Kou Ji was not worried at all about whether the war would be lost.
As long as the soldiers and horses sent by the imperial court take advantage of the fighting between the Liao and Xixia people and wait for an opportunity to invade Xixia territory, they can easily bite off a piece or two of Xixia flesh.
Xixia's territory is not large and its military strength is limited.
Emperor Yelu Longxu of Liao led 500,000 elite Liao troops to attack Xixia. If Xixia wanted to protect itself in this war, in addition to relying on its advantage of occupying the northwest and familiar geography for many years, it also needed at least 300,000 troops to be able to barely fend off Liao.
military.
With a strength of 300,000 troops, nearly 70% of Xixia's troops were used up, and the remaining 30% were not very effective in combat.
The Datong Army and the Yongxing Army have been guarding the border for many years. They are the first-class troops in the imperial court that are good at conquering and fighting. Under the training of Li Zhaoliang, the German Army's combat effectiveness is not weak.
Coupled with the help of the Zhe family and the Zhong family, it is easy to win against the weak defenders of Xixia.
When the Xixia people finished fighting with the Liao people, they were free to fight against the imperial court.
The imperial court had already built the occupied area into a fortress of iron and steel.
At that time, the Xixia people can only admit defeat.
If the Xixia people were defeated by the Liao people because of the intervention of the Song Dynasty, the Song Dynasty could even share the Xixia with the Liao people.
By that time, the territory obtained will become even more.
"Our grandparents and grandchildren have been planning for a long time, but Liu E took the lead."
Kou Ji sighed and said helplessly.
Kou Zhun looked at the greedy Kou Ji, rolled his eyes and said, "Boy, you are only sixteen years old and you are already in the fifth rank of officialdom. What else do you want? Do you want to take the opportunity to gain some military merit and then rise to a higher rank?"
Kou Jiqian smiled and said: "Who would despise the high official position? Gan Luo became a minister when he was twelve years old, and I was in the fifth rank when I was sixteen. It's nothing."
Kou Zhun looked Kou Ji up and down and said disdainfully: "You are the only one who has the nerve to compare yourself to Gan Luo?"
When Kou Ji heard this, his handsome face drooped, and he said with a dark face: "Why can't I compare to Gan Luo? Gan Luo became a minister at the age of twelve, but before he became a minister, he spent a lot of time planning.
What about me? In less than a year, I went from a white body to a fifth-grade official body, why can’t I compare to him?”
"Pooh!"
Kou Zhun was disgusted by Kou Ji's shamelessness and spat in front of him.
Kou Ji took two steps back with a look of disgust.
Kou Zhun stared angrily.
The grandfather and grandson seemed to be bickering and quarreling with each other.
In fact, this is a way for their grandparents and grandchildren to communicate with each other.
Liu E now took the lead and sent out troops. Kou Zhun and Kou Ji did not have military power and could not intervene. They had no way to share the credit and could only sit back and wait for the result.
Therefore, it would be futile for them to continue talking about sending troops.
The grandfather and grandson bickered for a while.
Kou Ji said with a smile: "Grandpa, I'm afraid you will have to wipe Liu E's butt in the next few months. Liu E launched an army without permission from the inner court, and was inevitably impeached by hundreds of officials.
Nowadays, there is a food shortage in Huainan and other places, and the people's hearts are unstable.
If this matter spreads, it will inevitably take a lot of effort to appease people's hearts."
Kou Zhun's face turned red, he blew his beard angrily and said, "Just wipe it, as long as I can bite off a piece of meat from Xixia's body, I will do it willingly."
Hearing this, Kou Ji said with admiration: "What I admire most is your grandfather's character of distinguishing between public and private matters."
Kou Zhun snorted coldly: "Do you think flattering me will make me forget your crime of contradicting me? This is at home, but if you are in court, if you dare to contradict me like this, I will never let you get it for the rest of your life.
To salary."
Kou Jiba clicked his lips and said, "I don't lack that little money either..."
Kou Zhun glared and reprimanded: "I know that you have made some money in business, but that is from business, not from being an official. If you are an official, you have to get a salary. If you don't get a salary, what kind of official are you?"
"
Kou Ji said dumbfounded: "My grandson knows he was wrong."
Kou Zhun snorted coldly and said: "When I left the palace today, I bumped into the deputy envoy of the Third Division. He told me that you have never gone to the Third Division to collect your salary. He will go to the Third Division to collect your salary soon.
After today, the Third Division will close its accounts."
Kou Ji was stunned and asked doubtfully: "Didn't my salary be confiscated?"
Hearing this, Kou Zhun said contemptuously: "You hold two positions. Even if you are fined, you will only be fined for one position, not all of them. There are many people in the imperial court who are fined every year. If they are all fined, then they will be fined."
