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

Chapter 443 Political Endorsement
Just when Pei Yuan was completely desperate, he was hit hard on the buttocks.

Pei Yuan felt more surprise than pain.

Not taking it off?!
Then another hit on the buttocks.

Pei Yuan grew up in the marketplace, and when he was young he beat up many people and was beaten up.

After that, he joined the Jinyiwei and was involved in a series of events. He had to fight for his life. Injuries and bleeding were common. So what was this little pain?
And as the beating continued, the man behind him was obviously running out of strength, and Pei Yuan could even hear a slight heavy gasp.

Based on these, Pei Yuan even judged that the person who was torturing was a military hero from a wealthy and powerful family.

After all, the right governor Xi Yong who pressed his arm was a first-rank official, and the one who took action later had to be at least an uncle.

And he has to be the type who has been rich and prosperous for too long and has neglected his martial arts skills.

The man behind him hit him with a stick about ten more times and then went to the pavilion to report.

Pei Yuan couldn't help but breathe a sigh of relief.

He is not a civil official, and fighting in court does not enhance his reputation, so it would be good if he could get hit less often.

Perhaps because the fight was over, Xi Yong and Jin Fu didn't press as hard, and Pei Yuan could observe his surroundings better.

Then he saw a fat, white military officer whom he had just seen in the pavilion walking back breathlessly.

The military officer wiped the sweat from his forehead and said to Xi Yong and Jin Fu, "Take him back to the pavilion for questioning."

Pei Yuan wanted to say, I can walk by myself, but then he felt that this was somewhat disrespectful to the fat man.

He then allowed Xi Yong and Jin Fu to hold him on both sides and carry him back to the pavilion.

Pei Yuan is a grateful person.

He whispered to the three of them, "Thank you for keeping me here. I will definitely repay you in the future."

Not to mention the fat nobleman, Xi Yong and Jin Fu were both real warriors who had come back from the battlefield. They knew exactly how badly Pei Yuan was beaten.

But he was a good person and, considering Lu Ting's power, he pretended not to see it.

The fat nobleman was a little puzzled. He had used all his strength just now and didn't know why this guy was thanking him.

When he returned to the pavilion, he heard Zhu Houzhao ask him stiffly, "Do you know you are wrong?"

Pei Yuan resolutely admitted his mistake, "I was confused for a moment, and it's too late to regret it."

Zhu Houzhao was about to say something else when he saw Qian Ning coming over to report, "Your Majesty, the cabinet's deputy minister Liang Daxueshi is here."

When Zhu Houzhao heard this, there was some surprise on his face.

He glanced at Pei Yuan again with displeasure, and then ordered Qian Ning, "Please come in."

After a while, Grand Secretary Liang Chu came to the pavilion.

After the greetings were over, Zhu Houzhao said warmly, "I just sent someone to the cabinet to report the Sanhe Posthouse case. I'm sure Liang Qing has already known about it."

Liang Chu paused and said, "I have already learned about it. I came here to thank Your Majesty for helping me find the real culprit."

Zhu Houzhao smiled and said, "Catching those evil spirits is the duty of the court. There is no need to thank me or not."

Liang Chu nodded slightly when he heard this, but did not respond. Instead, he said to Zhu Houzhao in a deep voice, "This old minister lost his beloved son in his old age. When I heard about this incident, I felt as if my heart was burning. Now that the matter has finally been explained, I would like to see the relevant documents to put this regret to rest."

Zhu Houzhao looked unhappy and said hesitantly, "This..."

Liang Chu waited for a long time before continuing to ask, "Could it be that this old minister cannot see?"

Zhu Houzhao could only say, "Not really."

Then he pointed at the memorial that had just been thrown on the ground and signaled the eunuch to take it to Liang Chu.

Liang Chu took the memorial with both hands, looked at the place where the memorial was thrown, and then looked at Pei Yuan who was being held on both sides by Xi Yong and Jin Fu because of the caning.

Liang Chu was deeply impressed by Pei Yuan's face.

If Pei Yuan had not captured Liang Ci from his house, none of the subsequent events would have happened.

This small captain could have died and freed the emperor, his ministers, and scholars, but he chose to ruin his plans.

But Liang Chu was very shrewd. He only took a glance and then looked away.

After all, the fact that he and Zhang Rong had teamed up to deceive the emperor was a fatal mistake. Now that the emperor has let it go, it would be better for everyone else to forget about it as well.

Liang Chu's eyes fell on the memorial and he began to read it carefully.

After seeing the memorial full of mistakes and omissions, Liang Chu's hands trembled slightly and his eyes narrowed.

With his rich political experience, he immediately understood that it must be Zhu Houzhao's idea to use Maitreya Buddhism to settle the case of Sanhe Station.

