It can be said that as long as Kou Ji did not do anything harmful to the country and the people in Tongtaiguan, there was nothing anyone could do to him.
Zhao Zhen's words of "fourth brother" were not some false perfunctory, but he truly regarded Kou Ji as his elder brother.
Kou Ji's current identity, status, and treatment are no different from those of the princes who came from the same court as Taizu Taizong.
"Look back and think of a way to transfer Kou Xiaozi here?"
Lu Yijian thought for a long time and decided to ask Kouji to protect himself.
Cao Wei rolled his eyes and sighed: "You haven't been with Kou Ji for a long time, so why don't you understand him at all? The Liao people can appear in the northwest and slaughter the people of the Song Dynasty. They cannot be separated from Xixia.
relationship.
He has now defeated the Liao people within a few months of leaving the capital.
Now that he is in great power, do the officials have any intention of calling him back to Beijing?
If he doesn't go to trouble the Xixia people, I will take your surname as Lu.
He is the kind of person who is determined to retaliate for his anger. If a thief bites him, he will swallow up all the bones and dregs of the thief."
Lu Yijian was shocked, "If he started a war in the northwest, wouldn't that accelerate the consumption of money in the treasury? Then on our side..."
Before Lu Yijian finished speaking, Cao Wei shook his head and interrupted him, "Don't worry, that kid will not only retaliate for his hatred, but he will also be unable to afford it early. Even if he destroys the northwest, it will not consume too much of the national treasury."
Money. Not only that, maybe the imperial court can also make a lot of money."
Lu Yijian blinked and stared at Cao Wei blankly.
Cao Wei sighed and said: "Don't look at me like that, I'm telling the truth. When you civil servants entered the court, you tried every means to reduce expenditures. But after he entered the court, he tried every means to increase revenue.
Hexi is an example.
In our eyes, Hexi is a bitter and cold place.
But in his eyes, it was all money.
The barren land in Hexi was turned into fertile farmland for grain production.
Every year, tens of millions of tons of grain were delivered to the imperial court.
If he goes to the northwest, it will probably be the same."
Different directions of gaze lead to completely different results.
When the national treasury is empty, all the capable ministers and officials in the court can see is to reduce expenditures.
But what Kou Ji saw was open source.
In order to replenish the treasury, the capable ministers and officials in the court offended others and tried to find ways to reduce expenditure.
But what about Kou Ji?
After ensuring that the court and himself were wealthy, he led a group of people to become rich.
Lu Yijian didn't know much about how much money Zhao Zhen had in his treasury, but Cao Wei knew it clearly.
Because his niece is the queen, the queen also has the key to the small vault given to her by Zhao Zhen.
Empress Cao once revealed to Cao Wei that the money in Zhao Zhen's small treasury was more than the national treasury.
It is conceivable how clever Kou Ji's method of opening the source is.
Who wouldn’t like a person who can make everyone rich?
Even if Zhao Zhen doesn't miss the brotherhood between Kou Ji and him, he will regard Kou Ji as his favorite for the sake of his abundant treasury.
With people like Lu Yijian for comparison, Zhao Zhen had even more reason to regard Kou Ji as his favorite.
Official Zhao Zhen followed Lu Yijian and others and was reluctant to drink even a bowl of mutton soup.
Following Kou Ji, there is meat to eat every moment. When comparing the two, it is obvious who to trust and who to favor.
Not to mention that the official Zhao Zhen was kind to Kou Ji, there was a brotherhood between them.
Even if it were a different emperor, facing a minister like Kou Ji, he would still have great favor and trust.
People like Emperor Qin and Emperor Wu of Han, who hold the power of life and death in their hands, would smile when facing courtiers like Kou Ji.
Lu Yijian thought about Cao Wei's words and said in a deep voice: "The situation in Xixia is different from that in Hexi. Hexi has a vast territory and few people, so he can naturally make a profit. Xixia has a small area and many people, but there is not so much land for him to make profits.
.”
Cao Wei stared at Lu Yijian strangely, "Those hundreds of thousands of people in Shazhou City have probably never existed..."
Lu Yijian's eyes widened, "How dare he..."
Cao Wei didn't wait for Lu Yijian to say what he said, and said decisively: "He has done it once, why is there anything he dares not to do? If anyone says that what he did is harmful to heaven and earth, do you believe those soldiers who have been assigned to the ground?
, the common people would take advantage of the darkness to go to his house and take off his head."
Lu Yijian pursed her lips and said nothing.
He naturally believed what Cao Wei said.
To the people and soldiers, the earth is life.
Kou Ji distributed land to the common people and soldiers in Baozhou, Hexi and other places. Then he gave birth to Buddhas among thousands of families in Baozhou, Hexi and other places.
Those who are conceited and chivalrous, and those who regard Kou Ji as the Buddha of all families, will work hard for Kou Ji without even blinking an eyebrow.
