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

Chapter 342 Opponents

Pei Yuan dismounted personally and opened the box.

Inside, I saw the head of Liang Ci'ou, who died with his eyes open.

Historically, the "Liang Ci's Case" had a profound impact on the political landscape during the Zhengde period, but in the end, through compromise, he was given a chance to survive.

But now, just as this guy was leaving with a smile, he met someone who was very unhappy with him.

Pei Yuan looked at it for a while, then turned to Cen Meng and said, "Take it."

Cen Meng took out a cloth bag, stuffed the head into it, and then placed the cloth bag in another sack sprinkled with lime powder.

Pei Yuan smiled and patted Cheng Leixiang on the shoulder, and said in a complaining tone, "We agreed to be together, why are you so anxious?"

Cheng Leixiang smiled and said frankly, "In the past, I was a lowly official with little power, and I needed the thousand households to do everything myself. I was deeply ashamed. Now I am in charge of the guard alone, and I need the thousand households to do such things. How can I, Cheng Leixiang, stand in the world with dignity?"

Chen Toutie looked at Cheng Leixiang with admiration. He had known this guy for more than a year, but he didn't expect that there was still so much for him to learn from him.

He gently kicked Chen Xinjian who was standing beside him and whispered, "Learn from this."

It was very quiet at this time. Cheng Leixiang had just finished speaking, and Chen Toutie didn't control his voice well, so the people around him could hear it clearly.

Chen Toutie suddenly felt a little embarrassed.

Cheng Leixiang's expression remained unchanged, and he continued, "So, after receiving the instructions from the captain, I had already made preparations. When I found Liang Ci'an, the messenger who sent the second message from the captain had not arrived yet."

Pei Yuan patted Cheng Leixiang's shoulder again.

Pei Yuan looked behind Cheng Leixiang and asked, "How many people were mobilized?"

Cheng Leixiang replied, "More than a hundred brothers followed us."

Pei Yuan asked, "Are they all the Xuzhou soldiers from before?"

Cheng Leixiang replied, "Only half, and the other half are military officers from Tianjin. Let them get their hands on the blood of the son of the cabinet minister as well."

Pei Yuan was a little embarrassed.

So there are some things that everyone actually understands.

Robbing and killing Liang Ci'an was a test given by Pei Yuan to Cheng Leixiang. He wanted to find out whether Cheng Leixiang could still be trusted by him after he took control of a guard and became a third-rank commander.

As for Cheng Leixiang, he did it quickly and efficiently without any delay.

Even before Pei Yuan arrived, he had solved the problem independently, and also took the opportunity to ask some military officers of Tianjin Wei to pay their loyalty.

It's not that Pei Yuan is a villain in vain, it's just that Tianjin is too important.

This is a force that Pei Yuan can send out in the morning and arrive the next day when he encounters an emergency in the capital.

Given the situation Pei Yuan is currently facing, it can be said that half of his life depends on it.

Pei Yuan praised, "It seems that Tianjin has been completely controlled by you."

Cheng Leixiang replied, "Tianjin Wei had just been sorted out by the deputy envoy from Shandong because of the previous commander's incident. They were already leaderless and very disorganized."

"I have people on my side, and I am not greedy for money. The rest of the people dare not oppose me, and they have no reason to oppose me."

"Besides, I was trained by Qian Hu and learned from him, so I have some ways to deal with it. And after what happened today, I am confident that I can firmly grasp Tianjin."

Pei Yuan was very satisfied with what he heard.

Cheng Leixiang continued, "I have made friends with Deng Liang, the commander of Tianjin's Left Guard, and Cao Xing, the commander of Tianjin's Right Guard. Although these two people are not useful, they will not harm my cause. I have also had people secretly search for evidence of their crimes. Once they find anything, I will report it to the Qianhu for a decision."

Pei Yuan felt very relieved.

This is a mature younger brother. In a strategy game, he is an excellent legion commander who can do his own work after being commissioned.

Pei Yuan asked, "How many people are there in Tianjin now?"

Cheng Leixiang replied, "More than 1,300 people."

According to the full staffing, a garrison should have 5,600 people, but now this number is less than a quarter.

Pei Yuan reminded, "We must fill up the vacancies as soon as possible, otherwise they will be useless at the critical moment."

Cheng Leixiang immediately replied, "I understand!"

Cheng Leixiang knew too well about the bad things Pei Yuan had done. Even for his own survival, he was now preparing according to the standards of rebellion.

Pei Yuan now has a lot of money on hand, so naturally he wants to invest it in the most useful place.

He turned around and instructed Chen Toutie, "After you go back, find a few trustworthy people to take out 20,000 taels of silver and send it to Cheng Leixiang."

Chen agreed stubbornly, and Cheng Leixiang did not refuse.

This money is used for real work.

