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

Chapter 170 Shuo Rat
Han Qianhu glanced at the green-glazed porcelain vase with a subtle look in his eyes.

Pei Yuan explained, "There is a little money-carrying ghost in here. As long as I receive incense at midnight every day, it can steal a copper coin for me from outside."

"I thought that maybe I could use this kid to get the money out of the mural, so I asked Yun Weilin's son Yun Buxian to urgently deliver the porcelain bottle from the capital."

Pei Yuan said this and mentioned, "I have promised Yun Buxian a small flag position and asked him to work with me."

Captain Han really didn't care about the vacancy of a small flag officer and didn't express anything at all.

Pei Yuan knew that the matter was settled, and continued, "Later, I used this money-carrying ghost to move all the money on the mural back to the green-glazed porcelain vase."

"But there was a small problem in the middle. The bag containing the mouse and the monk on the mural were also stolen by the money-carrying kid."

Han Qianhu then became interested and opened his hands to Pei Yuan, saying, "Give it to me."

Pei Yuan had already prepared the psychological conditions for the positioning of both parties last night, and immediately offered without hesitation, "Please check it out, Qian Hu."

Han Qianhu took it in his hand, examined it for a few seconds, and then looked around.

They had just entered the post station, and some people who were temporarily resting in the post station were looking around curiously.

Fortunately, the Jinyiwei had a bad reputation, so even some higher-ranking officials were unwilling to cause trouble.

Han Qianhu looked at Pei Yuan and asked, "Where do you live?"

Upon hearing this, Pei Yuan quickly led Han Qianhu over.

Because the matter was of great importance, only three hundred households and three general flags followed into the courtyard, while everyone else stood guard outside the courtyard.

Han Qianhu stood in the open space in the courtyard and tilted the green-glazed porcelain vase slightly.

There was a loud crashing sound, and a large number of silver ingots poured out from inside.

Pei Yuan recognized the commercial tax silver ingots of the court at a glance. In addition, there were a large number of miscellaneous silver and large strings of copper coins.

A rough estimate is that there are really about 20,000 or 30,000 taels.

Han Qianhu took a look and smiled at Pei Yuan, "You have gained a lot this time."

Pei Yuan immediately expressed his opinion, "I dare not take the initiative, and I plan to let Qian Hu handle it."

After hearing what Pei Yuan said, Captain Han immediately understood.

Pei Yuan was planning to use the extra money to buy snacks in Huai'an.

She hesitated for a moment and asked, "Is this appropriate? How many people know about this?"

Pei Yuan replied, "We were the only ones present at the time. The captain can keep the silver first, and when we return to Nanjing, we can use it as a reward to reward the meritorious officials on this trip."

"Let's not talk about it now, so as to avoid the soldiers' suspicion and unnecessary trouble."

Han Qianhu understood again.

First use the money to speculate in commodities, and when you have made several times the profit, then take out some silver to give out rewards to offset this matter.

Captain Han was very satisfied with Pei Yuan's arrangement.

She looked at Sikong Sui, Tantai Fangtu and Cui Bohou again, "What do you three think?"

Sikong Sui was overjoyed when he saw that Pei Yuan had included everyone in the calculation and had made it clear to Han Qianhu in person.

To put it bluntly, this money should have belonged to Pei Yuan.

It was a method that he came up with himself, and he used his own magic weapon to collect it. It can be said that it has nothing to do with the three of them.

At this moment, Pei Yuanken took out the money and suggested to Han Qianhu that they divide it, which really made everyone excited.

Sikong Sui answered on behalf of the other two, "We will follow the orders of the captain."

Han Qianhu smiled and said, "Okay."

After saying that, he ignored the silver and continued to empty the celadon porcelain bottle. Then, he stretched out his slender jade fingers and took out a gray bag from the mouth of the celadon porcelain bottle.

She took a look and casually threw the dusty bag to Pei Yuan.

Pei Yuan was surprised, but also overjoyed.

This treasure is already a good thing. I didn’t expect Han Qianhu to be so generous and give it to me directly.

Then wouldn’t all the worrying over the past two days be in vain?

Pei Yuan thought that Han Qianhu's soft rice was delicious, but he didn't expect that this soft rice was not only so soft, but also enough to fill him up.

Pei Yuansu was shameless and asked Han Qianhu while the iron was hot, "Qianhu, do you know how to operate this pocket? I am still confused now."

Han Qianhu thought of the ability of this Qianhu and couldn't help but sighed, "Show it to me."

Pei Yuan happily handed over the mouse bag.

Captain Han looked at the rat pocket and waved to Pei Yuan.

Pei Yuan hurriedly came forward.

Han Qianhu pointed at a spot on the pocket and said, "I suspected before that you were referring to the monk Greedy among the eight monks of Huangjue Temple. Now it seems that I am right."

