Chapter 0810 The old man has no other strengths, but he has a good heart
Chen Lin's abnormal behavior naturally attracted the attention of interested people.
Some people thought that Chen Lin represented the official family and wanted to go to the Kou Mansion to hold him accountable, so they sent people to follow Chen Lin to see how Kou Ji would react after being held accountable by Zhao Zhen.
After Chen Lin arrived at the Kou Mansion, she passed through Tongzhen, entered the Kou Mansion, and walked all the way to the side courtyard of the Kou Mansion.
Kou Ji was sitting at the door of the mourning hall in the side courtyard. After seeing Chen Lin, he asked suspiciously: "Why are you here? Are you here to see my joke?"
Seeing that Chen Lin was wearing an official uniform that everyone in the Ministry of Internal Affairs knew for the first time, she added, "You are kidding me, you don't have to be so grand, right?"
Chen Lin was speechless. After he walked in front of Kou Ji, he straightened his clothes and bowed respectfully to Kou Ji.
Kou Ji was slightly stunned when he saw this.
Kou Ji thought for a moment and guessed Chen Lin's intention. He curled his lips slightly and said, "You don't have to be so polite to me. After you die, I will definitely not build a mourning hall for you."
Chen Lin stared at Kou Ji and said, "But during the holidays, you will go to our grave and offer a stick of incense to our family."
Kou Ji said disdainfully: "Don't tell me that I won't go and offer incense for you. Even if I do go and offer incense for you, it's because you are pitiful. No one will care about you after you die, for fear that you will become a lonely ghost."
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Chen Lin said calmly: "As long as you offer incense to our family, it will be fine. We don't care whether you pity our family or go to our grave to scold us."
Speaking of this, Chen Lin handed Zhao Zhen's imperial pen to Kou Ji.
"Given to Kou Zhong by the officials."
Kou Ji held Zhao Zhen's imperial pen, looked at it carefully, and said with a wry smile: "Why are the officials joining in the fun?"
Chen Lin said frankly: "The officials are also afraid that you will be scolded too badly by others."
Kou Ji looked back at the mourning hall and said, "If I were afraid of being scolded, I wouldn't have this mourning hall."
Chen Lin asked back: "Are officials afraid of being scolded?"
Kou Ji curled his lips and said, "It's not that he's not afraid of being scolded, it's that no one dares to scold him. Kou Ji won't get any harm if you scold me, but if you scold him, his head will fall off."
Chen Lin said frankly: "So if the officials join in the fun, it will do you only good and no harm."
Kou Ji smiled bitterly and said nothing.
Chen Lin didn't say anything anymore. He stepped into the mourning hall and offered a few sticks of incense to Kou Zhong.
After leaving the mourning hall, Chen Lin asked, "Is the man in the hall the son you are looking for for Kou Zhong?"
Kou Ji said bluntly: "He was the heir he found to pass on the incense. I originally wanted to choose one of my younger brothers to wear mourning for him. But he seemed to be frightened, so he decided to find one by himself."
Chen Lin stared at Kou Ji in shock.
Kou Ji asked: "Is there a problem?"
Chen Lin said suspiciously: "If he wasn't scared and didn't find one by himself, would you choose one of your younger brothers to wear sackcloth and mourn for him?"
Kou Ji said frankly: "I, Kou Ji, am also a face-saving person. Since I have made a promise, I will definitely honor it."
Chen Lin thought for a while and said: "After our family dies, can you also choose one of your brothers to mourn our family?"
Kou Ji rolled his eyes and said angrily: "I asked Kou Tianci to wear mourning clothes for you, do you dare to accept it?"
Chen Lin was startled and said hurriedly: "We pretended that we didn't say anything."
After Chen Lin died, if Kou Ji really asked Kou Tianci to put mourning on Chen Lin, Chen Lin would be scared to death.
Kou Tianci is Zhao Zhen's godson, Princess Baoqing's consort, and can be regarded as Chen Lin's master.
