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

Chapter 526: The forced melon is not sweet, but it quenches thirst

Pei Yuan was still very satisfied with the current attitude of his ministers.

This BUG is very good, you should not use it in the future...

After a while, the servants prepared the wine and food, and Li Shishi signaled everyone to leave.

Pei Yuan asked Chen Xinjian to help pour wine, but Li Shishi didn't think much of it. The two sides had close contacts, so he was already familiar with Pei Yuan's close confidants.

Pei Yuan smiled and nodded at Chen Xinjian with his chin.

"His elder brother, Chen Toutie, is now the deputy commander of the Shandong Provincial Military Commission."

Li Shishi and Chen Xinjian were both a little surprised when they heard this.

Chen Xinjian was the first to react. He immediately thanked Pei Yuan with great joy, "I would like to thank the thousand households for their cultivation on behalf of my brother."

Chen Xinjian was happy not only because Chen Toutie had risen directly from a seventh-rank general flag officer to a second-rank commander-in-chief.

And the relief of finally seeing my brother’s story end safely.

Before, Chen Toutie went to Shandong on business and laid the foundation for the Luo Sect for Pei Yuan.

Although Chen Toutie holds great power and is very popular, it is easy for him to end up badly if he does such things.

The Luo Sect is now too powerful. Regardless of whether Pei Yuan's strategy succeeds or fails, Chen Toutie may become a victim.

If Luo Sect succeeds, it will certainly not tolerate such a guy who is so powerful that he threatens the leader.

Luo Jiao has failed, and killing Chen Toutie is the fastest way to sever ties and survive.

Especially after seeing Zhao Sui's human skin saddle, the hidden worry made Chen Xinjian feel heavy in his heart.

Now that Chen Toutie has been cleared and put back in the spotlight, it means that Chen Toutie can avoid the biggest uncertainty risk.

Li Shishi was also a little shocked.

He didn't know that Chen Toutie had gone to organize the Luo Sect. He only remembered that guy was a trusted general of Pei Yuan.

During the time when Pei Yuan and I first became friends, it seemed that Chen Toutie was the one serving Pei Yuan at his beck and call.

Who would have thought that in such a short period of time, that guy who didn't look too smart has been promoted to the second-rank commander-in-chief?

Brother Pei's background is truly unfathomable!
As he thought about this, Li Shishi's gaze towards Chen Xinjian changed slightly.

As the younger brother of the Shandong commander-in-chief, he is qualified to have a seat.

He took the initiative to greet him, "Since it's your brother's good deed, sit down and have a drink together."

Chen Xinjian quickly declined, "I'll just wait on you."

Li Shishi smiled and said, "We should sit down and toast to you, Qianhu."

Pei Yuan patted Chen Xinjian's arm and said with a smile, "Don't pretend, sit down, brother is not an outsider."

Pei Yuan and Chen Xinjian have always gotten along well.

Not to mention Chen Xinjian, even the personal soldiers around him, because they often worked together outside, endured life and death, and had no manners with each other.

When there are no outsiders around, people also gather around the table and scramble to eat.

Only then did Chen Xinjian sit down and toast Pei Yuan.

Pei Yuan looked at Chen Xinjian and smiled, "It's a pity that I can't leave you now, otherwise I would have given you a good future."

Chen Xinjian said quickly, "I would rather serve the captain and do good things for him."

Cheng Leixiang, a smart man, immediately took the initiative to suggest that his father Cheng Zhihu go to Pei Yuan to help with his work after he was appointed as the commander of Tianjin Wei.

Even if Chen Xinjian himself did not consider this level and just copied others, he should understand that since his brother has been transferred to such an important position, he should also have such awareness.

Li Shishi was an old and shrewd man. He slowly began to try to get some information. "Look at what you have achieved. Even Chen Toutie has been promoted to the position of Vice Governor of the Military Command. I guess things in Shandong are going well."

Pei Yuan smiled and said without further elaboration, "Not bad."

Seeing that Pei Yuan didn't want to talk about this, Li Shishi knew that he probably couldn't ask anything useful.

He naturally changed the topic, "Chen Toutie can get a second-rank rank, so my brother must have made greater contributions and received a greater reward. I wonder if he will be in charge of a regional military commission, or will he go directly to the Five Military Commandery?"

Pei Yuan laughed, "Neither, I'd rather be a small centurion."

Li Shishi was really shocked when he heard this, "How is it possible?"

According to the rules of officialdom, Chen Toutie is Pei Yuan's man. As long as Chen Toutie has made contributions, Pei Yuan will also have a share. Maybe Pei Yuan's share will be even greater.

How could the imperial court be so stingy as to reward its subordinates but mistreat Pei Yuan?
Li Shishi pretended to be indignant and said, "If the emperor is unclear about rewards and punishments, I, the Left Censor-in-Chief, will not sit idly by."

