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

Chapter 572 Could it be that Commander Pei is doing this for me...?

Dou Yu was puzzled but impressed, feeling that his life was about to be elevated.

He was momentarily at a loss for words, and quickly picked up his cup again, saying, "Chief, let me toast you one more time."

Pei Yuan calmly blocked it with his hand, "See, you're in a hurry again. But this matter can't be rushed."

Dou Yu didn't understand, so he asked directly, "What does 'commander of a thousand' mean?"

Pei Yuan tapped his fingers on the table.

This time he deliberately used a bit of force, shaking his cup of tea so much that some tea splashed out. "Now all the good positions in the two capitals and thirteen provinces are occupied. I have to make room for you in a suitable position."

Dou Yu was startled upon hearing this and immediately understood the chilling murderous intent behind those words.

Dou Yu gently wiped his sweat and quickly added, "No rush, this humble servant is not in a hurry."

Pei Yuan wasn't just keeping Dou Yu hanging on; he gave a rough timeframe, "I can get you a good position in two or three months. Don't even think about the Left Provincial Administration Commission, but I might give it a try for the Right Provincial Administration Commission."

Although both the Left and Right Provincial Governors were of the second rank, the Left Provincial Governor was the top administrative official of a province, and his/her duties largely overlapped with those of the Right Provincial Governor, making the Right Provincial Governor's position relatively awkward.

Sometimes, the second-in-command may not actually have as much power as the third-in-command.

Therefore, the left provincial governors in each province would either assign a specific task to the right provincial governor and let him do whatever he wanted.

Or they might send him to a certain place to inspect and supervise certain matters.

Dou Yu himself never dared to imagine that he would go from a lowly official to the Left Provincial Governor in charge of the administration of a province, and he was not disappointed about it.

Moreover, as soon as Pei Yuan mentioned the Right Provincial Administration Commissioner, Dou Yu himself began to imagine his future career path.

That would inevitably rely on expertise, either by first handling horse administration in a province as the Right Provincial Governor, or by taking charge of certain prefectures and counties that primarily deal with horse administration.

Once he was proficient in government affairs, he would be given a position as the Right Vice Censor-in-Chief of the Censorate, a rank of third grade, and then transferred to inspect the horse farms in the border towns, or serve as a local governor.

He was transferred from his position as governor of a local region to serve as governor of a border town like Xuanfu.

At that time, as a border town governor, one could hold the title of Vice Minister of War, a third-rank official.

Afterwards, when a vacancy arises in the Ministry of War, he should immediately return to the capital to fill it, and perhaps then he can aspire to the position of Minister of War, one of the Seven Ministers.

Although he is currently just a horse breeder, it seems that he is not far from taking control of the army, reaching the pinnacle of life, and marrying Xiao Mei.

Moreover, although his official rank changed from second-rank to third-rank and then back to third-rank, his career path was one of rapid advancement!

Dou Yu looked at Pei Yuan with great excitement, "Then this humble servant will rely entirely on the commander's guidance."

Pei Yuan smiled and said, "No problem."

The position Pei Yuan intended to give Dou Yu was naturally the Right Provincial Administration Commissioner of Shandong.

Pei Yuan is going to take action against the Prince of De's faction, and he has already laid the groundwork for purging the Shandong officialdom. There will be plenty of vacancies to fill when the time comes.

Dou Yu, known as "Little Wen, the Horse Keeper," may seem unreliable, but horse administration was a very important part of Shandong's economy.

In particular, as Dongchang Prefecture was a place where Han, Mongol, and Semu people lived together, horse administration was always of paramount importance.

The most suitable local official for managing horse administration was the Court of Imperial Stud, but the Vice Minister of the Imperial Stud, who was in charge of the royal horse farms, was also an option.

In urgent situations where expediency is necessary, as long as someone is willing to give a push, at least procedurally there shouldn't be any problems.

Pei Yuan, thinking about his purge of the Shandong officialdom, felt it was time to get Wang Chang off the boat in time to avoid being caught in the crossfire.

Pei Yuan had previously felt there was no rush, and that making a move too early would leave too obvious a trace.

This is a good time.

Pei Yuan beckoned to Chen Xinjian, "Chen Xinjian, write this down."

Chen Xinjian quickly stepped forward and said, "Commander, I'm listening."

Pei Yuan glanced at Dou Yu, who was staring expectantly to the side, and suddenly noticed something wrong with the guy.

He's such a grown man, already a fourth-rank official, how come he has no sense of propriety at all?

The fact that the head of the household is assigning me work normally makes it seem like I'm deliberately trying to show off.

Fortunately, Pei Yuansu was open and honest and not afraid of being overheard. He said to Chen Xinjian, "After the banquet, you should secretly write to Wang Chang, the governor of Shandong, and ask him to immediately impeach the Shandong Provincial Administration Commission and all the officials in the prefectures and counties, saying that these Shandong officials are colluding with each other and deliberately working together to exclude him in government affairs."