Kou Tiansheng wears sackcloth and wears mourning, but Chen Lin can't bear it.
After Kou Ji frightened Chen Lin, he said: "Don't even think about my younger brothers. For the sake of our many years of friendship, after you die, I can choose an orphan for you and adopt him to your name.
Wear linen and wear filial piety to help your Chen family pass on the incense."
Chen Lin glanced at Kou Ji and said, "We'll discuss this later when our family is about to die."
As a loyal servant of Zhao Zhen, Chen Lin was afraid that Kou Ji would threaten him by helping him adopt his children and grandchildren, so he did not agree to the matter.
Kou Ji guessed Chen Lin's thoughts, but did not expose the matter.
Kou Ji accompanied Chen Lin and said some useless words, and asked someone to send Chen Lin away from Kou's house.
After Chen Lin left, the news about Zhao Zhen bestowing the word "loyal servant" on Kou Zhong spread like a gust of wind.
Overnight, those rumors that criticized and accused Kou Ji disappeared one after another.
Instead, they praised Kou Ji for his loyalty and loyalty, and praised Zhao Zhen for his reputation as a loyal person.
A few days after Kou Zhong was laid to rest in Kou Mansion, Kou Ji ordered his servants to carry Kou Zhong's body out of Bianjing City and buried Kou Zhong on a high mountain outside Bianjing City.
Koji specially asked someone to look at that mountain, and it was a geomantic treasure.
After the ancestral graves of Kou Zhun's ancestors were moved here, they would be buried on the mountain.
After Kou Zhun died, he would also be buried in the mountain.
That high mountain will become the Kou family's new ancestral tomb in the future.
The reason why it was chosen on a mountain instead of on a flat ground was to prevent the Yellow River from bursting its banks and flooding the tomb.
After Kou Zhong was buried, the turmoil caused by Kou Zhong in Bianjing gradually dissipated.
Not a few days passed.
Kou Zhun, Kou Li, and Kou Ji left Bianjing City together and went to Huazhou. After worshiping the ancestors of the Kou family, they moved all their corpses outside Bianjing City.
With Lu Ming taking care of things in advance, when Kou Zhun and Kou Ji arrived, they simply paid homage and then returned to Bianjing City with the corpses of their ancestors.
During this period, the clan elders in Huazhou also stopped Kou Zhun and Kou Ji and asked for benefits again.
Kou Zhun was too lazy to pay attention to them, so he handed the matter over to Kou Ji.
Kou Ji responded to the requests made by the clan elders.
As long as the clan elders could bring it up, Kou Ji would almost do it.
Including their excessive request to let a very promising middle-aged man from the clan hold an important position in the Shaanxi government, Kou Ji also agreed.
After Kou Ji transported the bones of Kou's ancestors back to Bianjing City and buried them safely.
Kou Ji decisively transferred Bao Zheng, the magistrate of Duanzhou, to Huazhou as the magistrate.
Before Bao Zheng rushed to take office, Kou Ji sent someone to tell Bao Zheng to let him go and do things without worrying about anyone else's attitude.
Bao Zheng is not a fool, so he naturally understands the meaning of Kou Ji's words.
According to Kou Ji's warning, once a member of the Huazhou Kou family makes a mistake, he will never be lenient.
After the private affairs of the Kou Mansion are settled.
It's the end of the year.
The war between the Black Han Dynasty and the Liao Kingdom against the Uighurs in Xizhou is coming to an end.
Reports about the Uighur war in Xizhou came to Bianjing frequently.
Inside the Zishi Hall.
Zhao Zhen handed a report to Chen Lin, and after instructing Chen Lin to hand it to Lu Yijian, he said in a deep voice: "The war between the Black Khan Dynasty and the Liao Kingdom against the Xizhou Uighurs was pretty much what we expected.
