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

Chapter 174: What is there to fear once you are in this game?

Han Qianhu nodded in satisfaction, looking at Pei Yuan as if he was looking at the fruits of a bountiful harvest, "Very good, do your job well in the future, and it will not be in vain that I have put so much thought into it."

Sikong Sui and Tan Tai Fang Tu saw that Pei Yuan asked so boldly and Han Qianhu did not smash the cup as a signal to call out the executioners, so they knew that the matter was a done deal.

Both of them first expressed their stance to Han Qianhu, saying that they would firmly obey the arrangements, and then greeted Pei Yuan with mixed feelings.

Pei Yuan was originally the deputy commander of the Zhenxie Thousand Households Office, and he had been the superior of the two men for a period of time.

Psychologically, Sikong Sui and Tantai Fangtu were not unable to accept it.

After the three of them had finished greeting each other, Captain Han continued to talk about other arrangements.

"The situation that the evil-suppressing thousand households need to face is quite complicated. Although we have a lot of manpower, this number of manpower is insignificant compared to the entire Ming Dynasty."

"Add to that some changes at the beginning of the country, which made it difficult for us, a thousand-household unit under the Nanjing Jinyiwei, to carry out operations in the north."

"Some of the Taoist priests who have been in the North for a long time, I am no longer able to use them."

When Pei Yuan heard this, he immediately thought of Yun Buxian’s father, Yun Weilin.

This guy lived a very comfortable life in Da Ci'en Temple, and he used his position to make friends with the temple's Dharma King and some high-ranking officials.

Last time Pei Yuan went under the banner of Han Qianhu, he didn’t even see anyone.

It seems that with the suppression of Nanjing Jinyiwei by Beijing Jinyiwei, many Taoist priests in the north have become too powerful to be eliminated.

Pei Yuan was thinking about the meaning of Han Qianhu's words.

Then Han Qianhu said, "In order to better control the situation and to regain control of these Taoist priests in the north, I plan to divide the Zhenxie Qianhu Office into two parts, north and south, with Huai'an as the boundary."

"The temples and palaces in the north, the Taoist priest Zhenji, and the Jinyiwei of Qianhu Suo who are currently carrying out missions in the north will all be managed by Qianhu Pei."

"The centurions of Sikong Sui and Tantai Fangtu will be relocated to the north of Huai'an. The centurion that Yuan Lang led to the north will be withdrawn to Nanjing. I will select other talented people to fill that centurion's position again."

"Once you have successfully settled in the north, your family and supplies will be escorted over by Cui Bohou for you."

When Captain Han presented his plans one by one, the three were so shocked that they were speechless.

Captain Han's ideas were clear and purposeful, and the plans he outlined did not seem like temporary decisions at all. Instead, they seemed like plans that had been carefully considered over a long period of time.

What's more, the meaning expressed by Han Qianhu's words was even more shocking.

This is an attempt to launch a major purge against all the Taoists in the North!

In order to achieve this goal, Han Qianhu was very radical and directly adopted the approach of dividing the land and governing it.

This move almost gave Pei Yuan the same power as Han Qianhu in the north.

Han Qianhu’s intention is also very clear.

The goal is to make Pei Yuan that sharp knife!

Sikong Sui and Tan Tai Fang Tu exchanged glances frantically, their eyes full of disbelief.

As old men in the Qianhu Suo, they understood the mess that was happening in the north.

Now the relationship between the Beijing Jinyiwei and the Nanjing Jinyiwei is very disharmonious.

As a functional department responsible for arresting cults and supervising civilian armed forces, the Thousand Households Office for Suppressing Evils is one of the few armed forces in Nanjing Jinyiwei that still maintains vitality.

When the Beijing Jinyiwei was established, the hunt for the Ming Cult had already come to an end, and this Qianhu Suo was not re-established in Beijing.

It was not until Tang Sai'er of the White Lotus Sect rebelled in Shandong that the Beijing Jinyiwei noticed the importance of this thousand-household unit.

However, the ability and strength shown by the Thousand Households who Suppressed Evils at that time made Zhu Di feel that there was no need to start a new organization.

Therefore, the Thousand Households Office for Suppressing Evils has remained as a unique and only functional department within the Nanjing Jinyiwei organization.

However, as more and more rioters resorted to violence, the importance of the Zhenxie Qianhu Office was once again recognized by the Northern Pacification Office.

Captain Han had previously shown the secret reports from the north to a few of his captains.

It is said that the Northern Pacification Office has been trying to win over the Taoist priests in the north and the spies in the north where the Evil Suppression Thousand Households are located.

According to their previous analysis, the Northern Pacification Division was most likely planning to take the plate of the evil-suppressing Thousand Households in the north directly over to them.

