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

Chapter 361 Pei Yuan's Soybean Strategy

Pei Yuan led his men and traveled quickly with light luggage. Although this return trip to the capital was not as hurried as last time, it only took them one more day to reach the capital.

When Pei Yuan returned to Zhihua Temple, Chen Toutie hurried to see him.

After questioning, he learned that Li Shishi came several times during his absence, and Wei Ne and Xiao Yan also came to look for him, but they were all evaded by Pei Qianhu who said he was investigating a case in Shandong.

Chen Toutie also shared another piece of news, "Wang Chang, who was to be transferred to the post of governor of Shandong, has returned to Beijing. He has a lot of things to hand over, so he will have to stay in Beijing for a few more days."

"Wang Chang specifically reminded me to send someone to notify the captain when he returns."

"I'm tired today. Let's talk about it tomorrow." Because of Wang Chang, Pei Yuan thought of the Shandong incident, so he asked Chen Toutie, "Has the court issued an order to eliminate the Luo Sect?"

Chen Tou Tie said, "It has come out! With the Sanheyi case in the past, the court acted very efficiently."

After saying that, Chen Toutie secretly glanced around and asked in a low voice, "Should I go to Shandong to make some preparations?"

Pei Yuan glanced at him and said unhappily, "Why are you in such a hurry? Drink the wine at my wedding first."

He added, "There's no point in being anxious. We have to let them warm up the situation first. How far we can take advantage of this issue in the end depends on Wang Chang's cooperation."

There are quite a lot of things to deal with during this trip to Shandong.

Pei Yuan counted on his fingers.

Establishing Luojiao is one thing; searching for talents who can blow up this imperial examination is one thing; solving the troubles of Prince De and Prince Lu is one thing; paralyzing the Shandong Commandery is one thing; marginalizing the Shandong Preparations for the Japanese War and even driving them to the sea is one thing; establishing the planned "Zhongsoya Oil Group" is one thing. Well, let's not talk about "Southern Oil", at least the framework of "Northern Oil" must be built.

As long as these goals can be achieved smoothly, I can sit back and watch the game between the mighty general Zhu Shou and the court officials with peace of mind.

The most important thing for Pei Yuan before leaving Beijing is to hold the ceremony of taking a concubine.

It's not that Captain Pei is obsessed with the harem and is foolish and lustful. It's mainly because this is a good opportunity to gather the relevant people together and make subsequent work arrangements.

Although Shandong and Beijing are close to each other, some things need to be taken care of in advance. Otherwise, if you fail to deal with them, it will take more effort to remedy the situation.

The next six months will not be peaceful.

After getting rid of Liu Jin, the court officials thought they had Zhu Houzhao under their control.

But what kind of monster is Zhu Houzhao?
After Eunuch Lu returned to the court with a large army and many powerful generals, Zhu Houzhao recognized his sons on the spot, and he recognized a lot of them.

Zhu Houzhao's newly adopted sons were all meritorious generals. Many of them had just been awarded titles of nobility and dukedom for their meritorious service, and their official positions were basically among the highest.

Zhu Houzhao also promised in person that they could call themselves "emperor's illegitimate sons" to the outside world.

Under this powerful move, it can be said that the situation of the Beijing Army and the Border Army changed overnight.

After this wave of mergers and reorganizations, Zhu Houzhao became the most powerful emperor of the Ming Dynasty besides Zhu Yuanzhang and Zhu Di.

It can be said that this wave of operations directly paralyzed the cabinet.

Their political schemes were crushed like dry weeds and rotten wood by Zhu Houzhao's straightforward and open strategy.

Compared with Zhu Houzhao's sharp operation, the efforts of civil officials over the years to gradually strip the emperor of his military power seemed so ridiculous.

This is why Pei Yuan has never bothered with those "adopted sons". Even with Pei Yuan's ability, facing this super strong bond, he still feels a bit overwhelmed.

And from Pei Yuan's heart, he had no intention of ruining this matter.

The Ming Dynasty today wanted to gather a powerful army to strike a head-on blow to the Daryus. The only one who could accomplish this was Zhu Houzhao.

Whether out of justice or selfishness, before the Battle of Yingzhou, Pei Yuan had no need to hinder the emperor.

Pei Yuan asked Chen Toutie some trivial questions before returning to his own courtyard to rest.

When Pei Yuan woke up the next day, Chen Toutie came to report that Wang Chang had arrived early in the morning.

Pei Yuan attached great importance to the highest-ranking henchman under his command. He changed his clothes properly before asking someone to bring him in.

Wang Chang was very happy to see Pei Yuan, and the two exchanged greetings.

Wang Chang sighed to Pei Yuan, "I still remember the promises made by the captain to me. I didn't expect that I would be promoted to Right Censor-in-Chief so soon, and even be sent on a tour. Thinking about it now, I feel very sad."

Pei Yuan smiled and said, "If you work hard, you may have a seat in Wenyuan Pavilion in the future."