After they joined forces to capture Gaochang, they rushed to Guigukou together, preparing to attack the Xizhou Uighur Beiting King's tent from two sides without losing eight miles.
The 10,000 soldiers and horses sent by the Song Dynasty played a major role in stopping the Black Khan Dynasty and the Liao Kingdom from attacking the Uighurs in Xizhou."
After carefully reviewing the report, Lu Yijian nodded and said: "Guerrilla general Gao Yi and military supervisor Zhang Fangping were able to hold off nearly 800,000 troops for half a month with 10,000 people and some firearms.
It can be seen that both of them are rare talents."
Zhao Zhen nodded and said: "I know Gao Yi. In the previous battle at Yangguan in Hexi, Gao Yi rose to prominence, so I remembered him. Who is Zhang Fangping? This time they can withstand 800,000 Heihan and Liao
The National Alliance Army, thanks to Zhang
Fang Ping designed a trap in advance to lure the former troops of the Black Han Dynasty and the Liao Kingdom into Guigukou, killing more than 30,000 people. This shocked the coalition forces of the Black Khan Dynasty and the Liao Kingdom, causing them to be delayed at Guigukou.
Half a month.
It can be said that Zhang Fangping played an important role in the battle at Guigukou.
How come I haven't heard of such a talented person before?"
After Zhao Zhen finished speaking, Wang Zeng slowly raised his hands and said, "Zhang Fangping is a talented person in the different subjects in the eighth year of Tiansheng. He previously served as a judge in Muzhou.
I heard that Song Shou, the magistrate of Yingtian Mansion, mentioned this person and wanted to give it a try, so I discussed it with Privy Councilor Kou.
He was placed in the army that went to Xizhou Uighur reinforcements and put him to the test."
Zhao Zhen nodded and said: "In this way, this person can withstand the test and can be regarded as a good talent. After he returns to the court, give him a magistrate and then hone his skills.
Wang Aiqing and Song Shou, the magistrate of Yingtian Prefecture, gave him one hundred thousand yuan for their meritorious service."
Wang Zeng cupped his hands and said, "Thank you so much for the official reward."
Zhao Zhen added: "Gao Yi was seriously injured in the battle at Guigukou. After he returns to the court, he will be awarded the title of General of Shaanxi Prefecture and let him stay there for a few years."
Lu Yijian and Kou Jixian agreed.
"Here..."
Gaoyi is a member of the Forbidden Army. When he is deployed as a military attache in a local area, he needs the Privy Council and the inner court to work together.
Zhao Zhen decided the matter arbitrarily and did not give Lu Yijian and Kou Ji a chance to discuss it, so the two of them had no choice but to agree.
After Zhao Zhen finished speaking, Zhang Zhibai said in a deep voice: "Xizhou Uighur Khan is really a fool. I, the Song Dynasty, almost sacrificed the lives of 10,000 soldiers to buy him time to escape.
He actually did not flee directly to our country, the Song Dynasty, but stopped in Yizhou in the middle of his escape, preparing to try again."
Lu Yijian snorted coldly: "He didn't give up until he reached the Yellow River, but he wasted the hard work and lives of nearly ten thousand soldiers of our Song Dynasty."
Zhao Zhen frowned and was speechless.
Kou Ji said solemnly: "He is the leader of one party after all. Before he is completely defeated, he will definitely not be willing to be a slave of the subjugated country. It is understandable that he stayed in Yizhou in the middle of his escape, preparing for a last ditch effort.
But nearly 10,000 of my soldiers paid a bloody price to buy him a chance to escape, but he didn't cherish it, so he must give me an explanation to the Song Dynasty."
Zhao Zhen stared at Kou Ji and asked, "What are you going to do?"
Kou Ji said bluntly: "I will then give Zhong Shiheng an order to lead an army of 50,000 to suppress the West, and go to Yizhou to ask the Uighur Khan of Xizhou."
