Renting a wife was a very rare thing in later generations.
But in ancient times, it was a common thing.
Many ancient people were poor, and many of them could not afford wives. The ancients also valued the inheritance of incense, so the idea of renting wives came into being.
When a man who cannot afford a wife reaches a certain age and needs to continue the family line, he will find a middleman, spend a sum of money, rent someone else's wife or concubine, and bring him home to continue the family line.
The time is usually three years. After three years, the wives and concubines rented by the man will return to their original husband's home and will not stay for a moment longer.
If a man and his rented wife have been in a relationship for three years, they can also negotiate with an intermediary and spend a sum of money to completely turn the rented wife into his own wife.
Whether in the eyes of Kou Ji or Li Di.
Renting a wife is a kind of tragedy.
When Hexi was first established, some people from the Western Regions who stayed in Hexi retained the bad habit of sharing wives. The wives and concubines left by the father would be inherited by the sons, and the wives and concubines left by the sons would be inherited by the grandchildren.
This goes on and on until the woman dies.
After Kou Ji discovered this bad habit, he picked up a butcher knife and chopped down a large number of people in Hexi Province before he stopped being so disgusted.
When Kou Ji was in charge of Hexi, he single-handedly eliminated the bad habit of wife sharing in Hexi.
When Li Di was in Hexi, if he had the bad habit of renting a wife, it would be strange if Kou Ji didn't ridicule him.
Zhong Shiheng was a scholar and was very disgusted with the bad habit of renting wives, so after hearing Li Di mention renting wives, his face straightened slightly and he said: "We, the Song Dynasty, are now dominating the world, and the people of our Song Dynasty have no reason to marry
Not going to the wife's house. I didn't see this, so I could pretend not to know, but if I saw it, there was no reason to ignore it.
Mr. Li, please feel free to leave this matter to me.
When I go to Yizhou, I will definitely bring back those women from Yizhou."
Li Di heard Zhong Shiheng's words and laughed loudly: "With your words, I feel relieved. My sheep and dried fruits were not sent to the wrong person."
While speaking, Li Di was already urging Du Yan, who was not far behind him, to push the wheelbarrow containing dried fruits to the gate of the camp as quickly as possible.
Zhong Shiheng was not polite and accepted all the sheep and dried fruits that Li Di sent, but he did not invite Li Di into the military camp.
As Zhong Shiheng said, today's Forbidden Army military discipline is very strict.
The military discipline of the Forbidden Army clearly stipulates that no one who is not a member of the Forbidden Army is allowed to enter the camp where the Forbidden Army is stationed, and no one is exempted.
This is true even for the three chief ministers in the court.
Although Li Di has status and qualifications.
But Zhong Shiheng couldn't invite him into the military camp to have a bowl of mutton soup with him.
The gate of the camp.
Du Yan watched the soldiers of the Zhenxi Army push the last cart of dried fruits into the camp gate, and hesitantly said to Li Di, who was holding a shepherd whip and yawning at the side: "Mr. Li, let the imperial guards go out to snatch women. After the news spreads, they will treat us
His reputation would be very bad."
Li Di glanced at Du Yan and asked in a neutral tone: "Du Yan, how long have you been in Hexi?"
Du Yan was stunned for a moment and said in a deep voice: "It's been almost eight years."
Li Di turned his head and looked at Du Yan, sighed and said, "You have been in Hexi for eight years, and you haven't learned what it means to be an official. Your career in this life will stop here."
Du Yan's expression changed.
Li Di said to himself: "It's okay for you to stay in Hexi. After I drive to Hexi, you can take my place and continue to be in charge of Hexi."
Du Yan gritted his teeth slightly.
Seeing this, Li Di snorted and said, "Why, you are not willing to give in?"
Du Yan said nothing.
Li Di said sarcastically: "If you don't want to, just hold it in... You, Du Yan, have been an official for decades and have been in Hexi for eight years. You still haven't figured out the way to be an official.
reputation?
Is reputation important to people?
We serve as officials for the sake of the court and the people, not for ourselves.
If you only seek fame, then why should you be an official?
Let's go to Wenchang Academy to teach.
If you teach someone to have peaches and plums all over the world, your good reputation will surely spread throughout the world.
Now that you have become an official, reputation is the least important thing.
As an official, the first thing is to protect the court.
The second is to protect the people.
Reputation is insignificant compared to the court and the people.
