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

Chapter 484 Southbound
Chen Xinjian heaved a sigh of relief after hearing this, and immediately said, "If that's all, it's easy to handle. I can just find a eunuch to report this to Zhang Yong. This kind of thing that has no beginning or end, and doesn't involve anyone, can be solved with a few taels of silver."

Pei Yuan nodded when he heard this, and looked at Chen Xinjian with more relief.

Although this method of alerting the enemy is simple, it is very effective.

Moreover, even if the other party saw through this conspiracy, they could do nothing about it. Because as long as Zhang Yong realized that someone was trying to get him, the easiest way for him to stop the loss was to leave Beijing and head south immediately.

Because no matter how he tries to argue, it will only draw more attention to the incident and make more people study his motives.

In that case, all kinds of speculations about his intentions will have cumulative adverse consequences. Every potential enemy of Zhang Yong will wonder if he is Zhang Yong's target.

This will expand Zhang Yong's opposition.

Because he did nothing, he could do anything.

Then he will fall into an infinite trap of self-proof.

That would be very disadvantageous.

Pei Yuan asked Chen Xinjian, "Is there anything else?"

Chen Xinjian said, "There is indeed one more thing. The person that Qian Hu asked my eldest brother to investigate has already found a result."

Seeing Pei Yuan's puzzled expression, Chen Xinjian further explained, "They are the good friends of Liang Gu, the head of the Ministry of Personnel, Xi Fengzhu, Qu Ang, Yuan Zhi, and Zhao Yan."

"Oh?" Pei Yuan became interested. "What was the result?"

Chen Xinjian replied, "We have found Qu Ang, Yuan Zhi, and Zhao Yan, but I don't know if Xi Feng Zhu is a nickname or a nickname, and I still have no clue."

Yuan Zhi and Zhao Yan were the brothers who burned yellow paper for Liang Gu when he was young. They were also the ones who tried to curry favor with Liang Gu and seek wealth, which eventually led to Liang Gu's evil transformation.

As for Xi Fengzhu and Qu Ang, they went to Liang Gu to spread rumors and deceived him into saying that Yuan Zhi and Zhao Yan were going to rebel, which eventually led to the origin of the "Guishan King Rebellion Case."

In short, none of the four people are good people.

Perhaps, Liang Gu should also be added.

Pei Yuan asked with great interest, "Have you told them that Liang Gu has become the head of the Ministry of Personnel?"

Chen Xinjian replied, "I have already said that. They were overjoyed when they heard about this and they all wanted to go to Beijing to meet Liang Gu as soon as possible."

"However, there are more than just the four of them who are on good terms with Liang Gu. If this matter becomes known to everyone, there will be no value in using them. Besides, Yuan Zhi and Zhao Yan are both working in the Prince's Mansion, so it's not so easy for them to leave."

"So apart from Qu Ang's plan to go to Beijing, there is no movement from the other two."

"Qu Ang?" Pei Yuan thought about it and felt it was a bit of a pity.

According to the situation in the original time and space, Yuan Zhi and Zhao Yan were the ones who drove Liang Gu crazy, and Qu Ang was almost there.

However, Pei Yuan didn’t have a better solution. He couldn’t just kidnap the person.

Pei Yuan said, "Qu Ang is fine, let's have someone keep a close eye on him. Don't let down Liang Gu either, you have been members of the Jinyiwei for generations, you specialize in this, don't forget your skills."

Chen Xinjian responded after hearing this, and Pei Yuan remembered something else and asked, "Wuding Hou Guo Xun hasn't relaxed yet, right?"

Chen Xinjian said, "There is a small flag guarding that place, and some people have sneaked into the Marquis of Wuding's mansion. So far, nothing unusual has been found."

Pei Yuan reminded, "The focus should not be on Marquis Wu Ding, but on those who interact with him, to see if there are any abnormal behaviors."