Lu Yijian frowned and said, "Is this move dangerous? What if Zhong Shiheng leads the Zhenxi Army to Yizhou, and the Liao soldiers happen to kill Yizhou City?"
Kou Ji analyzed: "Since the Xizhou Uighur Khan wants to make a last-ditch effort in Yizhou, he will definitely deploy his troops in Nazhi and Yidu, where the Liao soldiers must pass.
The troops of the Xizhou Uighurs were several decades lower than the millions of troops of the Black Khan Dynasty, so they were still capable.
Nazhi and benefits were given to the Liao Kingdom by the Black Khan Wang Yusufu.
Therefore, the soldiers and horses that attacked Nazhi and Yidu should all be soldiers and horses of the Liao Kingdom.
Xizhou's Uyghur soldiers and horses certainly don't have the strength to defeat the Liao soldiers and horses, but they can still hold off the Liao soldiers for ten days and a half.
It won't take that long for Zhong Shiheng to lead the Zhenxi Army to Yizhou."
Lu Yijian said in a deep voice: "But it will take a lot of time for us to pass the news to Zhong Shiheng."
Kou Ji frowned and said: "The official road to Hexi has been opened. Starting from Bianjing City, it takes 800 miles to rush, and if you don't rest day and night, the shortest time should be five days. In the remaining five days, Zhong Shiheng led the army with light chariots and simple followers.
If you rush to Illinois, you should be able to make a round trip."
Wang Zeng asked: "What if Chuang Shiheng encounters Liao soldiers in Yizhou?"
Kou Ji muttered: "There's no need to be afraid. The Liao Kingdom sent 200,000 soldiers and horses to the Xizhou Uighurs. In the process of capturing the Xizhou Uighurs, they should have suffered a lot of damage. Then some more guards were assigned to guard the areas they captured.
The city of Xizhou Uighurs should not be able to send more than 60,000 soldiers and horses to the battlefield in Yizhou.
The 50,000-strong Western Army can stand and win against 60,000 Liao soldiers."
When Lu Yijian and Wang Zeng heard this, they both frowned.
Seeing this, Kou Ji added, "Half of the soldiers of the Zhenxi Army have been replaced with firearms."
Lu Yijian and Wang Zeng were stunned, looked at each other, and stared at Kou Ji to ask.
"Can it be equipped with artillery?"
Kou Ji nodded and said: "The artillery in each army is the first to be fully equipped, and the same is true for the Zhenxi Army. The Zhenxi Army has three thousand artillerymen, of which one thousand are in charge of general cannons, and every five people are in charge of one general cannon; two
A thousand people hold a sky-shaking cannon, and ten people hold a sky-shaking cannon.
Each of the general cannons is also equipped with ten auxiliary soldiers.
At present, among the Forbidden Army, there are only artillerymen who command general cannons and are equipped with auxiliary troops."
The General Cannon that Kou Ji mentioned was the further optimized Red Yi Cannon, while the Shocking Cannon was a heartless cannon.
After Zhao Zhen saw the power of artillery, he decisively gave new names to the two types of artillery.
Therefore, the artillery in the army now has a new name.
Although the Hongyi Cannon was equipped with wheels for the convenience of transportation, the Red Yi Cannon was very heavy and was still inconvenient to transport. Therefore, when Kou Ji set up the artillery, he specially equipped them with auxiliary troops.
Lu Yijian and Wang Zeng did not care about the transportation of the artillery, nor did they care about the name of the artillery.
They only care about whether the Zhenxi Army is equipped with artillery and whether the number of artillery is sufficient.
After hearing Kou Ji's answer, they also breathed a sigh of relief.
They have seen the power of artillery.
They know that artillery has the power to change the battlefield pattern and win more with less.
So after hearing that Kou Ji had equipped the Zhenxi Army with more than a hundred artillery pieces, they no longer worried that Zhong Shiheng would lead the Zhenxi Army to Yizhou and encounter the Liao soldiers, and they would be defeated.
