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

Chapter 486 Understanding the Mind
Bi really understood.

Pei Yuan's approach was to take advantage of Zhang Xiong's desire to help Zhang Rui get promoted, and trick Zhang Xiong, who was afraid of holding Zhang Rui back, into making a mistake, and then pin the suspicion of Zhang Yong's case on Zhang Xiong.

If the officials handling the case want to clear Zhang Xiong of suspicion, they must prove that Zhang Xiong does not have the ability to commit the crime.

In order to prove that Zhang Xiong did not have the ability to commit the crime, it is necessary to prove that Zhang Xiong actually suffered heavy losses, and that he deliberately concealed the situation in order to deceive Zhu Houzhao and secretly recruited additional personnel.

This will lead to a second fatal case.

Therefore, in order to save Zhang Xiong and then protect himself, East Factory Governor Zhang Rui will be forced to step down and sever the cause and effect.

In order to ensure that everything goes smoothly, Zhang Rui might even indiscriminately attack officials from the three divisions who continue to investigate the case.

Who the hell can withstand this!

That’s the commander-in-chief of the East Factory!

With the current salary structure, even a fifth-rank official in the Ministry of Justice would earn only a few taels of silver a month.

With only a few taels of silver a month, what's the point of playing with this?
No matter how furious Zhu Houzhao was, unless he rolled up his sleeves to investigate the case himself, under the threat of the East Factory commander to cut off the cause and effect, the matter would eventually become a mess and ultimately result in nothing.

So how did Zhu Houzhao grasp the situation outside?
There are only the West Factory, the East Factory, and the Embroidered Uniform Guard.

The Jinyiwei supervised the outer court, and the Dongchang supervised the Jinyiwei and the outer court.

The original purpose of the establishment of the West Factory was to monitor whether there were evil cults inside and outside the palace. Later, Wang Zhi relied on repeatedly solving major cases to make the status of the West Factory surpass that of the East Factory.

Now the Western Factory Commander is in Shandong to suppress the Luo Sect, and the leader that Zhu Houzhao is supervising in the outer court is Zhang Rui.

If we can deal with Zhang Rui, we will have dealt with everything that follows this case!
Bi Zhen couldn't help but admire, "This plan of Qianhu is very comprehensive."

It would be best if I could kill Zhang Yong and still keep myself useful.

Pei Yuan didn't bother to exchange pleasantries with Bi Zhen. "Send your people to lobby Zhang Xiong immediately. When Zhang Xiong gathers enough people, I will take action."

"In addition, we must try to delay Zhang Yong's trip. A lot of people will be mobilized this time, and this matter must be resolved within Shandong. If we leave Shandong, it will be easy to expose our tracks."

Bi Zhen thought about it and said without hesitation, "It's easy. I can ask someone to cause him some trouble."

Pei Yuan felt that this method was not appropriate. "Zhang Yong just left Beijing in a panic, just like a frightened bird. Seeing that you are looking for trouble, I am afraid he will choose to avoid you, and maybe take a boat directly from Dezhou and go south along the canal."

Bi Zhen was a little embarrassed when he heard this, "What should I do? My relationship with him has never been very good. If I try to keep him here, I'm afraid he will become even more suspicious."

Pei Yuan smiled and said, "That's easy. I have a way."

"After all, Zhang Yong was the Prime Minister before. This time, the emperor specially gave Zhang Rong, who had committed a serious crime, the title of Nanjing Jinyiwei Commander-in-Chief, and asked him to lead the troops to escort him. This shows that the emperor only needs the "Hongzhi old people" to work for him temporarily. What he really cares about are those who came from the Eastern Palace."

"And when Zhang Yong left the capital this time, the Minister of Personnel Yang Yiqing personally escorted him to Lugou Bridge, and chatted and laughed with Zhang Yong in front of the officials who saw him off, showing everyone his firm stance of supporting Zhang Yong."

"You might as well find an opportunity to tell the officials of various government offices in Shandong the truth of this matter, so that they understand that Zhang Yong will be re-employed sooner or later."

Bi Zhen looked at Pei Yuan in disbelief. "Am I just bored? Isn't it good to watch Zhang Yong suffer like a stray dog?"

Pei Yuan remained calm and continued, "You might as well give those officials a clear message. Zhang Yong was punished by the emperor because he embezzled the money from the Imperial Treasury."

"Before Zhang Yong went south this time, he was searched by the East Factory Admiral Zhang Rui and his men. Now is the time to be tight on money."

"If we can help him now and give him some money, not to mention how Zhang Yong will repay us when he becomes the internal minister in the future, just letting Zhang Yong mention it in front of Yang Yiqing will be of great benefit."

"Besides, Yang Yiqing is currently presiding over the imperial inspection with Left Censor-in-Chief Li Shishi. After the inspection, they may soon begin to assess local officials. Instead of cramming at the last minute, it is better to do favors now."

Bi Zhen looked at Pei Yuan in confusion, "I say, what are you planning?"

