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

Chapter 230 One general succeeds and thousands of bones wither
Pei Yuan was furious and speechless. Do you have any taste?

Is this how our Ming Dynasty trains cadres?
Pei Yuan glared at Wang Chang and stopped talking.

This made Wang Chang confused and innocent. What was going on?

Soon the camp became noisy, and more and more soldiers stood up.

The first people to get busy on Pei Yuan's side were those people from the martial arts world.

Although Pei Yuan promised them wealth and glory, he did not say a single word about how it would be fulfilled.

The temporary workers were nervously but diligently tidying up the camp, trying hard to make their presence felt in front of the bosses.

After a while, Chen Toutie came back with his men and horses carrying a lot of wood.

The Jinyi Guards washed the pots and cooked.

Chen Toutie was directing people to trim the wood.

Some of the wood pieces that were easy to carry were thrown onto the baggage cart, and the remaining broken branches were thrown for cooking and warming the fire.

Pei Yuan shouted to Chen Toutie, "Go and have a rest first. Let Hou Qing take care of things here."

Chen Tou Tie replied, "I changed my post just before dawn, so I just regarded it as getting up early."

Pei Yuan had an idea in mind.

After Song Chunniang led the team to keep watch last night, Cheng Leixiang took over her duty.

Then there is no need to give any extra instructions.

With Cheng Leixiang's alertness, he could not hide the fact that his female colleague sneaked into Pei Qianhu's tent in the middle of the night.

But Cheng Leixiang is not a meddlesome person.

When marching in the wild, there is nothing to be particular about food.

Freshly washed rice was mixed with chopped dried meat and some dried mushrooms that had been prepared in Huai'an.

When the dried meat is stewed until it is soft and can be shredded easily when stirred, it is cooked.

The guards quickly served Pei Yuan a bowl.

Pei Yuan took it and walked towards the tent.

When passing by a separate small tent, the curtain was pulled open, revealing half of Song Chunniang's unwashed face.

"Is it for me?" she asked lazily behind the curtain with a slightly hoarse voice.

Pei Yuan held the bowl carefully without even looking at her.

Then I heard Song Chunniang making two "tsk tsk" sounds behind me.

Then he added a pun, "What a cruel man."

Pei Yuan sighed and handed the meal in his hand to her.

Song Chunniang smiled proudly, lifted the curtain and took it.

Pei Yuan was too lazy to pay attention to her, so he went to get another bowl and gave it to Jiao Yaner.

On the way back, when passing by Song Chunniang's tent, he reminded her, "It's not so safe all the way north, so please be careful and help me take care of her. If you dare to do anything wrong, you know the consequences!"

It would be more convenient for Song Chunniang to do many things related to taking care of women.

But Pei Yuan was really worried about her.

Song Chunniang also saw what Pei Yuan meant, and said in a hoarse and confident voice, "Don't worry, I can still distinguish the priorities."

Pei Yuan warned, "You'd better be."

Song Chunniang snorted, as if to explain, but also as if to prove herself, "I won't provoke her during the day. What's the point of being awake, struggling with your hands and feet."

Pei Yuan then remembered that every time Shili Xiang committed a crime, she seemed to knock the victim unconscious beforehand.

A big part of this was that Song Chunniang did not want to reveal her identity as a woman.

If the woman's identity was exposed, not to mention the increased risk of being suspected in the future, the victim's weird look at him as a pervert made Song Chunjiang not know how to proceed.

After using drugs to commit crimes several times, she fell in love with this method of being able to manipulate the other party at will.

But Pei Yuan did not let his guard down easily.

In a sense, Jiao Yan'er is Song Chunniang's ultimate pursuit of her hobby.

When they first met the day before yesterday, she wanted to take action in front of Pei Yuan.

The ones ranked ahead of this are probably the princesses of the Ming Empire.

Oh yes, there is also the powerful Han Qianhu. However, when Song Chunniang fantasized about Han Qianhu, she fantasized about herself being the one being slept with.

Song Chunniang whispered, "I'll come find you guys after she falls asleep."

Pei Yuan was full of virtue at this moment and spoke very firmly.

"You are delusional."

Song Chunniang glanced at Pei Yuan, then took the bowl into the tent to eat.

After the army had finished their meal and were preparing to return to their respective garrisons, they began to say goodbye.

Everyone thought it was too troublesome to visit everyone one by one, so they gathered in front of the camp, huddled together, laughed, and said goodbye to each other.

This time they reaped a great harvest. Not only did they settle the accounts of many soldiers and military equipment, but they also received a large sum of reward money.

The few garrisons that remained were headed by Xu Feng, the commander of the Hangzhou vanguard.

