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

Chapter 335 Your criticism is too specific

Facing his political allies, Pei Yuan did not hide the fact that whether the Western Factory could be re-established was tied to the emotions of court officials.

Gu Dayong asked with some doubt, "What effect can this have?"

Pei Yuan explained, "The emperor told me at the time that the Liang Ci case was at a critical moment, and he was worried that re-establishing the Western Factory would stimulate the court officials and make them collectively stand on the opposing side."

"Now that you can walk around the emperor, if you can often associate these two things together, then a set of bound and fixed impressions will be formed in the emperor's mind."

"Since the emperor has tacitly agreed that not setting up the Western Factory is a compromise with his ministers, if the ministers subsequently anger the emperor, he may re-establish the Western Factory as a revenge."

"By tying something that no one knows how to accomplish to a clear action, we have an indirect way to accomplish it."

Gu Dayong understood a little, "In other words, what we need to do now is to let the ministers anger the emperor?"

Pei Yuan did not admit it and looked at Gu Dayong.

Gu Dayong understood and hesitated, "Our family is loyal to the emperor. It's not a good idea to do such a thing, right?"

Pei Yuan remained silent, his eyelids drooping as he played with the teacup on the table.

After a while, a long sigh was heard from the other side of the table.

Pei Yuan smiled slightly, barely noticeable.

Pei Yuan then said slowly, "You and Eunuch Qiu should think of a way to anger the ministers, and then let the ministers anger the emperor."

Gu Dayong repeatedly shirked his responsibilities, and even said with a rare bit of flattery, "What are you talking about? You have to take care of this matter. How can we do it well?"

Pei Yuan had to let them do this themselves.

Although these eunuchs were loyal to Zhu Houzhao, after Zhu Houzhao's death, this loyalty had to find a new place to place it.

Pei Yuan then laughed and said, "Isn't it common for you to anger the ministers?"

Gu Dayong hesitated for a moment, and finally nodded reluctantly, "Okay, let's discuss it with Qiu Ju first. If we have an idea, we'll need you to help us check it out."

Pei Yuan was thinking about the matter of Xu Feng, the vanguard of Hangzhou. Now that he couldn't see Xiao Yan, he wanted to go to the Ministry of War to rescue him. He could only ask Gu Dayong for help.

So he asked Gu Dayong, "Eunuch Gu, do you still remember Xu Feng, the Hangzhou Vanguard Commander?"

Gu Dayong thought for a while before he remembered the guy who had little presence, so he asked, "What happened to him?"

Pei Yuan said, "You are a little ignorant. Now you should be in the Ministry of War jail for slandering your superior."

Gu Dayong brought up the topic and recalled, "Is it about the lawsuit against you and Wang Chang for colluding with bandits?"

Pei Yuan said calmly, "It's just his delusions. He should have learned his lesson now. Eunuch Gu, do you have any way to release this guy?"

Gu Dayong looked at Pei Yuan in surprise, "You are so generous."

Pei Yuan was not just seeking the Hangzhou vanguard, so he explained, "Now that things are still clear, let's come up with a conclusion as soon as possible. If we drag it on like this, when the rebellion in Bazhou is quelled and things gradually fade away, how many mouths can Wang Chang and I use to explain it clearly?"

Gu Dayong thought about it and agreed, "That makes sense. If we keep this as evidence, won't we be able to use his mouth to get involved in the scandal later?"

But facing Pei Yuan's request, Gu Dayong was somewhat helpless, "The Minister of War He Jian has always been upright and doesn't get along with us palace people. What can I say?"

Pei Yuan asked, "What about others? Is there any way out?"

Gu Dayong shook his head and said, "This is a very serious matter. A commander from Hangzhou went to the Ministry of War in Beijing and sued the Minister of War in Nanjing, and was personally imprisoned by He Jian. Who would want to get involved in such a matter?"

He added, "The two assistant ministers of the Ministry of War can ask about it, but Lu Wan is in front of the army, Li Hao and our family..."

