Less than an hour and a half after the envoys of the vassal kings entered Beijing, their appeal to the Great Song reached Kou Ji's ears.

In the bamboo courtyard.

Kou Ji tugged at the fur on his body and asked in some surprise, "You mean, they want to buy iron materials from my Great Song?" ”

Zhao Run stood in front of Kou Ji and nodded solemnly.

Since Zhao Run was canonized as the crown prince, Zhao Run has become a lot calmer.

Teaching him is no longer the duty of Koji alone, but of many.

Zhao Run has moved out of the harem and lived in the East Palace, where Zhao Zhen used to live, and the Wende Building in the East Palace has become a place for Zhao Run to study.

Every day, Dr. Guozijian, bachelors and scholars from various cabinets will go to Wende Building to teach Zhao Run.

Guozijian's doctors and bachelors are not as flexible as Kou Ji, nor as laissez-faire as Kou Ji, and relatively dull, so the students they teach will inevitably have less spirituality and more calmness.

Seeing Zhao Run nodding, Kou Ji asked with a smile, "They want the iron materials from the workshop outside the city?" ”

Zhao Run nodded and said, "What they mean is that it is best to have the finished materials forged in the workshop, and they are willing to spend a lot of money to buy them, and if my father is willing to send skilled craftsmen to guide them in forging iron, they are willing to pay a huge price for it." ”

Koji laughed, "They've been smarter, I thought they'd be stupid to stare at firearms......"

Zhao Run smiled and said, "My father said the same thing. ”

Kou Ji smiled lightly and asked, "What is your father going to do?" ”

Zhao Run said seriously: "My father neither agreed nor refused, he ordered me to come over and ask what you mean." ”

Kou Ji smiled and said, "Then you go back and tell your father, since they want it, then sell it to them." The price should be expensive, and the more expensive the better. ”

Zhao Run hesitated and said, "Sir, aren't you afraid that after they get the iron material, they will study our forging skills?" ”

Kou Ji said with a bright smile: "If the forging technique can be studied, it will be spread all over the world long ago." ”

Zhao Run nodded, didn't say anything more, and after saying goodbye to Kou Ji, he went back to the palace to pass the word.

Kou Ji shook his head and smiled after Zhao Run left, "Although I was smart once, it was still not enough to see." A man who has been dead for more than ten years is smarter than you. ”

The person who has been dead for more than ten years in Kou Ji's mouth is the Eighth King Zhao Yuanyan.

In order to get the iron materials of the forging steel workshop, Zhao Yuanyan chose to buy a large number of farm tools from the private sector and melt them and recast them.

Zhu Neng and the others never focused their eyes on those farm tools.

Based on this alone, they are not as good as Zhao Yuanyan.

If Zhu Neng and the others proposed to Zhao Zhen to purchase a large number of farm tools through normal diplomatic relations, Zhao Zhen would definitely not refuse, and he would not even discuss with Kou Ji.

Kou Ji knew that he would not stop him.

As for whether they took the farm tools back and melted them to make other things, or took those farm tools to plow the fields, no one in the Great Song Dynasty would care.

Zhu Neng and the others directly asked Da Song to buy iron materials, and everyone could guess their purpose.

By doing so, they are adding to the resistance to their own iron purchases.

Kou Ji called Liu Heng to his study and told Liu Heng about the incident.

After listening to Kou Ji's analysis, Liu Heng said with a wry smile: "Everyone is from a martial arts background, and they pay attention to a simple and rude situation. If you want to buy farm tools and then take them back and recast them, you will waste a lot of work in the middle.

And no one can guarantee that they will get the iron they want after reforging.

Therefore, they can only use simple and crude methods to ask the court for iron.

If the court agrees, everyone will naturally be happy.

If the court does not agree, they will naturally retreat to the next best. ”

Kou Ji nodded and said, "I think that's what they think too." But they put their minds on the bright side so openly that it is easy to be remembered. ”

Liu Heng said with a smile: "You and the official family are busy with restructuring now, how can you care about them?" If you and your rulers do not move them, they will have nothing to fear. ”

Kou Ji said seriously: "There are still strong countries in the West. ”

Liu Heng asked rhetorically: "Are you talking about the Tianzhu people who tremble under the trampling of iron hooves, or the big cannibals who hide in the castle without showing their heads under the burst of strong crossbows?" ”

Kou Ji looked at Liu Heng in amazement.

