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

Chapter 231: Skills of Pulling People into the Water

Pei Yuan and Wang Da Sima also have a certain tacit understanding.

Thinking about what happened here, they immediately realized that it was time to drag Lu Wan into the water.

Wang Chang subconsciously asked, "Where is Lu Wan?"

Pei Yuan coughed lightly.

Wang Chang came to his senses and said no more.

It's not that Lu Wan's affairs are shameful. The public vote for Lu Wan as the leader of the eunuch party relied on the power of public opinion to force good women into prostitution.

However, the specific ideas still need to be communicated with Wang Chang secretly.

After all, there are too many people here and it's very noisy, so it's not a place to discuss things.

Wang Chang immediately picked up the wine glass and gestured to the side.

Pei Yuan had nothing to hide, so he and Wang Chang walked towards an open area in the camp.

Pei Yuan looked around as he walked.
The moon is crescent-shaped tonight, and there are quite a few stars.

There were torches everywhere in the camp, lighting up everything clearly.

Pei Yuan saw that there were no hidden people around, so he said to Wang Chang, "I gave you some advice before."

"One is to raise the banner of Lu Wan and carry it in the front, to support you for a few more years, waiting for the changes in the future."

"The other option is to join the newly rising Lu Ting and change their appearance to become the New Eunuch Party to resist the purge of Liu Jin's remaining followers by the 'Zhang Yong-Yang Yiqing' alliance."

"Today, Lu Ting and Lu Wan are about to become the biggest winners of the rebellion in Bazhou. What do you think about the future?"

When Wang Chang saw Pei Yuan bringing up the old matter again, how could Wang Da Sima, who had now received more baptism, still have any hesitation?
He immediately said to Pei Yuan, "I have already joined the Qian Hu, so why would I join someone else? I don't intend to care about Lu Ting, so it's better to push Lu Wan out as the target first."

Pei Yuan nodded slightly when he saw Wang Chang's firm attitude. This was within his expectations, so he continued to ask.

"Are you still in contact with the rest of Liu Jin's gang?"

Wang Chang did not hide the fact that "after Eunuch Liu died, Zhang Cai died of illness in prison and was dragged out to the streets to be crushed to ashes. Seeing that the situation was not good, Jiao Fang turned against Eunuch Liu in advance and was able to retire smoothly. After that, the officials who served Eunuch Liu were leaderless."

"I just took advantage of my rank, so those talented people came to me for help."

Pei Yuan smiled and said, "It doesn't matter. Lu Wan is now in his prime, and those people must have seen it. As long as someone comes out to support Lu Wan, the other eunuchs of Liu Jin will definitely flock to him like they have seen a life-saving straw."

"The attitudes and opinions of those people are not worth mentioning, so there is no need to bother with them for now."

Wang Chang agreed with what he heard.

Ten out of ten people who were willing to join Liu Jin's eunuch party were doing so for the fast track in officialdom.

Is there anyone who really joins the eunuch party because of some ambition in his heart?

You know, the eunuch party does not have a good reputation. Not only will you become a laughing stock, but you may also bring harm to future generations if you are not careful.

Only those who are willing to exchange fame for real benefits will join.

Wang Chang, who didn't want to use his brain, said, "What do you think this humble official should do about this matter?"

Pei Yuan thought more and decided to use some skills. "You can't do this recklessly. Sometimes when you make a big fuss, it seems less real."

"For example, the more you do, the louder the noise, the more evidence you have, and the easier it is for flaws to appear."

"If Lu Wan wants to fight back or prove himself, he only needs to break the weakest link, and then all the momentum we have created will be immediately destroyed. It may even have the opposite effect and make others doubt our intentions."

This logic is like throwing feces on Lu Wan.

If they were to get a little bit of it, everyone would think Lu Wan was stinky and would cover their noses and walk away. Some people might even be smart enough to suspect that Lu Wan didn't wipe his butt after going to the toilet and was a disgusting person in private.

But as soon as Lu Wan came out, everyone would rush over and throw basins of feces on him.

Everyone was hiding, but their private opinion was that Lu Wan was too pitiful. He had just made a great contribution, but he was treated like this.

Putting aside all the wet shit, there must be someone plotting against him, right?
Who knows, the emperor of the time might see how badly Lu Wan, who had the "overachieving great achievements" buff, was treated, and would strongly help him to clear himself of suspicion.

Pei Yuan explained this principle to Wang Chang in a simple and clear manner.

All I heard was Wang Chang’s old face turning pale.

Oh my god, this is so professional.

