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

Chapter 157: The Power of Southern Zhili, Zhejiang, and Parts of Shandong

After Pei Yuan made arrangements for Cheng Lei Xiang, he took two personal guards and quickly left the city. Before nightfall, they found the post station where the team was stationed.

Tantai Fangtu, Sikong Sui and others were all somewhat curious about Pei Yuan's busy schedule for the day.

However, Pei Yuan did not say anything else except ordering everyone to go to bed early.

Everyone had some guesses in their minds, but they were reluctant to state them clearly.

Early the next morning, Pei Yuan urged the troops to have meals, and asked Hou Qing to urgently bring more than a dozen people from the martial arts world to support Cheng Leixiang on horseback.

Everyone was confused again.

But the tense atmosphere unconsciously mobilized everyone.

Pei Yuan thought about it silently.

The distance from Jiangdu County to Wantou Ferry is not far.

The Wantou Ferry is an important gateway on the Grand Canal.

Many merchant ships heading south from the north along the Grand Canal chose to enter Yangzhou from here.

It is impossible to completely avoid being seen.

Since there is no way to avoid it, there is no need to be so deliberate in choosing the ambush location.

Pei Yuan now has more than 130 Jinyiwei troops under his command. If he fully mobilizes these troops, the force left to protect the tax silver will be very weak, and there will be a risk of being robbed.

If the troops were divided, it would be difficult to wipe out all the Huben Zuowei with just the number of Jinyiwei.

In addition, Pei Yuan also had to leave himself some room for error to avoid any unexpected events.

Pei Yuan thought that it was basically certain that he would have to use some martial arts people this time.

Although it would be easy for the news to leak out in the future, there was no other way at the moment.

Besides, Pei Yuan was not afraid of these people in the underworld leaking the secret.

Because many things are actually done by deceiving superiors but not hiding them from subordinates.

As long as everyone can save face and not bring things up, everyone can happily play dumb.

When everyone was almost done with their meal, some people who knew the inside story subconsciously began to tread lightly.

Pei Yuan did not delay upon seeing this and directly assigned tasks to several leaders around him.

He looked at everyone and said, "I will not say anything more. Today, just follow my orders."

Sikong Sui and others did not expect that they would have to take action today, and were caught off guard.

However, Pei Yuan has emphasized the importance of this matter time and time again. Now that things have come to this, there is no room for argument.

Several leaders could only say, "We are willing to obey the orders of the captain."

Pei Yuan glanced around and looked at Ji Xin, "You and your musket team stay here and be responsible for guarding the tax silver."

Ji Xin immediately stood up and said, "I obey your command."

Pei Yuan reminded worriedly, "The more than one hundred muskets have been pre-loaded with ammunition, and the gunners should also load their guns. We are not far away, if anyone dares to take the tax silver, you should immediately open fire, and I will rush back to support you as soon as I hear any movement."

Ji Xin said quickly, "I will be more careful."

"Yes." Pei Yuan looked around and said to Song Chunniang, "General Song should stay and help him."

The three general flags and Pei Yuan would prosper and suffer together. Regardless of their friendship or common interests, Pei Yuan was more willing to trust them.

As long as it is an important matter, Pei Yuan will put someone there.

Ji Xin was also very understanding and took the initiative to say, "The firearms team is too complicated to command, so I can ask General Song to help me share the work of the artillerymen."

If Song Chunniang controlled the artillerymen, once anything unexpected happened, she could just ignite the artillery and warn Pei Yuan in time.

Ji Xin's move was also equivalent to putting himself under the supervision of Song Chunniang in disguise.

Pei Yuan nodded with satisfaction, then said, "No need, she has other tasks. I will leave Taoist Zhiwei's team of Jianghu people to her, and she will be responsible for protecting your periphery."

Zhiwei Daoren's lying-down group is not very useful, but it should be able to play a certain role when it comes to self-protection.

Even if it is just used as a meat shield, it is enough to give Ji Xin some reaction time.

Besides, after Taoist Zhiwei showed off his little trick, Pei Yuan began to have great doubts about whether he could be controlled.

Such a capable person may quit at any time, so there is no need to force him.

Pei Yuan looked at Cui Bohou again.

Cui Bohou knew that the soldiers he had were the most elite at the moment, so he immediately volunteered, "I am willing to take on the task of the main attack."

After hearing this, Pei Yuan's impression of Cui Bohou improved a lot, but he said, "This time, you are responsible for robbing and killing him from behind. Feed your horse well and don't be careless."

Cui Bohou was suspicious, but he agreed first.

Sikong Sui couldn't help but ask, "Then according to Qian Hu's opinion, who will lead the attack this time?"