Pei Yuan took a closer look.

Then I saw three lines of words embroidered crookedly on the pocket.

"Big rat, big rat, don't eat my millet."

"Big rat, big rat, don't eat my wheat."

"Big rat, big rat, don't eat my seedlings."

Pei Yuan's head was full of question marks, and he could only say to Han Qianhu awkwardly, "Please give me some advice, Qianhu."

Han Qianhu was not surprised by Pei Yuan's stupidity, so he explained, "This phrase about the big rat comes from a poem in the Book of Songs, which satirizes the insatiable accumulation of wealth. The rat in the pocket does not eat millet, wheat, or seedlings, but is driven by a greedy heart."

"The more greedy the user is, the greater the power."

"The more you rely on this rat pocket, the more you will gain."

Pei Yuan was overjoyed when he heard this. Wasn't this a virtuous cycle for him?
But Han Qianhu warned again, "It's just that human greed is the most inexamining thing in the world. One day, this greed will make people encounter troubles that they cannot get."

"When that day comes, the more we seek but fail to obtain, the stronger the backlash of greed will be. We may even be retaliated by these rats."

Pei Yuan secretly breathed a sigh of relief.

If this thing was driven by the five virtues and four beauties, I would definitely be dumbfounded.

If it were to rely on greed, Pei Yuan would still have a few small goals that he was eager to achieve.

As for the consequences that Han Qianhu mentioned, Pei Yuan couldn't care less about them now.

Captain Han saw that Pei Yuan had no intention of letting go, so he didn't try to persuade him any further.

This treasure is a rare and precious thing for greedy people.

Because this thing does not utilize people's magical powers, but rather people's greed and desires.

It is really suitable for a guy like Pei Yuan who has no skills but is ambitious.

As for the possible consequences of the backlash..., when his greed becomes too strong, we can help him solve it. Han Qianhu asked Pei Yuan to lean over and told him a formula for him to try.

Pei Yuan tried it several times and indeed he was able to establish a connection with the pocket.

He took the sack in his hand, turning it into a palm-sized cloth bag, and hung it directly around his waist.

Han Qianhu thought of something else and said to Pei Yuan, "I have already dealt with Yue Qingfeng's matter. If you meet him in the martial arts world in the future, just have an ordinary relationship with him."

Pei Yuan guessed what Han Qianhu meant and felt a little excited.

As expected, Han Qianhu continued, "I have also brought the Heart Demon Robe with me. You can go outside and get it right away."

Pei Yuan quickly expressed his gratitude, "Thank you very much for helping me take care of this matter."

Han Qianhu thought to himself, this guy must be thanking me for returning the robe to him.

His face remained calm.

Then, he poured the celadon porcelain bottle in his hand onto the ground again, and the body of the greedy monk, which had been chopped into several pieces, was poured out of the celadon porcelain bottle.

Pei Yuan took a look and felt secretly strange.

The body was cut into several pieces with smooth cuts, revealing only dark red flesh and broken bones, without a single drop of blood.

Pei Yuan remembered his previous thought and quickly found the hand of the Greedy Monk that was making the seal and looked at its shape carefully.

He didn't quite understand these matters of cultivation and only remembered some vague memories.

Han Qianhu took a few glances, picked up the bowl that the Greedy Monk had been holding, looked at it, and threw it on the ground. He turned to Sikong Sui and said, "It is indeed the Greedy Monk, and it is not the successor, but him himself. Let's burn these things."

After giving the order, Han Qianhu returned the celadon porcelain bottle to Pei Yuan and said to him, "Come with me. I have something to discuss with you."

Pei Yuan knew it was time to get down to business.

The most important thing at the moment is naturally to go to Huai'an to speculate in nuts. As long as this matter can be accomplished, Pei Yuan and Han Qianhu will not only be able to obtain hundreds of thousands of taels of silver, but will also be able to conveniently advance subsequent plans.

Pei Yuan bowed and responded, then followed Han Qianhu into the room where he lived.

Han Qianhu stood in front of the window. After Sikong Sui and the others left with the broken body of the Greedy Monk, he frowned and said to Pei Yuan, "To be safe this time, I made an excuse and went to the north. As a result, I found that things didn't seem optimistic."

After hearing what Han Qianhu said, Pei Yuan became a little nervous.

He thought for a moment and asked Captain Han, "May I know what Captain Han saw and heard in the north?"

Captain Han came to see Pei Yuan this time just to ask him to make a decision.

He immediately said, "Because a large number of grain ships were burned in Jining, prices in the north have indeed changed. The prices of goods from the south have skyrocketed, while the prices of goods originally produced in the north have fallen sharply."

Pei Yuan breathed a sigh of relief.

The burning of Jining grain ships by the Bazhou rebels dealt a heavy blow to the logistics between the north and the south, which naturally had a great impact on the economy.

