

What's wrong with being a dog?
When we, the Great Sima Wang and Captain Pei join forces, we are invincible!

Thinking of being invincible, Wang Chang felt something was wrong, and quickly bent down to ask Pei Yuan, "Captain, didn't you say we were invincible? But it would not look good if we were defeated so badly by the Bazhou rebels, right?"

Pei Yuan: “???”

He felt a little numb.

What kind of shameful inner monologue is this bastard Wang Chang having?
However, this question was something Pei Yuan had just considered.

He said, "It doesn't matter. I will take action. I will make great contributions for you and guarantee you the position of Right Censor-in-Chief. As for the others, don't worry too much."

He patted Wang Chang's shoulder earnestly and said, "You are the only one I care about. Do you understand?"

The shadow that had been weighing on Wang Chang's heart for more than a year was gone, and hearing Pei Yuan's sincere words, a warm feeling surged in his heart.

Of course I understand!

I am the one standing next to you, those are just the ones standing in your palm!
Captain Pei is even willing to cause turmoil in the entire Jiangnan region for me.

After Pei Yuan finished his instructions, he told Wang Chang to gather some troops in Yangzhou and be on standby, and then he was about to leave.

Wang Chang was just dragged here by Pei Yuan, and now he was still a little reluctant to leave. He took the initiative to ask, "Where are you going, Captain Pei?"

Pei Yuan didn't have anything bad to say, so he said directly, "A friend invited me to have a drink."

Wang Chang asked immediately, "Who is Qian Hu's friend? Can you tell me?"

Pei Yuan had already started talking, so he couldn't help but answer, "It was Sun Keding, the former county magistrate of Jingjiang County. I asked him to come to Yangzhou to do something for me before. This time he came to see the results and to ask him some questions."

Wang Chang heard that Sun Keding was also working for Pei Yuan, and he did not underestimate his status as the former magistrate of Jingjiang County. Instead, he asked tentatively, "It just so happens that I am here to have a drink and relax. How about I be the host?"

Having determined his position, Wang Chang has decided to actively move closer to Pei Yuan's small group.

Pei Yuan heard this and said, "This is not good. They have already booked a place and are waiting for me. If I change it halfway, I am afraid that people will think that I, Pei, am arrogant."

When Wang Chang heard this, he quickly smiled and said, "It's okay. It would be good if I could go with Captain Pei to join in the fun."

When Pei Yuan heard this, he also thought it was a good idea.

Wang Chang was the Minister of War in Nanjing, and he must have known more about the grain transport than Sun Keding.

It's just that I'm going to toast my financial sponsor. Wouldn't it be a bit too high-profile to bring a second-rank minister with me?

(End of this chapter)