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

Chapter 457 This is Pei Yuan
Pei Yuan was not sure whether Jiao Huangzhong had been polished yet. He hesitated for a moment before saying, "I will consider this matter. Now that the court situation has been settled, it is not appropriate to make any big moves. Let me wait for a while."

It is really not suitable to make any big movements at this time.

In the next few years, Yang Tinghe and Yang Yiqing will have extremely fierce confrontations, and eventually, in a way that surprises everyone, they will turn the Ming Dynasty court into a mess.

By that time, even though Mr. Jiao is old, he will be able to fight again if he is helped up.

After he leads the Jiao Party back to the court and gains a firm foothold, it will be time for his grandson-in-law Pei Yuan to inherit the inheritance.

Wouldn't it be better than facing the siege of Yang Tinghe and Yang Yiqing at the same time?

After hearing Pei Yuan's words, Jiao Huangzhong forced a smile but didn't say much.

It's not that he's finally able to hold his temper.

But the premise for everything to make sense is to see whether Captain Pei really has the ability to turn the tide or is just shamelessly playing himself.

If things were really as he saw, this person could influence the court with just a move, and the revival of the Jiao Party would be just around the corner.

If they were to play themselves together, then there would naturally be nothing to say.

Wei Ne and Jiao Huangzhong were both greatly shocked today. They were not sure what was going on and did not dare to get involved any further.

After looking at each other, Wei Ne stood up and said goodbye.

Not long after the two left, Chen Xinjian also received a reply from He Jian.

The result was just as Pei Yuan expected.

After experiencing the brief relief brought about by Chen Xinjian's coming and going, He Jian felt that "when the thought of retiring came to him, he suddenly felt that the world was wide open."

When Chen Xinjian mentioned this condition again, he agreed readily.

He also asked Chen Xinjian with great interest whether Lu Ting's recommendation of Xie Qian and Wang Hua was Pei Yuan's doing.
With Chen Xinjian's position in Pei Yuan Group, how could he not know the importance of this matter? He certainly would not casually disclose Pei Yuan's affairs to an uncontrollable factor like He Jian.

He Jian didn't get an answer, and sighed, "I can't see through it, I can't see through it."

He Jian also considered himself a veteran in the officialdom. The reason why he had such feelings was indeed because that person's actions were extremely evil.

At first, He Jian thought that Pei Yuan had something on him and must have some shameful intentions.

He Jian was even prepared to fight to the death.

But now that he is about to retire, the request made by the other side is still to help him show off in front of the Huai'an prefect.

They spent so much effort to capture one of the Seven Lords.

Is this the result?

He Jian really had a lot to complain about, but he didn't know whether to express it or not.

But think about it again.

At the beginning, Pei Yuan did not hesitate to use the connections of former Prime Minister Li Dongyang to call me to meet him because I refused to see him. From this point of view, this action against Liu Xiang seems to be very Pei Yuan.

Think of these.

If He Jian hadn't been afraid of the other party's methods and tactics, he would have almost thought that the other party was an idiot.

Thinking that Liu Xiang was a responsible person, He Jian thought he could do him another favor. He asked Chen Xinjian, "Liu Xiang's crime could be serious or minor. What do you think, Captain Pei?"

After hearing what He Jian said, Chen Xinjian immediately asked, "What if the guilt is high? What if the guilt is low?"

He Jian said, "If the crime is serious, he may be exiled to Yun, Guizhou, or Sichuan as a soldier; if the crime is minor, he may not be able to keep his fourth-rank official position, but he can be appointed as a county magistrate in a large county."

Seeing that He Jian looked relaxed and didn't seem to be deliberately asking questions, Chen Xinjian thought about the few words Pei Yuan occasionally mentioned and said, "Since this man can educate the people and has a good reputation as an official, why not demote him to Liaodong and make him a county magistrate."

He Jian was very generous and readily agreed to it. However, which county in Liaodong would be demoted to depend on the Ministry of Personnel's opinion.

Pei Yuan was very satisfied after listening to Chen Xinjian's retelling, and praised him, "Well done."

At this moment, the Jinyiwei who was replying to Mao Ji, the Left Vice Minister of Rites, also came back.

Pei Yuan summoned the Jinyiwei to the hall, and the Jinyiwei quickly reported, "Minister Mao personally met me. He read the reply from the captain and was very happy. He praised the captain for being a man of broad mind."

Pei Yuan rolled his eyes.

Mao Ji, the Left Vice Minister of Rites, was unwilling to let the lucky person who presented auspicious signs be rewarded, but also unwilling to offend the emperor by expressing his opinion on the issue of auspicious signs. So he kicked the ball to the Thousand Households Office for Suppressing Evils, hoping to drag it out and deal with it slowly.

