Overlord's Road to Ancient Emperors

The Northwest also soon welcomed several construction teams that specialize in helping others. Kou Xiao was drinking mutton soup against the biting cold wind. Hearing this, he smiled a little, "Your Majesty is so fast, it seems that everyone doesn't need it this winter." Frozen."

Not only do they not have to suffer from the cold, but the people don’t have to suffer from hunger this winter. Wei Lan has just received a hundred carts of grain, all of which are full-grained rice. A group of Northwest officials surrounded the grain with smiles on their faces.

"I heard that the rice production in the south is extremely high. I didn't expect that this year they would send us so much food. Didn't you hear that the south was hit by a disaster in summer?"

"This year's disaster is considered light, haven't you heard? The rice in the south is planted twice a year. Even if there is no harvest in summer, there will still be harvest in autumn. It's really more popular than others. Many farmers here want to Move to the south."

"Are you kidding, even if the eldest prince...is the newcomer so generous, he can let the people move away at will? It's a good idea!"

"Speaking of which, the newcomer is really young, and I don't know if he can beat those old things. The northwest is almost becoming the fiefdom of the generals' mansions."

"The eldest prince was about the same age when he first came to the Northwest. He was a prince. He thought he could make some changes. In the end, he only spent money to buy people's hearts and fed all the generals. He didn't care about the lives of the people. ,Why……"

"That's an army of 30 people. Whoever it is will have to be held tightly in their hands. What are the people? But the situation is different now. In the past, there was no such food sent to supplement the people."

Wei Lan walked out of the shabby mansion in official uniform. Several officials who were talking in low voices rushed forward, saluted and greeted the young official with shy faces. Noble, no one would dare to offend him just thinking about who his grandfather was.

Some officials flattered and said: "Master Wei, the imperial court sent a hundred carts of grain. It must be for you. There has never been such a good thing in the past. Once you come, our people in the northwest will have a better life. You are really our big brother." My lord!"

The embarrassing expression on Wei Lan's face flashed across, coughed dryly, and retorted: "Don't talk nonsense, this is the relief food specially sent by His Royal Highness Shun Wang who cares about the people in the northwest. Afterwards, there will be more cotton-padded clothes. The prince has explained that the food will be delivered to the common people only when there is an emergency. Don’t let the hard-working people starve to death. Every household has cotton-padded clothes. All adults must implement them in place, otherwise they will be caught by the supervisory history. Those who privately own their pockets or abolish their private interests due to public affairs must be reported and punished."

Every county has a supervisory history, but not every supervisory history can do a good job. Most of them have become the umbrella of local officials. Secretly go to various places to check, and if any perpetrators are found, they will immediately report to the Northwest Army for processing.

"Master Wei, do we really not need to send civilian husbands over to the Northwest Army?"

Wei Lan looked at the person who spoke, it was an old official, as thin as a stick, his eyes were dull, and his expression was full of fear, he twitched the corner of his mouth, and said sarcastically: "General Kou, did you say someone important?"

"Kou... General Kou is not there, but this is a common practice. In previous years, when winter comes, people from all over the country will be recruited and sent to the barracks to prevent the Huns from invading the country. They will not be released until the winter is over."

"It's not in wartime, why do they recruit civilians? Just in case? That's their own business in the Northwest Army. The people have to plant winter wheat this winter, reclaim wasteland to grow cotton in the next year, and repair houses to prevent When the heavy snow came and crushed the houses, there were so many things to do, how could I have time to guard the border for the Northwest Army?

Besides, let the civilian husband do everything, what are they doing in the Northwest Army?Don't put the cart before the horse. We are civil servants, and the common people are the ones we should take care of. What does the Northwest Army have to do with us? "

What Wei Lan said was ruthless and domineering, and all the officials were heartbroken when they heard it, but there were also some timid ones who reminded him: "After all, the Northwest Army is our patron saint, and they are doing this for the safety of the Northwest. Your Excellency, don't get angry."

Wei Lan waved his hand. Before he came to the Northwest, Li Xu had told him many times that the army is the army, and the people are the people. If the army wants to use the people, there must be a reasonable reason, and it must be approved by the government. Moreover, the Northwest Army is nominally in charge of the Kou Xiao and Kou Xiao didn't speak, let alone pay attention to them.

Speaking of Kou Xiao, Wei Lan didn't like him very much. The general who was born in a barbarian land had nothing to show for him except that he was lucky enough to help King Shun when he was in trouble. King Shun regarded him as his confidant. They are all in his hands, and I don't know if he can take on the big responsibility.

