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

Chapter 204: Digging Another Hole

Qi Yanming almost fell to the ground.

Why him?
Why did he say that extra sentence just now!

Thirty thousand shi of grain!
Now it can be sold for thirty-six thousand taels if it is transported to Henan!
Pei Yuan actually gave it as he said.

Now even Liu Qi was no longer calm. He looked at Pei Yuan with burning eyes, as if he was looking at a BOSS with rich drops.

Pei Yuan knew that too much is as bad as too little, so he quickly ate a few more mouthfuls and then said with a smile, "I am very tired after the journey. I have to trouble Brother Qi to help me find a place to sleep."

Liu Qi was reluctant to let this precious thing go, so he said, "Why don't we follow the example of our old friend and sleep with our feet touching tonight?"

Pei Yuan shuddered and declined again and again, "No, no, if there's another Jiang Gan stealing the book scene, it won't be pretty."

Seeing Pei Yuan's refusal, Liu Qi laughed and said, "Then I'll have someone set up a military tent nearby for you to rest."

Pei Yuan thought of Cheng Leixiang and said, "My follower has suffered a lot along the way. If there is any extra wine and meat, please send someone to deliver it to him, Brother Qi."

Liu Qi smiled and said, "Of course I won't neglect him. I guess he is eating right now, so I will let him go back and serve you."

After Pei Yuan confessed to Jiang Gan, the vigilance of several leaders was temporarily relieved, but the guards could not be returned to him for the time being.

It was not until this moment that Liu Qi agreed to let Cheng Leixiang stay with Pei Yuan.

After Pei Yuan left the table on the pretext of being drunk, several leaders looked at each other and had their own thoughts in mind.

Before, they were still worried about the future of the Bazhou Army, but now the problem is simple.

Now it depends on whether the two teams can get the food.

As long as he can get those 50,000 shi of grain, it will prove that Pei Yuan is really awesome and not just pretending.

Then the plans he mentioned are naturally feasible.

Pull the imperial army to break the gap in the north, then quickly march through Henan, where the White Lotus Rebellion was taking place, and join forces with the Western Route Army of the Bazhou Army to defeat the Right Censor-in-Chief Pengze, and then march into Huguang.

The roadmap is clear and concise, full of actionable facts!
The only shortcoming is probably... Pei Yuan has not yet told them that there is a troop gathering, led by Eunuch Lu, ready to strike them hard from behind after they escape the encirclement.

Pei Yuan took a short rest in the temporarily prepared military tent when Cheng Leixiang came over.

Being among the rebels at this moment, the situation is highly sensitive.

He also didn't know how his daring captain was able to chat and laugh with the leaders of the Bazhou rebels, but this was obviously not something he should ask.

So, after Cheng Leixiang asked about Pei Yuan's safety, he sensibly helped to guard the door silently.

Pei Yuan has not had a few days of peace since he came south, and his body has long since adapted to this level of running around.

He reviewed the changed plan, waited until fatigue set in, and then slowly fell asleep.

Early the next morning, Liu Liu, Liu Qi and Zhao Sui came together.

Now the imperial court is making steady progress day by day, and the rebels are gradually slackening off.

The leaders had nothing to do, and were worried about the two detachments heading south, so they all came to Pei Yuan.

When Pei Yuan came out of the military tent, he saw three people standing on a nearby slope and talking.

He raised his hand to greet them, and when both of them came closer, Pei Yuan said half-jokingly, "I didn't get up to steal the books last night."

Liu Qi laughed and said, "Stop joking, my dear brother."

It was Zhao Sui who took over the conversation, "I wanted to ask you for a map, and the two leaders were also very interested, so they came here together."

Liu Qi asked someone to bring some food. Pei Yuan's stomach was rumbling, so everyone started chatting while eating.

Compared with yesterday's banquet, this one was a bit lackluster.

However, the boiling hot batter was mixed with beaten eggs, sprinkled with salt, and a small piece of lard.

It was hot, fragrant and filling, so Pei Yuan drank two large bowls.

After eating, Pei Yuan started drawing.

As promised yesterday, maps of several northern provinces, as well as Huguang and Jiangxi areas were drawn.

As for places like Nanzhi, Guangdong and Guangxi, and Zhejiang, both sides tacitly did not mention them.

At night, the cavalry, panting, hurried back.

The detachment sent to Suqian has successfully obtained the 30,000 dan of grain. Now some soldiers are on high alert to guard against attacks from Huai'an Wei and Dahe Wei, while other soldiers are searching for carriages and horses to load the grain.

When Pei Yuan heard this, he asked, "Are those grains scattered around?"

