It may be easy to attack a city, but now if you want to find a country, it is obviously much more difficult than Ye Qing imagined.

Standing on the tower of Jingzhao Mansion and looking at the entire unsightly northern land, perhaps with the officials and generals under his command now, he can still make a difference in the northern land, but if he wants to rely on his weak family background to seek a country, it is obviously not enough.

The weakness of the northern land for many years, coupled with the floods in the past few years after it was recovered, is just enough for Ye Qing to gain a foothold here, in this relatively peaceful period, if he wants to use this to make the world, Ye Qing has to think about it carefully, after all, he does not have the capital to turn over again after failing once, but it is likely that he will fall into the abyss and never be able to soar into the sky again.

In less than a year, Jingzhao Mansion has not changed much, and the entire mansion has not changed much, and now King Qing and Chongguo Gong are not in Chang'an, they are still busy with other things in the surrounding area, and now that the autumn harvest is imminent, in fact, their hearts are even more nervous than Ye Qing Whether God can do well this year and give the people of the north a bumper harvest year.

Of course, in any case, the situation around Jingzhao Mansion is still much better than that of Jinan Mansion, although a large number of victims have been settled, but fortunately, the fields here have not suffered from flooding, so in terms of grain harvest, it is still quite optimistic.

In addition, the three roads of Hetao have now been shaken in their hands, and everything in the entire Jingzhao Mansion can be said to be on the right track, but the only thing to worry about is that if the army is used, the food that may be optimistic will become extremely unoptimistic.

Whether you want to bewitch the soldiers of the Xia State to fight inwardly, or if you want to plot the great rivers and mountains of the Xia Kingdom, in short, no matter what it is, it is necessary for Ye Qing to adopt a primary strategy of simplifying all the lost territories recovered, instead of following all the lengthy and messy systems of the Song Dynasty to the present.

Ye Qing, who was in the study, handed over a document that had just been written to the Red Mansion, and motioned for him to send it to the front yard immediately, and Zhong Silkworm sent someone to Lin'an.

Red Mansion left, Bai Chun walked in, still with a cold face, and after glancing at Ye Qing, who smiled at her, he said, "Liu Keshi wants to see you outside." ”

"What is he doing here?" Ye Qing frowned, and Bai Chun walked out directly without saying a word, but smiled at Liu Keshi, and motioned to Liu Keshi, who was standing under the vertical arch, to go to the study.

Seeing that Bai Chun still didn't give himself a good face and left, Ye Qing could only smile bitterly in his heart, he knew that Bai Chun was still angry about Ye Luyue because of himself.

Liu Keshi was full of smiles and dust, and he was carrying a long and narrow wooden box behind his back, which was really inconsistent with his original image of an elegant literati, and the smile on his face after seeing Ye Qing was even stronger, even a little close to flattery.

Such an appearance naturally made Ye Qing's heart furious, and he muttered a little, I don't know what happened to this guy during this time, could it be that he changed his personality all of a sudden, or that after arguing with Li Heng for a few months, he even ignored his identity as a literati.

"Master Ke has seen Lord Ye." Liu Keshi saluted to Ye Qing behind the desk.

Ye Qing waved his hand casually and motioned for Liu Keshi to sit down and speak.

Liu Keshi, on the other hand, glanced at Ye Qing first, and then carefully untied the long and narrow wooden box on his back and placed it in front of Ye Qing.

"My lord, a little caution from the lower officials, I hope that the adults will not be surprised or disliked." The smile on Liu Keshi's face was very genuinely written with the word flattery at this moment.

"You're bribing me? Pleasing me? Ye Qing glanced down at the wooden box that was not delicate and asked.

"My lord, you open it first, if the adult likes it, then how about the lower official say whether it is a bribe or a curry?" Liu Keshi's mysterious and mysterious way.

"What is it?" Ye Qing asked casually, and then opened the narrow box, only to see that in the ordinary wooden box, there was a waist knife that looked very good.

"Where did you get it?" Ye Qing involuntarily stretched out his hand, grabbed the scabbard in his hand, and began to look at it carefully and asked.