Gu Dayong coughed lightly and said awkwardly, "We really offended him this morning."

Pei Yuan was puzzled, "How could the eunuch offend him?"

Thinking of Gu Dayong's complaints just now, he hurriedly asked, "Did the eunuch criticize the Ministry of War this morning?"

But I don’t think it’s very reasonable.

Even if Gu Dayong complained and criticized the Ministry of War, the one who was embarrassed was the Minister of War He Jian, right?
The head of the department is embarrassed, and he, as the second-in-command, should just watch the fun with joy.

What is he anxious about?
"I cursed him completely." Gu Dayong pointed out a flaw in Pei Yuan's words.

Then he said, "I first scolded the Shuntian government officials for forcing the people to rebel and being responsible for the civil unrest in Bazhou. I also scolded the Ministry of War for raising a bunch of useless people, leaving us with no soldiers to use."

"So what?" Pei Yuan was puzzled.

Gu Dayong said helplessly, "Li Hao was the prefect of Shuntian Prefecture before the Bazhou Rebellion. Not long after the Bazhou Rebellion, he transitioned from the position of Tongzhengshi to the Ministry of War as a minister."

Pei Yuan also thought it was outrageous, "You, your insults are too specific."

Gu Dayong sighed, "I only found out about this afterwards. I can't help with this matter. If I were to help, it would be bad."

Well, Pei Yuan can only think of another way.

Pei Yuan asked again, "I submitted a memorial to the court this morning, which was about urging the prefectures and counties in Shandong to strictly investigate Luojiao. Has Eunuch Gu heard anything about it?"

"What?" Gu Dayong was startled and looked around quickly. Seeing that there were no servants around, he stared at Pei Yuan nervously, "Don't you want to die! Isn't there no Luo Sect in Shandong?"

Pei Yuan then explained his thoughts and some of the things he could say to him.

After hearing this, Gu Dayong finally breathed a sigh of relief.

It turned out that this was Pei Yuan's scheming method.

But he relaxed halfway, then raised his breath again. He glared at Pei Yuan and said, "In this way, Shandong will have Luo Sect, right?"

Gu Dayong's words were confusing, but Pei Yuan understood.

There would indeed be no trouble in Shandong without Luo Jiao.

But even if they lied, they could really create a cult like this? This is too outrageous!

Pei Yuan did not give Gu Dayong a chance to retreat. He stared at him seriously and said, "Luojiao must be in Shandong."

Gu Dayong remembered that this was what he had said, but if he really did that, the nature of the matter would be different.

Pei Yuan put some pressure on him, and then he said, "Don't worry, Eunuch Gu. We are just creating some illusions to conceal this matter for now."

"Besides, is it so easy to organize a cult? Even if we have a month or two to work on it, how many people would dare to join it despite the suppression from the imperial court?"

"Let's take a step back and wait for your father-in-law's West Factory to be restored. Wouldn't this be a ready-made achievement?"

Gu Dayong moved his body, his face still showing worry, and he tapped the table lightly, "We are afraid that something really bad will happen."

In order to reassure Gu Dayong, Pei Yuan also revealed a little, "Don't worry, Eunuch Gu, I plan to let Chen Toutie take care of the Luo Sect's affairs. He has always been a reliable person."

When Gu Dayong was escorted all the way north, Chen Toutie was one of Pei Yuan's important generals, and Gu Dayong had a deep impression of him.

After hearing Pei Yuan's arrangement, he became worried that the Luo Sect would not be able to make any splash.

Gu Dayong hesitated and said, "I remember that he didn't seem very smart, will he make any mistakes?"

"No, no." Pei Yuan assured, and then asked, "Did the cabinet and the seven ministers not discuss the Shandong Luojiao matter in front of the emperor this morning?"

Gu Dayong shook his head, "No. If this were true, I would have asked you a long time ago."