We only need to be worthy of the court at the top, worthy of the people at the bottom, and worthy of our own conscience in the middle.
Even if someone becomes a butcher or executioner, I would still be happy with it.
What an official fears most is putting the cart before the horse.
Blindly pursuing fame, but forgetting the fundamentals of being an official.
Then you are not worthy of being an official.
Kou Ji sees this more clearly than you do.
So Kou Ji is now our Privy Envoy of the Song Dynasty.
But you, Du Yan, can only eat sand in Hexi."
Du Yan lowered his head with an ugly expression.
Seeing this, Li Di sighed, "I know very well that people like us have their own insistence on being an official deep in their hearts and will not be shaken easily. I don't want to change your persistence, I just want you to be able to do it in your free time."
Besides, look at the people more.
Doing more for the people is better than pursuing those illusory reputations."
Du Yan obviously didn't want to discuss this issue with Li Di, so he remained silent.
Seeing this, Li Di didn't say anything more.
He has already said what needs to be said. Whether he can understand it or not depends on Du Yan himself.
The Song Dynasty is changing day by day, and the center of the change is Zhao Zhen and Kou Ji.
They not only controlled the power of the Song Dynasty, but also controlled all changes in the Song Dynasty.
What they need most now is someone who will do practical things for the people and the court in a down-to-earth manner.
Not the kind of person who pursues fame and fortune for himself.
People who are not in line with their wishes will never be able to get into their eyes for the rest of their lives.
If you can't get into their eyes, you can't get into the center.
Even if you try your best to get into the center, you won't have much say.
Lu Yijian, Wang Zeng, and Zhang Zhibai are the best examples.
Even though Lu Yijian and the other three looked majestic in the court, they actually didn't have much say anymore.
The three of them are now speaking according to Zhao Zhen and Kou Ji's thoughts, so what they say will work.
If they go against Zhao Zhen and Kou Ji, then what they say will not work at all.
In a few years, their influence in the court will also weaken.
The reform of the government system at Chaoting Road did not affect the interests of officials or wealthy families.
But officials and wealthy families did not benefit from it either.
There were only two people who really benefited from the imperial government reform, one was Zhao Zhen and the other was Kou Ji.
Everyone in the government and the public was eyeing the positions of the prefects, supervisory envoys, and generals in each prefecture.
But no one cared that there were some new faces in the states under the government's jurisdiction.
Those disciples of Kou Ji who came out of Tiansheng Hall have now quietly spread throughout the Song Dynasty and become the governor of a state.
Those guys are all outstanding people.
They are destined to gain a foothold in the local area and then gradually enter the center of power.
In a few years, some of them will serve as prefects, and some of them will be transferred back to Beijing.
Wait until they speak out in the court.
There were only two voices left in the court.
One is named Zhao Zhen and the other is named Kou Ji.
Under such circumstances, if we don't follow the wishes of Zhao Zhen and Kou Ji as officials, how good will the outcome be?
Just as Li Di was thinking wildly, Zhong Shiheng had already ordered the soldiers of the Zhenxi Army to remove the dried fruits and other items from the wheelbarrow and return the wheelbarrow to the gate of the camp.
Li Di said goodbye to Zhong Shiheng, and ordered Du Yan to take the people and push the wheelbarrow and leave the place where the military camp was located.
It's night.
The lights in the Zhenxi Army camp were brightly lit, and the smell of mutton drifted to all parts of Hexi with the wind.
The officers and soldiers of the Zhenxi Army had a hearty meal of mutton, and each received a small bag of dried fruits. They also memorized the military order conveyed by Zhong Shiheng to kill men but not women.
The Zhenxi Army stationed at the border of Shazhou for five days.
Three fast horses came from the east.
The soldiers on horseback, carrying the letter flag on their backs, braved the wind and sand, ran all the way to the camp gate, and plunged into the camp gate.
The Zhenxi Army officers at the gate did not stop him.
In today's Great Song Dynasty, the only one who dared to break into the Forbidden Army camp was Babai Li Jiji, who was carrying military orders.
The officers and soldiers of the Zhenxi Army at the gate of the camp immediately changed from a defensive posture to an alert posture after eight hundred miles hastened the soldiers to ride their horses into the camp gate.
Eight hundred miles of hurried soldiers rushed into the camp gate on horseback, and ran non-stop all the way to the Chinese army's tent.
"The Privy Council has issued an urgent order. With the help of Zhong Shiheng, who is in charge of the Privy Council, he will lead the entire Zhenxi Army to advance westward immediately and send troops to Yizhou!"
