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

Chapter 344: Margin Coverage Plan
Pei Yuan thought about it and immediately said with a smile, "Okay, since the Left Commander wants to see you, then I will go meet you right away."

Pei Yuan and the other two came to Xiao Yan's mansion again. This time, the person waiting outside the door was Xiao Yan himself.

When Xiao Yan saw Pei Yuan, he said sarcastically, "Isn't this the pure and innocent Pei Qianhu?"

Pei Yuan was slightly startled after hearing this, "Why do you say that, Brother Xiao?"

Xiao Yan continued to speak sarcastically, "I had good intentions and helped you tip off, but I didn't expect you to betray me completely. You didn't take any responsibility at all. How can you come to see me now?"

Pei Yuan heard this and said frankly, "It was indeed not a decent thing to do."

Then he added, "But since we don't have time to communicate, the best way is for one person to take all the blame. Otherwise, if the emperor keeps questioning us, I'm afraid more trouble will be caused."

Pei Yuan said sincerely, "Please think about it, Left Commander. If things come to that point, what will you lose, and what will I lose?"

After hearing this, Xiao Yan thought about it carefully and felt a little depressed.

If everything were told, Pei Yuan, a bachelor, would be doomed to die. However, the emperor might value his talent and spare his life, and even let him regain all the merits and glory of the battle of Yanggu.

As for myself, even if I could save my life, the two uncles of the Xiao family would be gone.

It seems like I am still at a disadvantage.

Xiao Yan was exhausted and looked at Pei Yuan, "Then why are you here? Let's just end our friendship from now on!"

Pei Yuan looked at Xiao Yan and accused him unhappily, "What are you talking about?"

"Is it because I also feel that the Left Commander is at a disadvantage that I came here?"

Xiao Yan: “?”

What kind of logic is this?

Seeing Xiao Yan confused, Pei Yuan explained to him, "Look, Brother Xiao, you suffered a big loss from me, but then I made you suffer a small loss. The two are balanced, so it won't be so painful, right?"

Xiao Yan looked at Pei Yuan as if he were an idiot.

Are you kidding me?

Pei Yuan explained it to him in technical terms, "This is called covering a position. It spreads the losses over multiple collaborations."

What, what a mess.

But after a while, Xiao Yan came to his senses.

We really can’t let this bastard go!

I have been wronged by this, so I have to make up for it. The price has been paid, how can I not get my money back?
Xiao Yan immediately grabbed Pei Yuan and said, "This governor doesn't want to suffer a small loss, I want to make a big profit!"

After saying that, he felt that he might be a little too aggressive, so he changed his words and said, "At least it should be a small profit!"

Pei Yuan looked at Xiao Yan with satisfaction, "See, isn't that the truth? Hurry up and cover your position. If we cooperate again, maybe we will gain something."

Xiao Yan looked at Pei Yuan and felt that he was still trying to make him lose. He immediately asked very skillfully, "Tell me first, how do you plan to cooperate?"

Pei Yuan looked around, and Xiao Yan understood and immediately asked everyone to stay away.

Pei Yuan was puzzled when he saw this. "Just because we are brothers, can't I go to Brother Xiao's house for a cup of tea?"

Xiao Yan clasped his hands and spoke in a calm tone.

"I don't want to lose another cup of tea."

Pei Yuan was speechless, "Okay, okay."

As he spoke, he brought up the business, "Remember last time, you asked Chen Toutie to pass on the message about the river governor Zhang Feng?"

Xiao Yan's mind moved slightly, this matter was the result of his plan.

I have a good understanding of the fundamentals and insider information, so it sounds very reliable if we are to cooperate on this matter.

Pei Yuan first gave Xiao Yan some good news, "You may not know that the Luo Cult in Shandong has been making frequent moves recently, and there is a possibility of causing a big chaos. I plan to go to Shandong in person to supervise the elimination of the Luo Cult. When I go to Shandong, I will personally deal with Zhang Feng and make sure that everything is done properly."

Xiao Yan was overjoyed when he heard this.

If Pei Yuan, a ruthless person, were to personally plot against Zhang Feng, he would have no chance of survival.

By then, the money Zhang Feng earned from dredging the canal and repairing the grain boats could be used to rob them.

Xiao Yan was very excited and asked, "Is the Xuzhou Left Guard stable?"

Pei Yuan replied, "According to the letter I received a few days ago, the original commander Shi Yong was very cooperative, but I don't know if he had any backup plans. I will also bring some people with me this time. I can't get away from the Xuzhou Left Guard alone."

