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

Chapter 164: The Greedy Monk's Drop

When Captain Pei thought of his little money-moving kid, he couldn't help but be stunned for a moment.

The little money-carrying kid has a peculiar ability.

As long as you burn a stick of incense at midnight, you can get him a copper coin.

Pei Yuan also used the "renewal money" given by the little devil to make the future Prime Minister and Grand Secretary Zhang Cong owe him a favor.

Pei Yuan can use this debt of favor to continuously improve Zhang Cong's friendship until he can completely control him.

But Pei Yuan thought of the money-moving kid at this moment, not because of the copper coins.

Instead, he suddenly thought of the key point that he had not noticed before.

If it is incredible that these mice can drag the money into the second dimension, then the little money-moving ghost who can silently drop the copper coins into the porcelain bottle is not an existence that has broken through the dimension?

In other words, in a sense, although that thing looks a bit weak, its power is actually not low.

So can I use the money-moving ghost to steal the court's tax silver from the murals?

If its ability is only to drag something as heavy as a copper coin in the three-dimensional world, then how much can it drag in the two-dimensional world?
Pei Yuan looked at the silver and then at the sack containing the rat.

What the hell!

I don’t dare to think about it.

But the more he thought about it, the more Pei Yuan felt like a cat was scratching his heart.

He immediately asked Cheng Leixiang, "What is the character of Yun Buxian?"

When Cheng Leixiang heard Pei Yuan's question, he immediately replied, "We have been brothers for many years. I have always gotten along well with him, and my character is well known to you, my Lord."

Pei Yuan nodded after hearing this, but he still asked another question, "Is this person greedy for money?"

Cheng Leixiang was stunned and quickly replied, "Yun Buxian's father has been in Da Ci'en Temple for many years and has made a lot of money. I'm afraid even the average prefect can't compare to him. How could he be greedy for money?"

After Cheng Leixiang finished speaking, he realized, "Does the lord have something for Yun Buxian to do?"

Pei Yuan nodded and said, "Not bad!"

Cheng Leixiang patted his chest and promised, "Don't worry, sir. You are the deputy chief of the chief, and the immediate superior of their family. Who would dare to covet your property?"

Pei Yuan felt more at ease after hearing this.

He calmly asked Cheng Leixiang, "If I am willing to use him, how long will it take for him to get here?"

Cheng Leixiang was overjoyed when he heard Pei Yuan's words, "Yangzhou is a big city. The Jinyiwei's spies in Yangzhou must have carrier pigeons for emergency communication. As long as we spend a little money, the news can be sent to the capital quickly."

"Once Yun Buxian receives the order, if he directly uses the military's express delivery service, he will be able to arrive in ten days or half a month at most."

Pei Yuan calculated the time and found that there was still enough time!

Things in Huai'an are still in the works, and I don't know what has delayed Han Qianhu, and he has not shown up yet.

Even if it's just for the sake of safety, it won't hurt to have one more plan.

The silver in the mural is not only the commercial tax silver with the seal of Suzhou Weaving Office, but also other silver.

Besides, if we can get hold of that rat bag, then the drop will be beyond our expectations!
Pei Yuan said decisively, "Go and help me pass the message at dawn. Make sure Yun Buxian comes as soon as possible."

"If he can arrive within ten days, I will recommend him to Captain Han as a general flag. If he arrives within fifteen days, he will be a minor flag. If he does not arrive within fifteen days, I will move Yun Weilin to a new place and let him guard a dilapidated temple in a border town."

Pei Yuan emphasized his tone, "Captain Han will not refuse my respect for such a small matter."

Cheng Leixiang was stern and said quickly, "I will definitely warn him well."

Pei Yuan called a personal guard over and said, "Go and call Sikong Sui."

When Sikong Sui arrived, Pei Yuan handed the spirit-dispersing talisman to Sikong Sui and asked him to stay here to suppress the greedy monk, while he went to write a secret letter with Cheng Leixiang.

In the letter, Pei Yuan told Yun Buxian where he hid the green-glazed porcelain bottle, and solemnly reminded him to bring more incense, candles and yellow paper used by the emperor.

Then came Cheng Leixiang’s words to Yun Buxian.

