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

Chapter 151 The Devil of Persuasion

Wang Chang glanced at the businessman whose face had turned red with excitement, and then glanced at Pei Yuan.

I really can't help but get it out of my mind.

What is the devil of persuasion?

This is it!

Pei Yuan was looking at the fat businessman and said, "If I were you, I would choose to give it a try. Isn't the reason why trade exists because I have what others don't? Maybe I can earn more in the next six months than I did in the previous year."

The fat businessman has begun to nod his head. "That makes sense."

Pei Yuan saw that the others were also interested, so he said gently, "Besides that, there is actually another benefit."

The fat businessman smiled and apologized, "Please give me some advice, Captain Pei."

Pei Yuan said, "You have just started doing business in the north. Not only are you unfamiliar with the trade routes, but you are also likely to encounter buyers who may take advantage of you."

"If the canal transportation is interrupted at that time and no other merchants go north, you can take advantage of this nearly half-year gap to slowly ship goods while taking the initiative to carefully select partners and operate a reliable trade route."

The fat businessman became more excited after hearing this, and he turned around and whispered something to the person.

He looked at Pei Yuan awkwardly and said, "There is another matter that has us worried."

Pei Yuan came this time to solve the problem that Sun Keding couldn't handle.

He immediately said, "Go ahead."

The fat businessman said with a stiff upper lip, "We have asked our connections and heard that there seems to be something else going on with this tax silver transport. It seems that some people may be targeting Captain Pei."

"That person also advised us not to get involved in this matter, so as not to be affected by it."

Sun Keding looked at Pei Yuan with some uneasiness.

Just now, because of concern for Wang Chang's identity, Sun Keding had not had the time to communicate with Pei Yuan privately.

Some sensitive topics may not be easy to deal with.

Pei Yuan's expression was calm.

What did that sentence say?

Once there is a proper profit, capital becomes bold. If there is a 10% profit, it is guaranteed to be used everywhere; with a 20% profit, it becomes active; with a 50% profit, it takes risks; for a 100% profit, it dares to trample on all human laws; with a 300% profit, it dares to commit any crime, even at the risk of being hanged. If unrest and strife can bring profits, it will encourage unrest and strife.

Transporting tax silver to the north is a bloody job.

There was no need for Pei Yuan to lie about such things and cause unnecessary resentment.

As for being afraid of scaring these people, that's not the case.

After hearing the news, these people still wanted to meet me, which in itself showed their unwillingness.

Thousands of grain ships were burned in Jining, which severely damaged the trade between the north and the south.

Being able to transport goods to the north at this time will definitely bring huge profits.

What these people want is nothing more than an answer that satisfies their lucky mentality.

Pei Yuan calmly asked back, "So what do you think?"

The fat businessman was stunned by the question and was unable to say anything.

There were also some who were still hesitating at the back, who bravely said, "We want to get a definite answer from you, sir. If there is really too much trouble, we can't get involved."

The man was afraid that Pei Yuan was deliberately deceiving them for the sake of the money, so he hurriedly added.

"Of course, I will not let you waste your time. As long as you can give me a promise, I will pay you the money I promised you before."

Pei Yuan listened and asked bluntly, "I am leading a large number of elite Jinyiwei to the north. I can also recruit troops from the garrisons and transport troops to help along the way. Who dares to act recklessly? Are you going to rebel?"

Then, without waiting for those people to react, he said bluntly, "If business was easy to do, wouldn't there be businessmen everywhere?"

"You usually transport goods everywhere and sell them. It's common for you to be harassed and extorted by the government, or to be murdered by gangsters. Even if you take some risks, you'll be rewarded with high profits."

The businessmen looked at each other in bewilderment.

Although Captain Pei did not give any guarantee of safety, what he said was indeed true.

In this era, doing business is inherently a high-risk job.

The key is whether the risks and rewards are proportional.

Just as he was thinking, Pei Yuan lazily said, "If you merchants encounter trouble, you will probably die. If you become a wandering ghost, there may not be anyone who can help you seek justice."

"But if you follow me, if someone dares to attack our team, I can't say anything else, but the court will definitely kill all nine generations of those people. Even if someone of you is unlucky enough to be involved, I can help you avenge it."

"How about it, do you think this wave is not a loss?"

As Pei Yuan was speaking, he suddenly remembered what Han Qianhu had mentioned before, that they could use the Taoist priests from various temples and monasteries to help distribute the goods.

