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

Chapter 388 Enlightenment
Sikong Sui and Cen Meng were both somewhat desperate and could only try their best to listen to the stories about Journey to the West that Huo Tao told them.

It was originally a very interesting thing, but if you add the "emotional recitation" afterwards, it will become completely emotionless!

Although Huo Tao has a good memory, it is not easy for him to talk about all those gods and ghosts while finding a basis for them to fool the world.

For a moment, the three people in the carriage, whether they were telling the story or listening, were extremely painful.

As for Pei Yuan, he had already put his mind at ease and started thinking about the governance of Shandong.

When he came to his senses by chance, Huo Tao was talking about the origin of Sun Wukong.

Then Huo Tao said, "Let's first talk about the historical fulcrum that can restore Journey to the West to its true form."

"First of all, the story of Journey to the West takes place in the Tang Dynasty, of course. So how does the book record the encounter between Tang Monk and Sun Wukong? It says that when he was seeking scriptures, he encountered a mountain with a monkey under it."

"So Tang Seng went to ask people what mountain this was and what kind of monkey this was."

“So how did the local elders respond?”

Huo Tao looked at Sikong Sui and Cen Meng opposite him.

Sikong Sui still remembered what he had just said. When he saw Pei Yuan looking at them sideways, he immediately straightened his chest and said, "The local elders said that when Wang Mang usurped the Han Dynasty, this mountain fell from the sky, and a divine monkey was pressed down under it. It was not afraid of cold or heat and did not eat or drink."

Huo Tao nodded and put his hands behind his back to think.

"Then can we find relevant records about Wang Mang's usurpation of the Han Dynasty?"

Sikong Sui and Cen Meng were both trembling with fear and dared not say a word.

Pei Yuan took the opportunity to show off, "There is a record in the Guangwu Chronicle of the Book of the Later Han Dynasty that during the Battle of Kunyang, Emperor Guangwu was facing a desperate situation. Suddenly, a meteor fell into the camp at night and hit Wang Mang's army, causing the morale of Wang Mang's army to collapse and eventually lead to a great defeat."

"Isn't this right?"

Huo Tao was pleasantly surprised when he heard this, "Great! Great! Wang Mang usurped the Han Dynasty and was unpopular. It just so happened that the Great Sage was subdued and left behind in the human world. It was God's will that the Great Han Dynasty was saved."

"In this way, the real historical data about Sun Wukong can at least be traced back to the period between the Han Dynasty and the Eastern Han Dynasty."

Pei Yuan looked indifferent. Damn it, what was written in "The Taoist Kingdom on Earth" was even more outrageous than this.

With a theoretical basis, Huo Tao continued to lay the foundation for the authenticity of Journey to the West.

Pei Yuan heard the sound of horse hooves coming from outside, and soon heard a scout report, "Tianjin Wei Commander Cheng Leixiang is outside asking for a meeting."

Cheng Zhihu happened to be the one guarding outside the carriage. He quickly asked Pei Yuan, "Captain, Cheng Leixiang is here. Do you want to see him?"

Pei Yuan was feeling uncomfortable in the carriage, so he left Huo Tao to brainwash Sikong Sui and Cen Meng. He got out of the carriage, jumped off without waiting for it to stop, and stretched himself.

The soldier driving the carriage stuck his head out to look and saw Pei Yuan and Cheng Zhihu already standing on the side of the road, stretching their bodies and watching the team marching, so he continued to drive the carriage slowly forward.

Cheng Zhihu was an old hand, so he knew that riding in a carriage was not easy. Seeing Pei Yuan tired, he took the initiative to ask, "The carriage is bumpy, would you like to ride a horse for a while later?"

Pei Yuan shook his head, looked at the carts carrying baggage, and said lazily, "Forget it, there's no hurry to travel, I'll just follow the group on foot."

As he said this, he joked with Cheng Zhihu, "The last time I went to Huguang to see Lu Ting, it took me ten days to go back and forth. My balls were numb from the bumpy ride."

When the soldiers who were marching heard this, even though they were in awe of Captain Pei, they couldn't help but burst into laughter.

Pei Yuan stretched lazily, pointed at a person, and ordered Cheng Zhihu seriously, "It's him. Give him a horse, let him go around the army to guard, and run for me. I'll see if he's crazy."

The soldiers laughed even louder.

The soldier who was pointed at by Pei Yuan was a little confused and did not know whether to laugh or cry.

The soldiers who were marching with him simply pushed him out of the line.

Cheng Zhihu was not vague either. He waved to a scout who was in charge of guarding, requisitioned his horse, and drove the soldier onto the horse amid the cheers.

The soldier seemed to know some tips on riding a horse. He rode the horse around in place for a while and actually looked quite good on it.

Pei Yuan felt it was not fun anymore and glared at Cheng Zhihu.

Cheng Zhihu whipped the horse on its butt, driving it away.

Pei Yuan then burst into laughter along with the soldiers.

While everyone was laughing and joking here, Cheng Leixiang also came over with a few cavalrymen.

