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

Chapter 278 Pei Yuan's Enlightenment

What was there for Pei Yuan to say? This bastard's evil intentions were known to everyone.

Pei Yuan ignored the topic and drank a mouthful of hot tea. He then looked at the people dressed as gentlemen and asked Xiao Yan curiously, "What do you want to do with them? To ask for bribes?"

Xiao Yan coughed after hearing this.

Damn, this bastard speaks so rudely.

Xiao Yan said unhappily, "It's business, you have a share."

No matter it's business or soliciting bribes, as long as you have a share of it, there is nothing to say.

Pei Yuan smiled and called out to everyone around him, "Come sit down, sit together."

Without Pei Yuan's signal, the Jinyiwei guards he brought with him, wearing official robes and carrying swords, began to drive people away and make room for a few gentry.

The gentry originally saw that Xiao Yan was friendly, and their impression of these people from the capital changed greatly.

After seeing the vicious and cruel appearance of these Jinyiwei, I realized that I was just wishful thinking.

After they trembled and sat down next to the two men, Pei Yuan asked Xiao Yan, "What's the good news? Tell me about it."

Xiao Yan didn't bother to care whether Pei Yuan had any other meaning in his words, and said directly, "It's the military supplies we seized that are inconvenient to transport. I asked the county magistrate and found these famous people in the local area. They can help us deal with them."

Pei Yuan understood, it turned out to be that matter.

This was originally the purpose of his coming out today.

Hearing this, Pei Yuan's heart moved.

Compared with finding a way on your own, levying the tax on these local residents is obviously a more convenient and cost-effective method.

Pei Yuan roughly estimated that after the war, each of the three families would receive about 50,000 to 60,000 taels of silver.

This is not only what "Big Tiger" and "Starry Sky" have just gotten recently, but also what they have accumulated from the Bazhou rebels over the past year.

The loose silver in it is easy to deal with. You can find a silversmith shop and melt it into silver ingots directly.

However, copper coins and gold and silver products that are difficult to carry must be disposed of in a way.

Copper coins are large and low in value, but they are still money. Part of the value of those gold and silver products lies in their craftsmanship, which is more expensive than pure gold and silver. This part of the value must also be realized through transactions.

Unfortunately, the total value of these things is huge. If they are shipped together, not only will we not get a good quality ratio, but the shipment will also not be smooth.

But if there are these local foodies, then it would be easy.

Copper coins are the most consumed part of a city.

Local residents can then find merchants with whom they have close relationships to exchange silver, and the quality of the silver can be guaranteed.

As for gold and silver products, these gentry themselves are the largest consumers of such products and can even consume them directly.

Don't think that merchants were the richest during the Ming Dynasty.

Whichever group of people constitutes the ruling class is the richest; this is an unbreakable truth.

The ruling class today is the landlord class, so most of the wealth is in the hands of landlords, big and small.

Xiao Yan was able to find local gentry through the county government to solve this problem, which could be said to have grasped the key point.

Captain Pei has always been flexible in the face of interests, and he immediately said with a spring breeze, "That's great. With the help of all the local sages, we have saved a lot of effort."

When the gentry saw this person who was not easy to deal with suddenly change his attitude, they were a little uncomfortable for a moment and just nodded in agreement.

Pei Yuan looked around and asked, "So what benefits did they promise you?"

"Ah?" The gentry were all slightly stunned by such an abrupt question.

Pei Yuan was a little surprised to see everyone's reaction.

"No benefit?"

Xiao Yan coughed lightly and said unhappily, "It's just a fair trade, not as much as you think."

Pei Yuan spread his hands, "Then there's nothing left for me to do for you."

The gentry smiled awkwardly, not knowing how to respond.

Pei Yuan looked at Xiao Yan, "When do we start changing?"

Xiao Yan felt that Captain Pei seemed a little out of tune after leaving the battlefield, and he didn't know what had stimulated him.

He could only helplessly say, "We are ready anytime, it's up to you."

Pei Yuan smiled and patted Xiao Yan's shoulder, praising him, "Not bad, you are worthy of being my friend through thick and thin."

Xiao Yan said nothing.

Aren’t you afraid that if I did it secretly, you would hold a grudge against me?

Pei Yuan was not polite either, and looked at everyone with a smile, "Since we met, it is fate, how about starting with me?"

Xiao Yan was speechless. All the tasks fell on these people. Even if they had to squeeze money, Yanggu City would have to give the three of them some.

Besides, they didn't take it for free, but exchanged it for copper coins and gold and silver objects. What was there to fight over?

