The second day after Kou Ji returned to the mansion, Zhao Zhen's handwritten letter promising him was delivered to Kou's mansion.
It was just the person who sent the handwritten letter, which made Kou Ji feel a little surprised.
Kou Zhun held the handwritten letter, stared at Kou Ji with a dark face, and asked: "What do you want to do?"
Kou Ji stood in front of Kou Zhun and said calmly: "I didn't want to do anything..."
Kou Zhun snorted coldly: "I didn't want to do anything. Will you team up with the officials to create a pro-army force of four thousand people?"
"I also do it because I have to raise horses."
"It takes thirty-four thousand people to raise horses?"
"Not so much..."
"What's not so much? Do you think I don't know anything about what you did in Baozhou? Four thousand young men, 20,000 retired soldiers, and more than 10,000 women and children, adding up to a total of 30,000
Four thousand people.
Seven people serving one horse?
Are you raising a thousand-mile horse?
Do you need seven people to serve you?”
"Those veterans, women and children did it voluntarily..."
"Volunteering is nothing. If you don't nod, how can they be willing?"
Kou Zhun sat on the chair angrily, stared at Kou Ji, and asked: "Tell me, what exactly do you and the officials want to do?"
Having said this, Kou Zhun raised the handwriting in his hand again and snorted: "There is still this thing? Do you think this thing is a document from the imperial court that can be taken out casually?
You two are really capable, one dares to ask for it and the other dares to write it."
"Fortunately, I discovered this thing first. If someone below discovered it and reported it to the court in a big way, you two would be in trouble."
"..."
Kou Zhun stared at Kou Ji and scolded him.
Kou Ji knew that he was at fault, so he let Kou Zhun scold him to vent his anger.
Kou Zhun scolded Kou Zhun for a long time. When he was tired, Kou Ji quickly handed Kou Zhun a cup of tea and asked in a low voice: "Grandpa also scolded officials like this?"
When Kou Zhun heard this, he almost lost his temper and said angrily: "Can anyone scold an official?"
"Then I'm the only one who gets scolded?"
"Um?!"
"Grandpa scolded me well."
"snort!"
Kou Zhun put down the tea cup, scolded Kou Ji for a while, and then asked angrily: "You haven't told me yet, what is the meaning of this incident with the officials?"
Kou Ji shook his head and said: "My grandson really just wants to raise horses well!"
Kou Zhun said disdainfully: "Just talking nonsense..."
"You raise four thousand soldiers and horses with the officials. What does it mean? If you don't tell me, I don't want to care.
I just want to remind you to be more restrained and don't lead the official family astray.
Otherwise, I will let you have a taste of the power of my family."
"Kou Zhong?"
"The old servant is here."
"Please come out and let this brat see the family law, let him know that our Kou family still has family law, let him have some respect in his heart, so that he will not cause trouble to me outside."
Kou Zhong agreed, went to the ancestral hall to ask for a cane, and went to Kou Zhun's study.
The rattan was wrapped into a whip shape, but it was stiff when swinging.
Kou Zhun took the cane and shook it twice, wanting to tell Kou Ji that the cane in Kou's house was not something to be trifled with.
Just after shaking it twice, the cane fell to the ground.
Kou Zhun, Kou Ji, and Kou Zhong looked at each other in confusion.
Kou Zhun failed to establish his authority, but instead made a joke. He suddenly became angry and said: "Go and tell the craftsmen in the house to make a big and thick housework for me."
Kou Ji muttered out of nowhere, "It won't hurt if you hit someone big enough."
The corner of Kou Zhun's mouth twitched, and he said fiercely: "Go and ask the craftsmen in the house to make a long and slender housework for me!"
"It's thin and easy to fold..."
"Ask the craftsmen in my house to make me an iron cane, and wrap it with thorns!!"
Kou Zhun roared furiously.
Kou Zhong fled the study in despair.
Kou Ji decisively knelt down in front of Kou Zhun.
He gave in...
A man can bend and stretch...
Take a step back and the sky will be brighter...
A gentleman takes revenge...
In short, Kou Ji found countless reasons for giving in and comforted himself.
Kou Zhun's expression softened a little when he saw Kou Ji giving in. He glared at Kou Ji and said, "You brat, you don't give me any peace of mind at all.
If you were not my grandson, I would have you cut into pieces with a thousand knives."
While cursing, Kou Zhun threw the handwritten calligraphy to Kou Ji.
"Take it! Get out! I don't want to see you today."
Kou Ji picked up the handwritten book and looked at it, feeling a little dazed.
The handwriting was definitely written by Zhao Zhen, and he recognized Zhao Zhen's handwriting.
It's just that there are two more seals on the handwriting.
One is the emperor's seal, and the other is the imperial seal.
The reason why the emperor's seal is used instead of the jade seal passed down to the country is because during the Five Dynasties period, the jade seal handed down from the first emperor disappeared.
Therefore, the royal family of the Song Dynasty did not have the national jade seal in hand.
