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

Chapter 532 Confession
Pei Yuan laughed loudly, holding the decree, and was extremely happy.

Lu Ting said in a humorous way, "My dear brother, don't laugh too happily. I have inquired and found that His Majesty once sent a secret order to Han Qianhu to inquire about this matter, but Han Qianhu..., refused."

The smile on Pei Yuan's face froze a little, but then relaxed.

He could almost imagine Han Qianhu's explosive mentality at that time.

After all, more than a year ago, he knelt down in front of her calves in such an awkward manner.

As a result, not long after he let go of her hands, he dared to seduce the emperor and wanted to take her for himself.

This kind of thing is also very overwhelming for a female boss.

Pei Yuan's voice was flat, "So what?"

He no longer cared what Han Qianhu would think.

Lu Ting said with a smile, "The emperor granted you a marriage, which was a forced marriage. But how you live your life is still up to you two."

"If she refuses to obey you, you can't just use the imperial edict to force Han Qianhu to bed."

"If this kind of embarrassing thing is brought to the attention of the emperor, he will only laugh at you."

"Listen to my advice, you two should discuss and make the wedding a good thing. How can you live on this yellow silk?"

If someone else said this kind of thing, it might seem a bit too much and inevitably offensive.

But as a eunuch, Lu Ting had fewer taboos and seemed more approachable.

Pei Yuan had already known what was going on, and said without any reservation, "How can you advance further if you can't get an inch?"

Upon hearing this, Lu Ting could only give Pei Yuan a thumbs up.

Pei Yuan actually felt a little pessimistic in his heart, otherwise he would not be so eager to obtain this status.

Seeing that Pei Yuan wasn't very interested, Lu Ting stopped talking about this topic.

Instead, he took out a separate imperial edict from his sleeve.

While handing it to Pei Yuan, he sighed, "Even I never thought that the Luo Sect was actually your work. It's amazing."

Pei Yuan did not directly answer Lu Ting's test, but said, "Then Chen Toutie is also lucky, otherwise he would not have gotten this opportunity."

Lu Ting smiled meaningfully and said, "I understand, I understand."

Pei Yuan pretended to be confused and took the imperial edict. He saw that it stated that Chen Toutie was pretending to be the leader of Luojiao, and asked the Western Factory Commander Gu Dayong and Shandong Governor Wang Chang to pay close attention and respond.

From Zhu Houzhao's perspective.

The person who took the lead in the Luo Jiao incident was a military officer of his Jinyi Guards. The one who was responsible for supervision was the governor of the Western Factory, and the other was an old party member during the New Deal. They were able to cooperate with each other and check and balance each other.

In addition, in the military, there were five hundred-household offices that were like nails nailed to the key points of the five prefectures in Shandong to prevent the Luo believers from colluding with each other and causing disasters.

Up and down the canal, the important town of Linqing was assisted by Ding Hong's troops from the Xuzhou Zuowei who worked in the Weihe Shipyard, and the important town of Jining was garrisoned by the Jining Guard who was directly under the jurisdiction of Chen Toutie himself.

These methods alone are enough to nail down Luo Jiao inch by inch and keep him firmly under control.

What a pity..., these are all my people.

Pei Yuan treasured the secret decree and put it away alone. He smiled at Lu Ting and said, "You understand, but I don't understand anymore."

Lu Ting did not respond, but asked with a smile, "How many days have you been in Beijing, my dear brother?"

Pei Yuan leaned back slightly in his chair, causing the bamboo chair to creak. He counted on his fingers and said, "Then I have to calculate carefully."

Lu Ting waved his hand to stop his pretense, "Okay, okay."

Pei Yuan deliberately sighed and said, "There's nothing I can do. It's easy to share adversity, but it's hard to share wealth. When I was young and ignorant, I didn't know how many times I got looked down upon. I had a poor relative..."

Lu Ting interrupted again, "You are talking nonsense again. You don't even have any poor relatives."

Then he said bluntly, "I have been waiting for you since this morning and I haven't eaten yet."

Now Pei Yuan completely felt Eunuch Lu's sincerity.

Waiting for things while hungry was not difficult for the former loser Xiao Lu to do, and now the eunuch in charge of the Imperial Household Department can do this, which is very important in Pei Yuan's heart.

Pei Yuan asked his personal soldiers to prepare wine and food for the two men.

Chen Xinjian was left behind by Pei Yuan to deal with the people sent by Lu Ting. Unexpectedly, the person who came this time was Lu Ting himself.

In the past, others often looked up to him because he was Pei Yuan's confidant.

But Chen Xinjian knew his limits. When he saw that it was Lu Ting who came, he hurriedly served him respectfully.

