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

Chapter 579 A Grand Plan That Guarantees Profits and Losses

Li Shishi shook the list in his hand again, "As for your situation, I can help if I can. But if you want good results, it depends on yourself."

Pei Yuan got the result he wanted and replied with a smile, "Of course I won't trouble the Grand Commandant."

After leaving Li Shishi's house, Pei Yuan stroked his chin and thought for a moment.

The day for the key to submit its petition is fast approaching; it's time to begin other arrangements as well.

So Pei Yuan said to Chen Xinjian, "Let's go to Xiao Ying's house and have someone go check if Eunuch Lu is home."

Xiao Ying is currently semi-retired, and since today is a day off, finding him shouldn't be too difficult.

Lu Yin's path to becoming the Director of the Directorate of Ceremonial Affairs has gradually gotten on track. Now, Lu Yin is highly trusted by the Emperor, and it will take a bit of luck to find him.

At this time, Zhu Houzhao wanted to establish a military-based Ming Dynasty, and he was surrounded by military men.

Zhu Houzhao was known for his ability to set aside his pride and mingle with those around him. However, being too approachable made it easy for his arrogant and unruly generals to take advantage of him and push their luck.

Those unruly military officers were adept at manipulating people, and would often take advantage of Zhu Houzhao's good mood to deliberately offend him.

Zhu Houzhao felt somewhat uncomfortable about this, but he had no choice but to tolerate it from time to time.

Sometimes, to avoid embarrassment, we have to be more lenient with those military officers.

But later, Zhu Houzhao discovered that things were much better when Lu Yin was around.

Lu Yin, the old superior who quelled the rebellion, still held considerable influence. In crucial moments, Lu Yin could act as the "uncooperative" villain and teach them a lesson about rules.

Zhu Houzhao also experienced the joy of "relying on the power of dogs".

When Pei Yuan arrived at Xiao Ying's place, he found that the guy was indeed at home.

Xiao Ying was somewhat surprised by Pei Yuan's visit. Before Pei Yuan could speak, he asked about his son, "Xiao Tong is used to being unruly here. I wonder if he has caused any trouble for the commander?"

Pei Yuan shook his head, indicating, "He's being trained by Xin Jian. Don't you trust Chen Tou Tie's younger brother?"

Xiao Ying asked Chen Xinjian, "I was wondering last time why you were transferred to Xuanfu?"

"Given your brotherly bond, Commander Pei should at least get you a garrison commander position or something. A mere garrison commander is a bit beneath you."

"If he can't do it, I can help think of a solution."

As she spoke, she glanced sideways at Pei Yuan.

Chen Xinjian knew the answer, but he didn't know how to reply.

Pei Yuan didn't hide it from Xiao Ying and casually said, "There's an excellent opportunity in Xuanfu. I'll have him reserve a spot first. You don't think much of this garrison commander position now, but in a few months, even if you spend a lot of money, you probably won't be able to buy such a good post."

Upon hearing Pei Yuan's words, Xiao Ying immediately thought of the rumors he had overheard in the past few days.

He tentatively asked, "Some people say His Majesty intends to inspect the border towns?"

Pei Yuan's heart skipped a beat upon hearing this, and he pressed for an answer, "Where did you hear that from?"

Xiao Ying said, "Alas, it was just before the court session yesterday, someone said a few words in the procession, but I didn't see who it was."

Xiao Ying not only held the title of Earl, but was also the Left Commander-in-Chief of the Central Military Commission.

When Xiao Jing was still alive, Xiao Ying didn't pay much attention to this Left Commander-in-Chief, who didn't have much real power. But ever since Xiao Jing went to supervise the iron smelting, Xiao Ying started going to court from time to time to make his presence known.

Thinking about what happened yesterday, Xiao Ying added, "A lot of people have been discussing this topic, but no one has taken it seriously."

Pei Yuan, however, had already figured it out: "It seems someone is trying to test the waters."

This was probably due to Zhu Houzhao's previous actions, which left the civil officials somewhat confused about the emperor's true intentions and suspicious of the intelligence Pei Yuan sent through Yang Chi. Therefore, they deliberately exposed the matter to see how the military officers in the border towns would react.

Although doing so might alert the enemy, it would make it easier for them to quickly pinpoint the target, and it would also verify whether Pei Yuan's intelligence channel actually had any real information.

Pei Yuan said directly to Xiao Ying, "The news that His Majesty plans to inspect the border towns is true, and the expansion of Taiping Granary is also true."

After Zhu Houzhao's great victory at Yingzhou, he brought all the highly respected border generals to the capital and gave each of them an adopted son's residence, where they would play with him every day.

This move was truly brilliant, even surpassing that of Emperor Taizu of Song, Zhao Kuangyin.

