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

Chapter 599 A Little Licking Doesn't Count

Yan Song was puzzled, wondering who Pei Yuan was taking him to see. However, he had just been reprimanded by Pei Yuan, so he didn't dare to ask any further questions.

After Pei Yuan finished speaking to Yan Song, he looked at Chen Xinjian beside him and asked, "You've already made the arrangements for me, haven't you?"

Upon hearing this, Chen Xinjian quickly replied, "It's already arranged. Vice Minister Mao said he would be waiting for Commander-in-Chief tonight."

Pei Yuan smiled and said casually, "You're being so polite. Liu Pang must have mentioned that matter to him before."

Yan Song listened intently, and while puzzled, he also managed to piece together some of his thoughts.

Speaking of Vice Minister Mao, only Mao Ji, the Left Vice Minister of the Ministry of Rites, could be considered a match for him in the court.

It's just that one of them is a member of the Embroidered Uniform Guard, and the other is a high-ranking official in the Ministry of Rites. It's unclear how they got involved.

And judging from the tone of their words, their relationship seems to be quite close.

As Yan Song was lost in thought, he heard Pei Yuan say, "Let's go."

Yan Song quickly followed Pei Yuan towards Chengqingfang.

When they arrived at Mao Ji's residence, a steward was already waiting outside. Seeing a group of Imperial Guards approaching, led by a rather burly man, he immediately guessed that it was Pei Qianhu, who had recently become famous in the capital.

The steward immediately greeted him respectfully and then led Pei Yuan into the house.

Pei Yuan had Chen Xinjian and the others wait while he took Yan Song alone. Led by the steward, they headed to the reception hall.

On the way, Pei Yuan said slowly, "Just listen obediently to whatever I say later."

Upon hearing this, Yan Song quickly declared, "I, Yan, will certainly follow the lead of the commander."

Pei Yuan knew that Yan Song's words were not very sincere. Xia Yan, who had helped him, didn't end up with a bad ending either.

However, although Yan Song was a villain, he still had his uses.

Pei Yuan doesn't have many capable people at hand right now, so he'll just use whoever he can.

Before they even reached the hall, Mao Ji came out from inside to greet them.

Mao Ji's expression was indifferent, not at all enthusiastic, but Pei Yuan knew the reason and didn't mind at all.

Just a few days ago, Mao Ji's eighty-year-old mother passed away.

The messengers delivering the news of the death were sent out one after the other; the first messenger had already arrived in the capital, while the second messenger was slowly making his way there.

The purpose was to help Mao and Ji buy time and make final arrangements before losing power.

Pei Yuan had been keeping an eye on Mao Ji's affairs for a long time and had been secretly keeping an eye on him by the Embroidered Uniform Guard.

Therefore, the news arrived quickly, and the Imperial Guards who came to deliver the message entered the city even earlier than the ones who had reported the death earlier.

This also bought Pei Yuan a little time.

Upon seeing the two, Mao Ji glanced at Pei Yuan and casually asked, "We've only ever discussed official business and rarely had any personal dealings. Why have you come here today?"

Mao Ji's words were ruthless, but that's not actually the case.

Having experienced the extravagant spending of the Hongzhi Emperor on religion, Mao Ji was quite satisfied with the current emperor's religious attitude of "believing a little about everything but not taking anything seriously."

Compared to the extravagant spending of the Hongzhi Emperor, Zhu Houzhao, aside from giving himself a nickname, did not spend much on religion.

Even when he requested several hundred acres of land to support the Tibetan monks' temple, the former Minister of Rites, Fu Gui, refused. It's clear that even if this emperor wanted to squander his wealth, no one would necessarily pay attention to him.

Not to mention religious expenses, even the Leopard House he built for himself, which housed men, only cost 240,000 taels of silver over five years.

This is less than a fraction of the expenses Emperor Hongzhi incurred in organizing Buddhist ceremonies over a year.

Zhu Houzhao's main expenditure on religion was actually spent on winning over and rewarding eminent monks in Tibet.

Tibet is a theocratic region, and the efforts to win over these monks are essentially driven by strong political motives and cannot be entirely viewed as a religious issue.

The local religious beliefs had already earned those Dharma Kings and religious leaders enough respect. Only the extravagant lifestyle that Tibet could not provide could corrupt them, make them yearn for the Ming Dynasty, and willingly build post roads for the Ming Dynasty that could directly reach their core.

With Mao Ji's knowledge, although he felt that those remote lands were uncultivable and should be appeased, he could accept that the emperor spent money on them.

The grasslands are also unsuitable for cultivation and planting, but how much money does the imperial court have to spend each year to solve the problems arising from the grasslands?

Despite this understanding, the Ministry of Rites' attitude toward Zhu Houzhao was still very clear: to minimize his spending on these trivial matters and to work hard to reduce the religious burden left over from the Hongzhi era.