Liu Heng said with a dry smile: "I've been idle and bored lately, so I looked through the big food books translated by your students. Some of the military books in it look quite interesting. ”

Kou Ji asked curiously, "What do you see from this?" ”

Liu Heng commented with a smile: "There is courage but no strategy. ”

Kou Ji groaned, "Tell me about ...... carefully"

Liu Heng gestured a little, "No matter how many people there are, the two sides have made it clear that the chariots and horses are facing each other, and those with many people, well-equipped, and desperate hearts can almost win."

The art of war, trickery, almost invisible.

The most important thing is that in their war book, the strongest armies mentioned are either cavalry or foot soldiers.

Bow and heavy crossbow formations are almost missing.

There was a battle formation in it that was boasted very mysteriously.

What is it called Macedonia. ”

Kou Ji smiled and asked, "What do you think of the Macedonian phalanx?" ”

Liu Heng said with a smile: "It is more than a star and a half worse than Wei Wushu." I only need to lead 10,000 Great Song Forbidden Army, and I can easily defeat three times as many enemies.

The soldiers and horses are too single, and you are also the one who has led the soldiers, you should understand that a single soldier and horse does not have much survivability on the battlefield at all.

In the case of Macedonia, the spears in their hands are long, and melee combat can keep the enemy out of them.

But they didn't have strong crossbowmen to fight us.

So when I ran into them, I only needed to order the heavy crossbow array to shoot one round, and it would be able to shoot through their phalanx.

They couldn't do anything but get beaten.

If it were 10,000 forbidden troops, all crossbowmen and heavy crossbowmen, they would not be able to reach me.

You also know that it is a very silly act to line up in a formation on the battlefield and move forward step by step.

This was the case when my Great Song Dynasty used the formation map to fight.

I also have a huge number of bows and crossbows to help me, and I haven't been beaten like a fool.

Macedonia will only be beaten more stupidly.

Of course, if they have muskets, that's another story. ”

Kou Ji smiled and said, "People are strong troops more than a thousand years ago. ”

Liu Heng said with a smile: "More than a thousand years ago, when they met the Qin army, they would definitely lose. ”

Kou Ji smiled but didn't say anything.

Liu Heng said with emotion: "The strength of Qin's crossbow is overwhelming the six countries. Its momentum is like a gale, surging and unstoppable. On blood bravery, the world's strongest soldiers, which one is comparable to the Qin army? ”

Kou Ji smiled and said, "But people's records are not small......

Liu Heng said with a smile: "A group of pure soldiers and horses, fighting a group of chaotic semi-peasant soldiers, it is strange that they can't win." In the Great Eclipse text, the Macedonian phalanx boasted of miracles, but if you take a closer look at their opponents, you will find that their record is just like that. ”

Kou Ji said with a smile: "But Macedonia is a military formation of a thousand years ago. Maybe they're making progress now. ”

Liu Heng shook his head and smiled: "A kind of military formation of soldiers and horses has become a military formation of three kinds of soldiers and horses, which is also called change?" How many kinds of soldiers and horses are there in my Great Song Forbidden Army?

There are more than 10 kinds of scouts, heralds, jumping, charging formations, swords and shields, spears, bows and crossbows, rangers, light armor, heavy armor, throwing, fire heads, and so on.

We have too many formations to count.

Our soldiers can complete multiple changes in the military formation, quickly and stably, and can change with the change of the military formation.

They simply can't do it.

Not to mention our fickle trickery of warfare.

They only have two ways to advance and retreat, only talk about the right, not the strange.

It is clear which is strong and which is weak. ”

Kou Ji smiled: "According to what you said, Zhu Neng, Li Zhaoliang and others are enough to sweep on the Western battlefield. ”

Liu Heng said with a smile: "With the familiarity of Zhu Neng, Li Zhaoliang and others with the art of war, if they face this kind of enemy, they can be trapped before they are beaten."

By the time the fight started, the innate had already won half of it.

Whether it can be swept or not depends on the number of soldiers and horses under Zhu Neng and Li Zhaoliang.

