Kou Ji left the yard where the craftsmen were and returned to his own yard. He had just taken off his bearskin coat and was about to wash up when he saw Kou Zhong hurriedly enter the door.
As soon as he entered the door, he said urgently: "Young master, please go and have a look. The guy you locked up in the woodshed is going crazy."
"who?"
The hot sweat towel that Kou Jigang had just lifted fell into the water, and he asked with a puzzled look on his face.
Kou Zhong hurriedly said: "That's the one named Zhang Hua."
Kou Ji groaned and exclaimed: "I have been busy with government affairs these days, and I actually forgot about this guy."
"Take me to see it quickly!"
While talking, Kou Ji put on his bearskin coat and walked out.
Kou Zhong hurriedly followed behind.
As Kou Ji walked away, he asked, "Why is this guy crazy?"
Kou Zhong said uncertainly: "I'm probably bored in the woodshed."
Kou Ji wondered: "There are windows in the woodshed, there are guards outside the door, there are people talking to him, and there is light. How could he be bored?"
Kou Zhong explained: "On the second day after you interrogated that guy, he scolded you in the woodshed. The guard at the door couldn't listen anymore, so he nailed the upper door, sealed the door, and blocked the woodshed.
of death.
Except for the fact that they would open a corner of the window and throw it in for him every day when the food was delivered, the guards would not talk to him on weekdays."
Kou Ji took a breath of air and said in a deep voice: "This is more than ten days of confinement..."
"What confinement?"
Kou Zhong questions.
Kou Ji shook his head and whispered: "It's nothing..."
If ordinary people are confined for three to five days, they will be better behaved than dogs.
Those who are locked up for ten days and a half will either go crazy or commit suicide.
Kou Ji rushed to the yard where the woodshed was, and saw Zhang Hua sitting slumped in the yard with disheveled hair, staring blankly at the sky.
Beside him were three guards.
Kou Ji stepped forward, smelled the stench all over Zhang Hua, and took a few steps back.
"Zhang Hua?!"
Koji shouted.
Zhang Hua was indifferent.
Kou Ji wondered: "Really crazy?"
Kou Zhong and the three guards all nodded.
Kou Ji clicked his lips and whispered: "What a pity... give him a happy death and throw him into a mass grave outside the city."
The guard nodded and took out the scimitar from his waist.
A bit of sword light flashed into Zhang Hua's eyes under the scorching sun.
There was a little more sparkle in Zhang Hua's eyes.
He shouted, "I don't want to die...I can't die..."
The guard swung his sword to chop.
Zhang Hua rolled smoothly, rolled three times, and landed at Kou Ji's feet.
He suddenly hugged Koji's thigh and exclaimed: "Let me go, let me go, I can do whatever you want. I will be your cow or horse, I will be your slave..."
Seeing that Kou Ji was unmoved, Zhang Hua hurriedly said: "Just think of me as a dog, treat me as a dog... reward me with a bone when you are happy, and kick me to vent your anger when you are unhappy..."
While talking, Zhang Hua still hugged Kou Ji's leg, rubbed it twice and barked twice.
At this moment, Zhang Hua doesn't have any of the arrogance he had before.
At this moment, Zhang Hua was humbled to the core of his bones.
But he had to do it.
He wants to live.
All the unrealistic fantasies in his mind disappeared after more than ten days of confinement.
If his desire to live had not been strong enough, he might have committed suicide in the woodshed.
In the last few days of confinement.
The only thought in his mind was to see Kou Ji and beg for his life in front of Kou Ji.
As long as Koji can keep him alive, he can do anything.
When Zhang Hua imitated the dog's behavior, he lay on the ground with his feet in the air, and opened his clothes to reveal his belly.
Kou Zhong murmured: "How can people be so mean?"
Kou Ji looked at the festering scar on Zhang Hua's chest, frowned slightly, and said calmly: "You went in and were detained for ten and a half months, and it's the same when you come out."
If it had been the past, Kou Zhong would have retorted weakly to Kou Ji.
But after seeing Zhang Hua's appearance, he couldn't even utter a word of rebuttal.
Facts speak louder than words.
Kou Ji glanced at Kou Zhong and the three guards, and said coldly: "It is forbidden to spread this matter to outsiders, and you are not allowed to use this method to deal with people in the house.
Otherwise, don't blame me for being unkind."
Kou Zhong, the three guards, their hearts trembled, and they all bowed and agreed: "Here..."
With Zhang Hua's living example in front of them, how could they dare to go against Kou Ji's wishes?
Kou Ji lowered his head and glanced at Zhang Hua, who was lying on his belly with his feet in the air. He frowned and said, "Take him down and see the doctor at home for a diagnosis and treatment. Then wash him up, change his clothes, and then send him to my yard."
.”
Kou Zhong agreed.
Kou Ji shook off his sleeves and left the yard.
