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

Chapter 499 Wishful thinking

After pacifying Gu Dayong.

It also confirmed that my information channels were unobstructed.

Pei Yuan began to respond to messages from all parties.

The secret of Liang Gu has not been revealed yet. He was just following the head of the Ministry of Personnel, but Pei Yuan dared to deal with him in front of Captain Han.

As for the others, they are more or less inappropriate.

For example, about the marriage of Song Chunniang and Zhang Yunjun.

If Captain Han suddenly expressed his desire to participate, then Pei Ayuan would be somewhat passive.

Pei Yuan pondered the date.

The special examination is held in mid-September, and it is immediately followed by the palace examination to determine the ranking of Jinshi candidates.

By early October, this matter will have a rough conclusion.

At that time, Pei Yuan had to go back to deal with this matter.

We should keep in touch with the brothers who passed the exam, and also encourage the brothers who did not pass the exam.

After that, it’s time to arrange for them to ascend quickly.

To be the best of this era, some people need to overcome difficulties, some people need to fight and struggle, some people need to blend in with the world, and some people need to bear the suffering of the people.

And some people just need to have their smiling faces appear in a painting at the right time.

Thinking that he would have to return to Beijing in October, Pei Yuan wrote back to Song Chunniang, asking her to set the wedding date in October.

By then, whether we get married directly in the capital or go to Zhang Lian’s hometown to get married, there will be enough time.

After Pei Yuan finished taking care of these things, he walked out of the yard bored, and his eyes couldn't help but glance at the yard where Han Qianhu lived.

After watching for a while, Pei Yuan couldn't help but become suspicious.

In the past six months alone, I have made many long-range attacks on Han Qianhu.

Considering that Old Dog Tantai and Old Dog Sikong love to tell tales, they would have reported those "unintentional" "heartfelt words" to Captain Han long ago.

How come Han Qianhu is doing his job impartially and doesn't seem to be affected at all?
Even if she didn't like it, she should have shown her annoyance.

Pei Yuan couldn't figure it out for a moment, so he went to the duty room where Tan Tai Fang Tu and Si Kong Sui were.

The two centurions under Pei Yuan were both assigned from Captain Han, and have close ties with the Captain's Office.

Pei Yuan's foundation is weak, and he needs to use the resources of the Qianhu Suo in many areas.

For example, the Taoist priests who were in charge of the major temples in Beijing recognized the Qianhusuo of Nanjing, not Pei Yuan himself.

The reason why those guys were able to obediently let the temple pay the money when the Northern Bureau came to their door was entirely because they were dealing with veterans like Sikong Sui and Tan Tai Fang Tu.

Including when the Northern Bureau needed a large number of reinforcements for the Jinyiwei in the future, it was with the help of Tan Tai Fangtu and Si Kong Sui that the reinforcements were made from the military households and surpluses under the name of Qianhu Suo.

Pei Yuan also wanted to replace them with obedient people from his own side.

But where are his obedient people?

Instead of getting some people from nowhere to replace those duties, it is better to use the existing system.

Pei Yuan had already realized this when he established five more centurions' offices in the five prefectures of Shandong, and the backbones he selected were all the elite men from Xuzhou who had experienced life and death with Pei Yuan.

For subsequent troop reinforcements, Pei Yuan also planned to use as many people from Xuzhou as possible.

After the five branches of the Hundred Households were built, Pei Yuan finally had his own obedient people.

After that, we can slowly draw young and strong people from Luojiao, absorb wealth, and expand these military forces with Xuzhou people as the core.

As for the old power of Qianhu represented by Sikong Sui and Tantai Fangtu, Pei Yuan had purposefully split it into two large parts.

One is the capital headquarters where Tan Tai Fang Tu is in charge, and the other is the Yanggu branch where Si Kong Sui is in charge.

They will serve as the visible face of the Qianhu Suo and handle basic affairs.

Pei Yuan didn't care much about whether they were loyal or not, as long as they could be used now.

When Pei Yuan completes the initial stage of rapid expansion and forms a truly powerful force, he will find loyal ministers everywhere he looks.

However, when Pei Yuan needs them to tell tales, they must not let him down.

Pei Yuan found Sikong Sui with a gloomy face.

Sikong Sui was sitting at work bored, and old man Tan Tai had nowhere to go, so he drank tea with him to relieve his boredom.

When the two men saw Deputy Captain Pei coming in, they both stood up to greet him.

Pei Yuan first stared at the two men fiercely, exerting pressure on them, and then said to them, "Tell me, what else have you reported to Han Qianhu?!"

The two looked at each other, obviously not expecting Pei Yuan to ask so directly.