Seeing that Lu Yijian was silent, Cao Wei said to Lu Yijian seriously: "You can no longer treat Kou Ji as a junior. What he has is no longer inferior to any of you.
What I can see, you can see too.
The reason why you haven't taken a serious look at what Kou Ji has behind him is because you always regard Kou Ji as a junior.
I always feel that Kou Ji, a junior, cannot achieve as much success as you.
In fact, Kou Ji is now qualified and capable to be equal to you.
When he reaches your age, he can kill you with one hand."
Lu Yijian said in a deep voice: "Wouldn't that mean that power is overwhelming..."
Cao Wei said calmly: "So what? He never breaks the rules when doing things, and he never forgets to share the benefits of the official family. The greater his power and strength, the power of the official family will change.
Get bigger and become stronger.
When he was in power, the official family was probably not inferior to that of Emperor Qin and Emperor Wu of Han Dynasty.
Therefore, the officials will not worry about his rebellion.
He doesn't have to worry about officials being jealous of him.
As long as his friendship with the officials remains unchanged, he will remain invincible.
At this point, he's smarter than any of us.
I am much older than him, but I have to obey him.
You should also obey him."
After a pause, Cao Wei sighed and said: "Kou Gong retires with great achievements, and he will become a saint and an ancestor a hundred years later. If he imitates Kou Gong, he will probably not lose to Kou Gong after a hundred years."
One sect, two saints, or the Confucius Temple being converted into a Kou Temple might be possible.
How to make people dissatisfied."
Lu Yijian stared at Cao Wei in horror, "He is less than thirty now, how can he calculate what will happen a hundred years later? You think too highly of him when the Confucius Temple is changed to the Kou Temple. Even if the imperial court agrees, the scholars in the world will not agree."
Lu Yijian felt that Cao Wei's words were really ridiculous.
The Confucius Temple has been passed down for thousands of years and remains standing.
It is a holy place in the hearts of all scholars in the world.
The character Kong cannot be replaced by Liu, Li, or Zhao, let alone the character Kou.
Moreover, Kou Ji is less than thirty years old, and no one can predict what will happen in the future. How can he become a saint and an ancestor?
Cao Wei was stunned and said with a smile: "I just said it casually, but you took it seriously. It is naturally impossible for the Confucius Temple to become a Kou Temple. But it is always possible for the Confucius Temple to have two sages named Kou, right?"
Lu Yijian gritted his teeth and lowered his head.
Cao Wei is right about one thing, that is, he, Wang Zeng and others have always regarded Kou Ji as a junior.
No matter how much achievements Kou Ji made, as long as his status did not surpass them, they felt that Kou Ji was inferior to them.
Lu Yijian was not the only one who had this kind of thinking.
All elders in the world are like this.
That's why there are sayings like 'I've eaten more salt than you've ever eaten', 'I've walked on more bridges than you've walked', 'You're a junior, what do you know'?
come out.
Many elders always like to say these words when teaching younger generations.
They always feel that no matter how good their descendants are, they are still inferior to them.
Lu Yijian was also affected by this kind of thinking.
Now that Cao Wei helped him uncover the leaves that were covering his eyes, he realized that such words did not seem to apply to Kou Ji.
With Kou Ji's current status, it will be easy for him to enter the inner court safely in the future as long as he doesn't mess around.
With the current aggressiveness of the Song Dynasty, as long as nothing unexpected happens, it is inevitable that the Song Dynasty will become stronger.
The Song Dynasty became stronger in the hands of Kou Ji. Even if Kou Ji did nothing, he still had a share of the credit.
If he reaches Kou Zhun's current age, he will choose to retire after success.
It was inevitable that his reputation would be comparable to that of Kou Zhun now.
Kou Zhun can become a sage respected by thousands of people, why can't he?
Lu Yijian had already recognized Cao Wei's words in his heart, but he was unwilling to admit defeat, "During my tenure as Tong Zhongshu's subordinate Ping Zhangshi, the treasury of our Song Dynasty was full, the people were prosperous, and countless territories were opened up.
I, Lu Yijian, am not inferior to their ancestors and grandchildren.
Just retire after success.
Who wouldn't?
When the Song Dynasty regains Yanyun, and when I am sixty years old, I will choose to resign.
When the time comes when their ancestors and grandsons of the Kou family become saints and become their ancestors, naturally I, Lu Yijian, will be indispensable."
Lu Yijian glanced at Cao Wei, "On the other hand, you will never have the chance to compete with us in your lifetime."
Cao Wei glanced at Lu Yijian and said sarcastically: "If you compare with Kou Gong, that's because you are enterprising. But if you compare with a junior like Kou Ji, aren't you ashamed?"
Lu Yijian said very calmly: "You have said that Kou Ji's current status is already on an equal footing with mine. Why can't I compete with him? In the court, it is not that whoever is older is more powerful.