"Since the Zhenxi Army is equipped with enough artillery, let Zhong Shiheng go to Yizhou."
After Lu Yijian and Wang Zeng knew that Zhong Shiheng had enough strength to fight against the Liao soldiers, they both agreed with Kou Ji's idea.
Zhang Zhibai pondered on the side and said: "I am not worried that Zhong Shiheng and his troops will encounter Liao soldiers after they arrive in Yizhou. After sorting out the soldiers and horses of the Song Dynasty several times, their combat effectiveness has been greatly improved.
When the difference in the number of soldiers and horses is not too big, even without artillery assistance.
I, the imperial army of the Song Dynasty, can also fight against the Liao soldiers.
What I am worried about is that the Uighur Khan of Xizhou is not willing to surrender to me, the Song Dynasty, easily."
Kou Ji said coldly: "Since I sent Zhong Shiheng with troops and horses, I have no intention of talking to him. If he is sensible and sees my soldiers and horses of the Song Dynasty, he will bring money and people with him.
My troops from the Song Dynasty are back.
If he is ignorant, then I will let Zhong Shiheng kill him and his people and bring back the money."
Lu Yijian and Wang Zeng looked at each other without saying anything.
Zhang Zhibai smiled bitterly in his heart and sighed: "You, Kou Ji, are always so cruel to outsiders."
Kou Ji said calmly: "We are not good people, and the sons of the Song Dynasty are not born with good qualities. We have paid the price, and we should be rewarded.
If the other party doesn't reciprocate, then we can only smash their bowl and rob them alive."
Zhang Zhibai smiled bitterly and shook his head, but did not say anything in opposition.
The Uighur Khan of Xizhou wasted the opportunity that the Song Dynasty gave him to escape, and insisted on committing suicide once.
Then it would be a shame for him to die.
Zhang Zhibai felt that Kou Ji sent Zhong Shiheng over to deal with him as he should.
Zhang Zhibai smiled bitterly because he felt that Kou Ji was acting too arrogant and overbearing.
If you act with such a temper, sooner or later you will end up with no friends in Song Dynasty.
Zhao Zhen said decisively: "Then pass the order to Zhong Shiheng."
Kou Ji cupped his hands and said, "Here..."
After the matter was agreed upon, Zhao Zhen ordered everyone to disperse.
After Kou Ji left the palace, he rushed to the Privy Council, wrote a document, and stamped half of the military seal. Then he sent someone to deliver the document to the palace, and asked Zhao Zhen to stamp the other half of the military seal.
After the military seals were completed, Kou Ji ordered the documents to be sent to Hexi.
On the border of Shazhou under the rule of Hexi Prefecture, thousands of miles away from Bianjing City.
Zhong Shiheng ordered the general of the Zhenxi Army to assemble 50,000 soldiers and horses of the Zhenxi Army, and set up troops on the border to prepare for the attack.
The battle flag whistled in the cold wind.
The tents were stuck to the ground like nails.
The soldiers at the gate of the camp were packed tightly and guarding the door.
Like an old farmer, Li Di put his hands into his sleeves, held a shepherd's whip in his arms, and drove a group of sheep toward the camp gate.
Behind Li Di, Du Yan led a group of servants and soldiers, pushing wheelbarrows filled with sheepskin bags filled with dried fruits.
Li Di drove the sheep to the gate of the camp, but was stopped by the soldiers guarding the gate.
Li Di didn't rely on his identity to force his way in.
He just ordered the soldiers guarding the gate to go in and report.
It didn't take long.
Zhong Shiheng, wearing a large cloak and leading his soldiers, hurried to the gate of the camp.
After seeing Li Di, he hurriedly came forward and said, "It's such a cold day. Why are you here lying on the hot bed in the house when you're not lying on it?"
Li Di inserted the shepherd's whip into his waist, stroked his snow-white beard, and murmured: "I haven't asked you yet, but you asked me first. It's so cold that you don't bring it with you in the Zhenxi Army camp.
