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

Chapter 226 Real Politics

Wang Chang sent someone to notify Dahewei.

He Huan watched from the side without saying a word.

In order to guard against a sudden attack on Shanyang by the Bazhou Army, Huai'an Guard and Dahe Guard were stationed outside the city, not too far away.

Many commanders understand this operation well.

If the Bazhou army came, it would be easier for them to escape outside the city, and since they were not inside the city, they would naturally have no responsibility to defend the territory.

They are not the prefect of Huai'an, so of course they can be more flexible when fighting.

All we have to do is hold on to the soldiers in our hands and wait for further orders from the court.

Not long after, someone from Dahe Guard came over and said, "The commander is ill, and all matters can be handled by Commander He from Huai'an Guard."

Wang Chang felt unhappy after hearing this.

Although I don’t know whether it is true or not, it is inevitable that it will spoil the fun.

It's not that Grand Marshal Wang is picking a fight. This is indeed not the attitude to take when facing a Grand Marshal who "set up the empty city plan and retreated to Bazhou alone."

Wang Chang said to He Huan unhappily, "What did you say?"

He Huan smiled and said, "It's just a small matter. Everyone take your share of silver and keep ours."

Wang Chang felt a little uncomfortable after hearing this. How could this be like taking your money?

It's just that the other person spoke so frankly that it's really hard to say anything.

Wang Chang and the commanders he brought with him got together to discuss the matter. They realized that each family would only need a few thousand taels of silver, so each of them brought a dozen subordinates and carried boxes directly into the city to get the silver.

Those who stayed behind set up camp on the spot and waited for further orders.

He Huan didn't say much while they were discussing.

In the end, everyone agreed to leave three thousand taels each for Huai'an Wei and Dahe Wei, and He Huan just agreed with a smile.

Wait until the cavalry rumbled into the city and arrived at the Huai'an government office.

Pei Yuan, who got the news, came out symbolically to answer the call.

When Pei Yuan read the imperial edict allowing the Ministry of War to deal with the commercial tax money on its own, he immediately expressed his willingness to obey and cooperate.

He and Wang Chang had a tacit understanding, so they didn't reveal their relationship at this time and just did their job.

Pei Yuan asked someone to carry the silver box out of the side room.

Afterwards, in front of the Minister of War Wang Chang and all the commanders, he placed large silver ingots all over the ground, and then urgently went to the Huai'an Customs Office outside the city, found several officials from the Ministry of Revenue as witnesses, and inspected the silver.

Afterwards, Pei Yuancai stayed out of the matter and let the commanders happily take the money according to their respective shares.

At this point, the Jiangnan Tax and Bank Special Operation, which had experienced countless twists and turns, came to an end.

The portion for Huai'an Wei and Dahe Wei was collected by Captain Zhou, an old acquaintance of Pei Yuan, in two boxes.

When he was about to leave, a military officer of medium height, with fair skin, short beard and a somewhat elegant look came forward and greeted Pei Yuan with a smile.

Pei Yuan asked and found out that this person was He Huan, the commander of Huai'an Guard.

He is a third-rank official, while I am only a fifth-rank captain.

Pei Yuan was very polite and quickly greeted him.

He Huan pulled Pei Yuan up and gestured to Captain Zhou with a smile.

Then Captain Zhou picked up a box from the ground and put it next to Pei Yuan.

Pei Yuan was surprised and asked, "What does Commander He mean by this?"

He Huan took Pei Yuan's hand and smiled sincerely,

"My brother doesn't know how to do things, so he offered a low price. If we have another cooperation in the future, we can sit down and have a good talk and make friends."

Pei Yuan looked stunned and asked, "What do you mean?"

He Huan said calmly, "Han Qianhu led a large group of troops south yesterday. I was confused at the time. Was the tax silver not being kept? I didn't expect that the people who came to collect the silver would come today."

Pei Yuan was shocked.