After hearing this, several gentry looked at Xiao Yan.

Pei Yuan still put his arm around Xiao Yan's shoulder and said with a smile, "Why are you looking at him? I am a higher official than him. Let's go to my place first."

Seeing that Xiao Yan did not react, several gentry stood up obediently.

Xiao Yan broke free from Pei Yuan's hold on his shoulders and said, "I'll go to the county government office again. Let these people go to your place and then go directly to the county government office to see me and Eunuch Gu."

Pei Yuan responded, "Okay, you go first."

After Xiao Yan left, Pei Yuan was going to take those gentry to the inn where he was staying.

Upon seeing this, the gentry quickly ordered their followers to go and call the shopkeeper's staff.

Pei Yuan saw this and asked, "Is it far away?"

Everyone said it was not far.

Pei Yuan stayed with him and waited in the tea shop for a while.

When the managers and subordinates of the gentry had all arrived, Pei Yuan led them to the inn.

He walked through the front hall and entered the backyard, then asked the guards at the gate to unlock the door and entered the small courtyard where the valuables were stored.

After entering the room, Pei Yuan unexpectedly saw Cheng Leixiang who was in a daze in the side room.

Pei Yuan was initially a little shocked at how diligent Cheng Leixiang was. Even though he was about to be promoted, he still remembered to stand guard for the boss for the last time after the party.

But thinking of Cheng Leixiang's ability to look at things clearly, I also felt that Cheng Leixiang might be afraid that there would be aftermath of last night's incident.

So I'm just staying here to guard your property so that you won't get caught in the crossfire.

Chen Toutie doesn't have such intention.

Pei Yuan first waved his hand and sent Cheng Lei Xiang back to catch up on his sleep, and then he pushed out the baggage carts he had captured.

The carts containing the loose change had already been put away in advance, so there was no need to estimate the value of this part.

Pei Yuan first asked people to pour out a large amount of copper coins.

The servants who were working with him rushed forward to help thread the ropes and keep count.

Seeing this, Pei Yuan piled out a large number of gold and silver objects and let them choose and bid for them.

At this time, the shopkeepers came on stage, holding small scales to measure the weight, and then quoted prices that were either high or low. The overall premium was about 20% of the gold and silver itself.

Pei Yuan took a quick look and agreed to all the ones that were not a big deal. In this way, from morning to noon, the first thing he counted was copper coins, which were worth about 2,000 taels of silver.

Pei Yuan had a sample of the silver tested for quality, and then allowed the gentry who were interested to take it away directly and pay with silver.

The quick transaction of copper coins also accelerated the transaction of gold and silver objects.

Pei Yuan asked the inn to send food, and everyone had lunch together on the spot. However, Pei Yuan did not touch the wine, nor did he drink the toasts from the gentry, which made them a little uneasy.

By the afternoon, the transaction of gold and silver items was basically completed, with a total value of more than 31,000 taels.

Pei Yuan estimated that the loose silver should be about 25,000 taels, which was very close to the number he had expected.

After sending them off with a smile, Cheng Leixiang, who had recovered his spirit, came over and asked, "Sir, are you ready to deal with them?"

Pei Yuan was surprised, "Why do you say that?"

Cheng Leixiang also found it difficult to explain the origin of his thoughts. He scratched his head and said, "Maybe it's intuition."

It was not a big deal, and Pei Yuan did not need to hide it from his confidants.

"I thought this cooperation was an exchange, and I wanted to give them some benefits, but I didn't expect it to be so fair. Xiao Yan and Gu Dayong didn't realize that problem either. So the benefits I gave them are gone."

Cheng Leixiang was stunned for a moment, "What is the question you are talking about, sir?"

Pei Yuan looked at the backs of the gentry leaving, and the smile on his face disappeared.

"Little Wu Song has gathered so many local young men to cut off our path. How could he have done it without the help of local nobles? Now we have more than a thousand prisoners of war in our hands. We can follow the clues and solve the case at any time!"

"I will not let any of those who want me dead go!"

Cheng Leixiang was stunned for a moment, then he realized that although he thought all the troubles were gone, it turned out that the things he should do were not yet done.

Pei Yuan added, "Gu Dayong and Xiao Yan are being loyal this time and bringing us along for the fun. Let's wait until they have cashed in all their money and property before we take action. It will take us one day, but it will take them two days in total. After two days, you go find Ding Hong and have him use his own people to secretly interrogate the prisoners brought back, and find out where they are from and who ordered them to follow Xiao Wusong."

Cheng Leixiang immediately responded solemnly.

Pei Yuan said calmly, "Bring out the list and give it to me."

