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

Chapter 288 Daming’s Disease
Pei Yuan was thinking about his money, so he responded to Sun Bo's words absent-mindedly.

Seeing Pei Yuan agreed so readily, Sun Bo didn't think much about it.

At that time, Pei Yuan was once the laughing stock of the Jinyiwei.

The top spot in the military examination that he obtained through bribery, and the scandal that brought shame to the eunuchs of the Eastern Depot, were topics of discussion within the Jinyiwei for quite a long time.

Even though Pei Yuan has now taken a step forward and become a deputy captain.

Sun Bo, Zhang Rong's confidant, still looked down upon Pei Yuan.

Pei Yuan is quite familiar with this mentality, and he said...

Feel nothing.

After all, it wasn't him who made the misjudgment, so there was no need for him to waste his energy correcting other people's mistakes.

Sun Bo talked for a while and led Pei Yuan into Zhihua Temple.

The mountain gate of Zhihua Temple is made of bricks and stones, with black glazed tiles on top, and two stone lions, one male and one female, on the left and right.

There is a male stone lion on the left and a female on the right. The male lion is stepping on a hydrangea, while the female lion is stepping on her cubs.

But the temples built by eunuchs are naturally different from others. The little lion cub lies on its back with its four paws facing the sky, revealing its conspicuous little brother.

Pei Yuan had been here before when he came to withdraw silver, so he had a general understanding of the layout of this place.

Looking at the direction Sun Bo was leading him, his heart sank.

It was indeed the courtyard in the west where Wang Zhen was worshipped.

Even though Pei Yuan had some guesses in his mind, he still asked without giving up, "Could it be that the emperor is in the west courtyard?"

Sun Bo nodded first, then reminded again, "Listen more and talk less."

Then, he motioned Pei Yuan to wait where he was and went to the front of the courtyard to have a brief conversation with the guard.

After the two finished talking, Sun Bo waved to Pei Yuan.

Pei Yuan's heart was pounding, he was nervous and flustered.

My silver! My silver!
When Pei Yuan came forward, Sun Bo opened the gate and motioned Pei Yuan to go in.

Pei Yuan stepped forward without hesitation and strode into the yard.

The yard is not big and faces a meditation hall.

There is a plaque on the Zen hall with the three characters "Jingzhong Temple" inscribed on it.

The door of the Zen hall was open, and a young man with a slightly thin face, wearing casual clothes, was seen sitting on a cushion and talking to an old monk.

Pei Yuanxian glanced at the ground in the yard, and his heart sank slightly.

Cheng Leixiang buried the silver for a very short time, and there were traces of new soil on the ground.

If no one enters this yard, there won't be any noticeable difference after a day or two of drying.

Now that the ground is so clearly visible, anyone who pays a little more attention will immediately notice that something is wrong.

And Zhu Houzhao was the kind of person who loved to do good things...

Pei Yuan thought about it and quickly made a decision. No, he had to lead Zhu Houzhao out of this yard as soon as possible!
Pei Yuan's gaze moved to Zhu Houzhao.

He had a dull expression on his face, his eyes fixed on the ground. From Pei Yuan's perspective, his slightly thin face looked as long and narrow as a wolf's.

Zhu Houzhao and the old monk didn't talk much. He would often say something and the old monk would respond in a low voice.

Most of the time is spent in silence.

During the silence, Zhu Houzhao just stared calmly at the ground in front of the cushion.

Pei Yuan was afraid that Zhu Houzhao might look into the yard if he was distracted, so he deliberately quickened his pace and walked under the eaves.

Zhu Houzhao was furious when he heard the footsteps and shouted angrily, "Who is so ignorant of the rules that he dares to come in without permission!"

Pei Yuan's heart tightened, but he still tried to remain calm. "I am Pei Yuan, a spy from the Jinyiwei who supervises the temples. I heard that Your Majesty is here, so I came to escort you."

Pei Yuan was also a little nervous after he finished speaking.

No matter what he thought of Zhu Houzhao, it could not change the fact that he was the emperor of the Ming Dynasty, a man who could decide life and death with a single word.

Fortunately, Pei Yuan’s words did arouse Zhu Houzhao’s interest.

He muttered to himself, "He's a spy from the Imperial Guards."

Then, he stared at the ground in silence for a while, and suddenly said, "I remember the spy of Zhihua Temple was called Cheng Zhihu?"

After saying that, he asked the old monk beside him, "Is your name Cheng Zhihu? I think I met him last year."

Upon hearing this, the old monk hurriedly said respectfully, "Your Majesty, there was indeed a person named Cheng Zhihu before."

Pei Yuan was almost numb from listening to it.

Zhu Houzhao also has this skill.

