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

Chapter 519 It’s too late to meet
Pei Yuan saw that Zhu Houzhao was still trying with great interest and probably was not in the mood to pay attention to his secret report for the time being.

However, after the lesson he learned from the Ministry of Rites, he was unwilling to leave any evidence of his collusion with Qian Ning.

Pei Yuan gestured with his hand, and Qian Ning immediately understood. The two of them avoided the sight of others and walked to the side of the road.

Pei Yuan saw some gravel on the side of the road, so he squatted on the ground and grabbed it and held it tightly in his hands.

When he wanted to get up, Qian Ning was already squatting beside him.

Pei Yuan slapped the stone in his hand on the ground, pointed at one of the stones in the middle and said to Qian Ning, "This is your majesty, and these..."

Pei Yuan pointed to the surrounding stones and said, "These are you, the ministers surrounding the emperor."

Pei Yuan used the word "you guys", and Qian Ning thought it was natural.

After all, although Pei Yuan is a member of the Jinyi Guards, he rarely appears in front of the emperor. Most of the time he is doing work outside and can basically be regarded as an outsider.

Pei Yuan continued, "Everyone actually understands that these positions are actually limited. You understand..."

Pei Yuan pointed to the stones scattered elsewhere and said, "They understand, too."

Qian Ning didn't say anything. He still had a sense of crisis and there was no need for Pei Yuan to point it out.

Pei Yuan continued to persuade, "Do they want to take your place?"

Without waiting for Qian Ning to reply, he took the initiative to answer, "Of course I do. But, most of the time, you winners won't give them such an opportunity. Unless..."

As he spoke, Pei Yuan flicked away one of the stones that tightly surrounded "Zhu Houzhao," "Unless a suitable position appears."

Qian Ning replied slowly, "Now that His Majesty is interested in border affairs, he has begun to make great use of military officers and has adopted many sons, hoping to escape the constraints of the Ministry of War and directly command these military officers. It is impossible to kick these border generals out."

Pei Yuan said, "This is the reason why I advise the commander to make friends far away and attack those near."

Pei Yuan pointed to the stones gathered together on the ground, then pointed to the stones outside, and said to Qian Ning, "May I ask, Commander, are there more stones here or outside?"

Qian Ning said, "Of course it's the stones outside."

Pei Yuan continued, "Although Jiang Bin has won over Li Cong, Shen Zhou and others to form a party, how can these few people replace the entire border army system?"

"Those stones outside want to squeeze in. Naturally, the ones who can replace them are not Brother Qian, the commander of the Jinyiwei, nor the several big eunuchs of the Silijian and Dongxichang, and even less likely to be those literary courtiers."

"They can replace ..."

Pei Yuan pointed to a few stones surrounding "Zhu Houzhao" and said, "The only people they can replace are Jiang Bin, Shen Zhou, and Li Cong."

Pei Yuan said this as he flicked the stones away one by one.

Pei Yuan said softly to Qian Ning, "So instead of befriending those big officials or people like me, the commander-in-chief should make friends with the soldiers of the border army. Those warriors of the border army are the ones who are most eager to drive Jiang Bin away."

"Besides, Brother Qian understands the emperor's intentions better than anyone else."

"Instead of trying to squeeze them out by yourselves, it would be better to let other border soldiers drag them out of here."

Qian Ning suddenly felt as if a fog had been cleared.

In the past few days, what he has been doing is to win over other "stones" surrounding Zhu Houzhao, hoping that everyone will work together to exclude "Jiang Bin" and others.

As a result, this move did not have much effect.

Now Pei Yuan simply pointed out the pros and cons to him with just a few words.

Qian Ning subconsciously asked Pei Yuan, "But Jiang Bin and his men have always regarded themselves as representatives of the border army. Many border army warriors are very supportive of him. I am afraid that even if I want to win him over, it may not be effective."

Pei Yuan explained to Qian Ning, "That's because the other border army generals don't have any ladder to advance, so they can only hope to rely on Jiang Bin's favor to lead them."

"With no other options available, they naturally had no choice but to gather around Jiang Bin and become a force supporting him."

