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

Chapter 256 People die for money
Pei Yuan waved to the two of them, and they both rode their horses and left the team briefly in tacit understanding.

The three men stopped their horses not far away, and no one spoke first. They just looked at each other.

But things always have to be resolved.

Pei Yuan had the final say and asked, "What do you think? Should we abandon the extra baggage, quickly shake off the pursuers, and enter Dongchang Prefecture, or..."

Pei Yuan paused tactically.

Everything is left unsaid.

Gu Dayong was the first to lose patience and questioned the two, "I saw that when you handled military affairs before, you were able to understand the local conditions and adapt to local conditions. Don't you have any solution now?"

Pei Yuan and Xiao Yan looked at each other.

Both of them were a little frustrated. This situation was not written in "Water Margin".

No wonder Gu Dayong was anxious.

Gu Dayong carried the most valuables.

He once controlled an army of hundreds of thousands.

You have to know that when the army has reached such a large scale, there is no question of orderly management, so that various troops often have some unexpected "loot".

The saying "thieves pass by like a comb, soldiers pass by like a rake" roughly means this.

In order to ensure that these "captured spoils" can be safely put into the bag, Gu Dayong naturally has a share of them.

Although Gu Dayong has lost his power now, he has not been punished yet. Maybe there will be a day when he will make a comeback.

No one dared to touch the wealth he had accumulated.

Besides, there is the newly appointed eunuch commander-in-chief of military affairs, Lu Ting, watching over him.

If Lu Ting saw his ex-girlfriend's wealth being taken away by someone, what would he think?
Therefore, when Gu Dayong returned to Beijing this time, he brought a large amount of money with him.

The amount of money was so huge that Gu Dayong found it difficult to give it up.

Xiao Yan hesitated slightly.

He started accepting bribes on a large scale only after Lu Ting replaced Gu Dayong.

He is the nephew of Eunuch Xiao Jingxiao, and also a close confidant of the eunuch who is currently in charge of military affairs. With these two identities combined, many military officers and chiefs have presented him with a greeting gift.

This time when Xiao Yan returned to Beijing, he planned to take the opportunity to transport the money back to the capital.

His money came easily, and although I feel sorry about it, my attitude is still ambiguous.

Xiao Yan's eyes wandered, and finally he thought he could listen to Pei Yuan's opinion, so he asked, "Captain Pei, what do you say?"

Pei Yuan naturally understood the attitudes of the two people.

Pei Yuan said fiercely, "People die for money, birds die for food, this is a matter of course, what is there to say?"

"Every ounce of silver I earn is earned with my life, so why can't I use my life to protect it?!"

Seeing Pei Yuan's attitude, Xiao Yan couldn't help but feel scared.

He had previously thought of taking Pei Yuan's belongings, but when he saw how ruthless Pei Yuan was, he quickly gave up the idea.

Pei Yuan's attitude made Gu Dayong high-five and exclaim, "What a man who dies for money!"

Pei Yuan looked at Xiao Yan, who had not expressed his opinion, and asked, "What do you think, Captain Xiao?"

When Xiao Yan saw that Pei Yuan was going to fight, he also made up his mind.

"People die for money, birds die for food, it's only natural!"

The three of them rarely reached a consensus and looked at each other, each with their own thoughts.

——This is how Pei Yuan understands the idea of ​​people dying for money.

He wanted to take a gamble with these officers and soldiers of Xuzhou Guard.

If the bet is won, everyone will be happy and they can keep their money.

If he lost the bet, the only ones who would die would be the officers and soldiers of Xuzhou. If he really couldn't stand it anymore, he could sell out Gu Dayong, and then take advantage of the chaos of the Bazhou bandits capturing Gu Dayong alive and dividing the spoils, and run away with his women and brothers.

——This is how Xiao Yan understood the idea of ​​people dying for money.

Let Pei Yuan take these Xuzhou guards officers and soldiers to gamble.

If the bet is won, everyone will be happy and they can keep their money.

If he lost the bet, it would be Pei Yuan and the officers and soldiers of Xuzhou who would die. If he really couldn't stand it anymore, he could sell out Gu Dayong, and then take advantage of the chaos of the Bazhou bandits capturing Gu Dayong alive and dividing the spoils, and run away with his son.

——This is how Gu Dayong understands the idea that people die for money.

Let Pei Yuan and Xiao Yan take the officers and soldiers of Xuzhou Guard to make a gamble.

If the bet is won, everyone will be happy and they can keep their money.

If I lose the bet, it will be Pei Yuan, Xiao Yan and the soldiers from Xuzhou who will go into battle, and it won't be me who will die anyway...

all in all.

According to the moral bottom line of these three people, their "people die for money" probably means to encourage "others" to die for "their own money".
Pei Yuan decided to take this opportunity to finalize their opinions, "So we want to fight?"

Gu Dayong and Xiao Yan both gritted their teeth and said, "Fight!"