"
Lu Yijian used Cao Wei's words to criticize Cao Wei, but Cao Wei was so stunned that he couldn't say a word.
Cao Wei glared at Lu Yijian fiercely for several times before snorting: "Let's win the battle in front of us first. Whether you, Lu Yijian, will become a saint and become an ancestor, or remain in infamy for eternity, all depends on this battle in front of you."
Lu Yijian glared at Cao Wei and said: "You just fight in the front, I will help you block the sarcastic comments from behind. If I, the Lu family, are easy to bully, I won't kill two at once."
If anyone dares to stir up trouble and ruin the reputation of my family, Lu, then I dare to have all nine of his clans executed."
Without saying a word, Cao Wei complimented decisively: "Prime Minister Lu is mighty..."
Lu Yijian glared at Cao Wei and cursed: "You are not a good person. You deliberately used the Kou family's ancestors and grandchildren to provoke me, just so that I can help you block the cold arrows shot from behind.
You know in your heart that besides Kou Ji, the only one who can help you block those cold arrows is me."
Cao Wei said righteously: "But you mentioned Kou Ji first, and I didn't mention him first."
Lu Yijian snorted coldly: "I was the first to mention Kou Ji, but you just followed the trend and took the opportunity to provoke me. I remember clearly what you said. Do you want me to repeat it to you?"
Cao Wei smiled dryly, "Just think that I provoked you, and you don't need to help me block the arrow."
Lu Yijian cursed angrily: "Get out of here, you and I are both prosperous and devastated. If I don't block the arrow for you, if you die, I will be buried with you."
Lu Yijian could just throw away his hand and leave, transferring Wang Zeng to Tongtaiguan.
Let Wang Zeng take the risk in his place.
But he couldn't let go of the temptation to become a saint and become an ancestor.
When Lu Yijian became an official, he did not seek profit, but only fame.
Now that he had an opportunity to seek fame, how could he miss it?
Yan Yun was a disease that troubled everyone in the Song Dynasty.
If he helps Cao Wei, the disease will be cured.
Of all the people in the Song Dynasty, who would ignore his contribution?
Sitting in Tongtaiguan has risks, but the benefits are greater.
Naturally, he wouldn't let her go without any reason.
If he were that kind of cautious person, he would not seek refuge with Liu E, nor would he join Li Di in plotting against the civil and military forces of the Manchu Dynasty.
Cao Wei finally grabbed Lu Yijian's lifeline and asked Lu Yijian to block the arrow for him.
Cao Wei's scheme against Lu Yijian was actually a bit unreasonable.
But he had to do it.
Taizong and Zhenzong, father and son, cheated their father and son.
He was really afraid that Zhao Zhen would also trick him at the critical moment.
It doesn't matter if he is dead.
But if the Northern Expedition fails, no one can say whether the Song Dynasty will have the chance and the courage to try it again.
If the Song dynasty could not take back Yan Yun, then the historian would place the word "general" on his head, and he would be restless under Jiuquan.
As a Song general, I cannot take back Yan Yun.
So when the word "general" falls on him, he deserves it.
After Cao Wei persuaded Lu Yijian to help him block arrows, he was completely relieved and devoted himself to the war.
Just as he expected.
Emperor Yelu Longxu of the Liao Dynasty was indeed determined to fight to the death.
Emperor Yelu Longxu of the Liao Dynasty left Youzhou City twenty miles away and camped on the spot. At the same time, he sent people to send out dozens of decrees.
Each one is for those small tribes who are not traveling with him.
The contents of dozens of decrees are all very similar.
Move troops and collect food.
This victory is better than invincibility, and his move will not do much harm to the Liao Kingdom.
The small tribes attached to Daliao will be depleted of warriors and food, and the threat to Daliao will be minimized.
If the warriors of the small tribes died on the battlefield against the Song Dynasty, then the small tribes would completely lose their threat to the Liao Dynasty.
If he hadn't died, a battle with the Song Kingdom would have depleted the strength of each small tribe.
Whether he takes advantage of the opportunity to recruit them or completely annihilates them, it will become an easy task for him.
The reason why he was able to become the Emperor of the Liao and lead the Liao to dominate the world was not just due to his recklessness and the bravery of the iron hooves of the Liao.
The reason why he was able to lead Daliao to dominate the world was his wisdom.
The current situation looks very bad for Daliao.
But he was able to rely on his wisdom to find the advantageous side of Daliao from an unfavorable situation and take advantage of it.
Once Daliao incorporates or exterminates those small tribes, Daliao will completely become the Daliao of the eight Khitan tribes.
His power will be further enhanced, and his control over his territory will also be further enhanced.
Daliao will also become more cohesive as a result.
Daliao, a land full of scattered sand, will never be the strongest Daliao.
The most powerful Daliao is the one made up of the eight Khitan tribes.