It was Sikong Sui, who was always flexible, who took the initiative to say, "Deputy Captain Pei is overthinking. Since Captain Han has already handed over many matters north of the Huai River to you, we should follow Deputy Captain Pei's lead. How could we possibly step in and bother Captain Han again?"

Pei Yuan had real evidence against Tan Tai Fangtu, and it was he who tipped off Han Qianhu when he came to call him to account.

At this moment, he could only explain awkwardly, "The matter of Luo Sect is really of great importance. I was afraid that Deputy Captain Pei would not be able to handle it, so I couldn't help but tell Captain Han about it."

Pei Yuan didn't hear the answer he wanted, and he was a little unconvinced, "You really didn't say that?"

The two centurions said quickly, "I really didn't say that."

How could Pei Yuan be fooled by them so easily? He just changed his mind and realized that he was not here to settle old scores.

So he said in a friendly manner, "The two captains are experienced and prudent people. Even if they sent a secret letter to Captain Han, how could I blame them? Besides, Captain Han didn't say anything, did he?"

Both of them breathed a sigh of relief and were anxiously wondering if Pei Yuan knew something.

Pei Yuan coughed again and asked in a low voice, "Both of you centurions are experienced people, so you must understand the truth that 'a gentleman seeks a beautiful lady.'"

The two old men heard what the bastard said so directly, and their minds were all thinking the same thing. They looked at each other, and for a moment they didn't know how to respond.

Seeing that no one was willing to respond, Pei Yuan simply spoke more bluntly.

"Han Qianhu is still unmarried, and I, Pei, consider myself a hero of the time. Regardless of whether she and I are a good match, it's not wrong to have some feelings of admiration for her."

Tan Tai Fang's face flushed red and she refused to respond.

In terms of appearance and ability, Pei Yuan is a good match for Han Qianhu, but his character is really bad.

Tan Tai Fang Tu grew up watching Han Qian Hu, and he has a very upright character. How could he possibly look down upon Pei Yuan, a young boy like that?

Sikong Sui said with relief, "It's not a mistake, it's not a mistake."

Pei Yuan finally couldn't help asking, "Then what words did Pei say when he missed Han Qianhu? Did you two, well, did you..."

Seeing Pei Yuan like that, the two of them suddenly realized what Pei Yuan was up to.

So they all shook their heads and said, "No, no."

Pei Yuan was a little skeptical, thinking that the two old guys were afraid of being blamed by him, so he hinted, "This is possible."

The two had no choice but to honestly say, "I really don't have this."

Pei Yuan saw that they did not look fake, and he was a little angry for a moment, "How can we not have this?"

Finally, Sikong Sui took the initiative to explain, "I think that although Deputy Captain Pei is not particular about small matters, he is indeed a rare genius, and he and Captain Han are a perfect match made in heaven. I am worried that your frivolous words and deeds will be heard by Captain Han, and he will be unhappy. That's why I took the initiative to keep it a secret."

Looking at Sikong Sui's boastful look, Pei Yuan finally understood what was going on.

It turned out that my long-range attacks over the past six months were not transmitted to these two traitors at all.

What does this mean to me?
A wishful clown?
Thinking about his own imprudence in sending the letter without any preparation, Pei Yuan suddenly realized it and cursed in shame and anger, "You didn't report the news when you should have, and you betrayed me when you shouldn't have!"

After saying that, he kicked over the tables and chairs and left angrily.

Perhaps because of shame and anger, Pei Yuan simply gave up, left Sikong Sui, and went straight to the courtyard where Han Qianhu was.

The Jinyiwei guarding the gate saw that it was Pei Yuan and were about to go in to report, but Pei Yuan simply grabbed them with his big hands and threw them away.

The two Jinyiwei were dragged and staggered. They were so frightened that they couldn't figure out what Pei Yuan was going to do for a moment.

Seeing Pei Yuan walk straight into the courtyard, he quickly chased him in, shouting a reminder, "Deputy Captain, wait a moment."

The movement at the door quickly attracted the attention of those inside.

Before Pei Yuan could stride to the steps, Captain Han had already appeared on the steps.

The two of them, one high and one low, stared at each other across a few steps. Han Qianhu looked at Pei Yuan who had barged in rudely, frowned and asked calmly, "Pei Yuan, are you okay?"

Pei Yuan felt depressed for a moment and didn't know what to say.

All he could say was, "Official business is over, I'm here to have a drink with Qian Hu."

"Drinking?" Han Qianhu was a little surprised and didn't know what expression to put on his face.

Pei Yuan thought of her previous indulgence and asked boldly, "I have not only reorganized the major temples in the capital and filled the capital with Taoist priests, but also strengthened the thousand-household offices and established a base in Yanggu. I also built five hundred-household offices and extended my control to the five prefectures of Shandong."

