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

Chapter 670 It’s so hard to guess
Pei Yuan nodded, understanding what was going on, and then said to him, "Then go and tell Wei Ne to pay more attention to Chen Jin's situation."

Thinking of Jiang Mian, Pei Yuan thought of another person.

That was Zhang Chun, the Vice Minister of the Imperial Stud in Nanjing.

Zhang Chun was also a graduate of the Dingwei year of the Chenghua era, but he only managed to get a third-class ranking and became a Jinshi (a successful candidate in the highest imperial examinations).

Zhang Chun was in charge of horse administration in the south, so he was basically a marginal figure.

Pei Yuan remembered that this person would be highly valued by Zhu Houzhao and would soon become the governor of Yingtian. So he suggested that Sun Keding, who had just stepped down from his post, take on this important task, as it might bring him great rewards in the future.

Unfortunately, Sun Keding only saw the immediate benefits and paid no attention to Zhang Chun.

Pei Yuan, with the mindset of making use of what he could, had Wang Chang submit a memorial strongly recommending this person when he went north to Huai'an, intending to gain some goodwill before he took off.

I don't know if Wang Chang listened to me.

Pei Yuan glanced at Xiao Tong and said to him, "Go ask Wang Chang if he still remembers the name Zhang Chun."

Xiao Tong immediately got up and left.

Wang Chang is currently unemployed and staying at Guangci Temple, which is very close to Zhihua Temple. He is easy to find.

He is currently entangled in some complicated matters, yet his official rank is not low. If he were to go to the Censorate, it would put his colleagues in a difficult position.

Wang Chang did not want to implicate others, so he took sick leave and rested at his lodging.

Pei Yuan inquired about the matter and then asked the other officials, all of whom said there was nothing wrong, so he let them disperse.

Yun Weilin then brought over some official documents related to the report he had just received, and asked Pei Yuan to review them.

Pei Yuan casually flipped through a few items, examined them carefully, and then asked Yun Weilin to bring paper and pen.

After Yun Weilin nervously presented the paper and pen, Pei Yuan dismissed him and began writing a letter to Jiao Fang.

Pei Yuan's letter to Jiao Fang this time was still somewhat polite and distant.

The main idea was to inquire whether Grand Secretary Jiao had any suitable nephews or nieces to recommend, since there was a group of inexpensive county and prefectural officials available for appointment.

Pei Yuan's purpose was certainly not to give Jiao Fang such a great benefit for nothing.

Jiao Fang was dissatisfied with Jiao Yan'er's fate, but her act of sending over dowry and servants made Pei Yuan sense that "it's worth talking about".

Since we're going to talk, we should naturally show off our strengths and, incidentally, inquire about the other party's bargaining chips.

Therefore, this letter was sent for two reasons. First, it was to test Jiao Fang's background and see if the "Ten People of Jia Shen" and their affiliated followers still had the potential to rise to power.

Secondly, it was for Jiao Fang to experience for herself what the so-called "a batch of cheap county and prefectural officials available for appointment" really meant.

Shandong and Henan are adjacent, and when dealing with a cunning old fox like Jiao Fang, many things don't need to be explained too clearly.

After sealing the letter, Pei Yuan suddenly remembered that the eunuch in charge of Henan right now was Liu Jing.
As a member of the Avengers, I should at least be treated with a friendly attitude by Liu Jing.

If you want to open the letter and add a sentence, you can go to the eunuch in charge of the Henan garrison if you encounter trouble back home. Mentioning your name will help.

But then I felt that the words were too stiff, not as profound as the more subtle and meaningful exchange we had just had.

So Pei Yuan put down the letter to Jiao Fang, thought for a moment, and then sent a letter to Mao Ji, who was observing mourning at home.

The letter sent to Mao Ji was rather simple and unpretentious.

Before resigning his post to observe the mourning period, Mao Ji, following custom, requested the court to posthumously grant his father, Mao Min, the official title of Left Vice Minister of the Ministry of Rites. His mother, Liu, was also posthumously granted the title of Tai Shuren.

For a woman of that era, being able to be buried with a title of nobility and in a grand manner was considered a remarkable honor after death.

Pei Yuan first expressed his regret over the passing of Tai Shuren, and then asked Mao Ji if there was a family temple or Taoist temple for praying for one's parents. If not, he suggested that one could be built and that he could help make the temple officially recognized.

Mao Ji was previously the second-in-command of the Ministry of Rites, so the procedures there wouldn't be difficult to complete, and he had already given his word in advance.

Pei Yuan figured Mao Ji probably wouldn't agree, but he couldn't stop me from being nice to him, could he?

I just want to be good to him.

After finishing writing the letter to Mao Ji, someone in the hall reported that Wang Chang and Wei Ne had arrived.

Pei Yuan was somewhat surprised. It was fine that Wang Chang arrived so quickly, but how did Wei Ne manage to come over?
Pei Yuan made no attempt to hide anything and summoned both of them in.

After exchanging pleasantries, Pei Yuan asked Wang Chang directly, "What's the situation with Zhang Chun?"

