"How dare I threaten Shilang Kou... I'm just reminding Shilang Kou..."
Qian Yuan stood in front of Kou Ji with a respectful attitude and said.
Kou Ji sneered, took a slow sip from the tea cup, and said with a smile: "Remind me of what? Remind me that once this matter comes to court, I will not be able to escape my reputation as a collusion between government and businessmen?
At that time, all the officials will definitely impeach me for a series of charges such as competing for benefits with the people, abusing my power, etc.
Even if I have my grandfather to protect me, I will still be tortured by the impeachment of hundreds of officials?"
Qian Yuan smiled softly and said nothing.
But he acquiesced to Kou Ji's statement.
Kou Ji put down his tea cup and said with a disdainful smile: "Then I can only say that you are wrong. I am different from other officials. I don't cherish my reputation, let alone worry about being unable to be promoted after my reputation is ruined.
If you, the Mu family, really have the guts to bring this matter to court, then I, Kou Ji, will accompany you to the end."
Qian Yuan's expression changed, he stared at Kou Ji, and said urgently: "Master Kou, this is just a matter that can be solved with a small amount of money. Why do you want to make a big fuss?"
"Oh?"
Kou Ji laughed and said: "How can it be a small amount of money to spend millions of dollars? If the court wants to spend millions of dollars, it will have to be discussed for more than a month before it can be decided."
When Qian Yuan heard this, his expression was a little uncertain.
He thought over and over again and gritted his teeth and said: "If Minister Kou does not pay the money, my Mu family is willing to pay it on his behalf. However, Minister Kou must come forward and help deal with it to avoid this matter from getting into trouble in the court."
Kou Ji said incoherently: "Are you begging me or ordering me?"
Qian Yuan said in a deep voice: "Shilang Kou also has a role in Jiaozi Shop in Shuzhong..."
Kou Ji glanced at Qian Yuan and sneered: "Now that things have happened, you are still using the name of Shuzhong Jiaozipu to offend me? I am a member of Shuzhong Jiaozipu, but I didn't get the title of Shuzhong Jiaozipu."
Get a penny of black money.
What do the activities you do using Jiaozipu have to do with me?"
Kou Ji snorted coldly, stood up suddenly, shook his sleeves, and shouted: "Kou Zhong, see the guest off!"
"Shilang Kou!"
Qian Yuan saw that Kou Ji was not getting enough food and salt, so he was a little anxious.
But Kou Ji ignored him and let Kou Zhong lead his men to kick him out of Kou's house.
After kicking the people out, Kou Zhong returned to the side hall and asked Kou Ji with some doubts, "Young master, are you really not going to have a good talk with them? If they bring this matter to the court, it will not be good for you...
…”
Kou Ji put his hands behind his back and said calmly: "If they really had the courage, they wouldn't come to my house to look for me."
Kou Zhong pondered: "Young Master, do you mean that they will keep this matter secret?"
Kou Ji nodded slowly.
Kou Zhong asked doubtfully: "But the people of Sichuan Mansion are already in trouble. Can they keep it a secret?"
Kou Ji smiled and said: "Aren't we still helping behind the scenes?
I asked you to go to Sichuan Mansion to purchase Jiaozi from the common people, how did the purchase go?"
Kou Zhong hurriedly said: "More than one million guan was spent and nearly 3 million guan were collected."
Kou Ji nodded slowly and said: "Go ahead and keep collecting. As long as we help them relieve their pressure, they won't jump over the wall in a hurry."
They will try their best to solve this trouble..."
Kou Zhong nodded thoughtfully, "Old servant, I understand a little bit."
Kou Ji continued to give instructions: "When the Jiaozi we collect exceeds five million yuan, we will send someone to the Jiaozi shop in Shuzhong to exchange the money."
"In the name of the family?"
"If you don't collect money in the name of the family, others will ignore you?"
"Old servant understands."
"Using my grandfather's post, I notified the Sichuan government and soldiers from all over the country and asked them to show us the Mu family and other major merchants.
If anyone takes the opportunity to escape, I will arrest them all."
"Here..."
"..."
He ordered Kou Zhong to do something.
Kou Ji wandered back to the room and continued to read the letter.
Yang Wenguang sent more than one letter from Baozhou.
There are several letters.
Three of the letters addressed the streamlining of the Bulgarian Army.
The 50,000 troops of the Bulgarian Army suffered a lot in the battle against the Liao Kingdom and have not been replenished so far.
Yang Wenguang further streamlined the troops on this basis, and in the end there were only 6,000 soldiers of the Baosai Army left.
According to Yang Wenguang's idea, after the Baosai Army is streamlined, the number of troops in the Baosai Army should be around 8,000.
After all, before streamlining, he counted the young men in the camp.
But during the process of streamlining, two thousand young men withdrew from the Bulgarian Army.
Ask why.
The answer of the soldiers of the Bulgarian Army was very simple.