The jade seals of successive emperors of the Song Dynasty were all engraved seals inherited from Zhao Kuangyin.
Untraditional jade seal.
Later generations said that the Song Dynasty won the country unfairly. In addition to the mutiny of Zhao Kuangyin and Chen Qiao, who bullied orphans and widowed mothers, there was also the reason for passing on the national jade seal.
But Kou Ji didn't care whether the handwritten calligraphy was stamped with the imperial seal.
What Kou Ji cares about is the handwriting and the two seals on it.
With these two seals, he could openly and honestly establish the emperor's personal army in Baozhou.
A pro-army force that was nominally under the jurisdiction of Zhao Zhen, but actually under his jurisdiction.
Kou Ji flipped through it carefully and found that in addition to two more seals, the number of loyal soldiers was also much larger.
"The emperor's personal army...the character of tiger...is full of tens of thousands of people..."
Kou Ji looked at Kou Zhun with confusion, "Grandpa, this?"
Kou Zhun glared at Kou Ji, "Isn't it just to wipe the butts of you two?!"
"But this military name? And the number of people?"
"Do you have any objections to my decision?"
"A bit..."
"Do you think it's not good for me to get a military title? Or do you think the number of people I gave you is too small?"
Kou Ji said awkwardly: "Grandpa, I want four thousand..."
"Bah! We have a huge country, and the emperor's personal army only has four thousand people? How embarrassing to tell it.
If you two were not too young, I would have wanted to expand our number to one hundred thousand.
Emperor Yelu Longxu of the Liao Dynasty had 100,000 personal troops, and I, the Emperor of the Song Dynasty, should also have 100,000 personal troops."
Kou Ji asked suspiciously: "Isn't there two divine dragon guards?"
Kou Zhun said with a dark face, "Can the two guards of Shenlong be used? I will allow you to establish the emperor's personal army."
Kou Ji asked garrulously, "How bad are the two guards of Shenlong?"
The corner of Kou Zhun's mouth twitched and he said nothing.
But looking at his face, you can tell that the second guard of Shenlong is terrible.
If it weren't for the fact that the two Shenlong Guards were both members of the Imperial Guard and were responsible for guarding the imperial city, Kou Zhun would have been able to eliminate all the troops and horses of the Shenlong Guards.
As the Xiang army continued to be streamlined, the corrupt military and political affairs in various places were exposed.
I originally thought that the Xiang Army was the most corrupt, but I didn't expect that the Forbidden Army was even more corrupt.
If it weren't for the large number of Imperial Guards, they would still maintain a good combat effectiveness.
Kou Zhun wanted to attack the imperial army.
Of course, the Forbidden Army is Wu Xun's real private territory.
Kou Zhun could only think about it.
If he really wants to attack the Imperial Guards, Wu Xun will definitely cause trouble.
Although Wu Xun had no right to mobilize the Forbidden Army, nor did he have the right to directly command the Forbidden Army.
However, with the penetration of Wu Xun over the years, the leading figures of the Forbidden Army in various departments were all born in Wu Xun.
They may not rebel, but they will create obstacles for the imperial court.
The reason why Shenlong Erwei is corrupt is because it is filled with a large number of martial arts disciples.
Most of them are useless, or they are just pretending to be crazy.
They filled the military camp, and the military camp could be good.
Among the four armies of the Forbidden Army guarding Bianjing City, only Pengri and Tianwu armies still maintained their combat effectiveness.
This is also the reason why every time there is a war, the imperial court will send out the Pengri and Tianwu armies, but not the Shenlong Guards.
Kou Ji didn't care about this. He put the book in his arms with a smile and said to Kou Zhun: "Thank you, grandpa, for your love."
Kou Zhun glanced at him and said with disgust: "Get out!"
Kou Ji bowed and walked out.
As soon as he walked to the door, he heard Kou Zhun shouting: "Wait..."
Kou Ji turned around and asked, "Grandpa, do you have any other instructions?"
Kou Zhun hesitated for a moment, then said with a face that was difficult to explain: "Do you think there is a way to take back the land owned by various temples and Taoist temples and distribute it to the people?"
Kou Ji was stunned for a moment, thoughtful.
Previously in the Zishi Hall, he mentioned the wealthy families, the annexation of land by officials Wu Xun, and the temple property.
Kou Zhun mentioned the temple property alone, but did not mention officials Wu Xun and wealthy families, which means that he only planned to attack the temple.
only……
Kou Ji hesitated for a moment, then looked at Kou Zhun and asked, "Grandpa, do you think temples and Taoist temples are the weakest among the three forces?"
Kou Zhun was stunned for a moment and said calmly: "Isn't it?"
Kou Ji smiled bitterly and said, "Why do I think they are the hardest nut to crack?"
Kou Zhun frowned.
Kou Ji said seriously: "It is difficult to take back the property that has been transferred to the temple.
What the imperial court could do was to start collecting agricultural taxes in the temples, and they had to collect heavy taxes.
