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

Chapter 273: Change it back! I'm not used to it!

After Pei Yuan finished eating, he put on his cotton armor and a straw raincoat with the help of Jiao Yan'er, and then he went out with a bamboo umbrella.

Pei Yuan first took a closer look at his own camp.

Except for one tent which collapsed and got flooded because it was not tied securely, everything else was fine.

At this moment, most of the tents were closed to keep out the cold, and only a few tents that served as stoves were open, emitting black smoke.

Pei Yuan went over to take a look.

It was discovered that many Jinyiwei soldiers did not stay in their own tents, but crowded here to warm themselves by the fire and chat.

Although the dry pine wood was not exposed to the rain, it was damp, and the oil in the pine branches made it produce a lot of smoke when it burned.

So the soldiers who were roasting the fire there sat in a circle with three missing one, avoiding the leeward side.

Pei Yuan stopped everyone from bowing and encouraged them kindly, "In two or three days, I will defeat the enemy for you. We have enough firewood and food in our camp. You can eat when you want to, sleep when you want to, and come and warm yourself by the fire and watch the rain when you wake up."

Everyone cheered when they heard it.

As long as we win this battle, we can go directly to Yanggu County to rest and recuperate. We will have whatever we want at that time and there will be no need to worry about the waste.

Thinking of being able to go to the county town to rest, Pei Yuan continued to promise.

"Once we win this battle and enter Yanggu, you can eat, drink, and whore as much as you want, brothers. I'll have Chen Toutie take the money to settle the bill for you."

The morale in the tent was boosted and the atmosphere became visibly lively.

After taking back the baggage, Pei Yuan got his silver back.

He had ten thousand, Xiao Yan had seven thousand, and the rest belonged to Gu Dayong.

This was what we had agreed upon at the beginning.

Once the bandits' camp is captured, there will surely be even richer harvests waiting for Pei Yuan.

Of course, this matter is definitely not suitable to be kept alone.

Gu Dayong, the eunuch who has temporarily lost his power, still has a bright future of more than ten years. Behind the deputy captain Xiao Yan, there is the eunuch ninja Xiao Jing who is comparable to the old turtle Tokugawa Ieyasu. As for Captain Pei Yuan.

He himself is a very important bargaining chip.

After repeatedly accomplishing impossible miracles, no one dared to ignore Pei Yuan's opinion now.

Even if Pei Yuan wanted to take all the money, the two men's first subconscious reaction would be to touch their chins with a look of wisdom.

——Captain Pei must have a deeper meaning!

Of course, it is hard to say what the outcome will be afterwards.

Pei Yuan certainly had to do things better so that they could discuss how to divide the money in advance.

As for the soldiers under his command...

Pei Yuan will reward the Jinyiwei soldiers he brought with him, as for the people from Xuzhouwei.

We have killed so many enemies and captured so much spoils, shouldn't the court reward us for our achievements?

What does it have to do with these three people in charge?

As for Xu Feng, who nominally holds the highest military rank, Pei Yuan doesn't have to worry about him. He has to take care of his own dog. That is Xiao Yan's job.

After leaving his own territory, Pei Yuan wanted to check out the situation of the rebels in Bazhou first. He did not go to see Gu Dayong and Xiao Yan, but walked slowly towards the front camp with an umbrella.

Chen Toutie happened to see this and quickly came out of his tent with a knife to show his loyalty and diligence.

When Pei Yuan arrived at the watchtower of the front camp, he happened to meet Cheng Leixiang who was on patrol.

He asked in surprise, "Why haven't you slept yet?"

Cheng Leixiang looked at Chen Toutie and said nothing. Pei Yuan was speechless. Even if what he did was not right, there was no need to be on guard against Toutie.

You two have done a lot of shady things since you followed me.

Pei Yuan said, "Just say it directly."

Cheng Leixiang then said, "Hou Qing, Ding Hong, and Monk Daigo are all back. Hou Qing did a very good job, and those two didn't seem to notice anything."

Pei Yuan nodded without saying much.

When the Huben Zuowei exterminated the entire family, it was Hou Qing who led his men to the Hundred Households Office and killed them all.

Pei Yuan was quite reassured about Hou Qing's stance.

The difficulty of solving this problem is actually not high.

As long as we arrange the most difficult people to set fire to the mountains, and then kill the people who follow them after the fire, and then as long as we don't notify the rest of the people and directly take Ding Hong and Daigo monk to evacuate, then there is an 80% chance that we can do it easily.

Pei Yuan was puzzled, "Then why haven't you gone to bed yet?"

Cheng Leixiang answered concisely, "Be steady."

This kind of bad thing really needs to be done more cautiously. Pei Yuan turned his head and said to Chen Toutie, "Learn more from General Cheng in the future."

