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

Chapter 512 Subtle Thoughts

Pei Yuan estimated that Bi Zhen should be spreading rumors soon.

He said to Wei Ne, "I heard some news when I was in Shandong. The Zhang Yong case seems to have something to do with Zhang Xiong."

Afraid that Wei Ne didn't understand the logic behind this, he explained, "The Zhang Yong case was handled by Zhang Rui, the governor of the East Factory. At that time, His Majesty suppressed the matter. In his rush to get the case done, Zhang Rui offended Zhang Yong badly."

"Zhang Xiong is Zhang Rui's younger brother, and he happened to be passing through Shandong with a large number of people."

"I heard that many of the people Zhang Xiong brought out died. He borrowed some eunuchs who had castrated themselves from the princes along the way, and recruited some rabble from the underworld, and only then was he able to gather everyone back."

"If he has nothing to hide, why would he do this?"

Wei Ne was somewhat surprised when he heard this and said, "But I heard that Zhang Xiong's mission to the south went very smoothly. He brought back several thousand taels of silver for the court in this trip alone."

Pei Yuan was stunned when he heard this.

Wasn’t Zhang Xiong sniped as soon as he arrived in the south, followed by heavy losses?

Where did he get the silver?

Then he reacted and couldn't help but complain in his heart.

Wow, these two brothers Zhang Rui and Zhang Xiong really spent a lot of money.

When they went to confiscate Zhang Yong's property, Zhang Rui was short of manpower because the East Factory's men went south to monitor taxes, so he had to borrow people from the West Factory.

As a result, all the wealth in Zhang Yong's house was looted by the mob led by Song Chunniang.

Although Zhang Rui found some real estate deeds and quite a few antique calligraphy and paintings, they were not as tangible as silver.

In order to catch the thief and seize the stolen goods and to prove Zhang Yong's case as soon as possible, Zhang Rui reluctantly spent a lot of money.

Unexpectedly... I didn’t expect Zhang Xiong to be such a ruthless person!
But to find out what exactly happened, I have to ask the old eunuch Bi Jun.

Pei Yuan didn't want to talk too much to Wei Ne, so he said directly, "You don't have to pay too much attention to it. Just help me keep an eye on the movements of the East Factory."

Wei Ne said in embarrassment, "I can't help you with this matter. Why don't you ask the Chief of Punishment Song from the Western Factory to do it for you?"

When Pei Yuan heard Wei Ne mention Song Chunniang, he stretched his neck to look at the people outside the door.

Chen Xinjian and Cen Meng, who were blocking the door, quickly moved aside, revealing Zhang Song, Tian Fu and Huo Tao outside.

Pei Yuan asked, "Isn't General Song coming?"

Chen Xinjian replied, "He probably hasn't heard about Qian Hu's return yet. Should we send someone to let him know?"

Pei Yuan thought of the last time he went to the West Factory Yamen to find Song Chunniang and the things he did with her in the court. He wanted to finish what he had not done last time, but in the end he felt that the current affairs were a mess and he could not muster the interest for the time being.

Speaking of which, Mei Qinniang, whom I met on this trip south, is also a woman of the world. With the bonus of her obsession, she is unusually unrestrained and passionate.

When I meet General Song, I can discuss this experience with her.

He said to Chen Xinjian, "Tell her to come to Zhihua Temple when she is free."

Pei Yuan specifically emphasized Zhihua Temple because he was afraid that this girl would run to the old house in Dengshikou without any sense of propriety.

As the subtle ambiguity between him and Han Qianhu was broken, some changes began to occur in Pei Yuan's heart.

When he no longer fantasized about those heart-pounding things and simply pursued possession, Pei Yuan found that his mood seemed to fade.

No longer so colorful, but real and clear.

Pei Yuan, who had once again become a heartless profit-seeking animal, had changed some of his ideas and planned to seek the marriage that Zhu Houzhao had repeatedly mentioned.

Even if I can't eat it now, I have to occupy the title first.

At the same time, Jiao Yan'er and the Jiao Fang group she represented became more and more important in his heart.

So at this time, we still have to consider the feelings of the little beauty.

Besides, Miss Jiao smells great too.

Chen Xinjian replied sensibly, "I understand."

After Chen Xinjian agreed, he went out to arrange things for people. Cen Meng's strong body stood alone at the door, allowing Pei Yuan and Wei Ne to talk.

Pei Yuan smiled and waved his hand to signal him to move aside.

He said, "Those three have already left. The rest are our own people. There is no need to do anything unnecessary."

Pei Yuan's words were not just empty promises to win people's hearts.

Tian Fu was the chief priest of Luojiao, and Huo Tao had also helped to perfect the theory of epicizing Luojiao's stories. But now that the situation had come to this, there was no possibility for either of them to get off the boat.

