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

Chapter 667 Matters

Pei Yuan felt as if his brain had been hollowed out, all the anxiety and internal turmoil of the past few days had vanished.

At this moment, even the simplest thought failed to rouse him.

Jiao Xiaomei fell asleep wearily in his arms, like a well-behaved kitten.

Pei Yuan held the beauty in his arms, and it took a while for his brain to slowly restart.

When he sat up in bed and looked at the sky outside, it was already quite late. The maids outside heard the noise in the room and wanted to come in to light the lamp, but Pei Yuan waved his hand, signaling them to leave.

Seeing that the maids were about to leave, Pei Yuan asked Jiao Yan'er in a low voice, "Are you hungry?"

Upon hearing the sound, Jiao Yan'er dazedly leaned closer to Pei Yuan.

Pei Yuan decided not to eat dinner and simply held her as they fell into a deep sleep.

The next day, they both woke up at the same time.

While Pei Yuan and Jiao Yan'er were having breakfast, Jiao Yan'er suddenly remembered what happened yesterday, so she asked Pei Yuan why he did something contradictory.

Seeing that the maids were all far away, Pei Yuan said to her, "For me, simply increasing the value of the banknotes is a secondary matter; the main thing is to enhance their liquidity."

“Only when the precious paper money continues to circulate among the common people, the marketplace, and the merchants, and everyone gradually takes its value for granted, will what I am doing now have meaning.”

"Otherwise, if they get the precious notes and think about exchanging them for me, then the precious notes will eventually die."

Jiao Yan'er began to understand Pei Yuan's meaning.

"In other words, the goal is to create frequent transactions so that the people believe the paper money can be exchanged at any time, so that once they receive it, they won't be in a hurry to cash it out?"

Pei Yuan nodded and said, "That's right."

Jiao Yan'er asked in confusion, "If that's the case, we can redeem the money in our own bank, why let other banks earn it?"

"Furthermore, since our purpose in using wash trading to create false transactions is to drive up the price of the banknotes, wouldn't it be pointless to then buy them back at a low price, thus lowering the actual transaction price?"

Pei Yuan listened patiently and said, "The high price is for them to see, not for them to trade. Moreover, it is more meaningful for everyone to earn the same amount of money together than for one person to earn it alone."

Jiao Yan'er put down her chopsticks and looked at Pei Yuan, asking very seriously, "Why is that?"

Pei Yuan dipped his finger in water and drew a line on the table, then said to Jiao Yan'er, "Our own acquisition price is 'nine strings of cash for one coin,' if..."

Pei Yuan glanced at Bi Jun, who was guarding outside the door, and said, "If Bi Jun comes to us directly with the 100,000 guan of precious notes he has, then we will have completed a 100,000 guan transaction."

Then, Pei Yuan drew another line parallel to that line.

He then pointed to the line and said to Jiao Yan'er, "This is the price we give to those money shops: 'ten strings of cash for one coin.' Although it's lower than the price we collect ourselves, those money shops aren't fools; they know this is the real price at which a deal can be made."

As he spoke, Pei Yuan drew another line.

"These are the prices at which those money shops buy paper money. The price of paper money is fluctuating greatly now, and there is no fixed price. According to yesterday's market, it was between 13 strings of cash for one coin and 16 strings of cash for one coin."

Pei Yuan pointed to this line, then leaped towards the line above it, saying, "In other words, Bi Jun took the 100,000 strings of cash that we couldn't sell here and sold them to those money shops at a price between 13 strings of cash and 16 strings of cash."

The finger then pointed to the next line, "These money shops exchanged them for us at a rate of 'ten strings of cash to one coin'."

“We spent less money, yet the paper money circulated twice, resulting in a transaction volume of 200,000 strings of cash.”

Jiao Yan'er's eyes lit up upon hearing this. She also drew a few thin lines on the table with her slender fingers, and then, drawing inferences from this, she said, "Since the price of the paper money fluctuates so much, could we be more precise? Could we take a portion of the money and then buy it from other money shops at prices of 'eleven strings of cash' or 'twelve strings of cash'?"

"In this way, by dividing the profits multiple times, we can create several times the trading volume by allowing more people to share in them. Moreover, the money shops participating in the trading of the precious notes have expanded from our Quan brand to other brands, which can also give holders of the precious notes more confidence."

Pei Yuan smiled and said, "The idea is good, but we need to leave enough profit for people. If the division is too fine, it will lose its momentum. Just like river water, it needs enough gradients to generate a huge force that attracts people."