In addition to explaining Pei Yuan's promises, he also repeatedly reminded Yun Buxian not to delay.

Pei Yuan took the secret letter and read it several times, and only returned it to Cheng Leixiang after confirming that it was correct.

Afterwards, he went to see Song Chunniang.

The silver box had been moved to the silver transport vehicle and was placed securely there. Two teams of Jinyiwei were nervously guarding the surroundings.

There was an upside-down urn in the courtyard, and a dedicated Jinyiwei was eavesdropping at all times.

Looking at the walls around, I saw that many of them had been chiseled open, so I was sure there was nothing fishy.

Pei Yuan couldn't help but nodded with satisfaction. He was indeed a member of the Imperial Guards. He was very professional when he got serious.

After leaving the courtyard, Pei Yuan saw Cui Bohou and his men guarding the gates around the courtyard, so he went up to him and asked a few questions.

Cui Bohou said respectfully, "Some people heard the noise from our side and wanted to come out to check, but I drove them back. Now everyone stays in your own yard. Your Excellency, do you want to go in and search and interrogate us?"

Pei Yuan had suspected before that someone was secretly doing something wrong in this post station.

But since the clues pointed to the greedy monk, Pei Yuan felt that the accidental factor in this matter might be greater.

Although Pei Yuan is not afraid of leaving a bad reputation, there is no need to narrow his own path.

He ordered, "Tell all the officials in the courtyard that there is a demon causing trouble in the post station. Tell them to guard the gates and not to go in and out casually. Also tell the post station chief."

Tan Tai Fang Tu has almost turned the yard upside down. If he doesn't give an explanation, it will probably lead to more speculation.

Instead of that, it is better to tell the truth.

After Pei Yuan looked around to confirm that everything was correct, he returned to his yard tiredly.

I had just been fighting for a while and my body was sweating a lot and was covered in blood.

The water in the wooden barrel had already gone cold, and Pei Yuan didn't bother asking someone to boil it again. He simply took off his clothes and poured the water over himself to wash himself clean.

Perhaps the cold water stimulated my tired nerves, and after I went to bed, I couldn't help but start to have wild thoughts again.

The first thing Pei Yuan thought of was the dream he had.

If it wasn't for that dream that warned Pei Yuan, making him dream that the silver grew legs and ran away, Pei Yuan would never have woken up from the shock.

It wouldn't be the middle of the night for him to go check the silver again.

He would not act on impulse and kick the silver box before leaving.

If we delay a little longer, all the silver might be stolen.

Afterwards, if the greedy monk allowed the rats to destroy the tunnels, Pei Yuan would have no way of investigating.

Maybe this money will become a complete unsolved case.

Pei Yuan never believed that there was any luck in this world, but he was still confused after thinking about it for a long time.

It was not until the second half of the night that Pei Yuan fell into a drowsy sleep.

The next morning, Pei Yuan was awakened by the noise outside.

When I got up, I saw that it was the soldiers on duty who were changing shifts.

Chen Toutie was taking a nap in the yard, waiting for his turn. When he saw Pei Yuan coming out, he hurriedly said, "Captain, I watched all night yesterday, but didn't see any suspicious people appear."

Pei Yuan hummed.

Ever since he knew that this matter was related to the greedy monk, Pei Yuan no longer had much expectations for Chen Toutie's results.

Pei Yuan asked, "Where is Cheng Leixiang?"

Chen Toutie replied, "Cheng Leixiang has already left urgently, saying that he had received an order from an adult."

Well, they are all good cattle and horses.

Pei Yuan said, "Go and rest first. I'll have someone call you when we need you."

Chen Toutie asked one more question, "Will it delay our trip? I can still hold out for a while."

Pei Yuan shook his head and said, "No, we may have to rest here for a few days."

Before, Pei Yuan was still hesitating whether to stay in the post station here or go to Jiangdu City to stay temporarily.

This time you don't have to worry about it anymore.

Previously, Pei Yuan was struggling to find an excuse to fool Tan Tai Fang Tu and Si Kong Sui, but now he doesn't have to fool them anymore.

