After inspecting the northern border counties of Shanggu County, Ji Kang and his party began to return to Fuyang, the county capital of Shanggu County.

Shanggu County guarded the high people, and led the officials and gentry of Shanggu County out of the city to greet Ji Kang.

Gao Min, who once served as the minister of the state of Ji, has been activated by Ji Kang.

When he was in Liaodi, after Gao Min surrendered, he was arranged by Ji Kang to serve as a teacher in Xiangping College.

Gao Min's talent does not need to be questioned, it can be described by the word "Junjie".

However, Ji Kang is not thinking about talent for Gao Min, but about loyalty or disloyalty.

A year later, Ji Kang still adopted the advice of the old dean Zou Yan, as well as the cabinet ministers Xin and Lu Zhonglian, and Gao Min was appointed by Ji Kang as the county guard of Xing'an County.

Gao Min is of course a smart person, and he knows Ji Kang's concerns about himself. I also know that this is an opportunity for myself, including my family, to gain a foothold and develop in Yan Kingdom. What you do can be said to be quite crucial.

Therefore, during his tenure in Xing'an County, Gao Min did not dare to be sloppy, worked diligently, and the people's livelihood and economy developed well. In the end, he finally gained Ji Kang's trust, and after the end of the Yan Kingdom's war, he was transferred to Shanggu County as a county guard.

Fuyang, the county seat of Shanggu County, is located at the confluence of the two rivers Zhishui (now Sanggan River) and Yanghe (now Yanshui River), and is connected to Jidu by land and water through the downstream Yan River (now Yongding River).

The city of Fuyang City was modeled after the city of Wuyang, and the Yan River passing through the city was itself a natural canal, dividing the city into two cities, east and west. The east city is slightly larger, and the west city is a little smaller.

At this time, the ships that came from Jidu to transport soldiers, food and even military supplies had begun to flow in a steady stream.

After Ji Kang returned to his place of residence in Fuyang Mansion, the first thing he did was to take a medicinal bath.

Inside the huge wooden barrel, the smell of medicinal water fills the water, and there are many flower petals floating on the surface of the water.

The attendant ordered the king to follow and other attendants who had long known that their own king did not like to be waited for by bathing.

All the people stood outside the house, waiting for the call.

Soaking in the steaming water, Ji Kang kept thinking about his thoughts.

Yan Guo's plan to attack Zhao next year cannot be changed. At this time, the Zhao State was indeed exhausted, and its national strength was declining greatly. However, it is still not to be underestimated.

There are few soldiers and horses in Zhao State, but the men in the country are all elite soldiers in a hundred battles, and their combat effectiveness is still very strong.

What's more, there is no shortage of famous generals in Zhao State, Lian Po, Lecheng, Pang Xuan, especially Li Mu, who has not yet been fully recognized by the world for his military talent.

When Ji Kang came to Shanggu to inspect, several ministers of Yan State also debated the strategic direction of the next year's attack on Zhao, and did not form a unified opinion.

One faction is represented by Gexiang Xin, Su Dai, Jiang Qu and others, advocating that Zhao should concentrate all his efforts to attack Handan, the capital of Zhao State, so that the territory of Yan State and Weidi are bordered and connected.

This faction believed that as long as they went south to take Handan, the Zhao State could be said to be destroyed. As for the Zhao army in Jinyang, Daijun, Yanmen, and Yunzhong in the western part of Zhao State, it can be passed on.

The other faction is represented by the cabinet minister Su belly, Zou Yan, Lu Zhonglian and others, who advocate that with the current national strength of the Yan State, the war against Zhao should be divided into two routes, all the way south to attack Handan; All the way to the west, cut down its Jinyang.

Su Bao and others also have a clear idea, Zhao has three "political centers", namely Handan, Jinyang, and Daijun. If Yan only destroys its Handan, Zhao can also take Jinyang and Daijun as the center and unite other countries in the Central Plains to resist Yan.

If the war were to be fought like this, I am afraid that the war would continue for several years.

For the national strength of Yan State, it is also an unbearable burden.

But in Ji Kang's heart, the thoughts were different from those of several cabinet ministers.

Zhao's current military strength is actually divided into two.

The strength of the Zhao army in Daijun, Yunzhong, and Yanmen, including Jinyang, the former capital of Zhao State, is stronger than the Zhao army in the direction of Handan.

In particular, the Zhao army led by Li Mu has unconsciously developed into the most powerful armed force in Zhao State.

Judging from the information fed back by the Intelligence Bureau, after Zhao occupied Yanmen and Yunzhong, in order to maintain the stability of northern Xinjiang and block the invasion of the Xiongnu and other countries, he gave Li Mu a great right.

Li Mu had the right to appoint officials as needed in the garrison area, and all taxes collected in the garrison area were sent to Li Mu's shogunate as military expenses.

Li Mu is too good at leading troops.

In the case of sufficient funds, he slaughtered cattle and sheep every day to reward the soldiers, taught the soldiers to practice archery, horseback riding, carefully guarded the beacon tower, sent many scouts to find out the enemy's situation, and treated his subordinates well, and was deeply loved by the local people and soldiers.

Li Mu is still very low-key.

He was unwilling to fight for power and profit in the Zhao court, but only developed silently in his own defensive territory, and was only willing to mix with his own soldiers. At present, the court of Zhao State, including the world, has almost forgotten him.

However, for Ji Kang, Li Mu is a person who he doesn't dare to forget for a moment!

