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

Chapter 300: Stress Relief Master Zhu Houzhao

Yun Buxian said to Pei Yuan, "One of these two is called Huo Tao, and the other is called Tian Fu."

"And just as Qianhu guessed, one of them is from Nanhai, Guangzhou Prefecture, and the other is from Shunde, Guangzhou Prefecture."

After finishing his words, Yun Buxian added, "Liang Ci'an is from Shunde, and his mother's family, the Feng family, is from Nanhai, so he is usually very close to the powerful people in Nanhai County."

"This case was committed by him and Dai Zhongpeng from Nanhai County. The land that was seized afterwards was also divided between the two of them."

Pei Yuan didn't expect there to be other involvement, so he asked, "Who is Dai Zhongpeng?"

Yun Buxian had already gotten a clear picture of the situation in the past few days, and he immediately explained, "Dai Zhongpeng is the son of Dai Jin, the former Nanjing Ministry of Works Minister. He is from Nanhai County."

Pei Yuan nodded to show that he understood.

No wonder so many "small fish" were panicked. It turned out that they were scared by the joint dimensionality reduction attack from the "big fish".

Yun Buxian said, "Huo Tao and Tian Fu both failed the imperial examinations and were stranded in the capital due to the war."

"After Liang Ci'an killed the entire Yang family, Huo Tao, who was also from Nanhai County, reacted extremely violently and instigated the candidates who were taking the same exam to put pressure on the court to investigate the matter."

"Tian Fu and the Liang family are from the same hometown. He did not express his views before, but later when he saw that the officials in the court despised the scholars' request, he joined in and fiercely criticized Liang Ci's request. His attitude was even more radical than Huo Tao's."

After listening to Yun Buxian's introduction, Pei Yuan roughly understood the historical records of these two people, and couldn't help but sighed, "They are really my Crouching Dragon and Phoenix Chick!"

This Huo Tao was another important thug of Emperor Wanshou of Xuandu Realm. He and Zhang Cong teamed up to overthrow all the civil servants in the court, allowing Emperor Jiajing to completely control the power of the court.

As for the land tax, it was the man who made the sharp remark when Liang Chu was hypocritically persuading the emperor to love the people and reduce taxes, "If there is no wealth reserve, the world's taxes can be reduced by half."

Both of them were Jinshi in the ninth year of Zhengde, which was the next year.

One ranked first in the second class, and the other ranked tenth in the second class.

He can be regarded as a rare talent in the world.

After understanding the origins of these two people, Pei Yuan was not surprised that they would confront the Liang family over the matter of Liang Ci'e.

The confrontation between Tian Fu and Liang Chugang is something that has been recorded in history and needs no elaboration.

What about Huo Tao? Did he jump out to fight against the Liang family simply because of the butterfly effect of Pei Yuan's disturbance in Shandong and Huaibei, which made him stay in the capital?

Not quite.

You know, according to history, the chief examiner in the ninth year of Zhengde was Liang Chu!
It was Liang Chu who selected Huo Tao as a member (who got first place in the imperial examination).

Moreover, Liang Chu and Huo Tao are from the same hometown of Guangzhou Prefecture.

According to official practice, Huo Tao and the Grand Secretary of the Cabinet have a teacher-student relationship, as well as a fellow-townsman relationship. It can be said that he automatically became Liang Chu's most loyal supporter, and his career was just around the corner.

But how did Huo Tao do it?
After thanking the emperor, this guy went back to his hometown in Guangzhou to get married without saying a word.

Moreover, after getting married, he stayed in his hometown to study and never came out to work as an official.

You have to know that he was the first in the second class, was selected as a Shujishi, and entered the Hanlin Academy. Simply by waiting for a long time, he could become a Cabinet Grand Secretary!
It was not until Liang Chu retired and returned to Guangzhou Prefecture that this guy who refused to leave his home left Guangzhou Prefecture and became an official in the court.

In addition, Huo Tao was born in Nanhai County, Guangzhou Prefecture, and Liang Ci's massacre was also in Nanhai County. The relationship between the two can basically be summed up in four words, "irreconcilable!"

Now Liang Chu suppressed all public opinion, and Liang Ci was still arrogant enough to ask Liang Chen to ask for a title for Liang Ci. However, the emperor agreed despite the criticism from the scholars.

How could Huo Tao, who was stubborn and narrow-minded, tolerate this?

Therefore, he became the most fierce backbone of the opposition to Liang Chu.

Upon hearing about such a talented person, Pei Yuan could no longer sit still.

He stood up from the recliner and asked Yun Buxian, "Where are these two people now?"

Yun Buxian replied, "It's still at the Da Ci'en Temple."

Pei Yuan immediately said, "I'll go take a look."

He stood up and walked into the house without even putting on his boots.

He turned around and said to Yun Buxian, "Tell those soldiers to change into casual clothes so as not to attract too much attention."

When Pei Yuan hurried to Da Ci'en Temple with a few personal soldiers, he saw the talkative young man in the teahouse he had visited last time.

