The daily struggles of divorced women in ancient times

When Pei Yanxu heard that Master Cen was going to donate money, he looked overjoyed, "Xiyang is in a tight spot right now, I wonder what Master Cen is going to donate?"

Master Cen said, "Master Pei, I am willing to spend 180,000 taels of silver to purchase supplies for the army."

Pei Yanxu did not act too surprised, and Master Cen knew immediately that Xia Mianwan had discussed the number with Pei Yanxu before, which meant that Pei Yanxu was not satisfied with the 180,000 taels of silver.

Although 180,000 taels of silver was not enough to drain the Cen family's coffers, it was enough to almost wipe out their wealth. After a brief thought, Master Cen gritted his teeth and said, "No... 200,000 taels of silver, I am willing to pay 200,000 taels of silver."

Pei Yanxu smiled and said, "Master Cen is a righteous man. Since Master Cen has shown such great sincerity, I will definitely do my best to help the Cen family turn things around. But..."

"But what?" Mr. Cen now felt pain in his heart.

"It's just that Cen Erlang's crime is too serious. If you want to give him up, then the Cen family can still gain a foothold in Xiyang. I can assure you that Cen Erlang will not die, but you can't take him away. If you are unwilling to give him up, then the Cen family will have to take Cen Erlang away from Xiyang. Master Cen, you make your choice." Pei Yanxu gave the conditions that could be chosen.

Mr. Cen was stunned for a moment. He had to leave after paying the protection fee? "What about my eldest son?"

Pei Yanxu said: "If you give up Cen Erlang, he can continue to be the county magistrate. If you can't bear to let him go, you have to leave with you."

Cen Erlang's life is not important to Pei Yanxu. Cen Erlang's value lies in how to overthrow the Cen family without any effort. Once the Cen family is gone, there will be one less obstacle standing in the way.

Mr. Cen couldn't give up Cen Erlang no matter what, but he paid so much money, why did he still have such a choice? He couldn't help but look up and ask: "Why can't I have both after paying so much money? I still have the red book and iron certificate!"

Pei Yanxu shook his head, stood up, and said with his hands behind his back: "Master Cen, can Cen Erlang kill dozens of lives without being discovered? Do you think it's possible? The entire Cen family is an accomplice, and no one is spared. If you mention the Danshu Tiequan, then I will tell you about the Danshu Tiequan. If our ancestors knew that the Danshu Tiequan was used to protect a family like yours, I'm afraid they would be so angry that they would die. The current emperor is so wise. Once I submit this memorial, he may not be able to do anything openly, but what's the difficulty in touching your Cen family in private? Is keeping your Cen family going to discredit our ancestors? There have been only a few families with Danshu Tiequan in the past hundred years. This is a huge wealth, but if something happens, this huge wealth is not wealth anymore, do you understand?"

Master Cen's face turned pale as he finally realized that Pei Yanxu had never intended to let them go.

"Master Cen, what Cen Erlang did was too cruel. From the moment you protected him, the Cen family could no longer turn back. I know that the Cen family has been operating in Xiyang for a long time and has its own foundation, but if I make this public, do you think those people from other forces will let you go?" Pei Yanxu guessed what Master Cen was thinking and spoke first.

Master Cen's energy seemed to be drained away all at once, and he dropped his hands dejectedly. Pei Yanxu did not give him a choice at all, as to whether to give up or not. Whether he gave up Cen Erlang or not, it was all over. His eldest son could not continue to stay in Xiyang. Pei Yanxu had ten thousand ways to touch Cen Dalang.

Mr. Cen looked at Pei Yanxu and couldn't help but recall the days when Pei Yanxu first came.

When Pei Yanxu first came to Xiyang, Master Cen invited those old guys to dinner. His words implied that he wanted to find out Pei Yanxu's bottom line. Xiyang was a place that could not let an outsider have the final say. However, in just a short time, the Cen family was overthrown.

"Sir Pei, I will hand over the things, and our whole family will leave." Master Cen said.

Pei Yanxu nodded, "As long as Master Cen abides by the rules, I can send someone to take you away from Xiyang."

Now that the matter has been settled, Master Cen is about to leave. Suddenly, Master Cen asked Pei Yanxu, "Master Pei, Erlang is just your breakthrough point, right?"

Pei Yanxu smiled faintly, "What value does Cen Erlang have to me? This kind of idiot... his only value is that he is your son."

"What about my eldest son?" Mr. Cen didn't understand why Cen Dalang was still working so diligently all these years.

Pei Yanxu looked at Master Cen with a half-smile and asked, "Do you really not know or are you pretending not to know? Collaboration with the enemy and treason is a serious crime!"

Master Cen looked at Pei Yanxu in shock, "What did you say? Dalang..."

Pei Yanxu sighed, "So, Master Cen, the Cen family has done so much and still managed to get away with it all thanks to the kindness of our ancestors. Once you leave this door, please take care of yourselves and remember to restrain your children and grandchildren, otherwise you won't be so lucky next time."

Mr. Cen still couldn't believe that Cen Dalang dared to collude with the enemy. He could no longer sit still and hurried back home, determined to leave Xiyang as soon as possible.

Mr. Cen was very sensible this time. Among the 200,000 taels of silver, 100,000 taels were supplies, which indeed provided great convenience. After all, in Xiyang, the Cen family was the best when it came to integrating resources.

With the money and supplies from Master Cen, Jiang Dingcheng no longer forced Pei Yanxu. After resting for a few days, he took the initiative to attack and killed A Tuye by surprise.

Zhai Qiang was good at guerrilla warfare, but in the face of absolute strength, Zhai Qiang suffered a great defeat. When the victory news reached the capital, the emperor was very happy.

The advantage at this time was in Dachen. Jiang Dingcheng did not beat the enemy when it was down. He received an imperial edict asking him to cooperate with Pei Yanxu's pace to negotiate with Zhai Qiang and promote the opening of trade.

It was not until he received the imperial edict that Marquis Weiwu Jiang Dingcheng was sure that Pei Yanxu was not demoted to Xiyang at all, but was ordered to come to reorganize Xiyang.

Even though Pei Yanxu had only been in Xiyang for a short time, with the cooperation of his powerful wife, those local stubborn people in Xiyang were no longer in a good situation. Some of the policies that Pei Yanxu wanted to promote were basically implemented from point to surface.

It is true that the waves behind push the waves in front!

Jiang Dingcheng stood on the city wall and looked into the distance. War is always accompanied by death. He hoped that Pei Yanxu could successfully negotiate.

Pei Yanxu had of course also received the secret decree. The opening of trade was something he had discussed with the emperor before coming to Xiyang. Peace talks were definitely necessary, but since the advantage was in Dachen, he would have to wait for the Zhai Qiang to come. There were still 800 Zhai Qiang prisoners of war in the barracks. Atuye would eventually have to give an explanation to the people of Zhai Qiang, so he was not afraid that Atuye would not come.