Zhang Yuan said awkwardly: "The villain didn't want to conquer Danshan City, I just wanted to scare him. Who knew he was so inexperienced..."
When Kou Ji heard this, the corner of his mouth twitched. Although he had already known Zhang Yuan's attack on Danshan City through Yuyou, at this moment, listening to Zhang Yuan's personal account, Kou Ji still felt a little ridiculous.
"So...you took over Danshan City and became the lord of Danshan City?"
Kou Ji asked coldly.
Zhang Yuan quickly waved his hand, "It was not the villain who wanted to take over Danshan City, but the leader of the Yellow-headed Huihe. After learning that the villain had taken over Danshan City, he approached the villain and asked for money.
He sent someone to tell the villain.
He said that if the villain could give him enough benefits, he would not care about the villain attacking Danshan City, and would let the villain occupy Danshan City and become the lord of the city.
If the villain refuses to give it to him, he will make it difficult for our caravan to move in Huangtou Huihe's territory.
Seeing that the benefits he asked for were not many, the villain agreed to him.
The villain is doing this to help you, young master, get more horses as soon as possible."
Liu Heng listened to the conversation between the two and was so stunned that he couldn't speak.
Kou Ji has a city in the Western Region, and it's also on the enemy's territory they are about to face?!
Anyone I tell this to will find it ridiculous.
But this is exactly possible in the Western Regions.
Most of the forces in the Western Region are mainly nomadic.
People from the Western Regions like to live in tents and stay on the vast grasslands.
Only a few poor people would choose to live in a city, helping others herd horses and sheep, or grow highland barley to make a living.
There are also passing merchants or some big nobles who live in the city.
Therefore, there are two types of cities in the Western Region.
One is a large city where big nobles live, where there are countless merchants and it is very prosperous.
The other is a city where people get together to look for some ancient city ruins and live in it.
The former type of city is guarded by private soldiers of major nobles.
The major forces also attach great importance to this kind of city.
Once attacked, heavy troops will be sent to recapture it.
The latter kind of city is only protected by soldiers and horses composed of scattered small tribes and people similar to rural soldiers.
This type of city is very small and mostly located in barren areas. The soldiers and horses are not very effective in fighting and are often visited by various horse thieves.
The major forces don't pay much attention to this type of city.
As long as the people in the city are willing to pay taxes to them, or the horse thieves who patronize them are willing to offer them part of the loot, they will not care too much about its gains and losses.
The Danshan City mentioned by Zhang Yuan is this type of city.
Liu Heng heard a little about it when he was in Qingtang.
Danshan City is at the foot of Daxue Mountain, in the northeast of Huangtou Huihe territory, and close to the northwest corner of Qingtang territory.
It belongs to the junction of two major forces.
There are horse thieves running rampant, and there are also thieves wreaking havoc.
It is too small for Qingtang, and Qingtang looks down upon it.
After occupying it, Qingtang had to spend a lot of manpower to clear out the horse thieves entrenched around it.
However.
There is an endless stream of horse thieves in the Western Regions.
And in fact, Qingtang can kill him if he wants to?
Rather than letting the Qingtang warriors fall into that quagmire, it would be better to leave it to the horse thieves.
For the Huangtou Huihe who occupied it, it was also useless.
There are too many horse thieves to kill, just like leeks, if you kill a batch, they will grow.
It's better to leave it to the horse thieves.
Huangtou Huihe can borrow the power of horse thieves to help them do things that are difficult for them to do.
Occasionally, you can also collect some money from horse thieves.
Why not.
It can be said that Danshan City is the place where Qingtang and Huangtou Huihe tacitly agreed to set aside for the horse thieves at the junction of the two major forces.
In short, purging horse thieves in the Western Regions was the stupidest move.
Harvesting and controlling is the smartest way.
Liu Heng could understand Zhang Yuan's occupation of Danshan City, but he still felt frightened.
There are countless horse thieves around Danshan City, but there are only two kinds of people who can sit in the position of the lord of Danshan City.
One is a puppet introduced by other horse thieves.
The other type is the person who can really subdue all the horse thieves around Danshan City.
Zhang Yuan is obviously the latter.
How can a person who can control the horse thieves, who are a headache for both major forces, in his own hands, be an ordinary person?
Kou Ji heard Zhang Yuan's explanation and snorted coldly: "Get a horse for me? What you said is really beautiful. Then do you know that in order to defend that ruined city, all the men who patrolled the horse guard will die this year?"
Hundreds of people.
When did I ask you to trade a life for a horse?"
Zhang Yuan said with a bitter face: "The villain naturally knows... But occupying Danshan City is not the villain's idea alone. Commander Yu also has the same idea. The two captains of the patrol horse guard also have the same idea.
After the villains occupied Danshan City, the losses were a bit greater.
But the horses I got for you, young master, are 30% more."
Kou Ji said coldly: "Did they agree from the beginning? It's not the result of your lobbying. If you didn't lobby them, would they agree to occupy that broken city?
