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

Chapter 417 Qianhu, I am not an outsider
Just when Pei Yuan was satisfied with his plan, Chen Xinjian waved his hand, letting the guards around him disperse. He walked over and asked in a low voice, "Captain, we have been preparing for the imperial examination for so long, how come Prince Ning took advantage of it?"

Chen Xinjian had been guarding outside the door just now, and he also had to keep an eye on Pei Yuan's movements at all times, so he naturally heard a lot of their conversation.

Pei Yuan liked Chen Xinjian's quick mind and youth, and thought he would be a capable person if he was sent out to a distant place in the future, so he explained to him, "If we don't let Prince Ning do it, who will do it?"

"The current emperor has no sons, and Prince Ning is the most virtuous, yet most incompetent prince. The Ming Dynasty has only been around for a few years, and there have already been two emperors who were princes. Prince Ning's identity naturally carries a huge amount of room for imagination."

"It would be much easier to let King Ning push this matter than for us to do it ourselves."

"Success doesn't have to be mine."

Chen Xinjian hesitated and said aggrievedly, "Captain, I am not an outsider."

Seeing that Chen Xinjian hadn't thought through the situation, Pei Yuan continued to remind him, "Prince Ning is a good knife. He can help us cut the piece we want from the court."

"After the things are cut, it will depend on whose hands are quicker."

Chen Xinjian suddenly realized that this was the Qianhu I knew.

Chen Xinjian drew inferences from one example and said, "So, as long as we hold the knife of Prince Ning in our hands, can we cut off whatever we want from the imperial court?"

Pei Yuan patted Chen Xinjian's head and asked, "Are you dreaming?"

Pei Yuan did not continue the topic, and talked about the imperial examination again, "Prince Ning is aiming for the whole world, and now I just need to stabilize Shandong and Liaodong."

"If Prince Ning really wants to rebel in the future and arouse suspicion from the court, that would be even better."

"It would be best if this generation of people could not be used by either Prince Ning or the imperial court."

"This way, when the time is right, they will willingly follow me."

After hearing this, Chen Xinjian asked, "What about Li Shishi? When Li Shishi becomes the Minister of Rites, it will be a problem."

"Him?" Pei Yuan laughed, his words full of sarcasm, "How can Li Shishi be qualified to be the Minister of Rites?"

"This guy is used to being an official outside the government, and has long forgotten the unspoken rules of the officialdom."

"When I learned that the court asked Li Shishi to make room for Lu Wan and then arranged for Li Shishi to be the Minister of Rites, I knew this guy had been fooled."

Pei Yuan smiled and showed his white teeth. "Wait until I personally smash his dream of becoming a minister. I don't believe that Li Shishi will be willing to let those people manipulate him after being angered."

"The greater his expectations are now, the greater his disappointment will be."

"By then, he will definitely be on guard, clinging to his position as Zuodu Yushi, and will thoroughly see through the true colors of some people."

"As long as Lu Wan fails to become the Left Censor-in-Chief, it will be difficult for him to submit a credible letter of allegiance to the Qingliu."

Chen Xinjian was stunned.

Just now, this dog captain was in there swearing solemnly to the people, calling them brothers, and describing a scene where all things were competing and full of vitality.

I didn't expect that I would be asked such a secret just after I went out.

Li Shishi, who was about to make great progress, was actually in the abyss without knowing it...

Chen Xinjian felt cold all over, but he couldn't help but feel lucky that he was standing next to Qianhu.

He asked in confusion, "Didn't the captain say that many people in the court had been bribed by Prince Ning? Why would they come together to trap Li Shishi?"

Pei Yuan sneered, "What's the big deal? Even for roles like Li Shanchang and Hu Weiyong who didn't have a good ending, there are still many people vying for the role."

"The more those court officials think highly of Prince Ning, the more they dislike Li Shishi."

"Because this old man is blocking their way."

Chen Xinjian asked carefully, "Then Enke's matter won't have any impact, right?"

Pei Yuan said as a matter of course, "How could that be? I will wait until everything is ready before I shatter Dadu Xian's good dream. By then, the matter will be settled, and no matter who the successor is, he will not be stupid enough to give up this free fame and fortune."

Pei Yuan grinned, revealing his white teeth. "Success doesn't have to be mine, nor... it doesn't have to be his."

Chen Xinjian nodded and silently repeated the word loyalty hundreds of times in his mind.

After Pei Yuan finished speaking, he thought quickly in his mind and already had a very suitable candidate.

If this person is appointed as the Minister of Rites, it will be very helpful for him to balance the political situation.

Next words...

Lu Wan's contribution was so great that he had to be rewarded.

If you find Lu Wan a position as one of the Seven Great Ministers and then lobby him a little, he may not be willing to be a dog anymore.