Why did the Zhenxi Army come to Shazhou?"
Zhong Shiheng smiled bitterly and said frankly: "The reason why I let the Zhenxi Army gather here is to prevent the soldiers and horses of the Black Khan Dynasty and the Liao Kingdom from offending our country after they defeated the Xizhou Uighurs.
Song border.
The second is to wait for the official order to send troops to Yizhou, so that we can rush to Yizhou quickly."
Li Di asked: "How did you expect that the officials would issue an order for you to send troops to Yizhou?"
Zhong Shiheng said with a smile: "I don't dare to guess the thoughts of the officials. But I can still guess a little bit about Privy Kou's thoughts. Privy Kou is the kind of person who doesn't like to suffer losses.
This time, the Song Dynasty sent nearly 10,000 soldiers to the aid of the Xizhou Uighurs, in order to buy the Xizhou Uighur Khan time to escape.
But the old boy actually stopped halfway through his escape.
He also planned to make a final stand against the Liao soldiers in Yizhou.
Once he was defeated, all the money and people in his hands belonged to the Liao people.
The Song Dynasty lost nearly 10,000 soldiers, but gained nothing.
Can Privy Kou be willing?
With Privy Kou's temperament, I will definitely go to Yizhou before the Liao soldiers arrive and collect the money and people from the Uighur Khan of Xizhou."
Li Di pinched his chin and nodded, saying: "You are right, those grandparents and grandchildren are both masters who will not suffer any loss. Each one is more difficult to serve than the other."
Hearing this, Zhong Shiheng laughed and said: "I'm afraid you have guessed how Bianjing City will react after the news of what Xizhou Uighur Khan did reaches Bianjing City.
So when I was gathering my troops, you didn't say anything."
Li Di curled his lips and said nothing.
Zhong Shiheng continued: "It's just that you sent these sheep to reward the soldiers. Isn't it inappropriate?"
"Pooh……"
Li Di spat unceremoniously: "Rewarding soldiers? That is something only officials can do. I have been an official for many years, how can I do something that violates taboos?"
I sent sheep and some dried fruits here out of pity for the children who were about to go on an expedition.
I want them to have a delicious meal of mutton and a bowl of mutton soup before they go on the expedition.
Then bring some dried fruits to eat on the road."
Zhong Shiheng asked: "What's the difference between that and rewarding soldiers?"
Li Di glared, "You can't eat my food for nothing. When you get to Yizhou and reap the benefits, you have to leave some for Hexi."
Zhong Shiheng frowned slightly, "Nowadays, the discipline of the Forbidden Army is very strict. Distributing and confiscating it privately without the permission of the Privy Council is a serious crime."
Li Di said disdainfully: "I don't want the money, cattle, sheep and horses of the Xizhou Uighurs."
Zhong Shiheng said suspiciously: "Then what do you want?"
Li Di curled his lips and said: "I am thinking that after the Xizhou Uighurs are destroyed, the women of the Xizhou Uighurs will definitely become homeless and pitiful people. I have no other good qualities, but I have a kind heart and cannot see the pitiful people.
.
If you have spare power, bring them all back.
I will find a man for them in Hexi to help them warm their beds to prevent them from freezing to death outside."
Hearing this, Zhong Shiheng's mouth twitched.
Seeing this, Li Di stared at Zhong Shiheng and said, "What, you also want to be kind?"
Zhong Shiheng shook his head decisively and said: "I heard that the people in Shazhou now have three wives and concubines. Isn't it inappropriate to find wives and concubines for them?"
Li Di rolled his eyes and said: "Those men in Shazhou are not short of wives. But the men who immigrated from Guazhou, Suzhou, Xiliang and other places are in short supply of wives.
If we don't find a wife for them, they will probably have to rent a wife.
If the practice of renting wives becomes popular in Hexi, that boy Kou Ji will not be able to ridicule me to death."