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

Chapter 548 Fishing
Cen Meng vaguely understood a little, and then he wondered, "Well, since we don't know who is behind Yang Xi, how should we set a price?"

Speaking of this, Pei Yuan was also a little depressed.

Last time, Pei Yuan deliberately informed Yang Yi that Zhang Yong was about to fall, but from the follow-up, it seemed that neither Yang Yiqing nor Yang Tinghe did anything special.

Pei Yuan couldn't figure out who was behind Yang Xi for a moment.

After experiencing the events of "Mao Ji stabbing Wang Hua in the back" and "Mao Cheng raiding Liang Chu", and seeing the bad ecology of civil service politics, Pei Yuan did not dare to speak carelessly and test the factions.

Pei Yuan could only sigh, "I'll do you a favor first and redeem it later."

After that, he tried to make amends by saying, "Maybe next time they will beg me to cooperate."

Cen Meng responded silently.

When he returned to the Zen temple where he stayed, Pei Yuan planned some words and wanted to arrange someone to do this. However, he couldn't help but sigh when he saw that only Cen Meng was there.

I didn't expect that after running my business for so long, I still lacked talent.

He wanted to wait for Chen Xinjian to come back from work, but he didn't want to hurt Cen Meng, who was always loyal, so he said, "This matter is very serious. I have to go to the Ministry of Public Security in person."

Cen Meng asked in surprise, "Will Qian Hu not continue to recuperate?"

Pei Yuan's injuries were serious, but his recovery ability was very strong. After a few days of rest, although he couldn't move, his daily activities were no longer affected.

Pei Yuan said stubbornly, "Jiang Bin has suffered a loss and is too embarrassed to leave. He will try to delay for a while longer."

"Anyone with eyesight can clearly see my strength. Why should I be embarrassed to see others?"

"I still have a lot of important things to do, so I won't waste time here."

After that, he said to Cen Meng, "Come with me to the Tongzhengsi. Leave a few people here and pack up slowly. I will go back to Zhihua Temple tonight."

Upon hearing this, Cen Meng quickly made arrangements.

Pei Yuan smelled it and found some residual smell of medicine and blood on the body.

He looked at himself in the mirror again. Fortunately, he had deliberately avoided his head and face when fighting with Jiang Bin. Apart from some bruises at the corners of his eyes and some cracked lips, everything else was fine.

Pei Yuan asked someone to bring hot water and wiped himself thoroughly. Then he changed into clean clothes and left the Da Ci'en Temple feeling refreshed.

After leaving the temple, Pei Yuan violated the rules and took a sedan chair.

It was not until they arrived at the Tongzhengsi that Pei Yuan got out of the sedan chair. As usual, he took a memorial full of nonsense and swaggered to the door.

As soon as Pei Yuan showed up this time, many people who came in and out of the Tongzhengsi Yamen immediately recognized him.

As a hotly discussed figure in the market recently, Pei Yuan became famous again after beating Liang Ci'e last time.

The last time Liang Ciwu was beaten, only the scholars and candidates paid attention to this matter and understood its significance. Ordinary people only expressed some surprise that someone dared to beat the son of a grand scholar.

This time it's different.

The story of the Jinyiwei raping and killing the brave general who was suppressing the rebellion was so shocking.

In particular, there were some forces that could not bear to see these two families doing well and fanned the flames. Even many ordinary people talked about it with relish, not to mention the civil and military officials in the same dynasty.

At this time, everyone saw a big man coming in with a bruised face and nose. Then, they saw the fifth-rank official robe he was wearing, and they knew his identity.

For a moment, there were whispers everywhere.

Pei Yuan casually handed over a copy of the document titled "Rectifying the Market Order and Improving the Legal System: Regulations on the Circulation Management of Buddhist Products such as Relics, Buddha Teeth, and Buddha Bones."

A minor clerk hurried forward to take it, and then someone was sensible enough to inform the Left Councillor Wei Ne.

Wei Ne, the Left Senator, said that he had reached the end of his task and that he wanted to settle accounts.

But he did not fall when Liu Jin fell, and he was fine after the rebellion was put down. Even after the imperial inspection that was originally aimed at the remnants of Liu Jin was over, Wei Ne still held on to his position as the Left Councillor.

This is surprising.

The Left Counselor of the Ministry of Public Administration was not a small official. If it were not for the shadow of the last imperial inspection, no one would be sure whether Wei Ne could survive, and his promotion to the Right Counselor would be a natural thing.

Even a newcomer like Yang Yu might not be as legitimate as Wei Ne.

We have all seen many officials who catch the wind and rise with it, but those who have survived one disaster after another are even more worthy of being looked down upon.

