In less than a quarter of an hour, the entrance to the alley, which had been tense just now, returned to calm, as usual.
Kou Ji looked at the man in black in surprise.
He didn't know the man in black, didn't know his identity, didn't know where he came from, and didn't know why the man in black wanted to protect him.
At the same time, his heart was also filled with astonishment. Who was the identity of the man in black? He actually dared to blatantly kill people in Bianjing City, and the people he killed were the generals.
What's more important is that the man in black killed the man who was guarding the door. The little fat man didn't say a word and ran away with his men, as if he was afraid of the man in black.
Out of politeness, Kou Ji bowed his hands to the man in black and said, "Thank you so much for saving me. I wonder what your name is?"
The man in black glanced at Kou Ji, ignored him, and disappeared in front of Kou Ji.
Kou Ji stood there blankly, watching the man in black disappear with a look of astonishment on his face.
Immediately, he shook his head, secretly guessing the identity of the man in black, and walked to the secret door of Kou Mansion.
Kou Ji knocked on the secret door with his fingers, and the secret door was opened from the inside.
An old face of Kou Zhong appeared in front of Kou Ji.
"Young Master, are you back?"
"Hmm~"
Kou Ji agreed and stepped into the secret door.
After Kou Ji entered the secret door, Kou Zhong stuck his head out, looked around, and after confirming that no one was following Kou Ji, he closed the secret door.
Kou Ji speculated on the identity of the man in black and asked Kou Zhong casually.
"Kou Zhong, is there a person in Bianjing City who uses a soft sword, kills people with every strike, and has a very cold temper. And if he kills the general's people, the general will not make things difficult for him?"
Hearing this, Kou Zhong was stunned for a moment, looked at Kou Ji with a strange expression, and whispered: "There is such a person... Young Master, have you seen him?"
Kou Ji did not answer his question, but unexpectedly asked: "Do you know this person?"
Kou Zhong nodded, "This person is from our house. How could I not know this?"
Kou Ji was even more surprised, "Is there someone like this in the house?"
Kou Zhong nodded and said: "Yes, there is, but it is difficult for ordinary people to see him. He usually protects the master and rarely goes out. Where did you see him?"
Kou Ji suddenly said: "It turns out he was my grandfather's bodyguard. No wonder he is so skilled in martial arts. Like Yu You, he is also a master of weapons inspection?"
Kou Zhong shook his head, nodded again, and said, "Yes and no..."
Seeing the confusion on Kou Ji's face, he explained: "He is a temporary employee of the Equipment Supervisor, and he also receives the salary of the Equipment Supervisor, but he is not a member of the Equipment Supervisor. He is only loyal to the master and only listens to the master's instructions."
Kou Ji clicked his lips and said: "There are people like this in my house, and I only know about it now."
Kou Zhong looked Kou Ji up and down, seemed to have thought of something, and said in shock: "Master sent him to you?"
Kou Ji nodded thoughtfully, "Probably..."
Kou Zhong took a deep look at Kou Ji and said with emotion: "It seems that the master really values you. With him by your side, he will definitely keep you safe."
Kou Ji nodded and smiled: "That's right..."
After a pause, Kou Ji suddenly asked: "By the way, why are the people at the gate afraid of him? They seem unwilling to confront him."
Kou Zhong smiled bitterly and said, "This has something to do with his temperament."
"oh?"
"He is born with a dull temper and does not know how to adapt. He only knows how to protect the master. Anyone who is close to the master, as long as he has the intention to murder the master, no matter what his identity, he will kill him without hesitation.
He is very skilled in martial arts, and there are only a handful of people who can defeat him.
Therefore, no one in Bianjing who knows him is willing to mess with him."
After a pause, Kou Zhong continued: "In Bianjing City, if you offend an official, you may not die. But if you offend him, you may not survive."
Kou Ji said in shock: "Is it because he has no scruples in taking action and dares to kill anyone?"
Kou Zhong nodded, "As long as the other party has the intention to harm me, he will never hold back, no matter who it is."
Kou Ji clicked his lips and said with emotion: "I like his temper..."
Kou Zhong smiled bitterly and shook his head.
The two of them left the secret door of Kou Mansion.
Kou Ji went to Kou Zhun's bedroom, took care of Kou Zhun for a while, and then returned to his Sijun Garden to stay.
Although he had reached an agreement with the Eighth Prince Zhao Yuanyan, now was not the best time for him to take action.
The Qin Tian Jian has just given the judgment of Taibai Jingtian, and it will take some time for it to ferment.
Although this verdict has linked Liu E, her position is still unbreakable until Zhao Heng has the idea of taking over the throne.
She won't be anxious about it.
