"I thanked Duke Zhang on behalf of Ci'er. When Ci'er gets older, I and his wife will take Ci'er to Zhang's Mansion for the ceremony of apprenticeship."

Xiang Yan bowed deeply to Zhang Zhibai and said solemnly.

Zhang Zhibai stroked his beard and said with a smile: "Very good..."

Lu Yijian shouted: "I have already given you the meeting gift that should be given to you. Let Kou Ji come out to see the three of me now."

Xiang Yan apologized and left the main hall of Kou Mansion with Kou Tianci.

As soon as Xiang Yan left, the servants of the Kou Mansion were waiting outside the door again. There were only three people in the main hall, Lu Yijian, Wang Zeng and Zhang Zhibai.

Wang Zeng looked at Lu Yijian and said hesitantly: "Mr. Lu, that piece of ink you gave to Tianci'er just now seems familiar to me."

Lu Yijian snorted and said nothing.

Zhang Zhibai said thoughtfully: "When the prince said this, I also feel that the ink ingot Lu Gong gave to Tianci'er looks a bit familiar."

Wang Zeng tugged at his beard and hesitated for a moment, then said: "It looks similar to the one used by officials in Zishitang."

Speaking of which.

Wang Zeng and Zhang Zhibai looked at Lu Yijian with strange expressions.

Lu Yijian rolled his eyes and said, "Don't look at me like that, I'm not that mean. Ever since the officials set the rule not to pass things from the palace, I have never passed anything from the palace.

That piece of ink was a reward from the officials when I was promoted to Ping Zhangshi under Tong Zhongshu."

Wang Zeng asked curiously: "Then why do you carry it with you?"

Zhang Zhibai also looked at Lu Yijian curiously.

If Lu Yijian carried a piece of jade or a small gadget like a fan pendant, Wang Zeng and Zhang Zhibai would be able to understand it. However, if Lu Yijian carried an ingot, it would be difficult for them to understand.

Lu Yijian curled his lips and said: "Assault..."

Wang Zeng and Zhang Zhibai looked stunned.

Lu Yijian glanced at the two of them and said: "In recent days, I have been having a lot of quarrels with the emperor's relatives, but there has been no result. I just want to imitate Li Di and let loose in the court to see if I can

Awaken the officials."

"Li Di uses the Chaohut..."

"Li Di doesn't feel bad if he throws that piece of iron away, but mine is white marble..."

"But your ink ingot is also valuable..."

"I dropped an ink stick for state affairs. Shouldn't the government compensate me for it?"

"..."

Wang Zeng and Zhang Zhibai looked at Lu Yijian with disdain.

Lu Yijian, however, seemed not to notice the disdainful looks in their eyes, and had a calm expression on his face.

While the three of them were talking, Kou Ji hurried over from the backyard.

Entering the main hall, after saluting.

Kou Ji bowed deeply to Zhang Zhibai again, "Thank you so much, Mr. Zhang for your love!"

Zhang Zhibai accepted Kou Ji's gift calmly.

After Kou Ji saluted, he sat on the main seat.

As soon as they sat down, Lu Yijian couldn't wait to speak, "Boy, what do you and the officials want to do?"

Kou Ji spread his hands and said with a look of astonishment: "What can I do? Since I returned to Beijing from the northwest, I have been recuperating at home, and I have done nothing."

Wang Zeng had a dark face and stared, "Do you think I, the three of you, are blind?"

Kou Ji said with a confused look: "Why did the prince say this?"

Wang Zeng gritted his teeth and said: "Do you dare to say that the scene that happened in the court today was not planned in advance by you and the officials?"

"How is it possible..."

Kou Ji shook his head and muttered: "You three all know that I always treat the lieutenants of the army well, how can I possibly use the pay and rewards of the lieutenants of the army to do anything?"

Lu Yijian and the three of them rolled their eyes and glared at Kou Ji fiercely.

Kou Ji was obviously pretending to be confused.

Kou Ji refused to admit it, and the three of them had no evidence to prove that Kou Ji and Zhao Zhen planned the matter together, so there was no way to force Kou Ji to admit it.

Wang Zeng said with a sullen face: "We don't care if you and the officials deal with the emperor's relatives. But why don't you two discuss it with the three of us when you use Wu Xun? Wu Xun has taken root in our Song Dynasty for decades, and the tree has deep roots.

, it is so intertwined that if you are not careful, it will cause turmoil throughout the Song Dynasty.

Now the Song Dynasty has just conquered Xixia and defeated the Liao Kingdom. It is time to recuperate and recuperate.