Lu Ting and Pei Yuan also had a close relationship. Lu Ting started out as a defeated eunuch who hunted down Pei Yuan, and gradually rose from the position of military commander Bai Yu, to the commander-in-chief of military affairs, to the position of the seal-holder of the Imperial Stables, and then to form an alliance with Yang Yiqing and enter the Imperial Household Department to become the seal-holder eunuch.

It can be said that every step of his growth came from Pei Yuan’s strong support.

The closeness between the two sides is much stronger than that between Gu Dayong and Xiao Yan.

Chen Xinjian arranged a place for Lu Ting to rest and wait, and then left tactfully. Seeing that the time was almost up, he asked someone to prepare a banquet in advance.

Now Pei Yuan wanted some wine and food, so he immediately came to ask whether the two of them should chat in this courtyard or move to the main hall.

The weather was extremely hot at that time, so Lu Ting asked Pei Yuan, "Have you eaten before?"

Pei Yuan answered truthfully, "I have already eaten."

Lu Ting said, "Then just give in to me and leave it outside like this."

Chen Xinjian quickly asked his personal soldiers to prepare wine and food.

Taking advantage of this opportunity, Lu Ting asked politely, "Did you go out to find someone to eat just now?"

Pei Yuan said sadly, "If you encounter any difficulties, go out and ask for help."

Lu Ting glanced at Pei Yuan, suspecting that this guy was pointing at him, so he did not respond.

After the guards had prepared the food and wine, Pei Yuan simply ate a few bites with them.

Lu Ting drank two cups by himself, and finally couldn't help asking, "Why do you ask for help?"

Pei Yuan saw that Lu Ting had asked so directly. If he didn't answer, it would be bad to reveal it later. So he said, "After Chen Toutie took control of the Luo Sect, it was not easy to gather the followers, so he planned to press oil from Shandong beans and then sell it to the south."

"Unfortunately, this business was originally done by someone else. The people in the south were unwilling to give up the huge profits from oil pressing, and used official means to block the soybean oil we pressed from Baoying Lake."

"We also wanted to get in touch with the government, but the Yangzhou prefect refused to give in and even said that if he let go, higher-level officials would definitely intervene."

"The people in charge of this later tried to smuggle the soybean oil to Jiangnan. But soybean oil is still a bulk commodity, and it is not easy to transport. They were found several times by underworld figures sent from there. In the end, no one was there and many people were killed."

"I saw that the situation was passive, so I decided to find someone to help me deal with the oil and soybean materials I had squeezed out."

"As for the rest, we can only wrestle later."

Lu Ting drank his wine slowly and interrupted, "Did you go to see Zang Xian?"

Pei Yuan hummed.

Lu Ting said, "Only a broker of Zang Xian's caliber can handle such a big thing."

Then he added a hint of sarcasm, "If it weren't for his good looks and strong body, and the fact that he could borrow the emperor's tiger skin, this kind of guy who jumps around so happily may not have a good ending."

Pei Yuan silently digested the information given by Lu Ting, and an idea popped into his mind.

Could it be that this fierce brother Zhaozi is actually a little zero in private?
Lu Ting asked with concern, "So, Zang Xian also knows about the relationship between Luo Jiao and you?"

Pei Yuan denied it, "No, no, I made up a story beforehand."

Lu Ting smiled and said, "It's hard to hide it from him. That guy is interested in all kinds of information and is willing to take any money. He knows a lot of information and can naturally verify each other. He can see many things more clearly than others."

"Maybe once you mention this, he'll have an idea in his mind."

Lu Ting felt sorry for Pei Yuan and said, "Except for the emperor who issued the decree, only Yin Sheng and I in the Imperial Household Department know about the Luojiao matter. It would be better for you to discuss it with me instead of going to find Zang Xian."

Pei Yuan hesitated for a moment and expressed his thoughts, "Sooner or later, the affairs of the Luo Sect will slowly be exposed to many people."

"It may not be a bad thing to hide the truth from some people."

Pei Yuan revealed a little, "The next stage of court struggle may be more fierce than you can imagine. If I show my strength inappropriately, someone may confront me without even saying hello."

"If I were to end up like this for no reason, how unfair would that be to me."

After Pei Yuan showed Luo Jiao a clear path, he had already regarded this as his own gambling capital.

Lu Ting smiled after hearing this and stopped talking about Luo Jiao. Instead, he said, "Although you are smart, I don't think you understand why I, Lu Ting, have become the seal holder of the Imperial Household Department, but still came to your Zhihua Temple under the shade of the trees, waiting for you to come back hungry."

