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

Chapter 409 This country cannot be without brave people
What can I say about this guy Liu Xiang?

A bit naive indeed.

But in this day and age, a man who relied on studying and taking imperial examinations to climb up to the position of Huai'an prefect, after being kidnapped by the Bazhou army, could still be evaluated as "not infamous" when asked by the people who followed the bandits.

It’s already very valuable.

Unfortunately, this middle-aged man's courage and passion were ultimately wasted.

When he led the Huai'an Guard and the Dahe Guard to fight back against the bandit army and wanted to protect Huai'an, he did not expect that he would be directly sold out by the Huai'an Guard and the Dahe Guard.

Fortunately, the Bazhou Army let him go back on his own instead of sending him back.

Otherwise, he didn't even dare to think about the consequences.

In Pei Yuan's impression, the end of the Huai'an prefect did not seem to be very good.

After the war, he was directly exiled to Pingyuewei, Guizhou, and nothing happened afterwards.

In the ninth year of the Zhengde reign, the Ministry of Personnel and the Censorate, which had been submissive in the imperial inspection and only found five redundant officials, took strong measures to inspect officials in all departments across the country.

In this assessment, which was mainly based on local officials, 1,561 officials from major government offices and 1,325 officials from miscellaneous government offices were investigated and punished for reasons such as old age, illness, laxity, carelessness, and lack of ability.

Liu Xiang was also fortunate enough to be pulled out for criticism again, and the comment given was "careless".

He is not "careless".

He couldn't believe it.

He couldn't believe that even he, a fourth-rank prefect, had gone into battle, but the officers and soldiers of the two garrisons would be defeated without a fight.

Pei Yuan had a good impression of Liu Xiang. In the era of cold weapons, a prefect who was already a fourth-rank official could stand on the front line in person, which reflected his greatest sense of responsibility.

After all, this country cannot be without brave people.

On the way back, Pei Yuan's mind was still moving.

If he wanted to deal with Huai'an Wei and Dahe Wei in the future, then Liu Xiang, the Huai'an prefect who was about to leave, would definitely be the person who had the most hatred towards Huai'an Wei and Dahe Wei.

It was such a pity for a fourth-rank civil servant to be sent to Guizhou Pingyuewei as a soldier.

It's not realistic to just want to catch it by force.

Now is the time to reward people for their merits and investigate crimes. No matter how Liu Xiang and the two guards attacked each other, the fact that he was captured by the rebels could not be washed away.

If Pei Yuan insisted on protecting him, it would cause a big fuss and offend He Huan, who had two guards under his command and was on the rise.

But if you want to use Liu Xiang in the future, letting him go to Pingyuewei in Guizhou is definitely not a good choice.

It would be best to retain a glimmer of hope for him to turn things around, and then release him at some point in the future to help him tear down Huai'an Wei and Dahe Wei.

Pei Yuan thought about it and pondered over places where he could easily gain merit in the future.

The first is the future second center, Xuanfu.

In the future, Xuanfu will be the center of attention of the entire world, and it is under the nose of Zhu Houzhao, so Liu Xiang will find it easier to get a chance to stand out.

The disadvantage is that if Pei Yuan's plan goes well, He Huan will definitely follow Zhu Houzhao to Xuanfu.

At that time, if Liu Xiang made any unusual movement, he might be noticed by a tyrant like He Huan, and then be strangled in advance without mercy.

Moreover, even if Liu Xiang got a chance to turn his life around in Xuanfu, he would definitely be grateful to Zhu Houzhao and forget who he, Pei Yuan, was.

Next is the Shandong Beiwodusi.

Whether it is managing Liaodong in the future or using Yongle Tongbao to harvest from Japan, Shandong Beiwodusi will become the focus of Pei Yuan's future bets.

If Liu Xiang was in the Shandong Beiwodusi, with his own care, it would not be difficult for him to gain some merits sufficient for his return to officialdom.

However, this plan also has a problem. Shandong is a region with a good economy, but it is obviously too lenient as a place of exile, which may cause dissatisfaction among many people.

After that, it was Liaodong Regional Military Commission.

According to the court's definition, Liaodong was a cold and harsh place, not to mention that one had to cross the sea to get there, which added great risks.

Although it is not far away, it is indeed a place of exile with harsh conditions.

By sending Liu Xiang to Liaodong Military Region, he could keep Liu Xiang under his control without attracting much attention.

Although the nature of his capture by the Bazhou army was bad, the fact that he was released by the rebels because of his good reputation as an official was legendary enough.