"Furthermore, on the grounds that the local people disregarded the imperial court and had no regard for discipline, they requested the imperial court to send additional censors from the Censorate to inspect Shandong."

Dou Yu was startled and his eyes widened. He quickly dissuaded him, saying, "No, no, you mustn't do that, Commander."

Pei Yuan glanced at Dou Yu speechlessly.

What the hell is it to you?

On that line in Shandong, thanks to Chen Tou Tie, Chen Xin Jian was always the one busy managing things.

Upon hearing Pei Yuan's words, Wang Chang naturally did not think that Pei Yuan was trying to trick him, but immediately realized the danger involved.

He had to add a reminder, "Commander, the situation with Jin Xianmin, the Provincial Surveillance Commissioner of Shandong, is almost settled. Previously, you were strongly advocating for him; perhaps this time..."

Pei Yuan patted his forehead after hearing this, "I almost forgot about him, thank goodness you reminded me."

Then, Pei Yuan added, "Then let Wang Chang impeach Jin Xianmin for another reason, saying that since taking office, Jin Xianmin has been misled by his subordinates and is suspected of being incompetent. The court should also be ordered to strictly supervise and hold him accountable."

Dou Yu was about to suggest that the Provincial Surveillance Commissioner was unnecessary, but he gradually realized something was amiss: was there going to be trouble in Shandong's officialdom? This Provincial Surveillance Commissioner seemed to be one of their own?

Realizing the situation was getting complicated, Dou Yu dared not say another word.

As an old bureaucrat who had risen to the fourth rank but was left idle, Dou Yu still had some ability to discuss politics while drinking tea.

He had roughly understood from those few words.

Pei Yuan, a commander of a thousand households, could boss around Wang Chang, the governor of Shandong, and even drag Jin Xianmin, the provincial judicial commissioner of Shandong, into trouble. One can imagine the power he wielded.

By the way, as mentioned earlier, Chen Tou Tie, the deputy commander of the Shandong Provincial Military Commission, was the same subordinate who used to hold his horse and put it in the stirrups.

By this calculation, he had people all over Shandong, from the governor who was in charge, to the provincial judicial commissioner and the military commissioner who were subordinate to the three provincial judicial commissioners.

The entire Shandong officialdom is now reduced to...

Dou Yu was startled; only the Provincial Administration Commission remained!

Judging from Pei Qianhu's posture, it seems he is planning to wage war against the Shandong officialdom. Where does he get his confidence from?

Dou Yu was in turmoil.

He wanted to find a powerful backer to climb the ranks, but this is a bit too drastic.

After a while, Dou Yu recalled the scene of Pei Qianhu pointing at the cup and the ripples in it, and thought of Pei Qianhu's words, "We must make room for you."

My mind was a bit of a mess for a moment.

Could it be that Commander Pei did this for me...? What merit or ability do I, a fifty-year-old man, possess?

Just as Dou Yu was feeling conflicted, Pei Yuan, who had acquired a high-ranking civil official, waved his hand with some satisfaction, "Go ahead, let Chen Xinjian lead you to get acquainted with Eunuch Lu."

"I've been quite busy these past few days. If you encounter any problems, just contact him. That's what I said."

Dou Yu quickly got up and followed Chen Xinjian.

Pei Yuan felt slightly relieved and was no longer as troubled as before.

After dawdling for a while, someone shouted, "The auspicious time has arrived!"

Pei Yuan looked over instinctively and saw that the guests, upon hearing this, all stood up and crowded into the hall in a lively manner.

Pei Yuan didn't want to move, but someone seemed to have anticipated this and deliberately sent the steward to invite him again.

Although Pei Yuan realized that Song Chunniang had seen through his dirty thoughts and little secrets, he still gritted his teeth and went into the hall, determined not to lose face.

Upon entering the hall, the people there instinctively looked for their seats.

Despite trying to stay in the back, Pei Yuan was forced to the front by the brothers of the Thousand Households.

Soon, the sound of drums and gongs rang out, and Song Chunniang, dressed in a bright red wedding gown, led Zhang Yunjun, who was wearing a wedding dress and a red veil, out.

Song Chunniang was in a good mood, laughing as she walked.

Her curved eyebrows and eyes would occasionally glance at the crowd on both sides.

Faced with the congratulations and jokes from his brothers from the West Depot and the Thousand Households Office, he just laughed and greeted them with a hearty bow, just like a chivalrous person from the martial arts world.

Most of the people who came were our own people, so there was nothing to be surprised about.

Dou Yu nearly popped his eyes out, and after a while, he whispered to Chen Xinjian, who had been showing him around, "Why does this Commander Song look like a woman?"

Chen Xinjian calmly replied, "She was originally a woman."

"Huh?" Dou Yu was a little confused. "How can a woman be an officer in the Embroidered Uniform Guard?"

Chen Xinjian glanced at Dou Yu, speechless at the man's antics.