This is fucking terrible, Xiaoliu, you’re going to kill me!
Pei Yuan looked confused, "Did the commander misunderstand something?"

He Huan smiled and admitted, "There were some misunderstandings before. I underestimated my brother."

His hands were hot, and he pulled Pei Yuan and said to himself, "Let me think about it. If it's because my price didn't satisfy you, then when did you do this?"

He looked at Pei Yuan and smiled, "Could it be that after seeing Wang Chang and the others coming to Huai'an?"

Then I denied myself, "No, no, that's not right. Time is too tight."

Then he continued to deduce, "That is to say, could it be that this was set up by the brothers themselves? Young and promising, young and promising!"

"It's strange, how come these people are together by coincidence, and I bump into them, hahaha. I envy my luck."

He Huan didn't say anything further. Some things are more powerful if you just mention them briefly.

Pei Yuan was in agony, he stared at He Huan eagerly.

No, just keep talking.

I also want to know what level you have mastered!
Fuck!
Pei Yuan had known for a long time that He Huan was an old bastard, but he didn't expect him to show off in front of him.

Damn it, I’ll add another layer.

Pei Yuan immediately laughed and said, "I am also doing things for others. I don't understand what Commander He said."

As he spoke, he looked at the silver box on the ground and replied, "I shall repay the commander's kindness."

Just then, many commanders were counting the silver with smiles on their faces and were about to leave. He Huan, as if afraid of attracting attention, smiled and patted Pei Yuan's hand, then left with him.

Pei Yuan immediately signaled Cheng Leixiang.

Cheng Leixiang came over, and Pei Yuan said, "Find someone who is not conspicuous to go to Wang Chang to ask about it. Don't miss anything they said or did before they met He Huan and came here."

After Cheng Leixiang left, Pei Yuan looked at the silver box on the ground and didn't dare to stay in Huai'an any longer.

He called Chen Toutie over and asked, "What about those monks and Taoist priests? Who is responsible?"

These underworld figures are of complex composition.

Although the tax and silver have been delivered, even with the previous undercover, there is no conflict of position between the two parties.

However, Captain Han would definitely not want to create any trouble since he would have to carry so much silver back with him.

Chen Toutie replied, "Hou Qing is with them."

Pei Yuan said, "Go tell them that the commercial tax has been paid to the local guards. Then ask if there are people willing to follow me to the capital to enjoy wealth and luxury. If there are, let them stay. If not, let them go."

Seeing that Chen was determined to leave, Pei Yuan added, "Hurry!"

Pei Yuan called two Jinyiwei personal soldiers and carried the silver in.

These Jinyiwei soldiers had all broken into the Suzhou government office with Pei Yuan, and had been following Pei Yuan for some time.

Everyone won two big rewards, and this trip at least earned more than two hundred taels.

They were very content and not jealous of the money Pei Yuan earned.

After all, this wasn't the blood of soldiers being drunk, but the personal connections between officials. There was nothing to be dissatisfied about.

Accepting gifts and money is such a normal thing.

Pei Yuan returned to the house, and Jiao Yaner came out of the side room and immediately handed him a hand warmer.

"Alas--"

Is this what it feels like to have a woman of your own?
Pei Yuan had been living in the open air for so long, so of course he was not afraid of the cold, but when he touched the warm hand warmer, he felt inexplicably refreshed.

Pei Yuan reminded Jiao Yaner yesterday to pack her luggage and be ready to leave at any time.

According to Pei Yuan's understanding, it was nothing more than hanging and folding the clothes again, and preparing some rain cloth, oil paper and so on.

Unexpectedly, Jiao Yan'er knew that she had to leave and continue to travel north in the severe cold. She immediately asked her personal guards to go to the market to buy a lot of things, many of which were prepared for Pei Yuan.

Pei Yuan, a country bumpkin, had never been treated so gently before.

For a moment, I forgot about everyone else.