As long as you work hard a little, there will be a chance to turn things around in the future.

Now that this guy is down and out, it's time to make a profit from his rare treasure.

What's more, his qualification as a fourth-rank official will not disappear, and once he gets the right opportunity, he is expected to make a rapid leap forward.

Pei Yuan returned to Shanyang County and had a good night's sleep. Then he asked Chen Xinjian to help him make an appointment with someone to meet Liu Xiang.

Unexpectedly, Chen Xinjian came back soon and reported that Liu Xiang had been locked up and was waiting for punishment and refused to see anyone.

Pei Yuan was too lazy to waste too much time on Liu Xiang, so he said to Chen Xinjian, "Go again. Whether you hand over the silver or force your way in, just go to him and mention my name."

Then he said lightly, "We'll meet again in the future."

Pei Yuan simply took a shower and went to the front hall of the guest house to eat.

After ordering the things, I waited for a while before Chen Xinjian came back and pulled a stool to sit beside me. "It's done."

Pei Yuan didn't ask Chen Xinjian how he did it.

It does not matter.

After everyone had eaten and drunk their fill, they headed back.

We didn't stop when passing Yanggu, but took a detour to Jinan.

This trip to the capital will inevitably lead to the promotion of the imperial examination, and Pei Yuan will also have to supervise the progress of Wang Chang.

Wang Chang saw Pei Yuan coming in exhausted and knew Pei Yuan's purpose, so he said to him, "I have asked people to invite candidates from all over the country to come to Jinan, and also found some retired local celebrities to give lectures. It's just that..."

Wang Chang smiled bitterly, "But given my situation, I'm afraid I won't be able to attract many people who are willing to join me."

Wang Chang, the governor who might retire gracefully at any time, had no appeal to those candidates.

Maybe it will not only be of no help, but also bring unnecessary political baggage.

According to Wang Chang's estimation, it would be good enough to get some perfunctory support, but it is basically impossible to get anyone to work hard and sincerely.

Pei Yuan didn't care about it, "It's okay, there are always people who have nowhere else to go and want to take a risk, these are the people I want." Wang Chang frowned when he heard this.

As an old minister, he was conscious and made a decisive remonstration, "Captain, those who come here to take risks and speculate are unreliable. Instead of spending time to train such people, it is better to be patient and slowly train them from the students. Even if it takes more time, it is safer than this."

Pei Yuan laughed and said, "Who said I would spend time training them?"

Wang Chang was startled, and then asked, "Why does the captain care so much about these candidates?"

Pei Yuan corrected Wang Chang's opinion, "I just gave them a better opportunity. Whether they can seize it and jump out of the pond is their own business."

"If there are really outstanding people, I will naturally make use of them. If they can't make a difference, I won't care about their future."

Wang Chang understood immediately. Isn’t this the practice of raising Gu that is popular among the Southwestern Yi people?

Then Pei Yuan said, "I don't care whether they are reliable or not, as long as they can be used now. As for the future, haha."

Pei Yuan finished speaking, and said lightly with a hint of sarcasm, "Those guys who are self-righteous because of their ambition and courage will slowly find out that their struggles and efforts are just changing positions in my hands."

Wang Chang listened to it.

Although I knew that Pei Yuan was talking about those candidates, I still felt an inexplicable chill.

Fortunately, he had long since surrendered to Pei Qianhu's power and had given up the idea of ​​struggling, so he did not have too much empathy for those scholars.

Following Pei Yuan's thoughts, Wang Chang had a rough idea of ​​what he was going to do.

That is, relying on his identity as the governor of Shandong, he opened the door wide and recruited disciples at will.

Then, like raising a Gu, they wait to harvest the real tough guy who fights out.

Pei Yuan specifically emphasized to Wang Chang, "By the way, you must recruit more young men from Liaodong. I will be of great use to them."

Pei Yuan had previously discussed some of his ideas with Wang Chang, and Wang Chang also understood the importance of Liaodong to their group. After Pei Yuan briefly mentioned it, Wang Chang understood what Pei Yuan meant and responded repeatedly.

Pei Yuan also gave Wang Chang a hint, "When those ordinary scholars come to Jinan, you don't have to pay much attention to them. Just let those local sages and scholars teach them."

"But for all those who come to you as your disciples, you should not teach them carelessly."

Wang Chang was confused after hearing this. If he didn't teach them, then what kind of disciples were they?
Pei Yuan was already teaching him the key points.