"Okay!" Seeing that everyone had reached a consensus, Pei Yuan asked directly, "Are you two prepared to bet your chance of survival on Xu Feng?"

Gu Dayong and Xiao Yan both understood Pei Yuan's meaning. They certainly couldn't pin their hopes of survival on that loser Xu Feng.

The two said without hesitation, "The troops here can be deployed by Captain Pei at will."

Now that their own interests have been endangered, they certainly know what to choose.

Pei Yuan didn't hesitate and agreed directly.

"Row!"

Then he told me his plan.

"The enemy has already been spotted, and it is clear that they intend to siege and harass us. It is meaningless to disperse our forces."

"I plan to pull back the front troops and reorganize them."

"The cavalry in Ding Hong's hands will be used as a mobile force. The 500 infantrymen will be divided into two teams. I have two general flags under my command, one named Cheng Leixiang and the other named Chen Toutie. I plan to let them lead a team each. As for the other Jinyiwei, I will not use them, nor will I further reduce the control."

Hearing Pei Yuan's words, Xiao Yan's expression was very surprised.

Even that good-for-nothing Xu Feng knew to send out his elite servants to serve as the backbone of the team and keep a firm grip on these soldiers.

Pei Yuan only implemented rough management and did not exercise direct control.

This gave Xiao Yan a subtle sense of security.

He immediately supported it, "I think it's okay. I have led the troops for a few days with Eunuch Lu. If there are no subordinates who are familiar with the commander, it is easy to misinterpret the commander's intentions. Once the command is wrong, it will be too late to regret. Captain Pei's arrangement is very appropriate."

Pei Yuan nodded to Xiao Yan, expressing his gratitude for his support.

In fact, Pei Yuan's idea was very simple. They were the ones who responded passively. The team was originally gathered together. At critical moments, Pei Yuan could even give orders to the soldiers directly. There was no need to control them too much. The Jinyiwei under Pei Yuan were his capital for responding at critical moments, so he was reluctant to waste them.

Then Pei Yuan returned the favor, "Among the 500 auxiliary soldiers who need to transport supplies, we should be able to allocate 300 people for simple defense. These people will be led by Captain Xiao and deployed as a reserve force at the most critical moment of the battle. How about that?"

Xiao Yan was overjoyed when he heard this. It would be easier to handle things with some help. He immediately returned the favor and expressed his respect for Pei Yuan, "Deputy Captain Xiao, Deputy Captain Xiao."

Pei Yuan continued, "Xu Feng is the commander, and he brought some useful servants with him this time. We shouldn't treat them with disrespect. Why not let him and his men take charge of guarding the baggage and protecting Eunuch Gu? What do you think?"

Xiao Yan thought that if Pei Yuan really lost the battle, those baggage filled with valuables and Gu Dayong would be the targets of the rebels, and they could be used to delay the bandits.

He immediately praised, "This is a good idea."

Pei Yuan then asked Gu Dayong, "What do you think, Eunuch Gu?"

Gu Dayong felt that Pei Yuan and Xiao Yan were very professional at this moment, and praised them, "I think the arrangement is very good."

Pei Yuan nodded and said, "It's fine as long as you don't object."

Pei Yuan looked at Xiao Yan and said, "Commander Xu, Captain Xiao has to call him back."

Xiao Yan took the lead and said, "That's easy."

A simple meeting between three people has determined the fate of thousands of people.

In this wild battlefield, the two sides will fight, fight, bleed, and fight for their property.

After the three of them dispersed, they each made their own arrangements.

Pei Yuan still had unified thoughts with his three general flags.

It goes without saying that Chen Toutie and Cheng Leixiang will follow Pei Yuan and fight for their lives, while Song Chunniang will directly lead the remaining Jinyiwei. She has received clear instructions from Pei Yuan that once the front army collapses, she will immediately take Jiao Yaner and flee.

Pei Yuan will give them a chance to break through.

This team of a thousand people is easily targeted by the rebels because they are burdened by a large amount of baggage. If it were just a dozen elite cavalrymen, they could definitely move around freely.

After Pei Yuan finished his instructions, Xiao Yan, who went to look for people, also brought back Xu Feng's vanguard troops.

When Xu Feng saw Pei Yuan, he was actually grateful and said, "I didn't expect Captain Pei to repay evil with kindness and take risks personally. I will definitely protect everyone's things and there will be no mistakes."

Pei Yuan was speechless, and Xiao Yan also smiled.

In such a chaotic time, Xu Feng actually thought that hiding in the rear was the safest option.

Of course, the safest person now is the one who has soldiers and the initiative.

Before, Pei Yuan wanted to lead the cavalry of Xuzhou Guard, why did Xiao Yan insist on putting his son Xiao Tong in it?

Xiao Yan was afraid that if Pei Yuan encountered an enemy and saw that the situation was not good, he would just run away with these highly mobile cavalry. If that happened, at least Xiao Tong would have a chance to escape with him.