"Xiaguan personally supervised the craftsmen to build it, and this is it, so after Xiaguan learned that the lord returned to Jingzhao Mansion, he immediately sent it to you." Liu Keshi looked at Ye Qing and looked at the scabbard and said.

The scabbard is very rustic, like the bare handle, all made of wood, except that the front end of the scabbard is wrapped with a layer of copper skin to protect the scabbard, and as for the handle, it is also made of wood, but a layer of black cloth has been wrapped around the handle, so that the appearance of the knife is not attractive enough at all.

However, Ye Qing was quite satisfied with the thick black cloth wrapped around the slightly longer handle, and this knife did not have a blade, so it was quite thoughtful to wrap a layer of black cloth to prevent his hand from slipping.

Just as the badminton rackets and tennis rackets of later generations are often wrapped with hand glue, almost all of the waist knives Ye Qing used before have been wrapped in cotton cloth, or even a layer of cowhide, and such an inconspicuous place was unexpectedly seen by Liu Keshi.

"You're not asking me for anything, are you?" Ye Qing shook the handle of the knife, looked at Liu Keshi with some vigilance and asked.

"Hehe, you're really right, but how about you pull out this knife and see what happens?" Liu Keshi looked extremely confident, which also made Ye Qing's heart rise with a curiosity, eager to see what kind of knife was hidden under this inconspicuous appearance.

Holding the hilt of the knife, he slowly pulled out the waist knife, but only a small half of it was drawn, and his eyes immediately lit up, staring at the blade and blade, it actually gave people a feeling of coldness.

As the complete waist knife was all unsheathed, even the well-informed Ye Qing couldn't help but be surprised: "What a murderous knife." ”

"Adults still like it." Liu Keshi looked at Ye Qing's surprised and joyful gaze and hurriedly asked.

"This knife is very heavy, no wonder you are carrying it on your back, it is really sharp enough." Ye Qing couldn't take his eyes off it, and praised the waist knife in his hand with some surprise, especially the sharp blade, which actually made people's scalp feel numb: "It's worthy of a ...... That's all there is to it, in fact, do you know that there are several knives in my house that are a few points better than yours...... It's just that I forgot to bring it with me in Yangzhou. ”

Liu Keshi's originally smiling expression froze on his face as Lord Ye's words turned: Can it still be like this?

I couldn't pull it out of my eyes just now, so I suddenly turned around, which made him order the craftsman to forge a knife for nearly half a year, and it became an ordinary waist knife.

"Then in that case, why don't you return it to the lower officials? Go to the next official...... Try your luck with Lord Yu Yunwen again? Liu Keshi was about to take the waist knife that Ye Qing was still holding in his hand.

"In front of this official, bluntly say that you are going to bribe Yu Yunwen, Liu Keshi, you really take this official and are not officials!" Ye Qing glanced at Liu Keshi obliquely, but the knife in his hand still did not put down, and from time to time he gently slashed the blade with his thumb, and then pulled out a hair, the blade was facing up, looking at the hair that fell from his hand, and after touching the blade, it was softly broken into two: "What do you say first?" If it's too rare, I won't return this knife to you, how can there be any reason to go back if you give something away? ”

Liu Keshi laughed, in his opinion, this matter is not far from ten, but he still has no bottom in his heart, after all, this matter can be big or small, and he is really doing a good job in the Longcheng Barracks now, but ...... He obviously didn't want to stop there, he also hoped that there would be a bigger place for him to realize his ideals and ambitions, so Liu Keshi, who had never given gifts and had never given gifts, finally took the first step in his bribery.

"You Liu Keshi was admitted to the imperial examination back then, because he couldn't get used to those flies and dogs in the officialdom, so he angrily resigned from the imperial court. Now...... What's wrong? Could it be that the Northland has transformed people so much, that you, a pedantic Confucian student, have figured it out? Ye Qing inserted the waist knife back into the scabbard, weighed the amount in his hand and asked with satisfaction.

