Chapter 0581 Five thousand years of China, the most hateful person
"Two prime ministers and assistant ministers are jealous over a woman. Do you believe it?"
Kou Zhun asked with a sigh on his face.
Kou Ji shook his head decisively.
Who is the fool who can sit on the phase?
For example, Zhang Qixian, two people named in Xiang Minzhong's history books, even less so.
As long as you are not a fool, you will never ruin your career because of a woman.
Therefore, it is impossible for the two of them to be jealous over women.
Kou Zhun sighed and said quietly: "You don't believe it, but the people do."
Kou Ji pondered for a moment and said: "The common people have been deceived by traitors."
Kou Zhun nodded slowly and said: "That year, Xue Juzheng passed away and left a huge family fortune to his son. Xue Juzheng's son, Xue Weiji, was seriously ill, had no heirs, and was not going to die soon. So many people were thinking about Xue Mansion.
family business.
Xue Juzheng's wife is just a weak and weak woman, and it is difficult to keep the family business surrounded by a pack of wolves.
So she thought of a way and approached Xiang Gong, planning to use her family fortune to support him and let Xiang Gong irradiate him.
Xiang Gong agreed to her.
But he didn't expect that that woman was so stupid that after asking Mr. Xiang for help, she actually found Zhang Qixian again.
After Xue Weiji's death, Xiang Gong and Zhang Qixian inevitably bumped into each other.
The two men had equal status in the court, so they suddenly bumped into each other and naturally refused to back down.
Whoever shrinks will not be able to hold his head up in the court in the future.
As a result, the two inevitably had a fight.
Then it was rumored that there was a fight to marry the widow, and the news spread like wildfire, making the whole country aware of it.
In the end, the late emperor had to depose the two of them and put the matter to rest.
Although the matter has calmed down, Xiang Gong has since gained the reputation of being a greedy, lustful, and loving wife."
After listening to Kou Zhun's story, Kou Ji frowned slightly and said, "One thing is worth nothing. Is Xue Weiji's widow really stupid, or is she doing it on purpose?"
Kou Zhun shook his head, "Who knows? The people only care about watching the two prime ministers fight, who will care about a woman who has lost her support? The people are looking forward to watching the two of them fight each other, and then
How could you go deeper and find out if there is any misunderstanding?"
Kou Ji pondered: "Didn't the imperial court investigate this matter?"
Kou Zhun smiled bitterly and said: "The two prime ministers and assistants started fighting, so what if the matter is found out?"
If yellow mud falls into your crotch, people will only laugh at you with malicious intent. Even if they know it is yellow mud, they will treat it as shit and laugh at you.
Kou Ji stared at Kou Zhun and said, "Grandpa wants to use the story of my grandfather-in-law to remind me to be on guard, lest someone takes action against me?"
Kou Zhun nodded slowly, "You are a young man and you are the Duke of the country. You are in the limelight. There are many people staring at you, and even more people are thinking about you. So when you are dealing with others, you must be careful at all times to avoid being set up by others.
A small trap, a big fall."
Kou Ji cupped his hands and said, "I will keep my grandfather's teachings in mind."
Kou Zhun nodded, was silent for a while, and then suddenly said, "It's time for you to make a mistake."
Kou Ji stared in shock, "Made a mistake?"
Kou Zhun nodded and said: "If you don't make mistakes, the court will not be able to punish you."
Kou Ji couldn't laugh or cry and said: "Others wish that their grandson's title and official position are not high enough, so why do you think about making me make mistakes?"
Kou Zhun glared at Kou Ji, "You are about to reach the peak of being a minister. In the blink of an eye, you can reach the point where you can't be sealed. Although the officials are kind to you, you have really reached the point where you can't be sealed.
How can the official family tolerate you continuing to stay in the court?"
Kou Ji was stunned for a moment and frowned slightly, "The officials probably won't deal with me."
Kou Zhun sneered and said: "Even if the officials can tolerate you, all the officials can tolerate you, and the people can tolerate you? You are an extremely popular minister, you can't be named, and the throne is untouchable. At that time, you will be the greatest king in the Song Dynasty.
of disaster.
Your existence is like a sharp sword hanging over everyone's head.
The officials are afraid that your rebellion will affect their prosperity.
The people are afraid that if you rebel, it will affect their hard-earned prosperous life.
Unless you die, everyone in the government and the public will not feel at ease.
Do you think you will die or not?"
Kou Ji said with a somewhat ugly face: "So... I have to hide my strength and bide my time now, or keep making mistakes, lowering my status, then rising up, and then falling down again. The ups and downs have always kept me in the civil and military positions of the Manchu Dynasty.
Is it acceptable to the people?"
Kou Zhun nodded solemnly.
Kou Ji smiled bitterly and said, "That's a bit too frustrating, isn't it?"
Kou Zhun glared at Kou Ji and hummed: "Are you aggrieved? There are countless civil servants and military generals who have made friends with you, and the officials have introduced you as their confidant. Even if you have no official or title, no one will dare to do anything to you.
