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

Chapter 518: Opportunity to Seize Military Power
Qian Ning was a little unhappy when he saw Pei Yuan shirking his responsibility.

Pei Yuan added, "Commander Qian may not know that my immediate superior, Captain Han, will be coming to the capital in the next few days. The Captain of the Suppression of Evils has suppressed evil cults and protected the country, so he holds a high position in your majesty's heart."

"If I defect to Beizhen at this juncture, it will make Captain Han angry and he will complain to the emperor. I'm afraid that will make the emperor even more unhappy. Then, neither of us will have a good ending."

Qian Ning's expression changed after hearing this, and after a while he said calmly, "In that case, let my elder brother talk to you."

Qian Ning stood up and someone immediately came over to take away the chair.

Pei Yuan also stood up tactfully.

Qian Ning looked up at the sun, and suddenly said with a smile, "Your Majesty has been practicing for a long time, I think he must be tired, let's go and take a look."

Pei Yuan also wanted to deal with Zhu Houzhao as soon as possible and avoid all this trouble, so he went with Qian Ning to the place where the drum sound was loud.

As they got closer, the Jinyiwei who were blocking the road ahead saw that it was their commander coming and made way.

The crowd made way, and Pei Yuan saw some straw man targets placed on the large open space in front of the city wall. Several cavalry generals were galloping back and forth, shooting arrows at the straw men.

Pei Yuan looked at the densely packed straw man targets, speechless, and could not help but secretly complain, "How shameless! If they were arranged like this, I could do it too."

Zhu Houzhao followed the cavalry and rode his horse to shoot an arrow, hitting a straw man.

He happily raised the bow in his hand, rode his horse back, and just in time saw Pei Yuan.

Pei Yuan then remembered that he was so busy avoiding the question of whether to take sides between Qian Ning and Jiang Bin that he forgot to ask Qian Ning about the matter that the emperor mentioned about himself.

But now that the emperor had come to look at him, Pei Yuan did not dare to ask Qian Ning at this time, and could only salute Zhu Houzhao from a distance.

Zhu Houzhao immediately rode his horse excitedly towards this side.

Pei Yuan suddenly had a bad premonition when he was looking at the galloping horse. He was a little frightened for a moment. This naughty kid, was he trying to play a trick on me?

It's okay for him to be naughty, but I may not be able to handle it.

Pei Yuan maintained his saluting posture, feeling the galloping horse getting closer and closer, and his thoughts were wavering.

Sometimes he thought about whether he should get up and hide; sometimes he thought about betting that Zhu Houzhao had some clue and could stop at the last moment; sometimes he thought about just knocking that bastard Zhu Houzhao down.

Pei Yuan gritted his teeth and stared at the galloping horse. His whole body was tense and his muscles were twisting like a living thing.

Pei Yuan's eyes slowly lowered and became dangerous, and finally there was a hint of murderous intent in them.

Fortunately, the screams from the people around and the escape of the Jinyiwei made Zhu Houzhao realize the danger of his trick at the last moment, and he pulled the reins in time. Even so, the horse's hooves only stopped a few feet in front of Pei Yuan.

Pei Yuan really wanted to fuck Zhu Houzhao's mother at this moment.

But in the end, the fierce light in his eyes dissipated as quickly as possible, and he bowed respectfully again and said to Zhu Houzhao loudly, "Your servant Pei Yuanxing has fulfilled the mission and has established 100-household offices in many prefectures in Shandong, severely damaging the evil Luojiao."

"In addition, I have also obtained confidential information about the Luo Sect and would like to present it to you in person."

"Oh?" Zhu Houzhao was overjoyed when he heard it, and praised, "Well done."

He himself values ​​religion and understands its harmfulness far better than anyone else.

In particular, there was the precedent of the White Lotus Rebellion in Shandong, which gave the Luo Sect an old example of rebellion.

Moreover, the Luo sect has also spread to the transport troops. Once the canal is cut off, not only will the food supply in the capital be affected, but the border troops on the front line will be in danger.

Zhu Houzhao wanted to ask a few more questions, but the riders behind him had already caught up with him.

He stopped talking about it and said with a smile, "Pei Yuan, I heard someone say that you have the ability to stop a galloping horse. Is that true?"

As Zhu Houzhao spoke, Pei Yuan felt a pair of eyes falling on him.

He raised his eyebrows and looked over. The person looking at him was Jiang Bin, who was riding a horse and stopped behind Zhu Houzhao.

Pei Yuan looked at Jiang Bin's unfriendly expression and felt a little confused.

The two sides have met each other several times, so why does this guy show such strong hostility?

Pei Yuan's heart moved, and he immediately turned slightly. Only then did he realize that Qian Ning had been standing quietly very close to him.

Seeing Pei Yuan looking back, Qian Ning grinned at him with a forced smile.

Pei Yuan cursed in his heart, those who could be friends with He Huan were indeed cunning people.

Now he also figured it out. Qian Ning knew that Zhu Houzhao and Jiang Bin were practicing horse riding and archery, so he deliberately brought him here early while Zhu Houzhao was still training.