This attitude has been consistent from the former Minister of Rites, Fu Gui, to the two Vice Ministers, Mao Ji and Li Xunxue.

This was originally a very troublesome problem.

Since the Ministry of Rites doesn't even have anyone to cooperate with him or pass the buck, they can't just take responsibility themselves, can they?

It's better to just ignore it then...

However, things changed this year after local authorities reported auspicious omens from various places according to old customs.

In the past, Commander Han of the Zhenxie Thousand-Household Office was far away in Nanjing, and the Ministry of Rites could only report according to custom.

In such cases, especially good news, the emperor always preferred to believe it rather than dismiss it. He would usually send officials from the Ministry of Rites to offer sacrifices, and then hold a grand and solemn ceremony. The official who reported the event might even be promoted.

However, this year, Mao Ji unexpectedly learned from his subordinate Sangha Bureau that the miscellaneous taxes of temples in the north and south were to be delivered separately.

Upon further inquiry, it was discovered that the Zhenxie Thousand-Household Command had several deputy commanders who were stationed at Zhihua Temple, specifically handling affairs north of the Huai River.

Just then, a pile of documents reporting auspicious omens arrived, which annoyed Mao Ji so much that he tentatively handed them over to Zhihua Temple.

The official document was returned in less than the time it takes to eat a meal.

When Mao Ji opened it, good heavens, he directly wrote eight big characters: "Spreading heresies and misleading the public; the investigation is untrue."

In this way, there is no need to go to great lengths.

Mao Ji was overjoyed, and from then on, he would send anything related to religious rituals to Zhihua Temple first.

Leaving aside their previous tacit understanding in business matters, it was Pei Yuan who helped cover up the trap that Mao Ji had set for Wang Hua.

Based solely on these factors, Mao Ji shouldn't have shown such an expression.

Fortunately, Pei Yuan was sensible and realized that Mao Ji might have some impression of Yan Song, so he didn't want to reveal his private dealings with the Embroidered Uniform Guard in public.

Pei Yuan smiled, ignoring Mao Ji's words, and directly introduced him, "This is Yan Song, Yan Weizhong. He was selected as a probationary official in the Hanlin Academy and then stayed on as an editor. Later, he resigned and returned to Jiangxi to recuperate at home."

Upon hearing this, Mao Ji's doubts were finally dispelled.

No wonder he thought the man looked familiar; it turns out this man had worked at the Hanlin Academy for a period of time.

However, there is a significant gap between a minor figure like Yan Song and a bigwig like Mao Zedong and Ji Kang in the Hanlin Academy. The Hanlin Academy had many functional departments and was a large government office with more than a hundred people.

It's already a good thing that Mao Zedong had a good memory to recognize someone like Yan Song, who only served for a short time.

Yan Song quickly bowed to Mao Ji, saying, "This junior scholar greets the Junior Minister of Rites."

Mao Ji, considering Pei Yuan's intention in bringing this man over, gestured to Yan Song that there was no need for further formalities, and then asked with a smile, "Now that the emperor is wise and the ministers are virtuous, and the evil influence has been eliminated, is Wei Zhong about to come out and do something?"

When Pei Yuan mentioned recuperating and Jiangxi, Mao Ji immediately understood what was going on.

Isn't this all because of Liu Jin?
Just as Mao Ji thought Pei Yuan was leading Yan Song to seek an official position, Pei Yuan interrupted and replied, "Brother Weizhong has a brother-in-law named Ouyang Bijin, who is a candidate for the imperial examination this year. Brother Weizhong's trip to the capital this time is only to accompany his brother-in-law to take the special imperial examination, and there is nothing else."

“Brother Weizhong mentioned this matter to me by chance today. I thought that Shao Zongbo had just returned from reading the examination papers, so I couldn’t help but pull Brother Weizhong over to ask him about it.”

"That's it?" Mao Ji breathed a sigh of relief.

This is really not a big deal.

Although the yellow list is to be announced tomorrow, the second and third place rankings have already been determined, and everyone already knows the results.

Moreover, now that the results are out, there's no question of cheating.

Mao Jilue thought for a moment and remembered the name, but there was no reason for him to speak in the hall.

So he invited the two inside for tea.

After the guests and hosts were seated, Mao Jifang said, "If I remember correctly, Ouyang Bijin should be ranked in the top three, with his position in the middle."

Yan Song was somewhat surprised.

He knew Ouyang Bijin's talent; he shouldn't have fallen into the top three.

Pei Yuan wanted to know if the reading of the examination papers had gone as he had expected.

So he pretended not to believe it and said, "I have always known Ouyang Bijin's talent. With his ability, how could he only be in the top three?"

Mao Ji, of course, understood what was going on.

It's all because Yang Tinghe monopolized the selection of papers, taking up too much time, which ultimately meant that no one had time to carefully grade the papers, and many papers were just randomly scored.