Jiao Yan'er looked at Pei Yuan with renewed interest, and then asked, "So, what does Master plan to do next?"

Pei Yuan looked at the lines drawn with water stains on the table.

The top three lines were drawn by Pei Yuan, while the smaller lines below were drawn by Jiao Yan'er.

Pei Yuan drew another line heavily on the top with his thumb.

Then he said, "Today, let's push the price of the Quanzi Bank's purchase of paper money to 'seven strings of cash for one coin,' and then find some other money shops to start buying it at 'eight strings of cash for one coin.'"

Jiao Yan'er was somewhat surprised.

The price of "eight strings of cash for one coin" is higher than the "nine strings of cash for one coin" they had previously shown people.

I didn't expect Pei Yuan to raise the price so quickly.

Jiao Yan'er cautioned, "The price we're offering for 'seven strings of cash to one coin' is almost double the market rate. Sir, don't end up losing out big time."

Pei Yuan smiled and said, "Don't worry."

He didn't want to bring up the Shandong matter with Jiao Yan'er, so he gave another reason.

"It's almost November now. By the first month of next year, the seven major customs offices of the imperial court will allow the use of paper money to offset taxes."

“A few days ago, some people who saw this opportunity as much as we did participated in this speculation, and the price of the Treasure Note rose very quickly.”

"Before those merchants who truly needed the paper money even began preparing for it, the price of the paper money had already risen from several tens of strings of cash to one coin to a very high level."

"After the memorial from the Treasury was released, the price of the paper money fell somewhat. However, the funds that needed the paper money still did not enter the market. I reckon that many merchants also saw that the foundation of the paper money was weak and planned to wait for the price to continue to fall before entering the market to buy at the bottom."

"As long as I hold the price up now, after a while, those merchants who need to use it to offset taxes will have no choice but to enter the market passively."

"Based on my understanding of the emperor, after realizing the importance of the paper money, the court's valuation for tax deduction should be the same as that in the fifth year of Zhengde's reign, which is 'one string of paper money can be exchanged for two coins'."

"As long as the market price of paper money is lower than the valuation given by the imperial court, even if we gradually push up the price of paper money, merchants will still choose to use paper money to offset taxes as long as they see the price difference."

"In at most another month, the new money that truly needs the precious paper will be passively put into the market."

“By then, the price of the paper money will be so high that it won’t be able to fall any further.” What Pei Yuan didn’t say was that if the huge demand from the “Single Whip Law” were added on top of that, Zhu Houzhao might have to raise the official valuation of the paper money again before long.

After listening to Pei Yuan's words, Jiao Yan'er asked him with some doubt.

"In that case, wouldn't it be equivalent to using our own money to cultivate the value of the Ming Dynasty Treasure Notes? We're wasting so much silver, aren't we just not making any money, and there's even a possibility that we'll lose money?"

Pei Yuan laughed and said, "Of course not. The Ming Dynasty's paper money is not an ordinary commodity. As long as we can maintain the circulation and credibility of the paper money, then the paper money in our hands is money itself, and money with great potential for appreciation."

"Even if I were to lose a large sum of money, I wouldn't really care."

Pei Yuan spoke with smugness, unable to resist the urge to try it himself. He leaned close to Jiao Yan'er's ear and said, "As long as we can do our best to support the value of the Ming Dynasty's banknotes, maybe... we can print our own money in the future."

Upon hearing this, Jiao Yan'er tightened her grip on the chopsticks slightly.

She looked at Pei Yuan, and seeing his initial smugness followed by a moment of alertness, a questioning expression immediately appeared on her face.

Pei Yuan smiled and didn't bring up the topic again.

After Pei Yuan finished eating, he went to the front hall and instructed everyone to tidy up, as he was going back to Zhihua Temple to take up his post.

Pei Yuan confirmed with Xiao Tong that Commander Han had left Zhihua Temple and was heading to Nanjing with his men.

According to Xiao Tong, many brothers in the Thousand Households were puzzled by this, and some couldn't understand why the chief and the second chief chose to go south the day after their wedding.

At this point, Pei Yuan naturally needed to first stabilize the morale of the people.

Upon arriving at Zhihua Temple, Tantai Fangtu and Sikong Sui, sensing that the atmosphere was somewhat amiss, did not rush to offer their congratulations. Instead, they simply greeted Pei Yuan with a perfunctory formality.

Yun Buxian, seeing Pei Yuan pausing in front of Zhihua Temple, took the initiative to ask, "Commander, the east courtyard and main hall courtyard of Zhihua Temple were separated for the purpose of welcoming the bride. Should we restore them now?"

