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

Chapter 407 You're still pretending to be with me

He Huan and Guo Hui were not clear about the twists and turns between these civil officials. They were a little confused when they saw Pei Yuan offend the Supervisor of the Ministry of Works by speaking out, but the head of the Ministry of Works did not care at all.

But both of them also have their own way of dealing with this situation, which is that the more you talk, the more mistakes you make, and the less you talk, the fewer mistakes you make.

During the dinner, Pei Yuan also learned that He Huan had originally planned to welcome him here.

Later, we happened to meet Guo Hui accompanying several officials from the Ministry of Industry on an inspection tour here, and we got together.

Pei Yuan knew that his position in He Huan's heart was definitely not as high as those of these three officials from the Ministry of Works.

Therefore, it is reasonable to give priority to accompanying the three of them.

I don't know if Qiu Yang, the head of the Ministry of Works, wanted to save face for his two colleagues from Jiang Tizhu Si, but he deliberately chatted with Pei Yuan.

Pei Yuan suddenly remembered that when it comes to the use of wood, the Ministry of Industry seems to be a big spender!

Xuzhou Wei and Huai'an Wei got involved in shipbuilding. In addition to completing the court's orders, they were also able to consume a batch of ships by building and selling them themselves.

Seeing Qiu Yang asking about Pei Yuan's purpose, Pei Yuan took the initiative to mention, "I was passing by Huai'an and wanted to say hello to Commander He. It happened that Commander Qiu was here, and I thought of a good thing."

"Oh?" Qiu Yang became interested.

Pei Yuan did not keep the secret and said directly, "I have run an errand for someone and I am sure I can get a batch of cheap wood. I wonder if you are interested?"

Now not only Qiu Yang became interested, but several others also asked about it.

"What kind of wood is it? How much is the quantity? How much cheaper can it be than the market price?"

Pei Yuan had no idea about these things, not to mention that many things were just rough plans.

If there are enough interested parties, they can work together to make this happen.

He immediately said, "I am just running errands for others, and I don't understand this. If you are interested, I can help to connect and ask."

In order to increase the interest of several people, Pei Yuan also made a special hint.

"The volume is large, the profits are huge, and the background is strong."

Several people looked at each other subconsciously, but no one said anything.

Thanks to the argument just now, the few of them had some understanding of the all-powerful abilities of this Jinyiwei captain.

In order to help Guo Hui's men get the position of commander, this person was able to obtain the actual vacancy of commander-in-chief for the original commander of Xuzhou Left Guard. His power and tactics are bound to make people worried.

He Huan even witnessed the scene where Pei Yuan asked the Nanjing Minister of War to go back to the city in person to pick him up.

These people began to secretly wonder who Pei Yuan belonged to.

As for the timber business, since it is lucrative, the volume is large, and there is a strong background to protect them, they are of course happy to participate.

It’s just that Pei Yuan can bring up this kind of thing in public, but they can’t agree to it in public.

However, the atmosphere at the table became visibly harmonious.

Even Miao Wen, who had just been offended, clinked glasses with Pei Yuan alone.

Pei Yuan's sphere of influence had not yet spread to the six tribes of Nanjing. He immediately changed his attitude towards Miao Wenneng, took the initiative to reconcile, and responded very positively.

The issue of shipbuilding inevitably came up during the meal.

In order to expand the sales of timber, Pei Yuan suddenly had an idea and asked everyone, "I see that in addition to grain ships, a small number of ships in the canal are transporting other goods. If we can open up sea transportation, transport grain, use the canal for commercial purposes, and collect taxes, wouldn't it be convenient for both officials and civilians?"

Qiu Yang laughed and said, "Captain Pei is not a man of my generation, so he naturally doesn't understand. It's not that the court doesn't want to use sea transportation, but there are too many disadvantages in sea transportation, and the shipping capacity can't meet the needs, so it was abolished."

"Back in the days of Emperor Yongle, the seagoing ships gathered in Taicang in endless numbers. They set sail in May, unloaded at Zhigu, and returned in autumn with the wind. Each time they transported 800,000 dan of grain, it was a magnificent scene. Unfortunately, such a spectacular event is nothing compared to the small-scale grain transport."

"Song Li, the Minister of Works at that time, once calculated that a 1,000-ton sea-going ship required 100 people to drive it and could only transport 1,000 dan of rice. If the labor and materials used to build a 1,000-ton sea-going ship were discounted, 20 200-ton river ships could be built. Each ship would require 20 transport soldiers and could transport 400 dan of grain."

"Can you calculate how much the cost difference is?"

"Besides, the thousand-ton seagoing ships are made of good wood, while the two-hundred-ton river ships are made of ordinary wood."

"Unfortunately, the sea conditions are complicated and it is very easy to sink. The two banks of the canal are connected to each other, so if there is any problem, they can help each other in time.