"My lord, this is not suitable for you, the reason why the lower officials are here today is not all due to the adults?" Liu Keshi still smiled and said: "If it weren't for the cultivation of adults in the past few years, the lower officials would not have seen this officialdom and people's hearts so thoroughly at once, especially the fact that the adults were extremely relieved to let the lower officials go to Lin'an, and even more so that the lower officials understood that whether it was for their own selfish interests or to serve the court, it was completely impossible to rely on conscience and morality alone, and they still had to rely on those flies and dogs to gain a foothold, and then they could display their talents and realize their ambitions." Therefore, the reason why Xia Guan is like this today is also the credit of your lordship. ”

"Let's talk about things first, you first tell me about giving me such a good waist knife, what do you want me to do for you?" Ye Qing wiped the wooden scabbard and said, "Don't say it, this official has been an official for so long, and it seems that he has never done anything for other officials, from this point of view, this official can be regarded as a Qing official of my Great Song Dynasty." Lin'an's gang of fools are simply blind, and they dare to attack their own officials for forming a party for personal gain, which is simply stupid. ”

"My lord, let's talk about it first, the reason why the lower official made such a request is not because the lower official is not satisfied with the dispatch that the lord has given to the lower official now, but because the lower official ...... Xia Guan wants to go further, hoping to be able to do more. "Liu Keshi is no longer the pedantic scholar of the year, although there are still some twists and turns when he speaks, but even so, Liu Keshi is already a person who is extremely scheming in front of others.

Especially in the past few years in the north, whether it is to appease the people or sort out the local officialdom, Liu Keshi can do the first thing, no worse than Yang Huaizhi and Chen Cishan, and even in some aspects, Liu Keshi is more aggressive and decisive than Yang and Chen, and even has a faint shadow of a cool official.

And it is precisely because of this that Ye Qing let him go to Lin'an after Guanshan, and then placed him on the dispatch to build a barracks.

"My lord, I can't hide it, although my lord hasn't said it clearly, but in the past, Li Heng asked for soldiers from the barracks, and now Guan Shan's various actions, the officials are ...... Xia Guan has already been able to guess one or two, so Xia Guan hopes that the adults can give Xia Guan a chance to show his ambitions. Liu Keshi got up from the chair respectfully and said frankly to Ye Qing with a serious expression.

"So what do you see?" Ye Qing's heart shook slightly, although he was not surprised that Liu Keshi saw his purpose, but he still didn't expect that Liu Keshi, who was as pedantic as a piece of wood at the beginning, has now become so keen.

Liu Keshi didn't sit down, but kept standing and groaning, raised his head to look directly at Ye Qing, and said with a solemn expression: "My lord, Xiaguan's time in Jingzhao Mansion is not short, and he has also been to Lin'an before, and he has also served as a messenger in Shandong and other roads, although he does not dare to say that he knows the current situation well, but at least he can still know it in his heart." ”

"Go on." Ye Qing took the knife in his hand back and forth and returned to the sheath.

"Yes, sir." Liu Keshi said solemnly: "Xiaguan thinks that since Temujin unified the steppe and established the Great Mongolia, whether it is my Great Song Dynasty, or the Jin State or the Xia State, it is actually in a weak position, even if we have not had any conflicts with Mongolia now, and even Jin and Xia are the natural barriers of my Great Song Dynasty, but Xiaguan can still feel that since the establishment of Mongolia, your Excellency, you ...... I panicked. ”

"During this time, the Mongols sent envoys to Jin and Xia at almost the same time, in addition to coercion, they also used Huairou methods, and in the opinion of the lower officials, the reason why the Mongols did this is precisely because they have always been afraid of the power of the adults in the north, so they have to use the hands of the Xia and Jin countries to contain and suppress the growth of the adults in the north. Xiaguan once went to Lin'an because of the adult's send, so in the eyes of Xiaguan, Lin'an Chaotang is a place where people eat people, impersonal, and even more cruel and ruthless than the battlefield, and the situation of adults in Lin'an is also not optimistic. After all, Shi and Han can be said to be the mortal enemies of the adults now, and now that the adults have returned to the Northland, they will inevitably make small moves behind the adults, so as to weaken the influence of the adults in the Northland. And the adults have Chinese orthodoxy in their hearts, as they said back then, all the actions of the adults such as the Northern Expedition are to prevent the Chinese civilization from being destroyed by foreign races, and now the lower officials are still convinced. ”