Chen Toutie agreed honestly.

Pei Yuan was just about to go up to the watchtower to check on the situation of the Bazhou bandits, but he saw that there was a doghouse on the watchtower, made of wooden boards and straw to create a barely habitable place.

Pei Yuan had some guesses in his mind. When he looked over, he saw Chen Hu's head stuffed inside, with his back tied to a wooden stake, his sight facing the Bazhou camp.

Although it can provide some protection from the wind and rain, it is probably still very painful.

Chen Hutou heard the noise, opened his eyes tiredly, and stared at Pei Yuan fiercely.

Pei Yuan turned around and said to Cheng Leixiang, "Don't put people in the doghouse next time. It's a bad omen."

Cheng Lei responded and kept it in mind.

Pei Yuan ignored Chen Hutou and carefully observed the movements of the bandits in Bazhou.

The movements at the Bazhou bandit camp were just as Pei Yuan had expected.

A lot of rainwater accumulated in the low-lying terrain, and most of the tents had been flooded with water.

There was a tent that was obviously temporarily raised, which should be the "Starry Sky" tent. The tent seemed to be full of water and was so heavy that it needed a lot of wooden stakes to support it.

From time to time, there would be fights over some of the tents that were located on higher ground.

Pei Yuan was standing on the observation deck, and he watched helplessly as a group of guys who had been chased away came back with knives, cut open the tents of the previous group of people, and ran away.

There were also some people who rummaged through the wood scattered on the ground, split open a few layers, and when they saw that there was dry wood inside, they took it and went away in ecstasy.

Pei Yuan had anticipated that there would be chaos in the bandits' camp, but he didn't expect it to be this chaotic.

In the face of the power of nature, the prestige of "Baby's Breath" is no longer able to cope with such a situation where the law does not hold everyone accountable.

They had already surrendered to the thieves and were already wet and freezing in the rain.

What else can “Starry Sky” ask of them?

Such a poorly managed campsite is indeed not capable of the task of moving the camp in the rain.

Even if they managed to move to a slightly higher place, all the people and supplies in the camp would get wet.

What's more, although this place looks low-lying, it is only about half a foot lower than the surrounding areas. It is uncomfortable, but the threat is not fatal.

Pei Yuan looked at the little smoke coming out of a few tents and made a further judgment.

Perhaps most of them can't even have a hot meal.

Now they can only fill their stomachs with food soaked in rainwater.

But this rain...

Pei Yuan stretched out his hand, and drops of rain fell into his palm and then slid down. After a while, spots of stains appeared on Pei Yuan's palm, some were black like charcoal, and some were colorful like oil stains.

But this rain water is dirty!

Pei Yuan looked at the thick clouds in the sky.

Once the rain starts falling, it won't stop just because you want it to.

The extinguished hills continued to contribute their strength, emitting smoke from time to time.

The wind was blowing colder and colder.

While Pei Yuan was silently thinking, a faint humming sound was heard from the side.

Pei Yuan didn't even turn around and ordered, "Let him talk."

Cheng Leixiang stepped forward and pulled off the gag on Chen Hutou.

The bandit leader who roamed Shandong was panting heavily. After a while, he spoke incoherently, "You built this watchtower a long time ago, right?"

Pei Yuan said "hmm".

Since he had let the "big tiger" speak, he had the intention of communicating with him.

After hearing Pei Yuan's answer, Chen Hutou continued talking about what he had been thinking about for half the night yesterday.

"So you planned this in advance?"

After he was tied up here yesterday, he spent that difficult and humiliating night passing the time by watching the movements in the bandits' camp opposite.

Then he suddenly realized that his position was so suitable.

It just happened to be facing the bandit camp.

Judging from the layout of the government army camp alone, there is nothing special about this location. This watchtower seems to have been built in a random place.

But what if we connect it with the camp of the bandits in Bazhou?

How come this camp, which had no special location in the government army camp, was set up right opposite the "Starry Sky" camp?
Chen Hutou had heard of Zhuge Jianggan's name, so how could he not have doubts in his heart?

Today, when he saw Pei Yuan standing on this observation deck, calmly looking at the Bazhou military camp soaked in rain like a mastermind, the intuition in his heart became stronger and stronger.

Pei Yuan's back remained motionless, and he answered calmly and leisurely, "What else?"

"You, you had already calculated that this day would come?"

There was suspicion and fear in Chen Hutou's words.

Pei Yuan smiled, and he turned around and said calmly, "I still have until tomorrow, the day after tomorrow, and the day after tomorrow."

Pei Yuan's smile was bright. Against the gloomy sky, it looked like a ray of bright sunshine in front of Chen Hutou.

Countless thoughts flashed through Chen Hu's mind.

Pei Yuan was in no mood to communicate with him.

