Kou Ji was very kind to Di Qing. If he went to bully Kou Tianci, he would be ungrateful.
But Di Qing is not an ungrateful person.
Therefore, he, a famous general who has left his name in history, is destined to never fight.
You can only wipe the armor when you have nothing to do to avoid rust.
"Aren't there some small tribes in Wei Shibei? Didn't you go practice your skills?"
Kou Ji questions.
Di Qing smiled bitterly and said: "The largest tribe only has more than 1,300 people. Before I led the soldiers and horses to their pasture, they were kneeling on the ground quietly waiting to pay tribute to the court.
What can I do?
You can't kill a group of people who are kneeling on the ground in submission, right?
I don’t even bother killing good people and taking credit for them.”
Kou Ji sighed faintly and said: "The only ones to blame are Jiao Siluo, Li Deming, Li Yuanhao, Yelu Longxu, and the Yelv Sect really doesn't deserve to be beaten."
Di Qing took it seriously and nodded heavily.
Then he added, "And the King of Korea..."
Kou Ji looked at Di Qing in astonishment and said, "In your eyes, the King of Goryeo is considered a powerful enemy?"
Di Qing thought that he had broken through the Goryeo capital in one blow, and decisively shook his head and admitted his mistake: "The King of Goryeo is not a strong enemy..."
The two brothers looked at each other and sighed helplessly.
The two of them had a thought at the same time.
It’s not that we are invincible, it’s just that our opponents are too weak.
Kou Ji chatted with Di Qing about some household matters, asked someone to take Di Qing down to wash up, and ordered the kitchen to prepare a table of food and wine.
The two brothers, plus Kou Ji's students.
Started eating and drinking a lot.
That boy Di Yong is also there.
It’s just that he doesn’t really want to get close to Di Qing.
This is what happens to the children of military commanders.
Once a general goes on an expedition, it will last for several years.
The children at home may still be little ones when they go out, but they may turn into young men when they come home.
This is the case with Liu Boxu.
When Liu Heng left Bianjing for the Japanese country, Liu Boxu was still a child. When Liu Heng appeared in front of Liu Boxu again, Liu Boxu had become a handsome young man.
It took Liu Heng several months to reluctantly develop a relationship with Liu Boxu again.
Now, it's Di Qing's turn.
But Di Yong is not Liu Boxu.
Liu Boxu was knowledgeable, sensible and kind-hearted.
So it's easy to be soft-hearted.
Di Yong has a very stubborn temper and is also very proud.
His stubborn temper probably came from his mother, and his arrogance came from Su Shi.
Di Yong did not have as many splendid articles as Su Shi, but he had considerable talent in martial arts.
Almost everyone who visited Zhuyuan praised Di Yong and Su Shi as prodigies in both literature and martial arts.
Di Yong was not as shy as Liu Boxu. Although he had met Di Qing once when Di Qing returned to Beijing, when he saw Di Qing again, he still raised his head in disgust and asked: "Are you my father?"
Di Qing was not very good at getting along with his son, so he said in a somewhat stiff tone: "It's true!"
Di Yong wiped his greasy mouth with his sleeve, patted his chest proudly and said: "I heard people say that my father is excellent in martial arts, and I am also good in martial arts.
If you defeat me, I will recognize you as my father."
Di Qing stared at Di Yong without saying a word.
Su Shi was holding a bowl of braised pork in his hand, slicing it into his mouth while stirring up trouble.
"Di Yong, you can definitely win!"
Then.
Then there is no more.
The most effective way to deal with naughty children is never to be reasonable.
Because the more you talk about the truth, the more annoying the kid will find you.
The most effective method is to give him a beating.
Di Qing slapped Di Yong's butt twice with his hand, and Di Yong became obedient.
Di Qing hugged Di Yong arrogantly and wiped away the tears on Di Yong's face with his broad palms.
Kou Ji slapped Su Shi twice on the buttocks, and Su Shi obediently went back to the study to study.
Solved the naughty kid.
Di Qing and Kou Ji chatted for a while. After Di Qing repeatedly confirmed that Kou Ji was not in danger, he left the Zhuyuan.
Not long after Di Qing left, Chen Lin hurried to Zhuyuan.
Kou Ji was drinking tea after dinner in the side hall. After seeing Chen Lin, he put down his tea cup and asked, "What did you find?"