Pei Yuan continued, "Besides that, I have recommended Wang Chang to the emperor as the governor of Shandong. If this matter can be accomplished, I will have a helper in Shandong, and things will go much more smoothly."

Xiao Yan hesitated for a moment after hearing this, but still agreed, "That's easy, I'll ask my uncle to help you ask."

Pei Yuan was very satisfied. He chatted for a while longer, improved his favorability, and then prepared to leave.

Before leaving, Pei Yuan half-jokingly said, "How about we just talk about important matters later?"

"Our emperor is not easy to fool, and the things we discuss are life-threatening. I am afraid that one day, there will be a time when we cannot agree."

Xiao Yan nodded repeatedly after hearing this. Pei Yuan asked, "Then why did I come to see you tonight?"

Xiao Yan had the answer and laughed, "Of course you came to me, the governor, to kneel down and beg for mercy."

Pei Yuan said unhappily, "Stop making trouble, are you a fool to be the emperor?"

Xiao Yan felt bored and said with a dull tone, "Come and apologize to this governor."

Pei Yuan warned again, "Don't make any mistakes."

Xiao Yan felt something was wrong, but he couldn't say anything, so he said, "Don't worry."

Pei Yuan added, "Zhang Feng is a high-ranking official after all. It's not good to mention him all the time, lest the matter be leaked. How about giving him a code name?"

Xiao Yan thought for a moment and asked, "How about calling it a replenishment plan?"

Pei Yuan didn't have any special objections and accepted the code name directly.

Pei Yuan had been running around for a day and a night and was very tired. After making a few moves on Xiao Yan's part, he left with a lot of gains.

Cen Meng took the initiative to ask, "Captain, where are we going next? Do you want me to make some arrangements?"

Pei Yuan didn't want to be too deliberate, so he said, "No need, go back and have a good sleep, and we'll see what happens tomorrow."

The three of them went to the back door of Zhihua Temple, where the personal soldiers who had been waiting to meet them saw them from afar and opened the door.

Pei Yuan was somewhat thankful at this moment, as he had driven away all those monks before and seized the iron barrel built by Zhihua Temple. Otherwise, it would have been difficult to conceal his movements.

Pei Yuan returned to his public housing and had a good sleep.

Pei Yuan slept very deeply and when he woke up, it was already noon.

Pei Yuan jumped up from the bed, walked barefoot to the door and looked outside.

The comfort of Zhihua Temple under the warm sunshine made him breathe a sigh of relief. The guards in the distance hurried forward and asked, "Captain, do you have any instructions?"

Pei Yuan calmed down for a while before his mind started to work. He asked, "Is Chen Toutie back?"

The guard replied, "General Chen has just returned and has gone back to the west courtyard to rest. Do you want to go and call him over?"

When Pei Yuan heard that Chen Toutie had gone back to sleep, he roughly understood what was going on and thought that there should be no problem.

Seeing that the personal soldier looked familiar, he simply asked, "Are there many people coming back this morning?"

The guard answered honestly, "About a dozen brothers who went out on errands have returned."

Pei Yuan waved his hand and was about to let the guard leave, but the guard said, "Reporting to the captain, there is a commander of the Hangzhou vanguard waiting in the Buddhist hall. We dare not disturb the captain's rest, and the man has not left."

Pei Yuan became excited after hearing this.

So, his provocation worked?

The Minister of War He Jian indeed released Xu Feng.

Pei Yuan returned to his room, changed into casual clothes, and went to the Buddhist temple in the courtyard to meet Xu Feng.

Xu Feng was originally a frivolous person, otherwise he would not have gotten hold of some leverage over Wang Chang and tried to take advantage of him.

Now it seems that after spending some time in jail, he has become somewhat patient.

Xu Feng was sitting on a futon in a daze. When he saw Pei Yuan coming, he stood up in fear and trepidation. "I am Xu Feng, the commander of the Hangzhou vanguard. I am honored to meet the captain."

Pei Yuan laughed, stepped forward and held him down, saying gently, "There's no need to be so polite between you and me."

Xu Feng said hurriedly, "There is no place for me to sit in front of the thousand households."

Although Pei Yuan grabbed his clothes, he had no choice but to give in and stood with his back bent.

Pei Yuan pulled over a cushion and sat down beside him. He exerted force on his hands again. Xu Feng hesitated for a moment before sitting down reluctantly.

Pei Yuan smiled and said, "When I first met the emperor, it was also in this Zhihua Temple. At that time, the emperor was listening to someone explaining Buddhism in the Buddhist hall. At that time, I wanted to bow, but the emperor smiled like this and pulled me to sit next to him."

"Even the current emperor doesn't stick to these things, how can I dare to overstep my bounds?"

