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

Chapter 596 Coach, I Want to Play Basketball
Pei Yuan's fondness for Yun Buxian grew even stronger.

He truly lives up to his reputation as someone who has mingled with all sorts of people. Although he has made some historical mistakes, his practical skills are undeniably strong.

As Pei Yuan re-evaluated Yun Buxian, the boy's strengths gradually became apparent.

He was diligent in repairing and furnishing his house; he was also able to provide some assistance when capturing Liang Cishu; he was able to secretly send more than two hundred elite troops from Xuzhou out of the city without causing any disturbance; he was able to send them out on a mission on his own, and even withstood the pursuit of the Datong guerrillas, he managed to bring back 30,000 taels of silver at the cost of only half the losses.

Now, having just become a close follower, he has astutely discovered the weakest point in Pei Yuan's plan.

Pei Yuan has always valued talent, and since he has already decided to accept the Yun family father and son, he naturally won't hold a grudge about what happened before.

Yun Buxian gave a brief introduction to the banks and money shops in the capital, and then asked Pei Yuan, "I wonder if the commander intends to run the banks and money shops long-term, or if it is just a temporary measure for this matter of the precious paper money?"

“If the thousand households intend to operate long-term, we can acquire some shops and open our own bank.”

"At that time, we can use this controversy over the exchange of paper money and silver to demonstrate our strength. Once our credibility is established, many people will be willing to come to us for exchange or loans."

"If the commander is only concerned with this matter of precious paper money, I suggest that we take advantage of the way temples lend out 'convenience items'. There are many temples scattered throughout the capital, which is particularly suitable for small-scale, scattered transactions."

"Moreover, these temples have deep influence. Some are only worshipped by ordinary people, while others may be used to pray for the well-being of officials and their families. There are different circles behind them. If we use the temples' methods to exchange paper money, then our exchange rate can affect most of the capital at once."

Upon hearing this, Pei Yuan was overjoyed. "Very good."

This is what he wants: someone who can help solve problems.

Pei Yuan considered Yun Buxian's suggestion and pondered it for a moment.

Later, he also had a grand plan to use Yongle Tongbao coins to severely damage Xiao Rizi.

At that time, we will need a lot of copper coins.

It would be much more convenient if there were a few money shops to help exchange and collect Yongle Tongbao coins.

If the "Single Whip Law" reform can be successfully promoted later, and the "Single Whip Law" is used to bind the paper money, then a large number of paper money exchange channels will be needed.

While using temples as a channel is convenient, it is not a long-term solution.

In order to reap the rewards later, he must consciously sow and cultivate the seeds in the early stages.

So Pei Yuan made up his mind and said, "We should use the temple's channels, and we should also open our own bank."

After hearing Pei Yuan's words, Yun Buxian roughly understood the situation.

"The temples are easy to reach. With my rank of commander, all I need to do is give an order, and those temples will be willing to help."

"If you want to open your own money exchange, all you need is a venue and staff. There are ways to do that..."

Pei Yuan wanted to make a long-term business and didn't want any unclear issues regarding the venue, so he said, "The venue is easy to arrange. You can go to the young mistress to get the money, and we'll buy it ourselves. As for the staff, we must use reliable ones."

Yun Buxian already had a plan, and after Pei Yuan finished speaking, he replied, "Personnel are also easy to arrange. What a bank needs from its employees is simply someone with good character who can write and do math."

“Qianhu happens to have abundant resources in this area.”

"Oh?" Pei Yuan became interested.

Yun Buxian said, "Besides the usual incense offerings and religious ceremonies, the temple has another important source of income, which is selling scriptures handwritten by eminent monks to believers."

"Of course, they are definitely not real eminent monks. Most of them are a group of clever and quick young monks employed by various temples to serve as sutra copying monks."

"Many of these monks who copy scriptures are abandoned children adopted by temples, and they are basically all without parents. Because of their low social status, they have no opportunity to marry or take concubines."

“The commander can have each of the larger temples contribute a sutra-copying monk to you, and after a little training, they can be used to work in the money exchange.”

"These monks who copy scriptures have grown up in the temple since they were young, and their character and abilities are well known. If any of them cause trouble, it is because the temple is deliberately causing trouble, and the commander can just hold that temple accountable."

Pei Yuan was utterly shocked upon hearing this.

The Ming Dynasty had a high level of cultural literacy, but finding literate workers was still quite costly.

Especially in places like money shops, where the nature of the work is quite sensitive, it's easy for malicious individuals to collude with others, causing huge losses.

The key point is that, given the Pei family's background, they didn't have any servants born into the family.

