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

Chapter 387 If you don't fight, you are not my brother Pei Yuan

Pei Yuan returned to the shaking carriage.

Huo Tao, who had secretly seen the whole thing, could not help but advise, "Gu Daliang is really a mean person. He was so cruel to Gu Dayong's son. If he falls out with us one day, I'm afraid he will be ruthless. It's better for the captain to keep his distance from him."

Pei Yuan mainly encourages young people.

He immediately said, "Well said."

Then he asked, "What do you think, Mr. Huo?"

Huo Tao subconsciously wanted to say that he would naturally become ruthless before the other party did.

But he had just called Gu Daliang a villain and told Pei Qianhu to keep his distance from Gu Daliang. Wouldn't it be a bit embarrassing if he said this again?

Huo Tao immediately gave a balanced response, "It's better to get closer to loyal and upright people."

Pei Yuan smiled and said, "That makes sense."

He thought for a moment and said, "In that case, I have an errand for you."

Upon hearing this, Huo Tao immediately sat up straight and said, "Just give me your orders, Master. I will do my best."

Pei Yuan then ordered, "I have already asked Wang Chang, the governor of Shandong, to vigorously promote culture and education in Shandong."

"After a while, he will call all the candidates from Shandong to Jinan. First, he will invite great scholars to give them lectures to help them improve their studies; second, Wang Chang will also explain current affairs to the candidates to help them write policy essays."

"In addition, some silver, paper, and ink will be given to the candidates."

After hearing this, Huo Tao immediately complimented him wholeheartedly, "This move by Qian Hu can be said to be of great merit."

Pei Yuan did not take credit for this.

In feudal society, education was a job that required little investment but was particularly easy to gain prestige.

After all, isn't reputation spread by these scholars?

As long as scholars live well, it will be a prosperous era.

In the past, when provincial governors arrived, they usually first promoted education to improve their reputation. But Wang Chang's efforts were particularly strong this time. In addition to inviting great scholars, he also gave them gifts of gold and silver.

Although it was a public expense, no minister in the court could say "no" to this matter.

As for travel expenses, you don't have to worry about it.

The scholars invited by Wang Chang were all successful candidates, and they could get free food and lodging at the post stations along the way.

Pei Yuan said to Huo Tao, "When the time comes, you can go to Wang Chang to help him with some work and gain some experience in being an official. By the way, get in touch with the candidates from all over the country. If there are any loyal and upright people, please write them down for me."

Pei Yuan was afraid that Huo Tao might not fully understand what he meant.

To put it bluntly, "I don't want someone who is too smart. I want someone who is stubborn. If there is a suitable person, even if they are less talented, it doesn't matter. I will help them achieve success."

"When the time comes, you give the list to Wang Chang, and he will come forward to help me with the rest."

Huo Tao already understood.

How can this be considered looking for a loyal and upright person?
It's obvious that he wants to find the kind of honest and upright person who will be loyal to him once he's accepted!

Then you have chosen the right place.

He could already imagine the scene where a group of burly candidates bowed to Captain Pei and called him brother.

After Huo Tao realized that he had misunderstood, he also understood that there was something wrong with his initial answer.

Judging from the way Pei Qianhu acted, he must be more inclined to the answer of "turning hostile towards the other party before he does".

But Huo Tao couldn't answer it again.

As the saying goes, "What the superior likes, the subordinates will follow." Huo Tao was just thinking about how to express to his brother that he had corrected his three views when he heard Pei Yuan ask, "I heard that before the imperial examinations, you candidates have literary gatherings to make friends with each other. Is there such a thing?"

Huo Tao replied, "Indeed."

Pei Yuan became interested and asked, "In the last exam, there was a top three scholar named Gui E. Do you know him?"

Huo Tao thought about it and had some impression of him. "He seems to be a guy with a bad temper. I don't have much contact with him."

Pei Yuan said, "This is a talented person. You should get closer to him."

Huo Tao felt a little embarrassed after hearing this, not because of Gui E's bad temper, but because he and Gui E were not even acquaintances, and it would be too presumptuous to go to her like this. Besides, he didn't even know where Gui E was.

Huo Tao answered truthfully, "I didn't interact with him much, and after Gui E passed the imperial examination, we had no contact anymore. I don't know where he is now."

Pei Yuan had someone verify it, and answered directly, "After observing the government, he went to Dantu, and is now serving as the county magistrate."

This time Huo Tao was really surprised.

Among the more than 300 people who passed the Xinwei examination in the sixth year of Zhengde, Captain Pei only cared about Gui E and even found out his whereabouts. This person is going to be of great use.

Huo Tao did not dare to be careless and quickly said, "The student union will find a way to contact Gui E."