Eight hundred miles of urgent soldiers shouted loudly in front of the Chinese army's tent.
Zhong Shiheng quickly appeared outside the Chinese army's tent. While walking to the eight hundred miles hastening soldiers, he ordered the general of the Zhenxi Army to assemble the entire army.
When Zhong Shiheng walked to the soldiers who were rushing from 800 miles away, he took the military order from the Privy Council and finished it carefully.
The entire Zhenxi Army has quickly gathered together.
Zhong Shiheng had long expected that the imperial court would gather troops to send the Xizhou Uighurs, so he had made preparations in advance.
Going to Xizhou Uighur can be said to be a race against time. The earlier you go, the less risk you will have.
Therefore, Zhong Shiheng tried his best to shorten some unnecessary wasted time.
After the entire Zhenxi Army was assembled, Zhong Shiheng immediately ordered the entire army to move out.
Fifty thousand soldiers, led by Zhong Shiheng, left the military camp and quickly rushed to Yizhou in the Uighur territory of Xizhou.
In order to save time, they did not bring tents or luggage.
I only brought some simple rations.
The purpose is to save marching time.
The cavalry was in the front, the musketeers were in the center, and the artillery suppressed the formation.
Fifty thousand soldiers and horses rushed towards Yizhou day and night.
Shazhou border is two and a half days' journey from Yizhou.
It only took the Zhenxi Army one and a half days to reach Yizhou.
If it weren't for the artillery drag, the time could be shortened further.
After Zhong Shiheng led the Zhenxi Army to Yizhou, he ordered the entire army to recharge their batteries outside Yizhou.
While he sent scouts to investigate the movements of the Liao soldiers, he also sent people to negotiate with the Xizhou Uighur Khan in Yizhou City.
After being out for a day, the scout returned to the temporary military camp and informed Zhong Shiheng that Liao soldiers had arrived at Nazhi and were attacking Nazhi.
After Zhong Shiheng learned the news, he relaxed.
The Liao soldiers are still attacking Nazhi, and will later conquer Yidu. It is impossible to reach Yizhou without three to five days.
There was plenty of time left for Zhong Shiheng.
As long as he was fast enough, by the time the Liao soldiers arrived in Yizhou, he would have already led everyone back to Shazhou.
In this way, conflicts with the Liao soldiers were avoided.
The envoys who went to Yizhou City to negotiate with the Uighur Khan of Xizhou stayed in Yizhou City for a full day.
After returning to the temporary military camp from Yizhou City.
Zhong Shiheng asked dissatisfiedly: "Do you know that our time is precious, and if we delay it for a moment, it is very likely that we will pay the lives of dozens or even hundreds of soldiers?"
Zhong Shiheng was in the large tent of the Chinese army, surrounded by generals wearing armor and holding swords. When he said these words, he was full of intimidation.
The envoy who went to negotiate heard Zhong Shiheng's words, made a sad face, and bowed: "I don't want to stay in Yizhou City for a day. When I entered Yizhou City, the Uighur Khan of Xizhou,
He kept pushing away and refused to see his subordinates.
In the end, the lower official threatened to start a war, and then he met the Uighur Khan of Xizhou."
Hearing this, Zhong Shiheng frowned and said, "What did that old boy say?"
The envoy said with a bitter face: "He said that if the Song Dynasty is willing to help him defend the three cities of Yizhou, Yidu and Nazhi, he can donate half of the money accumulated by the Uighurs in Xizhou to the Song Dynasty."
Zhong Shiheng snorted coldly, "He has a good plan!"
The envoy smiled bitterly and said nothing.
Zhong Shiheng asked: "What did he say about asking him to come back to Shazhou with us?"
The envoy said frankly: "He was trying to push back and forth, but he didn't agree."
Zhong Shiheng narrowed his eyes slightly, "Give me something shameless."
Zhong Shiheng stood up slowly and said loudly: "Send the order and the whole army will attack."
The 50,000-strong Zhenxi Army, following Zhong Shiheng's order, pressed toward Yizhou.
Xizhou Uighur Khan originally thought that even if the Song Dynasty fell out with him, he could rely on the soldiers and horses in his hands to resist one or two, and he would continue to fight the Song Dynasty soldiers and horses until the Liao soldiers arrived, and then sit and watch the two of them.
Tigers fight each other, and you take advantage of them.