As for Zhang Song, he usually manages all the accounts of the Qianhu Office, and he knows many important fund flows clearly.

These people are basically Pei Yuan’s core circle.

If we really talk about the level of confidentiality, Cen Meng, a pure fighter, has a lower level.

Pei Yuan retracted his gaze and looked at Wei Ne, asking, "How is my father-in-law doing recently?"

When Wei Ne heard Pei Yuan mention Jiao Huangzhong, he couldn't help but cheer up.

Originally, Pei Yuan had always looked down on Jiao Huangzhong, and even Wei Ne didn't know how to speak for Jiao Huangzhong. Unexpectedly, this time Pei Yuan actually took the initiative to bring him up.

Wei Ne said quickly, "Jiao Hanlin has never found a way to seek help, and now the court is in chaos. Apart from visiting the young lady in Dengshikou Hutong from time to time, he has not done anything else."

The main reason was that Jiao Huangzhong had seen his good and virtuous son-in-law from Pei Yuan last time. With just one word, he made the Left Censor-in-Chief Li Shishi give up the opportunity to join the cabinet, and with a note, he directly made the Minister of War He Jian retire and return home.

The shock at that time was so strong that Jiao Huangzhong suddenly realized who he should rely on.

As a result, he began to look down on those mansions that had rejected him in the past.

Now Jiao Huangzhong is running to Jiao Yaner with all his heart, hoping that Jiao Yaner can help him to persuade the old Prime Minister Jiao to return to the throne as soon as possible.

In addition to the huge political benefits of Jiao Fang's return to power, it also represents the political whitewashing of Jiao Fang and his party.

If not, the emperor would have done this quickly while Jiao Fang still had a group of people supporting him, and would have taken Jiao Fang's kindness into consideration.

Once Jiao Fang dies and the final verdict is reached, the entire Jiao family will be regarded as a group of treacherous officials and will become prey to be devoured by various powerful people.

So Jiao Huangzhong was feeling very anxious at the moment.

Since Pei Yuan wanted to recruit Jiao Fang's party, he naturally had to pretend to be sincere at this time, so he sighed, "My father-in-law is still not stable enough. It would be better if he could be tempered a little more." Wei Ne heard the relaxation in Pei Yuan's words and immediately said with joy, "Jiao Hanlin has become much more down-to-earth now. Otherwise, I will find him now and show him to the thousand households."

Pei Yuan was about to agree when he suddenly realized a serious problem.

The little relationship between Pei Yuan and the Jiao family was all maintained by Jiao Yan'er. Apart from this little relationship, Pei Yuan could hardly get any leverage over the Jiao family.

But Jiao Fang is someone who is capable enough to become the leader of his own camp.

Even though this family is now a rat crossing the street that everyone wants to beat, but when the old fox Jiao Fang comes back with his large group of followers, the situation will change by then, and Pei Yuan might also be a little afraid.

For Pei Yuan's own benefit, Jiao Huangzhong must also be made aware of Jiao Yan'er's importance.

So Pei Yuan said calmly, "No need, I'll talk about it after I go home and see Yan'er."

Although rejected by Pei Yuan, Wei Ne was still very happy.

This is not about how deep the relationship between Wei Ne and Jiao Huangzhong is, or how loyal he is.

It was really because Wei Ne was too deeply trapped in Jiao Huangzhong, and basically he had no choice but to go down this path until the end.

When he forced his colleagues to sell their houses on behalf of Jiao Huangzhong, it was so shameless that no one would look up to him anymore.

If Wei Ne wants to prolong his political career, he can only hope to make a strong comeback and suppress the stigma he suffered.

But Wei Ne had nothing and had little hope of making a breakthrough. In comparison, Jiao Huangzhong, who had Jiao Fang, the Prime Minister's father, as his mentor, had a greater hope of turning things around.

This situation is similar to when Pei Yuan and Chen Toutie and other Jinyiwei were dismissed from the Eastern Depot, and Chen Toutie followed Pei Yuan stubbornly.

At that time, Chen Toutie also felt that Pei Yuan had a greater chance of turning things around, and planned to use Pei Yuan's efforts to replace his own efforts.

After seeing Pei Yuan's abilities and knowing that Jiao Huangzhong's daughter became Pei Yuan's concubine, Wei Ne's expectations for Jiao Huangzhong naturally increased.

Pei Yuan had just returned to the capital, and for the time being, he didn't have much information to know. Seeing that Wei Ne had nothing else to say, he said, "If there's nothing else, you can go back first. Let me take care of some urgent matters, and we can drink together another day."