Seeing that the leaders did not stop him, the messenger replied, "Yes, it looks like a makeshift rice warehouse. The grain is scattered everywhere inside. The rice containers are fixed with bamboo on the outside and rolled up reed mats on the inside."

Pei Yuan sighed slightly after hearing this.

Pei Yuan had some guesses since the cavalryman just said that he was collecting horses and carriages.

How can it be so easy to get these foods?
The rebels of Bazhou who raided those granaries wanted to take away so much food smoothly, so they could only search around for carriages, horses, livestock, and equipment to store the food.

If this happens, it will inevitably cause harassment to the people in the village.

The composition of the Bazhou rebels is complex. As traitors, their moral bottom line is not high. After they are dispersed, there is no one to restrain them, so they can easily harm the countryside and ravage the local area.

The final result will inevitably cause countless families to fall into complete distress.

It is impossible for the Bazhou rebels to refuse these 50,000 shi of grain. In order to transport these 50,000 shi of grain, the Bazhou rebels will inevitably harass the people in the two counties.

Pei Yuan guessed that this was such a blatant bait and such a plan that was hard to refuse, it was most likely the work of He Huan, the commander of Huai'an Guard.

Why is he called He Huan? He might as well just call him He Huai!

Pei Yuan finished sighing and explained to Liu Qi, "This gift for you was also something I came up with on a whim, so I wasn't well prepared."

Liu Qi laughed and said, "Brother! What's the big deal? It's just a little effort."

One hundred taels of silver and fifty thousand shi of rice. What kind of rich man is this?
Liu Liu became more and more enthusiastic, "Brother Pei, besides these two places, are there any other benefits?"

Pei Yuan thought to himself, how come Lord Long has no idea what to do?

So I declined and said, "This is an activity for new users. That's all for now."

Fortunately, Liu Qi had some dignity. He interrupted Liu Liu and said directly, "Come here, bring 10,000 taels of silver. Today, we ask Brother Pei to give us some advice."

Having tasted the sweetness, Liu Qi has decisively decided to make the first recharge.

Pei Yuan knew that the rebel leaders were most excited at this time, and it was the perfect time to whet their appetite.

So he said, "The people from Shuyang haven't come back yet, let's wait and see."

The leaders said in unison, "No need! We all recognize Brother Pei's strength."

Pei Yuan declined again, "The reason why I, Pei Yuan, can gain the trust of so many people and help coordinate various matters is because I follow the rules and treat people with sincerity. Everyone, please wait for the news from Shuyang, and then we can discuss the follow-up matters."

After being rejected repeatedly by Pei Yuan, everyone felt reluctant to speak again.

Pei Yuan comforted her again, "Don't worry, I'll stay here for a few more days and I'm not in a hurry to leave."

Only then did everyone reluctantly leave.

But tonight, the leaders of the Bazhou rebels who knew the news from Suqian all suffered from insomnia. The next morning, cavalry quickly came to report that they easily found the granary storing the 20,000 shi of grain outside Shuyang City.

Efforts are now also being made to transport food back.

After hearing this, everyone no longer had any doubts.

The grain alone was worth tens of thousands of taels of silver, so how could Pei Yuan possibly be coveting their money?

The thief leader Qi Yanming in the crowd even seemed to be thinking about something.

Could it be that this ten thousand taels is another test?

Liu Liu said to Liu Qi excitedly, "Brother, what are you waiting for?"

Liu Qi also looked back at his men with anticipation and nervousness, "Where's the silver? Is it ready?"

Several men hurriedly said, "We prepared it overnight yesterday."

Liu Qi waved his hand and said, "Let's go see Pei Yuan!"

Several leaders walked excitedly in front, and several subordinates carried four boxes and walked behind.

Pei Yuan was taking a walk outside. When he saw this situation, he knew that the matter in Shuyang was also settled.

He secretly breathed a sigh of relief and looked more calm.

Liu Qilong walked up to him with the gait of a tiger and waved his hand generously.

I don't know if the men had been trained last night, but they quickly opened the boxes, revealing boxes of silver ingots.

Liu Qi clasped his fists and said to Pei Yuan very seriously, "Here is 10,000 taels of silver. I hope you can teach me."

Pei Yuan quickly rejected this and said, "How can I take Seventh Brother's money? If Seventh Brother asks anything, I will tell you everything I know."

Then he paused and said earnestly, "This money is from Brother Seven, I am using it to do Brother Seven's business."

Liu Qi thought about it and remembered that Pei Yuan had indeed mentioned last time that he wanted to use the silver to bribe the Nanjing Ministry of War and at least a dozen commanders.

Considering that he had so many connections to make, Liu Qi felt that the ten thousand taels was a bit too little.

He was touched and said, "Thank you for your concern, brother. When our Bazhou Army has overcome this difficulty, if I, Liu Qi, can be of use in the future, I will definitely not refuse."

