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

Chapter 616: Thousands of Gold to Buy Horse Bones

Before Pei Yuanli could even understand what was going on with him.

Yun Buxian rushed over in a panic, "Commander, something's happened."

Looking up, he saw Song Chunniang sitting halfway in Pei Yuan's arms, and quickly lowered his head again.

Song Chunniang showed no intention of getting down; instead, she deliberately wrapped her arms around Pei Yuan's thick waist. Since they were both dressed in their official robes, they weren't worried about being seen.

Pei Yuan was startled and quickly asked, "What's wrong?"

Could it be that the Shanxi military command has already discovered that they were the ones who stole the horse price silver?

Yun Buxian hurriedly said, "The Deputy Director of the Buddhist Registry and the eminent monk Shi Buyi of Dayongchang Temple has been arrested."

Pei Yuan was a bit confused. After thinking for a while, he asked, "So, what the hell does this have to do with me?"

Yun Buxian reminded him, "Chief, I remember General Chen mentioned to me before that when you forcibly took Zhihua Temple, you made the monks of Zhihua Temple spend a lot of money to replace the abbots of the surrounding temples. At that time, you followed the path of Shi Buyi. Moreover, the Daoist Zhenji of Dayongchang Temple was also arrested."

Pei Yuan vaguely remembered that when he first arrived in the capital, he seized the property of Zhihua Temple.

To avoid trouble, when dismissing the monks, Pei Yuan promised the thirty-odd monks with proper ordination certificates that he would recommend them to the Buddhist Registry to serve as abbots of the great temple.

Yun Weilin told Pei Yuan that if they wanted to get through to the Buddhist monastery, each person had to give at least two hundred taels of silver as a Buddhist gift to Shi Buyi, the deputy seal-bearer of the Buddhist monastery.

It seems the Ministry of Justice will have to spend some money to obtain a written reply confirming the absence of a criminal record.

The biggest hurdle in the whole process lies with the Shrine and Sacrifice Bureau. Getting through to the Shrine and Sacrifice Bureau costs between one thousand and one thousand five hundred taels of silver.

Pei Yuan felt relieved upon realizing this; I had only taken a few coins.

He said dismissively, "Maybe it's nothing. Haven't there been reports before? And they were all suppressed."

Compared to the matter of Shi Buyi, Pei Yuan was more concerned about the arrested Daoist Zhenji of Dayongchang Temple, so he asked directly, "What's the story with Daoist Zhenji? How did he get involved?"

Yun Buxian said, "I heard that the Deputy Director of the Buddhist Registry, Shi Buyi, was a lewd monk. Not only did that Daoist Zhenji know about it but also colluded with him. As a result, when Shi Buyi's case came to light, he was also implicated."

Upon hearing this, Song Chunniang couldn't help but chuckle, as if talking to herself, and then in a voice loud enough for both of them to hear, she said sarcastically, "Like father, like son."

Yun Buxian naturally pretended not to hear.

Pei Yuan quickly shook Song Chunniang down before asking, "Who initiated the investigation into this matter?"

Yun Buxian said, "The matter arose suddenly, and we do not yet know everything."

Then Yun Buxian hesitated for a moment, then boldly reminded him, "Commander Han is currently overseeing things at Zhihua Temple. If you don't make a decision soon, I'm afraid he might use this as an excuse to cause trouble."

Upon hearing this, Pei Yuan, though knowing full well that Yun Buxian was deliberately siding with him to curry favor, still couldn't help but admire his clear stance.

This is right.

Pei Yuan thought for a moment and said, "No rush. Like I said, I only have a small amount of money. Let's see how things go first."

Seeing that Pei Yuan didn't care, Yun Buxian also felt that as long as the investigation was conducted with discretion, it shouldn't lead to the involvement of several leaders of the Thousand Households Bureau in the case of a criminal named Zhenji Daoren.

Yun Buxian was about to tactfully leave.

Someone else rushed in from outside. It turned out to be Yun Buxian's father, Yun Weilin, who was currently acting as the garrison commander.

Seeing this, Pei Yuan couldn't help but joke, "You and your son didn't plan this together, did you?"

Yun Weilin rushed over, about to report to Pei Yuan, when he heard this and was taken aback.

He didn't press the matter, but glancing at the people present, he wiped away his sweat and hurriedly said, "Commander, something terrible has happened."

Pei Yuan already had a clue, and calmly asked, "Is it about Shi Buyi being arrested?"

"Yes, yes." Yun Weilin nodded quickly.

Perhaps realizing that Pei Yuan didn't take it too seriously, Yun Weilin added a bombshell: "Commander, things might be getting out of hand. Shortly after Shi Buyi was arrested, Chen Yiping, the head of the Sacrificial Office, committed suicide at home."

Upon hearing this news, even Yun Buxian and Song Chunniang became somewhat nervous.