Pei Yuan touched the wine glass without saying a word. He knew that Lu Ting's next words would clarify the master-servant status in this alliance and make a clear positioning for the subsequent relationship between the two parties.

In fact, from the moment Pei Yuan saw Lu Ting coming, he knew in his heart that the relationship between the two parties had been determined.

Lu Ting said frankly, "I am different from those eunuchs who grew up in the palace, so my perspective on things is also different."

"I went to the northwest to take charge when I was very young. After all..., someone just became famous, and I am also a eunuch in the Imperial Stables. In the eyes of others, I must be a little different."

Pei Yuan smiled when he heard this. Lu Ting's words were based on the context of the times he was in.

At that time, the little castrated dog Wang Zhi had just been sealed not long ago, and everyone had seen how fierce the little castrated dog could be when fighting.

Therefore, due to path dependence, many of the slightly more outstanding eunuchs among the new generation of Imperial Stables were selected by the emperor and sent to the frontiers to guard at a very young age.

Unfortunately, the Ming Dynasty no longer has little eunuchs in their teens who can plow the Jurchens and sweep across Mongolia.

Lu Ting said, "Not long after I arrived in the northwest, I followed the army to attack Turpan in order to restore Hami."

Perhaps thinking of the strength of the man in front of him, Lu Ting was also modest about his achievements in the past. "The results of that surprise attack may seem ridiculous to Captain Pei. But it can be regarded as driving across the desert and fighting for thousands of miles."

Pei Yuan interrupted, "Eunuch Lu worked hard on the frontier and refused to give up an inch of land. Pei Yuan can only admire him. He absolutely does not look down on him at all."

Lu Ting felt warm at heart after hearing this.

Back then, he followed the army from the Gobi Desert to Hami, and suffered great hardships. Even though he did not achieve any results in the end, the will of the mighty army to fight to protect that piece of wasteland still greatly shocked the foreign kings in the northwest.

Lu Ting smiled at Pei Yuan and continued, "It is also this growth experience that makes me different from those people in the palace who are attached to Your Majesty. I learned one thing in the northwest: when reason doesn't make sense, it's time to show your knife."

"Your Majesty, you wanted to reason with me at first, but someone showed you a knife first. Now, Your Majesty... doesn't want to just talk about it on paper anymore."

Lu Ting said calmly, "In the past, the eunuch in charge of the Imperial Household Department might have had the power and position of a minister. But when the rules are about to be broken, how useful can I, the minister, be?"

"To be honest, the power that Your Majesty has bestowed upon me is not necessarily much stronger than that which a thousand households can bestow upon me."

Pei Yuan was somewhat flattered when he heard Lu Ting praising him like that.

Lu Ting looks at things very realistically, without any of the filter that ordinary people have when facing imperial power.

Perhaps it was because these eunuchs were too close to the imperial power, they were more accustomed to it than others, and even understood better the filth and dirtiness behind the majestic power.

Pei Yuan thought maliciously that perhaps Lu Ting had seen Brother Zhaozi being fucked.

Lu Ting did not hide his admiration for Pei Yuan at all, "At least, I have seen that kind of power with my own eyes."

"How powerful and arrogant were the Bazhou Army back then? The imperial court assembled hundreds of thousands of troops and had countless brave generals and counselors, but they were helpless against them and could only let them run rampant in the north."

"Brother Pei was still in the midst of adversity, but he drew a line on the ground with his sword and decided the future of the more than 100,000 Bazhou troops in just a few words."

"And I, Lu Ting, a marginalized eunuch, led the soldiers who were waiting for their crimes and meritorious service. I simply showed up at the agreed time with Brother Pei and the place where Brother Pei and I had agreed to meet. Then I blindfolded myself and ran forward wildly, and I defeated this chaotic army of Bazhou that dominated the world."

"Now the emperor has almost completely abandoned court affairs and only listens to the memorials of the cabinet and the seven ministers."

"Those ministers thought that the Ministry of War, the Censorate, and the Military Preparation Department had already locked up the Ming army, but what if, what if the emperor really broke out?"

"By then, the world will be in such chaos that I cannot even imagine what it will be like."

"The situation is relatively stable now. As the eunuch in charge of the Imperial Household Department, I still have some deterrent power. When it really comes to that, it will depend on who has more swords in his hand. Who knows, by then, I, the eunuch in charge of the Imperial Household Department, may not be as powerful as the eunuch in charge of the Imperial Horse Department who controls the Imperial Army."

"If that's the case, why would I tie my future and life to these positions?"

"Of course I, Lu Ting, will follow someone who is more powerful."

"Brother Pei, if you need me, just tell me...when, where and who to point the knife at, and that's it."

(End of this chapter)