This list is useful, but Pei Yuan will not use it now.

If he pursued the matter now, he could certainly kill his enemy to vent his hatred, and maybe even get a large sum of money, but he would also have to share the profits with Xiao Yan and Gu Dayong.

Moreover, the result of launching this matter ahead of time might be that Xiao Yan and Gu Dayong helped to suppress it.

Now is the critical time for the two of them to seek the title of Earl, and some things still require cooperation from the local level.

They would not be willing to turn against Yanggu now.

Pei Yuan already has the list, and when things here are settled, he will have time to come back and clean up the situation.

He happily put away his wealth. Together with the ten thousand taels he had received previously, he now had a total of more than sixty-eight thousand taels.

Pei Yuan shook his head slightly and began to sigh at the power of fate.

Did not expect ah did not expect.

In the end, he could not escape the consequence of having to pledge silver to the capital.

terrible!
Pei Yuan sighed and went to the county government office again to attend the banquet hosted by Gu Dayong and Xiao Yan.

The magistrate of Yanggu was an old scholar who had won the third place in the imperial examination and was a very smooth person.

During the banquet, Pei Yuan, the newly emerged leader of the Jinyiwei, was treated very warmly and considerately.

Pei Yuan saw that he was a talented person and wanted to recruit him to his side.

Unexpectedly, as soon as he revealed some meaning in his words, Xiao Yan and Gu Dayong shook their heads at him.

After the banquet, Xiao Yan explained to Pei Yuan.

This old scholar is ruthless, but he actually doesn't like the factory guards at all. Don't take his politeness at the wine table seriously.

Pei Yuan roughly guessed that these two people had probably shown their goodwill to the old scholar.

Pei Yuan sighed slightly, there was nothing much to say.

You can give it a try when Liu Jin was around.

Now that Zhang Yong and Yang Yiqing have formed an alliance, those civil servants can protect themselves without having to surrender to the Imperial Household Guards. How could they possibly care about the mess caused by the eunuch party?

Thinking of this, Pei Yuan became more and more worried about the flaws in the political puzzle.

Lacking the power of civil servants and system support, Pei Yuan was unable to collect resources from all over. Even if he recruited talents, there was no system to accommodate these talents and provide them with promotion.

If this continues, the power we can retain in our hands will only become weaker and weaker.

You must know that fighting alone in politics is a dead end.

Besides, Pei Yuan still has a lot of things he wants to do.

Pei Yuan was unhappy after drinking, which made him even more upset.

On the way back to the inn, Pei Yuan kept thinking about who he wanted.

In politics, there is only grouping together of people with similar positions, there is no loyalty to speak of, so loyalty does not need to be considered.

He doesn't care how loyal the other person is, as long as he can use them.

What Pei Yuan wants now is a utilitarian person who is familiar with the world.

Being familiar with the world means being able to silently applaud when Pei Qianhu makes a decision instead of jumping out and saying some empty and useless words.

People who are utilitarian often have a better enterprising spirit and are the ones who can really get things done.

However, human nature is so complex and hidden, how can Pei Yuan pick out what he wants from so many officials in the court?

Pei Yuan thought for a while but got no result.

So we turned our attention from the results to the process.

Except for those few times when the young emperor was frantically recommended, most of those who could serve as officials in the Ming Dynasty court had gone through the imperial examination system.

Pei Yuan doesn't need those who take unconventional paths, because he himself is an unconventional person.

To be precise, Pei Yuan didn't want these people. What he wanted was the social recognition represented by these people.

So what is the process of making a second- or third-class Jinshi who has read the books of sages become familiar with the world and utilitarian?
Pei Yuan's mind started to open up and he found the clue again.

I thought silently in my mind and came up with the answer, which was undoubtedly long-term decline and suppression.

So if we continue to trace back, what are the characteristics of this type of people?

Who would sink into depravity and be oppressed for a long time, and who would consider themselves to be sinking and oppressed?
Where are those people who are dissatisfied with the Ming Dynasty?

Pei Yuan thought about it and couldn't help but say four words, "If you feel unfair, you should speak out."

"what?"

The guards nearby thought Pei Yuan wanted to give instructions, so they came over and asked.

Pei Yuan waved his hand, signaling him to leave.

I thought of the four words "if you feel unfair, you should speak out" in my mind and repeated them silently several times in my heart.

and so.

How can I, Qianhu Pei Yuan, make you sing out and let me watch you with my eyes...

Pei Yuan's distant gaze fell on Beijing City, and endless thoughts emerged in his mind.

(End of this chapter)