Shouldn’t we starve to death?”
Kou Ji said unexpectedly: "Is there any other way to say this?"
Kou Zhun hummed and said, "Take a look at Taizu's system when you have time. This is the rule set by Taizu."
Kou Ji clicked his lips and sighed in his heart.
The two brothers Zhao Kuangyin and Zhao Guangyi really spent a lot of money to win over civil servants.
"I'll go to the Third Division to collect my salary..."
Kou Ji said something and walked out.
Kou Zhun shouted at Kou Ji's back: "I asked you to go today, but I didn't ask you to go now. Why are you anxious?"
Kou Ji said loudly: "I'm afraid I'll be late and those guys will steal my salary."
When Kou Zhun heard this, he laughed angrily, pointed at Kou Ji's back and cursed with a smile: "With my current status, if others give you a salary, I wish they could give you as much as possible. Who dares to embezzle you?"
Salary."
Kou Zhun's words were not heard by Kou Ji because he had already left the yard.
He was in a hurry to receive his salary.
As the saying goes, if you are not active in collecting money, there is something wrong with your brain.
No one will dislike themselves for having too much money to spend.
Although the salary paid to Kou Ji by the imperial court was not as much as what the Vientiane Pawn Shop had earned in the past six months.
But the money earned by Wanxiang Pawn Shop was not enough for Kou Ji to ignore his salary.
…
In fact, Sansi has a door-to-door salary delivery service. Just like Kou Zhun's salary, someone from Sansi will personally deliver it to his door every season.
After all, Kou Zhun's salary was so large. When the court distributed the salary, it also distributed copper coins and grains. With Kou Zhun's body, it was impossible for him to carry it back on his own.
The main problem why the people of the Third Division insisted on letting Kou Ji go to the Third Division was that Kou Ji's situation was somewhat special.
What kind of special method?
Promotion too quickly.
It only took Kou Ji more than half a year to climb a Qingyun Ladder that others may not be able to climb in their lifetime.
Therefore, whenever the Third Division calculated salaries, Kou Ji was promoted.
The people from the third division had to help him calculate again.
Of course, people from the Third Division can also give him a salary based on his rank before promotion.
But the people in the Third Division didn't do that.
They always help Kou Ji calculate his salary based on his rank and official position after his promotion.
They did this also to establish a good relationship with the Kou Mansion.
In case Liu E falls in the future, Kou Zhun will liquidate them together.
Kou Ji arrived at Sansi Yamen and accompanied the deputy envoy of Sansi to calculate his salary.
You don't know if you don't do the calculation. Once you do the calculation, Kou Ji is shocked.
Kou Ji held two positions. When the Third Division calculated his salary for him, the fine was calculated on top of his lower official position, and the salary was paid according to his highest official position.
The regular salary is thirty-five thousand dollars per month, but this is only a small part.
Various other miscellaneous items, such as clothing, grain, tea, wine and cooking materials, fuel charcoal, salt, food and clothing for the entourage, grain for the horses, additional expenses, salary for the job, money for the minister, etc., totaling seventy guan per month.
.
Calculated, Kou Ji's monthly salary is about 105 guan.
Kou Ji was appointed an official by Zhao Heng at the end of April. The Third Division gave him a full moon in April, and the total calculation showed that his salary this year was 945 guan.
Including the year-end bonus, Kou Ji's salary exceeded 1,000 yuan.
Kou Ji also didn't expect that Song Dynasty would have a year-end bonus.
Since part of the salary was made of silk, cloth, brocade, and rice, in order to make it easier for Kou Ji to carry it, the three officials turned it into silver coins for him.
Fifty-one shining silver coins were put into the cloth bag given by the Third Secretary by Kou Ji and carried to the house.
These fifty-one shining silver medals were obtained by him after working hard for the court for more than half a year.
Kou Ji returned to the mansion with the silver medal on his back, and threw it to the craftsmen at the mansion, asking them to work together to make silver leaves.
Then he nestled in his yard, waiting for the New Year.
However.
It's New Year's Eve.
He couldn't sit down anymore.
Early in the morning, Aunt Qiao took several maids to his room, shook him out of bed, and then helped him put on new clothes, new shoes, a jade belt, and a gold crown.
If Kou Ji hadn't refused, Aunt Qiao would have wanted to apply some powder on him and bring him a plum blossom.
After getting dressed, Aunt Qiao led Kou Ji to the main hall of the house.
After arriving at the main hall, Kou Zhun and Kou Li had already put on new clothes and sat inside.
There was a box in front of each of them, filled with gold and silver leaves.
