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

Chapter 634 Entering the Palace to See You
In Pei Yuan's memory, Shi Jie's mission seemed to have caused some controversy.

However, the matter was only mentioned briefly in historical records before being suppressed.

Pei Yuan had previously planned to use the Jurchen barbarians to build a small but effective army to expand into Japan and Korea.

The specific method of implementation is to utilize the Luo cult, which is particularly down-to-earth and persuasive.

After all, religion often has an unimaginable and miraculous effect on uncivilized regions.

Religions like the Luo Sect, which worship Sun Wukong and are supported by legendary tales, are extremely destructive to uncivilized regions.

Among the three Jurchen tribes, the Jianzhou Jurchens were the most civilized, followed by the Haixi Jurchens, and the Wild Jurchens were the least civilized.

The fighting spirit displayed by these three Jurchen tribes was the opposite of their level of civilization.

Perhaps Shi Jie's mission to the Haixi Jurchens could be used to test the waters?
The recommendation of the Vice Minister of War also required a vote from the Five Military Commissions because it involved military secrets.

Although Pei Yuan only had one vote from Xiao Ying among the five Left Commanders, Shi Jie would still be wary of using it to do bad things for others.

Pei Yuan's requirements were not high; he only wanted Shi Jie to bring over a few guides to pave the way for future religious expansion.

Zang Xian smiled upon hearing Pei Yuan's question, "Whether it will work out or not depends on Shi Jie's appetite."

"If he has a smaller appetite, then everyone will be fine. But if he's not satisfied with being the Right Vice Minister of the Ministry of War and wants to climb higher, then he might actually be able to find out something."

Pei Yuan nodded upon hearing this.

Shi Jie was someone who would create cards out of thin air in order to advance his career.

Moreover, the Haixi Jurchens are indeed somewhat unruly.

After that, Zang Xian did not ask any more questions.

He probably felt that he couldn't extract any valuable secrets from Pei Yuan, and that it would be a loss to trade what he already knew for it.

The two drank a few more cups together, and then Zang Xian got up and left.

Pei Yuan was considering whether to go home nearby, but then he thought it had been a long time since he'd played with Tiezi. Yesterday's fun had been so great, maybe tonight…

Just as he was hesitating, Lu Yong hurriedly went upstairs to report, "Commander, His Majesty has returned to the palace."

Pei Yuan glanced at the sky; it was getting late.

Is Teruko finally satisfied and thinking of going home?
What a scumbag!
Fearing further complications regarding the paper money, Pei Yuan decisively said, "Let's go back to the mansion and change into our official robes. Have someone bring the things I've prepared, and we'll head to the palace now."

Although the house in Chengqingfang had been mostly tidied up, Pei Yuan did not plan to move there completely before the lady of the house moved in.

This time, he only stayed for a few days to temporarily avoid Commander Han, and his official robes and such were all in Dengshikou.

Pei Yuan's arrival this time was perfectly timed.

Pei Yuan returned to his residence without informing Jiao Yan'er. He hurriedly changed into his official robes and headed out.

Lu Yong and Xiao Tong, these two henchmen, had already taken what Pei Yuan had prepared and followed behind him eagerly.

When they arrived at Dong'an Gate, they found that the person on duty that day was none other than Chu Jie, the "little black fan".

Chu Jie saw Pei Yuan running towards him from afar and hurriedly went to greet him with joy, his voice trembling with barely suppressed excitement, "Commander, who are you here to deal with this time?"

Pei Yuan was displeased; his reputation had been ruined by these little haters.

So he said, "I want to go to the palace to see His Majesty."

Chu Jie was somewhat disappointed, but facing his idol, he kindly reminded him, "It's getting late, His Majesty may not be willing to see you."

Seeing that everyone was far away, he whispered to Pei Yuan, "His Majesty is not in a good mood today. Why should you go and provoke him? Why not wait until tomorrow?"

Pei Yuan had already prepared his explanation on the way, so he said to Chu Jie, "When you report to your superiors, say that I have obtained some extremely good things, and I am overjoyed, and I will present them to them today."

"His Majesty is in a bad mood today, and may prefer to see me."

Seeing that Pei Yuan insisted, Chu Jie naturally wouldn't stop him anymore and said with a smile, "It's fine, I'll report it in a bit."

Just then, Xiao Tong and Lu Yong also came over.

Chu Jie's unit, the Thousand Household Office, often guarded the palace and accompanied the emperor, so he knew quite a few people and naturally had seen these two before.

One was Xiao Jing's godson, and the other was Lu Yin's nephew.

They are all people the palace can't afford to offend.

Although Xiao Jing was transferred to a post outside the capital, none of his cronies in the palace were implicated. Even Xiao Ying, the Left Commander of the Central Military Commission, initially behaved himself for a few days before reverting to his old ways.