Put away your pitiful expression.
I know exactly who you Zhang Yuan is.
If it weren't for Yu You and the two patrolling horse guards who both felt that your merits outweighed your faults, your head would have been dried out long ago."
Under Kou Ji's scolding.
Zhang Yuan put away the bitter look on his face and stood in front of Kou Ji with an expression on his face.
His appearance just now was obviously an act.
Kou Ji snorted coldly: "Who are you? I am a member of the Kou Mansion. Before you became the city lord, have you ever considered what impact this matter would have on me if it spread to the Song Dynasty?
If people know that people from my banditry are outside the territory, seizing land and claiming lordship, how will the civil and military officials of the Manchu Dynasty treat me?"
Zhang Yuan lowered his head and said solemnly: "This villain deserves death!"
Kou Ji ordered: "From today on, Yuyou will be the leader and you will be the deputy."
Zhang Yuan raised his head and looked at Kou Ji with wide eyes.
Kou Ji narrowed his eyes slightly and said, "Are you not satisfied?!"
Swish…
There were two sounds of a machete being unsheathed.
Kou San and Chen Sheng, who were standing behind Zhang Yuan, drew out the scimitars from their waists.
As long as Kou Ji gives the order, they can chop off Zhang Yuan's head.
It is true that the two of them followed Zhang Yuan, but they were Kou Ji's people.
Kou San is the grandson of Kou Mansion's horseman, and he is very loyal to Kou Mansion.
Chen Sheng is the nephew of Chen Juntou, and he is also loyal to Kou Ji.
The two bodyguards named Zhang Yuan were actually one of the means sent by Kou Ji to restrain Zhang Yuan.
Kou Ji knew the dangers of this man, so he put layers of shackles on him.
Even so, Zhang Yuan had already conquered a city in the Western Region.
This shows how powerful Zhang Yuan is.
Under Kou Ji's intimidation, Zhang Yuan gritted his teeth and said: "You villain... don't dare..."
Kou Ji sneered and said: "I think it's not that you don't dare, but that you are unwilling to do so. I know that you are very unhappy in your heart... You should remember this unhappy feeling...
From now on, you will do whatever I ask you to do.
I didn't ask you to do anything, but if you dare to do anything without permission, I won't let you go."
Zhang Yuan raised his hand and said: "Thank you very much, young master, for not killing me."
Kou Ji patted the table in front of him.
"Sit down and talk..."
Zhang Yuan slowly sat down.
Kou Ji's expression softened a bit and he asked: "How many people does our Kou government control in the Western Region now?"
Zhang Yuan said in a deep voice: "Eighty-three thousand people... among them, more than 30,000 are mounted and capable of fighting, only 5,000 are truly elite, and the rest are all vixens.
The remaining people are all the people who are attached to Danshan City.
Now he is helping us herd horses and sheep."
Kou Ji stared at Zhang Yuandao: "Zhu Neng was trapped in Shazhou, why didn't you lead troops and horses to help?"
Zhang Yuan gritted his teeth and said: "It's not that the villain is unwilling to lead troops to help. It's that since General Zhu entered the Western Regions, he has never shown the jade token you gave him, young master, and has never recruited villains.
Even if the villain takes the initiative to send someone to contact him, he is unwilling to meet."
Kou Ji frowned and said, "Zhu Neng doesn't want to expose you, so as to prevent our Kou family from getting into trouble."
Zhang Yuan didn't say a word when he heard this.
Kou Ji pondered and said: "When we return, we will mobilize five thousand elites and follow me to Shazhou."
Zhang Yuan cupped his hands and said: "Here..."
Kou Ji said again: "After I bring people to Danshan City, you will send some miscellaneous fish to die. At that time, I will fight all the way to Danshan City. You will take the initiative to ask for surrender."
Through this battle, five thousand elites were transformed from darkness to light.
Also, when I look back, I will erase all traces of you in the Song Dynasty.
From today on, you are no longer a member of our Kou Mansion, nor a member of the Song Dynasty.
But the lord of Danshan City.
A city lord of Danshan City who is close to our country, Song Dynasty, and is willing to help our country, Song Dynasty."
When Zhang Yuan heard this, he opened his eyes and gritted his teeth and said: "You want me to be a lonely ghost in the Western Regions for the rest of my life?!"
Kou Ji felt very awkward when these words came from the mouth of a great country thief who was famous in history books.
Kou Ji reached out and took out a kit from his arms and threw it to Zhang Yuan.
"Kou Zhong said, if you don't obey, I will let you see this thing."
Zhang Yuan opened the kit, took a look inside, and trembled all over. He carefully put away the kit, stared at Kou Ji, and said with a stiff mouth: "Do I have a chance in this life to become a Song Dynasty person again?"
?”
Kou Ji stared at Zhang Yuandao: "Maybe soon... maybe we have to wait for a long time..."
Zhang Yuan stood up, cupped his hands to Kou Ji and said, "I will do what you asked me to do properly..."
Kou Ji waved his hand.