After all, everyone knows that Zhao Kuangyin was a powerful ruler, and your decision to release military power over a cup of wine must have been for some ulterior motive.

But when Zhu Houzhao did this, the military officers could only curse, "Is this guy crazy?" but they didn't really think that the emperor was going to deal with them.

Thinking about Pei Yuan's move to have Chen Xinjian reserve a spot in Xuanfu, and then about the intelligence Pei Yuan had just mentioned, Xiao Ying suddenly realized that, given Pei Yuan's opportunistic nature, there might really be some great opportunity in Xuanfu.

Xiao Ying couldn't help but ask, looking embarrassed, "Then... is there anything I can do to help?"

"You?" Pei Yuan sized him up, then remembered the main purpose of his visit today. "We'll talk about it later. I came to see you today for another good thing."

Xiao Ying was slightly disappointed, but then became curious again, "What good news is it?"

Pei Yuan asked bluntly, "Your uncle Xiao Jing has served so many emperors and his influence has always been deep. Has your Xiao family embezzled a lot over the years?"

Xiao Ying felt that Pei Yuan's question was somewhat presumptuous.

"No, is this an appropriate topic for us to discuss?"

Pei Yuan said matter-of-factly, "Of course it's suitable. I have a profitable business opportunity that I'm planning to bring you on board. Now I want to see how strong your Xiao family is."

Xiao Ying fell silent upon hearing this.

Having survived so many dynasties, the Xiao family naturally possessed considerable wealth.

Putting aside other matters, after defeating the bandits from Bazhou who had plundered Shandong in Yanggu, Xiao Ying, Pei Yuan, and Gu Dayong each received fifty to sixty thousand taels of silver.

He just didn't know what Pei Yuan was up to this time, so he didn't dare to answer.

Pei Yuan simply said, "I've recently found a way to make money and I plan to make a good profit."

Then he explained to Xiao Ying the value contained in the "Secret Treasury Memorial Incident".

Xiao Ying was somewhat tempted, but like Li Shishi, he had no confidence in the Ming Dynasty Treasure Notes.

He thought for a moment and said tactfully, "Commander, whether this matter is reliable or not is another matter. Even if the Treasury really has such a memorial, I'm afraid there will be countless banknotes being sold off by the people."

“If we buy too little, we’ll put in a lot of effort but won’t make much money. If we buy too much, we might find it hard to turn the ship around, and if something goes wrong, we might end up losing money.”

"As for this matter... I think our Xiao family should stay out of it."

Pei Yuan waved his hand and said, "If I weren't absolutely certain, I wouldn't have involved you in this matter. I have a grand plan this time that guarantees both profit and loss, enough to bring huge returns. Do you want to give it a try?"

Xiao Ying asked, somewhat bewildered, "Guaranteed profit and guaranteed loss? What does that mean?"

Pei Yuan said, "It means I guarantee you'll make money. If you don't, I promise to cover your losses." Xiao Ying heard Pei Yuan's certainty and, although he thought it was a bit far-fetched, he couldn't help but ask after a moment's thought, "Then, then tell me more specifically."

"That's right, I, the commander, will bear the risk of this matter. We can agree on a lower price first, and then you can decide whether to enter the market after the memorial from the Treasury is submitted and the exchange rate of the precious paper money is released."

As he spoke, Pei Yuan repeated the agreement he had made with Li Shishi to Xiao Ying verbatim.

However, Xiao Ying was one of their own, so he was naturally different from Li Shishi.

That is, Pei Yuan added a safety net redemption clause.

Xiao Ying asked incredulously, "You mean, even after the overall situation is settled and the exchange rate between paper money and copper coins is determined, you are still willing to exchange paper money for us at a very low price?"

"Moreover, once the price of the paper money falls below five strings and one coin, you will promise to cover it and buy it all back."

Pei Yuan replied decisively, "That's right."

Xiao Ying's eyes widened. "No, then what are you after?"

Then, turning his gaze to Chen Xinjian, he asked somewhat uneasily, "Your commander hasn't gotten involved with any evil spirits, has he?"

Although Chen Xinjian couldn't understand his own commander's actions, he couldn't help but want to complain about Xiao Ying's words.

You should know how valuable the position of the second-in-command of the Zhenxie Thousand-Household Office really is.

Just a few days ago, whether or not all the immortals of the Ming Dynasty could retain their immortal status was entirely up to him.

Pei Yuan, with his hands tucked in his pockets, said with deep emotion, "I wouldn't be where I am today without everyone's help. People are all human, so consider this my way of giving back to our loyal users."

Seeing that Xiao Ying remained unmoved.

Pei Yuan added, "Quite a few people have already gotten involved. I'm going to see Eunuch Lu Yin later."

