"Xiang'er, if I didn't remind you just now, would you be planning to reject Kou Ji?"
The older woman asked, staring at He Xiangu who was playing the piano in the elegant hall.
He Xiangu, who was playing the piano, heard the woman's words and her face straightened, "Master, didn't you say that Kou Ji is not a good person and you should be cautious when dealing with Kou Ji?"
The older woman nodded and said: "Kou Ji is indeed not a good person. This time Kou Ji asked the emperor to ask me to become a monk and offer him the method of longevity. I am afraid it is not just as simple as trying to make some money.
It is very possible that they want to take this opportunity to blackmail or severely damage our Taoist family."
He Xiangu, who was playing the piano, or He Xiang to be precise, frowned, "If that's the case, why do you still agree?"
The older woman smiled lightly and looked at He Qiong beside her.
He Qiong said solemnly: "Whether he wants class blackmail or takes the opportunity to severely damage our Taoism, it is based on the fact that the emperor will not be obsessed with longevity and longevity.
He must have talked to the emperor and confirmed that the emperor would not be obsessed with immortality and longevity.
That’s why he made such a suggestion.”
He Xiang said in confusion: "Since we already know that the emperor will not be obsessed with immortality and longevity, why do we still offer immortality and longevity?"
He Qiong was speechless.
The older woman chuckled and said: "Almost no emperor can avoid the temptation of longevity and the method of longevity. Zhao Zhen is still young and is not worried about the depletion of longevity, so he is true to the method of longevity and longevity.
By color.
But what if Zhao Zhen gets old?
Will he still ignore the method of immortality and longevity?
Emperor Qin and Emperor Wu of Han, such wise emperors, were not obsessed with immortality and the method of longevity in the end.
So what if Zhao Zhen is better than them?"
He Xiang frowned and said nothing.
The older woman sighed, "You are still young. When you grow up, you will understand."
Seeing that his silly sister was still frowning, He Qiong couldn't help but say a few words, "Now that we have offered the method of longevity, Zhao Zhen may not fake it.
But once Zhao Zhen gets old, he will definitely become obsessed with it.
If we offer the magic of longevity now, we may be blackmailed.
But when Zhao Zhen gets old and becomes obsessed with the method of longevity, that will be the day when my Taoism rises again."
He Xiang hesitated and said: "But every family has offered the method of longevity. Why should the emperor believe ours and not others'?"
He Qiong looked at the older woman.
The older woman hesitated for a moment and then said frankly: "So in addition to offering the magic of longevity, we will also offer beauties. The palace will soon select a maiden, and your sister will also participate in the election.
With your sister's beauty and knowledge, she will definitely stand out."
He Xiang's eyes widened in shock, "Sister wants to enter the palace and become a concubine?"
The older woman nodded, "Not only will she enter the palace as a concubine, but you'd better also enter the bandit's house as a concubine. Once your sister gives birth to a prince, you can also help."
He Xiang's eyes widened even more in an instant.
The older woman said quietly: "When the time comes, the Dao Lord will be the emperor, and the emperor will be the Dao Lord. Who can touch my Taoism?"
Whether the method of longevity is true or false, the elderly woman knows it well.
After all, it is not a long-term solution to bewitch the emperor with the promise of longevity.
Only by turning emperors into Taoist kings can Taoism continue to prosper.
The older woman can be said to have far-reaching plans.
Kou Ji didn't know that others had added a new layer of calculations to his calculations.
After he returned to his house, he sat there and waited for the monks to offer him the method of longevity.
Folk rumors also took a new turn at this time.
Buddhism and Taoism have many methods of longevity. The news that Buddhism has 16 treasure places, along with the rumors of Buddhist walks, spread quickly throughout the world.
After the news spread that the Buddhist family had sixteen treasure hiding places, each of which was worth no less than 10 million guan.
The first people to be tempted are not the rogues and thieves.
The first one to be tempted was Zhao Zhen.
After Zhao Zhen got the news, he immediately summoned Kou Ji into the palace.
Inside the Ningxiang Hall.
Zhao Run was sitting at the desk in the hall, holding a brush and learning to write meticulously. Chen Lin was waiting on her side carefully.
Zhao Zhen and Kou Ji occupied the palace very domineeringly.
