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

Chapter 369 Life is getting more and more promising

The boss has spoken, and Cheng Leixiang quickly expressed his opinion.

He took the responsibility and said, "If the prefect Liu encounters someone who is blind, just mention my name. The three guards in Tianjin now follow my lead. The three names of me, Cheng Leixiang, also have some weight."

When Pei Yuan heard this, he felt so embarrassed that he wanted to pick his feet.

Seeing Liu Zhishu's strange expression, Pei Yuan was a little defensive. He couldn't help but feel ashamed and kicked Cheng Leixiang, "Damn it, imitate my way of speaking!"

Cheng Leixiang was the most intelligent one. He reacted quickly and immediately realized that Qianhu had just pretended to be in this situation.

A big taboo in the workplace!
He quickly dodged half-truthfully, and flattered him with a frivolous smile, "I will never be able to learn enough from Qian Hu in my lifetime."

Pei Yuan was even more embarrassed.

"Fuck, in front of outsiders."

Pei Yuan felt a little embarrassed, but Cheng Leixiang’s words just now aroused his interest. This guy has dragged Tianjin Zuowei and Tianjin Youwei into the water?
This kid has his own way.

It was not a good time to ask more questions, so Pei Yuan introduced Chen Toutie, "This is Chen Toutie, follow me now."

The future cult leader Chen Toutie also greeted Liu Zhishu without showing any timidity.

Seeing that there was nothing for him to do, Cheng Leixiang stood aside obediently with his old colleague Chen Toutie.

Liu Zhishu, Wolong and Fengchu were almost shocked to see that the commander of Tianjin Garrison was as obedient as a domestic dog in front of this mere thousand households.

Even if civil officials discriminate against military officials, the third rank is not a small rank.

Liu Zhishu was even more reminded of the Hangzhou vanguard commander and Suzhou prefect whom Pei Yuan had just mentioned to him.

Not to mention the Hangzhou Vanguard Commander, it is estimated that he is just like the Tianjin Guard Commander, and is a lackey of Captain Pei.

But what about the Suzhou prefect?

He was a dignified fourth-rank civil official, and together with Su and Hang, he was exactly at the same level as him.

The sense of immersion is very strong.

Liu Zhishu suddenly felt that the phrase “Eternal West Lake, Heaven on Earth” was not so appealing anymore.

The waters in the Ming Dynasty are very complicated. It seems that life in the capital is more simple and peaceful.

As for Tian Fu and Huo Tao, they had different ideas.

Tian Fu has already boarded Pei Yuan's pirate ship. The more powerful Pei Yuan shows at this moment, the happier he is.

As for Huo Tao, he was originally just an ordinary scholar who loved politics. Today's banquet really seemed to have opened a corner of the officialdom curtain for him.

He sensitively noticed that the Hangzhou prefect, whom he thought was out of his reach, began to become restrained.

Pei Yuan was thinking about what Cheng Leixiang had just said about the three guards in Tianjin, and wanted to ask about it in detail, so he asked the servants to come forward and serve tea. He then apologized and took Cheng Leixiang aside to question him.

Pei Yuan asked Cheng Leixiang, "What's going on with Tianjin's left and right guards now?"

Cheng Leixiang looked around and then said, "These days I have found out all the details of Tianjin and was planning to report to the commander. Since I am here to hear the commander's happy news, I will tell you all about it."

"The Three Guards of Tianjin are a military organization, under the jurisdiction of the Rear Army Governor's Office, and the territory under their jurisdiction is intertwined among the counties."

"There are a lot of wastelands here. At first, the imperial court allowed the people to reclaim the wasteland on their own. But later, it was gradually seized by the imperial farms and relatives of the emperor. Now there are basically not many ordinary households in Tianjin, and the land has been divided up by the powerful."

"The most powerful ones among them are the Grand Princess of Yixing, Xia Ru, Earl of Qingyang, Wang Min, a captain of the Imperial Guard, and the imperial manor of the court in Zhigu."

"Three years ago, the Grand Princess of Yixing, Xia Ru, the Earl of Qingyang, and Wang Min, a captain of the Imperial Guard, fought over land, and many people died. The previous Tianjin Guard Commander said he died of illness, but in fact, he committed suicide in the camp because of the imperial farm. He offended the eunuch Zhang Rui who was in charge of the imperial farm."

Pei Yuan frowned after hearing this.

I didn't expect that Tianjin had so many troubles.

Princess Yixing was the daughter of Emperor Yingzong. She had a younger brother named Zhu Jianpei, and the two siblings had a very good relationship.

Perhaps because they have experienced political turmoil, these children of the God of War are particularly united.

Later, Zhu Jianpei was named King Hui. Before leaving for his fiefdom, King Hui expressed his willingness to transfer all his previous fiefdoms to his sister.

Emperor Xianzong could tolerate even a playboy like Prince De, who wanted "this, this, and more", and was naturally happy to see it happen.