As a result, as soon as Mao Ji's document was forwarded, Pei Yuan forwarded it back to him. Without even checking it, he used the excuse that "it is a rumor that confuses the public and the facts are untrue", which was a direct response to those who tried to advance by relying on auspicious signs.

This bold, fearless and clear attitude is even more upright than the Ministry of Rites, which claims to be a clean stream.

This made Mao Ji feel a little ashamed, and he couldn't help but think of the few "righteous but evil" eunuchs from the past few days.

This Ming Dynasty made Minister Mao feel a little unfamiliar.

Although he unexpectedly gained Mao Ji's favor, Pei Yuan didn't have much expectations for Mao Ji.

This person is also from Yang Tinghe's party. Although his hometown is Shandong, which makes Pei Yuan have some thoughts, there is nothing special about him.

Moreover, Pei Yuan had the impression that Mao Ji's mother would die soon, and Mao Ji would go home this year to attend the funeral and observe mourning.

When Mao Ji returned from mourning, according to the original rhythm of history, he should have been promoted to the Minister of Rites in an unremarkable manner, and then be appointed to the cabinet in an unremarkable manner. After the previous bigwigs were kicked out one by one because of the "Great Ceremony Debate", he would be appointed to the cabinet in an unremarkable manner and become the Chief Minister.

In fact, if Lu Ting hadn't brought up Xie Qian right at the beginning and directly silenced the others, Mao Ji, with the position of Left Vice Minister of Rites, could still have competed for the position of Minister of Rites.

It was a pity that Lu Ting used Xie Qian's big move right from the start. How could Mao Ji and those who supported him dare to bring humiliation upon themselves?

After the emperor issued an edict not allowing Xie Qian to return to the court, Mao Ji had some hope. However, Lu Ting, who had already taken control of public opinion, put forward Wang Hua as another candidate.

To be honest, if it was a duel between Mao Ji and Wang Hua at the beginning, compared to the retired Wang Hua, the incumbent Mao Ji not only had the ability to fight, but also had a great hope of winning.

Unfortunately, Pei Yuan asked Lu Ting to do something shameful. First, he suppressed Xie Qian so that other people dared not show up. Then he took advantage of the court officials' rebellious psychology against the emperor's rough interference. Based on the similarities between Wang Hua and Xie Qian, he made the court officials choose Wang Hua in revenge.

This blatant conspiracy and the irresistible will of the people left people with no time to even breathe.

Mao Ji could only watch helplessly as the position of Minister of Rites fell into Wang Hua's hands.

Mao Ji's only hope for advancement now is that Wang Hua previously served as a Hanlin scholar and is qualified to join the cabinet.

This time, Wang Hua's starting point was directly the Minister of Rites. If the court really appointed people to the cabinet, his rank would be very high, even not inferior to Yang Yiqing.

As long as Wang Hua can enter the cabinet, Mao Ji will have a chance to compete for the position of Minister of Rites.

However, that was three years later.

Pei Yuan finished his official business and went home happily.

Then he happily discovered that Song Zongqi had returned to live in the old house at Dengshikou today. Song Chunniang's current identity was very special, like Pei Yuan's secretly raised woman, but she still had her own legitimate identity.

Even Song Chunniang did not consider herself Pei Yuan's lover. She was still ambitiously fantasizing about how to marry Zhang Yunjun and live a good life with her.

It’s just that she wasn’t unhappy when she was with Pei Yuan. Sometimes when she wanted to give it a try, she would come and stay for a few days.

In addition, Pei Yuan was worried about the future of the Ming Dynasty, so every time Song Chunniang came, she would return with a full load.

When it was evening, Pei Yuan took Qingge and Wanyue to look for Song Chunniang.

Since Pei Yuan could not easily enjoy himself with Song Chunniang, he needed a substitute.

In the past, Song Chunniang would always be hit at the last moment, but this time Pei Yuan deliberately slowed down and gave it all to Qingge.

Qingge was a little surprised and delighted, but also a little bit incredulous.

She even suspected that she was shaking too hard, and looked at Pei Yuan timidly and nervously.

Pei Yuan patted her gently, held her tightly, and hugged her for a long time without moving.

Song Chunniang also roughly guessed something.

She didn't really care. She hadn't thought about her future yet and was quite content to just go with the flow.

Unfortunately, Pei Yuan's efforts still yielded no results.

The next morning, Pei Yuan discovered that Qingge had her period.

No matter how badly Pei Yuan calculated the days, he knew that there was no hope this time.

Fortunately, the matter had already begun, and Pei Yuan didn't care whether the son was born by someone other than Song Chunniang and Jiao Yan'er.

Pei Yuan slept alone again that night and began to try to sow seeds on the new land.

While Pei Yuan was working hard for the country, He Jian also began to clean up some of the mess during his term of office and prepare for retirement.

