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

Chapter 416: Paying money will make the imperial examination start early

Although Li Shishi considered himself a man of wisdom and strategy, he also considered himself a man who could make decisions with a ruthless heart.

But when he heard Pei Yuan's words, he was really shocked.

This bastard's move is going to ruin a generation of Jinshi.

In front of these political terrorists, I am just a baby.

Li Baobao even forgot his position for a moment, and asked in great sorrow, "Why is it so? Why is it so?!"

Pei Yuan looked at Li Shishi strangely, "Didn't I make it very clear just now? The imperial examination is just a means for the court to control the local areas."

"The selected Jinshi represent local tyrants. Even if they are not powerful now, they can rise quickly and become powerful in just a few years by relying on the power given to them by the imperial examination."

"I asked you to destroy this generation of Jinshi. Is it just for these people?"

"I asked you to target these passages!"

When Li Shishi heard this, he thought about Pei Yuan's previous words and suddenly had an epiphany.

"You, you mean..."

Pei Yuan understood Li Shishi's idea. "Yes, what we need to do is to use these Jinshi to block these passages. Then, to some extent, influence the local areas."

"No matter how long the Grand Secretary can serve as the Minister of Rites, as long as the imperial examinations are held, he will try to leave a strong mark on those who pass the examinations."

"Let them subtly give outsiders the impression that they are members of the Li Party or the Ning Wang faction."

"Once King Ning has, ahem."

Pei Yuan paused for a moment to avoid stimulating Li Shishi's sense of crisis.

"When that day comes, the scholars of this generation will certainly be distrusted and even isolated. Then the local forces they represent will naturally be excluded by the court."

"The court has lost these helpers and even has to be on guard against these people. Isn't this a good thing for Prince Ning?"

"If Prince Ning can gain a slight advantage in the situation, then won't these channels radiating to the Ming Dynasty be opened to Prince Ning? What will happen to the world's situation at that time?"

"This..." Li Shishi was moved by the picture described by Pei Yuan.

His throat moved and he stood up with some excitement.

Prince Ning’s main influence is now in Jiangxi. Although he has a large number of allies in the court, his influence cannot radiate to more places.

If Pei Yuan's plan succeeds, it will be as much help to King Ning as thousands of troops!

Just from Pei Yuan's few words, Li Shishi seemed to see a state where all things are flourishing and full of vitality.

An uncontrollable thought arose in his mind, that he should quickly write a letter to King Ning to report the matter.

If he can gain more resource support and seize this opportunity, he may become the next Li Shanchang after the world changes.

No, Hu Weiyong.

No, Liu Bowen.

That’s not right either…

No time to think!!

Li Shishi quickly sat back and wanted to finalize the details with Pei Yuan.

At this moment, he suddenly realized something and quickly said to Pei Yuan, "Come to think of it, wasn't the imperial examination just held last year?"

"If we have to wait for the next imperial examination, it will take at least until next year for the autumn examination, and the year after that for the imperial selection of Jinshi."

"In this case, this plan will be very slow to take effect."

After hearing what Li Shishi said, Pei Yuan's expression became more serious, and he showed an attitude of discussing business.

"Have you ever heard this saying, charging money will make you change, it's wrong, charging money will make the imperial examination start early."

Li Shishi was confused.

"W-what do you mean?"

He immediately understood something and quickly expressed his opinion, "If Brother Pei's words are helpful, King Ning will definitely not be stingy."

Pei Yuan saw that Li Shishi had misunderstood, and quickly corrected him, "Dadu Xian has misunderstood. I am not doing this for that little bit of money. What I meant is that this matter can be solved with money."

Then he said to Li Shishi, "The Grand Secretary must have noticed during his time in the capital that the emperor is very concerned about the military. Now that Bazhou has been pacified, the court will surely reward him generously."

"But the court's treasury is now empty and there is nothing good to offer. All it can use is nothing more than fame and high position."

"The emperor loves military affairs, which already displeases the upright officials in the court. If those warriors gain power and become arrogant, it may even affect the court where civil officials are more important than military officials."

"This is something that all civil servants don't want to see."

As one of the Seven Great Ministers and a leader among the civil officials, Li Shishi naturally did not want military men to gain power.

He was about to nod in agreement when he heard Pei Yuan say.

"At this time, it is time for the seven great ministers who lead all the officials to take the lead and do something!"

Li Shishi assumed it was him, so he asked, "Brother, what do you mean?"

