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

Chapter 404: The World is in Trouble

"There are many things going on in the world."

Pei Yuan stood up, folded his hands and looked up at the night sky at a 45-degree angle, his face solemn and a little hypocritical.

After a night of tossing and turning, the sky gradually brightened.

Pei Yuan was not sleepy at all and went back to the fire to think about things.

When it was bright, everyone had finished their rest. Pei Yuan left Chen Toutie and the two hundred or so soldiers from Xuzhou behind, and continued on his journey to Yanggu with only a dozen of his personal soldiers.

Tian Fu wanted to invite Pei Yuan to visit Luo Jiao's place of residence, but Pei Yuan was too lazy to deal with those trivial matters and just acted as a hands-off boss.

He did remind Chen Toutie and Tian Fu that he would send someone to Yanggu again once the situation stabilized.

At that time, we will have to provide a large sum of money to support this side.

The current Luo sect is in its initial stage and has almost no hematopoietic ability.

Pei Yuan also had no intention of killing the goose that lays the golden eggs and letting Luo Jiao go out and stir up trouble.

In this way, Pei Yuan would have to spend money on it himself.

Apart from other things, the daily food and drink for these thousands of new believers alone is a considerable sum. When they return home after completing their studies, they will also need some travel expenses and money to start their missionary work.

After all, no matter what one believes in, what everyone expects is a better life.

Most of the wealth that Pei Yuan looted from Yanggu had to be invested here.

Two days later, Pei Yuan returned to Yanggu exhausted. He did not care about his tiredness and asked Sikong Sui who stayed behind, "Is everything safe these days?"

Sikong Sui replied, "Since the last visit of the Supervisory Censor, no one has come to visit us. A few days ago, I sent someone to the government office to inquire about the follow-up of the county magistrate, but the people in the government office were trying to avoid us."

Pei Yuan couldn't help but sigh after hearing this.

The mysterious passage to Shandong officialdom was closed to him.

For the time being, these people are unable to use their identities as Jinyiwei to borrow the invisible power of officialdom.

Pei Yuan thought about his plan to win over local scholars and thought that he might have to stay behind the scenes on this matter.

The Jinyiwei had a bad reputation to begin with and easily aroused resentment among scholars.

Coupled with the looting of Yanggu and the attempt to frame the Shandong officials for protecting Prince De, these mad dogs have become people that everyone avoids.

Pei Yuan didn't react much to this.

He has made up his mind to establish a foothold in Yanggu. If the officials in Shandong officialdom ignore him, he can still live in peace.

He asked Sikong Sui, "Besides this, is there anything else?"

Sikong Sui thought of something else, "Oh, by the way, the eunuch Bi Zhen, who guards Shandong, sent a letter to Qian Hu. I will go get it now."

After that, he left in a hurry.

Chen Xinjian shouted, "Go prepare some food and boil more water."

We had already received the news that Captain Pei would be back today, and had already prepared wine and food.

Pei Yuan, Chen Xinjian and other personal soldiers did not distinguish between high and low positions, and sat around the big table and started eating.

A few who couldn't squeeze in stood aside and used their chopsticks quickly.

Pei Yuan ate a few bites of food in a hurry, and then Sikong Sui came over with a letter.

Pei Yuan left the table, gave his seat to someone else, took the letter and opened it.

When I opened it, there were only three smug words on it: "Is it okay?"

Pei Yuan smiled.

I asked Sikong Sui to help reply to the letter, which also contained three words, "I learned it."

Pei Yuan was exhausted from traveling these days and was too lazy to care about other things. He asked someone to pour the boiled hot water into the bucket, washed himself thoroughly, and went straight to bed to rest.

I slept soundly and woke up in the middle of the night.

Pei Yuan tossed and turned in bed for a while, then felt a little regretful.

He had also eaten and tasted it before. Since he was going to stay in Shandong permanently this time, it would be a mistake not to bring a woman with him.

Even if it is not appropriate to take the beautiful Jiao with him, he should at least bring one of the two singing girls that Zang Xian gave him.

When dawn came, Pei Yuan, who had slept enough, felt listless.

After he had breakfast, he thought he had nothing to do today, so he asked Chen Xinjian, "Is there any good pancake shop in this city?"

Chen Xinjian, who was familiar with Water Margin, said to Captain Pei with an "I know what's going on" expression, "It's not difficult. A few days ago, I was afraid that Yanggu County had some evil plot, so I had someone secretly spy in the city. Call the person over later, and you'll know after a few questions."

Pei Yuan wanted to nod.

Then he changed his mind and shook his head quickly, "Forget it, forget it, it will have a bad influence."

Pei Yuan now has 200 Jinyiwei who were originally stationed at Zhihua Temple. They were soldiers from Xuzhou and were of the same mind as Pei Yuan. But there are another 100 Jinyiwei who were brought here by Sikong Sui, the centurion.