Chen Lin said gloomily: "There is no gunpowder flowing into the palace."
Kou Ji breathed a sigh of relief in his heart. There was no gunpowder flowing into the palace, which meant that Zhao Zhen would not be in danger of his life.
"Since there is no gunpowder flowing into the palace, why do you still look like your father is dead?"
Chen Lin said in a deep voice: "But our family found out that the eunuch who purchased it got a hundred kilograms of gunpowder from Chang Xinglong Artillery House, but his whereabouts are unknown.
No matter where the gunpowder went, no matter what happened, our family is partly responsible."
Kou Ji frowned and said: "One hundred kilograms is indeed a lot. People who can do business in Bianjing City have a very keen sense of smell. They may not know other people, but when it comes to eunuchs, they can tell them right away.
If shopkeeper Chang Xinglong dares to sell a hundred kilograms of gunpowder to a eunuch, it means that there is something wrong with him."
Chen Lin said: "Our family has sent people to investigate. Chang Xinglong's shopkeeper and owner were bombed to death in Chang Xinglong last night. Only a few women and children were left, and those women and children knew nothing.
Some dirty money was found in their respective private homes, but other than that, there was nothing."
Kou Ji raised his eyebrows and said, "There's no account book either?"
Chen Lin shook her head.
Kou Ji narrowed his eyes and said, "It seems he is a close confidant."
Chen Lin nodded solemnly.
Kou Jidao: "So, one hundred kilograms of gunpowder has disappeared, and the clues have been lost?"
Chen Lin nodded again.
Kou Ji pondered for a moment and asked, "Now is the only remaining maidservant from before Fangmei entered the palace?"
Speaking of this, Kou Ji looked at Chen Lin and said, "What you can find can be found by others. You have to make sure that we can get the maid's confession.
If she is also silenced, then all our clues will be lost.
Since the other party takes action, it will never stop until it achieves its goal.
We cannot let others lead us by the nose."
Chen Lin solemnly said: "Our family has sent three groups of people, and they will definitely get the maid's confession."
Kou Ji nodded and said: "The death of Fang Meiren and the bombing of Chang Xinglong Artillery Factory may not be the work of one person. Therefore, the investigation on the other side cannot be relaxed.
Since the other party took away a hundred kilograms of gunpowder, they would definitely do something with the gunpowder.
As long as you find the gunpowder, you have a chance to catch the other party."
"Our family understands..."
Kou Ji picked up the teacup and signaled to Chen Lin that she could leave.
Chen Lin didn't stay long and left Zhuyuan decisively.
The next few days were calm.
There was no movement in Bianjing City.
The people Chen Lin sent spent four days to obtain the maid's confession.
It is said that when they found the maidservant, some thieves wanted to kill the maidservant, but they were killed by Wudesi's people.
After Chen Lin obtained the confession, she approached Kou Ji.
After reading the confession given by Chen Lin, Kou Ji was stunned for a long time.
"Zhang Bing, a scholar from Suzhou?"
"Now he is the deputy department of the Military Registration Department under the Privy Council's Military Department."
"My disciple..."
Kou Ji returned the confession to Chen Lin, stared at Chen Lin and said: "I don't have a deep impression of this person. He is on the same list as Ouyang Xiu and others, but he has never lived in my house."
Chen Lin nodded and said: "We have checked and found out that when you let a group of scholars enter the residence, he did not go, but lived in the Suzhou Guild Hall.
He was not knowledgeable enough, so he reluctantly ordered a top three Jinshi.
After becoming an official, his political performance was mediocre, but he was promoted repeatedly."
Kou Ji frowned and said, "If Bao Zheng and others are not outstanding, why are they promoted so many times?"
Chen Lin pursed her lips and said nothing.
Kou Ji glanced at him and said with some surprise: "Is it related to me?"
Chen Lin nodded and said, "They say he was irradiated by you."
Kou Ji rolled his eyes and said, "Nonsense! If I promote him, can I turn him into a deputy with no future?"
Chen Lin said frankly: "That's what his colleagues said, and he himself revealed the same to the outside world."
Kou Ji asserted: "This person is very problematic. Can he force a beautiful woman to die with just a love poem?"
From the confession given by Chen Lin, it can be seen that Fang Mei does have a secret, but this secret is not a big deal at all.