Presumptuous in front of others.
If you want to deal with someone, you only need to say a word, and someone will naturally help you deal with it, without you even needing to go into battle naked."
Kou Ji sighed and said, "Then I will stay at home from now on, bide my time, and spend time with my wife and children?"
Kou Zhun nodded and said, "Just stay with Xiang Yan. Little Tianci doesn't need your company."
Kou Ji raised his eyebrows in surprise.
Kou Zhun said very arrogantly: "After the little Tianci can speak, he must stay with me. I will take him and train him myself."
Kou Jixin said reluctantly: "Can I refuse?"
Kou Zhun glanced at Kou Ji and said in a neutral tone: "Yes... you first find a rope and hang me to death."
Kou Ji curled his lips, not wanting to talk to this unreasonable old man.
Is it okay to be unreasonable when you are older?
In the Song Dynasty, people who were older could really be unreasonable.
Kou Ji sighed inwardly and said to Kou Zhun: "Since grandpa wants to train little Tianci himself, I won't stop him. I will have another child with Yan'er later."
Kou Zhun stared and said dissatisfied: "How can one be enough? It's not like our Kou family can't afford to give birth to ten or eight of them."
Kou Ji shook his head dumbfounded and did not speak again.
Kou Zhun muttered: "How many people can you help me place in Hexi later?"
"Um?"
Kou Ji stared in astonishment. The upright Mr. Kou actually learned how to use the back door?
Kou Zhun seemed to have seen through Kou Ji's sinister thoughts, and glanced at Kou Ji and said: "There are a few little monsters in Wenchang Academy who have completed three years of schoolwork in one year.
Now they spend all day in the school eating and waiting to die. I don't want to see them wasting their time, so I plan to send them out to practice.
When Hexi was first decided, there happened to be a shortage of people.
Let them go to Hexi and have a hard time chewing the hard bones.
Take a good look at how difficult it is for the people at the bottom."
When Kou Ji heard this, he suddenly realized that Kou Zhun had gone through the back door not for private matters, but for official matters.
Kou Ji had some guesses about the little monster Kou Zhun mentioned, but he didn't go into details.
Kou Ji thought for a moment and said to Kou Zhun: "The people in Hexi are living a good life..."
Each of them has thousands of acres of fertile land under his name, and each has three wives in his house. They live a comfortable life.
They live a more prosperous life than some wealthy families in the hinterland of the Central Plains.
If the students from the Wenchang Academy went there, I'm afraid they wouldn't be able to experience the hardships of the lower class people.
Kou Zhun glanced at Kou Ji and said: "I have heard a little about what you did in Hexi, and I also know how the people in Hexi are doing. The people I refer to are not the Song people who migrated to Hexi, but the people who have joined us.
Those Uighurs in Song Dynasty.
You have already killed all the evil people in Hexi who deserve to be killed.
Those who shouldn’t be killed were killed by you.
Nowadays, most of the people left are innocent people.
With good governance and good guidance, sooner or later they will get rid of their identity as Uighurs and become Song people."
When Kou Ji heard this, he somewhat understood Kou Zhun's intention of arranging those students to go to Hexi.
Kou Ji looked at Kou Zhun with some confusion and said: "Grandpa, I heard that you are a person with regional discrimination. How can you be so kind to the people of Hexi?"
The corner of Kou Zhun's mouth twitched, he glared at Kou Ji, and shouted: "That's nonsense..."
Kou Ji said seriously: "Have I heard that when you first entered your official career, you were quite prejudiced against southerners?"
Kou Zhun said slightly angrily: "Am I the only one who has prejudices against southerners? The civil and military officials of the entire dynasty, including officials, all have prejudices against southerners. I'm just following the trend."
Kou Ji looked confused.
Kou Zhun snorted coldly and said: "Taizu founded the country in the north, so most of the ministers in the court were from the north. When Taizu was in power, most of the prime ministers in the court were from the north, so it spread.
Taizu said that he did not like southerners and was unwilling to use southerners as prime minister.
Taizong really hated southerners.
I am serving as a minister under Emperor Taizong, so do I have to risk my career to advocate for the southerners?"
Kou Ji frowned and said, "Why does Taizong hate southerners?"
Kou Zhun sighed, "This matter is related to the Southern Tang Dynasty. In the past, Emperor Taizong followed the army to conquer the Southern Tang Dynasty and captured Jinling. Emperor Taizong happily led his men and rushed into the Southern Tang Palace to prepare
After an extensive search, they found that the treasury of the Southern Tang Dynasty was empty enough for a mouse to escape.
Emperor Taizong was so angry that he led his men to massacre in Jinling City, and looted a huge amount of money from the houses of civil servants and wealthy merchants of the Southern Tang Dynasty.
Emperor Taizong asserted that the defeat of the Southern Tang Dynasty was all due to the civil servants and merchants of the Southern Tang Dynasty.
The civil servants of the Southern Tang Dynasty emptied the treasury.
The merchants of the Southern Tang Dynasty made all the money in the world.