The scoring process for the second and third tiers of this subject was absolutely disastrous.

However, those who are not qualified to sit at the table will never know what is on the table.

Mao Ji replied calmly, "That's hard to say. It's possible that Ouyang Bijin didn't perform well, or it's possible that the other candidates in the same examination answered better."

"This imperial examination was reviewed by seventeen examiners, and the Grand Secretary also personally oversaw the process. The rankings are beyond question."

Pei Yuan's heart skipped a beat when he heard that Yang Tinghe had personally inquired about the matter. He pretended not to care and continued the previous topic, saying, "Speaking of which, when I went to Shandong on my last business trip, I also met a few candidates on their way back from taking the imperial examinations. I even kindly gave them a ride."

Mao Ji had been locked in the examination hall preparing for the imperial examinations. After being released, he began making intensive preparations to return to his hometown for his father's funeral.

Under these circumstances, he naturally paid no attention to those rumors circulating in the streets.

Hearing Pei Yuan say this, Mao Ji couldn't help but look at Pei Yuan with admiration, "Young friend Pei, you have such a chivalrous heart to help those in need, you are truly extraordinary."

Pei Yuan smiled nonchalantly and asked, "Has the Junior Grand Master ever seen the name Xie Bin on the Yellow List?"

Mao Ji was able to memorize things at a glance when he was young, and he still remembered the list of officials he had just seen that afternoon.

He thought for a moment and then said, "Xie Bin should be ninth in the second class."

Pei Yuan was taken aback and blurted out, "How can it be so tall?"

Xie Bin's simple-minded appearance doesn't seem like someone who could score so high. His ranking in the provincial examination was quite low.

Since the palace examination didn't eliminate candidates, Pei Yuan didn't bother to give his younger brothers any pointers. If a group of them ranked too high and were all assigned to prestigious positions, it would actually be a problem.

What Pei Yuan needs now is someone who can help him with his work.

Top three is good enough.

Mao Ji didn't want to say anything "unquestionable" anymore, and slowly sipped his tea.

Pei Yuan's question to Xie Bin was merely a cover, so he then asked, "Does the Junior Minister of Rites know where Tang Gao ranks?"

"Tang Gao?" Mao Ji was puzzled, thinking that he had never seen this name on the list of successful candidates, so he subconsciously asked, "Is he also one of the candidates you sent to the capital? Did he participate in the palace examination?"

Then Mao Ji's heart skipped a beat as he thought of the three exam papers Yang Tinghe had on hand.

However, it would be too bizarre if you could just randomly meet anyone and happen to be ranked first.

Pei Yuan was overjoyed when he heard Mao Ji ask this question.

If Tang Gao is not on the yellow list without any elimination of other players, it is generally considered that he has entered the top tier.

In addition, given Mao Ji's earlier mention of the Grand Secretary personally overseeing the matter, Pei Yuan was almost certain that the outcome of this palace examination was entirely within his expectations.

It remains to be seen how much initiative Zhu Houzhao, so eager to shift the focus of the conflict, will actually be able to exert.

Meeting Mao Ji's questioning gaze, Pei Yuan deliberately misled him, saying, "I don't know, maybe he failed the exam and went back to his hometown."

Upon hearing this, Mao Ji felt that this made sense.

Pei Yuan then asked for the names of Huo Tao, Huang Chu, Bai Jun, and Cai Ang.

Huo Tao ranked first in the second class, while Bai Jun, who originally had a good score in the provincial examination, fell to third place in the third class.

Huang Chu and Cai Ang still did not appear on the yellow list.

Huo Tao demonstrated his political acumen; his paper, without Pei Yuan's help, still ended up in Yang Tinghe's hands. It was only because Zhu Houzhao remembered the answers of Tang Gao and two others that it was eliminated.

Pei Yuan didn't ask about the others.

As I said before, the palace examination doesn't eliminate people, so the results don't matter.

If someone were to spend three years in the Hanlin Academy like Tang Gao, they would be wasting their time, completely missing out on the period of rapid expansion of Pei Yuan's power.

After inquiring about the rankings, Pei Yuan gestured for Yan Song and Mao Ji to exchange a few pleasantries.

Both were scholars in the Hanlin Academy, so they should have had some common topics to discuss.

Mao Ji was simply not in the mood, and only made half-hearted responses.

Seeing this, Pei Yuan did not linger. After confirming that there were no changes to the plan, he got up and bid farewell to Mao Ji.

Mao Ji gave a perfunctory farewell, then stayed behind to attend to his own business.

Once they were out of Mao Ji's residence and far away, Pei Yuan turned to look at Yan Song and asked, "Do you know why I brought you here today?"

Yan Song had just been thinking about this.

He also understood that Pei Yuan's serious visit was definitely not just to inquire about Ouyang Bijin's ranking.