After all, more than ten times the enemy forces pressed head-on, and it was difficult to say victory without the blocking of the moat. ”

Kou Ji nodded and said, "It seems that they didn't seem to have encountered a strong enemy in Tianzhu, otherwise they wouldn't have been able to get the Bayeux Sutra and the Buddha bone relics." ”

The smile on Liu Heng's face narrowed, "Fourth brother, I suspect that Cao Yong, Li Zhaoliang, Zhu Neng, Yuan Shan and others have already met in Tianzhu.

This time to present gifts to the official family, they obviously discussed it in advance, otherwise it would be impossible to offer a generous gift to the official family at the same time. ”

Kou Ji nodded solemnly and said, "I also discovered this. They must have secretly formed an alliance, ready to join hands to gather wool from my Great Song Dynasty.

What's more, the two of us were kept out of the alliance by them. ”

Liu Heng said in a deep voice: "Do you need me to do something?" ”

Kou Ji shook his head and said, "No, let's just wait and see." ”

Liu Heng hesitated and said, "I'm afraid that if we start late, the treasures of the West will not be our share." ”

Kou Ji shook his head and smiled: "What we have is something that they can't catch up with." I'll draw something for you when I go back, and you secretly give it to them and let them get it for me.

As long as they can meet my requirements, I can ask the officials to send someone to set up a steel forging workshop for them, or I can give them the production drawings of the Fire Crossbow Meteor Arrow and the Hundred Tigers Running Together.

Since they have chosen to abandon the two of us, then I can only let them follow behind the ass forever and eat ashes. ”

Liu Heng asked: "The fourth brother has long been careful? ”

Kou Ji pointed to his chest and laughed: "It's already in your chest." ”

Speaking of this, Kou Ji smiled at Liu Heng and said: "Go back and write to Tianci and Boxu, so that they can watch the people under their rule give birth to babies and study shipbuilding."

A new ship came out, and the old ship was immediately sold to the Cao family.

And so on, the best will always be in our hands.

And we don't need to spend too much money from start to finish, and we even have to make money.

They make money with their lives, and we make money with our brains. ”

Liu Heng nodded and muttered, "Can the Cao family eat so many boats from our two families?" ”

Kou Ji glanced at Liu Heng and smiled indifferently: "The Cao family has obviously established a relationship with Cao Yong, and I still let the Cao family take the relationship."

The Cao family caught up with Cao, which was equivalent to catching up with Li Zhaoliang, Zhu Neng, and Yuanshan.

The Cao family will definitely not be able to eat it, but they will definitely be able to eat it together. ”

Liu Heng said thoughtfully: "What does the fourth brother mean is that they will buy a good ship from us through the Cao family?" ”

Kou Ji nodded, "That's inevitable." They're getting rid of me gradually, so they won't trade with me openly in the future.

But the good things in our hands, they have to ask for them, so they can only go through the official family, or the Cao family. ”

Liu Heng sighed with emotion: "It's really cheap! ”

Kou Ji looked up to the sky and laughed, "Isn't it......"

After talking with Liu Heng, Kou Ji spent four days, drew many things with illustrations and text descriptions, sent people to print 10,000 copies, and sent Liu Heng to hand over the envoys of several major clan kings before the Chinese New Year's Eve banquet.

Most of the vassal king's envoys were their relatives.

So Liu Heng took out the things painted by Kou Ji, and when he proposed to exchange the fire crossbow meteor arrow with the hundred tigers, the other party agreed without thinking about it.

After settling this secret deal.

The Chinese New Year's Eve banquet slowly kicked off.

Kou Ji, who had been at home for two months, finally appeared in the palace.

In two months, Kou Ji has lost a lot of weight, but his power has also become a lot stronger.

When Kou Ji carried his hands behind his back and followed the leading Gong E into the Daqing Palace, everyone in the Daqing Hall was silent.

Thousands of people froze in front of their tables, quietly watching Kou Ji step by step to the position at the bottom of the imperial stairs and slowly sat down.

"Kou Xiang......"

Someone stood up and saluted.

The others also stood up and bowed to Kou Ji.

Even the envoys of the vassal kings, as well as the envoys of various subordinates, stood up one after another to give their respects.

Kou Ji sat on his chair and waved his hand flatly, "Sit down......

"Xie Ko ......"

The crowd saluted again and sat down.

After everyone arrived, Chen Lin walked out of the back of the hall, stood on the imperial steps, and announced loudly.