Pei Yuan revealed a little to Chen Xinjian, "I suspect that people from the Maitreya sect are approaching Wu Dinghou, and it is very likely that the Maitreya leader Li Fuda is among them."

Chen Xinjian took a deep breath after hearing this, and then he realized the seriousness of the matter.

"The commander is saying that Marquis Wu Ding might be colluding with the Maitreya sect? What is he trying to do?"

Pei Yuan chuckled and said, "It doesn't matter what he wants to do. As long as we have this handle, it depends on what we want to do."

Chen Xinjian then realized the huge opportunity here and became excited. "I will add another small flag to keep an eye on that side later. If we can really get hold of something that could hold Guo Xun responsible, then we can..."

Pei Yuan gave a look and Chen Xinjian quickly swallowed the rest of his words.

As the descendant of Guo Ying, a founding hero of the Ming Dynasty, Wuding Hou Guo Xun holds a very high status today.

Among Zhu Yuanzhang's founding heroes, only Geng Bingwen and Guo Ying outlived Zhu Yuanzhang.

As a result, one of the two survivors was forced to hang himself because of Zhu Di's Jingnan Rebellion.

Thus, Guo Ying became the only surviving hero of the founding of the Ming Dynasty.

Now the Three Thousand Battalion, the most elite cavalry unit in the Beijing Army, is under the control of Guo Xun.

After Pei Yuan had made all the arrangements, Chen Xinjian left in a hurry.

Pei Yuan asked his personal soldiers to pass on a secret order, asking the five trial centurions to go to Tai'an Prefecture as soon as possible after exchanging troops with Sikong Sui and to meet up with Chen Toutie.

The secret order given to Chen Toutie was to collect as many horses as possible in Shandong and be prepared for the response.

Chen Xinjian's strategy of alerting the enemy to the danger had indeed worked. Within two days, Tan Tai Fangtu, who was in charge of monitoring Zhang Yong, reported to Pei Yuan that Zhang Yong and Zhang Rong had already left the capital.

Because of the crime of corruption, Zhang Yong was punished and sent to Nanjing Wine, Vinegar and Noodle Bureau to work as a small manager.

Zhang Rongze was asked to make amends for his crime and was appointed as the deputy commander of the Nanjing Jinyiwei.

Zhu Houzhao's arrangement makes it easy to see that Zhang Yong, who was driven to Nanjing, should still have a chance to turn things around.

Zhang Rong, the commander of the Nanjing Jinyiwei, should be responsible for protecting Zhang Yong nearby.

In addition, Yang Yiqing, the official of the Ministry of Personnel, personally went to the city gate to see him off, so no one in the court or the country dared to look down on Zhang Yong just because he had lost power.

Tantai Fangtu knew Pei Yuan's plan and reminded him, "Zhang Rong brought more than a hundred family servants with him to the south. If the thousand households want to do something big, they should think twice."

"If any of them were to leak out, I'm afraid it would cause great disaster."

Pei Yuan did not try to cover up with Tan Tai Fang Tu, and said bluntly, "If we don't do it now, do we have to wait until the emperor uses him again?"

"Killing him now is just like killing a lost dog. Even if the emperor is furious, it is only for this old dog."

"If we wait until the emperor wants to use him and then kill him, I'm afraid things won't be so easy to resolve."

Tan Tai Fang Tu sighed and said reluctantly, "If that's the case, then let me go with you to take a look."

Pei Yuan was overjoyed when he heard this, "Really? Captain Tantai loves me!"

Tan Tai Fang Tu finally couldn't hold back his anger and shouted, "Go and take a look yourself, so that you can be a wise ghost in the future. If you fail and run away, won't I be held responsible?"

Pei Yuan didn't argue with him.

For an old special service agent like Tan Tai Fang Tu, his rich experience alone is a great help, not to mention that this old man is also very powerful in combat.

If you encounter a tough guy, you can stand up at the critical moment.