They will stay in Baozhou to help Kou Ji breed horses.
The reason for this is also due to the Song Dynasty's system of dispatching troops and horses.
In short, the soldiers of the Bulgarian Army have discussed that no matter where they are transferred, they must leave enough manpower to help Koji breed horses.
Kou Ji couldn't laugh or cry about this.
They only wanted to help Kou Ji, but they never thought that once they left the military, the court would no longer provide them with food, grass, and money, and the tattered blades in their hands would also have to be handed over to the court.
From then on, they were no different to civilians.
The only difference is that they do not have to pay taxes to the court for the time being.
The food they grow in their fields is enough for them to live on, plus the poultry they raise, but they don't worry about starving to death.
But if you don’t have a weapon in your hand, how can you protect your horse?
If you really want to have a conflict with someone, should you risk your life with your flesh?
After much thought, Yang Wenguang suggested giving them the identity of rural soldiers.
Let them equip themselves with swords reasonably.
However, Yang Wenguang's identity as a rural soldier was not something that Yang Wenguang could decide, so Yang Wenguang asked Kou Ji to think of a way.
In addition, Yang Wenguang also wrote a letter to Kou Ji, asking Kou Ji to find a way to help him save the 6,000 soldiers and horses under his command.
The elite soldiers he finally selected were transferred out of Baozhou before they were trained. There was no guarantee that they would not become what they were before when they went to other places.
In addition, Yang Wenguang also hoped that Kou Ji could get him a draft document from the Privy Council, allowing him to select young men to join the army in Baozhou to make up for the vacancies in the Baosai Army.
This time the imperial court reduced the number of troops in the northeastern border, and the Bulgarian Army was among them.
The original 50,000 troops of the Bulgarian Army were reduced by half, and now only 25,000 troops are left.
What Yang Wenguang wants to make up for is the 25,000 troops.
"You're really welcome to use me..."
Kou Ji shook the letter in his hand and sighed.
Although he was complaining on his lips, he was feeling sweet in his heart.
Yang Wenguang can ask him to do things without any courtesy, so when he wants to ask Yang Wenguang to lead his troops to help him do things, Yang Wenguang will not refuse. This is a very good phenomenon.
Giving the soldiers and horses of the Bulgarian Army who had separated from the military status the status of rural soldiers would not stop Kou Ji.
But in order for them to maintain their combat effectiveness, and on this basis, exert greater combat effectiveness, they cannot rely on the imperial court.
The imperial court issued razor blades to the Xiang army, but the swords issued to the rural soldiers were worse than razor blades.
Therefore, we cannot rely on the imperial court for ordnance.
Kou Ji thought of another way.
The only problem is that the court may not agree to equip them with too good ordnance.
So Kou Ji had to find a way to solve this problem.
Kou Ji thought about it for a while in his yard, then asked the maid to put him into court clothes and went into the palace.
After entering the palace, we rushed all the way to Zishi Hall.
Then he saw Zhao Zhen sitting on the dragon chair, pretending to be busy reading the memorial.
Kou Zhun, Xiang Minzhong, and Wang Zeng were busy handling official duties.
Ever since Kou Zhun supported the civil servants and began to streamline the Xiang army, the three of them have been busy non-stop.
Streamlining the Xiang Army is not just as simple as cutting down the number of troops in the Xiang Army.
After the troop quotas are abolished, how to place the soldiers who have been eliminated from the barracks, and how to place the officials who have been eliminated from the barracks, all need to be properly handled.
"Not enough...not enough...still not enough..."
Wang Zeng held a booklet in his hand, frowned and shook his head.
Xiang Minzhong held the teapot, took a deep breath, and said, "If it's not enough, there's nothing we can do about it. We can't let them grab the land."
Kou Zhun held the memorial in his hand and said in a deep voice: "This time, the four Xiang armies in the northeastern border were withdrawn, with a total of 200,000 troops, and countless more of their families.
If it is not handled well, it will be a military disaster."
Wang Zeng said in a deep voice: "The northeastern border is no better than the northern border.
There is territory in the northern border that we newly captured from Xixia that can be distributed to the people, but there is nothing in the northeastern border.
Almost all land has an owner.
Most of the unclaimed lands are at the border between the two countries.
Letting them farm at the border between the two countries is not much different from letting them die."
Xiang Minzhong pondered: "There is nothing we can do if we don't have land... How about moving them to the southwest?"
Wang Zeng rolled his eyes and said, "Let's not talk about how much food and grass it would cost to move them to the southwest.
We moved them to the southwest, then when the troops and horses in the southwest are disbanded, where will they move?"
Xiang Minzhong was speechless for a moment.
"Kouji?!"
At this moment, Zhao Zhen, who was bored on the dragon chair, saw Kou Ji standing at the door of the palace and refused to come in, and called out.
A moment.
The eyes of the three old men fell on Kou Ji.
Kou Ji entered the palace, cupped his hands and said, "My minister Kou Ji has met the official family and three Shangguan officials."