Now that such a large sum of silver has been stolen by a mural, how are they going to explain to the court?
Even if I explain to the court, will the court believe me?
Even if the imperial court believed it, wouldn't the people sent by the imperial court to solve the matter be their own Thousand Households Suppression of Evil?

Chen Toutie got the confirmation and then respectfully said goodbye and left.

Pei Yuan walked out of the courtyard and went to the courtyard where the greedy monk was again.

Several Jinyi guards on duty seemed to have received instructions. When they saw Pei Yuan waking up, they quickly notified Tan Tai Fangtu, Cui Bohou and others.

Not long after Pei Yuan arrived at the courtyard, several people in charge came over with tired looks on their faces.

Sikong Sui stayed in this courtyard.

He was old, so after guarding for a while, he handed over the tasks to his subordinates and went into his room to sleep.

Fortunately, nothing happened that night.

Several Jinyiwei took turns standing in front of the wall holding the spirit-dispersing talisman, which frightened the greedy monk so that he dared not act recklessly.

Upon hearing that Pei Yuan had arrived, the sleepy Tan Tai Fang Tu came out of the room to greet him.

Pei Yuan was also sleepy, and he was the only one who fell asleep halfway through the trip, so naturally he was too embarrassed to blame others.

Originally, he thought that he would be able to have a few days of peace before arriving at Huai'an Prefecture, but he didn't expect that these days were so chaotic that he couldn't even get a good night's sleep.

Pei Yuan looked at the wall again and confirmed that there was no change compared to before.

So he said to everyone, "We can't go anywhere unless the problem here is solved."

Tan Tai Fang Tu and Si Kong Sui were also helpless.

They were about to arrive at Huai'an Prefecture, but they didn't expect such a thing to happen. They thought they would soon be free from suffering and return to Nanjing happily.

But at this moment, this happened suddenly.

They didn't dare to complain about the loss of so much money. And if they really went their separate ways after arriving in Huai'an, the court might order these two idle people to investigate the matter.

It would be better for everyone to take the blame together.

Everyone said together, "We are willing to follow Qian Hu's orders."

Pei Yuan thought about it.

The presence of the Evil Suppression Thousand Households Office is getting weaker and weaker, and they are being used as cannon fodder.

It just so happens that this monster from the Jingnan era has appeared, and it’s time to boost my reputation with the court.

Pei Yuan then said, "There is no need to hide what is happening here. Just report it to the higher-ups. First notify our direct superiors, the Nanjing Jinyiwei, and then we have to tell the Internal Transport Warehouse and have them inform the Silijian."

"It is not convenient for us to directly participate in the Yangzhou Prefecture. Let the postmaster report it. The damage here is so serious that he can't cover it up."

"Tell everything as it is."

"Although it's absurd that the silver was stolen by the murals, if the court really sends an imperial censor to investigate, we can let him see with his own eyes how those rats got out."

"Our situation might be better by then. At least we can have an explanation for the money issue."

Sikong Sui went to sleep while on duty, and felt a little embarrassed at this time.

So he took the initiative to say, "Let me arrange someone to take care of these things."

Pei Yuan hummed and looked at Sikong Sui, Tantai Fangtu and Cui Bohou.

"It looks like we'll have to stay here for now."

"Well, this is a good opportunity to take a break."

"You three centurions will take turns to be on duty every day. No matter if you go into battle or just stay on the sidelines, at least there should be someone there. If something unexpected happens, how can we rely on those Jinyiwei alone?"

Then he said to Hou Qing who was standing beside him, "You should go and interact with the gangsters. Just appease them. They just followed us to kill the Tiger Guards. They won't dare to do anything reckless in the short term."

"As for General Song, she is also responsible for her negligence this time, so let her keep the silver."

Pei Yuan finished the arrangements and everyone agreed.

In this way, the task is clear, and it is also convenient for them to arrange rotation and rest.

Pei Yuan ignored others and went back to sleep soundly.

I slept until the afternoon and finally got rid of all my fatigue.

Hearing the noise in Pei Yuan's room, Cheng Leixiang knocked on the door gently and said, "Captain, I have already sent a message to Yun Buxian. In addition, Ji Xin has also returned. Would you like to meet him?"