Pei Yuan had made enough preparations these days. Now that he had received clear information, he took a small number of personal soldiers and secretly left the capital. Tan Tai Fang Tu, who was traveling with him, was a little surprised and said, "You are not going to use the troops in the capital this time? I'm afraid that the few people in Yanggu alone are not enough."

Pei Yuan comforted Tan Tai Fang Tu and said, "It's enough."

Tan Tai Fang Tu reminded again, "It's not difficult to defeat Zhang Rong's troops, but if you want to catch every one of them, you have to mobilize a large number of people to surround them. Otherwise, if you lose track of any of them, it will be a huge hidden danger."

Pei Yuan naturally could not say that there were still some young and strong men from the Luo Sect as flanks, so he only comforted him, "Don't worry, Captain Tantai, I won't joke with my life."

Tan Tai Fang Tu had no choice but to curse inwardly while resignedly following Pei Yuan.

After walking a few miles outside the city, Pei Yuan suddenly remembered something and said to Chen Xinjian, "Last time I asked Xiao Yan to send my son to me, but Xiao Tong never came. Go back to the city now and ask Xiao Yan for Xiao Tong."

"If Xiao Tong refuses to come, you will sever the ties of friendship between me and Xiao Yan."

Now Xiao Jing has gone to Zunhua to retire, and the Xiao family's followers in the palace have also temporarily gone dormant at Pei Yuan's instruction.

The Xiao family now has little surplus value. Unless the emperor calls Xiao Jing back again, the Xiao family will no longer have any bargaining chips to bargain with Pei Yuan.

Letting Xiao Yan cut his losses and leave the market now would not necessarily harm him.

Chen Xinjian hesitated and asked Pei Yuan, "Is it appropriate for Xiao Tong to go?"

Pei Yuan said calmly, "Let him see some blood."

Chen Xinjian understood that this was an attempt to force the Xiao family to come over to his side completely.

After that, the team hurried all the way and arrived in Tianjin before dark.

In order to avoid being noticed, Pei Yuan deliberately did not let Cheng Leixiang mobilize a large force this time.

After a simple one-night stay, we continued our journey south.

When the team arrived at Qianning Station for rest, Chen Xinjian finally caught up with them with Xiao Tong.

Pei Yuan looked at Xiao Tong, who was evasive after saluting him, and deliberately asked, "Why? Earl Leping is unwilling to follow me on my mission?"

Ever since Xiao Tong was threatened by Pei Yuan last time, he has been somewhat afraid of Pei Yuan.

Seeing that Pei Yuan seemed to be angry in his words, he hurriedly said nervously, "Don't dare, don't dare, nephew?"

Pei Yuan looked at Xiao Tong, who was no younger than him by two years, and asked calmly, "Did your father teach you to say that?"

Xiao Tong could not tell the emotion in Pei Yuan's words, and did not dare to follow his father's instructions to get close to him. Instead, he changed his words and said, "I dare not, I dare not."

Pei Yuan laughed, "How come you are also the commander of the Jinyiwei? Do you think I am someone who is inferior to you and superior to you?"

After hearing this, Xiao Tong didn't know what to say. He was too nervous to say anything more.

Pei Yuan did not embarrass him any further and said, "For Brother Xiao Yan's sake, let's just talk about this as a personal relationship."

Xiao Tong finally breathed a sigh of relief and said quickly, "Yes, nephew understands, nephew understands."

Looking at Xiao Tong's honest appearance, Pei Yuan thought that it would be a good opportunity for him and Xia Zhu to get closer.

It’s a pity that this incident may be a huge threat to Xiao Tong, but it is nothing to Xia Zhu.

If Queen Xia really came to power, the matter of killing a royal servant would never be brought to the table.

Pei Yuan accepted Xiao Tong to go with him, and after a brief rest, they continued their journey south.