Pei Yuan did not keep the secret, "Leave the remaining Jinyiwei to Captain Tantai to lead, Captain Sikong and Monk Daihu will lead the remaining Jianghu people together. You are the main force of this attack."

Sikong Sui calculated that there were only about twenty Jinyiwei left, and there were only about fifty people in the gang led by Monk Daigu. What could they accomplish with more than seventy people?

He couldn't help but stare in astonishment, "Are you kidding, Qian Hu?"

Pei Yuan said confidently, "Don't worry. I have already transferred the people of the Huben Zuowei out of the city. We will fight an ambush at that time. I just happened to get some bows and crossbows yesterday, which will come in handy."

Sikong Sui was skeptical after hearing this. The Huben Zuowei is not yours, so how can you transfer it whenever you want?

He also suspected that Pei Yuan was just holding on for the sake of face.

Anyway, he will have something to say when the time comes. It’s not that he doesn’t want to take revenge, but that the left guard of the Tiger Guard was lucky and didn’t fall into an ambush.

Just say a few polite words like "Damn it, I'll beat you up every time we see you next time", and you can get through this awkward situation smoothly.

Take a step back.

If the Huben Zuowei really happened to leave the city, they would use crossbowmen to ambush him from a distance. Even if the results were mediocre, the Huben Zuowei would definitely not dare to counterattack rashly.

It would be even better if we could make a small profit, and we could explain it to everyone.

Once Sikong Sui had this thought, he no longer refused.

There was even a knowing and understanding smile on his face.

Pei Yuan looked at Chen Toutie again and said, "Take one person with you and wait halfway. Once you receive a report from Cheng Leixiang, come see me immediately."

Upon hearing this, Chen Toutie quickly stood up and said goodbye.

Just as the Jinyiwei of Zhenxie Qianhu Suo were taking action, Yang Lin, the commander of Huben Zuowei, also gathered his officers and soldiers.

There are more than four hundred and twenty people in total.

In order to show off and get more salary, Yang Lin contacted the casinos and brothels he was familiar with overnight and rounded up a total of 500 yuan.

However, many casinos and brothels operate at night, and those in charge said that they hope to send people over after they close in the morning.

Commander Yang, who often hangs out in these places, expressed full understanding. Besides, they were leaving the next morning anyway, so it wouldn't be a problem.

This morning, although these hangers-on arrived a little late, the bosses still gave face to Yang Lin.

Some of them even personally sent their helpers and bodyguards over.

Chen Wanjin, the owner of Wanjin Casino, didn't even have breakfast. He yawned and staggered to the Hundred Households Office with a dozen hangers-on.

As soon as they met, Chen Wanjin was shocked and asked Yang Lin, "Brother, was there a thief here?"

It turned out that Yang Lin was wearing a set of tattered clothes and rusty armor that he had found from somewhere, and he had a sword on his waist, the hilt of which was so rotten that it was about to grow mushrooms.

Yang Lin laughed, turned around proudly in front of Chen Wanjin without caring about it, and said.

"Remember the bitter past and think of the sweet past. Isn't that how the older generation followed Taizu to build the country?"

Chen Wanjin took a few glances and saw a group of people in the yard. They were all wearing rags and holding wooden sticks and forks, dressed like beggars. He couldn't help but ask Yang Lin, "Is there something wrong?"

Yang Lin did not shy away from his old brothers and whispered, "Let's go and ask for money."

Although Chen Wanjin's business was not an honest one, he became a little restless when he heard that there was going to be a riot over pay.

He asked nervously, "Brother, how did it get to this point? Will there be any trouble?"

Yang Lin said casually, "The emperor is not short of hungry soldiers. We are not the only one in Nanzhi. Some are short of soldiers, some are short of money, and some have nothing."

"Besides, this is a historical issue, and no one can figure it out."

"During the Jingnan Campaign alone, many garrisons suffered heavy losses. But who dared to report it?"

"You can't tell Grandpa Taizong that I almost spent all my money to stop you from entering Nanjing?"

As he spoke, Yang Lin burst into laughter.

After laughing, he gave Chen Wanjin, who was laughing along, a reassurance.

He raised his thumb and said with a smile, "Don't worry, the higher-ups have given the nod this time."

Now that Chen Wanjin has arrived, it is difficult to go back on his word.

He left the hangers-on behind and went back on his own.

It was not until noon that Yang Lin reluctantly incorporated those yawning hangers-on into his team, and he had a total of 500 officers and soldiers.

Because the hangers-on were dressed so nicely, Yang Lin had to put them in the center of the team in order to make them look less conspicuous.