Kou Zhong ordered three guards to pick up Zhang Hua and take him to the courtyard where the doctor was.
Kou Ji returned to his yard, threw down his bearskin coat, washed his face with cold water in the copper basin, held the sweat towel that was frozen into strips, and said with emotion: "It is impossible for a generation of traitors to become what they are now.
Know what is good and what is bad.”
As Kou Ji spoke, he held a sweat towel and wiped it on his face.
The sweat towel scratched his face so hard that he threw down the sweat towel and shouted toward the door, "Someone, please give me a basin of hot water."
The servant outside the yard heard Kou Ji's cry and hurried into the yard to help Kou Ji change a basin of hot water.
Kou Ji simply cleaned it and sat in the room in a daze.
After a long time.
Kou Zhong hurried into the yard and reported: "Young master, the doctor in the house said that the stab wound on Zhang Hua's chest has festered. He needs to scrape off the rotten flesh and reapply the medicine. He will not be able to recover until new flesh grows out."
As before.
The doctor left him in the hospital and said that he would be sent to you after diagnosis and treatment."
Kou Ji stared dimly behind Kou Zhong.
Kou Zhong was stunned, turned around suddenly, and saw a pale-faced Zhang Hua standing behind him.
He trembled with fright.
But it was just a shiver, not too much of an extreme reaction.
Kou Zhong frowned and said, "Shouldn't you be staying in the hospital? What are you doing here?"
Kou Zhong felt a little unhappy, so he told Kou Ji that Zhang Hua was recuperating in the hospital, and Zhang Hua appeared in front of Kou Ji.
Isn't this a slap in the face?
Zhang Hua said slightly sluggishly: "It doesn't matter whether I'm injured, I'm in a hurry to come over and serve my master."
Kou Zhong frowned, and Kou Ji also frowned slightly.
Kou Ji ordered: "From today on, you will change your name to Zhang Yuan. You will first work as a handyman carrying swill in the house. I will call you when I need you in the future."
Zhang Hua politely bowed to Kou Ji and said blankly: "Thank you, Master, for the name."
"Go down."
Kou Ji waved his hand, and Zhang Hua exited Kou Ji's bedroom.
Kou Zhong asked Kou Ji hesitantly, "Young Master, is this man useless?"
Kou Ji thought about it: "That's not necessarily the case. This person is different from others and is very cunning. Send someone to keep an eye on him secretly. If he does anything strange, send someone to tell me."
Kou Zhong said unexpectedly: "Young Master, what you are saying is that this person's appearance just now may be an act of pretense? He is openly seeking refuge with you, Young Master, but may he be doing it again secretly?"
Kou Ji nodded slowly.
Kou Zhong said solemnly: "The old servant must send a smart person to keep an eye on him."
"As it should be!"
Kou Ji said something.
Kou Zhong wanted to resign, but just as he was about to bow his hands and salute, he seemed to remember something and asked: "Young Master, there is nothing special about this man, why do you value him so much?
When he was in the countryside, he had some talent and fame, but when he got to Bianjing City, he was not enough.
Not to mention other places, even the scholars who work for us are better educated than him."
Kou Ji simply explained, "What's special about this person is not his literary talent, but his scheming."
Kou Zhong said unexpectedly: "Young master, are you saying that this person has different schemes from ordinary people?"
Kou Ji nodded slowly.
Kou Zhong said thoughtfully: "If this is really the case, the young master can subdue him and stay with him as a long-term follower."
Kou Ji nodded and said, "That's what I think."
Kou Zhong said seriously: "However, this person has the possibility of recurrence. It is better for the young master to hand him over to the old servant. The old servant will train him a few times and he will be able to follow the young master obediently."
Kou Ji stared at Kou Zhong in astonishment and asked in surprise: "You still have this method?"
Kou Zhong said embarrassedly: "My servant has been with me for many years. I have thousands of servants and maids at my disposal. How can I subdue them if I don't have any means?"
In the past, the old servant did not dare to dirty the young master's ears with such dirty things.
Now that I have seen the young master's methods and understood the young master's thoughts, the old servant dares to mention it in front of the young master."
Kou Ji rolled his eyes and shouted: "We are all our own people. If you have any means, you should tell me the truth. This will save me from finding suitable people when I want to hire people."
Kou Zhong said with a smile: "The young master taught you a lesson."
Kou Ji glared at Kou Zhong and said, "I'll leave it to you. If you have any means, just use it. If you don't train well and I don't use it smoothly, be careful I'll hit you."
Kou Zhong grinned and said, "Young Master, please just watch."
Kou Zhong didn't say anything to boast, he bowed his hands and left Kou Ji's bedroom.
He has enough self-confidence to act like this.
As an old man who has been with Kou Zhun for decades, if he didn't have some means, he would have been tricked to death long ago, and he could still be here today.
Normally, he doesn't want to show off his position because no one among the servants in the house can challenge his position.
