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

Chapter 326 Fatal Threat
As if he was worried about Zhu Houzhao's questioning, Pei Yuan took the initiative to explain, "Those evil people deceived the people with the 'empty hometown and no parents', and they are already showing signs of power. There are not enough people in the Qianhu Office, and I am afraid they are not enough to control them."

"Besides, Shandong has just experienced the scourge of the Bazhou rebels, and the people are living in poverty. If the situation is not handled properly, it may cause civil unrest."

"So I dare not take the initiative. I plan to continue to gather detailed intelligence and go to the capital to integrate forces. I will try to defeat the Luo Sect in one fell swoop to prevent those evil people from spreading and corrupting the prefectures and counties, and bringing disaster to the Ming Dynasty."

Zhu Houzhao was silent for a moment, as if he remembered something, and suddenly asked, "Back then, the White Lotus Rebellion started in Shandong, right?"

Pei Yuan said, "Yes, the White Lotus Buddha Tang Sai'er started the rebellion in Shandong. At that time, the demons were very powerful and defeated the imperial army. The commander-in-chief Gao Feng and the commander-in-chief Liu Zhong were both killed in battle. It took the imperial court a lot of effort to quell the rebellion."

Zhu Houzhao was slightly angry when he heard this. "If that's the case, why don't you go to Shandong to keep an eye on them instead of messing around with those monks?"

Pei Yuan explained, "The Qianhu Division only brought a small number of troops to the north, which is probably a drop in the bucket. So we want to take advantage of the relatively stable situation now to expand our forces first."

"Besides, in the past, when Qianhu encountered such a major case involving demons, they had to inform the West Factory to act together, otherwise the local government would probably not buy it."

"Now the scholars and officials are very unhappy with the Jinyiwei. If they get into trouble and the news leaks out, it will be troublesome."

"Western Factory?" Zhu Houzhao was stunned for a moment, then slowly shook his head, "Now is not the time."

Pei Yuan was greatly surprised when he heard this. The Western Factory was an extension of Zhu Houzhao's power, and it was managed by the loyal Gu Dayong. What reason did he have to refuse?
Pei Yuan expected that once the matter with Gu Dayong was settled, as long as he offered a way out, Zhu Houzhao would surely accept it with pleasure.

Seeing Pei Yuan's stunned expression, Zhu Houzhao did not hide it, "If we restore the Western Factory now, I'm afraid it will seriously interfere with Liang Ci's case, which will put me in a passive position."

Pei Yuan was speechless. Who was this Liang Ci'ao Person of the Year? Why was he everywhere?
Zhu Houzhao thought Pei Yuan didn't know the inside story, so he said a few more words.

"When the Western Factory was established, it was originally intended to prevent people in the palace from colluding with the evil cult and causing another Li Zilong case. However, as soon as Wang Zhi took office, he arrested Yang Hua, the great-grandson of Yang Rong and the commander of the Jianning Guard in Fujian, who was violent and murderous."

"Later, the whole court of upright officials tried to protect him, and the chief minister Shang Lu even threatened to retire. Emperor Xianzong had no choice but to disband the Western Factory."

"Now that Liang Ci is in the process of investigating the case, if we establish the Western Factory at this time, it will inevitably cause the ministers to speculate and cause immeasurable consequences."

Pei Yuan suddenly felt that the situation was a bit tricky.

In other words, this may have been an individual case targeting Liang Ciwu, and other people might have turned a blind eye, and some might even have laughed at Liang Chu.

However, if the Western Factory, an organization with a strong symbol of cracking down on gangs and eliminating evil, is established, it may cause all high-ranking officials in the court to feel insecure.

This turned the case against Liang Cizhuo into a confrontation between groups.

Zhu Houzhao said to Pei Yuan in a serious tone, "It is impossible for me to absolutely stand on one side, so it is easy to deal with Liang Ci'an now. Once the Western Factory is re-established, the situation will be complicated."

Pei Yuan asked Zhu Houzhao, "What about Luojiao?"

Zhu Houzhao knocked his forehead with a headache, obviously feeling embarrassed.

Pei Yuan thought quickly in his mind, and then tentatively asked Zhu Houzhao, "Your Majesty, do you think it is more beneficial to restore the Western Factory, or to prevent the court officials from turning to protect Liang Ci'an?"

Zhu Houzhao said decisively, "I just said that I would strictly investigate Liang Ci'an. If they all stand on the other side at this time, wouldn't my prestige be destroyed?"

When Pei Yuan heard this answer, he had a plan in mind.

He then casually said, "In this case, we can only count on the assistance of the Shandong local authorities to wipe out the Luo Sect."

Then he shook his head, "I'm afraid it's difficult."

Zhu Houzhao said decisively, "This matter is of great importance, and the local authorities dare not shirk their responsibilities."

Pei Yuan explained tactfully, "The Jinyiwei has a bad reputation, and the scholars may not believe those absurd things. If they pretend to obey but secretly disobey, I am afraid that a small matter will be dragged into a big one."

