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

Chapter 566: Envy of the Fish by the Abyss
Li Shishi subconsciously wanted to ask.

After all, the Censorate is his territory.

If someone lets you do whatever they want, you will always feel inexplicably frustrated.

Pei Yuan had skipped this topic and said, "As for my bid, I'll tell you when the gold list comes out. Don't worry, it's absolutely fair."

The benefit that Pei Yuan intended to trade for was the "Siyueku Memorial Incident."

It is absolutely impossible for Zuo Shaojian of the Ministry of Revenue to submit a memorial to the emperor on a whim, requesting the revival of the Ming Baochao, which had been abolished for two years.

The sudden emergence of the "Siyueku Memorial" must have been driven by other interested parties.

However, these people probably just started acting because of an idea without any further consideration.

Unable to anchor its own value, the Ming Baochao only caused a small wave in the face of the attack of the Silver Group and was almost vulnerable.

This may be the last chance for the Ming Dynasty's treasure notes.

Pei Yuan even suspected that the forces behind this matter were probably just trying it out, and were simply trying their best to get something for nothing.

At least, they simply didn't have the courage to spend 70,000 taels of their fortune like Pei Yuan did to buy the Ming Dynasty's treasure notes.

Pei Yuan didn't have much to comment on this.

Because it would be useless even if you really spent money.

If one wants to revive the Ming treasure notes and repel the silver with a huge premium, unless one uses a powerful weapon like the "One Whip Law", it will be useless to just try by chance.

Unfortunately, Pei Yuan had just begun to get involved in civil service politics and was still somewhat unclear about the relevant factions in the court.

In addition, Pei Yuan’s own small group has not yet officially appeared, and with its current strength and status, no one may pay attention to it.

Since he couldn't sit at the card table and join in the game, Pei Yuan decided to form a wild group and give it a try.

And the best partner is undoubtedly his loyal ally Zhu Chenhao!

Because of someone's reasons, King Ning spent a lot of money in this life, and this is a good opportunity to make a big comeback.

As for why they waited until the gold list was announced before proposing such cooperation, it was because Ning Fan would not have enough time to collect the Ming Dynasty's treasure notes by then.

Moreover, as the "Siyuku Memorial Incident" approaches, the news that has been leaked more or less will also cause the value of the Ming Baochao to start rising ahead of schedule.

At that time, the Ming Dynasty treasure notes that Pei Yuan had purchased from various places should also be escorted to Beijing, so he could increase their value several times and ship some to Ning Fan.

In this way, not only can you successfully withdraw your capital in advance, but you can also get more people on board and pull them in to support the market together.

As long as the early hype goes smoothly and attracts enough followers, there will be a certain ability to resist the impact of the silver group.

Moreover, Pei Yuan calculated that although the Silver Group was fierce, the Baochao Party might not be powerless to fight.

At least those people in the North who cannot obtain silver through maritime trade, a channel for expanding wealth, would not want to see their wealth being harvested away by premium silver.

However, they never found a way to win, and could only watch as the imperial court finally gave up the treasure notes and levied silver instead.

As long as Pei Yuan can hold on in the early stages and fight a few more battles with the Silver Group with great fanfare, more forces will inevitably be attracted to the battlefield.

Li Shishi also knew that a major deal involving the job transfer of twelve people could not be settled in a few words at a banquet.

Then he said, "Let's talk about it later."

The two returned to their seats.

Pei Yuan saw that the situation was quiet and his brothers were all looking at him eagerly, so he raised his glass and said with a smile, "Come on, I wish you all a bright future."

Everyone responded with a roar and raised their glasses to celebrate.

When the banquet was over, Tang Gao and the other two, who were already hungry, encouraged each other and wanted to have a deeper talk with Captain Pei.

But Captain Pei was already extremely drunk and was even carried out of the Buddhist temple by several Jinyiwei.

The three had no choice but to leave with their own thoughts.

The next day, when Pei Yuan woke up from his drunkenness, it was almost noon.

Cen Meng, who was guarding outside, brought Pei Yuan some hangover soup. Pei Yuan asked casually, "By the way, where is Chen Xinjian?"

Cen Meng was a little upset, but he could only answer, "Yesterday, General Chen entertained the candidates on behalf of Qian Hu, and drank a lot. He is still sleeping in the office room in front."

"Oh." Pei Yuan responded and roughly remembered what happened yesterday.

He glanced around and saw a piece of paper on the table next to him.

As he unfolded it and looked at it, he asked, "What is this?"

Cen Meng took a quick look and replied, "It was sent by the candidate named Cai Ang early this morning. I couldn't quite understand it, so I just put it on the Qianhu table."