The fact that Lu Yin did not politically persecute Xiao Jing's underlings, and that Lu Yong and Xiao Tong are standing together so harmoniously at this moment, tells you that the situation is far more complex than it appears.

Chu Jie quickly smiled apologetically at the two of them again.

Pei Yuan took the two bags from the two men and said to Chu Jie, "These are gifts that I, the commander, want to present to the Emperor. You can check them."

Seeing that Pei Yuan was still taking things to the palace, Chu Jie dared not be careless and summoned another captain of the Golden Guard to check them together.

Open the first pocket.

The two exclaimed "Wow!" There were quite a few things inside, but when they calculated the total price, they didn't seem to be worth much.

Then he opened the second pocket.

The two glanced at it and found it even harder to judge.

Chu Jie was momentarily doubtful. Where exactly was the excellent thing Pei Yuan mentioned? Wouldn't the Emperor be even more furious if he saw it?

However, this is not something he should worry about.

After confirming that there were no problems, Chu Jie reminded him, "Chief, although there are no problems here, you still need to check the access control points inside."

Pei Yuan nodded, indicating that he understood.

Pei Yuan had an ivory waist token, and in terms of status and authority, he was far superior to these gatekeepers.

However, granting him the privilege of entering the palace at any time to rush to the emperor's aid was merely a stopgap measure.

Pei Yuan certainly couldn't use it too casually.

Moreover, Pei Yuan was going to bring things into the palace this time, and without these checks, who knows how much trouble would follow.

Pei Yuan waited at Dong'an Gate for a while, and then several eunuchs hurriedly came towards him.

Pei Yuan guessed that it must have been his explanation of offering the best things that had worked.

Sure enough, when the leading eunuch arrived, he announced, "His Majesty summons Pei Yuan, commander of the Embroidered Uniform Guard, to an audience."

Chu Jie handed the two bags to Pei Yuan.

The head eunuch glanced at it and interjected, "Is this the gift Commander Pei is going to present to the Emperor?"

Pei Yuan smiled and said, "Not bad."

Then he asked, "Would you like to take a look, Father-in-law?"

The head eunuch was clearly curious, but still shook his head and said, "No need, the Emperor is waiting, let's go."

Not long after entering Dong'an Gate, Pei Yuan realized why the eunuch wasn't in a hurry to look: Donghua Gate was not far away.

The guards at the gate diligently checked both bags.

The leading eunuch glanced inside several times as he did so.

Then, the expression on his face became somewhat strange.

No, you think you can fool the emperor with this?
Pei Yuan remained calm. As he walked further in, he began to notice the problem.

He had been to the palace more than once, and had even visited the inner palace.

Looking at the direction the eunuch was leading, it was clearly heading towards the inner palace.

Pei Yuan quickly asked, "Has Your Majesty said where you wish to meet me?"

The eunuch who led the way said with some sympathy, "His Majesty will be staying at Qianqing Palace tonight, and has been handling official business there since returning. Hearing that you had something good to offer, he couldn't wait to see you."

The Qianqing Palace was the emperor's sleeping quarters, located within the inner palace.

The Palace of Heavenly Purity is naturally the Palace of Earthly Tranquility, which is the residence of the Empress.

The Hall of Union is located between the Palace of Heavenly Purity and the Palace of Earthly Tranquility.

The act of exchanging objects is in accordance with the rites of Zhou.

Empress Xia has now been expelled from Kunning Palace by Empress Dowager Zhang, and Brother Zhaozi has just returned from having fun outside.

Therefore, Zhao Zige subconsciously did not feel that there was anything wrong with meeting foreign officials in the Qianqing Palace at this time.

The eunuch's meaning was quite clear.

The emperor is so eager to see you in the harem, and all you offer is this little thing? And you've done it while the emperor is in a bad mood, so you'd better pray for good fortune.

Pei Yuan remained calm.

After passing through the final inspection at Qianqing Gate, the eunuch hesitated for a moment, wondering whether he should take away Pei Yuan's two bags of things first.

But thinking of the potential wrath of the emperor, he thought to himself, "So what if it's against the rules? It's something the emperor is eager to see anyway."

So he left the two bags with Pei Yuan and let him carry them himself.

Not long after the eunuch entered the Qianqing Palace to report, Pei Yuan, who was waiting below the imperial steps, heard Zhu Houzhao's expectant voice, "Quickly let him in."

Following the rules, Pei Yuan waited for the eunuch to come out and lead the people before stepping onto the imperial steps and entering the Qianqing Palace.

When Zhu Houzhao saw Pei Yuan, he laughed heartily and said, "Every time you come, there's good news. Tell me, what surprise have you brought me this time?"

The eunuch standing to the side, of course, knew the principle that the greater the hope, the greater the disappointment.