Looking at Ye Qing, who was silent, who bowed his head and studied the waist knife in his hand, Liu Keshi took a deep breath, and then continued: "After the Lord returned to Yangzhou from Lin'an, although it was a short rest, everything on the Xia Kingdom's side never stopped, and then the Lord went to Jinan Mansion, and the Jin people sent envoys to Jinan Mansion, but it was a pity...... Break up with adults. Now that the adults have returned to Jingzhao Mansion again, according to the lower officials, the adults will never intend to sit still, they must have no chance, and they must also create their own opportunities to face difficulties and strive for greater interests to maintain the orthodoxy of our China from being invaded by foreign races. ”

"My lord, the second time Xia Guan was an official, it was because the Lord gave Xia Guan a chance, and Xia Guan was like opening up another world, which also made Xia Guan dare not call himself a good official in his heart, but ...... Definitely an officer who is useful for adults. After being sent to the north for more than four years, the subordinates often criticized the subordinates' methods for appeasing the people and governing the officialdom for being too cruel by their colleagues in the north, but the subordinates knew that just like the use of heavy codes in troubled times, if they were always soft and not tough, it would be difficult to deter those people and the officials who were under the rule of the Jin people in the past. At this point, I believe that the adults also understand the hardships of the lower officials, and this is also the most needed officials under the command of the adults today. ”

Ye Qing took a deep breath, looked at Liu Keshi with a solemn expression a little lazily, and said with a smile: "Yang Yang said so much, is it to recommend that you can follow me into the summer one day?" ”

"In the past nearly a year, the lower officials have helped the Longcheng Barracks to get on the right track, and now even if there is no lower official, there can also be a steady stream of better soldiers for adults, and there is absolutely no need to worry about this." Liu Keshi nodded seriously, his purpose was indeed to follow Ye Qing to conquer the summer together, and then watch the territory of the Great Song Dynasty continue to grow, to experience the sense of accomplishment of creating history, and to experience the heroic feeling of being at the top of the mountain and seeing the mountains at a glance.

"Is there a suitable candidate?" Ye Qing raised his head and asked with a smile.

"Wang Zhong and Xie Lun are enough to take on this great responsibility, if the two of them are slightly derelict in their duties in the Longcheng barracks, the lower officials are willing to offer the head of the Xiangshang." Liu Keshi said firmly.

"So you think it's advisable for us to seek summer?" The smile on the corner of Ye Qing's mouth was still easy-going, and his expression was still asking quietly.

"Taking gold will only attract Xia people to use troops against us, and taking Xia, Jin will not necessarily use troops to go south. Therefore, Xia Guan thought that instead of sitting and waiting to be killed, it was really better to try a strategy that was difficult for ordinary people to guess. What's more, the Xia Kingdom is not monolithic now, the king of Zhenyi County is eye-to-eyed with us, although Li Chunyou is no longer young now, but he has not been on the throne of the emperor for a few years, and the court is still difficult to straighten out for a while, which is a good opportunity for us to take this opportunity to plot. Liu Keshi's eyes began to shine a little, although Ye Qing's expression was extremely calm, but from Ye Qing's tone, he could still feel that Ye Qing was very moved by his own recommendation to himself.

"Give you one night's time, write out the strategy in your heart for the summer, and give it to me when the sun rises tomorrow, it suits my heart, leave you to seek summer with me, if it doesn't suit my heart, I will continue to return to the Longcheng barracks to serve as your barracks commander and the chief of the festival." Ye Qing brushed, and the waist knife entered the sheath like lightning.

"Thank you, my lord, I will not let my lord down." Liu Keshi saluted happily to Ye Qing, who walked out of the study.

As Ye Qing walked out of the study, Liu Keshi, who was delighted, waved his fist excitedly, and then hurriedly walked out of the study and ran towards the front yard.

He naturally doesn't know anything about leading troops to fight, but at this time, he has a seven-trick exquisite heart, so as long as he asks Zhong Silkworm, Mo Xiaobao and others for advice on some key issues, in his opinion, tomorrow morning, coupled with his own efforts overnight, he will definitely be able to give Ye Qing a satisfactory strategy.