A thug official asked Wei Lan meanly, "Lord Wei, we heard that General Kou and King Shun are... the favorites of King Shun. Is this true?" What he actually wanted to say was " Male favorite", after all, he did not dare to say that because he was concerned about the identity of the other party.

Wei Lan frowned and glanced at him, flicked his loose sleeves, turned around and walked away, leaving a sentence: "If you are not afraid of death, just talk nonsense!"

Originally, this matter could not be spread to the Northwest, but when Kou Xiao came, rumors about him naturally followed. Now many officials and generals know the gossip between him and Li Xu, some believe it or not.

After Kou Xiao finished his bowl of mutton soup, Cao Ji returned with a troop of cavalry, sweating profusely in the cold, and said with a smile: "General, good news, Li Chengtao got wind on his horse last night, and died just now!"

Kou Xiao is glad that he finished his soup, otherwise he would have choked on this mouthful, "Yesterday, I was fine during the day, why did I die? Which woman is so powerful?"

A group of men laughed unkindly. Cao Ji just came from the scene and knew the most, and replied: "There is more than one. A few days ago, a group of dancers came from the Western Regions. All of them are hot and enchanting. This Li Chengtao has a big heart." Since then, I bought the whole dancers back, gave a few to my colleagues, and took the rest for myself. It is said that I didn’t even go to the barracks recently.”

Kou Xiao gave a "tsk", and said in disgust: "You don't know restraint when you're too old, you deserve to die."

But a soldier sighed and said: "But this general of the Northwest Army is really rich, and he bought a whole dancer as soon as he said it. It must cost a lot of money."

"That's not true. Dancers in the Western Regions are not cheap. It is said that a dancer can exchange for a BMW." Of course, this is the price in the Northwest. If it is in the capital, it depends on whether the nobles prefer beauties or BMWs.

It's nothing for rich people to spend a lot of money for their own good, anyway, they have money...

Kou Xiao threw the bowl aside and shouted, "Go, go and mourn this General Li, and let's move house by the way."

Everyone's eyes lit up, and each of them was enthusiastic, "Let's go, this shabby tent is leaking from all sides, I feel like I'm going to freeze every night when I go to bed, and it's better to sleep in a big room!"

Cao Ji scolded with a smile: "Have you all forgotten how you got here after spending a few days in the capital? Isn't it enough to have tents to shelter you from the wind and rain?"

"I can't help it. This northwest is not South Vietnam. The wind here is like a knife. Look at my face, isn't it disfigured? Oh, my wife may not want me when I get home!"

Kou Xiao subconsciously touched his face, it was dry and flaky. Li Xu prepared a lot of moisturizing cream for him, but he couldn't bear to use these things. After blowing on them for a while, he felt his face was deformed by the blowing. up.

He felt the same way, and felt that there must be more than one person who was abandoned by his wife!

Li Chengtao is one of the most famous generals in the northwest. He has a [-] Li family army under his command. The combat effectiveness is pretty good. In the past, he was also the object of the First Prince's efforts to win him over.

As soon as Kou Xiao came, he gave him a warning. The Zhenbei Prince’s Mansion had not been renamed, Kou Xiao was not suitable to live in, and the new General’s Mansion was too late to build. Kou Xiao could only bring his own people to camp outside the city. Li Chengtao is the guard of Liangzhou, the city gate is so tight, Kou Xiao's people have to verify their identities when they want to go in and out, they are obstructed by various excuses, the two sides almost didn't fight.

In addition, Kou Xiao and his troops depend on the Northwest Army for their salaries and rations. Now the Northwest Army is in disarray.

Although Kou Xiao is the commander in chief, he is just a newcomer, and he doesn't know the division of power in the Northwest. In the first few days, he went to ask for food by himself, but then he got really impatient, so he simply robbed all the military pay and rations of the Northwest Army, and let him do it. Allocation, whoever wants money or food, okay, apply for it yourself.

The rations consumed by the 30 army in a day are very considerable. The rations of the Northwest Army are also gathered in the granaries in Liangzhou. Dozens of granaries have been built, and a full [-] soldiers are guarding here. It is conceivable that if the enemy breaks through one day After breaking the line of defense and finding this place, I think it will be a joy.

It took Kou Xiao a lot of effort to snatch this granary, showing his identity, those old generals didn't buy it at all, you are the commander, yes, but you are only a few soldiers, what can you do to me if I don't obey?

At that moment, Kou Xiao understood what the eldest prince was doing. If he had no other connections and had money in his hands, he might want to spend money on it to make these people obedient, at least superficially respectful and obedient.

