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

Chapter 578 Discount
Li Shishi hadn't expected Pei Xiandi to be so sincere, so he simply asked, "Then, I wonder what price you're planning to set?"

Pei Yuan said, "The Grand Commandant should understand that I also bear some risks in this matter. Therefore, the price certainly cannot be the current one."

"In the fifth year of Zhengde's reign, one string of paper money could be exchanged for two coins."

"In my estimation, once the memorial from the Treasury is submitted, the price of paper money will at least recover to half of what it was in the fifth year of Zhengde's reign, meaning that one string of paper money will be worth one coin."

"Whether we consider our friendship or just the transaction itself, this price is definitely not fair."

"Therefore, Pei promised to sell a batch of paper money to the Grand Magistrate at a price of one coin for five strings of paper money."

Li Shishi listened and silently pondered for a moment.

Now, one coin can be exchanged for dozens of strings of paper money, so Pei Yuan's offer was clearly not a free favor.

But the Ning Prince's family didn't lose out either.

If the price were to rise from the initial exchange rate of one copper coin for one string of paper money, then the Ning Prince could make five times the profit by reselling.

Furthermore, Pei Yuan promised that if the market price at the time was lower than the agreed price, Ningfan could choose to abandon the acquisition.

In this way, Ning Fan was essentially waiting until the cards were revealed before placing his bet, which almost guaranteed him a win.

After a moment's thought, Li Shishi said with satisfaction, "This price is acceptable. How much should the Prince of Ning buy?"

Pei Yuan smiled and said, "That depends on Ning Fan himself. Anyway, my terms are out there, how much Ning Fan wants to earn is your business."

Li Shishi silently calculated the money he could mobilize, and after thinking for a while, he said, "Then our Ning Kingdom is willing to try buying 20,000 taels of silver in paper money."

With 20,000 taels of silver in paper money in hand, as long as the price rises as Pei Yuan predicted, it can be sold for a full 100,000 taels of silver.

This would greatly alleviate the financial strain on the Ning Kingdom.

Think of this.

Li Shishi seemed lost in thought.

For some reason, the number 100,000 taels seemed somewhat familiar, as if it reminded him of something.

Pei Yuan was somewhat disappointed when he heard that Li Shishi was only willing to buy 20,000 taels of paper money.

With such great conditions, they're only offering this little money.

The Ning Kingdom's fighting strength is somewhat lacking.

Pei Yuan invested 70,000 taels of silver in the initial stage of speculating on the Ming Dynasty Treasure Notes.

He bought the paper money at a very low price. The paper money that Li Shishi exchanged for 20,000 taels of silver was equivalent to only two or three thousand taels of silver when Pei Yuan bought it.

Making over 17,000 taels of silver on the opening day is already quite good.

However, this was not enough to allow Pei Yuan to recover as much health as possible before the great battle.

Fortunately, Pei Yuan had already figured out what else he could squeeze out of his staunch ally.

Pei Yuan readily agreed, "Twenty thousand taels it is. Don't say that I didn't give Ning Fan a chance. Just don't regret it later, Grand Commandant."

Li Shishi felt that earning 80,000 taels should be enough to satisfy his mission.

He said with some regret, "A gentleman's word is as good as his bond, there's nothing more to say. We, the Ning Kingdom, have many important matters to attend to, and we're really not flush with cash."

Hearing what he wanted to hear, Pei Yuan deliberately asked, "With the wealth accumulated over generations by the Prince of Ning, are you really short of money now?"

Li Shishi said, "That's not it. It's just that there are many things, big and small, in Ning Prefecture, and it's impossible to invest all the resources in my area. As a result, the money I have is not so plentiful."

Pei Yuan deliberately pondered for a moment after hearing this.

Li Shishi noticed that Pei Yuan hadn't said anything for a while and asked curiously, "What's wrong, my brother? Is there something you're having trouble saying?"

Pei Yuan then said, "If that's the case, I have a good idea that satisfies both sides."

Li Shishi became interested and said, "Brother, you can tell me more."

Pei Yuan tapped his fingers unconsciously on the table for a while before saying, "I would like to ask about something first."

Li Shishi, remembering Pei Yuan's perfect idea, laughed and said, "Brother, just ask. If I don't know the answer, that's fine; but if I do know the answer, I will tell you everything I know."

Pei Yuan looked around.

Li Shishi immediately waved his hand, dismissing the servants around him.

Chen Xinjian also wanted to leave, but Pei Yuan stopped him, saying, "Xinjian, stay for a moment."

Upon hearing this, Chen Xinjian responded, then went outside to check, and then stood guard near the door.

Pei Yuan then asked Li Shishi, "I would like to ask, after Prince Ning acquired those bandits from Bazhou, have you found them to be easy to use?"

