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

Chapter 620 My Beautiful Female Desk Mate

Without making a sound, Pei Yuan slowly moved his hands, which were on either side of the wooden box, upwards. First, he fumbled to unlock it, and then with a flick of his thumb, he lifted the wooden lid.

The public hall where Pei Yuan was located was originally an annex building on the east side of Zhihua Temple, and its predecessor was also a Buddhist hall.

The lighting inside was only so-so.

Pei Yuan was already intimately familiar with the documents in the wooden box. He casually picked up a few, glanced at them one last time with lingering reluctance, and then placed them on the desk.

Han Qianhu pretended not to care and continued with his own business, but his eyes subconsciously glanced at the documents.

Pei Yuan boldly declared, "Once the commander marries me, this vast fortune will all be ours."

Han Qianhu's gaze, which had been glancing over, smoothly shifted upwards, turning into a speechless eye roll.

Clearly, if it weren't for the "Han Qianhu is not here" mode, under normal circumstances, Han Qianhu might have been so angry that he would have taken action.

Pei Yuan looked at Han Da Meiren's pretty face. Although he didn't dare to be presumptuous for the moment, he was prepared to take a good look at her a few more times when he got the things later.

Just then, Xiao Ying, who was supervising the transport of the silver, finished his work and impatiently stepped into the courtroom, urging, "Why isn't it finished yet? Let's get this over with as soon as possible."

When his gaze fell upon the hall, he asked with some surprise, "This is..."

Pei Yuan, fearing that Xiao Ying would ruin his plans, directly said with dissatisfaction, "Mind your own business!"

Xiao Ying was a little numb. This guy is crazy.

However, thinking about the rumored incident involving Pei Yuan, Xiao Ying had a rough idea.

He chuckled and winked a few times, but when he saw Pei Yuan's stern gaze, he suddenly felt a little bored.

Xiao Ying pretended not to see Commander Han and asked directly, "I've delivered the silver, but where are my banknotes?"

Pei Yuan raised the ledger in his hand, "I'll withdraw the funds for you right away."

Xiao Ying was overjoyed upon hearing this and forgot everything else.

Upon receiving the good news, Li Shishi, disregarding his old and frail body, hurriedly arrived at Zhihua Temple.

The Ning Prince's life has been difficult these past two years. If he can truly profit from this incident, the Prince of Ning will surely remember his hard work.

Pei Yuan was about to discuss the transfer of silver notes with Xiao Ying when he heard that Li Shishi had arrived, so he called him over as well.

When Li Shishi entered the hall, he was also somewhat puzzled by the beautiful woman sitting in the courtroom.

If I'm said to be Pei Yuan's woman, I'm still wearing an official robe. If I'm said to be another Jinyiwei official, I'm approachable in front of Brother Pei, but do I have no prestige in front of others?

Han Qianhu was also getting a little unsettled at this moment.

She did want to see how Pei Yuan would handle this money war and get a feel for the atmosphere, but his accomplices were neither wealthy merchants nor tycoons, but rather a military official of the first rank, Left Vice-General, and a civil official of the second rank, Grand Censor.

This was beyond her expectations.

Han Qianhu was hesitating about whether to end the "Qianhu is not here" mode.

Unexpectedly, Pei Yuan calmly reached out and gently pressed on her forearm, indicating that she didn't need to pay attention, and then gave Li Shishi a sharp wink.

Li Shishi was slightly confused. What did this mean?
Seeing Xiao Ying winking and smirking beside him, Li Shishi, being a shrewd old man, immediately backed down and didn't bother with it.

Han Qianhu was in a somewhat passive position. Whether or not he greeted the two men, he seemed rather awkward.

Her eyes were fixed on the dossier in front of her, and she could only pretend that there was some kind of "the commander is not here" mode. For a moment, she didn't even care about Pei Yuan's secret reach earlier.

Pei Yuan rarely saw Commander Han in such a passive position.

He placed the ledger on the desk, leaned forward slightly, and said softly, "I need to handle the silver and banknote transactions and arrange the subsequent money exchange."

"Qianhu... is he still there?"

Seeing Pei Yuan taking the opportunity to block him, Commander Han was furious.

Just when everyone had finally stopped paying attention to her, leaving now would undoubtedly make her stand out again.

When has she ever let herself be so embarrassed?
Han Qianhu pretended to be completely unaffected, still looking at the dossier in his hand, but slowly moved aside to make room for Pei Yuan to handle official business.

Pei Yuan was overjoyed at the sight. If this was the case, it was much better than drooling over the beautiful Han's legs.

Pei Yuan glanced at the large official's hat chair that Commander Han was sitting in.

Actually, if you squeeze in, you can sit down.

Pei Yuan's gaze quickly met Han Da Meiren's slightly warning eyes.

Pei Yuan immediately backed down, saying, "I understand, I understand."