"Respectfully ...... the official family"

"Respectfully invite the Queen Mother to ......"

"Respectfully ...... the Queen"

"I respectfully request His Royal Highness the Crown Prince to ......"

Chen Lin preached four times in a row.

Everyone in the Daqing Hall stood up and saluted to greet Zhao Zhen's family.

Zhao Zhen and Empress Cao, one left and one right, supported Empress Dowager Li, Zhao Run followed obediently behind him, and Concubine Du and the concubines of the palace followed behind the prince.

A large family of people appeared on the Daqing Palace.

"Ministers and other officials see the official ......"

"See ...... for ministers"

“……”

In the voice of all the courtiers in the Daqing Palace, Zhao Zhen's family sat in the place where they should be sitting.

Zhao Zhen flicked his sleeves and announced heroically, "Zhu Qing is flat......"

The courtiers in the Daqing Hall straightened up.

Zhao Zhen announced again, "Give ...... to sit"

"Thank you for ...... official"

After Xie sat down, everyone in the Daqing Hall sat down.

Tang Suke, the waiter of the Ministry of Rites, held a yellow scroll in his hand and read it in a high-pitched tone.

A group of people in the Daqing Hall listened to it as if they were fascinated.

After Tang Jie read out the gorgeous congratulatory message for the new year.

Zhao Zhen instructed Chen Lin to read out the reward for the Manchu Dynasty's civil and military forces.

After the will of the reward was read, the vassal kings, subordinates, and envoys came out to present gifts to Zhao Zhen.

Zhao Zhen accepted their gifts and agreed to their demands on the spot.

Then came the vassal kings, the vassals, and the envoys presented their carefully prepared programs to His Majesty Zhao Zhen, the Emperor of the Great Song Dynasty.

Koji sat in his chair and didn't say a word from beginning to end.

He watched those exotic programs, and his heart was full of emotion.

Once upon a time, in the court of the Great Song Dynasty, the Great Song Dynasty faced the envoys of those countries, and wanted to present programs to entertain them, and even launched some high-level martial arts to let the envoys kill for fun.

In the end, he ended up and got back a little face for Da Song.

Now, the Great Song Dynasty no longer has to entertain anyone, let alone push the people of the Great Song Dynasty out to make people slash and kill for fun.

On the contrary, it was the vassal kings, subordinates, and envoys who began to please the Great Song Dynasty.

Even if they taught skills in the palace, the warriors of the Great Song Dynasty killed the people of the envoy group, and the envoys would clap their hands excitedly and shout loudly, and even offer gold and silver, praising the warriors of the Great Song Dynasty as first-class warriors.

Kou Ji saw that a golden armor in front of the emperor beheaded a majestic and mighty Tianzhu slave with a sword, which attracted cheers from the audience, and he was even rewarded with a gold ingot from the envoy of the Yuanshan Ministry, and nodded with satisfaction.

"This is how a great power should be, and a great power is always pleased, not pleased."

Kou Ji muttered faintly, picked up his wine glass and poured himself a drink.

A grand Chinese New Year's Eve banquet ended after Kou Ji was drunk.

Kou Ji carried a cart of rewards and left the palace in style.

In the following days, the temple worships the ancestors, visits relatives and friends, and is busy for four or five days.

Four or five days later.

Kou Ji was completely at leisure.

An old ox cart stopped at the gate of the bamboo courtyard when Kou Ji was at leisure.

The old man on the ox cart got off the ox cart and stared at the word Kou hanging at the door of the bamboo courtyard for a long time.

The doorman guarding the gate of the bamboo courtyard saw the old man and glared in shock.

After the disciple hurriedly gave the salute, he had to go into the door to make a report.

was stopped by the old man.

After standing at the door for a long time, the old man stepped into the bamboo courtyard.

When the old man appeared in front of Kou Ji, Kou Ji was startled.

Kou Ji helped his uncle sit down, and asked in astonishment: "You don't stay in Hexi for the New Year, what are you doing when you go to Bianjing City?"