I don’t know if Xu Feng was really touched, or if he wanted to do good things to repair the relationship after seeing Pei Yuan’s strength yesterday.

Xu Feng actually took the initiative to say, "I brought more than 20 personal guards this time. They are all selected servants with good combat capabilities. They can be lent to Captain Pei as personal guards."

"Oh?" Pei Yuan's eyes lit up and he didn't refuse at all.

He insisted directly, "Don't worry, these people follow me as my personal soldiers. If the war goes well, the people around me will not be harmed. If the war goes badly, it would be good to have a few more people in the front."

Xu Feng nodded repeatedly upon hearing this. This was exactly what he thought.

Then Xu Feng called out and asked the selected servants to come forward.

Pei Yuan felt it was a pity that these selected servants of Xu Feng were all infantrymen.

But this is normal. If Lu Ting hadn't helped solve the war horse problem, the Jinyiwei led by Pei Yuan would still be equipped with post horses.

Yima is good at carrying heavy loads and traveling long distances, but it is really useless in fighting a war.

Seeing these selected servants, Pei Yuan remembered the few martial arts figures he brought with him.

Pei Yuan had never taken them seriously before, but at this moment, what else was there to say?

It's just right to mix with these selected servants and serve as a mobile force around him.

Pei Yuan said to Xu Feng, "Commander Xu, go meet Eunuch Gu first and listen to his arrangements. I also have some things to deal with here."

As he spoke, Pei Yuan waved to the selected servants, "All of you follow me."

The selected forwards were somewhat hesitant.

Xu Feng never said anything good about Pei Yuan on his way north, and even hinted several times that as long as Captain Xiao was willing to take responsibility, he could kill Pei Yuan at any time.

In the eyes of these soldiers, Pei Yuan was a member of the enemy camp with a red name.

Seeing that they didn't move, Pei Yuan frowned and asked, "Why, you don't even listen to Commander Xu's words?"

Xu Feng also felt a little embarrassed, and quickly scolded those selected servants to obey Pei Yuan's orders.

Pei Yuan walked back a few steps and looked back.

Those selected servants had no choice but to follow.

Pei Yuan watched Xiao Yan and Xu Feng leave, and then he also took those selected servants and walked towards his own team.

After walking a distance, Pei Yuan looked at the selected servants and asked, "Can we still see Commander Xu?"

The selected servants were at a loss. After Pei Yuan asked again, they all said in a mixed voice, "I can't see it."

Pei Yuan nodded. "Then why are you still hesitating? Follow me."

Xu Feng's departure did make the soldiers lose their backbone. After hearing what Pei Yuan said and thinking about Xu Feng's orders, their steps became much more natural.

When he arrived at his team, Pei Yuan looked at those martial arts figures.

He didn't see Zhiwei as a Taoist, mainly because this guy had behaved too casually before and had a history of sneaking away.

Logically speaking, Monk Daigo was born a beggar. He had no family background and was not loved by his grandma or uncle. It was possible for him to have a future by following Pei Yuan, but what was the purpose of Zhiwei Dao?
Besides, the overall atmosphere in the court is biased towards Buddhism, and there are a large number of Buddhist temples throughout the city of Beijing. How would a Taoist priest like him be received if he went there?
Pei Yuan once suspected that this guy wanted to take the opportunity to travel for free.

Pei Yuan was willing to let Taoist Zhiwei take this ride mainly because he was worried that a situation like Taoist Lingzhu would happen again. At least he could still fight back, but he really didn't expect this guy to be able to fight and kill.

Pei Yuan first persuaded the Taoist Zhiwei to leave, saying, "The Taoist is a smart and clever man, and he must have seen our troubles. We haven't encountered any thieves yet. If you want to leave, I will not stop you."

Taoist Zhiwei laughed and said, "I have received a lot of favors from Qianhu along the way, and I also want to do my best to help. If I leave like this, won't I be ridiculed by the bald donkey?"

Seeing that the Taoist was unmoved, Pei Yuan said sternly, "If that's the case, then there's no room for maneuver. You know the strengths and weaknesses of our army, and we can't let you wander around out there."

Taoist Zhiwei twirled his beard and smiled, "Just now I saw Qian Hu looking back at the wheel tracks on his horse. Could it be that he encountered some trouble on the road?"

Pei Yuan suddenly remembered the incident when the Taoist priest cut paper into a dog that swallowed the moon, causing the assassin to become confused without a fight.

Although the Taoist Zhiwei said afterwards that he just happened to see black clouds floating over and just went with the flow.

But Pei Yuan felt that this guy still had some skills.

So Pei Yuan asked tentatively, "Then I wonder if you have any advice for me?"

Taoist Zhiwei laughed and said, "I don't deserve your advice. But I saw the sky and it seems to be a sign of rain and snow. It's difficult for Qianhu to go today, but I don't know if it will be even more difficult tomorrow."

(End of this chapter)