Wang Chang replied, "After the commander told me that, I deliberately befriended Zhang Chun."

"Although I had lost power at that time, I was still the Minister of War in Nanjing. Zhang Chun was just a Jinshi (a successful candidate in the highest imperial examinations) and was in charge of horse administration in Nanjing. He thought his future was hopeless, and we were in the same boat."

"Zhang Chun saw that I had humbled myself and treated me as a close friend. So I followed the advice of the commander and told Zhang Chun that I would recommend him to the court."

At this point, Wang Chang paused and said to Pei Yuan, "I did recommend him to the court. But I reckon that before the memorial even reached the capital, Zhang Chun was already promoted to Prefect of Yingtian Prefecture."

"Zhang Chun was unaware of the reason behind it all, and he was very grateful to me. Our relationship has always been quite good."

“Last month, I was investigated by the Censorate because of the Shandong matter. Just then, someone from the Ministry of Personnel went to Nanjing to deliver an imperial edict and told people about this. After Zhang Chun learned of this, he even sent someone to write a letter inquiring about the situation.”

Pei Yuan was somewhat satisfied with Zhang Chun's personality. "Very good. Keep a close eye on this person."

Zhang Chun's appointment as Prefect of Yingtian Prefecture was a significant leap in his official career.

Both the Prefect of Yingtian and the Prefect of Shuntian were of the third rank. Zhang Chun was able to jump from the fourth rank to the third rank. In addition to the fact that his two contemporaries, who were serving as the Left and Right Vice Ministers of the Ministry of Personnel, subconsciously nominated their own people, his own experience in suppressing the rebellion in Guizhou also added a lot of points to his resume.

After all, Zhang Chun was promoted on the spot, just when the Bazhou army was pointing directly at Huai'an and was about to reach Yingtian.

The Prefect of Yingtian Prefecture was neither a local official nor a capital official.

With proper planning, it can still be placed in an important position.

Pei Yuan thought about it and then thought of another prefect.

That was Yang Dan, the prefect of Shuntian Prefecture, who behaved extremely calmly during the parade in Tanggao.

Unfortunately……

Pei Yuan glanced at Wang Chang, who was thin and wore a tall crown, and thought it was a pity that he only had this one.

After asking about Wang Chang's matter, Pei Yuan gestured to Wei Neyi, "Tell me about yours, what's wrong?"

Wei Ne hurriedly said, "This morning at court, the court officially announced the personnel selected to investigate the case in Shandong. Yang Tinghe recommended those Jinshi (successful candidates in the highest imperial examinations) from the Thousand Households' Bureau to go with them as censors of the Censorate. The idea was to use Shandong people to investigate Shandong people, thereby sowing discord and preventing unpredictable consequences." "Yang Yiqing was initially somewhat dissatisfied, but Yang Tinghe also mentioned that Bian Xian's reputation in Shandong was not good, and that it should be reconsidered."

"Later, Yang Yiqing learned that these newly appointed Jinshi from Shandong were all students of Mao Ji, so he let them off the hook, indicating that he would follow the wishes of Li Shishi, the Left Censor-in-Chief."

"Li Shishi agreed in court and the matter was settled."

Pei Yuan was somewhat surprised, "Does Yang Yiqing really give Mao Ji this much face?"

Wei Ne laughed and said, "How could that be? Yang Tinghe is trying to steal Mao Ji's disciples. Yang Yiqing will probably write to Mao Ji to sow discord about this. Mao Ji is just going home to observe mourning for his parents; he didn't die in Shandong."

Pei Yuan couldn't help but sigh inwardly; the situation in the court was indeed complex and complicated.

After Wei Ne finished speaking, he cautiously probed, "Commander, do we really have no connection with Grand Secretary Yang?"

Pei Yuan lazily interrupted his daydream, "Don't overthink it."

Wei Ne panicked a little upon hearing this, "Then what about your men, Commander Qianhu?"

Pei Yuan calmly replied, "Don't worry, this was originally my arrangement."

After saying that, he also thought of the multifaceted nature of Wei Ne.

Pei Yuan then picked up the letter meant for Jiao Fang, waved it at him, and said with a half-smile, "Speaking of which, you've been helping Jiao Huangzhong all along. If one day Prime Minister Jiao returns to court, I wonder if I, the commander, will have to fight him because of you, Wei Ne?"

Upon hearing this, Wei Ne's heart skipped a beat, and he firmly declared, "I am a man of the commander in life and in death, and I would never dare to betray him."

Pei Yuan snorted.

Wei Ne chuckled and asked Pei Yuan, "Why did you say that just now, Commander? What about the letter you showed me earlier?"

Pei Yuan said calmly, "I chatted with Prime Minister Jiao about some trivial matters. As for whether Prime Minister Jiao can return to court, I still need to think about it carefully."

Besides the pros and cons of Jiao Fang returning to the court, a suitable position is also needed.

Otherwise, the "slot-grabbing crisis" caused by Jiao Fang's return to the court would have caused those nine "radishes" to simultaneously feel a sense of shared hatred.