So the eldest princess of Yixing planted flags in Tahedian and Qilihai Wadi and began her expansion.

Of course, Prince Hui, who "supports his sister", did not suffer any loss. After arriving at the fiefdom, he quickly learned from Prince De and began to emotionally blackmail his elder brother, Emperor Xianzong, with "I want it, I want it, I want it too".

He wants land, taxes, books, food, salt permits, the Shaolin Temple, and other people's sons-in-law...

As for Xia Ru, the Earl of Qingyang, he was also a man of prominent background. He was the biological father of the current Queen Xia.

Although Zhu Houzhao was not allowed to have affairs with women, he was still very good to Empress Xia.

One time when he returned to the palace, he found that Queen Xia had lost weight, so he immediately asked someone to make two fat geese and send them over.

He had always treated the Queen's father well and was generous in giving him rewards.

Xia Ru is now serving as the co-director of the Central Military Governor's Office, and is a colleague of Xiao Yan.

Xia Ru's other two daughters, one married Xu Pengju, the grandson of Xu Ju, Duke of Wei, and the other married Zhang Zongshuo, the son of Zhang Heling, Marquis of Shouning.

This father-in-law is quite powerful.

only……

Pei Yuan asked in surprise, "Who is Wang Min? Does the Jinyiwei have such a powerful captain?"

Cheng Leixiang was already familiar with the situation in Tianjin, so he said, "This Wang Min is the younger brother of Concubine Shun during the reign of Emperor Xianzong."

Fine.

Pei Yuan roughly understood it.

The three relatives by marriage fought each other for the land, so it's no wonder that there were casualties.

When Zhang Heling and Empress Dowager Zhou's younger brother, Changning Marquis Zhou Yu, were fighting for land, they each brought hundreds of people and engaged in street fighting in the downtown area of ​​the capital.

In the end, not only was blood spilled on the streets, but the sounds of shouting and killing also reached the palace.

These lawless guys are fighting for territory in Tianjin without any fear.

Pei Yuan asked, "How was the last incident resolved?"

Cheng Leixiang replied, "Later, the emperor had no choice but to mediate the matter for them. Li Xuezeng, the criminal department official, investigated and reported that the land they were fighting over totaled 2,859 hectares.

Pei Yuan’s eyes widened when he heard this. This is more than 285,000 acres of land.

Cheng Leixiang continued, "The emperor personally divided the land for them. Princess Yixing got 1,000 hectares, Wang Min got 200 hectares, and the remaining 1,659 hectares went to Xia Ru." Pei Yuan had nothing to say.

Do we need to ask where the original owners of these lands are?

Pei Yuan thought for a moment and asked, "Then how did the former Tianjin Wei commander offend Zhang Rui? Zhang Rui is favored by the emperor and will soon be the commander of the Eastern Depot."

Cheng Leixiang said, "Zhang Rui secretly embezzled a lot of land from Tianjin Wei in the name of the imperial farm. The previous commander was not good at handling things, so he asked the eunuch Wang Fang to speak for him, and the matter was exposed."

"Zhang Rui had no choice but to register the land he had taken under the name of the imperial manor, which made him furious. The former commander also knew that he had caused trouble, so he simply committed suicide by taking poison."

After listening to this, Pei Yuan roughly understood what Tianjin Zuowei and Tianjin Youwei were about.

Sure enough, Cheng Leixiang said, "There are four guys like this in the territory of Tianjin's three guards. No one has a good life. Deng Liang, the commander of the left guard, and Cao Xing, the commander of the right guard, didn't want to step forward, so they pushed me out to negotiate with all parties."

“Now we can barely make ends meet by getting some surplus salt from the salt fields.”

Pei Yuan asked, "So what do you think?"

Cheng Leixiang said cautiously, "I think this is a good thing. Although these two people pushed me out as a gun, this at least ensures that the three guards of Tianjin can move in unison and be used by me."

Pei Yuan thought about it and smiled, "That's right. Aren't you afraid of getting into trouble?"

Cheng Leixiang said decisively, "If the three guards of Tianjin cannot be used by the thousand households, then what is the point of me being the commander of the Tianjin Guard?"

"If I can control the situation, that would be the best. If not, I will use those four families to destroy the three guards in Tianjin to avoid future troubles."

Pei Yuan listened, his thoughts gradually drifting away, and he thought of another person.

That was Zhang Heling, the relative of Xia Ru, Earl of Qingyang.

As the daughter of a Jinshi, even if Zhang Yunjing was innocent, there would be no one who would dare to marry her.

There are many scholars in this world who want to take shortcuts.

The reason why they didn't dare to do so was because destroying Zhang Yunjun was a major victory for Zhang Heling.

As long as Zhang Yunjun continues to suffer that unfortunate fate, she will serve as a deterrent to the imperial censors.

Under the protection of his sister, Zhang Heling dared to rape palace maids in the palace. Song Chunniang, with her identity as a captain of the Western Factory, might not be able to protect him.