Then, by hinting in this way, Jiang Bin directly misunderstood his position.

In this case, it doesn’t matter whether Pei Yuan agrees or not.

However, Pei Yuan also had to deal with Zhu Houzhao at the moment, so he had no room for explanation, which only allowed the hostility between the two sides to escalate.

If during this process, Jiang Bin started to target him without thinking, then Pei Yuan would just passively take sides.

No, maybe Qian Ning will take the initiative to provoke me later.

However, Pei Yuan knew Zhu Houzhao's character and dared not be careless. He was distracted for a moment and quickly replied, "I serve the emperor, and I can only be praised for my diligence. I have never been proud of my military prowess. I think someone just spread rumors."

Zhu Houzhao heard this and said, "Really? But I heard that when Beizhen was bargaining with you over taxes and silver in Jiangnan, he suffered a great loss."

Pei Yuan couldn't help sweating on his forehead after hearing this.

Thinking of Qian Ning's previous words to win him over, he became more and more certain that this was definitely done by that bastard.

It should be after Zhang Rong's downfall that Qian Ning obtained many previous files.

As Beizhen's opponent, they naturally have a lot of information about Pei Yuan.

Pei Yuan could only continue to pretend, "I am only doing my job with all my heart and doing my best to ensure the safety of the tax silver. I don't know anything else."

Zhu Houzhao's thoughts were very detached, and he soon stopped dwelling on the matter. He smiled and said, "It's good to be able to do my best."

Then he turned his gaze to Qian Ning behind Pei Yuan and said, "Horseback archery is your unique skill. Go and try it for a few rounds."

Qian Ning immediately said, "I obey your order."

As he spoke, he called for someone to fetch his horse, then mounted it swiftly and ran in circles in the open space in front of the city wall.

Everyone's attention was attracted by Qian Ning, even Zhu Houzhao and Jiang Bin looked over.

But Qian Ning rode his horse in a circle, drew the bow in his hand for a moment, and then shot at the target like a string of arrows.

He first shot three arrows with his right hand, then turned around and shot three more arrows with his left hand.

Six arrows pierced the crooked straw men, some hitting the head, some hitting the shoulder, and some piercing the heart, and they did not look uniform.

However, from the perspective of everyone watching, the six arrows were lined up in a straight line, which was amazing.

When Pei Yuan saw Qian Ning's move, he immediately gave up the idea of ​​"I can do it too".

He can shoot with both hands and has excellent physical strength, but it is not certain where the arrow can be shot.

Just as he was thinking about it, Zhu Houzhao said, "Pei Qing, come here too and try shooting a few arrows." Pei Yuan was almost numb when he heard this.

Archery?

If I shoot with my belief, won't I be socially killed on the spot?

However, as a military officer, Pei Yuan had no reason to refuse.

Even if there is a reason, you cannot refuse.

Pei Yuan could only take the horse while looking around, wondering whether he should say that the floor tiles were too hard, too slippery, or that he had just come back from Shandong and didn't lay it out properly, didn't lay it out properly...

Pei Yuan stepped on the stirrup to mount his horse and took the bow and arrow handed to him by a eunuch.

Pei Yuan had been on the road almost all year, so he had become quite good at horse riding.

He circled the horse in a very serious manner, and when the horse started to run, he immediately drew the bow and prepared to shoot an arrow.

It was a good idea just now. There are so many targets that I can shoot arrows at. As long as there are many targets, I can always hit one. But when I really have to aim, it is a bit difficult to choose.

Fortunately, Pei Yuan intended to keep a low profile and did not seek to achieve any stunning results.

He looked at the place where the targets were densest, aimed at the chest of a straw man and shot.

As soon as the arrow left the string, Pei Yuan knew something was wrong.

The inner hesitation still caused the arrow to tremble at the last moment.

Pei Yuan watched helplessly as the arrow deviated from its original trajectory. Just when he thought it was all over, the arrow flew past and hit another straw man.

Pei Yuan's heart was in a knot, but he immediately let it go.

Very good, no matter how good your shooting is, it’s not as good as the goalpost, no, not as good as the target!

Pei Yuan finally hit the target with an arrow, but he didn't want to try again, so he rode his horse back, ready to call it a day.

But Zhu Houzhao, who was watching, suddenly shouted "Good!"

Qian Ning also echoed the praise, and the other Jinyiwei followed suit and cheered.

Pei Yuan looked at those people in confusion, and then wanted to look back in confusion.

Zhu Houzhao exclaimed, "What a miraculous skill! I thought Qian Ning was already unrivaled in horseback archery, but I didn't expect Pei Qianhu's horseback archery skills might not be inferior to Qian Ning's."

Pei Yuan was stunned for a moment, then quickly turned around to look again.

But the arrow was nailed to a straw man in an ordinary way, and the position was not surprising, so it didn't seem to be a vital point.