The key issue is whether the market will buy into such changes in supply and demand.

If the consumer groups in the north are sensitive to market prices and would rather wait one or two years than buy southern goods whose prices have skyrocketed, then Pei Yuan’s basis for speculation will no longer exist.

If the southern merchants who suffered losses during the speculation of nuts in Huai'an cannot absorb those losses through skyrocketing prices, it will bring unnecessary troubles in the future.

Only when prices in the north skyrocket can Pei Yuan achieve his ideal situation.

That is, Pei Yuan and Han Qianhu made a fortune from the southern merchants, and then the southern merchants sold the goods to the north and made a profit from the skyrocketing prices. The already soaring prices in the north ultimately became the final beneficiary for Pei and Han.

But the surge in prices in the north was caused by the burning of ships by the Bazhou rebels. What does it have to do with Captain Pei?
Han Qianhu added, "I also sent people to infiltrate the imperial army and the Bazhou rebels to gather some intelligence."

"The imperial court is eager to take advantage of the freezing of the tributaries of the Huai River to drive the Bazhou rebels to the south. Then, when the weather warms up next spring, they will trap the Bazhou rebels in the dense water network of the Huai River."

"But I don't know what's wrong with those Bazhou rebels. They just want to fight northwards. They went south several times before and counterattacked several times. They almost broke through the defense line set up by Lu Wan, allowing the Bazhou rebels to sneak into Shandong."

"I heard that the King of Shandong was very nervous and even donated 1,000 taels of military funds for this purpose."

Han Qianhu said, frowning slightly, "But if the Bazhou rebels don't go south, what should we do with our plan?"

Pei Yuan was startled, here it comes.

The big promise I made to my leader is now being asked to be fulfilled.

If it weren't for the Huai'an speculation plan that Pei Yuan had given, Han Qianhu would not have invested so many resources in Pei Yuan.

The efforts you made initially must now be rewarded.

Pei Yuan was also confused at the moment.

Why didn’t these Bazhou rebels go south?

Going south can not only avoid the layers of blockades by the imperial army, but also avoid the cold climate in the north. In addition, compared with the north that has been ravaged and plundered many times, the south is obviously much richer and easier to seize supplies.

Is it possible that there is an expert among the rebels in Bazhou who has seen through the imperial court’s plan?
This is impossible.

"Knowing astronomy and geography" are the abilities that only the top strategists can possess.

The Ming Dynasty was not like later times, when everyone could easily check maps and other things.

Mountains, rivers, geography and other things are all absolutely confidential.

Seeing Pei Yuan didn't answer, Han Qianhu asked seriously, "What do you think now?"

Pei Yuan's forehead was slightly sweaty. As if he had made up his mind, he gritted his teeth and said, "If the rebels in Bazhou refuse to go south, we will force them to go south! If the rebels in Bazhou don't attack Huai'an, we will force them to attack Huai'an!"

Now Huai'an is right in front of them and things are imminent. Captain Han is unwilling to give Pei Yuan room to be perfunctory.

She stared at Pei Yuan and asked carefully, "How are you going to force them to go south?"

"I, I..." Pei Yuan's forehead was covered with sweat.

Suddenly, he remembered what Sikong Sui said to him yesterday, and he suddenly asked, "Did Qian Hu stop by Henan this time?"

Captain Han shook his head and said, "No. Saying I went to Henan was just an excuse for me to cover up my whereabouts."

"Didn't we discuss the matter in Henan before?"

Pei Yuan had thought it through clearly by now, so he said to Han Qianhu in a decisive tone, "Whether we can force the Bazhou rebels to retreat this time probably depends on the White Lotus Sect in Henan."

Captain Han frowned and motioned Pei Yuan to continue.

Pei Yuan's mind was becoming clearer at this moment, and he said to Han Qianhu, "I wonder if you have ever seen a prairie fire?"

Captain Han shook his head.

Pei Yuan continued, "It's easy for fires to start on the grasslands in autumn and winter, and because there are withered and yellowed grass and trees everywhere, once they start burning, it's simply out of human control."

Pei Yuan said to Han Qianhu, "Han Qianhu, do you know what the people on the grassland do to drive away the fire once a fire breaks out on the grassland?"

Pei Yuan answered his own question, "That is, when the wind is blowing in the right direction, light another fire in the opposite direction to burn all the weeds between the fires. Without something to start the fire, the fires that cannot spread will slowly die out."

Pei Yuan looked at Han Qianhu and said, "The Bazhou rebels are the big fire that wants to burn towards Henan, and those White Lotus bandits are the second fire that can burn the Bazhou rebels and force them to retreat to the south."

Captain Han already understood what Pei Yuan meant.

She said in a deep voice, "Are you saying that you want to force the White Lotus Sect to rebel in advance and force the Bazhou rebels to move south?"

(End of this chapter)