You've already paid homage to the sect, yet you still don't know your own family's origins.

So Chen Xinjian patiently explained, “Our Zhenxie Thousand-Household Office is responsible for supervising all temples and Taoist monasteries in the world, and the Daoist Zhenji is responsible for cutting off these secular places from worldly interactions. The taxes from those places are also collected by the Daoist Zhenji and then reported to the imperial court.”

"Ordinary monks and Taoist priests are one thing. But in some places there are nuns and female Taoist priests."

“If men were to go to such a place, wouldn’t it be easy to be suspected of being a place of debauchery? That’s why our thousand-household garrison has a number of women.”

"Song Qianhu was originally a squad leader under Han Qianhu. Later... well, although he had no merit, he had worked hard and was sent by the Qianhu to the West Depot to become the chief executioner."

Dou Yu made two "oh" sounds, thinking to himself, "The boss is awesome. Even his underlings—no, his little sister—can become the Chief Executioner in a ruthless place like the West Depot."

Fortunately, he had become accustomed to this kind of awesomeness, and Dou Yu felt that his own level of sophistication had also been elevated, and he even had a sense of entitlement to it.

Chen Xinjian asked curiously, "Aren't you very familiar with Commander Song?"

Dou Yu hesitated for a while, but then he realized that everyone was on his side, so he wasn't afraid of losing face.

He honestly replied, "Brother, I heard that both the Western Depot and the Eastern Depot were inquiring about me, so I panicked. Later, I asked around and found out it was all about this house, so I just paid the price to avoid further trouble."

"To be honest, this matter was handled by someone else; I have never met Commander Song in person."

"Oh, oh." Chen Xinjian understood, then gave him a thumbs up, "You're smart, you've really gotten this house for free."

Dou Yu also felt fortunate.

Otherwise, how could I have known so many big shots and now have someone to rely on?

However, as a newcomer to the gang, Dou Yu was obviously unaware of the chaotic personal relationships of the top boss. He had heard that Song Qianhu was originally Pei Yuan's little sister, so he roughly equated her with Chen Xinjian.

So he continued chirping, "Why would Commander Song, a woman, marry another wife? Isn't that a bit... a bit illogical?"

Chen Xinjian didn't want to put Dou Yu in a difficult position, so he gave him a look and said, "Don't ask."

People like Dou Yu, who have no powerful connections and work in obscure government offices, are very good at reading comprehension and immediately shut up.

Everyone has their own special eraser.

However, he still had a slight doubt, so he asked in a low voice, "Although Commander Song has this hobby, there's no need to make such a big fuss about it. If word gets out, it might not sound good."

"If you really like it, you can keep it in your room privately."

Chen Xinjian replied, "They like it, that's all."

Then, he gossiped to his new colleague, "Do you know who the bride is?"

Dou Yu was confused. How was he supposed to guess?
But a family that would marry their daughter off to another woman to bring ruin and make her a wife with no future must not be a wealthy or influential family.

How could someone of his rank, the Junior Minister of the Imperial Stables, possibly know such a family?

Dou Yu could only say, "With so many families in the capital, it's really hard to guess."

As it turned out, Chen Xinjian gave him a very unexpected answer.

He chuckled and said, "You must know him."

Seeing Dou Yu's blank expression, Chen Xinjian couldn't help but share with others, "She is the daughter of the Shanxi Provincial Surveillance Commissioner."

The Provincial Surveillance Commissioner of Shanxi was a third-rank civil official, belonging to the Censorate system, and was considered a prestigious and respected figure in the court.

Dou Yu first instinctively showed respect to this person, then slowly remembered who it was, and couldn't help but blurt out, "How could it be him?!"

That was Zhang Lian, a man of integrity and upright character, a true civil official!
How could someone like that marry his daughter off to another woman?
Dou Yu said in disbelief, "Impossible, right?"

Chen Xinjian warned, "Don't talk nonsense. You're one of our own, that's why you told me. Commander Song trusted everyone present, that's why he invited them here so openly. If you leak the information, it won't just anger Commander Song, but everyone present as well."

Dou Yu was sweating profusely and quickly said, "No, no, I wouldn't dare."

Chen Xinjian threatened Dou Yu before mentioning to him, "The Zhang family always thought she was married to Commander Pei as a concubine. Because of the bad reputation, they claimed she was married to Commander Song as his wife."

Dou Yu only belatedly realized what was happening, gave Pei Yuan a sly look, and asked in a low voice, "Then what about them..."

Chen Xinjian gave Dou Yu a meaningful look, "Don't ask any more questions."

Dou Yu finally understood what Chen Xinjian meant when he said, "This house is practically a gift."

These are clearly the two mistresses that Commander Pei kept, who solved their status problems on their own.

In this way, no matter who has children in the future, they will have a clean reputation.

From this perspective, Pei Qianhu is clearly the happiest person today.

(End of this chapter)