"One is difficult to build and easily damaged. The other can be built in large quantities and is less prone to accidents."

"How do you think the court should choose?"

Kang Yuan on the side also said, "Besides that, sea transportation has other disadvantages."

"If we go by sea, we need to gather grain from all over the country in Taicang first, unload it in Zhigu, and then move the grain to various places. The manpower consumed in the process is incalculable. During the Yongle period, more than 1,100 thousand-ton seagoing ships were used just to transport more than 800,000 dan of grain. How do you estimate the cost?"

"But if we use the canal transport, there are waterways in all parts of Jiangnan, and the grain can be transported to Huai'an by water. Then the transport troops will get grain from the Huai'an warehouse and deliver it to Jining. Then another transport troops will get grain from the Jining warehouse and transport it to Beijing. With so many stages of grain transportation, 200 cargo ships are needed, less than 5,000 ships. If we transport 400,000 dan of grain each time, it will only take more than 50 days to return. If we transport grain four times a year, it will be enough to transport 1.6 million dan of grain."

"Furthermore, the grain transported by the imperial army gathers in Huai'an and Jining, and the canal penetrates deep into the hinterland, running through the north and south, which is enough to support and cover many garrisons."

"With all these advantages, how can shipping compare?"

Pei Yuan was shocked after hearing this.

He thought that changing the canal transportation to sea transportation was a very bold decision, but he did not expect that the rise of canal transportation in the Ming Dynasty was precisely because sea transportation was eliminated.

Pei Yuan thought about it and felt that it made sense.

That was the era of Emperor Yongle, who was able to organize a huge fleet to sail to the West. How could he not attach importance to sea transportation?

The abandonment of sea transportation can only be attributed to the fact that it lagged far behind water transport.

No wonder people of this era like to call sea vessels "Zhayang ships".

Thousands of ships with yellow flags carrying the red sun were parked in Taicang waiting to be transported with grain. Wouldn't the endless ships and sails cover the entire ocean?
In the fifteenth century, such a powerful and oppressive Ming Dynasty was.

But in the final analysis, it is a different time.

The expansion of the Ming Dynasty's national strength can no longer be simply applied to the situation during the Yongle period.

The prosperity of business is gradually squeezing out the space for water transport.

Pei Yuan originally considered that the current Grand Canal was obviously overloaded.

If we can add a sea transport route, it will divert some shipping capacity and also increase the demand for ships.

You have to know that transporting goods on the canal is not just like driving a ship in and moving back and forth freely.

Because the water levels are different from south to north, sometimes multiple sluices are needed to raise the water.

When the water level is high, the gates need to be closed to store water until enough boats have gathered. When the water level is low, the gates need to be opened to release water and allow boats to go downstream.

of course there are exceptions.

That is, there is also a royal green channel on the canal. According to the regulations, as long as the tribute of fresh products arrives, the locks will be opened immediately, without the need to gather enough ships.

So, who sent these fresh tribute products?
Eunuchs guarding various places.

Therefore, the business of Zhenshou Eunuch has a good reputation in terms of speedy logistics and has never disappointed anyone.

As a result, the Grand Canal, which already had limited total transport capacity, became even more overwhelmed.

Today, the canal ships on the Grand Canal mainly transport various commodities and grain.

If the sea transportation of goods is diverted, the ships will inevitably become uncontrollable once they go out to sea, causing maritime merchants to trade overseas without restraint, causing the economy to quickly get out of control.

It’s different with food. The profit from it is not much, and if we take fixed routes, it is relatively easier to control.

But since the imperial court abolished sea transportation of grain and switched to canal transportation, it is almost impossible to persuade the imperial court to change its direction.

Fundamentally speaking, the Grand Canal was first and foremost intended to ensure the transportation of grain. How could grain ships make way for cargo ships?
It would be fine if sea transportation had greater advantages, but now sea transportation is obviously inferior to canal transportation. What can Pei Yuan use to reverse history?

Pei Yuan changed the topic depressedly, and the two sides started chatting again.

When they were half drunk, Qiu Yang, the director of the Ministry of Works, remembered an official matter and wanted to leave after apologizing.

The crowd didn't stay long.

Pei Yuan understood and stood up to see him off.

After walking a few dozen steps, Qiu Yang began to ask about the wood in detail.

Pei Yuan had not yet started making arrangements with the Shandong Military Preparations Office and the Liaodong Military Preparations Office. If he wanted to deal with the Liaodong Military Preparations Office, he would have to first inform the military preparations under the jurisdiction of the Shandong Provincial Surveillance Office.

Given the current conflict between Pei Yuan and the Shandong Provincial Surveillance Commissioner, he will need some opportunity to push this forward.

Pei Yuan couldn't promise anything for the time being, nor did he want to disappoint Qiu Yang, so he said, "I am also an amateur in this matter. I have good intentions, but I am afraid of doing something wrong and letting Qiu Yang suffer."