If you don't rush, you won't go wrong.
If nothing goes wrong, it is very likely that Kou Ji's true intention will be revealed.
Once she sees through Kou Ji's true intentions, Kou Ji's plan will most likely fail due to her intervention.
So Kou Ji had to wait until the time was right.
Of course, Kou Ji was not idle when he returned to Sijun Garden.
He also needs to recruit people for the six departments, so he naturally has to choose some suitable people.
Not only did he want to place his own people in the six departments, but he also wanted to put Kou Zhun's people in there.
His people are still very immature, and he needs Kou Zhun's people to support him from the front and help him guide the new people.
Among the six departments, Kou Ji was most optimistic about the four departments: the Ministry of Personnel, the Ministry of Punishment, the Ministry of Husbandry, and the Ministry of War.
Although he told Zhao Yuanyan that he wanted to share six parts with him, he wanted more than just three parts.
What he really wants is four.
In order to prevent Zhao Yuanyan from becoming resentful as a partner, he must make certain plans in terms of manpower arrangements.
After Kou Ji's careful calculation, he decided to place all his men in the Ministry of Justice, the Ministry of Husbandry, and the Ministry of War.
As for the official department, he planned to take charge of it himself.
As for whom to assign to which department, he still had to think carefully.
The relationship between officials in the court is complicated. There are many who have personal grudges and many who dislike each other.
Putting these people together can easily cause trouble.
His fundamental purpose in helping the Six Ministries seize power was to deal with Liu E.
He didn't want to see his own people fighting with each other before dealing with Liu E.
Kou Ji's calculation lasted for three days.
Three days.
It was a complete mess outside.
The verdict of "the heroine is Chang" given by Qin Tianjian is already known to everyone in Bianjing City.
Rumors spread all over the place, and every rumor was aimed at Liu E.
Until Liu E would bring disaster to the country and the people.
Among them are rumors spread by Kou Zhun, Li Di and others, and some people with ulterior motives are adding fuel to the flames. Most people still blindly follow them.
As the voices of the people in Bianjing grew louder, the news inevitably spread to the palace.
It reached Zhao Heng's ears.
When Zhao Heng first learned about Taibai Jingtian's appearance, his first reaction was not to doubt others.
But worry about yourself.
Among Taibai Jingtian's many warnings, one of them is related to him.
The emperor collapsed!
He didn't want to die, so he was worried every day after he woke up.
When the verdict from the Qintian Prison was delivered to him, he breathed a sigh of relief.
But he didn’t take the verdict of ‘female protagonist Chang’ seriously either.
It wasn't until he asked to see Kou Zhun but Liu E declined because Kou Zhun was in poor health that he had other thoughts.
But he just ordered people to pay close attention to Liu E's movements, and he had no intention of abolishing her.
However.
Just because he doesn't have this intention doesn't mean that others don't have this intention either.
Zhou Huaizheng, who was serving him, knew that Zhao Heng had other ideas when he received the order from Zhao Heng to monitor Liu E.
Immediately, he also had other thoughts.
After Liu E took charge of the central palace, she suppressed him everywhere. Most of the eunuchs and palace E in his hands were snatched away by Guo Huai.
Many of his positions were also being reduced step by step by Liu E.
Seeing what Liu E means, once Zhao Heng dies, his life will probably not be easy.
Ever since, he had the idea of encouraging Zhao Heng to depose the queen.
That is from the moment he came up with this idea.
He sent people to pay close attention to the movements outside the palace, and told Zhao Heng the bad news about Liu E all the time.
Not only that, he also collected a lot of bad news about Ding Wei, told Zhao Heng all of it, and vaguely reminded Zhao Heng that the two had joined forces.
Zhou Huai was planning to deal with Ding Wei.
Ever since Ding Wei slapped him, he has been holding a grudge against him, but he has never been able to find a chance.
Now that he has seized the opportunity, he will naturally not miss it.
In this way, under Zhou Huaizheng's constant attack with bad news, Zhao Heng's heart was shaken.
Immediately, he asked Zhou Huaizheng to come out of the palace and summoned the bandits to enter the palace to see him.
Zhou Huaizheng was overjoyed and rushed out of the palace gate and went straight to the Kou Mansion.
…
In Sijun Garden.
In the study room.
A large piece of paper is spread on the table, with six volumes written on the top of the paper.
Under the six ministries, there are official titles for each of the six ministries. Next to each title, a name is written.
Kou Ji took up his pen and prepared to write Fan Zhongyan's name under the post of Doctor of the Department of Household Affairs.
Just as he was about to start writing, he saw Kou Zhong hurried into the study.