Li Shishi hesitated for a moment, then vaguely replied, "It's alright."

Seeing that Pei Yuan still looked inquisitive, Li Shishi then said a little more, "Prince Ning treated the leaders like honored guests, and the leaders were very satisfied. They got along quite well."

Pei Yuan asked, "What about those elite bandits who were taken across the river by Prince Ning? These people have been away from home for so long, are they getting used to living here?"

Li Shishi paused for a moment, then answered truthfully, "Most of them are still good."

Upon hearing the answer he wanted, Pei Yuan beckoned to Chen Xinjian, who was standing some distance away.

He then said to Li Shishi, "The Grand Commandant must also know that Chen Xinjian has been transferred to the Xinghe Garrison Command in Xuanfu."

"But that garrison is now without food or pay; it's just an empty shell from top to bottom."

“Chen Xinjian is my confidant, and I helped him obtain this garrison commander post. I certainly have no reason to treat him unfairly.”

"So these days, I've been thinking about how to set up this thousand-household office for him."

Pei Yuan had barely hinted at his meaning when Li Shishi declared decisively, "Absolutely not!"

Pei Yuan asked in surprise, "Does the Grand Commandant know what I'm about to say?"

Li Shishi said to Pei Yuan in a deep voice, "Brother Pei should know in his heart how much our Ning Kingdom paid for these Bazhou troops!"

"No matter what kind of deal it is, Bazhou Army is not an option."

With just a few thousand cavalry, these Bazhou troops enslaved hundreds of thousands of civilians, turning the entire north into a mess.

According to what Liu Liu, Liu Qi, and others told the Prince of Ning, they failed because they severely damaged agriculture in the north and their forces were too large. In the end, they could not seize enough grain and were forced to flee to Huguang, where they were blocked on the banks of the Yangtze River.

The imperial army was completely unable to subdue them.

Many of Ning's advisors shared a similar view. For instance, the fact that the Bazhou rebellion lasted over two years, yet the core Bazhou bandits were still brought across the Yangtze River unscathed, speaks volumes.

The imperial army was engaged in a fierce battle, but the elite troops of Bazhou suffered very few losses.

This assessment made Prince Ning value the elite troops of Bazhou in his hands. If Zhu Chenhao failed to successfully take over the Ming dynasty, he could simply send the Bazhou army back to Jiangbei when the time came to overturn the throne.

If the Ba army rises again and holds back the various armed forces in the north, then the Prince of Ning's plan to go down the Yangtze River and seize Nanjing will have a much higher chance of success.

Therefore, Li Shishi was well aware that the Bazhou army was not a bargaining chip.

Li Shishi even felt that Pei Yuan's proposal of such conditions was itself very impolite.

To bring the Bazhou army to Jiangxi, the Ning Prince paid a hefty installment payment of 100,000 taels. The final payment of 20,000 taels was intercepted by Pei Yuan, who handled the matter himself.

It was at that time that the two sides came into contact and gradually began to interact.

Ok?
Li Shishi suddenly remembered the number 100,000 taels, and wondered why it seemed so familiar.

Upon hearing this, Pei Yuan quickly replied, "Your Excellency has misunderstood. No matter how bold I am, I would never dare to lay a finger on these people."

"I thought so……"

“Those Bazhou troops are stationed in Jiangxi, which not only consumes a lot of money and food, but they also haven’t experienced battles for a long time, so they will probably become lax. Why don’t I mortgage some money and borrow some men from Prince Ning to help Chen Xinjian set up his army? As long as we help Chen Xinjian train his troops and they look somewhat decent, I will definitely return the men.”

Upon hearing this, Li Shishi looked at Pei Yuan with amusement, "Borrow? Brother, are you perhaps trying to emulate Liu Bei?"

Pei Yuan quickly replied, "Of course not, you could also interpret it as a lease. These Bazhou troops are still Ning Wang's men, I'm just using them temporarily."

Li Shishi refused again, saying, "It's impossible."

Pei Yuan didn't really expect to get many men from Li Shishi. After thinking for a moment, he said to Li Shishi, "Then I have another suggestion. These bandits from Bazhou are all from Hebei. They have been staying in Jiangxi for a long time, and I suppose some of them will want to return north."

"Such a black sheep, even if kept, will only undermine morale and incite more people to rebel, and will not serve any good purpose."

"In that case, why doesn't the Grand Magistrate use these troublemakers to offset part of the silver?"

"It's like the Grand Commander getting a piece of delicious meat; if he doesn't cut off the rotten parts in time, the meat will quickly turn rotten."