Pei Yuan thought to himself, your words are enough.

I don't expect Liu Qi to be of much help, but as long as he can provide some insignificant cooperation, it will be enough for him to stir up trouble.

Pei Yuan said to Cheng Leixiang, "Put the silver away."

After hearing what Pei Yuan said, Cheng Leixiang was a little confused for a moment.

This is ten thousand taels of silver. How can I accept it?
Fortunately, Zhao Sui was a reasonable person, so he said, "Give these people to Brother Pei first. After they escort Brother Pei back, we will send them back."

Pei Yuan smiled and said, "Thank you very much, Deputy Commander Zhao."

When Liu Qi saw Pei Yuan accept the silver, he knew it was time to get down to business.

He signaled to Zhao Sui, who turned around and asked everyone to leave, leaving only four bandit leaders, Liu Liu, Liu Qi, Zhao Sui, and Qi Yanming.

Seeing that they were the only ones left, Pei Yuan said solemnly, "I have discussed some of my general ideas with you guys before, but because of the money, I am also unable to do anything without rice. Now that the money is in place, I will tell you the details."

The four of them knew they were going to listen to paid content, and they all held their breath, afraid of missing out on anything.

This time, Pei Yuan did not wield his Bazhou sword, but picked up a stone from the ground and still drew out the surrounding terrain.

Then, Pei Yuan looked at the map and pondered.

Ever since Zhao Sui got the map drawn by Pei Yuan yesterday, he has thought about the current situation.

Even with his intelligence, he had to admit that Pei Yuan's plan was more reliable than his idea of ​​going straight to Huai'an and burning the grain ships again.

The most important thing is stability.

If everyone gets along well, the job can be done with 12,000 taels of silver, and there's no need to take any risks at all.

It's just that the plan has already been made, so why is Pei Yuan silent?

Just as he was about to ask, Pei Yuan let out a long sigh and said, "In my opinion, there is no need to transport the food here. The best strategy is for us to lead our troops south quickly."

Pei Yuan was talking about the food that everyone was most concerned about these two days, and the response he made was to go south, which everyone was most reluctant to do.

Several leaders immediately frowned, and Liu Liu asked directly, "Why is this?"

"Everyone, please look." Pei Yuan picked up a small stone from the ground and placed it on the position representing the Bazhou rebels, "We are here now."

Pei Yuan dropped several stones in succession in the direction leading to Shandong and Henan.

"Here are the imperial camp and border troops."

Then, Pei Yuan moved the stones representing the imperial army toward the direction of the Bazhou rebels, and then moved the stones representing the Bazhou rebels to the south.

"The imperial army is taking a repressive offensive against the Bazhou rebels, which means that both sides are following suit, with very little strategic buffer in between."

Pei Yuan quickly moved several stones representing the imperial army closer to the stones representing the Bazhou rebels.

Then, Pei Yuan pointed to the gaps between the stones and said, "Even if our plan succeeds, we are too close to the imperial army. Even if the imperial court orders them to move south quickly, they won't be able to create enough space."

"Even if we find an opportunity to force a breakthrough, it will be easy for them to react and surround us from all sides."

Pei Yuan saw that the leaders were thinking about something, so he guided their judgment calmly, "So, the premise of all plans is that we must quickly move south and distance ourselves from the imperial court's heavy troops."

As he spoke, Pei Yuan pulled the stone representing the Bazhou rebels directly to Suqian.

"If we move south quickly and force the imperial army to catch up, then as long as we respond reasonably and block them appropriately, it is very likely that such a situation will be created."

As he spoke, Pei Yuan dropped the stones representing the imperial army, some fast and some slow.

Because of the increased distance, the space between them also seemed scattered.

Pei Yuan said, "Our plan is based on breaking through the northern defense line, so all plans must serve this purpose. If you agree with this, then I will continue."

The leaders frowned and looked at it for a while, and they all felt that the diagram in front of them was still very clear.

And with the abilities Pei Yuan had demonstrated before, everyone tended to trust his judgment.

Only Zhao Sui frowned and looked at it for a while, then raised his doubts, "I understand what Brother Pei said, but do we have to go so far south? All the way to Suqian?"

He still remembered that there was a part of the plan, which was to mobilize a dozen garrisons from Southern Zhili and pretend to fight a decisive battle in Suqian.

Pei Yuan lowered his eyelids calmly.

If the real purpose is to break out, it is enough to not go to Suqian.

The reason for this arrangement.

That's of course because...

I have to leave enough space for Eunuch Lu to backstab me.

For something as unreliable as war, of course arrangements for both sides must be made clearly in advance to be safe.

(End of this chapter)