But he refused to help when Southern Tang was in poverty.
Li Yu, the later lord of the Southern Tang Dynasty, was forced to plunder people's wealth in the Southern Tang Dynasty to use it to defend against foreign enemies.
This also sowed the seeds of national subjugation.
Emperor Taizong felt that the consciences of the civil servants and merchants of the Southern Tang Dynasty were extremely bad.
Sit back and watch the Southern Tang Dynasty fall.
Therefore, I hate the civil servants and merchants of the Southern Tang Dynasty extremely."
Kou Ji said solemnly: "So, Emperor Taizong hated the entire southern people because of this?"
Kou Zhun frowned and said, "To be precise, they are scholars and businessmen from the south."
Kou Ji smiled bitterly and said: "So, my grandfather's discrimination against southerners is not that you really have regional discrimination. It's the atmosphere in the court at that time?"
Kou Zhun nodded solemnly.
Kou Ji pondered: "Isn't there such a trend in the court now?"
Kou Zhun said quietly: "When the late emperor was in court, this kind of atmosphere still existed. After the officials came to the throne, it disappeared a lot."
Kou Ji said seriously: "People from the south and people from the north are all Song people, and they shouldn't have this kind of custom. There are good and bad people in people's hearts, so you shouldn't be angry with everyone."
Kou Zhun sighed and said: "Money can corrode people's hearts the most, but if you sit back and watch the country perish because of greed for money, that would be very hateful."
Kou Zhun stared at Kou Ji and said: "You have never experienced the war that destroyed the Southern Tang Dynasty. You can't imagine that the poor imperial court can only rely on plundering the people's wealth to maintain its existence. The officials are extremely rich, and the wealthy businessmen are also extremely rich.
But he refused to spend a penny to help the court tide over the difficulties.
Sit back and watch the country collapse, sit back and watch the smoke rising everywhere.
How can you not feel hatred when facing them?
Anyone who has a family, a country, and a world in their hearts will wish to eat their flesh and blood alive."
Although Kou Ji had not experienced the war that destroyed the Southern Tang Dynasty, he could imagine that scene.
Because there is an example in the history books that is far more famous than the Southern Tang Dynasty, and that is the Ming Dynasty.
When the Ming Dynasty was in turmoil and the treasury was empty, Emperor Chongzhen demolished the east wall to repair the west wall and worked hard to maintain the Ming Dynasty.
But in the end, they failed to maintain the Ming Dynasty.
Did the Ming Dynasty really have no money?
After Li Zicheng captured the city of Beijing, he seized tens of millions of taels of silver from the mansions of dignitaries in the city.
The dignitaries in Beijing are extremely wealthy.
But he refused to take it out to share the national crisis.
Watching the country collapse.
What's funny is.
In order to maintain the Ming Dynasty, Emperor Chongzhen ordered his ministers to donate "salaries" and distribute military pay.
Emperor Chongzhen's father-in-law, Jiading Bo Zhou Kui, donated only three thousand taels of silver.
What's even more ridiculous is that Zhou Kui's three thousand taels of silver were actually given by his daughter, Queen Zhou.
In order to let Zhou Kui take the lead, Queen Zhou secretly gave Zhou Kui five thousand taels of silver and asked Zhou Kui to donate.
Zhou Kui actually took an intermediary commission of two thousand taels from the process.
After Li Zicheng, the king of the Chuang Dynasty, captured the city of Beijing, his generals seized a large amount of gold, silver, jewelry, antiques, calligraphy and paintings from Zhou Kui's mansion.
The other courtiers were also much the same.
During Emperor Chongzhen's fundraising period, everyone cried out about poverty and were unwilling to contribute money.
But when Li Zicheng, the insurgent king, captured the city of Beijing and plundered it, he found a large amount of gold and silver from their house.
Such a minister, for the sake of his own greed, sits and watches the country collapse.
How can one not hate?
It is not an exaggeration to call them all national traitors.
The experience of Li Yu, the later lord of the Southern Tang Dynasty, was very similar to that of Emperor Chongzhen.
The same goes for every minister of the Southern Tang Dynasty.
Emperor Taizong Zhao Guangyi, after seeing such ministers, how could he not hate them and despise them?
If Kou Ji encountered these things, he would probably be able to chop them with a knife from the west to the east of the city, chop all their corpses into pieces, and burn them with fire.
Why not feed the dog?
Because Kou Ji was afraid that the dog would spit it out in disgust.
Kou Ji was silent for a long time, and said with a heavy heart: "My Song Dynasty has been trying to conquer the world for decades. Those disgusting things are almost dead.
Such things that are not east and west are not only found in the south, but also in the north.
It cannot be generalized.
As long as I am in the court, I will never allow such non-things to exist.
Therefore, we cannot wrong the southerners because of such things that are not things."
Kou Zhun glanced at Kou Ji and said, "Do you still want to deliberately promote a prime minister from the south?"
Kou Ji said decisively: "Regardless of whether they are north or south, they are all from the Song Dynasty. It just depends on the situation."