Pei Yuan replied without hesitation, "Of course we should restore it. The Imperial Guards stationed at our Thousand Household Garrison and the armory where we store weapons are all in the west wing. What defensive capability can the east wing alone provide? The Buddhist temple in the middle is magnificent and the terrain is open, which is perfect for gathering manpower to fight and kill the enemy."

"Open it up, open it all up!"

Yun Buxian dared not ask what enemy his commander planned to face in the capital, but since the commander had given the order, he would simply have someone make way for him.

Regarding civil engineering and construction, Yun Buxian now believes he has some insights.

Pei Yuan's gaze then fell on Tantai Fangtu and Sikong Sui.

Although now that Han Qianhu has been married, these two centurions are no longer of much use. However, since these two old geezers still have intricate connections with Yunyang Guard, they still have value in uniting the people.

Pei Yuan then said amiably, "Commanders Tantai and Sikong are both getting on in years, so there's no need for you to come to work every day. After we have lunch together, you can go back to your respective offices. If I need you here, I'll just send someone to summon you."

Tantai Fangtu and Sikong Suijian were both pleased with Pei Yuan's statement.

The two men, who considered themselves to have some seniority, were quite annoyed that they had to take turns coming to work for this kid.

How pleasant it would be to be a lord in one's own household office.

Pei Yuan then specifically told Sikong Sui, "Things are in chaos in Shandong, so you don't need to go back yet. I'll have Yanggu handle things carefully and try to avoid getting involved. Even if they do get involved, I'm sure the court won't make things difficult for those small fry."

"The Commander of the Ministry of Works has been working hard for more than half a year. He should enjoy some leisure time in the capital."

After saying that, Pei Yuan turned to Yun Buxian and asked, "Where is your father?"

Yun Buxian quickly replied, "My father offended Commander Han before and dared not stay at Zhihua Temple. He probably doesn't know about Commander Han's departure from the capital yet."

Yun Bu's words made it clear that this time, the father and son had not wavered and had firmly stood on Pei Qianhu's side.

Pei Yuan said, "Then send someone to inform him to come back and carry out his duties."

Pei Yuan has now entrusted Yun Weilin with the responsibility of pacifying the town, essentially making him his deputy. Many things still need to be handled by Yun Weilin.

Pei Yuan then turned to Sikong Sui and said, "When Yun Weilin returns, go and withdraw one thousand taels of silver from the Qianhu Office account as a reward for your hard work in Yanggu."

Sikong Sui understood immediately. This was not a matter of rewarding Yang Gu. If it were really about Yang Gu, it should be a reward, not a reward. This was clearly Pei Yuan helping him to make things happen in order to thank him.

Seeing Pei Yuan's attitude, Sikong Sui, who had been worried about the breakdown of their marriage, finally breathed a sigh of relief.

He said with a beaming smile, "Then this humble servant will not stand on ceremony."

Tantai Fangtu, standing to the side, also understood that this old scoundrel was always shameless and never cared about money when it came to it.

So he shamelessly asked, "Commander, what about this humble servant?"

Pei Yuan laughed heartily and readily agreed, "The same goes for you."

Seeing Tantai Fangtu's great joy, Pei Yuan added, "Give one to Marquis Cui as well. Which of you two will help deliver it?"

Upon hearing this, Tantai Fangtu replied without hesitation, "Let Sikong deliver it; he has closer ties with the south."

Sikong Sui's smiling face stiffened, and his eyes stared at Tantai Fangtu, wishing he could beat the old man up.

Pei Yuan wasn't angry this time. He smiled and patted the two of them on the shoulders, saying, "It's all the same, it's all the same."

After saying that, he strode into the Zhihua Temple, which he had always been loyal to.

Pei Yuan's last visit was during the time when "the commander was not present." Standing on the steps and looking at the hall, he thought about how he and his beautiful female classmate had sat so close together back then, and he felt quite emotional.

Although Pei Yuan hugged and kissed Han Qianhu during their walk together on their wedding night, it didn't feel as good as when they were together before.

There were probably still beautiful expectations back then, but on the night of the wedding, all that was left was the desperate desire to prove something.

Pei Yuan entered the hall and sat alone behind the table.

Because it had been some time since he last visited, some of the Imperial Guards with official positions in Zhihua Temple came to the hall to pay their respects and await Pei Yuan's instructions.

Pei Yuan saw the centurions, captains, and lieutenants lined up on both sides, each one waiting respectfully for his question, their loyalty beyond words. He felt a sense of satisfaction at having a small amount of power in his hands.

(End of this chapter)