Kou Ji wrote a letter to Di Qing and Yang Wenguang, took the letter out of the study, and prepared to ask Kou Zhong to send someone to Baozhou.
As soon as I left the room, I saw a figure wandering under the moon gate outside the yard.
A closer look revealed that it was his grandfather Kou Zhun.
Kou Zhun put one hand behind his back and held on to his beard with the other as he kept pacing at the entrance of the courtyard.
He stepped into Kou Ji's yard several times and retreated several times.
He seemed to be hesitating and hesitating.
"grandfather?"
Kou Ji took the initiative to come forward and looked at Kou Zhun with a questioning look on his face.
Kou Zhun paused, retracted his hand that was holding his beard, and said brightly: "There are a few things I can't figure out about what you just said, so I wanted to come to you and ask for clarification."
Kou Ji was in Kou Zhun's study just now and didn't talk clearly.
There were several questions that Kou Zhun couldn't figure out no matter how hard he tried, so he came to Kou Ji to ask for clarification.
"Please come to Grandpa's house..."
Kou Ji made an audience reception and followed Kou Zhun into his study.
After sitting down, Kou Ji asked: "Grandpa, what are your doubts?"
Kou Zhun sat steadily on the chair, stroking his beard, frowning, and said in deep thought: "I still can't figure out why you said that the property in temples and Taoist temples is the most difficult to recover, but the property of the Confucius family in Qufu is the most difficult to recover.
Can it be taken back?"
Kou Ji did not rush to answer Kou Zhun's question, but asked: "What does grandfather think of these two?"
Kou Zhun said seriously: "I think that temples and Taoist temples cannot influence the situation of the government. If we deal with them, they will not be able to cause any big trouble. On the contrary, the Kong family in Qufu has a close relationship with the scholars. Once we deal with them, all the scholars in the world will be destroyed."
I’m afraid I won’t agree.”
Kou Ji said with a smile: "My grandfather was wrong. The reason why scholars in the world have a close relationship with the Confucius family is because they studied the saint's articles, and all the civil and military officials in the court also studied the saint's articles.
As long as they get involved with the Kong family, they can gain a good reputation among scholars.
In the future, whether you are participating in the imperial examination or pursuing an official career, you can use this to show your closeness to your officials.
In the final analysis, what scholars want is an official career.
Grandfather has already opened Enke for three more years, so why not open it for another three years?
As long as you, grandpa, are willing to open Enke, even if you turn Qufu upside down, the scholars will only focus on preparing for Enke, and how can they bother to care about the Kong family's affairs."
"But the officials in the court..."
Kou Zhun still had concerns.
Kou Ji grinned and said: "The officials in the court cannot protect themselves, so how can they have the time to take care of the Kong family."
"Can't you protect yourself?"
Kou Zhun looked suspicious and thought to himself for a while, then stared at Kou Ji and suddenly realized, "You and the officials are secretly plotting against Baiguan? Are you two going to cause trouble for Baiguan?"
Kou Ji nodded slowly.
Kou Zhun raised his finger and pointed at Kou Ji. He really didn't know what to say.
He had some doubts that the current changes in the court were planned by Kou Ji.
First, by exposing the corruption of the military system, the court was prompted to start disarmament.
Then when the imperial court encountered difficulties in disarmament, issues of land annexation and land occupation arose.
If the imperial court wanted to solve the problem of land annexation and land occupation, it could not bypass officials.
Faced with hundreds of officials blocking the way, the imperial court had not yet come up with a countermeasure, so Kou Ji made plans in advance and plotted against the officials.
One ring within another, like a trap.
"It makes me feel so tired to have such a grandson in my stall!"
Kou Zhun sighed in his heart, stood up slowly, put his hands behind his back, and walked out.
He originally wanted to ask Kou Ji why temples and Taoist temples were the ones with the greatest resistance?
I don't want to ask now.
Kou Ji looked at Kou Zhun leaving his study with a strange expression.
He was a little confused as to what Kou Zhun meant by pointing at him and sighing before leaving.
But he didn't think too much about it.
After Kou Zhun left, he left the study and looked for Kou Zhong.
As soon as he left the courtyard gate, he saw Kou Zhong trotting up to him.
Before he could speak, Kou Zhong took the lead and said, "Young Master, Zhang Yuan is back."
"Zhang Yuan is back?"
When Kou Ji heard the news, a joyful look flashed across his face.
"Take me to see it quickly."
Kou Zhong took Kou Ji to a side courtyard in his house.
Zhang Yuan was sitting at the table in the side courtyard, eating haphazardly.
He was dressed in coarse linen clothes, holding a fat chicken in his hand and chewing it. He had no scholarly temperament about him.
More like a very hungry beggar.
After Kou Ji entered the side courtyard, Zhang Yuan took a firm bite of the chicken breast, left behind the half-eaten chicken, walked quickly to Kou Ji, bowed and said, "Little man
Zhang Yuan, I have met the young master."
