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

Chapter 582 0581 Testing the Waters
Chen Xinjian clearly intended for Yun Weilin to lead a fundraising effort to invest in this paper money war. The amount was enormous, so a simplistic and crude approach was clearly unacceptable. Not only should the principal be guaranteed, but a necessary profit guarantee should also be provided.

As Pei Yuan listened, many solutions written in the criminal law came to mind.

The temple possesses vast wealth, which could be used to make the Ming Dynasty great again. Perhaps this is an opportunity to test the waters.

If we actually build a "Minglian Federal Reserve", I can say, "I don't like money, I'm not interested in money."

After thinking it over, Pei Yuan decisively said, "I want to go back to Zhihua Temple and talk to Yun Weilin in person."

Upon returning to Zhihua Temple, Pei Yuan immediately summoned Yun Weilin to meet him.

Pei Yuan didn't hide anything from Yun Weilin and told him roughly what secrets he had learned, but Yun Weilin was still a little confused after listening.

I even subconsciously felt that the fund was something dirty.

Pei Yuan patiently explained, "Those ordinary people who actually end up having to borrow money at exorbitant interest rates are definitely already living hand to mouth."

"Instead of entrusting money to those people and risking losses, it's better to invest the money in funds."

"It just so happens that we have many official channels, such as the Directorate of Ceremonial, the Office of Transmission, and the Embroidered Uniform Guard. We also have our own people in these key intelligence channels."

“Look at this time, we got the news before the price of the precious paper money soared. All we had to do was follow the trend and we could make a fortune.”

Yun Weilin roughly understood Pei Yuan's thinking: "The commander's idea is that the purpose of raising this fund is to make a fortune from the precious paper money."

Pei Yuan said, "That's right."

Yun Weilin truly lives up to his reputation as someone who has spent many years navigating the world of fame and fortune, such as the Great Ci'en Temple.

He pondered for a moment, then immediately realized the problem: "Since this is a secret we obtained in advance, it's probably not a good idea to reveal it to the public. Otherwise, we might be taken advantage of by others."

Pei Yuan nodded and smiled, "That's why I used a fund as a middleman."

"You can tell those temples that this is a guaranteed profit-making sealed-bid share. They will only actually invest money when the sealed-bid becomes an open bid. There is full security."

"Moreover, I will have some very influential people lead the investment in this fund. With those people in charge, there will be absolutely no problems."

Thinking about what Pei Yuan had mentioned earlier about having Li Shishi, Lu Yin, and others make early purchases at a low price, Yun Weilin asked, "Does the Commander intend to operate this money in the same way as the Left Censor-in-Chief and his ilk?"

Pei Yuan said calmly, "This deal will definitely make them a fortune."

"However, given their status, how can they be treated the same as those people? There must be a significant difference in their prices."

"Moreover, even if we acquire the precious notes at a low price, they won't be handed over to them; instead, they will be held by the fund on their behalf. When to buy and when to sell will be entirely based on my instructions."

Yun Weilin had already understood Pei Yuan's meaning. "This subordinate understands."

According to Commander Pei, even if the temples purchased the banknotes at a low price, as long as they couldn't buy and sell them themselves, it would be equivalent to locking up this portion of the currency.

Pei Yuan would definitely let them have some meat, but the money from those temples had to become a convenient weapon for him.

Pei Yuan looked at Yun Weilin and asked, "So, is it possible to do it?"

Yun Weilin thought for a moment and immediately said, "I would like to express my opinion first. I have saved up some silver over the years and am willing to subscribe for five thousand taels to invest in this fund."

"As for the other temples, I believe I still have some influence and should be able to persuade some people to join us. As for the final outcome, we can only do our best and leave the rest to fate."

Pei Yuan was very satisfied with Yun Weilin's attitude. "Very good, then go ahead and do it."

Yun Weilin didn't look relaxed, but he didn't say much.

After Yun Weilin left, a Jinyiwei guard at the gate urgently reported that Wei Ne, the Left Councilor of the Office of Transmission, was outside requesting an audience.

Pei Yuan considered Wei Ne's financial resources and immediately abandoned the idea of ​​dragging him into this mess.

He simply said, "Call him in."

When Wei Ne arrived in a hurry, Pei Yuan noticed that his forehead was covered in a fine layer of sweat and asked curiously, "What's wrong, Left Councilor?"

Wei Ne quickly handed over a memorial from his sleeve, saying, "It just so happens that it was my turn to be on duty today, and when I was reviewing the memorials from various places, I came across this..."

Pei Yuan took a look and saw that it was the memorial from Wang Chang impeaching officials in Shandong.

In his memorial, Wang Chang criticized officials of all ranks in Shandong without reservation.

