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

Chapter 420 Fei Hong's Settlement and Retreat
Pei Yuan told the emperor in a plain tone about the shady operations of the various states and counties.

Then he concluded, "I have seen several problems from this matter."

"First of all, this Luo Sect is indeed hidden in secret, and there are indeed officials who are shielding it."

"This makes the investigation very difficult. There may even be a large and powerful organization behind this, covering up for them."

After hearing Pei Yuan's words, both Zhu Houzhao and Fei Hong, the Grand Secretary on duty today, looked solemn.

"Secondly, we cannot harm ordinary people just to fight against Luojiao."

"For example, the thousands of so-called cult members who were interrogated this time were innocently implicated. When they are sent back to their hometowns, they may even be angered by the county and state officials."

"So, before sending those people back, can the court issue an order to first reprimand those officials who are eager for quick results, and then release these innocent people?"

"This way, your majesty's kindness will not be wasted, and the people will know that the emperor loves the people."

Although Pei Yuan spoke tactfully, everyone understood what he meant.

Everyone was surprised for a moment.

It is said that most of the Jinyiwei are greedy and unscrupulous villains, but I didn’t expect that there would be such a person who understands Confucian benevolence.

Fei Hong, who was known for his loyalty and honesty, couldn't help but look at Pei Yuan differently.

Moreover, Pei Yuan was also sensible in his actions. He did not hold those county officials to account, but rather leniently characterized them as being in a hurry for quick results.

Although being impatient for quick results is a derogatory term, it also understands the intention of trying to please the superiors.

This makes the people above feel comfortable listening to it.

This is totally unlike other Jinyiwei who would start investigating a major case as soon as they got a handle.

Zhu Houzhao's expression calmed down a bit, and he asked Fei Hong, "What does the cabinet think?"

Upon hearing this, Fei Hong naturally said, "Captain Pei, this is a very good idea. Shandong has just experienced the ravages of the Bazhou bandits. It is time to be quiet rather than active. Although the evil cult must be cracked down, innocent people must not be implicated. This is a good opportunity to let the local areas understand the standards of the court."

"The court will issue an order as soon as possible." Fei Hong glanced at Pei Yuan, "Just follow what Captain Pei said just now."

Zhu Houzhao said with satisfaction, "Okay."

Pei Yuan did not dare to take credit for it and lowered his head even more humbly.

In this way, with the pressure from the imperial court, after the intensive training of Chen Toutie is completed, those Luo believers can be sent back to preach.

Of course, those state and county officials knew that the people before were innocent.

However, not long after those innocent people were sent to the governor's office and the Western Factory, they actually came back to preach. The cabinet even issued a special order that they should not be touched.

Considering that the court has always emphasized that Luojiao is a secretive religion and that some officials are protecting it, we can ask them if they are afraid.

Then, when they carefully read the teachings of Luojiao, they found that there were some contents that they had made up...

If I continue investigating this, either the enemy is in Wenyuan Pavilion, or I am the enemy myself.

Just ask them if they are panicking.

Pei Yuan was already determined in his heart while being humble and courteous.

Luo Jiao is stable.

The next step is to use the Relic Plan and strive to make Luojiao sweep across Shandong within half a year.

By that time, the roles of the host and the guest will be reversed.

The Ming Dynasty court was very powerful when facing local officials.

But when it comes to the overall awareness of the place, there are only four words.

——Forget it.

The evidence is as follows:

When the famous Huizhou Silk Case broke out in the Ming Dynasty, the imperial court believed that local powerful families were involved in the Huizhou uprising and demanded that the Huizhou government conduct a strict investigation of the local powerful families.

There are four documents as evidence, namely, "Investigation of the Rich and Powerful People's Card" (two copies), "Investigation of the Rich and Powerful People's Card according to the Court's Re-discussion and Equalization", and "Re-visiting the Rich and Powerful People's Card according to the Metropolitan Court".

Huizhou responded: What a joke, we don’t have any rich and powerful people! It’s just an ordinary rebellion!

In the "Complete Book of Silk and Satin" which records this incident, there is an entry called "There is No Petition from the Rich and Powerful in This Prefecture" as evidence.

The court was furious: Let’s forget about the past.

……

Zhu Houzhao waited for Fei Hong to finish speaking, then frowned again, "Even if the local authorities are not capable of doing so, it is not an excuse for you to shirk responsibility."

"The court set up the evil suppression unit for this very moment. If the hawks and dogs are useless when hunting, what's the point of keeping you?"

Pei Yuan was delighted when he heard this, and he immediately said respectfully, "This is exactly the third point I wanted to make."

Pei Yuan first glanced at Fei Hong, then said, "As the Grand Secretary said just now, Shandong has just experienced the ravages of the Bazhou bandits, and it is time to be quiet rather than active. Although the evil cult must be cracked down, innocent people must not be implicated."

