Chapter 0390 Essentially because of poverty! (Tonight
Wang Zeng and Li Di knew very well that the Song Dynasty could not keep secrets, so when they heard what Kou Ji said, they no longer asked Kou Ji to give the method of forging new iron to the court.
.
Wang Zeng once again turned his attention to Wang Yunsheng, who was plowing the fields, and said in a neutral tone, "You don't need to worry about the iron material. When we return to the inner court, I will meet with your grandfather and Mr. Li."
, the three of them issued a handwritten letter together.
At that time, you only need to take the handwritten letter and go to the Third Secretary's warehouse to pick up the iron materials."
Kou Ji pondered and said, "What if Li Shen blocks it?"
Wang Zeng withdrew his gaze, fell on Kou Ji, and said calmly: "Then he should be replaced by someone else as the third envoy."
Wang Zeng's words were plain, but full of unquestionable tone.
Kou Ji nodded with a smile on his face.
The reason why he specifically raised the issue of iron materials at this time was to allow Wang Zeng, Li Di, and Kou Zhun to come forward to suppress Li Shen.
With the help of the three of them, as long as there are no big changes in the court in the future, Li Shen will never be able to cut off the iron trade in Ruisheng Village again.
Kou Ji solved the trouble in his mind. He remembered Wang Zeng's words just now. The smile on his face faded slightly and asked: "Why doesn't the imperial court enact some laws to keep secrets?"
Wang Zeng glanced at Kou Ji, sighed deeply, and said nothing.
Li Di sighed and said: "There are countless bans from the imperial court, many of which are related to life, but those who should leak secrets are still leaking secrets, and there is no way to stop them. The more you want to protect the secret, the more others want to pry into it."
Wang Zeng looked at Kou Ji and added: "There are no secrets in the palace, what else do you expect?"
Kou Ji frowned and said, "Maybe it's because the punishment is not harsh enough?"
Li Di shook his head and said: "Isn't it cruel to reveal the secrets of the palace and be executed immediately? Even so, there are still many people who do not care about life and death and are constantly leaking the secrets of the palace."
Kou Ji muttered: "Most of the secrets in the palace were leaked by the eunuchs. Most of them have no heirs and don't need to care about their lives, let alone worry about their relatives being implicated, so they can be unscrupulous.
But some secrets outside the palace have nothing to do with the eunuchs."
Wang Zeng and Li Di both frowned and looked at Kou Ji.
Li Di asked in a deep voice: "What do you want to say?"
Kou Ji said seriously: "The manufacturing methods of ordnance such as bed crossbows and heavy crossbows were leaked, but it has nothing to do with the eunuchs. It is rather that some officials, when writing the book, wanted to ensure the credibility of the book.
Du, he went to all the major yamen to observe in person, and even personally made those bed crossbows and heavy crossbows.
Then after returning to the house, I wrote these things in a book and sold them.
What was finally spread was known to the whole world.”
Wang Zeng frowned and said: "You mean, so many secrets of the imperial court were spread out because of the reasons those officials wrote in books?"
Kou Ji spread his hands and said with a look of astonishment: "Isn't this obvious? Take the most famous book "Tokyo Travel Notes" in Bianjing City as an example. It describes in detail the restaurants, footwear shops, and restaurants in Bianjing City.
The location of brothels, workshops, schools, yamen, etc.
In addition to this, there are also the number of soldiers stationed at each city gate, each water gate, the time of changing of guards, and the military divisions to which they are attached, all in very detail."
"It's just an ordinary travel book..."
"No, no, no...that's not an ordinary travel book."
Kou Ji stared at Wang Zeng and Li Di and said seriously: "If one day, a thief has other intentions towards Bianjing City, he can use this to find out the deployment of troops in Bianjing City and find out the weaknesses of the troops in Bianjing City." point……"
Wang Zeng and Li Di looked a little ugly when they heard this.
Wang Zeng and Li Di thought about it carefully according to what Kou Ji said, and found that the thieves could easily discover the reality of the defense in Bianjing City through "Tokyo Travel Notes".
But writing books and establishing theories has become a habit of the Manchu Dynasty's civil and military officials to become famous, and it is also a major way for the Manchu Dynasty's civil and military officials to leave their names in history.
The two of them also often wrote books and discussed matters.
There are even some unknown secrets written in their books.
No one in the civil and military circles of the dynasty, including the two of them, had ever regarded writing a book as a matter of leaking secrets.
When the civil and military officials of the Manchu Dynasty were writing books, they never thought that the books they wrote might reveal important secrets of the Song Dynasty.
If Kou Ji hadn't mentioned this matter deliberately, neither Wang Zeng nor Li Di would have thought about it.
"The Song Dynasty has millions of soldiers and hundreds of thousands of soldiers and horses to defend the capital. How can thieves plot against the capital so easily..."
Wang Zeng snorted coldly and said.