In an office like the Tongzhengsi that is good at reading the wind's direction, naturally many people began to pay attention to Wei Ne's affairs.

Thanks to Wei Ne's previous high profile, many people knew after asking around that Wei Ne now had a close relationship with a captain of the Embroidered Uniform Guard named Pei Yuan.

As soon as the battle between Pei Yuan and Jiang Bin ended, many people saw Wei Ne with a smile on his face and a proud look on his face.

When they saw Pei Yuan coming, someone went to inform him.

When Wei Ne heard that Pei Yuan was coming, he hurriedly put down what he was doing and went out to greet him.

Pei Yuan gestured, and the two of them went to a chair in a remote corner of the Tongzhengsi Yamen and sat down.

Wei Ne first looked at Pei Yuan for a few times, then asked excitedly, "Is Qian Hu feeling better?"

Pei Yuan answered very stubbornly, "It's not a big deal. I just stayed a few more days because I was afraid that Jiang Bin would lose face. After all, Jiang Bin is now my second brother, so I have to give him some face."

When Pei Yuan and Wei Ne were talking on the side, many officials who were busy sorting files and documents in the Ministry of Public Administration deliberately lowered their noises and listened to what was being said here.

Hearing Pei Yuan's words, everyone couldn't help but be shocked.

Seeing that everyone was paying attention to this side, Wei Ne could not help but whispered, "Looking at the Qianhu's appearance, I think he must have moved out from Da Ci'en Temple. There are too many people here, if you have any instructions, why don't I go to Zhihua Temple to pay a visit."

After that, he said as if explaining, "Before, when we were at the Da Ci'en Temple, many people were paying attention to that place, and I didn't dare to cause trouble for the thousand households."

Pei Yuan also whispered, "It's okay, I came here to fish."

Wei Ne's eyes moved, and he dipped his finger in tea and wrote the word "Yang" on the table.

Pei Yuan nodded slightly, and then he saw Yang Xi coming out of his office room, smiling and saying, "Isn't this Captain Pei? Captain Pei is not recuperating in Da Ci'en Temple, but what important matters do you have to report?"

Wei Ne wiped the water stains on the table and said indifferently, "It's just a small matter. There's no need for Yang Tongzheng to personally inquire about it."

Yang Yu smiled and waved his hand, saying, "With Councillor Zuo here, I'm sure he will do it properly."

"Yang is not here for official business. Last time, Yang and Captain Pei had a good chat. I didn't expect to hear about the duel between Captain Pei and Jiang Bin outside the Da Ci'en Temple again."

"I have often heard that Jiang Bin is very brave and is the best warrior in suppressing rebellions."

"I didn't expect to be defeated by Brother Pei. It shows that there are many people in the world who are not worthy of their reputation. But it is Captain Pei's bravery that really opened Yang's eyes."

Pei Yuan laughed and said, "Jiang Bin is quite capable. Besides, I am just showing off my bravery. The ones who have the last laugh are those people."

Wei Ne remembered what Pei Yuan had just said, "fishing", and immediately pulled Pei Yuan's sleeve gently and intelligently.

Pei Yuan then stopped talking and quickly glanced at Wei Ne.

Yang Yu vaguely understood what was going on, and when he saw Wei Ne's actions, he immediately became more thoughtful and began to ponder Pei Yuan's words. Last time, Yang Yu learned from Pei Yuan in advance that the emperor was going to take action against Zhang Yong, and relying on the information advantage, the people behind him took the lead.

Yang Yu also received unanimous praise from his comrades.

This matter involves the adjustment of internal affairs, which is not only highly confidential, but also involves huge interests.

From then on, Yang Wei realized that he could obviously dig out the real stuff from Pei Yuan.

Yang Chi, a smart man, naturally did not think this was any luck and immediately suspected Pei Yuan's motives.

However, the result of the inference made Yang Chi feel that this line was still worth pursuing.

If Pei Yuan is the kind of fool who can be easily tricked, then this is good news, which means that he is still useful.

If Pei Yuan deliberately sent the message to me, that would be even better news.

Maybe this guy will give us other useful information later.

Now that he met Pei Yuan again in the Tongzhengsi, this was Yang Yu's chance to verify what he had thought.

Yang Chi put on a polite attitude and said calmly, "Last time I saw Captain Pei like drinking tea, I just happen to have some new tea here, it's rare to meet someone who shares the same taste, I wonder if you are interested in trying it?"

Pei Yuan heard this and quickly made a judgment in his mind. Then he smiled and said, "Since the Right Minister has such intention, how dare I disobey your orders?"

Yang Chi was overjoyed and quickly waved his hand towards his own office, saying, "Captain Pei, please come in."

Pei Yuan laughed, "The right-wing politician is angry."

Having said that, he went to Yang Qizhi's room.