Zhu Houzhao frowned after hearing this, but said nothing.

He patted his knees and thought for a while, then suddenly asked, "Then what kind of people do you think the Shandong governor should use to help suppress Luojiao?"

Pei Yuan didn't know if this guy was trying to fish for fish, so he hurriedly said, "How dare I, a humble warrior, get involved in such a big matter?"

Zhu Houzhao said disapprovingly, "Aren't you my eyes and ears? Have you seen or heard of any suitable candidates?"

Pei Yuan brought up this topic for a purpose, of course.

However, Zhu Houzhao was also very scheming, so Pei Yuan could only carefully fold his armor first, "If the emperor asks, I will naturally tell you everything I know. I will only tell you what I know and will never make any comments."

Zhu Houzhao smiled and said, "Just say it."

Pei Yuan pretended to think for a moment, then replied, "Since I took over the position, I have only heard of and met a few high-ranking officials. Among the civil officials, apart from Liang Chu, there are only two ministers of war in the north and south, Lu Wan and Wang Chang. I think these two are outstanding figures. As for whether they are qualified, I will leave it to your majesty to decide."

Zhu Houzhao asked in surprise, "Wang Chang is in Nanjing, and he went to Huai'an a few days ago. I'm not surprised that you could meet him. How are you and Lu Wan involved?"

Pei Yuan answered honestly, "When I took the military examination, I was recommended by Eunuch Gu. Minister Lu was present at the time and he also praised me."

"Oh..." Zhu Houzhao said with a smile, "So that's what happened. No wonder you kept helping Gu Daban. You are a person who knows how to repay a favor."

Pei Yuan replied, "I am also being realistic. When it comes to contacting local people, the Jinyiwei is not as good as the Western Depot after all."

Zhu Houzhao did not take up the topic of the Western Factory, and only said, "Tomorrow Gu Dayong will be questioned by the Cabinet and the Seven Ministers. Let's wait until he has dealt with his own affairs."

Pei Yuan subconsciously asked, "Hasn't Wang Ding, the Right Censor-in-Chief of the Censorate, been dismissed? Could it be that Hong Zhong, the Left Censor-in-Chief, has stepped out to take charge?"

Pei Yuan immediately realized that he had asked something he shouldn't have asked, and quickly made amends, "I don't know what the Censorate's attitude will be towards Liang Ci'an in the future."

Zhu Houzhao may have felt that the two people had the same stance when it came to the issue of Liang Ciwu.

So he said, "It's not a big problem. This time they are from Nanjing."

He paused here and asked Pei Yuan, "Have you heard of Li Shishi, the Right Censor-in-Chief of the Nanjing Metropolitan Procuratorate? He is a good man."

Pei Yuan almost suffocated when he heard the name.

What kind of fucking vision does Zhu Houzhao have when it comes to employing people?

If we were to rank the rebels during the Zhengde period of the Ming Dynasty, Prince Ning Zhu Chenhao would be ranked first, then Li Shishi would have to be ranked second!
——"Li Shishi was a Hanlin official, and retired as a vice minister. His sons became in-laws with Hao. Shishi was quite politically savvy, and he prided himself on being like Jiang Ziya and Zhuge Kongming. Hao used him as his strategist."

This was one of the most core members of Prince Ning's rebellion.

If Chen Toutie was hearing this, he might have burst into tears of joy.

Pei Yuan was thinking about it and remembered something else.

By the way, have the Bazhou rebels entered Huguang? It's time to ask Han Qianhu to urge Prince Ning to pay his installment.

As soon as Li Shishi entered the capital, he would surely try to win over the court officials. How would the court, which suddenly had an additional choice, respond?

Pei Yuan was daydreaming. Zhu Houzhao noticed that Pei Yuan was distracted and said jokingly, "You don't know this person, do you?"

Pei Yuan quickly denied, "I don't know him at all."

Zhu Houzhao talked for a long time and felt a little tired.

He stretched his back on the mat, and as if remembering something, he said to Pei Yuan indifferently, "Captain Pei is so high-spirited now that he doesn't even take the Cabinet and the Northern Pacification Office seriously. Now we don't have to worry about alerting the enemy, right?"

Pei Yuan knew that Zhu Houzhao was hinting at him, so he quickly helped him solve the problem of overturning the verdict for Emperor Yingzong.

He quickly said, "I understand."

Zhu Houzhao obviously knew the importance of the matter, and gave another reminder, "Keep a close eye on the Luo Sect first, and make sure nothing goes wrong. Don't keep your men in the capital, or it will be hard to explain to the court."

Pei Yuan didn't expect that Zhu Houzhao was so concerned about Luojiao's affairs.

On second thought, if he were in Zhengde's position, he would go crazy if someone dared to take over the Grand Canal.

You have to know that Zhu Houzhao's father would rather hold the Yellow River into the Yangtze River than let it destroy the Grand Canal.

But now he has not yet established a firm foothold in the capital.