So, for the happiness of his good friend, getting rid of Zhang Heling has become something he has to do.

Zhang Heling had many problems of his own, and it was easy to frame him with crimes that would have killed him.

But the real trouble lies with Zhang Heling's sister, Empress Dowager Zhang. As long as Empress Dowager Zhang makes unreasonable demands and insists on protecting Zhang Heling, no one can do anything to him in today's society.

The names of Princess Yixing, Xia Ru, Earl of Qingyang, Wang Min, Captain of the Embroidered Uniform Guard, and Zhou Yu, Earl of Changning, flashed through Pei Yuan's mind one after another.

Then I thought of Princess Yixing and the mother of Prince Hui, Emperor Yingzong's Defei Wei; Emperor Xianzong's Shunfei Wang; Emperor Xianzong's biological mother, Emperor Yingzong's Guifei Zhou; and Emperor Yingzong's biological mother, Empress Dowager Sun.

A conspiracy that could kill Zhang Heling slowly took shape in Pei Yuan's mind.

He said to Cheng Leixiang, "After I help Chen Toutie open up the situation in Shandong, I will help you solve the problem in Tianjin."

Cheng Leixiang was overjoyed, but then he became curious and wondered what kind of future Pei Qianhu had promised Chen Toutie.

Pei Yuan asked Cheng Leixiang, "How many people do you have now?"

Cheng Leixiang quickly replied, "Since I received the order from the commander, I have been slowly recruiting soldiers from the refugees, and now we have more than 2,500 of them."

The full strength of a garrison is 5,600 people. Although this number is still far from enough, it has almost doubled from before.

Pei Yuan was very satisfied with this. He asked again, "Didn't Deng Liang and Cao Xing become suspicious?"

Cheng Leixiang chuckled and said, "I took advantage of Qian Hu's great achievements to jump from the rank of 7th-rank general flag to the rank of 3rd-rank commander. As a general flag officer, I just took charge of a group of guards, so it's normal for me to be timid and cautious. They will only laugh at me secretly and won't think much about it."

A bloody battle in Yanggu directly created three uncles, and Cheng Leixiang was justified in his command.

Pei Yuan said, "Then you should maintain this number and train well. Don't recruit soldiers for the time being. I will send you some people later. We want to train an army that truly belongs to us."

Pei Yuan's plan was to select some young and strong men with whom he had deep interests tied to Luo Jiao in the future to make up for the remaining half of the troops in Tianjin Wei.

At that time, Chen Toutie can also be paired with some soldiers and priests to form a dual control over this army.

Upon hearing this, Cheng Leixiang agreed straightforwardly, "I'll remember this."

As a confidant who has witnessed Pei Yuan's rise step by step to where he is today, Cheng Leixiang deeply understands the huge difference between himself and Pei Qianhu.

There's nothing to be evil about.

Besides, if you consider it from another angle, Xiao Pei is doing a pretty good job now.

If I lie down for a few more years, I will probably be a Duke.

Cheng Leixiang feels that his life is becoming more and more promising.

While Pei Yuan was learning about the situation in Tianjin, Liu Zhishu was also communicating with Huo Tao and Tian Fu.

Perhaps what happened just now made him a little uneasy, and Liu Zhishu used conversation to relieve his worries.

Huo Tao and Tian Fu were only juren, so Liu Zhishu was still the object of their envy.

The two of them were talking in a flattering manner, and Liu Zhishu became more and more unable to control herself.

He couldn't help but sigh to the two of them, "I used to think it was hard to be an official in the court, but I didn't expect that the local areas also have their own difficulties."

"Now I have figured it out. It may seem easy to abuse power in a local area because the emperor is far away. But those officials who govern a place are all appointed by the emperor. This is the foundation of their power."

"The emperor is far away, so I am far away from my roots. I will have to rely on others for support."

Since Liu Zhishu passed the imperial examination and became a Jinshi, he had been observing government affairs in the six ministries. He later served in the Ministry of Justice and the Ministry of War. He had no experience in being an official at all.

It can be said that his network of contacts is all in the court.

The hints Pei Yuan had just given him suddenly broke his filter about being in charge of a government, causing him to suffer from mild pre-election anxiety.

However, people like Liu Zhishu are already considered successful people in the eyes of Huo Tao and Tian Fu.

Huo Tao is still young, but Tian Fu is already quite old.

He said enviously, "Prefect Liu is less than 40 years old and he is already the prefect of a big city like Hangzhou. His career is really enviable. People like Prefect Liu should not have such sighs."

Liu Zhishu sighed, "Being an official in the court is not as smooth as you think. In these years alone, a group of people fell when Liu Jin came to power, and another group fell when Liu Jin stepped down. Who in the court is not trembling with fear?"

"If you act like a clean official, the eunuch party will deal with you. If you act like a eunuch party, the clean official will deal with you again."

Tian Fu was a little uneasy when he heard this, and quickly reminded him, "Prefect Liu, be careful with your words."

(End of this chapter)