According to the maid's confession, Zhang Bing also participated in an imperial examination before becoming a Jinshi.
On the way to participate in the imperial examination, it was revealed that Fang Meiren's hometown was revealed, and she was invited to participate in a poetry meeting.
During the banquet, I saw Fang Meiren, so I wrote a love poem and gave it to Fang Meiren.
Fang Meiren likes to read poems and felt that his poems still had some literary talent, so she accepted them without thinking too much.
After Zhang Bing accepted his love poem from Fang Meiren, he gave up his bold words and said that after he won the Jinshi, he would definitely go to Fang's family to propose marriage.
The beauty didn't even care.
Then, there is no more.
Zhang Bing failed once and was too embarrassed to propose marriage to Fang.
This matter is actually Zhang Bing talking to himself, and most people in the Fang family don't know.
After Fang Meiren returned from participating in the poetry meeting, she didn't even tell her family.
Later, when the imperial court was recruiting girls, the head of the Fang family sent Fang Mei into the palace.
This matter has come to an end.
That's why Kou Jicai felt that this matter was nothing.
It is indeed inappropriate for a beautiful woman to accept love poems from others.
But it seems that Fang Meiren has never had a relationship with Zhang Bing from beginning to end.
Naturally, it is impossible to die for Zhang Bing.
However, when Zhang Bing was serving at the local level, his political performance was mediocre, but he was promoted repeatedly, which was indeed a problem.
"When you go back, ask for an order to take Zhang Bingxian to Wudesi Prison and starve him for two days. I will go to interrogate him after two days."
After Kou Ji thought about it for a while, he said to Chen Lin.
Chen Lin hesitated and said: "If you enter Wude Si's prison, you can't get out."
Kou Ji understood the meaning of Chen Lin's words, "You can take it if you are told, even if he has nothing to do with this matter. Then he deserves to die, whether he was promoted under my banner or used other means behind his back to get promoted,
They all violated the laws of the imperial court."
Chen Lin nodded, "If that's the case, then our family will arrest them."
Kou Ji allowed Chen Lin to leave.
Chen Lin went to the palace, asked for the decree, went to the Political Council, added the seal, rushed to the Zhang Mansion, and took Zhang Bing.
Two days later, under the guidance of Chen Lin, Kou Ji entered Wudesi Prison.
Wudesi Prison is very clean, without any peculiar smell.
It was the cleanest cell among the many cells that Kou Ji had ever seen.
Chen Lin led Kou Ji deeper. When she saw Kou Ji looking around in the passage of the prison, she explained a few words in a low voice.
"Wudesi's prison is made of stone. Although it is underground, it is not damp..."
"Those who enter Wudes Prison cannot be held for long, and the longest is no more than five days. Almost all of them die in the torture chamber in the end, so there is no smell..."
"..."
Chen Lin led Kou Ji to the door of the execution room.
Kou Jicai smelled the faint smell of blood.
There was someone in the torture room. Chen Lin walked to the door of the torture room and knocked on the iron door of the torture room. A hole was revealed in the iron door.
Chen Lin raised her head so that the people inside could see his face clearly.
The person inside immediately opened the door.
Chen Lin took Kou Ji into the torture chamber.
There were three people inside, a young man guarding the door, a clean middle-aged man in black, and Zhang Bing who was tied to a torture device.
Zhang Bing and Di Qing are similar in age and can be considered middle-aged now.
Reminder is thinner than Di Qing.
Looks like.
There is no way to compare with Di Qing.
In the entire Song Dynasty, the only person who could compete with Di Qing in terms of appearance was Di Yong when he grew up.
Although Zhang Bing's appearance is not as good as Di Qing's, he is better looking than ordinary people.
Zhang Bing was sitting on a torture chair, with a piece of linen stuffed in his mouth and staring with red eyes.
"Why don't you meet Mr. Kou soon?"
Chen Lin scolded the middle-aged man who was wiping the torture tools.
The middle-aged man seemed to have a special affection for torture instruments.
A slender steel needle in his hand was shiny and shiny after being wiped by him, but he still didn't let go.
It can be seen that he loves his industry.
Every torture instrument was wiped clean, and the entire torture room was kept spotless.
Perhaps in his mind, punishment is an art.
The faint smell of blood that Kou Ji smelled was probably because too many people died in the execution room, so the walls and floor were soaked with blood.