Pei Yuan then said, "At a time when those warriors are so powerful and attracting the attention of the world, how about the governor of Dadu taking the lead and calling for a special examination?"

"Enko?!" Li Shishi was shocked. This was a bold decision.

Pei Yuan said, "This time, the Enke is different from the previous Enke. Not only must it be done quickly, but it must also be directed to a wider group to expand its impact."

"I think we should just let the scholars who were eligible to take part in the Spring Examination last year come directly to the capital to take part in the joint examination and the palace examination, and open a special subject."

"In this way, the whole world will pay attention to it, which will surely suppress the arrogance of those warriors, and our Ming Dynasty's cultural heritage will surely grow stronger."

Li Shishi listened to Pei Yuan's exaggerated words and couldn't help but stare at him, "Is this possible?"

Pei Yuan asked, "Why not?"

"What the Grand Governor has done is in line with the general trend. It is also a direct confrontation between the civil and military forces. What reason do the officials in the court have to object?"

"Even if there are some dissenting voices, can't money silence these people? What reason do they have to go against justice, the general trend, and not get along with money?"

Li Shishi was completely convinced.

The only thing that made him feel uncomfortable was that the man who was speaking so impassionedly was a Jinyiwei.

Emmm...

Then the captain of the Imperial Guard continued, "Besides, if this can be accomplished, there will be more than 300 Jinshi in the court. And because it is a special examination, others will look at them differently, making it easier for them to be branded as Li's party or Ning Wang's faction."

"Even if this fails, who among the scholars of the world can fail to remember the benefits of the Dadu Xian?"

"Dadu Xian gained fame, power and profit."

"I can't think of any reason why the governor wouldn't do this."

Thinking of so many benefits, Li Shishi was also overwhelmed, and immediately clapped his legs and said, "Okay, okay! As you said, I will start to work on this matter tomorrow."

Pei Yuan waited for Li Shishi to calm down for a while before he said, "Don't worry, it's not the most appropriate time yet." Li Shishi asked quickly, "Then when do you think is the most appropriate time?"

Pei Yuan replied, "Of course, if you act when the world is paying the most attention, when the military is at its most powerful, and when the civil officials are at their most frustrated, then the governor of Dadu can reap the most delicious reputation, the most delicious substance, and the most delicious profit."

Li Shishi listened to those convincing words and nodded again involuntarily.

Unexpectedly, at this moment, Pei Yuan suddenly lowered his voice and whispered, "So does Dadu Xian know what to do next?"

Li Shishi wanted to answer subconsciously, but he was stuck, "Should, should, should..."

It wasn't that Li Shishi had no opinion at all, it was just that Pei Qianhu's words contained too much information and were so shocking that his brain went blank for a moment.

Pei Yuan said at the right time, "Of course it should be. Let this reward attract the attention of the whole world! Let those warriors become more powerful! Let those civil officials be extremely frustrated!"

Li Shishi couldn't help but nodded, "Not bad, not bad!"

It was only after I finished speaking that I realized what I was saying.

He was immediately horrified and asked, "Brother Pei, why do you say that?"

Pei Yuan looked at Li Shishi calmly and asked, "Is what I said wrong?"

"If we want to gain the greatest benefits, shouldn't we reap the benefits when the world is paying the most attention, when the military is at its most powerful, and when the civil officials are at their most frustrated?"

"If we don't do this kind of thing that is good for us ourselves, who else are we waiting for to do it?"

"So, we should do our best to make 'this reward attracts the world's attention', 'those warriors become more powerful', and 'the civil servants are extremely frustrated'. Is there any problem with that?"

"After accomplishing these, the Grand Du Xian will be able to lead this imperial examination, making scholars all over the world grateful, gaining hundreds of students who will pass the imperial examination, and making King Ning's cause go smoothly."

"Little brother..., did you say something wrong?"

Li Shishi murmured, "You are not wrong, you are not wrong."

Pei Yuan did not give Li Shishi more time and said slowly, "Since it is correct, let's start from the first point and let this reward attract the attention of the world!"

"You are still the governor, so you must be able to do it."

Li Shishi blushed when he heard Pei Yuan's confident words and asked, "Then, what should I do?"

Pei Yuan said without any politeness.

"Isn't this discussion a bit hasty?"

"For example, Qiu Yue, the Lieutenant General of Ningxia, was made a baron by capturing He Jin, and was made a marquis by expelling Zhao Sui."

"Who is He Jin? How does he compare to the Six Bandits of Bazhou?!"