Each person holds a bottle of ice wine, with other fruits and an ice plate in front of him.
Zhao Zhen took a sip of ice wine and exhaled happily, "Fourth Brother, there are really sixteen treasure hiding places in Buddhism? The value of each treasure hiding place is no less than 10 million yuan?"
Kou Ji took a bite of the cantaloupe and said, "No one can say for sure about Buddhist matters."
After saying this, Kou Ji looked at Zhao Zhen and said with a smile: "Is the official concerned about that money?"
Zhao Zhen said bluntly: "How could I not care about it? That is 160 million yuan. If I get that money, I can immediately promote county schools."
Kou Ji nodded slightly and said: "That's right...for the imperial court, that is an unexpected fortune."
Zhao Zhen stared at Kou Ji and said, "What I want to know most right now is whether you, fourth brother, released those messages?"
Kou Ji decisively denied, "How is it possible? Why would the officials doubt the ministers?"
Kou Ji actually wanted to tell the truth to Zhao Zhen, but he sent Cao Li to handle the matter.
Once Kou Ji admits this, Cao Li will be caught if he leaks any tricks when he is acting in the south.
By then, the news that Cao Lili is still alive and has done many things in the south will be revealed.
Once Cao Liang is exposed, can Kou Ji recover?
Zhao Zhen said frankly: "I remember that people from the Buddhist family just plotted against Fourth Brother. With Fourth Brother's temperament, I definitely can't swallow this feeling in my heart, even if I don't plot against them."
Kou Ji rolled his eyes and said, "After all, I am also a Privy Council envoy. Is it shameless for me to argue with a group of monks?"
Zhao Zhen pondered for a moment and said: "Not everyone can shout out that 160 million strings."
Kou Ji instantly understood the meaning of Zhao Zhen's words.
There is something to say.
It's called poverty that limits people's imagination.
In today's Song Dynasty, there are only two places with wealth worth tens of millions.
One is the treasury, and the other is Yizijiaozipu.
The wealth owned by Yizijiaozipu and the national treasury is all national wealth.
No one in private has ever owned a fortune of ten million yuan.
Therefore, people's general thinking is still at the level of tens of millions.
Therefore, even if someone spreads a rumor, at most it will cost tens of millions of dollars to make the rumor.
I'm afraid only a few people in the central position can use 160 million yuan to talk things out.
The Buddhists have never offended Zhao Zhen or Lu Yijian.
Even if they were offended, they wouldn't be able to send someone to spread such rumors.
Therefore, it is normal for Zhao Zhen to suspect Kou Ji.
Kou Ji guessed why Zhao Zhen doubted him, and immediately said in a deep voice: "Since not everyone can shout out 160 million guan. Doesn't it just prove that the 160 million guan of money may be real?"
existence?"
Zhao Zhen was stunned for a moment, stared at Kou Ji and said, "You really didn't spread it, Fourth Brother?"
Kou Jizheng said seriously: "This is a critical moment for the reform of the official system. How could I spread such rumors that shake people's hearts?"
Zhao Zhen muttered: "That's true..."
Zhao Zhen looked at Kou Ji again and said in a deep voice: "Since it is possible that those 160 million strings really exist, then I should send someone to check."
"Ahem..."
Kou Ji coughed dryly and said: "Buddhism has been accumulated for thousands of years, and it still has some foundation. But 160 million strings is a bit exaggerated. Officials should not have high expectations, let alone waste too many manpower on this matter.
.
If there is really a hidden treasure in the Buddhist family, the officials do not need to personally send people to find it.
Just instruct local governments to pay attention to this matter.
Once someone discovers the Buddhist treasures, there will definitely be flaws.
The officials only need to instruct the local government to destroy the treasures after those people have dug them up, and then get the treasures back."
Zhao Zhen thought for a moment, then nodded slowly and said: "That's true... I sent people to hunt for the treasure, which is a bit disrespectful... I will issue an order to the local government offices at all levels later, instructing them to keep an eye on this matter."
When Kou Ji heard this, he let out a sigh of relief.
He was really afraid that Zhao Zhen would be interested in treasure hunting and would send people to hunt for treasures.
It would be great fun to spend a lot of manpower and material resources on this but find nothing.
