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

Chapter 393: Martial Law Begins

Chen Xianzun was completely numb.

Is this a notice to reassure the public?

A strong sense of insecurity enveloped him.

Chen Xianzun asked directly, "Why do you need to issue a notice to reassure the people?"

Huo Tao brought out a stack of confessions and spread them out in front of Chen Lang.

This was the backup plan Pei Yuan left behind last time.

Chen Lang flipped through the confessions quickly while Huo Tao narrated for him.

"Before, the Bazhou bandits were defeated in Huaibei, and part of their army fled into Shandong, looting towns, killing people, and committing crimes everywhere. Among them was a bandit named 'Little Wusong', a local bandit in Yanggu."

"After he joined the Bazhou Army, he led his men to attack the former eunuch Gu Dayong who was in charge of military affairs. He also sent a message to 'Big Tiger' and 'Starry Sky', which attracted the main force of the Bazhou bandits to attack."

"When the government troops arrived in Yanggu, he even colluded with local tyrants and gathered more than a thousand men to cut off the government troops' path."

Huo Tao gave Chen Lang a brief account of the battle in Yanggu.

Then he said, "At that time, the prefectures and counties in Shandong were intimidated by the power of the bandits and were in shock three times a day. In order to stabilize the overall situation and prevent those who colluded with the bandits from jumping off the wall, they did not immediately settle the accounts."

"Now that we have won a great victory on the Huguang front, it is time to make those traitors pay the price."

Chen Lang was an official in Yanggu at the time, so he naturally knew some things about the Battle of Yanggu.

At that time, everyone thought that it was the thief Liu from Bazhou who committed the crime, but they did not expect that so many local big families were involved.

Chen Lang still remembered that after the Battle of Yanggu, the nephews of Eunuch Gu and Eunuch Xiao came to the city to do some business with those big families and converted part of the spoils into silver and copper coins.

I didn't expect that he would turn against me so easily.

Chen Lang flipped through the files, quickly thinking about the pros and cons of the matter in his mind.

If it was when the Bazhou army was causing chaos everywhere, Chen Lang would naturally not care about such things. Maybe when these powerful people were captured, he could even get a share of the credit.

But what time is it now?
The Bazhou Army has been completely pacified. If Yanggu causes such trouble again, it will attract the attention of the world.

At least a considerable responsibility lies with him as the county magistrate.

Chen Lang thought quickly in his mind and said subconsciously, "This has already involved most of the families in Yanggu. This matter must not be taken lightly."

"Besides, the world has finally been stabilized. Even the rebellious bandits can be appeased. How much more so these people who have not yet shown any signs of rebellion?"

As he spoke, Chen Lang actually began to question the authenticity of these confessions.

"If this is true, why didn't the Ministry of Justice send someone to arrest him?"

"How can this county allow you to arrest people in Yanggu with just a few pieces of paper?"

When Pei Yuan heard this, he thought, emmm, this does make sense.

Now is a time of chaos. If there is a major case like this, it should be the Ministry of Justice that intervenes.

We are not in the right.

Seeing Huo Tao was a little hesitant, Pei Yuan thought, if the land tax was here, it would be easy to deal with.

That guy is thick-skinned and black-hearted, completely different from young people like Huo Tao who still have some sense of right and wrong.

Pei Yuan knew it was time to give this young scholar some realistic education.

So, he stood up with a smile and said, "Although what County Master Chen said makes sense, these rebels are punishable by all means. As the personal soldiers of the emperor, can't we, the Jinyiwei, take action to capture them?"

Pei Yuan said with a joking smile, looking at the Jinyiwei around him, "Is it wrong to love the Ming Dynasty?"

The Jinyiwei immediately laughed and agreed, "That's right! That's right!"

Pei Yuan stopped smiling before Chen Lang could continue speaking.

As the smile on Pei Yuan's face disappeared, the Jinyiwei who had been booing and laughing immediately fell silent.

This change from extreme noise to extreme silence made Chen Lang shudder involuntarily.

He looked at Pei Yuan's calm face.

Although it was their first meeting and he didn't know what official position the man in front of him held, Chen Lang inexplicably felt an indescribable heavy pressure.

He swallowed hard and wanted to continue arguing.

However, he tried to open his mouth several times, but his throat was unable to produce any sound.

Pei Yuan looked at Chen Lang calmly and spoke to him very bluntly.

"Since each matter has its own reasons, the court can accept whatever the result is."

"So, how this matter ends and what it will turn out like in the end is naturally up to us to decide."

After saying this, a smile slowly appeared on Pei Yuan's face again.

He slowly clenched his hands in front of him.

Chen Lang's eyes immediately fell on the clenched fist full of explosive power and the gradually bulging muscles on his forearms.