For so many years, Li Mu's every move has been seen in Ji Kang's eyes.

"Your Majesty, the Shanggu County Shou Gao Min, and the middle doctor Zheng Guo of the Ministry of Works, have come to meet you."

The voice of the attendant outside the house, Ling Wang Cong, interrupted Ji Kang's contemplation.

Ji Kang let out an "oh" and came to his senses.

To the attendant outside the house, he ordered Wang Cong to say, "Let the two of them wait in the front hall for a while, and the widow will get up and go over." ”

"No." Wang Cong answered outside the house.

At the door of the front hall of Ji Kang's residence, Gao Min and Zheng Guo were waiting for Ji Kang's summons.

Zheng Guo was transferred to Shanggu County by Ji Kang in August this year, when the water conservancy project in Qidi fell behind, and was transferred to Shanggu County to be responsible for exploring and building the water conservancy project in Shanggu County.

In the aisle outside the hall, as well as the steps around it, every few steps, there stood a palace guard, all with swords and swords, standing solemnly, looking very majestic and magnificent, so that people did not dare to force their eyes.

There was a movement in the hall, and the attendant ordered Wang Cong to come out and said to Gao Min and Zheng Guo:

"The king's edict sent Gao Min and Zheng Guo to meet them."

Gao Min and Zheng Guo tidied up their clothes and followed Wang Cong into the hall.

As soon as the two entered the hall, they saw their young king, watching them from the front.

The two bowed down together: "Meet my king." ”

Ji Kang smiled and said to the two, "No need to be polite, you two sit down and talk." ”

"Thank you, my king." Gao Min and Zheng Guo agreed.

Looking at the two people who were sitting cautiously, Ji Kang sighed slightly in his heart.

Needless to say, Zheng Guo's status in Ji Kang's mind is naturally extraordinary.

But as far as Gao Min is concerned, Ji Kang's mood is a little complicated.

When this Gao Min was the prime minister of the Ji Kingdom, he didn't have much trouble with Ji Kang, which made Ji Kang extremely unhappy. But now at a glance, Gao Min is dressed in the official robe of Yan State, with a calm bearing and bright eyes, which actually makes people look very good.

That's it, that's it. As a king, he walks the world, and when the sea embraces all rivers, the mountains do not let the soil.

What's more, Gao Min is now his subordinate, and he can't always hold on to his previous prejudices.

Ji Kang restrained the thoughts in his heart and said to An Min: "Gao Junshou, how is the autumn harvest in Shanggu County this year?" ”

When Gao Min heard this, he stood up, bowed down and said to Ji Kangyu:

"King Qiqi, this year's autumn harvest in Shanggu County has been bumper again. The number of acres and the yield per mu have increased compared with last year. According to the weights and measures of our country, the average yield per mu has reached more than 400 catties, including the acres of land reclaimed by the army and even the construction corps, and the per capita yield per mu is nearly 25 mu. ”

Ji Kang calculated in his heart, was deeply satisfied, and asked again:

"How many households are there in Upper Valley today? What is the total number of people? ”

"Your Majesty, Shanggu County has jurisdiction over 14 counties, with a total of 86,784 households and a total population of more than 700,000." Gao Min bowed down and reported.

In fact, Gao Min was also impressed by the existing system of Yan State.

Yanguo's current medical officer system is very perfect, and its medical institutions have penetrated to the township level.

With the popularization of medical institutions in Yanguo, coupled with the abundance of food. The survival rate of babies in Yanguo has been greatly improved; The mortality rate of the population has also dropped sharply. As a result, the average life expectancy of Yan has also increased significantly year by year.

After Ji Kang listened to Gao Min's words, he had nothing to say.

Gao Min has done a good job as a county guard. If you want to "bang" again, it's not appropriate! But after thinking about it, I feel that there are some words, and it is better to say it.

Otherwise, the monarch and the ministers are suspicious of each other, which Ji Kang does not allow.

Ji Kang stared outside the hall for a moment, his eyes narrowed slightly, and after a while, he said to Gao Min:

"Gao Qing, to be honest, in the past, you were in Jidi, resisting the widow, and the widow did not like you."

As soon as Gao Min heard Ji Kang's words, although the weather in October was already very cool, he still couldn't help but sweat beads oozing from his forehead.

His face was pale, and he looked towards Ji Kang, "poof", knelt on the ground, and said loudly:

"The sin of the minister deserves death."

Zheng Guo, who was sitting on the other side, couldn't help but break out in a cold sweat after hearing Ji Kang's words.

Ji Kang got up, came to Gao Min in person, and helped Gao Min up.

"Gao Qing, it doesn't have to be like this. What the widow also wants to tell you is that you are a very talented person, you are also very practical, and most importantly, you are not pedantic. Your performance over the years has been seen and appreciated very much. ”

"The widow is not hypocritical here, and it is estimated that with your talent, you can also see it. The widow told you that the widow is determined to dominate the world, and since the opening of the three emperors and five emperors, I have never had a prosperous era in China. ”

"If thou art faithful to the king's affairs, the widow will no longer care about the things that were in place, nor will thou be stingy with the reward given to thee. Gao Qing, do you understand the heart of the widow? ”

Gao Min breathed a sigh of relief, knowing that this was Ji Kang's heartfelt words, and bowed down and replied:

"Your Majesty, your ministers have understood. Rest assured, Your King, that your ministers will follow His teachings and be faithful to my King's cause. ”