Such employees can be assessed gradually if one or two are hired, but if too many are hired, the good and the bad will inevitably mix in, making them difficult to control.

However, according to Yun Buxian's method, not only can they find many literate workers who can write accounts, but they can also have commercial insurance. If any problems arise, they can find someone to hold them accountable and cover the losses.

Pei Yuan immediately became interested in these monks copying scriptures.

Such a large group of people with a certain level of literacy and a clean background is a tremendous asset.

Pei Yuan couldn't help but think of the Luo Sect's still nascent group of priests and priests.

The Luo sect was able to penetrate the thick barrier of "imperial power not extending to the county level" and develop rapidly in the countryside.

But in essence, it's no different from other cults.

The reason why the people submit is nothing more than coercion by violence or the pursuit of that vague sense of security.

To penetrate the "scholar" class and take control of the people, it is necessary to give them something more powerful.

For example... there's no need for Commander Pei to spend money on his hopes.

Pei Yuan had some vague ideas and planned to discuss the land tax with the Grand Master of the Luo Cult later.

He said to Yun Buxian, "Your idea is excellent. I'll leave this matter to you. The young mistress has a servant named Bi Jun, who is..."

Pei Yuan paused for a moment and then said, "He comes from the Inner Secretariat and is quite skilled in managing finances. After you and he have handed over all the affairs, come to me for my services. This matter is extremely important, so you must pay close attention to it."

Yun Buxian was secretly delighted upon hearing this and quickly replied, "This humble servant will certainly do his best."

Although he had only served the boss for a day before having to attend to other matters, the fact that the money for the bank business required money from the mistress clearly meant that it was Pei Yuan's private property. Helping the boss with his private affairs was much easier to gain favor with than running errands for him.

After Yun Buxian left, Pei Yuan, thinking about the important palace examination the next day, also went to bed early.

The next morning, Pei Yuan had just woken up when he heard someone whisper outside the door, "Commander, there are people waiting outside the temple to see you early this morning."

Hearing the somewhat restrained voice, Pei Yuan recognized it as Xiao Tong and asked, "Have you ascertained his identity?"

Xiao Tong replied, "It's Yan Song, the same Yan Song that Commander Qianhu met yesterday."

Pei Yuan thought for a moment and roughly guessed Yan Song's thoughts. He then said with a half-smile, "Alright, bring him to see me."

Then she changed her mind and said, "Never mind, I'll go see him."

It wasn't that Pei Yuan wanted to give Yan Song face, but rather that the psychological pressure of letting him step into Zhihua Temple at this moment was completely different from talking to him outside the gate.

Sure enough, when Yan Song realized that Pei Yuan had come out to see him instead of asking him to pay his respects, his face immediately paled, and his body swayed as if he had lost all his strength.

Before Pei Yuan could speak, Yan Song pleaded with him, "Commander, can I not leave?"

Yan Song originally intended to pursue political opportunism and wait until the two Yangs had decided to settle their differences before entering officialdom.

As a result, the harmonious conversation between the emperor and his minister completely changed Yan Song's expectations for the future.

Yan Song didn't sleep a wink last night; he even figured out which leg to step into the Wenyuan Pavilion with first.

However, all of this was contingent on Pei Yuanxian's approval. This was because Yan Song's plan to please Zhu Houzhao, and the enormous benefits that plan represented, were inextricably linked to the mysterious Commander Pei.

If Commander Pei doesn't agree, or even slightly modifies the original plan.

Then all of Yan Song's previous attempts to please the emperor would become empty talk. If he suffered losses due to the change in plans, he might even be implicated.

As Pei Yuan listened to Yan Song's pleading words, he felt as if he saw someone kneeling in front of him, crying and saying, "Coach, I want to play basketball."

"Tsk."

Pei Yuan immediately felt a very superficial sense of satisfaction.

I wanted to just get rid of this guy, but then I felt it would be too unethical to just enjoy myself and then ignore him.

Pei Yuan thought for a moment and said to Yan Song, "It's good that you came to me instead of trying to be clever. I'm very satisfied with that."

"Alright then, come see me here again tomorrow night. I, the commander, will have my say then."

Yan Song was deeply worried when Pei Yuan did not give a definite answer.

Fortunately, the path wasn't completely blocked, so he could only go with a heavy heart.

Pei Yuan glanced at the rising sun, then turned his gaze towards the direction of the imperial city.

The imperial examination should begin soon.

……

The imperial examination for the seventh year of the Zhengde reign had been underway for some time.

The candidates were kneeling in the hall, silently organizing their answers and devising strategies to solve the questions.