He claimed that officials at all levels, knowing his career was over, had always looked down on him. They also frequently banded together to resist his orders, protecting each other and deceiving him when he inspected various places.

At the same time, Wang Chang also impeached Jin Xianmin, the Shandong Provincial Surveillance Commissioner, saying that he could not control his subordinates, which led to the deterioration of the situation in Shandong.

Pei Yuan read it and thought to himself, "Judging by this speed, Wang Chang must have written a memorial and submitted it as soon as the secret letter arrived."

As expected of my top henchman, he's quite efficient.

Pei Yuan looked through it once and handed it back to Wei Ne.

Wei Ne asked somewhat nervously, "Does the commander know that Governor Wang is doing this?"

Pei Yuan nodded. "I know about this."

Wei Ne breathed a sigh of relief, then asked with some confusion, "Commander, why is that?"

"By doing this, Governor Wang has completely broken ties with the local officials. How can he possibly stay here?"

"Shandong is so important. We have one of our own people there. I wonder how many benefits we can get there."

"Now that this has happened, the court will definitely recall him to report for duty. Given Wang Chang's current situation, it will be extremely difficult for him to get another opportunity to be transferred to a post outside the capital."

Pei Yuan didn't explain anything, but instead gestured with his chin towards Wei Ne and asked, "What do you think of this memorial?"

Wei Ne glanced down and said carefully, "Wang Chang is a well-known remnant of Liu Jin, so his position was already quite awkward. The fact that he was able to leave his position as Minister of War in Nanjing and be transferred to Shandong is already thanks to Lu Wan."

"Everyone understands that Wang Chang is just a temporary figurehead who will eventually settle down safely. So it's understandable that officials at all levels don't respect him."

Pei Yuan nodded.

Wei Ne's idea is probably the consensus of most people.

In this way, Wang Chang's memorial could easily be seen as the final outburst after years of restraint.

Everyone should know what's going on in the middle, and no one will take what's in it seriously.

According to normal procedures, the Censorate should have recalled the governor to report on his duties to maintain everyone's dignity.

Subsequently, Wang Chang's position as Shandong Governor should be removed, and he should only retain the title of Right Vice Censor-in-Chief.

After a while, Wang Chang will have to feign illness.

Pei Yuan pondered for a moment, then said to Wei Ne, "You don't need to worry about this matter. Just take the memorial back as is. By the way, you can treat this as an amusing anecdote and tell others about it."

Wei Ne's furrowed brows remained unchanged. Unsure of Pei Yuan's intentions, he could only leave with a heavy heart. Pei Yuan silently pondered; Wang Chang's memorial for self-preservation had arrived, and it was time to launch an attack on Cheng Leixiang's side as well.

Pei Yuan then summoned Chen Xinjian and asked him, "Is there any progress in Zhang Yong's case?"

Chen Xinjian replied, "Zhang Rui has already relayed the message over there. I estimate that after another ten to fifteen days, those people will be able to return to Beijing. At that time, they will probably just give the higher-ups a random result."

Then, with a strange expression, he said, "It's most likely that we've been defeated by the Luo Sect or the White Lotus Sect."

Pei Yuan chuckled and said, "It would be best if it were the Luo Cult."

Zhu Houzhao now knows that Luo Jiao is under the triple control of the Shandong Provincial Military Command, the Provincial Governor's Office, and the Western Depot. If this special investigation team tries to pin the blame on Luo Jiao, things will get interesting.

Of course, what's interesting isn't the present, but rather that such perfunctory and fabricated actions might hit a target in the future.

Upon hearing this, Chen Xinjian said, "Should I send a letter to Shandong and ask them to make a little noise to give the officials of the Three Departments some pointers?"

This is the benefit of "I am the bad guy".

Pei Yuan instructed with satisfaction, "Let Chen Tou Tie and Cheng Lei Xiang discuss it themselves, and then have the people from Tianjin Wei raise any suspicions, just in case they actually find something."

Chen Xinjian made a note of this.

Pei Yuan then said to Chen Xinjian, "Since the people from the Three Guards of Tianjin will be setting off soon, have Cheng Leixiang intensify the spread of rumors that the Emperor is not the Empress Dowager's biological son."

"Once they leave Shandong, it will be time to close the net."

Although Chen Xinjian had some doubts about whether such a clumsy plan could actually bring down De Fan, he took it seriously since his commander was so confident.

Pei Yuanzheng was about to discuss the details of the matter with Chen Xinjian when Cen Meng peeked out from outside the door. Seeing Pei Yuanzheng talking to Chen Xinjian, he quickly withdrew.

Pei Yuan called out, "Come in and talk."

Cen Meng then came in and reported, "Commander, Ouyang Bi has come in and says he wants to see you."

