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

Chapter 434: Chaos in the Court
He Jian was a decisive person, and he immediately said, "Now that it has come to this, what else is there for me to be afraid of?"

Pei Yuan looked at He Jian and said calmly, "You have someone kill Ma Zhongxi, and then put the blame on Yang Yiqing and Yang Tinghe at the same time, what do you think will happen?"

He Jian heard this and his face turned pale. "What?"

Pei Yuan continued to persuade, "Put the blame on Yang Yiqing and anger Yang Yiqing. Put the blame on Yang Tinghe and anger Yang Tinghe."

"And you will become a third person of great importance."

He Jian was furious when he heard this, and pointed at Pei Yuan and said angrily, "You are so bold and arrogant!"

Pei Yuan spread his hands and asked innocently, "What did I say?"

"You!" He Jian wanted to scold immediately.

Pei Yuan stretched out his hand to stop him and pretended to be stupid, "I didn't say anything, and you didn't hear anything."

"There is no third person here. You can't frame me, and I can't frame you."

The anger on He Jian's face did not diminish.

Pei Yuan paused for a moment, and continued in that annoying tone, "I heard that Ma Zhongxi has become seriously ill in prison and will not live long."

"If he knew someone was using him to attack Yang Yiqing, maybe..."

"Ah, I never know."

"I heard that Ma Zhongxi is a grateful person."

"Should we find someone to help persuade them..."

Pei Yuan stopped talking here.

With a smile on his face, he stood up and walked out leisurely, still speaking with that annoying tone, "You've said too much."

He Jian stared at Pei Yuan with cold eyes, but remained silent.

Pei Yuan arrived outside the hall and waved to Chen Xinjian.

go.

Chen Xinjian glanced into the hall and asked curiously, "Captain, did you make the deal?"

Pei Yuan said unhappily, "How should I know?"

Then he said indifferently, "It's no big deal if he doesn't take action. The contradiction is there, it just depends on who will stir it up."

After the two of them left Li Dongyang's house, Chen Xinjian suggested, "Captain, the Grand Commander has been looking for you several times. Do you want to go and see him?"

Ever since the emperor proposed the "adopted son policy", Left Censor-in-Chief Li Shishi could no longer sit still.

However, he no longer had the heart to think about the Enke issue. What worried him most was that the effect of this "adopted son policy" on stabilizing the imperial power was almost visible to the naked eye.

In order to quell the rebellion in Bazhou, the elite troops of the border and the capital were mobilized, and many brave soldiers and generals emerged.

If they were all won over by Zhu Houzhao, even if Prince Ning restored the three guards, it would be in vain.

However, every time Li Shishi came to see Pei Yuan, Pei Yuan deliberately avoided him.

Pei Yuan thought for a moment and said, "Don't worry, let's wait and see."

After a while, several days passed.

No one, whether in the court or in public opinion in Beijing, mentioned Ma Zhongxi's affairs at all.

After hearing Chen Xinjian's report, Pei Yuan couldn't help but be surprised, "Is He Jian so shameless?"

This is the critical moment of "I would rather die than let my friend die".

Pei Yuan didn't believe that He Jian had any other options. Was he just waiting for Bian Xian and Xiao Chong to stage the scene of the Queen's return?
If He Jian is a qualified politician, he should know what decision to make now.

Chen Xinjian said to Pei Yuan with some concern, "Captain, if Mr. He doesn't listen to you, will it affect our next plan?"

Pei Yuan sighed, "I didn't expect that He Jian is also useless. Well, let's use the backup plan to give him a push."

Pei Yuan guessed that He Jian might have some concerns about his identity, so he would rather wait for death than take risks.

In this case, Pei Yuan only needs to overturn the table and let He Jian realize that the situation is irreversible. He will naturally not be able to help but take action to guide the situation in the direction that is most beneficial to him.

Soon, Bi Zhen, the eunuch guarding Shandong who was recuperating at a post station outside the city, once again issued an important article, re-discussing the Ma Zhongxi case.

Bi Zhen believed that the bandits in Bazhou were extremely evil and could not be pacified by education at all.

Ma Zhongxi hoped to influence the rebels with benevolence and righteousness, but he was fooled by the rebels instead, and the rebels became even more rampant.

From this we can see that simply being virtuous cannot stop those vicious thieves. Whether the thieves rebel or not has little to do with the local governance.

Therefore, the military officials are putting the blame on the prefectures and counties, which is completely confusing and unreasonable.

Now even some of the upright officials in the court could not help but sigh, saying that he was a truly virtuous official, while people like Gu Dayong were like pigs and dogs.

As the Ma Zhongxi case came back into the public eye, the whole story of the Ma Zhongxi case was also artificially pinned to the top, becoming the hottest topic at the moment.

The facts of the Ma Zhongxi case are relatively clear.

When Liu Liu and Liu Qi started the rebellion, the imperial court ordered Ma Zhongxi and Zhang Wei, the Earl of Hui'an, to lead the Beijing army to encircle and suppress the rebels in Bazhou.

Although Ma Zhongxi has a high reputation, he does not understand military affairs.