After he dismounted, he came over to greet Pei Yuan, who said to him, "You are so far away from the defense zone, it is inevitable that you will be criticized."

Cheng Leixiang had already made arrangements, so he said, "Just in time, a batch of grain is coming from the south. I will bring the people out for training in the name of protecting the grain. From here through Tianjin Wei to Cangzhou, some key places have soldiers on martial law."

Pei Yuan looked at Cheng Leixiang with satisfaction and sighed, "I really didn't hire the wrong person."

If it were Chen Toutie, he might not be so thoughtful.

But if it was Cheng Leixiang, Pei Yuan might not dare to hand over Luo Sect to him.

Pei Yuan briefly asked about the situation in Tianjin, and when he saw that the team had passed by, he caught up with them while chatting.

Just as Pei Yuan expected, the team was too slow and ultimately failed to reach Hexi Posthouse before dark.

Fortunately, the supplies on the car were prepared for these situations.

After running in the rain with the three general flags, Pei Yuan was unwilling to face such an embarrassing situation again.

On the second day, they arrived at Hexi Posthouse at noon and met up with Chen Xinjian and several storytellers he had kidnapped.

After asking, Pei Yuan found out that these people could all recite Journey to the West, and he once again affirmed Chen Xinjian's ability to do things.

Pei Yuan gave each of them a silver ingot worth ten taels, and deceived them into telling the soldiers about Journey to the West when they rested along the way. When they arrived in Jinan, he would reward them generously and let them go.

Those storytellers were kidnapped by Chen Xinjian and were initially very nervous, but they felt relieved when they saw Pei Yuan was so generous.

Taking into account that the current situation was not yet mature, Pei Yuan did not dare to reveal anything to his subordinates too early. He only made an excuse that he planned to select a group of people to infiltrate Luo Sect to find out the inside story.

Therefore, the storytellers told the soldiers only the ordinary stories in Journey to the West. As a result, the Jinyiwei were very interested and their steps became lighter every day, waiting to arrive at the post station so that they could listen to the storytelling.

Unconsciously, they also developed a strong interest in the mythological story.

Cheng Leixiang sent Pei Yuan and others to Cangzhou, and soon after they went south, they entered Shandong.

Wang Chang, who was already performing his duties in Shandong, "happened" to inspect Dezhou and met Pei Yuan.

In the inn, after everyone had left, Pei Yuan asked Wang Chang what he had gained in the past few days.

Unexpectedly, Wang Chang started to complain, "Shandong is a place that is not easy to manage."

As he spoke, Wang Chang slowly told Pei Yuan what he had learned in the past few days.

"Shandong has a total of six prefectures, fifteen states, and eighty-nine counties. The original office of the Provincial Administration Commission was in Qingzhou, and later it was moved to Jinan."

"These six prefectures are divided into the East Three and West Three. The West Three are Jinan, Yanzhou and Dongchang, and the East Three are Qingzhou, Dengzhou and Laizhou. The West Three bear the burden of raising horses, so the taxes are lighter. The East Three have heavier taxes, and Shandong relies more on them for money and grain."

Pei Yuan asked curiously, "I see that large tracts of land in the Western Three Prefectures are very fertile, why was it allocated for horse breeding?"

Wang Chang said, "This involves a case from earlier years. When the Ming Dynasty was first established, Emperor Taizu, with the generosity of the ruler of the world, promised those Mongolian tribes that any Mongolian who was willing to submit to the Ming Dynasty and stay in the Central Plains would be treated as a 'child'."

"So many Mongolian tribes did not return north, but allowed the court to settle them. At that time, Dongchang Prefecture was vast and sparsely populated, so a large number of Mongolian surrendered people were settled there. In addition, because there were constant wars at the beginning of the country, Emperor Taizong also repeatedly launched northern expeditions, which required a large number of war horses. Therefore, the court began to implement horse policies in Dongchang Prefecture and the surrounding Yanzhou Prefecture and Jinan Prefecture, breeding and raising war horses."

Pei Yuan frowned upon hearing this. "The Mongols are not good at farming or weaving, nor do they know how to do business. We cannot just rely on raising horses and let them roam freely in Dongchang Prefecture. I'm afraid they will cause trouble."

Wang Chang replied, "That's true. Dongchang Prefecture had been in turmoil before, with looting everywhere. If the court sent people to investigate, the mob would not resist, but would just surrender and cry for food and supplies to survive."

"Because the number of people involved is so large, the court doesn't have any good solutions. Most of the time, they can only turn a blind eye and let it go."

"Later, the governor of Shandong became rich and worried that these people would become troublesome, so he petitioned the court to relocate some of them to Nanzhili. Unfortunately, this was only a temporary solution. Now Dongchang Prefecture is still full of thieves, and the court's orders are not very smooth."

Pei Yuan couldn't help but sigh after hearing this, "They are all ignorant and stubborn people who need to be educated."

Pei Yuan became interested in Dongchang Prefecture and asked, "I want to go to Dongchang Prefecture to investigate. What do you think?"