After hearing this, Wei Ne stood up and said tactfully, "I came here for no other reason than to see Captain Pei with my own eyes. Seeing Captain Pei makes me feel relieved."

He stood up and said, "Then I will take my leave first. If there is any important news, I will report back to the captain."

Pei Yuan did not see him off, but just nodded.

However, Wei Ne reminded him before he left, "By the way, Captain, the feud between you and Zhang Rong is well known in the capital. I'm afraid you are no less suspicious than Zhang Rui. And you just came back from Shandong, so you should be careful."

Pei Yuan listened, his face became slightly serious, and he said, "I understand."

After Wei Ne left, Huo Tao, Tian Fu and Zhang Song entered the study and paid their respects again.

This time they were really close friends. Pei Yuan first showed concern for the special examination and asked Huo Tao and Tian Fu, "How are you two reviewing your lessons? Are you ready for this special examination?"

The two looked at each other and said helplessly, "We are prepared, but for things like the imperial examination, we still have to wait and see."

Pei Yuan was more confident than the other two. "Don't worry, you will definitely be on the list this time."

As long as Liang Chu remains the chief examiner and Mao Cheng remains the deputy examiner, the tone of this exam will not change much.

As Huo Tao ranked first in the imperial examination, it can be said that his writing style and ideology were the most appreciated by Liang Chu.

Pei Yuan had also considered whether he should use some tricks to help these two people win Zhu Houzhao's favor and become among the top ones.

But if they scored first place in the exam, they would definitely enter the Hanlin Academy to compile history and become poets.

That would be such a waste of their talents.

At the beginning, Pei Yuan personally tested the talents of this pair of Sleeping Dragon and Phoenix Chick. They each had their own strategies and plans, but both could be said to be brilliant.

Pei Yuan’s small group is now in a critical period of development. These two people are both think tanks and can play a significant role.

If it weren't for Tian Fu helping Chen Toutie handle the affairs of the Luo Sect, such a large makeshift team of the Luo Sect would have collapsed long ago.

Similarly, if Huo Tao had not helped him to contact and screen, it would have been a huge waste of time and energy for him to find suitable talents from so many juren in Shandong.

Zhu Houzhao no longer values ​​poets, so how could Pei Yuan let these two talents waste their time?

As for their future.

It’s nothing more than eating from five cauldrons or cooking from five cauldrons. Do you still need to care about the grades that need to be accumulated?
Pei Yuanduo reminded Tian Fu, "You have been busy in Shandong these days. I was worried that you were not well prepared. Now that you can say this, I feel relieved. But you must not be careless."

Tian Fu smiled carefreely, "It's nothing. I passed the provincial examination when I was a teenager and thought that this was the best thing in life. I didn't expect that I would fail in the next seven examinations."

"The students' essays have been polished to the point where there is no room for improvement. Now it all depends on luck."

Pei Yuan saw that Tian Fu himself was not worried, and thinking of Tian Fu's current career, he felt that whether or not there was this Jinshi would not hinder his work.

Pei Yuan looked at his two think tanks Huo Tao and Tian Fu, and asked them proactively, "I just returned to Beijing, and everything is still complicated. Do you two have anything to teach me?"

The two had also seen Pei Yuan's abilities, so they quickly said they didn't dare.

Pei Yuan said, "If I didn't value your talents and admire your vision and strategy, why would I have gone to so much trouble to find you two?"

Seeing that Pei Yuan was not being polite, Huo Tao and Tian Fu looked at each other and were eager to try.

This time it was Tian Fu who spoke first, "Student, I want to talk to the captain about Eunuch Lu."

Pei Yuan was a little surprised when he heard this, "Lu Ting? What happened to him?"

As one of Pei Yuan's two major think tanks, Tian Fu had some knowledge of the power that Pei Yuan controlled.

Pei Yuan and Lu Ting's alliance was also known to him.

Tian Fu said to Pei Yuan in a serious tone, "Last time in Shandong, the captain wanted Bi Zhen to participate in the hunt for Zhang Feng, the governor of the river. At that time, I had a conversation with the captain. Do you remember?"

Pei Yuan thought about it and quickly remembered what Tian Fu said.

At that time, Pei Yuan wanted to win over Bi Zhen, the eunuch guarding Shandong, to become his accomplice, so he took advantage of Bi Zhen's greed for money and planned to let Bi Zhen participate in the black-eating-black conspiracy against Zhang Feng.

In this way, when everyone works together to do something bad, not only can they share the benefits, but the relationship will also be more stable.

At that time, Tian Fu advised him not to gather a mob to pursue a common goal.

Because if everyone's goal is money, then when Zhang Feng is defeated and the money is obtained, Bi Zhen, whom he wants to win over, will become his closest enemy.

(End of this chapter)