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

Chapter 618 Plans are no match for change
“You can write to your accomplices in Yunyang and ask them to select some clever sons to send to me for instruction. In two to five years, Yunyang will surely produce its own Jinshi (successful candidates in the highest imperial examinations).”

Upon hearing this, Sikong Sui looked at Pei Yuan with some suspicion.

Then, he said tactfully, "Chief, the imperial examination is a grand ceremony of the court, and the power is in the hands of noble and respectable civil officials. Not to mention people like us, even the eunuchs of the Directorate of Ceremonial Affairs cannot interfere."

Pei Yuan was somewhat surprised after hearing this. He glanced at Sikong Sui and asked, "You haven't heard my story before?"

Sikong Sui: "???"

Pei Yuan felt a little disappointed after seeing Sikong Sui's reaction.

This is... I've never heard of it before...

Pei Yuan didn't want to pretend to know things that others didn't, so he said to Sikong Sui, "Let's not talk about these things now. You should rest well and learn a little about the trends in the court and the public."

Sikong Sui was somewhat confused, but seeing that Pei Yuan was no longer pressuring him to make a statement, he breathed a sigh of relief.

After this understanding, Pei Yuan was now quite confident that he could persuade Sikong Sui and his group.

These bandit leaders in Yunyang Prefecture, relying on their old methods to exploit the wealth of the villagers and plunder the resources of the Jingxiang Mountains, really thought that once they had accumulated some wealth, they could sit at the table and eat.

Scholars, farmers, artisans, and merchants.

Now, there isn't a single "scholar" in the entire Yunyang Prefecture; there's only a group of ruled people.

Such a status made them seem like lambs to the slaughter to the gentry who already had access to state resources through the secret channels of officialdom.

The only difference is that some lambs are fatter and stronger.

Now, the powerful clans of the seven surrounding prefectures, seeing that Yunyang had been tamed for generations and seemed to have lost its danger, naturally stepped forward with knives, ready to taste its saltiness.

Now, it remains to be seen when Commander Sikong will discover that little surprise.

After seeing Sikong Sui off, Pei Yuan looked at his lair, now occupied by a tigress, and felt a pang of regret.

He didn't know when Commander Han would return.

In order to steadily advance the plan, we have no choice but to back down for now.

Pei Yuan learned that Commander Han was inspecting the temples in the east of the city, so he led a few people to the west of the city.

Ostensibly, they were going on patrols, but in reality, it was just for fun.

Pei Yuan visited several temples and found that people were in a state of panic, with many discussing the matter of Shi Buyi.

Thinking about Yun Weilin's fund plan to spend a fortune on horse bones, Pei Yuan deliberately released some ambiguous information to intimidate the guilty monks.

Before the afternoon patrol was even over, a member of the Imperial Guards rushed back to report that four or five people had hanged themselves in the temples they had visited earlier.

Pei Yuan already considered the monks and temples in the capital as easy prey, and naturally did not want to escalate the situation and attract the covetous eyes of others.

So he could only give some instructions and tell his subordinates to cover the lid first.

In the evening, Pei Yuan returned home, and Jiao Yan'er asked him a few questions about the money shop.

Pei Yuan's planned money exchange involves many significant interests, so these assets naturally cannot fall under the name of the Thousand Household Office.

Therefore, all the money shops that Yun Buxian bought were registered under the Pei family's name.

The money was transferred through Jiao Yan'er's account, and it was Bi Jun, who was in charge of handling it on the surface and also worked for Jiao Yan'er, who was also her subordinate.

Pei Yuan never viewed Jiao Yan'er as an ordinary woman, so he didn't hide anything from her and told her about his desire to support the Ming Dynasty's paper money system.

Surprisingly, Jiao Yan'er didn't seem to react much to Pei Yuan's thankless task.

After recognizing the crucial importance of maintaining the Ming Dynasty's paper money system for upholding its rule, Jiao Yan'er even admired Pei Yuan's vision.

Having been provoked by that bastard Song Chunniang today, Pei Yuan, for the sake of his great cause of having a son, took Jiao Xiaomei to bed early.

The second time, Pei Yuan couldn't help but think that, mathematically speaking, the probability of finding Qingge or Wanyue would be higher if he used this shot.

However, doing math while with Song Chunniang might be somewhat useful.

Because while good irons are fun to play with, they aren't very durable.

However, Jiao Xiaomeiren surprised Pei Yuan a bit. Although this bright and beautiful girl looked soft and gentle, she was like a sponge, gently accommodating all of Pei Yuan's passion.

The next morning, Pei Yuan woke up with a blank mind.

After breakfast, the guards at the gate said that Commander Sikong was outside requesting an audience.

Pei Yuan smiled, having roughly guessed what had happened.