The most important choice he made at the time was not to become Pei Qianhu's enemy.

Wang Chang thought about it, but still had some doubts, so he continued to ask, "Isn't it said that gossip can melt gold and constant criticism can destroy a person? If we can't create momentum and make everyone in the world regard Lu Wan as the leader of the eunuch party, how can we tie Lu Wan to our side?"

Pei Yuan smiled and said three concise words, "Not necessary."

Wang Chang, in a spirit of learning, asked, "Why is it so?"

Pei Yuan said, "Although Lu Wan has some strategies, he is a timid and irresponsible person. He was not a leader of the eunuch party before, and he does not have the personal charm to become a leader of the eunuch party. Therefore, those remaining eunuch party members would rather go to you than to Lu Wan."

"Besides, I believe you also know Lu Wan's life experience. He was first appreciated because he was mistakenly believed to have beaten a eunuch sent by the court. So although he has a high status in the eunuch party, his position makes people feel uneasy."

"It is impossible for us to hide this from everyone and promote this person to be a powerful figure who can compete with 'Zhang Yong-Yang Yiqing'. One of them represents the interests of the majority of the Seven Tigers in the palace, and the other represents the clean forces in the court."

"Given Lu Wan's cowardice and irresponsibility, what can he use to fight with others? His head?"

Wang Chang complained silently, he didn't even dare to take the head.

As a member of Liu Jin's eunuch party, Wang Chang also had some understanding of Lu Wan.

After hearing what Pei Yuan said, he also realized where the problem lay.

You can let Lu Wan lead the army to fight, there is no problem. You can let Lu Wan govern the state, there is absolutely no problem.

You let Lu Wan become the leader of a force and fight against strong people like "Zhang Yong-Yang Yiqing", but he is simply not cut out for it.

Many people know Lu Wan's character. To this day, his classmates from Suzhou No. 1 Middle School still call him a coward when they see him.

It is really difficult for such a guy to deceive the whole world.

Wang Chang was too lazy to think about it this time, and asked Pei Yuan directly, "Since it is so troublesome, what does the captain think?"

Pei Yuan had already made up his mind, and said calmly, "This matter is actually not complicated. Let's take the example of throwing feces just now..." Wang Chang's face turned even paler when he heard this, "Captain, give me some time."

He had just had a good meal and a few drinks.

Wang Chang paused for a moment, and said to Pei Yuan with some embarrassment, "Captain, can you change an example? Just, just give me a random analogy..."

"No." Pei Yuan answered simply and clearly.

Ok.

Wang Chang really didn't dare to offend Captain Pei, so he could only continue listening.

Pei Yuan then patiently said, "If we want to discredit someone, it is definitely useless to rely solely on dirty means. Just like the example I just gave, think carefully, do you have any associations?"

Wang Chang simply followed Pei Yuan’s thoughts, and then his stomach began to churn.

This made Pei Yuan frown, shake his head and sigh, "You, at most you can be promoted to Right Censor-in-Chief and serve as a frontier official for a few terms. You are still far from becoming a cabinet minister."

After hearing this, Wang Chang didn't know whether to be sad or happy.

Perhaps the bait of the Cabinet Grand Secretary was so tempting that Wang Chang forgot the stench of conspiracy.

Suddenly, a light bulb went off in his head and he understood what Pei Yuan was hinting at.

So Wang Chang took the initiative to say, "After listening to Captain Pei's inspiration, I have some experience, and I would like to ask Captain Pei for advice."

"Oh?" Pei Yuan didn't expect Wang Chang to be able to grow up, so he asked curiously, "Tell me about it, and let's verify it."

Then Wang Kai opened his mouth and said, "We want to smear Lu Wan and turn him into the new generation of the eunuch party leader. What we need to do is not to point fingers at him, but to let only the smallest and most critical people smell his stench."

"If there are fewer people involved, things can be done secretly."

"Even if Lu Wan realized that the wind was blowing in the wrong direction, he had no way to refute it. He didn't even know who to explain it to, so how could he prove his innocence?"

"Then we try to get those who smell Lu Wan's stench to spread the news to more people, and even spread the fact that Lu Wan didn't wipe his butt after using the toilet."

"A few people believed what they saw, but the majority of people spread rumors and echoed each other, making it impossible to verify."

"Then how can Lu Wan explain it clearly?"

Pei Yuan laughed loudly after hearing this. "Very good. Follow me and work hard. If you can live a few more years, I will have someone arrange for you to live in the cabinet in your old age."