Zhang Yuan had chicken breast in his mouth and his speech was a little slurred.
Kou Ji did not blame him for this, but asked: "How did things go?"
Zhang Yuan bared his teeth, his greasy mouth formed into a horoscope, and said with a smile: "Don't worry, young master, the matter has been settled."
Kou Ji nodded with satisfaction and asked with a smile: "Aren't those bandits in Fotou Mountain difficult to deal with?"
Zhang Yuan said with a puzzled look: "It's easy to deal with them. Those people have been spoiled by the Xinping County Magistrate and have become lawless. The villain just revealed a little bit, saying that in order to celebrate the Queen Mother's birthday, the officials appointed Qingliang
The Yingfu Temple at the foot of the mountain is called Qingshou Temple, and one hundred thousand guan of money was allocated to Yingfu Temple to repair the temple.
When the bandits heard the news, they suspected something was wrong, and howled and killed them towards Yingfu Temple.
Now Yingfu Temple has been reduced to a scorched earth."
Hearing this, the smile on Kou Ji's face faded, and the corner of Kou Zhong's mouth twitched.
The two looked at each other.
Kou Ji took out two letters from his arms, handed them to Zhang Yuan, and said, "Have a rest for one night and go to Baozhou tomorrow to deliver these two letters to Yang Wenguang and Di Qing.
After the letter was delivered, I stayed in Baozhou for a while.
After Yu You recovers from his injuries, you and Yu You will return to Beijing together."
When Zhang Yuan heard this, he was stunned at first, and then he accepted the letter from Kou Ji without asking any questions and agreed.
Kou Ji patted him on the shoulder, let out a long sigh, and left the courtyard without saying anything.
Not long after leaving the side courtyard, Kou Zhong trotted to catch up with Kou Ji and said with a bitter face: "Zhang Yuan is really brave. He dared to touch the Qingshou Temple that was celebrating the Queen Mother's birthday.
Once the news reaches Bianjing City, the government and the public will definitely be shocked.
At that time, not only the officials will send people to investigate, but also people from the Imperial City Department will probably come out in full force.
There’s no guarantee that he won’t be traced.”
Kou Ji nodded and said: "I also have this worry, so I sent him to Baozhou to avoid trouble. As long as he is not in Bianjing City, there will be no trouble.
Liu Mei owes me a big favor, and he will never see this kind of thing being implicated in my family."
After a pause, Kou Ji smiled and said: "Although he caused a little trouble during this trip, he perfectly completed the task I assigned. I was also worried that the noise he made was not big enough...
Now that Qingshou Temple has been destroyed, no one can hide the news.
No one dares to hide this news."
When Kou Zhong heard Kou Ji's words, he breathed a sigh of relief, nodded slowly and said, "Young master, it's good that you have an idea."
"It's time to have a couple of drinks to celebrate."
"Aren't you going to see the lady of Xiang Mansion?"
Kou Ji turned his head, stared at Kou Zhong for a long time, and said with a dark face: "I want you to take care of it!"
Kou Zhong was stunned, shook his head and smiled.
…
The next day.
Midnight watch.
Kou Ji got up early, dressed neatly, and rushed to court.
As soon as I arrived at the entrance of Donghua Gate, I saw officials hurriedly walking into Donghua Gate.
If Kou Ji's prediction was correct, the news that the Qingshou Temple in Xinping County had been burned to ashes by bandits had already reached Bianjing City.
Kou Ji crossed the Jinshui Bridge and arrived at the Chui Gong Hall.
Inside the palace.
Zhao Zhen, with a dark face, sat high on the dragon chair.
After going to court.
Before Kou Zhun could speak, Zhao Zhen held a memorandum in his hand and threw it to the ground. With a stern face, he said angrily: "Who can tell me why the Qingshou Temple that I appointed was murdered by bandits?"
"The magistrate of Xinping County kept saying in his memorial to the court that under his governance Xinping County has reached the point where no one closes their doors at night and no one picks up lost things on the road. So where did this group of bandits come from?"
"There is no trace of this group of bandits in Changwu and Yongshou counties, which are adjacent to Xinping County."
"Can any of you tell me where this group of bandits came from? Could it be that they jumped out of a rock?"
"..."
Zhao Zhen roared loudly on the Chui Gong Hall.
For the first time, Zhao Zhen demonstrated the majesty that an emperor should have in the Chui Gong Hall.
Kou Zhun, who had the ability to stop him, sat on a chair and closed his eyes to rest, letting Zhao Zhen unleash his anger on the Chui Gong Hall.
Cao Li slowly left his job and said stiffly: "Maybe they are bandits from other places?"
"Rogue?"