But Kou Xiao is not a prodigal son, his daughter-in-law can make a lot of money, but there are too many people to support. In the past, he only raised a Nanyue, but now he has to take care of the entire Yan people. No amount of money is enough. Kou Xiao He also didn't want to follow the old path of the eldest prince, otherwise it would be meaningless for him to come to the northwest.

Kou Xiao came to the northwest with a total of [-] Kou family troops, all of whom were elite soldiers and good generals. Then on a rainy night, he led people to raid the granary. It was a real move. When he took the granary, the original guards were killed or injured. Nearly halfway through, he was also surrounded by the Northwest Army who received the news and rushed to help.

Kou Xiao thought he was not a kind person, and he would not hesitate to kill his own people. He piled firewood outside the grain depot, poured kerosene on it, and held a torch to talk with Li Chengtao and several other generals calmly all night.

The result was that Kou Xiao controlled the food and grass of the Northwest Army, but he still couldn't control the generals of the Northwest Army.

During these days, he has been looking for a breakthrough. The Northwest Army is a mess, but there are agreements between them. Many generals are still related by marriage. It is not easy for him to touch any grasshoppers on a rope.

You can find countless excuses for robbing the grain depot. As long as you have something in hand, no one dares to grab something from the commander in chief, but it is not so easy to kill a general. Strong can't deal with 30 people.

After entering the city, Kou Xiao took people straight to Li Chengtao's General's Mansion. This mansion was built extremely luxuriously, spacious and bright, and the windows were all glass windows, which shows that it cost a lot. It is said that this General's Mansion was given to him by the First Prince. Li Chengtao's 50th birthday gift, even many concubines in this mansion were given by the eldest prince.

Kou Xiao walked in all the way, nodded while observing, and said to the lieutenants beside him, "Not bad, it's big and comfortable, what do you think?"

Everyone naturally agreed, and Cao Ji said: "I'll have someone customize a new plaque later, general, do you want to hang the sign of "Koufu" or continue to hang the sign of "General's Mansion"?"

"The General's Mansion is not grand enough, so let's change it to the Northwest Marshal's Mansion." Kou Xiao walked into the mourning hall. The place was already crowded with people. In the center was a coffin made of golden nanmu. Inside lay the groomed Li Chengtao and the Li family. The family members wore sackcloth and filial piety and cried out of breath.

Li Chengtao has more than a dozen children, including seven sons, and these seven sons have contributed a lot to his ability to stand in the northwest. Although they are not considered big men, they are all brave and good at fighting, so he did not embarrass him.

At this time, the seven sons were all in a bad mood. Kou Xiao knew the reason without asking. The father died, and it was time to fight for the family property. The property of other families was nothing more than money, but the Li family had more Thirty thousand soldiers and horses are more valuable than any industry.

Seeing Kou Xiao coming in, Li Family Dalang rushed forward to greet him, "General Kou is here, and the last general is about to send someone to invite you, my father...he went too suddenly, he couldn't arrange it properly, he was negligent. "

Kou Xiao held his arm and said sadly: "How did General Li go? But he was murdered, why not find a foreman for an autopsy? If there is any grievance, we can also avenge General Li!"

Li Jia Dalang was stunned for a moment, and hurriedly stopped, "No, the general is too worried. My father is old and was seriously injured in his early years. His health has not been very good. The sudden emergency last night was not caused by others."

The cause of Li Chengtao's death was tightly concealed by the Li family, and it was somewhat unattractive to die on a woman's belly. If the news spread, he might be laughed at to death, and the Li family would not be able to hold their heads up when they went out.

Mr. Li was sure that Kou Xiao knew the cause of his father's death. Last night, the deputy general surnamed Cao was also present, so it was impossible not to tell him. He didn't expect this young Kou to be so vicious.

Kou Xiao ignored his resentful eyes, put a stick of incense on Li Chengtao, said a few words of comfort, and then sat aside to drink tea.

The Li family didn't know the reason for Kou Xiao's visit, and it was hard to chase him away if he didn't leave. There were many guests who came to express their condolences, and the Li family was too busy entertaining guests to argue with him.

A personal guard came out from the back hall, leaned into Kou Xiao's ear and whispered: "General, I heard that those dancers were all killed. The Li family had a civil turmoil this morning. The sons fought violently. The servants in the house It's better to be dead."

Kou Xiao laughed, "It's better to make a fuss, you send someone to watch outside, to see what Li Chengtao's sons are doing, let them fight among themselves first, add more fire, and kill people with a knife at the right time, Let's wait for a bargain."

"Here."