Chapter 75 Aggressive
Chapter 75 Aggressive
After listening to what Song Chunniang said, Han Qianhu looked at the two of them for a while.
Then he asked Song Chunniang, "Besides this, do you have anything else to say?"
Song Chunniang immediately remembered Pei Yuan's words that had deliberately provoked her, but...
She really didn't want to act stupid in front of Han Qianhu!
Even though I knew it was Pei Yuan's trap, I still couldn't help but jump down.
Song Chunniang glanced at Pei Yuan and couldn't help but stutter, "They have a lot of cavalry and no baggage. If they attack the city, they will have no advantage. Instead, they will be delayed outside the city and lose their mobility."
"Sixth Master and Seventh Master were both famous heroes in the martial arts world. They would not fail to see this."
"Besides, their advantage is cavalry. Even if they seize enough ships, it is unlikely that they can cross the Huai River and attack Huai'an."
Han Qianhu smiled when he heard this and looked at Song Chunniang encouragingly, "What else did you think of?"
Song Chunniang didn't know Pei Yuan's plan, but she didn't want to be treated as a fool by him, so she wanted to take the opportunity to prove her ability. Of course, she didn't know what to say next.
Seeing that Song Chunniang had nothing new to say, Han Qianhu pondered for a moment and asked casually, "I see that you are not very old. How many years have you been wandering around?"
Song Chunniang was a little surprised, but she was still happy that Han Qianhu asked her about her personal affairs. "I have been following my father everywhere since I was in my teens. It has been six or seven years now."
Han Qianhu smiled and asked, "It's not a good idea to always hang out in the underworld. I see that you have traveled a lot and have gained some experience. Do you want to work for Jinyiwei?"
Captain Han's words stunned Pei Yuan and Song Chunniang.
Song Chunniang was surprised and asked, "Can I also join the Jinyiwei?"
Pei Yuan was also a little confused, "She can also join the Jinyiwei?"
Han Qianhu pulled out an official document and threw it on the table. "This was delivered this morning along with the imperial edict."
She had no intention of letting Pei Yuan read the official document, so she simply gave him a brief introduction, "This time, the rebellion in Bazhou was mainly caused by people who raise horses, which had a great impact on the imperial court's horse policy. The Ministry of War reported that 'the horses in the Imperial Household Department are almost exhausted, and the horse prices have been more than half paid. Please open a tax on horses.' The emperor had no choice but to agree. The Ministry of War sent an official document to the main military officers first. If there are vacancies to be filled, they can report them in advance."
Song Chunniang reacted quickly and asked in astonishment, "So you can buy an official position? Can I buy an official position, too?"
Han Qianhu looked in a good mood and explained to Song Chunniang, "Normally, buying an official position is useless. It only gives you a status and exempts you from various corvée duties. At most, you can receive an official salary. Usually, it cannot replace you. But you came at the right time. Qianhu has some vacancies. I can help you fill them."
While Song Chunniang was still confused, Pei Yuan had already understood the Ministry of War's tricks.
It seems that a horse donation has been introduced, and anyone can buy an official position.
However, the vacancies that could actually be filled had already been allocated in advance before the donation was launched, allowing military attachés from all over the country to find their own connections to fill the vacancies.
By the time the imperial court started to raise donations for horses two months later, every position had been taken.
The rest of the people paid money and only got some treatment and some official status.
Cheng Leixiang's good friend Yun Buxian donated a position as a deputy captain, but there was no vacancy for him, and now he can only work as a street urchin in the capital.
Civil officials are relatively better off, but those who donated money to become military officials face unpredictable risks.
For example, you have donated money but have been waiting for a job for ten or eight years, and suddenly someone from the Ministry of War comes to announce the good news, saying, "Congratulations, future centurion, your position has been secured."
Don't be happy too soon, it is very likely that the Tatars are invading the border again.
So Song Chunniang's luck can be said to be very good. She followed Pei Yuan to report military intelligence and actually got to eat Han Qianhu's special meal.
Song Chunniang thought that Han Qianhu didn't understand what she meant, and asked in surprise, "I, can a woman like me be an official?"
Han Qianhu smiled and said, "Most of the people in my evil-suppressing Qianhu are from all walks of life, and there are already quite a few female officials. Otherwise, who would I need to supervise those nunneries and Taoist temples with many female practitioners?" "What's more, during the White Lotus Rebellion in Shandong, the Qianhu searched for women everywhere to capture Tang Sai'er. Because the members of the Qianhu were of varying quality, there were even cases of breaking into households and raping them, with as many as 10,000 victims."
"During the Xuande reign, Empress Dowager Zhang learned of this and was filled with pity. She even had the emperor set a rule that a female official would be in charge of the Suppressing Evil Thousand Households Office to prevent him from causing harm to the world in the future."
Having said that, Han Qianhu deliberately glanced at Pei Yuan.
Pei Yuan didn't dare to say anything and pretended not to see it.
Song Chunniang was really moved.
She, a escort girl and a lecherous thief named Shili Xiang, could actually buy an official position and become a Royal Guard?
She couldn't help but ask, "What kind of official position can I buy?"
Han Qianhu said, "Below the general flag."
Song Chunniang asked directly, "How much does the general flag cost?"
Captain Han flipped through the document casually, glanced at it and said, "As long as you pay seventy taels of silver, you can get three horses and become a seventh-rank general flag officer. How about it? Do you have seventy taels?"
Song Chunniang became excited and nodded like a chicken pecking at rice, "I have seventy taels."
Han Qianhu seemed not surprised at all that the escort girl had seventy taels of silver, and asked, "Do you have it with you?"
Song Chunniang hesitated and said, "Somewhere else."
Han Qianhu smiled and said, "Then go get it. I'll wait for you to come back."
After Song Chunniang left in a daze, Han Qianhu picked up his pen again, sorted out the scriptures he had just copied, and said lightly, "Let her follow you in the future."
"Ah?" Pei Yuan became more and more confused. Wasn't she the one that Han Qianhu had his eyes on? How did he get involved?
Han Qianhu paused writing, raised his head, and looked at Pei Yuan sharply.
It was still that beautiful face, fair skin, and slender white neck. The soft contrast of white and black just now instantly turned into a dazzling and aggressive edge set off by the darkness.
Pei Yuan even felt that under Pei Qianhu's sharp gaze, the collarbone slightly exposed under the black Taoist robe looked dazzlingly white.
Han Qianhu stared at Pei Yuan and said slowly, "Are you dissatisfied with my arrangement?"
"She was the one who left the 'mostly cavalry' and 'fast-moving' Bazhou rebels far behind, and leisurely ran to Yingtianfu to sleep with a girl."
"Such a capable subordinate, is it possible that Captain Pei still doesn't like him?"
Pei Yuan's mind went blank for a moment.
His plans these days had been successful so many times that he was careless for a moment and didn't even realize that his own words had such a big loophole!
How could Song Chunniang have such merit and ability that, after accidentally encountering the Bazhou rebels heading south, she could leave them so far behind and appear in Yingtian Prefecture?
Compared with this stupid mistake, even the exposure of Song Chunniang's identity is nothing.
Pei Yuan felt his legs were going weak.
No matter what his original intention was, he used false information to trick Han Qianhu into using the imperial tax money for gambling!
Now that Han Qianhu has seen through it at a glance, the consequences are simply unimaginable.
(End of this chapter)