When Xu Feng heard that even the emperor was chatting and laughing with Pei Yuan, he felt even more respect and awe in his heart.

However, this time Pei Yuan did not behave as domineeringly as before. Instead, he spoke much more kindly, making people feel like they were in the spring breeze.

Xu Feng was flattered to listen to Pei Yuan's concern for his trivial matters. His fear of Pei Yuan did not decrease at all. The excitement of hugging someone's thigh made him feel warm in his heart, and he had a lot to say.

Pei Yuan didn't waste too much time with Xu Feng. He expressed his concern for him and said to him, "The Hangzhou front is of great importance. You can't stay in the capital for long."

Pei Yuan calmly asked Xu Feng, "Has the Ministry of War punished you?"

Xu Feng replied, "It's just a half-year salary deduction."

Pei Yuan secretly breathed a sigh of relief, but shook his head in dissatisfaction, "He Jian is so tactless, it seems that I have to move him to another position."

Pei Yuan is such a jerk, he pretends to be so confident.

Because Lu Wan will soon return to the capital for his contribution in suppressing the rebellion in Bazhou.

By that time, it would be unjust if Lu Wan, the assistant minister of the Ministry of War, did not move up.

He Jian, the Minister of War, naturally also needs to change his position.

Xu Feng didn't know all this. When he heard that Pei Yuan decided the future of a minister with just a snap of his fingers, he was extremely excited.

He stammered, "I, I want to serve the Qianhu, but I don't know if there is anything I can do to help the Qianhu."

Pei Yuan showed an unexpected expression at the right moment.

Then he smiled and said, "I'm glad you're willing to do that. If the opportunity is right, I'll have someone look for you."

Xu Feng was delighted to hear this and said, "Then I will go to Hangzhou and wait for the order from the captain."

Pei Yuan had not made many moves in Jiangnan, so he was very enthusiastic.

After seeing Xu Feng off, Pei Yuan breathed a sigh of relief.

This means that Pei Yuan has driven an important nail into the fertile soil of Jiangnan.

At this time, someone hurriedly came to report, "Reporting to the thousand households, the left minister of the Ministry of Public Administration sent a message saying that there is a turmoil in the court."

Pei Yuan asked quickly, "Tell me quickly! What happened?"

The man hurriedly replied, "I heard that it was the son of Grand Secretary Liang Chu who was killed on his way to the border. Even the hundreds of soldiers escorting Liang Ci were affected. It is also said that all the officials and gentry staying at Sanhe Posthouse were killed."

When Pei Yuan heard that this was indeed the case, he hurriedly asked, "Did the Left Councillor tell us how the court plans to deal with this?"

The man quickly added, "I heard that there was an image of Maitreya Buddha drawn with blood at the scene, so when the local authorities reported it, they directly said that it was the Maitreya followers who were causing the riot."

Pei Yuan was not too surprised by this. For the magistrate of Sanhe County, having a conclusion at this time was better than having no purpose at all.

Let’s just call it Maitreya.

Pei Yuan asked again, "What else did Councillor Zuo say?"

The man replied, "No, the Left Councillor just told me these things, I don't know anything else."

Pei Yuan asked the man to leave, and then he returned to the east courtyard distractedly to continue handling official business.

Afterwards, news came back one after another.

Sanhe County is not far from the capital.

However, such a vicious incident occurred right under the feet of the emperor, which made everyone nervous all of a sudden.

After all, this matter is related to their vital interests.

Especially those officials and wealthy people, who had finally achieved a comfortable life and of course did not want to leave the city, eating hot pot and singing songs, but were suddenly killed.

The matter of the Maitreya Buddha painted with blood could not be hidden from those who were interested.

Although some people think that this may be an intentional attempt by the murderer to confuse the public, it still inevitably caused a lot of public opinion.

Many people were discussing the Maitreya Sect, and some compared these criminals to the White Lotus Sect that had just rebelled.

Just as Chen Toutie came over, Pei Yuan asked him to find out whether anyone with ulterior motives or the garrison was involved in this matter.

After all, apart from those cult members whose authenticity is unknown, the most likely armed forces to have killed two or three hundred people in the suburbs of the capital are the guards stationed near Beijing.

No matter how carefully Cheng Leixiang does it, he may not be able to withstand the investigation.

That Liang Ci'ao is almost useless except for being relevant to the current political situation. Why do those people from the Maitreya Sect go to such great lengths to kill him?
Thinking about the source of the sensation in the court and the country, it was the Tongzhengsi case, and that Tongzhengsi case involved the Maitreya religion.

This behavior is full of obvious deliberateness.

(End of this chapter)