This made many guys who were tired and wanted to sneak away give up the idea.

Fortunately, Yang Lin was also well versed in the art of commanding troops. He immediately promised a small sum of money to boost morale, and finally managed to pull the team out.

When Cheng Leixiang saw a large group of soldiers coming out of the Hundred Households Office, he immediately ordered the Embroidered Uniform Guard to send a message to Pei Yuan on horseback.

After seeing the soldiers leaving the city with his own eyes, Cheng Leixiang rushed to Sun Keding's residence and met Hou Qing who came to support him.

After giving the task of searching and killing the Hundred Households to Hou Qing.

Cheng Leixiang hurried to pick up Wang Chang again.

When Wang Chang heard that it was about yesterday's incident, he immediately put aside other official duties and followed Cheng Leixiang to find out what happened.

Wang Chang also knew it very well that Pei Yuan would never let the Huben Zuowei move for no reason. However, after thinking about it for a long time, he still couldn't guess how this matter would develop subsequently.

The target this time is the entire Wei.

In his opinion, the most likely possibility is that Pei Yuan wants to lure the tiger away from the mountain and do something to the hundred households of Huben Zuowei in Jiangdu City.

This matter must be clarified as soon as possible, otherwise he, the person who ordered the relocation, might be put in a passive position.

So as soon as Cheng Leixiang mentioned it, Wang Chang set off decisively. He even followed Cheng Leixiang's request and the two of them put on casual clothes and rode out of the city on horseback without alerting others.

By the time Chen Toutie hurriedly came to report the news that Huben Zuowei had left the city, Pei Yuan had already arrived at the ambush site with a large team and light equipment.

Tan Tai Fang Tu and Si Kong Sui were both veterans who had experienced many battles. Without Pei Yuan's words, they organized their own men to prepare for war.

Tan Tai Fangtu's subordinates were all Jinyiwei, so it was easy for them to get started after getting the bows and crossbows prepared in advance.

Although the gangsters under Sikong Sui had never used this thing, they had been chased and beaten by it many times.

Which mature person in society has not been chased away by the imperial court?

After watching Sikong Sui fiddle with it a few times, he finally learned how to do it.

Pei Yuan still remembered that these people might have an internal spy, so when he set up the ambush, he deliberately let them go in front and the Jinyiwei people followed behind.

This way, if someone changes their personality, it will be easier to suppress it.

According to Pei Yuan's judgment, the place where they ambush is actually not a good one.

After all, this place is not far from the commercial road, but it has a gentle slope and some bushes to provide cover.

In order to prevent the news from leaking out, Pei Yuan also specially asked Cui Bohou to allocate a few soldiers, pretending to be members of the Huben Zuowei, to disperse the merchants coming from Wantou Ferry in the name of capturing the White Lotus bandits.

As for those coming from Jiangdu, Pei Yuan didn't bother to pay attention to them as long as they didn't go back.

of course.

If the men of the Huben Zuowei were well-trained, marched within Yangzhou, and sent out scouts according to the rules, then Pei Yuan would have had no choice but to consider himself unlucky.

Pei Yuan reviewed the situation silently. Now all the plans were ready. He was just waiting for the left guard of the Huben Guard to come and die.

If he succeeded in this, it would be enough to make him powerful in Southern Zhili, Zhejiang and parts of Shandong.

Blood earned!
The only one who holds a different opinion is probably Sikong Sui, who has a rich inner drama.

Sikong Sui always felt that this action was somewhat unreliable.

Not long after lying in ambush, he was already thinking about what to say to ease his boss's embarrassment.

So when Chen Toutie came quickly to report the news that Huben Zuowei had left the city, Sikong Sui almost dropped his jaw in shock.

This is bullshit, right?

Not to mention Pei Yuan, a fifth-rank captain, how could he order Yang Lin, a third-rank commander, around.

Just looking at the bad things that Huben Zuowei did yesterday, he must have been wary of people like them.

How come this horse is as obedient as a dog?

Sikong Sui hurriedly approached Pei Yuan, wanting to satisfy his strong curiosity.

Pei Yuan then told a guard, "Send a message to Cui Bohou, saying that the Tiger Guards Left Guards may flee at any time, and tell him to be prepared to rob and kill them. Don't let anyone survive."

Sikong Sui suddenly felt a lot of complaints.

I would like to remind you that the fighting hasn't even started yet, isn't it a bit early to talk about fleeing?
But thinking about Pei Yuan's performance just now, he decided to play it safe and wait and see.

With clear expectations, time seems to go by slower.

Just when everyone was getting a little impatient waiting, a large group of soldiers came over in a noisy manner from a distance!

(End of this chapter)