Pei Yuan took a look and saw a painting outlined in thick and thin ink.

The painting seems to be the scene of last night's banquet, but the characters are roughly outlined and large areas of the scene are left blank.

In a prominent place, there is also a very beautiful line of small regular script.

"Sitting and watching the fisherman, one can only envy the fish."

Pei Yuan made a "tsk" sound, and he already understood that this guy wanted to surrender.

I can only say that young people dare to think and act.

The motivation is not difficult to understand.

Other candidates have already stepped onto the fast track of the Censorate under the care of the leading big brother, and some are even chatting and laughing with one of the seven ministers of the dynasty. However, these three are still worried about the future.

As the saying goes, a bird in the hand is worth a thousand in the bush.

Compared with the illusory expectations of the Hanlin Academy, having someone to protect you, to show you the way, and to be on the fast track of life are more visible and attainable.

Looking at those hopeful Shandong candidates and thinking about their official career path which has gone from vague to concrete, young people like Cai Ang who still have an adventurous spirit certainly also want to give it a try.

At least in his eyes, Pei Yuan, who could be on good terms with the current Left Censor-in-Chief, was qualified to be a powerful faction.

Pei Yuan looked at Cai Ang's painting for a long time, then handed it to Cen Meng and said, "Have someone send it to Puxian Temple and keep it for the young lady. In addition..."

Pei Yuan thought for a moment and said, "Send 20 taels of silver to Cai Ang and tell him that it is not easy to live in Beijing. He will give him money every month from now on."

Twenty taels of silver is not a lot, but it is definitely not a small amount, considering that the amount is given to close confidants like Chen Xinjian and Cen Meng.

It's more about the symbolism.

As Cai Ang was the top three scholar in undergraduate studies and was so young, he was still worthy of Pei Yuan's investment.

Even if no talent for governing the country could be found in Cai Ang, as long as he could pay attention and help monitor the history when it was being compiled and ensure that Pei Qianhu's record was clean, he would be a great help to Pei Yuan.

Cen Meng asked, "What about those candidates from Shandong and Liaodong?" Pei Yuan smiled and said nothing more, "They have other advantages."

Pei Yuan ate something and went to see Yun Buxian who had been transferred to the backyard to recuperate.

It seems that Yun Buxian really has some tricks up his sleeve. His body has recovered very quickly since he woke up.

When Pei Yuan left, Yun Buxian was able to sit up from the bed.

Yun Buxian had caused quite a bit of trouble, and he greeted Pei Yuan with some uneasiness.

Pei Yuan expressed concern for his injury and gave him a reassurance, "Chen Xinjian has been assigned to another mission. When he leaves, you will take his place."

After hearing this, Yun Buxian was a little bit incredulous at first, but then he was overjoyed.

Being able to replace Chen Xinjian's position means that he has no way out and has completely gained the trust of Captain Pei.

They can all become Pei Qianhu's close followers, so the hidden danger of revenge by Datong's roaming soldiers will no longer be a problem.

Yun Buxian struggled to kneel down and pay his respects, but Pei Yuan held him down and said, "No need to do that. Yun Weilin doesn't have to go to Yuan'en Temple anymore. You can work at Zhihua Temple instead. You should take good care of yourself so that he can take care of you nearby."

"I'm short of people right now, so you should come out and do some work as soon as possible."

Yun Buxian felt mixed emotions and thanked Pei Yuan profusely before he got up and left.

When he returned to the main hall and was about to look back and relax, he found Song Chunniang sitting on a chair behind the big desk, casually flipping through things on the table.

Pei Yuan asked, "Why are you here?"

Song Chunniang was dissatisfied when she heard this. "I have already agreed on a date with the Zhang family, but Captain Han has not come yet. The Zhang family is also well-known. They have already made too many concessions by marrying their daughter off as a concubine. How can I go back on my word? You have to give me some advice."

Zhang Yunjun's case is a little complicated.

To Zhang Lian and his wife, Zhang Yunjun actually married Pei Yuan as a concubine, but Song Chunniang happened to be a woman, so they could use her status to marry her as his wife.

In the future, Zhang Yunjun’s children will be considered legitimate children of the Song family.

But from Song Chunniang's perspective, she wanted to marry Zhang Yunjun in a formal ceremony and have her name engraved on the tombstone in the future.

So under this subtle psychological condition, as good things gradually happened and good days approached little by little, Song Chunniang's attitude became more and more serious.

He was also somewhat resistant to Pei Yuan's plan to attack Han Qianhu.

Pei Yuan felt that he was well prepared, and his mentality had also changed similarly to Song Chunniang's.