The two centurions of Sikong Sui and Tantai Fangtu were all staffed by elderly people brought from Nanjing.

When facing outsiders, the people in the Northern Bureau might be as tight as an iron barrel, with no loopholes.

But when facing the Southern Bureau, it leaked like a sieve.

Pei Yuan no longer had any confidence in Sikong Sui's integrity, let alone the small flags and captains under him.

The people below can't keep any secrets from each other.

If any bad news gets out, Pei Yuan’s efforts these days will be in vain.

Chen Xinjian thought Pei Yuan didn't want to get involved with other women, so he suggested, "Why don't we ask General Song to come over?"

Pei Yuan was slightly tempted, but then he quickly rejected it, "Forget it, it's so far."

Pei Yuan simply asked about the development of the Northern Bureau in Yanggu.

Chen Xinjian called Sikong Sui over, and Sikong Sui told him what he had done in the past few days.

"Captain, all the gold and silver we got from those big families have been packed into boxes and can be shipped to Tai'an at any time."

"Those silks, satins, pearls and jades are hard to cash in. I sent people to Yanggu City to ask for their prices, but no one was willing to take them."

"I have sent reliable people to nearby Shouzhang. If all goes well, we will be able to cash in in a few days."

“In addition, there are still a large number of land deeds, good houses, and shops that have not yet been processed.”

Pei Yuan had already made plans for this, so he said, "Since we have decided to settle here, we must have some industries. Let's keep these for ourselves."

"As for the land, recruit tenant farmers as soon as possible to grow soybeans. We also need to find someone knowledgeable to manage those shops. When we organize a caravan to transport goods from Yangzhou to the north, these shops can be used to sell goods."

Sikong Sui was surprised when he heard this, "Captain, where did our caravan come from?"

Pei Yuan said, "It's almost there."

Sikong Sui did not ask further questions, but sighed, "I am afraid that even with the caravan, the goods, and the shops, this business will not be easy to do?"

Pei Yuan was surprised and asked, "Why?"

Sikong Sui said, "We have offended the Shandong officialdom, and then someone will come to collect various taxes. Other people may just pay a little money and raise their hands to pay, but if it is our shop..." Sikong Sui paused and continued, "I am afraid that the Provincial Surveillance Commissioner is planning something bad, and is waiting for us to break the law."

"The Censorate..." Pei Yuan felt a headache when he thought of this.

Now the relationship with the Supreme Court is a bit strained, and it's not easy to improve.

Wang Chang is a good middleman.

It’s just that although Governor Wang Chang was the immediate superior of the Supreme Court, he was unfortunately a lame governor.

Everyone already knows that Wang Chang came to Shandong for a temporary stay in order to land safely, and they may not be afraid of him in their hearts.

Pei Yuan could only say, "Let's put this matter aside for now. I'll discuss it with Governor Wang later."

Pei Yuan asked about other things and learned that Qianhu Suo had taken over some temples around Yanggu County. He was immediately satisfied and said to Sikong Sui, "This is a good job. We can think of a way to squeeze out some more manpower and try to bring the other temples in Dongping Prefecture under our control."

Sikong Sui had no choice but to agree.

After Pei Yuan asked about the things here, he became concerned about the things in the court.

Hearing Pei Yuan's question.

Sikong Sui hurriedly recalled the court reports he had read in the past few days, as well as the letters sent to him by Tan Tai Fang Tu, and repeated to Pei Yuan some things happening in the court.

Pei Yuan already knew roughly what was going on from Sikong Sui's narration.

After defeating the Bazhou rebels, several commanders of the Ming army almost abandoned their troops and rushed to the capital in order to seek credit from the emperor.

Just in the past two days, generals vying for merit have flocked to Beijing, filling the Ministry of War to capacity.

At the beginning, Lu Ting was full of confidence and believed that he would be the one who made the greatest contribution in this battle and that he would get the biggest share of the reward.

So he took his time accepting bribes along the way and slowly headed towards the capital.

But halfway through the journey, they heard that the Ministry of War had already broken down the merits into pieces in order to reward all the troops, and was calculating the rewards for them bit by bit.

Now Lu Ting couldn't sit still anymore.

If the merits were really divided up and rewards were distributed, everyone would benefit equally and be happy, but Lu Ting would suffer.

Since all the credit goes to the younger brothers below, then what does he count as?
Therefore, Eunuch Lu could no longer hold back and hurried to the capital.

Sikong Sui summarized Tan Tai Fang Tu's words, "The capital is now in chaos because of the fight for credit. Lu Ting is constantly tripped up by others. He is the one with the most significant credit, but now he is the most troubled."