Things seem to be spreading and showing signs of escalating.

Pei Yuan was still puzzled by Yun Weilin's news. "So, what the hell does this have to do with me? I only take a few coins from their temple's incense offerings?"

Yun Weilin hurriedly said, "Commander, you're confused! How could there be no connection? Shi Buyi invested five thousand taels of silver in our fund!"

Pei Yuan's eyes widened immediately. "How much?"

Yun Weilin quickly replied, "Five thousand taels."

A thought immediately flashed through Pei Yuan's mind: these five thousand taels of silver are mine now.

Yun Weilin seemed to have anticipated Pei Yuan's possible plans and hurriedly advised, "Commander, this is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. If handled well, it might bring us huge profits."

Pei Yuan sensed the different meaning in Yun Weilin's words.

He composed himself and said, "Tell me about it."

Yun Weilin wiped the sweat from his face and said, "Commander, even Chen Yiping is dead. It seems things have gotten quite serious. In my opinion, Shi Buyi is probably doomed."

"But... we can't save Shi Buyi's life, but we can save Shi Buyi's money."

Seeing that Yun Weilin's ideas were very different from his own, Pei Yuan thought for a moment and then asked, "Then tell me in detail."

Yun Weilin said, "I heard that this time, the imperial court seized a large amount of silver from Shi Buyi's private residence. There were also countless gold and jewelry items."

"Even Shi Buyi's many concubines and children were arrested."

"If the commander can refrain from short-term gains and protect the five thousand taels of silver for the sake of Shi Buyi, and then rescue one or two of his wives and children, or find his lost orphans, then return the silver to him."

"In this time of widespread panic, it will surely have the effect of spending a fortune to buy a horse's bones."

"At that time, many eminent monks and abbots in the capital will surely deposit large sums of money into our foundation in order to have multiple burrows for their cunning."

Pei Yuan was awakened by Yun Weilin's words and immediately realized the subtlety of it.

Although it is most satisfying to take advantage of others and make a clean profit, Buddhism held an important ecological niche in Zhu Houzhao's ruling system as an important means to alleviate social conflicts and reduce the gap between the rich and the poor.

These are pigs raised by the Ming Dynasty imperial family; of course, they cannot be slaughtered at will.

Even if they were to commit mass slaughter, Pei Yuan had no reason to act now.

If we act now, most of the money will still flow into the Ministry of Revenue or the Internal Transport Warehouse, and they will simply take it and divide it up for nothing.

Rather than wasting it, it would be better to wait until Zhu Houzhao dies and then reap the rewards yourself.

Originally, this large sum of wealth was something we could only look at but not consume. However, if we could use this method to secretly absorb a portion of the monks' ill-gotten gains, how much benefit could that bring?
Thinking about all this, Pei Yuan couldn't help but be tempted. Protecting one or two of Shi Buyi's illegitimate children wouldn't be difficult; the Embroidered Uniform Guard had plenty of ways to manipulate things.

Five thousand taels of silver is a lot, but it is insignificant compared to the benefits it can bring.

Just thinking that he might have to fall out with these monks at any time, Pei Yuan didn't want to be a hypocrite who said one thing and did another and was untrustworthy.

After weighing the options for a moment, Pei Yuan said to Yun Weilin, "You can handle this matter yourself."

Yun Weilin, a seasoned veteran, immediately understood Pei Yuan's desire to "want more, want more, and want more."

But now that things have come to this point, there's absolutely no room for him to back down.

Yun Weilin gritted his teeth and said, "Alright, I'll get on it right away. Commander, just wait for my good news."

After the Yun family father and son left, Song Chunniang said, "I'll go back to the West Depot and have someone inquire about it."

As she spoke, she complained, "Why didn't anyone inform the Western Depot about such a lucrative job? I wonder if it was the Embroidered Uniform Guard or the Eastern Depot that did it."

After seeing Song Chunniang off, Pei Yuan thought that this matter might actually be a good opportunity.

He has given Commander Han enough time to weigh the pros and cons.

Now is the time to make another push and see how Han Qianhu's attitude changes.

This is a good opportunity to go back to Zhihua Temple.

Pei Yuan made up his mind, called Cen Meng, Xiao Tong, Lu Yong and others, and left Puxian Temple.

Before they even reached Zhihua Temple, a member of the Imperial Guard rushed in excitedly to report, "Commander, Commander Sikong is here!"

Pei Yuan had been anxiously awaiting Sikong Sui's arrival, asking three times a day. Now that news of Sikong Sui had arrived, someone naturally rushed over to deliver the message.

Pei Yuan was overjoyed upon hearing this and quickly asked, "Where is the Commander of the Ministry of Works?"

The Imperial Guard said, "Commander Sikong has arrived at Zhihua Temple."

