Chapter 58 Enemies and Supporters

Han Qianhu taught Pei Yuan the method, and then rolled up a talisman and handed it to him.

Only now did Pei Yuan believe Han Qianhu's sincerity, and the idea of firing Han Qianhu in his mind faded.

Although Pei Yuan did not fall for Han Qianhu's advice that "it is better to use your power than to gain merit", this mission did have something attractive to Pei Yuan besides the risk involved.

That’s eighty thousand taels of silver!
Now I don’t know whether I have absolute control over this escort operation.

Pei Yuan thought of what Captain Han had just said, and asked tentatively, "Just now, the master said that he would send me two more masters from the Captain's Office?"

Han Qianhu nodded and said calmly, "That's right. One is Tan Tai Fang Tu, and the other is Si Kong Sui. They are the elders of Qianhu Office, they know the rules, and they will never interfere with your decision."

Pei Yuan felt confused when he heard this, and couldn't help asking, "Captain Tantai?"

Han Qianhu glanced at Pei Yuan and said, "Yes, two centurions."

Pei Yuan was becoming more and more unbelievable.

It would be fine if it was Tan Tai Fang Tu, the old fellow who had rejected him, but could it be that Si Kong Sui was also a centurion?
If Cheng Leixiang is not lying, it seems that Han Qianhu only has five powerful centurions under his command?
Among them, Yuan Lang had been killed by Liu Qi in the chaos. That meant that among the remaining four masters, half of them followed him?

Captain Han really spent a lot of money.

Pei Yuan asked in surprise, "If that's the case, why didn't you let the Tantai Hundred Households take charge of this matter?"

Han Qianhu stared at Pei Yuan for a while, then said, "Not only do we need to hand over to the governor of Suzhou and Hangzhou Weaving Office, but we also need to deal with the various county offices, guard posts, and treasury offices along the way. There are many interests involved. So I need someone who is thoughtful and decisive to handle this matter. Neither of them is qualified."

"This..." Pei Yuan hurriedly evaded, "After all, I have little experience and I am an outsider. I am afraid I cannot convince the crowd. I am willing to assist the two centurions to accomplish this."

Han Qianhu asked with great insight, "If he is not talented enough, you can take it yourself?"

Ok.

Pei Yuan didn't dare to say anything.

So, Han Qianhu still suspects that he was the one who killed Yuan Lang?
Seeing that Pei Yuan had nothing else to do, Han Qianhu instructed him, "Go and prepare first, and come over tomorrow to receive the staff. By then, I will have Duan Min give you the list of the many temples and Taoist temples in Nanzhi. If you have anyone you want to use, you can recruit them at will."

Pei Yuan also wanted to take this opportunity to make some good plans, so he agreed and prepared to leave.

He stood up and said goodbye, reaching out to take the bundle.

The bundle moved slightly, and Pei Yuan was so scared that he immediately retracted his hand.

Fortunately, Pei Yuan had seen the world, and he kept repeating to himself, "This is a piece of equipment," "This is a piece of equipment," and still bravely picked up the bag.

Unexpectedly, as soon as he left Han Qianhu's room, the bundle opened silently by itself.

Immediately afterwards, a cassock with a strong smell of blood came out from inside like a snake, moved around Pei Yuan's body, and then was draped over Pei Yuan.

Pei Yuan was numb all over and couldn't even lift his feet. He stood under the eaves and felt like he had lost control of his whole body.

It wasn't the cassock that was causing any trouble. It was simply that Pei Yuan had been stimulated too strongly and was feeling weak all over.

A light laugh came from Han Qianhu in the room.

However, she had no intention of helping Pei Yuan out.

Pei Yuan was panicking. What about my passive state?

He quickly switched to the "Debt Settlement System" and saw that the column for the passive state was about to flash with an afterimage when it was triggered.

——Special state: Don’t worry about debts (you are now in an inexplicable calm). After a long while, the flashing special state finally stabilized, and Pei Yuan also felt that his hands and feet seemed to have regained warmth.

Pei Yuan even vaguely felt that after going through this, his mental consciousness seemed to have become more resilient.

He let out a long breath and tried hard to activate the incantation to control the robes. Then he saw the robes reluctantly slip off his body and slowly returned to the bag.

"Huh?" Han Qianhu seemed a little surprised that Pei Yuan calmed down so quickly.

Then he smiled and said, "If you work hard and do a good job, the court will not treat you unfairly."

Pei Yuan calmed himself down and bowed again to say goodbye.

When they got outside, Cheng Leixiang hurried over to greet them. Pei Yuan gave him a wink, and Cheng Leixiang immediately understood and didn't ask any more questions.

After they were some distance away, Pei Yuan told Cheng Leixiang the whole story of his meeting with Han Qianhu.

Cheng Leixiang's face was not very good after hearing this. "This job is not easy to handle. The last tax inspection incident was such a big deal. This time it will definitely not be peaceful."

Pei Yuan sighed and patted Cheng Leixiang on the shoulder. "It's a good time to go see Sun Keding. Maybe he can give you some good suggestions."

Pei Yuan followed Duan Min to see Captain Han early in the morning. Now that they had finished their business, it was already noon.

He and Cheng Leixiang found a tavern and had a quick bite, then went to the Qinhuai River and found the Sun family's ship docked.

Sun Keding had already boarded Gu Dayong's pirate ship, and now that his handwritten letter had been sent away, there was no room for regret.

He was quite concerned about his accomplice Pei Yuan. After Pei Yuan was summoned away by the Nanjing Jinyiwei, he stayed on the flower boat waiting for news.

When Pei Yuan saw Sun Keding, he wanted to test this guy's quality, so he told him about the matter immediately.

When Sun Keding heard that Pei Yuan had taken on the task of escorting the tax silver to the Neichengyunku, his face changed several times.

Pei Yuan did not hide anything and asked Sun Keding directly, "This matter seems not so simple, why can't Brother Sun teach me?"

Sun Keding looked at the teacup in front of him silently. After a long while, he asked Pei Yuan, "Brother, do you know anyone who doesn't want to see this money go to the capital?"

Pei Yuan judged Sun Keding's position, stared at him and said slowly, "From the six ministries, nine ministers, and the cabinet who were born in Jiangnan, to the prefects and county magistrates along the way who were born in Jiangnan, and then to the Jinshi and Juren who passed the examinations in Jiangnan for more than a hundred years. Each of these people could be my enemy."

Sun Keding raised his eyebrows. He didn't expect Pei Yuan's understanding to be so clear.

Sun Keding asked again, "Who supports you?"

Pei Yuan said without hesitation, "The emperor, the Imperial Household Department, the East and West Factories, officials from the north, and even Jinshi and Juren."

Sun Keding was more and more surprised.

He had previously looked up to Pei Yuan and felt that this guy was not a simple reckless warrior.

I didn't expect that the person in front of me was more sober than I expected.

Pei Yuan finished speaking, and looked at Sun Keding again and asked, "Brother Sun is a smart man, and I believe he is aware of the current situation. Are you willing to teach me?"

Sun Keding's hands trembled slightly.

Pei Yuan's words left him no room to compromise.

(End of this chapter)

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