Pei Yuan looked at him for a few seconds and asked Yun Buxian in a low voice, "Is this Huo Tao or Tian Fu?"

Yun Buxian replied, "It's Huo Tao."

Pei Yuan was very satisfied. Even though the two of them only differed by nine places in the imperial examination, the gap in their future achievements was too huge.

Although Huo Tao is stubborn and narrow-minded, at least he knows when to advance and retreat.

When you can't afford to offend someone and can't stand the fact, you can just quit and protect yourself.

Even though Tian Fu didn't express his opinion at the beginning, he is a slow-starter.

Since the condemnation began, others have always mentioned Liang Ciwu by name, or at most hinted at the Grand Secretary Liang Chu. But this guy is different. He started by staring at Liang Chu and bit him hard, and he would hold on to the key point and not let go.

In Pei Yuan's mind, although this guy is very talented, he is the kind of person who only has one big move.

When you meet an opponent, you can let Huo Tao step forward to deal with it first, let Tian Fu slowly read the bar, and then send Tian Fu out at the critical moment, and you will definitely be able to take his blood in one bite.

Pei Yuan glanced around, trying to find an empty seat.

When he saw someone in the store, Pei Yuan's face suddenly froze and his body stood there in a daze.

The man also noticed Pei Yuan who had just entered the hall, and waved to him with a smile.

It was Zhu Houzhao whom I had met last time in Zhihua Temple.

Pei Yuan was slightly surprised.

Pei Yuan was not the kind of guy who would spoil people's fun. Besides, he didn't think it was a big deal for the emperor to walk around under his rule.

Pei Yuan looked carefully and saw that there were guards around. The leader was actually Sun Bo, whom he had met last time. He then asked Yun Buxian to wait outside with his personal soldiers.

Pei Yuan slowly walked forward and went to Zhu Houzhao's table.

There was still some distance between them, so Zhu Houzhao waved to him and pointed to the seat next to him, motioning him to sit down.

Pei Yuan had the experience of sitting opposite him on a cushion before, so he didn't have so many concerns this time and sat directly next to Zhu Houzhao.

Sun Bolue, who was standing by, stared at Pei Yuan in surprise for a while, then looked away.

Zhu Houzhao exempted him from the formalities, and Pei Yuan could not pretend to be confused. He got closer and quickly whispered, "Your Majesty, I have seen you."

Zhu Houzhao smiled but didn't respond. Instead, he asked slowly, "Why do I see you everywhere? Who tipped you off this time?"

When Pei Yuan heard this, the hairs on his body almost stood up.

Not to mention that he is now just a small captain of the Embroidered Uniform Guard. Even if he is the seal holder of the Imperial Household Department or a minister of the Cabinet, he dare not openly monitor the emperor's behavior!

Otherwise, why would Zhang Rong only dare to secretly ask me about the emperor's affairs in Zhihua Temple last year?
It’s because I don’t dare to get directly involved.

Pei Yuan wiped the sweat from his forehead and explained quickly, "How can I dare to do such a thing?" "Besides, I have not started my official duties in the past few days since I returned to Beijing. I have been busy repairing my house and have not even figured out the affairs of a few temples. How dare I spy on the emperor's carriage?"

Pei Yuan was afraid that Zhu Houzhao would really become suspicious and investigate his whereabouts in the past few days, so he quickly portrayed himself as a mediocre person who loved to slack off.

Unexpectedly, Zhu Houzhao still showed a very jumpy thinking. He changed the subject and said, "So, you haven't started to do what I arranged?"

Pei Yuan's muscles tensed up and he became stressed again.

He wanted to explain, but was afraid of contradicting what he had said before, so he could only explain, "The reason why I didn't take care of official business was to avoid the incident that day from falling into the eyes of those with ulterior motives. That's why I wanted to wait until things calmed down for a while before investigating, so as not to alert the enemy."

Zhu Houzhao listened very carefully, and when Pei Yuan finished speaking, he immediately asked, "Who does Captain Pei think is the snake?"

What the hell!

This guy is really difficult to deal with!
Zhu Houzhao's desire to gain military power by overturning the case of Emperor Yingzong was definitely a big secret in his heart.

The reason why Pei Yuan was asked to investigate was simply because he was curious about what happened back then.

Now, as soon as Pei Yuan uttered the words "alerting the enemy", Zhu Houzhao immediately locked onto him.

Pei Yuan was held in place for a few seconds, and after blinking for a long time, he realized how stupid what he had said was.

Speculating on the emperor's intentions is not a good word.

Once his subsequent answers continue to be unraveled, what should we do if some other flaws in our thinking are revealed?
However, Zhu Houzhao did not give Pei Yuan a chance to think carefully and asked directly, "You are so slow to answer, are you trying to lie?"

What the hell!

The problem has split!
Now Pei Yuan not only has to cover up his previous lie, but also has to explain why he has been so slow to answer.

What the hell!

Pei Yuan couldn't organize a suitable answer for a moment, but he didn't dare to delay any longer.