"If the Grand Commandant cuts off the rotten flesh in time, the remaining meat will not spoil too quickly and will still remain fresh. This is what a wise person does."

Li Shishi smiled after hearing Pei Yuan's words, remaining unmoved.

Looking at Li Shishi's expression, Pei Yuan patiently persuaded him, "Cutting off rotten flesh is already a sign of wisdom. But to be able to sell rotten flesh as fresh meat is even more remarkable."

"The Grand Commandant might as well write to Prince Ning and ask if those bandit troops in Bazhou are really restless. Instead of killing them at will, why not take them from me as cash as elite soldiers?"

"I need manpower right now, and I will definitely offer a satisfactory price."

Pei Yuan paused for a moment, then said, "Of course, it will be settled with precious paper money."

Li Shishi's expression slowly changed.

Even if he didn't understand military affairs, he understood the importance of morale and fighting spirit.

After the Bazhou army arrived in Jiangxi and escaped the crisis of annihilation, a small number of them did indeed secretly incite others to leave.

The secret agents of the Ning Prince also reported this matter to the Prince of Ning.

However, Prince Ning took into account Liu Liu and Liu Qi's feelings and did not rush to deal with the matter.

According to Li Shishi's judgment, as long as Liu Liu and Liu Qi are kept in check, the Ning Prince will definitely still need to clean up the elite troops in Bazhou.

In particular, given the huge cost Ning Fan had invested in the Bazhou army, it was certainly not advisable to completely control it under Liu Liu and Liu Qi's control. It was necessary to disperse and infiltrate the forces.

At that time, some of Liu Liu and Liu Qi's confidants would definitely need to be reassigned.

Rather than killing them and wasting their lives, it would be better to sell these cancerous elements in the Bazhou army to Pei Yuan.

Li Shishi was somewhat tempted by Pei Yuan's analogy.

If he could sell this rotten flesh, which would have been cut off by Ning Fan anyway, at the price of fresh meat, then not only would the problem be solved, but he could also give Ning Fan a huge financial boost.

No, it's not just about recovering some health points.

If this transaction is included in the previous agreement and converted into paper money, and that paper money appreciates rapidly, then the Ning Kingdom can earn even more.

Seeing Li Shishi's eyes flicker, Pei Yuan took the initiative to ask, "What does the Grand Commandant think?"

Although Li Shishi was tempted, he had no choice but to say, "I am interested, but I cannot make the decision on this matter. Moreover, even if you have this idea, the specific number of people and the price cannot be determined in a short time."

Pei Yuan felt relieved when he realized he had persuaded Li Shishi.

He wasn't worried that Prince Ning wouldn't fall for the trap.

Because in a sense, this is indeed a win-win solution.

If Prince Ning wants to completely control the bandits of Bazhou, he must eliminate the unstable factors among them.

The Ning Kingdom, having spent a fortune acquiring the Bazhou rebels, would certainly be happy to liquidate these non-performing assets.

Pei Yuan also benefited; he used the banknotes he used to acquire these non-performing assets to purchase them at a rate of several tens of strings of cash per coin, and then settled accounts with Li Shishi at a rate of five strings of cash per coin.

Both parties are not at a loss during the transaction process, and are even less at a loss in the end.

The Ming Dynasty banknotes that Ning Fan received were able to immediately benefit from a significant increase in value, allowing his profits to multiply several times over.

The bad assets of Ningfan became good assets in Pei Yuan's hands.

Chen Xinjian's Xinghe Garrison Command was still stationed in the Tatar territory, so Chen Xinjian could have temporarily stationed his troops in Dongchang Prefecture to train them.

Dongchang Prefecture is right next to Hebei, which is enough to soothe those guys' homesickness.

Moreover, Pei Yuan still has Qi Yanming, "my son Fengxian," under his command, so he's not afraid of not being able to deal with those bandits from Bazhou.

With bandits from Bazhou, horsemen from Mongol and Semu mixed communities, and additional manpower from Tianjin and Xuzhou Left Guard, these guys were interdependent and could support the Xinghe Garrison Thousand-Household Office.

Pei Yuan immediately offered even more lenient terms.

"No problem, we can discuss the specific scale and discount separately. As long as the Grand Commandant agrees now, we can finalize this matter in advance."

"No matter when the results are in, I can settle accounts with those Bazhou bandits that Prince Ning doesn't need at any time, at a rate of five strings of cash to one coin. And the guaranteed terms are the same as before."

"The Grand Commandant can also tell those bandits from Bazhou who are heading north that they are working for me, Pei. I am quite confident in my reputation, so those who remain will not be suspicious and may cause other troubles."

Li Shishi no longer hesitated. "In that case, I will write to Prince Ning and try to get a reply as soon as possible."

(End of this chapter)