Chapter 35 Lei Xiang's Private Activities
Chapter 35 Lei Xiang's Private Activities
Pei Yuan couldn't help but sigh when thinking about Liu Qi's subsequent experience.
The Bazhou rebels, who had been fighting more and more courageously throughout the sixth year of Zhengde, began to lose momentum in the seventh year of Zhengde.
As for the reason, Pei Yuan could vaguely guess it.
After seizing the grain transport from Jining, the rebels' momentum almost reached its peak, so they gathered their troops in Bazhou, preparing to directly attack the capital with more than 100,000 troops.
Then, such an incident was recorded in the corner of history.
"The capital was hit by an earthquake. The two prefectures of Baoding and Hejian, the counties of Jizhou, Liangxiang, Fangshan, Gu'an, Dong'an, Baodi, Yongqing, Wen'an, Dacheng, and the prefectures of Wanquan, Huailai, and Longqing were all hit on the same day. There were thunderous sounds, shaking the houses of the residents. However, from that day to Gengshen, Bazhou had 19 earthquakes, and the residents were terrified."
In November of the sixth year of Zhengde, a major earthquake occurred in the capital, with the epicenter being Bazhou!
All we can say is that the Ming Dynasty is not yet doomed.
A major earthquake that seemed to be a sign of destiny frightened the rebels gathered in Bazhou, and they dispersed their troops to the south, completely giving the Ming Dynasty a reprieve.
Pei Yuan was in a trance for a while, and when he came to his senses, his hair stood on end due to the bloody and murderous aura.
He just felt that his emotions were suppressed to the extreme, and his hands and feet began to feel slightly cold.
He couldn't help but complain.
"Damn, how many people must this guy have killed?"
Pei Yuan put the knife back into the sheath with lingering fear, and then asked the two pale-faced brothers for their opinions, "I will tell the court whether it was too hasty for the three of us to injure Liu Qi on the front battlefield and seize the precious knife."
Chen Toutie and Cheng Leixiang both nodded like chicks pecking at rice.
Pei Yuan sighed, not knowing for whom.
He added, "Yuan Lang died in Linqing."
He glanced at the two of them, his eyes clearly hinting at something.
Cheng Leixiang then exclaimed in a very sensible way, "Thanks to you, sir, for your insight and leading us brothers south, otherwise we would have died without a burial place."
Chen Tou said firmly, "Me too."
Pei Yuan nodded with satisfaction. Good to know.
Then the three of them kicked their hands outside the Pacification Office and started to think together, "What should we do now?"
Yuan Lang, the captain who was supposed to cooperate in the investigation, is dead, and Han Qianhu, whose words could be used, is not in Nanzhi at the moment.
It's okay to wait slowly, but the problem is who will pay for the food and accommodation.
The post station system along the Grand Canal was almost paralyzed. They went south a few days ago and spent a lot of their own money.
Now that the Nanjing Jinyiwei refused to receive them, they had to wait here and pay for it out of their own pockets.
Pei Yuan looked at the two of them, "Come on, let's brainstorm."
Cheng Leixiang grinned, "I think Captain Han is a reasonable person, and our office is not short of money. As long as the accounts are clear and the handover is done, there shouldn't be any problem."
Chen Toutie understood the emperor's intention very well, and quickly explained in a low voice, "What the lord wants to know is whether there is any good way to not spend my own money and still get all the compensation I need."
Cheng Leixiang suddenly fell silent.
Seeing that the two of them couldn't give any good suggestions, Pei Yuan said, "I have an idea."
They both said, "Please speak, sir."
Pei Yuan looked around and whispered, "When we came here just now, I saw the sign of the Ministry of Rites. If I remember correctly, many foreign envoys who came to pay tribute came from the south. Generally, when they arrived in Nanjing, they were received by the Ministry of Rites and then reported to Beijing to wait for the imperial edict."
Both of them had a bad feeling in their hearts, "Then what?" Pei Yuan put his hands in his pockets and looked at his two younger brothers. "When I was hiding from my creditors, I learned a trick of disguise. It's almost the same idea. It just so happens that I can speak a few words of English. Why don't we pretend to be envoys from foreign countries and stay for two days at the Ministry of Rites and Guests' Department?"
Cheng Leixiang and Chen Toutie's jaws almost dropped.
"My Lord, you are so bold."
Pei Yuan looked at these two guys whose worldviews had been changed and couldn't help but shake his head secretly.
This matter is actually very feasible.
Tribute trade was popular during the Ming Dynasty, and many fake envoys flocked to it in order to gain huge profits.
In order to avoid being taken advantage of, the Ministry of Rites gradually tightened its scrutiny of tribute envoys.
But for Pei Baihu, who had received nine years of compulsory education, was familiar with the world map and the products of various places, the review of the Ministry of Rites was nothing more than a joke.
Cheng Leixiang seemed unable to stand Pei Yuan's wild ideas and could only share some secrets that only the old captain knew.
"Sir, actually, I know a way to make money. It's not risky, and the money comes quickly."
"Oh? Please go ahead." Pei Yuan was very satisfied that Cheng Leixiang could take the initiative to do things.
Cheng Leixiang said hesitantly, "Actually, it's still our job to exorcise ghosts for people."
Pei Yuan and Chen Toutie's expressions changed when they saw Cheng Leixiang, and they asked in a mysterious way, "You can do this too?"
Cheng Leixiang waved his hands quickly, "I can't do that. Only Han Qianhu and a few Baihu have this ability. Oh, and some of Han Qianhu's direct subordinates are also good at exorcising demons and ghosts."
Then, Cheng Leixiang explained, "How can there be so many wronged souls and ghosts in this world? They are usually just a way for the people in the market to defraud money. When they see us, they will naturally flee. But for such things, officials and civilians alike are very cautious and are most willing to pay money."
"Yun Buxian and I used to secretly take private jobs in my name and made a lot of money."
Pei Yuan was immediately moved when he heard this.
This is much more promising than pretending to be an envoy from a foreign country.
"Is it reliable?" he confirmed again.
Cheng Leixiang seemed to want to dispel the boss's bizarre idea, and quickly patted his chest and said, "It's very reliable. Sir, think about where we are? This is Nanzhili. People who are smart have more or less heard of the name of the Evil Suppression Thousand Households. If there is anything unclean in those people's families, they will definitely want to rely on official power to solve it first."
Pei Yuan asked, "Even if that's the case, they would only ask the Qianhu Office for help if they have any problems. What does it have to do with the three of us?"
Cheng Leixiang then pointed out, "If they ask for help from Qianhu Suo, no one will pay attention to them and give them a cold response. After a few days, someone will come to take this private job."
Pei Yuan immediately understood the mystery behind this and couldn't help but curse, "Damn it, the Ming Dynasty is going to perish."
Then, he asked Cheng Leixiang, "Then how should we operate?"
Cheng Leixiang said immediately, "The Qianhu Suo does not have a fixed garrison area, and Yingtian Prefecture only has military officers in the Zhenfu Division to spy on them. If something mysterious happens, those high-ranking officials and wealthy businessmen will most likely come to the Zhenfu Division to look for someone."
"When we ask the Imperial Guard to do something, we definitely can't send a servant. We just need to keep an eye out for any respectable people who come to the Imperial Guard for help."
"Once the government has finished bullying us, we will take the initiative and finish this private job."
Pei Yuan thought for a moment and asked again, "What if, I mean, if, I really encounter something unclean, what should I do?"
Cheng Leixiang said confidently, "Just run away. If the master had provoked a real person, no one would care about the dozens of taels of silver we cheated."
(End of this chapter)