Pei Yuan looked at Bi Zhen strangely, "Zhang Yong has such a promising future. Now is the perfect time to take advantage of his downfall and make some changes. How dare those officials not express their gratitude?"

"In this way, Eunuch Zhang will be overwhelmed with gifts and naturally will not want to leave. He will have to take his time."

Only then did Bi Zhen understand Pei Yuan's intention. It turned out that he was just giving him some sweet treats slowly.

Although he knew Pei Yuan's intention, Bi Zhen was still somewhat reluctant, "Even so, there's no need to praise him so much."

"We are already very unwilling if we can't humiliate him properly, let alone this."

Pei Yuan looked at Bi Zhen calmly and said, "If I don't support him, how can others willingly pay a large sum of money? I have gathered so many people and worked hard to come here to kill him. I can't come here in vain."

Only then did Bi Zhen understand that it was Pei Yuan who wanted the money.

That’s right!
Zhang Yongren was chopped to pieces, so could the money still be left?
He first used Zhang Yong's identity to accept bribes and extort a large sum of money, and then after killing Zhang Yong, he directly used the ready-made silver to reward everyone.

Thinking of this, Bi Zhen almost suffocated.

No, this reward for killing Zhang Yong was paid by Zhang Yong himself?

This Pei Yuan is simply a devil!
Given Bi Zhen's hatred for Zhang Yong, he now even felt a sense of pity.

Then, Pei Yuan used cold words to combine into something warm, "You will get 10% of it when the time comes."

Bi Zhen understood instantly, and immediately patted his chest and assured, "Leave it to me."

Pei Yuan discussed some details with Bi Zhen, and then said, "There is no time to lose, Eunuch Bi, you should act sooner."

Upon hearing this, Bi Zhen said with great emotion, "If this is accomplished, our lives will be handed over to Captain Pei."

Pei Yuan bid farewell to Bi Zhen, and then rode non-stop to the Western Factory's headquarters in Licheng.

This time Pei Yuan no longer concealed his whereabouts, and sent someone to report in with great fanfare.

When Gu Dayong heard that Pei Yuan had arrived, he quickly put down the tea in his hand, tidied his clothes and went out to greet him.

The deputy Qiu Ju standing by couldn't bear to watch and complained, "Eunuch Gu is now the head of the Imperial Stables and the governor of the Western Depot. Why did he lower himself to welcome a captain of the Imperial Guard? If people knew about this, they would laugh at him."

Gu Dayong laughed, his expression full of a clear-headed sense of superiority. He did not try to persuade Qiu Ju, but said to himself, "Then you take a rest first, I'll go to the door and take a look."

Originally Qiu Ju didn't feel anything, but when Gu Dayong hurried out, Qiu Ju hesitated for a long time and suddenly felt a little restless.

It felt like something was missing in the empty lobby, and the seat under my butt didn't seem to be placed properly.

Qiu Ju finally couldn't suppress the uneasiness in his heart and quickly chased after Gu Dayong.

When they arrived at the gate of the Western Factory, they saw Pei Yuan happily greeting Gu Dayong.

Seeing Qiu Ju coming out, he nodded at him with satisfaction, "Eunuch Qiu, I haven't seen you for a long time, you are still as charming as ever."

Qiu Ju coughed awkwardly.

He didn't want to go to see Gu Dayong, so he just said to Pei Yuan, "I haven't seen Captain Pei for a while. When did you go back to Shandong?"

Pei Yuan sighed, "I have just come back from a long journey. When the emperor heard that the situation of Luojiao was not optimistic, he ordered the establishment of five more 100-household offices in addition to Jinan Prefecture. I came to Shandong this time to make arrangements for this matter."

After hearing this, Qiu Ju was speechless.

He looked at Pei Yuan and wanted to say that they were all family.

Fortunately, after finishing his polite words, Pei Yuan also gave some explanation, "The capital is not peaceful. Now the emperor likes military men and favors frontier generals. Even the court is somewhat helpless."

"Since the last time the Xuanfu troops entered the capital, the emperor has transferred troops from Liaodong, Datong, and Yansui to the capital. The troops of these three towns and the Xuanfu troops are collectively called the 'Outer Four Families', also known as the Outer Four Families Army, and are led by your majesty's four adopted sons, Jiang Bin, Xu Tai, Zhang Hong, and Shen Zhou."

"Your Majesty trains in the palace every day, and occasionally wrestles with soldiers for fun. When he and the soldiers march through the streets, they ride side by side, their armor intertwined, and it is almost impossible to tell who is higher and who is lower. Now the sound of drums and cannons in the training in Beijing is shaking the city, as if it were a battlefield."

"Instead of worrying about trouble every day in Beijing, it's better to come to Shandong and live comfortably."

Gu Dayong and Qiu Ju both understood the current situation and asked in surprise, "When the Xuanfu Army was transferred to Beijing, it was when He Jian left and many ministers were seeing him off outside the city that Xiao Jing and Li Hao broke into the Ministry of War and got the troop transfer documents."