Pei Yuan understood Huo Tao's difficulties and said, "There is no need to rush. Wait until after this year's imperial examination. You two will be in the officialdom together and it will be easier to talk to each other. This person still needs to be tempered at the grassroots level."

Gui E was the first person in history to propose the "One Whip Law".

Unfortunately, there is no strong cabinet to push this policy forward.

It was not until fifty years later that this "One Whip System" was carried forward by Zhang Juzheng.

Pei Yuan already had a relatively mature idea about the economic model of the Ming Dynasty, and this "one whip method" was the key to starting all links.

Compared with others, Gui E, who was able to come up with the "One Whip Law", was obviously the most suitable person to promote this policy.

Now Pei Yuan is not ready yet, so he can only let Huo Tao show his friendship and do some preliminary work.

Huo Tao understood Pei Yuan's implicit meaning. Pei Yuan not only confirmed that there would be an imperial examination this year, but also promised him a bright future.

He was overjoyed and immediately agreed.

When the car became quiet again, Pei Yuan closed his eyes and thought about things silently.

Gu Daliang's occasional display of his prowess today and Gu Ben's death sounded a warning in Pei Yuan's heart.

The layout he thought was safe actually had a lot of variables.

Pei Yuan relied on a network woven by layer of planning, with several important anchor points, including Wang Chang, Gu Dayong, Xiao Yan, Lu Ting, Li Shishi, and the Bazhou Army.

Needless to say, Wang Chang was subdued by intimidation, and he and Wang Chang worked together with the Bazhou army in Huainan. There were circumstantial evidence for the whole incident, and Pei Yuan even specially protected Qi Yanming as a direct witness.

As the Minister of War in Nanjing, this crime was enough to get Wang Chang killed without a burial place.

Gu Dayong need not be mentioned. He first lied about his military achievements in Yanggu, and then lied about Luo Jiao in cooperation with Pei Yuan in order to re-establish the West Factory. These two things were enough to make the emperor lose his trust in him and make him lose everything completely.

What's more, Pei Yuan could also pin the blame of Liang Ci's death on Gu Dayong, because the direct beneficiary of this incident was Gu Dayong, who was the one who restored the Western Factory.

If it is connected with the previous events, Gu Dayong, who has lost the trust of the emperor, will definitely not be able to withstand Liang Chu's revenge.

Xiao Yan's situation was similar to Gu Dayong's. He also lied about his military achievements in the battle of Yanggu. What was even more outrageous was that in order to prevent the hidden danger of false credit being exposed, he also cooperated with Pei Yuan to swallow up the 600 Xuzhou soldiers and secretly released these local guards into the capital. When he and Pei Yuan joined forces to rob Zhang Feng, the governor of the river, the two of them could be completely tied together.

The relationship between Lu Ting and Pei Yuan was relatively stable. Not to mention the things they had done together, Lu Ting had always admired Pei Yuan.

If you mention what the two of them have done.

So how do we explain the fact that Lu Ting and Bai Yu ambushed the rear of the Bazhou Army in time during the Huaibei Campaign? The only possibility is that Lu Ting knew the Bazhou Army's breakout route in advance and did not report it, allowing the defense line that the court had spent months organizing to be defeated by the Bazhou Army.

Furthermore, the matter of secretly releasing the most core cavalry of the Bazhou Army was enough to make Zhu Houzhao skin Lu Ting alive.

Li Shishi was luckier, as he got involved in something.

Helped King Ning rescue several major bandit leaders of the Bazhou army and the thousands of core Bazhou bandits.

This case is the simplest, and he will suffer fewer beatings during the interrogation.

As for the Bazhou Army, theoretically speaking, the Bazhou Army is now out of control.

They were no longer threatened by the imperial army, and once they got too excited, they would probably drag Pei Yuan into trouble. Pei Yuan could only be thankful that Chen Jin, the Chief Censor, was still in Jiangxi leading troops to suppress the rebellion, which would allow the Bazhou army, which was already extremely tired of war, to remain calm enough.

As long as some time passes, this Bazhou Army will become fake.

But to be honest, Pei Yuan did not take the threat of the Bazhou Army seriously. Even if Liu Liu and Liu Qi ran to Beijing to file a complaint at the risk of their lives, Pei Yuan was not afraid.

Because no one would believe what Pei Yuan had done before and after.

Theoretically, these anchor points are reliable, but the appearance of Gu Daliang made Pei Yuan discover the instability of these anchor points.

Once illogical factors emerge, it is likely to lead to the collapse of Pei Yuan’s control structure.

Moreover, as Pei Yuan's strength increased, he was also thinking about an extremely important issue.