Zhao Zhen grinned and said, "Come here quickly!"
"Wait!"
Xiang Minzhong stopped him, stared at Kou Ji and asked: "You brat, you always have many evil ideas. Tell me, do you have any extra land in the Song Dynasty to house the people?"
Kou Ji had just heard the conversation between the three of them at the door, and now that he heard Xiang Minzhong asking questions, he naturally knew what Xiang Minzhong meant.
He said calmly: "Half of the Song Dynasty is..."
"puff……"
Wang Zeng just picked up the tea cup and took a sip of tea. When he heard these words, he spit it out.
"Boy, are you making fun of the three of us?"
Wang Zeng shouted angrily.
Xiang Minzhong felt the urge to hit someone.
Kou Zhun was the only one who was thoughtful.
Among the three, Kou Zhun knows Kou Ji best, and he knows that Kou Ji will not act without aim.
It's just that he thought about it again and again, but he couldn't figure out the meaning of Kou Ji's words.
Xiang Minzhong didn't have the leisure time like Kou Zhun to think about the meaning of Kou Ji's words. He said directly: "You brat, if you don't tell me why, I will make you look good."
Kou Ji was not afraid, but asked: "Tell me why and give me a promotion?"
Xiang Minzhong was stunned by Kou Jizhong and was speechless.
He stared at Kou Ji for a long time and snorted coldly: "You still want to be promoted? If you are promoted again, others will not be able to survive."
"I'll give you a promotion!"
Zhao Zhen blurted out.
Just after saying this, I regretted it.
He is no longer the child he once was, and knowing that Kou Ji's current official position cannot be promoted any further.
But he could control his thoughts, but he couldn't control his mouth.
well!
It’s so difficult for me!
Kou Ji, Kou Zhun, Xiang Minzhong, and Wang Zeng looked at Zhao Zhen with strange expressions.
Zhao Zhen pretended to be calm and coughed dryly and said: "Xiao Kou loves you and has worked hard for the country. He even went to the Liao Kingdom tirelessly. His hard work has made great achievements, but I have not rewarded him.
It's my fault."
Kou Ji was stunned when he heard this, and bowed and said: "I would like to thank the officials for their love.
I am indescribably grateful to the officials for having such a heart.
It doesn't matter whether you get promoted or not."
When Zhao Zhen heard this, he sighed and said: "Xiao Kou Aiqing is truly the most loyal and good person in the history of the world."
"The official family is also the most wise ruler in history..."
Kou Zhun, Xiang Minzhong, and Wang Zeng twitched their mouths as they listened to the monarch and his ministers praising each other.
If it weren't for Zhao Zhen's identity, they really wanted to ask these two little guys what their faces were.
"cough!"
Kou Zhun coughed heavily, interrupting the two of them from complimenting each other.
Kou Zhun stared at Kou Ji, frowned and said: "Explain clearly to me what you said before. What do you mean by being half of the Song Dynasty?"
Kou Ji cupped his hands and said: "In our Song Dynasty, from south to north, the government and wealthy families occupied countless fertile fields.
Take Baozhou as an example.
The former governor of Baozhou, together with wealthy families, occupied tens of thousands of acres of fertile land.
Tens of thousands of acres of fertile farmland are enough to feed tens of thousands of people.
There were hundreds of states in the Song Dynasty, and there were countless corrupt officials, and countless fertile lands were occupied.
If we could recover them all, it would be easy to support millions or tens of millions of people, let alone hundreds of thousands of people."
Kou Zhun and the other three frowned when they heard this.
Wang Zeng said in a deep voice: "Lu Yijian inspected various roads and found a lot of fertile land, but not as much as you said.
And most of them have owners and have been returned to their original owners."
Kou Ji smiled and said nothing.
Xiang Minzhong said quietly: "I'm afraid it fell into the hands of one hand and the other, and it didn't fall into the hands of the people at all."
Kou Zhun frowned and said, "Even if you are right, that's not enough for half of the Song Dynasty."
Kou Ji smiled and said, "Xiaguan hasn't finished speaking yet.
In addition to the fertile land in the hands of these corrupt officials and wealthy families, there are also fertile lands that have been misappropriated by military officials and civil servants who rely on their power.
besides……"
"what else?"
"There are also Taoist temples and farm properties in various temples. The Song Dynasty has always treated people from outside the country preferentially, so people from outside the country do not have to pay taxes when cultivating the land.
In the Song Dynasty, there were tens of thousands of temples and Taoist temples.
The smallest temple has hundreds of acres of land, and the largest temple has tens of thousands of acres.
Take Daxiangguo Temple as an example.
In addition to the two imperial mansions granted by Emperor Taizong, Daxiangguo Temple also has 160,000 acres of farmland thirty miles outside Bianjing City.
Some of them were rewards from the imperial court, some were donated by good men and women, and some were purchased by the Daxiangguo Temple itself."