"Now that Li Hao has retired and the Ministry of War already has a minister, why is the emperor still asking for the transfer of border troops to the capital? And this time it's not just one town, but three towns!"

Pei Yuan briefly explained the situation to the two of them, "Someone wants to get Lu Wan."

"Lu Wan is not a strong person, so he naturally doesn't dare to resist the emperor's order alone."

"But at this time, the civil servants who should have supported him and shared the pressure did not say a word. Not to mention that no one in the cabinet spoke, even the six departments did not make a fuss. As a result, Lu Wan could not hold on and sent troops from the three towns into the capital."

"Now, the cabinet chief Yang Tinghe and other important officials, including Yang Yiqing, have blamed the new Minister of War Lu Wan for the three towns' troops entering the capital. And this is indeed Lu Wan's responsibility."

"Lu Wan has no way to defend himself and is now being impeached every day."

"In the eyes of the government and the public, this guy has suddenly changed from a meritorious official who saved the country to a sycophantic official who fawns on the emperor and has no sense of the overall situation."

Gu Dayong and Qiu Ju looked at each other and sighed.

Especially Gu Dayong, who worked with Lu Wan for a period of time when he was the admiral of military affairs.

Gu Dayong knew very well that Lu Wan had a soft personality.

Logically speaking, those civil servants who have had longer contact with Lu Wan and are more familiar with him should know him better.

Letting Lu Wan and Tianzi fight alone, what's the difference between this and directly selling Lu Wan?
But no one can say anything about this matter.

After all, the emperor's order was given to the Ministry of War, and it is the Ministry of War's main responsibility to resist this chaotic order. You, Lu Wan, are a senior official of the second rank and one of the Seven Ministers. So when you can't do it yourself, do you start to scold your teammates?

Look at what others do when faced with a chaotic life.

Even the most polite Minister of Rites Fu Gui could bring Zhu Houzhao back to his former glory, so why can't you?

As a result, as soon as the troops from the three towns entered the capital, both the Cabinet and the six departments became excited and began to use this as an excuse to impeach Lu Wan.

Pei Yuan said to Gu Dayong again, "Fortunately you listened to me and chose to come to Shandong. Do you know about Zhang Yong's situation?"

Gu Dayong and Qiu Ju both felt sympathetic after hearing this, "I've heard about it."

These two people also came from the Eastern Palace and were one of the Seven Tigers of Zhengde together with Zhang Yong.

In order to change the cage and replace the bird, Zhu Houzhao even dismissed Zhang Yong for corruption.

Qiu Ju's feelings were even more complicated. When he was still the admiral of the East Factory, Zhang Rui and Zhang Xiong were waiting to take over.

Qiu Ju no longer wants to recall the feeling of being on edge and worried about gains and losses.

In other words, he saw the opportunity early and asked Gu Dayong for the method proposed by Pei Yuan.

Only then did he decisively give up his position as the governor of the East Factory, and then, with this tragic farewell, he became the second-in-command to Gu Dayong.

Now the two of them watched the changing situation in the capital, and the Western Factory headquarters in Shandong was trembling in fear, but they finally managed to keep their power.

As long as there is a chance, they still have hope of fighting back.

Seeing that the atmosphere was almost brewing, Pei Yuan took the initiative to say to the two, "I heard that Eunuch Zhang Yong will be passing through Shandong on his way to Nanjing in the next few days. You two are old acquaintances of Eunuch Zhang, and now that Eunuch Zhang is in a period of frustration, why don't you go and see him off."

The two of them hesitated after hearing this, and after a while they said to Pei Yuan, "We have some friendship with Zhang Yong, so it is only natural for us to see him off. But Zhang Yong was demoted to the south, and if we go over there without knowing what is good for us, we might just be an eyesore."

Pei Yuan comforted the two men and said, "Don't worry, eunuchs. When Zhang Yong went to Nanjing this time, the emperor specially appointed Zhang Rong as the commander of the Nanjing Jinyiwei and asked Zhang Rong to lead troops to escort him along the way. It is not difficult to guess the love and care behind this."

"Besides, Zhang Yong left the capital this time only because of a small fault like greed, which has nothing to do with the big deal. Not only did the Ministry of Personnel's Tianguan Yang Yiqing take the initiative to go out of the city to see him off, but even many ministers who were grateful to Zhang Yong for killing Liu Jin also went out of the city to see him off."

"So the emperor won't care, and the two eunuchs are not special among the people who saw him off. If the two of them ignore it, people will think they are heartless."

The two of them thought what Pei Yuan said made sense, and they both nodded in agreement, "Okay, we will go and see Zhang Yong off properly."

Pei Yuan took the opportunity to say, "Zhang Yong is in a state of decline right now. Since you are going to do a favor, you should do it fully. Why don't you two rush to Dezhou to welcome him with great fanfare, so as to leave a good reputation for being supportive in times of trouble?"

(End of this chapter)