The Zhu family obtained the country in a very legitimate way, and the royal power came from heaven. Then where did my royal power come from?

We can't just rely on a few eunuch traitors, can we?
These people are like vines clinging to a big tree, relying on the emperor's power.

Once the conflict between Zhu Houzhao and the civil officials became serious, or once Pei Yuan himself and Zhu Houzhao came into conflict, these "forces" would become illusory.

Even people like Gu Dayong and Xiao Yan might die without a burial place.

Then how can I maintain this illusory foundation?
Pei Yuan thought about it and still felt that this Luo Jiao, which he did with ease, was the first stone to lay the foundation.

Pei Yuan jumped out from the crowd of common people.

Then one should establish one's royal power on the support of the common people.

Pei Yuan thought about it, opened his eyes, and knocked on the carriage.

Chen Xinjian's voice immediately sounded outside the car curtain, "Qian Hu, what's wrong?"

Pei Yuan said, "It's boring on the road. Send someone to Wuqing or Baodi to find a few storytellers to tell a few stories for the brothers along the way."

Chen Xinjian asked outside the car, "What does Qianhu want to hear?"

Pei Yuan replied calmly, "Journey to the West."

As the younger brother of the cult leader and a close follower of Pei Yuan, Chen Xinjian naturally knew some secrets.

He immediately said, "I understand. I will arrange for someone to do it right away."

Pei Yuan hummed and said, "Don't make too much noise. Just say that he is celebrating his birthday at the manor outside the city, pay a high price to lure him out of the city, and then kidnap him. When the time comes, bring your men to Hexi Post to find me."

Journey to the West and the like are just for listening now.

If the teachings of Luojiao spread everywhere, then it would be strange that this Jinyiwei army heading south specially found many storytellers to tell stories from Journey to the West.

Unfortunately, those storytellers are all big mouths, so Pei Yuan can only prepare for the worst.

Chen Xinjian heard this and said, "Then I will go there myself."

Seeing that Pei Yuan had no objection, he quickly rode away, called a few of his personal soldiers who were good at doing things, and went their separate ways.

After Chen Xinjian left, Huo Tao saw Pei Yuan lift the carriage curtain and look out the window, not intending to think about anything else, so he said carefully, "Captain, I have actually read Journey to the West once."

"Oh?" Pei Yuan came back to his senses and looked at Huo Tao, "How much do you remember?"

Huo Tao said modestly, "I have had a photographic memory since I was young, so I think I can recount the general idea."

Pei Yuan didn't feel so sleepy now.

This kid really deserves a beating.

Pei Yuan saw that Cheng Zhihu was waiting outside the car window, so he said to him, "Let Sikong Baihu and Cen Meng come over."

Soon Sikong Sui and Cen Meng both rode their horses closer.

Pei Yuan said directly, "Get in the car."

As the conversation continued, the personal soldiers driving the carriage immediately drove it to the side of the road.

Both guys were wearing armor. They took off their armor and weapons with great effort before getting on the carriage.

There wasn't much space in the carriage, but it was more than enough for four people.

When the carriage started moving again, Pei Yuan said to Sikong Sui and Cen Meng, "Okay, from now on, until we get to Jinan, you will stay in my carriage and listen to Mr. Huo's story about Journey to the West with me."

Huo Tao was dumbfounded after hearing this.

Journey to the West is so long, do I have to tell the whole story?
Seeing Huo Tao was a little dazed, Pei Yuan said to him calmly, "In addition to retelling it to us, you have to try to make us believe that those bizarre things really happened."

"What?" Huo Tao's eyes widened even more.

He was speechless for a while before he said to Pei Yuan, "But isn't Journey to the West a legendary story?"

Pei Yuan's expression was calm and serious. "Yes, convince us."

Just when Huo Tao felt it was getting more and more absurd, Pei Yuan said to him, "Do you think I'm making things difficult for you? Tian Fu was doing this a month ago. If you can't do it, I won't force you. Anyway, it will be the same when Tian Fu comes back."

Huo Tao's mind was working rapidly.

When he heard that Tian Fu had done this a month ago, he believed that Pei Yuan was not teasing him.

In that case, we might as well give it a try. Maybe we can leave a better impression on Captain Pei.

Pei Yuan looked at Sikong Sui and Cen Meng who were laughing happily, "You should remember what Huo Sheng said. When you get to Jinan, you should do the same thing. I will fight with you for our first stone."

Sikong Sui and Cen Meng were both a little flustered after hearing this. How could they understand this?

The two men begged, "We won't listen. We can't read a single word, how can we do this?"

Pei Yuan's attitude was very firm, and he said seriously, "No, if you don't fight, you are not my brother Pei Yuan."

(End of this chapter)