Zhao Zhen stared at Cao Lili and roared: "Do you think I am a three-year-old child? You, the Privy Council, don't know what it is like when rogue bandits cross the border? If they are rogue bandits, why don't they stare at the wealthy families in Xinping County instead of staring at them?
What about Yingfu Temple?
Could it be that the temple I specially appointed to celebrate my birthday is more conspicuous than those wealthy families?"
Cao Li was speechless by the rebuke, closed his mouth and stepped aside.
Zhao Zhen continued to roar in the Chui Gong Hall. After roaring for a long time, he stopped when no one spoke.
Just after all the officials thought that Zhao Zhen's anger had been vented.
Zhao Zhen spoke again, "I remembered that a few days ago, you, you, and you just told me that the Xinping County Magistrate is a good minister and a pillar of the country."
Zhao Zhen pointed at the official who had praised Xinping County Magistrate and cursed him.
"Brands are rampant under his rule. Can he be considered a pillar? Can he be considered a good minister? Am I blind and have raised a bunch of you blind ministers, or are you blind and can't tell the difference between a loyal and a good minister?"
Censor Zhongcheng came out of his duties, straightened his back, and said loudly: "Guan family, it is your idea to appoint the magistrate of Xinping County to a higher rank. I only followed your wishes."
Zhao Zhen laughed sarcastically and said, "According to you, this is my fault?"
Censor Zhongcheng said in a nonchalant manner: "I don't know whether the official family has made any mistakes. I only know about Lao Chen and others."
"hehe……"
Zhao Zhen sneered, stared at Yushi Zhongcheng and said: "Then what do I need from you? How many officials are there in our court? Hundreds of thousands. Can I keep an eye on everyone? I want to know what's going on below. I want to
I know the officials below through your ears and tongues.
I was deceived by you and did something wrong.
You guys don't do any verification, just follow my mistakes again and again.
So the power I give you and other officials to monitor the world is just a show-off?"
Censor Zhongcheng was stunned for a moment, then said bravely: "I also want to comply with the wishes of the officials..."
"Follow my wishes?"
Zhao Zhen seemed to have heard some big joke and laughed loudly: "Now tell me, follow my wishes. Then when you impeached me and accused me in the court, did you ever think about it?
Comply with my wishes?"
Before the censor Zhongcheng could speak, Zhao Zhen stared at him with a cold gaze and asked: "Since you want to comply with my thoughts, then I will tell you my current thoughts. I don't know if you can comply with my thoughts.
I want to cut off your salary and dismiss you from office, can you please comply with my wishes?"
Censor Zhongcheng raised his hands with a somewhat ugly face and said: "The official family is still young and has not yet taken charge of the government. The promotion and scheduling of civil and military officials in the dynasty must be decided by the Grand Master."
"hypocritical!"
Zhao Zhen snorted coldly, sat on the dragon chair and said no more.
Censor Zhongcheng's expression changed again and again, his legs softened, and he almost collapsed on the ground.
"The official... the official family... the official family..."
The censor Zhongcheng shivered and wailed, then fell to his knees on the ground.
The word 'hypocrisy' that Zhao Zhen casually said was more terrifying to him than beheading.
Once these two words are slapped on his head, his career in this life will be over.
Not only him, but his descendants will also be implicated.
Can the emperor judge others casually?
Obviously not!
When the late emperor was in power, Liu Yong took part in the imperial examination, and the late emperor gave him a four-character evaluation: "Shi Ci Fu Mi".
From then on, no matter how many times Liu Yong took the imperial examination, the examiner would not take him.
Is it because Liu Yong is not talented enough?
no.
It is the function of the late emperor’s evaluation.
The late emperor was said to be "civilized and fumi". Unless the current officials show mercy, no examiner would dare to take him even if he took the imperial examinations for the rest of his life.
Zhao Zhen's evaluation of Yushi Zhongcheng's hypocrisy in the Chui Gong Hall was more serious than the late emperor's evaluation of Liu Yong's Ci Ci.
"Old minister... I have never failed the officials, let alone the country. Why should the officials put their officials to death?"
Censor Zhongcheng knelt on the ground, stared, and questioned Zhao Zhen in a trembling voice.
Zhao Zhen snorted coldly and said nothing.
Censor Zhongcheng looked at Kou Zhun and asked: "The Grand Master is in charge of the affairs of the country, do you just allow the officials to behave like this?"
The civil and military officials of the Manchu Dynasty also looked at Kou Zhun, wanting to see how Kou Zhun would answer.
If Kou Zhun recognized Zhao Zhen, then Yushi Zhongcheng would be dead.
If Kou Zhun recognized Yushi Zhongcheng, Zhao Zhen might not be happy, but the officials would be relieved, and Yushi Zhongcheng would be saved.
Under the gaze of the civil and military officials of the court, Kou Zhun pretended to ponder for a long time before speaking slowly.
"What are you guys looking at me doing?"
When the civil and military officials in the court heard this, they almost fell to the ground.