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

Chapter 208 The Logic of the Times
After a few more days, the lingering Bazhou army finally arrived in Suqian.

The scale of more than 100,000 people is very large, and they are stationed almost everywhere.

As the most elite part, the Bazhou cavalry was controlled by Liu Qi, some armored infantry were controlled by Liu Liu, and as for the other tens of thousands of miscellaneous people, they were led by leaders such as Qi Yanming and Zhao Sui.

Other civilians, their families, and homeless refugees who followed them lived together in a chaotic manner around the tents of these main troops.

As night fell, Pei Yuan saw people at the edge of the camp starting to leave in groups.

In the middle of the night, Pei Yuan was awakened by the noise outside the camp.

When I stood up and looked, I saw bright firelight in the distance and the sounds of laughter and joy everywhere.

Pei Yuan knew clearly that these must be the people who were forced to return from looting.

Those people who had lost everything because they had lost their homes and property showed the strongest aggressiveness.

They looted the villages around Suqian County in large numbers, taking away everything they wanted without any restraint, including food, women, farm tools, and even the straw on the roofs.

Pei Yuan watched silently for a while and heard some rustling noises behind him.

Looking back, I saw that it was the little beauty from the Jiao family who had woken up.

The little beauty looked at Pei Yuan in confusion, and when she saw Pei Yuan waving at her, she hesitated for a moment. Perhaps she felt that she did not have much room to resist in front of this man, so she obediently put on her clothes and stood up.

She came to Pei Yuan, first looked at him in the moonlight, and then looked out along Pei Yuan's gaze.

The beautiful Jiao has been abducted to the Bazhou Army for some time and is no stranger to such things.

Seeing the little beauty Jiao coming over, Pei Yuan pointed to a quiet campsite and asked, "Do you know where that is?"

The beautiful Jiao looked at Pei Yuan in confusion and shook her head.

Pei Yuan had a malicious smile on his face, "That's the camp of Vice Commander Zhao Sui."

After saying this, Pei Yuan mockingly commented, "Some nice words are so easy to say."

The beautiful Jiao looked at Pei Yuan's smiling profile.

She didn't feel that Pei Yuan had any sign of happiness.

Pei Yuan didn't continue reading and went back to lie down with the quilt.

The beautiful Jiao couldn't stand the cold and soon went back to sleep.

When the Bazhou Army arrived in Suqian, some of the original plans theoretically reached the implementation stage.

But Pei Yuan hadn't spoken yet, and the troops were at a loss for a moment.

One day, Cheng Leixiang suddenly arrived.

It turned out that the troops from many garrisons in Southern Zhili had already gathered in Taoyuan County, but Grand Marshal Wang secretly informed Cheng Leixiang that if Captain Pei had not spoken in person, all subsequent plans would be put on hold.

This immediately put the Bazhou army in a difficult situation.

If we just let Pei Yuan go back like this, who can guarantee whether Pei Yuan’s previous plan was a trap?

Besides, with such a long list of plans, if Pei Yuan, the decision maker, were to leave it, it would be difficult to guarantee whether there would be deviations during the subsequent implementation.

Pei Yuan was also a little surprised by Wang Chang's move.

But this is a good thing for Pei Yuan.

At least it can significantly enhance his weight in the hearts of the Bazhou Army.

Pei Yuan actually had a way to make Wang Chang believe that this plan was indeed his original intention.

But he still wanted to observe what the leaders of the Bazhou Army would do.

Pei Yuan could sense the dilemma among the top brass of the Bazhou Army. It had been five days since Cheng Leixiang had arrived, but Liu Liu, Liu Qi and Zhao Sui had not yet come up with an idea.

In the end, perhaps he realized that if he delayed any further, he would be in trouble.

Zhao Sui came to Pei Yuan in person and said, "The Bazhou Army will not be immoral. Captain Pei can come and go as he pleases in the Bazhou Army."

Pei Yuan wanted to laugh when he heard this.