Pei Yuan's heart tightened, fearing that Sikong Sui's meeting with Commander Han first would affect his attitude, so he quickly asked again, "Where is Commander Han?"

The Imperial Guard replied, "Commander Han went out to inspect various temples today and is not at the temple."

Pei Yuan breathed a sigh of relief and urged everyone to quicken their pace.

Soon, Pei Yuan appeared in front of Zhihua Temple.

The Imperial Guards guarding the temple gates remained a 50/50 split: half were the original guards of Zhihua Temple, and the other half were replaced by the Nanjing Imperial Guards brought by Commander Han.

Upon seeing Commander Pei return, everyone exchanged knowing glances.

Although Commander Pei fled in a very disheveled manner that day, several days have passed, and Commander Han has been checking the affairs of the Northern Bureau for the past six months without saying a word about Commander Pei's matter.

This attitude is incomprehensible.

As the saying goes, even an upright official finds it hard to settle family disputes. If you speak recklessly at this time, you won't even know how you died later.

Therefore, when everyone saw Commander Pei return, whether they were the Imperial Guards from Zhihua Temple or the Imperial Guards from Nanjing, they all greeted him with utmost respect.

Pei Yuan found out Sikong Sui's location and immediately went to meet him.

Sikong Sui had just washed away the dust of his journey when he heard that Pei Yuan had arrived, so he quickly came out of his duty room to greet him.

Seeing the old man Sikong's tired appearance, Pei Yuan said emotionally, "I feel ashamed that I had to trouble Uncle Sikong to come all the way from Yanggu for my sake and Han Qianhu's matter."

When Sikong Sui saw Pei Yuan being so courteous, his face, which was about to break into a smile, immediately froze.

I felt a little panicked.

Did that bastard Pei Yuan eat something filthy this morning, or did he cause some kind of mess? Could he have done something to Commander Han?

Sikong Sui dared not let Pei Yuan get too close to him, and quickly said seriously, "Commander, we are all working for the court, you can just address me by my title."

Seeing that Sikong Sui said this, Pei Yuan simply took out the imperial edict that he had prepared beforehand and handed it over.

Sikong Sui had heard the message and already knew about this thing beforehand.

Upon seeing the imperial edict laid out before him, he couldn't resist opening it and reading it carefully.

After watching it, I didn't know what kind of emotion I should have.

He knew why Pei Yuan had summoned him. After thinking for a moment, he said directly, "Commander Pei is indeed skilled. However, Commander Han is strong-willed. Your act of marrying without prior notice is likely to backfire."

Pei Yuan clicked his tongue and sighed, "That's why I had Commander Sikong come here overnight."

Then, without any attempt to hide it, he said to Sikong Sui, "I like her, that's my business. I want to marry her, that's everyone's business. I've already made this very clear to you all before, haven't I?"

Upon hearing this, Sikong Sui recalled the fishing line theory that Pei Yuan had mentioned back in Yanggu.

Pei Yuan once compared himself to a powerful dragon, believing that after the division of the Huai River into two regions, his relationship with the Southern Thousand Households was like that of a powerful dragon being tethered to a boat by a fragile fishing line.

If the two sides cannot work together, the trouble Pei Yuan has stirred up may easily capsize the ship.

If Commander Han remains stubborn and refuses to follow Pei Yuan's lead, the most likely outcome between the two sides will be that they will part ways as the fragile fishing line snaps.

Based on Sikong Sui's understanding of Pei Yuan, this guy does indeed have the ability to rebuild a business.

Putting everything else aside, if Pei Yuan were willing to go to the Western Depot, Gu Dayong would probably be overjoyed to hand over his position as the Chief of the Thousand-Household of Punishments, and Song Chunniang would also be willing to step down and give way to a more capable person.

The relationship between the Zhenxie Thousand-Household Office and Pei Yuan is no longer simply one of control where one can take whatever one wants.

The suggestion Pei Yuan had made back then involuntarily came to Sikong Sui's mind.

Since it is impossible to maintain coordination between the two sides, the best approach is to strengthen their relationship and firmly connect them.

This way, we can avoid internal friction and work together wholeheartedly to solve the problem.

The solution to all the troubles was for Pei Yuan to marry Han Qianhu, thus completely preventing the Qianhu garrison from splitting apart.

This is why Pei Yuan said that his marriage to Commander Han was a matter for everyone.

Sikong Sui smiled bitterly, "It's no use talking to me about this. You should talk to Commander Han instead."

Pei Yuan said calmly, "What's the point of me talking to her? Isn't her original goal to drive the Thousand Households into division and cut off the old, rotten flesh of you who can't see the situation?"

"Seeing the Thousand Households Office heading towards division, Commander Han might even be happy to see it happen."

Upon hearing this, Sikong Sui's obsequious smile slowly froze, vanished, and turned cold. He then looked at Pei Yuan with a sharp gaze.

(End of this chapter)