Then, following the previous example, a Thousand Households Office for Suppressing Evil was set up directly in the Beijing Jinyiwei.

This is a life-threatening matter for the Qianhu Suo.

If you want to thwart the Beijing Jinyiwei's plan, simply relying on official lawsuits will not work.

Perhaps the imperial court would also prefer that this force be controlled by the Beijing Jinyiwei.

Therefore, in order to stabilize the situation in the north and strengthen the control over the Taoist priests in the north, even Han Qianhu, who has always been lazy, had to travel back and forth between the north and the south frequently.

But the North is in crisis, and the South is not so safe either.

If the southern gentry wanted to protect their own interests, the most important thing they could rely on was the power of the gentry, wealthy merchants, and landlords.

These people control public opinion, a lot of wealth, a lot of land and a large population.

However, these southern gentry also have a disadvantage, which is that their organizational structure is loose and there is no obvious strong core.

The forces behind them can only act independently and scatter in all directions.

Many of these armed forces were based in temples and palaces.

A temple, hundreds of strong and idle monks, and the temple property used as a deposit to support soldiers, suddenly controlled a large area of ​​land.

In this era when imperial power did not extend below the county level, the court's control over the lower classes was almost completely eliminated.

Today, let alone whether the government decrees can be implemented, even if normal land taxes are to be collected, one must negotiate with the local authorities.

As a result, the Thousand Households Office of Suppressing Evil, which is responsible for controlling those gray forces in the imperial court, becomes very annoying.

This time, when transporting tax silver to Neichengyunku, Pei Yuanben planned to recruit a group of cannon fodder from various palaces, temples and monasteries near Nanjing to accompany him.

However, under the influence of the southern gentry, only a few temples and palaces responded.

If Han Qianhu focuses too much on the north, it will be easy for a fire to break out in the south.

Therefore, in the eyes of the two centurions Sikong Sui and Tan Tai Fang Tu, it was definitely a brilliant move to send Pei Yuan, a tough guy, to cleanse the Taoist Zhenji in the north and fight a decisive battle north of Huai'an.

If Pei Yuan can accomplish this, then the Zhenxie Thousand Households Office will be able to actually control the north and double its strength.

If Pei Yuan failed, Han Qianhu, who was stationed in the south, could take the opportunity to shrink his sphere of influence and focus on stabilizing the rear area, thus dividing the country into north and south.

The only bad thing for Sikong Sui and Tantai Fangtu is, damn it, don't take me with you.

……

Pei Yuan also had a general understanding of what the two centurions knew.

This time, Captain Han made such a big decision, so naturally he would not fool Pei Yuan.

In order to make him clearly aware of the situation he would face, Han Qianhu explained to Pei Yuan in detail the situation he would face.

But for Pei Yuan, what does all this mean? Having a piece of land where he has the final say is the foundation for real take-off.

Pei Yuan didn't care about the dangers Han Qianhu mentioned, but further clarified with Han Qianhu, "If I want to appoint a position to my subordinates in the north, can I do it on my own?"

Han Qianhu was also unambiguous and said calmly, "You decide on the candidates and I will report to the Ministry of War. Even if Sikong Sui and Tantai Fangtu do not do a good job, you can replace them."

"We have two vacancies for the sixth-rank governors in our Qianhu Division. Sikong Sui and Tantai Fangtu each have a vacancy for a trial centurion. In addition, there are also many vacancies for the general flags, small flags, and lieutenants. You can consider them. If you don't have enough, I can also give you some vacancies from Nanjing."

Pei Yuan felt a little excited when he heard that Han Qianhu's support was so strong.

This is a very important resource.

Especially the two thousand households that were in charge of the pacification.

You should know that although the Jinyiwei was a military organization, civil servants could be placed in positions responsible for civil affairs such as experience and pacification.

Many Jinshi who entered the Ministry of War had the opportunity to transition from these positions.

Pei Yuan had two quotas for the sixth-rank pacification station in his hands, which made it very convenient for him to place some of the talents he had collected.

The first person Pei Yuan thought of was the Guangdong inspector named He Ru.

When that guy was in office, he was able to persuade the Portuguese barbarians to surrender and even get Portuguese galleys.

In the context of the Ming Dynasty, this kind of person is definitely a top talent in Pei Yuan's mind!

Unfortunately, the imperial court did not recognize his worth and the reward given to him was merely a promotion to the chief clerk of Shangyuan County, Yingtian Prefecture.

It was just a promotion from the ninth rank to the ninth rank.

Once Pei Yuan takes this out from the sixth-rank pacification officer, there will be no doubt that He Ru will join him.

As for the promotion of a ninth-rank chief clerk to a sixth-rank pacifier, is it easy to do?

That’s so easy to operate!
Just change He Ru's name.