It seems that it can be operated.

He immediately added another sentence.

"Besides, I'm not taking your money for nothing. This money has a name, it's called insurance premium."

The fat businessman quickly put aside the things he was arguing about and asked, "Excuse me, sir, what is the insurance premium?"

Pei Yuan said, "Buying low and selling high always involves some risks. No one can guarantee a profit. You have paid me, and you only need to ship the goods to the north. If you encounter goods that you are in a hurry to sell, I can sell them for you."

Before the fat businessman could be happy, Pei Yuan added, "Of course, it's the cost price."

The fat businessman's joy froze immediately.

There is a lot of profit in shipping goods from the South to the North. Even if they are temporarily unsalable, they will not be sold at cost price.

Pei Yuan's words actually seemed like he was taking advantage of someone's misfortune.

Pei Yuan continued, "Another thing is to relieve you of your worries."

"I agree with the risks of doing business abroad that you mentioned earlier. Not to mention any real troubles, many businessmen have died in foreign lands simply because of the unfamiliar climate and water."

"But I always charge money for my services. As long as you pay me the insurance premium, even if the person dies, as long as the goods are still there, I will help you sell them and send the money you earn back home intact. This will prevent you from losing everything if you are not careful."

"Don't worry, I will never sell the goods for you at a price lower than the cost price."

Pei Yuan's words were equivalent to a bottom-line treaty.

The targets of the treaty are those commodities.

As long as there are no problems with the goods, it can ensure that merchants will not suffer additional losses.

Basically, Pei Yuan provided some help to these businessmen to the best of his ability without suffering any loss himself.

These conditions are quite harsh and don't seem to be necessary.

However, combined with the concerns raised earlier about the caravans heading north being targeted, the merchants felt that it was valuable.

Sun Keding made a judgment immediately.

Need to pay more.

Next, the businessmen asked some other trivial questions.

Pei Yuan did not hide anything and responded to everything he could.

After a while, seeing that the merchants were just talking in low voices and nothing else, Sun Keding quickly asked people to bring in singing and dancing to liven up the atmosphere again.

Soon, dancers and singers came in and began to twist their bodies in the open space in the middle of the hall. Under the cover of the music, many people began to move around and discuss things in low voices.

Sun Keding went straight to Pei Yuan, leaned over and asked him in a low voice, "Brother Pei, what's going on with Wang Chang?"

Pei Yuan answered simply, "My people."

Sun Keding was stunned for a moment, then asked, "Is it from Eunuch Gu's side?"

Pei Yuan knew Sun Keding's little thoughts, and he repeated, "My people."

"You, you..." Sun Keding's face changed drastically. He looked at Pei Yuan, not knowing how to digest this news.

He never dared to imagine that there was such a relationship between the two of them.

But if you say it's impossible.

Looking at the current seating arrangement, it is clear that Wang Chang is content to be below Pei Yuan.

Before, he saw that Wang Chang and Pei Yuan had a close relationship, and he always thought that Wang Chang had joined Gu Dayong because of Liu Jin's downfall.

I didn’t expect that Wang Chang would turn to Pei Yuan!

How could this guy have such qualifications?
Pei Yuan was preoccupied with important matters and had no time to care about Sun Keding's mood. He asked directly, "How have you been contacting these days?"

Sun Keding came back to his senses and said, "There are about twenty merchants willing to try with us, and some others are still waiting and watching."

If there were more than twenty companies, the bribes received would be more than two thousand taels, and if they were split 50-50 with Sun Keding, there would still be more than one thousand taels.

Pei Yuan was very satisfied.

Even though there are huge profits from Huai'an roasted nuts in front of them, even if they make money, it will be the common property of Han Qianhu. As for how to divide it, it depends on Han Qianhu's mood.

This more than one thousand taels of silver is his precious private money.

Adding the seven or eight hundred taels he had earned along the way and the five hundred taels that Song Chunniang had helped him embezzle, when Captain Pei returned this time, he would be able to get two thousand two or three hundred taels.

If I were to rely solely on the salary of a hundred households of the Embroidered Uniform Guard, I don’t know how many years it would take me to receive it.

This is the benefit of spending money to buy a job and monetize power.

Unfortunately, the debt of 30,000 taels owed by Gu Dayong is too big, and no one knows when he can pay it back.

After Sun Keding left with a lot on his mind, Pei Yuan waved to Wang Chang to ask about the winter transport.