"As the saying goes, thieves come like combs, and soldiers come like rakes. If we take this seriously and send a large army to deal with them, I'm afraid the people will suffer even more."

Zhu Houzhao's face was not looking good, but Pei Yuan mentioned what Fei Hong said just now, so he also had to consider Fei Hong's face, so he could only say unhappily, "Are we just going to leave it alone like this?"

Pei Yuan said seriously, "As your majesty said, the court is cracking down on evil cults, and it is time for the hawks and dogs to fight to the death. I request that we follow the old example of the White Lotus Sect and recruit some stubborn people from the rivers and lakes to serve the court temporarily..."

Before Pei Yuan could speak, Fei Hong said in a deep voice, "No."

Zhu Houzhao also said simply, "No."

A large part of the responsibility for the mess that happened back then actually lies with Emperor Yongle.

If Zhu Di had not been in a state of panic and arrested tens of thousands of nuns and imprisoned them in order to capture Tang Sai'er, the subsequent incident would not have happened.

A large proportion of the garrison soldiers were involved in the mass rape, but in the end, the worst-performing garrison was the one that took all the blame.

Allowing the Suppression of Evils Thousand Households to start conscription again would involve great political risks.

Pei Yuan quickly explained, "I don't plan to expand too many staff, but I plan to set up a branch of the Hundred Households Office in each of the other five prefectures except Jinan Prefecture."

"This way, if there is any change in the prefectures, we can bypass the local protection and suppress it in time to prevent the evildoers of the Luo Sect from gathering and forming a force. When the Luo Sect's affairs are settled, these Hundred Household Offices can be directly abolished to avoid any future troubles."

Upon hearing this, Zhu Houzhao and Fei Hong's expressions softened.

It turned out to be only the size of five hundred households.

Considering Shandong's vast territory and large population, the scattered increase of more than 500 people seems insignificant.

However, if the centurions were transferred to the prefectures, it would be very direct to deter the evil people of the Luo Sect in each prefecture.

Zhu Houzhao asked, "Those idle and cunning people are so stubborn that they can easily cause trouble to the local area even if they are recruited. Do you have a specific plan for this?"

Pei Yuan said confidently, "It is precisely because these cunning people are so stubborn that I recruited them, which is like removing the firewood from under the cauldron, which is more conducive to local stability." "Once these people are gathered, I will definitely educate and discipline them with the Confucian five words of benevolence, righteousness, courtesy, wisdom, and trustworthiness."

"So that it will not cause harm."

Although it is a bit strange for a treacherous Jinyiwei to mention benevolence, righteousness, propriety, wisdom and trustworthiness, and it is a bit naive to use these Confucian principles to control those villains in the world, but in spirit, it is still worth encouraging.

Everyone nodded.

At this time, Pei Yuan said, "In fact, many people who are bewitched by cults are stupid and are just being coerced by others. As long as we educate them, they can still be saved."

"The Thousand Households use the five words of Confucianism to form an army. If they use the five-word army to attack and destroy the evil cult, it will surely be like melting soup pouring on snow, unstoppable and unstoppable."

Zhu Houzhao listened, thought for a moment, and said solemnly, "We can give it a try. Just as you said, we can set up five 100-household offices in the five prefectures of Shandong, form a five-character army, and suppress Luojiao. If we still can't do it well, I will definitely hold you responsible."

Pei Yuan heaved a sigh of relief when he heard this.

If he wants to maintain his current business, the strength of the Northern Bureau of Qianhu Suo alone is already a bit stretched.

The establishment of five more temporary centurions would mean that there would be five mobile forces that could be mobilized.

And even though the temporary centurions sound a bit weak, the establishment of these five centurions comes with its own military mission.

Even a small amount of power, if it can be concretized, can be abused on a large scale.

Specifically, these five branches of the Hundred Households Office all have reasons to intervene in matters related to the Luo Sect.

And wherever the Luo Sect extends, their authority can naturally extend there.

After Pei Yuan finished talking about the Luojiao, he wanted to bring the topic to this great debate by talking about the trouble caused by the monks and soldiers from Huguang in the local area.

After hesitating for a moment, Pei Yuan finally did not dare to take the risk.

There is no other reason.

——Fei Hong is here!

Although Fei Hong was recognized as an honest man in the court, Pei Yuan could try to deceive him, but as one of the three great ministers of the cabinet, Pei Yuan did not dare to underestimate his wisdom.

Here, an equation can be given to many simple people.

For example, some people racked their brains to create a persona, bore the infamy, recruited party members, and made a desperate political bet on the Eight Tigers of Zhengde, and then became a cabinet minister.

Yes, for example, Jiao Fang.