After discussing this matter, Kou Ji and Zhao Zhen did not discuss anything else.
The two of them sat in the palace and enjoyed fine wine and delicious food.
After drinking until late at night, Zhao Zhen was extremely drunk. Chen Lin helped him back to the palace to rest, and Kou Ji also left the palace.
Some days later.
Kou Ji has been staying at the house.
During this period, many monks visited Kou's house and offered him the method of longevity and a generous gift.
Kou Ji invited Wang Zeng to come to his house and review together the methods of longevity.
At the Kou Mansion.
After Wang Zeng finished reading a volume on the method of longevity, he slapped the table and stood up, "It should be killed! It should be killed! It really should be killed!"
Kou Ji put down the longevity method he was reviewing in his hand, stared at Wang Zeng and asked curiously: "What extraordinary thing did Wang Zeng see, and he was so moved?"
Wang Zeng threw the scroll recording the method of longevity to Kou Ji, "Read it for yourself!"
Kou Ji took the scroll in Wang Zeng's hand that recorded the method of longevity. After briefly glancing at it, his face didn't look good.
It is recorded in the scroll that if you refine elixirs with a child's heart, you can live longer.
Different amounts of childishness have different effects.
"He has completely lost his humanity and deserves to be killed."
Kou Ji put down the book and spoke with a gloomy face.
Wang Zeng gritted his teeth and said: "If this spreads out, I don't know how many young children will suffer."
Kou Ji said in a deep voice: "We should send people from the Ministry of Justice to investigate this matter carefully, and let people from the Ministry of War cooperate to eradicate the root cause."
Wang Zeng stood up and walked out. As he walked, he said: "I will go to the Punishment Department now and let the people from the Punishment Department investigate this matter."
Kou Ji pondered for a moment, then called Wang Zeng, "My lord, I'm afraid the magic they presented is more than just this volume. After we have reviewed it, we will send the Criminal Department to investigate together."
Wang Zeng paused when he heard this, turned around, and accompanied Kou Ji to review other methods of longevity without saying a word.
The two were busy for three days, and after reviewing all the methods of longevity, they discovered two more evil spells.
Wang Zeng held the three evil scrolls in his hand and said with a dark face: "They know very well how many people will suffer after this is presented to the officials. If they dare to offer it to the officials, they are simply asking for death.
It's beyond stupid."
Kou Ji frowned and said nothing.
The king once thought that those who offered sorcery were foolish, but Kou Ji didn't think so.
Kou Ji felt that they were probably trying to gain wealth, so they found another way.
If the emperor doesn't believe it, they will die.
But if the emperor believed it, they might become famous.
Wang Zeng felt that no one would believe in such a sorcery, let alone an emperor.
But Kou Ji knew that there was an emperor who would believe it.
That is Emperor Jiajing of Ming Dynasty.
During the reign of Emperor Jiajing of the Ming Dynasty, a unique palace maid coup occurred, known in history as the Renyin Palace Revolution.
The reason was that Emperor Jiajing of the Ming Dynasty was obsessed with the way to immortality and used the witchcraft of using the virgin blood of palace maids to make elixirs. This made the palace maids miserable. In the end, more than a dozen palace maids killed him while he was sleeping.
During the period when Emperor Jiajing of the Ming Dynasty was cultivating immortality, he hardly went to court, and he still firmly controlled the government affairs, which shows that he was a very powerful emperor.
Such an emperor can still believe in witchcraft.
Other emperors, even if they don't believe it, will probably give it a try.
Kou Ji would never allow such evil magic to flow into the palace, nor would he allow it to flow into the people.
Kou Ji said to Wang Zeng: "Your Majesty, it's time to go to the Ministry of Punishment and instruct the Ministry of Punishment to investigate the matter as soon as possible, dig out the people behind it, and eradicate the roots. Over at the Ministry of War, I will communicate with Li Zhaoliang.
The local military and horsemen will cooperate.
If the local troops and horses fail, I will ask the officials to dispatch the imperial army to come forward.
Such evil magic should not appear in our Song Dynasty.
I don’t care about other places, I won’t let anyone go whoever dares to use such inhumane magic in our Song Dynasty.”
Wang Zeng nodded solemnly, left the Kou Mansion with the evil magic, and rushed to the Criminal Department.