He added, "Reporting to the thousand households, there are six salt fields in Tianjin, and a lot of salt is produced every year. I have talked to Deng Liang, Cao Xing and others about this matter. We plan to smooth over the relationship and get some surplus salt. Then we can move it from the canal to Linqing or Jining to sell it."

"If this thing can be accomplished, there will be no need for Qianhu to subsidize us anymore."

Pei Yuan was also very happy to hear this.

It's not that he was reluctant to invest money in expanding the army, but it would not be a bad thing if Tianjin could solve part of the problems on its own.

Pei Yuan asked, "What's the difficulty in this matter? There's nothing I can do to help?"

Cheng Leixiang replied, "The difficulty lies in the fact that Liu Jin's evil policies have not yet been eradicated. The court has not conveyed a clear message, and the salt inspectors working under him are still somewhat restrained."

After hearing Cheng Leixiang's words, Pei Yuan's enthusiasm, which had just been ignited, seemed to be poured with a bucket of cold water.

Liu Jin's evil policies...

Pei Yuan was stunned for a long time.

Now, am I also an opponent of Liu Jin’s evil policies?
Seeing that Pei Yuan didn't say anything, Cheng Leixiang immediately shut up sensibly.

Pei Yuan was silent for a while, then replied, "Let's wait and see about this matter... "

Pei Yuan looked back at the soldiers standing in the distance and changed the subject, "Did the operation tonight go smoothly?"

Cheng Leixiang said truthfully, "There were more than a hundred guards from Yingzhou who were escorting them, but they didn't expect to be attacked not far from their base, and I easily succeeded. These guys under my command knew that they were doing a life-threatening task, and they behaved particularly ruthlessly and bravely. When we wiped out Liang Ci'an and others, only seven people died and less than twenty were injured."

"I didn't leave any people from Sanhe Station alive. It was a very clean job. I also left some White Lotus stuff at the scene."

Pei Yuan rejected it immediately, "We won't use the White Lotus Sect this time, we'll use the Maitreya Sect instead." Cheng Leixiang heard this and nodded without asking any more questions, "I'll do it later."

Pei Yuan looked at the dark color of the sky, which gradually faded, and said, "Go quickly and leave here as soon as possible. I also want to go back to the city."

After hearing this, Cheng Leixiang said goodbye again and left in a hurry.

The cavalrymen who were staying in the distance also galloped away as quickly as the wind.

Pei Yuan watched Cheng Leixiang and his men leave, then turned back and said, "Let's go too. Cen Meng and Chen Xinjian follow me, and the others will disperse and return to the city one after another."

Upon hearing this, everyone responded.

The dozens of people in Pei Yuan's group were all reliable personal soldiers. After they scattered in groups of three or two, they did not attract any attention at all.

Pei Yuan took Cen Meng and Chen Xinjian and hurried on their way despite their fatigue.

When it was bright and there were more people on the road, Pei Yuan slowed down a little.

He didn't dare to go to the official post station to rest, so he found a village shop in Tongzhou to eat something, and then continued on his hurried journey.

The two horses led by Pei Yuan ran alternately for almost a day and a night. By the time they saw the city wall of the capital, they were almost exhausted.

In order to lower the horse's body temperature, blood was let out several times.

Pei Yuan did not dare to leave the dying horse on the roadside so blatantly, so he took Cen Meng and Chen Xinjian to find a deserted place, killed the horse, and cleaned up all the traces on the horse's body before entering the capital.

Pei Yuan had the badge of a captain of the Embroidered Uniform Guard on him, and Cen Meng and Chen Xinjian also had their own identification. They were able to enter the city very smoothly and no one asked too many questions.

This time, Cheng Leixiang raided Sanhe Post Station and killed more than one hundred guards from Yingzhou Houtunwei. Together with the officials staying overnight and the scholars studying in the post station, the total death toll was no less than two hundred.

Therefore, when the imperial court conducts subsequent investigations, its attention will only be focused on the large group of people, and there is no chance that it will lead to Pei Yuan.

However, the pressure on Cheng Leixiang is much greater.

After the three of them entered the city, Cen Meng and Chen Xinjian both breathed a sigh of relief.

Cen Meng asked, "Captain, it's getting late. Should we go back to Zhihua Temple directly?"

Pei Yuan heard this and replied, "No hurry, just follow me."

As he spoke, he took the initiative to lead the way, leading the two people forward.

Chen Xinjian was a newcomer. Although he grew up in Beijing and was familiar with the roads, he didn't know where to go and was confused all the way.

Although Cen Meng was from the Nanjing Jinyiwei, the road seemed more and more familiar to him as he walked. He couldn't help but ask, "Captain, are you going to look for the candidate named Tian Fu?"

Pei Yuan smiled and said, "Yes, it's him. I've been busy for so long, mostly because of this Phoenix. Now, he can't run away."

Cen Meng was confused by what he heard. He was promoted based on his bravery, and these things were really not his forte, so he simply kept silent.