Of course Wang Chang knew what Pei Yuan meant.

Dongchang Prefecture is in such a mess that it is indeed a good opportunity to fish in troubled waters, but things are not that simple.

Wang Chang said truthfully, "It's not a good idea. A large area of ​​land in Dongchang Prefecture was seized by Han Wang Zhu Gaoxu for horse breeding. Later, Zhu Gaoxu failed and the land was taken back by the court."

"After that, successive governors and Shandong provincial governors worked hard to mobilize the people to open up wasteland, turning some horse-breeding land into fertile farmland."

"As a result, these lands were once again coveted by the King of De. He has repeatedly asked the court for the horse breeding land of the King of Han. However, the court also knew the pros and cons and did not allow it."

"Last year, the Bazhou army suddenly attacked Dongchang Prefecture, and many people in Dongchang Prefecture were tortured. I heard that many families are now ruined and their land is abandoned. King De has already ordered people to purchase a large amount of land in Dongchang Prefecture."

"If we intervene in Dongchang Prefecture now, I'm afraid we will have to confront Prince De first."

"King De has many vassal kings to help him, so he is not that easy to deal with."

Pei Yuan immediately thought of a guess he had made during the previous rebellion of the Bazhou army.

——Prince De coveted the land of Dongchang Prefecture and deliberately sent his men to lure the Bazhou Army into Shandong.

The evidence is that the people who led the Bazhou Army were the people from the Sword Hall that was raised by King De.

Pei Yuan had fought with those people before, and for that reason, he did not dare to go through Jinan Prefecture and went directly south.

Pei Yuan thought about it and decided that this matter had to be solved together with the matter of overthrowing King De. Only after King De was completely defeated could he fight for this horse-breeding land.

Pei Yuan could only sigh and said, "Let's put the matter of Dongchang Prefecture aside for now. What progress have you made on the matter of the scholars in this province that I asked you to investigate?"

Wang Chang was relieved to see that Pei Yuan did not insist, and he told him everything like the back of his hand.

"Shandong is a city with a strong culture and education, and there are many families of scholars, for example."

"The Lan, Huang, and Zhou families of Jimo. Among them, Lan Zhang of the Lan family passed the imperial examination in the 20th year of Chenghua. Previously, because of Liu Jin, he was demoted to the position of Tongpan of Fuzhou. Now he has been reinstated. It is said that he was transferred to Shanxi to suppress the evil bandit Li Wu as the Chief Censor."

"There are the Zhang, Fa, Kuang and Zhao families in Jiaozhou. The ancestors of the Fa family once served as the commander of Jinan Guard. Because one of their sons served as the principal of Jiaozhou School, they moved out and continued their family tradition of farming and studying in Jiaozhou."

"Kuang Dianzhi of the Kuang family was a Jinshi in the 23rd year of Chenghua. Unfortunately, Kuang Dianzhi died early, and his descendants have not yet achieved a good result."

"Zhao Conglong of the Zhao family was a juren in the eleventh year of the Hongzhi reign and was appointed the magistrate of water conservancy in Kaifeng, Henan."

"This man is quite resourceful. When the Bazhou bandits passed through Henan this year, he was recommended by his colleagues to lead the righteous army to fight against the Bazhou army. Later, because of his meritorious service, he was appointed as the co-governor of Wuchang Prefecture, and his son Zhao Wanbi was appointed as a student of the Imperial Academy."

"It's a pity that he was born in a low family and was suddenly promoted. He was ostracized in Wuchang Prefecture and was about to retire and return home. His other son, Zhao Baibi, was also quite knowledgeable."

"In addition, there are the Shan family, the Fu family, and the Li family in Gaomi; and the Mao family and the Zhao family in Ye County."

"Li Jie of the Li family passed the imperial examination and became a Jinshi in the fifth year of Chenghua. His son Li Kun passed the imperial examination in the third year of Hongzhi and is now the prefect of Jiezhou. There is also a nephew, Li Chen, who was awarded the title of Gongsheng."

"The Mao family produced a scholar named Mao Ji, who served in the Hanlin Academy for many years and is now the Left Vice Minister of the Ministry of Rites. His sons..."

Pei Yuan was a little stunned when he heard this. These situations were completely different from his expectations.

When Pei Yuan heard Wang Chang was going to elaborate on the Mao family, he interrupted and said, "No need."

Mao Ji was Yang Tinghe's close friend. After Yang Tinghe was driven out of the court, he succeeded him as the chief minister of the cabinet and still organized the remaining members of his party to resist for a while.

How could Pei Yuan care about such a family?

Pei Yuan found that he was too optimistic about his previous plan.

Judging from Wang Chang's introduction, those families that could be talked about either already had connections in official circles, or simply had no reputation at all in the imperial examinations.

Even some successful candidates in the first generation became officials directly, and there was no possibility of direct promotion.

Pei Yuan had made careful preparations for a long time, but he did not expect to find himself in an absurd situation where no one was available.

(End of this chapter)