Since both sides have something to use from each other, there's no need to put on any pretense.

Pei Yuan had someone invite Sikong Sui in.

As soon as Sikong Sui entered, he put on a smile and apologized, "I was blind and didn't know that Commander Qian had done such a big thing these past few days."

Pei Yuan waved his hand dismissively and asked, "Have you met Commander Han?"

Sikong Sui knew what was going on and quickly replied, "I have seen him, I have seen him. As soon as Commander Han returned, I went to request an audience."

Pei Yuan asked calmly, "What did they say?"

Sikong Sui immediately puffed out his chest and declared, "What else can I say? The two commanders are a match made in heaven. Moreover, His Majesty has bestowed this marriage upon them, which shows that their fate was sealed long ago."

Sikong Sui went a step further to claim credit, saying, "Besides, I have supported the two commanders from beginning to end. Back in Yanggu, wasn't I punished by Commander Han for speaking frankly and directly?"

Pei Yuan interrupted with some suspicion, "Is that how it is?"

How could he not remember that it was this guy who, along with Tantai Fangtu and Cui Bohou, spread rumors about Commander Han, which led to Commander Han punishing them by making them stand guard?

Sikong Sui's face flushed red. "Of course it's because of this. I would say the same thing in front of Commander Han."

"Besides, it is only natural for men to marry when they are of age and for women to marry when they are of age. With Pei Qianhu's talent, looks and personality, he is a perfect match for Han Qianhu. Han Qianhu is shy and may not have been able to see through it yet. I will definitely try my best to persuade him."

Pei Yuan was overjoyed and hinted, "The brothers in the Thousand Households also think we are a good match. It's time to let Commander Han understand the hearts and minds of the people."

Sikong Suixin said, "Isn't it just about using soft persuasion and creating a public opinion atmosphere that surrounds Commander Han?"

Once everyone starts seeing the two as a couple, Han Qianhu might subconsciously be influenced to think that way too. You see, at first glance, Pei Qianhu might not seem like a good person, but after careful consideration, he has to admit that it is indeed a good choice.

Although the choice was made after careful consideration, it had nothing to do with emotions.

Sikong Sui immediately declared, "Not only the brothers of the Thousand Households, but also the more than 100,000 households in Yunyang Prefecture and the more than 1 million people in the Jingxiang Mountains, all feel that the two Thousand Households are a good match."

Pei Yuan immediately understood and asked Sikong Sui with a smile, "By the way, what brings you here this time?"

Sikong Sui hurriedly flattered, "It's about the matter that Commander Qianhu mentioned last time. I plan to have the local gentry of Yunyang send their children to Commander Qianhu so that he can properly train them and help them to have a bright future."

Pei Yuan readily agreed, "Alright, this is something I promised you."

Sikong Sui hesitated for a moment, then asked, "Then how many people should I send?"

Pei Yuan knew absolutely nothing about the forces in Yunyang; his only potential breakthrough was Sikong Sui.

Pei Yuan decided to go the extra mile, saying, "You decide who comes and how many people come."

"However, let me make this clear first. You can't get fat in one bite. This time, I'll try to help you get a few places for the Juren degree. As for the Jinshi degree, that will depend on the situation."

Upon hearing this, Sikong Sui said gratefully, "It's good to have a Juren (successful candidate in the imperial examination), then we'll have more chiliarchs (commanders of a thousand households)."

As a newly established prefecture, Yunyang Prefecture suffered suppression in education and culture, and did not even have its own examination district.

If one wanted to participate in the provincial examination, one could only go to other prefectures in Huguang to audit the examinations; this was the so-called supplementary examination policy.

Throughout the entire Ming Dynasty, Yunyang Prefecture only produced about ten successful candidates in the imperial examinations, and these were mostly concentrated in the late Ming period.

Pei Yuan's influence does not yet extend to Huguang, so he can only try to obtain one or two places from Huguang before the autumn imperial examination next year.

This matter may seem difficult, but as long as a suitable exchange of benefits can be made, it's not a big deal.

The Huguang region encompasses the entire provinces of Hunan and Hubei. Next year's autumn imperial examination will produce a total of ninety candidates for the Juren degree. There is still hope if you try your best.

Sikong Sui left full of hope, not to mention his plans with Tantai Fangtu and others.

Pei Yuan estimated that the coming days would be the crucial stage of the "gossip tactics."

He was a little afraid that Commander Han would get so annoyed that he might come and beat him up, so he had been moving around constantly these past few days, never daring to stay overnight in the same place.

To Pei Yuan's horror, three days later, he indeed heard from the Imperial Guard sent by Cheng Zhihu that Commander Han had actually gone to his residence in Dengshikou to ambush him.

According to the Jinyiwei (Imperial Guard), it was the young mistress Jiao Yan'er who greeted Commander Han at the time.