"Shouldn't the captain congratulate me for such an achievement in such a short period of time?"

When Captain Han heard Pei Yuan presenting facts and reasoning, he actually felt that it made sense.

She was always a carefree person, she let out a breath and calmed down, "That's right, it's my fault. I will have someone prepare a feast to celebrate for you."

Then he ordered the guards, "Go and call the three centurions, Tan Tai Fang Tu, Si Kong Sui, and Cui Bo Hou."

Pei Yuan was a little unhappy, but he didn't dare to ask Han Qianhu to drink alone with him.

Captain Han walked into the court, and Pei Yuan followed closely.

After a while, the other three centurions of the thousand-household unit also came over.

When they heard that Captain Han was going to hold a banquet, everyone came to join in the fun with smiles on their faces.

When Pei Yuan saw the two old guys coming over, he quickly gave them a look without holding any grudges, hoping that they would cooperate with him later.

Tan Tai Fang Tu had just been given the cold shoulder by Pei Yuan, so she lowered her head as if she didn't see anything.

Sikong Sui smiled at Pei Yuan and nodded slightly to him.

Pei Yuan knew that Cui Bohou was a direct subordinate of Han Qianhu, but he didn't expect him to help.

Since it was a public house used as a Buddhist temple, there was naturally no table for drinking.

Fortunately, there were plenty of cushions and tables here, so everyone sat on a table or cushion.

When everyone was seated, the personal soldiers came up and served them tea.

Liansheng Temple has been built into the stronghold of the Suppressing Evil Thousand Households in Shandong. There are usually a lot of people stationed there, and there are many cooks and stoves, so the speed of preparing food is naturally very fast.

Not long after, the personal soldiers came forward and placed cups and plates of fruit wine for everyone.

Pei Yuan coughed lightly, looked at Sikong Sui, and asked, "Captain Sikong, why do I remember that Yanggu County wants to settle the land transfer with you these days?"

Sikong Sui was stunned when he heard this.

He thought about it carefully and remembered this matter. It was the land deeds and acres obtained from the major tyrants last time, some of which involved contributions from local people.

Those people donated their land to the big families just to get some benefits.

As a result, last time Pei Yuan led the Jinyiwei to Yanggu, they arrested many people and confiscated a lot of land and property.

These things are not floating wealth, and it is easy to embezzle them.

Once the imperial court seriously investigates the matter, at least these lands and properties will be added to the national treasury.

Sikong Sui initially dragged his feet and refused to close the case, but later, when he could no longer delay, he negotiated with them and was willing to release those matters with the most disputes first, and as for the others, they would all be donated to the property of Liansheng Temple.

The two sides have been arguing for a long time, and Yanggu County has sent letters many times demanding that the land be returned to the people. However, wasn’t this a matter that was settled last month?
Sikong Sui looked over in confusion.

But Pei Yuan said solemnly, "This matter is of great importance, we must not be careless!"

Sikong Sui met Pei Yuan's gaze and immediately understood. He patted his head and said ashamedly, "I was lazy for a while and it really took me a long time."

Then, he looked at the food and wine and said with some embarrassment, "I really don't deserve such hospitality from the thousand households."

As he said that, he stood up and tugged at Tan Tai Fang Tu.

Tantai Fangtu looked at Sikong Sui in surprise, and then heard Sikong Sui say in a slightly serious tone, "You too."

Tan Tai Fang Tu also slowly reacted. He looked at the chopsticks in his hand, and couldn't stand Si Kong Sui's pulling any more, so he had to stand up angrily and apologize to Han Qian Hu.

Captain Han smiled and let them leave.

Seeing that the two old guys were so tactful, Pei Yuan became greedy and stared at Cui Bohou opposite him.

Cui Bohou was a reckless warrior. He was confused when he saw Tan Tai Fangtu and Si Kong Sui leave as soon as the banquet started. When he came to his senses, he found that Deputy Captain Pei was staring at him.

Cui Bohou looked himself up and down in astonishment, and just when he thought there was nothing wrong, he saw that Deputy Captain Pei's gaze was becoming more and more passionate and expectant.

Cui Bohou felt uneasy for a moment.

He subconsciously looked up at Captain Han.

But I saw Han Qianhu holding a small cup and drinking tea.

Sensing Cui Bohou's gaze, Han Qianhu's lips, which were mostly covered by his bare hands, revealed a faint smile, and his eyes moved slightly on the rim of the cup, looking sideways outside.

Cui Bohou stood up in a hurry. He couldn't think of an excuse for a moment, so he said hesitantly, "It seems to be the case with me."

(End of this chapter)