When everything was ready, He Jian ordered people to interrogate Huai'an prefect Liu Xiang.

Because of his defeat in defending against the enemy and being trapped by bandits, Huai'an prefect Liu Xiang was dismissed from his post and transferred from Huai'an to Beijing in the late stage of the great debate on merits and demerits, awaiting the Ministry of War to evaluate his merits and demerits.

Liu Xiang knew that the result would definitely not be good, and he was disheartened every day, waiting for his fate in prison.

Especially after hearing that Ma Zhongxi, who was imprisoned in another cell, suddenly died, Liu Xiang felt extremely desperate.

On this day, when the Ministry of War finally came to discuss his merits and demerits, Liu Xiang, while maintaining the dignity of a fourth-rank prefect, was brought into the lobby of the Ministry of War like a dead tree.

When I entered the lobby of the Ministry of War, I saw the Minister of War He Jian sitting behind a large desk with a sullen face.

After Liu Xiang, who was wearing prisoner uniform, completed the greetings, he was given a seat.

A military official took the file and asked Liu Xiang in detail about the whole process of the Huai'an defeat.

Although Liu Xiang no longer held much hope, he still insisted that the defeat of Huai'an was the responsibility of the two guards who fled first because of his deep hatred for them.

The head of the Ministry of War had obviously also experienced the whole process of the great merit discussion, and immediately said to Liu Xiang helplessly, "A defeated general is not worthy of being called brave. You can't just talk about the situation on that day."

"The Ministry of War has already sent people to inquire with Huai'an Guard and Dahe Guard. The commanders of both sides have straightforwardly admitted that the enemy's force was too large to defeat, so the army collapsed."

"Besides, the court's hundreds of thousands of troops were unable to defeat the Bazhou Army. There is no reason to blame them for such a thing."

"Besides, they saved most of the soldiers and made great contributions in the subsequent battles. It would be difficult for the court to blame them for the defeat in Huai'an."

"Although you have the courage to defend the land, since you have been defeated, you must bear the responsibility of fighting in the waves."

After the chief had finished speaking, he felt that he had said too much and looked up at He Jian who was behind the big case.

He Jian didn't say anything, which made the person in charge feel relieved.

Liu Xiang was silent for a long time, then asked in a resigned manner, "What is the court going to do with me?"

Although the head of the Ministry of War sympathized with Liu Xiang, he could only say in a serious tone, "He will probably be exiled to the southwest as a soldier."

Liu Xiang was speechless for a long while, and finally nodded silently.

The head of the Ministry of War was about to say something, but He Jian, who had just finished his big case, ordered everyone in the hall, "You all should leave. I want to ask you about the hidden truth alone."

Everyone was a little surprised when they heard this, but since the judge had spoken, they naturally did not dare to neglect it.

Soon, everyone in the main hall of the Ministry of War left.

He Jian then looked at Liu Xiang and asked calmly, "Does Magistrate Liu know a man named Pei Yuan?"

Seeing He Jian interrogating him alone, Liu Xiang thought there might be a turning point, but when he heard this question, he felt puzzled and shook his head and said, "I don't know him."

He Jian was touched and couldn't help but say, "This is probably why you are in this situation today."

Liu Xiang was completely confused and asked in astonishment, "Why did the Grand Marshal say that?"

He Jian said to Liu Xiang, "Pei Yuan is a captain of the Jinyiwei. Two months ago, he went to Huai'an to look for you, but you refused to see him. Do you still remember him?"

With this reminder, Liu Xiang immediately remembered that incident.

At that time, a Jinyiwei came to see him and said that a captain wanted to meet him.

At that time, Liu Xiang was already in danger of losing his life. He thought that the Jinyiwei had come to extort money from him, so he didn't care about these things and immediately closed the door and refused to see them.

Later, the Jinyiwei broke in and seemed to have mentioned a name, which seemed to be Captain Pei.

Liu Xiang asked in some surprise, "How did the Grand Marshal know this?"

He Jian looked at Liu Xiang and said, "He asked me to ask you, does Governor Liu still remember Captain Pei Yuan?"

Liu Xiang was even more confused after hearing these incoherent words. "What does the Grand Marshal mean by this?"

He Jian didn't want to admit that this was actually quite childish, because it would make him look funny.

So, he twitched his mouth and said calmly, "Nothing, I don't know what he means."

Liu Xiang immediately understood something. That captain of the Embroidered Uniform Guard could actually make the Minister of War speak such frivolous words for him during the interrogation.

What kind of energy does this person have?

Liu Xiang thought about what He Jian had just said, "This is probably why you ended up like this," and suddenly he realized something.

He asked in disbelief, "Then, what would have happened if I had met him at that time?"

(End of this chapter)