After Kou Ji arrived, he glanced at the boxes in their hands and said with a smile: "We, grandson and grandson, are just sitting here today?"
Kou Zhun said slowly: "There are many people in the house. Some people see us every day, and some people don't see us once or twice a year. We have to sit here and let them see and recognize each other to save time."
After a long time, they don’t even know the masters and young masters in the house.”
The servants of the Kou Mansion had already sent a batch of them home before the year before.
But there are still more people staying in Kou's house.
Either they signed a long contract with the Kou government, or they were rewarded by the palace.
He was born as a member of the Kou Mansion, and died as a ghost of the Kou Mansion.
As long as the Kou Mansion does not fall, they will always have to stay in the Kou Mansion.
Although the imperial court has expressly stipulated that things such as deeds of sale are not allowed, it still cannot prevent such things from happening.
There are policies and measures to counter.
If you are not allowed to sign a deed of renunciation, it will be the same if you sign a long-term contract of fifty years, or a long-term contract of one hundred years.
It's no different than selling yourself.
Therefore, most of the servants and maids who are still staying in the house are homeless, or have no way to return home.
The three generations of the Kou family sat in the main hall for them to see. Rather than letting them recognize the person, it was more to give them repose.
They are a group of people who are homeless and cannot return to their homes. Their souls need a place to rest.
This place is Kou Mansion.
The three generations of the Kou family represent the Kou family.
As long as they see that the three generations of the Kou family are in good health and free from illness and disaster, they don't need to worry about food and drink in the future.
There is no need to worry about finding another place for your soul to rest.
They will regard the Kou Mansion as their home and the three generations of the Kou family as their family.
Kou Ji didn't understand this, nor had he experienced it, so he was very ignorant in this aspect, and he was also at a loss about Kou Zhun and Kou Li's actions.
But he still accompanied Kou Zhun and Kou Li and sat in the main hall for a whole day.
When night falls.
The servants lit a bunch of firecrackers at the entrance of the house, in the front yard, in the middle yard, and in the backyard.
With the sound of firecrackers everywhere in Bianjing, everyone knew that the New Year was coming soon.
The reason why firecrackers can be set off in Bianjing City is because in ancient times, the role of firecrackers was not to celebrate, but to ward off evil spirits.
Therefore, setting off firecrackers does not conflict with Zhao Heng's funeral.
Kou Zhun sat at the head of the main hall just like Zhao Zhen sat on the golden luan.
The servants, maids, and guards of the mansion, just like the civil and military officials in court, slowly entered the main hall.
They all saluted Kou Zhun and said, "I have met you, and I wish you happiness and health in the new year."
Kou Zhun nodded slowly, "Reward!"
Kou Zhong held the box in front of Kou Zhun, walked to the servants, maids, and guards, and began to divide the rewards.
When everyone received their rewards, they all saluted Kou Li and said, "I have met the young master. I wish the young master a prosperous future."
Kou Li smiled cheerfully and said, "Watch and enjoy!"
He felt that at this moment, he looked like a real prime minister.
So he was very happy.
After Kou Li's rewards are distributed.
They all saluted Kou Ji again and said, "I have met the young master. I wish the young master a prosperous new year."
Kou Ji looked at the empty table in front of him and really didn't know whether to shout the word "reward" or not.
No one informed him, and he didn't prepare in advance.
Just when he was in a dilemma, Kou Zhong walked up to him carrying a plate.
Kou Ji took a look and saw a plate of pearls.
This thing was a very valuable thing in ancient times.
"reward!"
Looking at the plate of pearls in front of him, Kou Ji shouted loudly.
When the servants, maids, and guards saw the pearl, their eyes lit up.
They have been members of the Kou Mansion all their lives, so they don't need to share the money with others.
On weekdays, when they have free time to leave the house, the maids can use the money to add some rouge and gouache, while the servants can sneak away to the fireworks alley.
In short, money is very important to them.
After the reward.
Kou Zhong ordered the kitchen of his house to serve wine and food, and everyone began to eat the New Year's Eve dinner together.
Although it is a bit early to have New Year’s Eve dinner, there is nothing we can do about it.
Because Kou Zhun and Kou Ji cannot stay at home tonight.
According to the usual practice, the two of them, the grandfather and the grandson, will enter the palace tonight to accompany the official family.
Kou Zhun simply took a few bites and was about to go back to his room to change into his official uniform. When he saw Kou Ji still staring at the stewed bear paws on the table, his face turned dark.
"Go change quickly!"
It is also a kind of grace to be able to enter the palace and accompany the official family to celebrate the New Year.
Not all officials are qualified to enter the palace to celebrate the New Year with the official family.
The official uniform must be red, or only those who are red or above are eligible.