Then Pei Yuan said maliciously, "Because I am more powerful."

Pei Yuan finished speaking slowly, looking away.

Cen Meng, who was standing by, immediately jumped up and shouted, "Catch him!"

The Jinyiwei were so excited after seeing Pei Yuan's oppressive scene that their blood was boiling. When they heard Cen Meng's words, they immediately rushed out.

Because a contingency plan had been made beforehand, the more than 200 Jinyiwei were smoothly divided into several teams.

The leading flag officer took a piece of paper with names written on it, went out to the street and grabbed a passerby, asking him to help lead the way and then rushed directly to the target's house.

Chen Lang watched all this happen, but did not dare to move in the slightest.

The yamen runners who were brought in lowered their heads like quails, fearing that they would be discovered by the county magistrate or the powerful outsiders.

Huo Tao had just seen Pei Yuan's performance. Although he couldn't say that he had achieved great enlightenment, it was as if his Ren and Du meridians were opened up, and his hearing and eyesight became sharper.

Pei Yuan made no attempt to reason with the county magistrate Chen Lang.

He just used his personal performance to overwhelm Chen Lang.

Even Huo Tao could sense the danger from this man, not to mention Chen Lang who was facing Pei Yuan directly.

Just when Huo Tao had a new idea, his eyes fell on the yamen runners.

So he stepped forward and said to Pei Yuan, "Captain, the county didn't know about it before, so we can ask those yamen runners to help. We are here only because we love the Ming Dynasty, not because we are greedy for credit."

During the pre-war mobilization, Pei Yuan had already explained to his men that the focus of this operation was to obtain property. Whether or not to arrest people was not the point. The most important thing was to find all the stolen goods of the rebels as soon as possible.

Since he was just trying to make money, Huo Tao naturally hoped to use this opportunity to ease his relationship with the county magistrate.

It was obviously a good deal to get some useless merits in exchange for the support of the county magistrate. Unexpectedly, Pei Yuan seemed not to understand what he said and said casually, "Well, let them make amends for their crimes."

Upon hearing this, Cheng Zhihu, who was standing by, immediately issued an order to have the yamen runners brought to help with the work.

With these local tycoons who are familiar with the place, most of the effort can be saved.

Chen Lang, who was standing by, suddenly realized that Pei Yuan was trying to vent his anger on the local officials. Although he did not dare to refute him in person, he turned away with a grim face.

After Chen Lang left, Huo Tao asked Pei Yuan in confusion, "Captain, we are just here to make money, why do we have to make such a fuss with the county magistrate?"

Pei Yuan said as a matter of course, "We just robbed it, why should we have any shame?"

Seeing Huo Tao's worry, Fang smiled again, "Don't worry, I know what's going on with this matter."

These local big families, just by working hard year after year, can also produce a few scholars and juren. With fame, they can naturally extend their tentacles into the officialdom.

Chen Lang alone can no longer influence the situation.

Since the two sides have already torn their relations apart, there is not much room for easing the situation, not to mention that Pei Yuan still wants to take advantage of the opportunity to do something.

Huo Tao stopped talking immediately and began to reflect silently on his gains and losses that day.

The actions of the Jinyiwei were very smooth. These people rushed into the homes of various wealthy families with knives and guns in hand, and encountered almost no resistance, and easily took control of the situation.

In broad daylight, the government troops came again. Many families were only given a few orders and were then detained obediently.

Pei Yuan also took a few personal soldiers to check around along the street. He saw the Jinyiwei carrying large and small bags of things, some even pushing carts to transport things. His face darkened.

Chen Xinjian stepped forward and asked.

Pei Yuan said in a deep voice, "How do these people do things? They don't even consider the impact."

Chen Xinjian followed Pei Yuan's gaze and immediately saw many people peeking out from their homes on both sides, opening the cracks in their doors and looking out.

Chen Xinjian was furious. He rushed forward and kicked him hard.

A family who was looking out with their door open did not notice Chen Xinjian's actions because of the angle of vision.

The thick door panel suddenly hit his face and he immediately let out a scream of "Ouch".

Then, the door was held tightly from the inside, for fear that the ferocious Jinyiwei outside would rush in.

Chen Xinjian ignored them and kicked several doors in succession.

Those who saw it hurriedly closed the doors and windows and dared not look outside again.

Many of the people who had dared to run out and watch from a distance on the long street were also frightened and scattered.

Chen Xinjian was seen standing on the empty street with a knife in hand, looking around and shouting, "Begin martial law!"

His voice was heard far away in the empty streets. Upon hearing the order, the Jinyiwei who were on action immediately sent out people, holding knives and setting up martial law on the streets.

