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

Chapter 658 The World is in Turmoil
Li Shishi couldn't help but ask, "Now that things have escalated so much in the south, how do you plan to resolve them?"

Pei Yuan said nonchalantly, "Let the court investigate if they want to."

After saying that, he took a big gulp of mutton soup, picked up a piece of fried dough, and continued eating.

Seeing Pei Yuan's nonchalant attitude, Li Shishi pondered for a moment and then realized what was going on.

"You wouldn't be planning to infiltrate your people into the Shandong investigation team, and then expect these bookish newcomers to officialdom to help you cover up everything, would you?"

Before Pei Yuan could reply, Li Shishi stood up angrily, "Are you kidding me? I'm not helping you with this!"

He had thought that even if he agreed to Pei Yuan's request, he would have to slowly and gradually push people into the Censorate.

Given enough buffer time, things should be done in a less conspicuous way.

But when Li Shishi saw Pei Yuan's calm and collected demeanor, he suddenly sensed danger.

If Pei Yuan really pinned his hopes of quelling this matter on the Censorate, then Li Shishi would not dare to take responsibility for it.

Pei Yuan didn't react much, continuing to eat the fried dough and mutton soup slowly and deliberately.

Li Shishi got up and left.

He walked a few steps with heavy steps, and when he saw that Pei Yuan had no intention of stopping him, he immediately felt something was wrong.

Oh no, this kid has a backup plan.

Li Shishi was afraid that this calamity would befall him, so he had an idea. He walked to the door and called out to the servants who had retreated to a distance, "Get me a bowl too."

After saying that, Li Shishi sat down again and asked in a normal tone, "What do you think, my brother?"

Pei Yuan then put down his chopsticks and said confidently to Li Shishi, "Don't worry, I've already made arrangements."

"Today is a day off, and all parties will definitely take this opportunity to hold intense secret meetings to discuss the candidates to go south to Shandong to investigate the case. When the court assembly is held tomorrow, someone will give you a list with some names you have seen before."

“Someone will persuade you to add these names to the Censorate and directly participate in the investigations in the south.”

"All you have to do is agree. You don't need to take any responsibility, and you can even use this opportunity to make some demands for a replacement."

Pei Yuan said, looking at Li Shishi, "And this was the exchange condition you promised me."

As he spoke, Pei Yuan smiled and held up one finger, then turned it into two. "You can earn twice for a small favor. I'm a little envious of you."

Upon hearing Pei Yuan's words, Li Shishi's mind raced.

Could this rascal have used other connections? But if you count on your fingers, these are the few powerful figures in the court who can speak on this matter. Who else could Pei Yuan turn to?
Li Shishi stared directly at Pei Yuan and asked, "Who is it?"

Pei Yuan spoke the truth this time, "It's hard to say, it depends on whether he knows what's good for him or not."

Seeing that he couldn't get any information from her, Li Shishi tried a more indirect approach, asking, "Then what kind of conditions should I prepare?"

Pei Yuan asked directly, "Have you settled things with the new Director of Ceremonial Affairs?"

Upon hearing this, Li Shishi immediately understood that Pei Yuan was referring to the matter of the Three Guards of Prince Ning. He quickly replied, "It has already been resolved. It was Zang Xian who helped."

Li Shishi also revealed a little more.

"The newly appointed Director of Ceremonies, Jia Yong, was originally an Assistant Director of the Fifth Rank Sacrificial Office. This time, being appointed as the Director of Ceremonies, a fifth-rank official, can be considered a small promotion."

“At first, it was not easy for the two sides to communicate. Later, when Shi Buyi, the deputy director of the Buddhist Registry, got into trouble, Chen Yiping, the director of the Sacrificial Affairs Office, who was related to him, committed suicide at home. Zang Xian took the opportunity to have some evidence against Jia Yong collected.”

"Only then did Jia Yong agree that the Ministry of Rites' Ceremonial Affairs Department would approve the restoration of the Prince of Ning's Three Guards."

Pei Yuan said "Oh," feeling that he had missed an opportunity to curry favor.

Then he asked, "What about the connections with the Cabinet and the Directorate of Ceremonial?"

Li Shishi said, "The Directorate of Ceremonial Affairs found Eunuch Lu, and his price wasn't too high. As for the Cabinet, Zang Xian's idea is that, to be on the safe side, it's best to wait until after the New Year to come up with a solution."

Pei Yuan found the timing odd. "Why wait until after the new year?"

It's already mid-October, and there are only two months left until the Chinese New Year.

Li Shishi replied, "Because Qian Ning has already persuaded His Majesty to let the Prince of Ning's heir perform the sacrifice on His Majesty's behalf during the grand sacrifice in the first month of the lunar calendar, thus handling those tedious rituals."