The concept of morality suddenly appeared when dealing with Pei Yuan.

Perhaps, even in the eyes of someone like Zhao Sui who still has faith in his heart, people are different.

Or maybe, people like Pei Yuan are considered human beings in their eyes?
And when facing those captured people, can they just cover their ears and act like a gentleman who stays away from the kitchen, and pretend they know nothing with a clear conscience?
So, in their eyes, are those just straw dogs?

So, the son of Liang Chu, the Grand Secretary of the Cabinet, killed more than 200 households in the countryside and almost slaughtered the entire village, but his father could still be regarded as an upright gentleman and a virtuous person in the court?
This was the logic of the imperial court officials, and the rebels in Bazhou had the same logic.

This, then, is the logic of this era.

Pei Yuan was fortunate that after unremitting efforts, he had become a human being in the eyes of these people.

We can now talk on a moral level.

During the time Pei Yuan was in the Bazhou army, he witnessed a lot of ugliness.

He thought these would lower his bottom line and make him a more realistic person.

But he never expected that this experience would make him realize that he had stood on the moral level.

The answer given by Zhao Sui was within Pei Yuan's expectations. Pei Yuan was not particularly excited about it, but he appreciated it.

However, Pei Yuan had not yet finished defeating the Bazhou army. After confirming that it was safe here, there was no need for him to leave in a hurry.

Pei Yuan then said, "Then let Marshal Qi take a group of soldiers with me to Taoyuan, and then escort me back later."

Zhao Sui was a little surprised when he heard this, and the way he addressed him changed a little, "Brother Pei, why did you come back?"

Pei Yuan pretended to be helpless and said, "I have to be loyal to the person who entrusted me with the task. You also know that I came here for King Ning. Now things have not come to a conclusion, so I have to listen to King Ning's opinion first, and then make subsequent plans."

"The reason why I was able to convince so many people is because of my credibility."

"If King Ning has given up, then I should leave. If King Ning still wants to talk, I can help both of you to talk."

Pei Yuan said this, half-truthfully, "There is also a way to Prince Ning's place."

Zhao Sui remained silent.

Liu Liu and Liu Qi were very happy to hear that Pei Yuan was willing to stay.

The next morning, the Bazhou Army sent out a thousand cavalrymen to send Pei Yuan to Taoyuan County to meet with the Nanjing Minister of War.

Not only Qi Yanming went with them, but also Liu Qi and Zhao Sui.

When Qi Yanming saw Pei Yuan, he pointed at the wound on his face and made a face.

Because of the matter of the beautiful Jiao, he had a fight with Liu Liu and Zhao Sui respectively.

Pei Yuan thought this guy was really nice, so he took advantage of the other people's gossip and said to him, "Thank you, Marshal Qi!"

Qi Yanming smiled and patted his chest, "Excuse me! You showed me such a good way, just call me Xiao Qi from now on."

Then, as if to emphasize his words, he waved his right hand vigorously, "Now, I trust you the most!"

Pei Yuan looked at Qi Yanming and couldn't help but sigh, "You have broadened your horizons."

"What?" Qi Yanming was a little confused.

Pei Yuan immediately laughed without explaining.

When we arrived at Taoyuan County, the battle had already been set up.

Layer upon layer of military formations spread out across the outskirts of the city.

Liu Qi was puzzled by this and asked Pei Yuan, "Brother, didn't you say it was just a show?"

Pei Yuan didn't even need to ask anyone, he just calmly said, "Empty camp."

He could just guess what those people were thinking.

If we pretend to fight in public, of course we can't report it to the higher-ups. There are so many people watching in the city.

It can't be like the Battle of Beijing, where Yesen just showed his ability with his mouth and all the civil and military officials in the court were credited with rebuilding the Ming Dynasty.

These battle reports from Nanzhi were not approved by me.

Therefore, the establishment of this camp here is of great significance.

Those invisible losses of personnel and equipment all come from the battlefield outside the city.