Only in this way can they slowly be forced to spit out the ground.
In comparison, it is easier to deal with military officials and wealthy families.
Of course, there are those that are easiest to deal with."
Kou Zhun thought about Kou Ji's words and asked, "What else?"
Kou Ji nodded calmly, "If grandpa simply wants to solve an urgent need, he can attack the Kong family in Qufu..."
Kou Zhun stood up suddenly and stared at Kou Ji in disbelief.
Kou Jigan smiled and said: "Grandpa, please don't look at me like that. As far as I know, two-thirds of the land in Qufu has now fallen into the hands of the Kong family."
Kou Zhun stared at Kou Ji and said in a deep voice: "How do you know about this?"
Kou Ji said frankly: "I saw it when I was checking the performance reports and performance reviews of officials from various places in the Ministry of Civil Affairs.
Successive officials in Qufu, except for their achievements in education, basically had no achievements in other aspects.
In terms of managing mulberry trees, he has done even better.
I guessed there was something wrong here, so I sent someone to investigate.
It was discovered that two-thirds of the land in Qufu fell into the hands of the Kong family.
Seventy percent of the people in Qufu are tenants of the Kong family."
When Kou Zhun heard this, he gasped and said, "That's the Saint's Court..."
Kou Ji stared at Kou Zhun and said: "Grandpa, we scholars, if we learn the knowledge of the saints, we should naturally respect the saints.
It is understandable to write books and sermons for the saint, to erect monuments for the saint, and to protect the peace of the saint's resting place.
There is nothing wrong with treating the descendants of saints favorably in order to attract scholars from all over the world.
But if treating the saint’s descendants favorably turns into allowing the saint’s descendants to exploit the people, that would be a bit too much.”
Kou Zhun's face turned gloomy when he heard this.
Kou Ji continued: "My grandfather and others felt that treating the descendants of the saints favorably was a way of thanking the saints for passing down their enlightening articles.
But have you ever thought that you are actually harming people?
You are ensuring the prosperity of the saint's children, but once a military disaster occurs, they will be the first to suffer.
Because under your protection, they have occupied a large area of land and accumulated countless food and money.
Aren’t these the things that are most lacking during a military disaster?”
Kou Ji actually wanted to admonish Kou Zhun with more intense words, but when the words came to his lips, he did not say them out. Instead, he used a set of words that Kou Zhun could accept.
Seeing that Kou Zhun was silent, Kou Ji added: "Of the four types of people who invade the people's farmland, those who are born in the world are the most difficult to deal with.
It is very difficult for my grandfather to deal with them without letting them cause trouble to the court."
I left these words behind.
Kou Ji said nothing and left the study, leaving Kou Zhun alone in his study.
Kou Jihuai returned to the courtyard with the handwritten letter, got into the study, and began to write a letter to Yang Wenguang.
With the handwritten letters recognized by Zhao Zhen and Kou Zhun, Kou Ji could build a force of 10,000 troops in Baozhou.
Although compared to the number of soldiers and horses in the Song Dynasty, these 10,000 people were just a drop in the bucket.
But for Kou Ji, having these ten thousand people in his hands would make him feel more at ease.
As long as he builds these ten thousand people well, he can handle even the worst situation.
Kou Ji deceived Zhao Zhen into establishing a pro-army army in order to gain a reputation for the two thousand young men he raised.
I just didn't expect that Zhao Zhen added it once and Kou Zhun added it again.
The number suddenly increased to 10,000.
Now that he had the authority to organize 10,000 troops, Kou Ji did not intend to waste it.
He must work hard to bring out the best in these ten thousand people.
The purpose of writing to Yang Wenguang was to ask Yang Wenguang to select some good soldiers for him.
As for the manpower leading the troops, it was naturally impossible for him to be Yang Wenguang.
Although Yang Wenguang can concurrently serve as the commander of both armies.
But Kou Ji did not intend to let Yang Wenguang lead the emperor's personal army.
Kou Ji planned to make Di Qing the commander of the Emperor's personal army.
Di Qing was too young. Although he had gone through several wars, he was still a bit weak in leading an army alone.
So Kou Ji planned to help Di Qing find a mature and prudent lieutenant.
But that's all for the future, there's no rush now.
What needs to be done now is to select good manpower and let Di Qing practice.
At the same time, Kou Ji also planned to write a letter to Di Qing, asking Di Qing to write to Cao Wei. Li Zhaoliang and Li Zhaoliang were crying for help and recruited some good military training experts from their families to help Di Qing train his troops.
Cao Wei himself is a famous general, so he naturally has many experienced soldiers who are good at fighting.
Although Li Zhaoliang was not a famous general, his father was, and his father must have left him many veterans.
These people are all talented people. There is no reason for them to stay in Bianjing to eat and die. They should be put to good use.
Di Qing is Cao Wei's favorite disciple and Li Zhaoliang's lifelong friend.
It was far easier for him to ask these two people for help than for Kou Ji to ask.