"You can secretly ask Huo Tao to write a few more articles, and then figure out the style and logic of the articles, and let your disciples learn from them."

"It's just that it's hard to say this openly, and it's not good to do this in front of Huo Tao. Whether it can succeed depends on their understanding."

Wang Chang was a well-informed man, and Pei Yuan's words made Wang Chang understand something.

He changed his mind and recalled that when Pei Yuan took a concubine, all the guests were prominent figures, and there happened to be two unknown scholars among them.

Now it seems that Captain Pei had clearly been planning this for a long time.

Wang Chang immediately said, "I know what to do now."

Pei Yuan nodded in satisfaction. "When the time comes, I will also let Tian Fu come here to study for a while, and you should follow Huo Tao's way."

After finishing talking about the imperial examination, Pei Yuan moved on to another important matter.

"By the way, after you left your post as the Grand Marshal of the South, have you still had any contact with the guards in the south?"

Wang Chang laughed after hearing this, "You are joking. It is normal for people in the officialdom to forget about you after you leave. Pondering over this is just asking for trouble. Even if there was some contact before, I am afraid that if I send a letter now, the other party will pretend to be confused."

Pei Yuan also laughed, and then said, "Tell them that there is good news."

"Good news?" Wang Chang became interested.

Pei Yuan then told Wang Chang that the emperor wanted to adopt a group of godsons as his illegitimate sons.

Wang Chang was shocked when he heard this and said subconsciously, "I'm afraid the court won't agree to this."

How could one directly adopt various military leaders as godsons?

Does this still follow political rules?

Pei Yuan sneered, "Of course they want to object, but the time is too special. The troops are returning to the capital, and the military officers are gathering in the capital. Even if Yang Tinghe jumps out to object to this matter, what can be accomplished?"

Wang Chang thought about it and it made sense. As long as those military officers were not stupid, they would understand the benefits of being the emperor's godsons. Who would be willing to refuse?
Maybe they would even have to fight in order to become the emperor's godson.

Now is the time when those military officers have gathered together and are in a position of power. Who dares to jump out and oppose?
Wang Chang was puzzled and said, "How come there is no news about this matter? According to the emperor's character, he should at least test the cabinet's attitude first."

"If the cabinet knew about this, and was forced by the situation to not want to confront those arrogant and powerful generals, they would definitely expose this matter and encourage people to stand up and resist."

"Now there is no movement at all."

Pei Yuan coughed lightly and said, "Maybe the emperor hasn't made up his mind yet, but with me mediating, it should be almost certain."

Wang Chang thought to himself, good fellow, it seems like you are the one who wants to cause trouble for yourself.

Pei Yuan was not as exaggerated as Wang Chang thought. It was indeed Zhu Houzhao's own action to adopt those military officers as his adopted sons.

After all, any serious time traveler would not think of such a bizarre method.

After hearing Pei Yuan's promise, Wang Chang said, "Since it's a good thing, I can help ask around and see what they think."

Pei Yuan thought about it and roughly narrowed the scope again, "Just ask the commanders who cooperated with us last time, there is no need to ask the others."

Wang Chang was a little envious of those people.

At the beginning, these people just wanted to settle their accounts, so they believed the empty words of Wang Chang and others.

As a result, afterwards, those commanders who were given both merit and money were rewarded, and now they can be taken away directly.

Wang Chang thought of what Pei Yuan had just mentioned, and asked hesitantly, "I heard that the generals vying for merit in the capital are mostly from the capital army and the border army. The southern guards didn't contribute much to the suppression of the Bazhou army this time. If they jump out at this time, I'm afraid they will cause criticism."

"He Huan did at least contribute some merits to him. The others behaved very badly in order to settle the accounts. How can we recommend them to the emperor?"

Pei Yuan had already thought about this, so he asked Wang Chang, "Do you remember the North-South List case?"

Wang Chang was stunned.

Pei Yuan had seen through everything and said, "The emperor adopted those military leaders as his sons in order to win over the hearts of the troops. But if all his sons are from the border troops and the capital troops, what will the soldiers in the southern garrisons think? Does the emperor not want the hearts of the soldiers in the southern garrisons?"

"So when the emperor has more military leaders from the north, the greater the chance of success will be when we can fill his shoes."

"At that time, the title of the emperor's bastard son, which the northern warriors had to fight so hard to get, will appear in the key window of the southern guards, and it will be like picking it up for free."

Pei Yuan had no intention of splitting up the group of adopted sons. He acted as if he was helping his king. "He will have to thank me when the time comes."

(End of this chapter)