Kou Ji forced a smile on his face and smiled at Wang Zeng, but said nothing.
There were some things he couldn't tell Wang Zeng.
For example, Wang Zeng believed that the capital, which was not easy for others to plot, would be breached in a hundred years.
The entire capital will be reduced to a slaughterhouse.
The mausoleums and tombs of the emperors and nobles will be dug up one by one, and their corpses will be exposed in the wilderness.
The gold and silver treasures inside will be looted.
The coffin will become a trough for thieves to keep their horses.
…
Wang Zeng stared at the smile on Kou Ji's face for a few more times, and suddenly felt inexplicably uncomfortable.
He saw some helplessness in Kou Ji's smile.
Obviously, Kou Ji was not very optimistic about the millions of soldiers and horses possessed by the Song Dynasty.
"I and I will discuss this matter later... Don't get involved in this matter. If those officials make a fuss, you won't be able to deal with it."
Wang Zeng frowned, whispered, and stopped talking to Kou Ji.
Kou Ji didn't get involved again, asking for trouble.
After that, the three of them were silent and watched Wang Yunsheng driving the cattle to plow the fields.
Since it was already past noon when he left the palace, Wang Yunsheng only plowed four acres of land until sunset.
When he was sweating profusely, he drove the cattle and pulled the plow to Zhao Zhen's side and reported to Zhao Zhen.
Zhao Zhen personally helped up Wang Yunsheng who was saluting, and used Chen Lin's whisk to help Wang Yunsheng remove the dirt on his body. He also used a sweat towel to wipe Wang Yunsheng's sweat with his own hands.
Wang Yunsheng grabbed Zhao Zhen's hand excitedly, cried loudly, and said countless words of loyalty.
"I would like to congratulate the official family!"
Kou Zhun took the lead and led the civil and military ministers to salute Zhao Zhen.
Zhao Zhen took Wang Yunsheng and said loudly to the civil and military ministers: "Since I came to the throne, I have received countless auspiciousness. But only the auspiciousness presented by Wang Aiqing is the real auspiciousness.
In my eyes, things that can benefit the country and the people are considered auspicious.
Those rare and exotic animals dedicated to me will only be displayed in the palace and hidden in the inner treasury, and will be of no use to the country or the people.
What kind of auspiciousness is that?
From now on, both the government and the public must take Wang Aiqing as advice and offer more things that are useful to the country and the people.
I will definitely reward you generously."
Zhao Zhen finished his emotion.
The civil and military ministers all bowed in response.
Zhao Zhen said to Kou Zhun again: "Master Kou, Wang Aiqing, and many officials from the Ministry of Industry have jointly created these two kinds of auspiciousness that benefit the country and the people, and they should be heavily rewarded."
Kou Zhun slightly cupped his hands and said: "I will definitely reward the officials of the Ministry of Industry as appropriate."
Zhao Zhen nodded and said, "Grandmaster Lao Kou is the one to worry about the implementation of the two new plows."
Kou Zhun handed over his hand again and said, "Old minister, I obey the order."
After Zhao Zhen finished giving instructions to Kou Zhun, his eyes fell on the two new plows, and he said faintly: "Chen Lin..."
"The old slave is here..."
"Bring these two plows back to the palace and take good care of them. I will take them to the Ancestral Temple when we worship our ancestors next year."
As soon as Zhao Zhen said these words.
The civil and military ministers present looked shocked.
Kou Zhun, Li Di, and Wang Zeng subconsciously frowned, but did not speak.
But someone couldn't help it, walked out, and said to Zhao Zhen: "The official... this is not appropriate..."
Zhao Zhen glanced at him and said calmly: "Such a sharp weapon that benefits the country and the people was born in my hands. Shouldn't I tell my ancestors?"
The man cupped his hands and said: "The two new plows from the official family are good... but they are not enough to enter the Ancestral Temple..."
Zhao Zhen raised his brows slightly and said in a deep voice: "What if I have to take them into the Ancestral Temple?"
The man said seriously: "If the officials insist on taking them into the Ancestral Temple, I will naturally not dare to stop them. However, after this move is spread, it will inevitably be criticized by the people in the world.
For the sake of the official’s holy name, I still hope that the official will not bring them into the Ancestral Temple.”
Hearing this, Zhao Zhen put his hands behind his back and said with a faint smile: "I have not yet personally taken charge of the government, so what kind of holy name do I have? Even if I do, the people will not care about me because of my young age."
When the civil and military ministers heard this, they raised their heads blankly and stared at Zhao Zhen.
Without waiting for anyone to speak again, Zhao Zhen shook off his sleeves, stepped up to the dragon gate, and commanded, "Go back to the palace..."
Yu Longzhi escorted Zhao Zhen and walked towards Bianjing City.
The civil and military ministers stayed where they were, looking stunned.
"Official..."
"Good……"
"How can it be good? If the officials don't listen to our advice, they will definitely cause big trouble in the future."