Seeing that the situation was stable, Pei Yuan sent someone to pass a message to Sikong Sui, handing over the task of blocking the four gates to the personal soldiers of the governor's office, and letting Sikong Sui lead the people in his centurion to help transport supplies.

Sikong Sui came over and asked Pei Yuan, "Captain, where are we going to stay these days? Should we just occupy the official post station?"

Sikong Sui also explained, "We also need to find a place to detain the captured thieves. The situation is urgent and no one can say anything."

Pei Yuan quickly refused, "No, find a temple. Or just go to the City God Temple."

Pei Yuan was very clear about what interests were his and what interests were everyone's.

If you cross the line due to a momentary dominance, the trouble you will bring upon yourself will be more than just a little bit.

Upon hearing this, Sikong Sui took the order and hurried to make arrangements.

Pei Yuanze took his men to patrol everywhere to ensure that nothing would be missed.

Soon Sikong Sui found Pei Yuan and said to him, "Captain, we have found a place to resettle us. Do you want to go and have a rest first?"

Pei Yuan thought about it and felt that robbery would have a bad influence, so a good boy should try not to show up in public at this time.

So he took his men and followed Sikong Sui to the temple he had chosen.

When we arrived at the place, we saw a large building complex and a group of monks were waiting tremblingly outside the mountain gate.

Pei Yuan glanced at the plaque and read, "Liansheng Temple."

He half-jokingly said to Sikong Sui, "This doesn't have anything to do with the White Lotus Sect, does it?"

The White Lotus Sect is Pei Yuan’s old alias, and it feels very familiar when you see it.

Sikong Sui replied, "It shouldn't matter. When the White Lotus Sect was wreaking havoc in Shandong, in order to encircle and suppress the White Lotus Mother Tang Sai'er, the Qianhu Office appointed Deputy Qianhu Chen Chi to be in charge of this matter."

"Deputy Captain Chen fought hard several times and completely defeated the White Lotus rebels. One of the battles took place near Yanggu, where Deputy Captain Chen led his troops to station there at that time."

"Oh." Pei Yuan, who didn't know much about fighting, expressed his humility to his predecessor.

Then he asked Sikong Sui, "Is there any Taoist priest Zhenji here to spy?"

Sikong Sui smiled bitterly and said, "Our previous strength was not enough in the capital, so how could we take care of these places. If there really were one or two Taoist masters like Zhenji scattered everywhere, it would be hard to say who would be afraid of whom."

Pei Yuan sighed after hearing this, "Shandong is about to be invaded by the Luo Cult. How can we survive with such a weak strength? We should organize the big temples in Shandong and send Taoist Zhenji to station there."

Sikong Sui, an old man who has close ties with Nanjing, is currently still a peripheral staff member of Pei Yuan.

Pei Yuan didn't talk much to him about Luo Sect.

But now that the big thing is about to start, some inside information needs to be slowly let him know, otherwise things might get worse.

Pei Yuan hesitated for a long time about whether to tell Han Qianhu.

But in the end, I decided that it would be best to keep it a secret until Luo could teach me.

Although Han Qianhu could cooperate with him to make money by taking advantage of the rebels' southward migration, as a hunting dog of the imperial court tracking down the cult, he might not be able to compromise on such matters.

After hearing what Pei Yuan said, Sikong Sui couldn't help but complain, "Qian Hu, there are hundreds of temples that we need to manage in the capital alone. If we send Taoist Zhenji to all of them, with the strength of our Qian Hu, we can't even meet the needs of the capital, let alone places like Shandong."

"This time when we came to Shandong, only Tan Tai Fang Tu was left as a decent centurion. The other centurions were no longer useful. If the centurions want to strengthen their control, they might as well start by building up the capital."

Then there was a blatant hint, "The temples in the capital are also fatter."

Pei Yuan immediately scolded, "Superficial!"

The size of the Zhenji Taoist temple in the capital must not be reduced, because Pei Yuan will definitely return to the capital after laying a solid foundation in Shandong.

The size of the Zhenji Taoist priests in the capital involves the emergency forces that Pei Yuan can urgently mobilize, so naturally the more the better.

Many important games in the future will take place in Beijing and Xuanfu. How can you influence the direction of this drama if you don’t go to the center of the stage?

However, Pei Yuan already had plans for these things and was not in a hurry to replenish the forces in the capital.

As the most critical emergency force, Pei Yuan’s first consideration was the issue of loyalty.

Pei Yuan had already made plans. He intended to wait until the Luo Sect became more mature and had a group of sufficiently loyal people. He would then arrange for them to join the Zhenxie Qianhu Office and serve as Taoist priests in various temples in the capital.

(End of this chapter)