Zhu Houzhao already suspected that he was thinking of lying, and if he didn't say anything, it would be a direct way to death.

Pei Yuan decisively decided to fire flares at other people's heads!
"I was a little worried just now, so I didn't dare to say it."

Zhu Houzhao laughed and said, "You are answering my question, but you are still worrying about others. Could it be that in your heart, that person's thoughts are more important than mine?"

Damn it!
My words have been decompressed again.

Zhu Houzhao observed Pei Yuan, then gave up beating him and said to him seriously, "You are not loyal enough, and you should be sentenced to death. Now I will pardon you the death penalty again."

"Tell me what you are worried about? Did you want to lie just now? How did you plan to deceive me? Who is the snake? And why did you meet me by chance?"

Pei Yuan was almost numb.

His voice trembled as he said, "How about, Your Majesty, please pardon me a few more death sentences?"

Zhu Houzhao was very generous and stretched out a slap, "Okay, I will pardon you five more death sentences."

Pei Yuan almost suffocated when he heard this.

What the hell is this saying: "Serving the king is like serving a tiger". I have to be reborn several times in this short period of time.

Pei Yuan, who had just died once and had scheduled five rebirths, decided to go all out and fire all the flares that he had not fired just now.

"My previous concern was about Zhang Yong, the commander-in-chief of the Imperial Household Department!"

Although Pei Yuan's voice was not loud, Sun Bo, who was sitting at the next table and was a martial artist, immediately became stern in expression and turned his head to look outside the shop as if to avoid suspicion.

"Why do you say that?" Zhu Houzhao was a little surprised by Pei Yuan's answer.

This was completely different from his previous guess.

Pei Yuan only wanted to protect himself at this moment, so he didn't care about others. He immediately said, "Because Wang Zhen was the eunuch in charge of the Imperial Household Department, and then he began to train the army, win over the officers and schools, and then went with Emperor Yingzong to fight against the northern barbarians."

"I heard that the current eunuch Zhang Yong, who holds the seal of the Imperial Household Department, is also a man of outstanding military merit."

When Pei Yuan said the second sentence, he deliberately slowed down.

Zhu Houzhao indeed showed an expression of sudden enlightenment.

Only then did he realize that his visit to Zhihua Temple had sent a wrong signal to the court and the outside world.

Pei Yuan added the rest of the words just right, confirming Zhu Houzhao's guess.

"I am worried that the emperor will ask about Wang Zhen's past. He wants to learn from history and see how to deal with Zhang Yong, the seal holder of the Imperial Household Department. That's why I am acting with caution."

Having said that, Pei Yuan decisively continued to fire flares.

"To be honest, the officer of the Imperial Guard next to your Majesty is called Sun Bo. He is the confidant of Zhang Rong, the deputy commander of the Imperial Guard. And Zhang Rong is the younger brother of Zhang Yong, the seal holder of the Imperial Household Department."

"So in order to fulfill your majesty's order, I have to be cautious and think too much."

Zhu Houzhao listened, looked at Sun Bo, nodded slightly and said, "I see."

Sun Bo had his back turned and pretended not to hear. Now he didn't dare to turn around to explain, nor did he dare to have any extra reaction.

In his heart, he wished he could hack Pei Yuan to death with his sword.

Fortunately, what Pei Yuan said just now was quite measured. He did not mention that Sun Bo gave Pei Yuan money to inquire about the emperor's movements, otherwise Sun Bo would not be able to sit still now.

Even so, Sun Bo felt somewhat uneasy, and his already loose casual clothes began to become tight.

Zhu Houzhao's eyes swept over Sun Bo.

Then he asked, "With your status and position, how did you know that Sun Bo was Zhang Rong's confidant?"

Pei Yuan answered truthfully, "I was originally in the Beijing Jinyiwei, and later I was seconded to the East Factory. During that time, I met Zhang Rong, who was in charge of the Jinyiwei, several times. At that time, Sun Bo worked beside Zhang Rong."

Zhu Houzhao nodded and said to himself, "My trip was originally arranged by Zhang Rong, so it is reasonable to let my confidant go with me."

Zhu Houzhao then looked at Sun Bo and asked, "Captain Sun, where is Zhang Rong now?"

Sun Bo quickly turned around and whispered nervously, "Your Majesty, he is leading troops outside to support us, so as to prevent any problems."

Zhu Houzhao said, "Then go call Zhang Rong over. I have something to ask him."

Sun Bo quickly got up and left to look for Zhang Rong.

This time Pei Yuan was screwed again.

I had just fired a flare at Zhang Rong, and Zhu Houzhao called him to confront him on the spot. This is too fucking deceptive.

Zhu Houzhao watched Sun Bo leave, then turned back to look at Pei Yuan.

"I sent him away. Do you have anything you want to tell me before Zhang Rong comes to confront you?"

There was a smile on Zhu Houzhao's face.

Pei Yuan couldn't help but think of a sentence in his mind: He is a master!
(End of this chapter)