He said to Cheng Leixiang, "Feed him something and gag him again. If he keeps talking nonsense, you don't have to feed him."

He was a little afraid that Cheng Leixiang would misinterpret his meaning, so he emphasized, "Let him live."

Pei Yuan wanted him to live and see with his own eyes how he could destroy the Bazhou bandits with very few troops.

He wanted Chen Hutou to bring his fear back to Liu Liu, Liu Qi and Qi Yanming.

Make the Bazhou troops that have already run away obey his orders again.

If they are obedient, Captain Pei will give them a chance to live.

If you don't obey, Captain Pei will destroy it personally.

When Pei Yuan was about to go back, Xiao Yan and Gu Dayong came over together.

Upon seeing this, Cheng Leixiang quickly sealed Chen Hutou's mouth and tied him up tightly.

Xiao and Gu both had happy looks on their faces.

Pei Yuan also smiled and took the initiative to say to Gu Dayong, "I was just thinking about going to pay my respects to Eunuch Gu, but I haven't seen the enemy situation with my own eyes, so I don't know what to say. I'm also afraid that if Eunuch Gu asks, I don't know how to answer."

Gu Dayong looked at Pei Yuan in surprise.

No, where is your rebellious look before?
Change it back!
I'm not used to it!

Pei Yuan knew that with the end of the war, the power that was temporarily in his hands would eventually return to the hands of those in power.

When it’s time to behave yourself, you should still behave yourself.

Otherwise, how could there be such sayings as "let the horses go to the southern hills, and put away the bows when the birds are all gone"?

Fortunately, Pei Yuan has already begun to tame the Bazhou Army, and he can release his birds at any time, which gives him some confidence.

Xiao Yan smiled and flattered him, "When Captain Pei told me about his plan, I was a little skeptical. I didn't expect it to be just as Captain Pei expected. It really opened my eyes and I admire him very much."

Gu Dayong also laughed, "It seems that my family is not senile yet, and still knows how to appoint the right people to the right positions."

Seeing that both of them were in a good mood, Pei Yuan also showed friendly attitude temporarily.

He suggested, "It's rare to be in a good mood today, why don't we talk about something happier."

"Oh?" Both of them laughed, "Captain Pei, please go ahead."

Pei Yuan spread out his hands and showed his dirty palms to the two men.

"You two probably didn't notice that this rain is dirty. Most of the Bazhou bandits' camp has been soaked by this dirty rain. I'm afraid their food and drinking water are not clean either."

"They don't have much dry firewood now, so they can only eat food softened by raw water, and they will soon get sick."

"Even if the temperature doesn't continue to drop tonight, I'm afraid by tomorrow, most of them will have lost their combat effectiveness."

They were both surprised when they heard this and asked, "There is such a thing?"

Xiao Yan also tentatively reached out his hand and caught the raindrops outside the umbrella, his face full of disbelief, "How can this rain be dirty?"

Pei Yuan said calmly, "Of course I know that the Taoist priest has profound magical powers and superb methods."

After hearing this, both of them showed awe on their faces, "He is truly a great master!"

Gu Dayong asked nervously again, "What about the water we drink?"

Pei Yuan said that he had made clear arrangements. "We drink well water, which is not likely to be polluted for the time being. I also specially asked people to cover and maintain it. And before drinking, the water is boiled and clarified."

Pei Yuan also expressed to the two guys that Taoist Zhiwei wanted to develop in the capital.

"Although the Taoist priest is a hermit, he has been restless this time and wants to try his luck in the mortal world. That's why I asked him to go to the capital. I heard from the Taoist priest that he might have to stay in the capital for a while."

"Speaking of which, I also have an opportunity. This Taoist priest is my uncle."

"If he encounters anything that disturbs his peace in the capital in the future, he will have to rely on Eunuch Xiao and Eunuch Gu to take care of him."

The eunuch Xiao that Pei Yuan was referring to was naturally not Xiao Yan, but Xiao Jing behind him.

When they heard that a Taoist priest like Zhiwei was going to stay in the capital temporarily, they became even more delighted.

Xiao Yan took the initiative to say, "My uncle once raised money with the nobles to build a Taoist temple. We can invite the Taoist priest to stay there. Not only can the Taoist priest practice there with peace of mind, but we uncle and nephew can also ask for advice sooner or later."

Most of the temples and Taoist temples in Beijing were built by eunuchs and concubines, so Pei Yuan was not surprised.

Surprisingly, I didn’t expect that Xiao Jing’s worship was quite niche, and he actually worshipped the Taoist school.

After hearing this, Gu Dayong quit.

How could such a powerful master be won over by Xiao Jing? He thought for a moment and asked abruptly, "Master Zhiwei is a Taoist master, so why don't you ask the emperor's opinion first?"

(End of this chapter)