“I will also write to Eunuch Gu, Eunuch Wang, and Eunuch Bi in Shandong to talk about it. You don’t think I’m going to cheat them too, do you?”

Pei Yuan had put it this way, and even Xiao Ying, who was still skeptical, began to waver.

His gaze shifted and landed on Chen Xinjian.

Xiao Ying seemed to have grasped the key point and asked directly, "Did the Chen brothers vote?"

Pei Yuan glanced at Chen Xinjian and sneered, "Do I even need to ask?"

Chen Xinjian immediately replied, "Even if our Chen family goes bankrupt, we will invest all our money."

Pei Yuan smiled and looked at Xiao Ying, "Not only the Chen brothers, but also the brothers in the garrison, I will bring them in to make a profit, not for any other reason than because it is profitable."

"Besides, I'm the one who's taking the risk."

"You people wait until the price is out before you openly enter the market at a low price. All you have to do is wait until you see the profit before you act and make your money in time."

Xiao Ying quickly calculated in his mind.

If Pei Yuan's plan is followed, it seems he really has nothing to worry about.

Before the "Secret Treasury Memorial Incident," he didn't have to spend a single penny. Only after the exchange rate was released did he enter the market with silver at a low price.

Moreover, once you enter the market, you don't need to worry about the market turning downwards, because Pei Qianhu is there to back you up. At worst, you can just sell it back to him at the original price.

Xiao Ying thought for a moment, then hesitated before asking, "Then... how much silver should I offer?"

Pei Yuan said, "I remember last time in Yanggu, didn't you get a share of the 100,000 taels of stolen goods?"

Xiao Ying angrily replied, "Sixty thousand taels."

Pei Yuan pretended not to hear, "Then I'll reserve a share of 100,000 taels for you. Don't complain about it being too little later."

Xiao Ying wanted to argue further, but then she thought that the situation might not develop any further.

If the opening price were one tael of paper money for every coin, wouldn't he be able to make five times his initial investment with those paper money? He might even think that a share of 100,000 taels was too small at that time.

Seeing that Xiao Ying acquiesced, Pei Yuan didn't waste any more time on him.

As soon as they left the residence, the Imperial Guards who had delivered the visiting card to Lu Yin's residence returned, saying that Eunuch Lu had just returned from the palace.

Pei Yuan didn't waste any time and went straight to Lu Yin's residence.

Upon arriving at Lu Yin's residence, after a brief exchange of pleasantries, Pei Yuan explained his "guaranteed profit and guaranteed loss" plan to Lu Yin.

Upon hearing this, Lu Yin remarked, "When the four outer armies caused trouble last time, His Majesty wanted to reward them with some silver and paper money. At that time, I did hear that the Taicang silver and the Siyue Treasury paper money were running low. Could this be the matter?"

Pei Yuan had no interest in investigating the reason.

He only knew one thing: the imperial court had run out of paper money, and it hadn't been printing any for a very long time. After so many years of circulation, much of the paper money in circulation had been destroyed, and the total amount of paper money had decreased dramatically.

Now is the only chance to raise the price of the precious paper.

The key to change lies here, and Pei Yuan has to give it a try.

Pei Yuan and Lu Yin didn't stand on ceremony; Pei Yuan asked directly, "How much do you plan to subscribe to?"

Lu Yin was almost entirely created by Pei Yuan, and his confidence in Pei Yuan was the strongest among all allies.

He smiled at Pei Yuan and said, "Since you have my back, I have nothing to say. To be honest, I was struggling financially before. But during the year or so of fighting, I've managed to save up some money. I can probably come up with about 100,000 taels..."

The band of bandits who roamed to Shandong alone amassed a large fortune by looting cities.

Lu Yin led his army in pursuit of the main force of the Bazhou army, carefully sifting through them along the way, and even managed to collect a considerable amount of wealth.

Ten thousand taels is indeed an astonishing figure, but compared to the fragmentation of the four provinces, it is merely a negligible portion in the distribution of benefits.

Pei Yuan thought for a moment and said to Lu Yin, "If you trust me, once the memorial from the Treasury is submitted, just transfer all that money over."

He said to Lu Yin, "Three or five times the price might be a bit of an exaggeration, but it will still allow you to make a profit. Moreover, I, the commander, will cover your losses."

Lu Yin's eyes flickered, and he said decisively, "There's no need to wait for the Siyueku's report. I trust you, my brother. I'll find some trusted men to escort the 150,000 taels of silver over there in a bit."

Pei Yuan was overjoyed to hear this.

Li Shishi has now purchased 20,000 taels, plus a portion of the Bazhou army as payment, and estimated at another 10,000 taels, making a total of 30,000 taels.

Xiao Ying subscribed for 100,000 taels, and Lu Yin subscribed for 150,000 taels.

This already amounts to 280,000 taels.

(End of this chapter)