Yang Chi looked at Wei Ne, who sighed lightly, bowed, and left.

Seeing Wei Ne acting like this, Yang Chi was a little confused about the relationship between them.

What Yang Chi said about having new tea was not false.

When the guests and hosts were seated, a can of unopened tea was taken out and given to the person in charge to brew.

While Yang Chi was pondering Pei Yuan's intention, he was also thinking about how to start a conversation.

The two sat opposite each other in silence for a while.

After a while, when Yang Chi was feeling a little embarrassed, the clerk on duty brought in the teapot.

Yang Chi took the opportunity to ease the atmosphere and stood up to add tea to Pei Yuan's cup.

Pei Yuan now understood that the relationship between the two parties was probably a situation of "I know you know" and "you know I know".

In this way, the perfunctory attitude towards each other seems unnecessary.

Pei Yuan did not treat this experienced official as a fool, so he waited until the tea cooled down a little before saying, "The people of Xuanda Liaoji intend to lure the emperor to tour the north and set up a palace in the border area."

Yang Chi was stunned when he heard this, and after a while he smiled and said, "Captain Pei is joking."

Pei Yuan smiled and said nothing more.

He drank the tea, put the cup down, and simply said, "Is it funny?" Then he said, "That's all I have to say."

After saying that, he stood up and walked out.

There was a strange look on Yang Chi's face.

No, do you take such a ridiculous thing seriously?
As soon as I was distracted, Pei Yuan had already left.

Yang Chi hesitated for a moment, thinking about the dangers that would arise if this matter came true. He could not just sit back and watch, so he stood up, picked up a few official documents, told the person who had come, and left the Tongzhengsi.

After Pei Yuan left the Tongzhengsi, he took a sedan chair directly back to Zhihua Temple.

As soon as he got off the sedan chair, the Jinyiwei on duty at Zhihua Temple came to greet him joyfully.

Although these Jinyiwei were only recently recruited from the military surplus and had no loyalty to this deputy captain, they were still encouraged when they heard that their boss had beaten the most powerful general who had suppressed the rebellion like a dog outside the Da Ci'en Temple.

Many people even have the idea that by following such a boss, they may be able to achieve success.

Pei Yuan exchanged a few pleasantries and then heard someone report that Yun Buxian, who had been on a business trip, had returned with his men.

After hearing this, Pei Yuan remembered the large sum of money Yun Buxian had obtained, and immediately asked, "Where is he?"

The person who reported back said, "After General Yun came back, he lived alone in a courtyard with the people he brought with him. He never went out. I don't know the specific details."

He added, "The commander had not returned yet, so the news about General Yun should have been sent to Da Ci'en Temple."

When Pei Yuan saw that the man had a strange expression, he knew that there was probably something fishy going on.

He didn't ask any more questions and said calmly, "Then I'll go see him."

Pei Yuan knew that Yun Buxian was actually a thoughtful person, otherwise he would not have led people to Henan.

Under normal circumstances, as long as Yun Buxian brought the money to Beijing as soon as possible, those private merchants would have no way to do anything to him.

He was also able to hand over his duties smoothly.

However, Yun Buxian has always been suppressed by Pei Yuan. This is the first time he has received a big job, so he wants to do a good job and does not want to bring trouble to Pei Yuan.

After returning to Beijing this time, Yun Buxian not only did not run to Pei Yuan to ask for credit immediately, but instead behaved so cautiously. There must be some reason for this.

Pei Yuan dismissed his followers and took only Cen Meng to the courtyard where Yun Buxian was.

When they arrived in front of the courtyard, they saw the guards bowing to Pei Yuan and saying, "Greetings, Captain."

Seeing that he was dusty and exhausted, Pei Yuan asked, "Are you also following Yun Buxian on an errand?"

The Jinyiwei said, "That's right."

Pei Yuan had not met Yun Buxian yet, and did not know the details of this trip, so he just comforted him, "You did a good job this time, I will give you rewards later, and your General Yun will give you the rewards at that time."

The Jinyiwei showed a little joy on his face, "Thank you for the reward, Captain."

When Pei Yuan entered the yard, he saw Jinyiwei resting and talking in the corridors on both sides.

When they saw Pei Yuan coming in, they all stood up and greeted him.

Pei Yuan keenly noticed that many people were injured, and the number of people seemed to be much less than the number he had arranged.

Pei Yuan asked directly, "Where are the others? Where is Yun Buxian?"

Someone below replied, "It's too hot and stuffy in the room. Except for a few seriously injured people who are recuperating in the side rooms, everyone else is outside. General Yun is also seriously injured."

Pei Yuan followed the gaze of the crowd, looked towards a side room, and then strode over.

(End of this chapter)