But when the 50,000 Zhenxi Army reached the gates of Yizhou City.
Only then did he realize that he was wrong.
His soldiers and horses were completely vulnerable to the Zhenxi Army.
Hundreds of artillery pieces fired a salvo, creating a large gap in the wall of Yizhou City.
The Xizhou Uighur soldiers and horses in Yizhou City were in chaos.
After the Xizhou Uighur soldiers and horses suffered heavy blows from the Black Khan Dynasty and Liao Kingdom soldiers and horses one after another, their hearts were already filled with fear.
Amidst the roar of the Zhenxi Army's artillery fire, they could not muster the slightest daring to fight.
Xizhou Uighur Khan organized a group of soldiers who were very loyal to him and rushed out of Yizhou City on horseback, hoping to suppress the offensive momentum of the Zhenxi Army.
However, after those soldiers rushed out of Yizhou City and entered the range of the muskets, they were killed by rounds of gunfire.
After all the soldiers sent by the Uighur Khan of Xizhou were killed, the Zhenxi Army rushed into Yizhou City.
The Xizhou Uighur soldiers and horses in Yizhou City knelt down one after another and asked to surrender.
Xizhou Uighur Khan led his princess and children to express their surrender to Zhong Shiheng at the gate of the temporary palace in Yizhou City.
Zhong Shiheng, on behalf of the imperial court, accepted his surrender.
After the surrender of the Uighur Khan of Xizhou.
Zhong Shiheng ordered people to make all the Xizhou Uighur men in Yizhou City prisoners.
Then he drove the prisoners and plundered all the goods, cattle, sheep, horses, and people in Yizhou City.
Finally, Zhong Shiheng took everything in Yizhou City and left Yizhou City overnight.
A day and a half later, Xiao Pidi led a force of 30,000 troops and appeared outside Yizhou City covered in dust.
Looking at the cleared Yizhou City, Xiao Pidi's face was so gloomy that he could bleed.
"After learning that the Song soldiers appeared in the Uighur territory of Xizhou, I left a large army to attack Yidu and Nazhi, and rushed here with a partial division. I thought I would stop the Song soldiers, but I didn't expect
It’s still too late.”
Xiao Pidi sat astride the horse, subconsciously clenched his fists, and said angrily: "We fought hard for several months, but in the end it was the Song people who took advantage.
The hundreds of years of accumulation accumulated by the Xizhou Uighurs were so easily taken away by the Song people.
This is unreasonable."
"General, the matter has come to an end. It is useless to say more."
The civil servant who followed Xiao Pidi warned in a low voice, "The Black Khan King did not seize much property in Gaochang, but he also captured a lot of property in the Uighur Beiting in Xizhou.
Although King Black Khan was very generous, he handed over Yidu, Nazhi and Yizhou to us.
But the money in the hands of the Uighur Khan of Xizhou was not explicitly handed over to us.
The accumulation of Xizhou Uighurs over the past century must be a considerable fortune.
The Black Khan King must be thinking about that wealth.
What the general has to do now is to send someone to tell King Black Khan that the Song people have plundered Yizhou.
Lest the Black Khan King think that we have monopolized the Xizhou Uighurs’ century-old savings and start a conflict with us.”
Xiao Pidi gritted his teeth and said: "I'll leave this matter to you. By the way, I would like to remind the Black Khan King Yu Sufu that the promise made to him by our Liao Kingdom has been fulfilled, and the promise he made to us should also be fulfilled.
Compared with the Xizhou Uighurs, the Song Dynasty was more prosperous.
If we invade the Song Dynasty, we will get a hundred times or a thousand times more than what we get from the Uighurs in Xizhou."
"I understand."
The civil servant agreed and took a group of people out of Yizhou City.
Xiao Pidi took 30,000 troops and stationed outside Yizhou City.
Zhong Shiheng returned with a full load, and as soon as he entered the border of Shazhou, Li Di appeared at the border with his people.
After meeting Zhong Shiheng, Li Di did not ask Zhong Shiheng whether he had brought back those poor Xizhou Uighur women. Instead, he asked with some concern: "Are any soldiers injured and how many? This time from Heihan
Seized from the hands of the Dynasty and Liao people
Food, they will definitely not give up. I'm afraid the doctors in the army don't have that much time to take care of the injured soldiers. You hand the injured soldiers to me. I have ordered people to prepare many empty houses in Shazhou and Guazhou for the soldiers.