After all, the results will be announced and released early tomorrow morning, so there's no need to ask in advance.

He said cautiously, "I hope you will give me your guidance, Commander."

Pei Yuan said, "I called you here so that Mao Ji could get to know you."

After Pei Yuan finished speaking, he casually asked Yan Song, "Do you know which post station is the only way to get from the capital to Shandong?"

Yan Song was taken aback, wondering why Pei Yuan had suddenly brought up this topic.

The journey from the capital to Shandong was smooth, with no necessary stops along the way.

If we absolutely had to find it, it would definitely be the first post station south of the capital, Liangxiang Gujie Post Station.

Court officials who were qualified to ride horses would generally choose to pick up their horses here.

Yan Song then replied, "It should be Liangxiang Post Station."

Pei Yuan nodded calmly and instructed, "Then pack your things and leave the city tomorrow morning. Go to Liangxiang Post Station and wait there."

Yan Song stopped in his tracks, his voice trembling slightly as he asked, "What does the Commander-in-Chief mean?"

Pei Yuan also stopped and slowly said, "Minister Mao's mother has passed away, and he is returning home to observe the mourning period. The news hasn't spread yet, but it should be close. If nothing unexpected happens, he will pass through Liangxiang Post Station."

“You two met as strangers, yet you have some connection, so you should accompany him to Shandong.”

Yan Song immediately understood what Pei Yuan wanted him to do. He hesitated and asked, "Does the Commander want me to befriend Vice Minister Mao?"

Pei Yuan bluntly stated, "It's not making friends, it's currying favor! It's the kind of thing where you honestly and respectfully go to the Mao family's graves to pay your respects!"

Yan Song hadn't yet evolved to his complete form, and upon hearing Pei Yuan's words, his face flushed red and then turned pale.

Pei Yuan said with a half-smile, "You don't actually think that Mao Ji will never be able to get back on his feet without this vice minister position, do you?"

Yan Song quickly said, "That's not what I meant, it's just... it's just..."

In today's social environment, there are indeed many people who, if they accidentally leave their posts, may never be able to return.

After all, there are plenty of people waiting to secure a spot.

For example, Cong Lan, the strongest jungler, had his position immediately blocked after he left the capital.

As a result, Cong Lan, holding the title of Vice Minister of Revenue, fought his way from south to north and from east to west, but never had the chance to return.

Mao Ji's position as Vice Minister of Rites was extremely sought after.

Because regardless of whether one is a Hanlin Academician, a Reader Academician, or a Lecturer Academician, the easiest position to transfer to is the Vice Minister of the Ministry of Rites.

There are quite a few scholars in the Hanlin Academy eyeing this now.

Who would easily relinquish power? Perhaps when Mao and Ji return, they'll just give him a minor official position in Nanjing and be done with it.

Besides worrying about getting nothing in return, Yan Song was also concerned about saving face.

After all, he was already someone who had a good relationship with the emperor, and he couldn't get past his conscience if he continued to do this.

Pei Yuan said, "Mao Ji is currently out of court in mourning, which is a good opportunity to avoid the power struggle between Yang Tinghe and Yang Yiqing. By the time he returns from his mourning period, the court may be exhausted and in need of rest and recuperation."

"By then, Mao Ji, who did not participate in this struggle, is very likely to become a candidate accepted by all parties and become a force to stabilize the court."

"When he returns, even if he can enter the cabinet as a vice minister and a Hanlin scholar, it wouldn't be difficult for him to become a minister."

"Do you still think Mao and Ji are not worth your patronage?"

Upon hearing Pei Yuan's high regard for Mao Ji, Yan Song's lingering resentment vanished instantly.

A little lick doesn't count as a lick; that's the road I came from!
Yan Song said somewhat awkwardly, "That's not what I meant. It's just that, based on what I saw just now, that Vice Minister Mao is quite aloof and probably doesn't think much of me."

Pei Yuan frowned; this was indeed a problem. Mao Ji's attitude towards Yan Song had already been quite clear.

If Yan Song were to rush forward too eagerly, it would likely not only fail to achieve good results, but would also earn him contempt from Mao and Ji.

Pei Yuan thought for a moment and asked, "Didn't you say before that His Majesty thought highly of you?"

Yan Song was quite confident about this. After hearing about the method of making money, the emperor's eyes lit up with excitement.

Yan Song modestly replied, "It should be."

Pei Yuan thought for a moment and said, "Easy."

"When Mao Ji meets the Emperor again, I will have the Grand Eunuch of the Directorate of Ceremonial remind His Majesty that we have received intelligence that you, Yan Song, are going back to Jiangxi."

"At that time, it will depend on how much face you, Yan, have with His Majesty."

"If His Majesty treats you with courtesy, Mao Ji will certainly think highly of you. If not, you'd better watch yourself."

(End of this chapter)