Things that were promising back then might not have been able to be accomplished at all.

Wei Ne had a close relationship with the Jiao family father and son, so it wasn't appropriate to discuss this topic in detail. Instead, he said, "Bian Xian and the others are in a hurry. They said they'll be going to Shandong this afternoon."

"Should we send someone to deliver it to the Qianhumen people?"

Pei Yuan understood Wei Ne's meaning; he was simply afraid that the newly appointed scholars and censors would try to curry favor with Yang Tinghe, so he asked Pei Yuan to stabilize the relationship between the two sides.

Although Pei Yuan felt it wasn't a big problem, he happened to have nothing to do in the afternoon, so there was no harm in going to see him off.

Moreover, this matter is so significant that without strong support from themselves, they would probably feel uncertain.

So Pei Yuan said, "Then I'll go deliver it this afternoon!"

Pei Yuan glanced at Wang Chang and said, "These Shandong Jinshi (successful candidates in the highest imperial examinations) were all selected for me by Lord Wang from among many candidates. Would you like to go and meet them together?"

Wang Chang shook his head, "I am currently under suspicion, why should I meddle? Besides, they were promoted by the commander, and I didn't do anything."

Wei Ne then added, "We haven't received any new information from Chen Jin yet, but I've heard that the Ministry of War is indeed discussing the reward."

"However, Chen Jin's troops are as greedy as wolves and as ruthless as sheep, even worse than bandits. There is a great deal of internal strife in the court now, and it is still unknown whether they will be rewarded or punished."

Upon hearing this, Pei Yuan immediately realized the key point and asked with a smile.

"I guess Lu Wan won't have an easy time doing it, right?"

When Lu Wan quelled Liu Liu and Liu Qi, did he not commit any offenses against them?

Pei Yuan had heard Gu Dayong talk to him privately that when Lu Wan first took over the army to quell the rebellion, the morale of the troops was extremely low. It seemed that Lu Wan deliberately slowed down the pace, letting the rebels attack the city, and then suddenly arrived to pursue and annihilate them after the rebels in Bazhou had looted the city.

Lu Wan, relying on the combined advance of his large army, forced the Bazhou army to abandon their spoils and quickly withdraw.

After several battles, although the Bazhou bandits were not caught up and did not have a good chance to fight, they captured a considerable amount of money and grain.

After several rounds of rewards, the morale of the pacification army was greatly boosted, and the generals also expressed their willingness to support Lu Wan.

This led Lu Wan to make his final decision and organize the plan to encircle the Bazhou bandits in the Huai River basin.

Lu Wan's methods weren't exactly secrets that were hard to see through. No one paid attention before because with a formidable enemy at hand, suppressing the rebellion was the priority. Now that things were over and the rebellion had been successfully quelled, the court couldn't very well pin the blame on them, could they?
However, Chen Jin and his group went too far, to the point that the imperial court had no choice but to investigate.

In that case, if Chen Jinpan bites, Lu Wan will probably be roasted again.

Pei Yuan told Wei Ne to be careful about Chen Jin's whereabouts, and then saw the two of them off.

Not long after lunch, the Imperial Guards responsible for keeping watch came to report that the officials heading south were about to leave the city.

Pei Yuan then dressed in plain clothes, gathered his men, and headed to the South Gate to meet up with his brothers.

The newly appointed officials, led by Yao Qian, were looking eagerly into the city. Upon seeing their new brother, the commander, they were all overjoyed.

They waited a long time last night before finally meeting Yang Tinghe. Due to time constraints, they didn't have time to talk to Pei Yuan after meeting Yang Tinghe.

Early this morning, the imperial court issued an official document appointing them as censors to accompany Bian Xian on a southward investigation.

On one hand, under the envious gazes of their peers, the younger brothers successfully embarked on the fast track to becoming censors. On the other hand, they were filled with anxiety about the enormous consequences that would follow.

He longed to see Pei Yuan again to seek his advice, but the court was pressing him hard. Almost as soon as the appointment was made, they were ordered to prepare their luggage and follow Bian Xian to Shandong.

They thought they wouldn't have time to say goodbye to Brother Qianhu this time, but unexpectedly, Brother Qianhu arrived just in time at the last moment.

Pei Yuan's identity was rather sensitive, so it was inappropriate for everyone to act too familiarly, especially since other officials were also present. Both sides were very reserved in their expressions.

The brothers' core belief was that they were loyal and had not been swayed by anyone's attempts to win them over.

Pei Yuan said, "I didn't think much about it. I came here simply because I couldn't bear to leave you all."

When they parted, the younger brothers, struggling with their inner turmoil, burst into tears, saying they couldn't bear to leave their brother, Qianhu.

They repeatedly expressed their hope that Brother Qianhu could come to Shandong to help them as soon as possible. They said they did not ask to be born on the same day, month, and year as Brother Qianhu, but they asked to die on the same day, month, and year.

This made Pei Yuan suspicious and unsure whether this was an expression of loyalty or some kind of threat.

Seriously, it's so hard to guess.

(End of this chapter)