Zhang Wei, the Marquis of Hui'an, is a relative by marriage and a playboy who came here to show off his military achievements.

After the two men discussed it, the Right Censor-in-Chief Ma Zhongxi felt that the enemy should be defeated on the battlefield where they were good at.

For example, Confucian ethics?
So, Ma Zhongxi announced that the rebels in Bazhou were all good citizens and innocent people. They rebelled because they were forced by cruel officials and eunuchs. They should be treated with sincerity, so that they would surrender without a fight.

He then issued the following order: Do not arrest the bandits wherever they are, do not attack them if they pass by, give them food and drink if they are hungry or thirsty, and those who surrender will be spared.

In short, you should not catch the enemy where they are, and you should not attack the enemy army passing by. If the enemy is hungry, you should give him food to eat, and if he is thirsty, you should give him water to drink. If the enemy surrenders, you should not kill him, but use kindness to influence him.

In response, the Bazhou rebels said: It’s so cool!
Other people: I want to be cool too! I want to be a rebel in Bazhou too!

As a result, the small flames that could have been quickly extinguished immediately spread everywhere, and ultimately caused the entire north to pay a very heavy price.

When Bi Zhen discussed the Ma Zhongxi case again at this time and compared it with the cities that had been burned down, the civilians who had been killed and injured, and the money and grain consumed in the past one or two years, everyone realized more clearly that when those farmers turned into mobs, there was actually no going back.

Therefore, Ma Zhongxi, the person who "made a critical wrong judgment at a critical juncture", is the person who needs to be discussed most in the entire rebellion.

As the discussion on the Ma Zhongxi case becomes more and more in-depth, the three people related to this incident have also become the focus of public opinion.

One of them was Yang Yiqing, who strongly recommended Ma Zhongxi to quell the rebellion at that time.

One was Yang Tinghe, who stabbed Ma Zhongxi in the back after he was recommended by Yang Yiqing and led his troops to war.

The third one is He Jian, who insisted on a high-pressure policy and warned Ma Zhongxi that "If the thief is sincere in laying down his arms, I will give him death. If not, do not be deceived!" It is worth mentioning that Ma Zhongxi's decisive removal and punishment was also closely related to He Jian.

Looking into this matter in detail, Yang Yiqing seems to be unable to judge people well.

Yang Tinghe knew clearly that Ma Zhongxi was incompetent, but he kept silent on purpose. Only after Ma Zhongxi led his troops to set off did he come out and remind him that he was useless.

These two big guys, one is stupid and the other is bad, they are perfect match.

In comparison, in the Ma Zhongxi case, it was He Jian's decisive and remarkable performance.

However, what about Bi Zhen's previous petition? He Jian, who was decisive in suppressing the rebellion, forced many unarmed county officials to sacrifice their lives for the heavy responsibility they could not bear.

The case involves both personal grudges and the dispute over suppression and appeasement, and it also involves the current responsibility for the rebellion in Bazhou. It is full of key elements.

The Ma Zhongxi case, which has been in the spotlight of public attention, has suddenly become a public issue at the entire social level because of the multi-dimensional thinking and open reasoning it has brought about.

The dirty tricks between Yang Yiqing and Yang Tinghe gradually became clear after being instigated by some people with ulterior motives.

Pei Yuan, who had identified the key nodes and planned the matter, was hanging up in Zhihua Temple as if it had nothing to do with him.

He was like a coiled venomous snake, quietly spitting out his tongue and watching the development of the situation.

Finally, when the situation was escalating, Pei Yuan waited for the scene he wanted to see.

Ma Zhongxi, who had become the focus of discussion, suddenly died in prison, causing further uproar in public opinion.

Pei Yuan made his judgment based on his intuition.

——He Jian, take action!
Next, He Jian’s decisiveness was completely different from his previous hesitation.

All kinds of rumors appeared in the market and in the places where various literati discussed politics.

Regarding the speculation about the murderer, some point to Yang Yiqing, while others point to Yang Tinghe.

And both of these speculations have been recognized by many people.

One of the rumors that is generally believed to be closest to the truth and the most difficult to let go is that Ma Zhongxi felt deeply ashamed of Yang Yiqing and did not want to become a weapon used by Yang Tinghe to attack Yang Yiqing, so he would rather commit suicide than live in disgrace.

It is said that Yang Yiqing's face became terribly gloomy after hearing this rumor.

Yang Tinghe was also furious.

Under the influence of such rumors, the atmosphere in the court became depressing.

There is reliable information that the Ministry of Personnel's Tianguan Yang Yiqing and Prime Minister Yang Tinghe have had extremely fierce conflicts on many issues in recent days, and the discussion of merits and rewards and punishments, which was already at a stalemate, has encountered twists and turns again.

The court officials had anticipated that the conflict between the two men might gradually become clearer after the post-war order was established.

But I didn't expect this day to come so soon.

Ma Zhongxi's death completely intensified the conflict between the two and tore apart the superficial harmony.

Many low- and middle-level officials who are not qualified to sit on the fence have passively begun to take sides.

Yang Tinghe has deep roots and needs no introduction.