If you two use martial arts at this time, there will inevitably be turmoil in the government and the public, and you two should understand the severity of this."

Kou Ji curled his lips and said: "This matter was promoted by the official family. From the beginning to the end, the official family was the one who made the decision. It has nothing to do with me. If you want to know the details, just go to the official family.

What's the use of looking for me?"

When Lu Yijian heard this, his eyes instantly widened and he shouted: "Kou Ji, how come you still give us three excuses now? You should know that once the warriors unite to cause chaos, our country, the Song Dynasty, will inevitably fall into turmoil.

middle."

Kou Ji smiled and said: "Lü Gong's words are a bit exaggerated. Let's not talk about whether the officials really want to use Wu Xun. Even if they really want to use Wu Xun, it is impossible for the Wu Xun to unite to cause chaos.

The world belongs to officials, not to military heroes."

Lu Yijian gritted his teeth and said, "But martial artists can mobilize troops and horses!"

Kou Ji laughed and said, "Mr. Lu is wrong. The power to mobilize soldiers and horses lies in the hands of the Privy Council and the officials. Without the officials' approval and my nod, who can mobilize the troops and horses?

Dare to mobilize troops and horses?"

Wang Zeng said angrily: "Kou Ji, do you and I and the other three have to pretend to be confused?"

Zhang Zhibai said in a deep voice: "Kou Ji, this matter is of great importance. You and the officials have little experience. It is inevitable that there will be omissions when doing things. In the end, it will really cause a big trouble and it may be difficult to end.

You and the officials are determined to deal with this cancer, and we are also determined to deal with Wu Xun.

Our goals are the same.

If you have any plans with the officials, you can tell us everything, and the three of us can also help with the details and check for any omissions."

Lu Yijian said at the side: "What's the use of talking so much? The three of us are prime ministers, but the officials hide things from us. They don't regard us as prime ministers at all. In this case, why should we be prime ministers? We might as well go back to our hometown to farm.

.

Anyway, the official won’t tell us anything, and he doesn’t need us to help him handle government affairs.”

After listening to what the three said, Kou Ji knew that the three of them were dissatisfied and worried.

What they were dissatisfied with was that Zhao Zhen actually hid something from them and didn't tell them.

They are the prime ministers, they should be the most trusted people by the officials, and they should also be the ones who help the officials handle all major matters.

Now that Zhao Zhen does big things without them, they are naturally dissatisfied.

If Zhao Zhen goes beyond them in doing any important things, then they are not prime ministers.

What is worrying is that after Zhao Zhen dealt with the emperor's relatives, he started to attack Wu Xun without any hesitation and without any warning, without any buffer time in between.

At present, Zhao Zhen has just dealt with the emperor's relatives, and the emperor's relatives' resistance has not yet begun.

Zhao Zhen found trouble with Wu Xun again.

It was like provoking another powerful enemy before completely annihilating one enemy.

Facing the enemy on both sides is very likely to lead to catastrophe.

Kou Ji knew in his heart that if he didn't say something useful, Lu Yijian and the others might not give up.

Kou Ji thought for a while and said in deep thought: "I don't know what the officials are thinking. But I do know that no matter whether it is the relatives of the emperor or the military heroes, even if they make trouble, they can't make any big waves."

Lu Yi, Jian Jian and the other three stared at Kou Ji with frowns.

Let’s leave aside the royal family and relatives for the time being.

The civil servants in the court have been fighting with Wu Xun for decades, but they have not completely subdued Wu Xun, let alone quarreling with Wu Xun. Why should Kou Ji say that even if Wu Xun makes trouble, they will not cause any big trouble.

But the three people did not speak, but stared at Kou Ji, waiting for the next sentence.

Kou Ji analyzed: "Let's talk about the royal relatives first. Among the royal relatives, several princes have died one after another, and most of them are sons and grandsons. They were also sent away or demoted due to many previous changes.

The dragon sons and grandsons who remain in Bianjing today are only seven or eight children aged between three and five years old.

According to the government decree that lasted for three generations, some of them have even lost their royal status.

So there is nothing to fear.

Among the royal relatives, the only ones who can truly represent the royal relatives and speak volumes are the two eldest princesses of Deng and Ji.

At present, the two eldest princesses have been imprisoned in the palace. They are not allowed to leave the palace without official family orders.

Even if the remaining relatives of the emperor want to cause trouble, they cannot make any big waves.

The two eldest princesses of Deng and Ji were the aunts of the official family, so the official family naturally had no way to take action.
To be continued...