When Pei Yuan arrived at the house rented by Tian Fu, the old servant who opened the door saw that it was Pei Yuan who came. Although it was late, he was not too surprised.

Pei Yuan often visited Tian Fu, and the two sides had become familiar with each other.

However, the old servant had suffered a lot when Yang Fang came to him. Although he was respectful when he saw Pei Yuan, he did not show any enthusiasm at all.

Pei Yuan walked straight into the yard and saw Tian Fu standing in front of the window, looking at some papers in the faint light of the setting sun.

Pei Yuan coughed lightly, Tian Fu saw it through the window and hurried out to greet him.

Pei Yuan smiled and asked, "What are you busy with, Brother Tian?"

Tian Fu looked back at the table in front of the window that had not been cleaned yet, and answered frankly, "I wrote a few contemporary essays and am still considering them."

Has the preparation for the exam already started?

Pei Yuan was very satisfied with Tian Fu's attitude. This at least showed that this guy took his words to heart.

Pei Yuan was already confident that he could conquer Tian Fu, so he simply said, "No rush. Even if there is an imperial examination, it will be in autumn and winter, so there is still plenty of time."

This was the first time that Tian Fu clearly heard the word "Enke" from Pei Yuan. Although Pei Yuan had hinted at it before, he was very evasive, which made people doubt the authenticity of it.

Tian Fu first breathed a sigh of relief, his face showing joy, but then he asked with some doubt, "The country has been in turmoil for the past two years, and the world is in turmoil. Isn't it a bit far-fetched to hold an imperial examination this year? Could it be that the emperor has already made it clear?"

Pei Yuan did not lie, "Not yet, this is my plan. If I am right, the rebels in Bazhou will be wiped out this summer. By then, the eunuch Lu Ting, who is in charge of military affairs, will cooperate with me in proposing the plan of the imperial examination. When the emperor hears it, he should not refuse it."

After hearing this, Tian Fu just stood there in a daze.

I have already started preparing for the exam, but it turns out that this special exam only exists in your imagination.

However, another thing revealed in Pei Yuan's words made Tian Fu a little frightened. This matter actually involved Lu Ting, the commander-in-chief of military affairs.

According to the opinions of the scholars outside the Da Ci'en Temple, now that Zhang Yong has been implicated by Zhang Rong, it is very likely that he will lose his position as the eunuch in charge of the Imperial Household Department.

The person who replaced the internal minister was most likely Lu Ting, who had made great contributions to stabilizing the country.

This Lu Ting went to the war as a eunuch in the Imperial Household Department and a eunuch in charge of the Imperial Stables. If he was not given the seal or the imperial eunuch's pen, it would be impossible for him to achieve success.

Given Zhang Yong's current state of decline, even if Lu Ting only serves as the chief clerk of the Imperial Household Department, the inner court will probably fall into his hands.

Pei Yuan can reach a consensus with Lu Ting on the important matter of Enke, so this matter is indeed possible.

Tian Fu was still a little uneasy, so he asked directly, "If this matter was proposed by the Ministry of Rites, it would be legitimate, but if it was proposed by the eunuch who supervised military affairs, wouldn't it be a laughing stock? Moreover, the special examination was the will of the emperor. How can the thousand households be sure to convince the emperor to open the special examination despite public opinion?"

Pei Yuan answered without hesitation, "When Lu Ting returns, with his meritorious service and status, he will naturally have flatterers to help him do what he wants to do. Even if he finds some people in the Ministry of Rites to cheer him on, it won't be difficult."

After that, Pei Yuan smiled and looked at Tian Fu, and said confidently, "As for the emperor, I'm afraid he is the one who is most likely to be tempted. The imperial examinations in the Ming Dynasty are naturally prone to forming cliques. The teacher-student ethics between the admitted Jinshi and the chief examiner are even more unbreakable."

"Brother Ke Tian, ​​think about it, what is the current cabinet structure?"

"Now Liang Chu has lost all his reputation and has become a laughing stock among the scholars. But this person's status and position is just enough to qualify him to be the chief examiner."

"As long as someone persuades the emperor to let Liang Chu be the chief examiner, the emperor will certainly agree after seeing through the subtleties involved, and will do his best to promote this imperial examination."

"Because as long as the Jinshi who passed the imperial examination in this session would naturally resist Liang Chu, making this subject a subject without such teacher-student ties."

"After entering the officialdom, who else can a Jinshi from this subject rely on except the emperor?"

After hearing Pei Yuan's words, Tian Fu felt terrible. Instead of being happy about the opening of the special examination, he felt as uncomfortable as if he had been fed shit.

According to Pei Yuan's logic, if he really succeeded in pushing the special examination forward this time, and he successfully passed the imperial examination and became a Jinshi, wouldn't that mean that he would become Liang Chu's disciple?
This kind of thing makes people shudder.

Even if he just thought about it, Tian Fu felt that he was dirty!

(End of this chapter)