But when Pei Yuan moved away from the arrow he shot and looked at it again, he was shocked to find that the arrow he shot was nailed behind Qian Ning's six arrows in a straight line, connecting to form the seventh arrow.

"Hiss..." Pei Yuan himself couldn't believe it.

Zhu Houzhao smiled and asked Jiang Bin, "How about you shoot another arrow?"

Jiang Bin was brave and strong, but he was not good at archery. He looked at the seven arrows in a row on the straw man and said carelessly, "If you can't kill the enemy on the battlefield, no matter how well you practice, it's just a show."

Jiang Bin touched the scar on his face nonchalantly, first glanced at Qian Ning, then glanced at Pei Yuan, and said arrogantly, "As long as they can't shoot me to death, then it's their turn to die!"

Zhu Houzhao was very impressed by his words and deeds, and could not help but praise, "Jiang Qing is really a brave man!"

Qian Ning glanced at the arrow wound on Jiang Bin's face, narrowed his eyes and said nothing.

Pei Yuan had no expression on his face, but he was filled with anger in his heart.

What the hell are you pretending to be? If my son Fengxian were here, he would beat the shit out of you!
Zhu Houzhao also became interested and rode over to shoot a few arrows. Unfortunately, these arrows were all crooked and did not connect with the other seven.

Jiang Bin ignored Qian Ning and Pei Yuan and went after Zhu Houzhao on his own.

Pei Yuan jumped off his horse and stood there with Qian Ning, watching the fun with an indifferent expression.

Qian Ning looked at the backs of Zhu Houzhao and Jiang Bin and asked softly, "Are you sure you can beat Jiang Bin?"

Pei Yuan said nothing.

He has passed the stage where he would take risks just to gain a little bit of rage.

Qian Ning didn't wait for Pei Yuan's reply, but he didn't take it as an offense.

He seemed to have forgotten that he had deliberately misled Jiang Bin just now. He looked at Pei Yuan and said with a smile, "You see, in his eyes, we are all Jinyiwei. What do you think? What's the point?"

Pei Yuan also stared at Jiang Bin in a trance. After a while, he muttered to himself, "Although this boy is brave and a fierce general, how can such a rebellious guy be kept to assist the emperor?"

Qian Ning was a little unhappy at first when he saw Pei Yuan repeatedly ignoring him, but when he heard Pei Yuan's words, he couldn't help but change his anger into joy, and praised, "The captain is very knowledgeable."

Pei Yuan came back to his senses and said modestly, "I dare not, I just speak out my feelings."

Qian Ning sighed again, "I'm afraid that even though we are loyal, we will end up like Zhou Qi."

Pei Yuan had just been tricked by Qian Ning and forced to take sides, so of course he didn't have a very good impression of him at the moment.

But since Jiang Bin's road was blocked, instead of staying out of the matter and being suppressed by the two, it would be better to pretend to be friendly with Qian Ning, so he said, "We should act cautiously."

Pei Yuan's mind turned, and he suddenly realized that this was a great opportunity.

Qian Ning is a bastard who is insidious, cunning, despicable and shameless. Since he can set traps and force himself to take sides, then can't he also set traps and force others to take sides?
He forced others onto the pirate ship. Doesn't that mean that they also became his shipmates?
Hiss, if you think about it this way.

Didn't his plan to win over the military generals of Xuanfu, which he had been unable to implement, suddenly have a breakthrough?
Even if I, a small Jinyiwei captain, could speak eloquently, how much could I sway those warriors who only value strength? Even if I could persuade them, how many of them would be willing to obey me sincerely when faced with a critical test?
But Qian Ning is different.

Qian Ning was deeply trusted by Zhu Houzhao, and they lived together and were inseparable.

Even the court officials knew that His Majesty must be nearby as soon as they saw Qian Ning.

The power of this Jinyiwei commander is much greater than the previous Jinyiwei commander.

In this way, if Qian Ning were to win over the military generals of Xuan and Da, and then design a plan to expand the conflict between Qian Ning and Jiang Bin, the two favorites, and use the pressure of another powerful man Jiang Bin to make those who have surrendered to Qian Ning stick together.

Wouldn't that just make a bunch of allies for yourself quickly?
With such a relationship, the difficulty of dividing and winning over the border troops and seizing control of them will definitely be greatly reduced!

Pei Yuan thought about it and for a moment he no longer felt that Qian Ning was a bad person.

Instead, he persuaded Qian Ning, "I have something to say to help you, I wonder if Brother Qian is willing to listen."

When Qian Ning heard Pei Yuan say this, he immediately realized that Pei Yuan's attitude had changed.

Although he regarded Pei Yuan as a super fighter, since Pei Yuan was willing to take the initiative to approach him and offer advice, it was naturally a good thing.

He was immediately overjoyed and said, "Brother Pei, please speak."

Pei Yuan then said to Qian Ning, "I wonder if Brother Qian has ever heard of the principle of making friends far away and attacking those near?"

Qian Ning was quite casual. After thinking for a while, he said directly, "I have little education and don't know much. Brother Pei can try to explain it to me."

(End of this chapter)