"If catching He Jin can earn him a title of Earl, then how should the person who caught the six thieves of Bazhou be given a title?"

"If you dispel Zhao Sui, you can be made a marquis. But what reward should you give for killing Zhao Sui and overthrowing his army?"

Li Shishi nodded slightly when he heard this. In the process of suppressing the rebellion, the court gave out rewards that were a bit too heavy in order to encourage the generals.

This makes it difficult to continue with subsequent rewards.

If the reward is too light, the credit will easily be reversed.

The reward was too high, and the court could not afford so much.

The title of Marquis of Xianning intended for Qiu Yue is an example of this.

Then Pei Yuan said again.

"Ma Jiongran, the Chief Censor, brought his family back to Sichuan, but was captured and killed by Liu Qi's troops on the way. What merits did he have for the court? Why was he given an official position and his son was given a chance to rule?"

"Although his situation is pitiful, how can the court reward someone without merit?"

"Lu Wan led the army for a long time, and the rebels grew larger and larger, causing trouble for half the country. The court did not say a word of criticism, but instead reported his victory and rewarded him according to the heads of the coerced followers he captured. The rebels became more rampant, burning, looting, and killing more and more, but Lu Wan's merits increased, and he was promoted and rewarded faster."

"Fuqiangbo Mao Rui led the army to fight against the bandits, but he lost the most soldiers and even lost his seal in a hurry. Yet, he was not convicted of any crime."

"For things like this, how can the court not have punishments?"

Upon hearing this, Li Shishi felt that this argument was somewhat risky, but it could also easily provoke controversy.

What's more, there are many censors in his Censorate who want to rise to the top by improving their reputation. As long as this matter is stirred up a little in the Censorate, someone will naturally take the risk.

Pei Yuan encouraged again, "So regarding this reward, should we have a more extensive discussion? Do we need more powerful people to express their opinions?"

Seeing Li Shishi nodding subconsciously, Pei Yuan spoke impassionedly, "In short, I, Pei Yuan, do not agree with making such a hasty decision."

Li Shishi thought about what Pei Yuan had just said, that "this reward will attract worldwide attention," and he already understood something.

That is to seize these controversies and magnify and complicate the reward issue.

Invite more people to discuss and discuss at a deeper level!

Li Shishi had a clue in his mind, so he straightened his chest and said, "I don't agree with it either."

Pei Yuanjian convinced Li Shishi and then said, "This matter needs to be expanded as quickly as possible. As for the Enke matter, the Daduxian must also start preparing intensively."

"Although we cannot alert the enemy now, we need to contact the people and establish connections as soon as possible."

"When it's time to spend money, you can't let your friends down."

Li Shishi immediately patted his chest and said, "I will write a secret letter to inform King Ning in a moment."

Then, Li Shishi asked, "What about the follow-up? How can we make the two things of 'those military men more powerful' and 'the civil officials extremely frustrated'?"

Pei Yuan pondered for a moment and said, "This matter still requires other help, I have other arrangements."

Li Shishi instantly thought of the ability of the captain of the Jinyiwei in front of him to stop the war in Huguang, and he had no doubt that this little brother was ready to use his powerful energy.

Li Shishi immediately said, "Thank you for your concern, my dear brother! When the matter is done, King Ning will definitely give you a generous reward as a thank you."

"That's not necessary." Pei Yuan refused sincerely.

What do book lovers think about charging for this kind of thing?
Pei Yuan lost a move to Li Shishi and did not dare to stay any longer.

Every minute and every second is important now. Pei Yuan urgently needs to understand the whole picture of the matter through the well-informed Wei Ne.

After all, he couldn’t beat seven of the “Seven Great Lords”.

Even if he gritted his teeth and beat seven of them, there are still "three cabinets" above them.

Only after careful planning and a huge layout could Pei Yuan pick out one or two of them and defeat them, thus reversing the unexpected changes.

Pei Yuan said goodbye to Li Shishi, and when he came out, he looked at the sky and it was already night.

This visit to Li Shishi not only helped to formulate the "Great Merit Discussion", but also allowed Pei Yuan to use the resources of Prince Ning to promote this long-planned imperial examination.

In order to restore the Three Guards, Prince Ning has already established connections between the upper and lower levels.

Using this to promote Enke would be much less labor-intensive than Pei Yuan fighting alone.

Moreover, Pei Yuan can use this opportunity to promote Enke and find out who King Ning's allies are.

The plan goes through!
(End of this chapter)