Pei Yuan smiled and said, "Your Majesty wanted to give me the title of Marquis, or the title of Left or Right Commander, but I didn't want any of them."

Li Shishi asked curiously, "Why is this?"

Pei Yuan couldn't help but feel proud. He finally had someone to talk to, so he said to Li Shishi under the influence of alcohol, "I asked your majesty for Han Qianhu and asked your majesty to grant me a marriage."

Li Shishi had known Pei Yuan for such a long time, and coupled with his fear of Pei Yuan, he had already known all the information that Pei Yuan could obtain on the surface, and naturally he also knew who Han Qianhu was.

Hearing Pei Yuan's absurd request, Li Shishi didn't know what to say for a moment.

"Brother, you are really..."

Li Shishi's face turned red with embarrassment. After a while, he finally changed the word "idiot" to a euphemism, "A person of temperament."

Pei Yuan laughed out loud, but unfortunately, even if he could share this joy with others, he couldn't make them truly feel the pride in his heart.

Li Shishi couldn't help but ask, "Does Captain Han know about this?"

It is really difficult to comment on things like monopolizing one's superior.

Pei Yuan's eyes moved, and he looked at Li Shishi and said, "We probably don't know yet."

Then, I didn’t know whether he was talking to Li Shishi or to himself.

"Who cares? A forced melon may not be sweet, but it will quench your thirst. Even if I can't eat it, I'll take it first."

Speaking of this, Pei Yuan suddenly felt it.

Instead of waiting for the white moonlight to shine on oneself, perhaps this kind of brutal invasion and possession can better comfort the past.

Anyway, I took it first!
Pei Yuan looked at Chen Xinjian, "Tell me, is it worth it?"

Chen Xinjian immediately said with absolute certainty, "It's worth it!"

Pei Yuan laughed loudly and poured himself several drinks.

Seeing Pei Yuan like this, Li Shishi began to make some calculations in his mind.

I had always thought that Captain Pei was a man of great plans and unshakable, but I didn't expect that he was actually a lustful man.

This important information must be reported to King Ning as soon as possible.

Thinking of Prince Ning, Li Shishi also thought of the troubles he had faced recently.

After drinking a few more cups with Pei Yuan, Pei Yuan, who was a little embarrassed, said, "Before, my brother had planned for me to pass the three levels, but now I can't go to the Ministry of Rites to restore the three guards for King Ning, and the matter is stuck with the Doctor of Ceremonial Affairs." "What should I do?"

Pei Yuan pretended to be puzzled and asked, "Didn't you ask anyone to help with this matter?"

Li Shishi sighed, "I did ask someone, but the doctor of etiquette Liu Pang was not easy to talk to. When he heard that it was about Prince Ning, he immediately refused."

Pei Yuan asked, "Did you spend the money?"

Li Shishi replied, "I secretly sent him a thousand taels of silver. Although he was very tempted, he still refused."

Pei Yuan thought about it and had a rough idea in his mind.

This was naturally because Liu Pang and Mao Ji behind him were working together to trip up the Minister of Rites Wang Hua.

They were just about to take advantage of the mistake in etiquette to destroy Wang Hua's prestige, so of course they didn't dare to get involved in such a sensitive matter at this time.

Otherwise, Wang Hua would just take revenge and investigate the matters they handled.

It's easy to find loopholes.

In particular, restoring Prince Ning's guards according to the ritual system was a very bold move that could easily be escalated.

But now the form is different.

Pei Yuan revealed the matter in advance and threw those memorials to Liu Pang, asking him to deal with it himself.

As long as they know their limits and stop in time, there won't be too many problems.

This incident should just pass like this.

In this case, Liu Pang had no reason to refuse the thousand taels of silver.

Pei Yuan took a bite of food, and after swallowing it, he said with a smile, "If you send someone over this time, it should be done."

Li Shishi was a little surprised when he heard this, "Really?"

He immediately felt that it was really impolite to speak to Captain Pei in such a suspicious tone, and quickly tried to make excuses, "Do you want to add some more money?"

Pei Yuan shook his head and said, "No, a thousand taels of silver is enough."

Pei Yuan thought about his own affairs and asked Li Shishi, "By the way, which one is more important in the Ministry of Rites, the Department of Ceremonial Affairs or the Department of Hosts and Guests?"

Li Shishi thought for a moment and said, "The most important affairs of the country are sacrifices and military affairs. The Ceremonial Department is in charge of all matters of ritual and music in the court, and also manages the affairs of the imperial examination. Its position is very important. If you want to be promoted, then the doctor of the Ceremonial Department is the best stepping stone."