Wang Chang's perspective was indeed much better than those businessmen. He directly mentioned the possible impact of the Bazhou rebels on the canal.

But what he said was that this time a large number of troops were involved in the encirclement and suppression of the Bazhou rebels, which resulted in some food having to be transported directly to the front line.

Many grain ships can only reach the Shandong section.

If we take these merchants north with us, there will likely be big problems on the subsequent journey.

Pei Yuan had no good intentions in bringing these businessmen with him.

The most basic role is to act as a meat shield, and bringing a large number of goods to Huai'an will make it easier to magnify the rise and fall of the goods, which is beneficial to him and Han Qianhu's speculation.

As the dance ended, the businessmen stood up and toasted.

Pei Yuan welcomed everyone who came and greeted the businessmen warmly.

Afterwards, beautiful and graceful dancers came forward and sat among the seats, entertaining everyone one by one.

Some helped pour the wine, some made jokes, and some shyly interacted with the guests.

Monk Daigo was a little dumbfounded by this scene.

It's just that he drank the wine fed by the dancer next to him, and he ate the food picked by the dancer next to him, but he didn't dare to touch the girl with his hands.

The woman had heard many times about people in the industry greeting monks, and she smiled and gently pinched the ankle of Monk Daigo.

Monk Daigo lowered his head, his small eyes rolling around on his round face, and sweat was pouring out on his forehead.

But in the end, he didn't dare to move.

But the Taoist was in a good mood and even smiled as he read the palm of the woman who was accompanying him.

I don't know what I said, but it caused the woman to grumble.

Pei Yuan was also accompanied by a beautiful woman.

According to Pei Yuan's price standard, it was worth about six or seven taels.

He was busy talking to people and didn't touch it much.

Everyone was excited for a while.

As it was getting dark, Sun Keding came over and asked if they wanted to arrange accommodation for Pei Yuan in the garden.

Pei Yuan then stood up and said goodbye.

Wang Chang also followed Pei Yuan out of the restaurant.

Then, several general and small flag officers who followed Pei Yuan also left. In a flash, quite a few people left.

Sun Keding still had some things to say to the businessmen, so he just stood at the door to say goodbye.

He looked at Pei Yuan and Wang Chang's departing backs and couldn't help falling into deep thought.

Pei Yuan’s alcohol tolerance was average, so he said goodbye to Wang Chang in a daze.

Cheng Leixiang was thorough and waved his hand to call the Jinyiwei who were guarding in the distance. He picked two people from among them and asked them to escort Wang Chang to his residence.

Pei Yuanze returned to the Hundred Households Office surrounded by the crowd.

Pei Yuan was drunk and simply ignored him.

I lay back on the big bed and drowsily went through today’s routine review.

Being able to subdue Wang Chang is a pleasant surprise today.

Originally, Pei Yuan's biggest headache was that his status was too low. Even if he wanted to take the initiative, he would probably be making things difficult for others.

For example, this trip to Huai'an to speculate in nuts, wasn't it because of his own strength that he could only take the initiative to offer this idea to Han Qianhu in exchange for resources to climb up?
If Pei Yuan had his own reliable team, even if there were only a hundred people who could be used, Pei Yuan could still have the upper hand.

Fortunately, Pei Yuan finally became the deputy commander of a thousand households and could slowly build up his own power.

Pei Yuan's goal was not to win over the existing Jinyiwei, but to let Song Chunniang recruit some people from the underworld, and then slowly cultivate their loyalty.

Once the strength in my hands has been effectively expanded, I naturally won't have to look at Han Qianhu's face for everything.

The other is the power of civil servants.

Pei Yuan had always held a mentality of forcing his way up to the civil service forces.

The main reason was that his foundation was too weak. In the social environment of the Ming Dynasty where civil officials were respected and military officials were despised, he could only follow the trend and join the army if he couldn't defeat them.

So let alone future cabinet chiefs like Zhang Cong and Yan Song, Pei Yuan even tried to win over Sun Keding, a dismissed Jinshi.

However, the unexpected appearance of Wang Chang, a chess piece, opened up a new situation for Pei Yuan.

From the current perspective, Wang Chang, who is desperate and trying all kinds of tricks, can still be controlled for the time being, but after Lu Ting and Zhang Zhong integrate the remnants of Liu Jin, the status of both sides will change again.

Faced with increasingly fierce political struggles, it seems that I need a more powerful bargaining chip if I want to deal with them.

(End of this chapter)