He quietly took a few steps back, fearing that he might encounter an undeserved disaster later.

Pei Yuan calmly replied, "I've had nothing to do these past few days, so I've been passing the time reading books in the temple. I happened to discover a truly amazing benefit in one of the books, and I couldn't help but want to tell Your Majesty about it."

Upon hearing the words "amazing benefits," Zhu Houzhao's daytime worries dissipated considerably, and he said with some excitement, "Tell me about it quickly."

As he spoke, his gaze couldn't help but linger on the two bags on the ground.

Pei Yuan dared not keep Zhu Houzhao in suspense.

He quickly pointed to the bag on the ground and said, "What I want to say is also related to these things. Please allow me to open this bag."

Anything that could withstand layers of inspection and be delivered to Zhu Houzhao would certainly not be in any danger.

So Zhaozi readily agreed, "Just open it."

Pei Yuan then opened the first bag, took out its contents, and placed them on the ground in the Qianqing Palace.

The first item was a piece of coral.

Coral is a valuable material, but if it's only the size of a thumb, what's so special about it?

Zhu Houzhao found it strange, but he didn't say anything.

Then Pei Yuan took out another item.

It was a piece of ivory.

Similarly, it's only a short section.

What followed was even more outrageous: first a handful of pepper, then a small wad of mixed-color cloth.

Then there were things like sappanwood, cloves, beeswax, feathers, and sulfur.

The eunuch standing there quickly glanced at Zhu Houzhao's face, but surprisingly, he didn't see any sign of anger from Zhu Houzhao.

Zhu Houzhao was somewhat surprised to see that Pei Yuan had laid out a whole lot of things on the floor. He asked, "Is this the excellent stuff you were talking about?"

The words contained mostly strange meanings, but not much anger.

first.

It was Pei Yuan's repeated surprises that instilled his confidence.

Secondly.

Zhu Houzhao was the emperor of the Ming Dynasty, and in his eyes, the value of things was measured differently.

For example, the ancient emperor's ceremony of bestowing titles was nothing more than wrapping soil in straw and giving it to the feudal lords who were granted titles.

So, in the eyes of the emperor and the feudal lords, did thatch and soil mean the same thing as ordinary people?

Although the items Pei Yuan presented were not worth much money, they were unique and representative of the Southeast Yi people.

Since Pei Yuan dared to say it was an excellent product, he certainly wouldn't just offer him these odds and ends to appease him.

It might be related to those barbarian tribes in the southeast.

As for why Pei Yuan was able to obtain these miscellaneous tributes from the southeastern barbarians, it is not surprising.

Because these so-called Southeast Asian specialties have already begun to be openly sold in many places.

Pei Yuan then said to Zhu Houzhao, "Your Majesty, there are still these things that I have not yet shown to you."

As he spoke, he opened the other pocket.

They emptied everything out.

Zhu Houzhao glanced at it and laughed, "Isn't this a seashell? The ancients used this as currency, which was the earliest form of cowrie shell money. Cowrie shells are aquatic creatures, and the ancients used their shells as currency, just like we use money today."

Pei Yuan quickly chimed in, "That's right. This is the cowrie shell currency commonly used by the ancients, and it's also the main reason I came to the palace this time."

Zhu Houzhao asked, puzzled, "These are the excellent things you mentioned?"

His gaze first swept over the tribute items from the Southeastern Yi people. "These are common things, aren't they?" Then he looked at another pile of cowrie shells. "These things have been abandoned long ago. Who still uses these things?"

As he spoke, he squatted down, picked up a seashell from the pile of beautiful seashells, examined it, and exclaimed, "It is indeed beautiful. No wonder the ancients used this as a form of wealth."

Hearing Zhu Houzhao utter the words "ancient people," Pei Yuan felt somewhat out of place.

He said in a deep voice, “Your Majesty, not only did the ancients use cowrie shells as currency, but these cowrie shells are still widely used in Southeast Asia and the West.”

The "South Seas and Western Seas" that Pei Yuan mentioned refer to Southeast Asia and the Persian Gulf region, which was also the maritime Silk Road that Zheng He explored in the past.

Zhu Houzhao was clearly surprised. He looked at the seashell in his hand and asked, "What? Does anyone still use this thing these days?"

Pei Yuan said, "Of course. These seashells have always served as currency in trade in the South Seas and the Western Seas. Your Majesty, please take a look..."

As he spoke, Pei Yuan pointed to the tribute items that had been brought out earlier, "These goods can still be purchased with seashells."

"Oh, oh." Zhu Houzhao felt he had learned something new.

For a moment, he couldn't help but feel a sense of superiority as the Celestial Empire. This was something that had long been eliminated by China. Barbarians are barbarians, they really are uncivilized.

(End of this chapter)