Pei Yuan's dissatisfaction with Han Qianhu gradually faded, and it seemed that there was no need to deliberately humiliate Han Qianhu in order to take revenge.

Pei Yuan walked over, half-sitting on the table, and said to Song Chunniang in front of him, "Then it's up to you, just go and marry her."

After hearing this, Song Chunniang's annoyance disappeared and she brightened up for a moment, "Really?"

Pei Yuan thought about Song Chunniang's previous growth experience, and her sensitive and unwilling heart after leaving the underworld, and said sincerely, "You should live a good life in the future. The daughter of a provincial censor is willing to be your woman, so what is there for you to worry about?"

Song Chunniang listened to the wise words, looked at the big hand that reached in through the collar and touched her, and then looked at Pei Yuan again.

Seeing Pei Yuan was unmoved, Song Chunniang's hand stroked Pei Yuan's official robe and gave him some advice from a close friend's perspective, "When you marry Captain Han, you will have her and Jiao Yan'er as your wife and concubine, as well as beauties like Qingge and Wanyue. Captain Pei should also calm down and stop indulging in such things."

Neither of them particularly wanted to, but they were used to this kind of intimacy.

They pleased each other in this way and talked about the arrangements for the wedding.

Song Chunniang was planning to hold a grand ceremony in the Qianhu Suo. According to her plan, Pei Yuan only needed to show up when he went to Zhang's house to pick up the bride, and the rest would be her business.

She even planned to have a formal wedding with Zhang Yunjun in front of the brothers of Qianhu Suo.

Song Chunniang is now the chief of the Western Factory. No matter how absurd her behavior is, no one dares to say anything. But what makes Pei Yuan curious is, "Have you told Old Escort Song? What does he think?"

If there is a wedding ceremony, Old Escort Captain Song should be present, right?

Even an experienced person might not be able to handle such an outrageous thing.

Song Chunniang said, "What's the big deal? When Yunjun has a child in the future, won't she still be named Song? There will be one more person to burn paper for him. Why shouldn't the old man be happy?"

Pei Yuan knew that it was most likely the old escort leader Song who knew about the affairs between Song Chunniang and himself.

On the way to Tai'an Prefecture, Old Escort Captain Song noticed that Pei Yuan was concerned about his daughter.

Less than a year later, Song Chunniang became Pei Yuan's subordinate, and then inexplicably became an official appointed by the court.

The old veteran still has some ulterior motives in his mind.

In the opinion of old escort leader Song, Song Chunniang and Zhang Yunjun should both be Pei Yuanyang's concubines, and their wedding was nothing more than a cover-up to give their future offspring a status.

Pei Yuan asked again, "What date did the Zhang family agree with you on?"

Song Chunniang twirled her fingers lightly, "October 8th."

Pei Yuan thought to himself, it’s only a few days away.

Then he asked, "How are you preparing?"

Song Chunniang said, "It's okay. A few days ago, I saw a place that looked pretty good. I asked someone to check and it turned out to be the residence of the Shaoqing of Yuanma Temple."

"Western Factory didn't find any evidence against the Junior Official of Yuanma Temple, so I asked Zhang Rui to help me see if the Eastern Factory had any evidence."

Pei Yuan was a little surprised, "Do you have connections with Zhang Rui?"

Song Chunniang was somewhat proud. "The East Factory is short of manpower now, and has come to our West Factory for help many times. I have met him several times. He is a pretty good person."

Fine.

Pei Yuan was thinking about how Song Chunniang's mob embezzled Zhang Yong's money, forcing Zhang Rui to make up for it with his own money. He didn't know where the evaluation of "pretty good" came from?

It’s up to Zhang Rui himself to agree or not.

Pei Yuan touched it and asked, "What happened next?"

Song Chunniang said, "Later, the Shaoqing of Yuanma Temple found me on his own. He heard that I just had a crush on his house and there was no other grudge between us, so he politely gave the place to me and said that we could be friends in the future."

Pei Yuan made a "tsk" sound.

What a simple and honest man Shili Xiang is! It has not been a year since he entered the Ming court, but he has already started extortion.

Yuanma Temple is in charge of the horses in the six prisons and twenty-four gardens, and is the management agency of the official horse farms.

It is quite different from the Taipusi, a department that focuses on horse affairs and has interests in civil affairs.

To put it in a more understandable way, the Minister of Yuanma Temple is the Benwen of Bima Wen, and as for the Shaoqing of Yuanma Temple, he is also called Bima Xiaowen.

This was an important and lucrative position. No wonder he could easily give away a house and make friends with the female boss of the Western Factory.

(End of this chapter)