The middle-aged man carefully put down the steel needle in his hand and bowed to Kou Ji, "Feng Si, a humble official, has met Kou Gong..."
Kou Ji stared at him, "Do you like torture tools?"
Feng Si chuckled and said, "Eternal generations have relied on this craft to make a living. It's hard not to like it or not."
Kou Ji nodded.
In both the government and the public, there are two positions that can be said to be passed down from generation to generation.
One is the throne of the emperor, and the other is the official position of the petty officials.
For example, in terms of punishment, these craftsmen are almost always passed down from father to son, and from son to grandson.
Although I can't get on the stage.
But there is stable income and some small rights.
"Have you ever been to Tiansheng Forensic Clinic?"
Kou Ji asked.
Feng Si shook his head, "I have been staying in Wudesi Prison for a long time and rarely go out."
Kou Jidao: "That means you haven't been there?"
Feng Si nodded quickly.
Kou Ji said bluntly: "You can go there if you have the chance. There are many things you like in it."
Feng Si cupped his hands and said: "Here..."
Kou Ji stopped chatting with Feng Si. He pointed at Zhang Bing and ordered Feng Si's apprentice to remove the linen cloth from Zhang Bing's mouth.
As soon as the linen was removed, Zhang Bing shouted, "Sir! Sir! The student did nothing! The student was wrongly accused!"
Kou Ji stared at Zhang Bing coldly, "Shut up! I'm asking you to answer! If you answer well, you can live, if you answer poorly, you will die!"
Zhang Bing shivered all over and hurriedly closed his mouth.
Kou Ji asked: "Have you ever had a relationship with Fang Mei?"
Zhang Bing shivered again, struggling in his heart and speechless.
Kou Ji was also speechless.
Feng Si very wisely took a steel needle and walked towards Zhang Bing.
"I say! I say! I did have a chance encounter with Fang Niangniang!"
Zhang Bing screamed in fear, but no one paid him any attention.
Feng Si walked to Zhang Bing and squatted down, wiped Zhang Bing's fingers very carefully, and inserted the steel needle into Zhang Bing's fingers little by little while Zhang Bing screamed.
When Zhang Bing stopped shouting for a while, Kou Ji spoke again, "You also gave Fang Meiren a love poem..."
Zhang Bing said tremblingly: "Yes..."
Kou Ji nodded and said, "The beauty still accepts the house?"
"yes……"
"..."
After Kou Ji asked Zhang Bing several questions in a row, he suddenly said: "After you won the Jinshi, you blackmailed Fang Mei with love poems and asked Fang Mei to help you get promoted?!"
"Yes or no!"
Zhang Bing responded first, but after reacting, he immediately shouted.
Kou Ji slowly closed his mouth, and Feng Si stepped forward again holding a steel needle.
The steel needle pierced Zhang Bing's index finger, and Zhang Bing screamed in pain.
"I have only seen the maid in Fang Meiren's palace! I have never seen Fang Meiren! I have not threatened Fang Meiren!"
"Then how did you get promoted? Is it under my banner?"
"I...I was a teacher, and many of my classmates were exposed. But none of them helped me get promoted."
"..."
Just two steel needles made Zhang Bing burst into tears. Sweat poured down his forehead, veins popped out, and his lips were trembling as he replied.
Kou Ji asked, "Who is that? I helped you get promoted!"
Zhang Bing struggled and said: "After I became an official, I either served as a member of the army or served as a supervisor in the army. After I was transferred back to Beijing, I also served in the Ministry of War and the Department of War... Naturally, I have a relationship in the military.
…”
Kou Ji's face turned cold and he ordered Feng Si: "Put ten fingers in so that he can clearly know what he has to answer when I ask him."
Feng Si responded and walked over with eight steel needles.
"It was I who begged Concubine Fang! Concubine Fang helped me introduce the female officials around Concubine Xian!"
"One of Xian Fei's father and uncle are in Ningzhou and the other is in Shizhou. They are both in charge of military affairs! It was they who arranged for me to join the army in Shizhou Town and supervise the army in Ningzhou Town!"
"..."
Zhang Bing yelled and told everything he knew.
Kou Ji and Chen Lin frowned when they heard the word "virtuous concubine".
It was not Concubine He De, Concubine Zhang Guifei, or Concubine Zhou Shu, but Concubine Zhang Xian who had no son by her side.