Han Qianhu was not talkative, but Jiao Yan'er handled the situation with grace and poise, and was very appropriate.

Pei Yuan felt that things seemed to be getting out of control again.

According to his original plan, he was supposed to marry Commander Han in Chengqingfang. But now things have turned out differently. Not only did Commander Han see the dowry, which contained treacherous intentions, ahead of time, but he also went directly to his home and saw his beautiful and charming concubine.

Just as Pei Yuan was deceiving himself and living a life of hiding and dodging, a sudden change disrupted his plans once again, forcing him to face Commander Han ahead of schedule.

That is, the "Memorial to the Throne from the Treasury," which many people had been eagerly anticipating, was officially submitted.

Originally, the focus of the court and the public was on the imperial examination corruption scandal, and various forces also wanted to take the opportunity to test Yang Tinghe's strength. Zhu Houzhao was happy to have some free time and also took the opportunity to happily demolish the houses in Mingyufang and Jiqingfang.

Just when many people thought that the seventh year of Zhengde's reign was about to come to an end in this atmosphere, the long-rumored memorial from the Siyueku finally appeared.

—“The Ministry of Revenue reported that Pang Piao, the Left Vice Director of the Treasury, and others claimed that there was a shortage of money and paper money. In addition to the Yangzhou Customs keeping silver specifically for textile production, it was proposed that the Linqing and Hexiwu Customs, starting from the first month of the eighth year of Zhengde, and the Huai'an, Suzhou, and Hangzhou Customs, starting from the first month of the ninth year of Zhengde, should all collect money and paper money in silver coins and send them to the Treasury for use. The Jiujiang Customs should continue to collect silver coins and send them to the Inner Transport Treasury.”

When Zhu Houzhao received this memorial, he was somewhat stunned.

It took him quite a while to remember Yan Qing's warning to him and the many benefits she had mentioned.

When Zhu Houzhao realized that what he had been waiting for had actually happened, he immediately became excited.

He quickly kept the memorial to himself and summoned Lu Yin and Zhang Rui to discuss the matter.

In his agitation and panic, Zhu Houzhao even sent a messenger on horseback to Jiangxi to try and bring Yan Song back.

When Zhang Rui saw the memorial, he didn't initially realize its key point.

Treasury paper? What's that?!
He usually accepts money in silver.

Lu Yin, having received Pei Yuan's reminder, simply listened in silence.

When Zhu Houzhao revealed the enormous benefits involved, not only Zhang Rui was tempted, but even Lu Yin, who had already made some calculations, began to look forward to his family's gains.

While paper money is indeed worthless now, as long as it can be used to pay commercial taxes, its value will inevitably recover to some extent.

If you buy a lot of banknotes now while they're cheap, you can make a fortune by taking advantage of this opportunity.

Zhu Houzhao directly addressed his two most capable eunuchs, saying, "I have already instructed He Huan, who is in charge of cleaning up the Inner Treasury, to prepare the silver. Now, have your trusted confidants secretly purchase banknotes. Once you have purchased enough banknotes, I will approve the memorial and take the opportunity to raise the price of banknotes."

Remembering Yan Song's reminder, Zhu Houzhao added, "Don't be greedy in this matter. Try to quietly acquire banknotes, and sell them off as soon as there is a slight price difference."

Upon hearing the name Yan Song, Lu Yin recalled the task Pei Yuan had instructed him to perform and immediately realized that Yan Song was one of his own.

So, this was naturally Pei Qianhu's arrangement.

Lu Yin did not react to this, but Zhang Rui asked in confusion, "Your Majesty, since this matter can bring considerable benefits, why not make a fortune? That way, it will be worth all our hard work."

Zhu Houzhao said rationally, "This memorial came out of nowhere, and there must be someone behind it stirring things up. Although I can temporarily keep the memorial in the palace, if I alert the enemy, we will lose a powerful ally. Then, who will we sell our precious paper money to?"

"Our bottom line is that we absolutely cannot lose money. As for how much we make, it's just an experiment. If we can succeed this time, we can do it ourselves next time."

Upon hearing what the rational investor Zhu Houzhao said, Zhang Rui had a bad idea. He tentatively suggested, "Your Majesty, should we send someone to find the printing plates for the paper money?"

The imperial court has stopped printing paper money for decades. Now the value of paper money has dropped so low that even counterfeiting it could result in a loss, and no one pays attention to the printing plates anymore.

The thirty printing plates have long since been thrown into some warehouse and are now rusting away.

Although reprinting the paper money would definitely be a major event that would provoke fierce opposition from both the court and the public, Zhu Houzhao was never one to follow the rules.

He thought for a moment, then said in a low voice, "Let's look for it."

(End of this chapter)