Yang Yiqing cannot fall too early, otherwise who will check and balance Yang Tinghe?

If Sun Jiao were to attack, he could weaken them a bit, but he couldn't destroy them all at once. If Wang Qiong showed up too early, it would not be Pei Yuan's intention.

Even though Wang Qiong has shown his abilities to the court and the public, a minister is enough, and he must not be allowed to join the ranks of the "Seven Great Ministers" now.

Next is the Minister of War He Jian.

Thinking about the incident with Xu Feng, the commander of the Hangzhou vanguard, He Jian didn't give him face...

Pei Yuan crossed him out in his heart.

You're done.

Pei Yuan walked on and found that this was the direction to Zhihua Temple, so he slowly stopped.

Chen Xinjian hurriedly took a few steps, caught up with him and asked, "Captain, what's wrong?"

Pei Yuan said, "We won't go to Zhihua Temple."

Chen Xinjian immediately asked, "Are we going to Zhang Anchashi's house?"

Pei Yuan was puzzled for a while before he remembered that Zhang Lian had gone to Shanxi to serve as an inspector.

He slapped Chen Xinjian on the head.

Then he let out a long sigh, "I'm too tired, let's go home."

Chen Xinjian recalled the previous arrangement for Wei Ne to meet him, and said, "Then will you still meet with Wei Ne, the Left Councillor of the Ministry of Public Administration?"

Pei Yuan said, "See you."

Chen Xinjian immediately suggested, "Then I'll ask someone to go see if Councillor Zuo has arrived at Zhihua Temple. If he is, let him go to the house at Dengshikou?"

Pei Yuan didn't say anything, and Chen Xinjian immediately arranged things.

When Pei Yuan returned to his own house in Dengshikou, the Jinyiwei who led the way had already opened the door.

Two doormen greeted them respectfully.

Pei Yuan asked as he entered the courtyard, "Where is the young lady?"

The old servant guarding the gate said hurriedly, "Since the mansion at the back was opened and repaired, the young lady and the maids have been living there. I will send someone to notify them right away."

Pei Yuan said, "Not busy, I still have some important matters to deal with."

Following the principle of putting his own family first and then the rest of the community, Pei Yuan asked the old servant about the progress of the project.

It was learned that the family had originally lived in the house normally and kept it very clean, but had to leave because they were forced to buy it out by a nobleman.

So there wasn't a lot to clean up.

After breaking through the courtyard wall and leveling the road, all I did was slightly adjust the layout and replace some new furniture.

After Yun Buxian finished the tidying up, he transplanted many flowers and trees there.

Taking into consideration that the old house was overcrowded and inconvenient, Jiao Yan'er used that place as her backyard and moved there with her maid.

The old servant added, "Since the captain left, General Song has moved back in."

Pei Yuan said "hmm".

Although Song Chunniang coveted Jiao Yaner quite a bit, she still managed to withstand the test when she was on the run.

Besides, she now has the idea of ​​starting a family and building a career. In addition, Jiao Yan'er has been rude, so she is not as reckless as before. Pei Yuan strode into the front hall and then told the guards, "You are all tired all day. Eat something and go to the side room to rest."

He also asked the butler who had arrived to prepare wine and food quickly.

Pei Yuan sat alone in the front hall, thinking for a long time, when he saw the gatekeeper coming over to speak.

Chen Xinjian listened to a few words, knocked on the door, and stepped in. "Captain, Wei Ne is here. But he didn't come alone, he brought Jiao Hanlin with him."

Chen Xinjian didn't dare to call the young lady's father by his name.

Pei Yuan frowned immediately when he heard this.

Now the court is about to liquidate the remnants of Liu Jin, but unexpectedly Jiao Huangzhong is still restless and jumping up and down.

As a result, even officials who previously had no stance on these party disputes may feel even more resentful.

Just then the housekeeper came with the servants to serve the dishes.

Pei Yuan asked him, "Has Jiao Huangzhong come during the days I was away?"

The housekeeper said quickly, "I've been here a few times, and it was always the young lady who entertained me."

Pei Yuan had no expression. After thinking about it, he changed his mind.

She had come several times, but there was not a single request in Jiao Yan'er's letters, which showed that Yan'er knew her limits.

Pei Yuan raised his chin and gestured to Chen Xinjian, "Sit down, let's eat first."

Chen Xinjian hesitated, sat down at the table, and asked, "What about Wei Ne and the others?"

Pei Yuan said calmly, "Ignore them for now."

If Jiao Fang still has some residual value, then Jiao Huangzhong is Jiao Fang's biggest non-performing asset.

If Jiao Fang had not risen to power quickly and fallen quickly, leaving Jiao Huangzhong with little room to do evil, he would have been another Liang Ci'e.