"Hmph! If the official family listens to you in everything, is it still an official family?"
"..."
The civil and military ministers had different reactions to Zhao Zhen's "rebellion".
Some people think it's inappropriate.
Some people think that this is what an emperor should be like.
Wang Zeng and Li Di frowned and turned their heads to see Kou Ji smiling. Wang Zeng asked in a deep voice, "Looking at your reaction, it seems that you like to see the official family like this?"
Kou Ji smiled calmly and said, "Isn't it bad that the official family is like this now?"
Li Di objectively commented: "There are good things and bad things..."
Li Di did not elaborate.
But both Kou Ji and Wang Zeng understood the meaning of his words.
If Zhao Zhen accepts advice with an open mind, it is naturally a good thing. If he just blindly listens to the civil and military orders of the court and lacks the power of decision-making, he will easily be deceived by traitors.
It is also a good thing that Zhao Zhen has his own opinion. He will not be deceived by others in the future and will definitely have his own opinions. But if he insists on doing something that is not beneficial to the country, it will become a disaster for the country.
Kou Ji chuckled and said: "I hope the officials have some independent opinions... Officials who have independent opinions are the real supreme beings. Officials without independent opinions will probably become..."
Before Kou Ji finished speaking, he saw Wang Zeng's eyes widen and he yelled: "Stop talking! Isn't it the official family that you and I can discuss in public?"
Kou Ji shook his head in confusion.
Wang Zeng curled his lips and snorted coldly: "I and the three of you are not the kind of people who are greedy for power, let alone the kind of people who like to have everything in their hands."
As soon as Wang Zeng said this, Kou Ji knew that Wang Zeng had misunderstood.
Obviously, his words just now made Wang Zeng mistakenly think that he was secretly accusing Wang and Zeng of intending to hold the emperor hostage to order the princes.
That's why Wang Zeng spoke up to explain.
Kou Ji shook his head and smiled, but did not clarify the misunderstanding.
Li Di sighed and said, "Don't mention this matter anymore... Let's talk about the officials' plan to bring two new plows into the Ancestral Temple."
Kou Ji pondered and said: "I think this is a good move by the officials. If the officials bring new plows into the Ancestral Temple, all the skilled people in the world will definitely offer their skills after learning about it.
By then, we may be able to discover a lot of things that will benefit the country and the people."
Wang Zeng stared at Kou Ji and asked, "Is this your purpose?"
Li Di also looked at Kou Ji.
Kou Ji shook his head and smiled and said: "I offered the plow just to break the dilemma of the Third Division blocking the iron forging workshop in Ruisheng Village, but I never thought about anything else.
Moreover, the officials just said they would bring new plows to the Ancestral Temple, which was obviously a last-minute idea and has nothing to do with me."
Wang Zeng snorted and said no more.
I kind of believed what Kou Ji said.
Li Di stared at Kou Ji and said with emotion: "Boy, do you know that the King of Chu has such a slim waist that all the palace maidens starve to death... If this move of the officials spreads to the people, the common people will probably learn the craft one after another.
At that time, many miscellaneous craftsmanship will be presented to the palace.
I'm afraid not many are of use to the country.
The imperial court has to spend a lot of manpower, material and financial resources for this."
Wang Zeng added at the side: "What's more important is that some young students from poor families may be forced by their families to give up studying and learn a craft."
Kou Ji looked sideways at the two of them and said blankly: "The officials only paid attention to the skills of the craftsmen and craftsmen, and did not elevate the status of the craftsmen. The biggest disadvantage is that a group of sensationalists will probably emerge.
people.
But those who are truly capable will stand out and contribute to the country and the people.
How can it be as scary as you say?"
Wang Zeng and Li Di were about to open their mouths to retort when they heard Kou Ji continue: "If the imperial court is unwilling to send officials to accommodate the craftsmen who came to Bianjing, they can leave it to my Ministry of Works.
Our Ministry of Works can arrange for those craftsmen to be properly placed without spending any money from the imperial court.
As for whether those young students from poor families who are studying will be forced by their families to learn a craft, that has nothing to do with the official family.
The officials only paid attention to the craftsmen, but they did not elevate the status of the craftsmen, nor did they grant officials to the craftsmen.
If they really create something that benefits the country and the people, the officials will just reward them with some money.
Is that comparable to studying and taking the imperial examination?
For those scholars whose families are poor, if their families really want to support their education, they will never give up easily.
The fact that the family asked them to give up studying and learn crafts midway probably had nothing to do with the government's emphasis on craftsmen.
It's because their families don't have any extra money to support their studies.
Even if no official pays much attention to craftsmen, their families will let them farm or find some errands to do."
After Kou Ji said this, he glanced at Wang Zeng and Li Di, who looked a little unhappy, and added faintly, "This matter is essentially due to poverty and has nothing to do with the official family...