So he gestured to Lu Yong below the hall while gesturing for Xiao Ying and Li Shishi to sit down.

Li Shishi was still somewhat confused when Xiao Ying pulled him up and helped him sit down in a guest chair.

Just watch it.

Lu Yong, observing Lu Yong's expressions, had already figured it out. He quickly took a chair from the garrison commander's room next door and placed it behind the table as well.

Pei Yuan sat down, touched the armrest, looked at the desk, and then glanced at his beautiful female classmate who was writing something.

Suddenly, I had a very novel feeling.

Li Shishi finally couldn't help but ask, "Brother Pei, has what you sent someone to say been confirmed?"

"There are no outsiders here," Pei Yuanzhi said. "It was Lu Yin who sent me the letter through his men, saying that the memorial has reached His Majesty's hands."

Li Shishi couldn't help but show a look of joy.

Although Xiao Ying already knew about this, he couldn't help but smile when Pei Yuan mentioned it. He turned to Li Shishi and said, "There's more good news to come."

Li Shishi became even more excited upon hearing this.

Seeing that Xiao Ying had seen through his words, Pei Yuan continued, "His Majesty kept that memorial, and then had Lu Yin and Zhang Rui take silver from the Imperial Treasury to buy up banknotes in large quantities at money shops and banks in the capital."

"What?!" Li Shishi exclaimed in surprise, standing up abruptly.

Then his expression turned to ecstatic joy.

Even Zhu Houzhao got involved in buying at rock-bottom prices, so isn't this going to be far beyond expectations?
In the past few days, Li Shishi had also secretly taken a sum of money and had been collecting Ming Dynasty banknotes. Seeing that he was about to expand and strengthen the business, he immediately thought of the banknotes that Pei Yuan had promised him.

He quickly asked, "What about the 20,000 taels of silver in paper money we agreed on?"

Pei Yuan said, "Everything is ready. Do you plan to settle directly, or sell it through the banks I have?"

Li Shishi thought to himself, "I am, after all, a representative of the Ningyuan Kingdom."

If you can't even handle something like this, wouldn't you be a laughingstock?

So he said, "Direct delivery."

Pei Yuan was also straightforward, "The banknotes are all here, just take the silver when it arrives."

After Pei Yuan finished speaking, he asked with a smile, "Aren't you going to wait for the price? His Majesty is currently hiding his true intentions and indulging in food, so you might be able to buy it for less."

Li Shishi shook his head, "I'm not waiting anymore. The banknotes I took from you at a rate of 'five strings of cash for one coin,' if they can't be sold, I can return them to you as a guarantee. If I buy them from outside and lose money, then I'll be losing my own money." Xiao Ying chuckled upon hearing this.

He thought so too.

Even though the emperor is involved and it seems like a sure thing, there are still considerable risks involved.

When you can make money, it doesn't matter how much or how little you make.

However, once the key to the treasury is revealed, if the price is lower than their previous estimate...

Those who hoarded the precious paper money hoping to profit from it will inevitably flee in a stampede. At that time, those holding the precious paper money will have nowhere to turn for help.

At that time, no matter how cheaply you acquire the banknotes, once they're stuck in your hands, they'll be worthless.

Pei Yuan was willing to cover the amount of precious paper money he could sell at a rate of "five strings of cash for one coin," so these two shrewd people naturally chose to earn the money with less risk.

Pei Yuan was also pleased with this outcome.

Using the silver he obtained to build a defensive barrier was part of Pei Yuan's plan.

Only through mutual benefit can we win this battle decisively.

Pei Yuan then reiterated, "Don't worry, I, the commander, will keep your money separately. I won't use it for any transactions, and I can always use it to bail you out."

The situation is very different now than before.

Pei Yuan's previous plan was to lock the precious paper money in his hands with his allies in advance at a price of "five strings of precious paper money for one coin".

Then, relying on the large sum of silver they cashed out, they stubbornly defended the price of "five strings of cash for one coin," forming an unbreakable price barrier.

The sudden exposure of Shi Buyi's case, which even led to the suicide of Chen Yiping, the head of the Ministry of Rites' Sacrificial Affairs Department, has greatly shocked the circle of eminent monks in the capital.

Yun Weilin seized the opportunity and, through some clever maneuvering, managed to protect one of Shi Buyi's illegitimate children.

After Yun Weilin, witnessed by several eminent monks, gave the money that Shi Buyi had placed in the foundation to the illegitimate son, Yun Weilin's foundation received an unprecedented wave of enthusiastic investment.

Yun Weilin, who was very famous in the capital, not only received a large amount of silver, but also a thick list of illegitimate children.

Many eminent monks have even explicitly stated that they know Yun Weilin has a powerful background, and that this money is just to buy peace of mind.