The Liang Cibong case, which involves many people, has not yet come to a conclusion, the number of temples controlled is not enough to maintain expansion, there is still no explanation to Gu Dayong, and the plan with Xiao Yan has not been implemented.

Apart from anything else, it would not be easy to leave them alone in the empty room with Crouching Dragon and Phoenix Chick, who had just started to gain favor with them.

Pei Yuan really can't leave here for the time being.

Pei Yuan could only say, "I will sort out the affairs here as soon as possible, and then send people to Shandong to investigate in batches. Once we have a clue, we will ask Your Majesty to make a decision in time."

Zhu Houzhao ignored the details. He stood up and said to Pei Yuan with a smile, "Okay, let's stop here today. I'm going to go to Xiao Yan and see how he will trick me."

Pei Yuan's heart, which had originally settled down, became tense again.

Zhu Houzhao tapped Pei Yuan and said jokingly, "Just focus on your work. I'll use up the rest of your life-saving money in advance. No matter how Xiao Yan tricks me, it's his business."

Pei Yuan broke out in a sweat.

Sir, you are optimistic.

You may not know how suicidal your brothers are.

If Xiao Yan really told everything, Pei Yuan would definitely be in trouble.

Now Pei Yuan is counting on Chen Toutie to calm Xiao Yan down and stop him from talking nonsense.

Pei Yuan tried hard to keep calm on his face and respectfully saw Zhu Houzhao off.

As soon as Zhu Houzhao left, Tan Tai Fangtu and Si Kong Sui, who had received the news, rushed over.

When they learned that it was the emperor who was visiting and talked about what happened at the Da Ci'en Temple that day, everyone was very concerned.

Pei Yuan first gave everyone a reassurance, "Don't worry, the emperor has not pursued the matter. Our focus now is to speed up and complete the layout of the capital, and then do our best to deal with the Luo Sect in Shandong."

Pei Yuan said to Yun Buxian, "Call your father and Cheng Zhihu here. This afternoon we will study and see which temples we can take over. It doesn't matter if we make a big move. Even if the emperor finds out, he will think that I am in a hurry to go to Shandong and will not pursue the matter."

Upon hearing this, Yun Buxian hurried to find someone.

Old man Sikong also stayed up for a while yesterday and rushed here in the morning, looking a little unwell.

He looked at Pei Yuan, seeming to be hesitant to speak.

Pei Yuan understood and immediately asked everyone to leave, leaving only Sikong Sui to talk.

Pei Yuan asked Sikong Sui, "I think Sikong Baihu seems to have something to say to me?"

Sikong Sui nodded, and looked carefully at the corner of the hall. Then he said to Pei Yuan with a serious face, "I just heard the captain mentioned Luo Sect. I wonder where did the captain get the information from?"

Pei Yuan then remembered that he had been conspiring with Gu Dayong on the Luo Sect's affairs, and had not yet informed his subordinates.

Seeing Sikong Sui's serious expression, Pei Yuan felt something was wrong. "What's wrong?"

Sikong Sui said, "I am the captain of the evil suppression unit. I travel north and south all year round to track down evil cultists. I have never heard of the Luo Cult in Shandong before. Why do I hear the captain want to investigate it so seriously today?"

As Pei Yuan listened, his eyes widened and he felt as if he had fallen into an ice cellar.

"You mean... I haven't heard of Luo Sect in Shandong?"

Sikong Sui was stared at by Pei Yuan and became a little unconfident. "Maybe, maybe I was negligent."

Pei Yuan glared at Sikong Sui and gritted his teeth, "Of course you missed it! Luojiao believes in Luo Zu and has been widely spread in Shandong. Those evil people deceived the people with the 'empty hometown and no parents', and they have already become quite powerful. How could you not have heard of it?"

"By the way, have you ever heard of 'vacuum hometown, no birth parents'?"

"No, no." Sikong Sui was scolded by Pei Yuan and felt a little embarrassed. He said hurriedly, "The Qianhu Office has few staff and can only grasp some of the larger cult movements. Maybe the people under them did not conduct a thorough investigation, so it is inevitable that there are mistakes and omissions."

Pei Yuan looked at Sikong Sui with gritted teeth, as if he was looking at the enemy who murdered his father.

Sikong Sui became more and more puzzled. Looking at this situation, he seemed to have committed some unforgivable sin.

After a while, Pei Yuan's flushed face lost its color and turned pale again.

Sikong Sui was unsure and asked carefully, "Qian Hu?"

Pei Yuan stared at Sikong Sui with a cannibalistic gaze, his voice trembling, "This Luo Sect must have!"

If there were no Luo Jiao, much of his logic would collapse.

What's more, Gu Dayong has already used the information he provided to start operating around "thousands of elite soldiers and hundreds of thousands of believers."

Should I tell the world now that this Luo Sect does not exist yet?

Not to mention that the emperor will not let me go, Gu Dayong's series of relationships in that line will make him a fight to the death with me.

(End of this chapter)