Pei Yuan did not have time to think about it and quickly explained, "I am the deputy commander of the evil suppression commander's office. I am in charge of all the temples and Taoist temples north of Huai'an. Cheng Zhihu has temporarily been transferred to Da Ci'en Temple. I heard that the emperor came to Zhihua Temple and was afraid that the people below could not take good care of him, so I came here to serve as a guard."

"Oh, that's what's going on." Zhu Houzhao understood.

This makes sense.

He asked again, "So, you are better than Cheng Zhihu."

"It is my duty to pay more attention to some things." Pei Yuan suggested.

Zhu Houzhao nodded repeatedly when he heard this.

He murmured, "That's right, Cheng Zhihu is just a small flag, what can he know."

Pei Yuan said nothing, waiting for Zhu Houzhao to figure it out himself.

Zhu Houzhao indeed stared at Pei Yuan.

Pei Yuan’s purpose was simple. No matter what they talked about, he had to trick this big guy out of the yard first.

Here are my sixty thousand taels of silver hidden!

Unexpectedly, Zhu Houzhao looked at Pei Yuan for a while, but he was not in a hurry to ask about Yingzong and Wang Zhen. Instead, he suddenly said, "Your name sounds familiar to me."

Pei Yuan was shocked when he heard this.

For a long time, he has been avoiding this person's attention. If it weren't for the 60,000 taels of silver, Pei Yuan would not have risked his life to solve the trouble himself.

As Zhu Houzhao thought about it, he suddenly laughed.

His facial features seemed to become lively in an instant, and he was completely different from the slightly gloomy man just now.

He smiled and clapped his hands, saying, "Hey. I remember now. Some time ago, I heard Ma Yongcheng mention something. The most affectionate person in our dynasty said that he would rather give credit to his subordinates than leave his beloved boss. Was he talking about you?"

After he finished speaking, he burst into laughter. "Interesting, interesting."

Then he waved his hand, signaling the old monk to leave, pulled the cushion to his front, and said, "Come, tell me what's going on?" Pei Yuan's forehead was slightly sweaty.

So are there any secrets in the officialdom?
What he and the eunuch Gu Dayong said could actually be spread out.

Pei Yuan could only say awkwardly, "I am not aware of this."

Zhu Houzhao patted the cushion and kept signaling, "Come, sit down and talk."

Pei Yuan quickly refused, "How dare I be disrespectful in front of the emperor?"

Zhu Houzhao smiled and said, "It's okay. The old monk was able to do it just now, so why can't you do it?"

Pei Yuan explained, "The monks are outsiders, and they are not bound by worldly etiquette. I am a minister of the emperor, and I dare not overstep my authority."

Zhu Houzhao smiled and said, "There is no such thing as a person from outside the world. I am just a monk from the Ming Dynasty."

After he finished speaking, he seemed to feel that he had said too much, so he just smiled and kept silent.

Pei Yuan felt very subverted when he heard this. In his previous impression, this person should be a devout believer in Buddhism and even gave himself the Buddhist name of Daqing Dharma King.

How could he be so disrespectful in private?
Zhu Houzhao's thoughts jumped quickly and he immediately shifted to a new topic.

"Oh, that's right. Your evil suppression unit is responsible for spying on temples and arresting evil cults. What do you think of the Buddhism and Taoism in my Ming Dynasty?"

Pei Yuan was stunned when he heard this. Why did he ask this again?

Pei Yuan was used to lying in ambush and being steady and cautious, so when he met this kind of person with active thinking, he really couldn't keep up with his train of thought.

Pei Yuan saw Zhu Houzhao staring at him, and he had no time to think about it, so he had to bite the bullet and said, "Although Buddhism and Taoism are controversial in the court and the public, I think the benefits outweigh the disadvantages."

Pei Yuan's remarks had nothing to do with his own opinions, he was just in line with what Zhu Houzhao said.

The reason is that if this gentleman did not think that the benefits outweigh the disadvantages, he would not be so fond of Buddhism.

Zhu Houzhao was indeed more interested after hearing this, and patted the cushion again, "Sit down and talk. Even if you are a minister, isn't there a precedent of granting a seat?"

Seeing this, Pei Yuan no longer insisted and sat down on the cushion carefully.

Zhu Houzhao smiled and said, "All the civil and military officials in the court have advised me not to believe in Buddhism, why do you say that the benefits outweigh the disadvantages?"

Pei Yuan was speechless. How the hell should I tell you this?
Could it be that he is trying to flatter you, the Daqing Dharma King?
Pei Yuan could only bite the bullet and say, "Now that the world is in turmoil, we can use Buddhism to calm the people and stop them from having delusions. Perhaps, it will be of some help to the world."

After hearing this, Zhu Houzhao shook his head and a look of disappointment flashed across his face.

Pei Yuan saw that Zhu Houzhao seemed to have lost interest in sex, and he was still thinking about the silver, so he could only boldly ask, "Your Majesty, don't you think it's wrong?"

Zhu Houzhao smiled and asked, "What if it's right, what if it's wrong?"