Although Yang Yiqing had a weak foundation, he had the strong cohesion of the Jiangxi Gang standing behind him. This was the benefit Yang Yiqing reaped from his anti-Liu Jin and Jiao Fang campaign after he defeated Liu Jin.

Zhu Houzhao looked at the excitement of the civil servants and was so nervous that he didn't dare to breathe.

——This is too exciting.

Since the results of the Ministry of War's meritorious service were shelved, Zhu Houzhao began to carefully promote his adopted sons' policy. Then, according to the suggestion of the eldest son of the emperor, He Huan, he asked his adopted sons to each offer a part of their troops and bring them to the capital for training.

The civil servants took a look at it and didn't take it seriously, continuing to focus on the breakup between Yang Yiqing and Yang Tinghe.

Zhu Houzhao also issued an order, saying that when Emperor Taizu of Han discussed merits, in order to distinguish merits, he rated the first meritorious person and asked the ministers to discuss it. Because there were many disputes at that time, later Guannei Hou Ejun spoke out and judged Xiao He first, and Cao Shen second.

Han Taizu said, "I heard that promoting virtuous people is rewarded. Although Xiao He's achievements are great, he became more brilliant after meeting Lord E. So Lord E's former land of Guannei Marquis was promoted to Marquis of Anping."

Today, the court is discussing merits and demerits, which is causing unrest in the country. Baihu Pei De can clearly distinguish the merits and demerits, just like the E Jun in the early Han Dynasty.

Therefore, Pei De was conferred the title of Earl of Yongshou.

The civil officials were very surprised. He was promoted to the title of Yongshou Earl? What was Yang Tinghe doing? Why didn't anyone come out to organize a counterattack?

By the way, speaking of Yang Tinghe, was it him who forced Ma Zhongxi to death?
Zhu Houzhao then gave a cautious order, granting Taipingcang as the residence of Yongshou Bo Peide, and using the spacious land of Taipingcang to station and train border troops.

The civil servants finally realized that something was wrong.

Taiping Warehouse is close to the imperial city. If a large number of border troops are stationed there, it will be much more serious than the emperor's minor fight in the Leopard House.

That Pei De..., he is probably the emperor's white glove used to station troops and build government offices.

Oh no! The emperor is going to rebel!
Then all the civil servants in the court began to panic.

It turned out that during the period when Yang Yiqing and Yang Tinghe broke up, the emperor had completely broken through the Ministry of War's defenses and rapidly expanded his influence among the military men.

However, He Jian, the Minister of War who should have been the strongest backbone among them, just ignored the matter.

All the civil and military officials in the court were well aware of He Jian's situation.

Bian Xian and Xiao Chong may overturn the verdict and return to the court at any time. Even if He Jian tries his best to obstruct the emperor, he will probably not end up well in the end.

Rather than taking the thankless task of offending the emperor now and then waiting for Bian Xian and Xiao Chong to return to the court for revenge, He Jian might as well just give up.

If you want He Jian to take over, you have to make sure He Jian has no worries.

However, the two people involved in the "Bian Xian and Xiao Chong case" happened to be Yang Tinghe and Yang Yiqing, who are currently in opposition.

These three people together formed the three forces in the “Ma Zhongxi” case.

All these twists and turns seem to be controlled by a mysterious hand from behind.

Just when the momentum of the civil officials was severely hit and the momentum of the military officials was greatly boosted, Pei Yuan finally waited for the best opportunity to make a move.

Pei Yuan called Chen Xinjian and told him, "Go and call the governor."

Chen Xinjian reminded him, "Captain, you have left Dadu Xian alone for so many days, I am afraid that Dadu Xian must be resentful."

Pei Yuan said lazily, "Just go ahead."

Chen Xinjian came back not long after he left, and with him came the Left Censor-in-Chief Li Shishi.

Li Shishi was indeed a little displeased when he saw Pei Yuan, and asked, "Brother Pei, why have you been avoiding me these days?"

Pei Yuan sighed, and without responding directly to Li Shishi's words, he pointed at the wine and food on the table and said, "Let's get drunk tonight with Dadu Xian."

Li Shishi was very surprised to see Pei Yuan like this.

He hesitated for a moment and asked, "Did you encounter any difficulties, my dear brother?"

Pei Yuan waited for Li Shishi to sit down, then he poured himself a drink and drank three cups in a row.

Li Shishi was a little confused, "Brother?"

But two tears were seen sliding down from Pei Yuan's eyes.

Li Shishi was stunned, "Brother?!"

Pei Yuan wiped his face, grabbed Li Shishi's hands, and choked up, "Daduxian, I'm sorry for you!"

Li Shishi panicked, "Brother, what do you mean?"

Then, Li Shishi said to Pei Yuan, as if to verify or to console himself, "Is it because of the reason why you avoided me before? I also know your difficulties. The emperor is expanding his military power, and it is not something that you and I can do."

But Pei Yuan shook his head, full of self-blame, and said, "I was careless for a moment and didn't see through other people's calculations, so Dadu Xian fell into someone else's trap without knowing it. It's really my incompetence."

Li Shishi was horrified when he heard this. "I was plotted against again? How come I didn't know?"
(End of this chapter)