Upon hearing that it was the chubby younger brother who had come, Pei Yuan couldn't help but laugh.

With such a naturally gifted physique, even if he arrived a little late, what did Pei Yuan have to complain about?
Of course, I'll forgive them!
Pei Yuan has always shown extraordinary patience and tolerance towards talented individuals.

Then Cen Meng added, "Ouyang Bijin also brought someone with him. It seems that he was someone we met when the commander saw off Vice Minister Wang at Lugou Bridge."

Pei Yuan was stunned for a moment, thinking of Wang Qiong, the farewell at Lugou Bridge, and the person next to Ouyang Bijin at that time.

Pei Yuan's smile widened even more. "Oh, it's him! Quickly, invite him in."

Seeing that Pei Yuan was in high spirits, Chen Xinjian decided not to ask about anything else for the time being and stood aside to wait for the two men to come in.

Not long after, Ouyang Bijin appeared with a slightly embarrassed expression and said to Pei Yuan, "Chief, commander."

Pei Yuan's gaze, however, fell on the slightly thin middle-aged scholar beside him.

The middle-aged clerk gave a polite smile and cupped his hands to Pei Yuan, saying, "My name is Yan Song, and I greet Commander Qianhu."

Pei Yuan laughed and stood up, striding from behind the desk into the hall, then grabbed the hands of the two men on either side.

He first gave Ouyang Bijin a reproachful look, "What are you calling a commander? How many times have I told you, we are sworn brothers, from now on we will address each other as brothers."

"Call me brother."

When Ouyang Bijin was captured by Pei Yuan, he trembled with fear.

He was terrified of this fierce man to the core, so he could only force a smile and cautiously say, "Brother."

Then Pei Yuan tugged at Yan Song, who was looking at the two of them with a strange expression, and said affectionately, "Ouyang and I are friends who have been through thick and thin together. When I was down on my luck, I met him in the midst of the storm."

"At that time, I knew that Brother Ouyang was a rare talent, and Brother Ouyang also spoke highly of me."

Yan Song's face twitched.

He knew exactly what it meant to meet in the midst of wind and rain, and he also understood how deadly that so-called high praise could be.

If it weren't for encountering Commander Pei again during this trip to the capital, Ouyang Bijin, in his anxiety, would have told Yan Song the whole story, and Yan Song would have been unaware that his brother-in-law had gotten himself into such trouble.

Originally, Yan Song judged that Pei Yuan would not dare to take out that thing and perish together, so he strongly advised Ouyang Bijin to leave the courtyard where he was living with Huo Tao.

Ouyang Bijin also lived up to expectations this time, successfully passing the imperial examination and becoming a tribute student. He will then be eligible for the palace examination the following day, becoming a true Jinshi (a successful candidate in the highest imperial examinations) and able to hold a legitimate official position.

Just when life seemed to be getting better, Ouyang Bijin unexpectedly ran into a Shandong scholar he had drunk with on the street.

Ouyang Bijin casually inquired about everyone's future prospects.

The answer nearly made his eyes pop out.

Those guys who used to drink and clink glasses with him and call him brother are all on the list now.

Ouyang Bijin was completely dumbfounded.

No, is it that the number of candidates admitted through the imperial examination has increased this year, or that those who passed the examination are no longer guaranteed job placement?
When Ouyang Bijin returned to his residence in a daze, he mentioned the matter to Yan Song.

This also greatly shocked Yan Song.

For Yan Song, who had some experience in the imperial court, this was an almost impossible task.

The days when people from Ji'an, Jiangxi, dominated the top seven are over.

The power to interpret ideology in the imperial court was also fraught with struggle and disagreement.

Yan Song had also seen the exam questions for this test.

Although he was no longer as shrewd as Yan Song had been, Yan Song was still Yan Song. His lack of political skills could not overshadow his excellence.

In a short period of time, he analyzed the intense conflicts and clashes within the imperial court.

To ensure that every single person under one's command was included in the list of successful candidates in such a fierce and competitive imperial examination, one not only needed a deep understanding of the court but also the power to force compromises from various parties.

Yan Song was eager to return to the court, but he was also cautious and dared not get involved in the power struggle between Yang Yiqing and Yang Tinghe.

In this situation, Pei Yuan, who occasionally reveals his true abilities, seems like someone worth talking to.

Yan Song first met Pei Yuan when Pei Yuan saw off Wang Qiong, the Vice Minister of the Ministry of Revenue, at Lugou Bridge.

Yan Song also met Pei Yuan and Wang Shouren, the son of the Minister of Rites, and they became sworn brothers.

Yan Song had even seen this guy take away a large group of candidates.

He never viewed this guy as just a mere warrior, so he was much more at ease when facing Pei Yuan.

(End of this chapter)