Pei Yuan's heart moved. Ji Xin rushed back, and it must be that the incident of Huben Zuowei had become a rumor in Jiangdu City.

I just don’t know whether the final outcome will be what I want.

Pei Yuan let out a long sigh, put on his clothes and went out.

Cheng Leixiang, who was outside the door, quickly explained a few more words, "The captain of the Ministry of Works saw me guarding here, and told me that he had completed the things you arranged this morning. The postmaster has already sent urgent documents to Yangzhou Prefecture and Jiangdu County."

Pei Yuan hummed and ordered, "Call Ji Xin."

After a while, Ji Xin rushed over.

Seeing that he looked normal, Pei Yuan had a rough idea in his mind.

So, he asked Ji Xin, "Has the news about the Tiger Guards' left guard spread in Jiangdu City?"

Ji Xin hurriedly said, "Reporting to the captain, it is true. When we left that day, we did not clean up the battlefield at all. Later, it was the officers of Yangzhou Prefecture who went to collect the bodies. Someone accidentally found two silver plates of the captain from those dead bodies."

"They didn't say anything at the time, and were only discovered later when they tried to pawn the items."

Pei Yuan looked over inquiringly.

Ji Xin said quickly, "The people from the Huben Zuowei have dealings with many casinos, brothels, and pawnshops in the city, and they also act as thugs for them. I later found out that when the Huben Zuowei left the city this time, they borrowed a lot of people from various places. It just so happened that the pawnshop also had people."

"The person they lent it to didn't come back that night, and someone else came to pawn the Tiger Guard Left Guard badge the next day. The owner of the pawn shop immediately thought something was amiss."

"When the man went to the 100-household unit, he found that everyone inside had been killed."

"That's how big the matter got."

Pei Yuan hummed, but didn't react much.

Just make a big fuss if you can.

Not to mention that Pei Yuan already had a plan in mind, there was also Wang Chang, an undercover agent, to help guide the direction of the situation.

Ji Xin continued, "So many people died outside Jiangdu City, which indeed caused an uproar."

"The Yangzhou prefect and Jiangdu county magistrate originally wanted to suppress the matter and report it secretly first, but many merchants went out to identify the bodies early this morning. Many of the family members of the hangers-on made a scene. Those merchants did not want to suffer this loss, but were unwilling to pay more money, so they could only report it to the prefecture and county, demanding that they find the murderer."

"There are so many powerful families hiding in a place like Yangzhou, and the prefecture and county governments can't cover up everything."

"It just so happens that the fact that the Nanjing Minister of War was in Jiangdu City was no secret. After the incident became public, the Yangzhou prefect had someone take the two silver medals of the centurion and send them to Wang Chang."

"Before coming, the Grand Marshal said that he would muddy the waters as soon as possible, implicate more guards, and make them realize the seriousness of the matter."

Pei Yuan was very satisfied after hearing this.

He instructed Ji Xin, "Since you are in charge of this matter, you should continue to keep an eye on the movements in Jiangdu City. Bring more people with you when the time comes. If there is any movement, send someone to inform me in time."

Upon hearing this, Ji Xin immediately bowed and said, "I obey your orders."

Fortunately, the development of things basically met Pei Yuan's expectations, and even entered the right track earlier than Pei Yuan expected.

All the credit for this goes to Wang Chang, the Nanjing Minister of War.

After witnessing the destruction of the Huben Zuowei that day, Wang Chang realized the crux of the problem and sent urgent official documents to the guards in various places on the same day, summoning them to Yangzhou to discuss important matters.

The messenger sent by Wang Chang also hinted that he wanted to take the opportunity to settle the account.

When the commanders of various garrisons and the commander-in-chief of the Military Command Office heard that Wang Chang was going to do such a big thing, they were all excited and rushed to Yangzhou happily.

According to many people, Wang Chang has no future in his career, so he plans to make a big fortune before retiring completely.

But what's the point?
With such a character, Sima Wang deserves to live a wealthy and prosperous life.

By the time the news of the demise of Huben Zuowei began to ferment in Yangzhou, military leaders from all over the country had just arrived in Yangzhou.

