Kou Zhun (寇準), courtesy name Pingzhong ,平仲), was a native of Xiayi, Huazhou, whose father's name was Kou Xiang (寇相), and he was a member of the Wei dynasty during the Later Jin Dynasty. Kou Zhun was handsome and heroic, and was familiar with the three passes of "Spring and Autumn". At the age of nineteen, he was admitted to the Jinshi, and Song Taizong admitted the Jinshi, often going to the platform in front of the palace to personally interview and ask questions. For people who are too young, they are often not hired. Worry about too little experience, lack of experience. Therefore, someone gave Kou Zhun an idea and said that you can lie about your age. But Kou Zhun said, I have just embarked on a career path, how can I deceive the emperor?
Later, Kou Zhun was appointed as the zhi county of Badong County in Guizhou and Cheng'an County in daimyo province. During his tenure in Zhixian County, whenever he came to collect taxes and issue conscription, he did not hastily distribute official documents and send people to rural villages to collect them, but only listed the addresses and names of the taxpayers and servicemen in the county, posted them at the county gate, and passed by pedestrians who came and went, and consciously spread the news throughout the county, and the common people did not delay or pay taxes.
Kou Zhun was promoted to the rank of Gongzhong (殿中丞) for his political achievements, and was sentenced to the rank of Governor of Yanzhou. Just when Emperor Taizong of Song issued an edict to let hundreds of officials write to discuss major state affairs, Kou Zhun boldly stated his views on state affairs, and Song Taizong was very appreciative of him.
Once, when he was playing at the imperial court, his speech did not conform to Emperor Taizong's wishes, and When Emperor Taizong was angry and was about to leave, Kou Zhun hurriedly went forward and grabbed Emperor Taizong's clothes, made him sit down again, and continued to express his views until the matter was resolved. Emperor Taizong of Song was very praised for Kou Zhun's spirit of serving the country, and he said to his ministers: Having Kou Zhun by my side is like Tang Taizong getting Wei Zheng!
In the spring of 991, there was a large-scale drought in the whole country, and the disaster was very serious. Emperor Taizong of Song summoned close ministers to discuss countermeasures and asked them to talk about what was wrong with the recent handling of government affairs by the imperial court, which angered the heavens, sent down a great drought, and punished my people. The ministers all said that the occurrence of drought in the world was arranged by heaven and had nothing to do with political affairs. However, Kou Zhun said that the book "Hong Fan" records that the heavens and people have inextricably affected each other, and there has been a great drought, which shows that there is an unfair phenomenon in the execution of punishment in our dynasty! When Song Taizong heard this, he was very annoyed, thinking that Kou Zhun was deliberately burying himself, and he got up angrily and retreated into the palace. But after a while, after his mind calmed down, he summoned Kou Zhun to ask him alone: What do you think is unfair? Kou Zhun said, please summon the ministers of the Center and the Privy Council, and you will know as soon as you ask! Emperor Taizong of Song immediately issued an edict and summoned the ministers of the two provinces to the palace.
In the presence of the ministers of the two provinces, Kou Zhuncai said: Not long ago, Zuji and Wang Huai were both punished for illegally accepting bribes, but Zuji, who had a small amount of bribes, was killed, while Wang Huai, who should be severely punished, because he was the younger brother of Wang Yuan, who participated in the government, embezzled tens of millions of yuan in the finances in charge of himself, but was only punished by the cane, and soon restored to his original post.
Song Taizong solemnly asked Wang Huan about this matter, and Wang Huan prostrated his head and apologized. Emperor Taizong reprimanded Wang Huan fiercely, and thus understood that Kou Zhun was a person that the imperial court could trust, and Emperor Taizong soon appointed Kou Zhun as the Left Counselor, the deputy envoy of the Privy Council, and soon promoted Kou Zhun to the position of Tongzhi Privy Council.
Kou Zhun and Zhang Xun, the privy councillor, repeatedly quarreled in front of Emperor Taizong over some state affairs, and one day Kou Zhun and Wen Zhongshu were walking together, and on the way to the upper court, they encountered a madman who greeted the horse they were riding and shouted long live. This is no small matter! Wang Bin, who was in charge of Zuo Jinwu, had always been close to Zhang Xun, and Zhang Xun instigated him to report the incident to Emperor Taizong. Attempts to frame Kou Zhun are suspected of trespassing. Kou Zhun proposed that Wen Zhongshu testify that he did not violate the law at all. In order to put pressure on Kou Zhun, Zhang Xun insisted that Wang Bin report to Emperor Taizong alone. Sharp words, step by step. The two men also blame each other for their shortcomings. Enraged, Emperor Taizong demoted Zhang Xun and dismissed Kou Zhun from his position as privy councillor.
Kou Zhun was demoted to Qingzhou as a zhizhou and stayed away from the imperial court. However, Song Taizong missed Kou Zhun very much since he left his side, and was often sullen because Kou Zhun was not around to help him share his worries and difficulties. Therefore, the following year, Emperor Taizong of Song sent an edict to transfer back to Kou Zhun and appoint him as the Governor of the Government. It can be seen that Song Taizong was quite serious about Kou Zhun.