Li Shishi said confidently, "By then, I believe the political climate in the court will have changed dramatically."

Pei Yuan was taken aback upon hearing this, "How could it be so fast?"

When Li Shishi brought up this matter last time, Pei Yuan thought it would take some more time.

The symbolic meaning of having a prince of a vassal state perform the suburban sacrifice in place of an emperor who had no son was extremely strong.

For those traditional ministers, this was almost a prelude to preparing for the establishment of an heir apparent.

No wonder Zang Xian said it would take more than two months.

At that time, these seasoned and shrewd cabinet ministers might even be vying to complete this task.

How old is Zhu Houzhao this year?
Doesn't he understand the symbolic meaning here?
When the suburban sacrifice is held next January, it will only be the eighth year of Zhengde's reign. Has he already given up so quickly?

I rely on!

Pei Yuan suddenly felt some sympathy for A Zhao.

While sympathizing with Azhao, Pei Yuan also felt some sympathy for the border troops.

Qian Ning has already taken action, while the border troops, represented by Jiang Bin and Li Cong, are still unknowingly jumping into Zhu Houzhao's trap.

No wonder they were able to do something so foolish later, like sending a pregnant woman directly to Zhu Houzhao.

Pei Yuan thought about the possible changes in the court situation two months later and felt a sense of urgency that time was of the essence.

With the Crown Prince of Ning participating in the grand ceremony, court officials will gradually begin to side with Prince Ning.

Those who vie to follow the dragon will also begin to place their bets on Prince Ning.

The Prince of Ning's faction is about to grow rapidly, recruiting soldiers and horses, and even the frustrated Tang Bohu will go to compose couplets.

The situation in the north can be described as beset by both internal and external troubles.

The Mongol prince will launch a major invasion southward in the eighth year of the Zhengde reign, putting immense pressure on the Ming Dynasty's already dire finances. Even worse, as contact continues, the border troops will gradually realize the risks posed by Zhu Houzhao's succession.

Thinking about the difficult situation ahead in the coming year, Pei Yuan couldn't help but rub his forehead.

If there were no orphans in the world...

Just as Pei Yuan was deeply worried about the calamities plaguing the Ming Dynasty, a treacherous minister suddenly appeared.

"Brother, brother!"

Li Shishi called out.

Pei Yuan snapped out of his reverie and exclaimed to Li Shishi, "I never expected the matter concerning Prince Ning to progress so smoothly. I can almost see a vibrant scene of life and everything flourishing."

Upon hearing this, Li Shishi was briefly relieved of the anxiety caused by someone.

But thinking of Prince Ning reminded him of the secret letter from Nanchang. Li Shishi then said, "By the way, let's leave aside the conditions I prepared for that person, but about the precious paper money you promised me last time..."

Pei Yuan asked curiously, "Didn't the price of the paper money once reach over 'one string of cash for one coin'? Didn't you sell it in time?"

Li Shishi was somewhat embarrassed and quickly said, "It's out, it's out."

The goods were indeed shipped, but Li Shishi was a bit greedy and kept holding onto them until the day he submitted his memorial to the emperor.

As a result, the exchange rate of the paper money dropped sharply. Li Shishi bought 20,000 taels of paper money at a price of "five strings of cash for one coin", but he didn't make much money.

Li Shishi didn't want to bring up this matter, so he started talking about other things.

"Didn't you say last time that we could use a portion of the Bazhou bandits to offset it? I specifically sent a letter to Prince Ning, and he readily agreed to the commander's proposal. However, there's a small problem now."

Pei Yuan was overjoyed when he heard that the Prince of Ning had agreed.

Those unruly bandits are useless in the south, but they're a completely different story here.

Moreover, with "My son Fengxian" in Pei Yuan's hands, which of those guys would dare to be arrogant?
Pei Yuan asked, "What kind of minor problem is it?"

Li Shishi said with some difficulty, "At the time, we agreed on a price of 'five strings of cash for one coin,' but now the price of the paper money has dropped sharply, and it's not easy to sell it."

"If I were to trade at this price and still receive precious paper money, I'm afraid I wouldn't be able to explain it to the people in Jiangxi."

Pei Yuan laughed and said, "I see. No problem, I can convert it into silver for you."

The early profit window for speculating on the precious paper has closed. Next, Pei Yuan will slowly push the exchange barrier down to the point where "five strings of cash can be exchanged for one coin".

Since Pei Yuan is determined to uphold this price level of "five strings of cash for one coin," it makes no difference whether he is given paper money or silver.

Li Shishi breathed a sigh of relief when he saw Pei Yuan agree so readily.

"Alright, I'll send a letter to Jiangxi right away and try to send the person over as soon as possible. However, you should also understand that those people are unruly. Once they cross the river, you'll have to pick them up yourself. If they run away, don't blame us."