Three of them were sweating profusely as they looked at the questions.

"If one wishes to emulate the ancients, what should be done?"

These three were none other than Tang Gao, Huang Chu, and Cai Ang, who were unknowingly caught in the eye of the storm.

The three of them almost immediately thought of what Commander Pei had said that day.

“If I were Yang Tinghe, I would also be proud to have such a son.”

“Those messy controversies are not only an insult to my son’s talent, but also an insult to me personally.”

I want him to win!

Even though the three of them suspected that Pei Yuan was leaking the questions at the time, they couldn't help but feel uneasy afterward because Pei Qianhu's thinking was too outrageous.

Could it be because Yang Shen went off-topic in the previous imperial examination?

Is it because Yang Shen went off-topic in the previous exam that he still became the top scorer?
Could it be that Yang Shen became the top scholar in the previous exam because he went off-topic, and the chief examiner, Jin Gui, was Yang Tinghe's student?

Is Grand Secretary Yang Tinghe, the Grand Secretary of the Cabinet, going to return so capriciously?

What do you mean by "desiring to follow the ancient ways"? Clearly, you mean "desiring to practice the kingly way"—what should you do then?

The three, who understood the deeper meaning behind the question better than anyone else, finally understood why Pei Yuan had so confidently asserted that they could sweep the top spots in the undergraduate exam when he first met them.

At that time, Pei Yuanzhou was drinking wine in a boat, laughing and discussing the heroes of the world, saying that the three of them were the top three scholars: the first, second, and third.

Later, when Pei Qianhu met with many candidates, he repeatedly boasted that these three were the top-ranked candidates in the imperial examinations.

When the results of the imperial examination were released, even the most confident Tang Gao did not believe he had a chance of becoming the top scholar.

But Commander Pei still had full confidence in the three of them.

just now.

They understand...

It turns out that Commander Pei said this not because the three of them were top-ranked talents, but because Commander Pei made them top-ranked, which is why they were top-ranked.

The three men looked at the exam paper with mixed feelings, then looked up at the Grand Secretaries who were carrying out their official duties while symbolically supervising the exam.

They didn't know which one was Yang Tinghe, the one who arbitrarily wielded power in his hands, and a sense of awe and fearlessness towards power welled up in their hearts.

It turns out that the imperial examination, which selects talents for the entire nation, could have its correct answers revised to ensure that someone becomes the top scholar.

It turns out that the imperial examination, which was meant to select talents for the nation, could be used to allow scholars from the new cohort to compete in a second round to supplement their son's arguments, all in an effort to give his son a voice.

It turns out that someone had figured out the domineering and powerful prime minister and regarded him as a pawn to be manipulated.

The most difficult part of the imperial examinations was figuring out what kind of answer the examiners wanted.

The three of them already had a well-developed plan, and immediately began writing a draft.

Knowing the correct answer, writing a clear and logical article would be a piece of cake for them, given their abilities.

Moreover, the three of them didn't try any safe, conciliatory approach; they went straight for what Prime Minister Yang wanted to hear.

Among them, Tang Gao, who failed the exam the most times and felt manipulated by power the most times, wrote the most unrestrainedly.

Fagu? Of course, we need Fagu!
Damn it, I'll just quote your son directly.

"The essence of good governance lies in restoring the purity of the three dynasties!"

Tang Gao wrote a few lines, then hesitated, realizing that mere flattery wouldn't solve the problem.

What Prime Minister Yang wanted to see was something that could respond to all the doubts and complement his son's article perfectly.

The imperial court needs to solve the problem.

The victory of theory is merely a facade.

Prime Minister Yang needs to constantly invest his energy to maintain the gains on this front, which is certainly not what he wants to see.

Looking at the three words "Yi He Ru", Tang Gao became even more convinced of his judgment. What Yang Tinghe needed was something that could support this theory and also provide something that could be put into practice.

This is a bit of a dilemma.

If the way of the king was useful, and the restoration of the purity of the three dynasties was useful, would we still have the Ming Dynasty now?

Tang Gao pondered for a long time, and before he knew it, half the time had passed, he finally wrote a line on the draft.

“Ancient methods should not be rigidly adhered to; they must be adapted and improved according to the times.”

It's not that traditional methods are bad, nor that the way of the king is bad; it's that your understanding is not thorough enough, and your implementation is not flexible enough. You're using old methods to deal with new problems. In the new era, corresponding changes should also be made.

"Tsk."

After Tang Gao finished writing, looking at the ugly and distorted thing, he suddenly seemed to have a profound realization, and his brushstrokes became fluid and powerful.

(End of this chapter)