Now the situation of Zhenxie Qianhu Suo is the same as other garrisons. They are still fully staffed. The two governors have been making up names but drawing salaries without doing anything.

At the beginning, when a captain like Pei Yuan was appointed as a deputy captain, he could do so simply by going through the formalities.

Cheng Leixiang and Chen Toutie also hold the rank of Jinyiwei.

Song Chunniang was lucky enough to win the prize at a good time and directly spent money to buy a seventh-rank general flag.

These people have corresponding ranks. Theoretically, as long as there is a vacancy and the official vacancy is lower than the rank, it can be filled directly.

For example, if a vacancy is filled by someone who has no rank or is not in the system at all, the only option is to temporarily change the name and put on the previous vest that was used to collect a salary without working.

As for other military officer positions such as general flags and small flags, they are also very important bargaining chips for Pei Yuan to take up the post in the north this time.

Only if you have money and an official hat will people listen to you.

Pei Yuan thought for a moment and asked again, "Can the people from the musket and artillery teams, such as Hou Qing and Ji Xin, who followed me to transport the tax silver this time, be included in my name?"

Now is the critical moment of dividing the property, and Pei Yuan has nothing to be shy about.

The more we can get from Han Qianhu, the better.

Han Qianhu seemed to be ready to make a huge sacrifice. After a brief hesitation, he said, "Okay."

Pei Yuan was greedy and asked for more, "I want that falconet too!"

Han Qianhu looked at Pei Yuan with a strange expression and asked seriously, "Are you sure you want to take that Portuguese cannon to Beijing?"

That is an important place in the capital. Once such an unregistered cannon is discovered, the turmoil that will be caused can be imagined.

Pei Yuan didn't care about that and said directly, "Give it to me first, and I'll find a way."

Han Qianhu warned, "Don't make any trouble for me."

Pei Yuan thought about it and came up with an idea. He said, "I plan to leave this Portuguese cannon in Jining. In addition, I also plan to leave a hundred households in Jining, using Beijing and Jining as two points to control the north."

Jining is an extremely important commercial center, which is worth investing resources to defend. Moreover, it is a hub on the Grand Canal. If there is really an urgent matter, as long as the Portuguese cannons are loaded onto speedboats, they can quickly reach the capital.

Captain Han thought about Jining's special status and frowned slightly, "Do you want to get involved in the business of the Grand Canal?"

Then, he flatly rejected it, saying, "This canal is related to the lifeblood of the Ming Dynasty. Small fish and shrimp like us have no hope of getting involved."

Pei Yuan said, "It's just a general idea."

Pei Yuan had previously planned to arrange for Wang Chang to be the governor of rivers or the governor of grain transport.

Wang Chang's identity meant that he could not enter the cabinet at all, and there was not much point in him staying in Nanjing as a figurehead of the Ministry of War.

Rather than being an eyesore in the court, Wang Chang might as well work as a governor or provincial governor for a few years, make as much money as possible, and then retire.

Everyone will be very satisfied with this result.

However, there is still some gap now. The most crucial position, Right Censor-in-Chief, has not been obtained yet, so it is naturally difficult to say much.

Han Qianhu saw that Pei Yuan's answer was not entirely true, so he did not ask any more questions, "Okay. Is there anything else you want?"

Han Qianhu's tone was somewhat warning, and Pei Yuan said tactfully, "These are enough."

Han Qianhu's expression was slightly relieved, and he said to Pei Yuan, "Do your best this time and try to preserve your strength. Even if you can't do well, try to accumulate some experience. If it's really irreversible, you can lead your people back to Jiangnan and help me guard the South."

When Captain Han said this, Pei Yuan was so moved that he almost cried.

This basically means that Han Qianhu is responsible for this operation.

If Pei Yuan fails to integrate Taoist Zhenji in the north, he can continue to serve as his deputy captain after returning to the south.

Even Han Qianhu had thought of a reason for him in advance.

——"I have accumulated experience."

The Qianhu Lord is really particular about what he does!

However, for others, rectifying the Taoist priests in the north might be a big trouble, but for Pei Yuan, this is his springboard for taking off.

Where is the capital?
This was the political center of the Ming Dynasty.

Any disturbance in the capital could cause a storm in the local area.

in the following days.

There will inevitably be a fierce battle between the Seven Tigers of the Inner Palace headed by Zhang Yong and the revived eunuchs such as Lu Ting and Zhang Zhong.

Zhu Houzhao, who tried hard to seize military power and even wanted to send troops to patrol the border, would also have fierce conflicts with court ministers.

Pei Yuan, who was ordered to purge Taoist Zhenji, also had to confront his old employer, the Northern Pacification Division.

Since there is not an inch of land in this world where one can survive, what is there to fear if Pei Yuanshen enters the game?

(End of this chapter)