If Buddhism continues to thrive and can continue to benefit believers, then they will consider this money as never having existed. If any unforeseen circumstances arise, they hope this surviving, untraceable money will be available to help their children cope with any financial difficulties.

Therefore, after a large amount of silver flowed in, Pei Yuan decisively changed his plans.

Pei Yuan stopped touching the silver that his allies had cashed out, and used it specifically to bail out his allies.

If the allies can successfully cash out at the price of "five strings of cash for one coin", this special fund will be unfrozen and become Pei Yuan's own profit.

As for the other banknotes in Pei Yuan's possession, after the distribution by his relatives and friends, the remaining banknotes were all bought up by Yun Weilin's fund at a high price of "two strings of banknotes for one coin".

This price is significantly lower than that of Lu Yin, Li Shishi, and Xiao Ying, but in the long run, there is still room for substantial profits.

After all, the ultimate weapon of binding the "Single Whip Law" to the Ming Dynasty's precious paper money had not yet been used.

The Ming Dynasty Treasure Notes are poised for a long-term bull market.

At that time, Pei Yuan's concept of value investing will be able to be explained.

In other words, all those who knew the inside story were excitedly preparing to make a fortune.

Pei Yuan had already successfully cashed out and left the game at a very high price before the story even began.

Subsequently, the sale, price manipulation, and speculation of the precious paper money, including the construction of resistance lines, all used the money of the senior monks.

Even if something unexpected happens and someone powerful enough wants to overturn the table, they won't be able to overturn Pei Yuan, because it has nothing to do with him anymore.

The money shops in various places exchanged the monks' precious notes, and the money used to defend the price line was also the monks' silver.

Even those conducting the transactions on the surface were monks who copied scriptures from temples.

This matter has absolutely nothing to do with Pei Yuan.

Seeing that Pei Yuan agreed so readily, Li Shishi felt that he hadn't earned enough.

He recalled that he had made another agreement with Pei Yuan, which was to exchange a portion of the Bazhou army for precious paper money.

However, Prince Ning has not yet given any information about this matter, and it is not appropriate to discuss it in front of everyone.

Li Shishi immediately fell silent and turned his gaze to Xiao Ying.

Xiao Ying didn't stand on ceremony and directly asked Pei Yuan, "The silver I brought is already being weighed and counted. Where are the paper money I requested?"

Pei Yuanxian didn't reply to Xiao Ying, but instead smiled at Li Shishi and pointed at Xiao Ying, saying, "He asked for 100,000 taels."

Li Shishi secretly envied him.

Xiao Ying was somewhat surprised by Pei Yuan's trust in him.

Pei Yuan then said to Xiao Ying, "You are not as good as Lu Yin. Lu Yin asked for 150,000 taels of silver, and after agreeing to that amount, he delivered the silver the very next day."

Xiao Ying curled his lip upon hearing this and said disdainfully, "He has been the military governor for so long, and who knows how many prefectures he has destroyed along the way with the Bazhou army. What is 150,000 taels of silver?"

If Xiao Ying hadn't followed Pei Yuan and made a fortune in Yanggu, even with the Xiao family's savings accumulated over the years, it would have been difficult for them to come up with 100,000 taels.

If you want to get rich, you have to fight wars.

Pei Yuan smiled and then said to him, "I will have Xiao Tong count your banknotes and then personally escort them to your residence."

He then said to Li Shishi, "As for the Grand Commandant..."

Li Shishi said, "I'll wait here for the mansion to bring the silver over, and then I'll take the banknotes back with me."

Lu Yin's precious paper money has been completely entrusted to Pei Yuan, so Pei Yuan doesn't need to worry about it.

Next, it was the share for Chen Xinjian and a few of his close confidants.

Pei Yuan distributed a portion to each of his personal guards, and also had the portions purchased by Chen Xinjian and other officers of the Thousand Households directly distributed.

While comparing the records, Pei Yuan instructed people to fetch the precious paper money for distribution.

The bureau helped them with the process, but it was far less effective than letting them experience firsthand the joy of turning waste paper into silver.

Pei Yuan stole a glance at Han Qianhu's reaction.

Although Commander Han had seen a lot of the world and had made a fortune trading goods with Pei Yuan in Huai'an, he was still quite interested in the enormous wealth represented by those few words of arrangement.

Pei Yuan was still preoccupied with the matter of the "thousand-household commander being absent," so he deliberately flipped through the account books a few more times, pretending to be annoyed that he couldn't find anything.

Then he slowly arched his back to move the official's chair aside, intending to look for a few more notebooks.

However, just as she had created a little space to lean down, Han, who had already subconsciously started to pull her legs back, suddenly realized something.

Slightly annoyed, she stretched out her leg diagonally and gently blocked Pei Yuan's path.

Then, he frowned slightly and looked at Pei Yuan.

(End of this chapter)