Pei Yuanzheng and Jiao Yaner were chatting casually when they heard Cheng Leixiang coming to report.

Only after Cheng Leixiang told Pei Yuan all the information he had obtained from Wang Chang did he sigh silently.

Just the small detail that Han Qianhu left a moment early was enough to reveal so many flaws. There are so many smart people in this world.

Pei Yuan's arrogance gradually subsided.

Looking at the three or two little cats under his command, it seems that he still has to start from Xiao Pei.

After waiting for Tan Tai Fang Tu and Si Kong Sui to return with their men, and then putting the Northern Bureau of the Zhenxie Qianhu Office in order, he would have enough time to stretch his legs.

Pei Yuan asked again, "Anything else?"

Cheng Leixiang said, "The commander of Dahe Guard did not come to collect the silver. He asked the commander of Huai'an Guard, He Huan, to collect it on his behalf."

"Oh?" Pei Yuan was stunned, remembering what He Huan had done just now when he took out one box of silver from two boxes and gave it to him.

So, He Huan just gave all of his share to himself, without keeping a single ounce of silver?

Pei Yuan's heart felt a little heavy.

He Huan could have shared the 80,000 yuan with Dahewei, but because of his own planning, the money was lost.

Before, Pei Yuan thought that this matter was done secretly and no one was aware of it. Since Wang Chang was the one who took the lead in inciting hatred, there shouldn’t be any big problems.

Unexpectedly, just a small detail would expose Pei Yuan.

Pei Yuan was afraid of angering He Huan, so he specifically told Wang Chang to include He Huan in the group that would share the silver.

But they don’t appreciate it!

He left all the three thousand taels of silver.

Pei Yuangan swallowed his saliva and urged, "Damn it, Cheng Leixiang, go find Wang Chang and ask him to come back to pick me up!"

Then he said to Jiao Yan'er, "Hurry up and have someone load the things into the car. We have to leave quickly!"

He added, "The rest of you, pack your weapons immediately and guard the gate."

Pei Yuan's nervousness immediately affected the two of them.

Cheng Leixiang went out on horseback to chase Wang Chang, and the others also quickly became alert.

Pei Yuan forgot about the tenderness of Miss Jiao and called out to Song Chunniang, "Where is my armor?"

Song Chunniang asked doubtfully, "Use it now?"

"Yes." Pei Yuan said, "Put it somewhere handy, and also prepare my golden hammer."

Song Chunniang was surprised and said, "Captain, this is the Huai'an government office. You are too nervous."

Jiao Yan'er was also a little confused.

Pei Yuan did not explain to them. He was silent for a while and just said, "It is better to be prepared."

Pei Yuan was certainly not overly nervous.

Here, we need to give a brief introduction to the political ecology of the Ming Dynasty.

Perhaps some people have thought before that it is ridiculous that an official appointed by the imperial court, when he arrives at the local area, not only does he not abuse his power, but he is also controlled by others.
Moreover, when Pei Yuan arrived in Suzhou, he actually broke into the room of the Suzhou prefect at night and filled it with human heads to intimidate him. This kind of gangster behavior is simply outrageous.

It is even more ridiculous that the fourth-rank Suzhou prefect would choose to swallow his anger.

Let everyone see what the real political ecology of the Ming Dynasty is.

In the 15th year of Zhengde's reign, the then emperor Zhu Houzhao entered Nanjing City on the pretext of stabilizing the situation in the south after the Ning Wang Rebellion.

At that time, Zhu Houzhao was in his prime.

He once fought a tiger (didn't win), he once led a charge in close combat with the Mongols (killed one man), and he once rode horseback on patrol along the border in the wind and snow (didn't catch a cold).

Moreover, he won the support of the troops in Xuanfu and Datong, and was supported by the masses, and controlled the most powerful military force in the empire.

Therefore, Zhu Houzhao, feeling that he had achieved success, decided to go to the most prosperous place in the south to give it a try.