Once someone threatens his position, he will definitely show the other person what thunder means.
Kou Ji looked at Kou Zhong's leaving figure, clicked his lips, and said with emotion: "There are really hidden dragons and crouching tigers in the house. I don't pay attention to them on weekdays, so I can't find them. As a result, I missed a lot of talents.
If Zhang Hua had been trained by Kou Zhong when he first came to Beijing, he would have become my right-hand man by now."
After feeling emotional, Kou Ji pretended to be a dead dog in the bedroom.
It was not until Kou Zhun came back from the palace that he left the bedroom and went straight to the main hall to see Kou Zhun.
When Kou Ji arrived at the main hall, he saw Kou Zhun sitting with a tea bowl in his hand and a gloomy expression.
Kou Ji stepped forward and asked in a deep voice: "Grandpa entered the palace to discuss matters, didn't it go well?"
Kou Zhun put down the tea bowl, shook his head, stretched out his hand to tug at his snow-white beard, and murmured: "It's not that it didn't go well, but it went too smoothly. It went so well that I find it a bit incredible."
Kou Ji unexpectedly exclaimed: "Liu E promised Xu Zhezhong the right to do things for his own convenience?"
Kou Zhun nodded and said: "Not only did he agree to give the Xu Zhezhong family the right to act expediently, he also proposed to dispatch troops and horses in advance and deploy them on the northwest front."
Kou Jidao: "This is a great thing. Why is my grandfather so unhappy?"
Kou Zhun glanced at Kou Ji and said faintly: "She granted Ding Wei the power to supervise the army without my permission, and asked Cao to use it to give Ding Wei the documents for dispatching troops and generals."
After a pause, Kou Zhun banged Kou's car and said: "She also stole the official's tiger talisman for commanding troops and gave it to Ding Wei, so that Ding Wei would go to the northwest the day before yesterday."
Kou Ji hurriedly asked: "Who is the commander, and which part of the troops are mobilized?"
Kou Ji did not see any troops mobilizing in the capital, so if Liu E wanted to mobilize troops, she could only mobilize troops outside the capital.
Kou Zhun said in a deep voice: "The commander of the Yongxing Road, Horse, Infantry and Infantry Commands, and the general manager of the Prefecture and Road Capital, appease and recruit the envoy Li Zhaoliang as the commander, commanding the Datong Army, the Gande Army, the Yongxing Army, and six compartments of troops and horses, at his disposal.
The local soldiers and vassal soldiers from all over the Yongxing Road and Daizhou Road are all under his command."
Kou Ji pondered: "Li Zhaoliang, the son of the late Zhongshu Ling Li Jilong and Li Weixian's father?"
Kou Zhun nodded heavily.
Kou Ji continued: "The Datong Army, the Gande Army, and the Yongxing Army total 150,000 troops. Including the local soldiers and the feudal soldiers, there must be a total of 200,000 people, right? Liu E will do it if he doesn't take action, and he will if he does.
What a generous move.”
The military system of the Song Dynasty consisted of one army leading two carriages, each with 25,000 men and horses.
The three armies and six compartments are 150,000 troops.
Kou Ji asked: "Liu E dares to make the decision on the mobilization of 200,000 troops without going through court consultation?"
Kou Ji then added: "Besides, now that food shortages are not over in various places, she has rashly dispatched a large army. If word spreads, there will definitely be a lot of rumors."
Kou Zhun sighed, "Who says it's not the case?"
Kou Ji asked: "Grandpa made a sound to stop it?"
Kou Zhun shook his head and whispered: "Not only did I not stop her, I also helped her."
Kou Ji looked doubtful.
Kou Zhun sighed and said, "I signed my name on the document for dispatching her troops."
Kou Ji looked stunned.
Kou Zhun explained: "Although Liu E was in a hurry to mobilize his troops, he was a little hasty. But as you and I have said before, this time the Liao people conquered Xixia, it was a rare opportunity for us, the Song Dynasty.
Don't miss a second.
Our grandparents and grandchildren were worried because Liu E refused to mobilize the troops before. Now that Liu E is willing to mobilize the troops, if I make a sound to stop her, I will cause a stumbling block for her.
I'm afraid that the energy she just brought up will shrink back.
If this energy is retracted, it will be difficult to mobilize troops in the future.
Yan Yun has not recovered, but Xixia is watching with eager eyes.
If the imperial court continues to stand still, it will easily turn into a toothless tiger, and then it will be left to its own devices."
Kou Ji suddenly understood after hearing Kou Zhun's explanation.
He nodded and said: "Grandpa is right. Now that she has the idea of mobilizing troops, she cannot be allowed to withdraw. I see Liu E hurriedly mobilizing troops, probably to gain credit.
Once she takes the opportunity to bite off a piece or two of meat, she can expand her territory.
Her power in the court will definitely be re-established.
She probably also wants to take this opportunity to reappear in Chui Gong Hall."