Otherwise, with Zhu Houzhao's intelligence and agility, how could he not have spotted the errors in the memorial? And he even asked someone to inform him that the case was closed?

Only when the result is given with an answer, people below will be so careless and not care whether it is reasonable or not.

Liang Chu gently rubbed the slightly burned memorial with his fingers, and tried to endure it again and again, but finally couldn't bear it anymore and asked Zhu Houzhao, "Is that so?"

Zhu Houzhao didn't expect Liang Chu to come directly to him. He was already in a difficult situation and could only bite the bullet and say, "Didn't I just tell Liang Qing?"

Liang Chu sighed and said in a depressed tone, "This old minister understands."

Pei Yuan, who was standing aside, lowered his eyelids silently.

While Pei Yuan's memorial protected himself, it also slightly deceived Zhu Houzhao.

He didn't expect Liang Chu to come to Zhu Houzhao to ask for the original memorial to be reviewed. Having Chen Xinjian tamper with the interrogation process was just a precaution.

After all, this matter involves the murder of Liang Chu's son, which is a very sensitive matter.

If they really made this memorial too perfect, once it leaked, as long as one mistake was discovered, it would mean that the entire memorial would be confirmed to be a forgery.

The Evil Suppression Thousand Households Office, which is directly responsible for this matter, will have to face the targeting of Liang Daxueshi alone.

Perhaps even the emperor would abandon his pawns to save his chariot and turn a blind eye to this matter.

After all, the memorial was written very carefully, so it is reasonable for the emperor to be deceived by it, right? When the time has passed, who will still be willing to acknowledge the private promise made by the superiors?

But if this memorial is in ruins and can still effectively characterize the "Sanhe Posthouse Case", then no one involved in this incident is innocent.

This can only be done with the approval of the higher-ups, so this was done by the Maitreya sect, not any logical bullshit evidence.

In this way, Zhu Houzhao had no room to pretend to be stupid.

Liang Chu, who understood all this, suddenly realized that what the emperor wanted now was stability in the court, so the "Sanhe Posthouse Case" and the death of Liang Ciwu had to be let go.

Liang Chu was groggy for a moment, and said to Zhu Houzhao, "Your Majesty, there are still some matters that have not been dealt with in the cabinet. I will go back and take a look." Zhu Houzhao needed such a high-ranking university scholar with a bad reputation in the cabinet, and he also advised, "Liang Qing should think more positively."

After Liang Chu left, Zhu Houzhao got angry at Pei Yuan again, "Look at what you did wrong?"

Pei Yuan could only say again, "I am terrified."

Pei Yuan thought about the smooth exchanges he had had with Zhu Houzhao before, so he took the initiative to mention, "I see that the Grand Secretary looks unhappy. Does he have any misunderstandings about Your Majesty? This is all my fault. Do you want me to go and explain to him?"

Zhu Houzhao didn't bother with that anymore and said casually, "Let him be."

Pei Yuan said, "Mr. Liang was born under a wise ruler, but he doesn't cherish it. I feel sorry for him."

Zhu Houzhao glanced at Pei Yuan, "..."

After a while, Zhu Houzhao finally remembered what he wanted to ask Pei Yuan, so he said, "Oh, right, the question I asked you just now. Now many people in the court are suggesting to me to hold a special examination to select scholars from all over the world. Do you think this will be beneficial or detrimental to me?"

Pei Yuan heard this and said without hesitation, "Of course it's beneficial."

Zhu Houzhao didn't expect Pei Yuan to be so resolute. He immediately became interested and said, "Tell me what's good about it?"

Pei Yuan immediately said, "Your Majesty, as the Son of Heaven, it is your duty to select talents from all over the world. Your Majesty selects and loves talents. What you select are scholars from all over the world, and what you love are also scholars from all over the world."

“As the saying goes, if the ruler treats his subjects as his own hands and feet, then the subjects will treat the ruler as their own heart and soul; if the ruler treats his subjects as dogs and horses, then the subjects will treat the ruler as their fellow countrymen; if the ruler treats his subjects as dirt, then the subjects will treat the ruler as their enemy.”

"Your Majesty loves the scholars of the world, so how can the scholars of the world not love the emperor?"

After hearing this, Zhu Houzhao's brows relaxed.

He just added, "I have finally managed to make the military officials gain momentum and be able to counter the influence of the civil officials and nobles. If I were to hold a special examination at this time, wouldn't the effect be greatly reduced?"

"Besides, I am determined to rebuild the military of the Ming Dynasty and am anxious to replenish the food and money."

"But if we want to have enough food and wages, we must either open up new sources of revenue and collect commercial and mining taxes. Or, we can only add to the existing tax sources."

"These will infringe upon some local interests."

"If the civil officials were to take back the situation at this time, wouldn't it damage my previous plan?"

Pei Yuan really wanted to correct him and said, it’s me, it’s all my credit.