Zhu Houzhao stayed in Nanjing for half a year without leaving. How did Pei Yuan’s colleagues in the south deal with this matter?
The method is familiar and friendly.

They threw a moldy and green pig's head in front of Zhu Houzhao's bed at night.

Then they detained the woman in the room where Zhu Houzhao was detained, and hung human heads all over the walls.

This incident happened in July of the 15th year of the Zhengde reign. Clues can be found in the memorials of the Grand Secretaries Liang Chu and Jiang Mian. The Nanjing Six Departments' Attendant Wei Dao and the Thirteenth Circuit's Censor Gong Dayou also had memorials as circumstantial evidence.

In a nutshell, even if the king of heaven came, he would have the same meal, except that he would have to find a lewd thief to stick in his harem.

This is the real political ecology of the Ming Dynasty.

The follow-up to this matter can also be mentioned.

The powerful Emperor of the Ming Dynasty had no way to deal with this, so he returned north.

"He went to Qingjiangpu and visited the eunuch Zhang Yang's house. Three days later, he went fishing in a pond in a small boat, but the boat capsized and he drowned..."

Qingjiangpu is only a few miles away from Pei Yuan...

Then why is dying in Qingjiangpu so subtle?
This is actually similar to what Pei Yuan said to Lu Ting.

Pei Yuan told Lu Ting at the time that after suffering a setback, the Bazhou army would inevitably tend to choose the familiar route to retreat to the north.

Therefore, as long as the Bazhou army goes south to Pizhou, they can set up an ambush in Pizhou when the Bazhou army returns north.

When Emperor Zhengde was traveling south, he happened to pass by Qingjiangpu, and happily enjoyed fishing and hunting birds here.

He also cut the fish and birds he caught into slices and sold them to the people who were with him, fully enjoying the sense of achievement.

So, he was so happy at that time...

When I return north after being frustrated, I will definitely want to come here again...

If, just say what if.

If Pei Yuan were to take charge of this matter, he would definitely choose Qingjiangpu as the location.

Because he was 90% sure that the prey would walk into the trap on its own.

Of course, in order to ensure that one can escape unscathed from such a deadly plan, the most important thing is to erase all traces of human intervention.

Let everything happen naturally, just as it should be.

Therefore, after the incident of fishing and dividing birds in November of the 14th year of Zhengde, records of something that had never been taken seriously before began to appear in the Ming Shilu.

That was the fishing incident of Emperor Zhengde.

"On the 11th day of the 14th year of the Zhengde reign, the emperor went to Qingjiangpu in Huai'an and visited the residence of Zhang Yang, the eunuch who supervised the warehouses. At that time, the emperor caught fish and black bass wherever he went during his tour, and he distributed them among his attendants. Those who received even a piece of meat or a hair offered gold and silk as a token of gratitude. Since then, people have been fishing in Qingjiangpu for many days."

"On the eleventh day of the fourteenth year of the Zhengde reign, I went to Baoying County to fish at Fanguang Lake."

"On the 25th day of the twelfth month of the fourteenth year of the Zhengde reign, I went fishing at the new sluice gate in Yizhen."

"In the intercalary eighth month of the fifteenth year of the Zhengde reign, on the day of Renyin, I went fishing at the mouth of the river, and the next day I went to Guazhou to avoid the rain."

At this time, a very indicative event happened. When Emperor Zhengde returned to the north, he made his comeback.

——"In September of the 15th year of the Zhengde reign, I went to Baoying to fish again in Fanguang Lake!"

Therefore, if it was Pei Yuan, when he saw the emperor returning north, he still went to Fanguang Lake.

He could guess with his eyes closed that next, the Emperor of the Ming Dynasty would appear alone and helpless on Qingjiangpu.

……

"The emperor went to Qingjiangpu and visited the eunuch Zhang Yang's house. Three days later, the emperor went fishing in a pond in a small boat, but the boat capsized and he drowned."

(End of this chapter)