Qian Ning said with a somewhat grim expression, "Before, in order to undermine Jiang Bin's prestige, I obstructed him from recommending candidates several times, and I have already offended many people. Now I want to change my position, but I'm afraid they won't believe me."

Pei Yuan smiled upon hearing this and said, "Does it matter? Regardless of whether the commander has offended them or not, if they want to get promoted, they can only grab the ecological niche of Jiang Bin, Li Cong and Shen Zhou."

"The commander doesn't need to be friends with these people. What the commander wants is... Jiang Bin's death!"

Qian Ning's expression was relieved. Although he didn't understand what ecological niche meant, he had a vague idea and nodded immediately, "Not bad."

Pei Yuan continued, "As for how to gain the trust of other warriors and make them believe that Commander Qian can give them a way, it is not difficult. There is a person who can speak for them."

Qian Ning immediately grabbed Pei Yuan's hand and sighed, "Today, I had a heart-to-heart talk with you, and I realized that we met too late. If you had planned for me earlier, I don't know how many detours I would have avoided."

"Now that the situation has come to this, it's too late for me to regret. I still need your guidance!"

Pei Yuan thought about the fact that Qian Ning was also Zhu Houzhao's male favorite, so he calmly pulled his hand back and said to Qian Ning, "Brother Qian, have you forgotten who stood up and called for the military commanders of the border army and the Beijing army to set the record straight at the critical moment of the great merit discussion?"

Qian Ning thought about it for a moment, and immediately became alert, "Gu Dayong!"

Pei Yuan praised, "Yes! It's this person!"

"Gu Dayong once served as the eunuch in charge of military affairs, and he was familiar with those generals."

"When the imperial court wanted to punish Gu Dayong for his incompetence, the generals of the border troops and the imperial army came forward and wrote letters in tears to protest the injustice of Gu Dayong."

"It was the support of these military generals that ultimately cleared the name of Eunuch Gu, so that he would not have to bear the stigma of being framed by the civil officials for the rest of his life."

Qian Ning nodded repeatedly after hearing this.

Although he also felt that Gu Dayong might be a fool, he had not gone to the battlefield himself, so who knew what the situation was like.

Gu Dayong might be a bit of a fool in normal times, but he might be a famous general in battle. Otherwise, why would those arrogant generals be so enthusiastic?
Moreover, at the critical moment when the Ministry of War was competing for merit, the generals were in an uproar, but when they heard that Gu Dayong was going to come out to judge the case, they immediately agreed with this matter in unison.

If we talk about the person who can win the hearts of the army in the entire Ming Dynasty, there is no one else like Gu Dayong!
What's more, according to Pei Yuan's theory, he and Gu Dayong belong to different ecological niches.

It is absolutely impossible for him to become a eunuch and snatch Gu Dayong's position. As the governor of the Western Factory, Gu Dayong's status is much higher than his, the commander of the Embroidered Uniform Guard. He would not come to snatch his power. What's more, he is a eunuch and cannot snatch it.

Qian Ning made a decision in his heart instantly.

Join forces with Gu Dayong, win over the border troops, and kill Jiang Bin first.

Qian Ning figured this out and saw the roadmap to success. He immediately felt relaxed and all the problems that had been bothering him for days disappeared.

He sighed more and more, "I really regret that I met Brother Pei too late. Why don't you come to Beizhen? I can make the decision and give you a real position as the deputy commander of the Jinyiwei. What do you think?"

Pei Yuan half-jokingly said, "Brother Qian, we are both Jinyiwei. Now I am working outside, and we can still be good brothers. If you take me to Beizhen, I am afraid that sooner or later our relationship will be hurt."

Qian Ning immediately realized what Pei Yuan meant.

Yes.

Pei Yuan is also a Jinyiwei, and their ecological niches are the same.

If the emperor has a Jinyiwei like Pei Yuan who is good at fighting, planning and archery, then what else does he need to do himself?
Thinking of this, Qian Ning also developed a liking for Pei Yuan's frankness.

The fact that Pei Yuan could say this so openly proved that he had no intention of being the stone around him. The two of them, one inside and one outside, were indeed the best way to maintain their relationship.