Wang Chang shook his hands repeatedly, "I don't dare to think about it."

He really didn't dare to think about it.

Wang Chang's qualifications are too thin.

His achievements in the imperial examinations were at the bottom. He was short and thin, and lacked manners. Most importantly, his official career was full of black spots, and he had no outstanding political achievements. Coupled with Liu Jin's status as a member of the eunuch party, it can be said that his political future was basically over.

Wang Chang's appointment as the governor of Shandong was largely a compensation for his handing over the Nanjing Ministry of War.

In political language, it can basically be seen as a transition before a safe landing.

Pei Yuan didn't say anything more. Wang Chang's thin resume and political stains could become an advantage under special circumstances.

Pei Yuan did not exchange pleasantries with Wang Chang and spoke directly about the Luo Sect.

Including the origin of Luojiao and some of his own subsequent plans.

Pei Yuan didn't explain some things in detail, but Wang Chang still felt terrified when he heard them.

If Pei Yuan's plan is implemented smoothly, and with the official cooperation of the Governor of Shandong, it is not impossible for a huge underground organization to emerge in a short period of time.

As for Pei Yuan's establishment of a soybean economy, Wang Chang can provide a lot of help.

Shandong and Henan were the main soybean producing areas of this era.

The planting of soybeans can be done by the people controlled by Luojiao in the future. As for those who are unwilling to join the sect and want to grow soybeans but are ignorant, Chen Toutie and Wang Chang can work closely together to persuade them to grow other staple foods instead.

Since we were talking about the Luo Sect, Pei Yuan also called Chen Toutie in.

Wang Chang thought for a while and asked, "When I get to Shandong and sort out the officialdom, I'm afraid I'll have missed this year's planting. If so, I'm afraid it will be delayed for a year."

Pei Yuan had also thought about this and said immediately, "No problem, when the time comes, we can let Chen Toutie focus on integrating existing resources. This time when I went to the front line, I unexpectedly discovered a godsend opportunity."

Pei Yuan said this and told the two of them about the huge waste on the front line.

Wang Chang and Chen Toutie were both confused after hearing this.

What kind of opportunity is this?
It seems that there is no chance to profit from it.

Pei Yuan did not hide it from his two confidants and shared his guess, "I suspect the people in the Ministry of Revenue are deliberately setting up a trap to empty the Taicang warehouse."

"If I'm not guessing correctly, the military expenditures from the Ministry of Revenue should have flowed into the hands of local tyrants in large quantities, allowing them to exchange their accumulated grain for silver, and the savings of the people are still relatively abundant."

"I've been traveling all this way and found that this year's harvest is good. Spring ploughing is going on in an orderly manner in various places, and even the rain is relatively abundant. This year should be a bumper year." "According to past practice, after a war, the court would exempt farmers from taxes on a large scale."

"But the situation this year is somewhat different. The early roaming of the Bazhou Army certainly caused a lot of damage, but as the Bazhou Army grew stronger, they also fell into size trouble."

"If the Bazhou Army attacks small villages and towns, the money and grain they gain may not be as much as they pay. So as long as we check the court reports, we can easily find that the Bazhou Army's later attacks were mainly aimed at cities."

"But people in the city don't farm. Citizens don't have land, but villagers do. The attack by the Bazhou Army did not affect agricultural production."

Pei Yuan summarized it for the two of them, "In other words, what the Bazhou Army robbed was money, and what the imperial court saved was food."

The Ming Dynasty didn't get much from commercial taxes, so naturally it had to exempt them.

As for where a large portion of the money robbed by the Bazhou Army went, it is difficult to elaborate for the time being, but Chen Toutie knows a little.

Wang Chang listened to Pei Yuan's explanation and felt a little thoughtful.

Pei Yuan continued, "The rebellion in Bazhou will be quelled in a few days. This year, the grain is abundant, and the court has exempted taxes. It should be a good year for everyone to be happy."

"But the people already have some surplus grain, and with the bumper harvest and tax exemption, the total amount of grain in the population will inevitably increase dramatically."

Chen Toutie was stunned and asked, "Isn't this a good thing?"

Pei Yuan replied, "The people grow their own crops, spin their own weaves, and except for the necessary food, the rest of the food needs to be valued with money for trading."

"But now there is more food and less money, which is bound to cause the price of food to collapse."

"At the same time, without this huge tax revenue, the imperial court will lose the money and grain in the granary even faster."

"This rebellion suppression is likely to become a huge financial trap. The court will become very poor, and the people will become even poorer. And those who drew the bows and pulled the arrows have already cashed in the grain at a high price with the two million taels of silver that they divided up."

Wang Chang and Chen Toutie were both stunned.

Wang Chang asked Pei Yuan in surprise, "How did the captain find out about this?"

Pei Yuan calmly replied, "Because the Ministry of Revenue supplied more food to the front line than the quota."

"Those soldiers used to be grateful for having enough to eat. When has the Ming Dynasty ever fought such a prosperous war? So I concluded that they must have other plans."