However, in the same era, there were some people who sat in that position unremarkably and were praised by everyone, with a reputation for being honest and upright.

Yes, it’s Fei Hong.

These two...are equal.

So, never underestimate the wisdom of such people beneath the surface.

As one of the most powerful "three giants" among the tens of millions of people in the Ming Dynasty, the fact that he can stand there has already proved that he is the winner among thousands of people.

At least.

Captain Pei, who had always been very brave, began to consider retreating when he saw Fei Hong.

If it was just Zhu Houzhao, Pei Yuan could still muster up the energy to fight, but if there was an expressionless Fei Hong beside him, Pei Yuan would not dare to take the risk easily.

Pei Yuan could only say, "I heard that the Maitreya rebels have been defeated by the Shanxi Dusi, and some of the rebels will soon be escorted to Beijing. I plan to inquire about this matter and then go to Shandong to supervise the affairs of the Luojiao."

"I will arrange for my capable subordinates to take care of the preliminary preparations. There will be no delays."

At this critical moment, Pei Yuan cannot leave Beijing easily.

Otherwise, the formulation of this post-war order may risk getting out of control.

After hearing the name of Maitreya, Zhu Houzhao also warned, "We really need to pay more attention to the affairs of Maitreya. The main culprit of the Sanhe Posthouse case has not been caught yet, and we must give Liang Cifu an explanation."

Pei Yuan understood and replied respectfully, "I will definitely not let the thief get away with it this time."

The assassination of Liang Ci'ao should have a clear outcome.

If Liang Chu did not have other children and grandchildren to be wary of, Zhu Houzhao would not have dared to keep such a guy who might take political revenge at any time in the cabinet.

Seeing that Pei Yuan had nothing else to do, Zhu Houzhao asked him to go and do his work.

When Pei Yuan left, he couldn't help but breathe a sigh of relief when he saw that Zhang Rui didn't follow him out.

Whether it was the issue of commercial taxes in Jiangnan or Empress Dowager Zhang's suppression of other foreign relatives, Pei Yuan did not want to get involved.

A few days after Pei Yuan met with Li Shishi, the Grand Censor, an imperial censor from the Censorate openly questioned the Ministry of War's discussion of merit.

The excessive honor bestowed upon Ningxia Lieutenant General Qiu Yue was just the beginning.

Many imperial censors were questioning why so many imperial troops, chasing after the mob in one county, ended up with more and more people being killed, and the fight dragged on for a long time, affecting several provinces?

In the past, when judging merit, it was because the generals performed outstandingly and commendably. But this rebellion was so badly fought, what was there to praise so much that we should reward them with titles and money?
Fuqiangbo Mao Rui led the troops to fight against the bandits and lost many soldiers and horses. In a panic, he even lost his general's seal. Why was such a person not thrown into jail, but instead was allowed to wait for reward?
The words of the censors woke the dreamer up for a moment.

Many censors spoke out and demanded a re-examination of the merits and demerits of these military officers.

Especially Qiu Yue and Mao Rui, who were at the top and bottom of the merit list, almost became the focus of street talk.

Qiu Yue was fine, but after hearing that Lu Ting, who made the greatest contribution after the war, had only appointed two commanders, he felt a little guilty.

His achievements were recognized early, which has symbolic significance in boosting morale.

Even if they really wanted to investigate, even if they took away his marquisate, he would be satisfied as long as he was able to keep an earldom.

But Mao Rui was in a lot of trouble.

The matter of Qiu Yue involved the determination of military merits, and there were also military men who were stirring up trouble and helping to speak up.

But Mao Rui's deeds were so shameful that many military officers were ashamed to be associated with him.

If they defend a guy like Mao Rui who even lost his seal of general, wouldn't it just prove that they are good-for-nothings?
Even the Minister of War He Jian felt tremendous pressure from this matter.

Zhang Zan, the military censor, pointed out explicitly that the reward this time was too hasty, and even if an imperial edict was issued based on this, he would still reject it.

Zhang Zan's clear attitude won applause from the scholars.

Under such a good situation, even the Minister of War He Jian began to hesitate.

Should we give those soldiers such generous rewards? Is there still room for negotiation?
Just when public opinion in the capital was in an uproar, Left General Xiao Yan took the initiative to speak for the military officers.

He asked in a deafening voice, "Ma Jiongran, the Chief Censor, was killed on his way back to Sichuan with his family, and yet he was given an official position and his son was given a chance to rule!"

"Did this person have any merit in capturing the bandit leader? Did he have any outstanding achievements in dispersing the bandit army? What is the difference between having his head and body separated and dying in the wilderness and losing the general's seal?"

"Why can this person be granted an official position with a clear conscience, and can also give his son a patronage? Can such a thing be considered fair?"

(End of this chapter)