When Pei Yuan and Li Shishi made the agreement, the official reason was still to borrow troops.

Pei Yuan was worried that if he decided to take these people for himself, he would have to fall out with Prince Ning. Now, listening to Li Shishi's words, it seemed that Prince Ning only wanted to cash out and cut his losses, and didn't care about the lives of these people at all.

Pei Yuan asked, "How many people does Prince Ning plan to give?"

Li Shishi said, "There are several hundred people."

Pei Yuan then asked, "How much silver do you plan to convert it to?"

Li Shishi observed Pei Yuan carefully and asked cautiously, "How about ten thousand taels?"

Pei Yuan calculated that the Prince of Ning had paid 100,000 taels of silver, but in the end he only got a few thousand elite troops from Bazhou.

If calculated this way, these few hundred people would be worth ten thousand taels of silver.

However, Pei Yuan only officially took the last 20,000 taels of silver, which, according to that calculation, should only be worth about 2,000 taels.

Pei Yuan countered, "Impossible, I'll give you two thousand taels at most."

Li Shishi earnestly advised, "My dear brother, you must understand my predicament. If it were just for these two thousand taels, why would our Ning Kingdom take such a risk? This is not just money to buy people, but also involves the risks of our entire Ning Kingdom."

Pei Yuan thought about it and realized it made sense.

Although the Xinghe Garrison Command has gathered a motley crew, expecting them to fight the Tatars is clearly wishful thinking.

Only the bandits of Bazhou, whom the border troops said were even more ferocious than the Dalu, could put up a fight against them.

Pei Yuan has plenty of silver now, but the opportunities to exchange it for immediate combat power are few and far between.

Pei Yuan immediately countered, "Ten thousand taels of silver is fine, but I need you to gather a thousand men for me."

Li Shishi was overjoyed upon hearing this. He didn't haggle anymore and said directly, "Then it's a deal!"

Li Shishi already knew that Chen Xinjian had been appointed as the commander of Xinghe Garrison. Seeing Pei Yuan's enthusiasm, he couldn't help but praise, "Brother, you really care about your subordinates."

Pei Yuan casually replied, "That's right, they're risking their lives for me, so I have to live up to their expectations."

At this moment, a servant came from afar to report that the mutton soup for Li Shishi had been delivered.

Pei Yuan called someone in and learned that another guest had come to visit.

Pei Yuan didn't ask who it was in front of Li Shishi.

Li Shishi, being quite sensible, said directly, "Brother, if you have guests, go and see them first. I'll just have a bite to eat here. Your matter is more urgent than mine."

Pei Yuan then stood up and said, "Perhaps there really is something urgent. I'll come and have tea with the Grand Commandant after I've finished dealing with it."

Li Shishi guessed it must be something that happened in Shandong, and then instructed, "Be very careful, don't let anything go wrong."

After Pei Yuan left the garden where he had received Li Shishi, Yun Buxian immediately approached and whispered, "Commander, those Jinshi (successful candidates in the highest imperial examinations) have arrived."

He added, "Bai Jun told me privately that someone had given him a visiting card from Grand Secretary Yang, asking him to pay a visit when he had time."

Pei Yuan's expression changed slightly upon hearing this. "Why did you act so quickly?"

Then, he asked Yun Buxian, "Where are the others? Did they say anything?"

Yun Buxian's face was somewhat solemn. "No."

Then Yun Buxian asked in a low voice, "Should I investigate this privately?"

Pei Yuan thought for a moment, then shook his head and said, "No need."

He then asked, "Is everyone here?"

Yun Buxian said, "Everyone's here, waiting in the flower hall."

Pei Yuanxuan then headed towards the flower hall.

When Pei Yuan arrived, the scholars all came over to congratulate him on his marriage, calling him "brother" repeatedly.

Pei Yuan laughed heartily, his gaze sweeping across everyone's faces one by one.

Some people laughed carefree, while others looked slightly worried. Bai Jun's face showed a questioning look as he blinked, seemingly wanting to speak with Pei Yuan alone.

Those who seem carefree may not truly be carefree; those with worried faces may be playing a defensive game with no clear direction; Bai Jun, always shrewd, has also placed a big bet this time, hoping to gamble.

Compared to these people, everyone's performance improved when they first saw themselves in that painting.

They've all grown up.

Pei Yuan said, "Please sit down."

Just as everyone was about to sit down, Xie Bin, who was usually simple-minded, smiled and asked the person next to him, "Isn't it strange? This morning, I was about to go out to see the commander when some servant came to my place and said that Grand Secretary Yang wanted to see me."

"Tell me, how much of this is true?"

(End of this chapter)