After Wang Zeng left, Kou Ji told Lu Ming: "Go to Sanqing Temple and ask them about the longevity magic in their hands, and when they will present it to them."
Lu Ming agreed and left Kou Mansion.
After Lu Ming left, Kou Ji picked through the books on longevity.
What he picked out were almost all methods of Qi training and meditation, as well as three or two volumes of longevity methods that were obviously harmful to people.
Other methods of longevity were sealed away by him.
Not long after Lu Ming left, he returned to his house, holding a brocade box in his hand.
Seeing this, Kou Ji smiled and said: "They are really big-hearted... When others offer the method of longevity, they always treat it as a treasure. They handed it to you easily."
Kou Ji opened the brocade box and found a scroll inside.
Kou Ji opened it and reviewed it, and found that it was a decent volume of longevity methods, so he didn't say anything more.
Kou Ji classified the longevity methods offered by He Xiangu into the longevity methods he had chosen, and then took them into the palace.
He dedicated it to Zhao Zhen.
After Zhao Zhen obtained the magic of longevity, he was not in a hurry to watch.
Instead, he asked: "Fourth brother, just now the king sent me a request to send people from the Ministry of Punishment to investigate the case. Please tell me what is being investigated specifically."
Kou Ji said suspiciously: "Didn't the prince tell the officials?"
Zhao Zhen laughed and said, "I saw that Wang Zeng's face looked so disgusting, so I didn't bother to ask."
Kou Ji couldn't laugh or cry and told Zhao Zhen about the sorcery.
After Zhao Zhen finished listening, his face became gloomy.
"You dare to offer me such a harmful evil spell. The person behind it really deserves to be killed. I will tell Wang Zeng to go ahead and do it later."
With Zhao Zhen's support, Wang Zeng investigated and dealt with the matter, which was naturally hopeless and disadvantageous.
The monarch and his ministers discussed the matter.
Zhao Zhen ordered Chen Lin to take those methods of longevity to Longtuge for storage, then asked Kou Ji to sit down and talked about business with Kou Ji.
"Fourth brother, there is something I think I should tell you."
Kou Ji stared at Zhao Zhen quietly, waiting for Zhao Zhen's next words.
Zhao Zhen said in a deep voice: "A big event happened over there in Huizhou. It is widely rumored that there are 16 treasure places in Buddhism, and some thieves are concerned about this matter. Previously, the magistrate of Huizhou secretly reported that there were thieves in Fuze, Huizhou
Inside the temple, a treasure trove was discovered. After more than half a month of digging, a large amount of money was unearthed.
They have always been secret digs.
Something went wrong on the way to transport the money, and the traces were discovered by the Huizhou government officials.
After the magistrate of Huizhou learned about this incident, he sent people to investigate the matter.
Finally, the thief was discovered, and he led local troops to exterminate the thief.
On the way to escape, the thief left behind more than 4 million guan of money.
The thieves have fled to the sea, and I have ordered the Zhennan Army to follow their traces."
After hearing what Zhao Zhen said, Kou Ji looked shocked.
Although he arranged this matter by himself, according to his calculations, it would take at least half a month for this to happen.
Now that it was half a month ahead of schedule, he was naturally shocked.
Zhao Zhen saw Kou Ji's look of astonishment and said in a heavy voice: "The Buddhist family has sixteen treasure places, and the money in each treasure place is no less than 10 million yuan. I'm afraid it's true.
I really didn't expect that the Buddhist family could accumulate such amazing wealth.
It’s no wonder there are so many people who want to destroy the Buddha.”
When Kou Ji heard this, he said in amazement: "The Buddhist method of amassing money is really amazing..."
Zhao Zhen nodded and said: "Since they are monks, they can just eat well and chant Buddha's name. What do they need so much money for? That money should be handed over to the court for relief to the common people."
Kou Ji felt that Zhao Zhen might be thinking about the money, so he immediately admonished: "Officials, this matter can be left to the common people to discover. It is really not appropriate for the imperial court to interfere.
If the imperial court intervenes, it will easily cause turmoil.
It is not appropriate for the government and the public to experience turmoil now."
Zhao Zhen pondered for a moment and said: "I will not dig out those treasures in a big way, but I will send people to dig out them secretly."