Wang Chang was even more excited now.

He hurriedly continued to ask for advice, "There are still some things that I haven't thought through. Please give me some advice."

Pei Yuan was in a good mood and said with a smile, "Just what you say."

Wang Chang knew the next details, which involved specific implementation. He did not dare to be careless and asked in detail, "Then may I ask, Captain, who are the most important minority? In other words, who should we let believe that Lu Wan is now the leader of the eunuch party."

Wang Chang used the word "already" with confidence.

Wang Chang was confident enough to believe that Lu Wan, the Right Censor-in-Chief and Vice Minister of War, who had led more than 200,000 imperial officers and soldiers and single-handedly presided over the suppression of the Bazhou rebels, had been beaten to death by Captain Pei with just a few words.

Pei Yuan thought carefully for a moment and held up a finger. "The person who hates Liu Jin the most is Zhang Yong, the current head of the Imperial Household Department. His status and position are similar to Liu Jin's, but he is always suppressed by Liu Jin. In such a small palace, they have fought countless times. Liu Jin was finally cut into pieces, and it cannot be said that Zhang Yong did not help the situation."

"So Zhang Yonghe and the Seven Tigers he represents must hate Liu Jin's remnants the most."

"Let Zhang Yong know about this. He will definitely be the most alert."

Pei Yuan raised another finger, "The second one is Yang Yiqing. Although Zhang Yong and Yang Yiqing have formed an alliance, they do not represent the same interests."

"Zhang Yong is a eunuch, what does he know about justice? The conflict between him and Liu Jin is nothing more than a personal vendetta for power. Although the vendetta is unforgettable, Liu Jin is dead and the debt is settled. The conflict between Zhang Yong and the remnants of Liu Jin is not unsolvable."

"The real forces that want to wipe out Liu Jin's remaining followers are the Qingliu forces behind Yang Yiqing."

Wang Chang hesitated for a moment after hearing this, and asked, "Actually, many of us are from clean families, and have many friends and relatives who are still considered clean. I don't know if there is still room for change."

Pei Yuan smiled faintly, breaking Wang Chang's thoughts.

"It's impossible. The others are fine, they are just a bunch of nobody. But if Lu Wan is pushed up, the deterrent effect on Qingliu will be too strong."

"You and I both know what the so-called Liu Jin eunuch party is made of."

"It's nothing more than the current emperor wants to make changes and wants to recruit his own party. But he is still young and many of his ideas are immature, so he throws Liu Jin out to test the waters."

"What's the result? How can there be a second chance in politics?"

"Not only did the court cut off Zhu Houzhao's attempt at reform, but it also fundamentally and thoroughly overturned Liu Jin's new policies. Now, even subsequent reforms are out of the question. If there are any more ideas for reform, they can cite this example and kill any signs of it in the same way they treated Liu Jin."

"In my opinion, the current emperor should wake up from his dream of becoming the emperor."

"So if the remnants of Liu Jin who supported his reforms were still useless and scattered, then the emperor would definitely not stand up to protect them. But if it was Lu Wan, it would be different. Because the emperor might mistakenly think that he could use Lu Wan as a resistance center to try to preserve his political territory."

"How could Yang Yiqing and others allow such a situation?"

"Let's take a step back and say that even if Yang Yiqing and the others have not shown any aggressiveness for the time being, if Lu Wan wants to establish himself in the court, he must fight for something very important, that is, the moral high ground and the right to interpret morality."

"This thing kills without spilling blood. It is the sharpest thing in the world. Lu Wan wants to get his hands on this thing, but how can a remnant of the eunuch party convince the world? So Lu Wan will inevitably be pushed to reverse the verdict on Liu Jin."

When Pei Yuan said this, he suddenly thought of Zhu Houzhao.

Zhu Houzhao was also in such a dilemma. In order to break out of the cage of military power, he was trapped in the dilemma of overturning the verdict on Emperor Yingzong of Ming.

Wang Chang gave up after hearing this and said sadly, "How could this happen?"

In history, there was no twists and turns like dragging Lu Wan into the water, and Wang Chang was indeed cleared in this way.

He spent almost all his family wealth on helping students and setting up associations, trying hard to get closer to the right people.

When he was dying, his room was empty and there was nothing in it except books.

But fortunately, I managed to keep my reputation.

Preserving his reputation means that his descendants can still enjoy his influence and be cared for by other upright people.

But how could Pei Yuan let such a capable younger brother easily crawl out of the mud?

After all, he is different from people like Han Qianhu.

(End of this chapter)