Pei Yuan immediately said, "Your Majesty is the Emperor of Ming Dynasty, and I am a member of the Emperor's personal army. I am also the deputy commander of the Suppressing Evil Thousand Households, who is directly responsible for investigating and hunting down those outsiders. If I cannot share the same mind and purpose with the Emperor, I am afraid I cannot fulfill Your Majesty's wishes."

Zhu Houzhao glanced at Pei Yuan and said half-jokingly, "If I tell you, you won't be able to walk out of this yard alive."

Pei Yuan was shocked when he heard this.

He observed Zhu Houzhao carefully, and saw a hint of eagerness in his eyes.

It seemed like this was something he was extremely proud of and wanted to show off.

But he was hesitant and dared not say it out loud, nor let others hear it.

Looking at Zhu Houzhao's slightly expectant eyes, Pei Yuan couldn't help but feel torn. Between "being silenced by the emperor" and "disappointing the emperor", no matter what he chose, it seemed to be wrong.

Pei Yuan chose to play dumb in his dilemma.

Seeing that Pei Yuan was silent, Zhu Houzhao, who rarely talked about this proud thing, said decisively, "I will forgive you the death penalty this time."

The great Emperor of the Ming Dynasty has paved the way for Pei Yuan. If he still does not understand, he will deserve the death penalty twice.

Pei Yuan immediately asked, "I am willing to listen to your majesty's teachings."

Zhu Houzhao originally nodded with satisfaction, admiring Pei Yuan's tact. He was about to explain the reason, but the words got stuck in his throat.

After waiting for a long while, when he finally said it, he didn't feel the pride he had imagined at all.

Zhu Houzhao's voice was somewhat suppressed, as if he had been poured with a basin of cold water, and he said calmly, "Because the Ming Dynasty is ill, and Buddhism is the best medicine to cure the Ming Dynasty."

After hearing this, Pei Yuan could hardly believe his ears.

Is Zhu Houzhao really so stupid?

Nowadays, the Buddhist sects in the Ming Dynasty took advantage of the ignorance of the people and frantically collected money to buy temple properties. Countless temples were built with gold and jade, and countless people were displaced because of this.

There are also many treacherous and vicious people who take shelter under the Buddhist temple and hide their evil.

Pei Yuan had come into contact with a lot of things about Buddhism before, and he knew more about the filth beneath the Buddhist robes than anyone else.

Pei Yuan, the deputy commander of the Evil Suppression Unit who was in charge of supervising Buddhism, didn't want to touch this mess. He didn't expect that the emperor of the Ming Dynasty actually regarded Buddhism as a panacea.

Could it be that Zhu Houzhao was really deceived by the monk and could no longer distinguish right from wrong?

But a man who can eat and sleep with the soldiers, patrol the border in the snow, go to the battlefield in person, lead the troops, and is loved by the three armies, does not seem like someone who would be easily fooled.

Seeing Pei Yuan's incredulous look, Zhu Houzhao regained some of his composure.

He asked Pei Yuan, "Do you know what is wrong with Daming?"

Pei Yuan thought about the possible consequences of each answer and carefully chose the most conservative answer, "I don't know."

Zhu Houzhao seemed very conceited. He laughed and said, "I don't think you know."

He was originally sitting on the cushion in front of Pei Yuan, and he was drawing lightly on the ground with his hands. The words he said made Pei Yuan look at Zhu Houzhao as if he were a monster.

"The problem with our Ming Dynasty is that the poor are getting poorer and the rich are getting richer."

As Zhu Houzhao spoke, he scratched the ground with his fingernails and lightly wrote the word "poor".

“The poor get poorer and poorer, and eventually lose their land, their houses, their wealth, and even themselves.”

Then, he wrote the word "rich" on the thin dust on the ground.

"The rich are getting richer. They own more land, more houses, and more money. They are so rich that they don't even know what else to own."

Pei Yuan's eyelids kept twitching as he listened to Zhu Houzhao's words.

Zhu Houzhao pointed at the word "poor" on the ground and said, "They have nothing to lose, so they like change, because any change will not make them worse. So even the Bazhou rebellion that originated from Shuntian Prefecture can get a hundred responses."

Zhu Houzhao's face was indifferent. He pointed at the word "rich" on the ground and said, "What about these people? They are already so rich that they don't know what else they should have. So they are lazy about change, but they can't help but still want to have more."

After Zhu Houzhao finished speaking, he asked Pei Yuan, "Then do you know what wealth is?"

Pei Yuan was speechless and had no answer.

His silence was not because he had no opinions of his own, but because the Zhu Houzhao in front of him made his mind go blank and almost overturned all of Pei Yuan's previous assumptions.

Pei Yuan's throat moved, and he sat up straighter. He looked at Zhu Houzhao and said, "I, I don't know."

(End of this chapter)