Qian Ning couldn't help but laugh and said, "Brother Pei, you worry too much."

But he did not say anything like he was willing to share his wealth with Pei Yuan, but said, "My position is the same as yours. If you need my help, I will never refuse."

Pei Yuan smiled and said, "Brother Youqian, what else can I say?"

Then he moved his eyes slightly and said to Qian Ning, "To be honest, it's no secret that I'd like to stay at the Evil Suppression Thousand Households Office. I wonder if Brother Qian has heard about it?"

Qian Ning thought about it and immediately remembered the rumor about the most affectionate person in the Ming Dynasty.

He couldn't help but ask curiously, "Is it really for Captain Han?"

Pei Yuan nodded, and then said to Qian Ning, "I just happened to have something that I need help with, Brother Qian. I wonder if Brother Qian can help?"

Qian Ning had just realized Pei Yuan's value, and the two were hypocritically talking about friendship, so he immediately patted his chest and said, "If it's anything that a brother can do, just tell me. Even if I can't do it, I will help you find a way."

Qian Ning spoke with great confidence, but even he himself didn't know how much of it was true.

Fortunately, what Pei Yuan asked him for was not a big deal.

Pei Yuan immediately hinted to Qian Ning, "I remember that His Majesty once mentioned that he would arrange a marriage for me. I was young and ignorant at that time, and now I regret it a little. If I can do something good in the future and please His Majesty, I hope Brother Qian can help me."

Qian Ning was overjoyed when he heard this. That’s it?
He immediately took the responsibility and said, "Don't worry, brother. I will take this matter to heart. But when we have the wedding banquet in the future, don't forget me as the matchmaker."

Pei Yuan also thanked Qian Ning sincerely.

Now Zhu Houzhao has doubts about Gu Dayong's "incompetence", and he has been exiled to Shandong. His reputation alone is not enough to attract those border army generals.

But if Gu Dayong acts as a guarantor and helps them get in touch with the favored minister Qian Ning, then those warriors will definitely be tempted.

After all, Eunuch Gu always repays his kindness, and his performance during the great deliberation was perfect, which could almost be described as the effect of "standing a tree at the gate".

With Gu Dayong's help, Pei Yuan's plan of laying eggs by borrowing chickens will proceed more smoothly.

The two of them had a brief exchange and returned to their respective seats to avoid suspicion.

Not long after, Zhu Houzhao, who had failed many attempts at shooting, lost interest and rode his horse forward again.

This time he didn't play tricks on me. Instead, he held the horse skillfully and said to Pei Yuan, "Come on, tell me about Shandong in detail."

Pei Yuan was very pleased to hear this.

Although this emperor is playful, he is not confused about important matters.

After Zhu Houzhao finished speaking, he rode away on his horse.

Pei Yuan looked in the direction he was heading and saw that he was heading towards the Yongshou Marquis's Mansion.

Qian Ning signaled and the Jinyiwei immediately came to lead the horses for the two men.

Pei Yuan and Qian Ning mounted their horses together, and were about to catch up with Zhu Houzhao as soon as possible, but they didn't expect that Jiang Bin, who had been dawdling and circling over there, came riding sideways.

Jiang Bin had an ugly arrow scar on his face. He grinned and looked at Pei Yuan and asked, "What were you talking about just now?"

Qian Ning immediately thought of Jiang Bin beating and killing Zhou Qi. His scalp immediately went numb and he shouted, "How dare you! Captain Pei is someone the emperor wants to see. How dare you do that?"

Pei Yuan was a little unsure whether Brother Qian was eager to try after hearing these provocative words.

But he was indeed very unhappy with Jiang Bin's blatant provocation.

A thought flashed through his mind, and he actually had the same thought as when Jiang Bin was accused by Zhou Qi.

Since the two sides already have a conflict, instead of letting Jiang Bin backfire in front of Zhu Houzhao, it is better to just break up and stir up the conflict between them.

In this way, if Jiang Bin uses some tricks again, given Zhu Houzhao's suspicion, he might be able to help himself avoid a lot of harm.

(End of this chapter)