But there is too much hazy beauty in Pei Yuan, and it is not convenient to show it to others.

So he could only follow Zhu Houzhao's words and said, "These concerns are somewhat reasonable, but such discussions have already occurred among the ministers. As far as I know, even many scholars are quite restless."

"If Your Majesty vetoes this matter at this time, I am afraid that scholars all over the world will be greatly disappointed."

"Those scholars who study hard for many years and succeed in the imperial examinations are only one in a hundred, so they always feel resentful."

"If the special examination is terminated because of your majesty, I am afraid that the candidates who failed in one or two examinations, or even four or five examinations, will blame your majesty, thinking that your majesty reduced their chances of success."

Zhu Houzhao looked unhappy when he heard this and asked, "Doesn't this mean that the ministers are deliberately putting me on the fire?"

Pei Yuan heard this and said, "For most things in this world, there are pros and cons, and cons and pros."

"I am willing to talk about the benefits of Enke again."

Zhu Houzhao had just listened to Pei Yuan's analysis and also knew that the Enke matter would most likely be a forced undertaking.

In that case, let's listen to something nice.

Zhu Houzhao said, "Speak."

Pei Yuan said, "First of all, this special examination is different from the previous ones. Most of the previous special examinations were for candidates who had not passed the imperial examination for many years, and the coverage was relatively small. However, this special examination is generally open to candidates who have already qualified for the spring examination, so it will have a greater impact. Perhaps this subject will go down in history."

"And as long as it is handled well, this year's Enke will not necessarily result in the rise and fall of the civil and military forces."

Zhu Houzhao became interested, "How do you say that?"

Pei Yuan said, "Your Majesty, you can hold a special examination in the name of commemorating the great victory in pacifying Bazhou and use it to boast about your military achievements. What's wrong with that?"

Zhu Houzhao was a vain and extravagant person, so he was overjoyed when he heard this.

Pei Yuan continued, "And if Your Majesty opens the special examination at this time, it will be a great help."

"Help?" Zhu Houzhao was a little confused.

Pei Yuan said, "It was the Grand Secretary Liang Chu who just left in a bad mood."

Pei Yuan explained, "If Your Majesty is hesitant about whether to hold the imperial examination, you might as well look back and see how to get the most favorable results if you start the imperial examination."

Zhu Houzhao was a very smart man. After hearing Pei Yuan's words and thinking about Liang Chu, whom Pei Yuan had just mentioned, his eyes immediately lit up and he asked, "Do you mean that we can use Liang Chu as the chief examiner for undergraduate studies?"

Pei Yuan nodded and said, "Not bad!"

"The beloved son of Grand Secretary Liang died tragically, and the explanation given by His Majesty before did not seem to convince him. Grand Secretary Liang might still have the idea of ​​revenge. This will surely make many people feel uneasy and uneasy."

"If the scholars of this subject were to be taught by Liang Daxueshi, they would be very likely to be politically isolated."

Zhu Houzhao corrected him unhappily, "That's the explanation you gave."

Then he asked in confusion, "This is a fight between court officials. What good does it do me? Besides, the growing power of Liang Daxueshi seems to be detrimental to the balance of the court."

Pei Yuan immediately induced, "But the reputation of Liang Dashi is bad, and he was collectively boycotted by the candidates some time ago. So the candidates who pass this imperial examination may not recognize this master."

"In this case, wouldn't these scholars be isolated and helpless, with nowhere to turn to?"

"This subject is an extra reward from the emperor. If there are one or two leaders who can lead this section of Jinshi to be loyal to your majesty, they may be of great use in the future."

Zhu Houzhao lost the political battle and turned to the route of conquering the Ming Dynasty first, but this did not mean that he completely gave up this battlefield.

Although Pei Yuan's thoughts are better than nothing, they can indeed bring some clean fresh blood to the court.

Zhu Houzhao was satisfied and said, "In that case, I will hold this special examination in the name of 'congratulations on the pacification of the rebels and the peace of the world'."

After saying this, Zhu Houzhao asked Pei Yuan with some doubt, "I remember that there seemed to be some hatred between you and Liang Daxueshi. Why did you recommend Liang Chu as the chief examiner without any hesitation this time? Could it be that you, Pei Yuan, are such a selfless person?"

Pei Yuan thought that the success or failure of this special examination would depend on the topic predicted by Liang Chu as the chief examiner.

It can be said that the whole significance of whether or not a batch of Jinshi can be mass-produced lies in this.

How could Pei Yuan still care about what happened with Liang Chu?
Furthermore, judging from the results, Liang Chu is the victim.

Pei Yuan remained calm and said righteously, "He is actually a very good person. He may have misunderstood your majesty. I beg your majesty not to have any prejudice against Liang Daxueshi."

Zhu Houzhao: "..."

(End of this chapter)