"Really?" Liu Qi was skeptical after hearing Pei Yuan's words.

He simply found a leader named Kan Potian and took dozens of riders to take a look.

The people in the camp had already seen the smoke and dust produced by the large group of cavalry from the lookout tower. When they saw a small group of cavalry approaching, they simply abandoned the camp and ran away.

Then Kan Potian reported, "What Huo Jianggan said was true. When we got there, everyone had fled. It was an empty camp."

Liu Qi looked at Pei Yuan and praised him, "My dear brother, you are indeed as good as a god."

Pei Yuan's mouth twitched, and he began to feel ashamed of his bandit nickname.

Of course, there were not only two leaders Liu Qi and Zhao Sui who followed this time, but also six smaller leaders including Kan Potian, Da Jin Gang, Man Tianxing, Da Lao Hu, Lone Wolf, Liu Bei, Guan Yu and Zhang Yide.

Then why are there so many names, six leaders?
Because "Liu Bei, Guan Yu, Zhang Yide", this is one person!

The cavalry marched forward in a mighty force, approaching Taoyuan County.

Some deserters have already entered the city to report military intelligence, and the situation in the city has become noticeably tense.

Fortunately, Taoyuan County's combat power was unprecedentedly strong at this moment. Not only were there more than a dozen soldiers stationed here, but even the Nanjing Minister of War had moved his temporary office here.

It is said that a lean camel is bigger than a horse. These dozen guards each contributed their own wealth and gathered nearly three thousand elite soldiers.

Moreover, most of them are servants and are quite capable in fighting.

Yes, this is the legendary most powerful selected servant.

During the Ming Dynasty, corruption in military settlements and garrisons caused corrupt military officers on the front line to develop a strong sense of crisis.

All the military funds were embezzled by me. If a war really breaks out, am I going to sacrifice my own head?
Damn it!
How can this be explained? You must ask!

But if the country's military funds are used to support the country's soldiers, it always feels like something is missing.

Therefore, many frontline military officers would take out a small portion of the money they embezzled to train their own slaves.

In this way, the money belongs to the country and the soldiers are supported by themselves.

When encountering a war, they can save their lives at critical moments; even if there is no war, having such a group of servants can serve as a bargaining chip.

So the situation inside and outside Taoyuan County was as follows.

There were nominally 90,000 troops outside the city, and inside the city there was a Minister of War, a dozen commanders, and 3,000 non-regular servants.

So when they saw the billowing smoke and a large number of Bazhou cavalry appearing on the horizon, everyone from top to bottom began to panic, except for those who firmly believed that there were 90,000 troops outside the city.

Wang Chang and a group of commanders stood nervously on the top of the city wall.

There were several commanders who had just inherited the position. Since they knew nothing, they were accompanied by a more experienced butler.

Although these stewards do not know how to fight and rarely even go out of the house, their strengths are very obvious because they are good at managing servants and each of them is a skilled hand.

The movement of thousands of cavalrymen was like a landslide, but when they were actually deployed in front of the city, it was just a simple movement.

This made the many military officers on the city wall feel a little relieved.

At this time, one of the rebels came forward and shouted for the people on the city wall to come down and answer the question.

The Taoyuan County Magistrate nearby didn't know the severity of the situation and suggested, "Should we just shoot the thief with an arrow when he comes forward?"

Many commanders rolled their eyes at Old Six.

Wang Chang could already see clearly from the city wall that the person who came over to talk was Chen Toutie.

He immediately said to his attendants, "I heard that the Bazhou Army is heading south with no less than 200,000 troops. These are probably just the vanguard. Our city is small, so I'm afraid we won't be able to defeat them."

Xu Feng, the commander of the Hangzhou vanguard, who knew there was something fishy going on, immediately said, "What's the plan, Grand Marshal?"

Wang Chang replied, "I plan to follow the example of Zhuge Wuhou and use the empty city plan. I will go down the city alone and persuade the enemy to retreat."