Xu Feng vaguely understood that this matter was a bit strange and not as simple as some people thought.

Wang Chang, the Grand Marshal of the South, agreed to settle the accounts for them, and he did so very well.

But this matter cannot be solved alone.

How was Wang Chang so confident that he could mediate this matter in front of more than 100,000 Bazhou troops?
Xu Feng still remembers that Wang Chang walked out of the city with an appearance of a living dragon, and then had a conversation with the bandit leader.

What happened next?

Then the next day, the Bazhou army launched a massive attack, and the camp outside was burned to the ground. Tens of thousands of Bazhou soldiers surrounded the city in the middle of the night, beating drums and shouting, but not firing a single arrow at the top of the city.

There wasn't even a symbolic siege.

By the time everything was done, all the officials and citizens in the city were convinced that a perfect feint attack had been achieved.

The many garrisons in Southern Zhili had previously thought that they would have to fight on the battlefield for at least a while and would suffer some minor losses, but they did not expect the whole process to be so smooth.

With this "big defeat", I actually achieved my goal.

Many commanders were very happy and raised their glasses to drink, however, Xu Feng was an exception.

Xu Feng is different from those who are really confused or pretend to be confused.

He wanted more...

If he could drag Nan Da Sima Wang Chang into the water, the rewards he would get would be absolutely unimaginable.

So when Xu Feng heard that Wang Chang planned to take people north to meet the new eunuch Lu Ting who was in charge of military affairs, he had already made up his mind.

He wants to report Wang Chang to Lu Ting in person!
Even the captain of the Embroidered Uniform Guard who was very close to Wang Chang might be involved!
He also wants to report it!
He wants to stir up a big case in Nanzhi, and one general's success will cost thousands of lives!

Xu Feng looked ambitiously at Wang Chang and then at Pei Yuan.

Let's start with you two...

Pei Yuan was a little worried that He Huan would cause trouble again, so he hurriedly wanted to urge the remaining guards to head north.

Unfortunately, these commanders had no sense of tension. They had no military missions and were not in a hurry to go home, so why bother themselves so much? Only one Hangzhou vanguard commander named Xu Feng looked very motivated.

Pei Yuan was a small fifth-rank official with little influence, and Wang Chang had never had any prestige.

Pei Yuan looked at the servants packing up their things lazily, and couldn't help but sigh, and quickly pulled Wang Chang to his camp.

Pei Yuan planned to ask Wang Chang to quickly finish the report that had been delayed for a long time, so as to avoid any further complications.

As for the idea, just follow yesterday's.

The central idea is that the Minister of War Wang Chang gathered many garrisons in Nanzhili, thwarted the conspiracy of the Bazhou army to move south, killed the rebel leader Qi Yanming, and saved the fertile land in the south of the Yangtze River.

The operation method, in addition to highlighting the contribution of Wang Chang as the organizer, is to praise He Huan's performance.

As for the performance of other garrisons and commanders, they are all vague and written as "etc."

Pei Yuan watched Wang Chang finish writing and read it twice. It was indeed clear in purpose and beautiful in words, worthy of being a...

Ahem, don’t hurt A Chang at this time.

After reading it, he used his seal and held it in his hand without returning it to Wang Chang.

He then started chatting with Wang Chang.

Unfortunately, this number one henchman under his command has no merits at all. Even his thirty years of official career has nothing to praise.

The only thing Wang Chang mentioned several times was that he had once been an envoy to Korea and acted like a big boss.

But if Ming officials go to Korea, aren’t they the masters per capita?

Later, Wang Chang argued that the reason he was praised that time was because he observed the etiquette of a national mourning and insisted on his principles by refusing the female musicians offered by Korea to serve at the banquet.

So that's it?
Pei Yuan thought about it for a while, not sure whether Wang Chang really had no outstanding achievements in his life or was taking the opportunity to use this incident to point out something about himself.

Pei Yuan also said sarcastically, "The Grand Marshal should really reflect on his own eyes."

Wang Chang didn't understand Pei Yuan's train of thought and was completely confused.

The two of them were talking while waiting for the camp to be cleaned up.

Someone outside came to report, and several riders came on fast horses.

Pei Yuan raised the memorial written by Wang Chang in his hand and said with a smile, "Here comes the man. I'll go meet him."

"What about me?" Wang Chang asked.

What do you have?
Pei Yuan said tactfully, "The Grand Marshal can take charge for me."

After saying that, Pei Yuan looked back, pointed out Cheng Leixiang and Chen Toutie to follow him, and rode out to meet them.

As expected, it was He Huan who came again.

This time He Huan was well prepared and even brought wine and meat. When he saw Pei Yuan, he laughed and greeted him.