Zhang Yuan bowed and exited the tent.
As soon as Zhang Yuan left.
Liu Heng's chatter started, "Fourth brother, you actually arranged such a backup plan in the Western Region. When did you arrange it? Did you already expect that there would be great changes in Shazhou, so you arranged the plan in advance?"
Kou Ji rolled his eyes and said quietly: "I'm not a god, how can I know the changes in the Western Regions?!"
"Then why did you arrange such a big back-up man in the Western Region?"
"At first I just wanted to get some money and horses..."
"Impossible! That Zhang Yuan has thirty thousand men who dare to fight. Do you know what thirty thousand men who dare to fight mean in the Western Regions? Thirty thousand men who dare to fight are enough to conquer cities and territories in the Western Regions and establish a country.
"
Liu Heng said seriously.
Kou Ji said calmly: "With thirty thousand warriors who dare to fight, a country can be established? The Uighurs in Ganzhou have more than one hundred thousand soldiers and horses, so where are they? The Uighurs in Shazhou have nearly one hundred and fifty thousand soldiers and horses, so what happens now?"
The Song Dynasty has nearly 60,000 soldiers and horses arriving in the Western Regions, and 100,000 are about to arrive in the region.
They all belong to the Forbidden Army.
Wouldn’t it be possible to conquer the entire Western Region?”
Liu Heng was stunned by Kou Ji and was speechless.
After pondering for a while, he said solemnly: "Even if we can't establish a country, we can still occupy several cities and become a large tribe under the command of many forces such as Qingtang and Huangtou Huihe."
"Among the 30,000 people, there are only 5,000 elites. The remaining 25,000 people are just a ragtag group of horse thieves. When the trend goes, they will naturally be powerful.
When the trend is reversed, they will definitely rush forward.
Not advisable.
You can’t rely on it either.”
Kou Ji analyzed a few sentences.
Liu Heng nodded thoughtfully.
Later.
He stared at Kou Ji solemnly and said: "Fourth Brother, the Kou Mansion controls a city in the Western Region, please do not let others know..."
Kou Ji raised his eyebrows and stared at Liu Heng in astonishment, "When did our Kou Mansion take control of a city in the Western Regions? The one who controls a city is the escaped servant of the Kou Mansion, now a native of the Western Regions, Zhang Yuan.
This person has nothing to do with my government now.
On this trip to the west, the reason why this man was able to help us with his men and horses was because of the old master-servant relationship."
Liu Heng rolled his eyes when he heard Kou Ji's words.
He despised Kou Ji's shameless behavior of telling lies with his eyes open.
"If you say this, someone must believe it!"
Kou Ji hummed and said, "Why don't you believe it? Now in the Liao Kingdom, among the important ministers in the Xixia court, how many of them escaped from our Song Dynasty? How many of them were ministers of our Song Dynasty before?"
They were able to thrive outside the Song Dynasty.
Can’t the servants who defected from our government?
If anyone doesn't believe it, just go to the Western Regions to capture Zhang Yuan and bring him to Chui Gong Hall to confront me."
Liu Heng really couldn't refute Kou Ji's words.
Some of the important ministers in the Liao court today were really ministers of the Song Dynasty in the past.
Some of them defected voluntarily.
Some were also sent out.
Emperor Taizong conquered the Liao Kingdom three times and sent out dozens of generals, big and small.
Some of them have done well and are now among the important ministers in the southern palace of Liao Dynasty.
The courtiers in the Liao court were divided into northern officials and southern officials.
The officials in the north were all nobles from the eight Khitan tribes.
The southern officials were held by a group of Han people.
Therefore, before many official titles in the Liao Kingdom, the words "north" and "south" will always appear.
Liu Heng pondered slightly and said: "In short, it is better for Fourth Brother to have less contact with Zhang Yuan publicly in the future. Otherwise, it will be easy for others to notice the clues."
Kou Ji knew that Liu Heng was doing it for his own good, so he nodded slowly.
After Kou Ji nodded, Liu Heng smiled and said, "I see that Fourth Brother, you seem to be very guarded against Zhang Yuan. I don't know why?"
Kou Ji glanced at Liu Heng and said in a deep voice: "This person is very dangerous and needs to be strictly guarded against."
Liu Heng raised his eyebrows slightly and said in a low voice: "Then how about I help fourth brother to add another layer of defense for you?"
"oh?!"
"To be honest, Fourth Brother, I have been in Qingtang for a long time, and many people have been favored by me and become close to me. The leaders of the various tribes in Qingtang are very dissatisfied with this and often exclude them.
Now some of them are almost being squeezed out and can no longer survive.
They intend to attach themselves to the Song Dynasty.
But it was tightly guarded and could not get out of the Qingtang boundary.
How about letting them go to Danshan City?"
After hearing Liu Heng's words, Kou Ji was stunned again and again.
After a long time, he pointed at Liu Heng and said with a smile: "You kid...are not honest..."
Liu Heng laughed in a low voice and said, "You taught me well, Fourth Brother."