Pei Yuan's heart sank slightly when he heard this. Everyone in the Tongzhengsi knew that it was the captain of the Jinyiwei who submitted the petition.

The high-ranking military officers of the Embroidered Uniform Guard had many opportunities to meet the emperor, so there was no need for them to take the risk of hiding the memorial.

That would be a dead end.

If the memorial reached the emperor, given Zhu Houzhao's concern about the Luo Sect last time, he would definitely issue an order immediately to urge an investigation into the Luo Sect.

There is not even a splash now.

Then it is very likely that this memorial was withheld by Li Dongyang or Yang Tinghe in the cabinet as spam.

Gu Dayong saw Pei Yuan pondering and asked, "What's wrong?"

Pei Yuan shook his head and suddenly remembered the matter of Li Fuda.

He was moved and asked Gu Dayong, "Since you are now the Chief Supervisor, when will you take office?"

Gu Dayong had nothing to hide, "I will have to go to His Majesty's presence tomorrow to do my duty."

He sighed again and said, "I have served Your Majesty for more than 20 years. If I really cannot obtain the Western Factory, I will just stay with Your Majesty like this, which can be considered a complete success."

Pei Yuan ignored this and continued, "Eunuch Gu has been leading troops outside for more than a year and has experienced a lot. I'm sure the emperor will be very interested."

"That's right." Gu Dayong said with a smile, "The emperor loves military affairs, I'm afraid we have to have a good talk with him."

Pei Yuan thought for a moment, then said to Gu Dayong, "This Bazhou rebellion has lasted for more than a year, and has even approached the capital three times. I'm sure this is a major concern for the emperor."

Gu Dayong said, "Of course. When the earthquake hit the capital last year, the emperor wanted to go to the suburbs to offer sacrifices, but heard that the bandits in Bazhou were scattered nearby and refused to leave. He could only let Duke Yingguo Zhang Mao, Duke Dingguo Xu Guangzuo, Marquis Huichang Sun Ming, and Earl Xinning Tan You take over the ceremony. His Majesty was furious and scolded us."

Pei Yuan nodded and said, "The Bazhou army is now at a complete disadvantage and has been driven from Henan to Huguang. I'm sure the emperor will be relieved and sigh. He might even say something like, 'Once Bazhou is pacified, the world will be at peace.'"

"Uh." Gu Dayong didn't know what Pei Yuan was thinking. He thought about it and said, "I think so."

Pei Yuan leaned forward slightly, looked at Gu Dayong and said, "When that time comes, you can say that in order to suppress the Bazhou rebels, a lot of soldiers have been recruited from all over the country. Bandits are rampant in many places, and I'm afraid there will be chaos for a while."

Gu Dayong frowned and asked, "Wouldn't this spoil the emperor's mood?"

Pei Yuan stared at Gu Dayong without saying anything.

Then he continued, "Tell the emperor that the last time you passed by the Tongzhengsi, you heard someone mention that there is a Maitreya sect in Shanxi that has gathered thousands of followers and has been plundering and killing people in Shanxi. This shows that there is still unrest in all directions."

Gu Dayong frowned and looked at Pei Yuan.

Pei Yuan stood up and said to him, "I will come to visit you again tomorrow night. If you can't even do this little thing, I might as well go back to Nanjing directly."

"Perhaps... I can still stay here and wait until my father-in-law is sent away by the emperor to live in old age."

After Pei Yuan finished speaking, he didn't even look at Gu Dayong's reaction and strode out of the hall.

Then he called out and left with his personal soldiers.

Pei Yuan walked while reviewing his words and actions of the day, and a figure appeared in his mind again.

——Wei Ne, the Left Counselor of the Ministry of Public Administration!

If you want to complete your plan, there is still this key link.

Pei Yuan looked back.

Chen Toutie stepped forward immediately, and Pei Yuan asked, "Can you ask someone to check where Wei Ne, the Left Counselor of the Ministry of Public Administration, lives?"