Pei Yuan didn't say anything more and directly handed Wang Chang's memorial to He Huan. "The Grand Marshal will also go north to meet with Lu Ting and Lu Wan to discuss the next steps. Please ask the commander to help deliver this memorial through the Huai'an Guard. If we delay the discussion of merit, others will get ahead of us."

Seeing that the memorial had no cover, He Huan opened it without hesitation and read it twice.

Then he let out a long breath.

Then, his usually smiling face turned into one of sadness and loss.

He shook the memorial in his hand and sighed to Pei Yuan, "Eighty thousand taels of silver."

Eighty thousand taels of silver were exchanged for a mediocre achievement whose reward was unknown.

The only thing that comforted He Huan was that the description was excellent, making the image of a wise Confucian general come alive on the paper. Even the most important achievement of killing the bandit leader Qi Yanming was written as being the result of He Huan's planning.

There are rebellions everywhere now, and if this can leave a good impression on the current emperor, it may be a way out.

Seeing He Huan like this, Pei Yuan actually felt relieved.

The matter was finally brought to light, and He Huan also let out his anger, which was better than both sides suppressing it.

If this thorn remained there, Pei Yuan would not dare to pass through Huai'an for the time being.

Pei Yuan reassured He Huan again, "Commander, don't worry too much. I will also report your grievances to the higher-ups. I think within ten days, you will understand our sincerity."

Pei Yuan's words were a crazy hint: I have a backer, and we can discuss it if you are not satisfied. Don't be impulsive.

He Huan said nothing, only said, "I would like to drink a full cup with my brother."

As he said this, he asked someone to open a jar of wine and looked at Pei Yuan.

Pei Yuan quickly turned around and ordered someone to bring a large bowl.

Soon, Chen Toutie brought large bowls, and Pei Yuan and He Huan filled them with wine and drank them all in one gulp.

He Huan ordered his men to leave the wine and meat behind, and without entering the camp to see anyone else, he rode away on his horse.

Pei Yuan looked at the bowl in his hand and threw it to Chen Toutie, "Commander He is a very particular person."

But Pei Yuan was still cautious. "Give the wine and meat to the brothers in other guards. When we meet a town ahead, we can go buy some more."

Chen Toutie understood and asked someone to take the things back.

Amidst the clamor, the soldiers from several garrisons finally packed up and began to slowly march north.

In a flash, four or five days passed and the team slowly arrived at the border of Xuzhou.

Along the way, Huai'an Wei did not do anything tricky. I don't know whether He Huan was really relieved or still looking forward to Pei Yuan's next report.

At night, Song Chunniang tried to take advantage of Jiao Xiaomei several times, but was driven away in time by the virtuous Pei Qianhu.

Pei Yuan looked at the map, hesitating whether he should go to see Gu Dayong first or Lu Ting first.

According to Pei Yuan's expectations, Lu Ting should come to find him actively.

However, he had no fixed place to stay every day on his journey north, and it was indeed difficult to track him down under the current circumstances.

Pei Yuan thought about it for a long time, and finally felt that it was better to meet Gu Dayong first than to meet Lu Ting first.

Gu Dayong is at the lowest point in his life, and he needs help. As for Lu Ting, the issues that both sides want to discuss are more practical. Before he can be sure of Gu Dayong's attitude, Pei Yuan can't really plan for Lu Ting.

After making up his mind, Pei Yuan took advantage of the evening while they were drinking together to say to Wang Chang, "Grand Marshal, I have an old friend to meet. I will not be traveling with you guys from now on."

Wang Chang asked smoothly, "Which old friend?"

The other commanders were still drinking and not paying attention, but Xu Feng, who deliberately moved closer, took it to heart.

Pei Yuan recalled that after Gu Dayong returned, he was silent for only about half a year at most.

Because he was not included in the list of awards for merit when the Bazhou army was pacified, but when the time came to make up for the merits, all his brothers and nephews were promoted.

So Pei Yuan didn't mind showing off his connections a little.

"I'm going to see Gu Dayong."

"Oh, so that's it." Wang Chang didn't feel anything after hearing that.

As early as when he was making plans in Yangzhou, Pei Yuan had mentioned to him that the eunuchs in the inner palace might split.

With Captain Pei's ability to get along well in the Bazhou army, it's not surprising that he moves around in various camps and jumps back and forth.

It's a pity that Gu Dayong joined forces with Zhang Yong to overthrow Liu Jin. In terms of camp, he and Wang Chang, a member of Liu Jin's eunuch party, were both red names.

Wang Chang is not a faction monster like Pei Yuan, so of course he doesn't want to cause trouble.

However, it is time to put the issue of publicly electing Lu Wan as the leader of the eunuch party on the agenda.

(End of this chapter)