All the commanders looked sideways when they heard this, what a shameless guy.

What kind of person are you, Wang Chang? How dare you compare yourself to Zhuge Wuhou?
After Wang Chang finished speaking, he saw that no one responded, so he looked at Xu Feng, the commander of the Hangzhou vanguard.

Unexpectedly, Xu Feng was a man with a bottom line. Seeing that Wang Chang was so clueless, he remained silent.

Huang Youwei, the magistrate of Taoyuan County, said hurriedly, "How can the Grand Marshal take it lightly? We just need to guard the gates carefully. I think the imperial army will arrive soon, and these bandits will not dare to act recklessly."

Wang Chang was ready to try his luck at a second political career, so why would he still have the nerve to do that?

Anyway, Huang Youwei was there to testify, so he immediately said, "My life is a life, but the lives of the people of Taoyuan County are not lives? You guard the city gates, and I will be back soon."

Wang Chang went down the city wall with great momentum. Seeing a strong horse tied by the side of the road, he was about to jump on it.

Unfortunately, my legs were too short to climb up.

Fortunately, there were loyal subordinates who quickly stepped forward and carried him on their backs.

No one dared to open the north gate, and they released Wang Chang from the west gate when no one was paying attention.

Wang Chang walked around the city for half a circle and arrived in front of the rebels in Bazhou.

Chen Toutie said to him, "Please wait a moment, Grand Marshal. The captain will come to see you soon."

Wang Chang knew that everyone was watching him, so he nodded reservedly.

Pei Yuan, who was among the cavalry in the distance, also saw clearly that it was Wang Chang.

He immediately said to Liu Qi, "That person is Wang Chang, the Minister of War in Nanjing. The money he got from you was obtained through his connections."

Liu Qi waved his hands and said, "Good brother, please don't mention the money anymore. Why would we be suspicious? The Bazhou Army has benefited a lot from you."

Pei Yuan saw that Wang Chang was only an arrow's distance away from the city, so he was not afraid of being recognized and said directly, "I'll go meet him and settle the matter."

Having said this, he rode his horse forward.

Wang Chang heaved a sigh of relief when he saw that it was indeed Pei Yuan who came.

He hurriedly said, "Although Cheng Leixiang came to pass on the order for me to gather troops in Taoyuan, I feel uneasy without meeting Qian Hu. I don't know if I have delayed Qian Hu's business."

Pei Yuan smiled and said, "It's okay, you did the right thing."

Pei Yuan said, roughly introducing the situation on his side to Wang Chang, "I have been in the rebel army for a few days and have basically figured out the situation. It seems that our previous judgment on the Bazhou Army was roughly correct."

Wang Chang has been under a lot of pressure these days. He said nervously, "I have already persuaded many guards to participate in this matter. It is too late to turn back now."

Having said that, he finally asked with some worry, "Will there be any problems with the Bazhou rebels? I wonder how confident the captain is about our plan?"

"How confident are you?" Pei Yuan was stunned, not knowing how to explain the current situation to his top player.

He thought for a moment, waved to the Bazhou rebels, and shouted, "Xiao Qi, come here!"

Pei Yuan turned around and smiled at Wang Chang, "If he is willing to come, I will protect him."

Wang Chang asked in confusion, "Who is it?"

What the hell is Xiao Qi?

Listening to the sound of horse hooves in the distance, Pei Yuan said calmly, "The bandit leader of Bazhou is Qi Yanming!"

These two chapters are mainly to untie Pei Yuan's morality. Because there are always some readers who don't understand, thinking that the time traveler is obviously capable, but does nothing, or doesn't help Zhu Houzhao to change history or something. This chapter happens to write about Zhao Sui. Does Zhao Sui look like Pei Yuan in the minds of those readers? He has strong soldiers and horses, punishes evil and eliminates evil, and hopes that the emperor can cheer up. In the end? He was made into a human skin saddle by Zhu Houzhao, boss.

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(End of this chapter)