With your bones, under the bumps of the long journey, if you don't do it, you will have to die. ”

Li Di sat on the chair with Kou Ji's support, rolled his eyes and said, "You wish the old man was going to die, so as to make room for you and let you do nonsense?" ”

Kou Ji instructed the housekeeper to serve tea, then sat next to Li Di and said, "I don't like your position." ”

Li Di was stunned for a moment, nodded with a smile, and said, "That's right...... You are now the first person under the official family, and you are in charge of all the officials of the Great Song Dynasty. The old man, the official who eats sand, really can't get into your eyes. ”

Kou Ji said in a deep voice: "You suddenly ran back to Beijing for the New Year, and I don't know what your intentions are?" ”

The smile on Li Di's face gradually dissipated, and he said in a heavy voice: "One is to mourn Wang Zeng, and the other is to talk to you and the official family." ”

Kou Ji groaned, "Mainly to talk to me and the official family, right?" ”

Li Di didn't hide it and nodded.

Kou Ji hesitated for a moment and said, "Is there anything inconvenient to say in the letter?" ”

Li Di didn't answer Kou Ji's question, but asked Kou Ji in a deep voice, "Do you know what Li Zhaoliang, Yuan Shan, and Zhu Neng are doing in the Western Regions?" ”

Kou Ji said: "They are robbing the money of those small states and small cities to strengthen themselves. ”

Li Di said solemnly: "Not only is it robbing money, they are expanding their territory." The old man heard from the passing merchants that they had formed an alliance with the Black Khanate, and the soldiers divided into two routes, all the way to the west of the Black Khanate, and went straight to Dashi.

All the way to the south of the Black Khanate, straight to Tianzhu.

After they killed Tianzhu, they bumped into the lord of the East Tianzhu Kingdom, and now the two sides have divided most of Tianzhu.

Yuanshan even abandoned his territory in the Western Regions and threw those territories to Li Zhaoliang.

After Li Zhaoliang swallowed the territory of the Yuanshan Division, he is now connected with Zhu Neng's fiefdom and the Black Khanate.

And Yuanshan moved all his people to Tianzhu.

Now the remaining half of Tianzhu is being conquered.

The old man guessed that it should be Yuanshan who used Yuanshan's previous territory to exchange Li Zhaoliang and Zhu Neng for their territory in Tianzhu, so that Li Zhaoliang and Zhu Neng gave up their territory in Tianzhu.

The old man believed that in another year or two, the lords of Yuanshan and Dongtianzhu would take the entire territory of Tianzhu, and they should divide Tianzhu and establish a national dynasty.

And Li Zhaoliang and Zhu Neng's current territory has reached the scale that a khanate should have.

The old man believes that soon, there will be four dynasties in the West that are familiar with my Great Song Dynasty. ”

Speaking of this, Li Di's face has become very ugly.

Kou Ji groaned, "Are you aware of the danger? ”

Li Di nodded and said in a deep voice: "Once the four of them establish a country, it will be four dynasties that will not lose to Western Xia." If they form an alliance, it will be a great threat to my Great Song. ”

Kou Ji asked, "So you quietly rushed back to Bianjing City to persuade me and the official family to secretly send troops to give them some deterrence?" ”

Li Di nodded, and shook his head again, "Whether or not to send troops, the old man said that it doesn't matter, and the current military affairs of the Great Song Dynasty are not something that the old man can participate in."

However, it is imperative to increase troops to the northwest and southwest.

The old man heard that the north of Gao Weizhao's location was also full of wars.

Presumably, Gao Weizhao also expanded his territory in the north.

Once they formed an alliance and cultivated a large army, it would be a disaster for our Great Song to invade our Great Song from the west, north, and southwest.

Therefore, the imperial court had to increase its troops to the west, north, and southwest.

These three places are only garrisoned by a forbidden army, which is far from enough. ”

Kou Ji snorted coldly and said, "They don't have the strength to argue with my Great Song." ”

Li Di said with a bitter face: "The old man also knows that they don't have the strength to argue with me now, so what can I do?" Raising tigers is a problem. When the Western Xia was still the town of the Great Song Dynasty, the Manchu Dynasty civil and military felt that the Western Xia was not to be feared.

In the end, after the Western Xia became a great disaster, the Manchu civil and military realized that they had raised a man-eating tiger.

If my Great Song allows a few of them to sit big, then they will become the new tigers.

A tiger in Western Xia is enough to give us a headache.

The appearance of five tigers at one time is a great harm to my Great Song. ”