After arriving in Cangzhou, Pei Yuan, Tan Tai Fangtu and others studied the map and changed their route. They no longer followed the post road, but instead headed southeast and took a direct detour to Leling.

Because according to the intelligence, Zhang Yong, Zhang Rong and his group were not far ahead, on their way to Dezhou.

Pei Yuan took a detour to Leling, not only to avoid Zhang Yong and his team, but also to enter Shandong as soon as possible to meet another person, that is, the eunuch Bi Zhen who was guarding Shandong!
When it comes to hatred for Zhang Yong, there is probably no one in this world more so than Bi Zhen.

In March of the fourth year of the Zhengde reign, a Siamese cargo ship suddenly arrived off the coast of Guangdong. It then sailed towards the land and ran aground, claiming that it had encountered a hurricane and that the ship was damaged.

Seeing all this, don’t you feel a strange sense of familiarity?

The fact that this Siamese cargo ship ran aground was not because it was so bold as to invade and occupy Ming territory.

But their purpose is also ulterior motive.

After the cargo ship ran aground, they quickly pleaded with the Ming Dynasty, saying that the ship was damaged and the cargo was soaked in water, and they hoped that the Ming Dynasty would have mercy on them and allow them to dry and sell the cargo on the spot.

Once the ship is repaired, they will leave on their own.

When Daming heard about this, he thought to himself, we, the great Celestial Empire, can’t just watch them suffer like this.

Forget it.

So they told the Siamese merchants that as long as they paid taxes legally, they would be allowed to trade locally.

In order to compete for the power to levy taxes on these goods, the Guangdong Maritime Customs and the Guangdong Provincial Administration had a fierce confrontation. Eventually the matter was brought to the attention of the emperor, resulting in the dismissal of the eunuch Xiong Xuan, who was in charge of the Guangdong Maritime Customs, and his replacement by Bi Zhen.

At the beginning, Bi Zhen was still obediently working as a eunuch in the Maritime Customs.

Punch in on time every day and sleep at work.

But one day later, he looked at the Siamese cargo ship stranded on the beach, the busy trading crowd, and the Guangdong Provincial Administration Commissioner who was happily collecting money with doubt in his life, and asked a question from the bottom of his heart.

——"The cargo on this ship has been sold from March of the fourth year of the Zhengde reign to July of the fifth year of the Zhengde reign, but it has not been sold out. Is this reasonable?"

This is no longer an ordinary cargo ship, it must be heavily taxed!
So Bi Zhen wrote another letter to the emperor, vying for the right to collect taxes from cargo ships stranded in Siam.

The officials of Guangdong Provincial Administration Office watched Bi Zhen's petition with a smile, and allowed him to go on with his helpless rage.

As expected, Bi Zhen's petition was fiercely suppressed by the Ministry of Rites, which believed that he was greedy for money and wanted to usurp power.

Zhu Houzhao was annoyed and remembered that he had done this before, so he issued an edict to follow Xiong Xuan's old practice.

When Bi Zhen heard this order, his angry blood slowly turned cold.

There were only four words circling in his mind, "Xiong Xuan's old rules!"

If he had followed the old precedent of Xiong Xuan, he would have been completely deposed and become an unknown eunuch waiting to die in the Nanjing Palace.

However, at this moment, the eunuch Liu, who was in charge of the Imperial Household Department, stood up with a smile and spoke to all the civil and military officials in the court, as well as to Bi Zhen, in front of Zhu Houzhao.

"Let me explain to you what Xiong Xuan's old rules mean. Xiong Xuan's old rules mean that Xiong Xuan should do whatever he wants to do at that time..."

What does it mean to distort the imperial edict, what does it mean to call a horse a zebra, what does it mean to say "Xiao Zhaozhao, you can't do it, I will help you stand up."

Bi Zhen's eyes were moist.

He was conquered by Liu Jin at that moment, and from then on he was willing to be Liu Jin's dog.

(End of this chapter)