This guy teamed up with Wei Ne and actually dared to forcibly buy the house of Zhang Nai, the Right Censor-in-Chief of the Nanjing Censorate.

What kind of concept is this? How arrogant is this?!

Officials of the Nanjing Censorate can make a comeback and return to the Beijing Censorate at any time.

Right Censor-in-Chief of the Censorate, the second-in-command of the national political and legal departments.

How the hell does one have to be so stupid to do something like this?

Thinking of this, Pei Yuan became alert and quickly asked the old servant to come back and ask him, "Have you ever asked who lived in our backyard before? Did Xiao Yan pay enough money when he forced to buy it?"

"This..." The old servant hesitated, not understanding what was going on.

Pei Yuan sighed and asked the old servant to go down.

Each and every one of them is a hassle.

Chen Xinjian also saw his boss's troubles, so he just obediently picked up food and ate his meal.

The two of them were eating in silence when the doorman came to the door again and looked in.

Chen Xinjian got up to ask, and came back to answer, "The young lady's father has gone back, and only Wei Ne is waiting outside."

Pei Yuan then said, "Let him in."

Then he said to the servant outside the door, "Bring another set of bowls and chopsticks."

After a while, Wei Ne came in with a sad face.

When he saw the servant bringing new bowls and chopsticks, he sat down and picked up the chopsticks.

But soon, he put down his chopsticks with a sad face, "How can I eat this?"

When Pei Yuan saw Wei Ne's grief-stricken look, he felt relieved.

He said to Wei Ne, "You are the one who knows what's going on, unlike that guy."

Wei Ne explained on behalf of Jiao Huangzhong, "That guy is desperate and is trying every possible means. I told him a long time ago that the best solution is to leave the capital as soon as possible."

"The current emperor and those people in the palace might consider their past friendship and give them a chance to live."

"I won't listen."

Seeing that the matter was being addressed, Pei Yuan simply put down his chopsticks and said to Wei Ne, "How is the situation over there?"

Weiner sighed, "It's terrible."

After that, he said very forcefully, "It's my own business, it won't implicate Qianhu."

Pei Yuan sneered, "Isn't it just that the imperial court wants to hunt down Liu Jin's remaining followers? How big of a deal is that?"

Wei Ne's expression paused, and then his eyes were filled with disbelief, "Qian Hu, you want to protect me?"

After some previous encounters, Wei Ne already knew that the person in front of him was no simple character.

It was precisely for this reason that Wei Ne wanted to leave a way out and frequently showed goodwill to Pei Yuan.

But this time the clean stream comes with great force and is determined to eradicate all evil.

According to rumors, Lu Wan, the assistant minister of the Ministry of War, even threatened to gain victory, entered the Censorate, and personally turned his butcher knife on his former accomplices.

With such a huge momentum, the little bit of luck in Wei Ne's heart had long since disappeared.

I didn't expect that this last bit of hope would actually become a life-saving straw.

Pei Yuan wanted to do Wei Ne a favor, but then he thought...

For this kind of person with low character and no moral principles, favors are nothing to him. Does he know how to write the word "gratitude"?

Pei Yuan simply said honestly, "It's not to protect you, it's to protect Wang Chang."

Wei Ne thought about it and suddenly understood.

Wang Chang had appeared at Pei Yuan's concubine banquet.

As a member of Liu Jin's eunuch party who lived in constant fear, Wei Ne was particularly attentive to those people of similar status in the past.

Before, he saw that someone of Wang Chang's status was able to hand over power and make a peaceful transition, so he thought there was room for this matter to be resolved slowly.

I didn't expect that they would come with such great momentum as soon as the rebellion in Bazhou was put down.

So when Pei Yuan said he wanted to protect Wang Chang, Wei Ne immediately believed it to about 70%.

He didn't even have the slightest doubt whether Pei Yuan could do what he said.

Just based on the cards Captain Pei displayed during the concubine banquet, it would not be difficult for him to protect Wang Chang, who just wanted to land safely.

He smiled bitterly and said, "That makes Wei a little envious."

Pei Yuan smiled and said, "You don't have to be envious. I can also protect you with my help."

Wei Ne immediately couldn't sit still anymore, his eyes widened, "This, this, is it serious?"

Pei Yuan rolled his eyes, "Why would I lie to you?"

As his life was at stake, Wei Ne hurriedly asked anxiously, "Captain, how are you going to protect me?"

Pei Yuan explained his ideas with very simple logic.

He clenched his hands into fists in front of him.

"Well, I'll beat those who wanted to wipe out Liu Jin's remnants half to death, so they naturally won't have the energy to bother with this matter anymore."

"When Wang Chang is fine, you will be fine too."

(End of this chapter)