"Young Master, someone has come to the palace. It is Zhou Huaizheng, the personal eunuch of the official family. He said that he has an official order and wants to tell the master. He has an official order, and the old servant dare not keep him out of the palace. Now let him
Waiting in the side hall, do you think?"
Kou Ji put down his pen and said with a smile: "I guessed he would come back, but I didn't expect him to come so soon."
After a pause, Kou Ji asked: "Logically speaking, if someone comes to the palace, you should inform my grandfather. He has the final say whether to enter the palace or not. I don't dare to make the decision for him in this matter."
.”
Kou Zhong smiled bitterly and said: "The master asked the old servant to come over and ask for the young master's instructions..."
Hearing this, Kou Ji was startled for a moment, and then grinned, "It seems that my grandfather has also guessed Zhou Huaizheng's intention of coming to the house, and he plans to throw the problem to me."
"You go to the side hall first and greet Zhou Huaizheng. I'm going to see my grandfather."
Kou Zhong agreed and left Kou Ji's study.
Kou Ji straightened his clothes and walked to Kou Zhun's bedroom.
Kou Zhun seemed to know that he was coming, so he specifically asked his attendants to help him sit up.
After Kou Ji entered the bedroom, he cupped his hands and said, "My grandson, Kou Ji, has met my grandfather."
Kou Zhun looked at Kou Ji with a complicated expression and said nothing.
He was now certain that Kou Ji was a man appointed by heaven.
Because Kou Ji had said before that the officials would ask him to be the king's side, and it was about to come true.
"grandfather?"
Seeing that Kou Zhun was silent, Kou Ji called out.
Kou Zhun looked at Kou Ji and sighed, "The officials asked Zhou Huaizheng to come and invite me to the palace. I'm afraid they have to follow what you said. They should make me stand aside."
After a pause, Kou Zhun looked at Kou Ji and said meaningfully: "What do you think I should do...?"
Kou Ji was stunned for a moment, but said nothing.
Kou Zhun was also stunned, and then understood Kou Ji's intention of not speaking.
Immediately, he waved his hand and asked the person serving him to go down first.
When only their grandfather and grandson were left in the bedroom, Kou Ji said, "Grandpa, if the officials really want you to be a traitor, you should ask for two things from the officials."
"What?"
"Edict! Two edicts, one for the Emperor Qing, and one for mobilizing the Imperial Army outside the city! In addition, you must ask the officials to give you an object that can win the trust of the Imperial Army's troops outside the city!"
Kou Zhun was stunned for a moment, shook his head with a wry smile and said: "Based on my understanding of the officials, the officials may give me an edict from the side of the Qing emperor, but they will certainly not give me an edict to mobilize the imperial army outside the city, nor will they give me a token."
.”
Kou Ji solemnly said: "Then I can't agree..."
Kou Zhun pondered: "What if the officials beg for it?"
Kou Ji shook his head and said, "I can't agree even if I have less than one thing."
Kou Zhun hesitated and said: "Really...can't agree?"
Kou Ji said seriously: "If grandpa wants to agree, that's fine. But grandpa must make two preparations in advance."
Kou Zhun asked: "What are the two preparations?"
Kou Ji said in a deep voice: "First, Zhu Neng is secretly ordered to be ready to dig up the embankment of the Yellow River and flood Bianjing City at any time. Second, prepare Huangpao..."
Kou Zhun stared in astonishment and lost his voice: "Are you trying to make me rebel?"
Kou Ji smiled bitterly and said: "If my grandfather fails to obtain the imperial edict and the items needed to win the trust of the Imperial Army, our grandparents will have no choice but to rebel if we want to survive."
Without even thinking about it, Kou Zhun shook his head decisively and said: "Even if I die, I will not have such thoughts. I advise you not to have such thoughts."
Kou Ji said seriously: "My grandson also knows that my grandfather would not do such a thing. But my grandson must remind my grandfather that if the official family does not give me the two things I mentioned, my grandfather must not agree to the official family's rule."
Kou Zhun made a decision in his heart, but asked jokingly: "What if I can't stand the officials and beg them so hard and agree?"
Kou Ji glanced at Kou Zhun and said quietly: "At that time, my grandson will probably do anything to save his life."
Kou Zhun glared at Kou Ji fiercely, gritted his teeth and said: "I should beat you, a rebellious little thief like you, to death on the spot. Don't say such treasonous words in the future, otherwise I will be rude to you!"
Kou Ji smiled brightly, not afraid of Kou Zhun's threat.
He knew that Kou Zhun was just scaring him.
The grandfather and grandson were silent for a long time.
Kou Zhun suddenly patted his legs and said: "As old as I am now, I can't even enter the palace..."