Kou Ji smiled bitterly in his heart, but did not stop him.
Maybe the people sent out secretly by Zhao Zhen might gain something unexpected.
After Zhao Zhen finished talking about this, he said, "I'm blackmailing monks by the way. See if I can squeeze some money out of them. I will stay out of court for a few days and claim to be researching the art of longevity."
At that time, you will inevitably have to pretend to be sick for a few days.
Fourth brother can take this opportunity to squeeze money from them."
Kou Ji nodded and said: "This matter has been discussed long ago, and I know what to do."
Zhao Zhen smiled and said: "That's very good."
After laughing, Zhao Zhen seemed to have remembered something and said to Kou Ji: "Fan Zhongyan and Pang Ji are not very optimistic about implementing the government system in Shaanxi Prefecture. Should we take the opportunity to help them?"
When Kou Ji heard this, he was slightly stunned.
Fan Zhongyan and Pang Ji were not too optimistic about implementing the government system in Shaanxi Prefecture.
When the government system is first implemented, some bumps and bruises are inevitable.
The implementation of the government system did not touch the interests of too many people, so it encountered very little resistance.
The reason why Zhao Zhen felt that their situation was not optimistic was that Fan Zhongyan and Pang Ji were progressing too slowly.
In terms of system, Fan Zhongyan and Pang Ji spent more than a month to basically implement it.
The basic counties within the Shaanxi Prefecture were not changed, but the prefectural and prefectural administrations were re-divided, and then the officials of the Shaanxi Prefecture were reorganized.
When Fan Zhongyan and Pang Ji went to Shaanxi Prefecture, the imperial court did a lot of work for this purpose.
Therefore, it was very easy for the two of them to implement the system.
But in terms of economic recovery, it can be said to be difficult.
It is mainly local powerful people who control local land and workshops.
The poor people had nothing but a kiln.
In this era where agriculture is the mainstay, without land, people have no way to get rich.
It is nonsense to expect poor people to do business.
Fan Zhongyan and Pang Ji are also clever women who cannot make a meal without rice.
Now, they are thinking of setting up some workshops to recruit poor people to work and get rich.
But this requires a process, a certain amount of time, and a certain amount of financial support.
Of course, if you have a large amount of money to invest, that's another matter.
"Why are the officials so anxious? As long as the textile workshop sets up a branch workshop in Shaanxi Prefecture, it can help them open up the situation. I have sent people from the textile workshop to inspect it. After the inspection, we can set up a branch workshop in Shaanxi Prefecture.
Already."
Kou Ji pondered.
Zhao Zhen frowned and said, "We don't have that much time."
Kou Ji raised his eyebrows, "What do you mean?"
Zhao Zhen said in a deep voice: "Emperor Yelu Longxu of the Liao Dynasty has made preparations to attack the Song Dynasty."
Kou Ji pondered: "Didn't you say it would take another two or three years?"
Zhao Zhen looked at Kou Jidao: "I'm afraid that within two or three years, Emperor Yelu Longxu of the Liao Dynasty will launch an attack on the Song Dynasty."
Kou Ji frowned and said, "What happened in Liao Kingdom?"
Zhao Zhen narrowed his eyes and said: "The envoys of the Liao Kingdom caught up with people from the Black Han Dynasty. The Liao Emperor dispatched some troops and horses along the northern border and quietly headed to the Western Regions.
If my prediction is correct, the Liao Emperor should have wanted to send troops and horses to join forces with the Black and Han Dynasty to defeat the Xizhou Uighurs.
Once the Xizhou Uighurs are destroyed, we, the Song Dynasty, will have to face the troops of the Black Han Dynasty."
Kou Ji said quietly: "The Black Han Dynasty has millions of soldiers and horses..."
Zhao Zhen nodded, "The Liao Emperor helped the Black Han Dynasty to deal with the Xizhou Uighurs, and the Black Han Dynasty helped the Liao Emperor to deal with us."
Kou Ji said solemnly: "It is indeed a good plan. If the Black Han Dynasty's millions of soldiers and horses, plus hundreds of thousands of elite soldiers from the Liao Kingdom, attack our Song Dynasty together, it will indeed be a trouble for our Song Dynasty."