Because the case involved Huben Zuowei, and Wang Chang had the two centurion silver medals in his hand, so while people inside and outside Yangzhou Prefecture spread the word of search and arrest, it was natural for them to start the investigation from Huben Zuowei.

Naturally, the Yangzhou officials' search was fruitless and they could not catch anyone.

Hundreds of Tiger Guards and Left Guards were killed, not to mention the few men they had who were only able to maintain law and order.

Those officers didn't even dare to walk through the formalities, for fear of being misunderstood by those with ulterior motives. Every day when they left the city gate, they would swarm outside.

As for the pedestrians and businessmen who happened to pass by the scene, they kept their mouths shut and no one dared to say anything.

In addition, Pei Yuan and his group of people lived in the official inn so openly, and they also blatantly wrote to the Yangzhou Prefecture and County, saying that a monster appeared in the official inn outside the city and swallowed the court's silver, and asked them to provide support in terms of manpower and supplies.

Then an outrageous scene happened.

For a while, no one knew what was going on.

Even if there are some rumors circulating in the city, and even loud enough that the police officers think they are a bit noisy, but there is no evidence, there is no evidence. How can I report something without evidence?

As for the investigation into Huben Zuowei, it was what really attracted a lot of attention.

First of all, four or five hundred people from the Huben Zuowei died, and this matter must be handled with the military officers of all ranks of the Huben Zuowei.

As a result, official documents flew everywhere, and the entire Huben Zuowei, except for a few small people left behind in Nanjing City, could not find anyone to take over the matter.

Jiao Kun, the deputy minister of the Ministry of War who was in charge of the matter, first discovered that all the military officers of the Huben Zuowei were missing. Then, he followed the situation and found that the military camp of the Huben Zuowei was also empty.

This is almost a clear indication that the Ming Dynasty's Tiger Guard Left Guard has disappeared.

This is a whole guard!

How should I explain this to my superiors?
By the time Jiao Kun, the Deputy Minister of the Ministry of War, wanted to continue the investigation, the military leaders who had gathered in Yangzhou and smelled the wind realized that something was wrong.

They immediately found Wang Chang and put pressure on him, demanding that the investigation be stopped.

Some people tried to persuade Wang Chang earnestly, some spoke harshly, and some threatened him, telling him directly that if he continued like this, no one would be happy.

These people's statements made Wang Chang feel relieved, and he also greatly admired Pei Yuan's judgment.

It was at this time that Pei Yuan let someone leak the news that Huben Zuowei had conspired with outsiders to betray the Nanjing Jinyiwei.

Afterwards, without waiting for any reaction from the military leaders gathered in Yangzhou, Pei Yuan openly mentioned the revenge against Huben Zuowei in the official inn!
Those who could live in the official inn outside Yangzhou city all had some official status.

Pei Yuan's harsh words in public naturally spread like wildfire.

When those people in Yangzhou City who were directly related to this matter learned about it, they fell silent for a while.

First, they didn't expect that Captain Pei would be like a mad dog and his means of revenge would be so cruel. This made the other people in the Jiangnan Guard Station feel sad.

Second, I increasingly feel that this matter is too complicated and difficult to handle.

The Huben Zuowei colluded with others to assassinate the captain of the Jinyiwei in order to seize the official silver, which in itself was a serious crime.

If the Jinyiwei reported this matter to the court, and the court was determined to investigate, it would be enough to implicate everyone in the Huben Zuowei.

If things really get to that point, these military leaders will have no choice but to protect the Huben Zuowei to avoid getting involved in the incident.

But now comes the problem.

After the Jinyiwei suffered a loss, they directly retaliated against Huben Zuowei, and the key point is that they succeeded.

He just killed all the Huben Zuowei soldiers from top to bottom.

As a result, these military leaders of the garrisons had no choice but to do their utmost to protect the perpetrators of the Jinyiwei.

because……

The fucking victim can’t be checked!
Because the victim cannot be found, the murderer cannot be found either.

The outrageousness of this incident had a strong impact on the three views of these military leaders.

A group of commanders and deputy commanders gathered in Yangzhou felt very upset after they figured out all this.

This feeling is like being held down and raped.

(End of this chapter)