"Looking at the matter on this basis, the result is not difficult to guess."

Wang Chang listened to Captain Pei's words and used this as the logic to sort out the matter.

Cause: Captain Pei thinks the Ministry of Revenue is a bad guy.

Conclusion: Through a series of complicated means, they planned a shocking conspiracy, the purpose of which was to empty the Taicang warehouse of silver, at the same time magnify the leverage of cheap grain and expensive money, and then take advantage of the difficulties of the court and the people to achieve their ulterior motives.

Depend on!
What kind of devilish deduction is this?
Chen Toutie didn't know what impact this incident would have, so he was more concerned about the practical results. "So, Qianhu, what benefits can we get?"

Pei Yuan said, "Of course there are benefits."

"Soybeans are sold for money. We can consider them as cash crops. If our followers grow a large amount of soybeans, we can avoid the crisis of the current food price crash and reduce losses for our followers. This will win widespread support for Luojiao and make the followers more loyal to our chariot."

"After we make a profit from soybeans, we can also take advantage of the low grain prices to stockpile grain. If I guess correctly, those who cashed in grain at high prices will take advantage of the collapse of grain prices to buy up large quantities. When the grain on the market is almost eaten up, they will detonate the mine in Taicang."

Pei Yuan could already roughly think of several ways.

The simplest thing is to find several groups of Tatars to attack the border from multiple directions, creating the illusion of a large-scale invasion.

After the imperial court exempted a large amount of grain tax, the treasury was empty. If it wanted to gather troops to resist, it needed money and grain. At that time, it could either regret and increase taxes, or spend more silver to buy grain from the market.

The first method will cause public resentment, and the lower-class farmers who have to bear the increased taxes will become even more miserable.

If the second approach is adopted, the wealthy and powerful who have already absorbed grain at low prices can take the opportunity to drive up grain prices, drain the silver from the Ming Dynasty treasury, and then trigger the next crisis in one go.

The imperial court had limited ways to obtain silver, and the ultimate target was not difficult to guess.

Pei Yuan thought for a moment, then said to Chen Tou Tie, "By the way, I have another important thing for you to do."

Chen Toutie said quickly, "Just give your orders, Captain."

Pei Yuan said, "There is a lot of food and horse feed piled up on the front lines. I plan to persuade Wang Qiong, the Minister of the Ministry of Revenue, to sell the excess supplies at a discount after defeating the Bazhou Army, so that they won't rot and be wasted."

"That Wang Qiong understands economics and will definitely support my idea."

Pei Yuan hesitated for a moment, and without avoiding Wang Chang, he said, "Including the money sent by the Bazhou Army this time, I already have 140,000 taels of silver. Go to Tianjin Wei to summon the 200 Xuzhou soldiers who are staying there, and then take this money to the Huguang front to participate in this acquisition."

"Lu Ting has a close relationship with us. I will send him a letter and he will help you."

Chen Toutie was shocked. "One hundred and fourteen thousand taels of silver, how much grain can I buy?"

Pei Yuan said, "We don't buy grain, we only buy beans for the horses."

In this era, food is also considered a kind of property. When the troops return to the capital, a lot of it will definitely be embezzled by the military leaders.

However, there were too many supplies on the front line. According to historical records, the Minister of the Ministry of Revenue, Wang Qiong, ran to sell off the excess military supplies. The hay and bean fodder that had been completely destroyed sold for 260,000 taels of silver alone.

Chen Toutie was relieved when he heard that the eunuch who was in charge of military affairs would help. "That would help us buy a lot of soybeans. I'm afraid it would be difficult to bring them back with just the number of people we have."

Chen Toutie had something else to say.

Pei Yuan's presence in Beijing has just begun, and its expansion into Shandong is still at the PPT stage. Even if they transport the soybeans back, there is no place to store them.

Even if those soybeans have a good discount, they will probably become a huge burden.

Pei Yuan smiled and said calmly, "No need to ship it back. Once you buy the soybeans, we will immediately organize a convoy to transport them to Henan, and then sell them at a price lower than the market price."

"According to my estimation, in order to quickly resolve the backlog of military supplies, the price we pay should be around 80% of the market price."

"First, sell at 90% of the market price, then when the price drops, sell at 80%, and then sell at 70%."

Chen Toutie asked doubtfully, "Then won't we lose money?"

Pei Yuan said, "Sell it even if you lose money. Even if you sell it at 30% of the soybean price, as long as there is someone to buy it, you will sell it to him!"

Chen Toutie's scalp tingled when he heard this. This was real money!
And it was Pei Yuan's own money.

Wang Chang also frowned.

Although this money was not Wang Chang's, Pei Yuan's behavior was that of a tyrant!

As an old minister, he had to give some advice.

So Wang Chang couldn't help but ask, "When will it be thrown?"

Pei Yuan said calmly, "If the people in Henan prefectures switch to growing crops, you can come back."

(End of this chapter)