Concubine Zhang Xian is as quiet as an invisible person on weekdays.
How come you got involved in this matter?
Kou Ji and Chen Lin felt a little unbelievable when they heard Zhang Bing calling Concubine Zhang Xian.
After the two of them frowned and thought for a long time, they had some guesses in their minds.
Could it be that Concubine Zhang Xian is helping Concubine Zhang Guifei plan something?
Kou Ji stared at Zhang Bing and asked, "Why would Concubine Xian help you?"
Zhang Bing shouted: "First, the queen of the house asked for help, and second, I sent a large amount of money."
Kou Ji and Chen Lin frowned even more.
Zhao Zhen doted on the Zhang sisters very much, and the rewards from the four seasons were never in short supply, and the portions were quite generous.
In addition, Zhang Guifei has a prince under her knees, so the allowance is even more.
Concubine Zhang Xian's daughter married into a good family and was brought to the palace with filial piety.
It can be said that apart from Queen Cao, the Zhang sisters are the richest in the palace.
They don't seem to be greedy for money. How could they help Zhang Bing get promoted for a little money?
Even if you want to cultivate a few confidants for the prince under Zhang Guifei, you should not support Zhang Bingcai.
More importantly, even if you want to cultivate confidants, you should not stuff them into a bunch of military ministers.
When it comes to seizing the heir, military ministers often play a role of deterrence.
The right to speak is far less powerful than that of civil servants.
Moreover, with Kou Ji, Yang Wenguang, and Di Qing present, the other military ministers in the court could not have the slightest deterrent effect.
Therefore, inserting your confidants into the ranks of military officials is a useless move.
The only thing that can be done is to use the power of his authority to find the weaknesses of some local generals, defeat them one by one, win over them one by one, and prepare for the mutiny.
However, it is difficult for local soldiers and horses to gather together. Even if they gather together under the hood, they will not be able to gather many soldiers and horses.
Except for the 10,000 soldiers and horses guarding the local capital towns, almost all other soldiers and horses were assigned to local areas.
It is very difficult to assemble.
The local civil servants are not blind.
Even if they bribed some local civil servants, managed to gather local soldiers and horses, and rushed to Bianjing City by luck, they would still have to kneel down when facing the Tianwu Army and praising the Japanese Army, the two Imperial Guards who were armed to the teeth.
I want to overthrow the Tianwu Army, support the Japanese Army, and the Royal Forest Guards.
The local troops had to be mobilized several times before they could even try.
After all, a group of tough soldiers coming out of the killing field were equipped with firearms.
It is far more powerful than those soldiers and horses in the area who have never seen any big killing fields and are armed with swords.
As for finding out the weaknesses of the generals of the Forbidden Army, that was not something that Zhang Bing, a member of the military department, could do.
Even if Zhang Bing was promoted to the rank of Commander-in-Chief of the Military Department, it would be difficult for him to interfere with the affairs of the Forbidden Army.
It is even less possible to access the military secrets of the Imperial Guards Department.
Therefore, it makes no sense at all for Concubine Zhang Xian to help Zhang Bing get promoted for a little money.
If Zhang Bingruo said that Concubine Zhang Xian's father and uncle were greedy for money and helped her get an official position, that would barely make sense.
But the problem is that Concubine Zhang Xian's father and uncle are not capable of placing Zhang Bing in the position of deputy director of the First Department.
Today's relatives are not as good as before, and the harem is not allowed to interfere in politics.
The Zhang brothers are not strong men like Kou Ji.
How can Zhang Bing be placed in a fourth-grade position?
If they have the ability, they can do it themselves.
Can Zhang Bing still get his turn?
As for Fang Meiren’s request, would Concubine Zhang Xian care?
Does Fang Mei have so much dignity that Concubine Zhang Xian goes to great lengths to support an incompetent person to a fourth-grade position?
Besides, Fang Meiren only met Zhang Bing once, and she hasn't fallen in love with him yet. How could she go to all the trouble to get Zhang Xianfei to help Zhang Bing?
So, there is a problem.
Either there is something wrong with what Zhang Bing said.
Or this matter is definitely not as simple as Zhang Bing said.
"Since you are unwilling to tell the truth, then show your sincerity."
Kou Ji calmly gave Feng Si instructions, but he looked at Zhang Bing as if he were looking at a dead person.