"The Director of the Ministry of Rites is in charge of the negotiations, rewards, and tributes of the vassal states, and is more inclined towards affairs. This department is not as prestigious as the Ministry of Ceremonies within the Ministry of Rites, but there are a lot of benefits to be gained."

Pei Yuan was still interested in money, "Is it easy to make money in the host and guest department?"

"Well..." Li Shishi hesitated and said, "It's not bad."

"The Ministry of Rites has four departments under its jurisdiction: the Department of Ceremonials and Rituals, the Department of Ancestral Sacrifices, the Department of Guests and Hosts, and the Department of Fine Foods."

"Among them, the most profitable is the Temple of Sacrifice and the Officials' Office, because under it are the Monk Recorders and Taoist Recorders, who are in charge of the sale of monks' certificates of ordination and their promotions."

"Those monks have a lot of money. Every time a new abbot takes office, they can make a lot of money."

"Think about it, how many temples in the entire Ming Dynasty would come to them for help?"

"I heard that the Temple of the Sacrifice and the Officials Department not only considers money but also age when appointing abbots of various temples. The guys there prefer old monks. Because they have been cutting off one crop after another, when the old monks die, new ones will come in to fill the gap with money."

Pei Yuan thought about how in order to accommodate the monks of Zhihua Temple, even Zhixin and his people had been cheated of some money.

Now you have a basic idea of ​​how rich the Temple of Sacrifice and Justice Bureau is.

Pei Yuan felt a little strange, "Isn't the Jiaofangsi also in the Ministry of Rites?"

Li Shishi smiled and said, "The Jiaofangsi, the Zhuyin Bureau, and the Huitongguan are all affiliated with the Ministry of Rites. Their positions and ranks are very low."

"Then Zang Xian..."

Speaking of Zang Xian, Li Shishi hesitated for a moment before saying, "Zang Xian was ostracized by the former Minister of Rites Fu Gui, who refused to let him use a seal similar to that of the Ministry of Rites, so he became angry and bit Fu Gui madly."

After saying that, Li Shishi added, "I was just listening to gossip, don't tell outsiders. As for the Jiaofangsi, although it has some good foundation, it doesn't make much money."

Pei Yuan thought that Li Shishi probably remembered that they were both very familiar with Zang Xian, so he stacked armor.

But it's of no use. I happen to be going to ask Zang Xian, the political broker, for help these two days. I'll use this to warm up the atmosphere during the greetings.

Pei Yuan calmly changed the subject.

“Why aren’t you making money yet?”

Li Shishi and Zang Xian had a close relationship, otherwise he would not have dared to leave such a critical task as "Prince Ning restoring the Three Guards" to Zang Xian.

He had occasionally heard his complaints when he and Zang Xian were drinking and chatting.

So Li Shishi started to share the secrets with Pei Yuan in a frivolous way.

"Many wives and daughters of officials are in the Jiaofangsi. Many common people with some spare money like to see officials in trouble and are willing to go to the Jiaofangsi to have fun."

“But how much money do these people have?”

"The only ones who can really afford to spend money and have expensive entertainment in the capital are officials like us."

"But we can't openly accept other people's invitations to dinner or do other things in the Jiaofangsi, right? The Jiaofangsi is a formal government office, and there are also Jinyiwei spies."

"Besides, if I play with my colleagues... well, it will not be good for my reputation."

"So, just..."

Pei Yuan understood. So this is what was going on.

Except for a small number of wealthy families, most of those who spend lavishly on hiring prostitutes in Beijing are those who come to Beijing to seek favors.

The Jiaofangsi is still too formal.

Pei Yuan satisfied his curiosity and asked Li Shishi, "How is the Guest Service Department? How good is it? Is it profitable?"

Li Shishi said, "In addition to accepting bribes from envoys from some vassal states, the main function of the Ministry of Guests is to act as a broker and help sell some shameful things."

"Take the Japanese for example."

"The imperial court stipulated that the Japanese tribute items were 20 kinds, and the imperial court only purchased these 20 kinds of goods, and there were also quantity restrictions."

"But do you know how many kinds of goods the Japanese envoys brought with them this year?"

Pei Yuan became interested. This Japanese delegation was exactly the target he wanted to contact. He didn't expect that Li Shishi could also provide intelligence. "How many types?"

Li Shishi replied with a smile, "Two hundred and forty-eight kinds."

Pei Yuan was shocked, "Is this true?"

Li Shishi replied, "Really. The Japanese ship was seized in Ningbo and was not allowed to unload. Their envoys begged and pleaded, and finally got permission. Normally, it should have been the tribute round last year, but because of the seizure and the rebellion in Bazhou that affected the roads, it was already the middle of this year, and the delegation just arrived in the capital from Ningbo."

When Pei Yuan heard that the Japanese delegation was engaged in such rampant smuggling, he became even more excited about the business of selling Yongle Tong Bao.

(End of this chapter)