"Now I heard that he wanted to compete for the credit, even the military leaders who were originally under his command turned against him."

"The court has not yet decided how to plan for success, and the situation is already in a complete mess."

Eunuch Lu has no foundation in the capital, and this time he came back with the intention of targeting the eunuch who holds the seal of the Imperial Household Department. Everyone is watching him with great vigilance.

It would have been fine if Zhang Yong and Xiao Jing had taken action against Lu Ting, but even Yang Yiqing had greatly downplayed Lu Ting's contributions in order to keep Zhang Yong as an ally.

According to Yang Yiqing, if Gu Dayong had not carried out the expedition over the previous year, there would naturally not have been the subsequent rush of the Bazhou Army.

Lu Ting was just following the Bazhou army to take advantage.

Yang Yiqing himself had served as the governor-general of three borders and was a very persuasive military cadre in the court. Naturally, his words carried weight.

Pei Yuan listened to Sikong Sui's story, stroked his chin and thought about it, and was not surprised by this.

Wang Zhi made such great contributions back then, but wasn't he humiliated?

Lu Ting's expectations were probably too high because of the "three uncles" that appeared in the battle of Yanggu.

But this is a different time.

At that time, the rebellion in Bazhou had not yet been pacified, and the imperial court still relied on the soldiers on the front line to fight for their lives, so naturally the rewards were more generous.

Now that the rebellion in Bazhou has been pacified, there are so many military leaders who need to be rewarded, so the reward for each person is naturally smaller.

And Lu Ting was a eunuch after all. Once his temporary mission was over, he was immediately reduced to his original form.

Other military leaders still have troops in their hands that need to be appeased by the court, but what does Lu Ting have?
The Imperial Stables, which he nominally controls, are currently occupied by the brothers Zhang Rui and Zhang Xiong.

Even if one of them goes to supervise the Eastern Depot, it will be easier for the other to invite him in than to send him away.

Furthermore, there is now Gu Dayong, whose value has been further increased by receiving comments from Yang Yiqing.

In theory, the eunuchs of the Western Factory should hold the title of the seal of the Imperial Stables.

Now that Lu Tingkong has a reputation for suppressing rebellion, people from all levels of the court are working together to discredit him.

Pei Yuan guessed that Eunuch Lu was at his most panicked and helpless right now.

It's time for good brothers to take action again!

Pei Yuan said to Sikong Sui, "I still have to go back to the capital in a few days. You have to pay more attention to the things here."

Upon hearing this, Sikong Sui immediately responded respectfully.

Thinking that the matter of the Enke examination should be resolved when he returns to the capital this time, Pei Yuan no longer hesitated and let Wang Chang handle the matter.

As fellow scholars, those guys were more likely to accept Wang Chang's favor and then form a clique with Wang Chang.

Although this adds an extra layer in the middle, given the bad reputation of the Qianhu Suo in Shandong, it was necessary to let Wang Chang step forward.

As for the old minister Wang Chang, Pei Yuan was still very relieved.

Pei Yuan asked Sikong Sui to leave, wrote a letter to Wang Chang, explained some of his thoughts, and then had someone deliver it secretly.

Then Pei Yuan thought of another thing.

"This time when I return to Beijing, I can ask Lu Ting to help recommend He Huan."

"When the time comes, let Gu Dayong and Wang Chang help us and try to send He Huan to the capital to enjoy wealth and glory."

Thinking of He Huan, that venomous snake who was good at lurking, Pei Yuan felt that he couldn't do this favor for nothing.

Pei Yuan is such a realistic person, I have to go and say hello to him.

Make a friend.

So after another day of rest, Pei Yuan took a dozen of his men and continued south, intending to do He Huan a favor.

On the way, Pei Yuan stopped by to visit Ding Hong, the commander of the Xuzhou Left Guard.

When Ding Hong heard the report that a captain of the Embroidered Uniform Guard wanted to see him, he was moved and hurried out of the gate to meet him.

When they saw that it was Pei Yuan himself, they immediately paid homage to him without paying any attention to the soldiers' surprise.

Pei Yuan felt relieved when he saw this.

I know this guy hasn't forgotten his roots.

After entering the camp, Ding Hong called out the former soldiers of Xuzhou Guard he brought with him to meet Captain Pei.

After those soldiers from Xuzhou Guard followed Ding Hong to Xuzhou Zuowei, they have been the most important force under Ding Hong's control of Xuzhou Zuowei.

It just so happened that the situations of Xuzhou Wei and Xuzhou Zuo Wei were similar. These people were capable of fighting on the battlefield and were also good at building ships. They quickly integrated into the garrison.

These people also served as military officers of varying ranks in the Xuzhou Left Guard. When they saw Captain Pei, they all bowed down before him without waiting for Ding Hong to greet them.

(End of this chapter)