Chen Toutie said, "We are at loggerheads with Beizhen, so I'm afraid it will be hard to get help from them. I'll ask someone to go to Yuanen Temple and ask Yun Buxian."

Pei Yuan said, "As soon as possible."

When I thought of Wei Ne, I thought of the troublesome Jiao Huangzhong. When I thought of Jiao Huangzhong, I thought of the very sensible little beauty Jiao.

Pei Yuan took the initiative to accept the advice, "Tou Tie, Cen Meng, it's getting late today, what are your plans next?"

The two learned a lesson and said, "It's nothing serious."

Pei Yuan sighed when he heard this, and he didn't know how Cheng Leixiang was doing in Tianjin.

Pei Yuan took Cen Meng and others back to Zhihua Temple, while Chen Toutie went to Yuanen Temple to inquire about Wei Ne.

The father and son of the Yun family were having a secret meeting at home. When they heard that Chen Toutie had brought people to their house, they were shocked.

The two men thought that their secret was exposed, so they hurried out, only to see that Chen Toutie only brought an follower, who was waiting there impatiently.

Seeing that Chen Toutie didn't seem to be here to accuse them, the two men breathed a sigh of relief and walked forward to greet him with smiles.

Chen Toutie didn't say much and directly told him that Qianhu was looking for Wei Ne, the left councilor of the Ministry of Public Administration.

Wei Ne was only a fifth-rank official, and the Tongzhengsi was not a busy government office. Even Yun Buxian, who was well-informed, had no impression of the name.

Fortunately, he grew up in Beijing and had some hangers-on and bad friends, so he went out immediately to find someone for help.

Yun Weilin took the opportunity to invite Chen Toutie to sit down and asked someone to bring him tea.

When the abbot of the temple heard that a Jinyiwei named Chen Toutie had come to visit, he hurried out to meet him.

When Chen Toutie saw it, he couldn't help but laugh. Isn't this the monk Yuantong?

When Monk Yuantong saw Chen Toutie, he stepped forward with a blushing face and put his hands together and said, "I am Yuantong, greetings to you, benefactor Chen."

Chen Toutie teased, "You remembered us?"

Monk Yuantong blushed and said awkwardly, "When I was in Nanjing before, it was all thanks to Donor Pei and Donor Chen for their care. I will never forget it."

Chen Toutie laughed again and said, "Isn't it the help of Buddha?"

When Monk Yuantong came back, he kept silent about what happened in Nanjing. Pei Yuan was furious when he found out and asked Yun Weilin to threaten Yuantong, saying that there were prostitutes from Qinhuai River who wanted to identify the lewd monk.

Monk Yuantong was so frightened that he went to Zhihua Temple the next day and knelt down to apologize.

Monk Yuantong listened to Chen Toutie's ridicule, but his expression remained unchanged, and he was extremely pious. "It must be that the Buddha has come to rescue me in the form of Captain Pei. I look at Captain Pei as if I were looking at the Buddha."

Chen Toutie was amazed in his heart, he was worthy of being a great monk who could go to the Qinhuai River to perform a ceremony even when he had no food to eat.

When encountering problems, he is really cowardly.

Chen Toutie asked Monk Yuantong with a smile, "Captain Pei is the Buddha, then what is Chen?"

Monk Yuantong's face was solemn, as if he was stating a fact, "Mr. Chen is a Bodhisattva."

Chen Toutie couldn't help but burst out laughing when he heard this.

No wonder Monk Yuantong was able to accept the call to go south when the influence of the Evil Suppression Office in Beijing was limited. This Monk Yuantong was indeed a flexible person.

Chen Toutie took a look at Monk Yuantong's dignified fat face and couldn't help but feel something in his heart. He said silently, how can someone like me be the leader of a cult?
Forget about fooling others, I can't even fool myself.

If you want to gain the trust of those foolish men and women, you must have a protector who can show up in public.

(End of this chapter)