"I plan to wait until a large amount of wood is mined over there, and then send a small batch over here as a sample for Chief Qiu to see. If it is useful, we can discuss the follow-up matters later."

Pei Yuan was afraid that what he said was not clear enough, so he added, "It is our token of appreciation."

Qiu Yang's face immediately broke into a smile.

He said, "Okay, okay. If the wood is indeed usable, I will certainly use it. I have colleagues in the Construction Department..."

Qiu Yang said this, feeling a little regretful.

It would be fine if Pei Yuan approached him quietly, and he could make a fortune in silence.

Many people know about this now. If you want to do it for a long time, you have to make connections with higher-ups.

Since you have to spend money to bribe them, you might as well get more people involved so that the risk can be shared.

The two said goodbye.

Pei Yuan relied on empty words to stabilize Qiu Yang, and when they returned, the two people from Qingjiang Tizhusi also said goodbye and left.

Pei Yuan naturally followed suit and made some promises to the two of them.

At the Qingjiang Shipyard, the Qingjiang Supervisor, who is now being targeted by the Huangmao Ministry of Industry, has no way of doing things without going around Qiu Yang, but they still have some connections at the Longjiang Supervisory Office.

Even if they only took a little money, these two people would be satisfied.

After the two groups of people were sent away, only Guo Hui, He Huan and Zhou Chao were left in the pavilion.

Seeing that there was no one around, Guo Hui didn't hesitate to ask Pei Yuan, "Captain Pei, what you said just now sounded nice. How are you going to explain it to me, Guo?"

Pei Yuan was a little hesitant when he heard this.

It's not difficult to come up with some chips to compensate Guo Hui, the main thing is that I haven't figured out how to take advantage of him...

Pei Yuan had no choice but to tell Guo Hui the truth, "I didn't expect to meet Commander Guo here. How can I make any promises in such a hurry?"

Guo Hui became anxious and was about to get angry.

Pei Yuan then continued, "Whether it's a good job or other interests, it requires the cooperation of many parties to accomplish things. Commander Guo, you don't think that I can raise a commander-in-chief for you just by talking nonsense here, right?"

Pei Yuan smiled and said, "Then Commander Guo thinks highly of me."

"But..." Guo Hui was somewhat unwilling, but from the implicit meaning in Pei Yuan's words, he knew that the compensation given to him seemed to be at the level of "Commander-in-Chief", so he did not dare to say anything harsh.

This made He Huan, who was waiting nearby to mediate the fight, a little uneasy.

what happened?

The fool Guo had a captain of a thousand households kidnapped, so he should be compensated with the title of commander-in-chief?
Who can I go to for justice regarding my 80,000 taels of silver?
Pei Yuan happened to mention this, and he heard Pei Yuan say to Guo Hui, "You might as well ask Commander He about my credibility."

"There was a small misunderstanding between me and Commander He before. Although that incident was not my fault, 'I didn't kill Bo Ren, but Bo Ren died because of me'. How can I ignore Commander He's loss because of a misunderstanding?"

He Huan, hehe, you are pretending to be me.

Privately, he was more than 60% certain that this guy must have been involved in the court's use of the tax silver to reward the troops.

Then I heard Pei Yuan say, "So, this time, as soon as I got a good opportunity, I rushed over to inform Commander He, just to protect my reputation."

He Huan felt so itchy after hearing this that he couldn't sit still.

He had received a notice from Zhou Chao in advance, saying that Pei Yuan had something good to give him, so he was already looking forward to it.

As a result, he met Guo Hui and several officials from the Ministry of Works, and he had to hold back and try to please them first.

When he met Pei Yuan, He Huan unexpectedly learned about the conflict between Guo Hui and Pei Yuan.

It was also learned that in order to promote a captain under Guo Hui and help that captain get the actual vacancy of the commander of the Left Guard of Xuzhou, Pei Yuan actually transferred the original commander of the Left Guard of Xuzhou to the Shandong Defense Command and made him a second-rank commander!
Now, in order to compensate Guo Hui, Pei Yuan's words implied that he wanted to send out another commander.

What about He Huan?
Pei Yuan came all the way here alone and took the initiative to give himself the 80,000 taels of silver as compensation. He can't be inferior to the fool Guo.

For a moment, He Huan's anticipation grew higher and higher, and he even became a little restless.

Guo Hui didn't think too much about it, and he didn't know the grudge between Pei Yuan and He Huan, but he could listen to it as a reference.

Guo Hui then asked, "What benefits do you plan to give He Huan this time?"

He Huan became a little nervous when he heard this.

He was both looking forward to it and afraid of disappointment. He didn't want Guo Hui to participate, but he couldn't wait any longer.

Pei Yuan calmly took a sip of tea, then smiled at He Huan and said, "How about being a bastard of the emperor?"

(End of this chapter)