Let’s recuperate.”
Zhong Shiheng ordered the general of the Zhenxi Army to bring people into the country. He jumped off his horse and walked up to Li Di and said, "Don't worry, Mr. Li. Some of the soldiers are injured, but they are not many."
Li Di breathed a sigh of relief when he heard this.
Zhong Shiheng said in a deep voice: "However, if we seize food from the Black Khan Dynasty and the Liao people this time, they will definitely become angry. The Liao and Black Khan Dynasty have the intention to join hands to attack the Song Dynasty.
It is very likely that they will use this as an excuse to send troops to the border of the Song Dynasty.
Therefore, we may have a very difficult time in the days to come.
I can't take care of the wounded soldiers and local people, so I will have to help Mr. Li."
When Li Di heard this, his expression became solemn.
"It's still winter now, so people from the Liao and Black Han dynasties should not take action. This is because Emperor Yelu Longxu of the Liao Kingdom cannot lead the other troops of the Liao Kingdom to form a two-sided attack on us.
However, we also have to be on guard. If the enemy does not act according to common sense, we will be the ones who suffer in the end.
When I return, I will give an order to temporarily move the people of Shazhou to Guazhou, freeing up Shazhou for you to use as a battlefield.
You can give me the wounded soldiers in the camp to take with them.
With me sitting behind you, you can use your hands and feet to deal with the people of the Black Han Dynasty and the Liao Kingdom.
As long as I am still alive, I will not let anything from behind hinder your feet."
Zhong Shiheng bowed to Li Di and said, "Then I'll help Mr. Li."
Li Di bowed and returned the courtesy, "It's all for the court and the people."
After the two of them finished talking, they began to count the seizures.
After the money was clearly counted, Zhong Shiheng ordered people to pack it into boxes and give it to Li Di, who asked Li Di to send local soldiers and civilians to transport the money to Yizijiaozipu in Xiliang City.
Cattle, sheep, horses, and grain were counted and stored in Shazhou.
The surrendered prisoners, including those who could be organized into soldiers and horses, were kept by Zhong Shiheng, and the rest were handed over to Li Di.
Li Di has rich experience in how to divide and manage the Uighur people in Xizhou.
As for the Xizhou Uighur Khan, Li Di and Zhong Shiheng sent people to respectfully send him to Bianjing City.
Since the Xizhou Uighur Khan took the initiative to surrender to the Song Dynasty, rather than defecting to the Song Dynasty, the treatment method agreed by the court before was naturally not applicable.
After everything is taken care of.
Zhong Shiheng led the Zhenxi Army and began to deploy defenses on the border of Shazhou.
Half deployed.
The armies of the Black Khan Dynasty and the Liao Kingdom appeared on the border of Shazhou.
When the endless black soldiers and horses appeared at the Shazhou border, everyone at the Shazhou border felt numb when they saw it.
The Black Khan dynasty had 700,000 soldiers and horses, and the Liao army had 100,000 soldiers.
A total of 800,000 soldiers and horses covered a large area of the land.
Zhong Shiheng appeared on a high ground when the 800,000 allied troops of the Black Khan Dynasty and the Liao Kingdom appeared on the border of Shazhou.
Looking at the dark army, Zhong Shiheng said solemnly: "800,000 soldiers and horses came over before the spring started. They wanted to take action in advance."
The soldiers and horses of the Black Khan Dynasty pursued a strategy of supporting war with war.
There is no war, so they send out the whole army, just looking for death.
Because their luggage and rations are all in the enemy camp.
Therefore, once the army of the Black Khan Dynasty is dispatched, a war will definitely occur.
Now the Black Khan Dynasty has pressed 700,000 troops on the border of the Song Dynasty, making it clear that it will take the lead in attacking the Song Dynasty before the Liao Emperor Yelu Longxu leads the Liao soldiers south to attack the Song Dynasty.
"The enemy's actions were different from what the officials and Privy Council Kou had expected. They sent people to immediately pass the news back to Bianjing City. They asked Privy Council Kou to quickly dispatch troops and horses to come to the rescue. At the same time, they sent people to Yuanshan and Qingtang to convey the news and ask them to go out.
Send troops and horses to help us."
After Zhong Shiheng confirmed the purpose of the Black Khan Dynasty, he ordered the people around him to ask for help with a solemn expression.
Zhong Shiheng not only asked for help from the imperial court, but also asked for help from his two allies, Qingtang and Yuanshan.